There is an old Presbyterian hymn that says:

"His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower"

Although at first sight today's item might seem rather obvious - a large candlestick - since the ancient tabernacle had no windows so the need for some kind of natural lighing would seem rather obvious, yet the Holy of Holies (the room we began with - the Chamber of Yahweh) had neither windows nor any kind of natural lighting because it was supernaturally lit by the Presence of Elohim (God) Himself on the Mercy Seat, what some call the 'Shekinah'. Yet the 'candlestick', which like the Table of Shewbread, occupied the Holy Place (the Chamber of Yah'shua), was no ordinary lamp either but had seven-arms and was known anciently as the Menorah. It's design was complex and specific, consisting of nearly a hundred objects, the entire structure being hammered out of a single block of gold so that it had no separate parts. So complex and specific was the design that it would take me a whole book to explain all its symbolic significance in detail. You will find a diagram on the website for you to meditate on and start exploring if this is a new topic for you:

The seven branches of the candlearbre alone describe multiple realities on different planes of Creation from the seven annual festivals, the seven days of the week, and the Persons of the Seven Ruachot (Spirits), to the sevenfold quality of the Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God) which is what we are going to limit ourselves to examining this morning because this is of the most important practical interest to the arising Remnant. These qualities or 'spirits' are:

• 1. The Spirit of Redemption;
• 2. The Spirit of Wisdom*;
• 3. The Spirit of Understanding*;
• 4. The Spirit of Counsel;
• 5. The Spirit of Power (or Might);
• 6. The Spirit of Knowledge*; and
• 7. The Spirit of Reverent, Pious, Submissive Fear.

You can read more about the nature of the Menorah in the article, Wisdom Hath Seven Pillars: The Mystery of the Holy Menorah.

These are very specific ruachot and easily misunderstood because of the multiple meanings, heavily loaded with theological meaning accrued over the centuries, that our own English words possess. I am going to take these each in turn and give them highly condensed, concise explanations without getting into any sort of detail.

This is the first or central arm of the Menorah, the main trunk, and represents the Spirit that rested on Yah'shua (Jesus) as Redeemer and from which all the other branches arise. It authorised Him to act as the Father's plenipotentiary as Saviour or Redeemer of the World, Yahweh Himself being the Cosmic Saviour (Is.43:11). On a human level, the ministers of the Melchizedek Priesthood are called to be "saviours on Mount Zion", that's to say, multiple physical deliverers of Israel on different levels (tribe, clan, and family). They shall particularly be so in the very last days, from every nation of the whole world, as Moses was of the children of Israel from Egypt. You will be able to study more about this in The Elect of Yahweh: Messiahs and Set-Apart Women.

Yah'shua (Jesus) said:

"The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness" (Luke 11:34, NKJV).

Paul prayed that "the Elohim (God) of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling" (Eph.1:17-18, NKJV).

If you don't know what His calling to you is day by day, then you are just wildly guessing, and cannot lead anyone, let alone your own family if you are a family head or parent.

One who has received this spirit can not only give advice, advisement or purpose, but can, and must, receive it too. The one who has this spirit is a ministerial counsellor, as Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself was, as it is written:

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty Elohim (God), Everlasting Father, Sar Shalom (Prince of Peace)" (Isa.9:6, NKJV).

This spirit is a mighty, masterful and victorious power that is born of one who has been formed in the image and likeness of the Saviour whose eved (servant) he is by covenant and by sacrifice. That Paul prays for every believer that:

"...the eyes of your understanding [may be] enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of [Messiah's] calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones), and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He (Yahweh) worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come" (Eph.1:18-21, NKJV).

We are entering a time where this power will be needed to ever greater degrees and the authentic nev'im (prophets) are already busy as the ashen-faced ricipients by now already know. This is nothing new, mind you, because this power is always given at times of judgment. Remember, prophetic time is like a spiral so that the patterns of major events of the past repeat themselves over the centuries, and sometimes we see their echos only. We are entering one such time right now with the time between this particular judgment and the Final Judgment not being very long, as depicted on the diagram below. You might say the nevi'im (prophets) are 'warming up' once again!

You may at first be a little confused by the distinctions* between 'wisdom', understanding' and 'knowledge' as in our language these words are related and sometimes used interchangeably, though 'wisdom' tends to be 'applied knowledge', that is, the kind of knowledge that only comes with experience, though Hochmah (Wisdom) is more than that in Hebrew, and a little different from Binah (Understanding). The Spirit of Knowledge here comes from the root 'seeing' just as 'knowing' comes from a root meaning 'intimacy' or 'deep relationship'. This 'knowledge-seeing' of the sixth arm of the Menorah speaks more of the prophetic, 'seeing' into the hearts of men and into the future, to name but two examples. In Messiah, Paul says, "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col.2:3, NKJV).

You need also be aware that 'intelligence' is not just a property of the mind (a Greek notion) but of the heart too. To the Israelite, the whole person - body, psyche, heart, mind, spirit - matters and should be viewed as a single entity. In the reductionist West we dissect everything up so badly that we typically miss the wood from the trees. Even the physical body has its own 'intelligence' and memories. Indeed, even immaterial matter like water does too, as scientists are beginning to discover. The Hebrews broadly divided the whole human 'soul' into 'body' and 'spirit' even though words with overlapping meanings exist to describe facets or features of the latter because of their limited vocabulary. Thus in Hebrew we find words like neshamah, ruach and nefesh that can be interchangeable and are yet distinct. However, these words and their kin do not lend themselves to the kind of mathematical intricacy which our modern mind craves in consequence of which there is a great deal of theological confusion between the denominations: in particular, for instance, in the precise definition of a 'soul'. This confusion over the meaning of what is a poetic rather than a scientific language has led to all the confusion over soul-sleeping amongst Adventists and Messianics, for example. The same kind of linguistic misunderstanding has led to the whole flatearth confusion too. That is one of the reasons we were instructed to build such a large website to resolve all these matters.

So whilst 'knowledge' is principally here a reference to the prophetic, what we regard as 'knowledge' is to be found dispersed between the other two 'branches', namely, 'wisdom' and 'understanding'.

The one who lacks the Fear of Yahweh is not as yet beaten gold, and may indeed still be unpurified gold. He certainly cannot be polished. This 'holy fear' is not at all the same as that slavish fear that oftenh falsely passes itself off as being a part of authentic religion, for the one who is subject to that kind of 'dark fear' is never far away from the spirit of open rebellion and is usually holding himself in check by force or shere will instead of with a broken heart and a contrite spirit as one fully submitted and obedient, and thus filled with the Ruach (Spirit), can only - and naturally - do.

This seven-fold light of the Menorah has, as its purpose, the task of illuminating our way in this dark and bleak world of shadows and sometimes outright darkness, unlike the light of the Holy of Holies which is for the illuminatiion of that which exclusively makes for communion with Elohim (God) well beyond the 'common, sinful gaze', being only for those who are directly connected to Messiah. That is why the Holy Place, which is co-inhabited by multiple cohenim (priests), is that much more complicated and why there is yet another major item within it that we will look at tomorrow. The extra 'furniture' is needed because the world is fallen and complicated and needs 'explaining' using other tools. The Old Creation casts many confusing shadows which is why Yahweh has provided a spiritual light of this type and callibre in the Holy Place, shining in a multiple, sevenfold direction, so that we will not be deceived by the wiles of the Devil. It gives us spiritual contrasts. Those who have come up to the Holy of Holies are not in need of these aids to 'seeing' because they have found perfect Echad Unity in Yahweh-Elohim.

In the Holy Place, then, these seven Ruachs are experienced as seven distinct, though somewhat overlapping, phenomena, whereas in the Holy of Holies they all converge and are experienced as one single Light or echad unity, rather like the reverse journey of a beam of light that has been split into the colours of the rainbow by a prism. There are Seven Spirits in the Holy Place, in this physical dimension, but there is also simultaneously One Spirit in the spiritual dimension. The 'seven women' of Isaiah 4:1 become 'one woman' in the Holy of Holies. That is why the Bride of Messiah is uniplural - both one and seven. Thus how you experience the Light of Elohim (God) will depend on your location and perspective - whether you are 'in' the Holy Place or in the Holy of Holies.

Most, I have no doubt, would be glad to be dispensed the fullness of the first six Menorah arms, for who is not desirous of redemption, wisdom, understanding, counsel, power and of knowledge? However, in reality, these are never served on a plate and, in some cases, require much advance discipleship and faithfulness. As living entities they have to be grown into, rather than 'received'. Experience cannot just be handed over, can it? Knowledge is not downloaded into our heads as we would install or upload a complex program into a computer. We cannot give counsel without experience, nor receive it - especially when it is not to our liking - without pride being kicked far off into the desert to perish. The sixth arm, the spirit of fear, is little liked by a shallow, infantile and disobedient generation, for this kind of fear comes only with voluntary, progressive submission and is part of the spiritual maturation process that is itself unreceived save through willing suffering.

So if you are coming here expecting a heavenly 'handout', as this modern generation is wont to do, and as Protestantism has encouraged believers to do for half a millennium now, particularly in the last century, you will walk away unendowed and disappointed. Who are the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones), do you think? Who are they who inhabit the heavenlies? They are for sure not the 'pampered ones':

How bright these glorious spirits shine! whence all their white array?
How came they to their blissful seats of everlasting day?

Lo! these are they from suff'rings great, who came to realms of light,
And in the blood of Christ have wash'd those robes which shine so bright.

Now, with triumphal palms, they stand before the throne on high,
And serve the God they love, amidst the glories of the sky.

His presence fills each heart with joy, tuned ev'ry mouth to sing;
By day, by night, the sacred courts with glad hosannahs ring (Paraphrase of Rev.7:12ff.)

Dear Father, we come before You on the third day of this gathering for the raising of the Melchizedek Tabernacle. We are reminded, accutely, that this is not about us claiming this or that or seeking after glory or fame or whatever it is carnal men and women seek after in the Body of Messiah these days. We understand - we recognise - that even though our flesh may balk at times, we confess that we are simply here to lay down our lives before You - our own wills, our own opinions, indeed, our own conceit and pride. And it is with that mind today that we lay these things down before You and ask that you would plant anew, and if not at once, than at at least day by day. May You replant us, Father, now, is my prayer in Yah'shua's Name. Amen.

And if you're wondering why I have a smile on my face it is because I have just seen a vision - it is the first one I have seen during these sessions. As I was praying then Yahweh showed me what looked like a circular waterfall, and the water was steadily and evenly pouring over the edge of this gigantic hole - not a hole of darkness but of light. It's hard to give exact measurements because the only reference was the river around it, but I would estimate it was perhaps half a mile across. The water, which finds its own level, represents the Ruach (Spirit) that flows into the soul (sinkhole) that is receptive to the Seven Ruachot (Spirits) of Elohim as represented by the Menorah - the soul that is willing to conform itself to this divine tavnith or pattern.

It is only through contrition and humility - through having this voluntarily-given fear of Yahweh - that we can walk into His presence and be continually refilled. To be filled with the Ruach (Spirit) is not a single event, a 'once off operation', it is something that must happen all the time. Once you are in the right spiritual state, in the right Ruach (Spirit), Heaven will just automatically keep filling you, and you in your turn will be enabled to share what you have been given. You will never run out because you will always be replenished - indeed, your desire will be to give more and more. For the more you give, the more you will be filled, in an eternal sense, hence the circular waterfall, without beginning or end. This is what a Melchizedek Cohen (Priest) does. That is what our Saviour did in mortality - He was constantly on the move, when not taking mandatory sabbath and needed rests when tired, during His ministry. In His human frame, He was contintually being replenished by the Ruach (Spirit) as one who was perfectly submitted, as one who was constantly living for His Heavenly Father's Davar (Word) and for no other. We are simply to do what He wants, day by day, hour by hour, and moment by moment. That is something that should become habitual. Until it does, a lot of prayer and positive decision-making are required as the self-discipline of the Deaconate is first mastered.

May Yahweh bless your day, may you be filled with His simcha (joy). I am so grateful that He has given confirmation and that He is pleased with this series of assemblies. May you be filled more and more until your cup, like David's, is overflowing, is my prayer in Yah'shua's (Jesus') Name. Amen. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.