It seems it always helps when you experience something new to also have something familiar with which to reference. This is what Ezekiel experienced. In previous posts we discovered that his thoughts were on the temple since he was in captivity in Babylon. God gave him a vision of a new temple that would be established in the future. While many things were new and different, it had a feeling of familiarity at the same time.

The size of the temple complex is something to consider. If you take a football field and put three end-to-end both in width and length, that would be about the size of it. That’s quite the size, isn’t it? However, the size of the temple itself didn’t change much from that of previous temples. The size of the entire tabernacle could almost fit inside the temple structure of Solomon’s temple, although the entire complex was much larger. Yet, the size of Solomon’s temple was basically equivalent to that of Herod’s temple and of the temple in Ezekiel’s vision. The size of the entire complex of each temple did increase with each successive temple.

The tabernacle, Solomon’s temple, and Herod’s temple had a bronze altar, a laver, a menorah, a table of shewbread, and an altar of incense. Herod’s temple did not have the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat as those were lost in Ezekiel’s day when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple. The temple in Ezekiel’s vision had only the bronze altar and the altar of incense. We discussed this briefly previously. All the other elements had been fulfilled by Christ: the laver represents the word of God which cleanses from sin (Ep 5:26). Christ is the living word of God (Jn 1:1) and is physically present. The menorah represents Christ as the light of the world (Jn 9:5), the table of shewbread represents Christ as the bread of life (Jn 6:35), the ark of the covenant represents Christ’s glory dwelling in the Holy of Holies (Ek 43:7), and the mercy seat represents Christ as the propitiation for sin and is already completed (1Jn 2:2). The bronze altar represents that atonement is still needed for those born, and the altar of incense represents the prayers of thanksgiving by those who have accepted Christ’s atonement for one’s sins and who is the hope of their future.

The bronze altar is arranged in a tier fashion and has steps leading up its eastern side. It is interesting that in Solomon’s temple this was a ramp instead of steps and was located on the southern side of the altar. This altar is quite large, being 10.5 feet high with its top being 21 ft sq. It would seem the priests will have to be quite strong to carry these sacrifices up these steps and get them close to the center of the altar.

It seems that the same sacrifices as previously made will now continue: burnt offerings, peace (fellowship) offerings, sin offerings, trespass (guilt) offerings, grain (meat) offerings. Why is this? Sacrifices are now needed for three basic reasons: (1) because a theocracy is re-established where sin must be dealt with when part of the sinless Trinity is physically present, (2) it seems death no longer occurs as there is no additional resurrection of the righteous dead mentioned in scripture, (3) sacrifices were always symbolic for they never took away sin and faith has always been required. All of these reasons help those born during this time to see their need for accepting Christ their King as their Savior and the Hope for their future.

It also seems that four of the seven feasts typically celebrated each year (Lv 23) will still be celebrated during this time: Pesach (Passover), Matzah (Unleavened Bread), Bikkurim (Firstfruit), and Sukkot (Tabernacles). While these have been fulfilled, these are still needed because these feasts represent the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, as well as his literal dwelling with his people. The other three are already fulfilled and are not needed: Shavuot (Pentecost) – the giving of the Holy Spirit; Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets) – God remembering his covenant with Israel (Tribulation Period), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) – God forgiving Israel of their sins (at Christ’s return).

As you can see, there will be many similar things that have been reshaped and slightly different. What is familiar has been reshaped for the needs of the new age. These things will help those who are already bound to their Messiah, their King, a new way to celebrate and worship him. These things will help those who need to make a decision about their King a way to understand their need to accept him. What is new will also be familiar.

This is going to be an amazing time. I hope you are making plans to not miss it. Something so wonderful should not be missed.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Yesterday, at sundown, began Yom Kippur. In the book of Leviticus, this was known as the Day of Atonement (Lv 16:& 23). This was the time that the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies to offer atonement for him and his family and then for the entire nation of Israel. This was discussed last year (see Fall Jewish Holidays: Yom Kippur). At that time, we also learned that this holiday is prophetic to the national repentance, cleansing and atonement for Israel as a nation when the Messiah, Jesus Christ, returns to earth (Zc 13).

What makes one to make this type of prophetic parallel? We mentioned last time that Rosh Hashanah, or Feast of Trumpets, was to ask God to remember His covenant with Israel. This was necessary because as sinful human beings, which we all are, they have no special element of their own to stand before a Holy God. Therefore, this feast was to make the people look toward God and prepare themselves for the coming Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, when God would pass judgment. Blood is needed to appease God’s wrath and provide atonement for sins. At that time, this had to be done yearly. We learned that these sacrifices pointed to the one Messiah to come who would be the future sacrifice that would once and for all become the payment for the sins of the entire world.

After the Rapture of the Church (or Receiving of the Bride), God’s attention will again turn to Israel. All the troubles that will come on the earth will drive all Jews and Israelites back to Israel and finally force God’s people to once again look to Him. Then when Christ returns, Israel will finally accept their Messiah and be forgiven nationally and individually and the entire land cleansed in preparation for their Messiah, who is now their Lord and Savior, to reign over them and the entire earth (Zc 12-14).

Therefore, both Jews and Christians have much to look forward to in our future. Although all Christians will be taken from the earth at the Rapture, both Jews/Israelites and Gentiles will accept the true Messiah Jesus Christ. Both groups will face many hardships during the Tribulation Period, but the main goal of this troublesome time is to bring God’s chosen people back to Himself. His people are scattered over the entire earth, so the consequences of disobedience of their covenant with God (Dt 28) will be a driving force to have them turn once again back to Him. God remembers His covenant, remembers His chosen people, and brings them to a new covenant as prophesied (Jr 33).

Man may forget God’s promises, but God always keeps his. Hallelujah!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah, is upon us again. It starts at sundown on September 25th. I spoke of this holiday in some detail last year (Rosh Hashanah 2021). As was stated in that post, this was originally instituted by God at the time of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and was called Feast of Trumpets (Lv 23:23-25). Trumpets were blown as a memorial and a plea for God to remember his covenant with His people. This was significant because the Day of Atonement was only a few days away. This is when the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies to atone for the sin of the Israelites. No individual has goodness on their own that can save them or be good enough for God to accept them. Their only hope was for God to remember His covenant with them where He had promised to love and protect them. It was important that God remembered that when the high priest went into the Holy of Holies to ask God to accept them.

We had also stated that this feast is prophetic and relates to the beginning of the Tribulation period (also called the time of Jacob’s trouble by several Old Testament prophets) after the rapture of the church, also known as the Receiving of the Bride. Why then? The church age is over and so it is time for God to work with his chosen people again. Where are they? Scattered over the entire world. That is why this time of earth’s history affects the entire earth. God had stated long ago that their disobedience would result in consequences and trials that force them to come back to him (Lv 26; Dt 28). Since they are now living in almost every country of the world, the whole earth is involved. Even further into the earth’s future, the Passover will reflect the memory of this regathering of the Jews and Israelites rather than their exodus from Egypt (Ek 37:21-23; Jr 23:3-8).

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Year of Prophecy: © 1462 BC (Leviticus 23)

Year of Fulfillment:  32 AD (Matthew 21:1-11; 27:32 - 28:15; Mark 11:1-11; 15:21 - 16:14; Luke 19:28-44; 23:26 - 24:12; John 12:12-19; 19:16 - 20:18; Acts 2)

Time until fulfillment: ~ 1494 years

The prophecy through the feast of Israel is an example of fulfilled Biblical Prophecy. To show how the amount of time passing between prophecy and fulfillment doesn’t matter, we will cover ten of such prophecies. This is the tenth of the ten examples.

God has a way of interweaving multiple aspects and meanings into events so that they are meaningful for the present, for the past, and for the future. This is especially true for the feasts that He provided to the nation of Israel in Leviticus. They were practically meaningful to the Israelites since God tied many of them to the different harvests times, but also made them memorials to commemorate His appointment with them so they could look back on the events and their original occurrence to see how He had guided and protected them and to give a visual to what He would be doing in their future. Their significance cannot be understated, because they were to be held in perpetuity (Ex 12:14, 17, 24; Lev 23:14, 21, 41). We will briefly look at four of them here since in our “present”, their “future fulfillment” has already occurred.

Feast of Passover (Pesach; 14th day of the first month: Lev 23:5)

Passover is probably the most known feast and the one which most people identify with those being Jewish. It commemorates the exodus of the children of Israel, under the leadership of Moses, from Egyptian slavery (Ex 12). The preparation for the feast began on the 10th day of the first month (Ex 12:3), called Preparation Day, when a lamb was chosen for Passover. The animals were to be examined to be sure they were without defect (Ex 12:5). This Preparation Day has demarcated other significant events in Jewish history. It was the day Joshua led the children of Israel across the Jordan River into the Promised Land (Js 4:19), and the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey (Zc 9:9; Mt 21:1-17; Mk 11:1-11; Lk 19:28-48; Jn 12:12-17). Since Jesus ate with Lazarus six days before Passover (Jn 12:1), being the ninth day of the First Month, this indicates His entry into Jerusalem was on the tenth day of the First Month.

Passover itself was held on the 14th day of the First Month (Ex 12:6, Lv 23:5). Since the day began at sundown (Gn 1:5), the lamb was slaughtered just before sundown (Ex 12:6; i.e., on the 13th day) and roasted over a fire. Therefore, the Passover meal was observed at the start of Passover (i.e., that night, the beginning of Passover). On that first Passover, the people took the lamb’s blood and marked it on the sides and top of the doorframe (Ex 12:7), which, if these marks were connected, would form a cross. The people then ate the meat of the lamb roasted in the fire, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread (Ex 12:8). Each subsequent Passover was observed as a memorial of this ‘passing over’; blood was sprinkled only on this first Passover (Dt 16:1, 3). The Passover sacrifice could only be done in the place God would choose as a dwelling for His Name (Dt 16:5). Jerusalem was the place God chose for His dwelling (2Ch 3:1, 1Ki 8:29), and the place where Christ was later crucified (Mt 27:22-56; Mk 15:12-41; Lk 23:13-49; Jn 19:1-37).

Therefore, Preparation Day marks judgment and Passover marks deliverance. During the exodus, the lamb was secured so that its blood would deliver the Israelites from the judgment of death (Ex 12:12-13). When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, they consecrated themselves to the Lord (Js 3:5) and stones were erected to signify God’s fulfilled promise of their deliverance (Js 4:19-24). When Jesus entered Jerusalem on the colt, he spoke of judgment as well (Jn 12:30-32) which was a fulfillment of the judgment of which the prophet Isaiah had spoken (Is 6:10, 53:1; Jn 12:38-40) due to their spiritual blindness. Jesus was then crucified on Passover about the same time as when the lamb was slain for Passover (Jn 19:31). Therefore, just as the lamb from the original Passover saved the Israelites from physical death, Jesus, the Lamb of God, saves us from spiritual death (1Co 5:17).

These events are not mere coincidence and are mentioned in the Bible for their significance. The original Passover then pointed to the purpose of Jesus Christ’s first coming. The prophet Daniel even pinpointed the time in history when Christ would be presented to Israel (Dn 9:25-26). The time from the decree of Artaxerxes given to Nehemiah (Ne 1-2) to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls and defenses until Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt was 483 years, as stated by Daniel. Therefore, the end of the 483 years or “until Messiah the Prince” (Dn 9:25) was in 33 A.D. Both Daniel (Dn 9:25) and Zechariah (Zc 9:9) refer to Christ as a Prince or King. Therefore, Christ was presenting himself to Israel as their King as prophesied; however, the Jewish leaders rejected him (Lk 19:47, Jn 12:37). Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they did not recognize him or his significance to them and for the judgment that would befall them (Lk 19:41-44). If the Jewish leaders were such scholars of the Scriptures as they claimed (Jn 9:34), they should have known to have looked for him on that very day since Daniel had prophesied, and recorded, it so many years prior. God had given them many years to understand the prophecy. Besides, they knew of the Magi and their seeking of the Messiah’s birth (Mt 2:3-6). All they had to do was put two and two together; but alas, history records their rejection through spiritual blindness (Is 6:10, Jn 12:37-40) instead.

Feast of Unleavened Bread (Matzah; 15th - 21st day of the first month: Lv 23:6-8)

This feast followed immediately after Passover with the first and last days of the feast being Sabbaths (or days set aside from normal activities). During the Exodus, unleavened bread (bread without yeast) was eaten because they left Egypt in haste and did not have time to make bread with yeast (Ex 12:34). Leaven (or yeast) symbolizes sin and how its effects readily permeate one’s life (1Co 5:7-8; Ga 5:9). Three commandments were given with this feast: i) to sanctify (or dedicate to the Lord) their firstborn (Ex 13:2), ii) remember the Exodus by eating unleavened bread (Ex 13:6), and iii) to observe the feast when they entered the Promised Land (Ex 13:5, Js 5:11). These commandments symbolized God’s deliverance (God protected their firstborn while those of the Egyptians died), their separation from the moral pollution of Egypt and their separation unto God (Js 5:9), and their recognition of God keeping His promise to Abraham (Gn 13:15). They were to also teach their children of this significance (Ex 13:8) to remind them of the historical appointment the nation had with God on that day as well as the lesson of separation and holiness.

This feast speaks of sanctification, a separation from something/someone and a separation unto something/someone else. The first Sabbath of the feast commemorated the day the Israelites left Egypt (Ex 13:3) and crossed the Red Sea - separating themselves from Egypt. The completion of this feast, the second Sabbath, was not held until they entered Canaan, the Promised Land (Ex 13:5; Js 5:10-11). The five days in between these two Sabbath days then represented the period of time the children of Israel were in the wilderness. Therefore, the first Sabbath was the Israelites separation of Egypt and unto the Lord, after which they grew in their relationship to God during their travels to the Promised Land. The final Sabbath of the feast represented the finality of their Egyptian separation (Js 5:9).

Since Christ’s death occurred just before the beginning of Passover (Mk 15:42-43; Lk 23:54; Jn 19:42), Jesus’ sinless (unleavened) body was in the tomb during the beginning of the feast of unleavened bread. Therefore, this symbolizes his death and the accomplished positional sanctification in those who believe in Him (1Co 6:11; 2Th 2:13; 1Pt 1:2; Hb 13:12). Just as the Jews (slaves) were separated from the Egyptians (masters), the apostle Paul states that through the shed blood of Christ’s death for our sin, we are now separated from our former masters, Sin and Satan (Ro 6:1-7:6). Therefore, the first part has already been accomplished through Christ’s death. However, the prophetic nature of the remainder of this feast is now and future. Those who are believers have the capacity to be conformed to the image of Christ (1Co 2:16; Pp 1:6), and are therefore undergoing progressive sanctification. Final sanctification (or glorification) will occur in the future when Christ makes us like Him (1Th 3:13; 1Jn 3:2).

Feast of First Fruits (Bikkurim; 16th day of the first month: Lv 23:9-14)

The first occurrence of this feast was not until the Israelites entered Canaan (Lv 23:10; Js 5:11-12). As was noted above, the Israelites entered the Promised Land on the 10th day of the First Month. This was the beginning of the harvest season—first barley and then wheat. This six-month period enabled the Israelites to eat off the land during their conquest of the land (Js 5:12).  This demonstrates the appropriateness of God’s timing. After crossing the Jordan River, the Israelites recommitted themselves to God by reinstating the rite of circumcision (Js 5:2) which God has provided as a symbol of His covenant with Abraham (Gn 17:9-14). The Israelites then observed the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of First Fruits (Js 5:10-12). It is noted that they did eat roasted ‘old corn’ (i.e., corn they did not personally gather) on the day after Passover (Js 5:11). They did not eat of the new grain until the wave offering of the new grain was made and presented to the Lord (Lv 23:14). Although this feast occurred at the time of the first harvest, the feast of First Fruits memorialized the event of entering the Promised Land; it did not function as an agricultural or fertility feast as some of the surrounding nations perhaps practiced, and was later expanded to thank God for his provision and acknowledge His supremacy over all.

The apostle Paul interprets the significance of this feast by declaring that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the first fruit of our resurrection to come (1Co 15:20). Therefore, just as Christ was crucified just before Passover and his body was in the tomb on the first day of Unleavened Bread, His resurrection occurred on the day of First Fruits. The idea of “first fruit” is giving the best of something with it being a representative of what is to come. Physically, this represented the coming crops. Spiritually, Christ’s resurrection symbolized the first fruits of resurrection with a whole harvest of resurrected believers to someday follow (1Th 4:13-17).

Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost (Shavuot; 5th day of the third month: Lv 23:15-22)

Pentecost was held 50 days after the Feast of First Fruits (Lv 23:16). During the Exodus, this timeframe put them at the foot of Mt. Sinai (Ex 19:1-2). Although not celebrated until they reached the Promised Land, it is likely that the time of this feast marked the ratification of the Mosaic Covenant by the Israelites.  Once the Israelites entered Canaan, this feast marked the beginning of the wheat harvest, 50 days after the barley harvest. A first-fruit of the wheat harvest was also to be offered to the Lord (Lv 23:16-18). There is a major difference between the two offerings of these two harvests. When presenting the first-fruit of the barley harvest, one unleavened loaf was presented (Ex 12:15; Lv 23:10-11). This offering had to be unleavened because the Feast of First Fruit was held during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Lv 23:4-14). However, during the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), two leavened loaves were offered (Lv 23:17). Also, during both harvests, grain was left at the edges of the fields for the poor and for non-Jews (Lv 23:22). This is further demonstrated when Ruth, a Moabitess (a Gentile), was allowed to glean during the barley and wheat harvests from the field of Boaz (a Jew) without reprimand (Ru 1:22, 2:21-23).

Luke refers to the prophetic significance of this feast when he stated in Acts 2:1, “and when the day of Pentecost was fully come,” indicating that a future fulfillment of the feast was about to occur. What occurred at this time was the giving of the Holy Spirit (Ac 2). This was a paradigm shift of how God related to man. After Acts 2, with the nation of Israel temporarily set aside (Ro 11:25), along with the Temple, God began to work with individuals rather than with a nation with each person’s body becoming the Temple for the Holy Spirit (1Co 3:16). Therefore, since the giving of the Law and the establishment of the nation of Israel as the medium through whom God would reveal Himself to man occurred at, or near, the first Pentecost, and was also a significant paradigm shift in God’s relation to man, it would seem logical that this second paradigm shift would also have occurred at Pentecost.

Therefore, the two loaves made of finely ground wheat flour and leaven (yeast) were doubly symbolic of both Jews and Gentiles together to which Jesus alluded to in his teaching the disciples that he had food to which they know not of (Jn 4:32) with his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well in Sychar (Jn 4), which began with the giving of the Holy Spirit (Ac 2), which God taught to Peter in a vision (Ac 10:15) right before the first Gentile received the Holy Spirit (Ac 10:24-48), and by which God made Paul, a Jew, an apostle to Gentiles (Ac 9:15). This is also to what Paul spoke when he stated that the partition (the Balustrade: the partition in the Temple beyond which a Gentile could no longer go) had been removed by Christ and His death for mankind’s sin (Ep 2:12-16). The apostles also recognized this as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Ac 15:15-18; Am 9:11-2; Ob 17, 19-21).

As we have seen, these four feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Pentecost) had national, practical, memorial, and prophetic significance. They are grouped in the first three months of the Jewish calendar and for the most part have been fulfilled in our current past. The next feasts did not occur until the seventh month with the next three also occurring in close proximity to each other. These three are still in our present future.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

It is not just the topic of time of which we are concerned, but the Bible’s perspective of time that is of consequence. In order to understand the topic of which someone is writing, it many times helps to understand something about the author as well.

All of the writers of both the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible were Jewish, with very few exceptions. It is believed that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon during the time of Daniel the prophet, wrote the fourth chapter of Daniel. While tradition has claimed that Luke, the physician who was a companion of the apostle Paul and who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, was a Gentile, there is probably more evidence which supports he was more likely a Jew. Therefore, most of the ideas and teachings would be from a Jewish perspective. The idea of time would be no exception.

A day is defined in the Bible, and by Jewish teaching, as “an evening and a morning” (Gn 1). Of course, this then begs the question of whether the days mentioned in the first chapter of Genesis are literal days. There are four main reasons to believe that they are literal days:

i) There is nothing to suggest that it was not a literal day. If we use Occam’s razor principle, i.e., the simplest solution tends to be the right one, then it is less complicated to see it as a literal day.

ii) This is how Moses, the believed author of Genesis, and other Jews throughout history defined “a day.”

iii) In Exodus 20:11 and 31:17, where the importance of the Sabbath is described, each passage states that the earth and heavens were created in six days and that God rested on the seventh. Since the emphasis in these two verses was on the seventh day of each of our weeks, if God rested on the seventh day and it was a literal day as implied here, then the other six days should be literal days.

iv) Since Moses was the author of both Genesis and Exodus, then if he taught in Exodus that these were literal days, then he probably meant them to be literal days in Genesis as well.

Why is it important to understand this? Paul stated that the Jews were entrusted with the words of God (Ro 3:2); therefore, it is important to understand the Jewish perspective of life and time. It is unclear why God chose the Jews, but scripture is clear that God chose Abraham and made an everlasting covenant with him (Gn 15:17-21). Somehow, God made an impression on Abraham. It is possible that Noah was still alive in Abraham’s early years [then known as Abram (Gn 11:27)] and had an influence on him.  God’s covenant to Abraham was not only for Abraham but for his descendants through the line of Isaac (Gn 17:19) and Jacob (Gn 28:13-15; 35:9-13). This covenant included promises of blessings, having a great name, becoming a great nation, and being a blessing to others and the whole world (Gn 12:1-4). Abraham believed in the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness (Gn 15:6). Because the covenant was everlasting and unconditional (Gn 15:17), its fulfillment was entirely in God’s hands and not in the hands of Abraham, or his descendants, the Israelites. Although they would reap consequences of their actions (Lv 26; Dt 28), God has promised to keep his part of the covenant regardless of their actions (Jr 31:36) because He is faithful (Dt 7:9). All through history, even through judgments of captivity and sword, God has, and will, ensure that a remnant remains (Is 10:22, Jr 23:3).

Because of this relationship with the Jewish people which God initiated, it is important to understand the hows and whys of His interactions with them. It was God who initiated the Jewish calendar (Ex 12:2), often referred to as the Mosaic calendar, and the festivals to which the Israelites were to follow (Lv 23). The calendar we have today, known as the Gregorian calendar, was devised by an Italian doctor named Aloysius Lilius and adopted by Pope Gregory in 1582. Prior to this was the Julian calendar, issued by Julius Caesar in 45 AD, which had a year as 365 days and added an additional day every 4 years making a year being 365.25 days. The true value is 365.242 days for the length of the earth’s orbit around the sun. This little error of 0.008 days per year had added up to almost 10 full days by 1582 and was making the first day of spring very close to the beginning of summer. The Gregorian calendar skips the leap years in 3 out of every 4 century years which makes each year 365.2425 days and keeps the spring equinox on either March 20 or 21 of each year. These calendars are based upon the sun as its reference point whereas the calendar instituted by God in the Bible is a lunisolar calendar which uses the moon as its reference for seasons (Ps 104:19). A lunisolar calendar is probably more apt for an agrarian society which is highly dependent upon knowing the stars and ends of seasons (and the reason it was used up to the Roman era), but as we have evolved to more of a financially-dependent society, the Gregorian calendar has become more useful. Although God referred to the months of the calendar as numerals, over time and due to influence of surrounding nations (Dt 16:1, 1Ki 6:1, 37; 8:2) and Babylonian captivity (Er 6:15; Ne 2:1, 6:15; Es 2:16, 3:7, 8:9; Zc 1:7, 7:1), names used by other nations were sometimes used. Often, they would cross-reference them to the Mosaic calendar (e.g., Es 8:9).

The timeline in the Bible is always related to the Jews. Although Gentile nations are described, events are always presented from the Jewish perspective. A few examples are the timeline for the Egyptian bondage (Gn 15:13), the Babylonian captivity (Jr 25:11), and the death of Messiah (Dn 9:26). These types of timelines are not provided for Gentile events. Prior to the Church Age (Ac 2), Gentiles were the minor component of God’s salvation plan, whereas during the Church Age (modern times), Gentiles are the major component of God’s salvation plan. Therefore, the time of the rapture is not provided. Yet, as we have stated in other posts, even the Rapture is from a Jewish wedding perspective. After the rapture of the Church, God’s timeline for the Jews will again be started (Dn 9:27).

Time and prophecy are interrelated, but are they intricately connected? A prophet’s message was considered from God if the prophet’s words came true (Dt 18:21-22). However, no timeframe is specified. How do we know all the prophecies in the Bible are literal and true? One is the belief that the Bible is God’s word (2Tm 3:16). Another is to see what has already come true and see if that gives enough credence to the validity of other prophecies. Future posts will give some examples to consider.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

When I say between Sukkot and Jubilee, I mean what occurs between the juncture of their prophetic fulfillment: between the Millennium and the Eternal State. There are only a couple of scriptures that describe this juncture. Because the number of verses are few, many seem to imply that the juncture is quick. However, I am not so sure that is the case. Let's look at these scriptures more closely. The first is probably the more familiar. In Revelation we find the following: "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Rv 20:7-10).

We see here that Satan will go out and deceive the nations when he is released from the Abyss and allowed back on the earth. This would seem to imply that the deceit he wields will take time. Of course, many may be willing to be persuaded more than others, but when we see the number of people who are persuaded to be on Satan's side (like the sand on the seashore), then it would likely take a good amount of time to accumulate that number of people. It could take many years or even many decades.

The second scripture is found in Micah chapter 5. This is probably less well known and many have tried to make it fit into other prophecy, but it still seems to stand alone. Some of you may be familiar with verse 2 which predicts the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, and we know that Jesus Christ was born there as prophesied (Lk 2). However, this chapter is very wide in scope. This coming Messiah is a ruler who will rule when Israel and Judah are recombined as a nation (v3) and he will rule over the entire earth in peace (v4-5). This undoubtedly speaks of Christ's Millennial reign. Verse 5 then transitions from a period of peace to a period of strife. While Assyria did invade Israel and take the northern tribes captive in 722 BC, the events in this chapter of Micah do not fit any scenarios of Assyria invading Israel and Israel never ruled Assyria. Therefore, these verses seem to point to the Messiah taking back the land over which Satan had gained control.

We know that during the Millennium, both Assyria and Egypt which had been adversaries against Israel for ages, become ruled by the Messiah and he calls them his people (Is 19:23-25). It seems that once Satan is released from the Abyss he likely sets up shop back in Babylon again—his  first place of rule led by Nimrod (Gn 10:8-12, 11:1-9; Mi 5:6). From here he campaigns throughout the whole earth to get recruits and is apparently very successful.

So why would God allow such to happen? After all, the people who are rejecting him came out of the Millennium under his rule. While scripture teaches that Christ will rule with an iron scepter (Ps 2:9; Rv 2:27, 12:5, 19:15) meaning any insurrection will be taken care of immediately (Is 65:20). However, there will be those who do not rebel openly, and these are the ones to whom Satan will appeal. It is hard to imagine such a thing where people will be born into an almost perfect state and not be appreciative. However, I think there are a couple of reasons for Christ to allow this to happen. First, God has always allowed people to have freedom of choice—even to their own detriment. He wants only those who are truly devoted to him to enter a state where they will live forever. Second, this gives everyone proof that their rebellion cannot be blamed on Satan as they had this built-up animosity against the Messiah during his rule when Satan was not present. Satan only capitalizes on their discord and is able to deceive them with, again, half-truths just like he has always done. This is a word of wisdom for us today. We, too, cannot use the excuse, "the devil made me do it." He certainly supplies the temptation, but not the desire. We need to pray to have the mind of Christ (1Co 2:16).

Needless to say, Christ is victorious as noted in Revelation (Rv 20:9). All those who are opposed to our Messiah are forever removed and only those devoted to him enter into the Eternal State. The time of ultimate peace will have arrived, and we will be forever with the Lord. We don't have time to go into how wonderful the Eternal State will be, but it will not be boring! We will save that for another time. It is also the subject in my book series, The Stele Prophecy Pentalogy. Please check out these books which will give you a fictional, but likely pretty accurate, depiction of what you can expect. After all, Paul tells us it will be greater than we can even imagine (1Co 2:9). So, come and imagine with me, and realize it will be even greater!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Well, we have looked at the three Fall Jewish holidays, so is that the end?  Actually, there is more! It always amazes me how multifaceted God is. When God gave the requirement for all the feasts/holidays, he first mentioned the Sabbath of the seventh day of the week and called it a Sabbath of rest: Shabbat Shabbaton (Lv 23:3). This is a special emphasis on this particular Sabbath—like saying "ultimate Sabbath." But what is the context of this verse and why is it a prelude to the other feasts? It is a tie back to God's original creation because God "worked" for six days and then rested (or was satisfied, to be more exact) on the seventh day. Therefore, the weekly Sabbath was to remind the Israelites of God's work of creation—a perfect world of rest. As the feasts pointed to a future time for Israel, this Sabbath pointed to a future state of rest and was therefore given the special name of Sabbath of Rest.

But this is not the only day with this special title. It is mentioned on the Day of Atonement (Lv 23:32) and the year of Jubilee (Lv 25:4), each of these were called Sabbath of Rest. Then there is also the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles. While not called a Sabbath of Rest, it is a Sabbath after the "feast unto the Lord seven days." Therefore, it points to something after. It becomes clear when we look at the prophetic nature of these feasts and their connection to creation. The weekly Sabbath looked back to God's original creation. The Day of Atonement points to Christ's second coming which is the beginning of a renewed Israel and renewed earth. The Feast of Tabernacles points to the Millennium and so the Sabbath of the eighth day points to something following the Millennium which is the final rest and is then linked to Jubilee which is the final Sabbath of Rest which points to the Eternal State where we will be with the Lord forever.

So what was Jubilee? This was a period of seven Sabbaths of years and thereby occurred every 50 years. The Israelites were to observe a Sabbath year every seven years where the land would be left idle so it could "rest” and replenish itself with nutrients. The people were to depend upon the Lord to increase the bounty of their crops the sixth year to carry them through the Sabbath year and to the time of next harvest (Lv 25:2-7). This was a time of faith and dependence upon God for them. However, Scripture never records that Israel ever kept the Sabbath year for the land; their 70-year captivity into Babylon was given because they had not kept this Sabbath for the land (2Ch 36:21).

After keeping seven Sabbath years came the year of Jubilee—the 50th year (Lv 25). What occurred during this year? Things were to return to their original state: land that had been sold would go back to its original owner or family; those sold into servitude would be released, and all debts would be cancelled. It was like pressing a reset button. It was a cause of much celebration! It pointed to the final state of rest that would occur when their Messiah would come. The weekly Sabbath pointed to the original state of God's perfect creation and rest, and Jubilee pointed to the final state of God's perfect creation and rest (Hb 4:9). We have perfect bookends. Jubilee is the End of the Beginning [1].

This then is another cause to separate the Millennium from the Eternal State as that is how the feasts were arranged. Also, each of these fulfills the ultimate plan of two original purposes declared by God. God placed Adam and Eve in the original garden to have dominion of it, but they failed. The Eternal State is the re-creation of that and the fulfillment of what God had originally intended. Can you imagine how thrilled Adam and Eve will be to see this wonderful state again from which they originally inhabited—only better! What about the Millennium? If we look back in Exodus, we see that God had originally established Israel to be a kingdom of priests for the world (Ex 19:6). Although Aaron, his sons, and the Levites were priests for the nation of Israel, the nation of Israel itself was to be the priests, the Ambassadors of their God, to the rest of the world. The blessings God promised to Israel if they were obedient (Dt 28) would be a drawing card to all other nations to bring them to God. That also did not occur as originally designed; the Millennium will be the fulfillment of Israel being the priests to the entire world and will lead the world in praise to God (Zc 8:20-23). This is also why we can see the Millennial temple to which God showed Ezekiel (Ek 40-48) being a literal temple that will be in existence during the Millennium—for cleansing of all implements for holy service and a memorial to the atonement (cleansing) act of Christ for all the world to understand and visually see and comprehend.

It is also an interesting fact that although the physical year started in the first month (Nissan) which contained Passover, but the year of Jubilee started on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishri): the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur (Lv 25:9). This again points to why this was a Sabbath of rest (Shabbat Shabbaton) because it started the year of Jubilee and pointed toward the beginning of the future state when Israel will once again become a holy nation. As a side bar, this is likely the reason the kings of Judah began their reign starting in Tishri rather than in Nissan. They were looking to the future reign of their King of kings.

We have one more session to go on this topic. I have often heard many pastors say that we will just go from the Millennium where all is joy to the Eternal State, going from happiness to eternal bliss. However, I find that is not really the case. There is a lot of disturbance during this transition period. We will look at that next time. I hope you will join me.

[1] Congdon, Robert, An Appointment with God: The Feasts of the Lord (Bloomington IN: CrossBooks, 2009)

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Let's first address the somewhat provocative statement I made at the end of my post last time. How do these Jewish feasts relate to salvation? The answer is 'faith.' Just as our salvation relies on our faith in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, so it was for the Israelites. How it that? Well, we look back on what Christ, the Messiah, did for us whereas the Israelites looked forward to what their coming Messiah would do for them.

Let's see how the logic went for them and see if this is the same logic for us today. To be in a right relationship with God, each individual Israelite knew that they had no real merit on their own to stand before a holy God. After all, these Israelites who were alive when God first presented these feasts to them, saw God on Mt. Sinai. They saw the smoke and fire and felt the violent earthquake of the mountain that tried to accommodate God's presence—and they were terrified (Ex 19:16). No one present that day had the slightest inkling that they were able to stand before this holy God. So, here comes the seventh month in which is the Day of Atonement. Will God accept them? By what means could they be sinless before him? They had no chance. But wait, before the Day of Atonement was the Feast of Trumpets! Yes, that is their only hope: they would ask God to remember his covenant with them and to keep his promise of love and protection. If God remembered his covenant before he proclaims his judgment, then they stood a chance. On the Day of Atonement, a blood sacrifice was made on their behalf and was accepted by God. They were then at peace with God for another year. They could then truly celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles because God had accepted them and desires fellowship with them. Although the Feast of Trumpets and Day of Atonement were solemn occasions, the Feast of Tabernacles was truly a joyous one. They had been accepted by God! They now had fellowship with God! They had good reason to celebrate. As we saw earlier, the Israelites looked forward to the One who would come to be the ultimate sacrifice for their sin—the One to whom the blood of atonement pointed. This they accepted by faith. It was their faith, not the actual ritual, that saved them. The ritual pointed to the One to come and their part in the ritual pointed to the sincerity of their heart. That is what God was looking for within each and every individual.

Does that not sound similar to what we experience today? We must realize we cannot stand before God in our present condition. We have no hope in our present state and cannot earn God's favor no matter how good we think we are or try to be. It is just not possible. Why? Because God is perfection and anything that does not meet this minimum standard (i.e., perfection) is unacceptable. Well that is a high bar, isn’t it? Yes, it is very high because God is the ultimate and expects no less. So what is our only hope? Our only hope is to put our faith in God's new covenant which Jesus Christ has established through his death on the cross for us. By faith, we accept the price Jesus Christ paid on the cross for our sins, and trust in that, and that alone, for our salvation. That is the only price God can accept, and does accept, to allow anyone into his presence. Again, it our faith, and not any ritual, that saves us. That is what God is still looking for within each and every individual.

Doesn't that point to a God who is consistent and does not change (Ml 3:6)? Many think the Old and New Testaments are not connected, but they are intricately connected and flow quite well together. Would we expect any less from a God who does not change? Salvation has always been and will always be consistent: faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Messiah of us all.

I will save the next piece for next time. We saw that the Feast of Tabernacles was a very joyous feast and why. That is very consistent with the prophetic nature of this feast—the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Who could deny that it will be a most joyous time? However, there is something that comes after the Millennium and there is a connection to what God originally instituted with the Israelites. It is this that we will discover at our next time together. Until then, God bless!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Today we will talk about the last Fall Jewish Holiday, Feast of Tabernacles (or Sukkot). While this is not the last Jewish holiday in our calendar, it was the last yearly holiday/feast that God provided to the Israelites when they left Egypt (Lv 23:34-44). It started 5 days after Day of Atonement on the 15th of Tishri (the 7th month of the Jewish calendar) and lasted for 8 days. A Sabbath (day of rest) was held on the first day and last day but this last day was different and denoted as a 'finale.'  Today this eighth day is celebrated as Shemini Atzeret. This feast required that the people build booths made from palm branches, from thick trees, and from willows (Lv 23:40). The booths were burned before the end of the 8th day. The booths reminded the Israelites not only of their lack of permanent dwellings during their time in the wilderness but also emphasized their precarious existence during those years.[1] However, the materials of these booths were not those commonly associated with a desert but materials they would more likely find in their Promised Land. Therefore, although a reminder of where they had been it was also a reminder of their future hope as well.

John speaks of this feast (Jn 7). The day would begin with sacrifices followed by a festive meal and a study of the Law. Near evening, the priests would then go down to the pool of Siloam and bring back two golden pint pictures full of water. The people would stand along the way raising willow branches (lulavs) to form a canopy as the priests progressed back toward the temple. As the priests entered the Water Gate, trumpets would blast. The evening sacrifices were made and to climax the event the priests would pour the water into one silver basin (symbolizing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit) and would pour wine into the other silver basin. The temple orchestra would then play the Hallel (Ps 113-118). The people would wave their lulavs and recite certain parts of the scripture with the choir. After dark, there would be four golden candelabras to light the occasion. All the actions and songs of this ceremony focused on the coming of their Messiah and the peace he would bring. It was during this water ceremony that Jesus stood up and spoke the words, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (Jn 7:37-38). Here Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah. This offer proclaimed by Jesus Christ linked the Messiah's coming, i.e., his literal kingdom, and the coming peace and spiritual healing with the Feast of Tabernacles.[1] Therefore, this feast has future significance for us.

Jewish tradition teaches that God's coming presence to the Israelites of the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night occurred on the 15th of Tishri. God came to tabernacle with them. Is there a future day when God plans to tabernacle with His people? The Bible speaks of a literal reign by Jesus Christ for 1,000 years. This seems to be to the future state this feast/holiday points toward. This makes sense from a chronological perspective: Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah; beginning of Tribulation Period); Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur; Christ's second coming where nationally Israel accepts Christ as their Messiah and God forgives their sin); Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot; Christ sets up his literal reign with his people and 'tabernacles' with them).

I know that the idea of a Millennial Kingdom and reign is somewhat controversial in Christian circles. However, I think the Feast of Tabernacles is one strong argument that the Millennium will be a literal event and that it will occur after the Tribulation Period. I think there are two other strong arguments for this event to be literal. One is that this promise of God dwelling with his people was a theme of most of the prophets (both major prophets and minor prophets). This promise was also given after a pronouncement of doom and/or destruction. It was given as hope to the Israelites even in the midst of God's pronouncement of punishment. Therefore, it cannot be metaphorical because only a promise of literal fulfillment can produce hope. If something is metaphorical, it cannot elicit expectant hope. Secondly, with the Millennium being literal, it prevents one from having to make a significant amount of scripture metaphorical: the description of the Millennial temple by Ezekiel (Ek 40-48), most of the prophets and the reference to its occurrence in Revelation (Rv 20:3). It being literal makes all these scriptures and Jewish ceremony come alive, be cohesive, and is able to elicit the same hope in us today. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior (you trust in his act of dying for your sins on the cross as payment for your sins so that your reliance of going to Heaven is only through his act and not on your own merit), then you, too, have this hope. It is a literal hope that can spur one own to great things in this current life.

Next time we will see how these feasts tie well into the gospel story and our salvation as well as how another event God asked the Jews to remember guides us into a prophecy of the ultimate state with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I hope you join me.

[1] Congdon, Robert, An Appointment with God: The Feasts of the Lord (Bloomington IN: CrossBooks, 2009)

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Let's now move on to Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. This holiday is 9 days after Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) on 10th day of Tishri (the 7th month of Jewish calendar - usually around September of our calendar). It is a very solemn holiday because it is the day atonement is sought (Lv 16). From the days of the Tabernacle until the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, this was the day that the high priest went into the Holy of Holies to make atonement before God with blood. Before Judah was taken captive by Babylon in 586 BC, the Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant on top of which was the Mercy Seat (also called Atonement cover). There were two cherubim on the mercy seat, one on each side, and the Shekinah glory of God would appear to the high priest on this day of the year. This was the only day of the year that the high priest, or anyone, would enter the Holy of Holies. The high priest would make atonement (cleansing) with blood for his household, all the elements of the tabernacle/temple used for the ceremony, and for all the people. After the exiles returned from Babylon to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple, the high priest would enter an empty Holy of Holies where the blood was still offered. Yet, God stated that He was still with them despite this (Hg 2:4-5). After all, God was after the heart of His people and not necessarily just the rituals. Many times God stated he desired their devotion not their sacrifice (Ho 6:6; Jl 2:13; Mi 6:8).

We said previously that these holidays, or feasts, were also prophetic, so what would the Day of Atonement be prophetic toward? The death of Christ on the cross is where he made atonement (cleansing) for all our sins (1Jn 2:2, 4:10). While all these elements of the Day of Atonement point to Christ and his act of atonement on the cross, there is more to the story. As we saw previously, these feasts are memorials for the nation of Israel as well as for individuals. So what would the Day of Atonement mean for the nation of Israel? It occurs after the Feast of Trumpets and we previously saw that feast is prophetic of the beginning of the Tribulation period. So, what event that comes after this event would correspond to the meaning of the Day of Atonement? It would be the second coming of Christ. Zechariah speaks of this (Zc 12:10-13:9). The nation will finally accept Christ as their Messiah and he will forgive their sin. This then sets the stage for the next holiday which we will discuss next time.

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There are three Jewish holidays that occur during September of this year (sundown to sundown):

Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year; Feast of Trumpets): Sep 6th - 8th (today usually celebrated for two days instead of one)

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement): Sep 15th -16th

Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles): Sep 20th – Sep 27th

There are other websites from which a person can get good information, like Judaism 101. However, I would like to address these three holidays and see what it means to Jews as well as to the world in general. The first holiday to talk about is Rosh Hashanah:

So why is Rosh Hashanah called the Jewish New Year? It actually occurs on the first day of the 7th month (Tishri) and so is different from what we Americans think of when we say "New Year." It was first instituted by God shortly after the Jewish Exodus from Egypt and has been denoted as Feast of Trumpets (Lv 23:23-25): "Say to the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated [KJV uses the word 'memorial'] with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire" (NIV). So, if this is a Feast of Memorial, then a memorial of what? Congdon [1] has shown that there were three events in the Bible where the events were around this particular feast:

(1)   dedication of first temple (1Ki 8 & 2 Ch 5)

(2)    restoration of the temple by the exiles returning from Babylon to Jerusalem (Er 3), and

(3)    when Ezra and Nehemiah led the returned exiles in a revival and rededication (Ne 8).

In each of these instances, the people, as a nation, looked back to the Covenant promises that God made to Israel. Therefore, the blowing of the shofar was made to ask God to remember his covenant with them. This would make sense as just 9 days later, the Day of Atonement would occur (10th day of Tishri). An individual cannot be righteous on his own, so an individual's only hope is for God to remember His promises to them. More of that later.

So, if this holiday, or feast, is symbolic of God remembering his covenant with Israel, are there instances in the New Testament of this? Yes, there is—a very significant one. If you recall, Malachi was the last prophet that we have record of that preached God's word to His people. Then came a time that has been knows as the "400 silent years." While there was a lot going on during this time, there was no official word from God, until . . .  the birth of Christ. He was the act of God remembering His covenant with His people. Larson [2] has done some excellent work on showing that the conception of Christ began around the time of Rosh Hashanah in 3 BC. We will have more about this in a future blog post.

These Jewish holidays/feasts are also prophetic in nature. The New Testament revealed that the first four feasts were prophetic:

Passover (also known as Pesach; Nissan 14th; Lv 23:5) - prophetic of Christ's death (1Co 5:7)

Feast of Unleavened Bread (also known as Matzah; Nissan 15th; Lv 23:6-8) - prophetic of Christ's burial (1 Co 15:4)

Feast of Firstfruits (also known as Bikkurim; Nissan 16th; Lv 23:9-14) - prophetic of Christ's resurrection (1Co 15:4)

These are typically celebrated today without demarcation: this year: Mar 27th – Apr 3rd

Feast of Weeks (Shavuot, Pentecost; 50 days after Firstfruits; Lv 23:15-21) - prophetic of gift of Holy Spirit (Ac 2:1-4) - in 2012, this holiday occurred May 16th – 17th

It would therefore be likely that the 3 feasts in the seventh month would also be prophetic. So, when would God remember his covenant with Israel again? When Christ first came, the Jewish leaders rejected him as their Messiah. This instituted what has been noted as the Age of Gentiles, as referred by Paul (Ro 11:25). Although we are saddened that Christ was rejected, we Gentiles should not be too sad because it opened the way for us to be "grafted in" (Ro 11:17). However, this in no way implies that God has rejected His people (Ro 11:26) because God's promises are irrevocable (Ro 11:29; Jr 31:33-37). But if this is the Age of Gentiles, when does God work with the nation of Israel again? Likely when the saved, "grafted-in," Gentiles are taken out of the picture - i.e., the Receiving of His Bride, also called the Rapture, (1Th 4:16-18). Now, I am not saying the Rapture is the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets because this event deals with God's present church (saved Jews and Gentiles) and not the nation of Israel. However, this does set up the scenario for God to then remember His covenant and to deal with the nation of Israel once more. The prophet Daniel does state that a covenant will be made with Israel by a coming world ruler (Dn 9:27) which will initiate the worst of times the world has ever experienced, which has been termed the Tribulation. This is likely the future event to which this feast is referring because this will certainly get Israel's attention at that time.

The fate of Israel affects us all. More to follow soon.

[1] Congdon, Robert, An Appointment with God: The Feasts of the Lord (Bloomington, IN: Crossbooks, 2009)

[2] Larson, Frederick A. “The Star of Bethlehem” (2008) https://bethlehemstar.com/

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We have seen that Paul was appointed by God as an Apostle to the Gentiles. So what caused so much controversy between Paul and the Christian Jews? Paul taught that circumcision was not necessary for salvation (Ac 15:1-2) and that Gentiles did not have to keep the Law to be a Christian (Ga 2:16). Many of the persecuted Jewish believers had fled to Antioch and other churches teaching that Gentiles must be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in addition to accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. In other words, you had to first be a Jewish proselyte to become a follower of Jesus Christ. Paul was opposed to this and went to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem where they heard how God was blessing Gentiles and were receiving the Holy Spirit without being circumcised. This created quite an argument, but Peter also told how he had seen the Holy Spirit given to Gentile believers without them being circumcised (Ac 10, 15:7-11). From Peter’s statement, the Jerusalem council said they would be satisfied if the Gentile believers would not eat meat sacrificed to idols, not eat meat from strangled animals, not eat blood, and would keep themselves sexually pure (Ac 15:20). This Paul did (Ac 16:4).

So did Paul give up his Jewish customs? At times he did, for he did not want to be a stumbling block to others and confuse them (1Co 9:20-22); however, for the most part he kept a lot of the Jewish customs. On his second missionary journey, he hurried back to Jerusalem to keep Passover (Ac 18:21). On this journey he also seemed to have kept a Nazarite vow (Ac 18:18). On his third missionary journey, he observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread in Philippi (Ac 20:6) and wanted to get to Jerusalem in time for Shavuot [Pentecost] (Ac 20:16). Therefore, Paul did not live like a Gentile in every aspect. However, he was not bothered by blending the two.

So how do we reconcile this? Paul’s main emphasis was that Jesus Christ came and died for the sins of mankind and everyone needs to hear about him, accept him, receive salvation through him, and receive the Holy Spirit in order to live a life then pleasing to God. Everything else was just tradition. The Law of Moses had shown them their sin (Ro 3:20); keeping it did not save them (Ro 3:23, 28). Salvation through Jesus Christ is for all, both Jew and Gentile (Ro 3:21-31). Paul saw no problem with keeping the Jewish traditions/customs, or even the Law itself, as long as it was kept in its proper context. It is something one chooses volitionally to do but not committed to do. Therefore, there was no need to impose this on Gentiles as it was not necessary for salvation. However, anyone, either Jew or Gentile can decide to keep the Jewish feasts and any other customs if they know this is not making them any better than anyone else (1Co 8:8).

Paul’s teaching is a good lesson for us today. Our customs and heritage are especially important to us, as well as they should be. However, we should not let any custom or tradition make us feel superior to anyone else. We are all equal in Christ. Jesus Christ came to die for the salvation of all. It is our faith in him that saves us and that is the equalizer. All other things we do or do not do are based upon personal conviction and have no bearing on our goodness or righteousness. It is not how much faith we have but the object of our faith that makes the difference. Let’s let Paul’s example be our guide.

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I have seen several discussions on this topic on other websites - some very heated. However, I think the Bible gives us some clues as to how to approach this topic. Let's see what Paul stated about similar mixed feelings about a related topic. I think Paul was a good choice for God to bring in as a late apostle. He was a Jew, trained to be a Pharisee, so he really understood the Law and the Jewish perspective. God also utilized him to bring the gospel to the Gentiles, so he understood their perspective as well.

In the early church, it was not too long before there were more Gentiles in the church than Jews. However, many of the Jews had a hard time letting go of their Jewish traditions to only follow Jesus Christ by faith. Paul spoke of this in Galatians chapter 2. Paul is very clear here that faith in Jesus Christ alone is sufficient for salvation and keeping the Law in no way adds to this. He is also clear that it is not keeping the Law that was necessarily an issue but believing that keeping the Law was a necessary part of salvation - that was the issue. Also, those that were keeping the Law were believing themselves to be more spiritual than those who were not. Paul also condemned this way of thinking. Observing the Jewish holidays are part of the Law as they were required by God for Israel to follow. So before we go much further, let's think of the pros and cons of Christians observing Jewish holidays.

Pros:

1. The prophetic fulfillment, or the future fulfillment, of the Jewish holidays noted in scripture (i.e., Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of First Fruits, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot) is related to a Christian's past and future as well. Therefore, celebrating these holidays could be considered important for Christians. After all, Christ was resurrected on First Fruits and not Easter.

2. Understanding, and celebrating, these holidays can help scripture come more alive to Christians. They can better understand how the Bible relates to their lives, their spiritual history and their future (both spiritual and physical). After all, these holidays will be celebrated in the Millennium (Christ’s Promised Kingdom).

3. Understanding and celebrating these holidays can help Christians better identify and understand what it means to be Jewish and build better cultural bridges.

Cons:

1. Keeping these holidays can make Christians feel more spiritual than other Christians and thereby create divisive feelings.

2. Keeping these holidays can make Christians lose focus on more important matters of spreading the gospel message itself.

3. Christians keeping these holidays can cause confusion to those non-Jews to whom they are witnessing to help them understand the good news of Jesus Christ and how salvation comes through faith in Christ alone.

So . . . what is the answer? Should we or shouldn't we? I feel the answer lies somewhere in the middle. I think it boils down to what has been termed as Christian liberty. Paul spoke of this in 1 Corinthians chapter 8. The issue in the church at that time was about eating food offered to idols. After all, abstaining from food offered to idols was one of the few commands the leaders of the church in Jerusalem had stated Gentile Christians should follow (Ac 15:20). Some may feel that Paul straddled the fence on the issue. However, his answer in some ways is no different from one of the models of being a successful communicator: know your audience. What do I mean? Know the message you are conveying and not confuse people from the root message of the gospel. In other words, for our topic here, if you as a Christian want to celebrate the Jewish holidays because it brings significance to you personally, then by all means do so. However, don't necessarily be overt with it to the point that you make others feel they are inferior if they don't, and don't confuse other Christians about what it really means to be a Christian.

How important was it for Israelites to obey the Law anyway? It was very important, but they also got lost in the reason for the obedience. God many times stated that he was sick of their sacrifices; he wanted a broken and contrite heart instead (1Sa 15:22; Ps 51:17; Ho 8:13; Ml 1:10). They misunderstood that the action of sacrifice was to be an outward show of what was in their hearts. We as Christians need to understand the same thing. If celebrating Jewish holidays helps one to understand, appreciate and obey God better, then I am sure God is all for that. However, if it is all about the ceremony and one feeling proud they have kept an observance, then it is all in vain. I feel that understanding the holidays and their prophetic significance is very important. However, one does not necessarily have to celebrate these holidays as do the Jews to appreciate them. If you are in part of the country where Jewish holidays become school holidays, then it is a good time to remind your children and family about the prophetic significance of these holidays and what they mean in our future. It is not about the doing but the meaning that is most important.

Now, if you are Jewish and a Christian, then these holidays have an even more significant and richer meaning for you. As a Jew you have the history and tradition to build upon as a Jew but in addition have the same prophetic significance with which to celebrate. Yet again, do so to be thankful to Christ for who he is, what he has done and what he will do in the future. Whether we celebrate these holidays or just understand them, let's give all of the glory to our Lord and savior Jesus Christ to whom all of these holidays point. After all, our lives are really about us glorifying Him. If our actions are giving Him glory, then we are being successful.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Christ was resurrected on Feast of First Fruits (3 days after Passover) and not on Easter. So why do we celebrate Easter as the day Christ arose? Believe it or not, it goes way back to the first century and a view of anti-Semitism! Shouldn’t Christians love everyone? Yes, but I think this is a reminder that we are all human and we have to be careful of our biases, and how we interpret Scripture.

So what happened to turn the tide? I feel it is important to remember that the first Christians were Jewish – all Jewish; there were no Gentile Christians at that time. Even in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit was given, those who were Gentiles and accepted Christ as their Savior were Jewish proselytes. There was no other reason for them to have been in Jerusalem at the time. They were there to celebrate Shavuot which was one of the three feasts that the Law required Jewish men to attend in person (Dt 16:16). It was not until the Jewish Christians began to be persecuted by the Jewish leaders that they began to scatter to nearby areas (Ac 8:1) and later throughout the Roman Empire as Gentiles began becoming Christians as well (Ac 10:45). Although there were always Jews that were Christians, the number of Gentiles who became Christians rapidly outnumbered the Jews. Unfortunately, people do not always leave their baggage behind when they become Christians, and many times the influence of a non-Christian world view creeps into Christian ways of thinking and interpreting scripture.

As early as the first century, there were those who began thinking that they should dissociate themselves from Jews because they were “Christ killers.” For some reason it did not click with them that the first Christians were also Jewish and if it wasn’t for the Jews no one would know about Christ anyway. Also, even though the Jewish leaders did work to get Christ crucified, it was Gentiles who actually had Christ placed on a cross. Can one side really blame the other? Also, ask yourself, if you were actually present yourself would you have been one in the crowd yelling, “Crucify Him!”? Would you have really known and accepted him for who He really was, and is? Also, if Christ had not been crucified we would still be in our sin, so it had to have been done and we all are responsible. At any rate, such people as the following began to teach that Jews were responsible for Christ’s crucifixion and that “true Christians” should separate themselves from the Jews.

Ignatius of Antioch (ca 50-117 AD) - Taught that those who partake of the Passover are partakers with those who killed Jesus.

Justin Martyr (100-165 AD) - Claimed God’s covenant with Israel was no longer valid and that the Gentiles had replaced the Jews.

Irenaeus (ca 130-202 AD) - Declared the Jews were disinherited from the grace of God. 

Tertullian (ca 155-230 AD) - Blamed the Jews for the death of Jesus and argued they had been rejected by God.

Origen (185-254 AD) - He was responsible for much anti-Semitism, all of which was based on his assertion that the Jews were responsible for killing Jesus. Origen was also a big proponent of allegorical interpretation of scripture. Therefore, according to him, much of scripture was metaphorical and should not be interpreted literally. The danger to this is that one’s interpretation of a metaphor is just as good as anyone else’s. Therefore, he proclaimed that the Church is true Israel and that the promises to Israel, even in the Old Testament, were really about the Church. After all, if Christians are supposed to separate from Jews, how would the Old Testament even be relevant if these promises were for Israel and not the Church? One distortion always leads to another.

The Council of Nicea (325 AD in Turkey) - Changed the celebration of the Resurrection from the Jewish Feast of First Fruits to Easter in an attempt to disassociate it from Jewish feasts. The Council stated: “For it is unbecoming beyond measure that on this holiest of festivals we should follow the customs of the Jews. Henceforth let us have nothing in common with this odious people ...”

Wow! Those are some pretty strong words for people that are supposed to be Christians! As stated above, we all need to be on guard about our biases and how we interpret Scripture. We need to ask ourselves if our interpretation is really in line and in the spirit of how Christ taught. After all, Christ came for the Jews, so why would his second coming not be for them as well? Also, even if it were true that the promises in the Bible were really for the Church, why would we exclude Jews from becoming part of the Church?

So, what was Easter anyway? It is a celebration of Spring and the belief that with spring comes new life and new fertility. It has always been a pagan holiday and has its beginning probably all the way back to Nimrod in the Old Testament. This was usually celebrated with sexual rituals and many of the symbols we use today are remnants of this: the rabbit, the chick, and eggs are all fertility symbols. Different cultures had different rituals and different fertility emphases. However, when the Council of Nicea decided to switch the celebration of Christ’s resurrection from First Fruits to Easter, it accomplished a couple of things. One, is that it put a Christian perspective onto a pagan holiday. Not a bad thing in itself, but it really caused a blending rather than a replacement. It sort of fit the theme: Christ arose from the dead and the concept of Spring where nature is reborn can be considered similar. However, it really does dilute the real meaning of Christ’s resurrection. It is kind of sad that the Christian leaders of that day chose to blend with a pagan holiday rather than a Jewish holiday which tied much better into the true meaning of Christ’s resurrection. After all, Christ’s resurrection was the literal fulfillment of the Jewish holiday of First Fruits.

So, that then begs the question of should Christians celebrate Easter or should we go back to celebrating First Fruits? I feel it is important to understand the history of our celebration of Easter, but what is more important is that we identify with the meaning of Christ’s resurrection. The day it is celebrated is a moot point and one of personal preference. The real question is whether you have accepted Christ as your Savior by accepting the payment he did on the cross for your sins and then identify with Christ’s resurrection as a reminder that because he conquered death, you also will be resurrected with him in the future and spend an eternity with him. That is worth celebrating every day of the year!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Christians celebrate Christmas; Jews Shavuot; Both celebrate one of the same paradigm shifts. In our last post, we stated that Christ’s birth was likely on Shavuot, 2 BC. While most Jews don’t celebrate Christ’s birth, they do celebrate Shavuot. So, if Christ was indeed born on Shavuot, which would be in June; how do we get Christmas in December? I thought we should at least address this conundrum since we were dealing with the paradigm shifts correlated with the Jewish feast Shavuot. June vs. December. That’s not a small difference to overcome regarding the timing of the birth of Christ. Why did we get it so wrong? Is it wrong? Can both be true?

As usual, this is not a simple answer, and yet, it really is. But to make it simple we must tease apart some of our traditional thinking. When we see a nativity scene, what do we see? Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, of course. But there are also shepherds, likely an angel or two, and let’s not forget the animals. Is something missing? Oh yes, the wise men, the Magi. Wise men? Surely, we need the wise men, don’t we? After all, they are mentioned in the Bible at the time of Christ’s birth. Let’s look at that more closely. There is a time gap we must take into account. How much time? About six months. Hey, isn’t that the gap we mentioned earlier: June vs December? That must be a significant point, right? Let’s explore.

So, if Christ was born in June, does that mean the wise men didn’t come on the scene until December? Is that really consistent with scripture? Well, scripture does state the wise men came after Jesus was born (Mt 2:1) to a house (Mt 2:11) where the child (Mt 2:11) lived with Mary his mother. It would seem Jesus was about six months old at this time. If true, that would explain the time gap and it does seem consistent with this passage in Matthew. It also seems consistent with Herod’s insane decree to kill all males in Bethlehem from two years and younger (Mt 2:16). If the wise men had come when Jesus was an infant, then he would not need such a decree. Yet, the wise men, when they met with Herod (Mt 2:1-2) knew of the sign of the star, but not if it represented his conception or birth. Since the wise men didn’t report back to Herod (Mt 2:12), Herod didn’t get an answer to this question.

We now know, based upon the work Rick Larson did, Christ’s conception occurred in September, 3 BC. The wise men told Herod when they first saw the star (Mt 2:2). If it has been representing his birth, this would mean the child was nearly one and a half years old. Therefore, to make sure, Herod used a cutoff of two years.

So, what does this have to do with Christmas? Well, what did the Magi (wise men) bring with them for the child Jesus? Presents: gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Mt 2:11). According to the work Larsson did, this visit of the Magi occurred on December 25th of 2 BC. Isn’t that apropos? Now, there are those who state that Christmas was made in December to take the place of the pagan festival Saturnalia. And that would be true. This festival was around the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year). Yet, isn’t it just like God to make something which looked serendipitous to actually be divine intervention on his part?

I find this so interesting, and very characteristic of God. Christ’s birth was definitely a paradigm shift and he used Shavuot, the paradigm shift festival, to bring it to fruition. Yet, he also knew Christians would one day in the future celebrate his birth in December and had the Magi to present their gifts to the Christ child at this time. Who else could have planned such a dual fulfillment? Then, his birth on Shavuot set the stage for the ultimate inclusion event. What is that event? We’ll discuss that next time.

I hope this helps you to see we serve a wonderful, awesome, God. He pays such attention to detail. Always remember, you’re part of the detail to which he pays attention. Trust him. You will never regret it.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In previous posts we have talked about how the Jewish festival Shavuot marked major paradigm shifts and how God’s plan for inclusion expanded over time. We saw how the forming of the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai was a major paradigm shift which occurred on the very first Shavuot (Ex 24). God started working through a nation to reach out to the world rather than continuing to work through specific families or patriarchs. We then saw how inclusion occurred on a national and individual level (Js 2-6; Ru 1-4).

As we approach the New Testament, we see God making another major paradigm shift. God was on the verge of setting a new pattern of inclusion: going from inclusion occurring through a nation to it occurring through individuals. To understand this one, we must understand another Jewish Festival: Rosh Hashanah. Today, we know this as the Jewish New Year. Yet, it wasn’t always known as that. When first instituted, it was known as the Feast of Trumpets (Lv 23:23-25) and was the fifth of seven festivals. While all the feasts were memorial, as they pointed to how God worked in their past, how he was working in their present, and how he would work in their future, this particular feast was a special type of memorial. This was a festival to request God to remember his covenant with Israel. Why? Shortly after this festival was Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement (Lv 23:26-32). This was a day of reckoning. Israel knew they had no good on their own to stand before a holy God. Their only chance was for God to remember his covenant with them. Therefore, trumpet blasts were made to request God to remember. Does this imply God forgot? No, this was really for Israel to remember what God had done for them in making an everlasting covenant with them and to help them prepare for the upcoming Yom Kippur.

So, how is this tied to the New Testament. Well, how does the New Testament open? It opens with the announcement to Mary that she would bear a son, with the help of the Holy Spirit, and would call his name Jesus (Mt 1:18; Lk 1:26-31). This announcement occurred on Rosh Hashanah, Feast of Trumpets. Why? Because God was stating he was remembering his covenant. This marked the end of what had been termed the 400 years of God’s silence. Ever since Malachi, it seemed God was silent. It wasn’t that he was not working, but he sent no prophets after Malachi. His next voice came through the angel Gabriel to Mary(Lk 1:26). God remembered his covenant and Mary conceived a child through the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:35). Yes, this was to be a very special child. He was to save his people from their sins (Mt 1:21).

So, if Jesus Christ was conceived on Rosh Hashanah, when was he born? He was most likely born on Shavuot. Doesn’t it seem apropos that he would be born on the festival that marks paradigm changes? Can you say Christ’s birth was not a paradigm change? Yes, that makes sense, but something doesn’t seem quite right. For most years, the time between Rosh Hashanah and Shavuot isn’t long enough for a normal gestation period for an infant. Gestation is a very crucial period for a fetus, and every week is important for fetal development and especially for adequate lung formation in the third trimester. A normal gestation period is considered to be 40 weeks (a range of 37-42 weeks). Yet, normally, the time between Rosh Hashanah and Shavuot is just shy of 35 weeks. Not enough time for an adequate gestation period. Could we be mistaken?

As they say, timing is everything. And that is definitely true here. Rick Larson has done some astounding work on the timing of the birth of Christ and the events which occurred at this birth. According to his work, Christ’s conception occurred on Rosh Hashanah in 3 BC. Something very interesting occurs in that year. To keep Passover near the Spring Equinox, and because the Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar with only 29 or 30 days per month, an extra month is added every so often to make Passover and the Spring Equinox realign properly. And, lo and behold, this is the year this extra month is added to their calendar. Then, the period of time from Rosh Hashanah to Shavuot becomes a normal gestation period (39 weeks) and can support the fact that Christ was likely born on Shavuot in 2 BC.

Christ’s birth was definitely a paradigm change for Israel – and for the world. He brought the true meaning of Scripture back to life and his death was for all of mankind and not just for the Jews. Again, this is a message of inclusion. Jesus paved the way for inclusion to be very personal. Isn’t that just what we would expect from a God who values relationships?

Don’t you find it interesting that God keeps the meaning of these Jewish festivals and makes them happen at just the right time to keep all the full meaning he intended for each one. Why? Well, he is a God of order after all (1Co 14:33). Also, I think it is a way for him to get our attention. It shows he pays attention to detail. If he can do that, he can certain pay attention to us individually. You, and we all, are a detail that he definitely cares about. How will you respond?

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

When you have something good, you want to pass it on, right? That’s how God feels. As we saw in the previous post, God wanted Israel to be separate from the world but not exclude the world: i.e., he wanted Israel to pass it on. Israel was to be the example for all to follow. To demonstrate this to them, he gave them an example immediately after they entered the Promised Land.

Before they entered the land of Canaan, Joshua had two spies go into Jericho and check things out (Js 2:1). A woman by the name of Rahab hid them at one point to help ensure they were not found out (Js 2:4). These spies reported back to Joshua that the people of Jericho feared the Israelites and now was the appropriate time to take the land as their own (Js 2:24).

The people of Israel first had to cross the Jordan River. Joshua used this as a faith-building exercise. If God could get them safely across the river which was swollen due to the Spring rains, then surely he could deliver Jericho into their hands (Js 3:10). As soon as the feet of the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant touched the water of the river, it parted, and everyone entered Canaan on dry land (Js 3:13-17). After crossing the river, they all encamped at Gilgal (Js 3:19), approximately ten miles from Jericho. When the people of Canaan heard how God parted the Jordan River for them to cross, they all feared the Israelites (Js 5:1). This gave Joshua the opportunity to stop and renew their covenant with God by having all the males circumcised (Js 5:2-9). This was around the tenth day of the first month.

On the fourteenth day of the first month, they held Pesach (Passover; Js 5:10). The next day (Matzah or feast of Unleavened Bread), they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from their new land (Js 5:11). The next day, the manna which God had fed them for forty years ceased and they ate the produced from their new land (Js 5:12). This would have represented their first Bikkurim (or feast of Firstfruit). Joshua then had to let the men completely heal, get them battle ready, and have all the people travel the ten miles to Jericho. It is likely it would have taken the men approximately two weeks to recover from the pain and soreness of their circumcision. Then it is likely it would have taken about a month to group and train the men to prepare for battle and go over battle strategy.

While it is true they expected God to fight their battle for them as he had said (Js 6:2), I’m sure Joshua wanted to have a regimen of fighting men that would be under his strict authority—just in case. Then, it is likely it would have taken a few days to get all the people—close to two million of them—to travel the ten miles, get camped and ready for what God was going to do for them. They then marched around the city once a day for seven days and then seven times on the seventh day(Js 6:4, 12-15). Adding up all this time of preparation, it is not hard to imagine it took them approximately 50 days after their first Bikkurim until the walls of Jericho fell. That would place this time of the conquering of Jericho around Shavuot (Pentecost). As we stated previously, this is the feast of inclusion and that is what happened here.

Once the walls fell on the seventh day of their marching, the Israelites took the city and killed everyone in the city, except for Rahab and her household (Js 6:17, 21-22). Rahab and her family were spared just as the spies had stated. Therefore, Rahab who was a Canaanite, a Gentile, was allowed to live as an Israelite. She married Salmon who was of the tribe of Judah. She and Salmon had a son named Boaz (Mt 1:5) who also became an instrument of inclusion which God used to show this pattern of inclusion again. We’ll discuss that next time.

Don’t you find it interesting that this story in the Bible, which became a most notorious story of all the Biblical stories, fell on Shavuot which God had instituted as a feast to represent inclusion and a feast where paradigm shifts occurred? God doesn’t shove it in their faces and say, “Look, I’m showing you what this feast is about.” No, he lets the realization of what he is doing seep in subtly. Not everyone would get it, but those who paid attention would. While others were screaming, we are God’s chosen people, keep others at bay, God was saying, no, see, I’m giving you examples for you to follow. Follow my lead and be the example, the banner, the ambassador I want you to be for the world. God is still the God of Inclusion. Are you acting that way or are you also trying to keep others at bay. Your future is sure and that is all that matters. But is it supposed to be that way? What if others before you did that? Would you have a relationship with God now if they had that same attitude? God was saying to the Israelites to pass on what he had taught them. He’s still saying the same thing today.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens