Written by A.R.
The Bible was written by Hebrews. Abraham, Joseph, and Moses were all considered Hebrews. The prophet Jonah confessed that He was a Hebrew, fearing YHWH, the Creator of the sea and the dry land. The apostle Paul considered himself to be a “Hebrew of Hebrews.” Biblically, to be a Hebrew means to be in covenant with the Creator.
Through the Scriptures, we understand that we enter into that covenant through the blood of Yahushua. If we have accepted Yahushua as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, we have taken the first step to becoming Hebrews. If we have accepted the terms of His covenant (the commandments) found throughout the Scriptures, we are Hebrews.
Psalm 25:14 The secret of יהוה is with those who fear Him, And He makes His covenant known to them.
YHWH has many secrets to reveal to those in covenant with Him. These secrets were given to the apostles and prophets and preserved through the written Word. Some prophecies specifically say they are for the time of the end, when many would diligently seek understanding. The prophet Daniel wrote about these secrets.
Daniel received tremendous visions about the End Days, which he was faithful to record for us. At the end of his book in Chapter 12 verse 8, Daniel admits to not understanding the information given to him.
Daniel 12:8 And I heard, but I did not understand, so I said, “My master, what is the latter end of these matters?”
Daniel was speaking to an angel. He questioned the angel about the End Days. The angel responded:
Daniel 12:9 And he said, “Go, Dani’ěl, for the words are hidden and sealed till the time of the end.”
A quick read of this verse in the English language does not jump out at us. However, we are going to take a closer look at two words in Hebrew. In many cases, if we do not take the time to look into Hebrew, we often miss or lose the understanding YHWH intended. They are the words translated as ‘hidden’ and ‘sealed.’
First, the word translated as hidden is the Hebrew word satam (סָתַם). It is Strong’s H5640.
Many people are familiar with using Strong’s Concordance, but for those who are not, it is an excellent resource for looking up Hebrew words. Many websites make Strong’s Concordance available. My favorite is Blue Letter Bible.
According to Strong’s, the word satam means to stop up, to repair, to keep secret, closed up, hidden, shut out (up), or stop. Using Blue Letter Bible, to look at the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, we see that satam means to stop up, to obstruct, like fountains.
Identifying how a word is first used in the Bible gives a lot of insight too. Satam is first used in Genesis 26. Abraham dug wells, and the Philistines ‘stopped’ them and filled them with earth (Genesis 26:15). Isaac, Abraham’s son, dug the wells again (Genesis 26:18).
Here we have a living example of how satam is used. We understand water is necessary for life. We can imagine the importance of a well when establishing a place to live. We can even imagine Isaac’s frustration when he arrived at the wells his father dug, and they were stopped by an enemy. With the wells stopped up, there was no water. There was potential for water, but none flowed. The use of this word is consistent with other places in the Scriptures.
Now, with our new understanding of the word satam, we can go back to Daniel 12:9. In the previous chapters of Daniel, we saw the Spirit of YHWH, like living waters, pouring out visions for Daniel. An angel came, and he too gave Daniel many words to understand the visions. However, the flow of living water, the understanding of the vision was ‘stopped up’—satam. Daniel would not understand what he was prophesying. These words and visions would not be understood until the time of the end.
Second, the word translated as sealed is the Hebrew word chatam (חָתַם). It is Strong’s H2856.
I am going to use another one of my favorite Hebrew lexicons to share about this word. This lexicon is called the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible. It was written by Jeff A. Benner. A description of this lexicon is found at the following web address https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/bookstore/book_ahlb.html. All concordances and lexicons/Bible dictionaries have an ‘interpretative curve,’ so we need discernment when using these tools. With that said, Jeff Benner’s understanding of the Hebrew language and culture is one that I have greatly benefitted from throughout the years of my Hebraic walk.
Jeff Benner defined chatam as a seal or signet. He explained this word to have the following meaning: “A document is rolled up and sealed with wet clay. The signet ring of the owner bears the image of his seal and is pressed into the clay.”
Knowing this word has the meaning of a seal, as in a sealed document, a vision in the Book of Revelation comes to mind. In Revelation chapter 5, the apostle John saw YHWH’s heavenly throne. Sitting upon His throne, YHWH held a scroll in His hand. The scroll had seven seals (Revelation 5:1). This passage is brought to mind because of the seals. During the vision, John asks, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loosen its seals?” (Revelation 5:2) Like Daniel, John was receiving visions about the End Days. John wanted to know what was in the scroll which had been sealed. If we look at the definition Jeff Benner supplied for a signet, it is no wonder that the only one worthy to open the seals was Yahushua Himself.
Revelation 5:5 And one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Yehuḏah, the Root of Dawiḏ, overcame to open the scroll and to loosen its seven seals.”
Going back to Daniel 12:9, we can see the prophetic word that Daniel received was ‘stopped up’ and ‘sealed with the signet ring of YHWH’ until the time of the End, the End Days.
Daniel 12:9 And he said, “Go, Dani’ěl, for the words are hidden and sealed till the time of the end.”
YHWH had His reasons for giving Daniel these visions even though the information in them was not fulfilled in Daniel’s generation. The same is true with the visions John saw. YHWH gave visions to the prophets and apostles of old so that they would preserve the visions that have been handed down to us in the Bible. In a day when many false prophets and apostles are filling the internet with apostasy, it helps to look back to the wisdom of the prophets and apostles who were validated by the Word of Yah. These men wrote for the End Days when the seals would be broken and the visions fulfilled.
When I use Blue Letter Bible to look up a word, I usually scroll through all the times the word is used in the Bible. When I did so for the word chatam, I found something that jumped out at me. It was from the Book of Job. In making a point to his friends about the awesomeness of YHWH, Job says the following:
Job 9:7 Who commands the sun, and it does not rise; and He [YHWH] seals up the stars
Since the word ‘chatam’ can be translated to seal up, it is very interesting that this word is used for what YHWH does with the stars. In a vision given to John in the Book of Revelation, we are told that ‘heaven departed like a scroll being rolled up.’ This isn’t just a biblical metaphor but an accurate description of what John saw.
The stars and the constellations can be read like a scroll. The stars are a witness to everything written in the Scripture and more. You might even call the pictures in the sky an extra-biblical book! The constellations were perfectly placed into the heavens on the fourth day of creation to give us signs. (Genesis 1:14) They are positioned in such a way as to reveal more information to us than just merely reading our English Bibles. They were there for our forefathers to read and understand, and their testimony remains!
The use of the word chatam in Job 9:7 tells us that stars were sealed up. Just like understanding about the End Times was sealed up in Daniel’s book, understanding that could only be found in the stars was also sealed up according to the Book of Job.
Job 9:9 Who made Ash, Kesil, and Kimah, and the rooms of the south
Job continued to talk about the stars in verse 9 and mentioned four constellations by name: Ash, Kesil, Kimah, and the rooms of the south. A quick read of any version of our English Bibles is not very helpful. From reading the verse in The Scriptures Version, we hardly know they are constellations, let alone that they have anything to teach us prophetically.
The first, Ash, is a reference to the Big Dipper. The second, Kesil, is a reference to the picture of the High Priest in the sky; this constellation is more commonly known as Orion. The third, Kimah, refers to the Pleiades, a constellation within a constellation, which testifies to YHWH’s appointed times. The fourth, “The Rooms of the South” is a constellation with amazing insights related to the Call to Jordan. To understand what this constellation has to teach us, please read our post called The Chambers of the South. (click to open)
If you have read the above article about the Chambers of the South, you understand how just one constellation has vital prophetic knowledge when viewed together with the Hebrew Scriptures. Imagine if you were able to understand what else is written in the sky. Imagine knowing the Hebrew names of the stars and reading the night sky like a heavenly scroll. Do you think this information has been ‘sealed up’ until the End Times?
Understanding—of the stars viewed by Job and the visions seen by Daniel and John—was sealed up until the time of the End when many shall diligently search for truth that has always been hidden and sealed in our Bibles as well as the night sky.
Daniel 12:4 “But you, Dani’ěl, hide the words, and seal the book until the time of the end. Many shall diligently search and knowledge shall increase.”
Since our family responded to the Call to Jordan in 2016, we have been committed to searching for understanding about the End Times—together, as a family. My husband and I have not shielded our children from the truth of what is happening in the world, but we have studied the Scriptures right along with our children often learning from them and drawing strength from their insights and faith. Trying to make sense of what YHWH reveals in His Word and raising a family in the End Days is very challenging for many, and yet, YHWH has been faithful to help us understand and increase our prophetic knowledge.
If you have been following this site, you may have read prophetic insights from our oldest son related to his study of the constellations from a scriptural, Hebraic perspective. For the last two years, he has been working on a book to share the wisdom YHWH has given to him about the stars. In his book, our son teaches the reader how to read and understand the pictures in the sky the way YHWH intended them to be viewed. He shares the scriptural names of the constellations and many stars within those constellations. He points out prophetic insight, which brings greater validation and deeper meaning to the Scripture. His awe of our Creator, respect for His Word, and humility in sharing makes him a wonderful teacher of what is written in the heavenly scroll.
If you are looking for a boost in your revelation and understanding of biblical prophecy, then this book is for you! (Click the image below.)
The time of the End has come! I believe some of the seals have already been opened. Yahushua desires to teach His disciples what the prophets and apostles longed to understand. The Spirit of Yah is pouring out more understanding on simple people like you and me who love and obey YHWH’s Word!
Blessings on your studies!
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