Lamed - The staff of identity and authority

The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion (Psalm 110:2).

In ancient times the first banners were staffs without cloth. Staffs used for praise dance are called in Hebrew Matteh (masculine form) or Mattah (feminine form).

Moses held up the Rod of God (Matteh haElohim) while the Israelites battled against their enemies, the Amalekites. And with that sign God gave them the victory. After that Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Adonai Nissi-The Lord is my standard/banner (2. Mose 17).

The letters of the Hebrew alphabet are holy signs from God revealing prophetic truths. The twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Lamed (l), a symbol for staff, especially a shepherd‘s staff. In ancient times written Hebrew was a picture language. The staff is a symbol for identity and authority. The Hebrew word for God „El“ means in picture language: The strong Authority, the strong Shepherd. The Hebrew word picture for congregation „qahal“ are those who follow the Staff. 

 

Jesus is the Rod, that will branch out to cover the entire earth; his life will bud and blossom to fill the whole world with his fruit. There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots (…) (Is. 11:1).

The Hebrew word for redeemer is „Goel“. The word picture means: God is lifted up. An the verb „gaal“, to redeem, means: To lift up God. Jesus said: As Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the desert, in the same way the Son of man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life (John 3:14). When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to me (John 12:32). Redemption happens when God is lifted up. Staffs and banners are symbols for elevation/lifting up. On the right staff (look at the picture) it is written with greek letters: Logos. This is one of the greek names of Jesus and means Word. The Word (Logos) was God. (John 1:1). The Word/Logos was lifted up on the cross.

Moses and Aaron led the Israelites with the Rod of God out of Egypt so that they could celebrate the feasts of the Lord. The Hebrew word for feast „chag“ means „dance“. The word picture of chag means „place of lifting up/elevation“. Wherever we dance for God we create a place of lifting up. The holy celebrations of the Lord like Pessach (Passover), Shavout (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles), which have prophetic meanings for our lives and for the world history, are named after the word for dance. We shall live our life as a celebration of the Lord, a manifestation of worship, a festival of his love, a sacred expression of joy and thanksgiving.

For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys (Ex. 40:38). The left staff (picture) is called „Cloud by day, fire by night.“ This reminds us that we are living tabernacles, living temples of the Holy Spirit. We shall use our bodies for God‘s glory (1. Cor. 6:19-20). Paul writes: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his sevice and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer (Rom. 12:1).

The rod is a symbol for wanderings/pilgrimage, inheritance, priesthood and royalty ( Jer. 10:16, Num. 17, Gen. 49:10). The rod of kings is called scepter. We are a royal priesthood on the pilgrimage to the promised land. When Jesus sent the disciples out two by two, he ordered them to take nothing with them except a rod (Mark 6:8). The word „teach“, „leemed“, means to stretch out the rod. Jesus will soon return to the earth to rule the nations with his rod and then everybody will be taught by God (Psalm 110:2, Rev. 12:5, Is. 2:3). God will cause Israel to pass under the Shepherd‘s rod , and he will bring the Israelites into the bond of the covenant (Hes. 20:37).

The walls, gates and the temple of Jerusalem were measured by an angelic measuring rod as a sign for God‘s future prophetic plans and purposes (Hes. 40, Rev. 11 and 21). The history of this world, and of or lives, will conform to the plans of Heaven and to the precise dimensions set forth by the angelic measuring rod. We shall take the Word/Logos, follow its exact measurements and walk into the dimensions of God‘s will for our life.

Written with ancient Hebrew letters the name „Esther“ means: A strong help is the sign (symbol, cross) for a person. Queen Esther was saved by the sign of the extended scepter. A strong help for us is the Scepter of Righteousness, the comfort of the Shepherd‘s rod and staff, the Cross of Redemption: The Lord our Righteousness-Adonai Tzidkenu! (Psalm 45 and 23, Jer. 33)

 

Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old; the rod of your inheritance, which you have redeemed, this mount Zion, where you have dwelt. (Psalm 74:2)

The physical and the spiritual realm have an influence on each other. What happens in the spiritual realm has an impact on the physical realm, and the other way round actions in the physical realm have an impact on the spiritual realm. We do symbolic acts like the water baptism, the anointing with oil and the communion, because we believe that these acts have a heavenly impact on our lives. The Bible is full of symbolism. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have many symbolic names. One of the symbolic names of Jesus is Branch (Sach. 6,12). The staffs, about which I wrote the last time, are made of cedarwood. The cedar is a symbol of strength, stability, beauty, incorruption, longevity and eternity, because it is secure from worm damage.

Because of this the inner rooms of the Temple of Solomon were paneled with cedarwood. Trees are in the Bible symbols of humans and peoples. Cedar is a symbol of Israel (Num. 24:5-6), of the Messiah (Song of Songs 5:15) and of his kingdom, which gets from humble beginnings to a glorious accomplishment (Ez. 17:22-24).

The prophets often used symbolic acts, movements and spectacles/dramas, when they conveyed God‘s message. As a symbolic act the prophet Zechariah had to work as a Shepherd to depict the ministry of the Messiah as a Shepherd (Zech. 11). He took two staffs to feed the flock. One staff he called Noam (Favor/Pleasantness), the other he called Chovlim (Connection/Unity). The two staffs symbolize a twofold salvation, which the Good Shepherd provides for his people. After being rejected, the Shepherd brakes the staff Noam and the staff Chovlim as a symbolic act: The Lord withdraws his providence for his people and withdraws the blessing of fraternal unity.

Historically, the disappearance of the ten lost tribes followed their abduction by the king of Assyria in 721 B.C. But the Lord has promised that he will again turn towards his people with favor and that he will join together/reunite the tribes of Israel, Ephraim and Judah.

The Lord commanded the prophet Ezekiel to take two sticks. On one stick he had to write for Judah, and on the other for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim. Then he had to join them one to another into one stick in his hand (Ez. 37). This act symbolized, that the Lord will gather his people and reunite them under one Shepherd. Ephraim stands for the ten lost tribes. This prophecy is now fulfilling in our days. Today lost Israelites form Asia, Africa and from all over the World return back to Israel and become again one nation. The Lord showed me, that I shall call the two sticks on the picture Noam Judah and Chovlim Ephraim (Favor for Judah, Connection with Ephraim) as a proclamation of this endtime-prophecy. Today Noam is a very popular given name for boys in Israel. Naomi/Naamah are female forms of Noam. Jesus is a descendant of King Solomon and his wife Naamah. The name Judah (female form: Judith) means to praise the Lord with hands lifted up. Ephraim means double fruitfulness. We shall praise the Lord and bear much fruit.

Jesus taught the people with parables, he often used a symbolic language. In the parable of the prodigal son the father stands for God, the Heavenly Father. He celebrates in his house the return of his prodigal son with music and dance (in greek: choros, Luke 15:25). We are always with the Lord and everything he has is ours. We also shall express our joy with music and dance, when the lost are found, when the dead become alive. One of the seven deacons, who was chosen in Antioch, the first heathen christian church, was called Prochoros (Acts 6:5). The name Prochoros means Leader of Dance. There was a Levite called Chaggijja; the name means My Feast/My Dance ist the Lord (1. Chronicle 6:15). Levi means Joiner. The Levites as priests hade to join the people to God and to join the humans to each other.  

Jesus was born into a family of wood workers. The profession of a carpenter (in greek: tekton) was highly esteemed in acient times. A tekton was a skilled master craftsman who joined together wooden items. This profession has a symbolic meaning. Jesus was as the Master Craftsman, the Wisdom in Person, by God‘s side when he created the World (Proverbs 8). It is his purpose to join/assemble the lost/the scattered into the house of God. I will make him who is victorios a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never again leave it (Rev. 3:12). Let us be joined together through Jesus, the Master Craftsman with God, our Father and with our brethren in his house! Let us celebrate together the Lord with music and dance!

Daleth - Banner / Flag and Vav - Streamer, Dimensions and bands of love

The bride: “His banner over me is love.” (Song of Solomon 2:4b)

The bridegroom: “You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners.” (Song of Solomon 6:4).

It is written about David, who was a king and a prophet and wrote most of the psalms, that he was dancing before the Lord with all his strength (2. Sam. 6:14b). He wrote: “He brought me out into a broad place (Psalm 18:19). He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights (Psalm 18:33).”

Daleth

The name David begins with the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet: Daleth. Daleth means door, but it can also mean way or dimensions. The love of God has four dimensions: It has a depth, a height, a breadth and a length (Ephesians 3:18). Likewise, our love for God should have four dimensions: We should love him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength and with all our mind (Luke 10:27).

In the depth of God’s love, we experience healing, cleansing and restoration. There we have intimacy with God, and we participate in his treasures, secrets and wonders. In the depth of God knowledge will be pleasant to our soul (Proverbs 2:10). In the height of God’s love wisdom will come into our heart and we rule together with him in the spiritual world. In the breadth of God’s love, we live and practice faith, love and hope. We have fellowship with each other und experience rest and peace. Discretion watches over us (Proverbs 2:11). In the length of God’s love, we experience that his arm is not too short to save and that his love endures forever (Is. 59:1 and Psalm 136). Mission and evangelization belong to this dimension of length. Understanding will guard as in this dimension.

Daleth has the shape of a flag. Flag in Hebrew is called degel; the word picture means: The door/the way to lift up authority. Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations (Is. 62:10).

The symbols used for praise dance are doors/gates in the spiritual world and they correspond to letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The flag, degel corresponds to Daleth (d).

Vav

In the Song of Solomon it is written: His banner over me is love. The banner, the flag is a symbol for love. The name David means beloved. In Hebrew it is written with three consonants: Daleth-Vav-Daleth. Vav is the sixth letter and it is a symbol for a joining hook. The Hebrew Word Picture of the name David means: The dimensions, the doors, the ways of two persons are hooked/joined together. We are loved when we join/link our dimensions to the dimensions of another person and when we answer to the four dimensions of God’s love by loving him with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength; these are namely our four dimensions: The heart our height, the soul our depth, the strength our breadth and the mind our length. This is the key of David: The dimensions of God and human joined together in love. This is what the psalms are about.

“These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (Rev. 3: 7-8).

Through our dancing for Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) we confess his name and we move in him and the four dimensions of love (Acts 17:16). We express with all our strength love and surrender/commitment. There is a prophecy about the bride of the end times written in the Song of Solomon 6:10: “Who is this who looks down like the dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?”

A special type of flag is the streamer. Streamers are long and they remind us of the length and endlessness of God’s love, "the bands of love" (Hosea 11:4). Love is the bond of perfectness (Colossians 3,14). Streamers have the shape of a Vav, the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which is a symbol for a joining hook. Through praise dance we join our dimensions to the dimensions of God, we join/link Heaven and Earth together.

Make his praise glorious! (Psalm 66:2)

God has put a new song in my mouth, a praise unto our God, many shall see it and fear him, and shall trust in the Lord. (Psalm 40:3)

Worship and praise are not only to be heard, but also to be seen.

Dance is a way to make praise visible.

Let them praise his name in the dance … (Psalm 149:3)

By the use of banners and flags for praise dance we can make spiritual truths visible. Banners and flags proclaim biblical and spiritual facts and have the character of a call-up and a signal. Flags are visible made spiritual verities!

God himself has set up a banner. Jesus is the banner of God in the spiritual realm!

The root of Jesse, which shall stand as an ensign/banner of the peoples; unto him shall the nations seek, and his resting-place shall be glorious. (Is. 11:10).

Jesus as a banner is excellent, he leads us, he shines from afar. Jesus goes ahead.

We shall follow him and reflect his message. We shall be living banners for Jesus.

All of us reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord who ist the Spirit, transforms uns into his very likeness, in an ever greater degree of glory. (2. Corinthians 3:18)

Lift up a standard/banner for the people. (…) Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold your salvation comes (…). And they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord and Jerusalem shall be called, sought out, a city not forsaken. (Is. 62:10-12)

There is the physical and the spiritual Jerusalem. The spiritual Jerusalem is the headquarters of God. God reigns from Jerusalem. Likewise Babel/Babylon are not only names for a city. They are also names for the headquarters of Satan, the antichristian world.

Set up the standard/banner against the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen (…) (Jer. 51:12)

Through our commitment to Jesus we set up a standard/banner against Babylon. Babylon will fall as the Lord has planned. By the use of flags we declare and proclaim that Jesus is King and Lord of this church, this town and this country.

When we lift up the banner against Babel/Babylon, the headquarters of Satan, then we are as beautiful as the town “Tirza, lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners.” (Jer. 51:12 and Song of Solomon 6:4).

We will rejoice in your salvation (literally: in your Yeshua) and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the Lord fulfill all your petitions. (Psalm 20:6)

Gimel - Vessel of adoration

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth (John 4,23a).

 

Another symbol used in worship dance is the vessel. This reminds us to capture the presence of God, to be cleansed and become a fragrant offering for Him as Christ became a fragrant offering for God through His sacrifice (Eph. 5,2). The frankincense is a symbol for cleansing, prayer, worship and fragrance.

The apostle John had the following heavenly visions related to the golden bowl full of incense: Then the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down in front of the Lamb. Each one had a harp. They were holding golden bowls full of incense, which stand for the prayers of God's people. Here is the new song they sang. “You are worthy to take the scroll and break open its seals. You are worthy because you were put to death. With your blood you bought people for God. They come from every tribe, language, people and nation. You have made them members of a royal family. You have made them priests to serve our God. They will rule on the earth.”

(Rev. 5,8-10) Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand (Rev. 8,3-4).

The letters of the Hebrew alphabet are holy signs of God, that announce His works and His praise. In psalm 119, 89 we read: “Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.” The 3^rd letter of the Hebrew alphabet is Gimel (g), that resembles a camel.

According to the traditional Jewish view camels represents nations. The camel is an animal of the desert; it wanders the desert from one oasis to another seeking continuously after water. The water represents the truth. The Bride of Christ, who is fulfilled with living water, that flows from the throne of God to us, and praises God in Spirit and in Truth, is as pure as “a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain” (Song 4,12b). In Isaiah 60,6 it is written, that herds of camels from foreign countries will come to Israel. They will carry gold and incense and they will proclaim the praise of the Lord. Gold symbolizes faith refined in fire, and it is a symbol for kingship. Frankincense represents prayers, worship and symbolizes priesthood. We are a kingly priesthood. In the Song of Songs we find that the bride is coming up from the desert (wilderness) leaning on her beloved (Song 8,5). She is a „garden locked up“ for her bridegroom and she says: “Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere.” (SOS 4:16). This is a call for the Spirit of God. What was dry will be refreshed by the north wind and brought to life. The north wind has the power of resurrection and possesses the force to give revelation. The south wind enables us to express what we have received from God.

As the fire of the Holy Spirit fell on the disciples, they preached with boldness and with the fire of the first love. Both winds must come together to enable us to smell the fragrance of love, which flows out of our hearts for our bridegroom Jesus. As well as the Holy Spirit carries the fragrance of love through the north wind and the south wind towards us, similarly, he carries it back out of our garden to Him. When the Spirit of God blows through our personality and our garden, then we live, move and have our being in him (Acts 17,28). This happens also when we dance for him. The Bible gives us examples which encourage us to express our praise, our offering of frankincense also through movements: “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice” (Ps. 141,2). In Revelation 4 we read how the twenty-four elders fell down before him who sits on the throne. In the Hebrew language Gimel (g) can also mean “lift up”. And the Hebrew picture for garden “gan” means to lift up life. In the Garden of Eden God lifted up the man to life. In the Garden Tomb Jesus was raised/lifted up to life. Who comes back to the first love and overcomes, to him Jesus will give to eat from the tree of life, that exists in the Paradise (Garden of Eden) of God (Rev 2,7). We should lift up life as the gardens of God. Jesus is the life and we should lift him up. Flags and staffs used in worship dance are symbols for lifting up.

In worship dance the symbolism of the colours has a crucial meaning. White symbolizes purity, holiness, the bride of Jesus, light and victory. White is also the colour of frankincense. Gold symbolizes the presence of God, his glory and majesty. He overlays his bride, his congregation with glory and clothes her in gold (Psalm 45, 10 and 14). We should be vessels of the glory and of the presence of God and be an offering of frankincense, a fragrance for him with all our being.

Beth - Praise, the dwelling place of God

This is the gate of Heaven (Genesis 28:17)!

The second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Beth (b) means house, dwelling place. The house symbolizes the creation and our body (2. Cor. 5:1). Jacob called the place where God revealed himself Bethel, House of God. Our body shall be the house of God. The Hebrew word for Heart, Leb means the authority of the house. Beth is also a symbol for the Son of God, the Word (Logos) who became flesh and dwelt among uns (John 1:14). The word (Logos) of Christ shall dwell richly in us and we shall make music for him in our hearts (Col. 3:16). Psalm, in greek psalmos, comes from the word psallo. Psallo means to make music on the strings of a harp. The harp on the picture symbolizes our heart, the center of our being, which was created to praise God. Aleph (a) stands for the beginning, for eternity, for God, his strength and rulership. After he had created everything God gave the eternity in our hearts (Ecc. 3:11). This is the alphabet (in Greek) or alephbet (in Hebrew).

When Jacob was with his family on his way back to home, there he met angels of God. And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God's host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim, that means two hosts, double host (Genesis 32:2-3). The host of God joined the host of Jacob to protect him when he met his brother Esau. Before the conquest of Jericho the prince/captain of the host of the Lord (Sar Tseva Adonai) appeared to Joshua (Josh. 5:13-15). The Hebrew pictographic meaning of Prince, Sar, is warrior. This was the Prince/Warrior of Peace (Sar Shalom), who fought for peace between Jacob and Esau with his angelic hosts. Jesus denoted himself as the prince/captain of the host of God when he said: Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53) Shofars were used at the battle for Jericho and the Hebrew word picture of shofar means the mouth of the prince/warrior. The army of the Lord is a heavenly force which battles for Israel (2. Kings 6: 16-17, Judges 5:20). Jacob saw in Bethel a ladder between Heaven and Earth and angels were ascending and descending on it. The ladder is a picture for Jesus. Jesus said: Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:51). Angels are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14).

In the Song of Songs we can read about the Shulamite, a picture of the Bride of Christ, who dances the dance of Mahanaim, the dance of the two hosts (SOS 7:1). This is a prophecy of the awesome glory of the two hosts, two armies of God united in one purpose. The Dance of Mahanaim is the coming together of the Armies of God in Heaven and the Armies of God on Earth, moving in unison—two armies with one purpose and divine mission – to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Jesus is the Lord of Hosts, the Lord of Armies! Angels are about to be released en masse to restore, to protect, to heal, to guard God’s purposes and to minister to the saints, however the Armies of Heaven are also sent to war, to defeat the enemies of God. 

Mahanaim was a levitical city on the tribal area of Gad. The Levites served the Lord as priests. Gad was the seventh son of Jacob. The name Gad means fortune. Jacob prophesized about Gad: Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels (Gen. 49:19). When we dance for the glory of the Lord then we are joining ourselves to the heavenly hosts, who battle against the demons, the enemies of God. Then we find ourselves in Mahanaim, the double host in the land of fortune. This is a land which will be continually attacked by raiders. Jesus said: All who have come before me are thieves and robbers. (…) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:8 and 10). The enemy deprived the church of dance for centuries, because he knows that dance is a powerful weapon. Because of this the devil wants to keep dance in his toolbox, as we can see it on demonic dances in pagan rites. He wants to let dance be hidden In our toolbox. Because of this we experience much resistance against praise dance. Moses compared Gad to a lioness (Deu. 33). As the Israelites captured the land of Canaan the tribe of Gad went ahead of the people. Gad carried out the Lord‘s righteous will. Because of this Gad received the land which was conquered first and took his inheritance in possession as the first. Through dancing for God we honour him as priests like the Levites and we battle like Gad, expel the raiders and take our inheritance in Christ in possession; we are in Mahanaim, the double host of the earthly and heavenly armies in the land of fortune.