Sukkot and the Great Harvest to come

I interrupt my trek through Matthew's gospel to bring you a holiday greeting. 

Happy Sukkot!  Happy Feast of Booths!  Happy Feast of Tabernacles!

A sukkah - a temporary dwelling during Sukkot.

Sukkot is the final of the seven appointed times of Yahweh.  The seven mo'edim (appointments in Hebrew, often translated as feasts) are a beautiful picture of the complete work of Messiah.

At our ladies bible study yesterday, we began with a conversation about gardening (probably because I have tomatoes and peppers all over my counters), which led to a conversation about biblical agriculture.  Scripture often uses agricultural stories, parables, and comparisons to express God's truths, because in those days, agriculture was central to survival. 

Costco did not yet exist.

The feasts of the spring - Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost - were fulfilled by Yeshua at His first coming, through His death, burial, resurrection, and sending of His Holy Spirit.  These appointed times took place during the barley and wheat harvests, respectively.

Spring: a time for grain in Israel

Then comes the long, hot summer between the spring and fall feasts, where the hard work of agriculture continues.  As the summer comes to an end, a great harvest begins to come in.  Not just the breadbox ingredients of the spring, but the extreme bounty of the final harvest.  Grapes.  Pomegranates. Olives. Dates. Figs. And many other fruits and vegetables.

Fall: a time of great bounty

Once, while in Israel, I was on a day trip to Hebron.  As our bus motored past Bethlehem (meaning house of bread), someone asked our Orthodox Jewish tour guide what the plants were in the various  fields that we were passing. She replied that the fields currently contained olives, grapes, figs, and other similar bounty, but that back in biblical times, these same fields contained wheat and barley.  

My mind was blown. But I don't think anyone else on the bus caught the significance of her statement.

What a picture of the return of Yeshua, when the harvest of the last days will be bountiful and great.  And if He fulfilled the spring feasts with such precision, it stands to reason that He will perfectly fulfill the fall feasts when He returns.

• Yom Teruah - Day of Trumpets.  The Messiah will be welcomed to earth with trumpet blasts.
• Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement.  All Israel will finally be redeemed.
• Sukkot - God will once again dwell on earth with mankind, as was His original intention in the garden of Eden.

Every tribe, tongue, nation, and people will be a part of this great harvest! Isaiah 49:6 reminds us, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

People from all nations will worship Him in the kingdom

As I was pondering all these really cool biblical patterns and truths, a thought popped into my head.  When we celebrate communion, we are commemorating the death and resurrection of the Messiah. But with what do we remember? 

Communion features an element from each festal season - bread from the grains of spring, and wine from the grapes of the fall. And not only that, but every single Shabbat meal celebrated on Friday evenings by Jews today features... bread and wine.  It's like a dress rehearsal for His return!  In both cases, we have a complete picture of the work of Messiah Yeshua.

Three Shavuots This Year?

First of all, happy Shavuot! Today we celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit, and the fulfillment of God's law that had been written on stone to the Israelites in the wilderness; now written on our hearts.

Last week, I posted a Shavuot/Pentecost greeting on Facebook, because all my Messianic/Jewish roots friends were celebrating.  And so were my Orthodox Jewish friends.  It didn't occur to me that it wasn't actually the biblical Shavuot until a Christian friend replied, "Isn't Pentecost next Sunday?"  

My whole point in that post was to point out that for much of Christendom, the holiday passes with nary a mention (even though Christianity claims that day as the "birth of the church").  But my friend's response was a good reminder for me to go back to the Word of God and do the math myself.

Leviticus 23 is the one place where all seven of the LORD's appointed times are listed together.  Let's look at that passage and do the math.

Verses 9 through 14 explain the feast of Firstfruits, which celebrates the barley harvest in Israel - the first harvest of the agricultural year.  The spiritual fulfillment of this feast occurred when Yeshua rose from the dead.  1 Corinthians 15:20 tells us, But in fact Messiah has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (that means died).  He is the spiritual fulfillment of the first harvest of the year in Israel - barley.

Leviticus 23:15-16 continues into the next appointed time:  You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.  You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath.  Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to YHVH.

These 50 days are known as "counting the omer" (which means sheaf in Hebrew).  To count, you had to look back to the starting day, which is the Feast of Firstfruits, aka the resurrection of Yeshua.  He rose from the dead on the day after the regular weekly Sabbath that fell during the Passover/Unleavened Bread week.

The confusion arises due to different counting methods. Sometime between the resurrection of Yeshua and the destruction of the temple, the Pharisees began counting the omer from the day after the special Sabbath that occurs on the first day of Unleavened Bread - the day which follows the one-day commemoration of Passover - instead of starting the counting from the day after the regular weekly Sabbath.

This special Sabbath is explained in Leviticus 23:6-7:  And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.

Understanding the biblical feasts is key here. 

Passover is one day long, and then Unleavened Bread is seven days long, creating a total 8-day celebration. The first day of the Unleavened Bread (the day after Passover) is the special Sabbath.  John 19:31 mentions this special Sabbath - Yeshua's body could not remain on the cross for that special Sabbath, which was to begin at sundown... Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.

Are you confused yet?  I had to study this for a long time before I feel like I had a handle on all these dates.

The Jewish reckoning of Shavuot continues to this day by beginning their omer-counting on the day after the special Sabbath.  But this method disregards the context of the counting in Leviticus 23.  The context is seven regular Sabbaths!

I understand why the Jews who did not believe that Yeshua was the Messiah wanted to separate Shavuot from the Feast of Firstfruits, which so clearly points to Yeshua.  But I don't understand why Messianic Jews do it, too.

So this year (2021), Jews celebrated Shavuot on Sunday, May 16.  However, Passover this year began on the evening of Saturday, March 27 after sunset and lasted all day Sunday, March 28.  The special Sabbath of Unleavened Bread began after sundown Sunday and lasted all day Monday, March 29.  The day after that special Sabbath began Monday night and lasted all day Tuesday, March 30, which would have been their reckoning of the Feast of Firstfruits.  If you count 7 weeks and a day (50 days) from that day, Shavuot lands on Wednesday, May 19 (beginning at sundown the night before).  I'm not sure why the Orthodox and Messianic Jews moved it back three days this year.

(Are you totally confused yet? I totally understand!)

The church calendar, however, got it right this year.  Counting back 50 days to the Feast of Firstfruits (Resurrection Sunday) brings us to Sunday, May 23 - the day of this post.

And I am delighted to report that my pastor spoke of Pentecost/Shavuot today.

Shavuot (pronounced sha -vu OTE) is the celebration of the next harvest in the land of Israel - the wheat harvest.  Yeshua was the firstfruits of the barley harvest, and when Peter preached at the temple on that day in Acts 2, the new believers, 3000 of them, fulfilled the firstfruits of the wheat harvest.

Back to Leviticus to see what I'm talking about.

Chapter 23:17 says, You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to YHVH.

Two loaves?  With leaven?  Messiah was a representation of Unleavened Bread.  He was without sin.  (Leaven often represents sin in scripture).

So here we are, at the next harvest, with those two loaves full of leaven.  Who do those loaves represent?  Jew and Gentile, sinful people full of leaven, yet redeemed by our sinless Messiah, who began to pour out His Holy Spirit on believers that day.

It is interesting to note that the Jewish people read the book of Ruth during Shavuot, even though the story takes place during the barley harvest - thus connecting the two celebrations. The relationship of Ruth the Moabite and Boaz the Israelite is such a beautiful picture of the bride of Messiah!  And Jew and Gentile together, no less!  

Salvation and the First Three Biblical Feasts

About eight years ago, I wrote a post on the triple nature of man, how we are made up of three parts (body, soul, spirit, see 1 Thess 5:23), and how each part is saved through the redeeming work of the Messiah. You can click here to read it.

When sin entered the world, so did death. The immediate death was spiritual - the severing of the bond that God had with man. It was a one time deal. Spiritual death.

Death continued to take a toll on mankind as people descended into depravity, their minds becoming more and more corrupt. Death of our souls. An ongoing death.

The final death to come to man is of course physical death at the end of life. Death of our physical bodies. 

This threefold nature of death is reversed in the same threefold manner when we are redeemed by Yeshua.

Salvation of our spirit: this happens the moment we receive Yeshua as our savior. It’s an instant redemption, a one-time deal, and we are given the Holy Spirit as a downpayment. Justification.

Salvation of our soul (our mind, will, and emotion): this is an ongoing, lifelong process; walking with Messiah, taking thoughts captive, day by day becoming more like Him. Sanctification.

Salvation of our body: this happens on the day of resurrection. We get new, imperishable bodies (and I have come to believe that the Spirit of God that was breathed into Adam will be fully restored at this time as well... The fulfillment of that Holy Spirit down payment). Glorification. The final restoration.

Because Passover is upon us, I have had some thoughts swirling around in my mind this week.  I’m just putting them down here in virtual paper.

I’ve been marveling how these the appointed times clearly demonstrate our complete salvation.

Passover, a one day feast, represents our justification. It is the appointed time of Messiah’s death as our Passover Lamb. 

The feast of Unleavened Bread begins the day after Passover and lasts seven days. This appointed time points to our sinless Messiah, our Bread of Life, being buried in the ground - just as a grain of wheat must fall to the  ground and die before new life is possible. In the same way, the seven appointed days of Unleavened Bread represent our lifelong process of dying to self and becoming more like our Messiah every day as the sin (leaven) is rooted out of our lives. This feast demonstrates our sanctification. (Seven is the number of completeness).

The third appointed time takes place in the middle of Unleavened Bread, on the day after the sabbath. This little-taught Feast of Firstfruits was fulfilled on the most important day of human history... when Yeshua defeated death and rose from the grave. This glorious appointed time also looks forward to the day that Yeshua will return for his bride and we too will be resurrected with glorified, imperishable bodies. The Feast of Firstfruits foreshadows our glorification. On that day, our salvation will be complete.

These Biblical appointed times are so rich and full of meaning, and they all point to the Messiah. They are worth knowing.

12 Passovers Later

This past weekend, I was privileged to share a Passover Seder with my congregation, most of whom had never experienced one before.  It was an awesome and humbling experience, because I love these dear brothers and sisters in the Lord.  Through Him, they are my family!

I celebrated my own first Passover meal years ago, in 2008.  A couple years prior to that, a thought had popped into my head, "Where does the word Easter come from?  Isn't Jesus supposed to be our Passover Lamb or something?" 

To say I was surprised  by the answer is an understatement.  It was positively life changing.  I am not going to elaborate on that now... you can Google it if you want to.

The question led me to discover God's appointed times and how they all point to Yeshua, our Messiah.  It also gave me a deep, deep love for the Word of God.  I had been a committed follower of Jesus since 1994, but I confess that it took awhile to fall in love with His Word.

That first attempt of mine at hosting a Passover Seder was just that, an attempt.  But I kept at it, learning new things every year and sharing what I was learning with small groups of people who wanted to know more.

Twelve Seders later, I continue to uncover jewels from God's Word.  I marvel at the depth!  I love that He continues to reveal new insights.

This year, during the weeks leading up to Passover, I had been learning more about temple sacrifices.  I knew there was a morning and evening sacrifice during temple times, but I didn't know that they were called the Tamim - the burnt offerings.

The burnt offering was completely offered up.  The priests did not get to eat of this sacrifice; it was consumed entirely on the altar.  The morning sacrifice took place at 9:00 am and was placed on the altar to burn all day.  The evening sacrifice took place at 3:00 pm, and was placed on the altar to burn all night long.

In other words, the burnt offering was a perpetual and total sacrifice.

All those other sacrifices that are detailed in Leviticus - the peace offering, the thank offering, the sin offering, and so on were offered daily by worshippers between the hours of 9:00 am and 3:00 pm.  The priests would receive their share, and the remains would be placed on top of the morning sacrifice.

I had known that the Passover lamb was offered at 3:00 pm, but I didn't know the timing of all the other sacrifices.

Yeshua was nailed to the tree at 9:00 am, and He took His last breath at 3:00 pm.  Not only was He the fulfillment of the Passover lamb, but He fulfilled every other sacrifice as well!

The busiest time at the temple during Passover was 3:00 pm, when the evening Tamim would be offered, immediately followed by the Passover lamb.

I try to imagine the scene the moment Yeshua took His last breath.  Scripture records darkness, earthquakes, and the tearing of the temple veil at the moment of Messiah's death - right in the midst of the evening sacrifice and the Passover sacrifice.

The Roman centurion, observing all that was happening, was the first to call it:  "Truly this was the Son of God."

The Holy of Holies in the temple was considered to be God’s dwelling place on earth, and was only accessible once a year on Yom Kippur, and only by the high priest.

I’ve written previously on the significance of the torn veil: we now have access to the Holy of Holies through Yeshua our High Priest.

But wait, there’s more.

Biblically, the act of tearing one’s garment was an act of deep mourning, especially when a loved one died. Jewish people still symbolically tear a garment when sitting shiva (observing a seven-day mourning period) for a loved one.

Can you see the prophetic picture of YHWH tearing His own garment in deep agony at the moment of Yeshua’s death?

Stunning!

Another insight the Lord gave me this year happened as I was preparing the lamb for the Seder - braised lamb shanks.

Even though lamb is one of the three commanded foods of the Passover celebration, Jews do not eat it for their Seders today due to the absence of the temple, which was destroyed in 70 AD. It occurred to me that Israel as a nation has been without the Lamb for nearly 2000 years.

I believe that is about to change.

As I was cleaning and drying 21 shank bones for my Seder plates, I thought of Ezekiel 37. As I was arranging those dry bones, I pondered how they are symbolic of Israel are coming to life!

Out of the ashes of the Holocaust, the state of Israel was born in 1948, after 1,878 years. Nineteen years later in 1967, Jerusalem was reunified and under Jewish control again for the first time in over 2000 years.

The hand of God is moving and something big is about to happen.  Are you paying attention?

Happy What??

The biblical festival of Purim has just ended.  I hope you had a happy Purim!

I recently asked several of my Christian friends if they knew what Purim was, and I received a universal no.  

Sigh.  Don't forget to study the first two-thirds of your Bible.  It is filled with treasures!

Before I elaborate on the celebration, I just want to point out something interesting from the scriptures.  

There are two books named after women in the Bible - Esther and Ruth.  Both are in the Hebrew scriptures.  One is a Jew who married a Gentile.  The other is a Gentile who married a Jew.  It's like God really intended for there to be One New Man together in Messiah!

So anyway, Purim is a biblical festival, and one of the minor (but fun!) holidays celebrated by the Jewish people today.  You can find it in the book of Esther.

Esther 3:7 tells us that Purim means "lots" in Hebrew.  Evil wicked Haman was irritated at Mordechai the Jew for not bowing down to him.  So in his rage, he threw some dice to determine when and how he should destroy all the Jews in the empire.  The lot finally fell to the thirteenth day of the twelfth month.  

So the following month, Haman went to the king (on the thirteenth of the first month) with his evil plan.  The king said, "well, ok, that sounds good to me."  (These ancient kings though... did they give much thought to what they made into laws??)  This nasty plot of Haman's was to be carried out eleven months later, in the twelfth month, on the thirteenth day.

Is this why the number 13 is unlucky?  Just wondering.

The story unfolds as Esther is called upon to go to the king her husband and intercede for her people.  I am not going to recount the entire story here.  You can go read it.

In the end, the Jews prevail.  They are not wiped out, and therefore the Messiah would still be born.  So you can see how the story of Esther affects you and me even today.

And just like Hanukkah, we have another They-Tried-To-Kill-Us-We-Won-Let's-Celebrate festival.  As followers of the Jewish Messiah, why shouldn't we celebrate it, too?  Are we not grafted in to the commonwealth of Israel and the household of faith?

Esther 9 summarizes the event and the future celebration of said event nicely:

But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another.

And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor. So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them, because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy them; but when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

So they called these days Purim, after the name Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them, the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time,  that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants.

Today, Jews continue celebrating this event by sending gifts to the poor and to one another, and by dressing in fun costumes.  Oh, and drinking.  I am not sure why this came to be a thing, but in the Orthodox Jewish world, it is a time of sanctioned over-imbibing in alcohol.  Go figure.

Hamantaschen - meaning Haman's ears.  They are delicious!

Celebrations are filled with reading the Esther story, treats, wine, and noisemakers.

Purim is sometimes called the Jewish Halloween - but without the creepiness.

So next year, I want to have a costume party for Purim.  Who's in?

Genesis Post 6 - Days 3 and 4 (Chapter 1)

On day two, we saw that the LORD separated the waters - above and below.  Now, on day three, He continues dealing with the water and adds in something else:  land.

On day three, the LORD gathered the waters together in one place, and He caused the dry and to appear.  And God saw that it was good!  (Remember, day two was not called good by God).

I want to interject a small science moment here: It is likely that the dry land was all one continent at creation.  Any kindergardener today can look at a globe and see that the pieces had at one time fit together.  The book of Genesis will soon give us a clue on how it gets broken up.

The LORD then continues with creation on day three, with the first appearance of life!  He speaks and commands the earth to bring forth grass, and the various plants and trees that would yield seeds and fruits, each according to its kind.

And so it happened.  Apple trees beget apple trees, peach trees beget peach trees, and so forth.  The plants were ready to go, ready to reproduce, and they did not evolve from swamp scum.

And once again on day three, God saw that it was good.

In Judaism, day three is called the day of double blessing, because it completes the work of day two, which was not called good on its own.  But twice, the LORD calls day three good.

It is interesting to note that throughout history, many Jewish weddings took place on the third day, the day of double blessing. This is still very common in Israel today.  And since the Biblical day begins at sundown, that translates to Monday night on our Roman calendar.   It can seem strange to stumble onto a big, expensive wedding at a Jerusalem hotel on a Monday night.   I wonder if the wedding at Cana, the place of Yeshua's first miracle, was on the third day?

So anyway, plant life is now established on day three, but the vegetation will not grow and thrive without light. So what comes next is day four.  Since this has been a short post so far, I will just keep going today.

On day four, we see the introduction of the sun, moon, and stars.  The LORD said they are for signs, for seasons, for days, and for years.  (The narrative doesn't even mention that the sunlight is needed for the plants of the day before; I guess that's just a given).

I want to focus on the first two purposes of the heavenly lights:  signs and seasons, because days and years are pretty self-explanatory.

The word for signs is ot, which means a distinguishing mark, a miraculous sign, a remembrance, an omen, or a warning.  We are just coming off a time of blood moons and a significant solar eclipse in the last two years.  I cannot tell you exactly what they mean, but I do believe they are a sign of things that are taking place and that are soon to come.  These signs have shown up all through history, too.  Even the gospels start out with wise men who studied these things and were led to the baby Messiah.

Recent phenomena in the skies

The second purpose is seasons, which isn't the best translation, because the LORD is not talking about summer and winter here.  The word is mo'ed, which means appointed times.  It is the same term that is used for the Biblical feasts of the Lord, which are His appointed times.  These appointed times are peppered throughout the scriptures, but can be seen all together in Leviticus 23.  All of these appointed times point to Yeshua the Messiah in some way or another.

The appointed times of spring - Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Shavuot were all fulfilled to the exact detail by the first coming of the Messiah.  Given this pattern, we can fully expect that He will fulfill every detail of the fall appointed times - Day of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles - with His second coming.  (Did you count those?  Seven altogether).

I need to say something about the number seven, a number on which I often elaborate.  The other day, some neighbor children and their moms came over to  my house for a play date.  One of the young girls told me she had a dream about me.  She dreamed that someone was at my door, and when I went to answer it, it was the number 7!  And she said the number kept coming back;  I was getting visits from number 7 after number 7.  This girl is nine years old.  She had no way of knowing how significant I find that number to be, and that I write about it often.

Even Disney acknowledges the number seven!

Recently, I discovered that if you count up the Biblical appointed times that are listed in Leviticus 23, you will find that there are 70 of them in a given year.  Fifty two sabbaths, eight days of Passover (Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits are included in those eight days), one day of Shavuot (Pentecost), one day of Yom Teruah, one day of Yom Kippur, seven days of Sukkot (Tabernacles).  Go ahead, count them up.  70.  It's like that number 7 that came to my door in my neighbor's dream, ten times!!

The timing of His appointed times fully depends on the sun and the moon.  The twelve constellations have historically told God's story, which is why the wise men coming from the east, who were probably biblical astrologers, knew when and where to look for the Messiah. Of course, the "zodiac" was corrupted by the devil, changing the focus of God's story to man's story.  In other words, don't be reading your horoscope in the newspaper.  Rather, learn about the appointed times and their significance to the world, especially the ones that are soon to be fulfilled when the Messiah returns!

So there was evening and morning, and day four was complete.  And God saw that it was good.

And as I wrote just a couple posts ago (but it bears repeating), the sun and the moon demonstrate that sun gives off light, but the moon has no light of its own and can only reflect the light of the sun.  So it is with us: we have no light of our own, but can only reflect the light of the Son.

Shine His light today!

To keep going, click here.

Crossing the Jordan and Passing the Torch

I know... it's a month later and part two of my previous post is just coming out now.  Passover is over, and the whole time I had blog post material floating around in my head!  Additionally, I just finished the book of Deuteronomy this morning and am about to start Joshua. Time to cross the Jordan for a new beginning!

So anyway, this post is a follow-up to my last post on John the Baptist.  If you missed it, you can read it here.

We are going to go back in history and look at the significance of the Jordan River, and the passing of the torch from Moses to Joshua.

Moses had led his people out of Egypt, through the wilderness, and to the edge of the Jordan River.  Because Moses had not carefully followed the Lord's instructions in the wilderness -  striking the rock instead of speaking to it - he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.  Was God being unfair?

Of course not.  Every act of God has meaning and purpose.  God used the situation for His own illustrative purposes - for us!

Moses, just like so many other figures in the Hebrew scriptures, is a foreshadow of Messiah.  In fact, Deuteronomy 18:15 promises:  The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.

 Look at this list and see if  indeed Yeshua is a prophet like Moses:

• Moses was the first mediator.  Yeshua was the final mediator.
• Both were born as Hebrews
• Both were chosen by God as leaders
• Both were born while Israel was suffering under cruel leaders
• Both were hidden in Egypt as babies from those who wanted to kill them
• Both performed supernatural acts
• Moses turned water into blood.  Yeshua turned water into wine.
• Both communicated directly with God
• Both instituted a new covenant between God and the people
• Both performed miracles
• Moses told the people about the Passover Lamb.  Yeshua became the Passover Lamb.
• Both were hated by the ruling parties
• Both had siblings who misunderstood them
• Both were lawgivers, one on Mt. Sinai, one on the Mount of Beatitudes
• Moses sent out twelve spies; Yeshua sent out twelve disciples
• Moses chose seventy leaders; Yeshua sent out seventy disciples
• Both had followers who strayed from their teachings
• Both fasted 40 days and faced a spiritual crisis on a mountain
• People picked up stones to stone each of them; and in neither case succeeded
• Moses brought living water out of the rock; Yeshua is the Rock, our Living Water
• Moses controlled the Red Sea; Yeshua controlled the Sea of Galilee
• Both faces shone with glory on a mountain
• Moses lifted the serpent up to bring healing; Yeshua was lifted up to bring healing
• Moses was a shepherd; Yeshua is the Good Shepherd
• Both underwent warfare with arms raised and surrounded by two people
• Both fed thousands of people supernaturally with bread
• Each of them were preceded by 400 years of biblical silence before starting their ministry
• Both showed compassion to women at wells
• Both redeemed people from slavery - Slavery in Egypt, slavery to sin
• Both were loved and supported by women named Miriam
• Both chose humble lives of servanthood
• Moses offered his life after the sin of the golden calf.  Yeshua offered His life for the sin of the world.
• Both died on a hill
• Moses was cut off from the Promised Land, Yeshua was cut off from His father
• Both delivered their people with mighty hands and outstretched arms
• Both died so that there could be a new beginning for their people

Moses died and was buried on Mt. Nebo, just across the Jordan River from Jericho.  The torch was passed to Yahoshua (Joshua) son of Nun, and the people prepared to enter the Promised Land. (There are many similarities between Joshua and Yeshua as well... but we will save that for another post). 

What time of year did they cross the Jordan?  

Just before PASSOVER.  

The priests lead the way crossing the Jordan River

At the beginning of the first month of the year, Nisan, the Jordan River parted and the people of Israel walked through on dry land, led by the priests.  For a number of days, they camped just east of Jericho.  At this time, the Israelites were circumcised as they prepared for the new beginning.  Passover began on the 14th of Nissan, and the very next day - the first day of Unleavened Bread - the Israelites began to eat of the produce of the land and the manna stopped.  

It was also the day they began to march around Jericho.  On the final day of Unleavened Bread, the walls of Jericho toppled by the hand of the Lord, and Israel officially entered the Promised Land.

Crossing the Jordan was very significant.  It is a throwback to the Red Sea.  It is a foreshadow of spiritual deliverance by the Messiah.  This is why our high priest Yeshua was immersed in the Jordan before beginning His ministry.  It is the start of something new!

Peter confirms that Yeshua is the prophet spoken of in Deuteronomy 18 when he says in Acts 3:22, For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you.

Yeshua wipes away sin and gives new life to those who will trust in Him. Have you crossed the Jordan yet to meet Him?

Rambling Hanukkah Thoughts

I am sitting here just hours before Hanukkah is to begin, with lots of thoughts swirling in my head. So I am going to try and write them down here. I guess what I am saying is, don't expect to read a clearly-written essay here on Hanukkah.

I am surrounded by Christmas, everywhere I go. Really, it gets to be a bit much for me. For several years now, I have chosen not to celebrate it, for reasons that are hashed out elsewhere on this blog.  One thing I will reiterate it about Christmas though, is its non-biblical Babylonian-Greco-Roman origins. Tuck that away while we look at Hanukkah. The word means Dedication.

The origins of Hanukkah go all the way back to the book of Daniel.  Daniel prophesied that a great one would arise but then die young, and this happened to Alexander the Great. The prophecy continued and said that kingdom would be divided among four leaders. It was.

Two of those leaders, the Ptolemy regime of Egypt, and the Selucid regime of Syria, were constantly fighting one another. (See Daniel's discussion about the king of the north and the king of the south in chapter 11... these details were fulfilled with amazing precision).

If you look at a map of the Middle East today, you will see the northern country of Syria (smaller than back then but still there) the southern country of Egypt. And going back to our story, you can't help but notice just who is caught in the crossfire of these two warring kingdoms.

One of the descendants of the original Greek-Syrian Selucid king was Antiochus IV. He hated the Glorious Land and wanted to wipe out the Jews, or at the very least, he wanted to Hellenize them... make them into Greeks.  He hated that they were different, set apart, and that they would only worship יהיה, the One True God.

So evil was Antiochus that he desecrated the holy temple, sacrificed a pig on the altar, and demanded that the Jews worship HIM.

Enter the Maccabees.  The family of Yehuda ben Mattathias of Modi'in led a rebellion against the Syro-Grecian invaders, and prevailed against massive odds. Maccabee means hammer, and this small band of devout Jews totally hammered the Greeks.

The Grecian influence, at least for the, time being, was eradicated. Once again, the people of God could live a set-apart life to the glory of God, driving out the unholy so that they could live holy.

Holy means set apart. It is the separating of the profane from the sacred. It is to avoid mixing truth with deception.

The problem that remained for the Jews following their great victory was that the holy temple was an unholy mess.

Quickly, the temple was repaired, restored, and made beautiful again. It was time to rededicate it. The story tells us that there was only enough oil to burn in the temple menorah for one day, but that the oil lasted miraculously for eight days, which is how long it takes to prepare new oil for temple service.

Whether this part of the story is true or simply legend, the fact remains that the temple was rededicated for service to יהיה, just as it was originally dedicated by King Solomon in 1 Kings. Back then, they actually had such a blast during that week of dedicating the holy temple that Solomon added a second week of celebrating.

But when that week was over, we read,
"On the eighth day he sent the people away; and they blessed the king, and went to their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the good that the LORD had done for His servant David, and for Israel His people."

There was great joy in the restoration of the holy temple and the eradication of Grecian influence.  And today, WE are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the breath of the living God!  We have the opportunity, if we so desire, to celebrate this Feast of Dedication known as Hanukkah.  It is not required; Romans 14 makes this clear regarding the Biblical celebrations.  But it truly is a great time to remember and re-dedicate!

Deeper Thankfulness

This past weekend, I had the privilege of worshipping at the congregation of Jonathan Cahn, author of The Harbinger and The Mystery of the Shemitah.  It is that time of year again - Thanksgiving - and like many pastors throughout the world, Jonathan gave a message on being thankful.

I have heard many messages about thankfulness through the years, but this year's message really dug down deep.  I probably won't do his message justice, but let me summarize.

Let's go right to the name of Judah (or Yehuda).  The word itself means praise and also thanksgiving.  This is the word from which came the words Jews and Judaism.  This is also the tribe from which came our Redeemer Yeshua.  We will come back to more root meanings at the end of this post.

The Word often tells us to be thankful.  You might be familiar with 1 Thessalonians 5:18, which says, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Rejoice all the time!  Pray all the time!  Be thankful all the time!  This is God's will for you!

Romans 1:21 tells us that among other things, people were not thankful,  They walked a path of darkness.  Giving thanks in all things helps to avoid this darkness.  Thankfulness is crucial to an abundant life of peace.


The opposite of thankfulness is complaining.  Complaining takes away the blessings that thankfulness brings.  A heart of complaining makes us miserable. We are confessing that we are not blessed.

Thankfulness opens the doors to more blessing.   The Greek word Eucharistia means thanksgiving over the bread.  In Hebrew it is the hamotzi.  We westerners make the mistake of blessing our food.  It's not the bread that we should bless, but the Creator Who provided it. The hamotzi is clear and to the point:  Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.

In Judaism, there are brachot (blessings) for everything.  This is why, in Fiddler on the Roof, the Rabbi is able to come up with a blessing for the Czar and also for a sewing machine.  Every one of the Jewish brachot is directed to God in thankfulness.

And it's not about how much you have, but how much you are thankful for what you do have.  Yeshua gave thanks on the hillside over five loaves and two fish.  Thankfulness causes multiplication.

Complaining, on the other hand, causes a reverse miracle.  Keep complaining and you'll lose what you do have.

Jonathan shared a story of when he was serving with a team in Haiti.  They arrived back in the US and were eating at a restaurant.  One of the team members complained because his chicken club sandwich had cheese on it and he hadn't ordered it that way.  Jonathan pointed out to him that if he had wanted a chicken club sandwich in Haiti, he would have been handed a club and a live chicken and told to procure his own sandwich.

We must decide to be thankful in all things, even when faced with difficulty.  Even the bad stuff.  In Acts 5:41, for example, the disciples were thankful that they were worthy of persecution.  In Matthew 5, Yeshua tells us to REJOICE when we are persecuted.

Philippians 4 is a good place to park if you need peace of mind and heart.  Verses 6 and 7 tell us,  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Do not forget thankfulness when praying through problems.  Problems help to sharpen our faith.

Now back to the name Yehuda.  The root to this word is yod.  A yod in Hebrew is a letter that sounds like our letter Y.  But the deeper meaning is a hand.  An open hand. The Hebrew word for hand is yad.   In scripture, open hands were lifted in praise and also when thanking God.  An open hand is a symbol of giving.  The one who gives love, forgiveness, blessings, love, and so forth are open to receive those things abundantly in return.

A closed hand, however, such as a fist raised to God in complaining, is a picture of being closed off to receiving blessings, love, forgiveness, and so forth.

Cultivating an attitude of thankfulness is an exercise.  It gets easier as you practice it.  Start writing down a thankful list.  And be thankful for difficult people - they help you build character.

Happy Thanksgiving!

PS.  Did you know that Thanksgiving is based of the biblical feast of Sukkot?  The early pilgrims were Puritans who observed the Biblical feasts.  The first American Thanksgiving took place in early October of 1621 and evidence shows that it was a Sukkot celebration.

The Hitchhiker

I recently returned from a journey to Israel, during which I was blessed to observe the three Fall Feasts - a dream come true!  Yom Teruah (Rosh Hashanah), Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.  My heart is still bursting from all I saw and learned.

A soldier adds palms to the roof of his sukkah

Just before I returned home, I went out beyond the green line to a small village in the land of Benjamin in Samaria, to visit a sweet family that I know.  I had asked them if I could come and see their sukkah (a temporary booth, built every year in honor of the seventh Biblical Feast, Sukkot - a memorial of God's presence and provision during the forty years in the wilderness).

We had a wonderful visit that morning and ate lunch together.  After lunch, I needed to return to Jerusalem for the final Sabbath of my visit - the first day of Sukkot.  (During my 21 days in Israel, seven of them were Sabbaths because of the Feasts.  As a Gentile, I confess that I am not used to resting that much!)

As I was about to exit the community for the hour-long trek back to Jerusalem, I came upon an Orthodox Jewish man who was awaiting a ride to the bus stop from anyone who was willing to pick him up.  Since my friend in the village had already explained to me the procedure (and safety) of Israeli hitchhiking, I felt no qualms in offering this man a ride.

For twenty minutes, we had a lively and engaging conversation.  Even though he was born and raised in a rural area of Israel, he was fluent in English, telling me it was due to computer games, computer programming, and Hollywood.

I let him know right away that I had been visiting a family for Sukkot.  A few minutes later in our conversation, I let him know that I was a gentile... a Christian.  His surprise was palpable.  I could pretty much read his thoughts... "We don't get many of your kind way out here.  And Sukkot?  You even know what that is??"

Driving down the mountain, we spoke of Yeshua.  He had questions on how we could possibly worship three Gods.  I told him that I don't believe Christianity has done a great job at explaining who God is and what we believe about His nature.  Yeshua Himself said that He and His Father were one.  I affirmed that it is blasphemy for a man to claim to be God.

But then I posed the question from the other direction:  "But what is to stop GOD from becoming a MAN?"

Yeshua claimed that He was God.  But then He backed up His claim through His miracles, including the three miracles that ancient sages expected the Messiah to perform:  1)  Healing a leper, 2) Casting out a demon from a mute person, and 3) Healing a man who was blind from birth.

Not only did He do these three miracles, but many, many more.  Feeding thousands.  Walking on water.  He even raised his friend Eleazar (Lazarus) from the dead.  And finally the ultimate miracle:  His Own Resurrection. He had kept every single point of the Moses covenant perfectly, and as such, death had no hold over Him.  He was our Perfect Passover Lamb.  Only God could do that!  (Remember Abraham's words in Genesis?  God will provide Himself the Lamb).

Yeshua did not just back up his claim of being God through miracles.  He is the fulfillment of everything written about Him in the Tanakh.  The entire book Hebrew scriptures points to Him.  He fulfilled every single prophecy that was written about Him.  There are hundreds.

The seven Feasts, as outlined in Leviticus 23, are also a foreshadowing of Him.  He fulfilled the four Spring Feasts perfectly at His first coming, when He became the ultimate Sacrifice for all mankind. He was Messiah, son of Joseph, the Suffering Servant.  The Lamb.

He will fulfill the Fall Feasts when He returns, as the Messiah, Son of David, the Conquering King, when He returns to set up His kingdom on Earth.  In Jerusalem.  The Lion.

My new hitchhiking friend did not agree with me, and that is okay.  History is full of forced conversions that were ugly and cruel.   In fact, I apologized for that cruel history; for the way that my people treated his people.

I made another friend in a shop on Ben Yehuda Street, another Orthodox Jewish man.   I kept going back because we had such great conversations.  People have tried over and over to tell him about Yeshua.  But he looked me in the eye and said, "I am not going to believe it unless God Himself reveals it to me."  I wonder if he realizes that he was paraphrasing the truth found in John 6:44 - No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Romans 11 tells us that Israel will be blinded in part until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.  Isaiah 8:17 confirms this:  And I will wait on the Lord, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob;
And I will hope in Him.

So I continue to love my Jewish friends, tell them about Yeshua when the door is opened, and love them unconditionally, whether they choose to follow Yeshua as Messiah or not.  I trust God for the outcome that He has already foretold.

As for me, I believe that Yeshua IS the Messiah that was prophetically foretold in the Hebrew scriptures, otherwise I wouldn't follow Him.  And if He IS the prophesied Messiah, then trusting in Him is the most Jewish thing that a Jewish person can do!  No need to "convert" to a Gentile faith, only a need for teshuvah (repentance, or turning) from sin to the One who paid the price in full.

Happy New Year!

A recent email regarding this blog has alerted me to the fact that I haven't posted in awhile.  I had to say, the email caught me by surprise.  (Someone actually reads my rambling thoughts?  Wow!)

So I thought I would drop in and wish you a happy new year.  No, it is not belated; I refer to the new year that nobody celebrates - the Biblical one.

When Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, a new covenant was established between the Lord God and His people Israel - the Sinai, or Mosaic Covenant.  It included many precepts, which required obedience in order to stay in the land.  The sages have counted 613 of them!

The Jews refer to these precepts as Torah (a word derived from archery, meaning direction, shooting straight, hitting the mark, or teaching.  Personally, I refer to the entire scriptures from Genesis to Revelation as Torah... the whole counsel of teaching that comes from God.)

Obeying these Mosaic Covenant precepts gave Israel the right to live in the land that they already owned, according to the Abrahamic Covenant.  Disobedience would cause them to get temporarily kicked out of their land before being brought back for another chance.  Historically, this has happened twice.  We are currently in the middle of the second regathering to the land.

So what does all this have to do with the Biblical new year?  In Exodus 12, the very first thing God established with Israel when they left Egypt is the Passover.   Verses one and two tell us, The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year."

Why did Israel need a new calendar at this point?  Here is a cool insight. 

In adopting a lunar-based calendar, Israel made a clean break from Egypt’s solar calendar, which honored the pagan worship of the "sun god.”

 

One of the first issues that God had the people of Israel deal with just before leaving Egypt regarded the marking of time.

 

Why did God choose that moment to set the Biblical New Year?  

 

The reason is that only a free person has need of a calendar by which to order his life.  A slave rises, works, sleeps, and orders his entire existence according to his or her master’s whims.  Thus, God was saying to His people, “Now you are a free nation and have your own calendar!”

Current Jewish tradition celebrates the Jewish New Year on Rosh Hashanah, which is the first day of the seventh month of this Biblical calendar.  The actual name of that feast is Yom Teruah, meaning Day of Trumpets.  The rabbis established a tradition that the Earth was created at that time, so they renamed the day Rosh Hashanah (a term meaning "head of the year," and not found in scripture).

The ancient Roman calendar arbitrarily chose the middle of the winter for the new year, which is the date that most of the world now celebrates.  We had the privilege of being in Galilee during that day this past year.  We noticed that is not widely celebrated in Israel.  Hmmm, I wonder why?

It is interesting to note that our modern celebration of New Year’s Day stems from an ancient Roman custom, the feast of the Roman god Janus – god of doorways and beginnings. The name for the month of January also comes from Janus, who was depicted as having two faces. One face of Janus looked back into the past, and the other peered forward to the future.

The ancient Babylonians had a tradition of making promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.  The Romans carried on this tradition of New Year's resolutions by making promises to the god Janus.

So aren't you glad you stopped by?  I hope you have a happy and blessed Biblical New Year!

Blood Moons

We are in the midst of a tetrad of blood moons - four total lunar eclipses that coincide with four Biblical Holy Days in a row.  Passover 2014, Sukkot 2014, Passover 2015, and Sukkot 2015.  For more on the odds of this happening, see the highlighted blue print at end of this post.  For now, let's just say the odds are beyond tiny.

The Word of God says right in Genesis 1:14 that God put the sun, moon, and stars in the sky for several reasons.  They are for signs, seasons, days, years, and to provide a night light for us. 

Days, years, and night lights are pretty straightforward.  But what about the others?

The Hebrew word for sign is ot, which means a sign, a signal, a remembrance, a warning, an omen.

The Hebrew word for season is mo'ed, which means appointed time, or appointed meeting.

The Bible speaks of the moon turning to blood (total lunar eclipse) several times.  Joel 2:31 tells us The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.  This passage is quoted in Acts 2:20.  The theme of signs in the heavens before the Lord's return continues in Revelation 6:12, Matthew 24:29, Mark 13:24, and Luke 21:25.  

Something's up.

I had the privilege of being in Israel last summer for Shavuot (Pentecost for you Greek speakers), which was seven weeks after the first blood moon of the tetrad.  Five days after my return home, three Israeli teens were kidnapped and murdered near the ancient Biblical town of Hebron.  

This tragic event led directly to the Gaza War - Operation Protective Edge - during which the IDF discovered many terror tunnels leading into Israel.  It was also discovered that Hamas intended to use these tunnels for a massive terror attack on the first fall Biblical feast of Yom Teruah (aka Rosh Hashanah). The soldiers found IDF uniforms, ropes, syringes, and other items that were to be used to take Israeli hostages.  The IDF destroyed the tunnels, the war ended after 50 days, and the planned terrorist attack of Rosh Hashanah was averted.

In the meantime, the evil entity of ISIS arose, seemingly of of nowhere.  I won't elaborate on their "activities," because if you don't know, you are quite possibly living under a rock.

The second of the four blood moons just happened a couple weeks ago, as Sukkot was beginning.  Since then, the Silent Intifada (uprising) by Arabs has begun.  Just yesterday, a terrorist who was previously imprisoned for his terrorist activities, rammed his car into people at a light rail stop in Jerusalem, killing three-month-old Chaya Brown.

Chaya Zisel Brown, just hours before her murder

As tragic as the murders of this precious girl and the three teens near Hebron are, occurrences like these serve to unite the people of Israel like nothing else.  The three teens did not die in vain; because of their murders, a massive terror attack was averted.  It remains to be seen how this little girl's tragedy will change the course of history.

So what comes next?  

Scripture does not tell us exactly what to expect with each blood moon.  We are to be ready and watchful, knowing that the Messiah will be coming soon. 

Elaboration on Lunar Tetrads

NASA says there will be 12,064 lunar eclipses between -1999 BC and +3000 AD. 

Of these 12,064 lunar eclipses, 3,479 will be total lunar eclipses.  That’s an average of less than one total lunar eclipse per year.   It is an average of 2.5 lunar eclipses per year of "total plus partial" lunar eclipses.

During that time there will be 142 Lunar Tetrads (four total lunar eclipses in a row, with no intervening partial lunar eclipse).  62 will occur between 1 AD and 2100 AD.  Of the 62, 8 will occur on Biblical Feast Days, so they are called "Biblical Tetrads".  The 8th "Biblical Tetrad" occurs in 2014-2015 and there will not be another "Biblical Tetrad" for almost 600 years.  We are in the time of this tetrad now.

The chances of any lunar eclipse occurring on any particular day, whether total or partial, is less than 3/365.  The chances of one occurring on particular days 4 times in a row would be 3/365 x 3/365 x 3/365 x 3/365 = or about one in 100 x 100 x 100 x 100 = one in 100 million days, or once in 273,000 years.  Nevertheless they have occurred on the first day of Passover and Tabernacles 7 times since 1 AD, and the eighth is in process.  Statistically, they should probably NEVER HAPPEN.

I repeat, something's up, so keep looking up!

Word Became Flesh

Most of us know that Yeshua was not born on December 25, but since the eyes of the Gentile world are focused on the birth of Yeshua right now, I thought it would be a good time to post this beautiful reminder from the scriptures. 

And the Word became flesh and tabernacled (dwelt) among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.   John 1:14

Keep in mind that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah, foretold over and over again in the Hebrew scriptures.

The Lord Yehovah gave us His feasts (the word for feast actually means appointed times, see Leviticus 23), along with a pilgrimage requirement, so that every time something big was to happen in his plan with mankind, great multitudes of His people would be on hand in Jerusalem to see it.

Naturally, God would send His Messiah to the world during one of His three required annual pilgrimage feasts, when Jews from all over the world would travel to Jerusalem in obedience to the Torah. The inns would be crowded. Many sheep would be in the fields round the clock in preparation for the great number of sacrifices by the pilgrims.

So which feast was it? A careful study of scripture points to the Feast of Tabernacles.

John the Baptist

The conception of John the Baptist would have taken place following Zechariah's time of service in the temple. Luke 1:5 tells us he served in the course of Abijah, which would have been the eighth course of the year according to 1 Chronicles 24. That course falls either just before or just after Shavuot (aka Pentecost to the Gentile world), depending on the lunar calendar. Zehariah would have continued his service through the busy pilgrimage feast of Shavuot, when all priests were required to serve at the temple.  Zechariah's son John would have been conceived by Elizabeth right after that time, as promised by the angel who visited him at the altar of incense in the temple.

(The counting of the courses began at the start of the new year - the first week of the first month Nisan, in the spring.  Passover fell on the third week of the first month, when all priests were required to serve at the temple.  Make sense?  Visit http://biblelight.net/sukkoth.htm for a more detailed description of the priestly divisions).

We know Yeshua was conceived six months after His foreunner and cousin John, per Luke 1:36. This puts the conception of Yeshua smack at Hanukkah, also known as the Feast of Dedication and Festival of Lights.  Isaiah 9:2 says,  The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.  This passage is quoted in Matthew 4 when Yeshua began His ministry.  How fitting that the Light of the World would be conceived at Hanukkah.

John's birth would have coincided with Passover. Six months later we have the seventh feast, the most joyous of them all..  Sukkot!  Sukkot means booths, or tabernacles. It commemorated the Israelites' time in the wilderness, when the Lord Yehovah Himself dwelt (tabernacled) with them. Immanuel - God with us! Yeshua was quite likely born in a Sukkah booth!  Others have concluded a lambing cave, which is quite possible as well, seeing as He is the Lamb of God.  On the Gregorian calendar, the feast of Sukkot occurs in September or October.

If Yeshua was born on the first day of Tabernacles, then His cirumcision took place on the eighth day. He was given His name and became an Israelite on the Last Great Day of the feast, also called Simchat Torah, a day that celebrates the beginning of a new cycle of Torah reading.  A new beginning for the Word made Flesh.

Side note:  In Matthew 1:21, Yosef (Joseph) was told in a dream, And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Yeshua (meaning salvation), for He will save His people from their sins.

Timing of Yeshua's Ministry

Biblically, it can be shown that Yeshua ministered for three and a half years by counting all the feasts He celebrated.  It makes sense that He began His ministry at the Feast of Tabernacles, because exactly three and a half years later, He became our Passover Lamb.  (Remember, Passover and Sukkot are exactly a half year apart in the Hebrew calendar).  Priests begin their priestly service at age 30.  Does it not make sense that Yeshua would begin His ministry exactly when He turned 30?  God is so precise!

What was the first miracle that Yeshua performed?  It was at a wedding!  The Feast of Tabernacles is a picture of the future Wedding of the Lamb.

Why so hidden?

The timing of Messiah's birth can be gleaned from a close study of scripture.  But why would Yehovah require all the Biblical gymnastics to dig it out?

First of all, in the ancient Hebrew culture, birthdays were not the big deal.  Even today Jews celebrate a deceased person's yahrzeit, a Yiddish word meaning the anniversary of their death.  Perhaps this focus on the yahrzeit is because it looks back and celebrates the life a person lived, and not on the life that was yet to be lived. 

The only two birthday celebrations recorded in scripture had less than ideal results.  One was Pharoah's in Genesis 40, whereupon the baker was hanged.  The other one was Herod's in Matthew 14, whereupon John the Baptist was beheaded.  It seems that something about birthdays makes people lose their heads!

The main reason that the details of His birth are recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke are to show how the events of His birth fulfilled prophecy.  The gospel of Mark does not even mention His birth, and the gospel of John only mentions the verse which is written at the top of this post:  And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Perhaps Yehovah in His infinite and all-knowing wisdom knew what the celebration of His son's birth (at the wrong time of year) would become.  I wonder what it would be like if the true timing of His birth was restored?  Can you imagine a world with no Black Friday?  No holiday stress?  No overspending?  No fighting over which holiday greeting to use?  Ahhh, bliss.