I compare Ezekiel 36 - 43 to the Torah, because if Ezekiel is a true prophet, there can be no deviation from what YHWH set forth in Torah. Part of what I compare these verses to are written in the preceding pages and to Exodus 15:17, spoken by the prophet Moshe, “Thou bringest them in, and plantest them in the mountain of Thine inheritance, the place, O LORD, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, the sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established.”
We see where this location is after the people enter the Land in Joshua 24:25 - 27, “So Yehoshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Yehoshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. And Yehoshua said unto all the people: ‘Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke unto us; it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.’” So, we compare Exodus 15:17 and Joshua 24:25-27. We find that the sanctuary of the LORD is at the region of Shechem.
Also in Joshua chapter 22, a curious thing happens. The Tabernacle has been established in the Land, set up at the place of the holy of holies on Earth, because what is on Earth is a picture of what is in Heaven. 10 delegates (heads of the tribes in the Land), the High Priest, and Yehoshua go to meet with Reuben, Gad, and ½ tribe Menashe. They are concerned about an “altar” found among the 2 ½ tribes and are asked to join them on the other side of the Jordan rather than commit the abomination of setting up an altar in another place. Of course this is not an altar, it has been set up as a reminder that Reuben, Gad, and ½ tribe of Menashe have a portion in the LORD, so that the other tribes would not forget that they were part of the people, even though they dwell on the other side of the Jordan. By this example, we see how serious a crime it is to set up an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings in another location.
Acts chapter 6:13 - 7:60. Stephen is accused of saying that Jerusalem would be destroyed and he is accused of teaching new customs apart from Torah. Stephen is given the chance to offer his defense and he starts telling the history of the doctrine. The turning point of his testimony hinges on the Tabernacle vs. the Temple.
He starts with Abraham and the covenant made with YHWH. Where did this occur? He says the descendants of Abraham would return to the Land after being held in bondage and they would serve him in that place. Where was the place the covenant was made? Abraham was given the covenant of circumcision, and so circumcised Yitzhak the eighth day, who likewise circumcised Yaakov, who likewise circumcised the 12 patriarchs. (The word ‘begat’ is added to the text here, but the context is circumcision.) Why discuss circumcision on the eighth day? This is important, because in telling his side of things, Stephen is revealing the truth and is highlighting things that would bring conviction over his accusers. He is bringing to light their own shortcomings compared to what is written in Torah. There are some who have diminished the Torah by saying circumcision cannot be done the eighth day if the eighth day also falls on Shabbat, so it is scheduled before or after, yet this is not our doctrine…we are instructed to circumcise on the eighth day. Stephen then tells a summary of Yosef and how Yaakov and family went to Egypt. He then says Yaakov and their fathers (meaning the heads of the 12 tribes) died and that they were all carried over, (perhaps not just Yosef) into Sychem (another way of spelling Shechem). Stephen says they were buried at Sychem in a sepulcher bought by Abraham from the sons of Emmor of Sychem. In the meantime, as the promise to Abraham drew near, (for the return of his descendants out of Egypt) the Egyptians dealt treacherously with the Hebrews, killing their children. Stephen then gives a summary of Moshe. Stephen specifically mentions three 40 year periods. 40 years until it came into the heart of Moshe to visit/choose/inspect his brethren (the children of Yisrael) - only to be rejected as ruler and judge - since they did not understand how they were to be delivered, and he fled from their presence. 40 years Moshe sojourned in Midian (which can mean discord/contention), bore two sons, and remained there until he witnessed the burning bush, stood upon holy ground, and received word from the God of Abraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov. 40 years of signs and wonders in Mizraim, the Red Sea, and in the wilderness. 120 years total. Stephen says this is the same Moshe who said to the children of Yisrael that God shall raise up a prophet from their brethren, who would be like him, and they were to listen to him. (Compare to Joshua 1:16-18) Moshe was a ruler and deliverer (redeemer), Yehoshua was given the same charge by YHWH to be ruler and deliverer (redeemer) in Moshe’s stead. Moshe and Yehoshua were together at Mt. Sinai receiving the Law, while the congregation had Aaron make the golden calf. They rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Stephen says the Tabernacle was appointed by YHWH and that Moshe made it according to the pattern shown to him. Our fathers that came after Moshe brought the Tabernacle into the Land with Yehoshua (Joshua) to inherit the Land the Gentiles possessed. The Gentiles were driven out before the face of our fathers to the days of David, who found favor before YHWH and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Yaakov.
This is where Stephen’s discourse changes. This is where he is driving his point that it is not he who is teaching contrary to the doctrine, but those who are accusing him.
He says - BUT Solomon built Him a house. Nevertheless/Nay/No the Most High dwells not in temples made with hands. (He dwells in His Place.) He says as their fathers resisted the Holy Spirit, so do they. He asks them which of the prophets have their fathers not persecuted. Stephen says their fathers have killed those who showed before of the coming of the Just One, whom they themselves have now been the betrayers and murderers. (On a side note: Why has Stephen - covered by the Holy Spirit - testified that the Just One has been murdered, if Yeshua gave himself over as a sacrifice?) Stephen says their fathers received the law by the disposition of angels and have not kept (guarded/preserved/obeyed/observed) the law. Stephen is then cast out of the city and stoned.
YHWH ordained Yehoshua/Joshua, an Ephraimite, holder of the birthright, to lead the whole house of Israel across the Jordan into the promised Land. He brought the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant to the place of rest where YHWH put His seal on the covenant with Abraham, Yitzhak, Yisrael (Yaakov). Yaakov passed this inheritance to Yosef and Ephraim. I believe the portion of land given above Yosef’s brothers, the double portion, is the land where the High Priest can be found, the land of the mayim chaim (Jacob’s Well), and the land of His dwelling. Shechem, Shalem, Luz, Gilgal, the valley of Achor…these places are all so close to one another. A lot of maps of Israel have many possible locations for Gilgal, but if you study Torah with a map, it becomes clear that the location is in the territory of Joseph. See Deuteronomy 11:29-30.
When looking at Torah as prophecy, an Ephraimite leads the House of Yisrael to the Land to renew the Covenant. Yehoshua was the chief (stick/ruler) of Ephraim and Caleb was the chief (stick/ruler) of Yehudah, but interestingly, Caleb and the sons of Judah were in submission to Joshua the Ephraimite, since he was ruler over the whole house of Yisrael, as ordained by YHWH. (See Numbers 13:3, Numbers 13:6, Numbers 13:8, Numbers 34:16-19, and Joshua 14:6.) My view on Caleb…based on these verses from Numbers (from Torah), it is my opinion that in Joshua when the verse reads “Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite”, it means Caleb the son of Jephunneh the hunter, because it is clear in Torah that Caleb is the chief of Yehudah, which is an office he could not attain unless he was a Yehudi. I do not believe Caleb was a gentile. Unless there exists an explanation as to how a gentile became chief of a tribe. The chief is the eldest of a family within families of the tribe, a straight-line descendant from Yehudah himself. Caleb was one of two left alive from the Exodus. He inherited a portion among Yehudah, because he was a Yehudi, and he received the region of Hebron, because of his part in expelling the giants (Anakim) from there. (See Numbers 13:22) In any case, because even Caleb showed deference to the authority of Yehoshua, this speaks volumes when looking at the prophecy side of Torah.
Genesis Rabbah - AND HE LIGHTED UPON THE PLACE (Genesis 28:11). R. Huna said in R. Ammi's name: Why do we give a changed name to the Holy One, blessed be He, and call him the Place [HaMakom]? Because He is the Place [HaMakom] of the world [The world is contained in Him, not He in the world]. R. Jose b. Halafta said: We do not know whether God is the place of His world or whether His world is His place, but from the verse, Behold, there is a place with Me (Exodus 33:21), it follows that the Lord is the place of His world, but His world is not His place. R. Isaac said: It is written, The eternal God is a dwelling place (Deuteronomy 33:27): now we do not know whether the Holy One, blessed be He, is the dwelling-place of His world or whether His world is His dwelling-place [The original Hebrew permits this doubt].
THE PLACE on Earth corresponds with HIS PLACE, Yaakov recognized it, and according to Torah, the place of his vision was not at Jerusalem.
We see where this location is after the people enter the Land in Joshua 24:25 - 27, “So Yehoshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem. And Yehoshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. And Yehoshua said unto all the people: ‘Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke unto us; it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest ye deny your God.’” So, we compare Exodus 15:17 and Joshua 24:25-27. We find that the sanctuary of the LORD is at the region of Shechem.
Also in Joshua chapter 22, a curious thing happens. The Tabernacle has been established in the Land, set up at the place of the holy of holies on Earth, because what is on Earth is a picture of what is in Heaven. 10 delegates (heads of the tribes in the Land), the High Priest, and Yehoshua go to meet with Reuben, Gad, and ½ tribe Menashe. They are concerned about an “altar” found among the 2 ½ tribes and are asked to join them on the other side of the Jordan rather than commit the abomination of setting up an altar in another place. Of course this is not an altar, it has been set up as a reminder that Reuben, Gad, and ½ tribe of Menashe have a portion in the LORD, so that the other tribes would not forget that they were part of the people, even though they dwell on the other side of the Jordan. By this example, we see how serious a crime it is to set up an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings in another location.
Acts chapter 6:13 - 7:60. Stephen is accused of saying that Jerusalem would be destroyed and he is accused of teaching new customs apart from Torah. Stephen is given the chance to offer his defense and he starts telling the history of the doctrine. The turning point of his testimony hinges on the Tabernacle vs. the Temple.
He starts with Abraham and the covenant made with YHWH. Where did this occur? He says the descendants of Abraham would return to the Land after being held in bondage and they would serve him in that place. Where was the place the covenant was made? Abraham was given the covenant of circumcision, and so circumcised Yitzhak the eighth day, who likewise circumcised Yaakov, who likewise circumcised the 12 patriarchs. (The word ‘begat’ is added to the text here, but the context is circumcision.) Why discuss circumcision on the eighth day? This is important, because in telling his side of things, Stephen is revealing the truth and is highlighting things that would bring conviction over his accusers. He is bringing to light their own shortcomings compared to what is written in Torah. There are some who have diminished the Torah by saying circumcision cannot be done the eighth day if the eighth day also falls on Shabbat, so it is scheduled before or after, yet this is not our doctrine…we are instructed to circumcise on the eighth day. Stephen then tells a summary of Yosef and how Yaakov and family went to Egypt. He then says Yaakov and their fathers (meaning the heads of the 12 tribes) died and that they were all carried over, (perhaps not just Yosef) into Sychem (another way of spelling Shechem). Stephen says they were buried at Sychem in a sepulcher bought by Abraham from the sons of Emmor of Sychem. In the meantime, as the promise to Abraham drew near, (for the return of his descendants out of Egypt) the Egyptians dealt treacherously with the Hebrews, killing their children. Stephen then gives a summary of Moshe. Stephen specifically mentions three 40 year periods. 40 years until it came into the heart of Moshe to visit/choose/inspect his brethren (the children of Yisrael) - only to be rejected as ruler and judge - since they did not understand how they were to be delivered, and he fled from their presence. 40 years Moshe sojourned in Midian (which can mean discord/contention), bore two sons, and remained there until he witnessed the burning bush, stood upon holy ground, and received word from the God of Abraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov. 40 years of signs and wonders in Mizraim, the Red Sea, and in the wilderness. 120 years total. Stephen says this is the same Moshe who said to the children of Yisrael that God shall raise up a prophet from their brethren, who would be like him, and they were to listen to him. (Compare to Joshua 1:16-18) Moshe was a ruler and deliverer (redeemer), Yehoshua was given the same charge by YHWH to be ruler and deliverer (redeemer) in Moshe’s stead. Moshe and Yehoshua were together at Mt. Sinai receiving the Law, while the congregation had Aaron make the golden calf. They rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Stephen says the Tabernacle was appointed by YHWH and that Moshe made it according to the pattern shown to him. Our fathers that came after Moshe brought the Tabernacle into the Land with Yehoshua (Joshua) to inherit the Land the Gentiles possessed. The Gentiles were driven out before the face of our fathers to the days of David, who found favor before YHWH and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Yaakov.
This is where Stephen’s discourse changes. This is where he is driving his point that it is not he who is teaching contrary to the doctrine, but those who are accusing him.
He says - BUT Solomon built Him a house. Nevertheless/Nay/No the Most High dwells not in temples made with hands. (He dwells in His Place.) He says as their fathers resisted the Holy Spirit, so do they. He asks them which of the prophets have their fathers not persecuted. Stephen says their fathers have killed those who showed before of the coming of the Just One, whom they themselves have now been the betrayers and murderers. (On a side note: Why has Stephen - covered by the Holy Spirit - testified that the Just One has been murdered, if Yeshua gave himself over as a sacrifice?) Stephen says their fathers received the law by the disposition of angels and have not kept (guarded/preserved/obeyed/observed) the law. Stephen is then cast out of the city and stoned.
YHWH ordained Yehoshua/Joshua, an Ephraimite, holder of the birthright, to lead the whole house of Israel across the Jordan into the promised Land. He brought the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant to the place of rest where YHWH put His seal on the covenant with Abraham, Yitzhak, Yisrael (Yaakov). Yaakov passed this inheritance to Yosef and Ephraim. I believe the portion of land given above Yosef’s brothers, the double portion, is the land where the High Priest can be found, the land of the mayim chaim (Jacob’s Well), and the land of His dwelling. Shechem, Shalem, Luz, Gilgal, the valley of Achor…these places are all so close to one another. A lot of maps of Israel have many possible locations for Gilgal, but if you study Torah with a map, it becomes clear that the location is in the territory of Joseph. See Deuteronomy 11:29-30.
When looking at Torah as prophecy, an Ephraimite leads the House of Yisrael to the Land to renew the Covenant. Yehoshua was the chief (stick/ruler) of Ephraim and Caleb was the chief (stick/ruler) of Yehudah, but interestingly, Caleb and the sons of Judah were in submission to Joshua the Ephraimite, since he was ruler over the whole house of Yisrael, as ordained by YHWH. (See Numbers 13:3, Numbers 13:6, Numbers 13:8, Numbers 34:16-19, and Joshua 14:6.) My view on Caleb…based on these verses from Numbers (from Torah), it is my opinion that in Joshua when the verse reads “Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite”, it means Caleb the son of Jephunneh the hunter, because it is clear in Torah that Caleb is the chief of Yehudah, which is an office he could not attain unless he was a Yehudi. I do not believe Caleb was a gentile. Unless there exists an explanation as to how a gentile became chief of a tribe. The chief is the eldest of a family within families of the tribe, a straight-line descendant from Yehudah himself. Caleb was one of two left alive from the Exodus. He inherited a portion among Yehudah, because he was a Yehudi, and he received the region of Hebron, because of his part in expelling the giants (Anakim) from there. (See Numbers 13:22) In any case, because even Caleb showed deference to the authority of Yehoshua, this speaks volumes when looking at the prophecy side of Torah.
Genesis Rabbah - AND HE LIGHTED UPON THE PLACE (Genesis 28:11). R. Huna said in R. Ammi's name: Why do we give a changed name to the Holy One, blessed be He, and call him the Place [HaMakom]? Because He is the Place [HaMakom] of the world [The world is contained in Him, not He in the world]. R. Jose b. Halafta said: We do not know whether God is the place of His world or whether His world is His place, but from the verse, Behold, there is a place with Me (Exodus 33:21), it follows that the Lord is the place of His world, but His world is not His place. R. Isaac said: It is written, The eternal God is a dwelling place (Deuteronomy 33:27): now we do not know whether the Holy One, blessed be He, is the dwelling-place of His world or whether His world is His dwelling-place [The original Hebrew permits this doubt].
THE PLACE on Earth corresponds with HIS PLACE, Yaakov recognized it, and according to Torah, the place of his vision was not at Jerusalem.