Cheshvan is when darkness reigns and yet the seed of growth is planted. On the Hebrew Calendar, Cheshvan is the current month, having begun on October 30, 2019. The month of Cheshvan is sometimes referred to as Marcheshvan. The prefix “Mar” means Bitter in Hebrew, or a time of judgment and hardship. It seems appropriate for the Donald Trump Impeachment hearings to begin today, in this month of Cheshvan…there are no accidents with God. The name Cheshvan was not the original name of this Hebrew month, but was adopted during the Babylonian exile, a time of darkness for the Jews. The original Hebrew name for this month was Bul, which denotes the idea of “drying up,” as the leaves begin to drop and decay with the approach of winter.
Historically, the month of Cheshvan is an apocalyptic month, a month that has brought great sorrow for mankind, and the Jews, and yet, out of the Sorrow, God always brings good.
The flood of Noah began on the 17th of Cheshvan, and the waters receded the next year on the 27th of Cheshvan.
Predating the flood…..In the book of Jubilees, an Apocryphal book that was not included in the canon of the Bible but was considered an important ancient text by the early Church Fathers, we discover that Cheshvan 17 was not only the day that Noah’s flood began, it was also the day that the serpent said to the woman, ‘Hath God commanded you, saying, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Jubilees 3:17)
The Book of Jubilees indicates the serpent tempted Eve on the very same day and month on which the Flood began in a much later year! The passage in Ge.3:1-7 of our Bibles says Eve & Adam ate fruit from the forbidden tree. So the fate of all mankind, death (Ge.3:19-23), was determined traditionally on the very same day as when the Flood later occurred. The 17th day of the 2nd month (Chesvan/Marcheshvan in the autumn)!
Genesis 7:10: It came about after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. 12 The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. That same day Noah went into the boat with his wife, his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives.
As we’ve discussed before, this was no “ordinary rain”. https://dyingworld.org/2018/10/19/the-days-of-noah/
The original name for this month “Bul” not only denotes “drying up” as in leaves, but is also associated with the global flood, and the start of the “cold and rainy season” in Israel. The Hebrew word for flood is Mabul, meaning an overabundance of rain.
The oldest living man recorded in History and Noah’s grandfather, Methuselah, died 7 days (1 week) before the floodrains began, at age 969.
Genesis 5: 27: So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.
The name Methuselah means “His death shall bring judgement“. Ancient Jewish writings indicate that God held off the judgement of the flood for SEVEN days during the official mourning period for Methuselah. Methuselah’s destiny was to portend the coming judgement on the earth. Only Noah and his family, which included his 3 sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth and their wives, would survive the judgment of the flood on the Ark.
Genesis 7:10: It came about after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth.
Another important event that occurred in the month of Cheshvan seems unrelated at first glance. This was the death of Jacob’s wife Rachel, as well as the birth of Benjamin, which occurred on the 11th of Cheshvan. It was precisely the same day as Methusaleh’s death, the very day that flood had originally been slated to begin. As there are no coincidences in God’s Word, we must ask: What is the connection between these two events, and what do they reveal about the essence of the month of Cheshvan?
Rachel represents the Jewish people in exile, and Benjamin represents the completed state of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. Rachel spent her entire life outside of Israel, and died in Childbirth just as Jacob and his family entered the holy land. The Jewish Sages teach that the “spirit of Rachel” accompanied the Jewish people as they went into Babylonian exile, and it is she who cries for her children in exile until the final redemption comes. We can extend this metaphor in that Rachel represents all of humanity’s exile from the Garden of Eden and Benjamin represents our final redemption and entrance into the Kingdom of God.
Jeremiah 31: This is what the Lord says:
“A sound is heard in Ramah—
bitter crying and great sadness.
Rachel cries for her children,
and she refuses to be comforted,
because her children are gone.”But the Lord says, “Stop crying.
Don’t fill your eyes with tears.
You will be rewarded for your work.”
This message is from the Lord.
“The people of Israel will come back from their enemy’s land.
17 Israel, there is hope for you.”
This message is from the Lord.
“Your children will come back to their own land.
Benjamin is the last son of Jacob, the twelfth of the tribes, whose birth marks the completion of the people of Israel. He is also the only son of Jacob that is born in Israel, and thus represents the Jewish people’s “perfected state” in the land of Israel. This is further underscored by the fact that Saul, the first king of the Jewish people, came from the tribe of Benjamin. Furthermore, the miracle of Purim, which immediately preceded the return of the Jews to Israel and the building of the Second Temple, was brought about through the vehicle of Mordecai and Esther, who came from the tribe of Benjamin. Extending this to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, was from the Tribe of Benjamin.
Esther 2:5: Now there was at the citadel in Susa a Jew whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, 6 who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled. 7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle’s daughter, for she had no father or mother. Now the young lady was beautiful of form and face, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter.
Romans 11:1: “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
The death of Rachel resulted in the birth of Benjamin. This would correspond to the idea that the exile itself is that which births the REDEMPTION. The descent into darkness creates the potential for the future light. 💡 The Kingdom of God is greater than the Garden of Eden. We will someday realize that this earthly existence, which brings pain, suffering, and death, is not in vain if we Cling to Jesus Christ our Rock and our Redeemer. After His death on the Cross, Jesus Himself descended into the lower parts of the earth to set the captives FREE. Then, when Jesus rose Victorious over the grave, the departed Saints also rose with Him. (Matthew 27:52).
Let us visit the Hebrew words golah and gaolah. Golah means exile. Gaolah means redemption. What is the difference between these two words in Hebrew?
The aleph (Letter A – GAOLAH) which represents the strong leader – Aleph (Letter A) Ox = Strength – God (YHWH/YESHUA).
When we are in exile, and allow God into the situation, we have redemption. By this do I mean that we are in control? Absolutely not. It is God who is in control. Yet many times we forget that. We forget that no matter the circumstances, He makes the difference between being in exile and being redeemed.
Ephesians 4: 8 Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high,
He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.” 9: (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)Matthew 27:51: And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
This theme can be seen in the flood, as well. Although the world in its previous state came to an end, at the same time, there was a new beginning which was being sown in the person of Noah. The passing of Methusaleh opened the curtain for Noah to assume leadership of the next generation. The death of the previous order gave rise to a new potential for growth. 🌱
This same theme can even be seen in the fall of man because even as God pronounced the curses on the serpent, mankind and the earth, He offered REDEMPTION to MANKIND and the EARTH through the Promised Seed!
Genesis 3:15: And I will make enemies
Of you and the woman, (Eve/Israel)
And of your offspring and her Descendant;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”
Cheshvan is a time that is “bitter,” for there seems to be no opportunities for growth and spiritual connection. It is a time of deterioration, as the leaves wither and the world enters a state of deep hibernation.
Today, November 11 (11/11), Cheshvan 15:
- The Donald Trump Impeachment hearings begin, the massive coordinated and illegal Marxist effort to remove a sitting American President from office.
- There is a HUGE snowstorm about to blanket millions of people in the northern United States, plunging the US into an early winter.
- Today is Veteran’s day in America, a time to remember those who have died in America’s fight for freedom.
- Today is Cheshvan 15, a somber day for the Jewish people, commemorating Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass. On this night in 1938, there was a violent riot against the Jews, carried out by the Nazi party’s paramilitary. The name Kristallnacht (“Crystal Night”) comes from the shards of broken glass that littered the streets after the windows of Jewish-owned stores, buildings and synagogues were smashed. Kristallnacht was the beginning of the horrific genocide of the Jewish people known as the Holocaust. And yet, out of this dark and horrifying event, God began the REBIRTH of His people (His Physical seed) back to the Promised Land of Israel in fulfillment of Prophecy (Isaiah 11:11).
Cheshvan is a time of bitter remembrance of sorrow-filled events, and yet, it is also a time when the rains begin, when the potential for future growth is being sown. 🌱 It is a time when spiritual darkness reigns, yet when spiritual growth begins deep beneath the surface. It is the moment when Rachel passes on, when all seems bleak, when the darkness of exile closes in; and it is the moment of the birth of Benjamin, the seed of the Jewish people’s “perfected state: which is sown in that very darkness.
In the Last Days, Cheshvan represents the days of Noah, a time of judgement and Great Tribulation on the earth. The Bible describes the Tribulation period as the worse time that has ever occurred on the earth. Death, sorrow, sickness, suffering, cruelty, wickedness, perversions will all be unchecked and rampant on the earth during this time. The Bible says that if God hadn’t cut those days short, no flesh would have survived. It’s going to be that bad.
Matthew 24:21: For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
But it is during this time filled with bitter sorrow, that God prepares to birth something new upon the earth…the Kingdom of God. Jesus does not return to a world full of gleeful peace and happiness. Jesus is bringing His Kingdom to the earth following the Days of Noah, the time of Great Tribulation, the darkest time that this earth has ever known. Once Jesus’ Kingdom is established on this earth, the world will experience 1000 years of Glorious Peace and truth! The lies, the deceptions, the wickedness, the sickness, suffering and even death will be greatly reduced on this earth. Even the nature of wild animals will change. The Bible says that in the Kingdom of God, no one will HARM another on God’s “Holy Mountain” (Metaphor for His Kingdom) …and a man who is born during Jesus’ Millennial reign on earth and dies at 100 years old will die as though he were a child, meaning that the life spans of those on earth will return to the way that the were in the beginning…hundreds of years or more.
Isaiah 65:20: No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,
Or an old man who does not live out his days;
For the youth will die at the age of one hundred
And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred
Will be thought accursed.
As we see the signs of the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ, the birthpangs increasing, and as we see the bitter days of Cheshvan, the days of Noah approaching, let us remember that it is out of the darkness that God brings REDEMPTION and REBIRTH.
