The King “And out
of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations;
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron . . . And he has on his vesture
and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” - Rev. 19:15-16 The preceding
letter, the vav is a man. The following letter,
the zayin, is the man who has been crowned king and thus been
given all authority. In fact, the zayin, by
its form, is also said to represent the scepter of a king, emblematic of his
sovereignty. His Bride Yet, just as
the zayin portrays the masculine component of royalty,
it also hints at the king's feminine counterpart, his queen, or shall we say,
his bride. Consummation
of Seven This blessed
union of the all powerful King and the woman he has favored, his bride is
celebrated and consummated on Shabbat, the seventh day. The Seventh
Day From the Scriptures
we understand that one day, prophetically speaking, is equivalent to one thousand
years. "Beloved,
be not ignorant of this one thing, that one is with the LORD as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day." - 2 Peter 3:8 Hence, the
belief that the weekly sabbath,
the seventh day, is a picture of the Great Sabbath, or the Millennial reign
of the Messiah. It is on that day that the entire Universe will enter
into a time of peace, rest and deliverance from the past six thousand years
of turmoil.
In name, zayin means "weapon," specifically
a "sword." It is rather interesting that, according to legend,
the first iron weapon, a sword, was produced by one of Cain's descendants,
Lamech, during the seventh generation of man. This is
interesting since the numerical value of the letter zayin
is seven.
So in all, the seventh letter zayin represents the
man who has been crowned king, been given the scepter of total authority and
who carries as his choice of weapon, a sword.
The book of Esther records that, Queen Esther was compelled to enter into
the King's inner court unannounced, and by so doing, was potentially placing
her life on the line. It was a law that anyone entering the King's inner
court uninvited risked death. Yet, as she boldly approached his throne,
the King, rather than being outraged by her boldness, was moved on her behalf.
He extended his golden scepter to her, bidding her to enter. As she did, she
laid hold of the scepter.
This event demonstrated just how much favor the King had bestowed upon Esther.
She was the woman he had chosen from all others to be his wife in the
stead of one who, when bidden, would not come. The act of extending the scepter
to her exemplified the favor shown her and the influence she wielded.
For this reason, Esther is regarded as a "woman of valor" as mentioned
in Proverbs 31, a passage of Scripture read every Shabbat. It is the
woman of valor, the wife, who personifies the secret of Shabbat. For
as Shabbat crowns the week, so does the wife crown her husband. Of all
the women he could have chosen, the woman of valor is the one he favored.
Likewise, of all the days in a week God
could have chosen as Shabbat, the seventh day was the one He selected.
The association between the wife and Shabbat is one of the reasons the woman
of the house kindles the lights of Shabbat. By doing so, she is reaffirming
her role as a woman of valor, the crown unto her husband and, in a sense,
taking hold of the scepter he has extended to her. Therefore, the true
meaning of zayin is the relationship between the
king and his bride. She has become a crown unto her husband.
Seven, the value of zayin, denotes divine completion.
To demonstrate this, take a coin, place it on a flat surface and then, using
the coin as the center, encircle it with other coins that are exactly the
same size. You will always end up with seven coins compacted together
to complete a sort of unity.
From where you are now, there are seven directions - east, west, north, south,
above, below and the space that you are presently taking up. Therefore,
completion - consummation - is accomplished through seven, which represented
by the letter zayin.
The Bible tells us that there are seven spirits of God which are portrayed
by the seven-branched candlestick, the Holy Menorah. And of course,
perhaps, the greatest example of this completion is the days of the week -
six days to work, one day (Shabbat) to rest.
This Seventh Day will mark the coronation of the great King Messiah who has
been given all authority and power and who will rule the nations with a rod
of iron (Psalm 2:9). Out of his mouth will issue the sharp sword that
is the Word of God for it is written that “Out of Zion
shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the LORD
from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3).
These are the concepts contained within the letter zayin.
Still, the secret of Shabbat is the bride. On her wedding day, a Hebrew
bride circles around her groom seven times as demonstration of her faith that,
in him, she is completed and perfected. The union is then consummated.
Consequently, the secret of the Great Shabbat is the perfection of the King's
bride. On that day, King Messiah will, in a sense, extend His scepter
to His woman of valor. All the world shall
be witness to the union of the King and His bride. Thus, is the secret of
zayin.