From the Principle of 5 we move to the sixth day of the Siege of Jericho and to the 6th annual festival of Israel, Yom Kippur. Six, the number of man, tends to be viewed in exclusively negative terms by religious and non-religious people alike, especially when it is tripled up to 666. However, we will not discern the full meaning of the Sixth Day until we understand that the number 6 scripturally represents several things:

• A. It is the number of man himself, the day on which he was created (along with the serpent), and therefore by extension
• B. It represents imperfection in the fallen world after Adam, and therefore hard labour coupled with sorrow, and all that is under the sun that is not of Elohim (God), as distinct from Yahweh's rest in the number 7, being represented in the 24 hour day (6x4), 60 minutes to the hour (6x10), 60 seconds to the minute (6x10) - when regarded by man as a complete number, it denotes rebellion, excluding the 7 of the Sabbath Rest;
• C. It is the sum of 4+2, that is, Creation plus division, that is, man's world + man's hostility to Elohim (God);
• D. It represents the sum of 5+1, that is, Grace plus a new beginning in Elohim (God) in the 7th Day;
• E. It represents the sum of 5+1, that is, Grace plus man's corrupting addition to it, rendering it null-and-void and cutting off man from the 7th Day;
• F. It represents the spirit of murder, which is the natural disposition of fallen man, as stated in the 6th commandment, and the 6th clause of the Lord's Prayer which is the treatment for sin;
• G. It represents the sum of 3+3 (or 3x2), that is, divine perfection twice over on a second level for those who apss over the the 7th Day.

There is nothing wrong in being human so 6 is not a bad number unless it is divorced from Elohim (God) because man is quite simply unable to govern himself without El Elyon (the Most High). Solomon, who began wise but ended up as a complete and utter pagan fool, prophetically had 6 steps built ascending to his throne (1 Ki.10:19) - his kingdom was divided because 6 without Yahweh is division - division of the soul and division of the nation leading to civil war within and without. The number 6 is only redeemed when it is added to the 1 of Yahweh or multiplied by two to form 12, the number of governmental perfection and rule. The nation of Israel was created as a nation of 12 Tribes with two 'halves' of Ephraim and Judah - 6+6 or 6x2 - designed to work in harmony but divided into two kingdoms when divine tavnith (pattern) is broken and toqef (authority) misappropriated. This was why, on one level, the 12 loaves of showbread in the mishkan (tabernacle) were divided into two piles of 6, representing the Grace of Ephraim (10 parts) and the Torah of Judah (2 parts), in their proper order, as echad (one).

In all things, man is imperfect in what he does if it is apart from Yahweh-Elohim. Abraham's six intercessory prayers for Sodom (Gen.18) reflect that imperfection and the need for gentle correction until his prayers are those in Yahweh's will. Thus in the former sacrificial system the burnt offering is mentioned 6 times (vv.2,3,6,7,8,13) because the 7th was that of Yah'shua (Jesus), the Divine Substitute which Yahweh would Himself provide (v.8). 6 is the man of the earth, the physical, carnal, unspiritual man as found in the acrostic psalms (Ps.9-10) which are numbered according to the letters of the 22-letter Hebrew alphabet, the 6th 'letter' corresponding to the coming Antimessiah/Antichrist - "the Man of the Earth" (Ps.10:18) - and the apostacy that marks his presence called the "times of trouble" (Ps.9:9; 10:1).

Six times the Master was accused of being possessed by demons (Mk.3:22/Mt.12:24; Jn.7:20; Jn.8:48; Jn.8:52; Jn.10:20; Lk.11:15) when it was the accusers, operating in the spirit of 6, who were possessed by murderous spirits. Not only that, but the order of the accusation reveals a chiasmus, showing its satanic origin of making a complete accusation against the Divine Son.

This is the default, satanic nature of the unredeemed man, and is a consistent dark tavnith (pattern) in all his works. When anyone begins a work of Yahweh, the opposition always follows this sixfold opposition as illustrated graphically in the life of Nehemiah. If you are truly doing a work for Yahweh then this will be the sixfold nature of the opposition against you:

• 1. Disturbance: "When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel" (Neh.2:10, NKJV);
• 2. Laughter & Derision: "But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, 'What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?'" (Neh 2:19, NKJV);
• 3. Wrath, Indignation & Mocking: "But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Judahites. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, 'What are these feeble Judahites doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish -- stones that are burned?' Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, 'Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.' Hear, O our Elohim (God), for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity!" (Neh 4:1-5, NKJV);
• 4. Conspiracy, Fighting & Open Opposition: "Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion" (Neh 4:7-8, NKJV);
• 5. Conference & More Conspiracy: "Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, 'Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.' But they thought to do me harm...so come, therefore, and let us consult together..." (Neh.6:1-2,7, NKJV) - this was a dastardly attempt to weaken them in their work (v.9) - Nehemiah wisely refused to parley with the enemies or meet them in conference; and
• 6. False Friends: "Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, 'Let us meet together in the house of Elohim (God), within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.' And I said, 'Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!' Then I perceived that Elohim (God) had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. My Elohim (God), remember Tobiah and Sanballat, according to these their works, and the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid" (Neh 6:10-14, NKJV).

It is well to ponder the way that the enemy acts. The man of Elohim (God) will only hold out against them if his emunah (faith) has been perfected in the Principle of 5 that we talked about yesterday - he must extirpate all the leavan of sin out of himself (as represented by Chag haMatzah) and in emunah (faith) submit to divine tavnith (pattern) in all things so that grace is not annulled by lawlessness and disobedience (point #E above).

A man approaching the sixth day is put under many tests. Did you know that Yah'shua (Jesus) was asked 6 times for a sign by the rebellious and adulterous generation He served? They were:

• 1. The Pharisees (Mt.12:38; Mk.8:11);
• 2. The Sadducees (Mt.16:1);
• 3. The Talmidim (Disciples) (Mt.24:3; Mk.13:4);
• 4. The people (Lk.11:16);
• 5. The Judeans (Jn.2:18); and
• 6. The people (Jn.6:30).

On the 6th day, at Yom Kippur, if a man surrenders not only his will but his own weaknesses and inability to do anything perfectly, then he will pass completely out of darkness and into the Firstborn Light and into the First Resurrection of the Bride of Messiah. Just as a Hebrew slave was to serve 6 years and be released on the 7th, so we, who remain slaves to sin while we refuse to totally surrender, must past through the 6 cleansings represented by the 6 festivals from Pesach to Yom Kippur as our emunah (faith) is perfected sufficiently to persuade us to surrender the last vestiges of carnality. We are servants (slaves) first and then friends! Until we have completed our march on the 6th day we will not have made it to completion [2]. That is why Paul admonishes us to complete the race in emunah (faith) (Heb.12:1; 2 Tim.4:7).

When you have finally surrendered to Yah'shua (Jesus) and got it out of your head that you can do anything - including causing giant Jericho-light fortifications to come crashing down by the power of your own might - then the divine miracles start happening! For those who don't make it to the 7th Day, and who then doubt, the first 6 days will seem like stupid, superstitious ritual when in fact they are the acts of emunah (faith) working in obedience to Yahweh's Davar (Word). Emunah (faith) is to believe what you do not see; the reward for this emunah (faith) is to see what you believed. But you have to see is through the sevenfold cycle first.

I want to see Yahweh's miracles work for sinful myself, my sinful family and my imperfect ministry and therefore I cling on in emunah (faith) as He burns sin out of me, judging me in His righteous esh (fire) of Yom Kippur.

Do you want that too? Then keep marching in emunah (faith)!

Endnotes

[1] Pilate (Lk.23:14), Herod (Lk.23:15), Judas (Mt.23:7), Pilate's wife (Mt.27:19), the dying thief (Lk.23:41) and the centurion (Lk.23:47).
[2] If we don't make it to the 7th day, it doesn't mean that we aren't saved (so long as we continue to cling on to and trust Yah'shua/Jesus), but it does mean that we do not inherit the First Resurrection but a lesser one according to the Yahweh's perfect law of Justice and as explained in the three-graded system of Scripture.

Acknowledhements

[1] Meaning of Numbers in the Bible: The Number 6