The New Jerusalem, part 10

Shalom, everyone.

Okay. We've basically gone through the verses that talk about the New Jerusalem or in Hebrew, Yerushalayim haChadashah, in Revelation 21 and 22, but did you know that those are not the ONLY verses that talk about the New Jerusalem? There are other passages as well that mention this city.

The first such passage, of which some of you might be aware, is Hebrews 12:22.
Here it is in context:

Heb 12:18-29
18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
KJV

The phrase "the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem" uses that special word that was only used a few times and either translated as "heavenly," "of things in heaven," "celestial," or "high." It's the Greek word "epouranios" which means "of or belonging to above the ouranos" or "of or belonging to above the sky or atmosphere." Today, we would say it was "from space," "space" being that area above our atmosphere called "space" because it is very rarified and mostly empty space. Thus, this "city of the Living God" is the Jerusalem from space! That is the same Jerusalem that comes down from God "out of heaven" or "out of ouranos" (not "epouranios") and lands on the New Earth in Rev. 21:2!

Now, this goes back to a previous passage still in Hebrews:

Heb 11:8-10
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
KJV

The Greek word here translated "foundations" is "(tous) themelious," "the foundations," and is the SAME Greek word used in Rev. 21:19, "themelioi!" (The only difference is case or how the word is used in the sentence.)

But how did the author of Hebrews know this about Avraham? Was he given some "special revelation" about Avraham or is it in the text somehow? I puzzled over this for quite a while. Could it be in the nuances of Hebrew that didn't get translated into English? How did the author of Hebrews (who was probably a Jew himself writing to Jews) understand this information?

I looked at the whole record of Avram who became Avraham from Gen. 11:26 to Gen. 25:8, and there didn't seem to be a single reference of Avram "looking for a city whose founder (Greek: technitees)and mechanic (Greek: deemiourgos) was God!"

Then God led me to notice something for the first time: The first mention of the word "Adonai" (not the tetragrammaton) was in Gen. 15:2:

Gen. 15:1-7
1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
2 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
3 And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.
4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.
5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.
7 And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.
KJV

It was immediately after this that the pieces were cut in two and God made His covenant (Hebrew: b'rit = "in-cutting") with Avram while causing Avram to fall into a deep sleep:

Gen. 15:17-21
17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
KJV

So, I looked up the origin of the word "Adonai," but Strong's Dictionary didn't seem too helpful:

OT:136 'Adonay (ad-o-noy'); am emphatic form of OT:113; the Lord (used as a proper name of God only):
KJV - (my) Lord.

OT:113 'adown (aw-done'); or (shortened) 'adon (aw-done'); from an unused root (meaning to rule); sovereign, i.e. controller (human or divine):
KJV - lord, master, owner. Compare also names beginning with "Adoni-".

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

But then I remembered that Hebrew root words usually have three letters and that the vav may or may not be included with the "ow" (as in "rainbow") sound. So, I looked up the word without the vav, and there it was:

OT:134 'eden (eh'-den); from the same as OT:113 (in the sense of strength); a basis (of a building, a column, etc.):
KJV - foundation, socket.

'adon. See OT:113.

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

Therefore, not only does the word "Adonai" (or "Adonay") mean "sovereign" or "controller," it also means "one who lays a FOUNDATION!" Indeed, because it ends with the yud, it is "MY foundation layer!"

There is MUCH we can learn from knowing the original languages, particularly Hebrew. The Greek is good for the New Testament since much of the NT Scriptures were translated first into Greek, and our oldest manuscripts (so far) are the Greek translations, but 3/4th of the Scriptures were written in Hebrew in the Tanakh (the OT)! In fact, quite a bit of the NT is dependent upon the OT, quoting from it and drawing upon its lessons, its mitsvot (commandments), and its poetry.

In the Messiah's love,
Retrobyter