Customer Reviews

The Mystery of the Menorah ...and the Hebrew Alphabet

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This book turned out to be far better than I had hoped it would be. J. R. Church and Gary Stearman have long had a powerful outreach based on Biblical prophecy (...) so I was certain the scholarship would be first-rate, despite the seemingly off-beat nature of the central idea of this book.

The first half of the book is as eye-opening as anyone could ask. The idea that the Menorah could be found over and over again in the bible must've been supernaturally revealed as it seems unlikely anyone would've gone looking for it. Alas, this back story is absent from the book.

Those familiar with the authors will not be terribly surprised to find that the second half of the book deals with the Hebrew alphabet superimposed over the bible - their interest in the Hebrew alphabet and the meanings of the characters (hidden contextual meanings as related to Prophecy and plain text) is legendary.

I read this book and found myself challenged and my mind and understanding expanded. This book can go a long way in reuniting the two branches of the family of Yahweh into a reunited Israel. Do I claim to understand everything they write? No, but then, I have a lifetime in which to consider and meditate upon their insights.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I found myself making notes in the margins and marking things I wanted to refer back to in red pen. Every letter in the Hebrew Aleph-bet has a historical meaning and a cultural heritage meaning. This book will teach you the linking between the story of the letters and what it means in Biblical context and in relation to Jewish cultural heritage. For instance, you learn about the origins of the Menorah.

I came away with an unshakable belief that the Aleph-bet was a gift to the world from God, and that the meaning and history of each letter has a Biblical story to teach us.

I found this very helpful in understanding some questions I have had for a long and this helped connect the dots for me concerning the old and new testaments of the Bible, what Christ and his disciples understood, some of God's patterns, and other interesting bits of history that I did not know. Some ideas will certainly challenge you but overall it is intersting and thought provoking. It is certainly not more of the same old stuff.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I don't support the pre-trib rapture theory, the authors do. Another point of contention is the non-committal treatment of the weekly Sabbath. They use both "Hashem" and "Yahweh" as the name of the Creator. If the potential reader isn't put off by those positions there are some thought provoking subjects and observations to be found in the book. I will highlight some of them.

The Servant Lamp (Mosaic Menorah) and the position of Messiah among the seven candlesticks of Revelation.

The change of the tribal symbol of Dan using "the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs" by H.C.Kee as a source.

The description of the color of the "pale" horse of Revelation is more accurately described as "chlorus" or light green.

The "all seeing eye" and it's relation to the modern symbol of the tower of Babel.

This book provides some interesting insights, especially when analyzing the Hebrew letters and number values with books of the Bible.

Overall this book may be trying to bridge a gap between Judaism and Christianity. As such, it may be a valuable book to readers of either faith. All things considered, it was more of a disappointment for me.