Please, YHVH, our Elohim, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our hearts and in the hearts of Your people, the family of Israel. May we and our offspring and the offspring of Your people, the household of Jacob – know Your Name and study Your Torah, for the sake of Your Torah- empowering us to sincerely love one another and to love You above all. Please uncover our eyes and open our hearts that we may carefully examine and understand the marvels and mysteries of Your Torah- Amein.
Shabbat Shalom.
ויהי
בחצי – ‘’and it came to be at mid…’’
The Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn
Exo 12:29 And it came to be at midnight that יהוה struck all the
first-born in the land of Mitsrayim, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sat on
his throne to the first-born of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the
first-born of livestock.
Exo 12:30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night,
he and all his servants, and all the Mitsrites. And there was a great cry in
Mitsrayim, for there was not a house where there was not a dead one.
Matthew 25:6 — the bridegroom comes at midnight
- ויהי
בחצות הלילה
(exact same phrase)
Exodus 12:29 — the firstborn in Egypt are struck at
midnight.
Matthew 25 ends with the separation of those who are
prepared from those who are not, followed by judgment. (context of Mt 24)
("But of that day and hour no one knows...")
and the ancient Rabbinic understanding of Exodus 12:29 – was the
concept of the "Unknown Certainty." וַדָּאוּת בִּלְתִּי
נוֹדַעַת
An "Unknown Certainty" is a paradox
where an event's occurrence is 100% absolute and guaranteed, yet the precise
timing or manner of its arrival remains completely hidden from human knowledge.
In Jewish thought, midnight cannot be predicted by watching the sky—it can only be prepared for by having your lamps filled before the sun goes down. The "unknown hour" means calculation is impossible; the "midnight cry" means readiness is mandatory.
A king invited his servants to a banquet but did not
specify the hour [The Unknown Certainty]. The wise servants dressed immediately
and waited at the palace gate. The foolish servants assumed they had time and
went back to their daily work. Suddenly, the king called them in. The wise
entered in their clean, wedding garments; the foolish entered covered in dirt.
The king rejoiced with the prepared but excluded the unprepared.
The source most probably quoted by Yahshua.
Paul writes: "...so that the righteousness of the
Torah should be completed in us who do not walk according to the flesh but
according to the Spirit."
This verse explains the exact spiritual dynamics of
how a person accumulates the "oil" necessary to survive the midnight
cry of the "Unknown Certainty."
In Romans 8:4, Paul contrasts those who live by the
temporary, failing energy of the "flesh" with those who walk
continuously by the unceasing power of the Spirit.
To
"walk according to the Spirit" means that even when the night gets
dark, and even when the Messiah seems to delay past human calculations, your
spiritual lamp does not run dry. You are plugged into an eternal flask of oil.
The Wise Virgins experience immediate Chesed
(favour and intimacy), entering the wedding feast with the bridegroom.
The Foolish Virgins face immediate Gevurah
(judgment and exclusion), returning to a closed door and hearing the terrifying
words, "I do not know you."
Like the passing over of Jewish homes and the striking of Egyptian ones at
midnight, the midnight arrival in Matthew functions as an absolute,
instantaneous sorting mechanism.
Exo 12:32 “Take both your flocks and your herds, as
you have said, and go. Then you shall bless me too.”
1.Saving His Own Life (The Firstborn Status)
2.A Subtle Bid to Maintain Equality with the El of Israel
- He ended the verse by asking them to bless "גַּם אֹתִי" (also me). Pharoah’s
God complex had made him completely delusional.
3. Desperately trying to save his kingdom from complete
destruction.
Exo 12:33 And the Mitsrites were strong on the
people, to hasten to send them away out of the land. For they said, “We are all
dying!”
Exo 12:34 And the people took their dough before it
was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their garments on their
shoulders.
Exo 12:35 And the children of Yisra’ěl had done
according to the word of Mosheh, and they had asked from the Mitsrites objects
of silver, and objects of gold, and garments.
Exo 12:36 And יהוה gave the people
favour in the eyes of the Mitsrites, so that they gave them what they asked,
and they plundered the Mitsrites.
Exo 12:38 And a mixed multitude went up with them
too, also flocks and herds, very much livestock.
Taking these numbers literally yields a massive
disproportion: 600,000 men divided by 22,273 firstborns equals roughly 27
adult men per family.
If every family has roughly the same number of women and
children, it implies an average family size of 60 to 80 people per mother,
which is biologically impossible. To resolve this puzzle and calculate the
actual makeup of the camp, scholars use three main demographic frameworks:
The "Womb-Opening" Strict Definition (The Rabbinic View)
The primary way classical commentators (like the Talmud
in Sanhedrin 69a) resolve this math is by narrowing who qualified as a
"firstborn" (bekhor). In Jewish law, a firstborn son had to be
the first child born to the mother ("whatever opens the
womb").
If you factor in the following biological realities of the ancient world, the
number of families increases drastically:
Firstborn Girls: Statistically, 50% of all first
children born to a mother are female. They do not count toward the 22,273 male
firstborn count. (Cuts the math in half).
Miscarriages/Stillbirths: If a woman’s very first
pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage or stillbirth, any subsequent son she had
was not legally a firstborn because he did not "open the
womb."
Polygyny: In a society where men could have
multiple wives, a single father with 600,000 peers could have 2, 3, or 4 wives.
Each wife's firstborn son counted as a firstborn, but they all belonged to the
household of just one adult man.
The Calculation Breakdown:
When you adjust for firstborn daughters, miscarriages,
and polygamous family structures, the 22,273 firstborns represent a much larger
pool of actual families—closer to 60,000–80,000 mothers raising children
at that specific moment.’’
Exo 12:40 And the sojourn of the children of
Yisra’ěl who lived in Mitsrayim was four hundred and thirty years.
Exo 12:41 And it came to be at the end of the four
hundred and thirty years, on that same day it came to be that all the divisions
of יהוה
went out from the land of Mitsrayim.
Exo 12:42 It is a night of watches unto יהוה for bringing them out
of the land of Mitsrayim. This is that night of watches unto יהוה, for all the children
of Yisra’ěl throughout their generations.
Institution of the Passover
Exo 12:43 And יהוה said to Mosheh and
Aharon, “This is the law of the Pěsaḥ:
No son of a stranger is to eat of it,
Exo 12:44 but any servant a man has bought for
silver, when you have circumcised him, then let him eat of it.
Exo 12:45 “A sojourner and a hired servant does not
eat of it.
Exo 12:46 “It is eaten in one house, you are not to
take any of the flesh outside the house, nor are you to break any bone of
it.
Exo 12:47 “All the congregation of Yisra’ěl are to
perform it.
Exo 12:48 “And when a stranger sojourns with you
and shall perform the Pěsaḥ
to יהוה,
let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and perform it,
and he shall be as a native of the land. But let no uncircumcised eat of
it.
Exo 12:49 “There is one Torah for the
native-born and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”
Exo 12:50 And all the children of Yisra’ěl did as יהוה commanded Mosheh and
Aharon, so they did.
Exo 12:51 And it came to be on that same day that יהוה brought the children
of Yisra’ěl out of the land of Mitsrayim according to their divisions.
Here is how HR believers see these specific midnight events
unfolding in the near future:
1. The Passover Pattern of the Great Tribulation
In Hebrew Roots theology, the final years of this age will
directly mirror Israel's experience in Egypt
The original 10 plagues were a local judgment on Egypt, but
the Book of Revelation describes a global rerun of those exact plagues (hail,
darkness, blood, pestilence)
The Protection for believers: Just as Israel remained
inside Egypt during the plagues but was physically protected within the borders
of Goshen, HR believers generally expect to live through the Great Tribulation.
They do not subscribe to a traditional pre-tribulation rapture; instead, they
believe they must be physically prepared to endure the darkness under YHVH's
supernatural protection, just like the Hebrews before midnight
2. The Definition of the "Oil": Keeping Torah
When interpreting the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew
25), the Hebrew Roots Movement defines the "oil" very explicitly.
In mainstream Christianity, oil is almost exclusively defined as the Holy
Spirit. However, HR teachers blend the Spirit with action: oil is the
practical lifestyle of Torah obedience
The Lamps: The lamps represent all believers who
claim to follow Messiah
The Flasks of Oil: The wise virgins are those who
didn't just accept the Messiah but diligently kept the Sabbath, ate clean, and
guarded the biblical feasts
The Foolish Virgins: They are viewed as those who
practiced lawlessness (Torah-lessness). When the "Unknown
Certainty" of the midnight cry sounds, those who abandoned the Torah will
find their lamps empty, and the door to the Messianic Wedding Feast will be
shut against them
3. The Literal "Midnight" Messianic Return
They believe the second coming of Messiah (Yahshua)
will occur on Passover night, specifically at the midnight watch
They expect the final "Anti-Messiah" (foreshadowed
by Pharaoh) to experience sudden, catastrophic destruction at the exact moment
of midnight. While mainstream Christianity treats "a thief in the
night" as a completely unmapped metaphor, HR theology suggests that if you
are keeping the biblical calendar, you will know exactly what night to keep
your lamp burning bright.
4. The Fulfillment of the Prophetic Readings (The Greater
Exodus)
Finally, HR eschatology looks directly at the ancient
Triennial Haftarah readings like Micah 7:15 ("As in the days of
your departure from Egypt, I will show him marvelous things") as a
promise of a global gathering.
They believe that when the midnight judgment strikes the
global system, Yeshua will execute a worldwide "Regathering of the Lost
Tribes of Israel." Believers from all over the earth will be
supernaturally brought back out of the modern nations ("Egypt") to
inherit the Promised Land, establishing the Millennial Kingdom on Earth.
At the absolute centre of the Millennial world order sits
the fully restored, unified nation of Israel, ruling from Jerusalem.
The Hebrew Roots Perspective: HRM teachers heavily
emphasize the physical fulfillment of Ezekiel’s "Two Sticks" prophecy
(Ezekiel 37), where the House of Judah (ethnic Jews) and the
long-scattered House of Israel/Ephraim (ten lost tribes) are physically
reunited. Alongside them are the Gentile believers grafted into the
commonwealth of Israel via faith in Jesus (Yahshua), as outlined in
Romans 11. In HRM theology, this entire combined group is legally considered
"Israel." They receive resurrected or glorified bodies at the start
of the Millennium, serve as kings and priests.
The Scholarly Perspective: Biblical scholars note
that Hebrew prophets (like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) wrote from a
geopolitical worldview cantered on Jerusalem. In these texts, Israel is
vindicated, elevated above all global empires, and acts as the spiritual hub of
the earth. Scholars identify that the text places the covenant people in the
inner circle of divine favour, acting as mediators between YHVH and the rest of
the planet.
The
Surrounding Global Population: The Gentile Nations
Outside of
the immortal covenant core, the rest of the earth will be populated by natural,
mortal human beings belonging to the various Gentile nations. These are the
survivors of the Tribulation and the nations that did not actively wage war
against Jerusalem (or those who repented).
Both
scholars and HRM teachers point to specific prophetic markers to describe this
outer group:
Mortal
Existences: These Gentiles will live standard, mortal lives. They will also marry,
have children, farm, but face natural death, though life expectancies will be
drastically extended (Isaiah 65:20 states that a person who dies at 100 years
old will be considered a mere youth).
Subject to
the "Rod of Iron": The nations will still possess free will and
the capacity to sin. Consequently, the Messiah will rule them firmly. Zechariah
14:16–19 explicitly states that if any Gentile nation (such as Egypt) refuses
to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles
(Sukkot), YHVH will punish them by withholding rain from their lands.
The Ultimate Rebellion: The existence of massive, population explains the final plot point of
the Millennium in Revelation 20:7–8. At the end of the 1,000 years, Satan is
released and successfully deceives "the nations which are in the four
corners of the earth, Gog and Magog," gathering a massive host of mortal
rebels for one final, failed assault against the camp of the Set Apart ones.
The Sukkot Connection: The Wedding Canopy (Chuppah)
Describes the physical manifestation of the marriage
covenant using Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) language. In Isaiah 4:5-6, YHVH
promises that over the assembly of Zion, there will be a cloud of smoke by day
and a fire by night, and over all the glory will be a "canopy"
(Chuppah).
In Jewish tradition, a chuppah is the wedding
canopy under which a bride and groom exchange vows to seal their marriage
covenant.
Blessed
are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of
truth and have planted everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH
giver of the Torah – Amein.