The Covenant Woman vs the Harlot

Preface

The book of Revelation, saturated with vivid symbolism, presents two contrasting female figures: the faithful covenant woman and the seductive harlot. This study guides readers through the prophetic imagery of these women, primarily as depicted in Revelation 12 and 17, unveiling the biblical and spiritual significance woven into their descriptions. Amid the wilderness—a setting of both divine refuge and deception—the difference between authentic covenant relationship and counterfeit spirituality comes sharply into focus. This preface lays the foundation for a journey bridging ancient prophetic warnings with the realities of spiritual allegiance and apostasy, calling today’s reader to discernment amid competing religious systems

🏜️The Wilderness:

📖Rev 17:3  And he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast covered with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 

 Yahuchanan/John says he was carried in the Ruach into the wilderness. The location is given to us as Wilderness.

📖Rev 17:18  “And the woman whom you saw is that great city having sovereignty over the sovereigns of the earth.” 

We are told that the woman whom John saw 'is that great city'. 

📖Rev 11:8  and their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Seḏom and Mitsrayim, where also our Master was impaled,

In Revelation 11:8 we are told that the great city is where our Adon was impaled i.e. Yerushalayim which is spiritually called as Sodom and Egypt.

John was carried in the Ruach into the wilderness where he saw the Harlot termed as Mystery Babylon and he marveled.

📖Rev 17:6  And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the set-apart ones, and with the blood of the witnesses of יהושע. And having seen her, I marvelled – greatly marvelled! 

❔1. Why did John marvel?

John was astonished because what he saw looked like a counterfeit of the true woman and both were in the wilderness

• In Rev 12, the woman is covenant YasharEL, clothed with the sun (covered in righteousness), fleeing into the wilderness where Yahuah had prepared a place for her.

📖Rev 12:6  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by Elohim, to be nourished there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. 

• In Rev 17, another woman (the harlot) is also in the wilderness—but she is riding on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemy.

This dual imagery means John is being shown a contrast between the true covenant bride and a counterfeit bride. That’s why the messenger asks John, “Why do you marvel?”—because the vision looks like the covenant woman, but is in fact a deception.

Part of John’s marvel is the shock of seeing some who appeared to be covenantal (seed of Abraham) but who have joined themselves to Mystery Babylon. This mirrors Shaul’s teaching that not all YasharEL is truly YasharEL (Rom 9:6–8).

2. The imagery of dragon vs covenant (Rev 12 vs Rev 17)

• In Rev 12, the dragon persecutes the covenant woman = the carnal seed warring against the spiritual seed, just as Yishmael mocked Yitshaq (Gal 4:29).

📖Gal 4:29  But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him born according to the Spirit, so also now.

• In Rev 17, the woman is no longer persecuted but instead enthroned upon the living creature= she has compromised and allied with the dragon system.

• The marvel is in this shift from suffering to power—the persecuted bride (Rev 12) becoming the harlot enthroned on the beast (Rev 17).

This shows the danger: persecution refines the faithful, but compromise elevates the unfaithful into Babylon’s system. Carnal mind views a huge creature termed as Satan chasing a woman in the wilderness but its the Harlot woman and her seed within her, driven by ha shatan is persecuting the Covenant woman and her seed IN THE WILDERNESS!

3. The Seven Kings (Rev 17:10)

“Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain a little while.”

If we read these as world empires that persecuted YasharEL, our list is close. One way to frame it:

1. Egypt – the first to enslave YasharEL (Exodus).

2. Assyria – destroyed the northern kingdom.

3. Babylon – destroyed Yerushalayim and the Temple.

4. Medo-Persia – oppressed, though also allowed rebuilding (Ezra, Nehemiah).

Daniel 10, where the malak (messenger) tells Daniel:

“But the prince of the reign of Persia withstood me twenty-one days. But see, Mikael, one of the chief heads, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.” (Dan 10:13).

• Persia was both an earthly reign and a spiritual principality. Gabriel’s delay shows that behind the human throne of Persia was a territorial principality opposing Yahuah’s purposes for His people.

• This was the same period when Persia had conquered Babylon and allowed some restoration (Cyrus’ decree), yet also carried delay in adherence to Cyrus decree, road block when temple work was stopped during Daraveyash’s reign, oppression and spiritual resistance (Ezra, Nehemiah received opposition to the rebuilding).

5. Greece – Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the Temple, Maccabean persecution.

6. Rome (the one “that is”) – active in John’s day; Rome destroyed the Second Temple in 70 AD.

7. The one yet to come (the little while) – this is the most debated. Some see it as:

• A later phase of Rome (Byzantine or Papal)

• Or a revived beast-kingdom in the last days which is part of Rome which was the dreaded beast which Daniel saw who made pagan Babylon a state religion forming Christianity, or a specific short-lived ruler (little horn) which  revives Judaism (carnal YasharEL) and takes it to its peak where it says “ the eighth is of the seven” where number eight in Hebrew comes from the word ‘shemen’ which means ‘oil’, that is what we are seeing today as the Hebrew roots movement as the extension of the little horn is part of the ten horns which we will see a bit later. 

So each kingdom is not just political but has spiritual powers behind it, which Shaul later calls archons and principalities (Eph 6:12).

That means John’s vision of the seven kings (Rev 17:10) is both history and spiritual warfare—the fall of empires is the fall of their ruling principalities.

Both Ezekiel 16 and Ezekiel 23 use the language of Yerushalayim as an unfaithful woman, and Yahuah declares that her very “lovers” (the nations she turned to) will be the ones who rise up against her and destroy her.

Here are the key passages:

📖Ezekiel 16:37–39 

“therefore, see, I am gathering all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated. And I shall gather them against you from all around and shall uncover your nakedness to them, and they shall see all your nakedness.

And I shall judge you as women who commit adultery and who shed blood are judged. And I shall bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy.

And I shall give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your arched place, and they shall break down your high places. And they shall strip you of your garments, and they shall take your splendid adornments, and leave you naked and bare.”

📖Ezekiel 23:9–10 (about Oholah = Samaria)

“Therefore I have given her into the hand of her lovers, into the hand of the sons of Ashshur, with whom she lusted.

They uncovered her nakedness, they took her sons and daughters and slew her with the sword. And she became a byword among women, when judgments were executed on her.”

📖Ezekiel 23:22, 25–26 (about Oholibah = Yerushalayim)

“Therefore, Oholibah, thus said the Master Yahuah, ‘See, I am stirring up your lovers against you, from whom you turned away in disgust. And I shall bring them against you from every side…

And I shall set My jealousy against you, and they shall deal with you in wrath. They shall remove your nose and your ears, and your remnant shall fall by the sword. They shall take your sons and your daughters, and the remnant shall be consumed by fire.

They shall also strip you of your garments and take away your splendid jewels.’”

📖 These passages are exactly what John’s vision in Rev 17:16 echoes:

“And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these shall hate the whore, and lay her waste and naked, and eat her flesh and burn her with fire.”

So the harlot of Revelation is described in the same covenantal-adultery language as Yerushalayim in Ezekiel.

1. Scarlet Beast = Yerushalayim in Carnal Blood System

• Scarlet = red like blood.

• Yerushalayim, under the old covenant system, was “covered with blood of bulls and goats” (Heb 9:12–13; 10:4).

• But not with the eternal blood of Messiah. This is why John sees the beast “covered with names of blasphemy” (Rev 17:3) — because continuing sacrifices after Messiah’s offering is a denial of His once-for-all atonement.

Most English translations translate Hebrew : chayah and Greek: therion as ‘beast’ instead of ‘living creature’

1. Hebrew – חיה (chayah)

• Root: chayah = to live, to be alive.

• Noun: chayah = living thing, living creature.

• Usage: Genesis 1:24 → “Let the earth bring forth the living creature (חיה) after its kind.”

• Ezekiel 1:5 → the “living creatures” (chayot) around the throne.

• Neutral term: It can mean animals, humans, or heavenly beings — anything living.

2. Greek – θηρίον (therion)

• Diminutive of thēr = wild beast.

• Usage in LXX and NT:

• Usually negative: wild animals, dangerous beasts (Acts 28:4; Titus 1:12).

• In Revelation: therion = “beast” from the sea (Rev 13), “beast” from the land, etc.

• Connotation: something untamed, destructive, savage.

3. How they connect

• In Revelation it’s translated in Greek as therion , but the imagery is steeped in Hebrew Scriptures (chayah).

• In Hebrew, chayah can describe both holy living beings (Ezekiel’s throne-chariot creatures) and earthly animals.

• When carried into Greek, the translators chose therion for chayah in many places of the Septuagint (LXX).

Example:

• Genesis 1:24 — “living creature” (chayah) → LXX: θηρίον (therion).

• So the LXX sometimes uses therion as a straight equivalent for chayah, even though therion feels more negative.

4. Prophetic nuance in Revelation

• By choosing therion, John is not merely saying “living creature” but emphasizing its wild, destructive, untamed aspect.

• In Hebrew thought, the “living creature” (chayah) could be:

• A throne guardian (Ezekiel 1–10).

• A beast of prey (Genesis 37:20, Joseph’s brothers fearing a chayah devoured him).

• So in Revelation 13 & 17, therion = “living creature” (chayah) but in its fallen/corrupted sense → a creature animated with life, but bestial, savage, carnal.

📖Rev 17:3  And he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet living creature/chayah covered with names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 

5. Ten Horns = Sovereigns + Completeness

• Horns = ruling power, exaltation, authority.

• The messenger says: “The ten horns which you saw are ten sovereigns” (Rev 17:12).

• Scripturally, the number 10 = completeness / fullness (10 commandments, 10 virgins, 10 plagues, etc.).

• So here, the “ten sovereigns” = the complete set of the end time principality powers that Yahuah will allow to align with the living creature system for judgment.

3. Horns in the Old Covenant System

Qaran קרן — horns are not only symbols of kings but also built into the priestly/temple service:

• Bronze altar → had 4 horns on its corners (Exod 27:2). Blood of the sin offering was applied to these horns (Lev 4:7).

• Incense altar → also had 4 horns (Exod 30:2–3). Blood was applied to these on Yom Kippur (Exod 30:10).

• Horn of oil for priestly anointing → “Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the Tent and anointed Solomon” (1 Kings 1:39).

• Horn of oil for prophetic/kingship anointing → “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers” (1 Sam 16:13, anointing David).

Eight horns on both altars and one horn with the chief priest for anointing and one with a chief prophet make a ten horns imagery of Revelation which once was a symbol of mercy and anointing 

Symbol of mercy: 

There are no verses in the Torah itself (Genesis–Deuteronomy) that describe a man taking hold of the horns of the altar to plead for mercy.

What we do see in Torah is:

• Blood on the horns for atonement:

• Exodus 29:12 – blood of the bull put on horns.

• Leviticus 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34 – sin offering blood applied to horns.

• Leviticus 16:18 – Day of Atonement, blood on incense altar’s horns.

• The altar as “most set apart” (Exodus 29:37), meaning untouchable except through priestly service.

So Torah gives the legal ritual of horns = blood/atonement, but it does not provide a statute about men grasping the horns.

👉 The first recorded examples of grabbing the horns for asylum/mercy are historical narratives outside Torah:

• Adoniyah (1 Kings 1:50–51)

• Yoab (1 Kings 2:28)

That practice seems to have grown from the understood meaning of the horns — they were the very points where blood secured mercy/atonement, so a desperate man clung to them as a last hope.

📌 In short:

• Torah = blood on horns for atonement.

• Later narratives = men appealing to horns for mercy.

In the Torah itself (Genesis–Deuteronomy), we only directly find horns on the two altars:

• Brazen altar → “make horns on its four corners” (Exod 27:2).

• Incense altar → “its horns shall be of one piece with it” (Exod 30:2).

That gives 8 horns total in the tabernacle structure.

The Other Two Horns (Oil Anointing)

The horn of oil (used for anointing priests and kings) is not mentioned in Torah. It appears later in the Former Prophets (Joshua–Kings):

• Priests → “Tsadok the priest took the horn of oil from the Tent and anointed Solomon” (1 Kings 1:39).

Torah portion speaks of anointing priests as well

📖 Exo 29:7  and shall take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head and anoint him.

📖Lev 8:12  And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aharon’s head and anointed him, to set him apart.

Why did Tsadok the chief priest anoint Shelemoh/Solomon and not a prophet?

1. Background

• Adoniyahu tried to make himself king (1 Kgs 1:5–10).

• Nathan the prophet and Bathsheba warn David.

• David orders Tsadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah to anoint Solomon.

📖 1 Kgs 1:39: “And Tzadok the priest took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. And they blew the ram’s horn, and all the people said, ‘Let King Solomon live!’”

2. Why did the priest anoint and not the prophet?

Normally, in Torah-history:

• Prophets anointed kings (Samuel anointed Saul & David with the horn of oil, 1 Sam 10:1; 16:13).

• Priests anointed priests (Lev 8:12).

But in Solomon’s case, the high priest himself anointed him. Why? 

1. Because the order was in haste 

📖1Ki 1:32  And Sovereign Dawiḏ said, “Call me Tsaḏoq the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benayahu son of Yehoyaḏa.” And they came before the sovereign.

📖1Ki 1:33  And the sovereign said to them, “Take with you the servants of your master, and you shall have Shelomoh my son ride on my own mule, and take him down to Giḥon.

📖1Ki 1:34  “And there Tsaḏoq the priest and Nathan the prophet shall anoint him sovereign over Yisra’ěl. And blow the shophar, and say, ‘Let Sovereign Shelomoh live!’

The command was that Tsadok the priest and Nathan the prophet together would anoint Shelemoh as king. 

2. Legitimacy against Adoniyahu’s rebellion

• Adoniyahu had gathered priests (Abiathar) and officials to support him.

• Having Tsadok the high priest anoint Solomon made it a public priestly validation, impossible to contest.

3. The anointing oil was from the Sanctuary 

📖1Ki 1:39  And Tsaḏoq the priest took a horn of oil from the Tent and anointed Shelomoh. And they blew with the shophar, and all the people said, “Let Sovereign Shelomoh live!” 

4. Prophet still present 

• Nathan didn’t anoint, but he was there to bear witness and speak Yah’s word.

• This shows priest + prophet both confirmed Solomon — a dual witness.

• Kings/Prophets → “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers” (1 Sam 16:13).

5. Prophetic layer 

• In David’s dynasty, priestly anointing of the king prefigured the uniting of the three offices in Messiah:

• Priest (Tsadok) → priesthood.

• Prophet (Nathan) → prophetic word.

• King (Solomon) → throne.

The threefold witness came together here, pointing to Yahusha who is Prophet, Priest, and King.

These references are post-Torah, but still flow out of the tabernacle system. The Torah commands oil for anointing (Exod 30:22–33), but does not specify the horn container — that detail appears later when the priesthood and monarchy were firmly established in the land.

The living creature is said to be that was (was in the past), is not (as was restrained when the two witnesses basharah went to the ends of  the earth).

📖Rev 17:11  “And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes to destruction.

📖Rev 17:12  “And the ten horns which you saw are ten sovereigns who have not yet received a reign, but receive authority as sovereigns with the beast for one hour.

📖Rev 17:8 says …and is about to come up out of the pit of the deep and goes to destruction. 

And 📖Revelation 17:11 it says … “And the beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes to destruction. 

Once the living creature comes from the tahum, he is the eighth of the seven. 

1. Eight and Oil

• שמנה (shemoneh = eight)

• שמן (shemen = oil)

Both share the same root שמן.

2. Altar Horns

• 4 on the brazen altar

• 4 on the incense altar

= 8 horns

3. Two Horns of Oil

• With the kohen to anoint priests (Ex 30, Lev 8)

• With the nabi to anoint kings (1 Sam 16, 1 Kgs 19)

Together with the altar horns = 10 horns.

4. The Eighth living creature (Rev 17:11)

• The living creature is the eighth but “of the seven.”

• Hebrew thought: 8 = shemen (oil) → newness, consecration.

• Here it is a false shemen (carnal Torah, blood of animals, false messiah).

The 8 is the shemen (oil) of the 7 (oath/covenant). 

• שבע  — seven (root ש־ב־ע).

• שבועה — oath / covenant (same root ש־ב־ע).

→ seven = covenantal completeness / oath-cycle (shemitah logic, covenant rounds).

• שמונה — eight.

• שמן — oil / anointing (root ש־מ־ן).

→ eight (= שמונה) carries the idea of shemen — anointing, newness, consecration beyond the seven.

So when Revelation calls the living creature “the eighth” (Rev 17:11) John is invoking that Hebraic wordplay: the “eighth” reads as an anointing (shemen) that issues from the seven-oath — a sort of “anointed continuation.” That can be fulfilled two ways:

1. True 8 (positive) — Messiah: the genuine shemen that issues from the covenantal seven (new creation, priest+king anointing, life beyond the cycle).

2. False 8 (negative) — the beast: a counterfeit shemen, an anointing that borrows the language of the covenant but is produced by the carnal/abyssal system (the scarlet chayah), a mock “new beginning.”

Brief implications: circumcision on the eighth day, resurrection/new-creation symbolism, and priestly/kingship anointing all point to the positive shemen. Revelation’s “eighth” twists that expectation into a false anointing — hence “eighth and of the seven.”

Here it is a false shemen (carnal Torah, blood of animals, false messiah). So,  the eighth beast is like a false Messiah, anointed not by Yahuah’s shemen, but by the carnal horns of the old system.

How This Connects in Revelation 17

• The ten horns of the living creature revive the carnal religious authority — an abandoned corrupted worship as our altar is now the stake where we find mercy.

📖Heb 13:10  We have a slaughter-place from which those serving the Tent have no authority to eat. 

📖Heb 13:11  For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the Set-apart Place by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 

📖Heb 13:12  And so יהושע also suffered outside the gate, to set apart the people with His own blood.

📖Heb 13:13  Let us, then, go to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

📖Heb 13:14  For we have no lasting city here, but we seek the one coming. 

• The woman (Yerushalayim) is seated on this system, intoxicated with its blood (Rev 17:6).

• This is why she is judged as a harlot, because she has perverted herself by mingling with the old carnal ceremonial system.

1. The Seven Heads = Seven Rashayim (Principles / Rulers)

• Rev 17:9–10 says the heads are “seven mountains” (harayim) and “seven sovereigns.”

📖Rev 17:9  “Here is the mind having wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. 

• In Hebrew thought:

• Rosh = head, chief, beginning, authority.

• Har = mountain, but also symbol of a principality or high place of rule.

• Sheba (seven) = oath, covenantal cycle (esp. shemitah).

So, these “seven heads” are principalities of carnal covenant authority—mountain-like strongholds of Torah interpreted in the flesh, not in the Ruach. The woman sits enthroned on these mountains = she is propped up by Judaic principality, a carnal Torah mindset divorced from Messiah.

2. The Purple and Scarlet Robe

• Rev 17:4 — the woman is clothed in purple and scarlet.

• Purple = covenantal wealth, royal privilege (cf. rich man in Luke 16, representing YasharEL after the flesh).

• Scarlet = blood — but here it is the blood of bulls and goats (Heb 10:4), not Messiah’s atonement.

• Typology: Yahusha was clothed in purple by the Romans and mocked (Mark 15:17, John 19:2). His blood made the robe scarlet. The harlot copies this imagery but in counterfeit form—covered with carnal sacrifices blood, not the blood of the Lamb.

3. The Scarlet Beast (HaChayah)

• Rev 17:8 calls it the beast from the tahum (abyss, deep).

• This is not behemah (domestic animal) but chayah (living creature/beast of prey, wild).

• The tahum = deep waters = chaos, abyss, pit (Gen 1:2, Rev 9:1–3). Out of this arise locusts, satanic powers, Abaddon (Rev 9:11), the king over the abyss.

• Paul parallels this in 2 Thess 2 — the “man of sin” sitting in the heykal as if Elohim, a son of perdition.

Thus the scarlet living = demonic principality arising from the abyss, clothed in covenantal imagery, but empowered by satanic spirits.

4. The Seven Sovereigns (Rev 17:10–11)

• “Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come…”

• Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece = fallen.

• Rome = “the one that is” (in John’s day).

• Little horn (final phase of  the extension of Carnal YasharEL ) = to come for a short time.

• The living creature = “the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes to destruction.”

→ This is the full satanic reanimation of the old persecuting systems in their final demonic form coming in covenantal imagery.

5. The Ten Horns (Rev 17:12–13)

• Ten = completeness.

• Horns = rule, authority, anointing, altar, atonement.

• We saw : 4 horns on bronze altar + 4 horns on incense altar = 8; plus 2 horns of oil (priest + king) = 10.

• So the horns = complete covenant authority (altar + priest + king).

• In Revelation, this is inverted: they are carnal horns giving their strength to the living creature for “one hour” = the short season of Great Tribulation.

6. The Waters (Rev 17:15)

• “The waters… are peoples, nations, tongues.”

• The scarlet beast is not just a demon but a collective body: scattered carnal YasharEL, nations, tongues coming together in a carnal Torah system.

• This is a global counterfeit covenant people—a carnal “YasharEL” driven by abyssal spirits, not by Ruach.

📖Rev 17:15  And he said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the whore sits, are peoples, and crowds, and nations, and tongues. 

7. The Woman’s End (Rev 17:16–18, Rev 18:7)

📖Rev 17:16  “And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these shall hate the whore, and lay her waste and naked, and eat her flesh and burn her with fire.

📖Rev 17:17  “For Elohim did give it into their hearts to do His mind, to be of one mind, and to give their reign to the beast, until the words of Elohim shall be accomplished.

📖Rev 17:18  “And the woman whom you saw is that great city having sovereignty over the sovereigns of the earth.”

📖Rev 18:7  “As much as she esteemed herself and lived riotously, so much torture and grief give to her, because in her heart she says, ‘I sit as sovereigness, and I am not a widow, and I do not see mourning at all.’

• The ten horns (carnal authority of the temple system ) turn on the harlot and strip her bare.

• This echoes Ezek 16:37–39; 23:22–26 — Yahuah causes her lovers to hate her and destroy her.

• She says: “I sit as queen, I am not a widow, I will see no sorrow” (Rev 18:7).

• But in truth she is a harlot as she denied her Husband (Messiah) clinging to the carnal system which were shadows pointing to Him, she boasts of sovereignty but is judged as a harlot.

✅ So the flow is:

• Seven heads = carnal covenant principalities (harayim).

• Ten horns = completeness of corrupted covenant authority.

• Scarlet living creature = abyss-driven counterfeit body of an animal sacrifice covered in its blood. 

• Woman = Yerushalayim after the flesh, clothed in covenant wealth and blood of bulls, boasting she is queen, but destined for burning.

📖Rev 18:9  “And the sovereigns of the earth who committed whoring and lived riotously with her shall weep and mourn over her, when they see the smoke of her burning,

📖Rev 18:10  standing at a distance for fear of her torture, saying, ‘Woe! Woe, the great city Baḇel, the mighty city, because your judgment has come in one hour!’

📖Rev 18:11  “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their merchandise any more –

📖Rev 18:12  merchandise of gold and silver, and precious stone and pearls, and fine linen and purple, and silk and scarlet, and all citron wood, and every object of ivory, and every object of most precious wood and bronze and iron and marble, 

📖Rev 18:13  and cinnamon and incense, and fragrant oil and frankincense, and wine and oil, and fine flour and wheat, and cattle and sheep, and horses and carriages, and bodies and lives of men.

Who are the kings of the earth and merchants of the earth weeping over Mystery Babylon?

The merchandise of the merchants are what is stated in Torah 

1. Kings of the earth (מלכי הארץ)

• These are the principality rulers being controlled by Judaism beliefs (Hebrew roots movement) who allied themselves with the harlot system—first with Yerushalayim after the flesh (blood of bulls/goats), not transitioning to Messiah and turning themselves into the Babylonian religious-network.

• They are said to have “committed whoring with her” (Rev 18:9), meaning they benefitted from her priesthood, sacrifices, festivals, and trade linked to the temple economy and beyond.

• In Torah, YasharEL was meant to be kings and priests (Exod 19:6), but here the carnal system corrupts the would be rulers into being involved with rulership in Judaism Hebrew roots. Only by transitioning into Mashiyach people becomes kings and priests 

📖Rev 1:6  and has made us kings and priests to His Elohim and Father, to Him be esteem and rule forever and ever. Aměn. 

2. Merchants of the earth (סוחרי הארץ)

• The merchants are not economic traders but religious brokers of the religious system—the priesthood, temple officials, scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, out of which converted to Mashiyach but and large chunk were carnal and didn’t transition but enforced the Judaic-Babylonian religion but some transitioned and the transitioned ones are mourning here. 

• Previously they “sold” Torah, sacrifices, incense, oil, and other things prescribed in the sanctuary service for profit (think of Yahusha overturning tables in John 2 / Matt 21).

• Their mourning is though “no one buys their merchandise anymore” (Rev 18:11), they themselves were saved from Mystery Babylon when the harlot system is judged.

Who do we suppose are called to come out of Mystery Babylon? 

📖Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from the heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 

This voice is distinct:

• “My people” are within her system, participating in her economy (religiously).

• They are called to separate before judgment falls so that they do not share in her plagues.

• This parallels Lot leaving Sodom (Gen 19:12–17) and the great city is termed as Sodom in Rev 11.

They are outside her judgment

• Rev 18:9–10, 15–17 → the kings and merchants “stand afar off”.

• If they were part of her destruction, they wouldn’t be able to witness her burning; they’d be inside the flames.

• Their position is separated. This is where this insight matters: why are they outside?

Deceived by the system, but not identical with it:

• They were entangled with her trade — just like many were entangled in Temple trade in Yahusha’s day (John 2:16).

• Their “merchandise” (gold, incense, oil, wheat, cattle, sheep, etc., Rev 18:12–13) is the very Torah inventory of the old covenant order.

• They are trading a false gospel — a carnal system of sacrifice and ritual, rather than Messiah’s blood.

Use of ὅτι (hoti, G3754): 

• 📖Rev 18:11 literally reads: “the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because (Greek: hoti) no one buys their merchandise anymore.”

• But hoti can also function as “that” (introducing a statement), not only “because.”

• That means the text could read: “the merchants weep and mourn… that no one buys their merchandise anymore.” 

This shows they saw the false merchandise they earlier sold and heard the call of Yahusha and came out of Mystery Babylon and warned those within with the true merchandise but no one was buying their merchandise anymore. In that sense, they are lamenting.

The Merchandise List in Torah terms which was sold earlier : 

Every item mentioned corresponds to things commanded or used in the Torah worship system:

• Gold, silver, precious stones, pearls → Temple vessels, priestly garments (Exod 28, 1 Chron 29).

• Fine linen, purple, silk, scarlet → Priestly ephod, veil, coverings of the Mishkan (Exod 25–28).

• Citron wood, ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, marble → Temple construction (1 Kings 6–7, Exod 27).

• Cinnamon, incense, fragrant oil, frankincense → The holy anointing oil and incense altar (Exod 30:22–38).

• Wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep → Daily offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, sin offerings (Lev 2–7, Num 28–29).

• Horses and carriages → Echo Solomon’s wealth and military pride (Deut 17:16; 1 Kings 10:26–29).

• Bodies and souls of men → The ultimate corruption: buying/selling of lives, enslaving men through temple taxation, vows, debts, and even indulgence-like practices.

Thus, the merchandise catalog is Torah worship items which once were in force before Mashiyach died. Now It’s a “Torah economy without Messiah,” still trafficking in the shadows after the substance (Yahusha) has come.

Prophetic echo — Ezekiel 27 (Tyre’s merchants)

• Tyre’s merchants wept when her trading empire collapsed (Ezek 27:27, 31).

• They “stood afar off” as ships mourned her fall (Ezek 27:29–32).

• Revelation borrows this imagery — but adds the covenant layer: here the merchandise is not just trade goods, but Torah goods, showing a fallen spiritual economy.

Jeremiah vs Revelation comparison:

Jeremiah 7, 16, 25, 33 (all use this “voice of bride/bridegroom, sound of millstone” imagery) side by side with Rev 18 — so you can see John’s vision as a direct prophetic continuation of Jeremiah’s warnings? That would make the case airtight that this is Yerushalayim.

1. Voice of Bride & Bridegroom

📖Jeremiah 7:34 “Then I shall cause to cease from the cities of Yehudah and from the streets of Yerushalayim the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. For the land shall be a ruin.”

📖Jeremiah 16:9 “For thus said Yahuah of hosts, the Elohim of Yisra’el: ‘See, I am causing to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.’”

📖Jeremiah 25:10 “And I shall take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.”

📖Jeremiah 33:11 (promise of restoration after judgment)

“The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride… For I shall turn back the captivity of the land.”

📖Revelation 18:23 “And the light of a lamp shall not shine in you any more at all. And the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you any more at all.”

➡️ John is quoting Jeremiah almost directly.

2. Sound of the Millstone 

📖Jer 25:10  And I shall banish from them the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 

📖Revelation 18:22 “…And the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you any more at all.”

➡️ The daily sound of grinding flour = daily bread, life, normalcy → cut off.

3. Light of the Lamp 

📖Jeremiah 25:10 “…and the light of the lamp.”

📖Revelation 18:23 “And the light of a lamp shall not shine in you any more at all.”

➡️ Removal of Yahuah’s presence, covenant lamp extinguished (cf. Prov 20:27, Ps 18:28).

4. Prophets’ Blood 

📖Jeremiah 26:7–9 (Jeremiah was nearly killed in the Temple by priests for prophesying)

📖2 Chronicles 36:15–16 “But they mocked the messengers of Elohim, and despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of Yahuah arose against His people, till there was no remedy.”

📖Revelation 18:24 “And in her was found the blood of prophets and set-apart ones, and of all who were slain on the earth.”

➡️ Yahusha confirms: “It is not right that a prophet perish outside Yerushalayim” (Luke 13:33).

🔑Revelation 18 is Jeremiah’s warnings replayed in John’s vision:

Bride & bridegroom silenced.

Harpists, millstone, lamp extinguished.

Blood of prophets found in the city.

This isn’t Rome or generic Babylon — it is covenantal Yerushalayim, judged because she rejected Messiah and clung to a carnal, blood-drenched system.

Summary 

Wilderness Setting and the Two Women

The note shows that both the covenant woman and the harlot appear in the wilderness in Revelation, but with profoundly different spiritual meanings. The wilderness for the covenant woman (Revelation 12) is a place of refuge, where Elohim protects and nurtures her—she represents faithful YasharEL, or the true assembly, sustained by Elohim through persecution and trial. The harlot, by contrast, is seen in the wilderness enthroned upon the beast, standing for a system of compromise and spiritual adultery, cut off from true covenant relationship and allied with worldly, blasphemous powers.

The Identity of the Covenant Woman

The covenant woman is the image of true YasharEL, depicted as clothed with the sun and fleeing into the wilderness for 1,260 days (symbolic of a time of tribulation or testing).  Her seed are “those who keep the commandments of Elohim and have the testimony of Yahusha,” marking them as faithful to the covenant . Scripturally, she reflects the consistent image of YasharEL as Elohim’s bride—enduring suffering yet ultimately remaining loyal to Elohim.

The Identity and Meaning of the Harlot

The harlot is portrayed clothed in luxury, riding the scarlet living creature , and titled “Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots.” She represents an unfaithful system, usually identified as apostate Yerushalayim or a global counterfeit of the covenant community—religious in form, but compromised in spirit by alliance with secular and demonic power. Her image draws from Old Testament judgments against unfaithful Yerushalayim in Ezekiel and Jeremiah, emphasizing that she is “drunk with the blood of the set-apart ones,” persecuting the true faithful of Elohim.

Symbolism of the Living Creature , Seven Heads, and Ten Horns

The scarlet living creature is not a political empire but a symbol of spiritual forces hostile to Elohim and YasharEL. The seven heads and ten horns echo ancient world empires (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and a final phase), representing corrupted authority and principalities. The ten horns are also tied to the ritual imagery of the Temple and anointing in YasharEL, reimagined in Revelation as a corrupted and counterfeit spiritual system.

The Judgments and the Call to “Come Out”

Ultimately, the harlot is destroyed: the kings and nations she fornicates with turn on her in judgment, fulfilling prophecies of destruction found throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and Revelation itself (chapters 17–18, Ezekiel, Jeremiah). The “merchandise” of the harlot—items relating to the Temple and worship—illustrate that her system operates with forms of Torah but without true allegiance to Messiah. Elohim calls His people: “Come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins,” commanding separation from every false and compromised system that mimics covenant but lacks faithfulness.

Theological and Prophetic Implications

This note makes clear that this dual imagery is not just ancient history but an ongoing spiritual reality: not all who appear as YasharEL are truly so, and not all religious systems represent Elohim’s will. The covenant woman and the harlot represent two opposing communities—one persecuted but genuine, the other powerful but spiritually compromised and destined for judgment. In the wilderness of exile or testing, Elohim’s true people (YasharEL) are refined, while counterfeit systems are ultimately exposed and judged

Understanding Greetings and Doxology -Long and Short forms

 📖 Preface 

The writings of the Renewed Covenant preserve in their greetings and doxologies a consistent pattern of how the early assemblies understood the relationship between Elohim the Father and Yahusha Mashiyach. At first glance, some passages seem to present a “binary formula,” giving esteem or peace “from Elohim our Father and Adon Yahusha Mashiyach.” This has raised questions of whether the text reflects two sources of blessing or two centers of glory.

However, when we examine the earliest manuscripts (such as Papyrus 46 from around 200 CE), alongside the Greek text, and also bring in the imagery of the Hebrew uau (ו) — the tent peg, connector, and nail — the meaning becomes much clearer. The source is always one Elohim, the Father, and the manifestation of that source is always in Yahusha Mashiyach. Later scribes often expanded the greetings and doxologies with additional wording, creating the appearance of a “binary,” but the internal logic of Shaul’s  theology and the original readings emphasize oneness of source through mediation.

In this way, Yahusha is not presented as a second Elohim beside the Father. Rather, He is Elohim manifested bodily, the fullness in whom the invisible Father dwells (Colossians 1:19; 2:9). Thus, every ascription of grace, peace, and esteem flows from the Father and is realized in or through Yahusha Mashiyach, and all esteem is returned to the Father, inseparably within Him.

I. Long vs. Short Forms in the Greek New Testament Greetings 

1. The Short Form 

In Colossians 1:2, we have a remarkable early witness that gives us a short greeting without mentioning Yahusha Mashiyach alongside Elohim.

• Greek text (Papyrus 46, ca. 175–225 CE):

χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν.

• Literal rendering with the terminology:

“Favor to you and peace from Elohim our Father.”

This reading is found in Papyrus 46, one of our earliest collections of Shaul’s letters, dated to around 200 CE. In this manuscript, Colossians 1:2 does not add “and the Adon Yahusha Mashiyach.” This is significant because it shows that at least in one strand of the textual tradition, the greeting was seen as flowing only from the Father, with no explicit binary formula.

2. The Long / Binary Form 

In the majority of Greek manuscripts — from the 4th century onwards, but also in most parts of P46 itself — we see the longer greeting:

• Greek text (typical form in Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, etc.):

χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.

• Literal rendering with the terminology:

“Favor to you and peace from Elohim our Father and the Adon Yahusha Mashiyach.”

This long form is attested in:

• Papyrus 46 itself (most letters other than Colossians 1:2).

• Codex Sinaiticus (4th century).

• Codex Vaticanus (4th century).

• Codex Alexandrinus (5th century).

Thus the longer greeting formula dominates the manuscript tradition, while the shorter form in Colossians 1:2 in P46 remains an intriguing exception.

3. Revelation 14:1 as a Parallel Example 

Although not a greeting, Revelation 14:1 shows a similar long vs. short issue which we discussed in an earlier study.

• Longer form (major manuscripts like Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus):

“…having His Name and the Name of His Father written on their foreheads.”

The point is here again, a binary pattern develops in the longer reading in the minds of the readers : the Name of Yahusha Mashiyach alongside the Name of the Father.

This illustrates a scribal/theological tendency to expand toward binary forms or shorten it to create the confusion. (In Rev 14:1 they shortened it). 

Revelation 14:1 (longer form, Greek)

καὶ ἰδοὺ τὸ ἀρνίον ἑστὸς ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος Σιὼν, καὶ μετ’ αὐτοῦ ἑκατὸν τεσσεράκοντα τέσσαρες χιλιάδες, ἔχοντες τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ γεγραμμένον ἐπὶ τῶν μετώπων αὐτῶν.

English (literal)

“And I looked, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Tsiyon, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Name and /kai the Name of His Father written upon their foreheads.”

👉 The word is καί (kai), the standard Greek conjunction “and.”

So, in Rev 14:1 the “longer form” explicitly uses kai — which, read in Greek, looks binary: His Name and His Father’s Name.

But — if read Hebraically with the imagery of ו (uau/peg), the meaning can be “His Name joined-to the Name of His Father,” i.e., one Name manifested in Yahusha, not two competing Names.

Also kai also means “in unison “ where the source name is in the name given by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12)

Yahusha means “Yahuah is Salvation “

II. The Language of “Through” (διὰ) in Shaul’s Letters 

Where Shaul is not bound by epistolary formula, he overwhelmingly uses διὰ (dia = through) to describe how Yahusha Mashiyach functions in relation to Elohim. This proves that Shaul’s theology was not two independent “sources,” but one source (Elohim) mediated through the Adon Yahusha Mashiyach with an understanding that Yahusha is the visible form of the invisible Elohim.

Examples:

1. Romans 5:1

Δικαιωθέντες οὖν ἐκ πίστεως εἰρήνην ἔχομεν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.

→ “Therefore, having been made right by belief, we have peace with Elohim through our Adon Yahusha Mashiyach.”

2. Romans 5:11

…διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δι’ οὗ νῦν τὴν καταλλαγὴν ἐλάβομεν.

→ “…through our Adon Yahusha Mashiyach, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”

3. 1 Corinthians 8:6

ἀλλ’ ἡμῖν εἷς θεὸς ὁ πατήρ … καὶ εἷς κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα.

→ “For us there is one Elohim, the Father, from whom are all things … and one Adon, Yahusha Mashiyach, through whom are all things.”

Here Shaul is crystal clear: the source is one — Elohim the Father in an estate related to created realms— through Yahusha Mashiyach in a lower form who is the connector, the mediator, the channel through whom we receive everything.

This makes sense of why the greetings could be read theologically as “from Elohim, through Yahusha Mashiyach”, even though grammatically they read “from Elohim … and Yahusha Mashiyach.”

III. The Conjunction καί (kai) vs. ו (vav / uau)

1. The Greek καί

In Greek, καί (kai) normally means “and.” But it is not limited to strict addition. It can also carry the sense of “also,” “even,” “together with,” or “in union with.”

Thus, when Shaul writes:

ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν καὶ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ,

this could be read with a misunderstanding: 

• Binary: “from Elohim our Father and from the Adon Yahusha Mashiyach.”

• Mediated unity: “from Elohim our Father — together with / in union with / through the Adon Yahusha Mashiyach.”

Shaul’s own διὰ (dia) language elsewhere favors the second sense.

2. The Hebrew ו (vav/uau)

In Hebrew and Aramaic texts (e.g., Khaboris, Peshitta), the equivalent conjunction is ו (vav/uau), normally rendered “and.”

But in its ancient pictographic form (Paleo-Hebrew), vav is drawn as a peg or nail, meaning “hook, connector, fastener.” It joins things together.

Thus, in Hebrew perspective:

• Saying “Elohim our Father ו Adon Yahusha Mashiyach” can naturally mean one source joined through the connector (peg).

• The peg imagery beautifully fits Yahusha Mashiyach’s mediating role — He is the “tent peg” joining heaven and earth, joining Elohim and man.

The tent peg / nail (ו) also echoes:

• Isaiah 22:23 — “I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place.”

• Zechariah 10:4 — “From him comes the cornerstone, from him the tent peg.”

• Psalm 22:16 — “They pierced (nailed) my hands and my feet.”

👉 So Messiah Himself is the peg (ו) — the mediator who joins heaven and earth, Father and His people, into one.

IV. How the Binary Expansion Likely Developed

• The earliest manuscript evidence (P46, ca. 200 CE) preserves at least one short form (Colossians 1:2).

• As time went on, scribes and communities harmonized the greetings to a standard form and the ‘kai ‘ interpretation messed up the understanding as the translations came with a binary form which dilutes the text: “Elohim the Father and (kai) the Adon Yahusha Mashiyach.”

• This was likely due to liturgical and theological emphasis on Yahusha’s role alongside as One who is added to the Divinity by making His Name explicitly joined in the opening blessing.

• By the 4th century (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus), the binary formula is firmly believed. 

Thus, the shorter Father-only form is earlier in at least some streams showing One form, while the binary form became the standard in the majority unison of all manuscripts diluting the ‘Kai’ to mean ‘AND’ which gives the reader a feeling One divine Creature is Besides Another instead of “in union with.”

We saw Shaul’s Ruach thought “through” (dia) statements which clarify the relationship:

• The source is Elohim.

• The means or agency is Yahusha Mashiyach of the same Elohim bodily as Shaul teaches 

Col 1:19  Because in Him all the completeness was well pleased to dwell, 

Col 2:9  Because in Him dwells all the completeness of Elohim-ness bodily, 

• This prevents a binary “two-source” formula.

V. Bringing It Together

1. Manuscripts: The short form (“from Elohim our Father”) is preserved in P46 Colossians 1:2 (~200 CE). The long form (“from Elohim our Father and the Adon Yahusha Mashiyach”) is preserved in most of Shaul’s greetings in P46 and then standardized in the great codices (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus).

2. Theology: Shaul elsewhere insists all is from Elohim through Yahusha Mashiyach. This consistent pattern means the greetings should not be read as “two independent Elohim,” but as “one Elohim, with Yahusha Mashiyach as the connector, mediator, peg bodily “

3. Language:

• Greek καί can mean “and,” but also “in union with.”

• Hebrew uau literally comes from a pictograph meaning “peg/hook.” It implies connection, not separation.

4. Historical Development: The short form survives in one strand (Colossians 1:2 in P46), but the binary expanded across the greetings, and by the 4th century it was standardised as two beings understanding.

So in perspective:

• The earliest witness points to Elohim as sole source.

• Shaul’s theology supports oneness of source through Yahusha Mashiyach bodily

• The binary formula is a later misunderstanding expansion, but reconcilable to the elect as Ruach enables to read through Shaul’s “through” theology and the Hebrew uau image: one peg, one source, one connection

Doxologies in the New Testament

Just like greetings, doxologies sometimes appear in short form (singular Elohim) or expanded form (binary in misunderstanding ie. Elohim + Mashiyach).

Examples:

1. Romans 16:27

• Greek (short form in some witnesses):

μόνῳ σοφῷ θεῷ, διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἡ δόξα

“To the only wise Elohim, through Yahusha Mashiyach, be glory.”

• Note: Here dia again prevents binary. Yahusha is the mediator, not a second Elohim-source.

2. Galatians 1:4–5

“Who gave himself for our sins … according to the will of Elohim and our Father, to whom be glory forever and ever.”

• The glory is directed to Elohim through Yahusha in mediation and obedience.

The source is Elohim bodily. 

Php 4:19  And my Elohim shall fill all your need according to His riches in esteem in (Greek:en) Messiah יהושע.

Php 4:20  And to our Elohim and Father be esteem forever and ever. Aměn.

The text is showing that the Father’s glory is being realized in Yahusha Mashiyach, and then returned to the Father through Him.

👉 Context: v.19 says the Father supplies “in glory in Mashiyach Yahusha,” then v.20 sends esteem back to “our Elohim and Father.” This is not dividing esteem but showing the cycle: the Father’s riches → in Mashiyach → returning as esteem to the Father in Himself. 

Ephesians 3:21

Greek:

αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ καὶ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ εἰς πάσας τὰς γενεὰς.

“To Him [Elohim] be the esteem in the assembly and in Mashiyach Yahusha to all generations forever and ever. Aměn.”

👉 Here esteem is located “in Mashiyach Yahusha”

What this shows

• The prepositions matter:

• “διὰ” (through) → esteem/glory passes through Yahusha.

• “ἐν” (in) → the Father’s riches and fullness are in Yahusha.

The grammar never creates two independent Elohim’s. Instead, the Father’s esteem/glory is in Yahusha (Col 1:19; 2:9; Phil 4:19), and then Shaul’s doxologies always ascribe the final glory to the Father which is His first estate— but that esteem is not outside Yahusha, it is realized in Him.

Where scribes added “binary” sounding forms:

Later manuscripts (4th century onward: Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus) add the binary-sounding formula “and Adon Yahusha Mashiyach.”

• The original intent (as preserved in earliest witnesses like P46) shows esteem/glory/peace from Elohim the Father, realized in Yahusha.

• The later additions of “and” formulas (kai, καί) can be seen as scribal expansions — but even then, the Hebrew uau (ו) as “peg/connector” shows it doesn’t need to mean “two sources,” but rather the one esteem of the Father manifested in Yahusha.

1) Core Colossian texts — Greek, literal rendering (with names), and manuscript summary 

Colossians 1:15

Greek (standard text):

ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως·

Literal:

“Who is the image of the invisible Elohim, firstborn over all creation.”

Why it matters: Shaul says Yahusha is the eikon (visible “image”) of the invisible Elohim — the Father’s reality is shown in the Son.  

Manuscripts / witnesses:

This verse is present and textually stable in the Shaul’s epistles, attested in early papyrus evidence and all the Great Uncials (e.g., Papyrus 46, c.175–225 CE; Codex Sinaiticus, 4th c.; Codex Vaticanus, 4th c.; Codex Alexandrinus, 5th c.). 

Colossians 1:19

Greek (standard):

ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ εὐδόκησεν πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα κατοικῆσαι.

Literal :

“For in him it was pleasing that all the fullness should dwell.”

(Implicit subject in context = the Father / Elohim — i.e., it pleased Elohim that the fullness dwell in Yahusha.)  

Manuscripts / witnesses:

Colossians (including 1:19) is preserved in Papyrus 46 (P46, c.175–225 CE) and in the major uncials (Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Vaticanus, Codex Alexandrinus). The wording “ἐν αὐτῷ … τὸ πλήρωμα … κατοικῆσαι” is well attested and very widely supported.  

Theological point (explicit): the grammar “ἐν αὐτῷ” = “in him” is decisive: the Father’s fullness is not at some remote location — it is in Yahusha. That aligns exactly with the statement that the Father is found/esteemed “in Him.”

Colossians 2:9

Greek (standard):

ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικεῖ πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος σωματικῶς.

Literal :

“For in him dwells all the fullness of the deity (the Elohim-ness) bodily.”

(“σωματικῶς” = bodily / in a body.)  

Manuscripts / witnesses:

Colossians 2:9 has strong support across Shaul’s quotations in manuscript tradition: Papyrus 46 (P46) contains Colossians and the line is attested in the great uncials (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus) and the majority tradition. The Greek formula “ἐν αὐτῷ … τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος σωματικῶς” is the standard reading.  

Why this is central: the verse literally says all the fullness of the Elohim-ness dwells in him bodily. That is the strongest single NT statement that Yahusha is the locus in whom the fullness of Elohim dwells in embodied form.

2) Philippians 4:19–20 — Greek, literal rendering, and manuscript support

Philippians 4:19

Greek (standard):

Ὁ δὲ θεός μου πληρώσει πᾶσαν χρείαν ὑμῶν κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος αὐτοῦ ἐν δόξῃ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ.

Literal :

“But my Elohim will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory, in Mashiyach Yahusha.”

(“ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ” = in/within Mashiyach Yahusha — i.e., the riches are realized in the sphere of Messiah.)  

Manuscripts / witnesses:

Philippians is preserved in Papyrus 46 and in the major uncials (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus); the phrase “ἐν δόξῃ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ” is regular across early witnesses.  

Note on sense: Paul’s grammar ties the Father’s riches to their realization “in” (ἐν) Mashiyach — i.e., the Father’s provision is located/manifest within the sphere of Messiah. 

Philippians 4:20

Greek (standard):

τῷ δὲ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ ἡμῶν ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων· ἀμήν.

Literal :

“And to our Elohim and Father be the glory for the ages of the ages. Amen.” 

Manuscripts / witnesses:

Stable in the manuscript tradition (P46 for Philippians + the major uncials and the Byzantine tradition). The doxology places the final glory on Elohim the Father — and, read together with v.19, it shows: the Father’s glory is realized/manifest in Mashiyach (v.19), and the ascription of eternal glory returns to the Father (v.20).

3) John 14:9 — “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (connection to “Father in Him”)

Greek (standard):

λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ ἑώρακεν τὸν πατέρα.

Literal: 

Yahusha said to him, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” 

Why this matters? Yahusha himself claims that seeing Him is seeing the Father — this strongly supports the theological claim that the Father’s presence and being are manifest in the person of the Son (Yahusha), not something that is found separately at a different “location.”

4) Grammar — why the NT phrasing supports the reading (“in Him” / Father present in Him)?

• ἐν (en) = “in, within, in the sphere of” — used repeatedly (Col 1:19; Col 2:9; Phil 4:19) to place the Father’s fullness / riches in Mashiyach. That is not incidental: the preposition is locative/relational — the fullness dwells in him.  

• διὰ (dia = through) elsewhere Shaul marks mediation — from the Father through the Son (e.g., Romans 5:1; 1 Cor 8:6). Shaul’s broader usage shows the Father is the source and the Son is the mediator/manifestation. (We examined many dia-passages earlier in the thread.)

• καί (kai = and) in greetings/doxologies is ambiguous grammatically (literal “and”) but context and Shaul’s dia-language allow it to be read as union/association (i.e., the Father’s blessing in union with the Adon). The Hebrew uau image (“peg/connection”) is a powerful way to think about that union — the Father’s reality is joined/manifest in the Son.

5) Manuscript certainty — brief note

• Papyrus 46 (P46) — the earliest comprehensive papyrus for Shaul, c. 175–225 CE; it contains Colossians and Philippians among Shaul’s letters. It therefore witnesses the Greek wording of Colossians 1:15, 1:19, 2:9 and Philippians 4:19–20 as part of the early papyrus tradition.  

• Codex Sinaiticus (British Library Add. MS 43725, 4th century) and Codex Vaticanus (Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Vat. gr. 1209, 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (Royal MS 1 D. V–VIII, 5th century) are the great uncials that also preserve Shaul’s corpus and the same Colossians/Philippians passages; the readings above (the “in him” formula and “fullness of Elohim” expressions) are broadly attested in those witnesses.

6) Short exegetical synthesis (how Scripture supports what we have discussed )

1. Colossians 1:15 — Yahusha is the visible image of the invisible Elohim (the Father’s reality made visible).  

2. Colossians 1:19 & Colossians 2:9 — the Father’s fullness dwells in Him, and “all the fullness of deity dwells bodily in him.” The grammar insists the Father’s fullness is not merely “with” Him, but in Him — i.e., Elohim’s being is present in the person of Yahusha Mashiyach.  

3. Philippians 4:19–20 — the Father supplies according to His riches in Mashiyach; then the doxology gives glory to the Father — the Father’s riches and glory are realized/found “in” Messiah.  

4. John 14:9 — Yahusha’s own word: seeing the Son is seeing the Father; the Father’s presence is not elsewhere apart from the Son in terms of revelation to us.  

Put plainly: the textual and grammatical flow of Shaul and the Gospels point in the same direction — Elohim’s fullness and glory are present and manifest in the person of Yahusha Mashiyach; the Father is “found” (revealed, glorified, and operative) in Him.

📖 Summary 

Through this discussion we examined:

1. Short and Long Forms in Greetings

• The shorter form (“Grace to you and peace from Elohim our Father”) is attested in early manuscripts like Papyrus 46 (c. 200 CE) and sometimes Codex Vaticanus (4th century) along with the longer form (“… from Elohim our Father and Adon Yahusha Mashiyach”) and the longer form also appears more consistently in later manuscripts such as Codex Sinaiticus (4th century), Codex Alexandrinus (5th century), and the Byzantine majority tradition (9th century onward).

• This shows that usage of grammar emphasized  in the sources, created a misunderstanding of two beings besides each other which elevates one and demeans the other or a beginning for a Trinitarian formula which places the beings on equal ground but in three places of Divinity relative to each other besides and not within 🤦🏻‍♂️. 

2. The Role of “Through” (διὰ) and “In” (ἐν)

• Key verses (Romans 1:8; 5:1; 1 Cor 8:6; Eph 5:20; Rom 16:27) explicitly use “through” (διὰ) or “in” (ἐν) Yahusha Mashiyach.

• These prepositions show the Father as source, and Yahusha as the mediator, peg, and vessel in whom the Father’s fullness is made known.

3. Greek kai vs. Hebrew uau

• In Greek, kai (“and”) can be read as binary, suggesting two sources which is the case we see today in Christianity and Hebrew roots movement.

• In Hebrew/Paleo-Hebrew, the waw/uau (ו) is a pictograph of a tent peg/nail, whose function is to connect and secure.

• Therefore, when greetings are read in Hebrew style (“Elohim our Father u-Adon Yahusha Mashiyach”), it does not suggest two sources, but one source connected and manifested in Yahusha.

4. Doxologies

• Doxologies (Romans 16:27; Ephesians 3:21; Philippians 4:20; Galatians 1:4–5, etc.) consistently direct esteem to Elohim the Father in Yahusha Mashiyach. 

• Yet they place that esteem outside Yahusha Mashiyach , showing that the Father is glorified apart from Him.

• The study showing the grammar perspective perfectly aligns with the confession that in Yahusha dwells all the fullness of Elohim bodily, and all esteem to the Father is contained in Him.

Conclusion 

Yahusha is not a second Elohim, but Elohim manifested bodily. The Father cannot be found beyond Him, and all esteem flows to Elohim in Him. Thus, when the apostles wrote their greetings and doxologies, they were not dividing glory, but declaring the unity of Elohim’s fullness made manifest in Yahusha, the peg that secures heaven and earth, Father and creation, into one.