Thursday, August 24, 2017

The 9th of AV

What happened in history on this date

Israelites begin their 40 year journey in wilderness

1200 BC  -  Israel is told by God that his generation in the wilderness will not enter the promise land.

586   AD -   The Babylonian army destroyed the First Holy Temple.

70     CE  -  Titus and the Roman army destroyed the Second Holy Temple.

135   AD -   Bethar the stronghold of BarKochba, fell ending the last trial for Jewish Independence
                   executed the Jews.

136   AD -  Rome began to erect the pagan city on site of the Temple dedication.

1096  AD -  The first crusades began.

1290  AD -  The Jews were expelled from England.

1306  AD -  The Jews were expelled from France.

1492 AD -   King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella signed expulsion.  By July, on the 9th of AV, all
                    Jews had to be out of Spain.

1648 AD -  Chmelnicky massacred tens of thousands of Polish Jews.

1914 AD -  Declarations for World War I began.

1942 AD -  Plans for annihilation of Jews were drafted - the Final Solution.

Jesus was baptized on the 9th of Av and went into the wilderness for 40 days.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Hebrew Prophets

Many of the Prophets Had God's Holy name in their name!  YAHveh!

Nehemiah                 NehemYAH.                 YAHveh has comforted

Isaiah.                       YeshaYAHu.                  Salvation is of YAHveh

Jeremiah.                  YirmeYAHu.                  YAHveh establishes

Ezekiel.                     YAHezkel                      YAHveh God strengthens

Daniel.                       DaniYAHel.                    YAHveh God judges

Joel.                           YAHel.                             YAHveh is God

Obadiah.                     ObadYAH.                     Worshiper or servant of YAHveh

Micah.                        MichaYAHu                    Who is like YAHveh

Zephaniah.                 TsephanYAH.                   YAHveh has hidden

Zechariah.                   ZekarYAH.                       YAHveh remembers

Malachi.                     MalakYAH.                       Messenger of YAHveh

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Psalms in the Temple

During the days of the Temple, the Levitical Choir sang in the Women's Court everyday.  That is where all the public prayers were said and all the singing was led.  King David orchestrated this.  On Sunday they sang Ps. 24,  Monday Ps. 48,  Tuesday Ps.82, Wednesday Ps. 94,  Thursday Ps. 81,  Friday Ps. 93, and Sabbath Ps. 92, a song for the future!  This still happens today in synagogues and in their everyday prayer times.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Hanukkah

For the first time ever, the first day of Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication, falls on Thanksgiving day.
Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November.  The latest it can be is 11/28.  The earliest Hanukkah can be is 11/28.  According to the Jewish calendar, the last time the two holidays coincided was 1861.  However, Thanksgiving was not formally established  until 1863.

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah will never coincide again because the Jewish (lunar) calendar is very slowly getting out of sync with the solar calendar, so that eventually the earliest Hanukkah can be is 11/29.

Jewish people read Psalms 113-118 on joyous occasions including Hanukkah.  They give thanks and praise God's great name.

Thanksgiving to God - Our obligation to offer thanks to our Redeemer-is a Major aspect of Hanukkah!

Hanukkah is more about Thanking God for all He did.

An observant Jew says up to a 100 Blessings daily,  one they say is -  when you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless The Lord your God!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Blood Moon

Next year at Passover there will be a full lunar eclipse, a phenomenon also known as a blood moon.
As the earths shadow passes across the moon's surface, the moon will turn a deep copper -red. A full lunar eclipse is a rare occurrence, especially on a Biblical Feast day.  The full lunar eclipse on Passover 2014 will be the beginning of a "tetrad"  which is a sequence of four consecutive full lunar eclipses.  Surprisingly , these four consecutive full lunar eclipses will occur on four Biblical feasts and will be bracketed by a pattern of solar eclipses in close proximity.  According to Rabbis, signs in the sun are for the Gentiles , or the nations, and signs in the moon or for Israel, which means that God is saying something about Israel, seeking to gain attention about something that He is about to do or is doing, and secondly, something to do with the nations.

Over the last 500 years three have been three tetrads falling precisely on Biblical Feast days.  A fourth will soon occur.
A lunar tetrad occurred on Passover and Tabernacles in 1493-1494.  In the previous year, the Jews were forced out of Spain.  In that year Spain had sent Christopher Columbus on a voyage that led to the discovery of America- hugely significant for the Jew of  Europe and Russia, as America was to become a major safe haven for them.

For the next four centuries there was no lunar tetrad coinciding with the feast days.  Then from the mid 20th century in the space of 70 years, there were three lunar tetrads, and each fell precisely on Passover and Tabernacles.

The first occurred at a time of profound prophetic fulfillment: Passover and Tabernacles 1949 -1950. In that period Israel was blossoming as a newborn nation, following her formation on May 15, 1948 and her miraculous victory against overwhelming odds in the 1948-49 War of Independence.  These were momentous events surrounding the restoration of the Jewish people and their nation, accompanied by many, many Jewish people returning to their homeland.

Another lunar tetrad fell precisely on the same Biblical feast days in 1967 and 1968.  Each witnessed a blood moon at Passover and Tabernacles.  In 1967 Jerusalem was being reunified, again in the midst of military conflict and triumph against overwhelming odds.  Much land was added to Israel.  Jerusalem trampled underfoot by the Gentiles Luke 21-24 for 19 centuries, was being restored to the Jews.  Was this sign in the heavens marking the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles?

With he 2014-15 lunar tetrad approaching, what lies before Israel and those praying for her in these coming months?  What momentous prophetic fulfillment might be approaching in this coming season?

The Lunar Tetrad falls on:

April 15, 2014,  Passover- followed by a partial solar eclipse on April 29 2014.

October 8 2014, the eve of Tabernacles followed by a partial solar eclipse on Oct. 23 2014.

April 4 2015 Passover- preceded by a total solar eclipse on March 20 2015, eve of the first day of the Biblical year.

Sept. 28 2015, Tabernacles- preceded by a partial solar eclipse on Sept.13 2015, the day  before the Feast of trumpets ( Roshashanah) which  is the Jewish  Civil New Years Day.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Salvation

Jesus' name in Hebrew is Yeshua which means salvation!

God's salvation involves a concern for physical as well as spiritual well- being.

The main idea of salvation is to liberate, deliver from evil, and free from oppression - safety, welfare, prosperity and victory are used to define this saving activity.

The essence of spirituality is for God's people to know the dynamic Presence and quickening power of  The Lord at work on earth in their daily lives.

In the Middle Ages the concept of salvation revolved around the idea  of escaping out of here and going to heaven.

The Hebrews didn't view salvation as deliverance from this world.  Their  commitment was not to escape this life but to know God's power and presence, which could transform their lives and their society.

The Hebrew thinking contrasted the  Greek thinking -  Hebrews stressed the wholeness of human beings.  They were not afraid to be human.  As a socially involved people, the Hebrews sought to live to the hilt entering into the fullness of the human experience.

They knew that to seek flight from this life by death was no permanent solution to the ills of this world.  For instance in Acts 16:27 the Greek jailer at Philippe who thought of ending his life the moment Paul and Silas escaped from prison would of been strange to the Hebrew mind set of Paul and Silas.  They believed God's presence in every  experience of life - trusting themselves to His mercy and grace.

The Hebrews boldly affirmed their God given humanity.  Again and again in scripture we see their identity was found in society, not in isolation from others.  They did not view the earth as an alien place but as a part of creation.  It was on earth and on earth alone that human beings highest deity and calling could be performed - namely that of bringing glory to their Maker thru the praise of their lips  and the work of their hands.

Matt.25:31-36 is a vivid illustration of the definition of salvation - so to do the work of salvation is to   Bring healing, relief and victory to those weighed down by the cares and concerns of the here and now.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Tidbits from the Hebraic

Each Hebrew letter has a meaning
Each letter has a number
Each word has a root meaning
Adding letters up of a word have a meaning

The letters from the word light (from the Hebrew) add up to 613 .
There are 613 commandments ( instructions, directions) from God for our lives.

The letters from the word child add up to 44
Father is 3
Mother is 41
Added together  produces a child - 44


The letters of the word truth (emet in Hebrew, spelled Aleph,Mem,Tav)  If you take the Aleph out you get the word met which means death.  Truth without God is death.  But when God is united with met,  He resurrects a life.