When YAHWEH called Israel out of Egypt, He advised them concerning what they could and could not eat. This command is found in Deuteronomy, chapter 14. However, long before this event there was a distinction between the clean and unclean animals. The difference is found in the very first book of the Bible, Genesis.

The conditions on the earth had become so violent and abusive that YAHWEH decided to destroy mankind off of the face of the earth, but He had mercy on Noah and his family. YAHWEH told Noah, "And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee will I establish My covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.’ Thus did Noah; according to all that YAHWEH commanded him, so did he. And YAHWEH said unto Noah, ‘Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation. Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female," Gen. 6:17-22; 7:1-2.

YAHWEH reiterated this example of the clean and unclean to Israel. He told them, "Ye are the children of YAHWEH your Elohim: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. For thou art an holy people unto YAHWEH thy Elohim, and YAHWEH hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto Himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth. Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing. These are the beasts which ye shall eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat, the hart, and the roebuck, and the fallow deer, and the wild goat, and the pygarg, and the wild ox, and the chamois. And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat. Nevertheless these ye shall not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the cloven hoof; as the camel, and the hare, and the coney: for they chew the cud, but divide not the hoof; therefore they are unclean unto you. And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase. These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat: And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you. Of all clean birds ye shall eat. But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, and the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind, and every raven after his kind, and the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, the little owl, and the great owl, and the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant, and the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. And every creeping thing that flieth is unclean unto you: they shall not be eaten. But of all clean fowls ye may eat. Ye shall not eat of any thing that dieth of itself: thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it; or thou mayest sell it unto an alien: for thou art an holy people unto YAHWEH thy Elohim. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk," Dt. 14:1-21.

Notice the distinction. YAHWEH wanted Israel to be clean and holy while the non-Israelite nations were considered to be unclean. One of the major differences between the clean and unclean animals and birds is that the clean eat grass, herbs, seeds, etc. while a great majority of the unclean are animals and birds of prey. They must either kill (shed blood) to eat or scavenge that which is already dead. Many of the unclean, even of the fishes, are nothing more than garbage cans which feed upon dead and putrefying flesh. The animals which prey upon others (usually they prey upon the clean, but not always) kill and eat not only the flesh, but the blood also.

There are people and even nations which are so unclean in their approach to life. They also prey on others in order to preserve their own lives. Thus murder, bloodshed, looting, stealing, slavery and literally sapping the lifeblood out of others is a way of life to them. This way is not a way of cleanness and holiness before YAHWEH. YAHWEH desires His people to be honest, forthright and clean in their approach to life and in receiving their sustenance.

The clean animals chew the cud and divide the hoof. Because of this, they are called "ruminants." A quick look at the word "ruminant" in the dictionary reveals that the word means "to chew." A clean animal grazes on the grass or fodder provided, stores the food in a special stomach provided and then goes to a place where they quietly lie down on the ground, bring the food back up out of the stomach and chew on it before sending it to the main stomach for digestion.

From the word "ruminant" we get the word "ruminate" which means to chew the cud, or to turn something over in the mind – to meditate. Thus, the ruminants are a type of YAHWEH'S people who are to be clean in their approach to life.

YAHshua, Himself, likened His people to be sheep, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, ‘He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.’ This parable spake YAHshua unto them: but they understood not what things they were which He spake unto them. Then said YAHshua unto them again, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before Me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd’," Jn. 10:1-16.

King David sang, "YAHWEH is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures," Psa. 23:1-2. David understood that he was a sheep of YAHWEH who is able to lie down in green pastures to ruminate (think) upon YAHWEH and His word.

YAHshua commanded Peter, "So when they had dined, YAHshua saith to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me more than these?’ He saith unto Him ‘Yea, Master; thou knowest that I love thee.’ He saith unto him, ‘Feed My lambs.’ He saith to him again the second time, ‘Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?’ He saith unto Him, ‘Yea, Master; thou knowest that I love thee.’ He saith unto him, ‘Feed My sheep.’ He saith unto him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?’ Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou Me? And he said unto Him, ‘Master, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.’ YAHshua saith unto him, ‘Feed My sheep’," Jn. 21:15-17.

YAHshua told Peter to "feed His sheep," but just what is the proper food for the sheep? Once again, the answer is found in the book of John, "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath YAHWEH the Father sealed. Then said they unto Him, ‘What shall we do, that we might work the works of Elohim?’ YAHshua answered and said unto them, ‘This is the work of Elohim, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent.’ They said therefore unto Him, ‘What sign shewest Thou then, that we may see, and believe Thee? What dost Thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat’.’ Then YAHshua said unto them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of Elohim is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.’ Then said they unto Him, ‘Master, evermore give us this bread.’ And YAHshua said unto them, ‘I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen Me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.’ The Jews then murmured at Him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, ‘Is not this YAHshua, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He saith, ‘I came down from heaven’?’ YAHshua therefore answered and said unto them, ‘Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of Elohim. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto Me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save He which is of YAHWEH, He hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’ The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ Then YAHshua said unto them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, ‘Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever’," Jn. 6:27-58.

What wondrous things there are in the Spirit. YAHshua is not only the true Shepherd of the sheep, but He also is the sheep’s food! Peter was commanded three times to feed the sheep. Peter was to feed the sheep with the truth concerning the Messiah which is found in YAHWEH'S word!

YAHshua told the people of His day, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of YAHWEH in you. I am come in My Father's name, and ye receive Me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from YAHWEH only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words?" Jn. 5:39-47.

Here is how the sheep are fed on a daily basis. It is through the study of YAHWEH'S word that we are able to come to have understanding of the Messiah. It is the study of YAHWEH'S word through which we are spiritually fed. We are able to eat of Him and drink Him in.

Isaiah was inspired to write, "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them," 8:20.

The word "law" comes from the Hebrew word "Torah" which is the first five books of the Holy Scriptures that Moses wrote. The "testimony" happens to be the tables of the commandments which were placed in the ark of the covenant, "And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai (with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount), that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while He talked with him," Ex. 34:29. "And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above the ark," Ex. 40:20.

Thus, we are to be searching the Scriptures as to how they testify (witness) to YAHshua the Messiah and in turn, being fed and feeding others with the Bread of Elohim that came down from heaven.

The clean animals are a type of YAHWEH'S people who are not only to eat or feed on YAHWEH'S word, but they are to lie down and ruminate or think (meditate) on the things that they have been spiritually fed. It is a process of mulling things over in the mind especially applying the things read as to how they relate to YAHshua the Messiah.

The clean animals also have cloven hooves (divided into two parts) which is a type of their ability to rightly divide the word of truth, "Study to shew thyself approved unto YAHWEH, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth," 2 Tim. 2:15.

If a person belongs to the Messiah then He must have the Spirit of the Messiah in him, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of the Messiah, he is none of His. And if the Messiah be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness," Ro. 8:9-10).

When the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples on the day of Pentecost, it appeared as cloven tongues of fire, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them," Acts 2:1-3.

While the clean animals walk upon the earth with cloven hooves which bring them to their pasture so that they can eat the right food, the Spirit of YAHWEH is a link between the true Believer and the heavenly food that is imparted in YAHWEH'S word. Thus, the cloven tongues of fire leads the spiritual sheep to the right food with which He is also given the ability to rightly divide.

Just as the clean animals that chew the cud and divide the hoof are types of YAHWEH'S sheep, the unclean animals are also types of certain specific people.

There are other animals that chew the cud, but do not divide the hoof such as the camel, the hare and the coney (Dt. 14:7). These animals are a type of those who do chew the cud or ruminate, but they are not able to rightly divide the word of truth. Why? Simply because they have not been given the Spirit of the Messiah in order to be able to do so.

The camel is quite well known as an animal with a vile temper. The hare, on the other hand, is very timid and shy. Those who have the Spirit of the Messiah are imbued with the Spirit of peace, yet they are bold in their approach to their faith in the Messiah.

Then there is the swine which doesn’t chew the cud, but does divide the hoof. The swine is an extremely filthy creature. It eats both clean and unclean foods, wallows in slime and filth, etc. It is a type of people who appear to be believers in the Messiah and in the Scriptures, but are also willing to take any filthy thing, mix it with the clean (holy), such as syncretizing idolatry and the holy things of YAHWEH'S word, thereby polluting the things that are clean and pure.

They mix the clean and unclean things together and then try to divide it all out as holy and dedicated to the Creator. Or in another sense, they will turn to proclaim that which is evil as good, and that which is good as evil.

YAHshua cautioned His disciples, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you,"

The next question to ask is Who are the dogs? The answer is found in Matthew, chapter 15, "Then Yahshua went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him, saying, ‘Have mercy on me, O Master, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.’ But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying, ‘Send her away; for she crieth after us.’ But He answered and said, ‘I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ Then came she and worshipped Him, saying, Master, help me. But He answered and said, ‘It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.’ And she said, Truth, Master: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.’ Then Yahshua answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour," vv. 21-28.

There are several things to learn from this episode. Yahshua had gone into the environs of Tyre and Sidon. He called the woman a dog. Remember that Jezebel, the wife of Ahab was from Tyre. She was a Sidonian! It was through her that the northern kingdom of Israel was introduced to Baal worship. She was such a vile person that she was, herself, condemned to be eaten by dogs (1 Ki. 21:23).

The Sidonians were dogs. We are commanded to not cast our pearls before them. The implication is that they, being worshippers of Baal, would have a tendency to introduce Baal worship into the true worship of YAHWEH thereby polluting the clean and holy One.

Dogs, like swine, eat just about anything whether clean or unclean. Sometimes they will eat things that are so wretched that it doesn’t set well on the stomach which causes regurgitation. Notice what the book of Proverbs says about this unclean practice, "As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly, 26:11.

Peter, in speaking of the unclean person, utilized Prov. 26:11 as a comparison, "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Sovereign and Saviour Yahshua the Messiah, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it has happened unto them according to the true proverb, ‘The dog is turned to his own vomit again’; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire," 2 Pet. 2:20-22.

A dog or a swine will only stand to be cleaned up for a very short period of time. I have seen so many, many dogs which were given a bath. Once cleaned, the owner must be very careful to not allow them loose, because if the dog is loosed then it will run and wallow in the grass and dirt until it is once again happy in its unclean state. Then it will return to its owner wagging its tail exhibiting a spirit of being quite well pleased with itself never understanding the displeasure of the owner who has taken the time and gone to the pains of cleaning the critter up in the first place.

A swine will do the same thing. No matter how clean it has become, it looks for the first mud hole to drop down into and wallow in.

One of the interesting things in today’s world concerns the word Europe. Europe is a word taken from the name of a daughter of a king of Tyre, Europa. In mythology, the king of Tyre’s daughter Europa was carried over to the island of Cyprus by Zeus who changed himself into a white bull.

It was, after all, the European continent, where Christianity found its base to arise and be proclaimed throughout the whole world. Many people have understood that the Roman church is nothing more than a modern day Babylonian religion which is steeped in ancient pagan Baal worship.

But why, then, did Yahshua answer the Syriac woman’s request? In the first place, she recognized Who He was. She came to Him and worshipped Him calling Him Master.

In the second place, she recognized who she was. Notice that Yahshua called her a dog. Most people would take offence at being called such, but she was a very humble person. She had no pride which exalted her to become incensed and accuse Him of being prejudiced. She even admitted that it was true that she was a dog. She wasn’t seeking the children’s bread, she was simply requesting a crumb.

Yahshua found more faith and understanding in her than He did His own people whom He came to serve. Therefore, He granted her request.

Remember that Yahshua cautioned His disciples not to cast their pearls before dogs and swine. We have been able to identify the dogs, but who are the swine? Once again we must go to the Scriptures in order to discover their identity.

Psalms 80 is a very important Psalm in discovering the identity of the swine, "Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us. Turn us again, O Elohim, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. O YAHWEH Elohim of hosts, how long wilt Thou be angry against the prayer of Thy people?," vv. 1-4.

Notice this! YAHWEH is angry against the prayer of His people. How and why could this be? Read the Scriptures throughout and one will find that Israel never really heeded to YAHWEH'S word, but fell away from Him to the elohim of the nations around Him. But there is even more.

"Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves. Turn us again, O Elohim of hosts, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: Thou hast cast out the heathen, and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. Why hast Thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they which pass by the way do pluck her?," vv. 5-12.

Notice that this Psalm is speaking in parables. It says that YAHWEH took Israel out of Egypt, cast out the heathen and planted it with plenty of room for it to grow in. Israel became a great nation which covered the hills or surrounding nations with her shadow. Her boughs were so great that they were like goodly cedars.

Notice again the parable. Israel is likened to a vine (grape vine), but her boughs are likened to goodly cedars. Parables are utilized to hide certain meanings from the eyes of those who have no understanding (see Mat. 13:10-16). They are reserved only for those to whom YAHWEH desires to reveal His deep treasures.

"The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it," vv. 13. We must closely analyze this verse of Psa. 80.

E. W. Bullinger has posted this note in the Bible that he produced, "the wood = forest. The Heb. word for forest here (miyya’ar), has the letter Ayin ([) suspended (see note on Judg. 18.30). This is the second of four such suspended letters. Read with this letter, the word means ‘forest’ without it, and with an Aleph (a) instead, it is miyy’ar, ‘river’. The ancient Jewish interpreters took this suspended letter as denoting that, when innocent, Israel would be assailed only by a power weak as a river animal; but, when guilty, it would be destroyed by a power as strong as a land animal. Until the Roman power arose (whose military ensign was the "boar"), it was understood as "river" (meaning Egypt); but afterward the Sept., Chald., and Vulg. Read ‘forest’."

It was Rome that eventually destroyed (wasted) Jerusalem disbursing the Jewish remnant throughout the world. One of her chief military ensigns was the boar. As a matter of fact, Rome’s military ensigns were symbols of their deities, therefore, the boar was a deity to them.

The Stone Edition of The Chumash reveals that Romeis a kingdom of Esau and his descendants. Commenting on Isaac’s blessing for Esau (Gen. 27:40) it quotes, "By your sword you shall live. The implication was not that Esau would be forced to become a brigand and plunder with his sword, for he was blessed with sustenance from the fatness of the earth and the dew of the heavens. Rather, the blessing was that he would be victorious in war and survive his battles (Ramban). Since the Roman Empire, conqueror of the world, was descended from Esau, the fulfillment of this blessing is obvious (Abarbanel.)"

Esau had been assigned as Jacob’s servant even before birth when YAHWEH revealed to Rebeccah what was going on in her womb. Isaac also assigned him as Jacob’s servant in his blessing for he said, "...and you shalt serve thy brother…" (Ibid). But he also gave a condition wherein Esau could break his brother’s yoke from off his neck (Ibid).

The Chumash comments, "When you are aggrieved. If Israel ever transgresses the Torah, and is thus undeserving of dominion, you will have a right to be aggrieved that he has taken the blessings; then you may cast off his yoke from your neck (Rashi). (p. 141)

This is a comment to Gen. 27:40 which says in the KJV, "...and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck."

The Jay P. Green Interlinear Bible renders the same portion of this verse as, "...and it shall be when you fight you shall break his yoke from your neck."

Has this event taken place and when? The answer is an emphatic YES! Remember the Roman wars against the Celtic peoples? From an enormous mountain of literature and documented evidence, it has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Celtic peoples are the descendants of the northern kingdom of Israel. Julius Caesar was one of the famous Roman generals who successfully fought against the Celts and overcame them.

The other part of the story is the fall of Judæa and Jerusalem to the Romans. Rome (Esau) fought successfully against the Jewish people’s uprising, destroyed their power, destroyed their city, Jerusalem, and sold the survivors into slavery. The Celts (descendants of the northern kingdom of Israel) and Judah had been vanquished. Thus, Isaac’s prophecy came true.

Gen. 36:1 states, "Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom." The Chumash comments concerning this statement, "He is Edom. The name – and the fact that it was used throughout his life– gives an insight into Esau’s base character. The name was given him as a reference to his gluttony when he sold the birthright for nothing more than red beans (25:30). That greed and depraved set of values characterized him all through his life (Sforno).

2. Daughter of Anah, daughter of Zibeon. As noted above, the Sages and commentators derive from various parts of the chapter that Esau’s family was permeated with illegitimacy. Though this commentary cannot deal with those many allusions, this phrase is an illustrative example. The verse implies that Oholibamah was the daughter of two fathers, Anah and Zibeon, an obvious impossibility. Furthermore, verse 24 describes Anah as Zibeon’s son. Consequently, our verse implies that Zibeon cohabited with his own daughter-in-law, Anah’s wife, and Oholibamah was the product of their adultery. Thus, she and all her offspring were illegitimate (Rashi)." (pp. 192-193)

These statements are certainly in line with Hebrews, chapter 12 which states, "Follow peace with all, and holiness without which no man shall see the Master; looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of YAHWEH; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright," vv. 14-16.

In the first place, this should dash all the ideas of those who proclaim, "Once saved, always saved," at least in the fleshly existence. The criterion established here is that we must follow holiness or we won’t be able to see YAHshua. The warning is that we can fail to receive YAHWEH'S grace.

But look at what it says about Esau. It calls him a "fornicator, and/or profane person." Fornicator comes from the Greek word "pornos" which is defined as "a male prostitute (as venal), a libertine, or debauchee."

To be "venal" means salable, for a price. It would be the descendants of Esau who coined the phrase, "Every man has his price." Venal is defined as, 1. capable of being obtained for a price 2. that can readily be bribed or corrupted 3. characterized by corruption or bribery (Webster’s New World Dictionary).

Venality is defined as, state, quality, or instance of being venal; willingness to be bribed or bought off, or to prostitute one’s talent for mercenary considerations (Ibid).

Venatic is defined as, of or engaging in hunting (Esau was a cunning hunter, Gen. 25:27).

A "libertine or debauchee" is one who lives in sexual promiscuity and licentiousness. This certainly fits in with what The Cumash commented concerning Esau’s and his descendant’s character.

The word "profane" was also utilized to describe Esau’s character. "Profane" is translated from the Greek word "bebelos." "Bebelos" is defined as heathenish, wicked by Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

Webster’s New World Dictionary defines "heathen" as originally and in the Old Testament, a member of any nation or people not worshipping the G-d of Israel. It reveals that the etymology of the word is associated with the Latin word paganus from whence we obtain the word "pagan."

Looking up the word "pagan" in Webster’s New World Dictionary again brings quite a revelation. Under synonyms we read, "pagan and heathen are both applied to nonmonotheistic peoples, but pagan specifically refers to one of the ancient polytheistic peoples, esp. the Greeks and Romans, and heathen is applied to any of the peoples regarded as primitive idolaters."

What this is saying is that a heathen is primitive, but the Greeks and Romans were much more sophisticated in their approach to religion.

Again however, we must remember that the Romans are descendants of Esau! The character of Esau is that of licentious religious worship which is steeped in sophisticated heathenistic practices. His will be a religion of merchandise, in other words, religious idolatrous artifacts are offered for sale, offices of the priesthood will be for sale, salvation will have a price tag on it, one can just pay his way into eternal life, all of this mixed in with sexual permissiveness. Does this sound familiar?

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. When he couldn’t remember what the dream was, he demanded his astrologers and soothsayers to tell him what it was that he had dreamed. When they couldn’t deliver, he was about to have all of them, their families and homes destroyed when Daniel interceded. Daniel requested a little time promising that he would tell Nebuchadnezzar what his dream was.

YAHWEH revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel who, in turn, revealed it to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he had dreamed of an image whose head was gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of brass and legs iron while its feet were part of iron and part of clay (Dan. 2:1-33).

Finally a stone is formed without hands which smites the image on its feet, destroying the image to the point that it could no longer be found. Then the stone becomes a great mountain which fills the whole earth (vv. 34-35).

Then Daniel gives the interpretation of the dream. Nebuchadnezzar is told that he is the head of gold. The breast, and arms of silver represent another kingdom in succession to him which will be inferior to his kingdom, then a third kingdom of brass and a fourth kingdom of iron will follow in succession.

History reveals that Babylon, being Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom represented by the head of gold, was followed by the Persian kingdom, which was followed by the Greek kingdom which was followed in turn by the Roman kingdom. The Roman kingdom continues until the fifth kingdom which will be the kingdom of heaven ushered in by YAHshua the Messiah.

If you think that the Roman kingdom has disappeared you have another think coming. Most of our laws stem from the Roman laws instituted by the Caesars. Our court system is patterned after the Roman courts. Our government is patterned after the Greeks and Romans. Rome was originally a republic. The Greeks were the first perpetrators of democracy. We style our government after the republican form, but declare that we are a democracy. Our civil calendar is Roman in its make-up. Even the gauge of our railroad tracks is patterned after the width of the wheels on the Roman chariots. Everywhere we look we see the effects of Rome, our holidays are Roman holidays, even the word that we use for love (romance) comes from the word Roman.

While Daniel, chapter 2 gives a metallic nature of the four world ruling kingdoms, Daniel, chapters 7 & 8 give a beastly nature of these same four kingdoms. The first thing to notice is that these beasts arise out of the "great sea." One can say that this "great sea" is the sea of humanity and he will be right, but another part of the equation leading us to understanding is that the term "great sea" was utilized in ancient times to describe the Mediterranean Sea and its environs.

The first beast that Daniel saw was like a lion which had eagle’s wings. Many people become confused concerning these kingdoms because they do not allow the Bible to interpret itself under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The lion is called "king of beasts". The eagle is called "king of birds." Notice that Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he was a "king of kings" in Dan. 2:37, "Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the Elohim of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory." The lion (king of beasts) and the eagle (king of birds) of Dan. 7:4 would identify the first beast as the kingdom of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar’s direction.

The bear with the three ribs in its mouth (Dan. 2:5) would represent Persia, the leopard with the four wings would represent Greece and the fourth beast which was dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly would represent Rome. Notice that this fourth beast has teeth of iron which is the metal associated with the fourth kingdom of Dan. 2.

In today’s world, many people are expecting a great beast to arise, but the truth is that the beast kingdoms have been in power ever since Babylon arose millennia ago.

The metals of which the kingdoms were represented in Daniel 2 also express characteristics of the four successive kingdoms. We don’t have time nor space to elaborate on all of the aspects here, but we can point out some few characteristics.

Babylon was represented by gold. Gold is a precious metal which is very much desired by the people of this world. One of the important characteristics of gold is that it is soft, moldable and pliable. If one notices the nature of king Nebuchadnezzar he will find that the king could be a very powerful, dynamic and authoritative individual. However, when YAHWEH personally and openly dealt with him, Nebuchadnezzar is shown to have been able to be worked with, molded and shaped in the hands of the Creator.

Persia was represented by silver which is also a precious, moldable metal. When the Persian kings were dealt with by the Creator YAHWEH, they also gave in to His bidding and will.

Greece was represented by brass or bronze. Actually, the Hebrew word probably should have been translated as "bronze." However, both metals are alloys. Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc while bronze is an alloy principally of copper and tin. This, of course, denotes impurity through mixture.

A very interesting fact concerning the original Hebrew word for brass or bronze is that it is "nechushah" stemming from the original root word "nachash" translated as "serpent." Alexander the Great, the founder of the Macedonian/Greek empire believed that his real father was the serpent god Zeus Ammon.

While Alexander was favorable to the Hebrews in the environs of Jerusalem/Judæa, his successors exhibited an outright contempt and hatred for anything Hebrew or anything associated with the Hebrew Elohim.

Brass or bronze is a very hard, rigid metal. The spirit and attitude of the Greek kingdom began to exhibit an enmity and uncompromising rigid attitude against YAHWEH and His People. They were not moldable nor pliable, nor able to be easily worked with as the previous kingdoms (Babylon and Persia) had been.

The fourth kingdom of iron, Rome, also exhibited favor early on for the Hebrew people, but the latter end was similar to the Greeks. They eventually dealt very harshly and rigidly with the Jewish people resulting in their destruction and deportation of the survivors into many parts of the then known world as slaves.

Daniel 7 portrays these same kingdoms with a beastly nature. The first three animals representing the corresponding kingdoms are easy to imagine because they are represented by animals that we have either seen or seen pictures of.

The lion and the eagle are both very lofty creatures in the images that they portray. The lion is a noble looking creature. They are a communal creature which contains an overall male leader with a group of females called a "pride."

The eagle usually builds its nests in high craggy places, in cliff sides, which are very inaccessible to most creatures. The point is that their nest, perch and flight is in high and lofty places.

Babylon was the first and highest of the four world ruling kingdoms.

The bear is also a very powerful creature. Their size gives the idea of a slow lumbering movement, but their size and slow lumbering movements can be deceptive. When they go into action, they can move very swiftly and powerfully to overcome their adversary. This description fits the Persian kingdom.

The leopard is an animal which depends on its subtlety and quickness in order to overcome its prey. This description fits the Greek kingdom, especially under the direction of Alexander. It has been reported that the Persian forces numbered about one million while Alexander embarked on his conquering mission with only thirty thousand troops under his command. Victory over all their foes depended on Alexander’s subtlety and the quickness of troop movements to vanquish their foes. In modern times, the Germans perfected Alexander’s tactics into their "blitzkrieg" warfare which gave them early and quick success in World War II.

While the first three beast powers were able to be described by known creatures of the animal kingdom, the fourth beast was such a dreadful, terrible and exceedingly strong beast that there was no known living beast that could be utilized to describe it. It was a beast that devoured, brake in pieces and stamped the residue with its feet (Dan. 7:7).

One of the things that made the Greek and later Roman leaders so intolerant to the Hebrew faith was that these leaders sought to present themselves as god-kings and saviors. The Greek kings that followed Alexander did everything in their power to overthrow the Hebrew faith in order that the Greek kings and their pagan gods could be worshipped.

One of the most famous Greek kings Antiochus Epiphanes was so zealous in his efforts to overthrow the Hebrew faith and the Hebrew Elohim that he entered into Jerusalem wreaking havoc, forbidding the practices of circumcision, observance of the Sabbath day, the worship of YAHWEH, etc. on pain of death. He placed a statue of Zeus in the holy place, sacrificed a swine on the altar, made a broth of its flesh and spattered the walls of the temple with the vile solution.

Eventually John Hyrcannus and his family rallied a small contingent of Jewish followers who revolted against this vile king, overthrew his forces in a series of military campaigns and delivered the people and the temple from this Greek despot. This was the famous Maccabean revolt with the resulting Hannukah celebration.

Many people think that Antiochus’ actions are what Daniel’s prophecy is speaking of concerning the one who would place the abomination of desolation (Dan. 8:13, 9:27 & 11:31). While these Scriptures may be speaking of Antiochus in type, the true fact is that a more sinister leader than Antiochus Epiphanes came on the scene at a later time. We will deal with this leader shortly, but consider the lofty titles that the Greek kings gave themselves. Seleucus I was one of Alexander’s four generals who had a portion of the kingdom divided out to him after Alexander‘s death. He fathered Antiochus I who titled himself as Soter (savior). Antiochus II took the title Theos (god), Antiochus III was titled "the great king," and Antiochus IV titled himself Theos Epiphanes (god manifest).

With such high and lofty titles and ideals concerning themselves and their deities, it is no wonder that there was a natural enmity between the Greeks and Hebrews. The Hebrews worshipped YAHWEH, the true King of heaven. At that period of time, they weren’t about to allow a foreign pagan king and army come into their land and lead them astray. One certainly can begin to easily understand the symbolism of the brass/bronze (nechushah/nachash/serpent) metal of the 3rd kingdom and the hard impenitent attitude of the Greek leaders that the metal depicted.

The incident of the sacrifice of the swine on the altar is very interesting in the scheme of things. This certainly portrayed the uncleanness of the Greek kings. But Rome was the kingdom that followed the Greek kingdom to rule the world and as we have already found out, the boar (pig or swine) was one of their military ensigns.

The Encyclopedia Judaica has this to say about Rome, "Rome is referred to in rabbinic literature by various designations – *Edom, Esau (see *Esau, in the Aggadah), *Amalek, Seir, *Tyre; the guilty kingdom; the wanton government; the fourth kingdom; and other epithets, mostly denigratory. It is compared, among other things, to the pig and the eagle."

Notice that again! It is compared to the pig! It has a pig (boar/swine) as one of its military ensigns. The military ensigns were images of their deities!

Rome became an empire under the direction of the Caesars. Rome had changed its nature from a republic to an empire just before YAHshua was born. She became an empire under the guidance and authority of the Caesars.

The Latin equivalent to the English word Caesar is Kaiser. The Russian equivalent is Czar pronounced like K-zar. The interesting thing about this name and designation is that the Hebrew word utilized for "boar" in Psa. 80:13 is "ryzIx]" pronounced "chaziyr/khaz-eer." This pronunciation is too close to the word Kaiser to overlook, especially due to the fact that the boar spoken of in Psa. 80:13 is Rome (and its leader).

When Titus and his forces accomplished the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the soldiers took Titus, along with their military ensigns (which included the pig/swine/boar/chaziyr), to the place where the temple had been; sacrificed to them and declared Titus as Imperator bestowing upon him also the title of Caesar (the pig/swine/boar/chaziyr/Kaiser/Czar, etc.)!

Notice the figure below which is taken from Alexander Hislop’s The Two Babylons. The Roman emperor (Caesar/Kaiser) Trajan is depicted as offering a sacrifice to the goddess Diana. Notice in particular the head of the boar in the tree (wood, forest, miyya’ar). Here we have the Kaiser offering sacrifice to Diana under the influence of the boar (chaziyr/khaz-eer’).

Rome is associated with a pig according to the Encyclopedia Judaica. The semantics of the word Caesar reveals that even the leader of the Roman Empire was a pig, swine, boar, Kaiser, Caesar!

When the Romans thought about going to war, they would confer in the Senate if such a campaign should be embarked upon. They would pray to their gods, especially Mars, the war god. They would also pray to the gods of the people against whom they were deliberating their military campaign. They would promise the gods of the city state, nation or kingdom against whom they were contemplating a campaign that they would bring them to Rome and build a more magnificent temple to their honor. When their campaign was completed, they would usually enslave their captors, but according to their promise, they would bring the priesthood of the god of that nation or city to Rome and build a temple to their honor or place their religious artifacts in a temple built to a similar Roman god. Thus, Rome became the center of all paganism.

When Augustus Caesar came along, there was economic, political and civil chaos in the republic. All of the religions and temples had been forsaken and had fallen into disrepair. Augustus restored order in all facets of Roman life including religion. He bragged that he had restored 82 temples that had fallen into disrepair. He also appointed himself as Pontifex Maximus placing his protective spirit (genii) over all religion and became the sovereign over it all. Caesar (the boar) became Pontifex Maximus over all paganism.

When Titus destroyed Jerusalem and its temple, the Romans considered that they had taken YAHWEH, the Elohim of the Jewish people, captive also. The proof of this concept is exhibited on the arch of Titus to this day. The arch of Titus reveals the Romans taking away the vessels of the temple especially the menorah (lamp-stand), the table of shewbread, etc. to the city of Rome.

The enmity between the Greeks and Hebrews played into the Roman hands. After their experience with Antiochus Ephiphanes, the Jewish people eventually invited the Romans into the environs of the Middle East hoping that they would be a deterrent to any future Greek occupation.

While Rome was a republic, the general consensus was that the Hebrews were to be left alone. They were given a limited amount of autonomy, but when the Caesars entered on the scene, things began to change.

Augustus appointed Herod, a descendant of Esau and Ishmael, to the position of king and sovereign over the Jews. Herod was a very despicable tyrant according to accounts of him in Josephus and also in the New Testament.

When YAHshua and His disciples appeared on the scene, Rome was generally maintaining a "hands-off" attitude concerning the Jewish people and their religion. As long as the new found faith remained a Jewish problem, the Romans paid little attention to it.

However, the non-Hebrews were another situation entirely. Augustus had wanted to be worshipped as a god-king much like the Greek kings had been. Since the non-Hebrew peoples of the Middle East had no problem with their leaders being worshipped as such, there were alters and temples built to Caesar’s honor in many, many places.

Herod had built the city of Caesarea in honor of Augustus. It had as one of its crowning features, a temple built to his honor.

The conflict between Rome and the newfound faith of YAHshua's followers began to heat up when non-Hebrews were called to the faith. This was taken as a slap in the face and an eminent danger to Caesar and his position. After all, Caesar was the god and savior of the non-Hebrews. He was their Pontifex Maximus which not only had to do with the office of high priest, but also with the mediator between heaven and earth.

Caesar and his forces declared war on the camp of the saints attempting to eradicate them totally and completely.

The prophet Daniel foretold of this conflict, "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom...And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time," Dan. 7:21-22, 25.

One of the problems that the Caesars experienced was that even though the true disciples were persecuted, tortured, put in prison, slain, etc., their numbers grew by leaps and bounds. During periods of respite, the assembly didn’t seem to prosper quite so well.

The last real period of persecution at the hand of the Caesars occurred during the reign of Diocletian. He severely persecuted the believers for a period of about 10 years. It is possible that this is the time period that is associated with the Smyrna assembly and her persecution, for YAHshua told the assembly that they would have tribulation for ten days (Rev. 2:8-11). Ten days would actually be 10 years on the principle of a day for a year which occurs many places in Scripture.

Constantine became the sole ruler of the Roman Empire not long after Diocletian’s death. Constantine was a very shrewd and subtle man. He enlisted a tactic of the Greeks in order to enter into the New Testament Assembly and take over.

The Greeks had waged war with the Trojans for years without success. Finally, in desperation, they build a wooden horse which they left outside the city of Troy and the army sailed off in ships. This made it look as if the Trojans had won and the wooden horse was a memorial to their victory. The hapless Trojans pulled the horse inside their city, not knowing that the Greeks had hidden some of their chief soldiers inside.

The Trojans celebrated their seeming victory with a real bash. While the Trojans were sleeping off the effects of their victory celebration, the Greek soldiers which had been secreted inside the wooden horse exited and opened the gates to the waiting army which had crept back unawares. The overthrow of Troy became a great epic in history.

Constantine, utilizing the same tactics, feigned repentance, gave the leaders of the corrupted remnants of the New Testament assembly special privileges such as tax exemption, exemption from military service, promoted many of them to high offices throughout the empire, etc. Constantine, the head of the beast power, the enemy of the saints entered into the New Testament Assembly and took over promoting himself as its Pontifex Maximus. Whatever he declared or decreed became the law of the assembly.

Constantine, the head of the Roman Empire (the beast power), the Caesar (boar) had entered into the New Testament Assembly and taken over. The A & E television channel recently ran an autobiography on Constantine. The comment was made that he who had been Pontifex Maximus over all paganism now became the Pontifex Maximus of the church.

He and his successors began to skillfully blend paganism (idolatry, heathenism) and the new faith together.

The book of Zechariah reveals what has taken place down through time. "And he shewed me YAHshua the high priest standing before the angel of YAHWEH, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him," Zech. 1:1.

The interesting thing about this word resist is that in the Hebrew, the name of Satan is !j'F' while the word for resist is nj.fi. They are actually the same characters! Shin, tob, nun. Satan has, in reality, satanized the heavenly High Priest.

Notice further, "And YAHWEH said unto Satan, YAHWEH rebuke thee, O Satan; even YAHWEH that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now YAHshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, ‘Take away the filthy garments from him.’ And unto him he said, ‘Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment’," vv. 2-4.

The word "filthy" comes from the Hebrew word "~yaiAc" (tsoayom) which has to do with excrement or dung. YAHWEH had warned the Levitical priesthood that, since they had married the daughter of a strange el (Mal. 2:11), He would spread dung upon their faces (Mal. 2:3). Dung has to do with polluting and corrupting YAHWEH and His wondrous name with false pagan idolatrous practices. Thus YAHshua the High Priest, who was a type of YAHshua the Messiah, the heavenly High Priest, is shown to be clothed with garments of dung.

This is the work of Satan the devil and the descendants of Esau who are fornicators and profane persons. They are willing to sell their birthright for a price!

Another interesting thing is the term "change of raiment" (v. 4). The Jay P. Green Interlinear Bible renders this as "festal garments!" In other words, the High Priest has been clothed with false idolatrous pagan feasts instead of the commanded feasts of YAHWEH which were the Sabbath and the annual holy days.

It was Constantine who proclaimed that the New Testament rest day occur on the first day of the week, Sunday, as well as observe the annual birthday of the sun which was Dec. 25th.

One of our modern day college textbooks, The Immense Majesty — A History of Rome and the Roman Empire by Thomas W. Africa, under the heading of The Chr-stian Revolution reveals, ‘His (Eusebius, a supposed early church historian) apologetic works are crammed with references to authors now lost, and he welded Chr-stianity to classical culture by claiming that Plato and other sages were either inspired by Biblical truth or had somehow intuited it.’ The Pax Romana had been divinely designed to make the world safe for Chr-stianity, which was the culmination of all that was good in the past. THE HERO WHO COMPLETED THE DIVINE PLAN, CONSTANTINE, WAS GLORIFIED IN A PANEGYRICAL BIOGRAPHY THAT CONTAINS MUCH USEFUL MATERIAL...The Roman Emperor was as divine as he could be while still remaining a Chr-stian...The widespread solar cult was incorporated by Constantine, whose views of Chr-st WERE ALLOYED with his old devotion to Sol Invictus. In 321 the emperor reserved Sunday as a holiday for Chr-stians, and in 336 the birthday of Sol Invictus, December 25, was arbitrarily chosen as Chr-stmas. A mosaic still survives under Saint Peter’s in Rome which shows Chr-st as a solar deity in Apollo’s chariot." (Chapter 9, pp. 356-357)

In accordance with the book of Daniel, the change in the times and laws were begun in earnest. In order to become one of YAHWEH'S people, one must repent of the observance of the worldly pagan festivals and holidays turning to the commanded days of YAHWEH which include the Sabbath and annual holy days. (Order our free booklet entitled Col. 2:16-17 or Holidays Vs. Holydays)

Zechariah continues, "And I said, ‘Let them set a fair mitre upon his head.’ So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of YAHWEH stood by," v. 5.

The important thing to consider here is that the mitre was a very important article of clothing for the Hebrew High Priest. When he entered into the holiest place on the day of Atonement, he was wearing the mitre of the High Priest which had a blue ribbon on it with the words "qodesh la YAHWEH" (holy to YAHWEH) inscribed in gold letters. But Satan has influenced the world to not only pollute YAHWEH'S and YAHshua's names through idolatrous paganistic practices, he has also caused the names to be changed.

The name of the Savior is YAHshua ([vwhy) in Hebrew which would be transliterated as Joshua in the English. Supposedly, the Greek equivalent would be Iesous while the Latin would be Yesus from whence comes the English version Jesus.

Remember that the Greeks hated anything Hebrew and that the Greeks and Romans are perpetrators of sophisticated heathenism. Remember also that Antiochus Theos Epiphanes set up the statue of Zeus in the holy place and offered swine on the altar.

The word sous is equivalent to the name Zeus in the Greek while sus in Latin means pig or swine. According to the dictionaries, Ie and Y can be equivalent to i.e. or "that is."

It appears to this author that the Roman kingdom, the kingdom of the pig, whose military ensign was the boar and whose leader was also a boar (especially if the word Caesar/ Kaiser is transliterated in the Hebrew) has accomplished a far greater abomination than the Greek king could ever have done.

Through their shrewdness, they have caused so much of the world to accept and adhere to a messiah who is unclean. The corrupted remnants of the New Testament Assembly began to cast their pearls before the swine (chaziyr/Kaiser/Caesar) which has trampled them into the mud and mire and turned to rend the Assembly to pieces.

The Caesars/Kaisers/chazirys were like the unclean animal that they represented. They had the cloven hoof, but did not chew the cud or meditate (ruminate) on the holy things of YAHWEH, rightly dividing the word of truth so that the sheep could be fed with the it.

It is also becoming common knowledge that the word "God" was the name of the major deity of the Teutonic peoples. When they were converted to Christianity, the name of their deity was substituted for not only the common Hebrew term Elohim, but in many instances, it was also substituted in place of the name YAHWEH.

The unclean (the swine) have taken that which is clean and that which is unclean mixing them together and dividing them out. Today, that which is good is called evil and that which is evil is called good. Isaiah warns against such practices, "Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope: That say, ‘Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!’ Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him! Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of YAHWEH of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel," 5:18-24.

Daniel was inspired to record, "And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered," Dan. 8:9-12.

This little horn can be none other than Constantine Caesar. Dan. 2 reveals the four world ruling kingdoms that would arise. The fourth would be divided. Dan. 7 reveals the rise of the fourth kingdom or beast power while Dan. 8 embellishes on its division.

When Rome became divided between east and west (which was initiated by Constantine) the western kingdom was a Latin kingdom, but the eastern kingdom was Greek. Constantine not only initiated the eastern and western division, but he was also instrumental in casting the truth to the ground.

Constantine even magnified himself to the Prince of host (YAHshua) by declaring himself as Pontifex Maximus over the New Testament Assembly. The assembly was to have one and only one High Priest mediating between them and YAHWEH. Constantine exalted himself to that position.

Verse 25 of Dan. 8 says this about the little horn, "And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand."

The word "craft" comes from the Hebrew word ‘mirmah’ which is defined in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Hebrew Lexicon as from 7411 in the sense of deceiving; fraud:—craft, deceit (-ful, fully), false, feigned, guile, subtilly, treachery.

#7411 is the word ramah which is defined as a primitive root; to hurl; spec. to shoot; fig. to delude or betray (as if causing to fall):—beguile, betray, [bow] -man, carry, deceive, throw.

Constantine (and his successors) is the bowman who rides the white horse of Rev. 6:2 going forth conquering and to conquer. He has conquered the people through tremendous deceit, fraud and treachery. He has dictated that the people observe unclean and unholy practices.

Constantine’s supposed conversion to the new faith and subsequent entry into the corrupted remnants of the New Testament Assembly was a ruse to give him authority over the faith. He and his successors deceived the masses into believing that the kingdom of heaven had finally come to earth.

Here is what Henry Halley observed in his work entitled Halley’s Bible Handbook, "Emperor Constantine (A.D. 306-337), when he became a Christian, issued an Edict granting Everybody the right to choose his own Religion. (Note: .Isn‘t this much like America of today?)

"Emperor Theodosius (A.D. 378-398), made Christianity the State Religion of the Roman Empire, and made Church Membership Compulsory. This was the Worst Calamity that has ever befallen the Church. This Forced Conversion filled the Churches with Unregenerate People. (Notice the combining of the clean and the unclean, there is no difference made between them.)

"Not only so, Theodosius undertook the Forcible Suppression of all other Religions, and Prohibited Idol Worship. Under his decrees, Heathen Temples were torn down by mobs of Christians, and there was much bloodshed.

"Chr-st has designed to conquer by purely Spiritual and Moral Means. Up to this time Conversion was Voluntary, A Genuine Change in Heart and Life.

"But now the Military Spirit of Imperial Rome had entered the Church. The Church had Conquered the Roman Empire. But in reality the Roman Empire had Conquered the Church, by Making the Church over into the Image of the Roman Empire.

The Church had Changed its Nature, had entered its Great Apostasy, had become a Political Organization in the Spirit and Pattern of Imperial Rome, and took its Nose-Dive into the millennium of Papal Abominations.

"The Imperial Church of the 4th and 5th centuries had become an entirely different institution from the persecuted church of the first three centuries. In its ambition to Rule it lost and forgot the spirit of Chr-st.

"Worship, at first very simple, was developed into elaborate, stately, imposing ceremonies having all the outward splendor that had belonged to heathen temples.

"Ministers became Priests. The term ‘priest’ was not applied to Christian ministers before A.D. 200. It was borrowed from the Jewish system, and from the example of heathen priesthood. Leo I (440-61) prohibited priests from marrying, and Celibacy of priests became a law of the Roman Church.

"Conversion of the Barbarians. The Goths, Vandals and Huns who overthrew the Roman Empire accepted Christianity; but to a large extend their conversion was nominal and this further filled the Church with Pagan practices.

Conflicts with Heathen Philosophies. Even as every generation seeks to interpret Chr-st in terms of its own thinking, so, no sooner had Christianity made its appearance than it began its process of amalgamation with Greek and Oriental Philosophies; and there arose many Sects: Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Montanism, Monarchianism, Airanism, Appolinarianism, Nestorianism, Eutychianism, Monophysites. From the 2nd to the 6th centuries the Church was rent with controversies over these and similar Isms, and almost lost sight of its true mission." (pp. 760-761)

Do you understand what is being admitted here? The state religion of the Holy Roman Empire, the fourth beast of Dan. 7, the great, terrible and exceedingly strong beast was Christianity! People were forced to convert to Christianity on pain of death!

If you are a Christian and trust in the principals of Christianity, you have been greatly and terribly deceived by the master deceiver Satan the devil! Truly, Rev. 12:9 is appropriate here, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

Satan has deceived the whole world into following the religion of the beast power!

Remember the parable of the prodigal son? One thing to remember is that the story is a parable which is related to hide the true meaning to the overall majority, only revealing the truths contained therein to the few obedient and faithful.

A father had two sons. The two sons in this story would be compared to the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel. The younger son asked for his inheritance in the present realm. The father obliged which the son took and left to sojourn in a far country. The son wasted his substance with riotous living. When there was a famine in the land, the son began to suffer want (Lk. 15:11-14).

He joined himself to a citizen of that country who sent him into his fields to feed swine (chaziyr, Kaiser, Caesar). Much of the overall preponderance of the Christian faith in Europe, Britain, America, etc. are descendants of the ancient kingdom of northern Israel. Their living is presently being spent with riotous living while they continue to feed the swine’s religion.

The prodigal son finally came to his senses and returned to his father who joyfully received him. Such is what the descendants of ancient Israel, the prodigal sons, must do. They must repent and turn to the Heavenly Father YAHWEH and His Beloved Son YAHshua.

There are two covenants. There is the covenant of the clean and there is the covenant of the unclean. The clean will embrace the word of YAHWEH and allow His word and His law to lead, guide and feed them. To them, whatever YAHWEH has declared as holy is holy, whatever YAHWEH has declared to be clean is clean, whatever YAHWEH has declared to be the truth is truth. They will utilize YAHWEH'S word in order to warn them away from the unclean.

The unclean are the reverse. Whatever YAHWEH has declared to be holy is no longer holy. Whatever YAHWEH has declared to be clean is no longer clean. Whatever YAHWEH has declared to be truth is no longer truth. The unclean actually prefer unclean and unholy practices as a way of life. They delight more in the practices of the pagans and heathen than they do in the righteous ways of YAHWEH.

One example is the Christmas ham versus the Passover Lamb. The world relishes and revels in the pagan practices of Christmas with its unclean food, but hardly gives notice to YAHWEH'S commanded Passover observance. As a matter of fact, the world had rather observe pagan Easter (Ishtar) Sunday with its pagan messiah (Tammuz) and colored eggs (pagan fertility symbols) which come from Peter Rabbit (another pagan fertility symbol) rather than observe the Passover with its emblems of bread and the cup representing the body and blood of the Messiah.

The Apostle Paul writes, "Know ye not that ye are the Temple of YAHWEH, and that the Spirit of YAHWEH dwelleth in you? If any man defile the Temple of YAHWEH, him shall YAHWEH destroy; for the Temple of YAHWEH is holy, which temple ye are," 1 Cor. 3:16-17.

If you are the temple of YAHWEH, then what are you offering on your altar? Have you been deluded into offering swine on the altar of your temple? Is your sacrifice the unclean swine or is it YAHshua the Messiah, the true Messiah and Passover Lamb?

You must embrace one covenant or the other. You must embrace one messiah or the other. You cannot embrace both.

YAHWEH promises His people, "Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; When I have bent Judah for Me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man. And YAHWEH shall be seen over them, and His arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Sovereign YAHWEH shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. YAHWEH of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. And YAHWEH their Elohim shall save them in that day as the flock of His people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon His land. For how great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty! Corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids," Zech. 9:12-17.

Notice it! The true sons of Zion are going to be made as a sword of a mighty man and they are going to rise up against the sons of Greece. Yes Greece, the kingdom that originally exhibited its hatred against YAHWEH and the Hebrew people. The kingdom that sought to cause the Hebrews to worship Zeus and to eat unclean foods will suffer at the hands of the sons of Zion.

The Psalmist declares, "Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of Elohim be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all His saints. Praise ye YAHWEH," Psa. 149:5-9.

We are to take the two-edged sword of the Scriptures and overthrow and destroy every abominable heathenistic practice! May YAHWEH give you the strength, wisdom and courage to turn to the covenant of the clean and to begin to eradicate the covenant of the unclean completely from your life. HalleluYAH!!!

By Jerry Healan