One of my favorite stories from the book of Jasher is regarding Abraham. That Abraham lived with Noah and Shem makes so much sense to understanding his life. How many times have we heard stories from the pulpit about how Abraham was just wandering around the wilderness one day when he heard a voice from the sky telling him he should move his family to another land of which the voice will show him. Abraham never heard from the voice from the sky before, and yet he obeyed, and the voice prospered him. It makes for a great fairytale, but as you can see very few people can even believe that Abraham was real let alone relate to him. Picture yourself, with no knowledge of God or any higher being. As you are wandering in the desert one day a voice starts talking to you from the sky. It tells you to move away from where you have been raised and leave your relatives behind. You immediately start walking. It sounds silly. Abraham was a real person and he did not just start obeying random voices he never heard before. He did have a very great knowledge of God, having learned from Noah and Shem. So hearing God’s voice telling him to move from Ur was not the first time Abraham heard God’s voice and it was not the first time he was obedient to God.
It is much the same as the preaching we have always heard about Melchizedek the mystery priest. We read Jesus is after the order of Melchizedek, but preachers try to tell us we don’t know who Melchizedek was. We do know who Melchizedek was, he was Shem, and Shem started a school in Salem (Jerusalem) for the learning of God. Abraham gave Shem, Melchizedek, a tenth of his spoils, not because he didn’t know him but because he did know him. We will learn more about Melchizedek later but just for our understanding, as we read The Book of Jasher, keep in mind that Noah and Shem lived a long time after the flood. Jesus being in the order of Melchizedek means he is not after the Mosaic covenant. I have a point to make. Was Noah a Jew? Was Shem a Jew? Was Abraham a Jew, or an Israelite, or a Hebrew? Were any of them Jewish, following the laws and rules for worship? No, of course not. No one could be a Jew until after Judah was born. No one could follow the law until after Moses wrote it down. Noah, Shem and Abraham did not follow Judaic Laws, not for sacrifice, not for worship, not for moral laws, not for social laws, and not even hygienic laws. Jesus comes in the order of the priesthood of Melchizedek, Shem, the one who was on the boat during the flood. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Mosaic law, but he also does not continue to follow Mosaic law, because he is after a different priesthood. Mosaic Law is under the priesthood of the Levites, Melchizedek came before the Levites, right? As for us we are called to be kings and priests, not after the Levites, but after Melchizedek. In the Mosaic covenant, kings were of Judah, priests of Levi, and neither were to mix in marriage. Kings did not go into worship in the Holy of Holies, yet we are called to be Kings and Priests, if we are followers of Jesus. Jesus is our first King Priest in the order of Shem. What we see is that Jesus fulfilled and also supersedes the order of worship and devotion to God back to the time of Noah. We have to look closely at Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to understand the order of the priesthood we are part of.
Gen 14:18-20 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. KJV
Jasher 16:11-12 And Adonizedek king of Jerusalem, the same was Shem, went out with his men to meet Abram and his people, with bread and wine, and they remained together in the valley of Melech. And Adonizedek blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth from all that he had brought from the spoil of his enemies, for Adonizedek was a priest before God.
[This is not the same Adoni-Tzedek (strongs #139) as in Joshua 10, as Shem/Melchizedek/Adonizedek had passed away long before the time of Joshua. But we can see where the name Melchizedek came from. Adonizedek means Lord of Justice, a fitting name for Shem’s priesthood]
Melchizedek — king of righteousness, the king of Salem (q.v.). All we know of him is recorded in Gen 14:18-20. He is subsequently mentioned only once in the Old Testament, in Ps 110:4. The typical significance of his history is set forth in detail in the Epistle to the Hebrews, ch. 7. The apostle there points out the superiority of his priesthood to that of Aaron in these several respects, (1) Even Abraham paid him tithes; (2) he blessed Abraham; (3) he is the type of a Priest who lives for ever; (4) Levi, yet unborn, paid him tithes in the person of Abraham; (5) the permanence of his priesthood in Christ implied the abrogation of the Levitical system; (6) he was made priest not without an oath; and (7) his priesthood can neither be transmitted nor interrupted by death: "this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood." The question as to who this mysterious personage was has given rise to a great deal of modern speculation. It is an old tradition among the Jews that he was Shem, the son of Noah, who may have survived to this time. Melchizedek was a Canaanitish prince, a worshipper of the true God, and in his peculiar history and character an instructive type of our Lord, the great High Priest (Heb 5:6,7; 6:20). One of the Amarna tablets is from Ebed-Tob, king of Jerusalem, the successor of Melchizedek, in which he claims the very attributes and dignity given to Melchizedek in the Epistle to the Hebrews. (from Easton's Bible Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic database Copyright © 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Abrogation -To do away with something, to end an agreement or contract formally and publicly
We have to keep in mind that the Levitical Law was fulfilled by Jesus and also now done away with as we are living under a higher authority. If we only acknowledge part of the Bible we will miss Hebrews’ understanding that we have a high priest who, once and for all, entered the Hoy of Holies, sacrificing himself, once and for all. This is what we are to acknowledge, this is what we are to believe when we believe on Jesus the Christ. We receive the gift he gave.
Heb 7:1-11 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; 3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. 9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham 10 For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him 11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron KJV
A great book to read on the book of Hebrews in Andrew Murray’s The Holiest Of All. It is one of my favorites and in my typical manner I like to mark up books when something strikes me as important, and with this book I highlighted almost the entire book. It is well worth the read. As Hebrews goes on in chapters 8 & 9 about our High Priest and the importance of understanding what Jesus, once and for all, accomplished. Therefore be wary of anyone who wants to put you under the Levitical law.
We have to look at Jesus with new eyes and new understanding, as not only is he our high priest but we will be like him.
1 John 3:1-6 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.KJV
When he appears we shall be like Him. Jesus had an amazing ability on earth but in his resurrected body he had even more dynamic abilities. Jesus lived and moved in more dimensions then we really understand. He could move through walls, he could appear and disappear, he knew where fish were even when he was on shore. In his earthly body he knew about people’s lives, present and past. He could command the changing of the physical body from sickness to health. He walked on water and commanded the elements to change. Wow. It is really hard for me to wrap my brain around dimensionality, and the possibility that as Chuck Missler would say, we are living in a digital simulation or a holographic universe. If our High Priest, Jesus, lived in multiple dimensions, then it is easier to understand why the law is done away with. Possibly as Jesus lived in multiple dimensions, Shem lived in multiple dimensions as well. If we think bigger, we can start to imagine how Jesus saw things in his physical body. He didn’t just see with his eyes but with his spirit. He could look through the physical. Also the possibility of several outcomes to any situation could be known by him. One time he spits in the dirt and makes mud to heal someone’s eyes, one time he just says stretch forth thy hand. There wasn’t one formula, but many ways to do things, yet he saw through the physical to bring an outcome. Now the “what if’s” start. What if the man did not go wash as directed? Or what if the man did not stretch forth his had because he believed he couldn’t. Then there is the man laid daily at the temple, why didn’t Jesus heal him? Did he see through time to Peter and John walking by him one day and healing him? How could he know the future? This is the knowledge and the ability we will one day have. Maybe today we are nearsighted, yet Shem saw through time to bless Abraham, and David saw through time to write Psalm 110:4 regarding Jesus, and the future.
A Psalm of David
110 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. 2 The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. 3 Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. 4 The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. 5 The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. 6 He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries. 7 He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head. KJV
We know the ancient Egyptians believed humans have 360 senses, and therefore had abilities of higher intelligence and awareness. They believe that like muscles we did not exercise these senses and therefore lost the abilities we used to have. To simplify, if we are to be led by the Spirit, then we are to be aware of the Holy Spirit and his working in us to direct us. It may be different for everybody but it is our responsibility to understand “His voice”. For me I feel either a leading or a stopping. We might be doing something simple, deciding where to go or what to do and I sometimes feel a stop and wait, which always makes me feel unsettled about any plans we try to make. Then as we are still wrestling with ideas for the day, something comes up that changes everything we were thinking. That’s one way I know his voice. Others hear it clearly in their minds; I feel it in my body, or heart, or spirit. I’ve learned it. This is not like many of the false prophets today were someone comes up with a vague scenario and says God told them. Yes there will always be hurricanes, tornadoes and floods. If the person were a true prophet they would give a specific time date and location of an event. The Old Testament prophets did. Then when these false prophets’ predictions don’t come to pass they then claim that they prayed and it didn’t happen. Is that what took place with Isaiah and Jeremiah? They prophesied and the events took place exactly. There was no praying away the event. When Jesus told Peter Satan wanted to sift him as wheat but he prayed, that is not prophetic, it is actual reality. Jesus didn’t even say he’d pray to make it go away, instead he said he’d pray to make him strong, and when he returns to the faith then Peter should go strengthen the brethren.
Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32 But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. KJV
Jesus again saw through our worldly dimension to the spiritual dimension and what was about to take place, and he saw through to the end result that Peter should minister to the brethren. Considering Bible Codes, again they were written within our Bible far before the modern events ever happened. Is there a way to understand the encoded messages, like events that would take place with Peter, without deciphering it from the bible but via knowledge of the Spirit? Thinking bigger we can see that we have a lot to look forward to in understanding our High Priest and the abilities we will one day have. Which brings us back to Abraham, he was not unaware of God, but instead we see reported that he was aware of God from the time he was a child. He didn’t just hear a voice he had never heard before and leave the country, and he didn’t just give tithes to someone he didn’t know. No one told him that he wasn’t allowed to know about God, and as with all children he had a heightened sense of spiritual awareness. Even to the end that he knew idolatry was wrong.
Jasher 9:1-7 And Haran, the son of Terah, Abram's oldest brother, took a wife in those days. 2 Haran was thirty-nine years old when he took her; and the wife of Haran conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Lot. 3 And she conceived again and bare a daughter, and she called her name Milca; and she again conceived and bare a daughter, and she called her name Sarai. 4 Haran was forty-two years old when he begat Sarai, which was in the tenth year of the life of Abram; and in those days Abram and his mother and nurse went out from the cave, as the king and his subjects had forgotten the affair of Abram. 5 And when Abram came out from the cave, he went to Noah and his son Shem, and he remained with them to learn the instruction of the Lord and his ways, and no man knew where Abram was, and Abram served Noah and Shem his son for a long time. 6 And Abram was in Noah's house thirty-nine years, and Abram knew the Lord from three years old, and he went in the ways of the Lord until the day of his death, as Noah and his son Shem had taught him; and all the sons of the earth in those days greatly transgressed against the Lord, and they rebelled against him and they served other gods, and they forgot the Lord who had created them in the earth; and the inhabitants of the earth made unto themselves, at that time, every man his god; gods of wood and stone which could neither speak, hear, nor deliver, and the sons of men served them and they became their gods. 7 And the king and all his servants, and Terah with all his household were then the first of those that served gods of wood and stone.
Abraham knew God from the time he was three, lived in the cave until he was ten, and then lived with Noah and Shem for thirty nine years. This makes him forty nine when he finally left Noah’s house. Lot was Abraham’s nephew but also his brother in law. This makes sense as to why Abraham was concerned about Lot and took care of him. We also see again that the people at that time were forsaking the Lord.
Abram's Knowledge of God and wonderful Deeds (xi. 16-24).
Jubilees 11:16. And the child began to understand the errors of the earth that all went astray after graven images and after uncleanness, and his father taught him writing, and he was two weeks of years old, and he separated himself from his father that he might not worship idols with him. 17. And he began to pray to the Creator of all things that He might save him from the errors of the children of men, and that his portion should not fall into error after uncleanness and vileness. 18. And the seed time came for the sowing of seed upon the land, and they all went forth together to protect their seed against the ravens, and Abram went forth with those that went, and the child was a lad of fourteen years. 19. And a cloud of ravens came to devour the seed, and Abram ran to meet them before they settled on the ground, and cried to them before they settled on the ground to devour the seed, and said, "Descend not: return to the place whence ye came," and they proceeded to turn back. 20. And he caused the clouds of ravens to turn back that day seventy times, and of all the ravens throughout all the land where Abram was there settled there not so much as one. 21. And all who were with him throughout all the land saw him cry out, and all the ravens turn back, and his name became great in all the land of the Chaldees. 22. And there came to him this year all those that wished to sow, and he went with them until the time of sowing ceased: and they sowed their land, and that year they brought enough grain home and ate and were satisfied. 23. And in the first year of the fifth week Abram taught those who made implements for oxen, the artificers in wood, and they made a vessel above the ground, facing the frame of the plough, in order to put the seed thereon, and the seed fell down there from upon the share of the plough, and was hidden in the earth, and they no longer feared the ravens. 24. And after this manner they made (vessels) above the ground on all the frames of the ploughs, and they sowed and tilled all the land, according as Abram commanded them, and they no longer feared the birds.
Abraham was smart about how to sow seed and taught people, he also prayed that he would save his father from the uncleanness of idolatry. As the prophets of Nimrod saw that Abraham would be a great king and that he and his seed would possess the earth. And again even though they tried to thwart God’s plan, once it is written in the heavens, it’s not going to change. Today we can look back and see that Abraham had eight sons and that he did slay great kings, and that his seed did inherit the land. It is interesting to note that when Canaan entered the land portioned to Shem, that Ham warned him not to do so because of the curse he would bring on his linage. Yet today we have some guessing that Shem/Melchizedek was taking a land that was not his. But on the contrary it was portioned to Shem and his heirs. Abraham was an heir of Shem, therefore from our earliest recorded history, the land of Salem, Jerusalem, belongs to the heirs of Shem. Now Abraham, having eight sons, makes that situation complicated today. But as we further explore, we will have to go back to Nimrod as well as Abraham before he left Ur.
End Notes
The Sun BabelFish Blog
Don't panic !
The 10 dimensions of reality
In my previous post on possible worlds I pointed to the excellent flash animation (click) that covers the 10 dimensions of string theory.
The summarise the points made in that film (worth seeing again and again):
1. The 0th dimension is the dot. You don't need any numbers to identify its position.
2. The first dimension is the line. You need two dots to define a line. Any other dot on that line can be located on that line using one real number that will give the distance of the third dot to the first dot using the distance of your first two dots as the unit. So on a ruler your first two dots can be the 0 and the 1cm dot. Every other dot is at some cm length from the 0.
3. the second dimension is the plane. You need two numbers to identify a point on a plane. Usually called the x and the y axis. On a plane you can find the distance between two points by drawing a line that does not go through your reference dot.
4. space is the third dimension. You need three numbers to determine the distance of an object in space. These are usually called the x,y and z axes.
5. space time is the fourth dimension: it requires four numbers to place a dot in space-time. 3 for the spacial position, and one for the time. The four dimensional world we live in, seen from the beginning of the universe to the end of the universe, is the actual world we live in.
6. The 5th dimension is the first dimension in which the notion of possible worlds starts needing to be used. Imagine some possible world a little different from this one (maybe one where you did not read this blog). This possible world will give you a unit of similarity measurement with which to compare the distance of other possible worlds to the actual one.
7. The 6th dimension will give you a plane of possible worlds. You can find out the similarity distance of two possible worlds from each other without having to go through the actual one. So with 6 dimensions it is possible to compare the distance of the world in which last Sunday I entered another café, with the world in which I made a huge groundbreaking invention when I was a child, without having to compare that to the actual world. We can also measure the distance of any of those to the possible world in which the earth was never created, for example. The 6 dimensions allow us to compare and position all the possible worlds that start with the same initial conditions (the big bang) as this one.
8. The 7th dimension will give you access to the possible worlds that start with different initial conditions (big bang). A point in the 7th dimension consists of all the possible worlds that start with the same initial big bang and lead to all the possible endings that such an initial condition can lead to.
9. The 8th dimensions gives us again a plane of such complete possible universe histories, which in the video they call infinity. We can there compare two such infinities without necessarily having to take ours into account.
10. With the 9th dimension we can compare all the possible universes histories starting with all the different possible laws of physics and initial conditions.
11. The Tenth dimension is the point in which everything possible and imaginable is covered. Since we can't imagine any further, we have to stop here.
David Lewis does not specify an upper limit to possible worlds: he does not exclude impossible worlds. It's just that it would be impossible for us to describe them (if indeed there are any).
Here are a couple of quotes worth remembering from that presentation. In the description of the 5th dimension the narrator says:
Quantum physics tells us that the sub atomic particles that make up our world are collapsed from waves of probability simply be the act of observation.
In the description of the 10th dimension he says
In string theory physics tell us that superstrings vibrating in the 10th dimension are what create the subatomic particles which make up our universe and all the other possible universes as well. In other words all possible universes are contained within the tenth dimension.
