Nehemiah, Zechariah, 1 Peter

For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

Zechariah 3.9

The name of the sixteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Ayin (), has two fundamental meanings: eye and fountain. In the ancient script it was drawn simply as O, an obvious hieroglyph of both the organ of sight and a fountain, or well, of water. The Rabbinical tradition understands its modern form - - as representing two eyes and their optic nerves that meet and cross in the optic chiasm before entering the brain.

God frequently uses this word in the alphabetic verses, so its name and meaning are established beyond all doubt. Here are a few examples:

The Lord's use of this letter is particularly striking in the alphabetic structure of Psalm 34, where He used the Ayin verse to define one of the major themes of Spoke 16:

The eyes of the LORD (, ayini YHVH) are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

This verse is quoted in one and only one book of the Bible, I Peter (vs. 3.12):

For the eyes of the Lord (, opthalmoi Kuriou) are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers:

The Greek word opthalmoi () relates to God's Wisdom and His ability to discern as explored on Spoke 2 with regards to the Logos Holograph. 

The perfection of the placement of 1 Peter on Spoke 16 is especially evident for two reasons:

1. In all the Bible, only 1 Peter quotes the "Ayin" verse of Psalm 34.
2. In the all New Testament, only 1 Peter uses the phrase "the eyes of the Lord."

The divine intent could not be more obvious and its significance cannot be overstated. Few, if any, biblical scholars would argue that the alphabetic Psalms were not designed with the conscious intent to follow the pattern of the alphabet. To find the Christian Canon following the same pattern, to the extent that it uniquely quotes the verse used in this alphabetic Psalm, necessarily carries the same implication raised to the level of divinity since no human could have supervised the entire process that led to the overall structure of the Holy Bible. 

Though Peter's quote differs slightly from the verse given is Psalm 34, the link between these verses manifests in the distribution of the key words in the verse. Searching the entire King James Bible for all verses which contain the phrase "eyes of the Lord" in conjunction with the word "righteous" yields but two verses, 1 Peter 3.12 and Psalm 34.15 - the "Ayin" verse. We have therefore the following KeySet:

Spoke 16 KeySet
1 Peter 3.12	"The eyes of the Lord" and righteous
Psalm 34.

The beauty of this KeySet is that its content reveals both the name and the meaning of the letter that governs Spoke 16!

Yet there is more. Of the 22 occurrences of the phrase "eyes of the Lord" in the King James Bible, the last occurrence  prior to 1 Peter comes from Zechariah, where we read:

Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

The phrase translated as "headstone" is Aven HaRashon. It identifies with Jesus Christ, the eternal Stone, the Word of God.

The Seven Eyes or Facets of the Stone identify with God's Spirit and link to the seven divisions of the Spirit-breathed Scripture which symmetrically divide the Wheel, engraved by God Himself.

The Chief Shepherd

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

1 Peter 5.1-4

Themes based on the Eye, Vision, Sight, Oversight, Shepherds, and Bishops dominate Spoke 16. In particular, it is in 1 Peter that we read of Jesus as our Chief Shepherd and the "Shepherd and Bishop" of our souls.

The divine intent is particularly evident in that these themes appear in 1 Peter but not II Peter, the latter being supernaturally linked with Malachi and the coming of the Lord!

The word translated as Bishop in the quote above is   (episkopos), from the roots epi (upon/over) and skopos (examine/look). This is origin of the name of the Episcopal Church which is governed by a counsel of Bishops or Overseers. The root skopos is familiar through the many English words based on it, such as telescope, microscope and periscope. The one thing all these words have in common is the idea of vision, sight. Klein traces the root of the English bishop to the Greek episkopos via the Middle English biscop, which represents a sort of a phonetic midpoint between the two.

In Hebrew, the word for a Shepherd is  (Rayah), from the verbal root meaning to feed. This manifests in the "Ayin" verse of the alphabet Psalm 145 which says:  "The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season." Thus Peter received of the Lord the thrice-repeated command "Feed my sheep."

Rayah is variously translated as feed, shepherd, pastor, or herdman. It implies a close familiarity, hence a friend, as discussed on Spoke 3 in relation to the Holy Spirit.

As with other fundamental words such as   (Av, Father) and  (Ben, Son), the meaning of this word is easily understood by analyzing its constituent letters:

Shepherd ( , Rayah)= Reysh (, Head/First) & Ayin (, Eye)

Thus, the Shepherd represents the Chief Eye, Head Eye or the Eye of the Leader. In light of God as the true Head and Chief, Who Himself has declared "I am the first (Roshon)", this sacred word reveals God as our omniscient, all seeing Shepherd.

Peter's exhortation against the fleecing of the God's flock found in the verse at the head of this section, is echoed in Zechariah on Cycle 2 of Spoke 16:

Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.

These verses are linked not only thematically, but also by the by the KeySet {"Feed the flock of"} which is found only on Spoke 16 in the books of Zechariah and 1 Peter:

This is the incredible work of God: not only is each Spoke differentiated from all others by unique KeySets, but the content of the KeySets integrates with the theme of the each Spoke and the meaning of the Hebrew letter governing it!

The theme of the Shepherd saturates Spoke 16. As Jesus approached His hour of trial, he revealed that Zechariah was speaking of Him when he said (Zech. 13.7): 

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

As discussed in The Great Cloud of Witnesses, the scattering of the Sheep unites all nine books on Spokes 15, 16, and 17:

The relation between the Eye and the Shepherd is further amplified in Zechariah :

Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

Furthermore, only in Zechariah does God speak of "the great day of the Lord" as the opening of His eyes (Zech 12.2-4):

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. 

It is Zechariah who speaks of the time when "the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD." Likewise, Zechariah is the only book of the Prophets that speaks of the apple of God's eye.

The obvious emphasis of the eye in the book of Zechariah is easily measured. The graph below shows the distribution of all occurrences of the word eye or eyes in the Minor Prophets. The massive peak of 17 occurrences corresponds to Book 38, Zechariah!

Such beauty! Such glory! Such obvious perfection! Once again, we have fallen upon simple, self-evident  proof of the divine design of Scripture in accordance with the Wheel and the Hebrew alphabet

The Great Confession

KeyWord: Witness (, Ed)

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16

In the alphabetic sequence of Matthew, the dominant theme of Spoke 16 manifests in a number of ways. It is here that the Apostle Peter bore witness of the true identity of the Lord Jesus Christ, an act which the Church has honored with the title "The Great Confession." Immediately after this, Jesus linked Peter's name to the theme of the Stone, saying:

Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: 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 Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 

Genesis also links the themes of Witness and Stone when it recounts the covenant Jacob made with Laban¹:

Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee. And Jacob took a stone, and set it up for a pillar. And Jacob said unto his brethren, Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an heap: and they did eat there upon the heap.

And again, the last act of Joshua, when the people of Israel recommitted themselves to the Lord:

And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD. And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God. So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.

These themes then manifest most clearly in the book of 1 Peter, where Peter, whose name means Rock, expounds at length:

Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, 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 which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, 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, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Note the transition to the theme of the "marvellous light."  

The God Who Sees

And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain  of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go?

And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. ...

And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me : for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

Genesis 16

The first occurrence of Ayin (), in the sense of fountain, is found here in Genesis 16. It's intimate link to God as the Eternal Witness of all we do is established in the Divine Name revealed here:

-- the Eye of God,

These verses from Genesis 16 are filled with astounding insight into the meaning of the 16th Hebrew Letter, and how it governs the 16th Spoke of God's Wheel. The Hebrew name of God revealed in this verse is:

The literal meaning of the name of the fountain Beerlahairoi is

Beer: Fountain

L

These verses from the Sixteenth Chapter of Genesis unite the two literal meanings Ayin: Fountain and Eye. Here we behold another example of the Principle of First Occurrence: Genesis 16 contains the First Occurrence of the contain the first occurrences of both literal meanings of name of the Sixteenth Letter of the Hebrew Alphabet: fountain and eye.

In the alphabetic structure of Genesis, we have here th

KeyWord hnu (A'anah Humble)

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
I Peter 5:5

Both KeyWords Witness (du, Ed) and Answer (hnu, A'anah) are found in the Ninth Commandment: Thou shalt not bear (lit. answer, hnu) false witness (rq? du) against thy neighbor.

God* flock within1 crown
Gold tried fire
marvellous people within2 god
head* *stone within1 word
resist within2 clothed
resist within1 (satan or devil) within3 stand*
resist within1 (satan or devil) within3 hand
roaring lion* within2 devour
Zech - 1 Pet

oversight God
prophets within1 grac* within1 spirit
[were disobedient]
Neh - 1 Pet

man [shall be scattered]
John 16 - Zech

[cut off] shepherd*
Isa 38 - Zech

[shew forth the praises]
[his glory shall be]
(glorify within1 house) within2 name
(glorify within1 house) within2 God
strangers within1 glorif* God
[of the Gentiles] within8 praise
[may be glorified] within3 praise
[may be glorified] within8 Gentiles
Isa 60 - 1 Pet

[go forth] battle gather
battle gather within1 day
Armageddon or Megiddon
fled mountains within2 earthquake
plague* within1 tongue*
Rev 16 - Zech

[your fathers] wrath within1 Jerusalem
[your fathers] wrath within1 pass
[your fathers] wrath within2 gates
Neh 13.18 - Zech 8.14

fountain David
Neh - Zech

governors Judah
governors within2 Jerusalem
Neh -Zech

law prophets within1 cried
prophets spirit within1 law hear*
shoulder hear
shoulder hearken*

Neh 9.29
26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.
27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.
28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;
29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. 30 Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.

Zech 7.11
But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. 12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.