EXPERT: Star of Jacob will appear on Friday, September 27
A brilliant but relatively unknown author and teacher referred to classical Jewish sources that described the tumultuous end of days in terms that were disturbingly similar to current events. The Zohar describes an unmistakable sign that heralds the appearance of the Messiah: the Star of Jacob first described in the Bible by Balaam. The Zohar gives a precise day and date that this pre-Messiah astral body will appear and recently, astronomers confirmed that on that precise date, a comet will appear in the heavens.
Efraim Palvanov, a teacher and author, writes the blog Mayim Achronim (Final Waters), named for the little-known Jewish ritual of washing the fingers after a meal. Like the eponymous mitzvah, the blog covers Jewish subjects that are misunderstood or not normally discussed. In a recent lecture, Palvanov described the current wars, in Ukraine and Israel, as being consistent with end-of-days predictions recorded in classical Jewish literature.
“I found something a few weeks ago that just really blew me away and I’ve been really excited to share it,” Palvanov said in the video. “But I’m gonna leave that to the end. We’ll save the best for last.”So don’t fall asleep.”
Palvanov referred to lectures he gave two years ago during the pandemic in which he suggested that the world was in the pre-messiah period. This part of the lecture was described in an Israel365 News article last week. In the lecture, Palvanov explained that the current war in Ukraine and the more recent war in Israel were explicitly described in Jewish sources as being part of the Final Redemption. One of the sources, a midrash from Pirkei D’Rabbi Eliezer chapter 30, described three wars the “sons of Ishmael” (i.e. the Arabs) will wage in the end of days based on a verse in Isaiah:
For they have fled before swords: Before the whetted sword, Before the bow that was drawn, Before the stress of war. Isaiah 21:15
“One in the forest of Arabia [i.e. the west],” the midrash states. “One on the sea, and one in a big city.”
“After the October seventh attack, it was revealed that many of the weapons used by Hamas came from North Korea, frequently through Russia,” Palvanov said. “The Kalashnikov rifles are the terrorist weapon of choice. This is all part of the new axis of evil made up of North Korea supported by China, Russia, and Iran. Many people don’t realize this, but North Korea is considered by some to be the largest criminal entity in the world, because they’re involved in crime everywhere all over the world. They’re the main producers of counterfeit American dollars. They are involved in human trafficking and they are one of the biggest drug dealers in the world. Because they are completely closed off, they don’t really have much income. Their main source of income is actually international crime, so they are a criminal entity.”
Palvanov then cited the Zohar (32a) which describes how the Ministering Angel of Ishmael pleads to God, claiming that Ishmael (i.e. the Artabs) should have a stake in Israel because they are circumcised.
“And in the future, the children of Ishmael are destined to rule over the Holy Land for a long time when it is empty from anything, like their circumcision which is empty and imperfect” the Zohar states. “And they will prevent the children of Israel from returning to their place until the reward for the merit of the children of Ishmael reaches completion.”
The Zohar goes on, describing the fate of the sons of Ishmael after this period of grace ends.
“The children of Ishmael will cause great wars in the world and the children of Edom will gather against them and wage war against them; one on the sea, one on dry land, and one near Jerusalem. And they will rule over each other but the Holy Land will not be given over to the children of Edom.”
The children of Edom is the Christian West, for Edom is Rome (see Num. 24:19, Rashi) and Rome signifies Greece-Rome and the Roman Catholic Church, the foundations of Western Civilization
Palvanov noted that the US is leading an international maritime coalition to counter the Yemeni Houthis, who are shooting missiles and drones and blocking red sea traffic.
“The description in the Zohar really fits into what’s going on over here” Palvanov notes, continuing in the Zohar.
“At that time, a nation from the end of the earth will be aroused against evil Rome and wage war against it for three months. Nations will gather there, and [Rome] will fall into their hands, until all the children of Edom will gather against it [that nation] from all the corners of the world. Then God will be roused against them…He will destroy the descendants of Ishmael from the land, and break all the powers of [all the nations’ guardian angels] Above. There will not remain any power of any people on earth, except the power of Israel alone. This is the meaning of “God is your shade upon your right hand”. (Psalms 121:5)”
“Some might say that ‘a nation from the end of the earth’ is referring to North Korea, or maybe China, somewhere from the far east, from the edge of the world,” Palvanoc speculated.
“So the Gog and Magog War will last one year and there will be a three month war against the sons of Ishmael, driving them from the land of Israel,” Palvanov summarized. “This is what we are living through today.”
“But this is the part I really wanted to get to,” he said. “We know that probably one of the oldest prophecies and oldest traditions that we have about the Moshiach (Messiah) comes from Balaam, a Gentile prophet who came to curse Israel and couldn’t curse them. Instead, he gives a prophecy that actually says ‘I will tell you what will happen at the end of days’.”
What I see for them is not yet, What I behold will not be soon: A star rises from Yaakov, A scepter comes forth from Yisrael; It smashes the brow of Moab, The foundation of all children of Shet. Numbers 24:17
“It’s one of the few places that the Torah uses the expression, ‘end of days’,” Palvanov notes. “Balaam says that he is looking far into the future and he prophesies that a star will emerge from Jacob. Of course, Christians adopted this in the nativity scene and the Star of Bethlehem,” Palvanov added.
He explained that the prophecy of the Star of Jacob was applied to Simon bar Kosiba, leader of the Second Jewish Revolt of 132 CE, whose adopted name, Bar Kochba, meant “Son of a Star” in Aramaic. The failure of the Bar Kochba revolt – which was considered a political Messiah – had a large impact on the interpretation of the Star of Jacob. The failure of the revolt led the sages to deemphasize the eschatology of the Star of Jacob. That led to a preference for the explanation that the Star of Jacob was no longer relevant since it was described as already happening in the time of King David.
“There was always, even in ancient times, an association of Moshiach, or a potential Messiah with the star of Jacob. “Balaam even prophecies that this star will mark the end of Amalek.”
He saw Amalek and, taking up his theme, he said: A leading nation is Amalek; But its fate is to perish forever. Numbers 24:20
The Zohar (212b) goes into detail, describing the Star of Jacob:
“It is taught that in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will rebuild Jerusalem and reveal one firm star, glowing with seventy pillars of fire, and with seventy sparks flashing from it in the middle of the Firmament, and they will be reigned over by seventy other stars, and they will glow and burn for seventy days.”
“And [the star] will be seen on the sixth day, on the 25th day of the sixth month. It will be gathered on the seventh day, at the end of seventy days. On the first day it will be seen in the city of Rome. On that same day, three high structures of that city of Rome will fall and a great edifice will fall. The ruler of that city will die. Then the star will spread out to be seen in the rest of the world.”
The date described in the Zohar as the day on which the star will appear corresponds to the Hebrew date the 25th of Elul. The Zohar specifies that this date will fall on a Friday.
“In that time, great wars will stir all around the four corners of the world and no faith will be found among [its people].”
“In the middle of the world, when that star will shine in the middle of the Firmament, a great king will arise and rule the world, and his spirit will gain pride over all the kings, and he will awaken a war between both sides, and he will become strong against them.
“…On the day that the star will be hidden, the Holy Land will tremble forty-five miles around the place of the Holy Temple, revealing an underground cave. From this cave will come out a blazing fire to burn the world. And from this cave a great branch will grow out, and it will rule over the whole world, and to it will be given the kingdom. The Holy Beings will gather to it. Then Mashiach will be revealed to the entire world…”
The Zohar then describes what the world will be like in that pre-Messianic era.
“The world, at the time that Moshiach will be revealed, will have been experiencing trouble after trouble, and the haters of Israel will grow stronger. Then, the spirit of Moshiach will be aroused against them, and the evil Edom will be destroyed. The entire land of Seir will be destroyed by fire.”
“This is what we have been experiencing,” Palvanov explained. “One crisis coming right after another. The pandemic leading into hyperinflation leading into the Ukraine war leading into the war in Israel and the war with the Houthis.”
“And just as the Zohar predicts, the ‘haters of Israel’ are increasing,” Palvanov said. “Antisemitism is reaching levels it hasn’t reached since the Holocaust. There are even reports that Chinese social media is full of antisemitism and there are no Jews in China. This type of Jew-hatred doesn’t make sense.”
Palvanov then noted that on January 9, 2023, the headline news in astronomy was that a new comet had been discovered; C/’203 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS).
“Astronomers say that it will be at its closest on Friday, September 27, 2024,” Palvanov noted. “That day corresponds to the 25th of Elul, just as the Zohar predicted. They estimate it will be visible for at least two weeks.”
Palvanov noted that on the Shabbat, Jews around the world will be reading the Torah portions of Nitzavim and VaYelech which include this verse:
Then My anger will flare up against them, and I will abandon them and hide My countenance from them. They shall be ready prey; and many evils and troubles shall befall them. And they shall say on that day, “Surely it is because our God is not in our midst that these evils have befallen us.”Yet I will keep My countenance hidden on that day, because of all the evil they have done in turning to other gods. Deuteronomy 31:17-18
“If we look back at the Zohar’s prophecy, it says that when the star will appear, three structures from the city of Rome will fall and the leader of that city will die,” Palvanov said. “If you’re going to go with the approach that the Third Rome is Moscow, and then the leader of that city will die you should know that there are rumors that Putin is in frail health and is even dying.”
“Imagine what would happen if he did die,” Palvanov said. “That would have serious repercussions around the world, perhaps even more wars.”
Palvanov suggested an alternative understanding.
“If we go according to the idea that the third Rome is referring to the United States, since it is the most powerful ‘Rome’ of today, Biden is pretty much on his last legs and could die at any time.”
“Both of these leaders are in frail health and getting old and if either of them were to die, if that’s what this prophecy is talking about, the repercussions would be pretty serious and it would just add to all the catastrophes that have been happening.”
Palvanov added a disclaimer.
“I’m not a prophet,” he said. “I’m just reading what the Zohar says and what the Talmud says. And there’s various ways to interpret it.”
“The star is expected to appear in nine months so we have nine months to prepare,” he said. “And now’s the time to get ready to go live. Hopefully it will happen and if not, I’ll just have to take this video off down from YouTube and pretend it never happened. But that is always the danger of making predictions and this is only one interpretation. “So you can make it what you wish. I think it’s compelling.”
“I think we should all hope and pray that this really is it because how much longer can we wait?” Palvanov concluded. “Enough is enough. We should all hope that this is it. Let’s just make it through the next twelve months and let’s be that generation that goes through the suffering but then brings about a better world. So hopefully, we can all experience it and see it and maybe our prayers and our mitzvot (deeds) and our study and all the good that we do will make a difference. So let’s do that. Let’s increase whatever we do. Let’s do more of it in the next year or so. And hopefully we’ll see good things.”
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