Beginning to relearn some things and gain a different perspective that I never thought of before. I have no illusions that this is the “secret” formula or the one and only theory out there. This may be new, this may be old, I am just saying this appears to be biblically sound and allowing the scriptures to interpret the scriptures. I have come to realize if we want to understand what will happen in the end, we need to start at the beginning. The parallels from Genesis to Revelations are amazing. In
Isaiah 46:10 “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:” There are over 30 parallels from Genesis to Revelations, and here are just a few:
GENESIS REVELATIONS
Genesis, the book of beginnings. Revelation, the book of the end.
The earth created (1:1). The "earth" passes away (21:1).
The first rebellion (the serpent). Satan's final rebellion (20:3,7-10).
Entrance of sin (Gen 3) Development and end of sin (Rev 21; 22).
Sorrow and suffering enter world (3:17). No more sorrow (21:4).
Kind of get my drift? One of the things that stick out in Genesis are the following passages that will guide the rest of this text.
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light:
Genesis 1:14a And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night
Genesis 1:14b let them be for signs and for seasons and for days, and years:
God is saying we need to keep watch of what is happening over our heads and keep track of his times. I mentioned in my “Lord of the Sabbath” thread the importance of getting on God’s calendar, and our Gregorian calendar is not it.
The word “seasons” is not meant to mean summer, fall, winter, spring. The Hebrew word here if you look in the Strongs Concordance is “mow’ed” #H4150 (Sorry if I don’t know how to provide references correct. Not my strong suit). Mow’ed means to appoint, appointed time, set feast, assemble, meet. So what is God telling us here? It means he has set up appointed times for us to assemble and to meet. He is referring to the fall and spring feasts. The 4 spring feasts that he fulfilled already were:
Passover (
Leviticus 23:5) – Pointed to the Messiah as our Passover lamb (
1 Corinthians 5:7) whose blood would be shed for our sins. Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the Passover at the same hour that the lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover meal that evening.
2) Unleavened Bread (
Leviticus 23:6) – Pointed to the Messiah's sinless life (as leaven is a picture of sin in the Bible), making Him the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus' body was in the grave during the first days of this feast, like a kernel of wheat planted and waiting to burst forth as the bread of life.
3) First Fruits (
Leviticus 23:10) – Pointed to the Messiah's resurrection as the first fruits of the righteous. Jesus was resurrected on this very day, which is one of the reasons that Paul refers to him in
1 Corinthians 15:20 as the "first fruits from the dead."
4) Weeks or Pentecost (
Leviticus 23:16) – Occurred fifty days after the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and pointed to the great harvest of souls and the gift of the Holy Spirit for both Jew and Gentile, who would be brought into the kingdom of God during the Church Age (see Acts 2).
I actually never knew the above or understood the symbolism until very recently. The Passover Lamb was even sacrificed at the same hour.
Exodus 12:6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Time of death. The national Passover lamb for Israel was to be killed in the temple on Aviv 14 at “twilight”, or at the “twain of the evening.” In Hebrew, this is translated, bain haarbayim, or “between the evenings.” The last half of the daylight hours (from about noon to 6:00 p.m.) was further divided into two parts: the minor evening oblation (noon to 3:00 p.m.) and the major evening oblation (3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.). Thus, “between the evenings” means between these two periods, or about 3:00 p.m. This was the time midway between the beginning of the sun’s descent into the west (about noon) and its setting (about 6:00 p.m.). So, the Passover lamb was killed at about 3:00 p.m. on Aviv 14.
What time did Jesus die? Matthew 27:45-50 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
I was actually stunned learning all this and didn’t realize the significance that these first 4 feasts had, or what they meant. It’s pretty sad though that the Israelites “rehearsed” this every single year for centuries, yet some still missed out on him. I heard that the end times are going to be like Peter in Acts 2 when explaining the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He quoted Joel 2:28-32. Some things we just are not going to know until in hindsight. But there are going to be things we can have foresight to see if we are looking at things with the right perspective.
Can we believe that God was the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow? I have complete faith we can. We had generations of Israelites “rehearsing” these feasts for years, but when the time came, some still missed out on the Messiah. And in hindsight we are thinking, “How could they be so stupid?” If Jesus fulfilled the spring feasts to the same day and hour at his First Coming, why do we not think that he won’t fulfill the fall feasts to the day and hour on his Second Coming? You get where I am coming from? The biblical feasts are a “rehearsal” for the real thing coming.
Leviticus 23:1,2 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, The Feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim, to be holy convocations, even these are My appointed feasts.
- Moed duwm #4150 an appointment, i.e. a fixed time;To fix upon by agreement or appointment; to meet (at a stated time), to engage (for marriage)
- Proclaim: qara' arq #7121 Root word (the idea of accosting a person met); to call out to (address by name), them that are bidden, invite, mention, publish, read,
We are to let God’s people know they have been invited to meet with God at a time. If you were told by someone that you have an invitation to meet with Jesus at a certain date and time, would you go? Or would you say, nah big ball game coming up. Would you go? Would you tell other people as well?
Matthew 22:1-4 And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a MARRIAGE FOR HIS SON, And sent forth his servants to
CALL THEM that were BIDDEN to the wedding: and they would NOT COME. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are BIDDEN, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my
fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the MARRIAGE.
Except what did they do?
Matthew 22:5,6 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.
What does this sound like? Sound familiar? I can’t tell you how many sites I went to looking over this, and the mainstream Christian attitude is we don’t need to do them, it’s a Jew thing. Well I have come to realize Jew, Gentile or not, it’s a God thing that he wants us to be at cause they are his appointed times. Just like some Jews missed out on it, so alike will Gentiles. Knowing this, why is there still stubbornness to not participate? The Feast of Trumpets, it’s the coronation of the King of the Universe. Do you want to miss it? Further, who does he want to come?
Matthew 22:8-10 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
He wants everybody there, the good and the bad. He wants all to come.
Matthew 22:11-14 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding
garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are
called, but few are chosen.
I think the Word of the Lord cannot stress enough about observing the day of his Feasts. Leviticus 23:1,2 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, The Feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim, to be holy convocations, even these are My appointed feasts. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, The Divine appointments of the LORD, which you shall personally proclaim to all my kids, that they are My holy dress rehearsals, even these are My appointed times of destiny. For all those solely living in the NT and don’t think we need to keep the Feasts because Jesus “fulfilled” them: 1Corinthians 11:24-26 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
Has the scriptures convinced you enough that we are to keep the appointed times of the Lord. Know I have heard many scholars claim dates and what not as when stuff will transpire. All for not. Some claim date setting is also heresy and blasphemous. I have come to the conclusion we need to be aware of dates and the parallelism from past events. If you know God’s calendar, you have heard of the 9th of Av. Many calamities have happened to the Jews during this time. Here are a few: The destruction of the First and Second Temples happened on this date. The sin of 10 of the 12 scouts sent by Moses. The Romans destroyed the city of Betar and killed over 100,00 Jews. Jews expelled from England in 1290. Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. And most recently, Israel’s unilateral disengagement from Gaza in 2005 was originally scheduled on the 9th of Av until it was brought to Ariel Sharon’s attention. This was a forced evacuation of Jews from Gaza by the Israeli government. Did you know that land belongs to the House Of Judah? The same house where Jesus came from. Do you think Jesus is a little hot HIS land and people were given up by Sharon? Could God’s judgement of been poured out on him as he was left with a debilitating stroke he could never recover from?
Zephaniah 1:14;2:2-4a The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger come upon you. Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger. For Gaza shall be forsaken,
The stage has been set and Gaza will be destroyed and returned back to the people that it was promised to since the days of Abraham. Let us pray before that time comes, a rush of new believers in Christ may come from within the walls of Gaza before their souls have been judged for an eternity. I firmly believe we have to look at the signs as talked about in Exodus 13:9, Luke 21:25, Joel 2:31, Acts 2:20. Did you know the last eclipses happened on Jerusalem Day? Just makes me go hmmmm, interesting. God wants us to know and remember days because stuff will happen on them.
Ezekiel 24:1,2 Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day. God wants to know these dates and signs so we can prepare, pray, flee, run or whatever God has in store for us. Hopefully the next time I come back here and add to this, I’ll have a bit more for you. Before I leave, this one last thought:
Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. God gave us one and only one commandment, and we failed miserably at that. As a result, we were cast out of Eden not being able to partake of the tree of life. But we can once again have access to the tree of life, all we have to do is this:
Revelations 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. God is very explicit that if you are not doing his commandments, you know, the ones from the entire body of Scriptures, you will not be able to eat from the tree of life. But maybe that’s a conversation for another thread. Anyways, this is my intro to my re-learning of end times from a different perspective. If you want to discuss this, I will only respond to what I have posted. If I don’t have the answer, rest assured I will search diligently and attempt to answer or respond with Scripture to support it. We are living in exciting times, but why is there not the excitement to go with it? Just an observation. So my point, Do The Feasts. The Feast of Trumpets begins this September 17. I will do my best to observe this. But this is my first year, so I am a newbie to this. If for nothing else then being curious, try and find a church, synagogue, congregation that observes this and take it in. Ya sure ain’t gonna go to hell for it.
