Between the Eves

NUMBER       SIGN         DEGREES     EARTH YEARS    TIME PERIOD       
1                      Virgo         45 (x 72 =)     3240                        13800 to 10500BC       
2                      Leo            36                   2592                        10500 to 7900BC       
3                      Cancer       20                   1440                        7900 to 6500BC       
4                      Gemini      28                   2016                         6500 to 4500BC       
5                      Taurus       36                   2592                         4500 to 1900BC       
6                      Aries         25                   1800                         1900 to 100BC       
7                      Pisces       36                    2592                         100BC to 2500AD       
8                      Aquarius   26                   1872                          2500 to 4400AD       
9                      Capricorn  27                   1944                          4400 to 6300AD       
10                    Sagittarius 32                   2304                          6300 to 8600AD       
11                    Scorpio      30                   2160                          8600 to 10800AD       
12                    Libra         19                   1368                          10800 to 12100AD     

Eves as in Two Evenings: Dusk and Dawn, Autumn and Spring Equinoxes 

An evening need not exclusively reference the time between day and night, but may likewise refer to the transition between night and day as well. By context, the term 'Evening' on a daily basis, is similar to if not synonymous with the term 'equinox' on an annual basis: Equinox means "Equal (Even) Night (and Day)", in reference to the fact that at the spring and autumn Equinoxes, the day and night each consist of precisely 12 hours within each 24 hour period - an equal balance between darkness and light. Thus, the definition of the term Evening reveals a similar definition to the term Equinox: the time of evening out a period of darkness and light - or light and darkness. In the sense of light being assimilated to the summer and darkness being assimilated to the winter, the role of an evening is the same as the role of an equinox, and therefore it is realized that there are in fact two evenings in each day, just as there are two equinoxes in each year.

In the Jewish calendar, the day actually begins at dusk - thus, dusk is the first evening of the Jewish day, just as the Jewish New Year takes place at the Autumn Equinox and thus, Autumn is the first Equinox of the Jewish year. In both cases, whether it be in reference to the twilight of day or the waning of the solar year, time begins anew at the period just before the rise of darkness. 

Zechariah 14:7 states "And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light" referring to the harmony of balance between darkness and light (night and day / winter and summer), and correlates with the concept of an evening being capable of occurring simultaneously at daybreak... the simultaneous dawning of a new Age from the ashes of the old one.

The Destroyers of Jerusalem Destroyed: Zechariah 14:6-8 "…On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a day known only to the LORD, without day or night; but when evening comes, there will be  light. And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the Eastern Sea and the other half toward the Western Sea, in summer and winter alike..." Note that this 'day' refers to not one singular day, but a time taking place over a period of at least one year., and therefore the evening in question is not synonymous with a singular daily occurrence.

Thus, the dawn evening taking place at the 12th hour of the Jewish day is significant for several religious-spiritual reasons. First, the Old Testament scripture referencing the sacrifice between the eves; second, the scapegoat and paschal lamb traditions and the murder of the first-born sons of Egypt in the Old testament Exodus; third, the Hours of the Duat in the Egyptian Book of the Coming forth by day; fourth, the Dawn Spring Equinox conception and Midnight Winter Solstice birth of the Christ and Autumn twilight conception and midday Summer Solstice birth of John the Baptist; and  fifth, the unlucky number 13.

Old Testament Scripture Referencing the Sacrifice Between the Eves (beyn ha'arbayim)

EXODUS 29:38 And this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs daily, sons of a year; 39 the one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the second [hasheni] lamb you shall offer between the evenings [beyn ha'arbayim].  40 And a tenth of fine flour anointed with beaten oil, a fourth of a hin, and a drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine, for the one lamb.  41 And you shall offer the second [hasheni] lamb between the evenings [beyn ha'arbayim]; you shall do it like the morning food offering and its drink offering, for a soothing fragrance, a fire offering to Jehovah. (LTB) Note that one lamb was offered in the morning - a definitive measurement of fixed time of day, whereas 'between the evenings' references a period of time that is adjustable based upon the time of year, as the times that the evenings occur change markedly with the seasons. Morning refers to the time between daybreak and midday, whereas between the evenings refers to a period that can consist of anywhere from under eight hours to over sixteen hours in a single day These periods of light and darkness between the evenings are inverted based upon the time of year: during the summer solstice for example, there are over 16 hours of light and under eight hours of darkness between the evenings, whereas during the winter solstice, there as over 16 hours of darkness and under eight hours of light between the evenings.

A typical 24 hour period at the Vernal Equinox: PM Evening > Night (approximately 12 Hours) > AM Evening > Day (approximately 12 Hours) > Etc

A typical 24 hour period at the Summer Solstice: PM Evening > Night (approximately 8 Hours) > AM Evening > Day (approximately 16 Hours) > Etc

A typical 24 hour period at the Autumn Equinox: PM Evening > Night (approximately 12 Hours) > AM Evening > Day (approximately 12 Hours) > Etc

A typical 24 hour period at the Winter Solstice: PM Evening > Night (approximately 16 Hours) > AM Evening > Day (approximately 8 Hours) > Etc

Since midnight and midday are precise waypoints of time, whereas the evenings are transitory in nature depending on the time of year, midday and midnight can be considered pillars or poles - perhaps Joachim and Boaz are a reference to this.  

I KINGS 18:26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, "O Baal, hear us!"  But there was no voice; no one answered.  Then they leaped about the altar which they had made.  27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened."  28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them.  29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice.  But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. (NKJV) 

I KINGS 18:36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, "LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word.  37 Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that You are the LORD God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again."  38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.  39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, "The LORD, He is God!  The LORD, He is God!"  40 And Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!"  So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there. (NKJV) 

I KINGS 18:41 Then Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain."  42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink.  And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43 and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea."  So he went up and looked, and said, "There is nothing."  And seven times he said, "Go again."  44 Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!"  So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.'"  45 Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain.  So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.  46 Then the hand of the LORD came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. (NKJV) 

Exodus 12:6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening (between the evenings). The middle of the lunar month, under a full moon

Leviticus 23:5 In the fourteenth [day] of the first month at even (between the evenings) [is] the LORD’s Passover.

Numbers 9:3 In the fourteenth day of this month, at even (between the evenings), ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. The Autumn Equinox and Yom Kippur are within his appointed season.

Numbers 9:5 And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even (between the evenings) in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.

Numbers 9:11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even (between the evenings) they shall keep it, [and] eat it with unleavened bread and bitter [herbs].
 

The Dawn Spring Equinox conception and Midnight Winter Solstice birth of the Christ and Autumn twilight conception and midday Summer Solstice birth of John the Baptist

Jesus was crucified at the same time of year that he was conceived

The Murder of the First-Born Sons of Egypt, the Scapegoat and the Passover Lamb

Exodus 12:23 says that when God passed over the doors of the houses which had been marked with the blood of the Passover lamb, He would not allow the destroyer to enter into the house to kill the firstborn of that house. 

If Exodus 12:23 provides some clarity with what was going on, it appears that God’s primary activity in the tenth plague was not in killing the firstborn sons of Egypt, but in protecting people from the destroyer that had come to kill all things.

In this way, the “passing over” of the Lord is not so much the action of God in skipping a house, but in covering the house with a hand of protection so that the destroyer could not enter that house to kill the firstborn son. Exodus 12:23 indicates that there were two beings involved in the death of the firstborn sons of Egypt: There was God, who put a hand of protection over certain houses, and there was the destroyer, who sought to destroy all, but who was thwarted from doing so by the protective hand of God over certain homes. 
 

The Hours of the Duat in the Egyptian Book of the Coming Forth by Day

The Unlucky Number 13

The 13th hour

The Tribe of Benjamin

Genesis 49:27 - "Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil." Both occurring between the evenings
Genesis 35:18 - "And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin."
Luke 1:59-60 - "And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John."

Uriah, Bathsheba and David

Eves as in two women

Two Eves: the Virgin (Daybreak / Spring) and the Crone (Dusk / Autumn): Isis and Nephthys / Mary and Elizabeth / Hathor and Sekhmet / Eve and Inanna... the two kites over the tomb of Osiris and the two upon the mound. The two serpents that Seker stands upon.

Eve as a Serpent - two eves = two serpents... two evenings as two serpents = the two serpents and Seker

It has been suggested that the Hebrew name Eve (חַוָּה) also bears resemblance to an Aramaic word for "snake" (Old Aramaic language חוה; Jewish Palestinian Aramaic חִוְיָא). The origins for this etymological hypothesis is the rabbinic pun present in Genesis Rabbah 20:11, utilizing the similarity between Heb. Chavvah and Aram.

C. L. Moore's 1940 story Fruit of Knowledge is a re-telling of the Fall of Man as a love triangle between Lilith, Adam and Eve - with Eve's eating the forbidden fruit being in this version the result of misguided manipulations by the jealous Lilith, who had hoped to get her rival discredited and destroyed by God and thus regain Adam's love.

Inanna and the Serpent in the Huluppa Tree

Between the serpents? As in Ophiuchus? Two Serpents = Eve and Lillith? Isis and Nephthys?

Eve: Strong's Hebrew: 2332. חַוָּה (Chavvah) -- "life," the first ...
NAS: name Eve, because KJV: name Eve; because she was the mother; name his wife's Eve because he, with his wife Eve, and she conceived; now the man had Eve his wife conceived.

Between two wives? Wives (ive) - Lives (ive) - Eves (eve)... where does 'evening' derive from these? Adam = Osiris, Isis = Eve 1 / Inanna, Nephthys = Eve 2 / Lilith

Meaning & History. From the Hebrew name חַוָּה (Chawwah), which was derived from the Hebrew word חָוָה (chawah) meaning "to breathe" or the related word חָיָה (chayah) meaning "to live". According to the Old Testament Book of Genesis, Eve and Adam were the first humans. God created her from one of Adam's ribs to be his companion.

The rib: the scales of Libra. Is this synonymous with a portal between life (Heaven) and Death (Mortal manifestation on Earth)? Is Virgo a male and Scorpio a female? Virgo – virtuous (Adam before sex).

The Paschal lamb was to be crucified between two eves. Jesus as the paschal lamb was crucified between two thieves.

If Aram means Ram in Hebrew, does Abel mean Bel (Baal) and Abram mean Bram? Abraham mean Braham (Brahma)? Why was the “ha” really added to Abram? Perhaps the Hebrews and others did not correlate Abram with Brahma so he had to add those letters?

Kill the Passover between two eves? The Sun must pass over. If the sun passing over is altered, the ruler is to blame and must sacrifice or be sacrificed. This is found universally from ancient China to ancient South America. The same is the case with regards to a comet passing over. The Passover caused the deaths of the first-born sons of Egypt, whom would have been considered sacred.

Passover vs Feast of Unleavened Bread - Virtual Yeshiva ...
The term "Passover" is fairly new - the Hebrew is Chag Matzah (the feast of matzah). 
Note the interchange of the paschal lamb with matzah (bread).

If the Passover ritual began as the Matzah ritual, several things fall in line: 

Virgo, who holds a sheath of wheat and is the sign of the Autumn Harvest, being the matron of the Rosh Hoshanna sacrifice

Bethlehem means 'House of Bread', and the name Elizabeth - who personifies Virgo - literally means 'Lady of the House'

However, these are in fact two separate rituals: Matzah references bread, the product of the Autumn Harvest, and Passover (implying an equinox) refers to the spring harvest (when all of the previous crops have been expended and man is supported by the slaughter of animals).

“Here is what really happened in the Garden of Eden. The Word says that Eve was beguiled by the serpent. She was actually seduced by the serpent….He was so close to being human that his seed could, and did mingle with that of the woman and cause her to conceive. When this happened, God cursed the serpent.” —William Branham

Branham (1909–65), a proponent of Oneness theology, taught the so-called serpent seed interpretation of Genesis 3, with adherents of this view often citing Genesis 3:15 in support of their position: “And I will put enmity between you [the serpent] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (ESV).

This is obviously a reference to either Virgo-Libra and Scorpio or Virgo-Libra and Hydra. In the first scenario the enmity would be Libra. Were Virgo and Scorpio separated from each-other by the manifestation of Libra? Obviously Libra (enmity) signifies a divisive terminus. The Autumn Equinox occurs on September 22nd: the Zodiac Libra begins on September 23rd. Thus, Eve is Virgo and most likely Scorpio is the Serpent, and the end of the sun's passage through Virgo to Libra occurs at the Equinox - Libra denoting the point at which the Summer Months end and the Winter Months begin. However, Hydra lies just below Virgo in the sky - at her feet. Hydra is a serpent, and Scorpio is of course a scorpion. SKR-Pion. If Scorpio is viewed as a serpent, we now see two serpents in the Autumn sky - perhaps the two serpents that Ophiuchus struggles with and which Seker ultimately at the Winter Solstice overcomes and uses to do his bidding. It should be remembered that originally Virgo and Libra were one Zodiac, and that Scorpio was once known as the Eagle Zodiac. What separated Virgo and Libra into two Zodiacs? What changed Scorpio from an Eagle to a Scorpion, and is the term Scorpio the original name for the Eagle?

The crux of the serpent seed view is that Eve and Satan engaged in sexual relations. Consequently, sin is viewed as sexual in nature, as opposed to the traditional interpretation of the fall as sin being disobedience to God. In addition to Branham, other serpent seed interpretations of Genesis 3:15 are found in the teachings of the Christian Identity movement, as well as, for instance, in the teachings of Arnold Murray (1929–2014) of Shepherd’s Chapel and also the Unification Church.

The Identity movement’s serpent seed interpretation clearly leads to racism, as one expert explains: “As early as the mid-1940s, Identity preachers were building a new doctrine: the Serpent Seed theory. It is a fairly simple and straightforward belief: Jews are the physical descendants of a sexual union between ‘Mother Eve’ and ‘the serpent’ (Gen. 3). The serpent is variously identified as either Satan, or a demonic representative of Satan. As such, Jews are literally ‘Children of the Devil.’ Most Identity believers claim the serpent was a physical manifestation of Satan himself.”3 Furthermore, Identity teachers add that Cain is the offspring of a union of the serpent and Eve, while Abel is said to be the result of the union of Adam and Eve.

Even if the serpent seed doctrine does not overtly lead to racism, the interpretation remains problematic and unwarranted. Before exploring responses to the perspective and examining the biblical texts more closely, this article will first present how Genesis 3:15 is interpreted by supporters of the serpent seed teaching.

The Seduction. Branham explains, “He seduced her [Eve] and by her did Satan have a child vicariously. Cain bore the full spiritual characteristics of Satan and the animalistic (sensual, fleshly) characteristic of the serpent.”

Some proponents of the serpent seed doctrine point to the word “beguiled” in Genesis 3:13 (KJV) as evidence of Eve being sexually seduced by the serpent. This requires the interpreter to suggest that “beguiled” in this context actually means sexually seduced. However, in contemporary translations, the Hebrew word that the King James renders as “beguiled” is often translated as “deceived” (ESV, NIV, HCSB, NLT) or “tricked” (NRSV, NET), while none of these translations render the word as “seduced” or imply sexual seduction. In short, “beguiled” means to charm, enchant, deceive, or trick. In context, Eve is blaming the serpent for tricking her into eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. She is not stating that the serpent seduced her sexually.

Another approach to arriving at the serpent seed interpretation is Branham’s view that the Tree of Life in Genesis refers to Jesus. Branham exposits, “If the Tree Of Life is a person, then the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is a person ALSO. It can’t be otherwise. Thus the Righteous One and the Wicked One stood side by side there in the midst of the Garden of Eden” (emphasis in original).6 By arguing that Jesus is the Tree of Life, Branham then concludes that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is Satan (the serpent). This leads Branham to conclude that the sin in the Garden of Eden involved sexual relations between Eve and Satan.

The Seed of Satan. In the King James Version, the first portion of Genesis 3:15 reads, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed.” The view that both seeds are literal has resulted in the serpent seed doctrine sometimes being called the “two seed” interpretation. Most modern translations render “seed” as “offspring,” while granting that the Hebrew word is “seed.” Whether the word is translated as “seed” or “offspring” is not crucial. The question in reference to the serpent seed view is, does this passage mean that Eve and the serpent (Satan) had sexual relations resulting in the birth of a child and, as a result, a line of human beings that are literal descendants of Satan?
This leads to a problematic theological assumption, namely, that it is possible for demons to manifest physical bodies, engage in sexual relations with humans, and produce offspring. However, strong biblical arguments can be made against such claims.7 For instance, in Luke 24:39, Jesus states that “a spirit does not have flesh and bones” (ESV). In any event, even if one believes that demons may engage in sexual intercourse with humans, it does not necessarily follow that the serpent seed interpretation is correct.

Disobedience. What are the hermeneutical errors present in the serpent seed interpretation? The primary error is that of eisegesis—reading into the biblical text what is not actually present within the text. There is nothing in Genesis 3:15 or the surrounding context to indicate the sin of the garden involved sexual relations between Eve and the serpent. In fact, other passages throughout the Bible clearly indicate that the sin in the garden had to do with disobedience to God, not sexual relations: “Scripture is clear that the first sin was not sexual but rather consisted of Adam’s disobedience to God’s command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ([Gen.] 2:16–17).”8 This point demonstrates at least two other principles of sound hermeneutics: (1) allow Scripture to interpret Scripture and (2) examine the entirety of biblical teaching on a subject rather than interpreting passages in isolation. A third overarching hermeneutical principle is context. Given the context of Genesis 3:15, as well as the context of the whole of Scripture, we learn that the passage in question underscores humanity’s proclivity toward sin and disobedience to God, not sexual relations with the serpent and the rise of a demonic line of humans. Finally, adherents of the serpent seed doctrine ignore more viable and clear interpretations of the passages in question.

Regarding the Christian Identity movement’s racist interpretation of the passage, R. Alan Streett lists several problems with the Identity movement’s serpent seed teaching: “First, Israel traces its origin to Jacob, not Abel, when the former’s name was changed to Israel. Second, Abraham, not Cain, is called the father of the Jews. Third, all must be born again. Fourth, Jesus reminded the woman of Samaria that ‘salvation is from the Jews’ (John 4:22).

Fifth, and most important, Jesus was a Jew from the tribe of Judah; thus, according to this theory, He would be the enemy, not the Son of God.”
Genesis 3:15 as Protoevangelium. There is good reason for calling Genesis 3:15 the “Protoevangelium,” that is, the “first gospel” or first instance of the gospel in the Bible. Rather than teaching the serpent seed doctrine, the passage encapsulates the centrality of the gospel message: “It has traditionally been understood as pointing forward to the defeat of the serpent by a future descendant of the woman…This defeat is implied by the serpent’s being bruised in the head, which is more serious than the offspring of Eve being bruised in the heel. For this reason, v. 15 has been labeled the ‘Protoevangelium,’ the first announcement of the gospel.” 

The Apologetics Study Bible adds, “The language is figurative, indicating the life-and-death struggle between the adversary and the human family borne by the woman….[The passage refers] to the ongoing opposition to the people of God by their enemies and [predicts] the rise of a particular seed, Jesus Christ, who will destroy the serpent in the end (Rom. 16:20; Rev. 12:9–10).”11 Ultimately, Christ delivered the crushing blow to Satan via His sacrificial atonement and miraculous resurrection.

As to serpent seed interpretations that lead to racism, the Bible is clearly opposed to racist ideas: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28 ESV).

Finally, the serpent seed interpretation leads to a severe misunderstanding of the true nature of sin, which is that sin is essentially disobedience to the Holy Lord. The account of humanity’s downfall is tragic enough as plainly stated without having to sensationalize it with the unfounded view that Eve and Satan engaged in sexual relations. It is for these reasons that the serpent seed doctrine should be soundly rejected. —Robert Velarde

What is that very elusive quality we call shalom? For it means different things to different people. The ancient Hebrew concept of peace, is rooted in the word "shalom," meant wholeness, completeness, soundness, health, safety and prosperity, carrying with it the implication of permanence.

EOSPHOROS (Eosphorus) and HESPEROS (Hesperus) were the gods of the star (aster planeta) Venus. They were originally regarded as two distinct divinities--the first, whose name means "Dawn-Bringer," was the god of the dawn-star, while the second, "Evening," was the star of dusk. The two star-gods were later combined.

 Shalim as the god of dusk and Shahar as god of the dawn. In the Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, Shalim is also identified as the deity representing Venus or the "Evening Star" and Shahar the "Morning Star". His name derives from the triconsonantal Semitic root S-L-M.

Shalim (Šalam, Shalem, Salem, and Salim) is a god in the Canaanite religion pantheon, mentioned in inscriptions found in Ugarit (Ras Shamra) in Syria.[1][2] William F. Albright identified Shalim as the god of dusk and Shahar as god of the dawn.[3] In the Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, Shalim is also identified as the deity representing Venus or the "Evening Star" and Shahar the "Morning Star".[1] His name derives from the triconsonantal Semitic root S-L-M. The city of Jerusalem was named after him.[4]

A Ugaritic myth known as The Gracious and Most Beautiful Gods, describes Shalim and his brother Shahar as offspring of El through two women he meets at the seashore. They are both nursed by "The Lady", likely Anat (Athirat or Asherah), and have appetites as large as "(one) lip to the earth and (one) lip to the heaven." In other Ugaritic texts, the two are associated with the sun goddess.[1]

Another inscription is a sentence repeated three times in a para-mythological text, "Let me invoke the gracious gods, the voracious gods of ym." Ym in most Semitic languages means "day," and Shalim and Shahar, twin deities of the dusk and dawn, were conceived of as its beginning and end.[5]

Shalim is also mentioned separately in the Ugaritic god lists and forms of his name also appear in personal names, perhaps as a divine name or epithet.[1]

Many scholars believe that the name of Shalim is preserved in the name of the city Jerusalem.[1][6][7][8] The god Shalim may have been associated with dusk and the evening star in the etymological senses of a "completion" of the day, "sunset" and "peace".[9]

Shahar is the god of dawn in the pantheon of Ugarit. Shahar is described as a child of El along with a twin, Shalim, the god of dusk. As the markers of dawn and dusk, Shahar and Shalim also represented the temporal structure of the day.[1]

The name is a cognate of the Hebrew word Shahar (????????) meaning dawn.[citation needed]

In Arabic, the word for dawn is Sahar (???) and comes from the same Semitic root. This root is also visible in Suhoor (????), the pre-dawn meal Muslims eat during Ramadan.

Isaiah 14:12–15 has been the origin of the belief that Satan was a fallen angel, who could also be referred to as Lucifer.[2] It refers to the rise and disappearance of the morning star Venus in the phrase "O light-bringer, son of the dawn." (Helel ben Sha?ar, translated as Lucifer in the Vulgate and preserved in the early English translations of the Bible.)[2] This understanding of Isaiah 14:12–15 seems to be the most accepted interpretation in the New Testament, as well as among early Christians such as Origen, Eusebius, Tertullian, and Gregory the Great.[2] It may be considered a Christian "remythologization" of Isaiah 14, as the verse originally used Canaanite mythology to build its imagery of the hubris of a historical ruler, "the king of Babylon" in Isaiah 14:4.[2] It is likely that the role of Venus as the morning star was taken by Athtar, in this instance referred to as the son of Shahar.[3] The reference to Shahar remains enigmatic to scholars, who have a wide range of theories on the mythological framework and sources for the passage in Isaiah.[4]

The Sun and Moon

Another Greek name for the Morning Star is Heosphorus (Greek ??sf???? Heosphoros), meaning "The dawn-bringer". The form Eosphorus is sometimes met in English. As an adjective, the Greek word f?sf???? is applied in the sense of "light-bringing" to, for instance, the dawn, the god Dionysus, pine torches, the day; and in the sense of "torch-bearing" as an epithet of several gods and goddesses, especially Hecate but also of Artemis/Diana and Hephaestus.[

The Latin word lucifer, corresponding to Greek f?sf????, was used as a name for the morning star and thus appeared in the Vulgate translation of the Hebrew word ?????? (helel), meaning Venus as the brilliant, bright or shining one, in Isaiah 14 (Isaiah 14:12), where the Septuagint Greek version uses, not f?sf????, but ??sf????. As a translation of the same Hebrew word the King James Version gave "Lucifer", a name often misunderstood as a reference to Satan. Modern translations of the same passage render the Hebrew word instead as "morning star", "daystar", "shining one" or "shining star". In Revelation 22 (Revelation 22:16), Jesus is referred to as the morning star, but not as lucifer in Latin, nor as f?sf???? in the original Greek text, which instead has ? ?st?? ? ?aµp??? ? p?????? (ho aster ho lampros ho proinos), literally: the star, the shining one, the dawn.[2][3][4] In the Vulgate Latin text of 2 Peter 1 ( 2 Peter 1:19) the word "lucifer" is used of the morning star in the phrase "until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts", the corresponding Greek word being f?sf????.

Objectively, Venus is the "light bringer" as she appears most brightly in the sky in December (optical illusion due to days being shorter); the most regular appearance of the planet signalled a beginning of "rebirth" phase where the days would get longer and winter would end.

Alternatively, mythologically, the morning and the evening stars are Venus and Sirius, and the frequent error in mistaking one for the other becomes incorporated in various stories across several cultures.

Known as Sopdet in Egypt, as Sotor, S?t?? "Savior" in Ancient Greek astrological texts, and as Seth in Babylonian/Jewish astrology, Sirius "the Eastern Star" and its corresponding partner Venus, known as Ishtar, Ester, Asherah, Astarte, become the Christ and the Anti-Christ.

Sirius "the dog star" is relevant in June and Venus in December, and so Venus in the constellation Virgo ("the Virgin") announces the appearance of Sirius the Savior (on the opposite side of the zodiac circle, ie "gives birth").

The correction of the Egyptian solar calendar by way of helical rising of the Anubis star, Seth, another name for Sirius, also permitted the alignment of the lunar and the solar calendars and predicted the flooding of the Nile thus becoming the Seth or Sotor (Savior) star.

This fit nicely into Egyptian political mythology where Upper and Lower Egypt and their unification were often associated with the being of the Pharaoh - in his title as "King of Upper and Lower Egypt, the morning and the evening star," both Venus and Sirius.

The morning star is an appearance of the planet Venus, an inferior planet, meaning that its orbit lies between that of the Earth and the Sun. Depending on the orbital locations of both Venus and Earth, it can be seen in the eastern morning sky for an hour or so before the Sun rises and dims it, or (as the evening star) in the western evening sky for an hour or so after the Sun sets, when Venus itself then sets. Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and the Moon, outshining the planets Jupiter and Saturn but, while these rise high in the sky, Venus never does. This may lie behind myths about deities associated with the morning star proudly striving for the highest place among the gods and being cast down.[5]

In Greek mythology, Hesiod calls Phosphorus a son of Astraeus and Eos,[6] but other say of Cephalus and Eos, or of Atlas.[7]

The Latin poet Ovid, speaking of Phosphorus and Hesperus (the Evening Star, the evening appearance of the planet Venus) as identical, makes him the father of Daedalion.[8] Ovid also makes him the father of Ceyx,[9][10] while the Latin grammarian Servius makes him the father of the Hesperides or of Hesperis.[7]

While at an early stage the Morning Star (called Phosphorus and other names) and the Evening Star (referred to by names such as Hesperus) were thought of as two celestial objects, the Greeks accepted that the two were the same, but they seem to have continued to treat the two mythological entities as distinct. Halbertal and Margalit interpret this as indicating that they did not identify the star with the god or gods of mythology "embodied" in the star.[11]

In the philosophy of language, "Hesperus is Phosphorus" is a famous sentence in relation to the semantics of proper names. Gottlob Frege used the terms "the evening star" (der Abendstern) and "the morning star" (der Morgenstern) to illustrate his distinction between sense and reference, and subsequent philosophers changed the example to "Hesperus is Phosphorus" so that it utilized proper names. Saul Kripke used the sentence to posit that the knowledge of something necessary — in this case the identity of Hesperus and Phosphorus — could be discoverable rather than known a priori

Lucifer[1] is the name of various mythological and religious figures associated with the planet Venus. Due to the unique movements and discontinuous appearances of Venus in the sky, mythology surrounding these figures often involved a fall from the heavens to earth or the underworld. Interpretations of a similar term in the Hebrew Bible, translated in the King James Version as the proper name "Lucifer", led to a Christian tradition of applying the name Lucifer, and its associated stories of a fall from heaven, to Satan, but modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage (Isaiah 14:12) as "morning star" or "shining one" rather than as a proper name, "Lucifer".[2]

As a name for the Devil, the more common meaning in English, "Lucifer" is the Armenian (luisi peri - huri peri ?????? ????-????? ????),[citation needed] rendering of the Hebrew word ??????? (transliteration: hêylêl; pronunciation: hay-lale)[3] in Isaiah (Isaiah 14:12) given in the King James Version of the Bible. The translators of this version took the word from the Latin Vulgate,[4] which translated ?????? by the Latin word lucifer (uncapitalized),[5][6] meaning "the morning star, the planet Venus", or, as an adjective, "light-bringing".[7]

As a name for the planet in its morning aspect, "Lucifer" (Light-Bringer) is a proper name and is capitalized in English. In Greco-Roman civilization, it was often personified and considered a god[8] and in some versions considered a son of Aurora (the Dawn).[9] A similar name used by the Roman poet Catullus for the planet in its evening aspect is "Noctifer" (Night-Bringer).[10]

Fall from heaven

The motif of a heavenly being striving for the highest seat of heaven only to be cast down to the underworld has its origins in the motions of the planet Venus, known as the morning star.

The Sumerian goddess Inanna (Babylonian Ishtar) is associated with the planet Venus, and Inanna's actions in several of her myths, including Inanna and Shukaletuda and Inanna's Descent into the Underworld appear to parallel the motion of Venus as it progresses through its synodic cycle.[11][12][13][14][15]

A similar theme is present in the Babylonian myth of Etana. The Jewish Encyclopedia comments:

The brilliancy of the morning star, which eclipses all other stars, but is not seen during the night, may easily have given rise to a myth such as was told of Ethana and Zu: he was led by his pride to strive for the highest seat among the star-gods on the northern mountain of the gods ... but was hurled down by the supreme ruler of the Babylonian Olympus."[16]

The fall from heaven motif also has a parallel in Canaanite mythology. In ancient Canaanite religion, the morning star is personified as the god Attar, who attempted to occupy the throne of Ba'al and, finding he was unable to do so, descended and ruled the underworld.[17][18] The original myth may have been about a lesser god Helel trying to dethrone the Canaanite high god El who lived on a mountain to the north.[19][11] Hermann Gunkel's reconstruction of the myth told of a mighty warrior called Hêlal, whose ambition was to ascend higher than all the other stellar divinities, but who had to descend to the depths; it thus portrayed as a battle the process by which the bright morning star fails to reach the highest point in the sky before being faded out by the rising sun.[20] However, the Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible argues that no evidence has been found of any Canaanite myth or imagery of a god being forcibly thrown from heaven, as in the Book of Isaiah (see below). It argues that the closest parallels with Isaiah's description of the king of Babylon as a fallen morning star cast down from heaven are to be found not in Canaanite myths but in traditional ideas of the Jewish people, echoed in the Biblical account of the fall of Adam and Eve, cast out of God's presence for wishing to be as God, and the picture in Psalm 82 of the "gods" and "sons of the Most High" destined to die and fall.[21] This Jewish tradition has echoes also in Jewish pseudepigrapha such as 2 Enoch and the Life of Adam and Eve.[21][16][22] The Life of Adam and Eve, in turn, shaped the idea of Iblis in the Quran.[23]

The Greek myth of Phaethon, a personification of the planet Jupiter,[24] follows a similar pattern.[20]

In classical mythology, Lucifer ("light-bringer" in Latin) was the name of the planet Venus, though it was often personified as a male figure bearing a torch. The Greek name for this planet was variously Phosphoros (also meaning "light-bringer") or Heosphoros (meaning "dawn-bringer").[25] Lucifer was said to be "the fabled son of Aurora[26] and Cephalus, and father of Ceyx". He was often presented in poetry as heralding the dawn.[25]

The Latin word corresponding to Greek "Phosphoros" is "Lucifer". It is used in its astronomical sense both in prose[27] and poetry.[28] Poets sometimes personify the star, placing it in a mythological context.[29]

Lucifer's mother Aurora is cognate to the Vedic goddess Ushas, Lithuanian goddess Aušrine, and Greek Eos, all three of whom are also goddesses of the dawn. All four are considered derivatives of the Proto-Indo-European stem *h2ews?s[30] (later *Aus?s), "dawn", a stem that also gave rise to Proto-Germanic *Austro, Old Germanic *Ostara and Old English Eostre / Eastre. This agreement leads to the reconstruction of a Proto-Indo-European dawn goddess.[31]

The second-century Roman mythographer Pseudo-Hyginus said of the planet:[32]

"The fourth star is that of Venus, Luciferus by name. Some say it is Juno's. In many tales it is recorded that it is called Hesperus, too. It seems to be the largest of all stars. Some have said it represents the son of Aurora and Cephalus, who surpassed many in beauty, so that he even vied with Venus, and, as Eratosthenes says, for this reason it is called the star of Venus. It is visible both at dawn and sunset, and so properly has been called both Luciferus and Hesperus."

The Latin poet Ovid, in his first-century epic Metamorphoses, describes Lucifer as ordering the heavens:[33]

"Aurora, watchful in the reddening dawn, threw wide her crimson doors and rose-filled halls; the Stellae took flight, in marshaled order set by Lucifer who left his station last."

Ovid, speaking of Phosphorus and Hesperus (the Evening Star, the evening appearance of the planet Venus) as identical, makes him the father of Daedalion.[34] Ovid also makes him the father of Ceyx,[35][36] while the Latin grammarian Servius makes him the father of the Hesperides or of Hesperis.[37]

In the classical Roman period, Lucifer was not typically regarded as a deity and had few, if any, myths,[25] though the planet was associated with various deities and often poetically personified. Cicero pointed out that "You say that Sol the Sun and Luna the Moon are deities, and the Greeks identify the former with Apollo and the latter with Diana. But if Luna (the Moon) is a goddess, then Lucifer (the Morning-Star) also and the rest of the Wandering Stars (Stellae Errantes) will have to be counted gods; and if so, then the Fixed Stars (Stellae Inerrantes) as well."[38]

In the Book of Isaiah, chapter 14, the king of Babylon is condemned in a prophetic vision by the prophet Isaiah and is called ?????? ????-?????? (Helel ben Shachar, Hebrew for "shining one, son of the morning").[21] who is addressed as ???? ?? ??? (Hêlêl ben Ša?ar),[39][40][41][42][43] The title "Helel ben Shahar" refers to the planet Venus as the morning star, and that is how the Hebrew word is usually interpreted.[2][44] The Hebrew word transliterated as Hêlêl[45] or Heylel,[46] occurs only once in the Hebrew Bible.[45] The Septuagint renders ?????? in Greek as ??sf???? [47][48][49][50][51] (heosphoros),[52][53][54] "bringer of dawn", the Ancient Greek name for the morning star.[55] Similarly the Vulgate renders ?????? in Latin as Lucifer, the name in that language for the morning star. According to the King James Bible-based Strong's Concordance, the original Hebrew word means "shining one, light-bearer", and the English translation given in the King James text is the Latin name for the planet Venus, "Lucifer",[46] as it was already in the Wycliffe Bible.

However, the translation of ?????? as "Lucifer" has been abandoned in modern English translations of Isaiah 14:12. Present-day translations render ?????? as "morning star" (New International Version, New Century Version, New American Standard Bible, Good News Translation, Holman Christian Standard Bible, Contemporary English Version, Common English Bible, Complete Jewish Bible), "daystar" (New Jerusalem Bible, The Message), "Day Star" (New Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version), "shining one" (New Life Version, New World Translation, JPS Tanakh), or "shining star" (New Living Translation).

In a modern translation from the original Hebrew, the passage in which the phrase "Lucifer" or "morning star" occurs begins with the statement: "On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labour forced on you, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has come to an end! How his fury has ended!"[56] After describing the death of the king, the taunt continues:

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?"[57]

J. Carl Laney has pointed out that in the final verses here quoted, the king of Babylon is described not as a god or an angel but as a man, and that man may have been not Nebuchadnezzar II, but rather his son, Belshazzar. Nebuchadnezzar was gripped by a spiritual fervor to build a temple to the moon god Sin, and his son ruled as regent. The Abrahamic scriptural texts could be interpreted as a weak usurping of true kingly power, and a taunt at the failed regency of Belshazzar.[58][59]

For the unnamed[60] "king of Babylon" a wide range of identifications have been proposed.[61] They include a Babylonian ruler of the prophet Isaiah's own time[61] the later Nebuchadnezzar II, under whom the Babylonian captivity of the Jews began,[62] or Nabonidus,[61][63] and the Assyrian kings Tiglath-Pileser, Sargon II and Sennacherib.[58][61][64] Verse 20 says that this king of Babylon will not be "joined with them [all the kings of the nations] in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people; the seed of evil-doers shall not be named for ever", but rather be cast out of the grave, while "All the kings of the nations, all of them, sleep in glory, every one in his own house".[2][65] Herbert Wolf held that the "king of Babylon" was not a specific ruler but a generic representation of the whole line of rulers.[66]

Isaiah 14:12 became a source for the popular conception of the fallen angel motif[67] seen later in 1 Enoch 86–90 and 2 Enoch 29:3–4. Rabbinical Judaism has rejected any belief in rebel or fallen angels.[68] In the 11th century, the Pirkei De-Rabbi Eliezer illustrates the origin of the "fallen angel myth" by giving two accounts, one relates to the angel in the Garden of Eden who seduces Eve, and the other relates to the angels, the benei elohim who cohabit with the daughters of man (Genesis 6:1–4).[69] An association of Isaiah 14:12–18 with a personification of evil, called the devil developed outside of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism in pseudepigrapha and Christian writings,[70] particularly with the apocalypses.[71]

Some Christian writers have applied the name "Lucifer" as used in the Book of Isaiah, and the motif of a heavenly being cast down to the earth, to Satan. Sigve K. Tonstad argues that the New Testament War in Heaven theme of Revelation 12 (Revelation 12:7–9), in which the dragon "who is called the devil and Satan ... was thrown down to the earth", was derived from the passage about the Babylonian king in Isaiah 14.[72] Origen (184/185 – 253/254) interpreted such Old Testament passages as being about manifestations of the devil; but writing in Greek, not Latin, he did not identify the devil with the name "Lucifer".[73][74][75][76] Origen was not the first to interpret the Isaiah 14 passage as referring to the devil: he was preceded by at least Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225), who in his Adversus Marcionem (book 5, chapters 11 and 27) twice presents as spoken by the devil the words of Isaiah 14:14: "I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High".[77][78] Though Tertullian was a speaker of the language in which the word "lucifer" was created, "Lucifer" is not among the numerous names and phrases he used to describe the devil.[79] Even at the time of the Latin writer Augustine of Hippo (354–430), a contemporary of the composition of the Vulgate, "Lucifer" had not yet become a common name for the devil.[73]

Some time later, the metaphor of the morning star that Isaiah 14:12 applied to a king of Babylon gave rise to the general use of the Latin word for "morning star", capitalized, as the original name of the devil before his fall from grace, linking Isaiah 14:12 with Luke 10 (Luke 10:18) ("I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven") and interpreting the passage in Isaiah as an allegory of Satan's fall from heaven.[80][81]

As a result, "Lucifer has become a byword for Satan or the devil in the church and in popular literature",[4] as in Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Joost van den Vondel's Lucifer, and John Milton's Paradise Lost.[54] However, unlike the English word, the Latin word was not used exclusively in this way and was applied to others also, including Jesus: the Latin (Vulgate) text of Revelation 22:16 (where English translations refer to Jesus as "the bright morning star") has stella matutina, not lucifer, but the term lucifer is applied to Jesus in the Easter Exultet and in a hymn by Hilary of Poitiers that contains the phrase: "Tu verus mundi lucifer" (You are the true light bringer of the world).[82]

Adherents of the King James Only movement and others who hold that Isaiah 14:12 does indeed refer to the devil have decried the modern translations.[83][84][85][86][87][88] An opposing view attributes to Origen the first identification of the "Lucifer" of Isaiah 14:12 with the devil and to Tertullian and Augustine of Hippo the spread of the story of Lucifer as fallen through pride, envy of God and jealousy of humans.[89]

However, the understanding of the morning star in Isaiah 14:12 as a metaphor referring to a king of Babylon continued also to exist among Christians. Theodoret of Cyrus (c. 393 – c. 457) wrote that Isaiah calls the king "morning star", not as being the star, but as having had the illusion of being it.[90] The same understanding is shown in Christian translations of the passage, which in English generally use "morning star" rather than treating the word as a proper name, "Lucifer". So too in other languages, such as French,[91] German,[92] Portuguese,[93] and Spanish.[94] Even the Vulgate text in Latin is printed with lower-case lucifer (morning star), not upper-case Lucifer (proper name).[95]

John Calvin said: "The exposition of this passage, which some have given, as if it referred to Satan, has arisen from ignorance: for the context plainly shows these statements must be understood in reference to the king of the Babylonians."[96] Martin Luther also considered it a gross error to refer this verse to the devil.[97]

In the Bogomil and Cathar text Gospel of the secret supper, Lucifer is a glorified angel and the older brother of Jesus, but fell from heaven to establish his own kingdom and became the Demiurge. Therefore, he created the material world and trapped souls from heaven inside matter. Jesus descended to earth to free the captured souls.[98][99] In contrast to mainstream Christianity, the cross was denounced as a symbol of Lucifer and his instrument in an attempt to kill Jesus.[

Lucifer is regarded within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the pre-mortal name of the devil. Mormon theology teaches that in a heavenly council, Lucifer rebelled against the plan of God the Father and was subsequently cast out.[101] The Church's scripture reads:

"And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the Only Begotten Son whom the Father loved and who was in the bosom of the Father, was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son, and was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him—he was Lucifer, a son of the morning. And we beheld, and lo, he is fallen! is fallen, even a son of the morning! And while we were yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us that we should write the vision; for we beheld Satan, that old serpent, even the devil, who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ—Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about."[102]

After becoming Satan by his fall, Lucifer "goeth up and down, to and fro in the earth, seeking to destroy the souls of men".[103] Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider Isaiah 14:12 to be referring to both the king of the Babylonians and the devil.[

Other instances of lucifer in the Old Testament pseudepigrapha are related to the "star" Venus, in the Sibylline Oracles battle of the constellations (line 517) "Lucifer fought mounted on the back of Leo",[106] or the entirely rewritten Christian version of the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra 4:32 which has a reference to Lucifer as Antichrist.[107]

Isaiah 14:12 is not the only place where the Vulgate uses the word lucifer. It uses the same word four more times, in contexts where it clearly has no reference to a fallen angel: 2 Peter 1:19 (meaning "morning star"), Job 11:17 ("the light of the morning"), Job 38:32 ("the signs of the zodiac") and Psalms 110:3 ("the dawn").[108] Lucifer is not the only expression that the Vulgate uses to speak of the morning star: three times it uses stella matutina: Sirach 50:6 (referring to the actual morning star), and Revelation 2:28 (of uncertain reference) and 22:16 (referring to Jesus).

Indications that in Christian tradition the Latin word lucifer, unlike the English word, did not necessarily call a fallen angel to mind exist also outside the text of the Vulgate. Two bishops bore that name: Saint Lucifer of Cagliari, and Lucifer of Siena.

In Latin, the word is applied to John the Baptist and is used as a title of Jesus himself in several early Christian hymns. The morning hymn Lucis largitor splendide of Hilary contains the line: "Tu verus mundi lucifer" (you are the true light bringer of the world).[109] Some interpreted the mention of the morning star (lucifer) in Ambrose's hymn Aeterne rerum conditor as referring allegorically to Jesus and the mention of the cock, the herald of the day (praeco) in the same hymn as referring to John the Baptist.[110] Likewise, in the medieval hymn Christe qui lux es et dies, some manuscripts have the line "Lucifer lucem proferens".[111]

The Latin word lucifer is also used of Jesus in the Easter Proclamation prayer to God regarding the paschal candle: Flammas eius lucifer matutinus inveniat: ille, inquam, lucifer, qui nescit occasum. Christus Filius tuus, qui, regressus ab inferis, humano generi serenus illuxit, et vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum ("May this flame be found still burning by the Morning Star: the one Morning Star who never sets, Christ your Son, who, coming back from death's domain, has shed his peaceful light on humanity, and lives and reigns for ever and ever"). In the works of Latin grammarians, Lucifer, like Daniel, was discussed as an example of a personal name.[

Anthroposophy?[edit]

Rudolf Steiner's writings, which formed the basis for Anthroposophy, characterised Lucifer as a spiritual opposite to Ahriman, with Christ between the two forces, mediating a balanced path for humanity. Lucifer represents an intellectual, imaginative, delusional, otherworldly force which might be associated with visions, subjectivity, psychosis and fantasy. He associated Lucifer with the religious/philosophical cultures of Egypt, Rome and Greece. Steiner believed that Lucifer, as a supersensible Being, had incarnated in China about 3000 years before the birth of Christ.

Luciferianism?[edit]

Luciferianism is a belief structure that venerates the fundamental traits that are attributed to Lucifer. The custom, inspired by the teachings of Gnosticism, usually reveres Lucifer not as the devil, but as a savior, a guardian or instructing spirit[113] or even the true god as opposed to Jehovah.[114]

In Anton LaVey's The Satanic Bible, Lucifer is one of the four crown princes of hell, particularly that of the East, the 'lord of the air', and is called the bringer of light, the morning star, intellectualism, and enlightenment.[115] The title 'lord of the air' is based upon Ephesians 2:2, which uses the phrase 'prince of the power of the air' to refer to the pagan god Zeus, but that phrase later became conflated with Satan.[citation needed]

Author Michael W. Ford has written on Lucifer as a "mask" of the adversary, a motivator and illuminating force of the mind and subconscious.[116]

In Freemasonry?[edit]

Léo Taxil (1854–1907) claimed that Freemasonry is associated with worshipping Lucifer. In what is known as the Taxil hoax, he alleged that leading Freemason Albert Pike had addressed "The 23 Supreme Confederated Councils of the world" (an invention of Taxil), instructing them that Lucifer was God, and was in opposition to the evil god Adonai. Taxil promoted a book by Diana Vaughan (actually written by himself, as he later confessed publicly)[117] that purported to reveal a highly secret ruling body called the Palladium, which controlled the organization and had a satanic agenda. As described by Freemasonry Disclosed in 1897:

With frightening cynicism, the miserable person we shall not name here [Taxil] declared before an assembly especially convened for him that for twelve years he had prepared and carried out to the end the most sacrilegious of hoaxes. We have always been careful to publish special articles concerning Palladism and Diana Vaughan. We are now giving in this issue a complete list of these articles, which can now be considered as not having existed.[118]

Supporters of Freemasonry assert that, when Albert Pike and other Masonic scholars spoke about the "Luciferian path," or the "energies of Lucifer," they were referring to the Morning Star, the light bearer, the search for light; the very antithesis of dark. Pike says in Morals and Dogma, "Lucifer, the Son of the Morning! Is it he who bears the Light, and with its splendors intolerable blinds feeble, sensual, or selfish Souls? Doubt it not!"[119] Much has been made of this quote.[120]

Taxil's work and Pike's address continue to be quoted by anti-masonic groups.[121]

In Devil-Worship in France, Arthur Edward Waite compared Taxil's work to today's tabloid journalism, replete with logical and factual inconsistencies.

In neopagan witchcraft?[edit]

In a collection of folklore and magical practices supposedly collected in Italy by Charles Godfrey Leland and published in his Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches, the figure of Lucifer is featured prominently as both the brother and consort of the goddess Diana, and father of Aradia, at the center of an alleged Italian witch-cult.[122] In Leland's mythology, Diana pursued her brother Lucifer across the sky as a cat pursues a mouse. According to Leland, after dividing herself into light and darkness:

"...Diana saw that the light was so beautiful, the light which was her other half, her brother Lucifer, she yearned for it with exceeding great desire. Wishing to receive the light again into her darkness, to swallow it up in rapture, in delight, she trembled with desire. This desire was the Dawn. But Lucifer, the light, fled from her, and would not yield to her wishes; he was the light which files into the most distant parts of heaven, the mouse which flies before the cat."[123]

Here, the motions of Diana and Lucifer once again mirror the celestial motions of the moon and Venus, respectively.[124] Though Leland's Lucifer is based on the classical personification of the planet Venus, he also incorporates elements from Christian tradition, as in the following passage:

"Diana greatly loved her brother Lucifer, the god of the Sun and of the Moon, the god of Light (Splendor), who was so proud of his beauty, and who for his pride was driven from Paradise."[123]

In the several modern Wiccan traditions based in part on Leland's work, the figure of Lucifer is usually either omitted or replaced as Diana's consort with either the Etruscan god Tagni, or Dianus (Janus, following the work of folklorist James Frazer in The Golden Bough).[122]

The Book of the Secret Supper (Cena Secreta), also known as Interrogatio Iohannis (The Questions of John), The Book of John the Evangelist and The Gospel of the Secret Supper.

The Book of the Secret Supper was a Bogomil apocryphal text from Bulgaria, possibly based on a now lost Paulician treatise, which also became an important Cathar scripture.[1] The book was translated into Latin and introduced to Italy in the late 12th century, then taken to Provence before the Albigensian Crusade by the Cathar bishop Nazarials or Nazario.

Two manuscripts survive; one was found in the archives of the Inquisition in the French town of Carcassonne in Languedoc, a Cathar stronghold, and the other was kept in the National Library of Vienna, Austria. There are significant differences between the two texts indicating independent manuscript traditions.[2]

A postscript added to the Carcassonne manuscript by the Inquisitors states, "This is the Secret of the heretics of Concorrezzo, brought from Bulgaria by Nazarials, their bishop. It is full of errors."[3]

The Book of the Secret Supper is a first-person narrative beginning "I, John…" in which John the Evangelist poses a series of questions to Jesus at a secret supper in the kingdom of heaven.

The book begins with the story of the opposing forces of the God, the Invisible Father and creator of good, and Satan, the creator of evil. The book exhibites a mitigated dualism by stating that Satan was a former angel of God before falling, shining white before his fall and burns red after.

Jesus tells John how Satan took over the semi-created world, descending from the third heaven and recruiting angels to join him “according to the plan of the Governor Most High.” Satan brought forth all living things, plants, animals, fish and birds, then created man and woman from clay in order to serve him, animating the man with an angel from the second heaven and the woman with an angel from the first heaven. The angels were distressed at having to inhabit material forms. Satan encouraged them to sin, but they did not know how, so Satan filled the woman with a longing for sin, then created a serpent from his spittle, inhabited it and seduced her with its tail. He then filled Adam with lust for debauchery with the result that all their children were offspring of the devil and of the serpent.

Jesus then describes his own birth, telling John that the Father sent an angel, in the form of Mary, to receive Him in the Holy Spirit. Jesus descended from the seventh heaven and came forth from her ear. Satan then sent Elijah in the form of John the Baptist to give a false baptism by water, but John is warned that only baptism in spirit by Jesus can bring about the remission of sin. Those baptized with water marry, but those baptized in the spirit remain celibate.

The final part of the book is a description of the Last Judgement when those who have followed an angelic life shall be honored, while those who lived a life of iniquity shall find wrath, fury and distress in everlasting fire. Satan, after waging war upon the just, will be bound with unbreakable bonds and cast into a pool of fire. Then the Son of God will sit on the right hand of his Father, the righteous will be set among the choirs of angels, God shall be in the midst of them and wipe away their tears, and of His kingdom there shall be no end for ever and ever.

Ben Ha Arbayim -- "Between the Two Evenings" -- Just What Does This REALLY Mean?

Some proponents of observing the Passover insist that the Hebrew expression Ben Ha Arbayim -- translated literally as "between the two evenings" -- has to refer to dusk or twilight, the period of time after sunset and before dark. The Jews, rabbis, and orthodox Judaism, however, maintain that this expression refers to the period between noon, when the sun begins to go down, and sunset, when it has gone down. Which is the truth? Since the Passover lamb was killed "ben ha arbayim" this question is of vital importance in determining when Passover should be observed!

by HOIM Staff

In Exodus 12:6, YEHOVAH God commands Israel, "And you shall keep it [the Passover lamb] up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening " Many have been perplexed by this expression, "in the evening." The margin of my National Bible says, "from the ninth to the eleventh hour." In Israel, the day had twelve hours, beginning around 6:00 AM our time as the first hour. Therefore, the ninth to the eleventh hour would have been from 3:00 PM in the afternoon till 5:00 PM.

However, another Bible I have has a marginal rendering of this expression, saying, "Hebrew, between the two evenings." The question is, does this period of time refer to the afternoon of Nisan 14, especially from 3:00-5:00 PM? Or does it refer to the BEGINNING of Nisan 14, which begins about 6:00 PM the previous evening, from the time the sun sets until dark sets in -- a period of about forty minutes or so?

Some who observe "Passover" at the beginning hours of Nisan 14, shortly after sunset, claim this expression means twilight, between sunset and dark. Is this really true? In his newly self-published book entitled The Christian Passover, Fred R. Coulter, former minister of the Worldwide Church of God, asserts that this expression is "the vital key to understanding." He claims to "prove" that the Scriptural meaning of ben ha arbayim is the period of time after sunset, normally referred to as dusk or twilight -- definitely NOT "late afternoon"! Coulter simply rejects out of hand Jewish explanations and exegesis on this expression, as well as the studies of most scholars. Seemingly, he is going to "reinvent the wheel," and produce "new" evidence from the Scriptures themselves to define this important term. 

Coulter claims that the traditional Jewish explanation of this term, such as that of Rabbi Rashi, a renown scholar of the Torah, simply contradicts Exodus 12:8, which, he claims, shows that the entire Passover was to be kept on the 14th of Nisan, and the Passover lambs were to be eaten on the night of the 14th, not the 15th!

These are very strong words. Coulter claims that Exodus 16 is the KEY PROOF that he is right, and all the rabbis and scholars are wrong. He accuses various scholars, including Robert Kuhn and Lester L. Grabbe, formerly with the Worldwide Church of God, of "either ignoring or overlooking the plain commands of God which were given in the original Passover and which have been preserved in His Word" (p. 28, The Christian Passover).

After slamming and blasting Kuhn and Grabbe, referring to their "so-called scholarly methods," and accusing them of "SUCH ARROGANT AND IMPIOUS HANDLING OF HIS WORD OF TRUTH" (emphasis Coulter's, p. 29), he goes on to claim that he will "prove from Scripture" that the statements of Kuhn and Grabbe, defending the traditional Jewish explanation and that of most scholars, are "UTTERLY FALSE! " Of course, just because he boasts that he will do so, and virtually SHOUTS with uppercase letters, this does not prove that he will succeed in his attempt. It is only a claim.

What is his "proof" which he refers to? He says the whole "key" is Exodus, chapter 16.

The Mystery of the Quail

Claims Coulter, the Hebrew term generally translated "evening," or "even" -- ba erev -- means "sunset." Therefore, according to him, all the common Bible translations are IN ERROR, AS WELL AS STRONG'S CONCORDANCE, EVERY HEBREW LEXICON!!! He does not bother to "prove" that ba erev should be translated "sunset." He simply asserts it is so, saying dogmatically, without providing evidence, "This is proved by its usage in the Scriptures . . ." This statement is pure hyperbole, and pure poppycock. To accept this statement, you must put the authority and "scholarship" of this mysterious Fred Coulter before ALL Hebrew scholars, rabbis, and authorities.

Says Coulter, "the meaning of ba erev is without controversy," and means "sunset." Is this true? The Jews and rabbis most emphatically do NOT agree with this. According to them, the term ba erev simply means "evening," and the first "evening" begins when the sun begins to go down in the sky, and the second "evening" is sunset. Says Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, 

"The Pharisees . . . and the Rabbinists considered the time when the sun began to descend to be called the FIRST EVENING (Arabic 'little evening'; when it begins to draw towards evening); and the SECOND EVENING to be the REAL SUNSET" (p. 652, #6153).

Thus Fred Coulter, it appears to me, seriously misrepresents in his book, claiming agreement with the Jews which simply does not exist -- not even over the term ab erev! How much else can we believe of what he states, declares, and claims? His book must be read with extreme CAUTION. If one chooses to read his book, he should BEWARE -- and take NOTHING AT FACE VALUE -- but check up and prove ALL things -- EVERY statement! Otherwise, if you do not watch yourself, you become fodder for the wolves, a spiritual "Little Red Riding Hood" face to face with a big, bad wolf! 

Coulter, having asserted that ba erev means "sunset," then proceeds to the next step in his explanation: He states that there is "legitimate, Biblically sound, chronologically defined, Scripturally documented way to prove, beyond any shadow of doubt whatsoever, that ben ha arbayim originally meant the time period from sunset to dark" (p. 37). He says this "proof" is in Exodus 16. Let's take a look. 

On page 41 of his book, Coulter quotes Exodus 16:6, "And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, AT EVEN, then shall ye know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt." Coulter inserts in parentheses, after the words "AT EVEN," the following interpolation: " ba erev, or sunset-ending that Sabbath on which this message was given." Notice! HE defines ba erev as "sunset." But that is merely his opinion and since it is merely an opinion, it proves NOTHING! It goes against the weight of ALL scholarly and historical opinion and research, particularly that of the Jews, to whom were entrusted the "oracles of God" (Rom. 3:1-2). 

But Coulter is building a "case." Once he gets you to accept this "re-definition" of the expression ba erev, he has you at his mercy. For he then refers to verse 8 of Exodus 16. Notice, once again: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, AT EVEN [Heb. ben ha arbayim, "between the two evenings"] ye shall eat flesh . . ." (verses 11-12). "And it came to pass, AT EVEN [ba erev] the QUAILS came up, and covered the camp" (verse 13). 

Coulter says YEHOVAH God sent the quail at ba erev, which he says is "sunset." Therefore, since the quails came at sunset, and were EATEN at ben ha arbayim, "between the two evenings," Coulter reasons that this "PROVES" that ben ha arbayim must refer to DUSK, AFTER "sunset." 

How convenient! Do you see what he has done? He has "loaded the dice." He has "marked the cards." He has pre-defined the words to suit his case, and so naturally, the outcome would validate his claim -- IF "ba erev" truly meant "SUNSET"! 

BUT IT DOESN'T! It merely means "evening," and the Jews clearly say that it begins at noon, when the sun begins to go down, and lasts till nightfall -- the hours before sunset being the ''first evening," and the hours after sunset being the "second evening." Therefore, this passage is Exodus 16, which is the whole KEY to Coulter's case -- falls flat on its flimsy face! He has proved nothing. Says The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible:

"It [the daylight portion of the day] was divided into morning, noon, and evening (Psa. 55:17; cf. Dan. 6:10)" ("Day," p. 214).

This authority adds:

"The festival [Passover] began on the 14th of Abib at EVENING, that is, in the beginning of the 15th day, with the sacrificial meal (Lev. 23:5-6). A lamb or kid was slain between the evenings, that is, TOWARD SUNSET (Exo. 12:6; Deut. 16:6; cf. between the 9th and 11th hours . . ." ("Passover," p. 705).

The quail came flew into the camp of Israel in the "evening." What does this mean?

The real picture we see in Exodus 16 is that the quail flew into the camp late on the Sabbath day, just before sunset -- late afternoon -- and settled in to roost for the night. After the sun set, the people went forth to gather them for food! 

Rather than be misled by Coulter's definition of "at even," let's see what the Scriptures themselves tell us about this expression.

Letting The Bible Interpret "At Even"

In Leviticus 23:27 we read: "Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement. . ." There is no question that the Day of Atonement is the tenth day of Tishri -- nobody argues otherwise. But now notice how YEHOVAH God Himself delimits and defines this period of time! Notice how YEHOVAH God uses the term "at even" to refer to the END of a day rather than the beginning hours! 

In Leviticus 23:32 we read, ". . . in the ninth day of the month AT EVEN, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath [the Day of Atonement]." The expression "at even" here is obviously used to mean the ENDING portion of the ninth day. Thus the Day of Atonement starts after the concluding portion of the ninth of Tishri. It lasts until the concluding portion of the tenth of Tishri. The "evening" of the 9th would be the afternoon, up until sunset; the evening of the 10th would be the afternoon of the 10th, until sunset. A grade school student could see that principle. The Day of Atonement begins at sunset, when the 9th day of Tishri ends, but the Biblical expression to state this fact is, "in the ninth day of the month, AT EVEN . . ." Clearly the "AT EVEN" refers to the ending of the ninth day, NOT ITS BEGINNING! Even so, the Passover was to be sacrificed on Nisan 14, "AT EVEN" (Exodus 12:6), which means the ENDING of Nisan 14, and not its beginning!

Another Biblical example of this truth is found in the instructions YEHOVAH God gives on when to keep the days of Unleavened Bread. Notice! We read: "In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month AT EVEN, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even" (Exodus 12:18). If "at even" here meant the beginning of Nisan 14, then this verse would be saying the 14th of Nisan is the first Day of Unleavened Bread, and we should therefore be observing the Feast from Nisan 14 to Nisan 20 -- not Nisan 15 to Nisan 21! Obviously, "on the fourteenth . . . AT EVEN," refers to the END of Nisan 14 and the beginning of Nisan 15! Even those who argue that Passover should be observed at the beginning of Nisan 14 admit that the Feast of Unleavened Bread is from Nisan 15 to 21. Their own admission, therefore, contradicts their claim that the "even" of Nisan 14 means the beginning of Nisan 14, when it comes to the Passover! 

Letting the Bible interpret the Bible, then, "on the fourteenth day AT EVEN" plainly means at the END of the fourteenth -- as Exodus 12:18 says. The Bible is consistent. YEHOVAH God does not contradict Himself "The Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). Therefore, the rule of consistency proves that the same phrase used in both Exodus 12:18 and Exodus 12:6 means the same thing in both verses -- that is, the word "even," as used in verse 6, which deals with the slaying of the Passover lambs, also means at the ENDING PART of Nisan 14! 

Thus the Passover lambs were slain late in the afternoon of Nisan 14, just before the beginning of Nisan 15, when the Passover meal itself was always eaten. During the time of the Messiah, the Jews were slaying their Passover lambs at the Temple of YEHOVAH God -- about 250,000 lambs at each Passover celebration during the first century, as Josephus the Jewish historian relates:

"So these high priests, upon the coming of their feast which is called the Passover, when they slay their sacrifices, from the ninth hour to the eleventh, but so that a company not less than ten belong to every sacrifice . . . and many of us are twenty in a company, found this number of sacrifices was two hundred and fifty six thousand five hundred which, upon the allowance of no more than ten that feast together, amounts to two million seven hundred thousand and two hundred persons that were pure and holy" (Wars of the Jews, Book VI, 9:3).

Even as these sacrificial lambs were being slaughtered at the Temple, in 31 AD, YEHOVAH's own True Passover Lamb, Yeshua the Messiah, was being slain for all of us who accept his shed blood for the forgiveness of our sins (II Cor. 5:20; I Cor. 5:7-8). Thus Yeshua the Messiah fulfilled the TYPE of the Passover lambs PERFECTLY -- RIGHT ON TIME, exactly on schedule! If the lambs were sacrificed the previous evening, as come claim, then Yeshua missed the correct time by twenty hours -- and did not fulfill the type of the Passover perfectly! If that were true, then he could not be our SAVIOR! He would be an impostor! But Yeshua fulfilled EVERY Scripture that prophesied of his coming TO THE MOST INFINITE DETAIL, in every respect -- PERFECTLY in all points! 

Evidence from Deuteronomy

When is, then, "between the two evenings"? Clearly the Jews say it refers to the afternoon. Coulter himself admits this fact. But in addition to their testimony, we have plain and clear proof FROM SCRIPTURE ITSELF that this is so!

Notice Deuteronomy 16:4. This verse shows that the Passover is a part of the days of Unleavened Bread, leading right into them. We read: "And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day AT EVEN, remain all night until the morning." Here the 14th of Nisan is called "the first day." That is because it is the late afternoon of the 14th that the Passover was sacrificed, leading right into the First Day of Unleavened Bread that same sunset!

This shows, too, that the ''first day" when all leaven was to be put out of the houses of the Israelites was Nisan 14 (Exodus 12:15; compare Deut. 16:4 and Exodus 12:18-19). From the end of Nisan 14 they ate unleavened bread until the end of the 21st day of Nisan.

Now, notice verse 6 of this chapter. Here is the key! Here Moses is told by YEHOVAH God, "But in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover AT EVEN, at the GOING DOWN of the sun . . ." 

Letting the Bible interpret the Bible, then this expression ba erev or "evening" when the Passover was killed, was also the same moment or time period as "the going down of the sun." Literally, the expression "at the going down of the sun" can only mean when the SUN DESCENDS IN THE SKY -- that is, from the time the sun BEGINS to DESCEND, till it has descended or disappeared behind the horizon! Notice! It is the "going down" -- present progressive tense -- showing the action of the sun moving down in the western sky. This period of time must be, has to be, by scientific analysis, from the moment after HIGH NOON, at the earliest, and lasting until the sun disappears behind the horizon, or the actual moment of SUNSET! Once the sun has "set," it is no longer "going down" -- it has, rather, "GONE DOWN"! 

This period of time from noon till sunset, then, is the broad space of time during which the Passover lambs HAD TO BE SLAIN! Isn't this perfectly crystal clear?

The expression "at the going down of the sun" means "as the sun goes down" -- showing it was during the action of the sun moving down in the sky toward the western horizon. In English, this is the present progressive tense. If YEHOVAH God had meant to convey the idea that the lambs were to be killed AFTER the sun went down, that is, after sunset, then He would have stated it differently. He would have said, "AFTER the sun goes down," or, "After the sun HAS GONE down." The sun "goes down" until it "sets." After it "sets," it has technically "gone down." YEHOVAH God commanded that the lambs be slain as the sun sinks in the western sky -- not after it has already plunged beneath the horizon! The Jews have always faithfully done this, as long as the Passover was sacrificed, throughout their history. 

The command is plain that the lambs had to be slain ON THE FOURTEENTH of Nisan, in the late afternoon. But if they were not slain till AFTER SUNSET of the 14th, they would have been slain on the FIFTEENTH! That would have been a violation of the commandment! Also, if they were slain at the beginning of the 14th, after sunset of the 13th of Nisan, that would not have been during the "going down" of the sun. Could anything be plainer? Even a small child can understand this truth! Why is it that so many cannot grasp these plain and simple Spiritual, Biblical truths? Why is it so hard for so many to admit it when they have been wrong?

Proof of the "Daily Sacrifices"

This proof should be enough for most of us, especially since Fred Coulter has offered or presented NOT ONE SHRED of proof to support his spurious claims -- only a battery of opinions and baseless arguments. 

But now notice an amazing proof which has generally been overlooked. It is the proof of the "daily sacrifice." Most of us understand that the children of Israel were commanded to offer a daily sacrifice. The actual command is given in Numbers 28, where we read:

"And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the LORD; two lambs of the first year, without spot DAY BY DAY [margin, Hebrew, "IN A DAY"], for a continual burnt offering. The one lamb shalt thou offer in the MORNING, and the other lamb shalt thou offer AT EVEN [Heb. ben ha arbayim, "between the two evenings"] . . ." (Numbers 28:3-4).

Notice! In this plain passage of Scripture, we are told that the DAILY SACRIFICE involves both a morning and an "evening" sacrifice, and the "evening" sacrifice occurs "between the two evenings." Yet this passage says plainly that these two sacrifices were "IN A DAY." The morning sacrifice, which was done first, was in the SAME DAY as the "evening" sacrifice, which was made that same day, "between the two evenings"! Since the day ENDS at sunset, this expression ben ha arbayim HAS to refer to late AFTERNOON! If it referred to dusk, or twilight, AFTER sunset, as Fred Coulter claims, then it would be THE NEXT DAY! Even he admits that sunset is the delineation between one day and the next. Therefore, this passage buries in the grave Coulter's exegesis and claims -- once and for all! 

How clear it all is, when we simply let the Bible interpret the Bible! It is really NOT complex at all. It's simply a matter of following the Bible and not a man, EVEN if that man happens to some self-appointed minister or self-serving, self-proclaimed "scholar." The question is, will we follow the INSPIRED WORD OF YEHOVAH GOD -- or will we follow the opinions of a man, regardless of who that man happens to be?

Yeshua the Messiah -- Perfect Passover Lamb, Perfect Proof!

Yeshua the Messiah was killed at 3:00 PM in the afternoon of Nisan 14, according to Scripture. At the ninth hour, when the Jews began killing their Passover lambs, Yeshua himself hung on the tree. "And at the NINTH HOUR Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? . . . And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God" (Mark 15:34-39). 

Matthew's gospel states, "Now from the sixth hour [noon] there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour [3:00 PM]. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias [Elijah]. And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost" (Matt. 27:45-50).

Yeshua the Messiah, the Savior, YEHOVAH God's Anointed One, the "Lamb of God" (John 1:36), IS YEHOVAH's suffering servant who gave his life for the sins of the world, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah, who wrote: 

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are HEALED.

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a LAMB to the slaughter [the Passover lamb!], and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was CUT OFF from the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

"And he made his grave with the wicked [the two robbers slain with him], and with the rich in his death [he was given Joseph of Arimathea's tomb]; because he hath done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make HIS SOUL [LIFE] AN OFFERING FOR SIN, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days [be resurrected!], and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand" (Isaiah 53:4-10).

As Paul put it plainly: "For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us" (I Cor. 5:7-8). Yeshua the Messiah fulfilled the symbolism of the ancient Passover lambs perfectly. He was YEHOVAH's "lamb without blemish." He died at 3:00 PM, at the very time the Jews were slaying their Passover lambs at the Temple of YEHOVAH God, by the thousands, one per family. Josephus the Jewish historian of the first century relates that over 250,000 lambs were being killed at the Passover, during his time. 

Certainly Yeshua the Passover Lamb had to be slain at the proper time! Those who claim that the Passover was observed at the BEGINNING of Nisan 14, and that the lambs were slain shortly after sunset of Nisan 13 have a very serious problem. According to their chronology, Yeshua was therefore not slain until some twenty or twenty four hours LATER than they claim the Passover was commanded by YEHOVAH God to be slain! If this were indeed the case, then Yeshua the Messiah died TOO LATE to fulfill the perfect Passover typology! If that were the case, then he could not truly be our Savior, YEHOVAH's Passover Lamb -- he would be a fraud, an impostor, a FAKE! 

The Messiah was the PERFECT fulfillment of the Passover. Therefore, he had to be slain at the VERY MOMENT the Passover lambs were being slain at the Temple of YEHOVAH God! He had to be slain at the VERY TIME YEHOVAH commanded for the Passover to be killed "between the two evenings"!

Therefore, looking at this question from the reverse angle, since the gospels plainly show that Yeshua was killed at precisely 3:00 PM on the afternoon of Nisan 14, then THAT IS THE PRECISE TIME THE PASSOVER LAMBS HAD TO BE KILLED -- and, by further deduction, this means that the expression "between the two evenings" MUST REFER TO LATE AFTERNOON, ABOUT 3:00 PM -- THE VERY TIME YESHUA THE MESSIAH DIED FOR OUR SINS AS OUR PASSOVER! 

Here, then, is proof positive -- the example of Yeshua the Messiah himself, who was our Passover lamb! HE was slain at 3:00 PM in the afternoon; and he HAD to fulfill the commandment to be slain "between the two evenings" (Exodus 12:6). Therefore, ben ha arbayim, "between the two evenings, " MUST INCLUDE 3:00 PM IN THE AFTERNOON! 

All the Bible unites to prove this point, as a unity, a complete whole. If the Pharisees were wrong in sacrificing the Passover in the late afternoon, then Yeshua would have been wrong to say they sit in Moses' seat and that we are to follow their interpretation of the Law (Matt. 23:1-3). If they were wrong, then the apostle Paul LIED when he said he kept the law of YEHOVAH God "blamelessly" as a Pharisee (Phi. 3:6). Both Yeshua and Paul endorsed the teachings of the Jews, and the Pharisees, on this vital matter. 

Who are we to disagree, and to supplant the Word of YEHOVAH God with our own human opinions?

Chapter Three - Ben Ha Arbayim—“Between the Two Evenings”— The Vital Key to Understanding

Let’s examine God’s commands to the children of Israel through Moses for observing the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In the book of Leviticus we read, “These are the appointed seasons of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their appointed season.

“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at dusk, is the LORD’s passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD; seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work. And ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days; in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work” (Lev. 23:4-8, JPSA).

This Scripture specifically states that the Passover is on the 14th day of the month “at dusk.” The Hebrew phrase that is translated “at dusk” in this passage from the JPSA version is ben ha arbayim. The same Hebrew phrase is translated “at even” in the King James Version. The use of these words by the translators of the KJV has led many to confuse the phrase ben ha arbayim with another Hebrew phrase that is also translated “at even,” or “evening.”

To show that the words “at even” do not accurately represent the Hebrew wording that is used in the Passover command, some editions of the KJV add a marginal notation with the words “between the two evenings.” This is a literal translation of the phrase ben ha arbayim. (Please note: The phrase ben ha arbayim is spelled phonetically as beyn ha’ arbayim; however, we will retain the spelling of ben ha arbayim.)

In order to understand God’s commands for observing the Passover, it is vital to understand the meaning of this key Hebrew phrase.

Relying on Strong’s Concordance Leads to Misunderstanding

It is not possible to understand the meaning of the phrase ben ha arbayim by relying solely on Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. The reason is this: Strong’s makes no distinction between the two different Hebrew phrases that are translated into the English words “at even” and “evening.” Strong’s numbers every occurrence of “even” and “evening” in the KJV as #6153, and in Strong’s Hebrew and Chaldee dictionary that word is listed and defined as ereb (also spelled erev). In all eleven passages where ben ha arbayim is used in the Scriptures, Strong’s concordance numbers and defines it as #6153, including it with ereb. The Hebrew noun ereb, or erev, which refers to the setting of the sun, is used numerous times in the Old Testament in the phrase ba erev, and is generally translated “evening” or “at even” in the KJV.

While it is acceptable to translate the phrase ba erev as “evening” or “at even,” it is NOT proper to translate ben ha arbayim in this manner. The two phrases have COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MEANINGS. We will study ba erev in detail in the next chapter of this book.

Despite the distinct difference between ba erev and ben ha arbayim, the two phrases are listed together by Strong under the single Hebrew word ereb. There are two reasons for this misleading listing in Strong’s concordance. First, concordances do not have listings for phrases. Because concordances list only single words, Strong’s does not have a listing for either ba erev or ben ha arbayim. All occurrences of the phrase ba erev are accordingly listed under the noun ereb, or erev. Second, because arbayim is formed from the root word ereb, all occurrences of arbayim are also listed under this Hebrew noun. The word ben, or beyn, which is a Hebrew preposition, is listed in Strong’s as # 996. The definite article ha is not listed by Strong.

Therefore the meaning of the phrase ben ha arbayim cannot be determined simply by consulting a Biblical concordance, such as Strong’s, or even a Hebrew lexicon, which lists only the individual words. Hebrew words may vary widely in their meaning, depending on how they are used in the Hebrew text. The structure of the Hebrew text is not explained in concordances and lexicons. This information can be found only in books on Hebrew grammar and syntax.

By numbering and defining every occurrence of the phrase ben ha arbayim under the noun ereb, Strong’s concordance has added to the confusion about the correct time for observing the Passover. Many ministers and church congregations have been led to a false understanding of the commanded time because they have relied on Strong’s word numbering and definitions. While Strong’s concordance may be a valuable tool for study, it should never be used as a determining factor in establishing doctrine, nor should it be used to define complex linguistic expressions such as the phrase that is used in the Passover command. The true meaning of the phrase ben ha arbayim cannot be determined by basing one’s understanding on Strong’s word numbering and definitions. We can arrive at a true understanding of the commanded time for the Passover by carefully studying the use of ben ha arbayim in its Scriptural context.

This Hebrew phrase, which occurs in the Passover command in Leviticus 23, is also used in the command to keep the Passover in Numbers 9: “And the LORD spoke unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying: Let the children of Israel keep [Hebrew asah] the Passover in its appointed season. In the FOURTEENTH DAY of this month, AT DUSK [Hebrew ben ha arbayim], you shall keep [Hebrew asah] it in its appointed season; according to ALL the statutes of it, and according to ALL the ordinances thereof, shall you keep it” (Num. 9:1-3, JPSA).

Notice Everett Fox’s more precise translation of the Passover command in Leviticus 23:4-6: “These are the appointed-times of YHWH, proclamations of holiness, which you are to proclaim at their appointed-times: on the first New-Moon [month], on the fourteenth after the New Moon, between the setting-times [Hebrew ben ha arbayim] (is) Passover to YHWH. On the fifteenth day after this New-Moon (is) the pilgrimagefestival of matzot [unleavened bread] to YHWH...” (The Schocken Bible: Volume I; hereafter designated as SB).

Fox’s translation of Numbers 9:2-5 also shows the precise meaning of the Hebrew text: “The Children of Israel are to sacrifice the Passover-offering at its appointed time: on the fourteenth day after this New-Moon, between the setting-times [Hebrew ben ha arbayim], you are to sacrifice it at its appointed- time; according to all its laws, according to all its regulations, you are to sacrifice it. So Moshe [Moses] spoke (instructions) to the Children of Israel, to sacrifice the Passover-offering. And they sacrificed the Passoveroffering in the first (New Moon) [month], on the fourteenth day after the New Moon, between the setting-times [Hebrew ben ha arbayim], in the Wilderness of Sinai. According to all that YHWH had commanded Moshe [Moses], thus did the Children of Israel” (SB).

Numbers 9 clearly confirms God’s command to keep the Passover on the 14th day of the first month—not on the 15th. As recorded in Numbers 9, all nine requirements of the Passover ceremony—ALL THE STATUTES and ALL THE ORDINANCES, were to be observed on the 14th. Under the Old Covenant, the Passover ceremony began with the slaying of the lambs. Exodus 12 shows the set time for slaying the Passover lambs:

“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats; and ye shall keep it unto [until] the fourteenth day of the same month; and the WHOLE ASSEMBLY of the congregation of Israel shall kill it AT DUSK [Hebrew ben ha arbayim]” (Ex. 12:5-6, JPSA).

As in Leviticus 23 and Numbers 9, the phrase ben ha arbayim has been translated “at dusk” in the JPSA. In the KJV, this same Hebrew phrase has been translated “at even” in Numbers 9:3 and “in the evening” in Exodus 12:6, but with the accompanying marginal definition “between the two evenings.” Here is Fox’s translation of Exodus 12:6: “It [the Passover lamb] shall be for you in safekeeping, until [up to] the fourteenth day after this New Moon [month], and they are to slay it—the entire assembly of the community of Israel—between the setting-times [Hebrew ben ha arbayim]” (SB).

In order to understand the exact time of day on the 14th that the lambs were to be slain, we need to determine the Scriptural meaning of the phrase ben ha arbayim. This Hebrew phrase reveals the specific time of day that the Passover was to begin.

What is the meaning of the phrase ben ha arbayim, “between the two evenings” or “between the setting-times”? Does it mean the time between the evening of one day and the evening of the next day? Could the Passover lambs be slain at any time in this 24-hour period? Does it mean between noon, the point when the sun is at its zenith, and sunset, when the sun has completed its descent? Does it mean from the mid-point in the afternoon, approximately 3 PM, until sunset ending the 14th? Does it mean from sunset until dark, at the beginning of the 14th? How can we really know?

Should we rely on scholars’ interpretations of this ancient Hebrew phrase? Can they give us an accurate definition and proper understanding? Do they honestly and objectively examine the Scriptural usage? And if not, why not?

Should we accept the traditional Jewish interpretation of ben ha arbayim, which arose many centuries after the Passover was instituted, and which proclaims that it is the time from mid-afternoon to sunset? Does this interpretation fit the ordinances of the Passover that God commanded through Moses?

Are the Rabbis Correct in TheirTraditional Explanation?

What does ben ha arbayim really mean? The rabbis claim to know the answer. Let us examine their traditional rabbinical explanation of this Hebrew phrase. It would be natural to expect the rabbis to know the true meaning of ben ha arbayim because, after all, they profess to be authorities in the Hebrew text. Most certainly, they ought to be experts in the Old Testament, shouldn’t they?

Now then, since they claim to be teachers of Scripture, we will put them and their explanations of ben ha arbayim to the test, to see whether they are “rightly dividing the Word of God,” or whether they have replaced the truth of God’s Word with their own traditions.

We will first examine the works of the most renowned Jewish mystic and Kabbalist scholar, Rabbi Rashi. His work on the Old Testament Scriptures has been published in Hebrew with a Hebrew commentary and an English linear translation. His work on the Hebrew Torah is considered to be one of the best, perhaps the very best, that is available to the general public.

Here is what Rashi writes in his commentary about the usage of the term ben ha arbayim in Exodus 12:6: “At dusk—From six hours (after noon) and upward is called ben ha arbayim, when the sun declines towards the place of its setting to be darkened. And the expression ben ha arbayim appears in my sight (to refer to) those hours between the ‘evening’ of day, and the ‘evening’ of night; the ‘evening’ of day is at the beginning of the seventh hour [1 PM ] from (the time that) ‘the shadows of evening are stretched out,’ and the ‘evening’ of night is at the beginning of night” (The Pentateuch and Rashi’s Commentary, Exodus 12:6, p. 102).Rabbi Rashi states that ben ha arbayim, which literally means “between the setting-times,” refers to the time period from 1 PM, the “evening” of day, until sunset, the “evening” of night. His definition places the slaying of the Passover lambs during the afternoon of the 14th— specifically, the time from one hour after noon until sunset of the 14th, at which time the 15th day begins. This interpretation of ben ha arbayim does not allow time to complete ALL NINE ORDINANCES of the Passover— including roasting and eating the lambs, and burning the remains—ON THE 14TH, as commanded in Scripture.

Despite such obvious contradiction, Judaism has for centuries upheld this faulty definition of ben ha arbayim, teaching that the Passover lambs were slain late on the 14th and were eaten after sunset of the 14th, when the night of the 15th had begun. This traditional rabbinical interpretation of ben ha arbayim conflicts with the clear commands of God as recorded in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. The commands in Exodus 12 specify that the Passover lambs were to be slain, roasted and eaten on the 14th. The command in Leviticus 23:5 confirms the observance of the Passover on the 14th day, and Numbers 9:3 shows that it was absolutely mandatory to fulfill ALL the ordinances of the Passover on the 14th. There is no allowance whatsoever for even one ordinance to be omitted on the 14th day! It appears that the rabbis have blinded their eyes to these clear commands in order to justify their own traditions.

The traditional rabbinical interpretation of ben ha arbayim—the commanded time for slaying the lambs—has been used by another Kabbalist scholar for his English translation of the Scriptures. In his translation of the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan promotes the traditional definition of ben ha arbayim as the afternoon of the 14th. Here is his translation: “Hold it in safekeeping until the fourteenth day of this month. The entire community of Israel shall then slaughter [their sacrifices] in the afternoon” (Ex. 12:6, The Living Torah).

The Scriptures themselves will expose Kaplan’s translation as a distorted view of the Passover command in Exodus 12. When we examine the use of ben ha arbayim in the context of Exodus 16, it will become evident that his interpretation of ben ha arbayim is wholly incorrect. Remember, we must let the Scriptures interpret the Scriptures. Religious traditions of Judaism and personal opinions of rabbis or other religious leaders should not be inserted into the Scriptures. Interpretations should be clearly noted as interpretations, and personal opinions should be noted as personal opinions. Human rationale should never be placed above the authority of Scripture, which has been inspired by God. Those who alter or misinterpret the Scriptures in order to further their human traditions will receive the judgment of God!

Before we examine the use of ben ha arbayim in Exodus 16, let’s find out how Rabbi Alfred Edersheim, a noted Messianic rabbi, views the command to slay the Passover lambs. Although he does not define the phrase ben ha arbayim, he gives the schedule of events for the temple sacrifice of the Passover lambs. In his narration of the temple and its services, he describes the daytime portion of the 14th as the “eve of the Passover,” supporting a 14/15 Passover sequence in which the Passover lambs were killed at the temple late on the 14th and were eaten on the 15th.

In his book The Temple, Its Ministry and Services, As They Were at the Time of Christ, he states the following (Note: Edersheim assumes that the disciples Peter and John, when preparing for Jesus’ last Passover, went to the temple to have the lamb sacrificed. The account of Jesus’ last Passover in the Gospel of John shows that this assumption is incorrect. However, for the sake of a complete quotation, it is included here.): “While the Saviour still tarried with the other disciples outside the city, Peter and John were completing their preparations. They followed the motley crowd, all leading their sacrificial lambs up the Temple-mount. Here they were grouped into three divisions. Already the evening sacrifice had been offered.

“Ordinarily it was slain at 2:30 PM, and offered at about 3:30. But on the eve of the Passover, as we have seen, it was killed an hour earlier; and if the 14th of Nisan fell on a Friday—or rather from Thursday at eve to Friday at eve—two hours earlier [1:30 PM], so as to avoid any needless breach of the Sabbath [According to Scripture, the days of the week are reckoned from sunset to sunset; hence the weekly Sabbath begins with Friday evening.]” (pages 222-23). The Scriptural method of reckoning the day is explained in detail in Appendix A.

In his narration, Edersheim basically concurs with the interpretation given by Rashi and Kaplan that ben ha arbayim is the time period from approximately one hour after noon to sunset. His historical narration is describing the temple sacrificing of the Passover lambs. The temple sacrifice of the lambs took place on the afternoon of the 14th, exactly as stated by Edersheim. But was this the correct time for slaying the lambs? Was the traditional temple practice in accord with the Scriptural commands for sacrificing the Passover? Were the Passover lambs always slain on the afternoon of the 14th? Is that the true meaning of the command in Exodus 12? Or does the Scriptural command differ from what has been described by Edersheim, Rashi and Kaplan?

In a noted Hebrew-Chaldee lexicon, we find this explanation of ben ha arbayim under the listing erev: “Between the two evenings, Ex. 16:12; 30:8, [is] used as marking the space of time during which the paschal lamb was slain, Ex. 12:6; Lev. 23:5; Num. 9:3; and the evening sacrifice was offered, Ex. 29:30, 41; Num 28:4” (Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament).

Gesenius has correctly stated that the Passover lambs were slain during the same space of time that the evening sacrifice was offered—ben ha arbayim, or “between the two evenings.” Gesenius gives two conflicting views of the specific time of day that this phrase is designating: “...according to the opinion of the Karaites and Samaritans (which is favoured by the words of Deut. 16:6), the time between sunset and deep twilight. The Pharisees, however, and the Rabbinists considered the time when the sun began to descend to be called the first evening (Arab. ‘little evening’; when it begins to draw towards evening); and the second evening to be the real sunset” (Ibid.).

The Rabbinic and Pharisaic opinion—that ben ha arbayim is the period of time before sunset—has for centuries been honored as a fundamental teaching of Judaism. As a result of this interpretation of ben ha arbayim, until the destruction of the second temple many Jews killed their Passover lambs late on the afternoon of the 14th, participating with the priests and Levites in the traditional sacrifice of the Passover. Josephus gives the following account of the temple sacrifice of the Passover lambs: “So these high priests, upon the coming of their feast, which is called Passover, when they slay their sacrifices from the ninth hour to the eleventh [approximately 3 PM to 5 PM]...” (Wars of the Jews, Bk. VI, Ch. IX, Sec. 3).

This historical record of an afternoon sacrifice relates only to the killing of the Passover lambs at the temple. Josephus is not describing the domestic sacrifice of the Passover lambs at the houses of the people, as commanded by God. It is important to understand that the temple sacrifice of the Passover lambs was a LATER INSTITUTION. It was, in fact, introduced about 800 years after Israel’s first Passover.

In his narration of Israel’s first Passover, Josephus shows that the Scriptural ordinances for observing the Passover—which included the domestic sacrifice of the Passover lambs on the 14th—were still being practiced by the Jews during his lifetime. He writes, “But when the fourteenth day was come, and all were ready to depart, they offered the sacrifice, and purified their houses, using bunches of hyssop for that purpose; and when they had supped, they burnt the remainder of the flesh, as just ready to depart. Whence it is that WE DO STILL OFFER THIS SACRIFICE IN LIKE MANNER TO THIS DAY, and call this festival Pascha...” (Antiquities of the Jews, Bk. II, Ch. 14, Sec. 6, emphasis added).

Josephus is clearly referring to the Passover ordinances in Exodus 12, as he specifically names several of them in this account of how the Passover ceremony was observed. As Josephus shows in this narration, all the ordinances of God for the Passover were still being observed side by side with the temple sacrifice of the lambs during his lifetime. All the statutes and all the ordinances that were observed at Israel’s first Passover— including the domestic sacrifice of the lambs—are included in his statement: “WE DO STILL OFFER THIS SACRIFICE IN LIKE MANNER TO THIS DAY [emphasis added].”

Ignoring this plain statement by Josephus, some scholars look wholly to the temple sacrifice of the Passover lambs to explain when the Passover should be observed. Their one-sided explanation makes it appear that the domestic sacrifice of the Passover lambs was no longer practiced, and that the Scriptural ordinances of the Passover were no longer in effect. This false view of history is then used to support the traditional Jewish practice of killing the lambs late on the afternoon of the 14th and eating the Passover on the 15th. Some claim that this Jewish tradition, which was introduced centuries after the Passover in Egypt, is the way the Passover has always been observed.

Many churches have been taught to rely on Jewish tradition as a guide in observing the Christian Passover ceremony. They have been told by ministers and scholars alike that the Bible supports a 15th Passover. Christians who fall prey to such teachings do not realize that these scholars are following the interpretations of men. Ignoring the clear commands of God in Exodus 12 and Numbers 9, they have accepted the Rabbinic and Pharisaic interpretation of ben ha arbayim as their authority. Their writings clearly support the traditional Jewish view. Notice: “But exactly what did the term ‘between the two evenings’ include? We know that the LATER JEWS DEFINED IT as the period between about mid-afternoon and sundown. Is this interpretation a permissible one? ONE PASSAGE certainly gives us GOOD REASON TO THINK that the term between the two evenings includes a period before sunset. Ex. 29:38-39 states: ‘This is that which you shall offer upon the altar every day on a continual basis: two yearling rams, the one in the morning and the second between the two evenings’ (JPSA). (Also in Num. 28:3-8.) These ARE APPARENTLY THE ONLY PASSAGES which give any precise information about ‘between the two evenings.’ They INDICATE that the daily offering consists of a morning offering and an offering BEFORE SUNSET when the new day began. Yet, the second offering that day was offered ‘between the two evenings,’ showing that the first evening took place before sunset” (Dr. Robert L. Kuhn and Dr. Lester L. Grabbe, The Passover in the Bible and the Church Today, p. 13, emphasis added). For a technical exegesis of the command for the daily offering, see Appendix L.

Key phrases in these scholars’ statements have been emphasized to show the weakness in their arguments. The limited perspective of their research is revealed by their words “the LATER JEWS DEFINED IT.” What about the original meaning, as revealed in Scripture? After defining ben ha arbayim as “between about mid-afternoon and sundown,” they ask, “Is this interpretation a PERMISSIBLE ONE? Their response shows a lack of conclusive evidence: “ONE PASSAGE...GOOD REASON TO THINK...ARE APPARENTLY THE ONLY PASSAGES...INDICATE.”

What a shame that this kind of slanted presentation is put forth as objective research by noted scholars! This is truly reasoning backwards— using a much later practice to define the original meaning of the ancient Hebrew phrase ben ha arbayim. Such misguided reasoning is inexcusable for scholars holding doctorates in theology and Biblical languages, reputed to be experts, when the truth is in the Bible and is clearly revealed in other passages. Those passages are not discussed by these scholars in their writings. Can it be that these other Scriptures were deliberately ignored in order to gain acceptance for the traditional Jewish interpretation?

Although they promote the later Rabbinic view, these same scholars admit that ben ha arbayim originally was understood to mean the period of time following sunset. Here is their admission: “ ‘Between the two evenings’ is usually taken to mean between sundown and dark, a period of about an hour or so....This may be correct as far as the original Passover instructions were concerned. At least some later Jewish groups interpreted the original instructions in this way, including the Karaites and Samaritans. However, such a narrow definition is possible only where a small number of animals are slain or where all can be slain at the same time as was the case with the original Passover” (Ibid., p. 12).

What a remarkable admission this is, in light of the fact that these scholars have dedicated their entire dissertation to denouncing and rejecting the definition of ben ha arbayim as the period of time between sunset and dark! They are aware that this definition fits the Passover instructions in Exodus 12, but they have rejected it because it does not fit the Jewish tradition of the temple sacrifice of the Passover lambs. They are, in effect, rejecting the ordinance of God and choosing the tradition of men.

Their position is plainly revealed in the following statement: “If there was any other legitimate way to interpret the expression [ben ha arbayim] when considerations of the time [required for the temple sacrifice] did not allow slaughter of the Passover lambs in the twilight period, WE HAVE NO RECORD OF IT” (Ibid., p. 13, emphasis added). In choosing to follow Jewish tradition and to promote the Jewish interpretation of ben ha arbayim, they are either ignoring or overlooking the plain commands of God, which were given at the institution of the Passover in Egypt, and which have been preserved in His Word.

Their challenge to any who would dare to question their position shows that their final authority is not the Word of God, but human scholarship. They boldly state, “ANY ATTEMPT to make the phrase ‘between the two evenings’ [ben ha arbayim] refer to the beginning of the 14th is CONTRARY to all ancient scholarship known and also GOES AGAINST modern scholars who have discussed the subject” (Ibid., p. 32, emphasis added).

In the following chapters of this book, we will prove that these statements are false. The definition of ben ha arbayim as the beginning of the 14th, immediately after sunset, is not “contrary to all ancient scholarship,” nor is it contrary to modern scholarship. As we will see, one of the leading authorities in Biblical Hebrew, Everett Fox, defines ben ha arbayim as the time between sunset and dark. To determine whose definition is correct, we will examine all the available evidence—both Scriptural and historical. This evidence will expose the false scholarship of men and their misinterpretations of the Word of God.

Defying the False Scholarship of Men

We do not have to kowtow in trembling fear and be intimidated by so-called scholars simply because they claim intellectual superiority. There is a legitimate, Biblically sound, chronologically defined, Scripturally documented way to determine the original meaning of ben ha arbayim, and to prove beyond any shadow of doubt whatsoever that ben ha arbayim is the time period from sunset until dark, at the beginning of the day.

With the Word of God as our authority, we can challenge the methods of these scholars and refute their conclusions. If their so-called scholarly methods are not correct, and are found wanting, and are plain wrong, they should never be accepted by anyone! God does not require it! Nor does he accept such arrogant and impious handling of His Word of truth. In fact, the Word of God will expose such teachings for what they are: the traditions of men, which have replaced the commandments of God!

The apostle Paul, when confronted by those of the circumcision party who were trying to subvert the Galatians from the truth of the gospel, did not yield or subject himself to them for one moment: “...To whom we did not yield in subjection [to their demands of circumcision for new converts], not even for one hour, so that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. But the gospel that I preach did not come from those reputed to be something. (Whatever they were does not make any difference to me; God does not accept the person of a man.)” (Gal. 2:5-6). Paul publicly withstood the apostle Peter to his face, because Peter was carried away with the politics of the circumcision party from Jerusalem (Gal. 2:11-21).

We will do as the apostle Paul! We will stand with the truth of the Word of God and withstand those who oppose God, and we will expose the false arguments and views of so-called scholars. We will prove from Scripture that the statements made by Kuhn and Grabbe are utterly false. THE WORD OF GOD WILL PROVE THEM WRONG!

The Hebrew term ben ha arbayim is of ancient origin and is found only in the Pentateuch. It is therefore imperative to let the Bible interpret itself in the use of this term, rather than reading into the Bible the opinions and interpretations of men, which attempt to justify later practices and traditions. THE BIBLE MUST INTERPRET ITSELF! That is the only way to come to the knowledge of the truth of God and to understand the true meaning of ben ha arbayim.

In this chapter, we have seen that the Scriptures specifically designate the 14th day of the first month for the Passover to be observed, and that this observance began with the slaying of the lambs at ben ha arbayim. We have read the definitions of scholars, the records of Jewish history, and the interpretations of leading Jewish authorities, offering differing views of the meaning of ben ha arbayim—some placing it immediately after sunset, and some placing it in the afternoon hours before sunset. In order to determine which definition of ben ha arbayim is correct, we must first study the Scriptural usage of the Hebrew phrase ba erev, which is used to designate the time of sunset. In Chapter Four, we will examine this Hebrew phrase.

Cathar Texts and Rituals

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Interrogatio Johannis

(The Secret Supper - The Book of John the Evangelist)

Archive Notes

The Interrogatio Iohannis (The Questions of John) is one of the most important extant Cathar Scriptures and a major addition to the known Johannine literature. It is titled from the first words (incipit) of its text -- the complete Latin title is: "Interrogatio Iohannis apostoli et evangelistae in cena secreta regni coelorum de ordinatione mundi istius et de principe et de Adam." It has been variably titled in translations as "The Book of John the Evangelist" and "The Secret Supper" (Cena Secreta).

This scripture preserves a work from the Johannine tradition (the tradition of John the Beloved), a work with possible first source in an early period of Classical Gnosticism -- though the surviving versions certainly suggest an evolution during the centuries of transmission. It should not be dismissed as simply a "Cathar or Bogomil production" of medieval times (as M. R. James suggested in introduction to his 1924 translation, below). There are many core elements in the text that witness relationship with other surviving writings from the classical Christian Gnostic tradtion -- for example, compare it with the Acts of John.

Two versions of the text have survived: one was discovered in the archives of the Inquisition kept at the French town of Carcassonne in Languedoc, the other is found in the National Library of Vienna. The considerable differences between the two manuscripts indicate a long and independent manuscript history, probably reaching back centuries to an original edition.

According to an annotation in the Carcassone text, this is a Latin translation of an earlier manuscript brought to Italy (probably around 1190) from Bulgaria by Nazario, bishop of the Cathar community of Concorezzo (now the province of Monza and Brianza). From there it passed into Languedoc, arriving before 1209, the beginning year of the persecution of the Cathars of France by Pope Innocent III. The the original language of the Interrogatio Johannis  was probably Slavonic or Greek.

It was first published in the seventeenth century by I. Benoist in his 1691 book, "Histoire et des Vaudois ou des Albigeois Barbets". It was analyzed in 1832 by J. K. Thilo in his "Codex apocryphus Novi Testaments," and again in 1929 by R. Reitzenstein in his "Die Vorgeschichte der christlichen Taufe". In 1924 it was translated by M. R. James in his classic work, The Apocryphal New Testament.

We present the text in two different translations:

•First, a translation based on the text in Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans, Heresies of the High Middle Ages (2nd ed., New York: Columbia University Press, 1991), p. 458ff. (and based on the translation of Reitzenstein in "Die Vorgeschichte der christlichen Taufe.") The version we give here contains minor corrections and some minor rephrasing of versification.

•Second, an older and less adequate translation from M. R. James, found in his classic work, The Apocryphal New Testament.

-- Lance S. Owens

Interrogatio Iohannis

 (Titled in translation: The Secret Supper)

Based on: Walter L. Wakefield and Austin P. Evans

Heresies of the High Middle Ages (Columbia Univ. Press, 1991)

 p. 458ff. 

 In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The questions of John, the apostle and evangelist, at a secret supper in the kingdom of heaven, about the governance of this world, about its ruler, and about Adam:

I, John, partner in tribulation so that I might be a partner in the kingdom of God, leaning on the breast of Jesus Christ our Lord at the supper, said to Him; "Lord, who shall betray Thee?" And the Lord said unto me: "He that shall have dipped his hand in the dish, into him shall Satan enter. He shall betray me."

I said, "Lord, before Satan fell, in what splendor did he attend the Father?" He said: "Among the virtues of heaven and at the throne of the Father invisible; he was regulator of all things and sat with my Father.' He [Satan] it was who presided over the virtues of the heavens and those who attended on the Father. His power descended from the heavens even unto hell, and arose even unto the throne of the Father invisible. He had wardship of those splendors which were above all the heavens. And he pondered, wishing to place his throne upon the clouds and to 'be like the Most High.'" When he had come down to lower air, he descried an angel seated upon the air, to whom he said, 'Open to me the portals of the air'; these the angels opened for him. And passing down, he descried an angel who guarded the waters, to whom he said, `Open to me the portals of the waters'; the angel opened them to him. And descending further, he found the whole earth covered with water; walking beneath this, he came upon two fish, lying upon the waters. These, indeed, were yoked together, and they bore up the whole earth at the bidding of the Father invisible. And passing down further still, he found great clouds holding the massed waters of the sea. And descending lower, he found his hell, which is the Gehenna of fire; but thereafter he was unable to go further down, because of the flame of the fire which was raging.

"Then Satan retraced his path, filling himself with evil plots. He ascended to the angel who was over the air and to the angel who was over the waters, and unto them said: 'All things are mine. If you hearken to me, I will place my throne over the clouds and I will be like the Most High." I will bear the waters up above this firmament and I will gather the other waters into wide seas." After that there shall not be water upon the face of the whole earth, and I shall reign with you forever and ever.' Thus he spoke to the angels. He ascended to the very heavens, even unto the third heaven, subverting the angels of the Father invisible, and saying to each of them, 'How much dost thou owe thy lord?' The first answered, 'A hundred barrels of oil.' He said to him, 'Take the bill and sit down and write fifty.' And he said to another, Now you, how much dost thou owe thy lord?' Who said, 'A hundred quarters of wheat.' To him he said, 'Take thy bill and sit down quickly and write eighty.' To the other heavens he ascended with like speech; he ascended even unto the fifth heaven, seducing the angels of the Father invisible.

"And a voice came from the throne of the Father, saying: 'What dost thou, O thou devoid of hope, subverting the angels of the Father? Contriver of sin, do quickly what thou hast planned.' Then the Father bade his angels, 'Take from all the angels who hearkened to him the garments, the thrones, and the crowns';" and these angels took the vestments, the thrones, and the crowns from all the angels who hearkened to him."

And once again I, John, questioned the Lord, saying, "When Satan fell, in what place did he dwell?" In answer He said to me: "Because of his self-exaltation, my Father decreed his transformation," withdrawing from him the light of His glory. The face of Satan was like an iron glowing from the fire, and the whole aspect of his countenance was like that of a man. . . . And he had seven tails with which he drew away the third part of the angels of God." He was cast out from before the throne of God and from the stewardship of heaven. Falling down from heaven, Satan could find no peace in this firmament, nor could those who were with him. And he besought the Father, saying: 'I have sinned. Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.' The Lord was moved with pity for him and gave him peace to do what he would until the seventh day."

"Then Satan took his seat above the firmament and gave command to the angel who was over the air and the angel who was over the waters, so that they raised two thirds of the waters high into the air. Of the remaining third they formed wide seas. The division of the waters was by command of the Father invisible. Again Satan bade the angel who was over the waters, 'Take a stand upon the two fish.' And the angel raised the earth upward with his head, and dry land appeared and was. . . . When he took a crown from the angel who was over the air, from half of it he made himself a throne; and when he took a crown from the angel who was over the waters, from half he made the light of the moon and from half the light of day. From precious stones he made fire, and from fire he made all the host of heaven and the stars, and from them he made angels, his ministering spirits, according to the plan of the Governor Most High. He also made thunder, rain, hail, and snow, and over these he set his ministering angels.

"He commanded the earth to bring forth all living things —animals, trees, and herbs. The sea he commanded to bring forth fish; and the air, birds of the heavens. And he pondered on making man to serve him; he took clay of the earth and made man like unto himself. And he then bade an angel of the second heaven to enter the body of clay. Of this body he took a part and made another body in the form of a woman" and bade an angel of the first heaven to enter into it. And the angels grieved deeply that they thus had a mortal form imposed upon them and that they now existed in different forms. And Satan bade them to perform the works of the flesh in their bodies of clay, but they did not know how to commit sin. The originator of sin accomplished his purpose by his seduction, in this way: He planted a paradise and set men therein and bade them not to eat of its fruits. The devil entered Paradise and planted a bed of reeds in the midst of Paradise; of his spittle he made a serpent and bade him remain in the reeds. Thus the devil concealed the knowledge of his deceit so that they would not perceive his treachery. He went in to them saying, 'Eat of all the fruit in Paradise, but of the fruit of good and evi1 eat not.' Thereafter the wicked devil, entering into the evil serpent, deceived the angel who was in the form of a woman and poured out upon her head a longing for sin," and Eve's desire was like a glowing oven. Forthwith, the devil in the form of the serpent came out of the reeds and sated his lust on her with the serpent's tail. That is why [the offspring] are called not sons of God but sons of the devil and sons of the serpent, fulfilling the diabolic desires of their father even unto the end of the world. After this, the devil poured out his longing upon the head of the angel who was in Adam; and [both angels] were affected by a lust for debauchery, together begetting children of the devil and of the serpent, until the consummation of the world."

[4] After that I, John, questioned the Lord, saying, "Why do men say that Adam and Eve were made by God and placed in Paradise to keep His commandments, and that for transgression of the Father's commandment they were delivered up unto death?" The Lord said unto me: "Hear, John, most beloved. Men are foolish who speak thus, for my Father did not, in transgression (in praevaricatione) of His own law, shape bodies of clay, but by the Holy Spirit made [only] all the virtues of heaven. These, however, for their sins and by their fall are found possessing bodies of clay and are delivered up to death."

[5] And still I, John, questioned the Lord, saying, "Lord, how did man have spiritual origin in a carnal body?" And the Lord said to me: "By their fall spirits of heaven entered the female body of clay and took on flesh from the lusts of the flesh and took on [spirit at the same time]. . . . Spirit is born of spirit and flesh of flesh; and thus the reign of Satan ceases not in this world."

[6 ] And I questioned the Lord, saying, "For how long will Satan have dominion in this world over the essences of men?" And the Lord replied, "My Father will permit him to reign seven days, that is, seven ages."

[7] Again I, John, questioned the Lord in this wise, "What will be the nature of this period [of seven ages]?" And He said to me: "From the time when the devil fell from the glory of the Father and desired his own glory, he took his seat among the clouds and sent forth his ministers, a searing fire, and ... in the land from Adam to Enoch. And he sent his minister to Enoch and translated him above the firmament and displayed to him his divine nature. He then commanded that he be given quill and ink. Seating himself, Enoch wrote seventy-six" books; these the devil bade him to take to earth. Enoch took the books and turned them over to his sons, and he taught them how to observe the form and place of sacrificial rites. This they did in such wise as to 'shut the kingdom of heaven against men.' ° And he [the devil] said to them, 'See you that I am god and there is no other god beside me.' Wherefore my Father sent me to this world to make manifest His name to men, that they might recognize the devil and his wickedness. But when Satan learned that I had come down to this world, he. sent his . gel to take Three pieces of wood These he gave to the prophet Moses for my crucifixion. This wood they have kept for me until the present. And he revealed to Moses his divinity and bade him give laws to the children of Israel and lead them, on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

"When my Father thought to send me to this earth, He sent before me His angel, she who is called Mary, my mother, that she might receive me through the Holy Spirit. And when I descended, I entered and came forth through her ear. Now Satan, the prince of this world, knew that I was come to seek and 'to save that which was lost'; and he sent his angel, the prophet Elijah, who baptized in water and was called John the Baptist." Now, Elijah asked the prince of this world how he might recognize me. And the devil said to him, 'Upon Whom thou shalt see the Holy Spirit descending as a dove, and remaining upon Him, He it is that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit and with fire.' John asked this because he did not know me, but the one who sent him to baptize in water, he revealed me. John himself gave testimony: 'I baptize in water unto penance, but He baptizes you with the Holy Spirit unto the remission of sins. He it is who is able to destroy and to save.' "

[8] And again I, John, questioned the Lord, "Can man be saved through the baptism [of John?" He replied:] "Without my baptism, with which I baptize unto the remission of sins, I affirm that no one can receive salvation in God. For I am the bread of life that came down from the seventh heaven, wherefore whoso eats my flesh and drinks my blood, these shall be called the children of God."

[9] I inquired of the Lord, "What is the meaning of your 'flesh' and your 'blood'?" To me the Lord answered: "Before the devil had fallen with all the angelic host of the Father, the angels in their prayers glorified my Father by repeating this prayer, 'Our Father who art in heaven.' This chant ascended to the throne of the Father; but the angels from the time of their fall could no longer glorify God in this prayer."

[10] And again I asked the Lord, "How is it that the whole world received the baptism of John, but Thine is not accepted by all?" The Lord replied to me: "That is because their works are evil and they come not to the light. The followers of John marry and are given in marriage, whereas my disciples marry not at all but remain as the angels of God in the heavenly kingdom."

[11] Then I said to Him, "If it is a sin to have knowledge of women, is it then unwise to marry?" And the Lord replied: "All men take not this word, but they to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who were born so from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made so by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven."

[12] Afterward, I questioned the Lord about the Day of Judgment, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming?" In reply He said: "When the number of the just shall equal the number of those crowned [angels] who fell. Then shall Satan, raging mightily, be 'loosed out of his prison.' He shall war upon. the just, who shall cry out to the Lord their God; forthwith the Lord God shall command the archangel to sound his trumpet, and the voice of the archangel shall go forth from the heavens and be heard even unto the nether regions. Then 'the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from' heaven.' And there shall be loosed from their foundations the four great winds; the earth, the sea, the mountains, and the hills shall tremble together. Then shall be revealed the sign of the Son, and all tribes of earth shall mourn. Immediately the heaven shall tremble and be darkened, the sun shall shine until the ninth hour. Then shall the Son of man be shown forth in his glory, and all the saints and angels with Him; they shall place their seats above the clouds. And He shall sit upon the seat of His glory, with the twelve apostles upon their twelve seats of glory. The books shall be opened, and all the peoples of the earth shall be judged." 'Then shall the faith be proclaimed. Then shall the Son of man send forth His angels. They shall gather His elect from the heights even to the uttermost limits of the heavens and shall bring them, gathered into their fold, to me above the clouds, into the air." Then shall the Son of God send forth the evil demons and expel them in His wrath, together with all peoples (linguas) who believed in him [Satan] . . . who said, 'Let us eat, drink, and lay hold on the things of this world'; and let us see what manner of aid they shall have from those things. Forthwith all peoples shall stand in fear before the judgment [throne]. The two books shall be opened and they shall lay bare all peoples with their teaching; they shall glorify the just for their sufferings joined with good works. Glory and boundless honor shall be the reward of those who have cherished the angelic life; while the portion of the servants of iniquity shall be wrath, fury, distress, and displeasure. And the Son of man shall separate His just from the company of sinners and shall say to them, 'Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world'; while to the sinful He shall say, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels.' Others shall witness the final division and 'the wicked shall be turned into hell.' By the indulgence of my Father the unbelieving spirits shall at length withdraw from prison; 'they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.'

"Then, by permission of my Father, gloomy darkness shall spread over the lower regions of the earth and a hell of fire shall burn all the land from its lowest depths even unto the air of the firmament." And the Lord shall be [supreme] in the firmament even unto the nether regions of the earth. Should a man of thirty years pick up a stone and let it drop, it would scarcely strike the bottom within the space of three years, so great is the depth of the pool of fire wherein dwell the sinners. Then Satan shall be bound and all his host, and he shall be cast into the pool of fire. The Son of God, with his elect, shall walk above the firmament; and He shall shut up the devil, binding him with unbreakable bonds, with sinners weeping, wailing, and crying out 'Swallow us up, land, hide us within thyself.' Then shall the just shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. And Jesus shall lead them before the throne of the Father invisible and shall say to the Father, 'Behold, I and my children, whom God hath given me. Just Father, the world hath not known Thee, but I have known Thee in truth because Thou hast sent me.' And then the Father will reply to His Son, saying, 'My beloved Son, sit on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool -- thy enemies, who have denied me and said, "We are gods, and there is no other god beside us"; who killed your prophets and persecuted your just. You shall persecute them in the exterior darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

"And then the Son of God shall sit on the right hand of his Father, and the Father shall command His angels that they minister unto them [the just]; and He shall place them in the choir of angels and clothe them in imperishable raiment; and He shall give them crowns never fading and seats unmoving. And God shall be in their midst. 'They shall no more hunger nor thirst; neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.' And [the Son] shall reign with his Holy Father, and his reign shall endure forevermore."

[Endnote added to manuscript:]

This is the Secret of the heretics of Concorrezzo, brought from Bulgaria by Nazarials, their bishop. It is full of errors.

Interrogatio Iohannis

 (Titled in translation: The Book of John the Evangelist)

From: "The Apocryphal New Testament"

 M. R. James -- Translation and Notes

 Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924

 [Interrogatio Iohannis apostoli et evangelistae in cena secreta regni coelorum de ordinatione mundi istius et de principe et de Adam.]

I, John, your brother and partaker in tribulation, and that shall be also a partaker in the kingdom of heaven, when I lay upon breast of our Lord Jesus Christ and said unto him:

Lord, who is he that shall betray thee [and] he answered and said: He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish: then Satan entered unto him and he sought how he might betray me.

And I said: Lord, before Satan fell, in what glory abode he with thy Father.

And he said unto me: In such glory was he that he commanded the powers of the heavens: but I sat with my Father, and he did order all the followers of the Father, and went down from heaven unto the deep and ascended up out of the deep unto the throne of the invisible Father. And he saw the glory of him that moveth the heavens, and he thought to set his seat above the clouds of heaven and desired to be like unto the Most High.

And when he had descended into the air, he said unto the angel of the air: Open unto me the gates of the air. And he opened them unto him. And he sought to go further downward and found the angel which held the waters, and said unto him: Open unto me the gates of the waters. And he opened to him. And he passed through and found all the face of the earth covered with waters. And he passed through beneath the earth and found two fishes lying upon the waters, and they were as oxen yoked for ploughing, holding the whole earth by the commandment of the invisible Father, from the west even unto the sunrising. And when he had gone down he found clouds hanging which held the waters of the sea. And he went down yet further and found hell, that is the gehenna of fire and thereafter he could go down no further because of the flame of the burning fire. And Satan returned back and filled up (passed over again) the paths and entered in unto the angel of the air and to him that was over the waters, and said unto them: All these things are mine: if ye will hearken unto me, I will set my seat in the clouds and be like the Most High, and I will take the waters from this upper firmament and gather together the other parts (places) of the sea, and thereafter there shall be no water upon the face of all the earth, and I will reign with you world without end.

And when he had said thus unto the angels, he went up unto the other angels, even unto the fifth heaven, and thus spake he unto each of them: How much owest thou unto thy lord He said: An hundred measures (cors) of wheat. And he said unto him: Take pen and ink and write sixty. And unto others he said: And thou, how much owest thou unto thy lord and he answered: An hundred jars of oil. And he said: Sit down and write fifty. And as he went up through all the heavens he said thus, even unto the fifth heaven, seducing the angels of the invisible Father. And there came forth a voice out of the throne of the Father, saying: What doest thou, O denier of the Father, seducing the angels doer of iniquity, that thou hast devised do quickly.

Then the Father commanded his angels, saying: Take away their garments. And the angels took away their garments and their thrones and their crowns from all the angels that hearkened unto him.

And I asked of the Lord: When Satan fell, in what place dwelt he? And he answered me: My Father changed his appearance because of his pride, and the light was taken from him, and his face became like unto heated iron, and his face became wholly like that of a man: and he drew with his tail the third part of the angels of God, and was cast out from the seat of God and from the stewardship of the heavens. And Satan came down into this firmament, and he could find (make) no rest for himself nor for them that were with him. And he asked the Father saying: Have patience with me and I will pay thee all. And the Father had mercy on him and gave him rest and them that were with him, as much as they would even unto seven days.

And so sat he in the firmament and commanded the angel that was over the air and him that was over the waters, and they raised the earth up and it appeared dry: and he took the crown of the angel that was over the waters, and of the half thereof he made the light of the moon and of the half the light of the stars: and of the precious stones he made all the hosts of the stars.

And thereafter he made the angels his ministers according to the order of the form of the Most High, and by the commandment of the invisible Father he made thunder, rain, hail, and snow.

And he sent forth angels to be ministers over them. And he commanded the earth to bring forth every beast for food (fatling), and every creeping thing, and trees and herbs: and he commanded the sea to bring forth fishes, and the fowls of the heaven.

And he devised furthermore and made man in his likeness, and commanded the (or an) angel of the third heaven to enter into the body of clay. And he took thereof and made another body in the form of a woman, and commanded the (or an) angel of the second heaven to enter into the body of the woman. But the angel lamented when they beheld a mortal shape upon them and that they were unlike in shape. And he commanded them to do the deed of the flesh in the bodies of clay, and they knew not how to commit sin.

Then did the contriver of evil devise in his mind to make paradise, and he brought the man and woman into it. And he Commanded to bring a reed, and the devil planted it in the midst of paradise, and so did the wicked devil hide his device that they knew not his deceit. And he came in and spake unto them, saying: Of every fruit which is in paradise eat ye, but of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil eat not. Notwithstanding, the devil entered into a wicked serpent and seduced the angel that was in the form of the woman, and he wrought his lust with Eve in the Song of the serpent. And therefore are they called sons of the devil and sons of the serpent that do the lust of the devil their father, even unto the end of this world. And again the devil poured out upon the angel that was in Adam the poison of his lust, and it begetteth the sons of the serpent and the sons of the devil even unto the end of this world.

And after that I, John, asked of the Lord, saying: How say men that Adam and Eve were created by God and set in paradise to keep the commandments of the Father, and were delivered unto death And the Lord said to me: Hearken, John, beloved of my Father; foolish men say thus in their deceitfulness that my Father made bodies of clay: but by the Holy Ghost made he all the powers of the heavens, and holy ones were found having bodies of clay because of their transgression, and therefore were delivered unto death.

And again I, John, asked the Lord: How beginneth a man to be in the Spirit (to have a spirit) in a body of flesh And the Lord said unto me: Certain of the angels which fell do enter unto the bodies of women, and receive flesh from the lust of the flesh, and so is a spirit born of spirit, and flesh of flesh, and so is the kingdom of Satan accomplished in this world and among all nations.

And he said to me: My Father hath suffered him to reign seven days, which are seven ages.

And I asked the Lord and said: What shall be in that time And he said to me: From the time when the devil fell from the glory of the Father and (lost) his own glory, he sat upon the clouds, and sent his ministers, even angels flaming with fire, unto men from Adam even unto Henoch his servant. And he raised up Henoch upon the firmament and showed him his godhead and commanded pen and ink to be given him: and he sat down and wrote threescore and seven books. And he commanded that he should take them to the earth and deliver them unto his sons. And Henoch let his books down upon the earth and delivered them unto his sons, and began to teach them to perform the custom of sacrifice, and unrighteous mysteries, and so did he hide the kingdom of heaven from men. And he said unto them: Behold that I am your god and beside me is none other god. And therefore did my Father send me into the world that I might make it known unto men, that they might know the evil device of the devil.

And then when he perceived that I had come down out of heaven into the world, he sent an angel and took of three sorts of wood and gave them unto Moses that I might be crucified, and now are they reserved for me. But then (now) did the devil proclaim unto him (Moses) his godhead, and unto his people, and commanded a law to be given unto the children of Israel, and brought them out through the midst of the sea which was dried up.

When my Father thought to send me into the world, he sent his angel before me, by name Mary, to receive me. And I when I came down entered in by the ear and came forth by the ear.

And Satan the prince of this world perceived that I was come to seek and save them that were lost, and sent his angel, even Helias the prophet, baptizing with water: who is called John the Baptist. And Helias asked the prince of this world: How can I know him Then his lord said: On whom soever thou shalt see the spirit descending like a dove and resting upon him, he it is that baptizeth with the Holy Ghost unto forgiveness of sins: thou wilt be able to destroy him and to save. And again I, John, asked the Lord: Can a man be saved by the baptism of John without thy baptism And the Lord answered: Unless I have baptized him unto forgiveness of sins, by the baptism of water can no man see the kingdom of heaven: for I am the bread of life that came down from the seventh heaven and they that eat my flesh and drink my blood, they shall be called the sons of God.

And I asked the Lord and said: What meaneth it, to eat my flesh and drink my blood (An answer and question seem to have fallen out.) And the Lord said unto me: Before the falling of the devil with all his host from the glory of the Father [in prayer], they did glorify the Father in their prayers thus, saying: Our Father, which art in heaven; and so did all their songs come up before the throne of the Father. But when they had fallen, after that they are not able to glorify God with that prayer.

And I asked the Lord: How do all men receive the baptism of John, but thine not at all And the Lord answered: Because their deeds are evil and they come not unto the light.

The disciples of John marry and are given in marriage; but my disciples neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But I said: If, then, it be sin to have to do with a woman, it is not good to marry. And the Lord said unto me: Not every one can receive this saying (&c., Matt. xix.11, 12).

I asked the Lord concerning the day of judgement: What shall be the sign of thy coming And he answered and said unto me: When the numbers of the righteous shall be accomplished that is, the number of the righteous that are crowned, that have fallen, then shall Satan be loosed out of his prison, having great wrath, and shall make war with the righteous, and they shall cry unto the Lord with a loud voice. And immediately the Lord shall command an angel to blow with the trumpet, and the voice of the archangel shall be heard in the trumpet from heaven even unto hell.

And then shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall, and the four winds shall be loosed from their foundations, and shall cause the earth and the sea and the mountains to quake together. And the heaven shall immediately shake and the sun shall be darkened, and it shall shine even to the fourth hour. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man, and all the holy angels with him, and he shall set his seat upon the clouds, and sit on the throne of his majesty with the twelve apostles on the twelve seats of their glory. And the books shall be opened and he shall judge the whole world and the faith which he proclaimed. And then shall the Son of man send his angels, and they shall gather his elect from the four winds from the heights of the heavens unto the boundaries of them, and shall bring them to seek.

Then shall the Son of God send the evil spirits, to bring all nations before him, and shall say unto them: Come, ye that did say: We have eaten and drunk and received the gain of this world. And after that they shall again be brought, and shall all stand before the judgement seat, even all nations, in fear. And the books of life shall be opened and all nations shall show forth their ungodliness. And he shall glorify the righteous for their patience: and glory and honour and incorruption shall be the reward of their good works: but as for them that kept the commandments of the angels and obeyed unrighteously, indignation and trouble and anguish shall take hold on then.

And the Son of God shall bring forth the elect out of the midst of the sinners and say unto them: Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then shall he say unto the sinners: Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. And the rest, beholding the last cutting off, shall cast the sinners into hell by the commandment of the invisible Father. Then shall the spirits of them that believe not go forth out of the prisons, and then shall my voice be heard, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd: and the darkness and obscurity shall come forth out of the lower parts of the earth -that is to say, the darkness of the gehenna of fire- and shall burn all things from below even to the air of the firmament. And the Lord shall be in the firmament and even to the lower parts of the earth. (read And the distance from the firmament unto the lower parts of the earth shall be) as if a man of thirty years old should take up a stone and cast it down, hardly in three years would it reach the bottom: so great is the depth of the pit and of the fire wherein the sinners shall dwell. And then shall Satan and all his host be bound and cast into the lake of fire. And the Son of God shall walk with his elect above the firmament and shall shut up the devil, binding him with strong chains that cannot be loosed. At that time the sinners, weeping and mourning, shall say: O earth, swallow us up and cover us in death. And then shall the righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. And he shall bring them before the throne of the invisible Father, saying: Behold, I and my children whom God hath given me. O righteous one, the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee in truth, because thou hast sent me. And then shall the Father answer his Son and say: My beloved Son, sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet, which have denied me and said: We are gods, and beside us there is none other god: which have slain thy prophets and persecuted thy righteous ones, and thou hast persecuted them even unto the outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And then shall the Son of God sit on the right hand of his Father, and the Father shall command his angels, and they shall minister unto them (i.e. the righteous) and set them among the choirs of the angels, to clothe them with incorruptible garments, and shall give them crowns that fade not and seats that cannot be moved. And God shall be in the midst of them; and they shall not hunger nor thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat. And God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. And he shall reign with his holy Father, and of his kingdom there shall be no end for ever and ever.

ereb: evening
boqer: morn- ing
shachar: dawn, morning, daybreak, dawning of the day, the spring of the day (1 Samuel 9:26), the breaking dawn, the dayspring
Genesis 19:15 And when the morning arose then the angels hastened Lot saying Arise take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city
Isaiah 14:12 
NAS: son of the dawn! You have been cut down
KJV: son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down
INT: star son of the dawn have been cut to the earth

tsohar: midday
shachar: to be black
shachar: to look early or diligently for
shachor: black
shacharuth: blackness
shecharchoreth: blackish
Shecharyah: "Yah has sought," a Benjamite
zeker: remembrance, memorial
zakar: remember
zaku: purity, innocence
zakah: to be clear, clean or pure
zak: pure, clean
Achishachar: "brother of (the) dawn," a Benjamite
Shacharayim: "two dawns," a Benjamite
Dual of shachar; double dawn; Shacharajim, an Israelite -- Shaharaim. 
zarach: to rise, come forth
or: to be or become light
arab: to become evening, grow dark
Uwriyah: Uriah: "flame of Yah", the name of a Hittite and of two Israelites
Bath-sheba: perhaps "daughter of oath," the mother of Solomon
Definition: perhaps "daughter of oath", the mother of Solomon