Zerah.com reveals deeper things in the bible.
By exploring two or more passages in parallel, you can understand the bible and its mysteries in new ways, with greater depth, in less time.
The application uses several techniques to help you gain new insight into the bible. These include the use of symbols, the power of parallels, the underlying design of scripture, the importance of biblical names, the book of Revelation and more.
Zerah.com and the principles upon which it was built are the product of 10,000+ hours of biblical analysis by me, Jim Tallman, the co-creator of the site. Welcome!
The name Zerah has a powerful meaning:
At its core, Zerah means RISEN. Zerahiah means RISEN GOD or the LIGHT OF GOD has RISEN. That’s why I named the website Zerah.com!
...and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
I believe Zerahiah is the new name given to Jesus – in Revelation 3:12 – for two reasons. First, I’ve found no other name in the bible which is more fitting, powerful, and well-hidden. Second, this passage contains a mystery we may be able to reveal:
- The “name of My God” is I AM.
- The “name of the city of My God” is New Jerusalem. Jerusalem means, “Teaching of Peace.” So, the name of the city is the New Teaching of Peace.
- Let’s assume Jesus’ “new name” is Zerahiah, which means, “God has Risen,” or the “Light of God Has Risen.”
Here, then, is what Jesus writes upon our foreheads: I AM the NEW TEACHING OF PEACE the LIGHT OF GOD HAS RISEN.
Perhaps we truly are the light of the world, a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden!
Symbols
The bible uses symbols far more than you may realize. In fact, almost every other word appears to be an underlying symbol with a deeper meaning.
If an angel descends from heaven, rolls away a stone and sits upon it, you’ve just encountered several symbols: Descending, Rolling away, and Sitting. All of these are symbols with a deeper meaning.
What’s the meaning? Death has become a Throne. Jesus is in charge.
Zerah.com connects different parts of the bible through symbols. It keeps track of the symbols’ meaning and connects other passages that have the same symbol. It also links related ideas and even opposite ideas, all of which you can explore with a click.
This gives you a powerful new way to think about, explore and understand the bible!
Parallels
The idea behind Zerah.com is to explore two or more passages, in parallel. One will reveal something about the other. Together, they tell a deeper and richer story that goes beyond a single passage.
The meaning of symbols can also be revealed this way. Compare part of the Resurrection scene in Matthew 28 with the River of Life passage in Revelation 22.
An angel sits on the stone. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in it. What’s the meaning? Death has become the throne on which Jesus sits. An angel rolls away the stone. There will be no curse any more. The curse has been rolled away, like a door that’s been opened.
Eternity is open for business.
Design
It appears there is a design at work behind the words of the bible. Meaning, the words conform to a structure or pattern that repeats itself from one passage to another, throughout the bible. The structure is made of 7 parts, which likely represents the 7 Spirits of God and the 7 Days of Creation. I discovered this design using the book of Revelation, which is rich in 7’s: 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, 7 Bowls, 7 Churches, 7 Eyes, 7 Horns, etc.
This structure of 7’s repeats itself approximately every 3 to 4 verses, which means the bible appears to be written in loops. It is not a big, long, linear book as we first encountered it.
This means entire bible stories, i.e. the Gospel story of Salvation, can be found within a single structure. It also means any passage, properly aligned, can be compared to any other passage. It does not matter where the passage comes from.
Passages whose design have been identified and published on Zerah.com are called Threads. Threads weave together to form what I call a String. A String is a combination of two or more Threads (identified passages) that seem insightful when placed side by side.
An interesting String aligns the Resurrection story in Matthew with the City of Light passage in Revelation 21:
The String beings with a light source: a dawning and a lamp. In Zerah.com, the beginning and end of all threads have a yellow background.
The City of Light thread ENDS with a light source — a river of the water of life, clear (shining) like crystal.
In the middle of the thread stands a door with the stone the angel rolled away. This spot in the design is shown with lines above and below.
On either side of this door is another door or barrier. It was removed by the earthquake of the resurrection scene.
Opposite it stands a guard: a symbol for Satan who guards the way into eternity.
There is an ENTRANCE in every part of the design of the City of Light passage in Revelations.
First, there is the city itself. The City is a symbol of eternity, and the eternal Kingdom of Jesus.
Glory and honor are brought INTO the city, by the followers of Jesus.
Its GATES are never shut. This is the inner entrance.
Glory and honor are brought into the city, which we are allowed to ENTER. This is the Main entrance.
Many are not permitted to ENTER into the city. Specifically Satan, symbolized by the Guard of the resurrection scene.
Only those whose names written in Jesus’ book of life can enter Eternity.
The scene ends with the promise of Jesus’ resurrection, his WORDS, which flow like a river of the water of life. These words flow from the middle of the City in which Jesus stands: the center of eternity. The design begins again at this point for both passages.
Biblical Names
One of the most fascinating (to me anyway) things I discovered in my study of the bible is the importance and use of biblical names.
Every name has a meaning, so the names tell a story. In addition, name-rich passages appear to adhere to the bible’s design. What seems like a boring list of names, many of which come from the Old Testament, becomes extremely useful.
First, the names connect. Second, the names reveal. Third, the names help align.
Compare the River of Life passage in Revelation 22, with a name passage in Joshua 28. A river flows from eternity. Mozah means, “Fountain.”
The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Irpeel means “God heals.”
There will be no curse any more. Taralah means, “Release the Curse.”
I skipped the name Rekem because it reveals something new, “Friendship.” It suggests the tree of life is a symbol of our Friendship with God, made possible by Christ.
I use name-rich passages, like the one above, to help unlock the design of other passages. That’s why I call the names, “Keys.”
In Zerah.com, every identified passage (Thread) has an icon associated with it.
- Any passage rich in names has a key icon:
- Any passage from the book of Revelation has a flashlight icon:
- Any passage with regular text has a pencil icon:
As to what the above String reveals, there’s an interesting piece of wood that plays a prominent role in the story of Christ: The Cross. Once a symbol of death, it is now a symbol of new life.
I believe the Cross is the Tree of Life. Perhaps the wood of the cross came from the Tree of Life. Or, the Tree of Life sprouted from the wood of the cross. No matter, the meaning is the same. As followers of faith, we are all friends of the Cross, and friends of Christ.
The Book of Revelation
Revelations is the strange and mysterious final book of the bible. It seems there’s never been an indisputable way to understand this book so rich in symbolism. I believe that’s about to change.
The bible’s given us a way to understand Revelations, and that is by using the bible to explain the bible. The design of Revelations passages is baked into the names of Old Testament passages. Using this design, and the power of parallels, we can start to understand the symbolism in Revelations. Then, Revelations itself can be used to understand the rest of the bible, in entirely new ways.
Compare the City of Light passage in Revelations with the Shepherd Birth scene of the Christmas story. Do you see the connections? Does it feel like these two passages work together. Did you ever wonder where all the angels suddenly came from? Perhaps they are those whose names are written in Jesus’ book of life. Perhaps those angels are you and me.
Now, you may wonder, how is this possible? I believe Revelations and Strings reveal a story set outside of time as we know it. It’s a story of eternity, and of Christ who was born into our world and time as we know it, to create a new world in a time that’s eternal.
Zerah.com makes the book of Revelation widely accessible, useable and understandable — like a river of revelation and insight that suddenly makes sense when read in parallel with other parts of the bible. It will uncover mysteries others won’t understand, but you will. You will shine with the glory of the heavens, surrounded and filled with the power of God’s words — and God Himself.
Welcome to Zerah.com, a new place of Revelation, of Jesus, the Christ. The one who sits on the throne and says, “Behold. I am doing something new.”
Jim Tallman
Analyst. I built a business analyzing and simplifying the messaging of 60+ large or complex companies who struggle to explain what they do. I applied the same skills analyzing the bible, which took 20 years.
Author. Watch for my upcoming book, “Strings: Revelations of True Freedom.” I share the power of biblical parallels, the story of their discovery, and the spiritual warfare behind the making of Zerah.com.
Technologist. My entire career has been in tech, a core passion. I believe this prepared me to build a new application to interact with and understand the bible, in entirely new ways.
YouTuber. Wow, it’s a ton of work creating YouTube videos explaining the power of the bible! My first video series took 18 months to make. The videos build new skills to uncover new insights in the bible, and what’s behind every word.
If you’re interested in me speaking or teaching at your church, event, organization or business, please reach out to Kara Felske: [email protected]
MBA. CPA. I look at the bible through a different lens.
Husband. My wife Lois and I live in Austin, Texas. Her support, faith and transformation over the life of this project has been truly amazing!
Father. Lois and I have a son and daughter, both young adults. They wonder what I spend so much time doing as this new endeavor takes shape!
Follower. The Revelation of Jesus Christ was given to Him, as His reward, to share with us. I hope to play a small role in making this happen.