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ROSH HASHANAH 2020: A CURIOUS PORTENT
The Jewish New Year, known as Rosh Hashanah, the “Head of the Year,” started Friday night, September 18, at sunset. Those who take it seriously know that God still uses His calendar. Pay attention.
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A NEW BEGINNING
Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’” [Leviticus 23:23-25]
There are actually two general traditional Hebrew calendar beginnings. The earliest is the sacred or festival calendar which begins in the spring with the first month of Nisan. The later civil calendar begins in the autumn with the seventh month of Tishrei. The first day of Tishrei—today—is Rosh Hashanah. It is a traditional time for a new beginning.
Rosh Hashanah is also known as the Feast of Trumpets. This is taken from the blowing of the shofar or ram’s horn to announce the beginning of the New Year. Since days begin at sunset, based on the Genesis account, Rosh Hashanah began on Friday night (last night) at sunset and ends tonight at sunset. As an example, sunset in Washington DC occurred last night at 7:10pm EDT.
This is also the first day of the ten “Days of Awe.” It is time to seek the Lord, to consider one’s spiritual condition, and to repent. It is a time to prepare for the coming year and make sure one is right with God. Traditionally, one’s spiritual condition at this time sets the tone for the entire coming year.
This is especially applicable, I would think, for the year 2020. The next month and a half will be incredibly intense, even more so than this past summer. This intensity will likely remain until the end of the year and probably into January. Major decisions must be made. Everything is heading into a massive funnel and the vortex created by the pressure will create outcomes possibly never seen before. There is intense pressure from several scenarios topped off by the plandemic, the great worldwide financial reset, the presidential and congressional elections, and tremendous social unrest. Millions of people are extremely angry and cannot seem to contain themselves whatsoever.
For Christians, our spirituality, walk with the Lord, and personal interactions will be greatly tested. It is most necessary to be properly prepared. The tenth day of the “Days of Awe” is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It begins at sunset on Sunday evening, September 27. The following passage gives an indication of the importance of this day:
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord. You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.” [Leviticus 23:26-32][1]
A CURIOUS PORTENT
The passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg yesterday is quite the coincidence. She was obviously a very important American and high profile person, greatly admired and respected. She died before the sun went down on the last day of the civil year right before the onset of Rosh Hashanah. It goes without saying that such is an incredibly rare occurrence and must signal something quite profound.
Pay attention.
© 2020 by R.J. Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
FORTY DAYS TOWARD VICTORY
I don’t know about the rest of you, but the current forty days of preparation is proving to be a giant challenge. Spiritual warfare is strong but a great victory is coming…
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And He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts, and the angels were ministering to Him. [Mark 1:13] [1]
The Lord Jesus began His ministry with forty days of prayer and fasting. In His case, he fasted the entire time, both day and night.
There are only three men listed in all of Scripture who have ever gone on a full forty day fast. This does not mean others did not do it. Undoubtedly, many did. But only Moses, Elijah, and the Lord Jesus have been listed as having done it. Moses did it twice.
You may note that these three were also on the Mount of Transfiguration together. Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets. The Lord Jesus represents everything good, but primarily in this case He represents Salvation and Grace. In fact, the Name above every name means “YHWH-Salvation” or “YHWH sets free.”
Regarding the actual timing of the Lord’s forty day fast, it began with the new moon of the twelfth month on the Hebrew civil calendar, toward the end of summer. It extended into Rosh Hashanah, the “head” of the year or the Hebrew New Year, and continued for another ten days to Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement.
As of today, we have now entered into Day 24 of the forty-day period of repentance, fasting, prayer, and preparation. The forty days began this year on the afternoon of August 21 and will end on September 30. Of course, in one of the most incredible celestial and spiritual signs most of us will ever experience, the forty days began this year with a full solar eclipse that crossed the full length of the continental United States and no other country. This had not happened in almost eight centuries. Please see my post Solar Eclipse Across America Signals Onset of Repentance.
FASTING
I always try to fast one day per week. It is an excellent spiritual practice and is clearly Scriptural. Give your body a break one day per week and it will repay you greatly. God had instructed His people to let their agricultural land lay fallow (no plowing or planting) every seventh year. By doing this it would allow the land to regain its health and vitality, and restore its nutrients. It naturally follows that if one will fast every seventh day it will give one’s digestive system and related systems an opportunity to do some very necessary housecleaning and repair. It is a greatly restorative practice but requires a strong will.
Longer fasts are tougher. Two days isn’t so bad. I’ve gone longer, and achieved incredible spiritual results, but I’ve never come anywhere close to forty days. Many people have, however. Yet, one should never attempt it unless clearly directed by the Lord.
During this forty day period I have been fasting a lot more than normal. I have also been praying a lot more. There has also been a great increase in spiritual warfare. I have had to walk in very strong faith as a result of something very challenging that happened just prior to August 21. On the day it happened I felt great. Then boom! Uh Oh. I wasn’t expecting that! This is going to be very hard to deal with, I thought.
Afterwards I reached a level of spiritual well-being that I had not experienced in quite a while. I should not have been feeling so good! It made no sense in the natural. I quickly professed, almost immediately, that this not so good event in my life never surprised the Lord and that He had a plan to deal with it. I have been dealing with it ever since. It is one of those things that you have to walk out. There is no ready solution in the natural and no solution is possible without the Lord’s direct help.
I prayed and fasted all the more. There were times when things got really bad and I had to tough it out. There have also been some very bright spots. I started seeing the possible means to a solution. As I write this, I am in the midst of another very important part of this whole thing that must be fixed soon so other parts can proceed. I am certainly walking by faith. I KNOW the Lord has the answer. It is my job to stay in faith and keep walking it out. At the end I will come into a great blessing that would have been impossible otherwise.
For those of you who are relating to this I want you to be encouraged. Many of us have been through severe crises in our lives. There are wonderful people who have recently lost everything as a result of the recent hurricanes. There are times when we know if the Lord doesn’t come through we are pretty much done. I remember many times being backed against a wall with no solution whatsoever in sight and all I could do was do my best to stay in faith and trust the Lord. I have also seen the most incredible, tremendous spiritual victories and was amazed at what the Lord could do.
But remember, it is not only that the Lord can do it, it is because He is motivated by His great love for us that makes Him want to do it. He wants to bless us! But it must be done the right way. We must have the correct spiritual mindset. We must walk in faith. The Lord always responds to faith. We must be humble.
Thus, we are in this special time of preparation, fasting, prayer, and repentance for the same reason the Lord was. Something profound will happen afterwards. That’s what the victory of the Day of Atonement is all about. I believe there is something especially profound this year. We must humble ourselves in order to be exalted. We must do the humbling. He will do the exalting.
BE STRONG.
© 2017 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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REGARDING THE CURRENT FORTY DAY PERIOD, SEE THE FOLLOWING RECENT SERIES POSTED AUGUST 9-23, 2017:
PART 1: ECONOMIC CRASH AND BURN
PART 2: THE THIRD SIGN: IT’S DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN
PART 3: REVEALING THE HIDDEN ECONOMIC JUDGMENT PATTERN
PART 4: SOLAR ECLIPSE ACROSS AMERICA SIGNALS ONSET OF REPENTANCE
Rejecting Yom Kippur: Take Another Trip Around the Sinai
Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.
The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. [Exodus 16:1-2]
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There is a dynamic that plays out which perfectly illustrates the uncircumcised human heart. Most especially, it illustrates rebellious obstinacy.
In the above passage we have the incredible occurrence of the worst possible attitude displayed by an entire nation perhaps in the history of the world. Though that may sound superfluous, consider the historical setting.
The nation of Israel had just been released from centuries of slavery. They were in bondage to the Egyptian elite and were used as slaves to expand the kingdom of Egypt and make it rich beyond even what the elite thought was possible. These Hebrew slaves toiled away day after day and year after year on mere subsistence wages living the very opposite of the life Abraham had originally dreamed for his people.
Joseph was long dead and forgotten, and all he had done by the direction and wisdom of God had long since been trashed and rejected. The Egyptian elite saw the descendants of Jacob as mere minimum wage chattel to grow their vast corporate-government kingdom, and were used relentlessly.
But Moses, who was raised as an Egyptian and knew exactly what was going on from an inside perspective behind the scenes, decided he must honor his heritage and leave the riches behind. God raised him up as a great deliverer of his people.
Then, during one of the greatest miracles in human history, the entire nation of Israel crossed the Red Sea to freedom and the Egyptian army was destroyed. In fact, the entire Egyptian economy was destroyed. The nation was destroyed. It took centuries to recover. This is why Pharaoh kept relenting on allowing their departure: He knew Egypt was built and existed on the backs of Hebrew slaves.
Yet, immediately after their great deliverance, the nation of Israel completely turned on God. They turned on Moses. And it must be acknowledged that it was not just the rebellion of a few—it was a rebellion of the entire nation.
What kind of people are blessed and delivered from evil so incredibly and then immediately betray the One who saved them?
For those who read this who claim to be real Christians there must be a recognition and acceptance of such Old Testament historical accounts and certain verses in particular which reveal this sad truth, otherwise we are merely picking and choosing. There must also be an acknowledgement that America has now gone down this very path. This truth reveals human nature in general for what it is, sans the ongoing masquerade and constant ego-driven attempts to hide it, but appears much more pronounced at given moments in history.
Keep in mind that though this bad and ungrateful attitude certainly existed among all ancient Gentile nations, it even existed among the chosen of God. Keep in mind as well that the following verses also exist within the Torah honored by Jews worldwide and have not been extracted or censored. This proves all the more that one can vouch for their veracity:
And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people. [Exodus 32:9 KJV]
And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. For the LORD had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. [Exodus 33:2-5 KJV]
And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, if now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. [Exodus 34:8-9 KJV]
Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people. Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD. [Deuteronomy 9:6-7 KJV]
For the record, that entire generation of the nation of Israel which was gloriously and miraculously delivered from Egyptian slavery NEVER changed its tune. They remained rebellious and obstinate until every one of them save two died out in the Sinai desert, their graves long since lost to history.
THE NEXT GENERATION
There is no doubt the Hebrew nation that entered the Promised Land—The Next Generation—learned how to honor and obey God. Yet, over many centuries the majority of their descendants reverted to form, and one particular generation, the last one, was the most despicable of all.
From it, however, the cream of the crop arose, as did that second generation in the Sinai. A minority of Hebrew descendants—a Remnant—saw exactly who the Lord Jesus was when He arrived. They knew Him to be YHWH Himself who came to deliver them from sin and set them on a path toward miraculous and incredibly joyous spiritual life. They welcomed Him with open arms while so many of their brothers hated Him and rejected Him entirely.
The once mighty Hebrew nation came to a complete end soon after that, but the Lord’s new spiritual community, the New Covenant community, arose and has remained on the planet ever since. It was founded by a true descendant of Abraham. It was peopled exclusively for its first seven years or so only by true descendants of Abraham. There was a Hebrew remnant that remained true and honest before God and the Lord used these people to establish His community.
The Hebrew members thereof did the very opposite of those descendants who hated the Lord. They understood well the historical accounts we’ve delved into here, and knew a great change must take place in their hearts. They knew that at one time God wanted to destroy them all out there in the Sinai, but also that Moses had interceded to save them. What kind of evil people must they have been for God Himself to want to wipe them out?
Yet within those early historical verses there was also this:
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. [Deuteronomy 10:16 KJV]
The first-century descendants of Abraham who loved the Lord Jesus did exactly that. The real Christians in America who are presently bringing forth the Great Awakening have done likewise.
YOM KIPPUR BEGINS TUESDAY NIGHT
This is in part the message of Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement. It began at sunset tonight. Those who take the Lord seriously know it is a day of fasting and repentance—a day to circumcise one’s heart—a day to get right with God.
“This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute.” [Leviticus 16:29-31] [1]
But most “Christians” will reject it. This is a stark reminder of true human nature. Most will choose to continue along the lines of religious rote and counterfeit truth. Millions of unreal Christians will not only not change for the better, they will be hoodwinked all the more by fake religious leaders to continue onward on the path toward destruction.
In that light, does anyone think it is mere coincidence that Pope Francis arrived in Washington DC on the very eve of Yom Kippur? And that he will meet with the president on Yom Kippur? And that he will have a parade on Yom Kippur?
For millions of stiffnecked unreal Christians and unbelieving Jews worldwide, the rejection of the spirit of Yom Kippur confirms their uncircumcised hearts. Their rejection of the supreme rule of the Lord Jesus and acceptance of the rule of counterfeits regardless of denomination reveals their destitute, sinful nature as well. There will be no Promised Land for these people.
Their bad attitude and indifference toward the truth of God will demand something no one covets. It will demand the reward of the unrighteous.
It will demand yet another long, dusty, and fruitless trip around the Sinai.
For many, it will be their last.
© 2015 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
The Day of Atonement
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. [John 1:11][1]
Many Christians have some semblance of an idea that Jesus was rejected by His people. But what most do not know is just how wicked and pervasive the rejection was.
And He is still being rejected today.
He is rejected by the majority of those who confess to be adherents of Christianity. He is rejected by most churches. He is rejected by most preachers. He is most often never welcomed in our so-called places of worship. Christians in general don’t want Him, don’t like Him, and most will never allow Him to be in control and be the Leader we all need.
I have written about this extensively but for the most part it always seems to fall on deaf ears. I have never been officially disfellowshipped from a church but I have been silenced and slandered and libeled and gossiped about. Many wished I would leave before the Lord released me. Though I have met thousands of wonderful believers with big smiles and great attitudes, I have also seen many dirty looks from so many so-called loving Christians and preachers I have halfway come to expect it. Some can think what they want, but others will identify with this. I have years of personal experience in this area and can relate, though on a smaller scale of course, to what the Lord went through.
The worst persecution comes from those you thought were friends.
But official churches do not care. The people within most churches have accepted a watered-down version of the original and have retained the right to hate and reject, and there is no doubt they would hate and reject the Lord if He ever showed up. We have glorified preachers and Christian personalities. We have allowed them the high place, the television studio chair, the radio broadcaster’s booth, and have lifted them up over and beyond the Lord. They claim His Lordship but don’t really know Him. If they did they would spend most of the time on their faces instead of soaking up the control, authority, and glory. These are pretenders who have not only accepted a weak version of the original but teach it as gospel. The time will come when the Lord will clean house but that time is not yet.
There are so many false doctrines being taught within official Christian circles it is laughable. There are many, though, who feel more and want more, and get inspired to act, but quickly withdraw once it becomes evident it will cause a problem in the local body. You can bet there will be scads of preachers and church officials getting creamed at the judgment for being so control-oriented and hateful toward God’s apostles and prophets and teachers, and all those who were earnestly doing the will of God but suffering for it.
Even this paper will go over the heads of some who read it. They cannot imagine that their lovely church could be guilty of rejecting the Lord Jesus, though the very clear evidence is all around them.
On this annual Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur, how many churches and preachers and denominational leaders and church-going Christians even consider honoring that which is clearly put forth in the Word of God? Most have never even heard of it. Most would never bring it up, maybe because it is “too Jewish,” and “We’re not under the Law,” or some other garbage. Yet having dead services is fine. Rejecting the infilling of the Holy Spirit is perfectly okay. Wanting nothing to do with anything resembling the Book of Acts is perfectly acceptable.
Such have rejected the Lord. Such are embarrassed by “speaking in tongues.” Such refuse to take on the Name Above Every Name in water baptism. Such will not really love his brother unless he looks like them, acts like them, and believes like them. These people talk about love but violate every commandment concerning love. If they really did love it would show. If they really loved the Lord it would show, instead of insisting on dead, boring, lifeless churches where a miracle could not find its way in edgewise, even though there might be a great eloquent preacher or wonderful “worship” music.
Whoever takes the time to study real revivals and spiritual awakenings knows the usual order of things is wholly unlike the way the Lord wants it to be. But what can He do?
Most have kicked Him out.
Most don’t want Him.
Most have instead invented a worldly, religious substitute.
But the Lord will not be stopped. Just as He has always done, He will use the nobodies and those the official Christians think are idiots. Since He is not welcome in most church buildings, He will use living rooms and garages and shacks and barns and open fields and anywhere else He might find before the official Christians find out about it and shut them down or run them out of town.
I could quote Scripture forever but it won’t do any good. But, speaking of which, here’s a good one:
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. [1 Corinthians 1:26-29]
We are in the early stages of a national Great Awakening. But it will bypass most churches. Most preachers don’t get it and won’t get it. As He did in the beginning, the Lord will use the humble and the nobodies. There are many who have been in the process of being prepared for what is coming forth, and will come forth suddenly. These are the ones who had formerly been rejected, just as the Lord Jesus was rejected. And like Him, they do not fit within official church circles. And because of this, the Lord will generally work outside official church circles and most so-called Christians will end up missing out on the greatest spiritual movement this nation has ever seen.
And you know what else? They will even fight it, like rabid wolves, just as they have been doing all along. But this time there will be far too many real Christians, and they will be connected in fellowship, and they will not be so easy to pick on and pick off as before. And the Lord will be with them and among them because they have never rejected Him like so many others have, but have embraced Him, and suffered with Him.
Since real repentance always accompanies great spiritual movements, there is always the hope that opposing churches and preachers repent as well, overcome their spiritual pride, and get right with God.
On this Day of Atonement, consider the price that was paid to buy your salvation. Consider the One who was rejected but completed His mission anyway. And think about where you want to stand in the coming Great Awakening—within it or against it.
And start doing something about it now.
© 2012 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Happy Rosh Hashanah 2012
This is a great time of year. The Jewish New Year starts tonight at sunset. This is known as Rosh Hashanah, the “Head of the Year.” It is a traditional time for a new beginning, and those who take it seriously know that God still uses His calendar.
For example, biblical scholars know that the spring feasts have already been fulfilled. The Lord Jesus was the spotless Passover Lamb and then rose again from death on First fruits. He was the first perfect offering ever made, in that He had no sin, but became sin on our behalf:
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. [2 Corinthians 5:21]
The Feast of Pentecost was also fulfilled fifty days later. It marked the day the Torah was given through Moses on Mount Sinai, but instead of Law, Pentecost established a day of Love and reconciliation for the simple fact that a long list of do’s and do not’s without faith merely reveal the perfect standard by which we must live. The infilling of the Spirit of God grants us the power and the ability to live:
You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? [2 Corinthians 3:2-8]
Many Jewish rabbis teach that the Old Testament actually speaks of two Messiahs. One Messiah was known as the “Son of Joseph” and would come to earth in the person of a suffering servant. The second Messiah was known as the “Son of David” and would burst onto the scene as a powerful conquering king. They did not perceive that these two were actually the same Messiah, and many Jews in the first century misidentified the Lord as an imposter because He was not the conquering king they were looking for. Yet, the Scriptures are filled with the idea of going downward to go upward. Humility must precede exaltation. If one cannot handle the former, there will be no latter. The Lord Jesus fulfilled this perfectly. He arrived as the Sacrifice Lamb to pay for sin 2,000 years ago as a suffering servant and will soon return again.
And it will be in the autumn of the year.
Pay attention to Rosh Hashanah, which runs from sunset on Sunday night, September 16 to sunset on Monday night, September 17. Ten days later is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). It begins at sunset on September 25. These are the ten “Days of Awe” when we all should take our walk with God very seriously, engage in spiritual introspection, repent of sin, and do our best to present a pure sacrifice on Yom Kippur. What follows in the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths), or Sukkot. It is a seven-day feast commemorating the time the Hebrews lived in temporary shelters in the Sinai desert.
This time in autumn was in all likelihood the actual time of our Lord’s birth and will also mark the season of His return! Sukkot has not yet been fulfilled. We get a tantalizing clue regarding the Lord’s physical birth in the following:
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. [John 1:14]
The usage of the word “dwelt” in the above passage indicates the fact that the Lord tabernacled among us, in a temporary shelter, spreading His tent, so to speak. He spent forty days here after His resurrection in His glorified state, and ascended to heaven bodily ten days before Pentecost.
He will return during a future Feast of Tabernacles, and will then set up a permanent dwelling for all:
“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” [John 14:2-3] [1]
The Lord Jesus will return very soon. May we all prepare our hearts this Rosh Hashanah.
© 2012 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Happy Rosh Hashanah 2011
Image via Wikipedia
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This is a great time of year. The Jewish New Year starts tonight at sunset. This is known as Rosh Hashanah, the “Head of the Year.” It is a traditional time for a new beginning, and those who take it seriously know that God still uses His calendar.
For example, biblical scholars know that the spring feasts have already been fulfilled. The Lord Jesus was the spotless Passover Lamb and then rose again from death on First fruits. He was the first perfect offering ever made, in that He had no sin, but became sin on our behalf:
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. [2 Corinthians 5:21]
The Feast of Pentecost was also fulfilled fifty days later. It originally marked the day the Torah was given through Moses on Mount Sinai, But instead of Law, Pentecost established a day of Love and reconciliation for the simple fact that a long list of do’s and don’t’s without faith merely reveal the perfect standard by which we must live. The infilling of the Spirit of God grants us the power and the ability to live:
You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? [2 Corinthians 3:2-8]
Many Jewish rabbis teach that the Old Testament actually speaks of two Messiahs. One Messiah was known as the “Son of Joseph” and would come to earth in the person of a suffering servant. The second Messiah was known as the “Son of David” and would burst onto the scene as a powerful conquering king. Some did not perceive that these two were actually the same Messiah, and many Jews in the first century misidentified the Lord as an imposter because He was not the conquering king they were looking for. Yet, the Scriptures are filled with the idea of going downward to go upward. Humility must precede exaltation. If one cannot handle the former, there will be no latter. The Lord Jesus fulfilled this perfectly. He arrived as the Sacrifice Lamb to pay for sin 2,000 years ago as a suffering servant and will soon return again as the great King of Kings.
And it will be in the autumn of the year.
Pay attention to Rosh Hashanah, which runs from sunset on Wednesday night, September 28, to sunset on Thursday night. Ten days later is the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). It begins at sunset on October 7. These are the ten “Days of Awe” when real believers should take a serious and renewed look at our walk with God, engage in spiritual introspection, repent of sin, and do our best to present a pure sacrifice on Yom Kippur. What follows is the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths), or Sukkot. It is a seven-day feast commemorating the time the Hebrews lived in temporary shelters in the Sinai desert.
This time in autumn was in all likelihood the actual time of our Lord’s birth and will also mark the season of His return! Sukkot has not yet been fulfilled. We get a tantalizing clue regarding the Lord’s physical birth in the following:
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. [John 1:14]
The usage of the word “dwelt” in the above passage indicates the fact that the Lord tabernacled among us, in a temporary shelter, spreading His tent, so to speak. He also spent forty days here after His resurrection in His glorified state, and ascended to heaven bodily ten days before Pentecost.
The Scriptures indicate that He will most likely return during a future Feast of Tabernacles, and will then set up a permanent dwelling for all:
“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” [John 14:2-3] [1]
The Lord Jesus will return very soon. May we all prepare our hearts this Rosh Hashanah.
© 2011 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
