How to tell others about God.

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On Friday April 29,2011, according to the mass media the “wedding of the century” took place.  Prince William married the lovely Kate  in a  glitz-and-glamor display  that cost an estimated  $34 million. The simple wedding gown  carried a price tag of $434,000.  And the two
wedding cakes rang up a bill of $80,000. As TV commentators gushed in typical fashion, the world witnessed the  make-her-an-honest-woman  wedding of  two very famous fornicators,
who had been unashamedly  living together in sin, in  defiance of God’s Holy Scripture (in what some
in the media called the “royal shack-up”).   (God, who never changes, or adjusts His commands to “modern times”, calls it  a sin to be living together as an unmarried couple.)   Such a visible couple should have made the correct choice of living an exemplary public life, knowing full well the young people influenced by their actions.  No amount of Bible verses read in a wedding ceremony substitute for  repentance, which should now be taking place.  Naturally,modern “sophisticated” people reject the word and concept of sin, but according to Isaiah, God says “My ways are higher than YOUR ways ” (Is. 55:9).     I Cor. 6:9 is pretty easy to understand as well , regarding God’s very serious view of  sin – “do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, will inherit
the kingdom of God.” (If anyone disagrees with this verse, he can take it up
with God, but I can’t think of any debate that God ever lost !)     As
always, there are two ways of looking at things:  1.) The world’s way (I wouldn’t recommend that way, it leads to unfortunate
short and  long-term  consequences) and 2.)  God’s way ( I HIGHLY
recommend looking at everything through the lens of God’s Word ).   At any
rate, the gushing media was quite incorrect when they dubbed  this event  “the wedding of the century”.   The
true wedding of the century is yet  to come
and all  so-called “royal” or Hollywood  weddings will pale in comparison.   At Mt. Sinai, God proposed to His
bride.   –“ Then Moses went up to God,
and the LORD said, “This is what  you are
to tell the people of Israel: ⁴ ‘You yourselves have seen what I did
to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. ⁵
Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will
be my treasured possession. ..you will be for me  a holy nation.’ These are the words you are
to speak to the Israelites.”  (Exodus 19)
   Israel  (the mixed multitude  who had  left Egypt behind) listened to Moses and
accepted God’s proposal  --“The people   all
responded together, ‘We will do everything the LORD has said.’ So Moses brought
their answer back to the LORD.”   We must
remember that’ Israel’ does not just refer to Jews, but also to the wild
branches – Gentile Believers – grafted into the olive tree of Israel and
thereby comprising the Commonwealth of Yisrael. So Israel became betrothed to God, and now we  prepare ourselves as we await  the royal wedding .”Let us be glad and
rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his
wife has made herself ready. She has been given the privilege of wearing fine
linen, dazzling and pure." (The fine linen represents the righteous deeds
of the saints.)”( Rev. 19:7,8) About the reception we are told:   “Blessed
are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. These are the
true words of God.”  Rev. 19:9.  Sorry William and Kate, I’m happy for you,
but  the true, and ultimate “wedding of
the century” is still to come.   Unfortunately, not everyone will receive an
invitation, as we can see from the  I
Corinthians  passage above (neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,
will inherit the kingdom of God).  Many
people will be disqualified by their defiance of God’s Word and their unholy
living.  But, for those who get to attend
this great wedding and  the wedding
supper, those who are the Messiah’s bride,  they will be glad that they viewed  this earthly life through the lens of God’s
Word, and walked in obedience  according
to His righteous standards. 

What is coming Saturday, July 28,2012 ?

Many thanks to Chuck Missler, one of my mentors ( even though he doesn't know it) for his research, which was sourced for this article.:
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Tisha B'Av
Tisha b'Av is Hebrew for the 9th day of the month of Av ( by God's calendar)  (man's wayward calendar calls this date July 28th, 2012).

Many disasters have befallen the Jews on the 9th of Av throughout history. According to Jewish tradition, this was the day that God told the Children of Israel they were prohibited from entering the Promised Land because of their  disbelief and resulting disobedience. They were forced to wander in the desert forty more years until that adult generation had died out. That  was just the beginning…

On the 9th of Av in:

• 586 BC, Solomon's Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and the Babylonian captivity began;
• AD 70, the Second Temple, which stood during Christ's ministry, was destroyed by the Romans precisely as Jesus predicted in Luke 19;
• AD 135, the famous Bar Kokhba revolt was squelched when Bethar, the last Jewish stronghold, fell to the Romans;
• AD 136, the Roman Emperor Hadrian established a heathen temple to Jupiter on the site of the Jewish Temple. Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as a pagan city, and renamed the land as Palestina, to distance its Jewish heritage. The date when the Temple area was plowed under by the Romans was the 9th of Av.

The day continued to be filled with grief for the Jewish people throughout history. Pope Urban II declared the Crusades on the 9th of Av in 1242, resulting in the torture and murder of countless Jews. According to the Alhambra Decree, the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 on this day (the same day that Columbus left on his westward route to the Indies - It is believed by many that Columbus sailed to America to find a land of refuge for his Jewish brothers and sisters, there is much physical evidence to indicate that Jews were established in America long before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth).

 On the 9th of Av in 1942, the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto were mass deported to the Treblinka extermination camp in Poland. Thus the 9th of Av, Tisha B'Av, has become a symbol of all the persecutions and misfortunes of the Jewish people, for the loss of their national independence and their sufferings in exile. Above all, it is a day of intense mourning for the destruction of the Temple, which Jews believe brought the Presence of God on earth.

A Day of Mourning.... And Future Joy
Tisha b'Av is marked with sadness and fasting from food and drink.  Observant Jews avoid bathing or washing clothes or participating in  entertainment like music or movies.  On this day the Jews are reminded of their tragic history.

Yet, this day is also expressly linked with Israel's glorious destiny.  The Jews also look forward to the ultimate rebuilding of the Temple, to a time when Tisha b'Av will become a day of joy and gladness (as it was foretold in Zechariah 8:19 - "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so love truth and peace.).

We do know that the Temple will be rebuilt because Jesus, John, and Paul all make reference to it (Matt 24:15; Rev 11:1, 2; 2 Thess 2:4). We also know that a future Temple will be desecrated by the Coming World Leader when he sets himself up to be worshiped (2 Thess 2:3-4 - ...the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.).   From all end-times signs, it is obvious this event will occur in the not-too-distant future, could it be on Tisha B'Av?  

Why the Feast of Tabernacles Should Not Be Ignored By the Church

This Feast (today - October 13 - October 20)  is known as Sukkot, or Tabernacles, or Feast of Booths.  All Israelites were required to dwell in temporary shelters for seven days, to remind them of God’s provision during their forty-year journey in the wilderness after leaving Egypt and before arriving at the Promised Land.  It is a reminder  of God’s past provision during the wilderness journey, and God’s present goodness and provision to all who follow Him.

The first and seventh days are Sabbaths --- sacred days set apart during which no work is to be done.  The 7-day Feast is a joyful time of harvest and eating and remembering.  In ancient Israel it became the most prominent of the holidays and was referred to with great awe simply as “the holiday.” It was during the Feast of Tabernacles that Solomon dedicated the rebuilt Temple to the Lord.   According to 2 Chron. 5:3, the glory of the Lord Himself descended from Heaven to light the fire on the altar and fill the Holy of Holies. 

      And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast  (I Kings 8:2). 

     As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. ²And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD filled the LORD’s house. ³When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever."  (2 Chron. 7:1-10.) 

The Lord will not only gather His people, but He will tabernacle with us during the coming messianic Kingdom.

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.^”  (Rev. 21:3).

On This Date In History

Sundown this evening begins Tish B’Av.   This important historic date commemorates many disastrous events in Jewish history, such as…..

     In 586 BC, Solomon’s Temple (the First Temple) was destroyed by the Babylonians.  Since Babylonia is not a current vacation-pick with tourists, I would say that God took care of them, as He does all who oppose His people.

     In 70 AD, Herod’s Temple (the Second Temple) was destroyed by the Romans,  (I guess we all know what ultimately happened  to the Roman Empire, don’t we?)

     In 1095, the First Crusade was declared by Pope Urban II, killing
10,000 Jews in its first month alone and completely annihilating many Jewish communities.  Pope Urban died 14 days later, and never heard about the “success” of this Crusade, since news traveled slowly in those days.  I would not want to enter eternity with the blood of ten thousand murdered Jews on my hands, would you?

     In 1914, World War I broke out, setting the stage for WW II, the embittered Adolph Hitler,  and the Holocaust which would follow.

     In 1941 , Hermann Göring ordered the dreaded SS  to make all the necessary preparations for the Final Solution for the complete and merciless extermination of the Jews.

     In 1942 on the eve of Tisha B'Av, the mass deportation of Jews from the
Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka death camp began. A Nazi information pamphlet about Treblinka from that time explains "Killing took place with great speed. The whole process of killing the people, starting from their arrival at the camp railroad till removing the corpses from the gas chambers, lasted about 2 hours. Treblinka was known among the Nazis as an example of good organization of a death camp. ( ever-admired German efficiency at work !)

      On  Tisha B’av, 2004, Barack Hussein Obama delivered the keynote address of the Democratic National Convention, spotlighting himself to win the presidential nomination.   Though the US has always been Israel’s strongest ally, under Obama’s administration, this is no longer true and he has repeatedly and ignorantly showed contempt for Israel while ingratiating himself to her enemies. Since God promises to curse those who curse Israel, Obama’s contempt for Israel and her leader, Netanyahu, has surely brought the US under a divine curse, and in view of headlines, can there be any doubt of this? 

     The troubles facing the US are not coincidental and must be viewed through a Divine lens.  For decades Americans have proudly sung “God Bless America” but have made political and societal choices that fly in the face of all that is Holy -- “Having the form of Godliness but denying the power thereof” (2 Tim. 3:5).  A quick look at recent news events prove that  God is not happy with America and surely is disciplining  the US.  We have poked our arrogant fingers in His eye for far too long by tolerating sin, embracing political correctness, and keeping leaders on the payroll who disdain  His commands.  The blood of  scores of murdered unborn cry out to Heaven for justice from dumpsters  “from sea to shining sea”.  The tentacles of  the spirit of Sodom grasp at the ankles of  impressionable children incarcerated in  classrooms that not only condone but jam down their innocent throats every sinful perverted lifestyle condemned by God.  The vulgar spirit of Sodom has infected  our military.  The foundations of the US are quickly and irreparably crumbling and all that each individual can do is cry out in repentence of our own sins,  disembowel damnable political correctness in our own lives, obey the commands of Almighty God, and throw our faith anchor into the Heavens, where it will grasp –  not Mohammed or Buddha, but rather the true Rock of Righteousness - the Hebrew Rabbi from Nazareth.   You can store up water, food, and aspirin all you want as you anticipate a comet that may not even impact your environment.  Or you can store up righteousness and stock up on the living Word of God and fall to your face in repentance. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” ( II Chron. 16:9).  

     Or you can just go on watching “Dancing With The Stars” and being lulled into stupidity by Diane Sawyer.    

      It’s a choice that each individual  must make on this  9^th day of the Hebrew month of Av and every day left to us.  “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15)

Pentecost Parallels Often Overlooked

Digging up the Hebraic roots of Christianity has brought me to a  new deeper meaning of  Pentecost .   Most of my life, I thought Pentecost was a special Sunday that  was mainly the  “birthday of the church” when the disciples in the Upper Room had little pointy tongues of fire dancing above their heads (I'm sure you've seen those paintings).  Peter then made a speech and told all the people who were milling around like they were at a Mall, that they  killed the Messiah.  The people were upset and wanted to know what to do, and Peter told them to repent and be baptized, and thus the Christian church was born when 3,000 of them obeyed .   However, regarding this event,  there is  much more that needs to be considered.  Rewinding to Passover a few weeks ago  helps in this understanding of Pentecost/Shavuot and the wonderful parallels involved.   The Passover wasn’t just about God bullying  Pharoah  to release the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.  God  had a definite destination in mind, He wanted to get His people to Mt. Sinai  where He would propose to them.   When they arrived at Sinai after many miracles,   Moses ascended the mountain and God issued His ten suggestions ….er…COMMANDMENTS.

       God was acting as a bridegroom proposing marriage to His bride.   Some Hebrew sages relate that Mt. Sinai  suddenly blossomed with flowers in anticipation of the giving of the Torah on its slopes.  Actually, in  Hebrew tradition, the marriage contract is called a ketubbah (ka-TOOB-ah).   The katubbah, or marriage contract, was the Torah, which match-maker Moses  brought to the bride (the mixed multitude that made up the commonwealth of  Yisrael that had left Egypt in the Exodus).   On hearing the commands of God, the people accepted the marriage proposal by saying  "All that the LORD (Yahweh) has spoken we will do!" And matchmaker Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.  (Exodus 19:8). Even today, some Jewish communities read out a ketubbah between God and Israel as part of the Shavuot service.    Shavuot – the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai – is one of the Holy Feasts (or Festivals) that God commands to be observed.  It is one of the “Spring Feasts” that has been fulfilled by the Messiah Yeshua.   While the Spring feasts have been fulfilled, the Fall Feasts have not. 

        1.  Feast of Passover was fulfilled when Messiah was crucified as the innocent lamb.  Coinciding with Passover is 

        2.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread - The unleavened bread is also a symbol of Yeshua the Messiah who was our  sinless  Bread of Life. He was born in Bethlehem, which means, "house of bread."  

        3.  The Feast of Firstfruits – Shavuot/Pentecost.  This is when the Torah was given, when Yisrael accepted God’s marriage proposal, and when the first fruits of the harvest were presented to God --- ( 1 Corinthians 15)

20. “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”. (I Cor. 15:20) In the three spring feasts we see the redemption story of our Savior. Our Lord Jesus personally fulfilled all three of those spring feasts -- down to the minutest detail. He was crucified on Passover, buried on Unleavened Bread, and His Resurrection proved Him to be “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” God commands us to observe all of these Feasts, or set apart Holy days, by prayer, rest, and study of Scripture.    They are special days to be remembered in special ways to honor God.  While we are commanded to commemorate the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Shavuot, nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to commemorate the birth of the church as such.  The very reason so many people were gathered in Jerusalem on Pentecost  is because they were observing Shavuot.   

       Here is the Scripture passage in Acts Chapter two:

  “Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews [ the Church was entirely Jewish from the beginning] from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken [they did not hear ecstatic utterances that were unrecognizable, they heard actual languages spoken]. Peter then told them how the Messiah was crucified. 

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
 ³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call. [ the church would not remain exclusively Jewish]”
 ⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. [Throughout Jerusalem there would have been many mikveh.  A mikvah is  like a little swimming pool, much like a modern baptistery,  that  Jews use for purification and to achieve holiness.  The church did not invent baptism, Jews were familiar with immersing themselves in water for religious reasons. In fact, before receiving the Torah at Sinai, all Jews were commanded to immerse themselves in preparation for coming face to face with God. It is reasonable that it would not have been difficult to baptize 3,000 Believers in these mikveh on this Shavuot/Pentecost.]
       Shavuot at Mount Sinai is  considered by many to be the day on which "Judaism" was born -- remembering the giving of the Ten Commandments to Israel and their acceptance of this Divine Proposal. Shavuot in Jerusalem (Mount Zion)  is the day on which the church was born,  when the followers of Yeshua accepted the proposal to be baptized and receive the gift of His Holy Spirit to help them live obediently according to the principles and commands  originally given on Mount Sinai so many years before. 

Have You Counted The Omer Today?

Today is Sunday, May 15, 2011, and by God’s  calendar it is Nisan-Iyar 11, in the year  5771.  Today  is much more than a number on a calendar.   It is Day 26 of the Counting of the Omer.   “You shall count for yourselves -- from the day after the Shabbat, from the day when you bring the Omer of the waving -- seven Shabbats, they shall be complete. Until the day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count, fifty days.” (Leviticus 23:15-16)  “You shall count for yourselves seven weeks, from when the sickle is first put to the standing crop shall you begin counting seven weeks. Then you will observe the Festival of Shavu'ot for the LORD, your God”(-Deuteronomy 16:9-10)

      According to God’s instructions, we are obligated to count the days from Passover, to Shavuot (sha-voo-OAT – which is  when God gave the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai).  Rather than make a paper chain and tear off  a link every day, we count the Omer (OH-mer).  An Omer is a unit of measure, (about 3.5 quarts).  On the second day of Passover, an Omer of barley was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering.  God commanded that  the Omer would be counted  for  seven Sabbaths and one day after the 7^th Sabbath, exactly 50 days.   Each individual is to count the Omer himself – “You shall count for yourselves…”  For the pious and righteous,  the counting  takes place in the evening, following evening prayers and is combined with  the reciting of the most Holy  prayer, the Shema .  Therefore, the evening prayer should go something like this --- 

“  Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. 

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, 

with all your soul, 

and with all your might.

…. We exalt our  Creator, Who  commanded the  counting of  the Omer, 

  Today is the twenty-sixth day of the counting of the Omer, 

which is three weeks and five days of the Omer.” 

When the counting of the Omer is finished and we arrive at the 50^th day, we find that we have reached Pentecost.

     Originally,  the Exodus from Egypt was intended to lead to the revelation of Sinai. The goal of Passover is the giving of the Torah (God’s instructions ). God took the Israelites out of Egypt so that they would be His own treasured people, holy and separated from the pagan cultures around them.  

-----Passover (recently commemorated on April 19^th)  remembers the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb.   

-----The first day of Unleavened Bread ( April 19 – April 26) remembers the Exodus from Egypt when there was no time to allow bread to rise.   

-----The seventh day of Unleavened Bread (April 25)  remembers the crossing of the Red Sea.  

-----The  counting of the Omer (beginning April 20^th)  recalls the  fifty days before the giving of the Torah at Sinai.  

-----Shavuot (June 8,9) remembers the giving of the Torah exactly seven weeks after the Exodus . Shavuot at Mount Sinai is sometimes considered the day on which Judaism was born, and when the nation of Israel accepted Yahweh’s marriage proposal  when they agreed “We will do all that the Lord says”. Shavu’ot is also called the Feast of Weeks, since the seven weeks were counted and completed.

     The counting may seem superfluous – especially if you don’t have an Omer of barley to count every day -  yet, as with many of God’s commands there is deep meaning and benefit for us.  The counting  is intended to remind us of the link between Passover (which commemorates the Exodus) and Shavu’ot (which commemorates the giving of  God’s commandments.  The redemption from slavery was not complete until the Torah was received. 

     As usual, due to Biblical ignorance (and the error of Replacement Theology), we tend to overlook Scriptures that are in reality  very significant.  However,  in depth Bible study reveals riches of wisdom and knowledge that bring us many blessings.  The counting of the Omer reminds us that , in a way, Passover really isn’t over yet.  A very long time ago God freed  His people from slavery, and led them out of Egypt with many miracles.  He then instructed them to keep track of the days until the weeks were completed, when  he would make a mountain thunder and quake, and send His servant Moshe down with history-making stone tablets that He expects to be obeyed to this very day.  As I consider the counting of the Omer, it feels like I am on a journey with the Israelites, freed from my own slavery to sin, trekking toward a sacred mountain of revelation that will enrich my knowledge of God’s Word and teach me how to obey Him.  And someday, with all the deserts of the journey behind me, I will behold with my own eyes the Promised Land - flowing with milk and honey -that awaits me, and be seated at the wedding supper of the Lamb.