The Name of GOD

I have searched for 45 years for the truth of the Bible and GOD's Word and that search has taken many forms and I have followed many paths, some fulfilling and others leading to virtual confusion on my part. The father of confusion is Satan which means when you search on your own and under your own wisdom the devil will step in quickly and provide what appears to be valuable information through common knowledge clues or obscure clues disguised as little golden nuggets of the truth, they are false. Soon you are following a path that is nothing more than an elaborate circle, like a small boat with just one oar you row and row and row but a wise mind continually listens for that small quite voice and hears that it is time to look up and see the whirlpool of darkness you circumnavigate is nothingness and darkness follows closely behind. That is when you finally realize that there are essentials one must first seek but to correctly find these essential points one must be of a humble and contrite heart before our heavenly Father, clarity of purpose and clear vision comes soon. Seek the truth of GOD with all your heart, mind and soul and revelation begins to occur in small increments at first and greater knowledge then follows.

One thing that bothered me for so many years was the fact that the Bible I was reading continually stressed GOD's name, yet all I ever found was a description, or if you will an explanation of the meaning of HIS name.

Exodus 3:14 "And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."  In Hebrew "ehyeh 'ăšer 'ehyeh". For many years I accepted this answer but I always had a sense that there was much more. Forward many years and that question began to burn in my heart and I knew there was more.

Another point I am sure most know is that YHWH is an abbreviation of GOD's name and this is what you will find in a Hebrew Bible in most instances but you will also find Hashem (The Name) Adonai and LORD, not the name of GOD. 

The Rabbi's of old, otherwise known as the Pharisees and Sadducees had decided that knowing the name of GOD was just too much power to be thrown around lightly so they basically hid the Name and only they new the real Name and the High Priest would only say it aloud once during the Day of Atonement in the Holy of Holies. It is a long story but a misguided attempt to build a wall of protection around Torah for the supposed benefit of the children of Israel but it was also intended to keep power in the hands of the elite. The name has been hidden for almost 2000 years. God said, through the prophets, that HIS name would be known throughout the world and even the gentiles would know the truth in the end days.

Well, to get to crux of the subject, I found a Karaite Jew by the name of Nehemia Gordon, a great biblical scholar from Israel, who has opened the book of Rabbinical secrets to show us all that the name of GOD has always been there, it is there without vowel points which define how a letter is pronounced. This is the part I love, Nehemia's persistence in seeking the truth has been rewarded with over a thousand documents throughout history that clearly show that the leading Orthodox Rabbinic leaders (Pharisees) have always known the truth of HIS Name but have suppressed this knowledge. There are many who will vehemently deny GOD's true name but as with all of GOD's truth Satan tries desperately to confuse and deny. Remember that GOD said in the end days all who want to know and search will know HIS true name.

The name of GOD is mentioned in the Bible 6828 times. I am satisfied that Nehemia is correct and that the Name of GOD written in English is Yehovah. Please research for yourself at Nehemia's site. 

www.nehemiaswall.com

"Do you know the name of GOD?

I recently read Rabbi Johnathan Cahn's new book "The Book of Mysteries", an excellent book and a wonderful daily guide to the mysteries of GOD and his infinite love for His creation, us. I highly recommend this fine work for it is spirit filled and an additional gift from GOD to all believers. You will be blessed and your heart will be renewed and spirit filled. I have taken the liberty of expounding and connecting a few of the profound ideas Rabbi Cahn has touched upon here in his fine book and may great thanks and blessing find the Rabbi and his family and may blessings be upon the Holy Spirit for conveying these jewels to one whom can so easily transfer these deep things of GOD into simple terms for those of us who understand simple things.

"Do you know the name of GOD?

I have wondered about this subject since I was a boy when I heard "call upon the name of the Lord", my first question was always OK, and what name is that? Assuming, as I did that Howard was not his true name as my cousins tried repeatedly to tell me that we know His name because of the "Our Father" prayer, "Our Father who art in Heaven Horward be thy name,..."

Perhaps a little levity but it is amazing how confused young catholic boys can become when faced with such nonsense and unfortunately that confusion carry's on into adulthood as I can attest. I asked for the true name of God so that I may include His name in my prayers because the Bible says "If you call upon my name". GOD stated to Moses in Genesis 3:4 "
"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."

" I AM THAT I AM " in the English vernacular would be hayah. HaYah is a verb but verb of action.

God has included himself in your speech everyday whether you realize this or not, for you say, as an introduction, " I am Paul " I am using God's name prior to my name so God comes first in my life, again, whether you know it or not. YHVH means I AM. His name is woven into the fabric of your life and very existence, you cannot speak of yourselves in a proper way without saying His Name first. I t is rather like a trademark that identify you as a product made by Him. You only exist because of his I AM.

The secret to life is to understand that you live your life for and by HIM, allow yourself to see your actions coming from Him, that the emotions you feel in your heart flow from Him, the words you speak are originally from him. Keep all this in mind before you add to or take away from the things you say and do for a truth heart understand that your being is from God and therefore let God be Preeminent in your life. 

19 September 2016 

The Sabbath was Established at the Creation before Jews and Christians and even Catholics, must be important!!!!!!!

The Sabbath a Perpetual Covenant

Why is this so hard for modern Christians to understand? GOD established the Sabbath Day of Rest at the Creation before there were Jews, Christians or Muslims and established it as a stand alone Perpetual Covenant for all.  It was a gift from GOD to sanctify His people (to make them stand out) and those are they who believed in Him and did His Commandments.  

Do we not define a covenant as a mutual agreement between two parties? Is that not the description by which we recognize a covenant in the Bible?

Now let us consider Exodus 31:12-18, "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, [the children of Israel here have the meaning of the blood descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the twelve tribes, literally], "saying, Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: FOR IT IS A SIGN BETWEEN ME AND YOU THROUGHOUT YOUR GENERATIONS...." Between God and whom? The twelve tribes, or descendants of Jacob-Israel, God's chosen earthly race. Now WHY? "That ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." Sanctify -- set apart. The Sabbath, then is their national sign, setting them apart from other nations and peoples, identifying them as God's chosen race. Now does Sabbath-keeping set one apart? You and I know that it does. The rest of the world sets us apart mighty quick when we begin to keep it. "Ye shall keep the Sabbath, therefore; for it is holy unto you; everyone that defileth it shall surely be put to death." Now death ordinarily means "cut off," generally from God. Note, however, that the following words seem to define the meaning here. "For whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off FROM AMONG HIS PEOPLE." Cut off from God? No, it says cut off from his people -- Israel. Cut off from being considered one of God's chosen earthly race of people. So, then, consider an Israelite. And, as you know, there is ample scriptural evidence that an outsider can be GRAFTED IN, and considered an ADOPTED child of Israel. And this passage I am discussing tells what cuts one off, and what the national sign is. Why does violation of the Sabbath cut one off from Israel? "To observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, FOR A PERPETUAL COVENANT." Get that word COVENANT. The Sabbath, then, is a covenant, all by itself. And THIS covenant is given as a PERPETUAL covenant. A WHOLLY SEPARATE AND DISTINCT COVENANT IN ITSELF. Entirely apart from the Ten Commandments. That is, God here takes ONE of those Ten Commandments, and makes a separate and distinct and perpetual covenant out of it. God, the party of the first part, agrees to be their God that doth set them apart as His chosen people, provided the children of Israel, party of the second part, keep His Sabbath command. Failure on the part of the party of the second part to perform their side of the covenant agreement annuls God's promise to keep His part of the agreement of setting them apart as His chosen people. Thus, failure to keep the Sabbath breaks the covenant and cuts one off from being of Israel. The passage continues, "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel FOREVER."

The Sabbath, here is presented as the SIGN which God gave to Israel between Him and them. It formed a new and separate covenant. THIS covenant is a perpetual covenant, to be a sign FOREVER.

I am fully aware of the fact that this passage has been used time and again by both the Church of God and the Adventists. But has it been used as a SEPARATE COVENANT by itself? Has it been considered in the light here analyzed?

Let us analyze it further. It is a SIGN between them -- pointing to Him as their God, and to them as His chosen people. So such a sign should point to Him AS GOD, and to them AS HIS PEOPLE. Does this Sabbath sign do that? Yes, in a way nothing else could. The proof that He is God is the fact of Creation. By pointing to Creation -- by being a memorial of Creation, it points to Him as the true God. Now how does it point to them as His people? If you will notice whenever God has chosen anyone for special office, He has put them to the test of OBEDIENCE. The test is always one of obedience, and if one can pass that test, they qualify for the office of being an Israelite, one of God's chosen.

Now consider Isaiah 56:3-7, and see, that by keeping the Sabbath, the national sign of Israel, an outsider may become grafted in. I know Paul in the new Testament has quite a little to say about Gentiles becoming adopted Israelites, but Paul gives other qualifications. Suppose now, the whole law, the Ten Commandments and all, were abolished, as the vast majority of churches contend. Will any contend that this separate Sabbath covenant, this everlasting, perpetual covenant, was PART OF THE LAW OF MOSES? I think they cannot. It is distinctly separate, here. A separate covenant by itself. The national sign of Israel. This covenant, surely, was not abolished at the Cross. This covenant, surely, is still binding today.

Of course that involves the question of who, today is Israel? Just the Jews? The Jews who are the remnant of the house of Judah, plus the Ten Lost Tribes, who were a separate nation called the House of Israel. Shall we say that Israel today is the saved people who keep the Sabbath, the national sign? Paul appears to specify salvation and acceptance of Jesus Christ and His teachings as the requisite to becoming one of Israel. According to this: Jewish Sabbath-keepers who do not accept Jesus are cut off. Further, according to Exodus 31:12-18, "converted" people who are not Jews, and who keep Sunday and not Sabbath, are not of Israel, because they have been cut off from Israel by rejecting Israel's national sign. According to this, then, the body of Israel, today, becomes those who accept Jesus, observe His teachings and keep the Sabbath. When we consider Israel in this light, ONLY Israel can be saved.

Which Day is The Sabbath
of the New Testament?

Which day did Christ and the Apostles observe? Which day did Paul teach Gentile converts to observe? HOW did the day become changed from the seventh to the first day of the week?

We have been reared in a Sunday-observing world. Naturally, we have taken Sunday-observance for granted. Naturally, the idea of a different day as the true Sabbath-day strikes us as fanatical and absurd.

Yet today some are telling us SATURDAY is the right day. They insist the SEVENTH day is the only day the Bible anywhere commands us to keep. They even claim we are sinning -- that we have the "Mark of the Beast" and shall suffer the seven last plagues -- if we observe Sunday instead of keeping the seventh day.

Many False Prophets

Jesus warned that many false prophets would appear, deceiving many. So what is the TRUTH? How can we KNOW?

Let all remember each of us shall stand before the judgment-seat of Christ! We shall be JUDGED, not by our sincerity in what we have always believed thru careless assumption, nor by our sincerity in following some NEW teaching without proof! We shall be judged by the BIBLE, God's Word!

How to PROVE the Truth

"All Scripture," we read in II Timothy 3:16, "is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction." Again, the command to us is, "PROVE ALL THINGS."

We must be willing to be corrected, if wrong. We must be careful not to be blown about "with every wind of doctrine." We must free our minds of all prejudice.

We must be able and willing to study BOTH sides honestly, laying our ideas and desires on the shelf, prayerfully asking God for guidance.

If we already are right, honest investigation will but confirm it.

If we are WRONG, we should want to know it. And we shall quickly, willingly, as a little child accept the TRUTH as God reveals it, whatever that truth may be, if our hearts are right with Him! Perhaps this very study may be the TEST!

On the following pages is a brief, terse, outline of ONE PHASE of this many-sided question. Explanation of other phases, answering other questions that may come up, will be supplied on request.

These three facts are self-evident:

(1)Sunday is the first day of the week. See any calendar, dictionary, or encyclopedia. Is it, then, by BIBLE authority, "the Christian Sabbath," or truly the "Lord's Day," as it is popularly called today?

(2)Jesus kept the SABBATH, Luke 4:16. It was His custom. The Sabbath He kept was the same day of the week the Jews observed, for the minister and congregation were all in the synagogue, verse 20, and the Pharisees continually rebuked Jesus for healing on the Sabbath day.

(3)The Sabbath Jesus kept was the seventh day of the week. Three days after His crucifixion, this Sabbath still was the day before the first day of the week, Matthew 28:1. Therefore it was not just any day in seven, it was the seventh day of the week. See also Luke 23:56 and 24:1.

BUT . . . was the day CHANGED, by Christ or the apostles, after this, to the first day of the week so that Sunday is now the New Testament Christian Sabbath? Does the NEW TESTAMENT someplace show us that SUNDAY is the true Lord's Day and command Christians to observe it? LET US SEE!

Is "Sunday" Mentioned in the New Testament?

This change could not be made, -- a different day, the FIRST day of the week, could not be established by New Testament BIBLE authority, except in some text or texts employing the phrase "first day of the week," or the word "Sunday."

The word "Sunday" does not appear any place in the Bible.

But the phrase "first day of the week" is found in the New Testament. It occurs in exactly EIGHT places. So it will not take long to examine these eight texts employing this phrase.

If the day was changed by BIBLE authority, -- if Christians are to find any BIBLE AUTHORITY whatsoever for observing Sunday as the "Lord's Day" today, then we must find that authority in one of these eight texts!

Let us acknowledge at the outset, since the seventh day of the week is clearly established as the Bible Sabbath up until the time of the Cross, that there can be no BIBLE AUTHORITY for Sunday observance unless we find it clearly and plainly stated in one of these eight New Testament passages.

So let us examine them carefully, honestly, prayerfully.

The Day AFTER Sabbath

(1)Matthew 28:1, "In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre." This is the first place in the Bible where "the first day of the week" is mentioned. Matthew wrote these words, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, six years after the New Testament Church came into being. The text says that late on the Sabbath day it was drawing TOWARD the first day of the week. So this Scripture, we must admit, tells us plainly that three days and three nights after all that was done away; had been securely "nailed to the Cross," the Sabbath was still the day BEFORE the first day of the week -- still the seventh day of the week.

One point is here plainly proved. Many tell us that the Sabbath command was merely for "one day in seven" -- that it did not have to be THE seventh day of the week, but merely the seventh part of time. They argue that Sunday, being one day out of seven, fulfills the command. But here is a passage in the NEW Testament, inspired by the Holy Spirit six years after the beginning of the NEW Testament Church, stating in plain language that, three days after all abolished things had been done away, the Sabbath still existed and that it was the seventh day of THE WEEK -- the day before the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK. That much is proved, and must remain settled for all who honestly seek and accept BIBLE authority. But, was the day changed later?

(2)Mark 16:2, "And very early in the morning THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun." This is merely Mark's version of the sunrise visit to the tomb. It was written ten years after the crucifixion. This first day of the week, also, was "AFTER the Sabbath was PAST," according to verse 1. So this text proves the same thing as the one above -- that the first day of the week was not at that time (three days after the crucifixion) the Sabbath, but the day AFTER the Sabbath. The Sabbath, then, still was the SEVENTH day of the week.

A Common Work Day

(3)Mark 16:9, "Now when Jesus was risen, early the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils." This text speaks of Jesus' appearance to Mary Magdalene later the same day, -- the day AFTER the Sabbath.

Nothing here calls the first day of the week the Christian Sabbath, we must admit. Nothing here calls it "The Lord's Day." Nothing here hallows Sunday or says God made it holy. Nothing here commands us to observe it. Nothing here sets it apart as a memorial of the Resurrection, or for any purpose. No command or example of REST on this day -- no authority for observing Sunday here.

(4)Luke 24:1, "Now UPON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing their spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them."

This text tells the same event recorded by Matthew and Mark, and it shows that on THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK these women came to do the work of a common week-day, AFTER having rested the Sabbath day "according to the Commandment."

For we read, in the verse just before this, "And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Shall we say these women did not yet know the commandment was abolished? No, we cannot, for this statement was not made by the women, but inspired by the HOLY GHOST, who did know whether it was abolished. And it was written 28 years after the establishing of the New Testament Church! The Holy Ghost THEN inspired the direct statement that the rest of these women on the Sabbath day was according to the commandment, which statement would not be possible had the commandment been abolished.

This text, then, establishes Sunday as a common work day, three days after the crucifixion, and it further establishes that at that time the command to rest on the Sabbath had not been abolished.

(5)John 20:1, "THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre."

This, written 63 years after the crucifixion, is merely John's version, describing the same visit to the tomb. It confirms the facts above.

Was This a Religious Meeting, to Celebrate the Resurrection?

(6)John 20:19, "Then the same day at evening, being THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you."

Let us examine this carefully, for some claim this was a religious service called for the purpose of celebrating the Resurrection. But notice this is the same first day of the week that FOLLOWED the Sabbath. It was Jesus' first opportunity to appear to His disciples. For three and a half years He had been constantly with them, on ALL days of the week. His meeting with them, of itself, could not establish any day as a Sabbath.

Were they assembled to celebrate the Resurrection, thus establishing Sunday as the Christian Sabbath in honor of the Resurrection? The text says they were assembled "for fear of the Jews." The Jews had just taken and crucified their Master. They were afraid. The doors were shut because of their fear -- probably bolted. Why were they assembled? "FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS" according to this text, and also because they all lived together in this upper room, Acts 1:13. They could not have assembled to celebrate the Resurrection for THEY DID NOT BELIEVE JESUS WAS RISEN (Mark 16:14; Luke 27:37, 39, 41). Nothing in this text calls this day "Sabbath," or "Lord's Day," or any sacred title. Nothing here sets it apart, makes it holy. No authority here for changing a command of God!

Lord's Supper Day -- or Work Day -- WHICH?

(7)Acts 20:7, "And upon THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together."

Here, at last, we find a religious meeting on the first day of the week. But it was not a SUNDAY meeting!

Notice, Paul continued his speech until midnight! "And there were many LIGHTS in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together." It was AFTER SUNSET, prier to midnight, the first day of the week. Now at that time the first day of the week did not begin at midnight, as man begin it today. It began, and the seventh day ended, AT SUNSET! All Bible days begin and end at SUNSET. Throughout the Roman world at that time, and for a few hundred years afterward, days began and ended at sunset. The practice of beginning the new day at midnight was started much later. Therefore this meeting, and Paul's preaching, took place during the hours we now call SATURDAY NIGHT -- it was not a Sunday meeting at all!

WHY Paul Remained Behind

Let us, now, pick up the thread of the narrative related in this passage. Begin in verse 6:

"We sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them at Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, READY TO DEPART ON THE MORROW."

Paul and his companions had been in this town of Troas seven days. His companions had left by ship after sunset. Paul remained behind for a farewell meeting. He preached until midnight, "ready to depart on the morrow." At break of day -- sunrise Sunday morning -- Paul departed, verse 11.

Now notice what his companions had done. "And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in," verses 13-14.

Look at this on the map. Paul's companions had to sail around a peninsula -- a distance of fifty or sixty miles, while Paul afoot, walked across, a distance of 19 and a half miles. He was able to walk this distance in shorter time than they could sail the much longer distance, which gave Paul the opportunity to remain behind after they left, for this last farewell sermon and visit.

Now do you see what actually happened? Paul's companions were engaged in the labor of rowing and sailing a boat while Paul was preaching that Saturday night and early Sunday morning -- on the first day of the week. They had set sail Saturday night, AFTER THE SABBATH HAD ENDED. Paul remained behind for one more last farewell sermon. Then, at break of day Sunday morning, Paul set out afoot, indulging in the labor of a 19 and a half mile walk from Troas to Assos! He waited till the Sabbath was past for this long walk -- a good hard day's work, if you ever tried it! He did it on the first day of the week a common work day!

What "Break Bread" Means

But does this text not say, as many claim today, that the disciples always held communion every first day of the week? NOT AT ALL!

In the first place, it says nothing about anything being done EVERY first day of the week. It relates the events of this one particular first day of the week, ONLY. It is not speaking of any CUSTOMS, but of the events occurring as Paul and his companions concluded their seven-day visit in passing by this town.

Jesus had introduced the Lord's Supper as part of the Passover, at the beginning of the annual "days of unleavened bread." No longer could they kill lambs or eat the roasted body of Passover Lambs, after Christ, OUR Passover, had been once slain for us. Yet the Passover was ordained FOREVER, Exodus 12:24. At His last Passover supper Jesus substituted the wine as the emblem of His blood, instead of the blood of the slain lamb. He substituted the unleavened bread for the roast body of the lamb as the symbol of His body, broken for us. The disciples continued to observe Passover annually, now in the form of the Lord's Supper using only the bread and wine, as a MEMORIAL, I Corinthians 11:24, of Christ's DEATH, I Corinthians 11:26, showing His death till He come again. They continued to observe the days of unleavened bread, Acts 20:6.

This year they had observed the days of unleavened bread and the Communion service at Philippi, after which they came to Troas in five days where they remained seven days.

Disciples often fasted on the Sabbath in those days. Consequently, after the Sabbath day had ended, at sunset, "upon the first day of the week, -- the disciples came together to BREAK BREAD."

People have ASSUMED this expression to mean the taking of Communion. But notice! Paul preached, and continued preaching until midnight. They had no opportunity to stop and "break bread" until then. When Paul "therefore was come up again" -- after restoring the one who had fallen down from the third balcony -- "and had broken bread, AND EATEN."

Note it! "Broken bread AND EATEN." This breaking bread was not Communion -- simply eating a meal. This expression was commonly used of old to designate a meal. It still is used in that sense in parts of even the United States.

Notice Luke 22:16, where Jesus was introducing the Lord's Supper, taking it with His disciples. He said, "I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." Yet, the day after His resurrection, after walking with the two disciples to Emmaus, as "he sat at MEAT with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them," Luke 24:30. Here Jesus "brake bread" but it was not the Lord's Supper, which He said He would NOT take again. It was a meal -- "He sat AT MEAT."

Notice Acts 2:46. The disciples, "continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness." Here again "breaking bread" means EATING MEAT. Not on the first day of the week, but DAILY.

Again, when Paul was shipwrecked on the voyage to Rome, the sailors had been fasting out of fright. But "Paul besought them all to take MEAT, saying, "This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some MEAT: for this is for your health -- And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat," Acts 27:33-35. Here Paul broke bread to give to unconverted sailors who were hungry.

The truth is, NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE is the expression "breaking of bread," or "to break bread," used to signify observance of the Lord's Supper. In all those texts it means, simply, eating a meal. So, when we read in Acts 20:7, 11, "the disciples came together to break," and how Paul had "broken bread and EATEN," we know by Scripture interpretation it referred only to eating food as a meal, not to a Communion service.

What Was This COLLECTION?

We come now to the 8th and last place where the term "first day of the week" occurs in the Bible.

(8)I Corinthians 16:2, "Upon the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK let everyone of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him."

Often we see this text printed on the little offering envelopes in the pews of popular churches, and we have been told that this text sets THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK as the time for taking up the church collection for the carrying on of God's work, paying the minister, etc.

Let us begin with the first verse and really catch the true intended meaning of this verse.

"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order of the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come."

This speaks of a collection -- but for WHOM -- for WHAT? Note it! Not for the preacher -- not for evangelism -- but "the collection FOR THE SAINTS." The poor saints at Jerusalem were suffering from drought and famine. They needed, not money, but FOOD. Notice Paul had given similar instruction to other churches. Now observe his instruction to the Romans:

"But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia (where the Corinthian Church was located) to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem . . . When, therefore, I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain," Romans 15:25-28.

Ah! Did you catch it? It was not money, but FRUIT that was being sealed for shipment to the poor saints at Jerusalem!

Now turn back to I Corinthians 16. Paul is speaking concerning a collection FOR THE SAINTS. Upon the first day of the week each one of them is instructed to do what? Look at it! Does it say drop a coin in the collection plate at a church service? Not at all!

It says "let everyone of you lay by him IN STORE." Note it! LAY BY! STORE UP! Store up BY HIMSELF -- at home! Not lay by at the church house -- lay by HIM -- at home.

Now WHY? "that there be no GATHERINGS when I come." Men GATHER fruit out of the orchard -- they GATHER vegetables out of the ground, to be STORED UP. But putting coins in a collection plate at church, or handing in your tithe-envelope could not be called a GATHERING, but an offering or collection.

Notice further: "And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem. And if it be meet that I go also, they (more than one) shall go with me," verses 3-4.

Apparently it was going of require several men to carry this collection, gathered and stored up, to Jerusalem. If it were tithe or offering for the minister or the spread of the Gospel, Paul could have carried the money alone.

So, once again, the last and final text in the Bible where we find "the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK" mentioned, it is a WORK DAY -- a day for gathering fruit and food out of the orchards and the fields and gardens, and storing it up. It was to be the FIRST labor of the week, hence the first day of the week, as soon as the Sabbath was past!

No Bible Authority

So, finally, we find upon honest examination that NOT ONE of the texts speaking about "THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK" sets it apart as a rest day. Not one makes it holy, calls it the Sabbath or by any other sacred title. In EVERY case, the first day of the week was a common work day.

In NONE of them was there a religious meeting and preaching service being held on the hours we now call SUNDAY. In NONE of them can we find a single shred of BIBLE AUTHORITY for Sunday observance! There is no record in the Bible of celebrating the Resurrection on Sunday.

Sometimes Revelation 1:10 is used as Bible authority for calling Sunday "The LORD'S DAY." It says: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice." But this does not say the "first day of the week," or "Sunday" is the "day" here called "the Lord's day." As a matter of fact, it is not speaking of ANY day of the week at all, but of "the Day of the Lord," -- the time of the coming PLAGUES, climaxing in the coming of Christ, and the millennium. This is the THEME of the Revelation. But, if one wants to argue, and insist upon this text applying to some definite day of the week, he shall have to look elsewhere to see WHICH day THE BIBLE calls "The LORD'S DAY." For this text does not designate ANY day of the week.

But Jesus said He was Lord of the SABBATH, and if He is LORD of that day, then it belongs to Him, and is His day, and therefore the Sabbath is the Lord's Day, Mark 2:28. Isaiah 58:13 calls the Sabbath (the seventh day of the week) "MY HOLY DAY." God is speaking. So the Sabbath is THE LORD'S DAY.

In the original commandment, in Exodus 20:10, we read: "The seventh day is the Sabbath OF THE LORD THY GOD." Not MY day, or your day. Sunday is MY day. So is Tuesday, and every other week-day, for my labor and my own needs. But the seventh day is NOT mine -- it is THE LORD'S! It belongs to HIM, and He made it HOLY, and commanded us to KEEP it that way. We have no right to use it for ourselves. It is HIS DAY!

The TRUE SABBATH of the NEW Testament!

Now briefly let us look thru the New Testament to find WHICH DAY Paul kept, and taught Gentile converts to keep.

Notice which day Paul and Barnabus used for preaching to Gentiles:

(1)Acts 13:14-15, 42-44, "But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue ON THE SABBATH DAY, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on."

Then Paul stood up, and spoke, preaching Christ to them.

"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the GENTILES besought that these words might be preached to them THE NEXT SABBATH."

Now since Paul was preaching "the grace of God," (verse 43), here was his opportunity to straighten out these Gentiles, and explain that the Sabbath was done away. Why should he wait a whole week, in order to preach to THE GENTILES on THE NEXT SABBATH? If the day had now been changed to Sunday, why did not Paul tell them they would not have to wait a week, but the very next day, Sunday, was the proper day for this service? But notice what Paul did do . . . .

"And the NEXT SABBATH DAY came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God." Here Paul waited a whole week, passing up a Sunday, in order to preach to the GENTILES upon the Sabbath day.

Gentiles Met on SABBATH

(2) Acts 15:1-2, 5, 14-21. Study this whole passage carefully. Certain men had come down from Judaea to Antioch, teaching that the Gentile converts there must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved. Quite a dissention arose between them and Paul and Barnabus. So it was decided Paul and Barnabus would go to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about the question.

At the conference at Jerusalem, James gave the decision. "Wherefore my sentence is," he pronounced, (verses 19-21), -- that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollution of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood."

He did not say they should not keep the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were not in question -- but only the Law of Moses, which was an altogether DIFFERENT law. He merely mentioned four prohibitions, and otherwise they did not need to observe the law of Moses.

But why WRITE this sentence to them? Note it! "For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues EVERY SABBATH DAY," verse 21.

Do you see it? Judaizing teachers were reading the Law of Moses and teaching people in the synagogues EVERY SABBATH DAY. The apostles were WRITING this decision concerning the Law of Moses, BECAUSE GENTILE CONVERTS WERE GOING TO CHURCH ON THE SABBATH DAY, and would hear this false teaching. In order to counteract it, and protect the Gentiles from it, the written message was sent. It shows that the GENTILE CONVERTS HAD STARTED KEEPING THE SABBATH DAY, AND WENT TO CHURCH ON THAT DAY! And the Apostles' letter did not reprove them for this Sabbath-keeping, or even mention it.

This is very significant, since GENTILES HAD NEVER KEPT THE SABBATH. Therefore it is something these Gentiles had STARTED doing after they were converted under the teaching of Paul and Barnabus!

A Sabbath in Philippi

(3)Acts 16:12-15. Here we find Paul and Silas at Philippi. And "we were in that city abiding certain days. And ON THE SABBATH we went out of the city by the river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, . . . and when she was baptized . . . ."

Here again Paul and his companions waited until the Sabbath, and then went to a place of worship, and preached, and this woman, probably a Gentile, was converted. The passage indicated it was the CUSTOM to meet there on the Sabbath, and that it was CUSTOM for Paul and his companions to go to a place of prayer and worship when the Sabbath day came.

Paul Worked Week-days, and Kept the SABBATH

(4)Acts 18:1-11, "After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; and found a certain Jew named Aquila . . . with his wife Priscilla . . . and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought; for by their occupation they were tentmakers, and he reasoned in the synagogue EVERY SABBATH, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks."

If we could but find one text in the New Testament giving as strong authority for Sunday observance as this one does for Sabbath-keeping, we should certainly have BIBLE AUTHORITY for it! Here Paul WORKED week-days, but went to church and taught GENTILES as well as Jews every SABBATH.

Now the Commandment says; "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work," just as much as it says "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." There is just as much a command to work six days as there is to rest the seventh. And so if the day had been changed, Paul would have had to work Sabbaths, in order to go to church and preach every Sunday. But here he WORKED week days and went to church and preached EVERY SABBATH -- not just on one particular occasion -- it says EVERY SABBATH.

He preached Christ, and the Gospel of the Kingdom. And when the Jews became offended and blasphemed, he turned away from the Jews altogether, and from then on preached TO GENTILES ONLY, (verse 6), and he continued there a year and six months (verse 11), -- working week days -- preaching to Gentiles ONLY -- EVERY SABBATH!

What MORE conclusive proof could we desire? What STRONGER Bible evidence than this, as to the true Sabbath of the New Testament? For a year and a half Paul continued working week-days -- six days -- including Sundays -- and preaching to GENTILES exclusively EVERY SABBATH! Certainly it was his custom and manner! Certainly He could not have done this had the Sabbath been done away, or changed.

Paul COMMANDS Gentiles to Keep the Sabbath

To these Gentile-born at Corinth, Paul COMMANDED: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ," I Corinthians 11:1.

And Paul "as his manner was, went in unto them, and three SABBATH DAYS reasoned with them out of the Scriptures," Acts 17:2. It was his MANNER -- his CUSTOM, as we have seen by ample evidence showing a total of eighty-four different Sabbaths Paul is shown specifically to have kept.

Did he follow Jesus in this? Why, CERTAINLY! Jesus, "as his custom was. . . went into the synagogue ON THE SABBATH DAY," Luke 4:16.

It was Jesus' custom. Paul followed Him, and COMMANDED the Gentile converts to follow him, even as he followed Christ.

The question for us, today, is, "Are WE willing to follow in His steps?" Jesus came to set us an example, that we should FOLLOW HIS STEPS. If we, like Paul, are CRUCIFIED with Christ, and HE lives HIS life IN us, Christ IN us will still keep the Sabbath, for He is the SAME, yesterday, today, and forever!

There is much additional NEW Testament authority for Sabbath-keeping. Other booklets to be issued will cover many other phases of this many-sided question. Send your request. Questions and honest objections will be answered on request.

I found the majority of this writing on the InterWeb but don't recall where or who it is by but the truth is the truth and it needed to be reprinted here in the hope that just one person may come to understand the serious nature of this covenant and why it is so relevant today. Don't believe anyone who tells you GOD and Jesus did away with the 7th Day Sabbath, it is forever (perpetual) and for all mankind.

Come soon King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Ebola, the new Normal

The arrogance of ineptitude has been on display for all Americans to see as our Federal Government Officials continually fumble during this critical time period attempting to  respond to and the potential Ebola Outbreak within our borders. We no longer have secure borders so it would seem that alone will make the effort even tougher but our illustrious leaders continue to plod along apparently not understanding the history of the middle ages and the great plague. The basic and simple concept of containing a contagion through isolation and quarantine for a minimum of 40 days is apparently completely lost on the political wizards in Washington D.C. It is hard to politicize a deadly and non-discriminating deadly microbe but they certainly are trying very hard to accomplish this.

I find it rather silly to say that we cannot isolate the area where this deadly virus is virulent because it would be mean and insensitive to the races and cause them to scatter like rabbits from a discovered warren. Why American Politicians feel we  must allow the free movement around the globe of potential carrier is beyond understanding. The rest of the world still retains some semblance of common sense by blocking travel from and to their respective countries, good for them. 

I suppose the idea that if there were a Super Wall Mart in your community that was found to have diseased and infected fruit being displayed and sold would somehow not qualify for immediate closing, clearing and cleaning to remove the threat and protect the neighborhood from potentially deadly illness because the store was located on the edge of a distressed neighborhood and would look like discrimination and hurt race relations in the community. I guess the logic is that we will all die equally horribly so it remains fair throughout the death process. 

The people in Washington D.C. just don't know what they don't know and will never admit it publicly because that may change the perception of the party so they just keep covering up their ineptitude by saying things like, "It's hard to stop Ebola" , Dr. Friedan and our protocols are correct, for today. They have known about Ebola becoming a problem since March 2014 and yet they have no idea of what constitutes real personal protective for Nurses.

Why aren't all cases in one location? Why do all hospitals have different protective gear? Why has air born dissemination been completely ruled out when clearly you exhale through your nose and basically create a steam based air born delivery system for deadly microbes to attach themselves to and float through the air to land any where?

This is getting comical and would be funny if it weren't so deadly. I see it as the Bad News Bears taking on the New York Yankees in a one game playoff, loser dies.            

Guilty but Still Loved

I wanted to write a small piece about understanding God's love of each one of us as individuals and try to clarify for some out there what was once a major misunderstanding and of great concern I had at one time and it was a very major sticking point in my relationship with God and one that caused great turmoil and slowed my progress in my relationship with God down to a crawl, a wall that almost stopped my progress as a believer completely.  It is a simple and apparently common error on the part of those just coming into a relationship with the Lord.
 
I am talking about His love truly having no bounds, the boundary that we have made in our understanding is ultimately a major road block. God's love is truly exceptional from a human point of view and one that is very hard to conceive of at all.
 
Starting with the fact that if you or I were in a position to save the lives of our neighbors I believe most of us would do so if we saw that no imminent to ourselves or family would be implied by doing so but if there were the chance of danger coming to our family by doing so most probably we would not take the chance and if the chance were 100% that some grievous danger would befall our family then I say almost none would act to save our neighbor. There lies the difference in our understanding of love for one another and the love that God displays by willingly giving His Son to die brutally as He watched knowing He could immediately put an end to the terrible pain, suffering and humiliation Yeshua, in Greek called Jesus, endured but He did not save His only Son because He knew it was the only way to save us from ourselves, and keep the promise He made to us. How much love is that? Immeasurable by human understanding. If that were your son hanging on a cross and left to die in agony and you had the power to stop it all would you have been able to allow it? 
 
Now try to imagine that when we, sinners in every sense, want to have a relationship with God we
think we understand when Yeshua tells us we are forgiven our sins when we accept that He is the promised Christ and believe in Him. We understand that we will be changed from the inside when we accept that Yeshua died and covered us with His blood and will be seen from that time forward as clean of our sins from that point onward but some of us still don't understand that as we continue our slow transformation into the child that wants only to please our Father we sometimes continue to sin, say something like a smoking, drinking, sexual desires, lying etc. and we fall into the trap of saying "How can I be forgiven my sins if I still sin?". God's love and forgiveness is still extended to us and Christ's blood still covers us during this process as long as we know that we are a work in progress and continually pray for the strength to overcome our sinful nature. When we succumb to the notion that we cannot be forgiven because have sinned many times since our acceptance of Yeshua as our Savior and Redeemer we are falling into a trap laid by Satan, a trap of doubt. Simply accept what Yeshua has said and believe Him when He says that you are saved but join the battle with all your heart and all your ability to reclaim your soul by praying and trying every moment of everyday to overcome those sins of addiction and sins of evil thought. For some of us it is a long and hard struggle to fight for our souls and some others it is easier but like chipping the accumulated rust from the surface of a metal implement it takes time and effort but we know that underneath that corroded surface is the child of God we want to be and will be, sometimes it just takes more time than we first thought but holding fast will produce fruit with the help of the transformative power Yeshua promised us, namely the Holy Spirit, we will be changed. God still loves us even when we sin.
 
God's love for you is powerful and unfathomable in our human eyes and sometimes very hard to understand and grasp but Faith in what He says and believing he means it is all that is required to change from the inside out. He loves the sinner but hates the sin, remember this and fight the sin and never presume to put human limits on God's limitless love.

The Prophetic Picture of Feasts and Holy Days

THE MEANING OF PASSOVER

 Salvation comes by the atoning blood of Israel's promised Sacrifice Lamb

“God will provide Himself, a Lamb". (Gen.22:8)

On the 14th day of Nisan

The sacrifice lamb is slain. The blood of atonement upon the door brings salvation as the death angel passes overhead. It is the eve of the Passover. The epic Exodus that follows sees God's covenant people delivered from the bondage of Egypt.

This was the Old Covenant fulfillment of Passover for national salvation.

On the 14th day of Nisan

In 33 A.D., on the eve of Passover, Yeshua is crucified. The blood of the promised Sacrifice Lamb is shed. This is the redemption God has provided. It brings salvation to His covenant people, delivering them from the bondage of sin and death.

This is the New Covenant fulfillment of Passover for personal salvation.

THE MEANING OF THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD 

The unleavened "Bread of Heaven" is the sinless and accepted sacrifice.

Leaven, a type of sin, was removed from the dwellings. Then at twilight, as the 14th day of Nisan was ending, the Passover lambs were slain. Sunset initiated the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Nisan 15 was a "high day", a non-Saturday Sabbath. Bread baked without yeast was eaten during the seven days of the feast.

Sunset began the 15th day of Nisan. Jesus was buried, just in time for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. But in the grave His body did not decay or see corruption. That Passover the sinless unleavened 'Bread of Heaven' was revealed as that long awaited perfect sacrifice for sin. Thus He fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

THE MEANING OF THE FEAST OF FIRSTFRUITS 

 After a cold barren winter new life breaks forth. On the 17th day of the Nisan moon the first fruits of the barley harvest was gathered and waved before the Lord in celebration.

On the 17th day of Nisan in 33 A.D. Jesus rises up from the grave. He is the first fruits from the dead. On that very day He fulfilled the feast. 

THE MEANING OF THE FEAST OF PENTECOST 

 50 days counted out from First fruits is Shavuot or Pentecost. God comes down to His covenant people in an earthshaking day of visitation. It is a betrothal leading into magnificent future glories.

Old Testament Fulfillment

50 days from the day the First fruits of the barley harvest was waved before the Lord, (50 days from the morrow after the Sabbath after Passover), is Shavuot or the Day of Pentecost. Rabbinic scholars believe that it was on this day that God visited His people after their exodus from Egypt and through Moses, brought the Law down from Mount Sinai. This earthshaking day of visitation, trembling, and betrothal is the birthday of the nation of Israel. Moses brings down the Torah or Law for the nation. Because of sin 3,000 die under the Law that day. The Old Covenant is a national covenant between YHVH-God and His covenant people. And so the nation of Israel was established. They agree to follow Him in devotion and obedience. In spite of past failures the nation of Israel will indeed be restored. The Jewish House of Judah will be saved and the throne of David in Judah will be established upon this earth under Messiah. But that is not all. The lost sheep of the House of Israel, the lost ten tribes of Israel, will be found and brought back home to Israel again. (See Ezek.37). The nation and Kingdom of Israel along with Messiah's  Melchizedek Priesthood will be fully restored as a single Elect and Chosen people. The Old Covenant and the Law has not been "done away with" as we have been told. Both estranged houses of Israel will embrace Messiah. Then with their partial blindness healed they will rediscover each other at the end of this age to restore the Union in both Righteousness, (the royal national burden of the Jews), and in Grace, (the holy priestly burden of the Church). Both Houses of Israel are being sifted through the nations. Those being saved are bringing many companions home to Israel with them. (See  Ezekiel 37:15-28) The nation will be reunited and regathered as that Commonwealth of Israel spoken of by our Apostle Paul. (See Eph. 2:12-13). Restored Israel is destined to be cross-linked together as that "royal priesthood and holy nation spoken of by both Moses and by the Apostle Peter. (See  Exod. 19:6, and  1Pet.2:9). The Old Covenant God made with the nation of Israel and the righteous rule of Israel’s Messiah upon this earth is in the heart of the Jewish House of Judah. YHVH-God's righteous rule will surely come and the nation of Israel will be restored, but only under Messiah and not by might or by power. The restoration will not come by a seducing religious humanism or by the military might of a crusading Church Dominionism). It will come by God's Holy Spirit. (See Zechariah 4). The New Covenant is established soul by soul and silently in the gentle bonds of love and devotion as Messiah is received into human lives. It is by YHVH's Grace through faith that His Law is written into the hearts. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of this mystery. See Jer. 31:31. See also Hebrews 8:8-12. The prophet Zechariah saw the Jewish House of Judah in Israel repenting and receiving Messiah rather late, even as Jerusalem was surrounded by armies at the close of this age. See Zechariah 12:7-13:1.

New Testament Fulfillment

50 days from the day the First fruits of the barley harvest was waved before the Lord, (that is 50 days from the morrow after the weekly (Saturday) Sabbath after Passover), in the summer of the year of Yeshua's passion, YHVH-God visits His people by His Holy Spirit. This is another earthshaking day of visitation and betrothal. But on this occasion God's Presence is not as unapproachable as on the former visitation back at Sinai. Moses had ordered 12 boundary markers placed around the foot of the mountain to hold back the people lest the fire of God flash out upon them. Amidst the thundering and lightning God came down as a consuming fire and blackened the entire summit. Only Moses could stand in God's Presence. Mount Sinai has recently been discovered east of the Gulf of Aquaba in the former land of Midian, (now Saudi Arabia).  The real Mount Sinai with many accompanying archaeological proofs of its authenticity is Jabal el Lawz, now hidden from the world behind security fences and armed guards of the Saudi military forces. Back at Sinai it was a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But this next Pentecostal visitation was quite different. Tongues of fire descended from heaven to rest upon consecrated individuals gathered to wait upon God. All of them had received Messiah and had come to know Him in a personal way in the New Covenant. And just as Moses had seen the burning bush that was not consumed by the fire now came down and rested upon the 120 in the upper room, not to consume them but to fill them with the Holy Spirit and bathe them in the glory of God. This day of wonder sees the Holy Spirit descend in a splendid flooding wave. This was the beginning of the Holy Spirit outpouring. And Joel saw this coming to a peak at the 6th seal at the very end of the latter days. See Joel 2:28-32. The revival spreads out from the Jerusalem epicenter as the disciples go out into the streets of the city proclaiming the Good News of salvation. Whereas 3,000 had died under the Law on the previous visitation 3,000 are now saved by Grace as the Apostle Peter preaches to the crowds coming up to the Feast. And so on this awesome day in holy history, the 7th day of Sivan on the Hebrew calendar, the Feast of Pentecost comes to its appointed New Covenant fulfillment. The Feast of Pentecost, the fourth of the Seven Feasts of Israel is taken up to the next level. It becomes the birthday of the Church. The Holy Spirit revival spreads out from Jerusalem into Judea, Samaria, and thence onward to the utmost parts of the world. This was that promised Light to the Gentiles Isaiah spoke about (See  Isaiah 49:6). The ensuing 2,000 years sees Israel's Messiah continuing to 'call out' His 'ekklesia', His Congregation, by His Holy Spirit. The Good News of the Gospel overflows Israel and spreads out into the gentile nations and YHVH-God's Covenant people expand out of Israel to become a global Congregation (or "Church"), even as Israel's Jordan river overflows its banks all the days of the harvest.

THE MEANING OF THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS   (The very next feast due to be fulfilled)

The annual religious celebration, the shofar (rams horn) is blown at the western wall on the new moon of Tishrei to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets.

In the autumn of the year and on the first day of the Tishrei moon trumpets are blown to announce the Hebrew holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Biblical Christians refer to it as the Feast of Trumpets. It is the 5th of the Seven Feasts of Israel. The ultimate New Covenant fulfillment of this future Jewish New Year, (Tishrei 1 on the Hebrew calendar), will be spectacular beyond words. The feast will explode into holy history. And it will be a blockbuster. Moses declared and prophesied that it would become a "memorial of blowing of trumpets" (Lev. 23:24,25) It seems that many faithful saints will suffer at the hands of the powers when they blow the trumpet of alarm on Yom Teruah, that awesome future Rosh Hashanah.  (Ezek.33) That epic coming feast day will see the faithful watchmen of Israel faithful to the call. And "they will not be silent". This 5th feast was instituted by Moses at Sinai approximately 3,500 years ago. It marks the first day of the Hebrew (civil) new year. 'Rosh Hashanah' means 'head of the year'. The Feast of Trumpets is the first of the three, yet to be fulfilled, Fall Feasts of Israel. These Autumn Feasts relate to Kingdom/political issues rather than the High Priestly/religious matters that we saw Messiah address in the spring feasts during His first coming 2,000 years ago. Back then we saw Him ride into Jerusalem on a donkey as the 'Suffering Servant'. But when Messiah returns this next time He will come as the Conquering King.  After Trumpets on Tishrei 1 comes the "Ten days of awe" which lead on to Yom Kippur on Tishrei 10 which is the  Day of Atonement. This is the most solemn day of the year. On this awesome Day of Reckoning all accounts between YHVH-God and all His covenant people are settled. The Jubilee Year is also announced on this same tenth day of Tishri. Trumpets are also blown during special times of national crisis. God's covenant people are summoned to gather themselves together in a solemn assembly before the God of Israel. Trumpets are sounded during battle in times of warfare. Trumpets also announce the approach and soon arrival of a king.

On a future Rosh Hoshanah, on the new moon of Tishrei, the shofars will begin to sound on a day like no other. The ultimate epic future Feast of Trumpets will burst onto the world stage and into holy history. This will be an awesome day of mixed celebration and alarm. YHVH-God's determined times for Daniel's Prophecy of the 70 Weeks will resume in earnest. All of God's covenant people from  both houses of Israel will be "called out", summoned to solemn assembly at YHVH-God's new and revamped 'ekklesia', His new 'congregation', 'synagogue', or 'church' of the  70th Week". The saints will be crying out to God and this will spark the climactic End-Time Revival that Joel saw, (Joel 2:28,29,30,31,32).We now have very  strong evidence that this future Rosh Hashanah will mark the terminus of the "Roadmap to Peace". This will be the day when Israel signs the seven year peace covenant written about in Daniel 9:27. Israel will agree to divide and sell the Holy Land and their national sovereignty for a pocketful of promises of "peace and safety".  Moses spoke of this final dalliance of Israel and predicted the ensuing Great Tribulation. Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamashiach, said that they would reject Him who came in His Father's Name and said that His covenant people would consort with a  false messiah, a man who came "in his own name" (John 5:43).  Seven momentous years will then bring in the end-time witness. Then comes the final awesome Day of Atonement. Trumpets of Jubilee will herald the opening of the Day of the Lord which opens on the very next day. Angels of wrath will pluck up the wicked as tares for the fires. (Mat.13:30) At some unknown time in those ensuing days before the Feast of Tabernacles comes into its fulfillment the last trumpet will sound and all of God's Elect, (singular), will be gathered. The climactic future Resurrection will see Messiah gather His Chosen from the nation of Israel and from among the heathen gentiles. All the saints, the quick and the dead, from every nation, race, and tribe, from both sides of Calvary will be there. And they will all enter the glory together. (Isa. 49:6 and 1Thes. 4:15, 16, 17).

In Conclusion

The Feasts and Holy Days of Israel and the Jewish people are a direct and clear picture of the Salvation God has promised the believers in the atoning Blood of His Sacrificial Lamb. If this is a direct and clear picture of the promise then the words the His Prophets have given us are also meant has clear and direct information to us for growth and knowledge. To understand the Scriptures you simply must read them with a perspective that they are truly relevant and great impact on your understanding. The signs in the heavens all make sense if you remove yourself from man’s understanding and accept that man’s understanding is very limited and leaves in a state of confusion and leads most people to give up trying, you just cannot mix oil and water and see clearly. There are only two points of view, God’s view and man’s view, I trust God to tell me the Truth.

If you know the Bible this will help you understand End Times Prophecy

I know I mentioned Jewish Feasts and Holy Days so here is a little synopsis of what they currently are and is based on the foods.

 I will do another Feast Day overview so you can see where these days fit into the prophetic picture of Old Testament and New Testament but I must get my 1959 F100 back on the road first.

Shabbat

Shabbat is considered the most important of all Jewish holidays. It is the day of rest and weekly observance of God's completion of creation. Starting on Friday night an hour before sunset, it lasts for 25 hours until sunset on Saturday night.

Rosh Hashanah

During the fall when the days begin to shorten and the leaves begin to change, Jewish tradition encourages us to look inward as we prepare for the New Year ahead. The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) is a holiday marked by festive meals with foods symbolizing our hopes for the new year—such as apples dipped in honey for a sweet new year and pomegranates for a year of plenty—and a day spent in prayer or quiet meditation.

Yom Kippur

The most solemn day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement offers an entire day devoted to self–examination. Many spend the day in synagogue devoted to prayer and study while abstaining from food and drink. The goal is to begin the New Year with a clean slate.

Sukkot

This seven–day festival celebrates the fall harvest and also commemorates the time when the Hebrews dwelt in the Sinai wilderness on their way to the Promised Land of Israel. The holiday is celebrated by building (and then dwelling in) ceremonial huts called Sukkot, waving of four different plant species (palm, myrtle, willow and citron), and many food-filled festive gatherings in the Sukkah.

Shemini Atzeret

This holiday literally means the “8th day of assembly.” It is a festive day after the week-long festival of Sukkot, and is marked by the annual prayer for rain recited in synagogue. In Israel and in liberal (Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal) communities outside of Israel it is combined with the holiday of Simchat Torah.

Simchat Torah

Simchat Torah marks the end and the beginning of the annual Torah reading cycle. Every week all over the world, the same Torah portion is read in Jewish communities. On Simchat Torah the cycle ends and begins again. This is accompanied by parading the Torah scrolls about and with singing and dancing.

Hanukkah

This beloved 8–day Jewish winter festival celebrates the miracle of a small cruse of oil when it burned for 8 days, instead of only one. It also celebrates the military victory of the Jewish Maccabees over the powerful Syrian Greek army in 167 BCE. The victory was followed by a rededication (Hanukkah) of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. It is from this act that the holiday gets its name.

Tu B’Shevat

This is the Jewish New Year of the Trees. Observances include planting of trees, purchasing trees to be planted in Israel, and a mystical Tu B'Shevat ritual meal that includes different colored wine (from white to red) and different kinds of fruits and nuts.

Hamentashen Purim

The name of this holiday means “lots”, so named for the lots that were drawn to determine a dark day in Jewish history. As luck would have it, those dark days never arrived, as the evil villian's plans were thwarted by the clever Jewish Queen Esther, whose story is recounted in the Biblical Scroll of Esther. Celebrations include a public reading of the scroll, giving gifts to friends and to the needy, dressing up in costume, eating a special triangle-shaped pastry, the hamantaschen, and the drinking of alcohol for those of drinking age.

Matzah Passover

This seven or eight day festival of freedom marks the Hebrew exodus from Egypt long ago. The story is told during a festive ritual meal called a “Seder.” During the festival, it is traditional to abstain from all foods containing leaven; that is, foods made from grain that have not been prepared according to a strict Passover cooking procedure. Among the grain foods that are permitted is matzah, an unleavened bread that is baked before it has a chance to rise.

Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day)

Jews all over the world mourn the loss of six million Jewish lives lost during the Holocaust as part of Hitler's genocidal “Final Solution.”

Yom HaZikaron (Israeli Memorial Day)

On this Memorial Day, we commemorate the soldiers who have fallen fighting for Israel’s independence and defending its security. This holiday falls the day before Israel's Independence Day.

Yom HaAtzmaut (Israeli Independence Day)

This holiday celebrates the independence of the Modern State of Israel. In Israel the day of Yom HaAtzmaut is marked with fireworks, barbeques, and outdoor revelry. For Jewish communities outside of Israel it is a time to gather and celebrate our pride and connection to the Jewish homeland.

Lag B’Omer

This holiday marks the 33rd day of the 49-day “Omer” period between Passover and Shavuot. This 7 week period called “the Omer” is traditionally a quiet time on the Jewish calendar, but Lag B’Omer, which occurs on the 33rd day is an exception. Bonfires, outdoor parties and revelry rule the day, which is also a popular Jewish wedding date.

Shavuot

Shavuot is the holiday celebration of the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. The celebration of Shavuot is also the Festival of First Fruits and Grains, a fulfillment of the promise of spring. The name means “weeks”, so named for the 7-week period from Passover to Shavuot.

Tisha B’Av

An important fast day in the Jewish calendar is Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. The day commemorates the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE and 70 CE.

Tu B’Av

Held six days after the fast day of Tisha B’Av comes a festival of love! A popular wedding date, the day is celebrated in the best way possible with wine, chocolate and roses!