Yehoshua 3:1-4:10 And Yehoshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the sons of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
And they commanded the people, saying, "When ye see the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH your Elohim, and the Kohanim the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore."
And Yehoshua said unto the people, "Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow YHWH will do wonders among you."
And Yehoshua spake unto the Kohanim, saying, "Take up the Ark of the Covenant, and pass over before the people
."
And they took up the Ark of the Covenant, and went before the people.
And YHWH said unto Yehoshua, "This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Mosheh, so I will be with thee. And thou shalt command the Kohanim that bear the Ark of the Covenant, saying, "When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan."
And Yehoshua said unto the sons of Israel, "Come hither, and hear the words of YHWH your Elohim."
And Yehoshua said, "Hereby ye shall know that the living Elohim is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Yevusites. Behold, the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the Kohanim that bear the ark of YHWH, YHWH of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap."
And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the Kohanim bearing the Ark of the Covenant before the people; And as they that bare the Ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the Kohanim that bare the Ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) that the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Yericho. And the Kohanim that bare the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
Yehoshua 4:1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that YHWH spake unto Yehoshua, saying, "Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, "Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the feet of the Kohanim stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night."
Then Yehoshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the sons of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
And Yehoshua said unto them, "Pass over before the ark of YHWH your Elohim into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. That this may be a sign among you, that when your sons ask their fathers in time to come, saying, "What mean ye by these stones?" Then ye shall answer them, that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the sons of Israel forever."
And the sons of Israel did so as Yehoshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as YHWH spake unto Yehoshua, according to the number of the tribes of the of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there. And Yehoshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the Kohanim which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day. For the Kohanim which bare the Ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until everything was finished that YHWH commanded Yehoshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Mosheh commanded Yehoshua: and the people hasted and passed over.
We again remind the reader here about the words of Yochanan haMatbil and note that he was calling the sons of Israel of his day to repentance (Heb. teshuvah) at this very location where Yehoshua led his generation across the Jordan and placed stones there for a memorial. Matthew Henry comments:
"Lastly, Notice is taken of the place where all this was done: In Bethabara beyond Jordan, v. 28. Bethabara signifies the house of passage; some think it was the very place where Israel passed over Jordan into the land of promise under the conduct of Yehoshua; there was opened the way into the gospel state by Yeshua Messiah. It was at a great distance from Jerusalem, beyond Jordan; probably because what he did there would be least offensive to the government. Amos must go prophesy in the country, not near the court; but it was sad that Jerusalem should put so far from her the things that belonged to her peace. He made this confession in the same place where he was baptizing, that all those who attended his baptism might be witnesses of it, and none might say that they knew not what to make of him."
Matityahu 3:9 "And think not to say within yourselves, "We have Avraham to our father," for I say unto you, that Elohim is able of these stones (Heb. min-haavanim) to raise up sons (Heb. banim) unto Avraham."
Yochanan 1:28 These things were done in Bethabara (Heb. house of passage) beyond Jordan, where Yochanan was baptizing.
To the world that lived immediately after the Great Flood up until our day, its destruction represents the temporal nature of physical life on the earth. The descent into the Jordan river by the Kohanim symbolizes that 'the waters of death' would be cut off for Israel who believed YHWH and obeyed His commands. Israel was able to cross over into 'the promised land' which represents the resurrection from the dead and the millennial reign of Yeshua. The two-thousand cubit difference between the Ark of the Covenant and the rest of Israel represents the two-thousand year difference between the first and second comings of Messiah Yeshua; between his resurrection and the general resurrection of those who are to enter the Olam haBa (the Age to Come) with Him at His second coming. Appropriately enough, Yochanan not only mentions a mikvah of teshuvah (baptism of repentance), but also a Mikvah Eish, or Baptism of Fire.
This prophesied Baptism of Fire was to accompany a Mikvah beRuach haKodesh, the baptism of the Set-apart Spirit, that Messiah would give to all who sought it and were obedient.
Acts 5:29-32 Then Pehter and the other apostles answered and said, "We ought to obey Elohim rather than men. The Elohim of our fathers raised up Yeshua, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath YHWH exalted with his right hand to be Prince and Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Ruach haKodesh, whom Elohim hath given to them that obey him."
The Spirit that YHWH gives is pure and powerful, and thoroughly effective to enable those called to be sons to overcome sin in their lives. He gave His best to us and then sends the trials, the fires of refinement, into our lives to complete that which He started in our lives. So this fire we undergo is a moral dealing upon our lives that indicates a future fire that will consume the works of the earth, just as the waters of the Great Flood once cut off all life dwelling on the face of the earth in time past. The earth will be consumed and renewed in a COronal Mass Ejection that is to occur simultaneously with Yeshua's return in glory. Only those who have submitted to His dealing prior to His coming can survive the Day He COMEs. It is the rejection of the Covenant of Noach (compare Genesis 9:1-17 and Acts 15:27- 29) and the violation of its terms by the current inhabitants of the earth, including apostate Christians, that will bring about this global holocaust.
Malachiah 3:19-21 (KJV 4:1-3) "For, behold, the Day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the Day that cometh shall burn them up, saith YHWH of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear My Name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the Day that I shall do this," saith YHWH of hosts.
This last point brings us to the theme of the current article, Simon Peter: 'Small Stone' or Rock of Offense? That Shimon Pehter was quite knowledgeable of the coming fires of purification is recorded for us in his second epistle and is one of the last things he writes about, being careful to warn successive generations of believers in Yeshua.
2nd Pehter 3:1-15a This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Judge and Saviour:
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." For this they are willingly ignorant of, that by the word of YHWH the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water; whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of sabbath-rejecting men.
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with YHWH as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. YHWH is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
But the Day of YHWH will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and sabbathkeeping, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of YHWH, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for renewed heavens and a renewed earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless; and account that the longsuffering of our Judge is salvation.
It is necessary to understand what Shimon Pehter meant as much as it is to know what he said. We turn next to our main passage of consideration. This explains why Pehter warned us to not be ignorant the one specific truth he thought to be most important.
Yeshua is the firstborn (Heb. bechor) of YHWH, (Ps.89:27, Rom. 8:29, Col.1:15 and :18, Rev.1:5).
Matityahu 16:13-21 When Yeshua came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, "Whom do men say that I, the Son (haben) of man, am?" And they said, "Some [say that thou art] Yochanan haMatbil: some, Eliyahu; and others, Yermeyahu, or one of the Neviim (prophets).
He saith unto them,"But whom say ye that I, (by inference, THE SON OF MAN) am?" And Shimon Pehter answered and said, "Thou art the Messiah, THE SON (haben) OF THE LIVING ELOHIM."
And Yeshua answered and said unto him, "Blessed art thou, Shimon Bar Yona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art pehter, and upon this rock I will build my called-out; and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he is Yeshua the Messiah. From that time forth began Yeshua to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Pehter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee." But he turned, and said unto Pehter, "Get thee behind me, satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of Elohim, but those that be of men."
The above point is so important that it demands repetition so its relevence not be missed.
Shimon (Hebrew for hearing) was the first to publicly confess faith in Yeshua as Messiah, in Matityahu 16:16, "Atah hu haMashiach, haBen Elohim chayyim," in response to the question Yeshua had just finished posing to his talmidim:
Matthew 16:15 "Whom do you say THAT I (by inference from verse 13, THE SON OF MAN) am?"
Yeshua replied to him, Matt. 16:17-18, "Blessed art thou Shimon Bar Yonah (his name), for flesh and blood have not revealed (opened) this to you, but my Father, who is in heaven. And I also say unto you, that you are pehter (opening), and upon this Rock (even; of revelation), I will build (evneh) my ekklesia (called out ones), and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it."
The word peter in Greek, petros, may mean a small stone, but neither Yeshua, nor Shimon Pehter, were Greeks. Being Jews, they would have used either the Hebrew word tsur (rock) or eben (stone), or some variation thereof, if indeed the word rock is what they meant to say. The consequence of saying pehter should be translated as small stone demands that the Greek word petra in verse 18 must be translated as rock by contrast, in English. The problem with this is Yeshua was saying Shimon bar Yonah (his true name) was pehter (opening), that is, Shimon was opening up to receive revelation from YHWH about who Yeshua really is!
This being the case, the understanding that Shimon was now being called by a new name, Peter, is spurious. Yeshua was not calling Shimon a small stone, neither did he say Shimon bar Yonah was the Rock (even) on which Yeshua would build (boneh) his elect (bachar).
The Rock (even) that Yeshua was referring to was the revelation of himself, not Shimon, as the promised Messiah, the Anointed One, whose coming was foretold since the day Adam and Eve sinned (see Bereishit 3:15-16).
It was that Rock which was the (anointed) stone that followed Israel in the wilderness, 1st Corinthians 10:4. It was that Rock which avinu Ya'akov set up as a pillar of witness after dreaming a dream and anointed it, calling it Beth-El. This is not the usage of house as a physical structure, but rather in the same sense as House of Judah or House of David. Those who were the seed of Ya'akov were to also become the seed of Avraham through Messiah; the ekklesia built (boneh) on the Rock that was anointed, Yeshua haMashiach.
Yochanan 1:42 And he brought him to Yeshua. And when Yeshua beheld him, he said, "Thou art Shimon the son (ben) of Yona: thou shalt be called Kepha (Aramaic for stone), which is by interpretation, a (small) stone (Gr. petros).
The reason why Yeshua said Shimon was (opening) pehter at that particular time, takes us back to Sh'mot (Exodus) 13:2. "Set apart unto Me all the firstborn (kal-bechor), whatever opens the womb (pehter ha rechem), among the sons of Israel, of man and animal: It is mine."
Pehter opened up to the Father to receive this insight as to the true nature of who Yeshua was. He opened the womb, i.e. brought forth, a new spiritual man. One would expect that Shimon Pehter who has been called a stone throughout history would have revelation about what it means to be a stone, and that he does:
1st Pehter 2:4-10 To whom coming, as unto a living stone ( even chayyah), disallowed indeed of men (b'nei Adam), but chosen (elect, bachar) of Elohim, and precious, ye also, as
lively stones ( avanim chayyim), are built (boneh) up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to Elohim by Yeshua the Messiah. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, "Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone (Isaiah 28:16, aven even bohan pinah), elect ( bachar), precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone ( even) which the builders ( habonim) disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner ( l'rosh pinah), and a stone of stumbling (ul'even negeph) and a rock of offence (ul'tzur mikshol), even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people (Lo-ammi), but are now the people of YHWH: which had not obtained mercy (Lo-ruhamah), but now have obtained mercy.
Hoshea 1:6-11And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And Elohim said unto him, "Call her name Lo-ruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the House of Israel: but I will utterly take them away. But I will have mercy upon the House of Yehudah, and will save them by YHWH their Elohim, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen."
Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son. Then said Elohim, "Call his name Lo-ammi, for ye are not my people, and I will not be your Elohim. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, "Ye are not my people," there it shall be said unto them, "Ye are the sons of the living Elohim." Then shall the children of Yehudah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
Hoshea 2:19-23 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know YHWH. And it shall come to pass in that Day, I will hear, saith YHWH, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people (Lo-ammi), Thou art my people; and they shall say, "Thou art my Elohim."
Yermeyahu 31:9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
1st Chronicles 5:1-2 Now the sons of Reuven the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Yoseph, the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after their birthright. For Yehudah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Yoseph's:)