Friday, April 22, 2011
First Fruit~Jesus is raised from the dead
http://gatewaytoheaven.ning.com/video/video/show?id=3151142%3AVideo%3A50146
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Seven Feasts of the Lord
Is The Rapture - In September? – Bill Perkins – www.compass.org
Rapture will probably be in September, regardless of the year. Here's why!
According to Leviticus 23, there are seven Jewish Feasts commanded by God to be observed each year.
They are:
Feast Name: Jewish Date Hebrew
1) Passover NIsan 14 Pesach
(April or May)
2) Unleavened Nisan 15 Hag-Ha-Matzot
Bread
3) Firstfruits Starts the day after Bikkurim
the Sabbath following
Passover.
4) Feast of Weeks Starts 50 days after Shavuot
Firstfruits. (May or June)
5) Trumpets Tishri 1 Rosh HaShanah
(September or October)
6) Day of Atonement Tishri 10 Yom Kippur
7) Tabernacles Tishri 15 Succoth
The symbolism of Jesus in the Jewish Feast of Passover has been extensively analyzed by numerous scholars. In a nutshell, Jesus is our Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God.
"...Christ our Passover..." 1 Cor. 5:7
Jesus was slain on the cross on Mt Moriah. At the same time, the Jews were slaying their Passover lambs (had to be a male lamb without blemish), also on Mt Moriah, just a few steps away.
There is also symbolism in the other feasts as well.
The second feast, Unleavened Bread, is the day after Passover. Jewish days began at 6 PM, so the Feast of Unleavened Bread began in the evening after Passover.
"...Behold, the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world!" John 1:29
Leaven in the Bible is a symbol of sin. The Jews purged their houses of leaven, in conjunction with what the sacrificial lamb had done--removed sin. This is a picture of what Jesus had done on the cross.
"I am the Bread of life." John 6:48
The Feast of Firstfruits was to be celebrated on the Sunday after the Sabbath following Passover.
"But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the first fruits of those who are asleep." 1Cor. 15:20
They celebrated Firstfruits by offering a sheaf of grain to the Lord for His allowing the first harvest.
Jesus is called the "first fruits" from the dead.
Fifty days after Firstfruits, the Jews celebrated the Feast of Weeks. Here the Jews offered two loaves of bread, as a second offering to the Lord, but this time they were baked with leaven, which again symbolizes sin.
Wretched man that I am! Rom. 7:24
The two loaves could represent either the Old and New Testament, the wheat and the tares, or the Jews and Gentiles being included in the New Testament Church. The leaven represents sin's existance in the church. That's an understatement!
While the Jews were celebrating the Feast of Weeks, the Holy Spirit came roaring to earth, filling both Jewish and Gentile Believers (Acts 2) at what Christians call "Pentecost."
The symbolism of Jesus and the church in the first four spring Jewish feasts is undeniable. The first four major events of the Church Age - Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit - all fell exactly on the days of the Jewish Feasts.
But there is a break between the spring and fall feasts.
The break in the feasts may very well represent the break in God's plan for the Jews... the Church Age.
If God had the first four major events of the Church Age land exactly on the Jewish Feast days, it is almost a given that the next big Church Age event, the Rapture, will land on the next Jewish Feast in the fall.... whichever year Rapture takes place.
The next feast in order falls in September or October each year. Called Rosh HaShanah, it's a day of gathering and celebration and the Jews are specifically charged to "blow trumpets." The blowing of a Ram's horn was the signal that it was time to gather in Jerusalem.
For this feast, the Jews would blow the shofar for 29 days. Then on the last day there was one more blowing--three distinct series of 30 blasts each. This was followed by ten final blasts leading up to "The Great Blowing." This was one last, long blast of the trumpet, proclaiming the beginning of the feast.
"Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the
month, you shall also have a holy convocation;
you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a
day for blowing trumpets" Num. 29:1
As all who have studied the Rapture know, the Rapture is a day of gathering in the air and should be quite the celebration! The two most famous spine-tingling Rapture verses read:
"...in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at
the last trumpet; for the
trumpet will sound, and
the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we
shall be changed."
1Cor. 15:52
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ
shall rise first." 1Th. 4:16
Therefore, following God's pattern of having the first four major events of the Church Age land on the first four Jewish feasts, we think the next big event of the Church Age is likely to occur on Rosh Hashanah, regardless of the year! Is that cool or what! :-)
Rapture will probably be in September, regardless of the year. Here's why!
According to Leviticus 23, there are seven Jewish Feasts commanded by God to be observed each year.
They are:
Feast Name: Jewish Date Hebrew
1) Passover NIsan 14 Pesach
(April or May)
2) Unleavened Nisan 15 Hag-Ha-Matzot
Bread
3) Firstfruits Starts the day after Bikkurim
the Sabbath following
Passover.
4) Feast of Weeks Starts 50 days after Shavuot
Firstfruits. (May or June)
5) Trumpets Tishri 1 Rosh HaShanah
(September or October)
6) Day of Atonement Tishri 10 Yom Kippur
7) Tabernacles Tishri 15 Succoth
The symbolism of Jesus in the Jewish Feast of Passover has been extensively analyzed by numerous scholars. In a nutshell, Jesus is our Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God.
"...Christ our Passover..." 1 Cor. 5:7
Jesus was slain on the cross on Mt Moriah. At the same time, the Jews were slaying their Passover lambs (had to be a male lamb without blemish), also on Mt Moriah, just a few steps away.
There is also symbolism in the other feasts as well.
The second feast, Unleavened Bread, is the day after Passover. Jewish days began at 6 PM, so the Feast of Unleavened Bread began in the evening after Passover.
"...Behold, the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world!" John 1:29
Leaven in the Bible is a symbol of sin. The Jews purged their houses of leaven, in conjunction with what the sacrificial lamb had done--removed sin. This is a picture of what Jesus had done on the cross.
"I am the Bread of life." John 6:48
The Feast of Firstfruits was to be celebrated on the Sunday after the Sabbath following Passover.
"But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the first fruits of those who are asleep." 1Cor. 15:20
They celebrated Firstfruits by offering a sheaf of grain to the Lord for His allowing the first harvest.
Jesus is called the "first fruits" from the dead.
Fifty days after Firstfruits, the Jews celebrated the Feast of Weeks. Here the Jews offered two loaves of bread, as a second offering to the Lord, but this time they were baked with leaven, which again symbolizes sin.
Wretched man that I am! Rom. 7:24
The two loaves could represent either the Old and New Testament, the wheat and the tares, or the Jews and Gentiles being included in the New Testament Church. The leaven represents sin's existance in the church. That's an understatement!
While the Jews were celebrating the Feast of Weeks, the Holy Spirit came roaring to earth, filling both Jewish and Gentile Believers (Acts 2) at what Christians call "Pentecost."
The symbolism of Jesus and the church in the first four spring Jewish feasts is undeniable. The first four major events of the Church Age - Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit - all fell exactly on the days of the Jewish Feasts.
But there is a break between the spring and fall feasts.
The break in the feasts may very well represent the break in God's plan for the Jews... the Church Age.
If God had the first four major events of the Church Age land exactly on the Jewish Feast days, it is almost a given that the next big Church Age event, the Rapture, will land on the next Jewish Feast in the fall.... whichever year Rapture takes place.
The next feast in order falls in September or October each year. Called Rosh HaShanah, it's a day of gathering and celebration and the Jews are specifically charged to "blow trumpets." The blowing of a Ram's horn was the signal that it was time to gather in Jerusalem.
For this feast, the Jews would blow the shofar for 29 days. Then on the last day there was one more blowing--three distinct series of 30 blasts each. This was followed by ten final blasts leading up to "The Great Blowing." This was one last, long blast of the trumpet, proclaiming the beginning of the feast.
"Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the
month, you shall also have a holy convocation;
you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a
day for blowing trumpets" Num. 29:1
As all who have studied the Rapture know, the Rapture is a day of gathering in the air and should be quite the celebration! The two most famous spine-tingling Rapture verses read:
"...in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at
the last trumpet; for the
trumpet will sound, and
the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we
shall be changed."
1Cor. 15:52
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ
shall rise first." 1Th. 4:16
Therefore, following God's pattern of having the first four major events of the Church Age land on the first four Jewish feasts, we think the next big event of the Church Age is likely to occur on Rosh Hashanah, regardless of the year! Is that cool or what! :-)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
The Seven Feasts of the Lord
PROPHETIC CHRISTMAS AT TABERNACLES - By Matt Leasher – www.raptureready.com
It’s that wonderful and joyous time of the year again when we celebrate the earthly birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Every December we remember when God sent His Son from out of eternity and into this world to begin His ministry of salvation, although a careful observation of the Gospel of Luke shows us that Jesus didn’t actually come into the world in the month of December. If we follow the sequence of events leading up to His birth we find that Jesus was most likely born in the month of Tishri which is the 7th month on the Hebrew calendar and falls approximately every year between the middle of September and the middle of October. We know this because of the order of priesthood that fell to the father of John the Baptist. Allow me to explain.
We know that John the Baptist was 6 months older than Jesus because the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to inform her of her divine conception when Elizabeth, (John’s mother), was in her 6th month of pregnancy, (Luke 1:26, & 36). So establishing that Jesus was 6 months younger than John we then need to find out when John was born to find out when Jesus was born. We begin our sequence of events by observing that Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, was serving in the temple in the order of his priestly division, which was the division of Abijah. About 1000 years prior King David had appointed 24 divisions of priest that would serve in the temple throughout the year, two for every month. In 1 Chronicles 24:10 it tells us that the 8th order fell to Abijah, which was the order that Zacharias belonged to. Now the Hebrew religious year began in the month of Abib, (a.k.a. Nissan), which is about mid March. So the 8th order of priest would be due to serve in the temple sometime in June or early July. The angel appeared to Zacharias while he was serving in the temple and informed him that his wife Elizabeth would conceive a son even though she was well advanced in years. Now the difference between when the angel appeared to Mary to inform her of her conception and when the angel appeared to Zacharias to inform him of Elizabeth’s conception is that Mary was conceived at that moment by the Holy Spirit but Zacharias had to wait until his priestly duties were over and then go home and consummate the conception himself and so it says in Luke 1:23-24, So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived. So John the Baptist was most likely conceived in July, (or the 5th Hebrew month of Ab). If you count 9 months ahead you come to the month of Abib, (a.k.a. Nissan), which is near our March for the birth of John the Baptist. Now knowing that Mary had conceived while Elizabeth was in her 6th month this places the birth of Jesus 6 months after John in the month of Tishri, (which is Sept-Oct on our calendar). Had Luke not informed us that Zacharias was serving in the division of Abijah then we would never know where to begin our sequence of events to find out the time of the birth of our Savior but God doesn’t waste any words. Every single word is in the Bible for a reason.
Now that we have established the timing of our Savior’s birth there may be more than meets the eye to this discovery. The month of Tishri is the 7th month on the Hebrew calendar and the most holy as it contains the last three of the Feasts of the Lord that are listed in Leviticus 23. The first four Feasts are all in the spring and have been prophetically fulfilled by Jesus at His first advent and they are as follows:
Passover – Jesus was our sacrificial Passover lamb.
Feast of Unleavened Bread – Jesus was our sinless bread of life, (leaven being associated with sin by Hebrew custom).
Feast of Firstfruits – Jesus was the “first fruit” to be resurrected in glory. Annually the priests would take a sheaf of the harvest during this feast and wave it before the Lord to be accepted before they could reap the rest of the harvest. The unnamed saints in Matthew 27:52-53 that were resurrected after Jesus was resurrected were Jesus’ wave offering to the Lord. The harvest represents the harvest of souls.
Feast of Weeks, (a.k.a. Pentecost) – In the Old Testament this was an agricultural feast that celebrated the wheat harvest just before summer began. This Feast takes place 50 days after the priestly offering of firstfruits. Fifty days after Jesus was resurrected He sent down the Holy Spirit to form the Church and begin the Church Age that we are currently living in. The Holy Spirit is still graciously at work today in the fields of life harvesting souls unto salvation.
(This is just a brief overview of the prophetic significance of these Feasts as to go in depth is a vast study within itself).
The last three Feasts, which are all in the autumn, are yet to be prophetically fulfilled. They are the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Trumpets, (a.k.a. Rosh Hashanah), is the Jewish New Year but also prophetically refers to the regathering of Israel which is then followed by the Day of Atonement, (a.k.a. Yom Kipper), and prophetically this will be fulfilled when the prophecy of Zechariah 12:10-14 comes to pass. Then on the 15th day of the 7th month comes the Feast of Tabernacles, (a.k.a. Feast of Ingathering & Feast of Booths). This is a 7 day feast that celebrates the gathering in of the harvest and also commemorates when the Israelites camped out in temporary shelters in the wilderness under the protection of God during their exodus from Egypt. It is during this Feast that Jesus may very well have been born. While we can’t be dogmatic about it there are some clues that relate to His birth and the harvest, which is what this joyous Feasts celebrates.
For one thing the Gospel of John says, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” (John 1:14). The Greek text translates the word “dwelt” as “tabernacle”. The Greek word skenoo literally means, “to pitch a tent”. So that verse literally reads “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us”. In context John is speaking of the birth of Christ. Another hint that Christ may very well have been born on the Feast of Tabernacles is in Isaiah 9:1-7. This prophetic section of Scripture is foretelling the coming of the Messiah unto Israel and in verse 2-3 it mentions that it would be during the “joy of the harvest” which is precisely what the Feast of Tabernacles is. It should also be noted that when Elizabeth heard of Mary’s pregnancy she said to Mary, “Blessed is the fruit of your womb”.
The seven Feasts of the Lord in Leviticus 23 are exactly what they are called, “Feasts of the Lord”. They are His Feasts, (see Leviticus 23:2), meaning they all relate to Him and point to His coming. It would only seem fitting that Jesus would be born on a Feast day. It would also seem fitting that Jesus would come again on a Feast day, perhaps the same day He came the first time? Perhaps the Rapture or the 2nd Coming will be during the Feast of Tabernacles? Perhaps both? While we can’t positively answer these questions we can find a clue in the 7th chapter of the Gospel of John that pertains to Jesus “secretly” attending the Feast of Tabernacles during His first advent that could be a foreshadow of the Rapture.
In John 7:2 it says that the Feast of Tabernacles was at hand and His brothers being in disbelief of Him were coaxing Him to go to the Feast and show Himself but Jesus said: You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come. Then in verse 10 it says this: But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Could this be a prophetic clue to the timing of the Rapture when He comes secretly for His faithful followers at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles?
In Numbers 10:10 the Lord commands that trumpets are to be blown on Feast days. The return of Christ, both the Rapture and 2nd Coming are described with trumpets being blown. In 1 Corinthians 15:52 it says: in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. The Feast of Tabernacles is the last Feast of the Lord on the Hebrew calendar and the Lord commanded that trumpets be blown on all Feast days. Could this be the last trump that the Holy Spirit led Paul to write about in his description of the coming Rapture? The seven days that make up the Feast of Tabernacles could also represent the seven years that we will be under God’s protection during the 7 year Tribulation dwelling in the rooms that Jesus has prepared for us, (John 14:1-4). See also Isaiah 26:19-21.
The sound of a trumpet is also associated with Christ’s physical return at the end of the Tribulation as described in Matthew 24:31. Could it be possible that the Feast of Tabernacles is the timing of Christ’s first advent, (birth at Christmas), Rapture and His 2nd Coming? Tabernacles is a 7 day Feast so we still wouldn’t know the day or the hour of His return but we are commanded to be watching and to be discerners of the times. (Matthew 16:3)
It is also interesting that the Feast of Tabernacles will also be celebrated during the millennial reign of Christ, (Zechariah 14:16 & Ezekiel 45:25). Surely Tabernacles is a Feast of high stature in the eyes of God if it will be celebrated forever and He wants us to know it. In Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 it says: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven; A time to be born and a time to die.” God has pre-appointed times for everything under heaven and Jesus was “foreordained before the foundation of the world”, (1 Peter 1:20). If Jesus’ first advent fulfilled and coincided with the first 4 Feast of the Lord then it seems only logical that we look at the last 3 Feasts of the Lord for signs of His second coming. The Lord always provides signs of His coming before He comes.
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14)
O’ Come, O’ Come Emmanuel!
Merry Christmas to all.
It’s that wonderful and joyous time of the year again when we celebrate the earthly birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Every December we remember when God sent His Son from out of eternity and into this world to begin His ministry of salvation, although a careful observation of the Gospel of Luke shows us that Jesus didn’t actually come into the world in the month of December. If we follow the sequence of events leading up to His birth we find that Jesus was most likely born in the month of Tishri which is the 7th month on the Hebrew calendar and falls approximately every year between the middle of September and the middle of October. We know this because of the order of priesthood that fell to the father of John the Baptist. Allow me to explain.
We know that John the Baptist was 6 months older than Jesus because the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to inform her of her divine conception when Elizabeth, (John’s mother), was in her 6th month of pregnancy, (Luke 1:26, & 36). So establishing that Jesus was 6 months younger than John we then need to find out when John was born to find out when Jesus was born. We begin our sequence of events by observing that Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, was serving in the temple in the order of his priestly division, which was the division of Abijah. About 1000 years prior King David had appointed 24 divisions of priest that would serve in the temple throughout the year, two for every month. In 1 Chronicles 24:10 it tells us that the 8th order fell to Abijah, which was the order that Zacharias belonged to. Now the Hebrew religious year began in the month of Abib, (a.k.a. Nissan), which is about mid March. So the 8th order of priest would be due to serve in the temple sometime in June or early July. The angel appeared to Zacharias while he was serving in the temple and informed him that his wife Elizabeth would conceive a son even though she was well advanced in years. Now the difference between when the angel appeared to Mary to inform her of her conception and when the angel appeared to Zacharias to inform him of Elizabeth’s conception is that Mary was conceived at that moment by the Holy Spirit but Zacharias had to wait until his priestly duties were over and then go home and consummate the conception himself and so it says in Luke 1:23-24, So it was, as soon as the days of his service were completed, that he departed to his own house. Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived. So John the Baptist was most likely conceived in July, (or the 5th Hebrew month of Ab). If you count 9 months ahead you come to the month of Abib, (a.k.a. Nissan), which is near our March for the birth of John the Baptist. Now knowing that Mary had conceived while Elizabeth was in her 6th month this places the birth of Jesus 6 months after John in the month of Tishri, (which is Sept-Oct on our calendar). Had Luke not informed us that Zacharias was serving in the division of Abijah then we would never know where to begin our sequence of events to find out the time of the birth of our Savior but God doesn’t waste any words. Every single word is in the Bible for a reason.
Now that we have established the timing of our Savior’s birth there may be more than meets the eye to this discovery. The month of Tishri is the 7th month on the Hebrew calendar and the most holy as it contains the last three of the Feasts of the Lord that are listed in Leviticus 23. The first four Feasts are all in the spring and have been prophetically fulfilled by Jesus at His first advent and they are as follows:
Passover – Jesus was our sacrificial Passover lamb.
Feast of Unleavened Bread – Jesus was our sinless bread of life, (leaven being associated with sin by Hebrew custom).
Feast of Firstfruits – Jesus was the “first fruit” to be resurrected in glory. Annually the priests would take a sheaf of the harvest during this feast and wave it before the Lord to be accepted before they could reap the rest of the harvest. The unnamed saints in Matthew 27:52-53 that were resurrected after Jesus was resurrected were Jesus’ wave offering to the Lord. The harvest represents the harvest of souls.
Feast of Weeks, (a.k.a. Pentecost) – In the Old Testament this was an agricultural feast that celebrated the wheat harvest just before summer began. This Feast takes place 50 days after the priestly offering of firstfruits. Fifty days after Jesus was resurrected He sent down the Holy Spirit to form the Church and begin the Church Age that we are currently living in. The Holy Spirit is still graciously at work today in the fields of life harvesting souls unto salvation.
(This is just a brief overview of the prophetic significance of these Feasts as to go in depth is a vast study within itself).
The last three Feasts, which are all in the autumn, are yet to be prophetically fulfilled. They are the Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Trumpets, (a.k.a. Rosh Hashanah), is the Jewish New Year but also prophetically refers to the regathering of Israel which is then followed by the Day of Atonement, (a.k.a. Yom Kipper), and prophetically this will be fulfilled when the prophecy of Zechariah 12:10-14 comes to pass. Then on the 15th day of the 7th month comes the Feast of Tabernacles, (a.k.a. Feast of Ingathering & Feast of Booths). This is a 7 day feast that celebrates the gathering in of the harvest and also commemorates when the Israelites camped out in temporary shelters in the wilderness under the protection of God during their exodus from Egypt. It is during this Feast that Jesus may very well have been born. While we can’t be dogmatic about it there are some clues that relate to His birth and the harvest, which is what this joyous Feasts celebrates.
For one thing the Gospel of John says, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” (John 1:14). The Greek text translates the word “dwelt” as “tabernacle”. The Greek word skenoo literally means, “to pitch a tent”. So that verse literally reads “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us”. In context John is speaking of the birth of Christ. Another hint that Christ may very well have been born on the Feast of Tabernacles is in Isaiah 9:1-7. This prophetic section of Scripture is foretelling the coming of the Messiah unto Israel and in verse 2-3 it mentions that it would be during the “joy of the harvest” which is precisely what the Feast of Tabernacles is. It should also be noted that when Elizabeth heard of Mary’s pregnancy she said to Mary, “Blessed is the fruit of your womb”.
The seven Feasts of the Lord in Leviticus 23 are exactly what they are called, “Feasts of the Lord”. They are His Feasts, (see Leviticus 23:2), meaning they all relate to Him and point to His coming. It would only seem fitting that Jesus would be born on a Feast day. It would also seem fitting that Jesus would come again on a Feast day, perhaps the same day He came the first time? Perhaps the Rapture or the 2nd Coming will be during the Feast of Tabernacles? Perhaps both? While we can’t positively answer these questions we can find a clue in the 7th chapter of the Gospel of John that pertains to Jesus “secretly” attending the Feast of Tabernacles during His first advent that could be a foreshadow of the Rapture.
In John 7:2 it says that the Feast of Tabernacles was at hand and His brothers being in disbelief of Him were coaxing Him to go to the Feast and show Himself but Jesus said: You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come. Then in verse 10 it says this: But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Could this be a prophetic clue to the timing of the Rapture when He comes secretly for His faithful followers at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles?
In Numbers 10:10 the Lord commands that trumpets are to be blown on Feast days. The return of Christ, both the Rapture and 2nd Coming are described with trumpets being blown. In 1 Corinthians 15:52 it says: in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. The Feast of Tabernacles is the last Feast of the Lord on the Hebrew calendar and the Lord commanded that trumpets be blown on all Feast days. Could this be the last trump that the Holy Spirit led Paul to write about in his description of the coming Rapture? The seven days that make up the Feast of Tabernacles could also represent the seven years that we will be under God’s protection during the 7 year Tribulation dwelling in the rooms that Jesus has prepared for us, (John 14:1-4). See also Isaiah 26:19-21.
The sound of a trumpet is also associated with Christ’s physical return at the end of the Tribulation as described in Matthew 24:31. Could it be possible that the Feast of Tabernacles is the timing of Christ’s first advent, (birth at Christmas), Rapture and His 2nd Coming? Tabernacles is a 7 day Feast so we still wouldn’t know the day or the hour of His return but we are commanded to be watching and to be discerners of the times. (Matthew 16:3)
It is also interesting that the Feast of Tabernacles will also be celebrated during the millennial reign of Christ, (Zechariah 14:16 & Ezekiel 45:25). Surely Tabernacles is a Feast of high stature in the eyes of God if it will be celebrated forever and He wants us to know it. In Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 it says: “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven; A time to be born and a time to die.” God has pre-appointed times for everything under heaven and Jesus was “foreordained before the foundation of the world”, (1 Peter 1:20). If Jesus’ first advent fulfilled and coincided with the first 4 Feast of the Lord then it seems only logical that we look at the last 3 Feasts of the Lord for signs of His second coming. The Lord always provides signs of His coming before He comes.
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14)
O’ Come, O’ Come Emmanuel!
Merry Christmas to all.
Monday, December 20, 2010
The Santa Hoax
The Santa Hoax ..............Grace Thru Faith article
Q. I recently received quite a shellacking from a co-worker when I was in the process of explaining some of the pagan origins of the traditions that are associated with Christmas. I had expressed my disdain for the practice of my church to include Santa Claus in this annual observance. I believe that Satan employs many different tactics to divert our attention from the saving grace of God. In this particular instance, it happens to be a ” jolly old elf”.
Aside from the obvious emphasis on materialism, I believe that the Santa hoax lays the dangerous groundwork for skepticism in the future beliefs of any child. I once witnessed such a troubling occurrence when, upon discovering the truth about Santa, an angry small boy questioned also the reality of Jesus. I am not certain that the secular world’s attempt to disassociate Christ’s name from the holiday is something that the Church should resist. Am I in error?
A. If you’re in error then we both are. A couple of years ago, I wrote an editorial suggesting we give Christmas, or Feast of Saturnalia as it was once known, back to the Pagans and begin celebrating the Lord’s birth in the early fall when it likely took place.
This would give Christians a chance to divest this important event of all the pagan and commercial baggage it’s picked up over the years and allow us to focus on its real meaning. It would also take us out of the battle for recognition with all the other religions who want to horn in on our holy day.
I believe Santa Claus is a false god, knowing everything and being everywhere, rewarding good folks and punishing bad ones. These are things only the Creator of the Universe can do.
Q. I recently received quite a shellacking from a co-worker when I was in the process of explaining some of the pagan origins of the traditions that are associated with Christmas. I had expressed my disdain for the practice of my church to include Santa Claus in this annual observance. I believe that Satan employs many different tactics to divert our attention from the saving grace of God. In this particular instance, it happens to be a ” jolly old elf”.
Aside from the obvious emphasis on materialism, I believe that the Santa hoax lays the dangerous groundwork for skepticism in the future beliefs of any child. I once witnessed such a troubling occurrence when, upon discovering the truth about Santa, an angry small boy questioned also the reality of Jesus. I am not certain that the secular world’s attempt to disassociate Christ’s name from the holiday is something that the Church should resist. Am I in error?
A. If you’re in error then we both are. A couple of years ago, I wrote an editorial suggesting we give Christmas, or Feast of Saturnalia as it was once known, back to the Pagans and begin celebrating the Lord’s birth in the early fall when it likely took place.
This would give Christians a chance to divest this important event of all the pagan and commercial baggage it’s picked up over the years and allow us to focus on its real meaning. It would also take us out of the battle for recognition with all the other religions who want to horn in on our holy day.
I believe Santa Claus is a false god, knowing everything and being everywhere, rewarding good folks and punishing bad ones. These are things only the Creator of the Universe can do.
Friday, December 17, 2010
The feast of the unknown day or hour
The Feast Of Trumpets And The Second Coming
Article of December 17, 2010 posted from Gracethurfaith.com
Q. I just found your site last week and have been on it every day since. I have studied the book of Revelation several times but reading your articles has given me a new excitement as I review your articles on the end times. You have an amazing site.
I have been told by a Christian Jew that the Feast of the Trumpets is the “The feast of the unknown day and hour”. And that will be the day of the Lord’s Second Coming and could be the day of the Rapture as well. He said this feast happens every seven years and is the only feast that is on the first day of the month. That in the Torah it says that two witnesses were sent out on the 29th day to watch when the first sign of the crescent moon would appear and the feast would begin.
He also said that Jesus was referring to this feast when He said we could not know the day and hour. That Jesus did not say we couldn’t know the time, just the day and hour. Exactly, what is the feast of the Trumpets? And could this relate to time of the rapture?
A. The feast of Trumpets was sometimes called “The feast of the unknown day and hour” because unlike other feasts, it began at the time of the new moon on the first day of the month known as Tishri. Around the time of the first day of every month, two witnesses were sent out to determine the first sighting of the crescent moon. Until this could be confirmed no one knew whether the new month had actually arrived. So the Feast of Trumpets came on a day and hour no one could know in advance. It was also called Rosh Hashanah which is the Jewish New Year, and marked the beginning of 10 days of intense spiritual preparation for the Day of Atonement.
If you read the text carefully, you’ll see that whenever Jesus said we could not know the day and hour, He was referring to the 2nd Coming, not the Rapture. So this lends more weight to the belief that the 2nd Coming will take place on the Feast of Trumpets in a year as yet unknown
Article of December 17, 2010 posted from Gracethurfaith.com
Q. I just found your site last week and have been on it every day since. I have studied the book of Revelation several times but reading your articles has given me a new excitement as I review your articles on the end times. You have an amazing site.
I have been told by a Christian Jew that the Feast of the Trumpets is the “The feast of the unknown day and hour”. And that will be the day of the Lord’s Second Coming and could be the day of the Rapture as well. He said this feast happens every seven years and is the only feast that is on the first day of the month. That in the Torah it says that two witnesses were sent out on the 29th day to watch when the first sign of the crescent moon would appear and the feast would begin.
He also said that Jesus was referring to this feast when He said we could not know the day and hour. That Jesus did not say we couldn’t know the time, just the day and hour. Exactly, what is the feast of the Trumpets? And could this relate to time of the rapture?
A. The feast of Trumpets was sometimes called “The feast of the unknown day and hour” because unlike other feasts, it began at the time of the new moon on the first day of the month known as Tishri. Around the time of the first day of every month, two witnesses were sent out to determine the first sighting of the crescent moon. Until this could be confirmed no one knew whether the new month had actually arrived. So the Feast of Trumpets came on a day and hour no one could know in advance. It was also called Rosh Hashanah which is the Jewish New Year, and marked the beginning of 10 days of intense spiritual preparation for the Day of Atonement.
If you read the text carefully, you’ll see that whenever Jesus said we could not know the day and hour, He was referring to the 2nd Coming, not the Rapture. So this lends more weight to the belief that the 2nd Coming will take place on the Feast of Trumpets in a year as yet unknown
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
They are the only people who have a Title Deed from God
Here are some of the promises in the Bible concerning Israel.
They are the only people who have a Title Deed from God as shown in the Bible.
Genesis 15:18-21 Title Deed given to Father Abraham
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites*.
Note: * Jebusite is the nation that lived in Jerusalem before King David conquered it.
Genesis 21:12 Reaffirmed to Isaac:
And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Genesis 26:2-4 Promise reaffirmed to Jacob(who becomes Israel)
And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed
Psalm 105:6-12 An Everlasting Covenant to Isarel, and their inheritance
6O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
7He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth.
8He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
9Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
10And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
11Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
Jeremiah 31:35-37 Dispite Israels Failures, God will not forget them
Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
36If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
37Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
Ezekiel 36:22-28 Why God does this...Because of God’s Holy Name’s Sake
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for Mine Holy Name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
23And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
24For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
28And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Luke 21:22-24 Jesus warned and confirmed Jews would suffer till the time of the Gentiles is complete
For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Matthew 23:37:29 Jesus said,
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
38 Look, your house is left to you desolate.
39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'”
Zechariah Chapter 12 Israel will repent, mourning for the one they Pierced.
This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares:
2 I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.
3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.
4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness, declares the LORD. I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.
5 Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, 'The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.'
6 On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a brazier in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.
7 The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honour of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.
8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them.
9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
Mourning for the One They Pierced
10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives,
13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives,
14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.
Romans 9, 10, 11 All Israel will be saved according to God’s justice, not man’s
Romans 9
God's Sovereign Choice
1 I speak the truth in Christ— I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—
2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.
5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, for ever praised! Amen.
6 It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.
7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.
8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring.
9 For this was how the promise was stated: At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.
10 Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac.
11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad— in order that God's purpose in election might stand:
12 not by works but by him who calls— she was told, The older will serve the younger.
13 Just as it is written: Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.
14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!
15 For he says to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
16It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
19 One of you will say to me: Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?
20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'
21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
22 What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath— prepared for destruction?
23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—
24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
25 As he says in Hosea:
I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one,
26 and,
It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them,'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God'.
27Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.
29It is just as Isaiah said previously:
Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.
Israel's Unbelief
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling-stone.
33 As it is written:
See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.
Romans 10
1 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.
2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.
3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
5 Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: The man who does these things will live by them.
6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down)
7 or 'Who will descend into the deep?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
8 But what does it say? The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:
9 That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
11 As the Scripture says, Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.
12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile— the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
13 for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message?
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:
Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
19Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,
I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.
20And Isaiah boldly says,
I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.
21But concerning Israel he says,
All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.
Romans 11
The Remnant of Israel
1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah— how he appealed to God against Israel:
3 Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me?
4 And what was God's answer to him? I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
8 as it is written:
God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.
9And David says:
May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling-block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent for ever.
Ingrafted Branches
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fulness bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry
14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.
15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,
18 do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19 You will say then, Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.
20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.
23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
All Israel Will Be Saved
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.
28As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,
29 for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.
30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience,
31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you.
32 For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
Doxology
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?
35 Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen."
They are the only people who have a Title Deed from God as shown in the Bible.
Genesis 15:18-21 Title Deed given to Father Abraham
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,
And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims,
And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites*.
Note: * Jebusite is the nation that lived in Jerusalem before King David conquered it.
Genesis 21:12 Reaffirmed to Isaac:
And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Genesis 26:2-4 Promise reaffirmed to Jacob(who becomes Israel)
And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of:
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
4 And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed
Psalm 105:6-12 An Everlasting Covenant to Isarel, and their inheritance
6O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
7He is the LORD our God: his judgments are in all the earth.
8He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.
9Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
10And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
11Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance:
Jeremiah 31:35-37 Dispite Israels Failures, God will not forget them
Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
36If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
37Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
Ezekiel 36:22-28 Why God does this...Because of God’s Holy Name’s Sake
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for Mine Holy Name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
23And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
24For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
28And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Luke 21:22-24 Jesus warned and confirmed Jews would suffer till the time of the Gentiles is complete
For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
24And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Matthew 23:37:29 Jesus said,
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
38 Look, your house is left to you desolate.
39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'”
Zechariah Chapter 12 Israel will repent, mourning for the one they Pierced.
This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares:
2 I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.
3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.
4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness, declares the LORD. I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.
5 Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, 'The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.'
6 On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a brazier in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.
7 The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honour of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.
8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them.
9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
Mourning for the One They Pierced
10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives,
13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives,
14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.
Romans 9, 10, 11 All Israel will be saved according to God’s justice, not man’s
Romans 9
God's Sovereign Choice
1 I speak the truth in Christ— I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—
2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race,
4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises.
5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, for ever praised! Amen.
6 It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.
7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.
8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring.
9 For this was how the promise was stated: At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.
10 Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac.
11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad— in order that God's purpose in election might stand:
12 not by works but by him who calls— she was told, The older will serve the younger.
13 Just as it is written: Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.
14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!
15 For he says to Moses,
I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
16It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
19 One of you will say to me: Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?
20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'
21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
22 What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath— prepared for destruction?
23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory—
24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
25 As he says in Hosea:
I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one,
26 and,
It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them,'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God'.
27Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:
Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.
29It is just as Isaiah said previously:
Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.
Israel's Unbelief
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling-stone.
33 As it is written:
See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.
Romans 10
1 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.
2 For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.
3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.
4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
5 Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: The man who does these things will live by them.
6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down)
7 or 'Who will descend into the deep?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
8 But what does it say? The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:
9 That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
11 As the Scripture says, Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.
12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile— the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
13 for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!
16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message?
17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
18 But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:
Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
19Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,
I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.
20And Isaiah boldly says,
I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.
21But concerning Israel he says,
All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.
Romans 11
The Remnant of Israel
1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.
2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah— how he appealed to God against Israel:
3 Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me?
4 And what was God's answer to him? I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
8 as it is written:
God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.
9And David says:
May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling-block and a retribution for them.
10 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent for ever.
Ingrafted Branches
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fulness bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry
14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.
15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,
18 do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19 You will say then, Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.
20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.
23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
All Israel Will Be Saved
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.
28As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,
29 for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.
30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience,
31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you.
32 For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
Doxology
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor?
35 Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen."
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The real name of Easter is...First Fruits Sunday
Pentecost Sunday, marking the end of the Easter season on the Christian calendar,
is May 23 this year. Pentecost/Holy Spirit Connection And Why Jews Don’t See It
By Thomas S. McCall, Th.D.
For Believers in Jesus the Messiah, the dating of Pentecost is one of the most exquisite examples of type and fulfillment in the Scriptures. Pentecost means fifty,
and is actually fifty days from another Feast, First Fruits. These calculations are explained in Leviticus 23:10–11, 15–17. The Feast of First Fruits was to occur on the day after the Sabbath (verse 11), therefore always the Sunday of Passover week. Pentecost, then, was the day after the seventh following Sabbath (verses 15–16), which would be the fiftieth day after First Fruits
and also on a Sunday.The fulfillment of these Feasts is striking. Jesus died the Friday of Passover week and had to be buried hastily before sunset, which is when the Sabbath begins. His body remained in the borrowed sepulcher throughout the Sabbath day, but on that Sunday
morning, when the priest was to offer the First Fruits offering in the Temple,
Christ arose from the dead, the first fruits of them that slept (I Cor. 15:20).
For forty ensuing days, the Lord appeared to His disciples in His resurrection
body, and then ascended into Heaven. Ten days later, the Sunday of
the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Believers in
Jerusalem and created the ekklesia, the called out body of Christ, the Church.
These fulfillments were obviously no coincidence, but were part of the overall plan and purpose of God in verifying the powerful meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ, and the establishment of the new body of Believers.
From then on, the Jewish Believers in Christ must have repeatedly informed the people of Israel about the nature of the fulfillment of Passover, First Fruits, and Pentecost.
It must have made a great impact on the Jewish people who lived between the resurrection of Christ and the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, a span of about forty years.
By way of response, Judaism’s rabbis decided that in this case the term Sabbath did not mean Saturday, but something else: the first day of Passover, or, more precisely, the first day of Unleavened Bread (the second day of Passover). What justification do they have for changing the meaning of Sabbath that way? There must have been a very strong motive to cause the Sages to interpret Sabbath as something
other than the regular sacred Saturday Sabbath.
Though we have no proof, we suggest that the change came some time after the resurrection of Christ and before the destruction of the Temple. Think of the impact the Jewish Believers must have had as they described the Lord’s resurrection on
the Sunday of Passover week at First Fruits and the coming of the Spirit seven Sundays later on Pentecost. The leaders must have been hard pressed to explain away the relevance of the Feasts and their fulfillment in Jesus.
The solution they came up with was to obfuscate the calendar in such a way as to make the connection less clear between the Feasts and their fulfillment in Christ and the Holy Spirit.
The strategy apparently worked because most Jewish people today—
like Christians—see no connection whatever between the Feasts and the
Messiah.
Instead of causing Jewish leaders to marvel over the relationship between
the Feasts and the Messiah, the current festival schedule leaves Jewish scholars
scratching their heads. They are perplexed over the vagueness of the dates
of First Fruits and Pentecost, and why there is no clear statement in the
Torah that Pentecost is the day Moses received the Law, which is the teaching
of the Sages.
Such appears to be part of the veil over the eyes of the majority of Jewish people that so tragically obscures the truth about the Messiah in the Law.
Nevertheless, many Jews today and a lot of gentiles who have no background
in these matters are being graciously enlightened and are receiving the Lord.
Please see pp. 18, 19 Levitt Letter
May 2010 edition to
order our study booklet,
CD, and/or audiocassette
The Spirit of Pentecost.
is May 23 this year. Pentecost/Holy Spirit Connection And Why Jews Don’t See It
By Thomas S. McCall, Th.D.
For Believers in Jesus the Messiah, the dating of Pentecost is one of the most exquisite examples of type and fulfillment in the Scriptures. Pentecost means fifty,
and is actually fifty days from another Feast, First Fruits. These calculations are explained in Leviticus 23:10–11, 15–17. The Feast of First Fruits was to occur on the day after the Sabbath (verse 11), therefore always the Sunday of Passover week. Pentecost, then, was the day after the seventh following Sabbath (verses 15–16), which would be the fiftieth day after First Fruits
and also on a Sunday.The fulfillment of these Feasts is striking. Jesus died the Friday of Passover week and had to be buried hastily before sunset, which is when the Sabbath begins. His body remained in the borrowed sepulcher throughout the Sabbath day, but on that Sunday
morning, when the priest was to offer the First Fruits offering in the Temple,
Christ arose from the dead, the first fruits of them that slept (I Cor. 15:20).
For forty ensuing days, the Lord appeared to His disciples in His resurrection
body, and then ascended into Heaven. Ten days later, the Sunday of
the Feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Believers in
Jerusalem and created the ekklesia, the called out body of Christ, the Church.
These fulfillments were obviously no coincidence, but were part of the overall plan and purpose of God in verifying the powerful meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ, and the establishment of the new body of Believers.
From then on, the Jewish Believers in Christ must have repeatedly informed the people of Israel about the nature of the fulfillment of Passover, First Fruits, and Pentecost.
It must have made a great impact on the Jewish people who lived between the resurrection of Christ and the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, a span of about forty years.
By way of response, Judaism’s rabbis decided that in this case the term Sabbath did not mean Saturday, but something else: the first day of Passover, or, more precisely, the first day of Unleavened Bread (the second day of Passover). What justification do they have for changing the meaning of Sabbath that way? There must have been a very strong motive to cause the Sages to interpret Sabbath as something
other than the regular sacred Saturday Sabbath.
Though we have no proof, we suggest that the change came some time after the resurrection of Christ and before the destruction of the Temple. Think of the impact the Jewish Believers must have had as they described the Lord’s resurrection on
the Sunday of Passover week at First Fruits and the coming of the Spirit seven Sundays later on Pentecost. The leaders must have been hard pressed to explain away the relevance of the Feasts and their fulfillment in Jesus.
The solution they came up with was to obfuscate the calendar in such a way as to make the connection less clear between the Feasts and their fulfillment in Christ and the Holy Spirit.
The strategy apparently worked because most Jewish people today—
like Christians—see no connection whatever between the Feasts and the
Messiah.
Instead of causing Jewish leaders to marvel over the relationship between
the Feasts and the Messiah, the current festival schedule leaves Jewish scholars
scratching their heads. They are perplexed over the vagueness of the dates
of First Fruits and Pentecost, and why there is no clear statement in the
Torah that Pentecost is the day Moses received the Law, which is the teaching
of the Sages.
Such appears to be part of the veil over the eyes of the majority of Jewish people that so tragically obscures the truth about the Messiah in the Law.
Nevertheless, many Jews today and a lot of gentiles who have no background
in these matters are being graciously enlightened and are receiving the Lord.
Please see pp. 18, 19 Levitt Letter
May 2010 edition to
order our study booklet,
CD, and/or audiocassette
The Spirit of Pentecost.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)