Behold, I AM: A STUDY OF THE SIGNS, THE APPOINTED TIMES, IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

By Joyce Lynn Wulf

It was a childlike question, but the answer was as stunning as it was profound. If God is light, what do the primary colors of the rainbow's spectrum signify? The Gospel of John declares in eight mysterious signs that God is light and Jesus Christ in the flesh was God sent to bring the light of true life to us. These enigmatic signs of light, semeion, imply the eight signs' significance pointed to something other than what they appeared. The themes of John's eight signs match the themes of the Feasts given to ancient Israel at Mount Sinai and a sequence of YHWH's covenant names. Behold, I AM is a rich, in-depth study into God's Holyday appointed times, His eight Festivals of Light, what they meant then, what they mean today, and how they are fulfilling prophecy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9781098062408

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Behold, I AM

A STUDY OF THE SIGNS, THE APPOINTED TIMES, IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

Joyce Lynn Wulf

ISBN 978-1-0980-6238-5 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-0980-6239-2 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-0980-6240-8 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Joyce Lynn Wulf

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

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Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

www.wulfswordwaves.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

A Skillful Song of Asaph

Abbreviations of Reference Works

Preface

Introduction

The Gospel of John Outline1

Holyday/Signs/Names Chart

Annual Holyday Timeline

Book Two: John 13–19

John's Eight Signs and Zechariah's Eight Visions

Conclusion to the Signs

Epilogue

Appendixes

Creation Re-Creation Story

Numerical Significance

The Promises

The Song of the Rainbow

Why Israel, Why a First

Exodus 34: Please Show Me Your Glory

Beware of the Leavening

Historical Chronology of Passover and Night-to-be-Much-Observed

Passover Supper Changed or Explained

The Night-to-Be-Much-Observed

Unleavened Bread, Manna, and Doctrine

Passover and Pentecost Calendar

Why Count

Exodus to Mount Sinai

Seven Sabbaths of Ancient Israel

The Song of Ruth

Jesus Christ from Resurrection to Wavesheaf

Jesus Christ from Wavesheaf to Pentecost

Jesus Christ's Last Days

The Fall of Jericho and Babylon

Songs of the Degrees, 120–134

Songs of The Degrees Chart

Leprosy and Baptism

Trumpets, Their Biblical Use and Significance

Ten Days from Trumpets to Atonements

Moses, the Tablets, and Atonements

Understanding Atonements

The Seventh One-Thousand Years Chart

Opening Night Services

Booths

Tishri 21

The Census Book of Life

Ezekiel's Restoration Vision

Ezekiel's Feasts of Israel's Restoration Age

Chart of Sacrifices

Eighth Day Patterns

Eighth Day Chart

Resurrection Pattern

Biblical Time in Sevens

Biblical Lunar Time

CHC Months

Chronographic Time Waves

490 Years and Daniel's 70 Weeks

Joseph and Jesus' Timeline

Current Times

Verily, Verily

References

About the Author

To all our children and grandchildren

from generation to generation

that they might know the name of our Great Creator God

and dwell with Him forever.

A Skillful Song of Asaph

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable (in instruction by numerous examples); I will utter dark sayings of old [that hide important truth]—[Matt. 13:34, 35.]

Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

We will not hide them from their children, but we will tell to the generation to come the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, and His might, and the wonderful works that He has performed.

For He established a testimony (an express precept) in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, commanding our fathers that they should make [the great facts of God's dealings with Israel] known to their children,

That the generation to come might know them, that the children still to be born might arise and recount them to their children,

That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but might keep His commandments

And might not be as their fathers—a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that set not their hearts aright nor prepared their hearts to know God, and whose spirits were not steadfast and faithful to God.

—Psalm 78 (AMP)

Abbreviations of Reference Works

Translations of the Bible

AMP—Amplified Bible

ALT—Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament of the Holy Bible

ASV—American Standard Version

BBE—Bible in Basic English

BHS—Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia

DB—Darby Bible

ESV—English Standard Version

GB—Geneva Bible

GNB—Good News Bible

GNT—Greek New Testament

GNTT—Greek New Testament Transliterated

HOT—Hebrew Old Testament

HOTT—Hebrew Old Testament Transliterated

IGNT—Interlinear Greek New Testament

IHOT—Interlinear Hebrew Old Testament

KJV—King James Version

LITV—Literal Translation of the Holy Bible

NSB—Nelson's Study Bible

NASB—New American Standard Bible

NIV—New International Version

NJB—New Jerusalem Bible

NKJV—New King James Version

NLT—New Living Translation

NMT—New Moffat Translation

NRSV—New Revised Standard Version

PNT—Phillips New Testament

RSV—Revised Standard Version

RV—Revised Version

SSB—Scofield Study Bible

TCB—The Companion Bible

TCJ—The Complete Jewish Study Bible

TEV—Today's English Version

TJB—Tanakh Jewish Bible

TLB—The Living Bible

TMB—The Message Bible

YLT—Young's Literal Translation

Dictionaries, Lexicons, Encyclopedias, Concordances

ADW—American Dictionary of the English Language, Webster 1828

BDB—Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon

BHA—Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic

DBI—Dictionary of Biblical Imagery

EBD—Eastman's Bible Dictionary

EDBW—Expository Dictionary of Bible Words

EHC—The Englishman's Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament

FBD—Fausset's Bible Dictionary

HBN—Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

HDB—Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible

ISBE—International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

JDOT—Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names

KJC—King James Concordance

KJD—King James Dictionary

MSE—McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia

NBD—Nelson's Bible Dictionary

NSED—The New Strong's Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words

NTB—Nave's Topical Bible

NUBD—New Unger's Bible Dictionary

SBD—Smith's Bible Dictionary

SHGD—Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries

TDNT—Theological Dictionary of the New Testament

TGD—Thayer's Greek Definitions

TNTT—Torrey's New Topical Textbook

ZPBD—The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 1963

TWOT—Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament

VCED—Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary

WDNT—The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament

WDOT—The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Old Testament

YACB—Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible

Commentaries

ACC—Adam Clarke's Commentary

BEC—Bible Exposition Commentary

BKC—Bible Knowledge Commentary

BN—Barnes' Notes

CB—The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

CBC—Cambridge Bible Commentary

EBC—The Expositor's Bible Commentary

GEB—John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

GN—Geneva Notes

JFB—Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary

JWEN—John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

KDC—Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

MHC—Matthew Henry's Commentary

RWP—Word Pictures in the New Testament, Robertson's

SRN—Scofield Reference Notes

TCB—The Companion Bible, Bullinger

TSK—The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (cross-reference)

TTD—The Treasury of David

VWS—Vincent's Word Studies

WB—William Barclay, The New Daily Study Bible (New Testament)

WBC—Wycliffe Bible Commentary

WEO—Wiersbe's Expository Outlines of the New Testament

Bible Study Software and Study Websites

BGW—www.Biblegateway.com

BST—www.Biblestudytools.com

BT—www.Bibletools.org

E-SW—e-Sword by Rick Meyers, 2016

JE—www.Jewishencyclopedia.com

JG—www.Jewishgen.org

JVL—www.Jewishvirtuallibrary.org

PCSB—PCStudyBible by BibleSoft, version 4

SL—www.StudyLight.org

Maps and Atlases

HAAM—Historical Atlas of Ancient Mesopotamia

HAAW—Historical Atlas of the Ancient World

HCAB—The Harper Concise Atlas of the Bible

MABL—The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands

TAWH—The Times Atlas of World History

TCBH—The Timechart of Biblical History

WCWH—The Wall Chart of World History

Preface

He heard his Father tenderly calling his name, a voice resonating with affection. Pondering His life-giving words in quiet moments, the truth of His love integrated into his life. They sang to him in his dreams and waking moments, filling his reality with awe. The mere existence of thoughts breathed out by the Creator awakened a hunger, a craving to know their Source. God is love, and God is light. Light's power draws us to seek and study, discovering why the Hebrew word for love, ahav (ab, father plus hey), אָהַב, letter sum 1 + 5 + 2 = 8, means Behold, the Father's heart.

Studying the Holy Bible's narrative can range from simplicity to complexity. Some things are plainly stated, while others are cloaked in metaphors, similes, analogies, or parables. The ancient Script explains its terms, a culture foreign to us. A word's first use defines, its last use achieves, and all usage in between structure a semantic range of related facets. Chiasms, figures of speech, intertextual links, and Hebraisms unlock poetry and prose alike. Formed from pictures, letters carry thought in numeric values. One vital tool reveals the truth to our hearts. The Light of the Living God's Holy Spirit gives acumen into the spirit world within the fellowship of prayer and walking humbly with our Creator and each other.

The intriguing message John heard from Jesus and reported to us, God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5), bids us fellowship with Him by walking in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:7), for we are children of light (Eph. 5:8). Light protects, allowing our eyes to see (John 11:9–10). Light imprints God's characteristics and mannerisms in us, so we mimic our Father like a small child. Walking in the light opens an understanding not experienced elsewhere. Stressed from the Bible's beginning, God first restored light with its significance and promise (Gen. 1:2–3). There is no more darkness at the Bible's end, for only God's light pervades the everlasting age (Rev. 22:5).

Expanding the ancient idea of day, enlighten, a time to see, we might study the metaphors of light and darkness or light's literal properties. A light period measures time, `eyth, עֵת, letter sum 470. The sun's light takes eight minutes to reach the earth. Light's primary importance is its life-giving energy; without it, there could be no life on earth. For it is God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,' who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6), indicating light is also the prime mover of God's new creation. Everyone who does evil, Jesus explained, hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed (John 3:20). He defined light as a symbol of life, goodness, and blessing, the reverse of the darkness of death, evil, and the misery of separation from God.

Darkness and ignorance equate as their opposites, light and knowing God (Col. 1:12–13). Often light is partnered with truth, as in Psalm 43:3, send out thy light and thy truth. Darkness is joined with deception (Eph. 6:12). The Word's light reveals truth, Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105). When false doctrine blinds us, we lose the ability to walk in the truth (1 John 1:6). The grave's dark veil obstructs the knowledge of God (Psalm 88:11–12, 2 Cor. 4:3) while knowing God is life eternal (John 17:3). Paul affirmed God dwells in unapproachable light, describing the Living God's depth, width, and height of holiness, purity, and love. The Father of lights engenders children of the day (James 1:17, Thess. 5:5). Our inheritance with the saints in light (Col. 1:12) contrasts with sin's cruel reward in the tent of darkness.

Over ninety percent of what we learn about the world comes to us through light or seeing. Even the invisible qualities of God's attributes and power are understood by the things seen (Rom. 1:20). What do light's properties tell us about God? The first observable property of light is reflection, allowing us to see images in mirrors. Another is the speed of light traveling in a perpendicular sine wave at 186,282 miles per second. Light slows and bends as it enters the material world, making things look larger by refraction. We can understand light's internal reflection used to keep light beams focused by combining the properties of refraction and reflection. Oppositely, dispersion is light's ability to break its spectrum into color. In her Properties of Light, Karla Soule stated,

Rainbows are natural phenomena that exemplify all of the above properties of light. They use refraction, dispersion, and internal reflection to produce their amazing hues. White light enters raindrops from the sun and gets dispersed and refracted inside the raindrops. When the dispersed light hits the back of the raindrop, it gets internally reflected, and when it emerges, it gets dispersed even more. (Soule, 2004)

The Bible's God is Light plus Soule's statement, rainbows are natural phenomena that exemplify all of the above properties of light, suggest the rainbow's traits say something about God. In a sense, the rainbow is the visible spectrum reflecting God. The Light of the World, Jesus Christ, the Father's express image, reflected His righteous, upright nature (perpendicular sine wave) to humanity. The Word divested Himself from the spirit realm, slowed, and bent, becoming a material Being. His refraction magnified God's mind to us. Jesus came focused (internal reflection) on the Father's will, dispersing His light in the brilliant colors of His eight festivals.

The rainbow is God's Gospel signature, the sign He would never again destroy humanity with floodwaters but would provide a way for us to become righteous through the interaction of light with water. Ezekiel identified the form of YHWH's glory (Presence) as the likeness of the rainbow (Ezek. 1:28). Paul applied light's life-giving properties to conversion, stating that light is the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). Light's physical laws, then, have relevance in a spiritual sense to the rainbow signature, God's covenant of restoration (Gen. 9:12–13).

Ezekiel and Paul's descriptions of God's glory likened the rainbow's colorful spectrum to the tabernacle's menorah light and His people basking in the covenant blessings on the appointed times. The term glory of God is an indirect way of saying names of God (Exod. 33:18, 34:5, John 12:41). From Passover to the Eighth Day's new beginning, the glory of Jesus's work is His eight sequential acts, rescuing humankind. Since a person is named by what he does, from YHWH's actions derive His covenant names. YHWH, Author and Finisher, embodies the spectrum of the Feasts of YHWH as YHWH-jireh, YHWH-ropheka, YHWH-nissi, YHWH-m'kaddishkem, YHWH-shalom, YHWH-rohi, YHWH-tsidkenu, and YHWH-shammah. The seven months from Abib (spring) to Tishri (fall) house eight Festivals of Light, 207 fixed days, matching the 207 Hebrew letter sum of light, , (1 + 6 + 200). The time of life-giving feast seasons and harvests equates to walking in YHWH's names.

A curious child may ask, What do the rainbow colors mean? From studying the properties of light in the Word of God, we behold the rainbow as both a promise and a figure of the Father's saving plan, a revelation of YHWH's names. His names tell how our Creator's hand in action delivers us from the power of darkness, just as in the beginning when He delivered the creation from tohu (Strong's 8414, worthless waste) and bohu (Strong's 922, empty, ruin) to a state of quietness and rest. Because God is not a God of chaos and disorder but of peace and harmony, all He creates, He sets at-one.

How important is light? The first words out of God's mouth in Genesis 1:3, Let there be light, and there was light (letter sum 470), or paraphrased, Let Light exist, and there will always be Light! proclaim His names. His strong arm creates righteousness in exiled humanity so we might live and call upon YHWH's name and walk in the light of His Presence (Psalm 116:13, Joel 2:32, Isa. 2:5, Mic. 4:5). Children born of Light prove His existence and the truth of His love, revealing His heart.

Introduction

They are age-old questions. Who is God, and what is He doing? Who are humans? Do we have a purpose? Where do we look for answers? Are we to know the answers to life?

Behold the Most High God! proclaimed John, resounding the Father's purpose from Genesis, Let light be, and there will be light! At the genesis of a new age, lightning pierced the dark, destroyed planet's atmosphere. Elohim's voice thundered an oath, Let the light of righteousness prevail! (Gen. 1:2–3, Isa. 45:18, 1 Cor. 14:33). In the following six days, Elohim regenerated the earth, restoring its abundance. John, by repeating Genesis 1:1, In the beginning, echoed Elohim's intent of rescuing humanity from the darkness, creating sons of light, children of the day, within the appointed time frame (1 Thess. 5:5). Like Genesis 1's eight creation acts, in eight signs, John unveils YHWH's new creation, His rescue and restitution of humanity from the tohu and bohu of life apart from God.

Could words define Jesus as God? John invites the reader to behold eight creation signs—Jesus embodying His Festivals of Light—and experience the fruit of His work, goodness, righteousness, and truth (Eph. 5:8–9). John's peculiar Gospel concludes with the impossibility of using words to describe God's Son, the Most High's image. In part, John resolves the dilemma using symbols, numbers, and key terms linked to the Old Testament's narrative. Otherwise, the number of necessary words describing the things Jesus did, if put into books, could not be housed in the world.

The Gospel of John has been an enigma throughout generations. Before its writing, three Synoptic Gospels chronicled events of Jesus's life and death, each with its theme (Jukes 1966): Matthew, Jesus as King (lion), Mark, Jesus as Servant (ox), Luke, Jesus as the Branch (man). John's Gospel portrayed Jesus as YHWH, the covenanting God (eagle), Israel's I AM. John's eight signs tie into the root sense of YHWH (chawah, Strong's OT 2331), to tell, to declare, to show, to make known the way of life. Organizing his text around the eight signs of the everlasting covenant, John identified Jesus's works with Genesis's Creator. Few humans comprehend the breadth of John's Gospel.

To whom was John the Apostle writing, and why? John was an apostle to the circumcision (Gal. 2:9), Israel, yet his Gospel explained matters and used wording as if he were writing to Gentiles. History indicates that large parts of Israel at the time of John's writing remained scattered in Gentile nations where the details of Hebrew thinking may have slipped away. On the other hand, if the circumcision was of the new covenant, that of the heart, then the circumcision would include converted people of both Israel and Gentiles, comprising a new Israel, the Israel of God.

Did John foresee generations of national Israelites and the Israel of God far removed in time, unfamiliar with the particularities of Hebrew thought? Through his fourth Gospel, God calls out, Behold, I AM! revealing YHWH's deity in the face of Jesus, stirring us to believe Jesus is the Seed of the Woman sent by the Father according to the Genesis promise. Jesus identified Himself as the I AM or the YHWH of Israel (Exod. 3:24), the Name of the covenanting God. He stated I AM the bread of life, I AM the living bread which came down from heaven, I AM the Light of the world, I AM the door of the sheep, I AM the good shepherd, I AM the resurrection and the life, I AM your Teacher and Lord, I AM the way, the truth, and the life, and I AM the true vine. The Hebrew verb I AM identifies His saving acts, enthroning the Name in every disciple's mind. Jesus's revelation of Himself connects to Israel's exodus story, but under a new covenant. Establishing the Father's blessing for all nations, John's Gospel unveiled Jesus, the new Israel.

Unlike the three Synoptic Gospels, John designed his Gospel with a chronology of signs. He chose eight events to illustrate the signs, patterned after YHWH's eight festivals. The signs also align with YHWH's eight sequential compound names while emphasizing a central theme of belief. Why? Israel's unbelief (idolatry) and Sabbath-breaking undergirded their failure to trust God's oath (sheba, sevened, OT 7650) to bring all things into His rest. The new covenant's design corrected Israel's faulty heart. Jesus's work of preaching the kingdom of God, casting out demons, forgiving sin, healing, raising the dead, and baptizing with His Holy Spirit demonstrated His power over their unbelief. He satisfied His oath by pouring out His Holy Spirit, begetting humanity with His life. John uniquely intertwined the Messiah's signs of light on the weekly and annual Sabbaths with overcoming unbelief. In the light of His holy Presence, unbelief gives way to belief that we might bear His name.

John the Baptist introduced the central theme of John's Gospel that through him all men might believe (John 1:7). Ninety-eight times (2·7²), the keyword believe (pisteuo) appears in John's Gospel, mainly indicating the beginning of an action (aorist subjunctive case, ECB, vol. 9, p 12). The various episodes define the development and results of belief. Belief is receiving Him (John 1:12), hearing and following Him (John 1:37), drinking (John 4:14), reacting in faith to Him (John 4:50), doing the Father's will (John 6:39–40), feeding on Him (John 6:57–58, 63), worshiping God in spirit and truth (John 4:21–24, 9:38), obeying (John 11:39–42), and committing to Him (John 11:16, 12:10–11). Closing his account, John restated, These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). While John the Baptist authenticated that Jesus was the Father's image (John 1:34), seeing the truth of Jesus's identity as the Lamb of God catalyzed belief.

This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent (John 6:29) involved a covenant relationship to accomplish God's good vision via the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (John 1:14). In attuning to flesh and blood, Jesus fulfilled the name Emmanuel with us is God so we might know the Father through a new way in a new temple. He fixed what we are not good at doing by tabernacling with and in us. To behold (אֲרוּ ‘ărû, letter sum 207) the intimate dynamics of God taking us from death to life, from darkness to light, from unbelief to belief is to see His Holyday strategy in Christ. It is as if John took the superlative white (לבנים), the unapproachable light of God, and refracted it through the prism of His Holy Spirit, displaying the Creator's magnificent spectrum in eight Festival signs. He effectively painted a living portrait of the invisible Father dwelling with us in Sabbath perfection forever. Jesus's Light and the Life creates children of light through the appointed times.

The structure of the fourth Gospel is simple. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the whole book, specifically to the first sign. Chapters 2–12 contain seven signs and their explanatory discourses. Seven chapters between the seventh and the eighth signs, Book Two (DBI, p. 455), interrupts the chiastic pattern, spotlighting Jesus's sacrificial love in action. Chapter 20 introduces a new beginning of life in a spirit realm, followed by John's concluding chapter 21 of the eighth sign and its discourse.

John paid much attention to Jesus's ministry to His disciples. Twenty percent (2/10) of his text, chapters 13 to 19, forms a book within a book. Book Two's disruption in the literary pattern heightens emphasis on its contents. In the interlude, Jesus awakens His disciples to their bride-like responsibilities in His new priest nation. Jesus sent them as the Father had sent Him, one in will, serving humanity, laying down their lives. Seven times in the Gospel of John, Jesus commanded His disciples (talmidim) to follow Me in His work as a priest (the second Adam). The duties given to the disciples paralleled the dominion given to Adam, God's firstborn and Eden's priest. Written explicitly to encourage, Book Two of John's Gospel teaches by example, poignantly focusing on the firstborns' unity with the Father and Son.

In addition to John's Gospel literary structure, organized around eight signs, he weaves several subthemes by contrast. Most obvious is the difference between unbelief and belief. The incompatibility between the way of life and the way of death is another. John weighs Jesus's words and actions alongside the words and actions of His enemies. Living works of God compare with dead works of men, fruitfulness is distinct from barrenness, and honoring God versus honoring humans. There is a chasm between agape love and human love. Images of light contrast with darkness, understanding versus deception, observing traditions differ from fulfilling the Law, and righteousness as opposed to wickedness. Strikingly, John uncovers humanity's blindness alongside the disciple's development of eyesight (eido). His narrative gives us insight into the initiation and maturing of a relationship with the Father as it gradually unfolds in His disciples in contrast to Jesus's pronouncement on Israel's unbelieving rulers, you will die in your sins, cut off from God and Israel. And most importantly, John presented Jesus as a faithful minister incessantly submitting to the Father's will in timing, guidance, and works, juxtaposed to and in conflict with the nation's leaders and their self-glorifying ritualistic religion.

A hallmark of John's Gospel lies in the details, imagery, and links to Old Testament narrative words and numbers. From the start, John's In the beginning boldly proclaims his text has the importance of Genesis 1, even superseding it by the Word's re-creation of humanity. John 1:1's 17-word, 52-letter salvo plays off Genesis 1:1's 7 words and 28 letters. Multiplying words with letters and then adding the sums equals the Hebrew lunar value for an hour [(7 x 28) + (17 x 52) = 1080] and the moon's radius (heart/purpose). The Hebrew lunar calendar marks the appointed Feasts' months, and hour and feast occur 21 times in John's Gospel. Three lines of seven words (21) conclude the Genesis creation (Gen. 2:2–3a), the Sabbath signature of I AM (21). His word choice and repetition emphasize, directing the text's meaning. John's seed words allude to a deeper understanding of their previous sense in the Word of God. Progressing in John's text, the seeds he plants germinate into realization. For example, light appears 24 times in John's Gospel, 23 times as a noun, and once in verb form. John uses light seven times in his introduction, six as nouns and one as a verb, mimicking Genesis 1's use of seven words or multiples in its sentences. Like Genesis 1, John connects life with light, In Him was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:4). The Hebrew verb living (chiah), letter sum of 23, matches John's number of light usage in noun form. Seventeen times Jesus spoke the word light, the same number John uses semeion (sign). Light is used twice in the same sentence eight times and eight times once in a sentence, pairing light with the eight signs. To what do John's eight signs of light point?

John chose the Greek word semeion for sign. According to Bullinger, this word has regard to the significance of the work done, whether in itself, or in the reason, object, design, and teaching intended to be conveyed by it, and both their number and significance point to something (CB, Ap. 176, p. 193). Strong's Greek/Hebrew Definitions define semeion as a manifest deed, having in itself an explanation of something hidden and secret (Strong's NT 4592). Semeion marked a feature of authentication by which a person was known and distinguished from others. A sign is a token of divine authority and power (Strong 2001, p. 1363). These definitions indicate John's eight signs explain hidden teaching or doctrine in their design by which the power and work of God are identified, known, and authenticated.

Semeion occurs seventeen times, and John offers eight signs. Seventeen, the seventh prime number, suggests complete victory, or as Bullinger concluded, a number signifying the perfection of spiritual order. Whereas eight is associated with regeneration and the beginning of a new creation or era (Number in Scripture, p. 258, 196). With a numerical value of 888 (8 + 8 + 8 = 24 = John's light word count), Jesus's name conveys the certainty (3) of the new creation (8) (Number in Scripture, p. 203). Things that consistently pertain to God's everlasting covenant are marked by eight. Circumcision on the eighth day was a semeion of the covenant promises. Eight festivals of God (semeions) are listed in Leviticus 23 and Numbers 28–29. Eight persons came through the flood to a new covenant and new beginning (2 Pet. 2:5, 1 Pet. 3:20). If the seventeen occurrences of the word semeion and the eight signs in John's Gospel suggest anything, they point numerically to YHWH's new covenant faithfulness in bringing many sons to glory in Him in the fullness of time.

Bullinger identified John's writing style as introversion (CB, Ap. 176, p. 193). The first item corresponds with the eighth, the second with the seventh, the third with the sixth, and the fourth with the fifth (Bullinger 1898, p. 374). Of the four pairs, the second of each pair moves forward to the fullness of what the first depicted. To Bullinger, this method of writing (also called an epanodos or chiasmus) was by far the most stately and dignified presentation of a subject (Bullinger 1898, p. 374). Used in the most solemn and important portions of Scripture, it uncovered the true and whole sense, making clear the complete interpretation and explaining the writing's dynamics (Bullinger 1898, p. 374).

Since John's signs form a chiasmus, so do the everlasting covenant's Festivals. What was begun by the Passover results in the Eighth Day. The exodus of the First Day of Unleavened Bread moves forward to its fulfillment at the Feast of Tabernacles. Likewise, YHWH's preliminarily work of freedom on the Last Day of Unleavened Bread has its ultimate value on the Day of Atonements. The Festival of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets tie the firstfruits' perfection and acceptance before God to the administration of justice and peace. Making Jesus's faithfulness evident, John's chiastic style opens the real and complete sense of each Holyday's importance, explaining how each operates as an integral phase of the everlasting covenant.

Coinciding with God's Festivals, eight compound names of YHWH chronologically appear from Genesis to Ezekiel. Prophetic in nature, YHWH-jireh (YHWH sees/provides), YHWH-rophe (YHWH heals), YHWH-nissi (YHWH is my banner, victory), YHWH-m'kaddesh (YHWH sanctifies), YHWH-shalom (YHWH is peace), YHWH-rohi (YHWH is my Shepherd), YHWH-tsidkenu (YHWH our righteousness), and YHWH-shammah (YHWH dwells there) declare YHWH to Israel and the nations. YHWH's everlasting covenant fixes entirely on Jesus's identity as the Son of God. To know Him is to know the Father, and to know God is eternal life (John 17:3). Each of YHWH's compound names in the order manifested to Israel matches in theme to John's eight signs and, therefore, to His Festivals.

YHWH commanded Israel to proclaim or announce (qara) the Feasts in their seasons (Lev. 23:1–2). He decreed they be called out loudly to get someone's attention, initiating contact. It implied summoning an official assemblage of people. Qara also signified the specification of a name and naming indicates creation and sovereignty over a distinct task, stating an individual's primary characteristics (Strong's Hebrew/Greek Dictionary, OT 7121). Israel called them into existence by qara or proclaiming the Holydays, and His Festivals call out His holy essence, His name. Israel responded to God's qara by qara, calling upon YHWH's name, and summoning His aid. Qara is a consequence of seeing (eido) God's vision. John's Gospel proclaimed God's Festivals by Jesus's signs (works). Each sign focused on a title of YHWH, satisfying a need that we might worship the Father in spirit and truth.

Ethan, a wise man in David's court, saw the association between God's festivals and His name.

15 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are the people who know the joyful sound [who understand and appreciate the spiritual blessings symbolized by the feasts]; they walk, O YHWH, in the light and favor of Your countenance!

16 In Your name they rejoice all the day, and in Your righteousness, they are exalted. (Psalm 89:15–16, AMP)

Following Old Testament narrative patterns, John's Gospel identifies YHWH's name and work, the I AM of ancient Israel's exodus, with Jesus executing the Father's saving love outlined in His appointed solemn Days of Joy. John chose particular signs to promote the belief that Jesus was the promised Seed, the Messiah, that Prophet, the Son of God in whom we may have life. The signs verified Jesus as Israel's YHWH and confirmed His step-by-step covenant work on each Holyday, reuniting His kingdom in heaven on earth. He personified the eight Sabbath Festivals, the eight prophetic visions of Israel and the nations' restoration. The signs pointed to the Father, the Most High God, to His will in giving all blessings that we might live with Him forever.

YHWH's Festivals and His weekly Sabbaths are shadows of things to come, the substance being Christ (Col. 2:17). This study examines each sign and its festival, then investigates John's discourse. Finally, it analyzes each name of YHWH and the event where it appears, discovering the Festival connection. Headings under each sign's discourse follow the titles in the New King James Version. Each chapter has three parts—the sign, the discourse, and the Name.

Additional information in the appendixes, charts, timelines, calendars, and essays pertaining to the Festivals enhance understanding of matters stated in the text as they are referenced, unlocking the unspoken language of literary patterns and biblical numbers. Within their context, word values embody a voice to a unique cosmic language. Highly significant, prime numbers (P) cannot be divided, and Pythagorean primes (PP) indicate 90° uprightness. Though overwhelming at first, a much different understanding of numbers than moderns develops as the reader progresses through this monograph.

Who is God, and what is He doing? In the beginning, God's emotions flowed out in a symphony of light, singing His creation into existence. Through John's In the beginning, the Word calls for us to see the light of His vision, the things God has prepared for those who love Him. The Messiah, the Christ, came in the flesh that we, purified by His atoning blood, might dwell and walk in His Presence and rejoice in His holy name for eternity. Those the Father calls into YHWH's labors harmonize with Him, fully grasping His sacred Festivals and Sabbaths, personifying His beautiful saving works, and bearing God's name with knowledge and wisdom, worshiping Him in spirit and in truth.

The Gospel of John Outline

¹

A. Introduction, John 1

B. First Sign, John 2; discourse, John 2:13–4:45

C. Second Sign, John 4:46–54; no discourse

D. Third Sign, John 5:1–15; discourse, John 5:16–47

E. Fourth Sign, John 6:1–14, no discourse

E. Fifth Sign, John 6:15–21; discourse, John 6:22–8:59

D. Sixth Sign, John 9:1–12; discourse, John 9:13–10:42

C. Seventh Sign, John 11:1–44; discourse, John 11:45–12:50

F. Book Two, John 13–19

A. Introduction, John 20

B. Eighth Sign, John 21:1–14; discourse, John 21:15–25

Holyday/Signs/Names Chart

Annual Holyday Timeline

The Appointed Festivals

YHWH said to Moses, 2 "Give the Israelites instructions regarding YHWH's appointed festivals, the days when all of you will be summoned to worship me. 3 You may work for six days each week, but on the seventh day, all work must come to a complete stop. It is YHWH's Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day to assemble for worship. It must be observed wherever you live.

4 In addition to the Sabbath, YHWH has established festivals, holy occasions to be observed at the proper time each year. (Lev. 23:1, NLT)

The First Sign: Passover; YHWH-jireh

Passover

YHWH-jireh

Lev. 23:4–5

4 ‘These are the feasts of YHWH, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.

5 On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is YHWH's Passover.

NKJV

(Note: the Hebrew day begins at even. The Passover was not a holy convocation but was observed within Israel's family units. After beginning Abib 14 with the Passover meal at night, the daylight of Abib 14 was a time of preparation for the first Holyday of UnleavenedBread, celebrated as the Night-to-be-Much-Observed (NTBMO) on the evening starting Abib 15.)

The First Sign Outline

Introduction

The First Sign: Water Turned to Wine

Conclusion to the First Sign, John 2:1–12

The Discourse of John 2:13–4:42

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Conclusion of John 2:13–22

The Discerner of Hearts

Conclusion of John 2:22–23

The New Birth

Conclusion of John 3:1–22

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

Conclusion of John 3:22–26

The Samaritan Woman Meets Her Messiah

Conclusion of John 4:1–26

The Whitened Harvest

Conclusion of John 4:27–38

The Savior of the World

Conclusion of John 4:39–42

Conclusion of the First Sign Discourse

Names of YHWH: YHWH-jireh, Genesis 22:1–19

Conclusion

First Sign Introversion Links

Introduction

It is well known that the New Testament's twenty-seven manuscripts have their foundation and storyline in the Tanakh's twenty-two scrolls (Josephus, p. xvii). The Old Testament's brilliant narrative, unsurpassed poetry, and embellished writings feed the New Testament's authors' choice of words, themes, and numeric patterns. Just as the Pentateuch's narrative is carried forward, stitched together at its seams by passwords and calculative characters, the New Testament writers used the same codes. A Genesis pattern is clearly seen in John's introduction to his Gospel account (See Appendix: Numerical Significance).

Gen 1:1–2

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (God created = 289, 17², 15² + 8²).

7 words, 28 letters, sum 2701, (37·73), 2 + 7 + 0 + 1 = 10]

2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God (306, 2·153, 15² + 9²) was hovering over the face of the waters (1369, 37², 35² + 12²).

[14 words, 52 letters, sum 3542 (2·23·77 or 46·77), 3 + 5 + 4 + 2 = 14]. NKJV [i] mine.

Gen 1:5a

And God called (2 words, 10 letters, sum 403, 13·31) the light [237, (3·79, 79 = 22nd prime)] Day [56 (7·8)], [4 words, 17 letters, sum 696 (8· 3·29), 6 + 9 + 6 = 21] NKJV [i] mine.

John 1:1–5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God [17 words, 52 letters, letter sum 3627 (39·93, 3·13·31·3), 3 + 6 + 2 + 7 = 18].

2 He was in the beginning with God [7 words, 25 letters, sum 2876]. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made [12 words, 54 letters, sum 6196]. [vv. 1-3 sum 12699, (153·83, 23rd P), 1 + 2 + 6 + 9 + 9 = 27].

4 In Him was life (5·163, 163 = 38th prime), and the life was the Light (11·17·10) of men.

[12 words, 37 letters, sum 8261 (11·751), 8 + 2 + 6 + 1 = 17].

Note: 11·17·37 is ten generations of Adam to Noah's years after the firstborn.

5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it [13 words, 51 letters (3·17, 7th P), sum 5756]. [vv. 1-5: 61 words (18th P, 8th PP), 219 letters (3·73, 21st P), sum 26716 (4·6679, the 861st P, 21·41), 2 + 6 + 7 + 1 + 6 = 22] NKJV [i] mine

John announces a new creation by the Logos in 17 Greek words and 52 letters, a numeric chiasm mimicking Genesis 1:1. With a letter sum of 3627 or 39·93 (factored, 3·13·31·3), John 1:1 locks into Genesis 1:1's letter sum 2701 (factored, 37·73) and its major players, God, light, life, and the Logos. The Word is light, opening the eyes (wisdom, 73) and giving life (Psalm 119:18, 25, 50). The Word is the audible breath of Elohim (86). In the beginning, the Logos (letter sum 443, 86th prime) was God (134, 2·67, 19th prime) and with God. In Him was life (815, 5·163, 38th prime), and the life was humanity's Light (1870, 11·17·10). The Logos is God (134), life (815), and light (1500), a letter sum of 2,449, factored 31·79, the 11th and 22nd prime numbers. The first letter of Genesis 1:1's seven Hebrew words (bet = 2, bet = 2, aleph = 1, aleph = 1, hey = 5, waw = 6, hey = 5) sums to 22, the total number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. John 1:1's 13·31 core is calling into existence, naming a new creation, equal to Genesis 1's and God called, 13·31.

After Elohim declared let there be light (232, 8·29, 10th P, 4th PP), and there is light (238, 2·7·17, 1st, 4th, 7th primes, Jacob's 147 years), He set the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens to give light to the earth on day four (Gen. 1:14, letter sum 3744, 144·26). Both 37 and 44 mark YHWH's handiwork. The word for the heavenly lights is me'orot, the menorah's root letters, which divide between (143, 11·13) day and night, like the tree of life, Elohim's wisdom of life, knowing good from evil. The me'orot were for signs (801, 9·89, 24th P, 10th PP), and for appointed times (170), and for days (100), and years (400), totaling 1131, 39·29. The appointed times, days, and years (670, 10·67, the 19th prime) relate to the Metonic 19-year cycle of the Hebrew lunar calendar. John 1:1's 3627 sum forms a numeric sentence of 36 (tent, ohel) and 27 (light, ohr), meaning the tent of light. The tabernacle's holy place with its tree-of-life menorah shining light on the 12 shewbread was Elohim's meeting location with Israel Sabbath by Sabbath, and feast by feast. In God's wisdom, the seven-lamp menorah was fashioned in a 3-1-3 pattern identical to Genesis 1:1's seven-word division 3-1-3. The menorah construction, Exodus 25:31–37's seven-verse, 403 letters factor to 13·31, similar to John 1:1. Exodus 25:31–32 has 28 words and 121 letters (11·11), vv. 33–34 has 26 words and 121 letters (11·11), and vv. 35–37 has 40 (5·8) words and 161 letters (7·23). John 1's Logos (373) is the menorah's light (11³ = 1331), the light of holiness shining forth the perfection (7) of living (23) in Jesus's life. The Light (27) and its Life (18) is humanity's goal, the Aaronic blessing (Num. 6:24–26, 2718) of living in God's House with unrestricted access to Him (Psalm 27:4). Our destiny is John 1:1-3's 36-word sum 153·83, 23rd prime, the eighth sign's 153 harvested fish living (23) in Jesus Christ, the new temple. Moreover, John's five-verse introduction is stamped with 61 words, 6 + 1 = 7, and 219 letters (3·73, 21st P), Elohim's sure (3) wisdom (73) signed (21) in His Word (22).

On a magnitude greater than Genesis 1, John 1 unveils God's new creation, His Isaac-like children who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12–13, Gen. 21:12). John framed a blueprint, mimicking Genesis 1's eight creation acts (17²), God's rescuing the entrapped earth, ordering the not good, empty, and raging chaos of lifelessness. Without God, death's darkness imprisons humans in deaf-blindness. How can we humans, thus isolated, come to know light? How can people who cannot hear and see be taught? John planted answers that germinate, take root, and blossom in the covenant story of the eight signs.

In His merciful loving-kindness, the Father's light shattered our dark existence. Sent from God, the Light came as a human brother. Deaf-blind humans touched Him with their hands, felt His nature, and comprehended that darkness could not extinguish His glorious light (John 1:4, 9, 14, 1 John 1:1). The world sat in chains of darkness, unaware that light even existed. God also sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for His Light, announcing Light existed and had come so all people might believe in Him. Jesus's presence revealed the Father to deaf-blind people as something they experienced and tangibly felt. Jesus gently encourages us to Come, follow Me in the way of light (1 John 1:1–4). In His light, we see light (Psalm 36:9, John 8:12).

Sadly, the world, preferring their dual sensory impairment, did not recognize the promised Messiah, the Creator YHWH, and neither did His own people, the nation of Israel. But some did grasp Him, believing in His Name, and experienced the reality of their hope. Like Genesis 1:3, and God called (403, 13·31) naming light, in John 1:1 (3·13·31·3), God calls (names) His children of Light into existence. They learned to walk with God in light as He walks, numerically depicted as 49, 7². These successfully became the children of Light, born of the will of God (John 1:9–13, 1 John 1:7), having been transformed and adapted to light's conditions.

Entrance into the Father's kingdom of heaven demands an intervening relationship with YHWH Messiah, connecting the two realms. The YHWH ladder interfaces heaven's spirit with earth's material world, giving us access to cross over from death to life, defilement to holiness. On earth in human form, YHWH tabernacled among us so we could sense and feel His innate love, walking in the glory of every law given to Israel through Moses (John 1:14–18). As the Master of Light, He became the solution to humanity's deaf-blindness, our isolation from God, and our separation from life. Unblemished by sin and not subject to death as are we, Jesus became the Intervener, the agent through whom we could meet and experience the Father. He became the means to acquire the knowledge and skill to live life in the spirit realm of God's kingdom. The Father, through His Son, is creating the hearing ear and opening the eyes of the blind so that we may fully bear Their glory, Their image, and Their likeness (Gen. 1:26).

John set the stage for the first act with a contrasting backdrop of those sent by God who could see and those sent by men who could not see (John 1:6, 19, 22). Sightless men demanded, was John the Christ (from the Writings), Elijah (the Prophets), or the Prophet (the Law)? The Spirit or ruah Elohim led John the Baptist out of the wilderness in the fall to preach repentance to Israel, preparing them to receive Him. All of the country of Judea and they of Jerusalem were baptized in the Jordan River by him, confessing and acknowledging their sins (Mark 1:5, Joel 2:12–13, 28). Matthew and Luke tie the timing of the voice crying out in the wilderness to a second coming message, warning Judah's self-serving rulers of the wrath to come, the Messiah's burning up the chaff and gathering the wheat into His barn (Matt. 3:7–12, Luke 3:16–17). He admonished Israel to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, the theme of the ten days from the Feast of Trumpets to the Day of Atonements. Jesus, the sum of the Law, Prophets, and Writings, baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire—also fall festival themes.

In the autumn of AD 26, John the Baptist baptized Jesus at Bethabara (124, 4·31, patriarchal crossing site) and saw the Spirit descend, anointing Him (John 1:28, 32, Luke 3: 21–22). The Father in heaven Himself named Jesus, You are My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased (John 1:29–34, Mark 1:11). After John baptized Jesus, he identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, descriptors of His atoning sacrifice and giving of the Holy Spirit. These two things become the game-changers for humanity's unbelief. Jesus called His first disciples and turned the water into wine at a wedding feast before departing into the wilderness, fasting, led by the Spirit, the ruah Elohim, to be tempted by the devil for forty days and forty nights. Like Genesis 1:2, the prime mover in the first restorative act is the Spirit moving, pouring out, and anointing.

How is it possible for God's Holy Spirit to dwell in unholy, flesh and blood humanity? Yet, Jesus lives in humble hearts, contrite in spirit (Isa. 66:1–2), gifted with repentance, and cleansed in baptism. As the ladder between heaven and earth, He became the place of cleansing and purification, supporting us by grace to access the Father, to worship Him in Spirit and holiness. The people turned and changed. Jesus, the new temple and the temple's offerings, healed deaf ears, blind eyes, and lame feet. The Father's exact image, Jesus was the Seed and Savior Adam and Eve had longingly looked for that they might cross over, returning to walk with their Creator God.

This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased! (Matt. 3:16–17) verified Jesus was the perfect human sent by the Father. The title My beloved Son went deep into Israel's history (Gen. 22:2, Psalm 2:7, Isa. 42:1). Solomon, a Shiloh type prophesied to come out of Judah, God named Jedidiah, meaning beloved by God. The same root is in David (Daviydh), beloved (Gen. 49:10, 2 Sam. 12:24–25). David, the warrior king defeating Israel's enemies, and Solomon, the king of peace establishing Israel by building the temple, were Messianic antitypes (Zech. 6:12–13, Acts 2:30, John 2:19).

These two beloved men's roles are noteworthy. To establish his nation, a king must first conquer his enemies. Afterward, building the temple in a time of peace unified Israel. The temple gave Israel access to worship God and cross over from death to life (Strong's OT 1012, Bethabara, John 1:28, Judg. 7:24). Temple worship communicated God's glory to Israel, and they became holy, beloved sons of the living God (Mal. 1:2, Rom. 9:25, 2 Cor. 7:1, Col. 3:12, 2 Thess. 2:13, 1 Pet. 4:12, 1 John 3:2). Israelites without the temple could not keep their old covenant obligations to worship YHWH at the appointed times. Likewise, without Jesus's resurrected temple, our new covenant obligations, the reality of His Sabbaths and Holyday Feasts, cannot be fulfilled.

Most importantly, the Son of David conquered evil and its effects through the new temple, realizing the promise to build David an everlasting household. As a Son, He builds God's house not with stones (‘abanim) but with living stones (banim, children), establishing a new holy, beloved nation, not of this world, the Israel of God. John, the beloved disciple (John 21:20), details how to cross over, be born of God, and develop as one of His holy, beloved children in Him (John 1:12).

In the scope of what the Son of God (John 1:34) came in the flesh to do, John planted two seeds. These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing (John 1:28), which is Beth-abara, house (412, 4·103, 27th P) of crossing over (207) (EBD), Jacob's crossing place (Gen. 32:22) and Gideon's victory site (Judg. 7:24). In the context of baptism (cleansing, rebirth), it is associated with the Baptist's identity, the voice of one crying in the wilderness (John 1:23). Israel's pharisaic religion did not support life or embody God's glory. In name, Beth-abara suggests crossing over from worshiping ritualistic tradition to the new spirit-led human, walking with God in temple holiness.

John buried the second seed in his account of two disciples coming to Jesus the day after the Son of God was baptized and anointed by the Spirit (John 1:36). The Baptist pointed out Jesus to his two disciples, Behold the Lamb of God! They followed Jesus, asking, Where are You staying? At about the tenth hour, Jesus invited them come and see (1944, 27·72, numeric signatures for light, 207 and Shabbat, 720). They spent the remainder of the day with Him. Two is the value of the Hebrew letter bet, dwelling place. A double portion (two) alludes to 2/10's firstfruits spending the remaining day in His Presence (light). The first-called disciple also said, come and see to others. In the context of Jesus's first two followers, what significance is the tenth hour?

In Genesis 1, And God said (letter sum 343 or 7·7·7), God spoke ten times, creating order and life. The Logos spoke ten words to Israel at Mount Sinai in a covenant. Verse 10 of Leviticus 23, verse sum of 7770, 10·777, describes the way to holiness and life in His Presence through the firstfruit Wavesheaf (Jesus resurrected, ascended to the Father on the first day of the weeks count). Within the framework of time, ten implies John's Gospel parades the complete order of a cycle, leaving nothing wanting in the generations of humanity (Bullinger, Number in Scripture, p. 243). John 20's introduction to the eighth sign is John 1's counterpart, chiastically linking the two disciples' tenth hour to ten disciples seeing the risen Jesus on the first day of the weeks. Ten joins time with men². In ten generations of Adam to Noah, the sums of their ages tell a compelling story of rebirth to a new beginning. The ten generations numerically foretell YHWH achieving His Holydays, the eight Festivals of Light within the set seven months of 207 days (See Appendix: Numerical Significance, chart Ten Generations).

Humanity's festival fertility sets upon God's mercy and grace through YHWH's blood sacrifice. Ten gerahs (a silver half-shekel), the value of each person's redemption (price paid for citizenship in Israel, accessing the promises, Exod. 30:12–16, Num. 3:47), was associated with the foundation silver sockets of the Tabernacle of Witness (mentioned ten times). In other words, the blood price the Lamb of God paid for each human is foundational to what takes place when God's dwelling place (tabernacle, miskan, 410; Strong's 4908) becomes the meeting place of His people at the appointed times (tent/ tabernacle, EHL, ohel, 36, Strong's 168; mo'ed, 120, Strong's 4150, Num. 19:4). YHWH's blood cleanses His people so they may come into His Presence and have His light (207) shine upon them each weekly and annual Sabbath (702), growing in his holiness. Israel could see God's promises to rescue humanity through His festival cycle, revealing God's heart to obtain children.

Both Bethabara and two disciples in YHWH's house at the tenth-hour hint at what John's Gospel signifies, Jesus's hand in action (yod, ten), His love that no one should perish, taking that which became tohu and bohu (not My people) and creating good (My people). John nailed the point before the reader in Jesus's address to Peter, "You are Simon, the son of Jonah, and you will be called Peter, Cephas (729, 27²) a stone (a son) in Oholibah, Jerusalem's symbolic name, My tabernacle is in her (stone, OT eben, letter sum 53, John 1:42, Eph. 2:20, Rev. 21:14, 19, Oholibah, letter sum 53, Ezek. 23:4–44). In Hebrew, peter, (12 times), means firstling, letter sum 289 or 17², the 7th prime number squared.

Following the sequence of time from John's testimony in verse 19 to the introduction's last scenario are four days leading to the first sign. In the conversation between Nathanael and Jesus, John seeded the new covenant's goal. Nathanael sat under a fig tree, meditating on Jacob's ladder dream at Bethel (Gen. 28:10–17, only John used the name, Nathanael, meaning gift from God, a hand in action yielding fruit; Strong's NT 3482, OT 5417, Vine's OT 5414, or by the Hebrew Word Picture, by the hand of El, His covenant gift gives life). Jesus called him "an Israelite without guile (4233, 3·17·83), rare praise since Jacob's descendants bore his conniving nature. God changed Jacob's name to Israel at the brook Jabbok crossing when he prevailed in blessing after YHWH struck his hip, constraining him to walk by faith in the promises instead of human will (Gen. 32:24–32). Nathanael's ancestor, Jacob, received revelation from God while taking advantage of others. Nathanael, free from deception, would in Christ" interact with the Most High God and be fruitful. Through the Israelite Jesus, unlimited fellowship between the Father and humans meets the covenant's promise of dwelling with God, seeing how He lives in holiness.

John's eight signs tell how the works (melakah) of the Spirit of the Most High God are blessed in Him, yielding fruit of God's covenant gift. The first human, Adam and Eve, failed to rule with God as priests, unfaithfully breaking the covenant (Hosea 6:7). The second Adam, who committed no sin nor was deceit found in His mouth (1 Pet. 2:22), did the priestly work (melakah) by the Spirit of God (ruah Elohim). Jesus tabernacles with and in us creating the new human, cleansing, dressing, preparing, and keeping, translating us from one state to another, accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6). In Leviticus, the holiness book, YHWH occurs 53 times. Through one Man chosen, the Messiah, many receive the blessing.

The Genesis creation account of Adam and Eve contained vivid patterns that John drew upon to parallel the new creation of God's beloved family. In the beginning implants a germ in each reader's mind to think about the Creator, His power (ruah Elohim), and His skill in creating beauty and harmony out of chaos. He inferred this same awesome Being was now at work making a similar breathtaking creation in the spirit realm, creating out of humanity's brokenness the new human fit for a new heaven and new earth. Adam, God's first son, had the preeminent role of a firstborn priest and father to mortals. The lovely, pure Eve, taken and built from half of Adam, was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, his counterpart (ally and defender) helping Adam to do what he could not do alone, to fill the earth (melakah of ruah Elohim). Though they were two bodies, they were one, now with the capacity to procreate. Eve became the mother of all living. Similarly, a new Adam, God's begotten Son, holds the preeminent role of High Priest, and a new Eve is created in Him, being built into a spiritual house (Isa. 9:6–7). The new Eve arrayed in clean white linen embodies the heavenly Jerusalem, the mother of us all (Gal. 4:26). The new Jerusalem, the Bride, created in Christ, is the strength of His strength and essence of His essence, a perfect, holy counterpart comparable to Him and a suitable partner ready to share in His work in the new garden (gan, גנ letter sum 53) via ruah Elohim. God made Adam and Eve one body. The Bridegroom and Bride are one Spirit before the Father, through whom the new race is brought forth (1 Cor. 6:17) in the garden Tabernacle of Witness, the interface of the appointed times.

Commanded to be fruitful and multiply, Adam and Eve were to subdue, rule, tend and keep, and name (discern/know and judge) by God's spirit of wisdom. In like manner, declaring the Father's heart, the new Adam and Eve overcome enemies, rule, tend and keep, and name (discern and judge between clean and unclean, holy and unholy) by the Spirit of God (ruah Elohim), calling into reality Elohim's family.

How important is the existence of the bridegroom and bride? In any land where their voice ceases to be heard, that nation's hope is cut off (Rev. 18:23). The hope of God's kingdom's fruitfulness demands that the joyful voice of the bridegroom and bride be heard.

John skillfully captured how Jesus used the relationships we experience in the flesh to open our ears and eyes to God's love for His eternal family. Because the Bridegroom and Bride exist, the second Adam and the new Eve, the kingdom of God exists. Through Jesus, the Stone, the Temple, and the Priest, the door to the Garden of Eden reopens. He confirms the covenant blessings, the election, the grace, and the enduring Name stamped in sevens. I AM the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star (letter sum 4802, 2·7·7·7·7). And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come!" (letter sum 7770, 2·3·5·7·37, Rev. 22:16–17).

The First Sign: Water Turned to Wine

2:1 On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, They have no more wine.

4 Dear woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied. My time has not yet come.

5 His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you. (NIV)

6 And there were set there six waterpots