11 in 2011
Shalom Folks,
The genesis of this post begins with a SON.
To be more precise David’s son.
Birth of THE Son - Sep 11, 3 B.C. ?
The law firm which I am part of is named Rodyk & Davidson and we are celebrating the 150th year since our founding. We are the oldest law firm in Singapore and we are celebrating a most gracious anniversary (5 being the biblical number for Grace x 30) ! I thought that was most interesting and even more so when David means “Beloved” in the Hebrew.
I have listed here ELEVEN significant events or anniversaries for 2011:
- 500 – The Malacca Sultanate, the then leading power in the Malay peninsula, fell to the Portuguese in 1511. This marks the beginning of European colonial occupation in this part of the world where present-day Singapore, geographically-speaking, is a part of. Significance: Along with conquest, came missionary activity, and the introduction of Christianity to this region in a major way. The fall of Malacca in 1511 is also significant in another way. It led indirectly to the founding of modern Singapore. Let me elaborate. Control of Malacca and the important Straits of Malacca shipping waterway would pass from Portugal to the Dutch, and it was the United Kingdom’s rivalry with the Dutch in this part of the world that led to the founding of modern Singapore in 1819 by the UK’s Sir Stamford Raffles to control the southern approach to the Straits of Malacca.
- 400 – The most popular English translation of the Bible – The King James Bible – was first published in 1611. This is a book which literally changed the world.
- 150 – The American civil war started in 1861. This war is significant in that one of its key results in the abolishment of slavery and emancipation proclaimed in the USA.
- 150 – Rodyk & Davidson was founded in 1861.
- 125 – My alma mater – the Anglo-Chinese School (“ACS”)- was founded in Singapore in 1886. This famous Methodist institution has been and continues to be instrumental in nuturing those who pass through its halls into fine young Christian men and leaders in Singapore. I surmise that ACS has the most number of cabinet ministers in the current Singapore government.
- 100 – Taiwan or more accurately the Republic of China was proclaimed in 1911 ending over 2000 years of imperial rule. Dr Sun Yat-Sun, a Believer, was its first President.
- 55 – The present day Nanyang Technological University of Singapore has its roots in Nanyang University or Nantah which started classes in 1956.
- 50 – Singapore’s Economic Development Board (“EDB”) is the key government agency in attracting global industry and talent to invest and work in Singapore. EDB celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2011.
- 11 – Singaporeans will almost certainly go to the polls in 2011 to cast their ballots in the 11th parliamentary general elections since independence from Malaysia in 1965.
There are 2 other birthdays which also stand out in 2011. — Adding to the 9 other historical events mentioned above … these would bring us to 11 significant anniversaries in 2011 !
Pastor Joseph Prince of Singapore’s New Creation Church was born in ’63 and this makes him 48 in 2011. The modern state of Israel was born in ’48 and is 63 in 2011.
Amazing symmetry !
What’s more Israel can be translated as a Prince with God.
See the front and back covers of the June 2010 edition of Charisma magazine. Symmetry as well .
Front Cover of Charisma magazine in June 2010
.. And the back cover of the same magazine.
Back cover of Charisma Magazine in June 2010
When you add 48 and 63, you arrive at 111.
This reminds us of Psalm 111 . There’s a teaching that the Psalms are prophetic of each year. So Psalm 111 would prophesy the theme for 2011. JR Church has an interesting article on this.
Like the motto of ACS (the educational institution which is celebrating 125 years), “the best is yet to be ” or in this case, the best is yet to come.
We are all familiar of the significance of 11 in the New Testament.
In Matthew 20:9 “…And when they came that [were hired] about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.”
In this story, we are told the story of the 11 th hour generation of Believers – our generation – a generation that receives the most abundance of Grace in that we receive the same wage despite laboring less than the earlier batches of workers.
But how about 11 in the Old Testament ?
According to the blue letter bible , the first mention of “eleven” in the KJV is in Genesis 32:22.
Genesis 32:22 “…And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his ELEVEN sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.”
This is the story of Jacob before he meets Esau again after many years and more importantly just prior to Jacob wrestling with the Lord and having his name transformed into ISRAEL (Gen 32:28) !!!!
alev-tav אֵת
Alev-tav are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet and correspond to Greek alpha-omega. Jesus delcared that He is the alpha and omega in the New Testament. So the alev-tav would be His Hebrew signature equivalent in the Old Testament.
I want to draw your attention to the alev-tav אֵת (Jesus signature) in Gen 32:22. This is most clear in the interlinear. See here. There are least 2 alev-tav here in this verse !
Hebrew-English interlinear Genesis 32:22
There are 16 individuals including Jacob in Gen 32:22. 8 is the number of ‘new beginning’ in the bible. We have ‘new beginning’ being emphasized twice in Gen 32:22 !
This is significant in the light that Jacob was soon to be transformed into Israel and he ‘crossed’ over the Jabbok (modern-day Zarqa River) into the lands which were his promised-land and which Jacob’s descendants would eventually take in the years to come — the land of Israel !
That’s another interesting word here — ‘crossed’.
In the Hebrew, the word ‘crossed’ in Gen 32:22 is עָבַר abar.
In fact there is a play on words in the Hebrew in Gen 32:22 because “ford” is מַעֲבָר ma’abar which is a expanded form of abar. So in Gen 32:22, we have Jacob passing or crossing Jabok, twice in a sense.
I like abar because it is used also in Gen 15:17 .
Gen 15:17 “And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed [Editor: abar ] between those pieces.”
This is the scripture describing the covenant that God cut with himself whilst Abraham was asleep! The sweet Grace of God ! Everything in this covenant was all performed by God whilst Abraham rested !
What strikes me is that when the pieces of the sacrifice are split — they look like an 11 . Picture it in your mind’s eye.
Hmmm…. 2011 .
There’s more .
Gen 37:9 “And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.”
That’s Joseph dream recorded in Gen 37:9 and the second mention of ELEVEN in the Old Testament.
Joseph means: YHWH has added. He was the 11th – born SON of Israel.
Joseph was given the double portion: His 2 sons – Ephraim and Manasseh – each received land allotments in Canaan.
Gen 49:22 “Joseph [is] a fruitful bough, [even] a fruitful bough by a well; [whose] branches run over the wall…”
Amazing huh ?
No wonder Psalm 65:11 has been chosen to be the theme verse for 2011 in New Creation Church !
Psalm 65:11 “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.”
The 2010 ang pao from NCC featured the theme verse for 2011 -- Psalm 65:11 !
There’s even going to be a royal wedding in 2011 — Kate Middleton and Prince William – in the United KINGDOM on 29 April 2011 !
Shalom.
Terence YEO
P.S. Just as this post begins with the SON, it will end with the SON. 11 is also significant because long before the infamous 9-11 attacks on the USA, many bible scholars had identified September 11, as the possible birth date of Jesus Christ. Here’s one such article.
