28/01/2011
I'm sure all of you have had fun with word studies from the scriptures. Well, this week I got struck by the usage of another word that we hear a lot these days, and that is the word "promises." The following scripture from 1 Kings 8:56 caught my attention: "Blessed be YHVH, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised [Hebrew "da'bar" meaning speech, word, speaking]. There has not failed one word ["di'bar"] of all His good promise ["dabar], which He promised ["da'bar"] through His servant Moses" (emphasis added). What I found interesting, is the connection between YHVH speaking a word through Moses, or any of the prophets, and the revealing of it in the words and life of Yeshua, and the writings of the apostles. Thus, one could say that the "word" is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and when it comes to pass, it is always a revelation of YHVH's speech. "For all the promises [d.b.r] of Elohim in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of Elohim through us"… "who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of Elohim, and the promises" [word, speech] (2 Corinthians 1;20; Romans 9:4, emphasis added). Notice that Paul was addressing "Israelites." Why didn't he use "Judahites" (Jews) instead?
When writing to the foreigners, aliens, strangers, those scattered in the nations Peter uses a very interesting word: "parepidemos" (1 Peter 1:1). The meaning of this word is very important, for it reveals YHVH's faithfulness to keep His promises, or the word that He spoke to the forefathers. Hence "parepidemos {par-ep-id'-ay-mos} is one who comes from a foreign country into a city or land to reside there by the side of the natives." We know that Peter was sent to the Jews, who were foreigners in the nations. But this apostle also uses excerpts from scriptures that had been specifically written to the House of Joseph/Israel (compare 1 Peter 2:10 with Hosea 1:10). He declared that the believers he was writing to, both Jews and non-Jews came from the same race - "a chosen race a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9 – Exodus 19:6). As far as YHVH's word is concerned, these are the recipients of the promises (ref. Romans chapter 4; Galatians 3:18; Hebrews 6: 13, 17).
"Only YHVH had a delight in your fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day," Deuteronomy 10:15). Both Paul and Peter knew the identity of these believers/aliens out in the nations. This means that an Israelite, living in any country or nation other than his own, would be classified as a "foreigner." The apostles also knew that the word [d.b.r] of Elohim equaled the promises that were being fulfilled in the lives of the believers from the nations. In very simple terms - His words or promises do not fail: "Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise [Here the Hebrew word is "oh'mer"; meaning speech, word, saying] failed forevermore? (Psalm 77:8). Because YHVH is His Word [d.b.r] He cannot deny Himself (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Would He change His mind after He spoke out the promises (root "dabar")?
It is therefore very sobering to read Paul's exhortation to those who have received the promises: "Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of Elohim" (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Monday, April 23, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Exposing the Antichrist
This week we are going to expose the ‘anti-Christ,’ anti-Messiah spirit. Why use the word “expose”? Because Satan disguises himself, masquerading as an angel of light, and I might add, also as a messenger of twisted truth and self-righteousness (see 2 Corinthians 11:14) - he is the father of lies (see John 8:44). In the case of the antichrist spirit in particular, we must use the Light of Yeshua as a weapon to expose and defeat this already disarmed satanic entity (see Colossians 2:15).
Before getting into the teaching, be sure that your armor of light is intact (ref Romans 13:12)! In other words, put on the Lord Yeshua the Messiah (verse 14), because if we are going to deal with the anti-Messiah we need to know the true Messiah - Yeshua - who declared: “I am the light of the world,” and “I am the truth” (John 8:12; 14:6). This is the upshot of the war between the two kingdoms of light and darkness; truth and lie, justice and injustice, righteousness and lawlessness etc.
In order to understand anti-Christ (anti-Messiah, the imposter or counterfeit of Elohim), we have to look at what “Christ” - khris-tos - actually means. Aside from referring to The Anointed One, it also refers to those who are “anointed” (khris-tos) with the Spirit of Elohim. Hence the spirit of anti-Christ would obviously oppose the Spirit of the Father and His Son Yeshua, and all those that have received that Spirit. “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also abide in the Son and in the Father” (1 John 2:23-24). What is John referring to by saying “abide in you”? What is it that abides in us and, conversely, that we are abiding in? There is only one answer, and that is ‘the anointing and indwelling of the Holy Spirit.’ Consequently the spirit of anti-Christ would contest our faith – that is, our believing and receiving our true spiritual reality and identity in Messiah Yeshua, and maturing in it. Paul exhorts the believers in Corinth: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Yeshua Messiah is in you? -- unless indeed you are disqualified or fail the test” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
In what ‘form’ is Messiah Yeshua in us? Very simply, He is in us by His Spirit. This is what was promised in the New Covenant. John elaborates further on this issue: “And this is the promise that He [the Father] has promised us -- eternal life” (John 2: 25)…“and this life is in His Son” (1 John 5:11]. “These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you” (1 John 2: 26-27).
The antichrist spirit will try to deceive us into believing that Yeshua is not really in our very flesh body here on earth by the Holy Spirit. John continues to expand on this: “By this you know the Spirit of Elohim: Every spirit that confesses that Yeshua Messiah has come in the flesh(ours) is of Elohim, and every spirit that does not confess that Yeshua the Messiah has come in the flesh (ours) is not of Elohim. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:2-3). I inserted “ours,” because if this scripture is taken out of context it could be misinterpreted as being solely a reference to Yeshua’s life in the flesh two thousand years ago. The following verse clarifies even further what John means by “Yeshua coming in the flesh”: “You are of Elohim, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Who is this greater entity that is in us? “For it is Elohim who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of Elohim in the face of Messiah Yeshua. We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of Elohim and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 emphasis added). “For we who live are always delivered to death for Yeshuas' sake, that the life of Yeshua also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11 emphasis added). Hence, Yeshua’s presence “in the flesh” is a factual reality for those in whom He abides.
The great mystery of the ages is the promise of the indwelling Spirit of the Father and Son. Paul explicates this to the believers in Colossae: “… the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them Elohim willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Nations: which is Messiah in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26-27).
What makes the Antichrist spirit so dangerous? As mentioned above, he masquerades as an angel of light. Being devious by nature, he lies and deceives especially aiming to trick believers into denying that Yeshua is Messiah, and that He and the Father are One, in us, in the unity of the Spirit of Holiness. “Who is a liar but he who denies that Yeshua is the Messiah? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). Therefore, “whoever transgresses and does not abide in the truth of Messiah does not have Elohim. He who abides in the truth of Messiah has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 1:9).
YHVH is raising up the dry bones of the whole House of Israel to be His mighty men; His army that will defeat the spirit of Antichrist by “abiding” in the truth of Yeshua’s presence in them. Thus, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Yeshua is the Son of Elohim, Elohim abides in him, and he in Elohim” (1 John 4:13-15).
Ephraim
Before getting into the teaching, be sure that your armor of light is intact (ref Romans 13:12)! In other words, put on the Lord Yeshua the Messiah (verse 14), because if we are going to deal with the anti-Messiah we need to know the true Messiah - Yeshua - who declared: “I am the light of the world,” and “I am the truth” (John 8:12; 14:6). This is the upshot of the war between the two kingdoms of light and darkness; truth and lie, justice and injustice, righteousness and lawlessness etc.
In order to understand anti-Christ (anti-Messiah, the imposter or counterfeit of Elohim), we have to look at what “Christ” - khris-tos - actually means. Aside from referring to The Anointed One, it also refers to those who are “anointed” (khris-tos) with the Spirit of Elohim. Hence the spirit of anti-Christ would obviously oppose the Spirit of the Father and His Son Yeshua, and all those that have received that Spirit. “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also abide in the Son and in the Father” (1 John 2:23-24). What is John referring to by saying “abide in you”? What is it that abides in us and, conversely, that we are abiding in? There is only one answer, and that is ‘the anointing and indwelling of the Holy Spirit.’ Consequently the spirit of anti-Christ would contest our faith – that is, our believing and receiving our true spiritual reality and identity in Messiah Yeshua, and maturing in it. Paul exhorts the believers in Corinth: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Yeshua Messiah is in you? -- unless indeed you are disqualified or fail the test” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
In what ‘form’ is Messiah Yeshua in us? Very simply, He is in us by His Spirit. This is what was promised in the New Covenant. John elaborates further on this issue: “And this is the promise that He [the Father] has promised us -- eternal life” (John 2: 25)…“and this life is in His Son” (1 John 5:11]. “These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you” (1 John 2: 26-27).
The antichrist spirit will try to deceive us into believing that Yeshua is not really in our very flesh body here on earth by the Holy Spirit. John continues to expand on this: “By this you know the Spirit of Elohim: Every spirit that confesses that Yeshua Messiah has come in the flesh(ours) is of Elohim, and every spirit that does not confess that Yeshua the Messiah has come in the flesh (ours) is not of Elohim. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:2-3). I inserted “ours,” because if this scripture is taken out of context it could be misinterpreted as being solely a reference to Yeshua’s life in the flesh two thousand years ago. The following verse clarifies even further what John means by “Yeshua coming in the flesh”: “You are of Elohim, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Who is this greater entity that is in us? “For it is Elohim who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of Elohim in the face of Messiah Yeshua. We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of Elohim and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7 emphasis added). “For we who live are always delivered to death for Yeshuas' sake, that the life of Yeshua also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11 emphasis added). Hence, Yeshua’s presence “in the flesh” is a factual reality for those in whom He abides.
The great mystery of the ages is the promise of the indwelling Spirit of the Father and Son. Paul explicates this to the believers in Colossae: “… the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them Elohim willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Nations: which is Messiah in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:26-27).
What makes the Antichrist spirit so dangerous? As mentioned above, he masquerades as an angel of light. Being devious by nature, he lies and deceives especially aiming to trick believers into denying that Yeshua is Messiah, and that He and the Father are One, in us, in the unity of the Spirit of Holiness. “Who is a liar but he who denies that Yeshua is the Messiah? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). Therefore, “whoever transgresses and does not abide in the truth of Messiah does not have Elohim. He who abides in the truth of Messiah has both the Father and the Son” (2 John 1:9).
YHVH is raising up the dry bones of the whole House of Israel to be His mighty men; His army that will defeat the spirit of Antichrist by “abiding” in the truth of Yeshua’s presence in them. Thus, “By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Yeshua is the Son of Elohim, Elohim abides in him, and he in Elohim” (1 John 4:13-15).
Ephraim
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Yeshua the Pesach Lamb's Journey
IT IS WRITTEN:
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Torah till all is fulfilled. (Matt. 5:17-18).
"Then He said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Messiah to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?' So beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures (Tanach) the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:25-27, emphasis added).
NOTE THAT YESHUA IS REFERING TO THE TANACH. (Torah and Prophets)
" Then I (Yeshua) said, `Behold, I have come----In the volume of the book it is written of Me----To do Your will, O YHVH'" (Heb.10:7, emphasis added).
"Then Yeshua said to them, 'all of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: `I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered'”: (Zech 13:7, emphasis added).
" ‘Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? "How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?’ In that hour Yeshua said to the multitudes, ‘Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.’ Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled” (Matt. 26:31, 53-56, emphasis added).
Yeshua himself declared that there would be one very important sign that would bear testimony to the fact that He was the Messiah:
YESHUA’S PROPHECIES
The Sign of Jonah:
“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, 'teacher, we want to see a sign from You'. But He answered and said to them, 'an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth'” (Matt:12:38-40, emphasis added).
"'A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.’ And He left them and departed” (Matt.16:4, emphasis added)
“And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, ‘this is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet’” (Luke 11:29, emphasis added).
YESHUA ALSO SPOKE OF ANOTHER SIGN, (compare the two signs) as there are always to be two witnesses.
The Sign of the Temple
"So the Jews answered and said to Him, 'what sign do You show to us, since You do these things? 'Yeshua answered and said to them, 'destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up'. Then the Jews said, 'it has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?' But He was speaking of the temple of His body" (John 2:18-21).
"Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Yeshua to put Him to death but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, 'this fellow said: `I am able to destroy the temple of YHVH and to build it in three days'" (Matt. 26:59-61; Mark 14:58-62).
(Were these last two really false witnesses? Did Yeshua not say that He would destroy the temple? Read John 2:18-21 again.)
Even while He was on the stake they were reminding Him of His own words: "And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying: 'you who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross '"(Matt. 27:39-40; Mark 15:29-30).
When these signs were fulfilled there were witnesses who verified that fact. Who were those witnesses?
Because Yeshua proclaimed that these signs were to corroborate His Messiahship, it was in the interest of the priests to ensure, in every way possible, that those declarations of His would prove false. That is why they asked Pilate to place soldier-guards around the tomb and set a seal on the stone that covered the opening. This, however, backfired on them. As a matter of fact, the soldiers became the first eyewitnesses to the fulfillment of the signs. “Now while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, 'tell them, `his disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.' "And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure." So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day” (Matt. 28:11-15).
The mere fact that the priests had to pay the guards to lie was in itself proof that He was in the grave for the designated period. The disciples’ memories were also jarred, when they found out that he was no longer in the grave. "After His resurrection, the disciples also recalled what Yeshua had said about the destruction of the “temple” and about raising it in three days" (John 2:22).
If Yeshua were the Passover Lamb, then the statutes and ordinances of the Torah would also have to apply to HIS sacrifice. Let us review some of the relevant scriptures.
YHVH’S APPOINTED TIMES
“And YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, 'speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: `The feasts of YHVH, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of YHVH in all your dwellings'” (Lev. 23:1-3). Each feast day, regardless of the day of the week it happens to occur on, is patterned after the Shabbat and is called a Shabbaton. This is why Yeshua had to be taken off the cross and buried before the evening of the coming in of the “Shabbat” [that is, the ‘Shabbaton’]. “Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day [the 14th of Aviv] that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day [the 15th] the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away” (John 19:31; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54). The fifteenth was and still is the Feast of Matzot - Unleavened Bread. It is a Shabbat-like day (a Shabbton), a High Holy Day. The feast days can fall on any day of the week. As mentioned, the week Yeshua was crucified on, the High Holy Day (15th of Aviv) occurred on a Thursday (Thursday was therefore like a Shabbat).
“These are the feasts of YHVH, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. On the fourteenth day of the first month between the evenings [the entire twenty four hour period of the fourteenth] is YHVH’s Passover” (Lev.23: 4-5). Please note that the fourteenth is not spoken of as a rest day or a holy convocation, therefore it is not a feast day (see also John 19:31). It was the day on which they were busy sacrificing and cutting up the lambs; from evening to evening, a day of preparation for the Shabbaton that was to follow (the fifteenth was the first day of the Feast of Matzot). “And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to YHVH; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day [the fifteenth of the Month of Aviv] you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to YHVH for
seven days. The seventh day [the 21st of the month of Aviv] shall be a holy convocation [a Shabbat-like day]; you shall do no customary work on it" (Lev. 23:6-8; ref. Deut. 16:1-3).
It is very important to distinguish the difference between the 14th (YHVH's Passover) and the 15th the Feast of Matzot (which is the High Holy Day, a Shabbat-like day). And now that we have the day, we need a...
LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE
"Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: `On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. `And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. `Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight [between the evenings]'" (Ex. 12:3-6).
Please keep this day (the 10th) in mind, for we will run into it again when we cover the journey of the Passover Lamb later.
YESHUA THE LAMB
“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night" (Luke 2:7-8). The Lamb was born in a stable, in a feed troth, among the animals. Significantly it was shepherds, pasturing their sheep, who heard the message of the angles. "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12). It is thought that these shepherds (being in that region) were actually watching over the sheep that were to be used for the temple sacrifices. Later in the Lamb's life, John the Immerser exclaimed: "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
An Ethiopian eunuch who came to Jerusalem to worship was sitting in his chariot reading the prophet Isaiah and there he read the following: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before it's sheerer is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth'" (Isa. 53:7-8; Acts 8:32-33).
“But with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1Pet.1:19-20).
“And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sang a new song, saying: 'You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth'” (Rev. 5:6-10).
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying: 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the
throne, and to the Lamb'" (Rev. 7:9-17).
“They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: 'Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your
judgments have been manifested'"(Rev. 15:3-4).
THE PASSOVER LAMB'S JOURNEY
“Now it came to pass, when Yeshua had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan" (Matt. 19:1; Mark 10:1; John 1:28). ”Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Yeshua was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again'" (Mark 10:33).
“Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.
And when he heard that it was Yeshua of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, 'Yeshua, Son of David, have mercy on me!'" (Mark 10:46; Luke 18:35; 19:1 Matt. 20:29; Luke 19:28). Interestingly, YHVH used a blind man to declare that
Yeshua was the Messiah Son of David.
“Then, six days before the [feast day of] Passover [6 days before the 15th, which would have been the ninth of Aviv], Yeshua came to Bethany [which means house of affliction], where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; [it was the Friday evening meal an erev Shabbat meal] and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Miryam took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Yeshua, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, 'why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?' This he said not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. But Yeshua said, 'let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always'" (John 12:1-8).
The Feast of Matzot (Unleavened Bread) was and still is celebrated on the fifteenth. If we count six days before the fifteenth of Aviv, we arrive at Friday the ninth, this was the day on which Yeshua came up to Beit-Onya (Bethany) and had an Erev Shabbat meal with El’azar (Lazarus), Martha, and Miryam. Yochanan (John) tells us that the following day, which would have been Shabbat the tenth of Aviv, Yeshua rode the colt of an ass into Jerusalem. It was not Palm Sunday, but "Palm SHABBAT" that year.
Because this year’s Passover does not fall in the middle of the week, we cannot follow through the days, but in spite of that technical complication, when you sit for your Erev Shabbat meal think about what had taken place on this very night so many years ago. Maybe find some perfume to scent the air…(fragrance of Messiah).
“The next day" (John 12:12)... [which was a Shabbat, the tenth of Aviv], they where on their way from Beit Onya to Jerusalem “Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Yeshua sent two disciples, saying to them, 'go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me'” (Matt. 21:1-2; Luke 19:28-29) “ ...a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Yeshua was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: 'Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of YHVH! The King of Israel!' Then Yeshua, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 'Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey's colt'" (John 12:12-16; Zech 9:9).
On the tenth the priests carried the lambs for the Passover sacrifices into the Temple, as commanded by YHVH (see Ex. 12:3). The lambs were then examined for four days and if no blemish or defect could be found, they qualified for the sacrifice and were killed on the fourteenth. Yeshua the Lamb went up to Jerusalem on the tenth, and for four days was questioned and examined, and in the end no fault could be found in Him by the highest authority in the land (ref. Luke 23:4,14; John 18:38, 19:4,6). He was the perfect, complete and qualified sacrifice. “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Yeshua knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end" (John 13:1). Yeshua, knowing that He was not going to be around the following evening to celebrate the Passover meal, made arrangements to recline with His disciples the evening before, which was the beginning of the preparation day (the 14th). Remember it was the middle of the week. "When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, 'with fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God'" (Luke 22:14-16). Immediately afterwards He was betrayed, arrested, tried, and condemned to death by the priests and scribes, and then delivered to the gentiles (Romans) who mocked, scourged, spit on Him and eventually crucified Him. All this took place on the 14th of Aviv. He was slaughtered with all the other lambs that same day, which was a
Wednesday. At the end of that day, the day of preparation, Yeshua's body was put into the grave. He was laid in the tomb just before the Shabbaton of the 15th (the High Holy Day), which was the eve of Thursday (please keep in mind that in the Hebrew calendar the day starts in the evening). He was therefore in the grave that night (1st night), all day Thursday (making it one whole day, the 15th of Aviv); the night of Friday (2nd night) all day, Friday (second whole day, the 16th); Saturday (Shabbat) night (3rd night) and all day Saturday (Shabbat 3rd day, the 17th of Aviv). Then sometime after the Shabbat went out Yeshua rose from the dead. He was in the grave exactly 3 nights and 3 days.
The religious leaders were looking for a reason to denounce Him as a liar. Indeed, if He would not have stayed in that grave for three nights and three days they would have proven their point beyond a shadow of a doubt, and Yeshua could not have been the Messiah of Israel. The Good Friday and Easter Sunday celebrations only come to the aid of those who would declare Yeshua a liar. The sign of Jonah is Yeshua’s answer to an evil and wicked and unbelieving generation.
FIRST FRUIT OMER OFFERING
"And YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, ‘speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring an omer of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the omer before YHVH, to be accepted on your behalf'” (Lev.23:9-10). It literally says, “for your acceptance", or "that you may be accepted”, in other words you and I can only go before YHVH if this wave offering qualifies us. When was this first fruit barley grain to be picked and waved before YHVH?
“On the day after the [weekly] Sabbath the first day of the week, the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the omer, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to YHVH” (Lev. 23: 9-12). Whenever the first ripe grain of barley were first noticed (which occurs around the time of Passover), the priests would cut them and wait for the nearest weekly Shabbat, and following that Shabbat, that is on the first day of the week, they would wave them before YHVH. On the year we are looking at, the first barley omer must have been ready, and no doubt they were brought before YHVH on the first day after the Shabbat (which 'happened' to occur within the seven day period of the Feast of Matzot), making Yeshua’s resurrection and presentation of Himself before the Father, "for our acceptance", a fulfillment of the first-omer offering. Let me emphasize here that according to scripture the injunction to bring the omer is not connected to the Feast of Matzot, contrary to the commonly held view, thus there is no specific day designated for it, as only YHVH Himself can determine when the barley will be ripe (which explains the need for the counting). In Yeshua’s year of sacrifice it occurred in such a way that while He was fulfilling the sign of three days and three nights, He could also become that wave offering before YHVH (see I Cor. 15:20, 23). That year, when He became the first barley offering waved before the Father, it happened on the 18th of Aviv. In Hebrew, one and eight are equivalent to the letters that make up the word “alive”. Yeshua told Miryam of Migdal not to touch Him, because He had not yet been to the Father; He had to be that first omer wave offering that you and I may be accepted and be “made alive with Him”.
“And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the omer of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed” (Lev. 23:15). The very reason for counting is that one never knows when the harvest is ripe for picking, again, each year the dates could vary, depending on weather conditions controlled by the Almighty alone. And if one reads carefully the scripture in Leviticus 23 one sees that there is no connection between the Feast of Matzot and the waving of the sheaf. (vs. 8-9).
Let us be as those who have understanding and join Yeshua’s disciples and remember all that has been written. “Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Yeshua had spoken" (John 2:22).
Hag Same'ach,
Ephraim
"Great and marvelous are Your works, YHVH Elohim Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O YHVH, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested" (Rev. 15:3-4).
P.S. What is so important about these fixed appointments, their time and place and are they relevant for today’s redeemed Israelite community? In Colossians 2:16-17 Shaul says: “So let no one judge you in food or drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a mere shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Messiah." Many use this mistranslated scripture portion to disqualify the feasts of YHVH. However, the literal translation of these verses is: “Let no one be your judge in regards to food, drink, feasts, new moons or Sabbaths, but the Body of Messiah, for these are shadows of things yet to come” (emphasis added). Thus, these Torah observances are prophetic, and by keeping them we are proclaiming something that is yet to be revealed in YHVH’s plan. For this reason the Body of Messiah is "to judge" and discern these matters, as the verse points out. To those who would argue that the
Torah laws were nailed to the cross, and that Yeshua has fulfilled them all, we would say that the apostle wrote this after the death of the Messiah. In other words, yes, they are shadows…but… of things yet to come and therefore are prophetic in nature! “For the testimony of Yeshua is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10b).
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Torah till all is fulfilled. (Matt. 5:17-18).
"Then He said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Messiah to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?' So beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures (Tanach) the things concerning Himself" (Luke 24:25-27, emphasis added).
NOTE THAT YESHUA IS REFERING TO THE TANACH. (Torah and Prophets)
" Then I (Yeshua) said, `Behold, I have come----In the volume of the book it is written of Me----To do Your will, O YHVH'" (Heb.10:7, emphasis added).
"Then Yeshua said to them, 'all of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: `I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered'”: (Zech 13:7, emphasis added).
" ‘Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? "How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?’ In that hour Yeshua said to the multitudes, ‘Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.’ Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled” (Matt. 26:31, 53-56, emphasis added).
Yeshua himself declared that there would be one very important sign that would bear testimony to the fact that He was the Messiah:
YESHUA’S PROPHECIES
The Sign of Jonah:
“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, 'teacher, we want to see a sign from You'. But He answered and said to them, 'an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth'” (Matt:12:38-40, emphasis added).
"'A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.’ And He left them and departed” (Matt.16:4, emphasis added)
“And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, ‘this is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet’” (Luke 11:29, emphasis added).
YESHUA ALSO SPOKE OF ANOTHER SIGN, (compare the two signs) as there are always to be two witnesses.
The Sign of the Temple
"So the Jews answered and said to Him, 'what sign do You show to us, since You do these things? 'Yeshua answered and said to them, 'destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up'. Then the Jews said, 'it has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?' But He was speaking of the temple of His body" (John 2:18-21).
"Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Yeshua to put Him to death but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, 'this fellow said: `I am able to destroy the temple of YHVH and to build it in three days'" (Matt. 26:59-61; Mark 14:58-62).
(Were these last two really false witnesses? Did Yeshua not say that He would destroy the temple? Read John 2:18-21 again.)
Even while He was on the stake they were reminding Him of His own words: "And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying: 'you who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross '"(Matt. 27:39-40; Mark 15:29-30).
When these signs were fulfilled there were witnesses who verified that fact. Who were those witnesses?
Because Yeshua proclaimed that these signs were to corroborate His Messiahship, it was in the interest of the priests to ensure, in every way possible, that those declarations of His would prove false. That is why they asked Pilate to place soldier-guards around the tomb and set a seal on the stone that covered the opening. This, however, backfired on them. As a matter of fact, the soldiers became the first eyewitnesses to the fulfillment of the signs. “Now while they were going, behold, some of the guards came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, 'tell them, `his disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.' "And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure." So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day” (Matt. 28:11-15).
The mere fact that the priests had to pay the guards to lie was in itself proof that He was in the grave for the designated period. The disciples’ memories were also jarred, when they found out that he was no longer in the grave. "After His resurrection, the disciples also recalled what Yeshua had said about the destruction of the “temple” and about raising it in three days" (John 2:22).
If Yeshua were the Passover Lamb, then the statutes and ordinances of the Torah would also have to apply to HIS sacrifice. Let us review some of the relevant scriptures.
YHVH’S APPOINTED TIMES
“And YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, 'speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: `The feasts of YHVH, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of YHVH in all your dwellings'” (Lev. 23:1-3). Each feast day, regardless of the day of the week it happens to occur on, is patterned after the Shabbat and is called a Shabbaton. This is why Yeshua had to be taken off the cross and buried before the evening of the coming in of the “Shabbat” [that is, the ‘Shabbaton’]. “Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day [the 14th of Aviv] that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day [the 15th] the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away” (John 19:31; Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54). The fifteenth was and still is the Feast of Matzot - Unleavened Bread. It is a Shabbat-like day (a Shabbton), a High Holy Day. The feast days can fall on any day of the week. As mentioned, the week Yeshua was crucified on, the High Holy Day (15th of Aviv) occurred on a Thursday (Thursday was therefore like a Shabbat).
“These are the feasts of YHVH, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. On the fourteenth day of the first month between the evenings [the entire twenty four hour period of the fourteenth] is YHVH’s Passover” (Lev.23: 4-5). Please note that the fourteenth is not spoken of as a rest day or a holy convocation, therefore it is not a feast day (see also John 19:31). It was the day on which they were busy sacrificing and cutting up the lambs; from evening to evening, a day of preparation for the Shabbaton that was to follow (the fifteenth was the first day of the Feast of Matzot). “And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to YHVH; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. On the first day [the fifteenth of the Month of Aviv] you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to YHVH for
seven days. The seventh day [the 21st of the month of Aviv] shall be a holy convocation [a Shabbat-like day]; you shall do no customary work on it" (Lev. 23:6-8; ref. Deut. 16:1-3).
It is very important to distinguish the difference between the 14th (YHVH's Passover) and the 15th the Feast of Matzot (which is the High Holy Day, a Shabbat-like day). And now that we have the day, we need a...
LAMB FOR THE SACRIFICE
"Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: `On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. `And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. `Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight [between the evenings]'" (Ex. 12:3-6).
Please keep this day (the 10th) in mind, for we will run into it again when we cover the journey of the Passover Lamb later.
YESHUA THE LAMB
“And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night" (Luke 2:7-8). The Lamb was born in a stable, in a feed troth, among the animals. Significantly it was shepherds, pasturing their sheep, who heard the message of the angles. "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12). It is thought that these shepherds (being in that region) were actually watching over the sheep that were to be used for the temple sacrifices. Later in the Lamb's life, John the Immerser exclaimed: "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
An Ethiopian eunuch who came to Jerusalem to worship was sitting in his chariot reading the prophet Isaiah and there he read the following: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before it's sheerer is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth'" (Isa. 53:7-8; Acts 8:32-33).
“But with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1Pet.1:19-20).
“And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. They sang a new song, saying: 'You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth'” (Rev. 5:6-10).
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying: 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the
throne, and to the Lamb'" (Rev. 7:9-17).
“They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying: 'Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your
judgments have been manifested'"(Rev. 15:3-4).
THE PASSOVER LAMB'S JOURNEY
“Now it came to pass, when Yeshua had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan" (Matt. 19:1; Mark 10:1; John 1:28). ”Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Yeshua was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again'" (Mark 10:33).
“Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.
And when he heard that it was Yeshua of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, 'Yeshua, Son of David, have mercy on me!'" (Mark 10:46; Luke 18:35; 19:1 Matt. 20:29; Luke 19:28). Interestingly, YHVH used a blind man to declare that
Yeshua was the Messiah Son of David.
“Then, six days before the [feast day of] Passover [6 days before the 15th, which would have been the ninth of Aviv], Yeshua came to Bethany [which means house of affliction], where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper; [it was the Friday evening meal an erev Shabbat meal] and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Miryam took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Yeshua, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, 'why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?' This he said not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. But Yeshua said, 'let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always'" (John 12:1-8).
The Feast of Matzot (Unleavened Bread) was and still is celebrated on the fifteenth. If we count six days before the fifteenth of Aviv, we arrive at Friday the ninth, this was the day on which Yeshua came up to Beit-Onya (Bethany) and had an Erev Shabbat meal with El’azar (Lazarus), Martha, and Miryam. Yochanan (John) tells us that the following day, which would have been Shabbat the tenth of Aviv, Yeshua rode the colt of an ass into Jerusalem. It was not Palm Sunday, but "Palm SHABBAT" that year.
Because this year’s Passover does not fall in the middle of the week, we cannot follow through the days, but in spite of that technical complication, when you sit for your Erev Shabbat meal think about what had taken place on this very night so many years ago. Maybe find some perfume to scent the air…(fragrance of Messiah).
“The next day" (John 12:12)... [which was a Shabbat, the tenth of Aviv], they where on their way from Beit Onya to Jerusalem “Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Yeshua sent two disciples, saying to them, 'go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Loose them and bring them to Me'” (Matt. 21:1-2; Luke 19:28-29) “ ...a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Yeshua was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: 'Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of YHVH! The King of Israel!' Then Yeshua, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 'Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey's colt'" (John 12:12-16; Zech 9:9).
On the tenth the priests carried the lambs for the Passover sacrifices into the Temple, as commanded by YHVH (see Ex. 12:3). The lambs were then examined for four days and if no blemish or defect could be found, they qualified for the sacrifice and were killed on the fourteenth. Yeshua the Lamb went up to Jerusalem on the tenth, and for four days was questioned and examined, and in the end no fault could be found in Him by the highest authority in the land (ref. Luke 23:4,14; John 18:38, 19:4,6). He was the perfect, complete and qualified sacrifice. “Now before the feast of the Passover, when Yeshua knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end" (John 13:1). Yeshua, knowing that He was not going to be around the following evening to celebrate the Passover meal, made arrangements to recline with His disciples the evening before, which was the beginning of the preparation day (the 14th). Remember it was the middle of the week. "When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, 'with fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God'" (Luke 22:14-16). Immediately afterwards He was betrayed, arrested, tried, and condemned to death by the priests and scribes, and then delivered to the gentiles (Romans) who mocked, scourged, spit on Him and eventually crucified Him. All this took place on the 14th of Aviv. He was slaughtered with all the other lambs that same day, which was a
Wednesday. At the end of that day, the day of preparation, Yeshua's body was put into the grave. He was laid in the tomb just before the Shabbaton of the 15th (the High Holy Day), which was the eve of Thursday (please keep in mind that in the Hebrew calendar the day starts in the evening). He was therefore in the grave that night (1st night), all day Thursday (making it one whole day, the 15th of Aviv); the night of Friday (2nd night) all day, Friday (second whole day, the 16th); Saturday (Shabbat) night (3rd night) and all day Saturday (Shabbat 3rd day, the 17th of Aviv). Then sometime after the Shabbat went out Yeshua rose from the dead. He was in the grave exactly 3 nights and 3 days.
The religious leaders were looking for a reason to denounce Him as a liar. Indeed, if He would not have stayed in that grave for three nights and three days they would have proven their point beyond a shadow of a doubt, and Yeshua could not have been the Messiah of Israel. The Good Friday and Easter Sunday celebrations only come to the aid of those who would declare Yeshua a liar. The sign of Jonah is Yeshua’s answer to an evil and wicked and unbelieving generation.
FIRST FRUIT OMER OFFERING
"And YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, ‘speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring an omer of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the omer before YHVH, to be accepted on your behalf'” (Lev.23:9-10). It literally says, “for your acceptance", or "that you may be accepted”, in other words you and I can only go before YHVH if this wave offering qualifies us. When was this first fruit barley grain to be picked and waved before YHVH?
“On the day after the [weekly] Sabbath the first day of the week, the priest shall wave it. And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the omer, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to YHVH” (Lev. 23: 9-12). Whenever the first ripe grain of barley were first noticed (which occurs around the time of Passover), the priests would cut them and wait for the nearest weekly Shabbat, and following that Shabbat, that is on the first day of the week, they would wave them before YHVH. On the year we are looking at, the first barley omer must have been ready, and no doubt they were brought before YHVH on the first day after the Shabbat (which 'happened' to occur within the seven day period of the Feast of Matzot), making Yeshua’s resurrection and presentation of Himself before the Father, "for our acceptance", a fulfillment of the first-omer offering. Let me emphasize here that according to scripture the injunction to bring the omer is not connected to the Feast of Matzot, contrary to the commonly held view, thus there is no specific day designated for it, as only YHVH Himself can determine when the barley will be ripe (which explains the need for the counting). In Yeshua’s year of sacrifice it occurred in such a way that while He was fulfilling the sign of three days and three nights, He could also become that wave offering before YHVH (see I Cor. 15:20, 23). That year, when He became the first barley offering waved before the Father, it happened on the 18th of Aviv. In Hebrew, one and eight are equivalent to the letters that make up the word “alive”. Yeshua told Miryam of Migdal not to touch Him, because He had not yet been to the Father; He had to be that first omer wave offering that you and I may be accepted and be “made alive with Him”.
“And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the omer of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed” (Lev. 23:15). The very reason for counting is that one never knows when the harvest is ripe for picking, again, each year the dates could vary, depending on weather conditions controlled by the Almighty alone. And if one reads carefully the scripture in Leviticus 23 one sees that there is no connection between the Feast of Matzot and the waving of the sheaf. (vs. 8-9).
Let us be as those who have understanding and join Yeshua’s disciples and remember all that has been written. “Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Yeshua had spoken" (John 2:22).
Hag Same'ach,
Ephraim
"Great and marvelous are Your works, YHVH Elohim Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! Who shall not fear You, O YHVH, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested" (Rev. 15:3-4).
P.S. What is so important about these fixed appointments, their time and place and are they relevant for today’s redeemed Israelite community? In Colossians 2:16-17 Shaul says: “So let no one judge you in food or drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a mere shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Messiah." Many use this mistranslated scripture portion to disqualify the feasts of YHVH. However, the literal translation of these verses is: “Let no one be your judge in regards to food, drink, feasts, new moons or Sabbaths, but the Body of Messiah, for these are shadows of things yet to come” (emphasis added). Thus, these Torah observances are prophetic, and by keeping them we are proclaiming something that is yet to be revealed in YHVH’s plan. For this reason the Body of Messiah is "to judge" and discern these matters, as the verse points out. To those who would argue that the
Torah laws were nailed to the cross, and that Yeshua has fulfilled them all, we would say that the apostle wrote this after the death of the Messiah. In other words, yes, they are shadows…but… of things yet to come and therefore are prophetic in nature! “For the testimony of Yeshua is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19:10b).
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