My Scripture Studies

"Torah" - It Points to Messiah

2012-02-01T22:04:00.017-06:00

What is the word “law” in the Bible?

The first appearance of the English word law as translated from the Hebrew Bible is actually the word "choq". It is found in Genesis 47:26.

Here “law” means means "statute, ordinance, limit, something prescribed". It is speaking of Joseph's law that he established during the famine in Egypt as he required all but priests give one fifth of their harvests as a tax to Pharoah after he bought the land with seed following the failure of their money system. Law as we see it here is a pretty accurate description of our current use of the word and it appears 127 times in The Hebrew Scriptures. But "choq" is not the the term so many use today for what they refer to as God's "law" which is His “Torah”. It is my prayer that this study will begin to show you the difference and that you also see how Torah points to Messiah - the word of God, the living Torah.

The Hebrew word “Torah” first appears in Exodus 12:49 when God tells Moses "One law [Torah] shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you."

This word "law" is "Torah" which begins with the Hebrew letter Tav.

Hebrew is read right to left. It is spelled in Hebrew as “Tav-Vav-Resh-Hey” It means "teaching and instruction". Check this out for yourself, test it in any Bible dictionary. Because each Hebrew letter has a literal meaning we need to understand this because literally... "Tav-Vav-Resh-Hey" means "Covenant-Stake-Head-Reveal".

Can you see Messiah in this word Torah? He is the head, the leader at the covenant stake. He is the Torah, the Living Word!

Unlike Joseph's "law" in Genesis 47, Torah is not “choq”, and "choq" is not Torah. Torah is God's teaching and instruction for living not man's statute. It is God’s teaching for holiness. It is God's instruction path for drawing near to His almighty glory in a pure set apart life.

God intricately designed His universe and His Torah, He spoke it, and He taught it to Moses so that he could teach it to Israel and the strangers with them.

Did you know there were 50 days separating Passover to the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai? For that reason, deliverance is tied to the number "fifty" which is also the Torah number of Jubilee, the day of deliverance in Scripture. God separates the Jubilee year as the appointed year of "deliverance" in the teaching and instruction of Scripture... it is the sum of 7 x 7 + 1. 49 + 1.

So too, God literally show us His instruction, His Torah within the separation of the numbering of the letters that spell Torah in His word! God's design of His Hebrew word is amazing.

Now, consider what you will never see in an English Bible.

In Numbers 1:1-4, we can see 50 letter skips spells the word Torah. Reading a Torah scroll we can see the spelling is in reverse as it points to Leviticus. Why Leviticus, because something else is written in God's word there, just keep reading below for the answer and we look at the word Torah הוֹרַתָ

וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד
בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בַּשָּׁנָה הַשֵּׁנִית לְצֵאתָם מֵאֶרֶץ
מִצְרַיִם לֵאמֹר שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם בְּמִסְפַּר שֵׁמוֹת כָּל זָכָר
לְגֻלְגְּלֹתָם מִבֶּן עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה כָּל יֹצֵא צָבָא
בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל תִּפְקְדוּ אֹתָם לְצִבְאֹתָם אַתָּה וְאַהֲרֹן

Now, if we look at Deuteronomy 1:5-8, we can see there are 49 letter skips to spell Torah. Reading the letter skips we can see the spelling points back toward the Scriptures that precede it.

בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן, בְּאֶרֶץ מוֹאָב, הוֹאִיל מֹשֶׁה בֵּאֵר אֶת הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת לֵאמֹר
יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ דִּבֶּר אֵלֵינוּ בְּחֹרֵב לֵאמֹר רַב לָכֶם שֶׁבֶת בָּהָר הַזֶּה
פְּנוּ וּסְעוּ לָכֶם וּבֹאוּ הַר הָאֱמֹרִי וְאֶל כָּל שְׁכֵנָיו בָּעֲרָבָה בָהָר
וּבַשְּׁפֵלָה וּבַנֶּגֶב וּבְחוֹף הַיָּם אֶרֶץ הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַלְּבָנוֹן עַד הַנָּהָר הַגָּדֹל נְהַר פְּרָת
רְאֵה נָתַתִּי לִפְנֵיכֶם, אֶת הָאָרֶץ; בֹּאוּ, וּרְשׁוּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר
נִשְׁבַּע יְהוָה לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב לָתֵת לָהֶם, וּלְזַרְעָם אַחֲרֵיהֶם

What is going on here?

Guess what this also happens in the books of Genesis and Exodus, only the word Torah is not spelled out in reverse, instead it points forward to Leviticus.

The very letters that spell Torah are reflecting a Jubilee (49+1=50) and the deliverance of a Jubilee is pointing toward something. Deuteronomy has 49 letter skips this tells us one is to be searched for. Who is the One? It is none other than YHVH. And in the middle of these we also see the Hebrew letters Aleph Tav, known by many as Alpha Omega. Look and you can see the three Aleph Tavs. For more on that see this study.

Leviticus is where these letters that spell Torah are pointing toward from Numbers and Deuteronomy because Leviticus is in the center, the very middle of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible.

So let look at Leviticus. In Leviticus 1:1 we can see that every seventh letter skip from the first Yod, which is the first letter of God's name spells YHVH, the letters are Yod-Hey-Vav-Hey יִּהוָה and by this YHVH’s name is declared right there in plain sight in the first verse of Leviticus!

וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר

The Torah was declared, spoken by God and the Torah literally points to Him and His mighty name. This is one of the many amazing things we can see in God's word, the living Torah - who is Messiah Yeshua since the Torah, after all was written of Him:

For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words? John 5:46-47

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. John 17:6

Yeshua manifested the name YHVH to the disciples and they kept the Torah. I pray this begins to show you Messiah's teaching, “His” words give us all instruction to believe and keep Moses' writing of God's instruction..."One Torah (one teaching and instruction) shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you." Exodus 12:49

We are not to follow Torah because we have to, but because we get to, because we want to. It was given to us as a gift full of mercy and grace. After all, the Torah's weightier matters are "separation, mercy and faith"... these we are to do as Messiah instructs us. See Matthew 23:23

You may have noticed, the word "separation" which means to set apart which is the Hebrew word "qodesh". We see this word translated as "Holy" some 611 times throughout the Hebrew scrolls.

In Hebrew, there are no numbers. Instead a numeric value is assigned to each letter. This is very cool when you consider that the word Torah (Tav-Vav-Resh-Hey) has the numerical value 611 (400+6+200+5)? No, this is not a coincidence and no coincidence it begins with a Tav.

If we believe Yeshua (Jesus) is God YHVH in the flesh, and if we know Torah points to Him in the design of His Word, then we can know why He is called the “Living Word” and we can also understand what John was teaching when he wrote these words...

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:1-5

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. John 17:14

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. John 17:19

Hebrew is the original "tongue" of those that listened to God and wrote His words in the Bible. It is the language of creation, of God. To better understand His word, His truth that sanctifies, we need to get closer to its Hebrew roots and study them, learn them so we may be blessed by the light of our Creator.

The Torah, indeed all of the Bible speaks of truth.

I pray you will discover the guidance of His truth - the principles of God's teaching and instruction in your set apart life so you may be sanctified to approach and walk in His ways near to Him!!

Nigeria's Descent into the Abyss

2012-01-18T07:40:00.025-06:00

This is not a study. Instead it is a plea for anguished prayer, a plea for fasting and a plea for action.

Nigeria is in real trouble as Christians there face the beginning of sorrows and terrible affliction and death from radical Boko Haram who are tied to the horrors that al-Qaida afflicted on 9/11.

Our duty is to provide prayer and to provide support of Nigerians that face the abyss of tribulation from Boko Haram.

You may not realize it due to disinfected reports from our moderated news sources here in the U.S. but if you are still thinking that "Tribulation" for those that profess Christianity is something down the road, think again and re-read the words of the warning:

Matthew 24:7-10 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these [are] the beginning of sorrows.

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

Boko Haram has attacked dozens of churches and Christian homes across norther Nigeria with bullets, bombs and arson.

They have machine gunned and opened fire on Christian congregations in prayer, killing hundreds and the majority of those that have lost their lives have been women and children. They have slaughtered many Christian pastors and even executed the children of Muslims that have converted to Christianity. These assassinations have gone on for over a year in Nigeria. If it happened here in the West for just a moment many might wonder what ever happened to the "pre-trib" rapture.

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and is ranked seventh in the world's population with 166 million. Folks, that 30 million more than Russia, 40 million more than Japan and 53 million more than Mexico. It's more than 100 million more people than the individual populations of the U.K., France or Italy. It's not some isolated jungle place that you may have envisioned in the past. The facts today are that roughly 50% of all Nigerians are Sunni Muslims in the Sharia dominated north, and 50% are Christian, generally in the south. If you have not seen them below are some of the horrific news reports that you need to know about.

The time is now - do something. Pray for peace and protection. Start a prayer group and pray for Nigeria.

Quoting Christian President Jonathan of Nigeria:

"Your prayers can transform the attitudes of those who do not believe in the progress and peace of our country, so pray that God will touch them so they can change for the better... only prayers could sustain a nation like Nigeria."

Hospitals struggle after deadly Nigeria attacks
By Africa correspondent Ginny Stein, wires
Updated January 23, 2012 11:25:12
Video Report Source: 7pm TV News NSW | Duration: 2min 12sec

"Hospital staff in the northern Nigerian city of Kano are struggling to cope with a rising number of casualties after a string of coordinated attacks.

More than 178 people have been killed in a series of bomb attacks and gun fights in the country's second-largest city.

Islamist sect Boko Haram is reported to have claimed responsibility for the strike - the deadliest ever by the group.

A curfew was imposed after the violent attacks began, targeting police and immigration offices.

Police sources have told AFP that at least 20 huge blasts were heard in the city as a suicide bomber struck a police station and a car bomb targeted the state police headquarters.

A number of other police posts were targeted, including a secret police building, as well as immigration offices.

A doctor in the main hospital said the death toll had risen to 178 on Sunday, making it by far the deadliest attack claimed by the radical Islamist sect."

Church attacks in Nigeria leave at least 27 worshippers dead guardian.co.uk, Saturday 7 January 2012

Islamist group claims responsibility amid growing concern about government's inability to tackle sectarian violence

"A fresh wave of violence against churchgoers in Nigeria has left at least 27 people dead and heightened fears over security in Africa's most populous country.

The religiously motivated massacres, three in as many days since Thursday, targeted Christians in Mubi and Gombe, both towns in the north-east where a state of emergency was declared by President Goodluck Jonathan last week. Some 17 other deaths have been reported in other regions.

There is growing concern that the government's inability to tackle the rising levels of sectarian violence, blamed on radical Islamic group Boko Haram, may result in hundreds of people fleeing their homes. The group is now carrying out weekly attacks on churches and police stations in northern and central areas. Islamic clerics who speak out against the violence have been assassinated.

Last year saw an upsurge in Boko Haram's bloody activities, with some 550 people killed, culminating in a co-ordinated bombing campaign on Christmas Day across Nigeria which left 39 dead and dozens wounded, including at a church near the capital, Abuja."

Another Church Attack in Nigeria Kills 6 Voice of America January 06, 2012

"The radical Islamist sect Boko Haram is suspected of the attack, and of pushing the country toward religious conflict.

The attack began when gunmen opened fire during a service at the Deeper Life church in Nasarawa. Theresa Munyok says that her father and her brother were among the dead.

"The only thing I heard was my mommy shouting," Munyok said. "She told me that it was gunshots and that my dad is not even breathing. She called and called and he did not wake up."

A purported spokesman for Boko Haram issued a warning on Sunday that said Christians had three days to leave the Muslim-majority north. A day earlier, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in 15 locations across the north after months of deadly bombings and shootings, including several attacks for which Boko Haram claimed responsibility."

At Least 5 Dead, Others Wounded in Nigeria Church Attack FoxNews January 5, 2011

"GOMBE, Nigeria – Gunmen attacked a church in northeast Nigeria during a prayer service Thursday night, killing at least five people and wounding others in an assault that occurred amid an increasingly violent campaign by a radical Muslim sect.

Pastor Johnson Jauro said the gunfire sprayed the Deeper Life Church in Gombe, the capital of Gombe state, injuring several worshippers and killing his wife and two others. He spoke at a local hospital, where a joint team of soldiers and police officers stood guard. Two other people later died at the hospital from their wounds and an Associated Press reporter saw their bodies.

Local police spokesman Ahmed Muhammad confirmed the attack, but declined to say how many people the gunmen killed and wounded.

The assault occurred as Nigeria remains under attack by the sect known as Boko Haram. The oil-rich nation's president recently put regions of the country under a state of emergency due to the threat, but that did not include Gombe, which sits about 350 miles from Nigeria's central capital, Abuja.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion immediately fell on Boko Haram. The sect has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people.

Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, is responsible for more than 500 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count."

Christians warned to leave Nigeria
CNN|Added on January 2, 2012

The militant Islamist group Boko Haram issues an ultimatum to Christians in northern Nigeria. CNN's Tim Lister reports.

After Deadly Church Attacks in Nigeria, What Do Boko Haram Extremists Want?
PBS Newshour AIR DATE: Dec. 26, 2011

At least 39 people were killed in Christmas Day attacks on Christian churches in Nigeria. Margaret Warner discusses the bombings and the Boko Haram extremist group that claimed responsibility with Paul Lubeck, a sociology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Multiple blasts rock two Nigerian cities Friday, 23 December 2011

"Six blasts and gunfire rocked the Nigerian city of Maiduguri on Thursday, residents and a military source said, after explosions and shooting earlier broke out in another northeastern city.

"There has so far been six explosions, and four of them in the same area," the military source said, adding that a shootout had also occurred on Thursday.

Gunfire and explosions had earlier broken out in Damaturu. Both cities have previously been badly hit by violence blamed on the Islamist group Boko Haram."

Watch After Deadly Church Attacks in Nigeria, What Do Boko Haram Extremists Want? on PBS.

See more from PBS NewsHour.

Sacrifice: If We Look Can We See Scripture's Teaching?

2011-12-10T16:22:00.066-06:00

“Let my prayer be set forth before thee [as] incense; [and] the lifting up of my hands [as] the evening sacrifice.” Psalm 141:2

Wait a minute… this Psalm says prayer is incense and lifting hands a sacrifice?

Weren’t “sacrifices” bulls and goats required to take away sin in the “Old Testament”? Not according to Hebrews 10:4:

“For [it is] not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

The subject matter of the altar offerings and sacrifices of ancient Israel is critical today to our understanding of God's covenant (contract) for atonement, redemption, salvation and eternal life. So let’s review the message that Scripture gives us in its design and Hebrew meaning. But before we go further, first ask yourself: is this next verse regarding an altar offering from the so-called Old Testament or from the New?

"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.

"Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. “

Hum… this verse gives instruction about reconciliation before presenting an altar offering if the offender is making an offering at the altar of God, so this verse must certainly be from the Old Testament and from the words of Moses right? There is no way Jesus would say this as an instruction, after all He came to do away with the altar right?

Well let’s see. The following admonition immediately precedes the altar offering instruction you have just read:

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law {Torah} or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Recognize them now?

If not, they are right out of Matthew chapter five. Yes Matthew! All of these are the words of Jesus The Messiah and the last time I looked, the last time I took a breath of air, heaven and earth are still here so every word, every letter written in the Torah is not annulled, but intact and full of meaning for us to study today.

The Temple is gone so we cannot take an offering to the altar, but we need to keep the heart message of Jesus’ instruction as we can and teach them. We need to know that includes the entire Bible.

That is the goal of this study.

The goal is understand the altar offerings, and to do that we must start at the beginning and study the first offerings in Scripture, those of Cain and Abel.

Their story, like all of the Torah, offers a foreshadowing of the mission and walk of Messiah. All we need to do is look for the message in the themes and the pictures they paint. The Bible tells us Abel was a keeper of sheep, a shepherd and that Cain was a tiller of the ground, a farmer. And what is the theme? The Shepherd of his flock lost his life as he gave the first fruit of his flock as an offering; and he was killed by his brother.

The story of Jesus, in Hebrew: Yeshua, the Great Shepherd follows this same pattern as his life blood was poured out after He was falsely accused.

These two events occurred 4,000 years apart. Can you imagine for a moment that perhaps these are also linked to the same place and the same time of the Biblical year at Passover? Now, fast forward from Abel to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are known as the fathers of the promises of Scripture for God’s people, His children.

Because of God's love and eternal unchanging word, all people can benefit from the covenant promise given to them if like these Patriarchs, we have faith. As Paul said, “the children of God are the children of promise“.

What promise? The promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understanding them is a key.

Abraham was given a promise from God to have many descendants and he was also told that from his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed.

Abraham was the first Hebrew and he gave an amazing promise that God would provide a Lamb for “the burnt sacrifice” as a substitute for Isaac. These are some of the blessings ancient Israel was given and it is seen in the story of Abraham. As Covenant believers today, we can know as a surety that Abraham's promise came forth in Jesus’ (Yeshua's) offering His life as the Lamb of God.

Abraham’s grandson was Jacob. Many don’t realize it but the descendants of Jacob’s son Levi, were honored by God with the temple services as an “adopted” heritage which was originally the responsibility and honor of the firstborn sons of the twelve tribes of Israel.

But why the sacrifices and offerings? Remember God is the Creator of the stars, galaxies and even the black holes of the unending Universe. We have to humbly consider just WHO GOD IS. Acts and Corinthians tell us:

"However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says: 'HEAVEN IS MY THRONE, AND EARTH IS THE FOOTSTOOL OF MY FEET; WHAT KIND OF HOUSE WILL YOU BUILD FOR ME?' says the Lord, 'OR WHAT PLACE IS THERE FOR MY REPOSE? WAS IT NOT MY HAND WHICH MADE ALL THESE THINGS?' Acts 7:48-50

Unlike Adam and Eve, and unlike those that made the golden calf and ended up eating the gold when Moses made them drink the water of it, the children, the men of Levi stood faithful to God’s instruction. They did not participate in the sin of the golden calf incident. Scripture tells us the first born sons, like Adam the firstborn, revealed their “nakedness” of sin against God’s instruction and made an idol, but not the Levites, so the sons of Levi were “set apart” (Exodus 32) by God and able to physically approach near to Him.

Did their daily duties which included supplying oil and tending to the seven lights of the golden menorah, as well as burning incense and presenting the altar offerings and sacrifices meet the special requirements to give salvation? NO.

Yet, in a great mystery these protected the lives of people. The symbols, the actions and protocols of the offerings protected life in the mystery of God, they protected fallen mankind, mortally living within the fallen state of a physical body.

The altar offerings allowed a physical man to make a literal near approach toward THE Almighty fire, near the literal existence of our creator God. The same God that spoke creation including the stars, supernova and blackholes. To begin to just slightly understand this, we have to know that God is perfect, He's a living consuming fire in Spirit and the Scriptures tell us so repeatedly throughout the Bible.

Perhaps we can understand this as not not too unlike the reality of nuclear fission and God instructed us as to the step by step process in which one in a vulnerable, mortal physical state may approach near to Him and not be harmed by His all powerful physical presence and almighty glory which is the fire of His presence. The Hebrew word glory is kabowd כבוד. It’s root meaning is "heaviness".

Perhaps it is easier to consider His glory if we think of being near His presence as not unlike the fire and fission of "heavy elements" in which an atom level reaction which can release large amounts of energy both as electromagnetic radiation and as kinetic energy. In nuclear physics and chemistry, nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom releases neutrons and photons (in the form of gamma rays), while releasing a tremendous amount of energy. This makes possible a self-sustaining chain reaction that releases energy at a controlled rate in a nuclear reactor or at a very rapid uncontrolled rate in a nuclear explosion.

Think about this analogy" If your job was to work in a nuclear power plant and your role was to approach near the hot nuclear fuel rods, would you for a moment ever consider doing so without properly preparing, without covering and without following all of the instruction of the engineer in charge? No, never.

So we might consider that God’s instructions for His Tabernacle service were for the protection of His Priests and His people; just as His instruction to not approach the mountain of Sinai while He was atop it speaking was for the protection of those that had come out of Egypt. God knew that His voice alone would cause the mountain to shake and catch fire and lightening to fly but there was more.

Consider these verses. They are among the over 90 Scriptural references to God as fire:

"The Lord your God is a consuming fire...” Deuteronomy 4:24

“...I will call on the name of YHVH: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God.” 1Kings 18:24

“Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” Isaiah 33:14

Now think about this...

Center court before the Tabernacle and the Holy of Holies was the bronze “altar” and its consuming “fire”. Do you remember the story of Aaron’s son’s Nadab and Abihu? They were burned up when they improperly approached before “the fire” of THE LORD. Now, were they simply punished or was this event something more? Was the instruction given to them for their punishment if they broke it or were the instructions given for their safety and protection?

Back to the nuclear power plant concept, are the instructions of the lead nuclear engineer for safety or does he design them to punish the service team with radiation if someone disregards the safety details? You decide.

Perhaps this too is is why Adam and Eve were not allowed near the location of the “Tree of Life” after their sin. The two angels were put there by God with their burning swords to PROTECT them and mankind's future.

If they approached near to The Tree of Life in their sinful fallen physical state then they would not be able to receive the gift of resurrection and restoration to new life which is the ultimate promise of God. They would be subject to eternity in a fallen state of perpetual decay. A fate it seems that is much worse than Nadab and Abihu.

Satan would have had “his deception”, his "way" which is to bring perpetual death to God’s creation of life. Satan's ultimate plan would have been achieved in the Garden.

It is interesting to note that the flaming sword of Genesis 3;14 is the only occurrence of the Hebrew word lahat לָהַט , the word translated as "flaming". This is the only appearance of the word in all of the Tanach, (Old Testament). The other nine appearances of the Hebrew words translated as "flaming" are not the word "lahat", they include 'esh in Genesis 15:17, Daniel 10:6 and Zechariah 12:6, resheph in Psalms 76:3 and Psalms 104:4, lehabah in Psalms 105:32 & Isaiah 4:5, Lamentations 2:3 and Hosea 7:6.

Satan's original goal and purpose has always been death. That was his original plan, the deceptive plan we may have missed when we read the story of Eden. But when we view history we can see this has always been the desire of the devil. In fact, it is what we saw 70 years ago with Hitler and what we see today in the radical Islamic Awakening surrounding Israel.

It is one that all believers in God should be aware of. For it is written in Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah, in Revelation and throughout God's Word.

This is why there will be offerings when our creator Jesus, Messiah Yeshua returns not as the humble servant lamb but as the mighty Lion of Judah, King of the Universe with all His mighty glory and authority.

Remember, there is a reason Mary was not allowed to come near an approach Him after resurrection. Why? She had just been in the tomb touching His gravesite. This unclean “death” condition is temporary yet appears throughout Scripture.

Many that will be alive when He returns have been lost, unclean; and many of those who have not known Him will want to make a near approach to His glory when He returns during the millennium.

So Scripture gives specific instruction for each sacrifice and for each offering to be made before approaching God, but it is critical to know that none of the sacrifices (bulls, goats, lambs or turtle doves) ever took away willful transgression against God’s voice.

It is hard to consider, but this is shown when we consider that the 3,000 people that participated in the golden idol worship celebration were slain.

Think about it. If sacrifice was designed by God as an appeasement to forgive deliberate sin against God for a nation, a people or a person, then all that Moses needed do for them would be to build an altar and make a sacrifice... right?. Wrong! None of the sacrifices or offerings described in Torah ever removed or took away willful, deliberate sin against God or provided “salvation” or eternal life. Never. In fact, they show us instead that there is the need for the eternal removal of this kind of sin by mercy and grace from God if mankind is to ever draw close to Him.

Further, and just as importantly, perfect obedience to the commandments of the” law”, God’s Torah - was never a part of God’s plan as a means to individual salvation and redemption. Offerings were never required for individual purposeful sin. After all, most of the instructions found in Torah tell us what to do if we wronged someone.

If we wrong someone?

Yes if we wrong some one we are instructed to make it right before we are to ever return to the altar.

Consider that if salvation came from following God’s instruction He would have never needed to provide an offering like the one described in Matthew chapter 5 verses 22-24.

The only plan of salvation and redemption is found in the very beginning of the Bible, it was declared plainly by God’s voice in the Garden, in the beginning - after the “nakedness” the deliberate, purposeful sin in Eden:

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15

What is the fulfillment? Messiah’s feet were bruised by the horrific nails in the Passover tree some 2,000 years ago where He willingly experienced our judgment, but by this act, the head, the death authority given Satan by Adam’s sin that was passed on to his physical descendants was overcome by the Savior’s resurrection because He is unleavened and without sin so death had no hold on Him because He never broke The Torah which He established. He lived fully observant to Torah and the curse of death has no authority over Him. That is why Satan worked so hard for 40 days to get Yeshua to break Torah, to sin while in the wilderness and that is why every response to Satan was an explanation of His ways in fulfillment of Torah. He is perfect, without iniquity, He is the rock, our Creator, so let us not be unmindful of His Ways:

“[He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he.” Deuteronomy 32:4

“Of the Rock [that] begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.” Deuteronomy 32:18

As we can see, if we just look at the pattern, the themes and relate them to the deeds, the ways and mission of Messiah, His Torah (teaching) begins with His mercy and grace and it is full of graphic instruction on recompense, it is full of His teaching on what we are to do when we have wronged or caused harm to another person, and it tells us how we are to properly and humbly approach near to God with a clean heart reconciled to our fellow man before we ever consider approaching God, our Almighty Creator.

Before ever approaching the altar, the Priests purified their unclean physical body for a near approach: “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh” (Hebrews 9:13). This spiritual application is seen just as Messiah purges our purposeful sin so that we can serve and be near to our living God. This is the message from Hebrews: “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14)

Some say the Torah is “done away with” by the New Testament and that salvation in Old Testament times was provided by adherence to the Torah and the sacrifices, but if salvation required perfection to all the Law, why would God ever provide most of it with detailed principles for dealing with our flaws and frailties, our mistakes and inherited human error in the first place? But this is a big time “Catch 22” and it really makes no sense when we take a step back to study the Word from God’s perspective and not man’s religion. Think about it, the Scriptures, all of them are designed to show us and tell us God has always declared that the way of salvation is though Him and His mercy and grace alone, it has nothing to do with what we do or don’t do. It is not about walking a tightrope or seeking salvation into eternal life by doing. The Torah is not a tightrope, where one slip means certain death; it is a safety net that gives us instruction for life, for fellow man and for God’s Kingdom plan. It is His Kingdom Constitution.

That’s why Ezekiel prophesies that The Feasts, the new moons, the Sabbaths, the offerings and oblations will be a part of the service of the Prince of Israel in the Kingdom way of the millennium (see Ezekiel 40-48). It is why the Levite priests, the sons of Zadok will serve close to The Lord. It is why the measures, the just balances, the ephah homer and shekel will be restored along with the ordinance of oil as the Lord offers His reconciliation.

In ancient Jerusalem the shofars and the trumpets would be blasting and the cymbals and other musical instruments would be playing at the times of the daily sacrifices; morning and late afternoon. The sacrifices would be made with their grain and wine offerings:

Numbers 29:1-2: ‘Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must also have a holy assembly. You must do no work. It will be to you a day of Joy unspeakable. You must offer a burnt sacrifice as a sweet aroma to Yahveh: one bull, one ram, and seven male lambs one year old without defect,’

Numbers 29:3-4: ‘also their grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs.’

Numbers 29:5-6: ‘Sacrifice one male goat for a sin sacrifice, to make atonement for you, besides the dedication sacrifice of the New Moon and its grain sacrifice, and the continual dedication sacrifice and its grain sacrifice, and their wine sacrifices, according to their ordinance, for a sweet aroma, a sacrifice made by fire to Yahveh.’

The dedication sacrifice of Numbers 29:2 was pleasing to God in that it pictured Yeshua being totally submitted. It also pictured Israel in that they were called to be totally dedicated to YHVH. Because of His blood sacrifice, today the people God calls Israel can now walk in that total dedication by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The accompanying grain sacrifices seen in Numbers 19: 3-4, picture Yeshua as being crushed (His crucifixion), because grain has to be crushed in order for it to be used as bread. Yeshua is the Bread of Life (John 6:47-59). He’s the true heavenly Bread or Manna from the Heavens. Within the grain sacrifice, pure olive oil was required, which pictured the Holy Spirit within Yeshua. When He was crushed, like an olive, the oil of the Spirit came forth for Israel (John 16:7).

Ancient Israel saw the grain sacrifice as an offering to YHVH that spoke of Him bringing Israel into the Land that He swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and giving them food to sustain their lives. This was the heart of their provision for food. Grain which would become edible bread, after it was crushed and put in the fire (a picture of Yeshua as the Bread of Life, crushed in order to be eaten; John 6:53). Ancient Israel was thankful for the continual provision, as we are today.

The wine sacrifice (libation or drink offering) would have been done for these specific sacrifices, and also, for the daily sacrifices (Num. 28:7), and the monthly sacrifices (Num. 28:14). The wine, like the grain, must first be crushed so that Israel could drink it. Israel saw this as an additional blessing, wine being a symbol of both sacrifice and joy:

Psalm 104:15: ‘And wine which makes man’s heart glad, olive oil to make his face shine, and bread which sustains man’s heart.’

The sin sacrifice of Numbers 29:5 portrays Yeshua dying for our sins. Verse six calls Israel to remember that both the daily sacrifices and the New Moons were also to be made.

In the morning at sunrise, Psalm 81 would have been sung by the Levites during the time of the sacrifice. It speaks of salvation from Egypt. In the late afternoon sacrifice, Psalm 29 would be sung. It speaks of God's power and ability to give true peace. All the people would be singing and worshiping with the shofars and trumpets sounding calling the people to enter into the Joy of the great salvation that YHVH had given them. When they weren’t at the Temple they would be feasting among their brethren in the City of the great King (Psalms 48:2; Matthew 5:35).

So, unless we let go of religion, let go of Old Testament prejudice and study the feasts and the offerings for their real meaning we will not begin to understand Ezekiel or his prophetic words:

“All the people of the land shall give this oblation for the prince in Israel. And it shall be the prince's part [to give] burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel. Ezekiel 45:16-17

Nor will we truly understand the words of Peter:

“ You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. “ 1 Peter 2:5

King David understood. He was the “Old Testament King of Israel. Read all of Psalms 51 for better understanding on this and remember the writer of Hebrews was explaining the same truth: “You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” Psalms 51:16-17

To understand, we have to take off the blinders and look in The Word with a broken and repentant heart, seeking Messiah in every message and story, for the entirety of the scrolls are about Him.

But there is something more here to consider if you remember the story of Aaron’s son’s Nadab and Abihu. They were burned up when they improperly approached before “the fire” of THE LORD.

Now, were they punished or was this event something different? Should we consider Scripure's teaching when God gives His only explanation in the book of Numbers as to the gift of the Levites so that no plague will be among the children of Israel when they come close to the sanctuary that holds two stones of The Ten Commandments. To consider this we have to remember the Hebrew word for atonement actually means "covering":

“And I have given the Levites [as] a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement [covering] for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary. ” Numbers 8:19

No plague???

CLICK HERE for the extended version of this study Sacrifice: If We Look Can We See Scripture's Teaching?

2011-11-09T07:31:00.233-06:00

Zechariah's Vision and "The Quartet"

These News Updates are here to provide PRAYER ALERTS. For the background please read the original study: Zechariah's Vision and the Quartet. News updates to that study are updated and posted here from time to time due to the "Front Page" prophetic implications of today's news.

News on The Quartet's Plan to divide Israel for "Peace" with direct talks (announced August 20, 2010). The international "Quartet" is the UN, EU, Russia and the US.

Please read and consider Zechariah's Vision and the Quartet for the background to these news events regarding The Quartet's involvement in the plan to separate Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem on one side and Gaza on the other. This is proposed as a "Peace Agreement" for the division of Israel and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Reading Isaiah's words below, is the prophet telling us about the Peace Agreement proposed by The Quartet? The message is even more telling if we just look into the Hebrew words:

Why hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers, that rule this people that is in Jerusalem: And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only [to] understand the report. Isaiah 28:17-19

In Hebrew, the word here is "vexation" it is zĕva`ah, which means "object of terror". The word "report" in the King James is actually shĕmuw`ah, it literally means "news". The word "scourge" is the Hebrew word "showt", it means national judgment. So... Isaiah is telling us: from the time that national judgment goes forth it shall be an object of terror to understand the news.

Isaiah says that the agreement will be annulled. Paul warns the real problems start when they say "THERE IS" Peace and Security. Not when they say "let's make" Peace and Security.

We must remember what Paul told the lost sheep that were found at Thessalonica:

“While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come... So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober."
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6

If you are wondering why the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly is such a big deal... perhaps the session number grabs your attention for a moment, but the U.N. is huge because it seems we are fast approaching the "in that day" period of Zechariah's prophecy of the precious "burdensome stone", the chosen City of Jerusalem (See Zechariah 12:3). This day may not come in my lifetime, but something deep inside tells me that I do not want to cast lots and wager against it because the Arab Spring conflicts now surround Israel. We are witnessing an Islamic Awakening, the rebirth of a multi-nation Islamic Caliphate, the political and religious unity of the radical Muslim world joining Shia with Sunni. They are in disunity now, but that is changing as the focus that will unify is the division of Jerusalem and The Land.

John Stakelbeck of CBN provides some keen insight.

Palestinian Sunni Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt are one and the same and Shiite Hezbollah is a proxy for Iran, but in unity they both oppose Israel and the Jewish people.

Sunni Islam believes that the head of state, the "Caliph" should be elected by Muslims. Shia Islam believes Islam's Caliph should be an Imam chosen by Allah from Muhammad's descendants. We are seeing them come together, but we in "The West" mistakenly think events are moving forward, we call it democracy. The fact is "The Arab Spring" is accelerating these nations in reverse, not forward. There is no modern reformation of radical Islam. In fact, we have to go back to 1981 to understand what we are seeing today.

This is what everyone in the Mideast is talking about... the thing we call the Muslim Spring, they call the Islamic Awakening. Getting rid of the old rulers is a part of the grand plan that started in Iran in 1979. Just read Syed Ahmed Khomeini's Message on the 1st Day of Quds in 1981:

"It is hoped that all symptoms of indifference and neglect will end by keeping alive the memory of this Day. it is hoped that by the noble nations’ uprisings, certain treacherous leaders who rule over Muslims and Islam and are hand-in-hand with Israel act upon the orders of the US in opposition to the interests of Muslims will be cast from the scene and buried in the grave of history.

The usurper rulers who are siding with the unbelievers in the war of unbelievers and apostates such as Israel and Saddam against the Muslims and are raining blows on Muslims and Islam, should be pushed from the scene of Islam. They should be deposed from their rule over Muslims.

The noble people of Egypt and Iraq and other countries who are under the domination of hypocrites should rise up and not listen to the corrupt loudspeakers of the criminal pseudo-Muslims, and fear not the fragile power of these treacherous people.

The Iranian nation, the sisters and brothers know fully well that the great Revolution of Iran has few or perhaps no precedents and boats of lofty values. Among its great values are its religious and Islamic content: the same values our exalted Prophets rose up for. It is hoped that this revolution will serve as a divine spark for creating a great explosion among the oppressed masses and that it will lead to the sawn of the Revolution of the Imam of the Time, may all souls be sacrificed before him. The noble nation which brought about such a great Revolution should srive ever more to perpetuate it and in order to prove its presence most conspicuously in the arena for enacting Divine Justice."

Daniel 7 tells us this visionary prophet saw four great, powerful beasts come out of the sea, yet each was different from the other. In Scripture, the sea equals people, beasts equal governments, horns equal rulers. Those simple symbols help us understand the message. Another thing to help clear our understanding is that prophecy, like our world is dimensional.

For example, in addition to the four empires that opposed Israel: Babylon, Assyria, Greece and Rome, we should also know that the Muslim world has had three great Empires. Their lives were prolonged for a season and time:

The Safavid Empire, the Mughal Empire and finally the Ottoman Empire which seemed to fall at the conclusion of World War I. But now these appear to be arising from the ashes as a fourth. Daniel tells us the 4th beast will be different. He also tells us ten kings will exist. Interestingly, there have been nine (9) Islamic Dynasties. They are the Ummayad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, Bahri, Burji, Salavids Mughal and the Ottoman. It seems too that the tenth is rising.

You may want to take a graphic view of see this 90 second overview of all the world Empires that have opposed Israel created by MAPS of WAR.

In Daniel 2, the one whose name means "God is my judge" tells king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. He tells the king that five parts of the man in his dream: 1) the iron, 2) the clay, 3) the brass, 4) the silver and 5) the gold are to be broken to pieces by the Rock. He also tells us God "changes the times and the seasons: He removes kings, and sets up kings". God does this for His ultimate purpose and plan. Daniel also tells him in the (latter) days of these kings - shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed. God's kingdom "shall stand for ever".

Update February 3, 2012: Iran's Supreme Leader Threatens Israel and the U.S. before preparing to launch new military exercises as reports that Israel is preparing to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has stated that a possible Israeli offensive against Iran will take place in the 2012 Spring timeframe.

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Update January 8, 2012: Tehran's Press TV is stating U.S. troops are moving into Israel.

The United Arab Emirates Al Arabiya reiterates the same story.

Update January 4, 2012: Israel National News gives us stories of movement out of Damascus that reminds me of Jeremiah 49:24 "Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee, and panic seized her; anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in labor."

• An advisory board within the 22-nation Arab League is warning the organization to pull its monitors from Syria.

• Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal has fled Damascus together with his family, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reports.

It’s serious in Syria just like it was almost a year ago in Egypt. Over the coming weeks as we watch the events unfold there, please join me and many others in prayer for those in the Biblical land of Antioch and Damascus which is the home of over 2 million Christians. Homs, which is the center of the opposition upheaval has the second largest Christian population in Syria. Antioch, as we know is where the disciples were first called Christians.

We know the spiritual conflict is really significant when we consider Isaiah’s Damascus forecast and Paul’s words as he gives his last prophetic “end days” teaching in 2Timothy 3 where Paul mentions Antioch as one of the locations of his own persecution.

Update December 26, 2011: Breitbart reports that Iran says ready to expand military links with Iraq. It sounds like the two horns of the ram of Daniel 8 are coming together...

"Iran stands ready to expand its military and security ties with Iraq, its armed forces chief of staff said Sunday, a week after the exit of US forces from the neighbouring Arab country.
General Hassan Firouzabadi hailed the "forced departure" of the US and allied forces that he said "was due to the resistance and determination of the Iraqi people and government," the state Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The statements were made in messages Firouzabadi sent to his Iraqi counterpart, Lieutenant General Babaker Zebari, and to Iraq's acting defence minister, Saadun al-Dulaimi, IRNA said.

The departure of the US troops "was due to the resistance and determination of the Iraqi people and government," he said.

"I hope the humiliating failure of the United States after nine years of occupying Iraq will serve as a lesson for them to never think of attacking another country," he said.

Firouzabadi added that Iran was now "ready to expand its military and security ties with Iraq."

Zebari led a delegation of Iraqi military chiefs to Iran last month to explore greater cooperation between the two defence forces."

December 24, 2011: Fox News reports on: Possibility of Civil War in Iraq Between Shiites and Sunnis

I touched on this great risk following U.S. withdrawal in my October 24, 2011 update below. For a better understanding of the nightmarish political tension and religious instability, just consider for a moment what has happened this week in Iraq. Can you just imagine the state of affairs if the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed a Presidential arrest order on Vice President Biden? Well, following accusations by Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq's government confirmed an arrest warrant for Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, accusing al-Hashimi of ordering his personal security team to run hit squad attacks within Iraq. The Iraqi Vice President immediately fled Baghdad for Kurdistan.

Update November 29, 1979: Err I mean 2011. Iran students storm British Embassy in Tehran

"Iranian students stormed the UK Embassy in Tehran Tuesday, breaking down the door, throwing papers and replacing the British flag with an Iranian one, a CNN crew witnessed."

Update November 23, 2011: Are we staring prophecy right between the eyes of the beast?

Today, the world has heard that Quartet member "Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian President, embraced the fiery rhetoric of the Cold War Wednesday as he threatened to target and if necessary destroy America's European missile defence shield once it is built.

In what may be the most serious blow to U.S. - Russia relations since President Barack Obama came to power, Mr. Medvedev raised the prospect of Russia launching missile attacks on European Union member states such as Poland, Romania and Spain as well as Turkey, a NATO member.

"I have given the armed forces the task of drawing up plans to destroy the information and command and control systems of the [U.S./NATO] anti-missile shield," Mr. Medvedev said."

He also warns the U.S. and Europe that sanctions against Iran are unacceptable as "such measures would hurt the chances of renewing talks with Tehran over its nuclear program."

In addition to these comments, I have posted several comments in this Zechariah series and elsewhere on this website about Yemen and its critical importance. We can also read this New York Times report that tells us:

"After more than three decades of autocratic rule, President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed an agreement on Wednesday that immediately transferred power to his vice president, bowing to unrelenting street protests and raising hopes for an end to a political crisis that brought this impoverished nation to the brink of collapse.

If the agreement holds up, it will make Mr. Saleh the fourth Arab leader to be forced from power this year by popular uprisings that have shaken the Middle East and North Africa. But the deal offers no guarantee that it will restore calm to a nation fractured by 10 months of political instability and suffering from a power vacuum that groups linked to Al Qaeda have exploited with increasing boldness."

While it may not seem so, Yemen's is earth shaking news.

Things have changed.

The Arab Spring reminds me of the many verses that speak of the seven nations that opposed ancient Israel, the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than Israel as seen in Deuteronomy 7.

Joshua 11:1-5 records for us the five of these that were utterly defeated by Joshua: the Canaanites on the east and west, the Amorite, Hittite, Perizzite, Jebusite and the Hivites. Six of the seven are listed but Joshua 11:19 clearly tells us he did not destroy them all, the Hivites of Gibeon were spared and the Girgashites are not even mentioned here, so five of the seven fell including the leader of them all, King Jabin of Hazor. Jabin means "whom God observes" as in "know your enemy".

The Arab League or more formally, the League of Arab States was founded in Egypt in 1945 by 1) Egypt, 2) Iraq, 3) Lebanon, 4) Saudi Arabia, 5) Syria, 6) Yemen and 7) Transjordan (Jordan, as of 1950). Of these seven founding Arab League members established by the Protocols of Alexandria, four (4) leaders have now fallen from power in the Islamic Awakening as it is known in the Mideast. The western media calls it the Arab Spring. But we should know, Biblical prophecy says five will fall. This was noted in the September 23rd news update below -- but it is well worth repeating.

Also, let's not forget that immediately after Israel declared itself an independent state, the Arab League nations of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq attacked Israel.

For Bible prophecy students this statement should remind you of the words of Revelation 17:9-11. If we are to be wise, it is well worth considering as four of the seven "kings" of the Arab League States have fallen in the last eight years since December 13, 2003:

"Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits, and they are seven kings; five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain a little while. "The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth and is one of the seven, and he goes to destruction".

Yes, Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi has also fallen as has Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Perhaps Syria's Bashar al-Assad will be the 5th leader to fall. Astonishingly, Revelation 17 tells us that five of seven leaders will fall. Could this be related? The Arab League leaders of Iraq (Saddam Hussein), Lebanon (Fouad Siniora), Egypt (Hosni Mubarak) and now Yemen (Ali Abdullah Saleh) have all lost their power as their governments have collapsed right before our eyes and it seems Syria's Bashar al-Assad is on the threshold of losing his power and government at any time as even Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he must step down.

If these fallen governments are indeed the seven kings of Revelation reflected first in the book of Joshua, then one of the seven today is the government which was (in power)... will come back into power... and go on to destruction. This prophecy looks like a repeat of the fall of King Jabin of Hazor. Today's Jabin whoever he is, may very well rise from the chaos of the Islamic Awakening in an attempt to unify people and governments.

Such unification efforts extend beyond the seven member Arab League which is now highly fractured. These include the six nation group known as the Gulf Cooperation Council which includes the six nations of The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, The Kingdom of Bahrain, The Sultanate of Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. The GCC charter states (underlines mine for emphasis):

"Being fully aware of the ties of special relations, common characteristics and similar systems founded on the creed of Islam which bind them; and

Desiring to effect coordination, cooperation and integration between them in all fields; and,

Having the conviction that coordination, cooperation, and integration between them serve the sublime objectives of the Arab Nation; and,

In pursuit of the goal of strengthening cooperation and reinforcement of the links between them; and

In an endeavour to complement efforts already begun in all essential areas that concern their peoples and realize their hopes for a better future on the path to unity of their States; and

In conformity with the Charter of the League of Arab States which calls for the realization of closer relations and stronger bonds; and

In order to channel their efforts to reinforce and serve Arab and Islamic causes,

Have agreed as follows:"

Click here to continue reading the Arab States GCC charter...

We are to keep our eyes wide open as Watchmen, and we must also remember there are ten.

So as already noted, there is much more to study, learn and consider, there is much more to prepare our hearts and the hearts of others for - as we look at these powerful events in the sea of the Mid East peoples.

The stage is being set for monumental change within the Mid East lands surrounding Israel that will impact the Promised Land and ultimately the world.

Today there are 22 Arab League Nations. One includes a group that the UN does not recognize, just yet... it is Palestine. That is the story line of Zechariah's Vision and The Quartet. Regarding The League of Arab States we should know two things:

1) The Palestine Liberation Organization was admitted in 1976. Egypt's founding membership was suspended in 1979 after it signed a peace treaty with Israel; the league's headquarters were moved from Cairo, Egypt, to Tunis, Tunisia and...

2) In 1987 Arab leaders decided to renew diplomatic ties with Egypt. Egypt was readmitted to the league in 1989 and the league's headquarters were moved back to Cairo.

Does this not tell us that Egypt is a beast which was and is not - as chaos builds there each day? Could Egypt's future leader also be an eighth? I believe we need to study Isaiah 19 and pray for the Peace of Jerusalem (Psalms 122:6). You might review Isaiah's warning here: The Oracle of Egypt. Egypt is a key, after all, the Egyptian government first proposed The Arab League in 1943.

Map showing the Arab League members colored by the decade of joining. The Comoros (circled) joined in 1993. Color codes are as follows:

Is it just me, or should we ask if the earth's shaking was just a coincidence the very day Yemen's leader stepped down, around the world...

• A 5.3 quake shakes southern Greek island
• Strong 6.6 quake rattles Bolivia
• A magnitude 5.9 quake hits near Japan nuclear site

We are not to just be observers of these things.

We need to be great prayer warriors and a faithful witness to Muslims when given the chance. Isaalmasih.net gives us some solid advice as witnesses, believers and followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob:

 Be courteous and loving. Reflect interest in their beliefs.
 Allow them time to articulate their views.
 Be acquainted with their basic beliefs and their terms (Isa al Mashi = Jesus)
 Be willing to examine passages of the Qur’an concerning their beliefs.
 Take time to respond to all sincere questions.
 Point out the centrality of the person and work of Yeshua (Isa) for salvation.
 Share that salvation is a gift and not to be earned by works.
 Pray for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Trust Him to provide wisdom.
 Be willing to become a friend and a personal witness to Muslims.
 Stress that because of Yeshua, one may have the full assurance of salvation, both now and for eternity.

But above all… the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh will teach you in that same hour what you must say. (Luke 12:12)

Update November 22, 2011: The Imam’s and Mullahs believe Israel to have an illegal occupation of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. From Iran’s state news agency FARS… Iran Mulling Creation of 100-million-Strong Muslim Basij Army

TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of Iran's Basij (volunteer) force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi announced on Sunday that Tehran is studying formation of a 100-million-strong Muslim world Basij force.

"We will form the 100-million-strong Basij force of the Muslim world to materialize the promise of the late Imam Khomeini about the freedom of the noble Quds," Naqdi said. He underlined that Basij will bravely and steadfastly continue its struggle and fight for the freedom of Quds from the occupation of Zionist regime and to release all mankind from the claws of the world arrogant powers.”

“Naqdi's remarks comes against the backdrop the Muslim world's popular uprisings and revolutions which are similar to what happened in Iran in 1979 under the leadership of the late Imam Khomeini.“

“Regional analysts and officials have underlined that Iran's Radical Islamic Revolution led by the Late Founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, is the source of inspiration for the growing tides of Islamic awakening in the region.”

Check these words from a 1981 speech by Imam Ayatollah Khomeini that is credited with the what we call the Arab Spring, but those in the Mideast call it the Islamic Awakening. That term awakening reminds me of Revelation 17:8:

"It is hoped that by the noble nation’s uprisings, certain treacherous leaders who rule over Muslims and Islam and are hand-in-hand with Israel act upon the orders of the U.S. in opposition to the interests of Muslims will be cast from the scene and buried in the grave of history... They should be deposed from their rule over Muslims."

"The noble people of Egypt and Iraq and other countries who are under the domination of hypocrites should rise up and not listen to the corrupt loudspeakers of the criminal pseudo-Muslims, and fear not the fragile power of these treacherous people."

"The nation, government, Majlis, and the Armed Forces of Iran with an Islamic solidarity, compose of one single people by Divine Unity and are determined to stand against any satanic power which is encroaching upon the rights of human beings, and defend the oppressed masses and support dear Quds and Lebanon until Quds and Palestine have been returned to Muslims."

"It is hoped that this revolution will serve as a divine spark for creating a great explosion among the oppressed masses and that it will lead to the dawn of the Revolution of the Imam of the Time, may all souls be sacrificed before him."

Update November 16, 2011: Haaretz reports: Top Iran general: Blast disrupted anti-Israel weapons program

"General says Saturday's explosion at military base 'temporarily stopped' weapons research program to be used against Israel; Iran denies Israel behind blast.

A blast at a military base in Iran happened while the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were working on a weapon research program to be used against Israel, Iran's armed forces chief of staff said Wednesday. Saturday's explosion at a military base near Tehran killed 17 IRGC members.

"The incident happened during a research program which could have become a severe punch on Israeli regime's mouth," General Hassan Firouzabadi said."

Update November 13, 2011 Explosions rocked munitions plant in Iran over the weekend. Does Debka give us rumor or truth when it says "Iran loses top missile expert in explosions sparked by failed bid to fit nuclear warhead on Shahab-3." In another report Debka states that "As windows shattered in Tehran, the streets were awash with rumors that Iran was under attack, or that the regime had staged a failed nuclear test. Foreign businessmen were said to be fleeing the country."

Update November 11, 2011: It's 11.11.11 and the storm of prophecy moves on the road north from Egypt to Iran in today's headlines as Google releases satellite images of Iranian facilities which UN says may be used to develop nuclear weapons.

Fox News reported today on a U.S. Weapons Sale to United Arab Emirates.

The Iranian News Agency FARS today reports these stories:

Egyptian Cleric Vows to Issue Fatwa against US, Israel if Iran Attacked

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Egyptian cleric underlined the Egyptian people's readiness to defend Iran against any enemy aggression, and said if the US and Israel dare to attack Iran, he will issue a Fatwa in support of Tehran.

"If Israel attacks Iran, I will issue a Fatwa to confront Israel and the US," Head of Islamist 'al-Azmiya' stream Sheikh Ala Mazi Abulezam said on Wednesday.

"In case of any attack against Iran the Azmiya Tariqat and its followers will have complete preparedness to fight hand in hand with Iran," he added. Abulezam stressed that Tehran is an Islamic capital which should be defended by all Islamic and Arab countries.

The remarks by the Egyptian cleric came after Israeli President Shimon Peres said on October 4 that an attack on Iran was becoming increasingly more likely."

Iran, Russia Ink Agreement on Strategic Security Cooperation

"TEHRAN (FNA)- Senior officials of Iran and Russia's national security councils signed an agreement on strategic cooperation between the two countries during a meeting in Moscow on Friday."

Russian Media Reveal IAEA Lie about 'Foreign Expert' in Iran

"TEHRAN (FNA)- The latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran appears to have falsified information about a Russian scientist who allegedly helped Tehran advance its nuclear program."

Cleric Reiterates Iran's Crushing Response to Aggressors

"TEHRAN (FNA)- Tehran's Provisional Friday Prayers Leader Kazzem Sediqi underlined preparedness of the Iranian Armed Forces, and stressed that the country would give a crushing response to enemy aggressions."

"It may be the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.'" 2Kings 19:4

Update November 9, 2011: The U.S. Emergency Broadcast system will be shut down today. Do you remember this old TV image during the threat of the nuclear cold war?

Well it seems by chance, the U.N. Nuclear Commission has rolled out a report today on Iran. Strangely, the intelligence for the report has been in the hands of the IAEA for many years, and it seems, Mohamed ElBaradei who is now a leading man in the Egyptian revolution and ouster of Hosni Mubarak may have softened previous IAEA reports in order to appease Iran. It is said much the report comes directly from an IAEA report written in 2008 that Nobel Peace Prize winner, ElBaradei never published while he led the UN's nuclear watch group, which contains many of the same conclusions given today about the Iranian nuclear program.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The IAEA reports states Iran Sought Miniaturized Nuclear-Weapon Design

"Iran continued working on nuclear weapons at least until last year, including efforts to shrink a Pakistani warhead design to fit atop its ballistic missiles, a report from United Nations inspectors said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, drawing on evidence collected over eight years, reported yesterday that Iran carried out “work on the development of an indigenous design of a nuclear weapon including the testing of components.”

The document shows that Iran worked to redesign and miniaturize a Pakistani nuclear-weapon design by using a web of front companies and overseas experts, according to the report and an international official familiar with the IAEA’s probe. Such a warhead could be mounted on Iran’s Shahab-3 missile, which has the range to reach Israel, according to the IAEA.

The report adds to international pressure on Iran to answer questions about its program. It was released amid reports in Israeli media that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressing his Cabinet to support possible military action to halt Iran’s nuclear program."

"In its report, the Vienna-based IAEA said, “some activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device continued after 2003” and “some may still be ongoing.”

Until now, atomic inspectors had only voiced concerns publicly about the “possible existence” of weapons work in Iran."

"The agency revealed details of “large-scale high- explosives” experiments conducted near Marivan in 2003. The experiments would have helped Iran calibrate the explosive impact of a bomb’s uranium core, according to the report.

“The information comes from a wide variety of independent sources, including from a number of member states, from the agency’s own efforts and from information provided by Iran itself,” the IAEA said in the document.

It is the first time that the IAEA has published a comprehensive analysis of Iran’s nuclear-weapons work. Data before 2003 are more complete than information seen afterward, according to the senior official. The agency shared a copy of the information with Iranian authorities before the report was published, the official said."

The Iranian News Agency FARS gives us this urgent report today:

"The head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said on Tuesday that Iran would start a 'street war' in Tel Aviv if its nuclear program was attacked. "Israel is not big enough to launch a military strike on Iran, but if it takes such a foolish decision, the Iranian military will fight with the Zionist soldiers in Tel Aviv streets... and will force them out of the Palestinian soil," Seyed Hossein Naqavi said.

Naqavi also warned, should Tehran's nuclear program be attacked, the battlefield won't be in Iran, but "the entirety of Europe and the US."

"Iranian forces will fight with the enemies with maximum might and power all throughout the European and US soil, if Iran comes under attack," he reiterated."

The commander of the Iranian Navy says Iran has the right to deploy naval vessels near US coastal waters according to international law.

PressTV reports: On Tuesday, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that international law permits all countries to send their naval ships to the open seas, and naval forces of the Islamic Republic are also allowed to sail in these waters, the Mehr news agency reported.

He went on to say that the Iranian Navy has the right to sail in waters near the coast of the United States because the coastal waters beyond the territorial waters of the country are regarded as the open sea."

YNet News gives us this story: Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatens US

"General Hajizadeh says 'if you kill any of us, we will kill dozens of you,' while Ahmadinejad claims Tehran does not need nuclear bomb to confront US. FM Salehi: If we wanted to develop nukes we would declare so openly

Islamic Republic escalates rhetoric ahead of IAEA report: A top commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard force threatened to kill "dozens" of American military commanders, should the US kill any one of theirs.

"You also should not forget that American commanders have plenty of presence and travel in the region. If you kill any of us, we will kill dozens of you," Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, chief of the Guards' aerospace division, was quoted by Fars agency on Tuesday as saying."

Update November 6, 2011 Could this headline have caused the largest ever earthquake in Oklahoma (5.6 magnitude) in the center of the U.S.? Of course not... but the headline does reveal the nature of the feet of clay and iron, the division of radical Sunni and Shia Islam. ABC News posted the following report:

Israel's Warnings on Iran Get Quiet Nods in Gulf

By BRIAN MURPHY Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates November 6, 2011 (AP)

"Among the many alliances of convenience in the Middle East, one is so unusual that the partners can barely hint about it publicly: Israel and the Gulf Arab states linked by shared fears over Iran's nuclear program.

While their deeper disputes on the Palestinians effectively block any strategic breakthroughs, the recent warnings from Israel and the West about military options against Iran invariably draw in the Gulf and its rare meeting of minds with Jerusalem.

The Gulf states — a cornerstone for U.S. diplomatic and military pressure on Iran — are indispensable parts of any effort to confront Tehran's nuclear ambitions. And even Israel, which has no direct diplomatic outreach to the Gulf, is likely brought into the Gulf-centric policymaking with U.S. envoys acting as go-betweens, experts say."

Update October 31, 2011: Isaiah 17:1 tells us that the prophetic future for Damascus, Syria is bleak. Today's news tell of of the rising conflict there. Syria to respond to Arab League plan

"CNN) -- Syria is due to respond Monday to an Arab League proposal for bringing more than seven months of violence to an end, Qatar's prime minister said Sunday. A meeting between Arab League diplomats and Syrian officials Sunday was "clear and frank," Qatar's Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim said, using diplomatic code for contentious meetings.

The proposals the Arab League presented are serious about ending violence, he said, according to the emirate's official news agency.

Their contents remain secret."

Update October 30, 2011: US is planning buildup in Gulf after Iraq exit
Pentagon draws up plans to reposition forces in case of Iraq flare-up or Iran confrontation

"MacDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — The Obama administration plans to bolster the American military presence in the Persian Gulf after it withdraws the remaining troops from Iraq this year, according to officials and diplomats. That repositioning could include new combat forces in Kuwait able to respond to a collapse of security in Iraq or a military confrontation with Iran."

Newsmax reports: A Cataclysmic Regional War is Coming to the Middle East

"War is on its way in the Middle East as Muslim countries are determined to force a showdown over the future of Israel, Ronald Reagan's assistant defense secretary Frank Gaffney warned in an exclusive Newsmax.TV interview.

"I'm afraid there's a war coming, a very serious, perhaps cataclysmic regional war," he said. "It will be presumably over, at least in part, the future existence of the state of Israel. It may involve all of its neighbors, as they have in the past, attacking Israel to try, as they say, to drive the Jews into the sea.

"It may involve the use of nuclear weapons," Gaffney predicted. "But whatever form it takes and whenever it occurs, it is unlikely to be contained to that region, and we must do everything we can to prevent freedom's enemies from thinking they have an opportunity to engage in that kind of warfare."

That means standing "absolutely, unmistakably" as one with Israel and doing everything to prevent Iran getting its hands on nuclear weapons."

Meanwhile, Syria's President Assad predicts disaster if West meddles in Syria

"AMMAN (Reuters) - Western powers would cause an "earthquake" in the Middle East if they intervened in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview published on Sunday, after protesters demanded outside protection from a crackdown that has killed 3,000 people.

Syrian officials were to hold more talks in Qatar with delegates of the Arab League, which wants to convene a dialogue in Cairo between the Syrian authorities and their opponents.

The League's two-week deadline for the planned dialogue to start expires Sunday, with Assad showing no signs of easing the crackdown, which is drawing increasing international outrage and criticism even from previously cautious Arab countries.

Syria, as Assad noted in his interview with Britain's Sunday Telegraph, sits at the heart of the volatile Middle East, where it borders Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Jordan.

"It is the faultline, and if you play with the ground, you will cause an earthquake," he said. "Do you want to see another Afghanistan, or tens of Afghanistans?""

Update October 24, 2011: One State Solution? You may not have heard this term before, but it is the agenda. Notice the subtle words from Jordan's King Abdullah in this CNN report today:

"Speaking to CNN on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting on the shores of the Dead Sea, the king also expressed serious doubts that Israel was serious about making peace with the Palestinians.

"I am one of the most optimistic people you'll meet in the Middle East, and for the first time I am very pessimistic about the Israelis and Palestinians moving forward," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says all the right things about how to reach a solution, the king said, but he sighed deeply when asked if Netanyahu was sincere.

"From what I have seen of the political system in Israel.... Israel is not really interested in a two-state solution," Abdullah said.

"And what's the other option? I think the one-state solution has tremendous negative implications on all of us, including the Israelis," he said.

And he pleaded with the Americans not to disengage from the region during U.S. election season, warning that to so do risks war.

"That would be disastrous because whenever there is a vacuum, whenever there is a status quo, there's usually a war. And so we're missing a tremendous opportunity," he said.

The focus has to remain on the Israelis and Palestinians because they are the central issue in the region, he said.

"I think the Arab Spring was a good opportunity for some to ignore the core issue that's always been here, that is, the future of the Israelis and Palestinians," he said."

In a Haaretz report from November 2007, then Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, spoke of the "one-state" solution. It is what the conflict that the Bible warns us about:

"If the day comes when the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights (also for the Palestinians in the territories), then, as soon as that happens, the State of Israel is finished."

These words are spoken as a 7.2 magnitude earthquake kills hundreds in eastern Turkey while the Arab Spring rages on shaking the Middle East. We have seen know Libya's military ruler Muammar Qaddafi killed by his own people, shot after being found hiding in a hole. This is all too reminiscent of the capture of Saddam Hussein who like Qaddafi was hiding in a hole in Iraq.

I just overheard a PBS radio show mistakenly talking about democratic elections in Tunisia that will also soon come to Libya as well. Kinda like the ones in Egypt right? The deceptive ignorance of the media is astounding. First they call these violent Arab revolutions by a quaint name... Arab Spring. Next they say we will see democratic reform and representation. But the reality is the constitutional changes will simply lead to a constitution based on the Quran such as what will soon see in Libya.

There's another picture for the one state solution that few runderstand in the U.S.It is called Sharia Law. It's focus is global domination through the ancient set of Islamic rules from the Koran and the Hadiths that intertwine government and religion so that government is the sword of religion.

While it might involve elements of a democracy, namely a simplistic electoral procedure, this is simply confusion though word syntax as the media calls Sharia a "democratic" reform. But the facts are, the people will not have a legislature that makes its own laws, but only one that elects its own representative to implement Sharia Law which is not common and certainly not civil in any stretch of the imagination.

What we see today is the Muslim Brotherhood integrating with Al Qaeda and other radical groups within the new governments in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Sudan has been engulfed but no one in the U.S. national press seems to deeply care about reporting on the African nations south of Cairo.

Soon the Muslim Brotherhood or like factions will be taking charge of the Arab League nations, replacing those leaders that have been friendly with "the West". Lebanon has already gone there as Hezbollah, Iran's war focused Shiite Muslim proxy is in control. In Israel, Hamas and its the rocket firing terror groups control Gaza. Make no mistake, Iraq will fall away from the West just as Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will as Iran pushes into the focus of prophecy. This will accelerate as the U.S. troops withdraw from the region.

What is actually happening is that by the people's election, individual freedoms are not given under Sharia Law. For example, this weekend an Egyptian man was sentenced to three years in prison for offending Islam on Facebook.

Please read this important commentary from CNN's Bryony Jones, he writes "The Arab Spring: A Different Picture".

Also consider this remarkable commentary by Ezra Levant one of Canada's best-known conservatives.

Update October 21, 2011: AEI's Frederick Kagan tells us Obama Abandons Iraq:

"President Obama announced today that he has decided to abandon America’s interest in Iraq and damage our position in the Middle East by withdrawing all U.S. military forces by the end of this year.

This retreat will have great costs for the United States.

It squanders the gains made by both American and Iraqi military forces over the last four years, but, even more important, it squanders the enormous opportunity to forge an alliance with Iraq at a time when such an alliance would be of tremendous value to the United States. It dramatically increases the likelihood that the new and unstable Iraqi democratic experiment — already under attack from an authoritarian prime minister and a hostile Islamic Republic of Iran — will fail. The withdrawal of American forces now serving as peacekeepers along the Arab-Kurd seam greatly increases the likelihood of ethnic civil war. The withdrawal of American military protection from a state helpless to defend itself on its own effectively throws Iraq into the arms of Iran..."

Kagan warned in May 2011 of the Iraq Threat Assessment: The Dangers to the United States, Iraq, and Mideast Stability of Abandoning Iraq at the End of 2011. Key issues are:

• The Iraqi Security Forces will not be able to defend Iraq’s sovereignty, maintain its independence from Iran, or ensure Iraq’s internal stability without American assistance, including some ground forces in Iraq, for a number of years.

• Iran’s use of proxy military groups poses the most immediate and serious threat to Iraqi security. Combined with Iran’s conventional, particularly missile, threat, the current military balance pitting Iraq by itself against Iran gives Tehran military dominance at every level of escalation.

Update October 17, 2011: As noted in the September 23rd news update below, Yemen, the poorest of the Arab nation whose leader Ali Abdullah Saleh has been a U.S. ally just like Egypt's Hosni Mubarak. Yemen's future downfall is key and today Bloomberg reports: Yemen’s Sana’a Rocked by Explosions, Gunfire Amid Fighting.

"Yemen’s capital Sana’a was rocked by explosions and gunfire tonight as troops loyal to President Ali Abdullah Saleh battled tribal forces after the country’s leader said his opponents are carrying out a coup."

"Yemen has the eighth-largest crude reserves in the Middle East and relies on oil sales for 90 percent of its hard currency earnings, according to the U.S. Energy Information Oil Administration."

Breaking News: CBS News reports Gilad Shalit is scheduled to be released by Hamas in a 1,027 to 1 prisoner swap

The NY Daily News reports: Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warns U.S. over talk of retaliation

"Iran’s supreme leader warned the United States on Sunday that any measures taken against Tehran over an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington would elicit a "resolute" response."

"Khamenei's comments may reflect Iranian concerns that Washington would use the Al-Jubeir case to ratchet up sanctions and recruit international allies to try to further isolate Tehran.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been blunt in saying the United States would use the allegations as leverage with other countries that have been reluctant to apply harsh sanctions or penalties against Iran.

Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, said that the U.S. accused Iran of terror in order to divert attention from its economic woes and from the Occupy Wall Street protest movement.

"By attributing an absurd and meaningless accusation to a few Iranians, they tried ... to show that Iran is a supporter of terrorism. ... This conspiracy didn't work and won't work," he said.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for his part, dismissed the U.S. accusations as a fabricated "scenario.""

Update October 15, 2011: Genesis 21 tells us Ishmael is of the land of Paran and Genesis 32 tells us Esau is of the land of Seir, the country of Edom. Today, these people groups are alive and well in the Shia Muslim lands of Iran-Iraq and Sunni Saudi Arabia. Both Seir and Paran were given the Torah directly by Moses and both rejected the word of God which is established on grace and mercy and accepted by faith and reliance on the Word of the God of Israel. Today, both nations still reject His teaching and instruction.

Consider your own position as you see what is unfolding in the headlines from the "craftsmen" born of Esau and Ishmael:

The Washington Post reports that Iran behind alleged terrorist plot, U.S. says

AP "U.S. officials on Tuesday said that they had foiled an elaborate terrorist plot backed by factions of the Iranian government aimed at assassinating the Saudi ambassador to Washington.

At a news conference, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said two Iranians have been charged with conspiracy to murder a foreign official and conspiracy to commit an act of international terrorism, among other charges. One of the suspects, an Iranian with U.S. citizenship, was arrested in New York last month; the other, an Iranian, remains at large.

“The United States is committed to holding Iran accountable for its actions,” Holder said.

The suspects were identified as Manssor Arbabsiar, a 56-year-old from Texas, and Gholam Shakuri, an Iran-based member of Iran’s Quds Force, an elite division of that country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for foreign operations."

We are witnessing "Nation against Nation"

And the beginning of sorrows is headed West.

This is a FOX update aired Oct 12 on the Iranian plot and massive Iranian networks within the USA.

We are also witnessing "Kingdom against Kingdom".

The beginning of sorrows confronts us and many do not see it for what it is. In the Bible Egypt always plays an important role in the events of the people of Israel. It's the way it is.

Persecution and attacks on the Coptic Christians in Egypt has now begun.

We have seen this persecution for over 30 years in Iran following the revolution there led by the Muslim Clerics and it continues today!! We have also seen this in Afghanistan where the last church in that country has just closed its doors. And WND reports:

"The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority is banning the name of "Jesus Christ" from any text message sent in the country. The government's telecommunications agency has given mobile phone companies a list of 1,695 words and informed mobile companies that they have seven days to implement filters in their systems that would block the transmission of the listed words."

Keep your eyes and prayers toward Iraq because once our last military troops exit that nation, I am afraid that the few remaining Christian minorities that have not yet fallen to the great persecution there will see the fulfillment of the words of Jesus while the U.S. provides no immigration for them because many in the West sit idly in a pew waiting for the tribulation to start for everyone else since they will take a rapture ride out. Scripture is clear but fantasy is fuzzy and from the deceiver.

Events in the Mid East are grievous, they should remind us of the latent phase of labor which can come days before labor's painful contractions. Contraction is on the way as persecution intensifies while the world and "The Quartet" work to divide Israel and Jerusalem. Childbirth is an inherently dangerous and risky activity, with much pain and many complications.

Don't turn your attention away from Egypt or it neighbor to the East Iraq as our troops withdraw, Babylon will move back into the same chaos that has moved within Egypt and spreading.

Riots over church attack in Egypt kill 24

"Flames lit up downtown Cairo, where massive clashes raged Sunday, drawing Christians angry over a recent church attack, Muslims and Egyptian security forces. At least 24 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the worst sectarian violence since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak in February.

The rioting lasted late into the night, bringing out a deployment of more than 1,000 security forces and armored vehicles to defend the state television building along the Nile, where the trouble began. The military clamped a curfew on the area until 7 a.m.

The clashes spread to nearby Tahrir Square, drawing thousands of people to the vast plaza that served as the epicenter of the protests that ousted Mubarak. On Sunday night, they battled each other with rocks and firebombs, some tearing up pavement for ammunition and others collecting stones in boxes."

The following video, "Egypt's Coptic Crisis" is very important. It is from Ezra Levant’s program on Canada's SUN TV.

Famine and starvation also face the people of Egypt. According to this commentary from FrontPageMag titled "Egypt's Starvation Time":

"While the recent massacre of Christians by the Egyptian army demonstrates that Egypt is disintegrating, the inability of the country’s rulers to feed their country’s millions of poor would lead to a collapse into chaos of monumental and cataclysmic proportions."

"But the situation Egypt faces now is much bleaker. Soon, it may be a question of simply no food available for Egypt’s poor rather than one of prices or subsidies. One can only then imagine the nightmarish violence that will take place as people fight to feed their children and themselves."

"If a collapse does occur in Egypt, southern Europe can expect a massive flight of refugees to cross the Mediterranean in search of food and safety. Israel and the West must also be prepared in such a case to face in Egypt a failed state along the lines of Somalia and Pakistan, in which terrorists will be welcome. In such an anarchic situation, Egyptian Christians would be facing a Rwanda-style bloodbath, which the West should currently be preparing to prevent. In the end, disruption of the food supply will see Egypt plunge into a murderous chaos and become Africa’s latest, largest human tragedy."

As the Coptic Christians will most certainly flee Egypt due to persecution and famine, but where will they go?

Certainly not Iran, Syria or Iraq, certainly not Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia or Yemen. Sure many will head to Europe, but where else is the only safe haven in the Mideast, the land whose name means "God Prevails"? It is Israel. May they open their doors, after all it was Egypt that saved Jacob's family!

The following story is an eye witness account of the weekend rioting from Reva Bhalla of Stratfor.com based in Austin, Texas.

Christians in Egypt fear Islamist pressure.

For more background and understanding on events in Egypt you will want to read Isaiah 19. I have posted it on this website as "The Burden of Egypt" and please read this important commentary: "Egypt at the Crossroads of Prophecy".
According to this report from CNSNews.com -- Not a Single Christian Church Left in Afghanistan, Says State Department.

"There is not a single, public Christian church left in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. State Department.

This reflects the state of religious freedom in that country ten years after the United States first invaded it and overthrew its Islamist Taliban regime.

In the intervening decade, U.S. taxpayers have spent $440 billion to support Afghanistan's new government and more than 1,700 U.S. military personnel have died serving in that country.

The last public Christian church in Afghanistan was razed in March 2010, according to the State Department's latest International Religious Freedom Report. The report, which was released last month and covers the period of July 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010, also states that “there were no Christian schools in the country.”"

Caroline B. Glick provides critical commentary in The Jerusalem Post today - Our World: The forgotten Christians of the East

"According to Coptic sources, the protesters Sunday night were beset by Islamic attackers who were rapidly backed up by military forces."

"In a not unrelated event, Lebanon’s Maronite Catholic Patriarch Bechara Rai caused a storm two weeks ago. During an official visit to Paris, Rai warned French President Nicolas Sarkozy that the fall of the Assad regime in Syria could be a disaster for Christians in Syria and throughout the region. Today the Western-backed Syrian opposition is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood. Rai cautioned that the overthrow of President Bashar Assad could lead to civil war and the establishment of an Islamic regime.

In Iraq, the Iranian and Syrian-sponsored insurgency that followed the US-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime in 2003 fomented a bloody jihad against Iraq’s Christian population. This month marks the anniversary of last year’s massacre of 58 Christian worshippers in a Catholic church in Baghdad. A decade ago there were 800,000 Christians in Iraq. Today there are 150,000.

Under the Shah of Iran, Iran’s Christians were more or less free to practice their religion. Today, they are subject to the whims of Islamic overlords who know no law other than Islamic supremacism."

"Palestinian Christians have similarly suffered under their popularly elected governments. When the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994, Christians made up 80 percent of Bethlehem’s population. Today they comprise less than 20% of the population.

Since Hamas “liberated” Gaza in 2007, the area’s ancient Christian minority has been under constant attack. With only 3,000 members, Gaza’s Christian community has seen its churches, convents, book stores and libraries burned by Hamas members and their allies. Its members have been killed and assaulted. While Hamas has pledged to protect the Christians of Gaza, no one has been arrested for anti-Christian violence.

Just as the Jews of the Islamic world were forcibly removed from their ancient communities by the Arab rulers with the establishment of Israel in 1948, so too Christians have been persecuted and driven out of their homes. Populist Islamic and Arab regimes have used radical Islamic religious supremacism and Arab racial chauvinism against Christians as rallying cries to their subjects. These calls have in turn led to the decimation of the Christian populations of the Arab and Islamic world.

For instance, at the time of Lebanese independence from France in 1946 the majority of Lebanese were Christians. Today less than 30% of Lebanese are Christians. In Turkey, the Christian population has dwindled from 2 million at the end of World War I to less than 100,000 today. In Syria, at the time of independence Christians made up nearly half of the population. Today 4% of Syrians are Christian. In Jordan half a century ago 18% of the population was Christian. Today 2% of Jordanians are Christian.

Christians are prohibited from practicing Christianity in Saudi Arabia. In Pakistan, the Christian population is being systematically destroyed by regime-supported Islamic groups. Church burnings, forced conversions, rape, murder, kidnap and legal persecution of Pakistani Christians has become a daily occurrence."

For those in "The West" that are looking around for the coming rapture ride, look again! For many, it is the same as it was when Americans wondered what Hitler and Japan were doing across the globe until it hit home at Pearl Harbor. The general false reality was that there was no war; after all it was not at our shores, not in our backyard so there was no evil besetting us. Why do we think like that? We were simply on the sidelines and not in the game until Pearl Harbor.

The same is true today as the words of Jesus, the words of Yeshua come into focus right before our very eyes as people mistakenly look for an EU antichrist while the Mullahs, the false prophets rise and deceive many:

"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." Matthew 24:9-11

He also spoke of family members turning against each other in Matthew 10:36. This is a daily event for any Muslim that turns to the God of the Bible. Just check out this interview with Sabatina James, a former devout Muslim who converted to Christianity.

Look here for yourself and you can be an eyewitness to what Jesus spoke of. Wake up to see and hear a false prophet deceiving many as Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei assures the "Basij" that the western liberal democracies will be annihilated the same as the USSR. The Basij (Persian for mobilization) is a very large, omnipresent paramilitary organization with multifaceted roles, acting as the eyes and ears of Iran's radical Islamic regime. It is present in schools, universities, state and private institutions, factories, and even among tribes.

The Basij was formed by order of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in November 1979 and it is intended to function as the nucleus of what the founder of the Islamic republic called "the army of 20 million" with the aim of defending Iran's radical regime against both domestic and foreign threats.

Just ask yourself, does 20 million sound like the deception of many?

Update October 4, 2011: Another craftsman warning today as we learn, Report: Assad threatens to attack Tel Aviv in case of NATO strike

"In meeting with Turkish FM, Syrian president discusses possibility of NATO strike, says 'I won't need more than six hours to transfer hundreds of rockets to Golan to fire at Tel Aviv'. Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday threatened to set fire to the Middle East, and especially to Israel, if NATO attacks Syria, the Iranian Fars news agency reported."

Update October 2, 2011: Today is the 4th "Day of Awe" of the Fall Feasts and Arutz Sheva, The Israel National News reports that Israel Formally Accepts Quartet Plan to Restart Talks with PA

"The State of Israel on Sunday officially accepted a plan by the Quartet of peacekeeping nations to restart final status talks with the Palestinian Authority.

The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement issued Sunday that Israel “welcomes the Quartet's call for direct negotiations between the parties without preconditions, as called for by both President [Barack] Obama and by Prime Minister Netanyahu" in their respective speeches at the United Nations General Assembly."

"The Quartet, comprised of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, has published a new timetable for direct negotiations between the two parties, urging both Israel and the PA to come to the table within four weeks. During this initial meeting, the two sides are expected to express their commitment to a timetable which will allegedly bring forth a peace agreement by the end of 2012."

Update September 29, 2011: Clinton calls on world to ‘pressure’ Israelis, Palestinians

"US secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday called on the world to “pressure” both Israel and the Palestinians in order to bring about the resumption of peace negotiations, AFP reported.

Speaking at a joint press conference with her Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Kamel Amr, Clinton said that “Egypt, the United States, the Quartet, everyone must be prepared to put pressure on both parties to try to move towards an agreement on outstanding issues.”

Addressing the contentious issue of settlements and the Palestinians’ insistence that talks cannot begin until Israel agrees to freeze construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, Clinton stated, “if there was an agreement on borders, there would be no debate on the settlements, because everyone would know which side of the border was Palestine, and which was Israel.”

The US secretary of state urged both parties to “put aside their misgivings and mistrust,” and return to negotiations, saying “there is no alternative.”"

Update September 27, 2011: Today Politico reports on the "Craftsmen" of Iran... Official: Iran to send ships near U.S. coast "Iran plans to send military ships near the Atlantic coast of the United States, but offered no timeline or details on the “powerful presence” its naval head promised would be deployed.

Iranian Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari warned that his country plans to station ships near the U.S. sea borders in a move that would dramatically heighten tensions between the two countries, Reuters reported."

To get a view just who the craftsmen of Zechariah that oppose the four horsemen are please read My Scripture Study, Zechariah's Vision and "The Quartet".

They may now be much more heavily armed as 20,000 Heat-Seeking Missiles Reportedly Feared Missing From Libyan Warehouse

"A recent secret White House meeting revealed that an estimated 20,000 portable, heat-seeking missiles appear to have vanished from an Army warehouse in Libya, ABCNews.com reported."

Update September 26, 2011: Abbas returned to Rahmallah this weekend and now he Calls For A Palestinian Spring. If you have been watching the Arab Spring in which the world has witnessed civil and military uprisings by Muslim and Arab peoples against their government leadership then this declaration would actually mean that he is asking Palestinians to rise up against him and his Fatah party leadership. But no that is not the case, he is amending the term that was born out of civl unrest and rioting by declaring a "Palestinian Spring" was born from his speech at the U.N.

His goal is to engage his people and other nations against Israel. Jerusalem will be the focal point. Keep your eyes on Jerusalem and pray earnestly each day as Zechariah 12 unfolds. For more background, read the full study on Zechariah's Vision and the Quartet.

As the world works to divide Israel, much like The Quartet we see global forums like the IMF and the G20 plan and scheme. Meanwhile like Hillary, Tim Geithner say he has a plan for economic peace...

• The World Prays for an economic miracle
• Under fire, Europe works to minimize fallout from Greek crisis
• Multi-trillion plan to save the Eurozone being prepared
• Europe has six weeks to find debt crisis solution
• Debt Crisis 'Has Entered Dangerous Phase'
• Meltdown fears for euro as G20 makes plans for Athens to default
• Geithner Plan for Europe is last chance to avoid global catastrophe
• ECB's Stark warns global crisis far from over
• Balls: 'Global Economy Facing Darkest Time'
• Spectre of 1937 'double dip' hangs over divided policy makers
• Buckle up for apocalypse Dow

Update September 23, 2011: Following the Palestinian delivery of the formal request by Mahmoud Abbas for U.N. membership to be recognized by the U.N. Security Council, clashes begin in the West Bank and the Quartet (US, EU, Russia and the UN), engaged again today on the world stage issuing a call to restart peace talks in a month to end within a year. As reported by CBS News "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the statement was a "concrete and detailed proposal to begin negotiations without delay or preconditions."

"The Quartet proposal represents the firm conviction of the international community that a just and lasting peace can only come through negotiations between the parties," she said. "Therefore we urge both parties to take advantage of this opportunity to get back to talks.""

You can read, watch and hear the statements by Abbas posted on the UN's 66th Session website. His concluding remarks directly engage with Bible prophecy:

"Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to inform you that, before delivering this statement, I, in my capacity as President of the State of Palestine and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, submitted to H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, an application for the admission of Palestine on the basis of the 4 June 1967 borders, with AI-Quds AI-Sharif as its capital, as a full member of the United Nations. I call upon Mr. Secretary-General to expedite transmittal of our request to the Security Council, and I call upon the distinguished members of the Security Council to vote in favor of our full membership. I also appeal to the States that have not yet recognized the State of
Palestine to do so."

For those of us who do not speak Palestinian, hum... I mean Arabic, you NEED TO KNOW that Al-Quds aš-Šarīf is Jerusalem, the city of YHVH's name not Allah's. It is the the city that will become a very heavy stone that will injure those that try to move it from the capital of Israel to the capital of Palestine. So, notice what Abbas said: "admission of Palestine on the basis" of the '67 borders AND Jersualem as the Palestinian capital. Take note, Abbas did not limit his words to say "east" Al-Quds.

This means that we will see Abbas in the headline news over the coming days, weeks and months saying that he and the Palestinians will reject all Quartet Peace plans and proposals. Why? Today, they do not meet these demands he has clearly set forth before the U.N.

By the way, if you are wondering why I am calling him Abbas instead of President Abbas it is simply because there is no nation called Palestine and the Palestinian National Authority is no country. It's that simple. To top it off, as debated by Hamas, back in January of 2009, Abbas' term as the Palestinian National Authority president expired following his four year term. Abbas, an Egyptian and Russian educated lawyer extended his own term that began in 2005 stating he had the right to do so. There has been no election since. Gosh, I hope Obama does not try to do that!

Take notice as well of other news in the Mid East today as Yemen troops kill five protesters bringing the number to 120 killed this week as govenment snipers targeted protestors in Change Square, the focus of conflict in in the Yemen capital of Sanaa. There is much more violence to follow in Yemen. It is after all a part of the original seven (7) member Arab League that was founded in Cairo in 1945 by Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Transjordan (Jordan, as of 1950), and Yemen.

Have you noticed the names and the tie to the so-called Arab Spring?

Just look at Revelation 17:

Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. … I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come. This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king.

Astonishingly we find in the Greek word “thaumazō” in Revelation 17 means "wonder as with admiration"!!

Blasphemous names?

Let’s see, 5 will fall... Hum, we must know that 3 despotic Arab League leaders (horns) have already fallen right before our eyes as we watch CNN News and the Muslim Brotherhood begins to assume power and influence.

The leaders of Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon have already lost their power right before our very eyes… and Yemen and Syria’s are on the brink as protesters plan shadow radical governments in the nations of the Arab League.

Is the “yet to come” kingdom a part of the re-born Muslim beast - the Arab League that is being changed by The Muslim Brotherhood? It certainly seems so and there is a darker side. For example: the radical Islamic Resistance Movement known as Hamas rejects Abbas' UN bid simply because it falls in the context of the so-called peace process which they deem a Zionist plot.

After all, their religion/government (horned beast) follows the false prophet Muhammad from a kingdom that seemingly died with the Ottoman Empire whose fatal wound has now healed as it has been revived around the Arab League. Revelation 13 says the beast will look like a lamb (a religion of peace), but it tell lies like a dragon.

Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men.

Update September 22, 2011: Walkout at the U.N. today. CNN reports from the United Nations.

"Delegations from the United States and several European nations walked out of the U.N. General Assembly Thursday during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statement, in which he repeatedly condemned the United States and said some countries use the Holocaust as an "excuse to pay ransom... to Zionists.""

Read Ahmadinejad's speech at the official UN 66th Session website. You should read it all for yourself, he closes his statement with these apocalyptic words:

"During last year session, I emphasized the importance of this issue and called for the designation of the current decade as the decade of shared and collective Global Management.

I would like to reiterate again my proposal. I am sure that through international cooperation, diligence and efforts by committed world leaders and governments and through insisting on the realization of justice and the support of all other nations, we can expedite the building of a common bright future.

This movement is certainly on its rightful path of creation, ensuring a promising future for humanity.

A future that will be built when humanity initiates to trend the path of the divine prophets and the righteous under the leadership of Imam al-Mahdi, the Ultimate Savior of mankind and the inheritor to all divine messengers and leaders and to the pure generation of our great Prophet."

DID YOU SEE THAT!!! It is the anti-christ message you have worried about ever since you read Revelation. It is time to forget about Hal Lindsay's evil EU leader folks.

Let's also turn and look at the financial news today as the $244 trillion in bank held U.S. derivatives become exposed the U.S. market loses over $1 trillion in value this week as it has done multiple times over the past year. It is interesting to see that while The Quartet continues to work hard to divide Israel, at the same time the debt crisis is spinning out of control as Eurozone nations and the U.S. try to keep their economies from dividing into chaos. If you think these are not connected, well perhaps. But I do pray you will reconsider what God has to say: "I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse... Genesis 12:3

* Fear gauge enters the red zone
* European banks head towards another meltdown
* World Bank's Zoellick: "The world is in a danger zone"
* Global Meltdown: Investors Are Dumping Nearly Everything
* US banks hit by Fed and funding fears
* BRIC nations helping eurozone overcome debt crisis is impossible, says Russian deputy finance minister Sergei Storchak

Daniel Pipes provides some of his deep insight into the recent Middle East upheavals, ESPECIALLY those noted about Turkey in my News Update comments from September 16th and 10th below.

From the YouTube post:

"Daniel Pipes is president of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University.

His website, DanielPipes.org is one of the Internet's most accessed sources of specialized information on the Middle East and Islam. The Boston Globe states that "If Pipes' admonitions had been heeded, there might never have been a 9/11" and the Washington Post deems him "perhaps the most prominent U.S. scholar on radical Islam.

He received his A.B. (1971) and Ph.D. (1978) from Harvard University."

All is NOT doom and gloom! The good news is that at the end of the Mideast story, the conclusion given Abraham in the beginning as recorded in Genesis 12:3 will assuredly come about "and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Update September 21, 2011: Look at the map, on the Palestinian letter delivered to the UN. Something is missing there. It is Israel. Learn more for yourself on the official website of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations.

Divide and conquer is not God's Peace Plan!!

Update September 19, 2011: In case you did not know itSaudi Arabia has led the funding of the Palestinian Government. Reuters reports:

"Last week, both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank identified the authority's financial crisis as a danger to the state-building program which Fayyad's administration has led over the last two years."

Meanwhile in London today "The Independent" reports: Lloyd's insurer sues Saudi Arabia for 'funding 9/11 attacks'.

"A Lloyd's insurance syndicate has begun a landmark legal case against Saudi Arabia, accusing the kingdom of indirectly funding al-Qa'ida and demanding the repayment of £136m it paid out to victims of the 9/11 attacks.

The Brighton-based Lloyd's 3500 syndicate, which paid $215m compensation to companies and individuals involved, alleges that the oil-rich Middle Eastern superpower bears primary responsibility for the atrocity because al-Qa'ida was supported by banks and charities acting as "agents and alter egos" for the Saudi state."

Mind blowing... Mother of Terrorists to Launch UN Campaign

"The Palestinian Authority, pledged to halt terror, chooses the mother of terrorist murderers to hand over to the United Nations a letter asking for unilateral recognition by the international community.

In a widely publicized event in the Palestinian Authority, Latifa Abu Hmeid, mother of seven terrorists, including four who are serving 18 life sentences for murdering Israelis, led a ceremonial procession to Ramallah to hand over the letter. The revelation was reported and translated by Palestinian Media Watch.

Hmeid's sons were convicted of killing seven Israeli civilians and attempting to murder 12 others.

One of her sons, Abd Al-Mun'im Abu Hmeid, was termed by the Palestinian Authority a "martyr."

Palestinian Media Watch reported last year that PA Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Karake, had awarded her "the Plaque of Resoluteness and Giving," inscribed with the names of her four sons who are imprisoned.

Karake explained she was honored because "it is she who gave birth to the fighters, and she deserves that we bow to her in salute and in honor.""

Update September 18, 2011: Emergency Quartet Meeting in NY Called - "Envoys from the Middle East East Quartet will meet Sunday in a last minute bid to restart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and stave off a statehood bid at the United Nations this week, according to Reuters news."

"The meeting in New York will come two days after President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated that he would demand full membership of the United Nations for a Palestinian state when he goes to the UN General Assembly next week, setting up a diplomatic clash with Israel and the United States."

Shaath: US proposal convinced Abbas to pursue UN bid

"Fatah official Nabil Shaath says Obama's proposal, which had no mention of settlement construction moratorium or other Palestinian demands, was 'last straw' that convinced Palestinian president to pursue Security Council vote; claims 'nothing was said or done to make us reconsider our appeal to the international community'"

Abbas defiant as 'all hell' breaks out over UN plan "Abbas said Sunday that he had not scheduled to meet with US President Barack Obama during the 66th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, but is open to the possibility.

“Neither I, nor Obama asked for a meeting, so I don’t believe we will meet. However, if we meet, I will remind him that he promised last year that the state of Palestine would be a full member of the UN this year, and I came here on the grounds of the promise I heard,” Abbas told Ma'an's reporter."

This is an earlier July report from Virtual Jerusalem:

"Palestinian Authority envoy to the United Nations Riyad Mansour told the Security Council on Tuesday the PA is ready for statehood with Jerusalem as its capital".

I recently read a commentary that Mahmoud Abbas recently claimed that the Palestinians' land has been occupied for 63 years. Does that tell you the mindset? The "occupation" refered to is not the result of the Six Day War of 1967 like most people might assume. He is referencing Israel’s creation in 1948. Think about that. If the U.N. votes to recognize Palestinian statehood in light of this mindset, will the years of hatred of Israel come to an end in the Arab world?

What does tomorrow bring? Israeli-Greek-Turkish air sea forces on guard for first Cypriot gas drilling

"Military tension is building up among Greece, Turkey and Israel as Cyprus prepares to start exploratory drilling for gas offshore Monday, Sept. 19 in the face of threats from Ankara. All three have placed their air and sea forces in a state of preparedness along with the Cypriot army."

Update September 16, 2011: Seven days remain before the UN Vote on the establishment of a Palestinian State. Is this a threat from Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former director of Saudi Arabia’s intelligence services and a former Saudi ambassador to the United States who is now the chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies???

"The United States must support the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations this month or risk losing the little credibility it has in the Arab world. If it does not, American influence will decline further, Israeli security will be undermined and Iran will be empowered, increasing the chances of another war in the region."

Abbas claims 1947 borders for Palestinian state, affirms bid to UN Security Council

"Abbas stressed that Israel's "occupation" will not will not end the next day and much more remains to be done because the 1967 lines do not define the true borders - any more than the roadblocks and the settlements. The real Palestinian borders were laid down in 1947 down by the UN. All other areas [meaning large parts of the state of Israel] are "occupied territory" which the Palestinians intend to claim."

Saudis 'eye Pakistani nukes' to face Iran

"Saudi Arabia has been beefing up its military links with Pakistan to counter Iran's expansionist plans and this reportedly includes acquiring atomic arms from the only Muslim nuclear power or its pledge of nuclear cover.

Pakistan has become a front-line state for Sunni Islam and is being positioned by its leaders, particularly in the powerful military and intelligence establishments, as a bulwark against Shiite Iran and its proxies.

Increasingly, Pakistan is rushing to the defense of Saudi Arabia, with whom it has a long had discreet security links. It is reported to have put two army divisions on standby for deployment to Saudi Arabia if the kingdom is threatened by Iran or the pro-democracy uprisings sweeping the Arab world.

It is even reported to be prepared to provide Saudi Arabia with nuclear weapons if threatened by Iran. In return, it has been promised Saudi Arabian oil and treasure.

The Saudis have portrayed the roiling rivalry with the Iranians as a new, menacing chapter of the 1,300-year-old struggle between Sunni and Shiite Islam."

Erdogan: No Free Movement for Israel in E. Mediterranean

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tells Tunisians "Israel will not be able to move in the eastern Mediterranean as it wishes."

"Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Tunisians on Thursday his country could have frigates and assault vessels in the eastern Mediterranean “at any time” to ensure freedom of movement.

Israel's security cabinet has made a firm decision, however, not to respond to Erdogan's verbal attacks, in an attempt to avoid further inflaming the delicate diplomatic situation with Turkey.

The Turkish leader is on the second stop of a three-nation tour of the “Arab Spring” countries where long-time governments were toppled by grassroots uprisings this year. Until Wednesday evening, he was in Egypt, where he addressed the country's transitional government, and spoke with interviewers on the Egyptian Dream private satellite television station. He also met with the leadership from the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, which is now fielding a candidate for the upcoming presidential elections.

The next and final stop on his tour is expected to be Libya."

Update September 15, 2011: The Jerusalem Post reports: Netanyahu says he'll address UN ahead of PA state vote

"PM calls on Abbas to return to talks; Palestinians send mixed messages as to whether they will petition Security Council or General Assembly.

After weeks of deliberation, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced Thursday that he would go to a United Nations General Assembly meeting next week to discuss the Palestinian statehood bid.

Speaking at a press conference with visiting Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas, Netanyahu said he will "speak the truth to those who want to hear it" at the UN General Assembly."

Psalm 33:10-12 says, “The LORD foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people He chose for His inheritance.

Update September 14, 2011: He's Baaaack... Former President Jimmay Carter the man that led the opening tothis study on the Zechariah's Vison and The Quartet is quoted in the Washington Post:

"Former President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday he supports the Palestinians’ effort to secure statehood recognition at the United Nations this month, despite White House concerns for the region.

The Georgia Democrat said he wouldn’t be in favor of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ bid to win U.N. recognition if President Barack Obama’s administration had “put forward any sort of comprehensive peace proposal.” But he told Palestinians have few other options but to seek statehood since no deal is in the works."

Saudi Arabia warns off US on Palestinian veto The Sydney Helad reports:

"A FORMER head of Saudi Arabian intelligence and ex-ambassador to Washington, Turki al-Faisal, has warned that an American veto of Palestinian membership of the United Nations would end the ''special relationship'' between the two countries, and make the US ''toxic'' in the Arab world."

USA Today reports: PLO ambassador says Palestinian state should be free of Jews - "WASHINGTON – The Palestine Liberation Organization's ambassador to the United States said Tuesday that any future Palestinian state it seeks with help from the United Nations and the United States should be free of Jews. "After the experience of the last 44 years of military occupation and all the conflict and friction, I think it would be in the best interest of the two people to be separated," Maen Areikat, the PLO ambassador, said during a meeting with reporters, in response to a question about the rights of minorities in a Palestine of the future."

'Hamas weighing a resumption of suicide bombings'

"Counter-terrorism expert: Group not deterred by IDF as government and public grow accustomed to cities falling under barrage of rockets.

Hamas is considering a resumption of suicide bombing attacks against Israeli civilians, a senior counterterrorism expert warned in Herzliya on Tuesday."

Erdogan: Israel jeopardizing its future

"Turkish PM Erdogan speaks before Arab League meeting in Cairo, says Israel's own aggressive politics, policies delegitimize its standing in the region."

Israel Today reports: Palestinians: Obama promised us a state

From Yahoo News: Obama envoys hope “Quartet statement” can divert Palestinian UN bid.

Finally from a YNet Report: Turkish warplanes now able to fire at Israeli targets

"Ankara's Star Gazete says country's new F-16 radar system modified to recategorize Israeli targets as hostile. Order said to come directly from PM Erdogan's office; naval, submarine radar systems to be changed next.

Turkey has developed a new radar system for its US-made F-16 fighter jets that will allow them to fire at Israeli targets, Ankara's Star Gazete reported on Tuesday. The orders to modify the system reportedly came directly from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office."

Update September 10, 2011: If you have been following Zechariah’s Vision and the Quartet there is no real surprise that today's headlines in the Middle East tell us that Egyptian protests turn violent and the Israeli embassy was attacked. ISRAELI ENVOY LEAVES CAIRO AFTER EMBASSY ATTACK.

But it is critical to understand why this has happened. It is no new event, but to do that we need to go back in time nearly 40 years to 1973 to the Yom Kippur War when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack Israel on October 6th, the Biblical Holy Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. At the Golan Heights, some 180 Israeli tanks faced 1,400 Syrian tanks and at the Suez Canal, 436 Israeli soldiers were attacked by 80,000 Egyptians. The purpose of the attack led by Egypt's Anwar Sadat was to force Israel to divide the land and move back to the U.N. mandated 1967 borders. Sound familiar?

Well that was the same ideal behind the Egyptian protestor's attack on the Israeli Embassy in Cairo yesterday. Don't believe me, listen to this protester for yourself:

"We will go to Jerusalem, this is a strong message for Israel from the Egyptian people, a strong and defiant message. Remember 1973. We will soon find ourselves in Jerusalem facing the Israelis at the Al Aqsa Mosque."

ISRAELI EMBASSY BREAK-IN LED BY JAM'A AL-ISLAMIYA OF NY 1993 BOMBING
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 10, 2011, 7:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

"In first new disclosures on the storming of Israel's Cairo embassy which started Friday night, Sept. 9, debkafile's counter-terror sources reveal that the mob was led by the terrorist Jama'a al-Islamiya, the Egyptian founding branch of Al Qaeda, and two other radical Egyptian Islamist groups.

The February 1993 car bombing of the World Trade Center of New York, which was the forerunner of the Sept. 11, 2001 atrocities, was an early Jama'a operation under the al Qaeda label.

Closely linked to Osama bin Laden's successor, Ayman al Zawahri, Jama'a al-Islamiya is now running for election in post-Mubarak Egypt.
Its mentor is the "blind sheikh" Omar Abdel Rahman, who is serving a life sentence for masterminding the first World Trade Center bombing."

The New York Times reports: BEYOND CAIRO, ISRAEL SENSING A WIDER SIEGE
By Ethan Bronner
Published: September 10, 2011

"Initial Israeli fears about the Arab Spring uprisings have begun to materialize in concrete ways. When the uprisings began in Tunisia and Egypt at the start of the year, little attention was directed toward Israel because so much focus was on throwing off dictatorial rule and creating a new political order."

"Traditionally, many Arab leaders have used Israel as a convenient scapegoat, turning public wrath against it and blaming it for their problems. The faint hope here was that a freer Middle East might move away from such anti-Israel hostility because the overthrow of dictators would open up debate.

But as the months of Arab Spring have turned autumnal, Israel has increasingly become a target of public outrage. Some here say Israel is again being made a scapegoat, this time for unfulfilled revolutionary promises."

But there IS MUCH MORE BENEATH the surface ESPECIALLY in Turkey...

Turkey’s Threat to Israel’s New Gas Riches "Ankara warns that Turkey will stop Israel from unilaterally exploiting gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean—and directly challenges U.S. policy."

ERDOGAN DRIVES TOWARD ARMED CLASH WITH ISRAEL. OIL AND GAS AT STAKE
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 9, 2011, 12:04 AM (GMT+02:00)

"Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan this week coolly moved his country step by provocative step towards an armed clash with Israel – not just over the Palestinian issue, but because he covets the gas and oil resources of the eastern Mediterranean opposite Israel's shores.

Thursday night, Sept. 8, he announced that Turkish warships will escort any Turkish aid vessels for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In his remarks to Al Jazeera television, the Turkish prime minister also said he had taken steps "to stop Israel from unilaterally exploiting natural resources from the eastern Mediterranean.""

Update September 8, 2011: Voice of America reports: US CONFIRMS PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD VETO THREAT

The United States on Thursday confirmed it will veto any bid by the Palestinians to seek statehood recognition in the U.N. Security Council. Meanwhile, U.S. diplomats continue an effort to reconvene direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and avert a political showdown at the United Nations later this month.

The veto threat comes as no surprise because the Obama administration has long said that a Palestinian statehood bid - without Israeli concurrence - would set back hopes for real peace.

Despite the U.S. stance, the Palestinian Authority says it is determined to win an upgrade of international recognition when the new U.N. General Assembly convenes in New York in less than two weeks.

In the absence of action in the Security Council due to a U.S. veto, Palestinians can ask the General Assembly to elevate their U.N. status from an observer to a “non-state member.”

The United States has no veto in the General Assembly and analysts say a Palestinian measure there would likely be approved by a wide majority."

Update September 7, 2011: Haaretz reports: TURKEY SET TO SIGN MILITARY PACT WITH EGYPT, AFTER CUTTING TRADE TIES WITH ISRAEL

"A military and economic alliance with Egypt is set to be signed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The deal should be clinched when Erdogan visits Cairo next Monday - the first such visit paid by a Turkish prime minister in 15 years."

Update September 6, 2011: The BBC reports TURKEY SUSPENDS ISRAEL DEFENCE TIES OVER GAZA AID RAID: TURKISH PM RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN HAS SAID HIS COUNTRY IS SUSPENDING ALL DEFENCE TIES WITH ISRAEL and Israel Today Magazine reports: Israeli general: Arab Spring could bring winter war:

"Maj.-Gen. Eyal Eisenberg, chief of the Israeli army's Home Front Command, warned on Monday that thanks to the recent revolutions in surrounding Arab states, Israel could face a multi-front war in the very near future.

While Western leaders, and especially Western media, have portrayed the presumedly pro-democracy revolutions in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria as a positive development, Israeli officials have been warning that they are quickly being hijacked by radical Islamists.

In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood looks poised to win the country's first truly democratic election in decades. Reports in recent days are that other Islamist groups are making their moves in post-revolution Tunisia and Libya."

The Huffington Post gives us this story from AP: Turkey: Israel Possibly Target Of More Sanctions

"ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's prime minister said Tuesday his nation's navy will step up its surveillance of the eastern Mediterranean Sea – a move that could potentially lead to confrontation with Israel – and warned of more sanctions against Israel as relations between the former allies deteriorated further.

Turkey has already suspended its vast military ties with Israel, said it is expelling top Israeli diplomats and pledged to lobby other nations in support of the Palestinians' statehood bid after Israel refused to apologize for last year's raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists."

Update September 3, 2011: WE HAVE NOW WITNESSED THE TRUTH OF THE SO- CALLED ARAB SPRING. First in Tunisia then Egypt followed by civil uprisings in Bahrain and Yemen. Protests in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco and Oman, and now we are the witnesses to civil war in Libya as well as murder and mayhem in Syria while the future forebodes horrific disaster from a nuclear Iran as America could wind up in a global war.

As the old maxim says; "the truth hurts."

This, of course, is why so many turn their ears away from the truth. Many would rather believe a comfortable lie than the painful truth. The flip-side of that coin is that Yeshua (Jesus) says in John 8:32: "the truth can set you free."

Indeed, lies are designed to enslave, and believing them, though more comfortable than the painful truth, constrains all, including all Arabs from living in the light of real freedom found in Messiah Yeshua. The truth, on the other hand saves people from false hopes and delusion such as Mid-East peace. That is why I am dedicated to telling you the truth.

For that reason, I want to share some IMPORTANT words from Mike Evans in this update (links are mine):

"America is on a prophetic countdown to the gravest days in our history. In a few weeks, a vote will be taken at the United Nations that will force America to choose between standing with Israel and standing with her enemies. The Bible says we do NOT wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. This is a spiritual battle, and it must be fought with spiritual weapons.

Israel has asked the Jerusalem Prayer Team for its support at the United Nations and a week later as the nations of the world gather for the demonic Durban III conference to continue accusing Zionists of being racists. The first Durban Conference happened in 2001. At that conference, the Palestinians distributed copies of the anti-Semitic The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion to all delegates. It was the most evil, anti-Semitic UN assembly ever against Israel.

The conference ended on September 8, 2001… and 72 hours later, the US was attacked by Radical Islam. I can assure you that in the spirit realm, this was no coincidence. God's Word promises a curse on any nation that touches Jerusalem. Once before, an American President attempted to divide Jerusalem and surrender the Temple Mount to radical Islam. That president was Bill Clinton. Now President Obama plans to do the same—this time by formally recognizing a Palestine State at the UN in September within days of the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks."

View this video for more information on the Durban Conference agenda.

MORE NEWS ON IRAN, ONE OF THE FOUR CRAFTSMEN:

Uranium enrichment program will not stop.

Iran deploys submarine, warship to the Red Sea.

Iran, North Korea to discuss ‘expansion of cooperation’ in talks.

REPORTS: IRAN SEIZES THOUSANDS OF BIBLES; DESTROYS CHURCH
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 (8:48 pm) By BosNewsLife Middle East Service

"TEHRAN, IRAN (BosNewsLife)-- Iranian authorities seized thousands of Bibles in north-west Iran and destroyed a church in the Islamic country's south-east as part of a wider crackdown on Christianity, Iranian Christians said in messages monitored by BosNewsLife Tuesday, August 16.

Iranian Christian news agency Mohabat News quoted Majid Abhari, an advisor to the social issues committee of Iran's parliament, as saying 6,500 Bibles were seized in recent days between the cities of Zanjan and Abhar in Zanjan Province.

He reportedly told government news agency Mehr that the action was necessary as "missionaries with reliance on huge money and propaganda are trying to deviate [Iran's] youth.""

Update May 24, 2011: VIDEO: ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU'S SPEECH AT CONGRESS presented from PBS NewsHour. My favorite quote: "...in Judea and Samaria the Jewish people are not foreign occupiers." It was followed by a standing Congressional ovation.

Update May 19, 2011: Jay Sekulow of the American Center For Law & Justice writes:

"President Barack Obama, in his speech today, went where no president has gone before – explicitly and publicly calling on Israel to retreat back to its barely-defensible 1967 borders and end the so-called “occupation” of Palestinian lands.

The timing of this declaration is, of course, stunning. Coming just weeks after an announced Hamas-Fatah unity government, the President’s words essentially reward the Palestinian Authority for joining hands with a declared terrorist organization. Keep in mind that this is the same union that the President of Iran hopes will result in the eradication of Israel.

The President’s announcement rests on two fundamental fallacies: First, that the Israelis are currently “occupying” Palestinian land. Gaza is a terrorist-ruled enclave that Israel withdrew from years ago. No occupation there. The Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank has enjoyed ever-increasing autonomy as it rejects terror -- the less terror, the less the Israeli military footprint. Today, the West Bank is fundamentally self-ruled.

The real “occupation” of Palestinian territories occurred in 1948, when the Arab statesrejected a two-state solution, occupied Palestinian land (Egypt took Gaza and Jordan took the West Bank), and launched a war of extermination against Israel. So long as Egypt ruled Gaza and Jordan ruled the West Bank (and threatened Israel with a vast array of conventional military forces), there was no international outcry for the Palestinians. It was only when the Israelis expelled Egyptian and Jordanian military forces that the international community suddenly “discovered” the plight of the Palestinians.

President Obama’s second fallacy rests on his strange assumption that the 1967 boundaries are appropriate and defensible. Take a look at this map, which starkly demonstrates Israel’s security problem. At its most narrow point, pre-1967 Israel faced a nine-mile gap between Jordanian armies and the ocean. In 1973, when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack against Israel, Egyptian forces pushed up to 10 miles into the Sinai.

“Land for peace” is a cute phrase, but for military planners facing hostile enemies, land means security. Land means a defense in depth. And “peace”? How is that possible when Hamas rules the Palestinians?

Simply put, President Obama announced as his starting point what is essentially a worst-case deal for Israel. This is unprecedented, shocking, and – worst of all – fundamentally irresponsible."

May 4, 2011: PM Netanyahu's reaction to the PA-Hamas agreement signed today, May 4, 2011.

April 21, 2011: This is not diplomacy, it is insanity. As 90 are gunned down today in Syria, a report today arises from Israel News AFP reports Europe considering recognition of Palestine

"France says European states considering recognizing Palestine; Britain echoes sentiment, says 'nothing is off table with regard to recognition in September.' Israel's UN envoy: Peace cannot be imposed from outside.

France said Thursday that European nations are considering recognizing a Palestinian state, heightening pressure on the United States and Israel to re-launch the Middle East peace process.

"Recognition of the state of Palestine is one of the options which France is considering, with its European partners, in a bid to re-launch the peace process," French ambassador Gerard Araud told a Security Council debate on the Middle East.""

April 20, 2011: Excerpts of The Los Angeles Times report by Edmund Sanders, Los Angeles Times April 19, 2011 - Israel under pressure to offer peace plan

If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't act soon, the Mideast 'quartet' may try to jump-start the process by endorsing a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem its capital.

"Reporting from Jerusalem — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under mounting pressure to unveil a new plan for solving the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict or risk having the U.S. and international community move ahead with a strategy of their own.

Israel won some breathing space with the postponement last week of a meeting of international powers in Berlin, but American and European diplomats are continuing to prod Netanyahu to lay out his vision for restarting peace talks and ending the occupation of the West Bank. If he does not, diplomats warned, the so-called Mideast quartet — the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations — may attempt to jump-start the process by formally endorsing, for the first time, the creation of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital."

"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signaled last week that international patience over the stalled peace process was growing thin and that the recent Arab world unrest made a resolution of the conflict more pressing. She promised "active American leadership" and a reinvigorated U.S. approach that would be announced in coming weeks."

"President Obama has said he wants to welcome a Palestinian state into the U.N. in September. Not coincidentally, that's also when the Palestinians are promising to take their statehood bid to the U.N. General Assembly, which most predict will approve it."

April 12, 2011: The planned Quartet meeting announced by Mahmoud Abbas that was scheduled on April 15 as noted in the update below (March 27th) has been reported as "delayed" according to unnamed officials representing the Quartet. View the report here: Diplomats: Quartet Meeting on Mideast Delayed

Update April 3, 2011: New York Times columnist Ethan Bronner provided this comment yesterday... "JERUSALEM — With revolutionary fervor sweeping the Middle East, Israel is under mounting pressure to make a far-reaching offer to the Palestinians or face a United Nations vote welcoming the State of Palestine as a member whose territory includes all of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Authority has been steadily building support for such a resolution in September, a move that could place Israel into a diplomatic vise. Israel would be occupying land belonging to a fellow United Nations member, land it has controlled and settled for more than four decades and some of which it expects to keep in any two-state solution."

He further states: "The Palestinian focus on September stems not only from the fact that the General Assembly holds its annual meeting then. It is also because Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced in September 2009 that his government would be ready for independent statehood in two years and that Mr. Obama said last September that he expected the framework for an independent Palestinian state to be declared in a year."

Meanwhile, Fares Akram and Isabel Kershner write of a Passover plot of terrorism... "GAZA — Thousands of Palestinians attended the funerals on Saturday of three senior Hamas militants killed by Israel in an overnight airstrike in southern Gaza, and Hamas leaders warned that Israel would bear the consequences."

"The Israeli military said that the three militants were members of a Hamas terrorist squad planning to kidnap Israelis over the Passover holiday in Israel and in the resorts of the Egyptian Sinai."

Update March 27, 2011: Four days before Passover, the same day Messiah Yeshua entered Jerusalem... Next Middle East Quartet Meeting on April 15.

"MOSCOW, (Xinhua) -- Visiting leader of Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday said next Middle East Quartet Meeting was scheduled on April 15, according to local reports."

As reported by Haaretz: European countries want UN, not U.S., to advance Mideast peace talks

"Britain, France and Germany want the United Nations and the European Union to propose the outlines of a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state, UN diplomats said.

The three European countries, all members of the UN Security Council, are pressing for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the European Union to propose a settlement text at a meeting in mid-April of the Quartet of Mideast mediators, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because talks are taking place in private."

Well there you have it, prophecy staring you right in the face as the nations are uniting against Israel. According to statements made by Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the UN... "target date fast approaching" as Britain, France and Germany officially ask the UN and the EU to lead and draft a new peace agreement to establish a Palestinian state and divide Jerusalem as the capital of both states. YNet News reports further that:

"The Palestinians insist they will not resume peace talks until Israel halts settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands captured in the Six Day War which the Palestinians want for their future state.

The US veto on Feb. 18 of a Security Council resolution that would have condemned "illegal" Israeli settlements and demanded an immediate halt to all settlement building spurred Britain, France and Germany, who supported the measure, to issue a joint statement expressing serious concern about the stalemate in the Middle East peace process.

Since the US efforts have been unsuccessful, diplomats said the three European powers decided to try a new approach in hopes of breaking the deadlock.

The diplomats said the three European countries have delivered the message in key capitals –including Washington and Jerusalem – that if the parameters of a final settlement are endorsed, the Palestinians will return to the negotiating table.

In their joint statement of Feb. 18, Britain, France and Germany said their goal "remains an agreement on final status issues and the welcoming of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations by September 2011."

In message delivered by his assistant at Uruguay conference Ban Ki-moon says occupation is morally and politically unsustainable and must therefore end. 'A way must be found for Jerusalem to emerge as a capital of two States'.

I find this utterly amazing and beyond comprehension... Ban Ki-moon is in Uruguay while plutonium is leaking into the soil and Iodine-131 is pouring into the sea as Japan is desperately fighting a multi-nuclear meltdown, yet he is at a security council meeting on the civil war in Libya telling the world that Israel's capital is to be divided with the Palestinians and that "arrangements for holy sites acceptable for all" will be established.

The Jerusalem Post goes on to report more on The Quartet actions: "If the Quartet feels obligated to propose outlines of a final Israeli-Palestinian settlement at the end of its upcoming meeting, it needs to take into account Israeli demands, not only Palestinian ones, government sources said this week amid speculation the Quartet may delineate how it sees a final settlement.

Britain, France and Germany have reportedly been urging the EU and the UN to propose a statement that would say that a future agreement would be based upon the 1967 lines “with agreed upon land swaps,” and reach a “just fair and agreed solution to the refugee question.” One of the key sticking points in relaunching Israeli-Palestinian negotiations has been the Palestinian insistence that the baseline for talks be a return to the 1967 lines, and Israel’s position that those lines are not sacrosanct, and that what needed to be discussed were secure and defensible borders – something Israel says is not provided by the 1967 lines."

While Abbas calls for full Palestinian membership in the UN:

"The time has come for Palestine to become a permanent member of the United Nations, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday, reiterating his opposition to the idea of a state with temporary borders.

He expressed hope that a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines would be declared by September and blamed Israel for the current stalemate in the peace process."

Many believe that Israel's response will be to Israel react against this Quartet declaration and begin annexing portions of the West Bank settlements in opposition to the nations against her.

So what's up with September?

It is a very important time, just read you Bible... open God's word to study the teaching and instruction of the Day of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6). Rosh Hashana is observed on the first two days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. It is to be a day of "remembrance of the blowing of the shofar", a Sabbath day of rest. This year it begins September 28th at sunset and lasts until sunset September 29, 2011. The following ten days are known as the "10 days of awe" before Judgment Day -- Yom Kippur, the day of remembrance, a set apart day of fasting and no work, a day all who worship The One God of Israel are to afflict (`anah) their souls (nefesh). Three days later begins the seven days of Tabernacles or Sukkot.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem, pray for the people of Japan, pray for God's hand. Humble yourself, open you heart, pray and cry toward heaven.

Update February 18, 2011: Seriously... I have no idea what possibly qualifies our nation's Secretary of State to declare herself as anyone's judge - much less Israel's but I am afraid that the latest headline is quite real:

Israeli Settlements 'Illegitimate': Secretary of State Calls Working Toward Mideast Peace Her 'Highest Priority'

"Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Israeli settlements "illegitimate" shortly before the United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning continued Israeli settlement expansion as illegal.

In an exclusive interview with "This Week" anchor Christiane Amanpour taped on Friday afternoon, Clinton said, "I think it is absolutely clear to say, number one, that it's been American policy for many years that settlements were illegitimate and it is the continuing goal and highest priority of the Obama administration to keep working toward a two-state solution with both Israelis and Palestinians."

"In December 2010, Clinton took a similarly harsh line against continued Israeli settlements. "We do not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity," she said in a speech at the Brookings Institution. "We believe their continued expansion is corrosive not only to peace efforts and two-state solution, but to Israel's future itself.""

Update February 16, 2011: Foreign Policy reports:

"In sharp reversal, U.S. agrees to rebuke Israel in Security Council
Posted By Colum Lynch Wednesday, February 16, 2011 - 6:00 PM Share
The U.S. informed Arab governments Tuesday that it will support a U.N. Security Council statement reaffirming that the 15-nation body "does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity," a move aimed at avoiding the prospect of having to veto a stronger Palestinian resolution calling the settlements illegal.

But the Palestinians rejected the American offer following a meeting late Wednesdy of Arab representativs and said it is planning to press for a vote on its resolution Friday, according to officials familar with the issue. The decision to reject the American offer raised the prospect that the Obama adminstration will cast its first ever veto in the U.N. Security Council."

Update February 11, 2011: "In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country. May God help everybody." Vice-President Omar Suleiman of Egypt.

Update: February 5, 2011: Just in case you have been watching and wondering why I have been providing so much information on the past two week's chaos in Egypt in this news update page for Zechariah's Vision and the Quartet, the reason is simply seen when you read today's headline from Haaretz: Mideast Quartet: Israel-PA peace talks must advance quickly due to Egypt unrest. If you are not familiar with Zechariah's Vision and the Quartet, you will want to click here to link to the background story:

"Middle East negotiators say further delay in resumption of negotiations is detrimental to the prospects for regional peace and security. "The announcement, which was made at the end of a Quartet meeting in Munich, came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to delay the Quarter meet in recent days, claiming the timing wasn't right in light of the political crisis in Egypt.

In a statement, the group said that in view of developments in the Middle East, the Quartet expresses its belief that further delay in the resumption of negotiations is detrimental to the prospects for regional peace and security.

In a statement, the group said that in view of developments in the Middle East, the Quartet expresses its belief that further delay in the resumption of negotiations is detrimental to the prospects for regional peace and security.

The Quartet emphasized that the goal of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is the establishment of a Palestinian state by September. The group also said it regretted Israel's decision to end a 10-month moratorium on construction in settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The meeting of Quarter members including United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, United States Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell, and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union Catherine Ashton. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the Quartet meeting - which also included Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.S. special envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell and the Quartet's envoy Tony Blair - had delivered clear messages. "

In a further development from a Quartet member, Reuters reports.... Britain: Israel-Palestinian peace could help weaken Iran. If that is the understanding in Iran, then expect interference and disinformation to ramp up from Iran.

"Israel could bolster the international campaign to head off Iran's nuclear programme by pursuing peace with the Palestinians, Britain said on Sunday.

The remarks by Defense Secretary Liam Fox ran counter to arguments by Israel, whose negotiations with the Palestinians stalled last year in a dispute over West Bank settlements that Palestine talks hinged on first curbing its Iranian arch-foe."

Update February 1, 2011: AOL's Politics Daily columnist David Wood writes: "After President Hosni Mubarak leaves office, Egypt plunges into an uncharted future. There is no clear path for new leadership, no political mechanisms to channel the energy of the streets, and no experience of political action in the decades the country has been under emergency rule.

Between the teetering government and the chaotic crowds is the one organization with the heft, popularity and influence to dominate the tumult. In Egypt and beyond, its name -- the Muslim Brotherhood -- evokes either hope or fear.

It is a secretive Islamist organization that has raised troops to fight Israel, called for global jihad against infidels and martyrdom for its youth. A Muslim Brotherhood gang assassinated former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat for making peace with Israel, and the Brotherhood inspired and maintains links with Hamas, Islamic Jihad and al-Qaeda."

"At best, as the White House clearly hopes, the Muslim Brotherhood will emerge in the months of political turmoil ahead as a voice of stability, broad political participation and moderation. At worst, some analysts caution, the Ikhwan could establish a hard-line Islamist state under Sharia, or Islamic law, provide major financial and logistics support to terrorist groups, and even abrogate or disregard the peace treaty with Israel, plunging the region back into nerve-wracking armed confrontation."

YNet reports: Israel missing historic opportunity.

"German chancellor says stalemate in peace talks dangerous, settlement construction must stop. 'Europe won't turn its back on Israel and neither will US,' she adds. On Egypt Merkel says US has not 'stabbed Mubarak in back.'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday for the continued construction in West Bank settlements and the stalemate in peace talks with the Palestinians."

Next door in Jordan... A New Prime Minister.

CNN Reports: "The king of Jordan dismissed his government Tuesday and appointed a new prime minister with orders to implement political reform.

The dismissal follows several protests calling for change in Jordan -- protests that echo demonstrations that have swept across North Africa and the Middle East in the last few weeks.

King Abdullah II asked Marouf Al Bakhit to form a government in Jordan that will implement "genuine political reform," the Royal Court said in a statement.

Breaking News in Egypt!!!

Update January 30, 2011: Haaretz reports: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood eyes unity gov't without Mubarak. Opposition group says will exclude reigning President's National Democratic Party from talks; Mohammed ElBaradei: "I have been mandated by the people."

"The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest opposition group,is in talks with other anti-government figures to form a national unity government without President Hosni Mubarak, a group official told DPA on Sunday.

Although the Muslim Brotherhood is officially banned from running for elections for parliament, some movement members have presented candidacy for parliament as independents."

Without Egypt, Israel will be left with no friends in Mideast.

Update January 28, 2011: I would recommend that if your consider yourself a watchman, you should consider subscribing to Bill Koenig's report titled, "Koenig's Eye View." In this week’s edition he reports that Elias Bejjani states:

“A final military confrontation between the Free World and the 'Axis of Evil' that includes Iran, Syria and Hezbollah is inevitable. Based on the lessons of Hitler's aggression, the sooner this bloody confrontation occurs, the better. Every passing day makes the price of blood and treasure to be paid more and more expensive.

Koenig's perspective: Elias Bejjani, a Lebanese, is very well respected and connected inside of Lebanon. He said, "A final military confrontation between the Free World and the 'Axis of Evil' that includes Iran, Syria and Hezbollah is inevitable." The Psalm 83 nations and Syria are taking their final-day positions.”

Reuters now reports that Jordan is the latest in the line of Arab uprisings:

Jordanian Protesters Demand Political Reforms By Suleiman al-Khalidi

AMMAN | Fri Jan 28, 2011 11:03am EST
(Reuters) - "Islamists, leftists and trade unionists gathered in central Amman Friday for the latest protest to demand political change and wider freedoms. A crowd of at least 3,000 chanted: "We want change."

Banners and chants showed a wider range of grievances than the high food prices that fueled earlier protests, and included demands for free elections, the dismissal of Prime Minister Samir Rifai's government and a representative parliament.

The protest after Friday prayers was organized by the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood which is the only effective opposition and biggest party, but included members of leftist parties and trade unions.

Jordan's protests, as in several Arab countries, have been inspired by the uprising that overthrew the Tunisian president."

YNet News reports:

"Still, Jordan's economy struggles, weighed down by a record deficit of $2 billion this year. Inflation has also risen by 1.5 percent to 6.1 percent just last month, unemployment and poverty are rampant - estimated at 12 and 25 percent respectively.

Members of the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood and Jordan's largest opposition party, swelled the ranks of the demonstrators, massing outside the al-Husseini mosque in Amman and filling the downtown streets with their prayer lines.

As they broke into a procession, the demonstrators chanted, "In the name of God, the government must change" and the Muslim holy book "Quran is our constitution, jihad is our path.""

Update January 26, 2011: The New York Times reports the unrest has spread to Yemen: Waves of Unrest Spread to Yemen, Shaking a Region: "Thousands of protesters on Thursday took to the streets of Yemen, one of the Middle East’s most impoverished countries, and secular and Islamist Egyptian opposition leaders vowed to join large protests expected Friday as calls for change rang across the Arab world.

The Yemeni protests were another moment of tumult in a region whose aging order of American-backed governments appears to be staggering. In a span of just weeks, Tunisia’s government has fallen, Egypt’s appears shaken and countries like Jordan and Yemen are bracing against demands of movements with divergent goals but similar means.

Protests led by young people entered a third day in Egypt, where Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel laureate who has become an outspoken opponent of President Hosni Mubarak, returned in hopes of galvanizing the campaign. The Muslim Brotherhood, long Egypt’s largest organized opposition, ended days of official inaction and said it would join the Friday protests, declaring “a day of rage for the Egyptian nation.”"

They return, [but] not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this [shall be] their derision in the land of Egypt.
Hosea 7:16

Update January 25, 2011: Today's news is major and while it is not directly related to the Quartet or the Peace Process it will have an impact so I am including it here.

North of Israel, Iranian funded Hezbollah assumes control of Lebanon's government today as fire, gunshots and street clashes are seen in Lebanon's Beirut & Tripoli.

CBS News reports... Lebanon's Sunni Muslims are outraged that the Iranian-backed Shiite group Hezbollah is taking over their country's government.

The Miami Herald reports: Israelis gird for violent spillover of Lebanon crisis ... "Security officials in Israel closely monitored the "day of rage" in Lebanon on Tuesday amid fears that political violence there could spill over into a new conflagration with Israel.

As hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Lebanon to protest the naming of a Hezbollah-backed politician as prime minister, Israel beefed up security along its northern border.

Since the 2006 Second Lebanon War, tensions have remained high between Israel and Hezbollah, a militant group that operates in southern Lebanon close to the Israeli border."

"Hezbollah has issued numerous statements calling for the destruction of Israel - while Israeli officials have repeatedly called Hezbollah a terrorist organization that poses a "direct threat to the Jewish State."

The nomination of Hezbollah-backed Prime Minister Najib Mikati this week was seen as a victory for the Shiite group, while followers loyal to outgoing premier Saad Hariri, a U.S. ally, took to the streets to protest.

But those demonstrations were small and fractured, and Mikati seemed to have cobbled together enough support within the political system to assume power.

In Israel, politicians warned that the new Hezbollah government took it farther into the arms of extremist Islamic regimes, and away from its Western alliances."

At the same time, a defiant Palestinian President Abbas claims he is on the right path and that Jerusalem must be the capital of the Palestinian state as documents leaked implicating he has made concessions to Israel in peace talks led by The Quartet. Team Abbas denies this.

Meanwhile, south of Israel in Egypt...

DEBKA File reports: Egyptians riot against Mubarak "More than 100,000 turned out Tuesday, Jan. 25 in central Cairo and other Egyptian cities for stormy demonstrations such as Egypt has not seen for more than a quarter century.

Airing many grievances, they called on President Hosni Mubarak to resign after 30 years in power. Officials said three people had been killed in clashes between stone-throwing demonstrators and policemen using tear gas, water cannon and night sticks – two demonstrators and a policeman. debkafile's sources report the number is higher and, while no figure was given for the injured, our sources estimate that there were at least 150.

After dark Tuesday, the authorities announced that Mubarak's supporters would mount a counter-demonstration the following day. A collision between the two camps might well lead to further upheavals."
Yesterday, in Russia.

A terrorist pipe bomb struck and killed 35. According to The Washington Times: "Russian authorities sift through the wreckage of the Moscow airport attack, the world’s attention will be drawn to the Muslim separatists who experts suspect carried out the Monday bombing.

Known as Imarat Kavkaz, or the Caucasus Emirate, the group was formed in 2007 with the goal of bringing Islamic law to the North Caucasus, a region of Russia that includes Chechnya, an Islamic-majority province that has been in some form of rebellion against Moscow since the 19th century.

No one had claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack at Moscow’s busiest airport, but analysts in Washington said all signs pointed to the hand of the Caucasus Emirate."

From Tunisia. Revolt... Ben Ali has fled.. change will begin in the Mid East.

Update January 2, 2011: YNets News.com reports: Palestinian foreign minister says Chile to announce its approval in coming weeks, ahead of visit by its president to Palestinian territories. The 1967 borders have been recognized by Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, and Ecuador.

"PA officials reported that Paraguay is preparing to the step in the coming weeks as well, and that a Palestinian embassy is expected to open in Ecuador. Many South American states have announced recently their willingness to recognize a Palestinian state and others, like Mexico and Paraguay, said they are considering the matter."

Update December 25, 2010: Please, please read this report from the Arabic Daily, Asharq Al-Aawsat. As you can see for yourself, the excerpt states that momentum is building for the declaration of a Palestinian state by summer 2011. This could be an ignition fuse for Mid East war as the nations from around the globe oppose Israel and seek to divide the land and Jerusalem.

"After the Israeli – Palestinian negotiations broke down over the issue of an Israeli settlement freeze, the Palestinian side have taken another track, attempting to gain international recognition of a Palestinian state. Indeed, the Palestinian side has achieved successes in this regard, particularly in Latin America, with Brazil, Argentina, and Bolivia officially recognizing an independent state of Palestine along its 1967 borders, and Ecuador, Uruguay, and Paraguay expected to officially recognize a state of Palestine within the next year. There have also been successes in Europe, with France, Portugal, and Norway increasing the diplomatic status of Palestine.

Asharq Al-Awsat spoke to Palestinian National Authority Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Maliki about the diplomatic effort being exerted by the Palestinians to gain international recognition for the state of Palestine. Al-Maliki attributed the successes mentioned above to "collective effort and cumulative work, in which everyone participated, from the President, through to the government, and ending with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our embassies. This was not something new, but rather a continued effort which has been carried out for a significant period."

Al-Maliki added "so far, we have succeeded in convincing France, Spain and Portugal, in terms of countries from the European Union [to increase our diplomatic status], and then last week there was the Norwegian initiative, which has been strongly attacked by the Israeli Foreign Ministry."

Only "Judah" has returned to the Promised Land today, but Scripture tells us Ephraim will return, this is a great promise that few understand yet it is reference in hundreds of Scriptures. It is one you need to be familiar with. Yet since 1948 it is Judah and some companions alone in the land... but now the whistle will soon go out from God for mighty Ephraim to join Judah.

It is time to wake up to your identity as a believer!!!

"When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man." Zechariah 9:13

Judah has always led the way since the Exodus, but Ephraim will be called to join him, to help him, so is it any wonder that Zechariah tells us what God has to say on the matter:

And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I [am] the LORD their God, and will hear them. And [they of] Ephraim shall be like a mighty [man], and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see [it], and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD. I will whistle for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased. Zechariah 10:6-8

Today the news points to this difficult time for Judah (and Benjamin), the Jews in today's land of Israel:

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah [and] against Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves." Zechariah 12:2-3

The word stone here is (eben), its Hebrew word meaning includes "plummet" stones of destruction made of metal ore, a tool for a weapon. Something that weighs down or oppresses; a burden, suddenly and steeply.

I am no prophet, but if this is the day that may soon stand before us, and if you feel the call to pray for Israel, if you have a heart of concern for Judah - then you must prepare yourself now. You need to start by knowing your identity in God's eyes, in His word. Please see this study: The Lost Sheep Scriptures.

After all, you already know the goal of the Quartet and its member nations is to divide Israel geographically into three parts, two for the Palestinians including 1) Gaza and the 2) West Bank, leaving 3) Israel the territory between these two. (This is easily seen on the map above, just click on it for a larger view.)

But you need to know what that means to you. Consider this. Zechariah warns us regarding the events we see today. Israel the third part of the divided land, will come through the fire but you will not be a bystander for long and you need to know why.

"And it shall come to pass, [that] in all the land, saith YHVH, two parts therein shall be cut off [and] die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It [is] my people: and they shall say, YHVH [is] my God." Zechariah 13:8-9

In Biblical time, silver was probably obtained by smelting lead and sulphur ore ore. After the ore was reduced to a metallic condition at about 1,200 degrees, the lead was separated from the silver by blasting hot air over the melted metal, leaving the pure silver.

Update December 21, 2010 Setting the Record Straight is a new documentary report available from Jerusalem Depot:

"Since 1948 the nation of Israel has been forced to defend itself from enemy attacks. Furthermore, Israel has been and is continually attacked in the political and media arenas as well.

The latest attack has come against Israel from a side angle, via the newly released film With God on our Side. This film has as its agenda to show Israel as a repressive regime which is causing unnecessary harassment to Arab residents in Israeli territory. The film is completely one-sided and does not relate history or events accurately.

Setting the Record Straight is a direct response to the film..."

Update December 18, 2010: In this recent interview with BigThink, former U.S. President and peanut farmer Jimmy Carter states:

"when I left office, we had an agreement, a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt, not a word of which has been violated. And we had an agreement with the Israelis to withdraw from their occupied territories in the West Bank and also later, the idea was for them to withdraw from Syria and also from Lebanon. Unfortunately, in the last 25 years, no progress has been made on those issues that depend upon Israel’s willingness to withdraw from occupied territories. And I don’t think peace is possible until that comes. Of course, the other aspect of that is to make sure that the Israelis know that if they do withdraw from the West Bank, from East Jerusalem, from Syria and from Lebanon, that their security and their integrity as a nation will be preserved with safety. So that’s been the quandary in which we have wallowed in a way for the last 25 years, and my hope is that we will make some progress in the near future."

It is amazing that the West Bank and East Jerusalem fits with Syria and Lebanon in Carter's definition... Let's take a look at reality from Camp David where President Carter proposed "A Framework for Peace in the Middle East" which did not address withdrawal from East Jerusalem as President Carter now intimates in his recent interview. In fact, the following text is from the letter from Prime Minister Menachem Begin to President Carter. It is what really happened in regard to Israel's resolution on Jerusalem, it's indivisible capital city.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The President
Camp David
Thurmont, Maryland
17 September 1978

Dear Mr. President:

I have the honor to inform you, Mr. President, that on 28 June 1967 - Israel's parliament (The Knesset) promulgated and adopted a law to the effect: "the Government is empowered by a decree to apply the law, the jurisdiction and administration of the State to any part of Eretz Israel (Land of Israel - Palestine), as stated in that decree."

On the basis of this law, the government of Israel decreed in July 1967 that Jerusalem is one city indivisible, the capital of the State of Israel.

Sincerely,
Menachem Begin

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Update December 17, 2010: More on the "craftsmen" from Agence France Presse, "Interpol warns of possible Al-Qaida attacks on US, European targets. Lyon: Interpol said it had received information from its office in Baghdad about possible Al-Qaida attacks on US and European targets.

"We received information yesterday from the Interpol office in Baghdad about possible threats, especially in the US and Europe, due to orders given to Al-Qaida cells by Al-Qaida commanders," the global police agency said.

All 188 countries which are members of the agency have been informed of the possible threats, said a spokeswoman at Interpol's headquarters in the French city of Lyon. Europe has been on high alert for several weeks over heightened fears of terrorist attacks in the run-up to the busy Christmas period. On Saturday, Sweden's first-ever suicide bombing narrowly missed Christmas shoppers.

The Al-Qaida-linked website Shumukh al-Islam named the bomber as Taymour Abdelwahab, reportedly born in Iraq, who became a Swedish citizen in 1992 but was radicalised while attending a university in Britain.

He was carrying a cocktail of explosives and is believed to have detonated one charge prematurely on what officials said appeared to be a mission to kill as many people as possible on Stockholm's busiest pedestrian thoroughfare.

Western security officials have warned that Al-Qaida may be planning attacks in Europe similar to those that struck the Indian city of Mumbai in 2008.

The United States issued on October 3 a travel alert for its citizens travelling in Europe, citing the risk of potential terrorist attacks on transportation systems and tourist attractions.

Similar alerts were issued by Japan, Sweden, Britain and France.

A plot to blow up cargo planes was uncovered in late October after booby-trapped parcels were found at airports in Dubai and Britain.

Update November 23, 2010: In the original post on this matter the names of the craftsmen of Zechariah were suggested and one of them is none other than North Korea. As the nations line up against Israel, the craftsmen oppose those that want to divide the land. Zechariah says the craftsmen terrify the nations who lift up their governments "against the land of Judah to scatter its people".

Today, we have this report that North Korea, (not unlike Gaza) fired artillery shells against Yeonpyeong Island South Korea. Four people died, two South Korean marines and two civilians. So ask yourself, why doesn't the U.S. condemn the PLO when rockets are fired almost daily against Israel? Do you see what is really going on regarding Israel... it is deception. Meanwhile, like the response regarding the rockets that are fired against Israel, there is no response to the terror... Pentagon: No Plan for Military Response to North Korean Attack.

From ABC News:

President Obama today strongly condemned North Korea's attack on South Korea and, in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Barbara Walters, urged China to take a stand against aggression.

""This is a -- just one more provocative incident in a series that we've seen over the last several months, and I'm going to be talking to the president of Korea -- South Korea this evening and we'll be consulting closely with them in terms of the appropriate response," the president said. "We've strongly condemned the attack...We are rallying the international community once again to put pressure on North Korea."

Obama wouldn't speculate on military actions the U.S. may take, but reiterated that South Korea is "one of our most important allies" and "a cornerstone of U.S. security in the Pacific region.""

Update November 14, 2010: The Associated Press reports: "President Barack Obama on Sunday hailed the prospect of a new settlement freeze in the disputed West Bank as a promising step toward peace, urging Israelis and Palestinians to get back into serious negotiations quickly.

An upbeat president also pledged to return to the basic principles that drove his thinking when he first came to the White House, including sticking to a more bipartisan tone and better explaining his decisions to the American people. He spoke of moving from an "obsessive focus" on policy and making changes to his approach after a humbling midterm election.

"The fact that we are out of crisis — although still obviously in a difficult time — I think will give me the capacity," Obama told reporters aboard Air Force One at the end of long Asia trip."

Update November 5, 2010: Jerusalem - The British Consulate-General led by Consul General Mr. Richard Makepeace announces that the UK and Palestine sign the first treaty between the two nations.

I did not make that name up. The name is Makepeace. You can write to him and express your thoughts about dividing Israel at:

British Consulate-General
19 Nashashibi Street
Sheikh Jarrah Quarter
P O Box 19690
East Jerusalem 97200

Update November 1, 2010: Seven year land agreement proposed.

Jerusalem National News reports "Israeli sources on Monday confirmed that the US proposed that Israel lease parts of the Jordan Valley from the Palestinians for an additional seven years, Army Radio reported."

Update October 24, 2010: The Jerusalem Post reports that a two-week Vatican conference comprised of 250 Bishps declares, there is no longer a chosen people - God's promise to Israel was "nullified by Jesus". The final statement was delivered by Cyril Salim Bustros, the Lebanon-born Greek archbishop of Our Lady of the Annunciation in Boston, Massachusetts.

"The Vatican in January blamed Israel not only for the exodus of Christians from Arab-occupied territories, but for the plight of Christians across the entire Middle East... Pope Benedict XVI was in attendance at the conference... Pope Benedict XVI first called for a two-state final solution during a visit to the region in May 2009 when he voiced the Vatican's support of a sovereign Arab homeland. The statement, which served as the basis for the latest Vatican conference, was also authored by Arab bishops from the Middle East, who argued that Israel's "occupation" of Arab-claimed lands is the root cause of most of the oppression suffered by Christians in the region."

This statement followed the first week of the conference which focused on "ecumenism", the desire to overcome splits between Catholics and Christian churches the how to dialogue with Islam.

From The Jerusalem Center Israel: Any future agreement with the Palestinians, has a critical need for defensible borders. This video outlines the threats to Israel from terrorist rockets, ballistic missiles, and conventional ground and air threats from the east.

Update October 26, 2010: The Jerusalem Post reports that UN backs Palestinians plans for statehood by August

"The United Nations Security Council could support the Palestinian’s unilateral bid for statehood if Israel does not renew its freeze on new settlement construction, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry warned Israel on Tuesday.

“If the freeze is not renewed, then yes, maybe this is going to happen,” Serry said as he spoke with The Jerusalem Post in an olive grove in the West Bank village of Turmus Aiya, located in the Binyamin Region near the Shiloh settlement.

He held a joint event there with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to mark the founding of the UN 65 years ago.

But he qualified his remarks by noting that he was an official of the UN and not a member of the Security Council, whose 15-member body would make such a decision.

The PA has threatened to turn to the UN and ask for recognition of Palestinian statehood inside the 1967 lines if the diplomatic process breaks down. The Palestinians said they would not resume talks unless Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu resumed a settlement moratorium, and Netanyahu has said he would consider the possibility of bringing an additional freeze to the cabinet if the Palestinians would recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people – something they are refusing to do."

Update October 13, 2010: Perhaps one of Zechariah's "craftsmen" is in Lebanon today calling for an investigation of 9/11.

The UK Telegraph reports that:

"Mahmoud fuelled his claims that the US government was behind the Sept 11 attack on America and demanded to ‘know the truth of what happened’ during his visit to Lebanon."

"Speaking at a late night rally, he said: “I announce that the formation of an independent and neutral team to examine the facts and discover the truth of the September 11 events is the demand of all the peoples of the region and the world.”

"Earlier in the day, thousands held up flowers and Iranian flags as Mr Ahmedinejad waved through the open roof of an armoured car that carried him through the Shia Muslim strongholds of south Beirut, the Lebanese capital."

"The Iranian leader took the opportunity during his trip to lash out at Israel following talks with Mr Sleiman.

"We fully support the resistance of the Lebanese people against the Zionist regime," he said. "Lebanon is not only a source of pride for the Lebanese but for the region because Lebanon has changed the balance of power in favour of the people of the region.""

Update October 6, 2010: Perhaps today is a good time to back in time to 2008 to gain a perspective on "The Quartet" plan to divide the land. According to the 2008 paper This Land is My Land:"

"The “Road Map” vision, as well as continuous pressure from the “Quartet” (U.S., the European Union, the UN and Russia) to surrender parts of Eretz-Israel are contrary to international law that firmly call to “encourage … close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.” It also requires the Mandatory for “seeing that no Palestine territory shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control of the government of any foreign power.”"

Update October 5, 2010: Following statements made by Jordan' King Abdullah that he expects war by the end of the year if the Peace Talks falter due to settlement construction, the Jerusalem Post reports:

"The failure of peace talks will result in widespread violence, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in an interview with the journal of the Egyptian Armed Forces. The report, published Tuesday, included the remarks made by the Egyptian leader to mark the 37th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was in Cairo on Tuesday and set to meet with Mubarak to discuss the latest developments."

Update October 3, 2010: BBC News reports"

"The Palestinian leadership has said it will not continue peace talks with Israel unless a freeze on Jewish settlements in the West Bank resumes".

Meanwhile, from the Tehran Times we have a report that Syria's President Assad Bashar flew to Tehran this weekend to meet with Iran's Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Ayatollah Khamenei told Assad that the United States’ efforts to undermine the resistance movement in the Middle East region will not bear fruit.

The Leader praised Syria for its strength and forbearance in the face of external pressure and called for the expansion of ties between Tehran and Damascus.

At the same time, grave security concerns are announced by the U.S. as other Craftsmen continue to threaten violence in Europe.

Update September 29, 2010: Israel Today reports: New Jewish houses have world fuming

"True to his word, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has allowed the self-imposed Jewish building freeze in Judea and Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”) to lapse and for approved construction projects there to resume.

Work began on Monday on at least 2,000 new housing units and a number of new schools in Jewish communities throughout the territories the Palestinians claim for their future state.

Netanyahu had been under heavy pressure to extend the freeze, and has been doing his best to keep a low profile both for himself and for Israel since the freeze expired on Sunday.

But that hasn’t stopped the world from moaning."

As noted in Zechariah's Vision and the Quartet as "The Quartet" works to divide the Promised Land, the "Crafstmen" continue to oppose and threaten members of The Quartet as reported by this Fox News report and Bloomberg News following the death of eight German militants killed in a U.S. missile strike in Pakistan. The fallout is that the U.S has warned all citizens traveling to Europe of possible danger. Meanwhile, France has warned its citizens of a very high terror risk in Britain as 12 suspected militants were arrested in France.

Update September 27, 2010: I started this commentary on "The Quartet" by asking you to view a clip of an interview with former President Jimmy Carter aired on Jon Stewart's, The Daily Show. Today, I'd encourage you to watch another interview. But this is no comedy, this interview is with King Abdullah II of Jordan, in it Jordan's King expounds on what he said in February as he us of the plans of the nations that surround Israel.

On February 4, 2010 I referenced a prior interview with Jordan's King. If you have not seen it, you ought to view it now. Just scroll down to it at Zechariah's Vision and the Quartet.

During the most recent interview, with Jordan's Coat of Arms in the background, King Abdullah II tells the world that Israel may face war by year's end. He states that he foresees war if Israel allows the construction moratorium to end in the so-called "occupied territory" of the West Bank, Israel's land which was re-gained from Jordan during the 1967 Six Day War. He goes on to say that war will involve our U.S. troops as well.

The United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 allotted the West Bank to the Palestinians but the area was instead occupied by Jordan after the 1948 war and Jordan acting on their own with only the support of the U.K. annexed the West Bank in 1950 under the 1949 Armistice Agreements which established the Green Line.

During the 1967 Six Day War, Jerusalem and the West Bank came under Israeli military control and later Israel began developing needed infrastructure in the area. In 1988, King Abdullah's father, King Hussein surrendered all Jordanian claims to the West Bank to the PLO and in 1993 under the PLO "letters of recognition", most of the area came under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority with partial Israeli military control.

Watchmen you need to keep your eyes wide open to understand the times and what is being said so that you can tell others and pray earnestly for the Peace of Jerusalem.

At around 1:31 minutes into the interview, regarding The Quartet's Peace Process", Jon Steward makes this statement:

"The process, they say now, we have a year."

And then he asks the King of Jordan:

"But aren't there, you know, isn't the real deadline the settlements freeze expires in a week?

King Abdullah II responds:

"That is what the challenge is today. For the first time, the Israelis and the Palestinians are back to direct negotiations. We lost almost nine months of the ten months for the moratorium on settlements which ends on the 30th of September.

The discussions that we had in Washington sided out better than we could have expected. Both sides made a lot of ground, and if the issue of the settlements is still on the table on the 30th, then everybody walks away and if they do how are we going to get people back to the table?

And I don't see that happening in the near future, so if we fail on the 30th, expect another war by the end of the year."

Jon Stewart, leans forward when he hears this statement and asks:

"Expect another...?"

King Abdullah then expounds further:

"Expect another war by the end of the year, and more wars that I foresee in the region over the coming years.

You already have two wars in our part of the world, you already have troops in two other hot spots.

I can see potential crisis number five, six or seven. Unless we solve this problem not only do we as the Arabs and Israelis pay the price for it but your loved ones in harm's way will continue to be in the trenches with the rest of us. So everything is riding now on whether we can get both parties beyond the 30th, and so much is riding on our future."

The King may be right, there may be a war coming this year or in the years to come, but Watchmen need to get on the wall and be in prayer as Daniel prayed. No, these potential wars are NOT Armageddon. They will be resolved, at least for a short while, because as Paul said: "When they say there is Peace and Security then sudden destruction will come upon them..."

As Daniel did, we are to pray with humility, petition and fasting, and with confession to our great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and demonstrate that love by seeking obedience to his words of instruction in return for His gift of love for us. An excerpt from Daniel 9:

"Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favour on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, 'O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name."

Update September 21, 2010: Excerpt of the Statement by the Quartet Office of the Spokesman - Washington, DC

"The Quartet expressed its strong support for the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, which can resolve all final status issues within one year. The Quartet reaffirmed its full commitment to its previous statements, which provide that negotiations should lead to an agreement that ends the occupation that began in 1967 and results in the emergence of an independent, democratic, contiguous, and viable Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbors."

Update September 19, 2010: From EMET News:

"Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA/PLO) wrapped up more than four hours of direct talks last week with no agreement on the subject of Jewish construction in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem. PA/PLO President Mahmoud Abbas gave little indication that he was willing to continue talks if Israel does not extend the construction moratorium, which expires September 30. Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, accompanied by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Special Envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell, met first in the Egyptian Sinai resort town of Sharm A-Sheikh on Tuesday and then in Israel at Netanyahu's official residence in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Aides to the two men are scheduled to continue negotiations this coming week, but no date has been set for another meeting at the leadership level. Clinton said in the interview that both leaders had grappled early with core issues in dispute. The "core issues" include the status of Jerusalem -- of which the PA/PLO claims the eastern portion for its capital of a future PA/PLO state, the "right of return" for descendants of Arabs who fled Israel in 1948, and the future of 400,000 Jews living in Judea and Samaria -- the territory staked out by the Arabs, the US, UN, EU, and others for a future Arab terrorist state, in which Jews will not be allowed to live. Additional "core issues" include the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and ensuring security for Israel's citizens, but both of these were not mentioned. Also not mentioned, but introduced by former US President Bill Clinton at the 2000 Camp David talks, was reparations for Jews driven from Arab lands in 1948.

US Secretary of State Clinton repeated her call for "comprehensive peace", going beyond Israel and the PA/PLO, i.e., with Syria. "We believe that it is not only important to pursue the Palestinian -Israeli negotiations but a comprehensive regional peace consistent with the heart of the Arab-Israeli peace initiative," she stated. Mitchell met Thursday with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Foreign Minister Walid Muallem. Earlier in the week French envoy Claude Cousseran was in Damascus to meet with Assad and push Israel-Syria peace talks. Syria has demanded that Israel hand over the Golan Heights, which were under Syrian control between 1948 and 1967, and have been in Israeli hands since the 1967 Six Day War. Israel officially annexed the area in 1981. Syria has demanded that Israel agree in principle to relinquish the entire Golan before talks begin, a demand that Israel has rejected. Israeli leaders say Syria must end its ties with Iran and with Arab terrorist groups su ch as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Assad expressed skepticism that his country and Israel would reach a deal.

Meanwhile, in a surprising development reported by CHANNEL 1 national television on Tuesday evening, Netanyahu is scheduled to fly to Washington DC on Sunday. The station's political reporter Ayala Hasson said the trip is "90% certain" to take place and that it seems to reflect some kind of political development, but that the nature of the development is not known. [Washington Post, Reuters, AFP, EJP, US Department of State, Arutz Sheva] "

This news comes seven weeks after Syria's President Bashar al-Assad warned that the Middle East is increasingly moving toward regional hostilities on the 65th anniversary of the Syrian military's establishment, the Associated Press reports from Jerusalem that Russia has decided to conclude an arms deal with Syria that will provide Syria with Russian made supersonic P-800 cruise missles. Syria has long been known to be linked linked to Iran as well as a sponsor of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant Hamas.

So now we can all see that Russia is supporting Iran with nuclear technologies and Syria with weapons technology. In fact this $300 million dollar missle sale is just one in a line of recent arms sales to Syria from Russia that also includes MiG-29 fighter jets, Pantsir short-range air defence systems and armored vehicles.

"Israel views [the arms sale] with great concern," a senior defense official was quoted by Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz as saying on the matter. "The weapons will eventually be turned against Israel."

In August, Assad said Damascus would stand by its claim to the Golan Heights, which has been under Israeli occupation since Tel Aviv's full-scale offensives against the Arab territories in 1967.

Just when you thought that Syria was not a participant in the so-called "Peace Plan" talks... well think again. I know this, if I were a member of "The Quartet", I don't think I'd want to spend too much time in Damascus.

Update September 18, 2010: AOLNews reports: Iranian president stops in Syria on way to UN

"DAMASCUS, Syria -Iran's president said Saturday that Middle Eastern countries will "disrupt" American and Israeli plans to change the political geography of the region, appearing to brush aside U.S. efforts to forge a regional peace deal between Israel and its neighbors.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the comments during a brief stop in Syria, a key all in Tehran's confrontation with the West, where he held talks with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad.

The meeting comes two days after Assad sat down with the Obama administration's special Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, in Damascus to discuss starting separate Syria-Israel peace talks."

Israel National News reports: Iran Threatens Israel Once Again

"Iranian and Syrian leaders meet for two hours at Damascus airport on Yom Kippur. "No room for Israel in the Middle East," Ahmadinajad says.

Following the meeting, Iran's English-language news agency reported that Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinajad repeated what he has said countless times in the past, that Israel has no place in a future Middle East. He also called the talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority a "failure.""

"The SANA Syrian news agency reported that Ahmadinajad and Assad had discussed, among other things, the need to unite the various factions in Iraq in order that a new government be established there quickly."

Update September 16, 2010: As Tropical Storm Julia and multiple hurricanes Carl and Igor move toward North America consider DEBKAfile's Exclusive Report on events in Damascus, Syria: Mitchell to hand Assad Netanyahu's proposed Golan withdrawal map

"Following the two-day Israeli-Palestinian face-to-face supervised by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, US Middle East envoy George Mitchell prepared for a major US diplomatic breakthrough during his visit to Damascus Thursday: The possible revival of Syrian-Israeli peace talks. He carries with him for Syrian president Bashar Assad a detailed map drawn up by Binyamin Netanyahu to represent Israel's proposed withdrawal from much of the Golan. This map is a DEBKA-Net-Weekly Exclusive.

The Israeli prime minister refused to go into borders between Israel and the future Palestinian state at the talks he held with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at Sharm el-Sheikh Tuesday, Sept 14. First he wanted to dispose of other issues such as security.

His tactics for Syria are quite different. Three months ago, Netanyahu showed President Barack Obama detailed maps of the Golan showing how far he was willing to pull Israel forces back, provided Assad followed in the footsteps of the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat who visited Jerusalem in November 1977 and was rewarded with a full peace accord with Israel and the recovery of the entire Sinai Peninsula and its demilitarization."

Update September 6, 2010: Haaretz Breaking News! Jordan and Syria call for Israeli withdrawal from all Arab lands. Leaders of both states say that Israel must return to pre-1967 borders in order to end Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Jordanian King Abdullah II and Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday stressed the need for Israel to pull out from all Arab territories it occupied in the 1967 war, if peace with the Palestinians is to be achieved.

Abdullah made a whirlwind visit to Damascus to brief the Syrian leader on the outcome of his talks in Washington last week with United States President Barack Obama, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a royal court statement said."

This is an interesting comment in the report:

"Abdullah and al-Assad also agreed to continue "coordination and consultation" on all bilateral and regional issues and discussed means of boosting pan-Arab action "to cope with common challenges"."

September 4, 2010 Update: We have been keeoing a keen eye on The Quartet. But we must mot forget the "Craftsmen". Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke up about the talks in Washington D.C. from Iran during the annual protest against Israel known as Al-Quds Day. Al Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem. AOLNews reports:

"Abbas' journey home coincided with the last Friday of Ramadan, marked as "Jerusalem Day" in Iran, where hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets to demand the liberation of Jerusalem, the annihilation of Israel and punishment for the United States.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who backs Hamas and other extreme groups with both cash and weapons, accused Abbas and his negotiating team of being accomplices to Israeli atrocities against Palestinians.

"We ask, Who will conduct the talks? Who do they represent? Who gave him the legitimacy to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinians? Who has the right to cede part of Palestine to enemies? The region's nations will not allow anyone to give up even one centimeter of Palestine," said Ahmadinejad.

"These talks are doomed to fail," he said, adding, "But more important is that the Zionist regime itself is doomed to collapse anyway."

As noted in this article by Matthew Kalman, Mahmoud Abbas' constitutional term as President of the PLO has expired.

"Abbas, already governing on borrowed time since his constitutional term of office expired in January 2009, now appears to be ruling alone as well. Hamas, its rejectionist allies and their Iranian patrons denounced the Washington talks from the start."

The New York Times offers more on the PLO leader's four year "term" story which is complicated due to the Hamas' radical Islamic rule of Gaza and the Palestinian parliament. We must remember Hamas won the PLO's Parliamentary majority in the 2006 elections.

This is important: If an agreement is reached within the next year, many that oppose it in the Mideast will say it is invalid. Something tells me the Palestinian parlament will not ratify any agreement that Abbas makes with Netanyahu. It makes me wonder what "International Law" will give Abbas the authority he needs to sign an agreement to divide the Land and Jerusalem?

So if your know your history, you may have noticed that a key player was missing from the meetings in Washington D.C. Who was it? None other than Syria. If you think that this is an odd statement consider this and ask yourself, Why were the leaders of Egypt and Jordan there?

Simple, it is all about eliminating the results of the 1967 Six Day War. It is all about wiping Israel "off the map" as far as the land and territories that were returned to Israel in 1967, it is not about peace. But just wait, Syria will get involved quickly, very quickly.

Update September 2, 2010: Three years after the Annapolis Conference, Robert Danin with the Council on Foreign Relations comments from The Quartet's office in Jerusalem. He talks to Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC and Rob Malley of the International Crisis Group regarding the talks which are being mediated directly by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and attended by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II. At the end of the day their objective will be to divide Israel by resigning the so called West Bank which is Biblical Judea and Samaria to the Palestinians as well as dividing Jerusalem into the Jewish West and the Muslim East.

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It is my opinion that they will establish their agreement to divide Israel and that the resulting agreement, which is to be labeled as a "peace agreement" will track with the prophecies of Scripture that describe those that ultimately seek to oppose and divide the land not by God's plan according to the inheritance of the 12 tribes of Israel ( Numbers 34) but by man's plans.

I strongly encourage you to click here and watch as C-Span's cameras covered the initial remarks of the five participants at the White House.

Listen to their historic words which include in order: Egypt's President Mubarak, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu and the PLO's Mahmoud Abbas. Perhaps it is only my own perception, but it just seemed odd to me to watch President Obama standing there right next to the podium, barely providing elbow room as he stood there looking over each leader's shoulder, seemingly as if to read over their notes while each man stated their objectives.

Interestingly, as Palestinian Authority terrorists from in both Fatah and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for attacks on Israeli citizens in demonstrated opposition to the "Peace Talks", the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Chairman Abbas opened his remarks noting that He looks forward to reaching "a Palestinian-Israeli Peace Agreement covering all the permanent status issues within a year in accordance with International Law and relevant resolutions".

Sounds good right, but a bit mysterious?

So ask yourself this... What does in accordance with "International Law" really mean? The fact is there is no world government, no international legislature, no world parlament, no judiciary, no global executive branch established by man, period. It is time to wake up. The only global rule is God's, the only document of world law is His word, His Torah and He is the judge of all mankind!

Update August 20, 2010: "Peace and Security" talks to begin in Washington D.C. on Thursday September 2, 2010. This is precisely seven days before Yom Teruah - The Appointed Biblical Day of Trumpets. As a Bible student I find this to be a very interesting. Link to the audio report from United Nations Radio and read this statement from the United Nations Secretary General SG2161:

"The following statement was issued today by the Middle East Quartet (United Nations, Russian Federation, United States, European Union):

The representatives of the Quartet reaffirm their strong support for direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians to resolve all final status issues. The Quartet reaffirms its full commitment to its previous statements, including in Trieste on 26 June 2009, in New York on 24 September 2009, and its statement in Moscow on 19 March 2010, which provides that direct, bilateral negotiations that resolve all final status issues should “lead to a settlement, negotiated between the parties, that ends the occupation which began in 1967 and results in the emergence of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbours”.

The Quartet expresses its determination to support the parties throughout the negotiations, which can be completed within one year, and the implementation of an agreement. The Quartet again calls on both sides to observe calm and restraint, and to refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric. Welcoming the result of the Arab Peace Initiative Committee in Cairo on 29 July, the Quartet notes that success will require sustained regional and international support for the negotiations and the parallel process of Palestinian state-building and the pursuit of a just, lasting and comprehensive regional peace as envisaged in the Madrid terms of reference, Security Council resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative. The Quartet principals intend to meet with their colleagues from the Arab League in September in New York to review the situation. Accordingly, the Quartet calls on the Israelis and the Palestinians to join in launching direct negotiations on 2 September in Washington, D.C., to resolve all final status issues and fulfil the aspirations of both parties."

To view the full 35 minute video report from the State Department on establishing "Peace and Security" by dividing the land of Israel just click here to watch U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell describe their plan.

Whatever you see or hear in today's headlines, remember this, In These Dark days, The Lord is Watching Over His Land.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2Timothy 1:7

It is Finished

2011-11-03T20:19:00.025-05:00

It is common tradition for some to say “It is finished.” The law was "hung on the cross”.

I agree, but just what "law" is finished?

Some say it is God's commandments, the Torah given to Israel, which is the "teaching and instruction" of God, the principles of life.

I once thought of the Torah... that “It is Finished”, but then, when I looked, the Father plainly showed me something that did not fit in with my prior understanding.

It was only after I finally understood that God "does not change", that I saw that Jesus was actually expanding the Torah with greater meaning in His teachings. He was putting the heart and Spirit into His word.

We are to do the same. We are to include self control, gentleness, kindness, goodness as we walk in God's teaching and instruction.

Many know the story of Israel. When I realized that adultery against God (idolatry) was the national sin of northern Israel after Solomon’s reign, my understanding grew (Jeremiah 3:8). It was the sin that ultimately caused our Creator to toss the ten tribes out of the Promised Land just as Adam and Eve were put out of Eden. Then, I read that Yeshua (aka Jesus) taught:

“You have heard that it was said by them of old time, You shall not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Matthew 5:28

Here, we see Yeshua’s view. He is teaching on the 7th instruction witnessed in Exodus 20:14, Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 5:18 which if you think about it… He gave in the first place, after all He is One with God, the Creator right?

He was speaking about adultery, a blatant sin declared just as all sin against God to be punishable by death. But with His teaching, Yeshua expanded the Torah, He explained under His authority that the crime against God’s voice was not just a physical act but a matter of the heart and soul. In doing so, he filled this commandment with greater meaning. His gave it the Spirit.

Did He “finish it”, do away with it? Of course not! He added the spiritual, the heart’s dimension to the eternal words written in stone. He did this by telling us that adultery is also committed by lusting after another. He was teaching the promise of the Spirit of Torah given to Ezekiel. A Messianic promise so important, so critical that it was given not once but twice so that we would not miss it:

“And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 11:19

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

This promise also tells us that he will give us love, joy, peace, patience and kindness. He will share His humility, mercy and faithfulness with us.

We must know, that with Messiah we have the gift of eternal life because He did hang the penalty of death on the cross. He finished what began in the garden. The penalty given in the beginning near the tree of life for deliberately and willfully opposing God’s teaching and instruction. This is the law and rule of Eden that can be annulled, one that can be finished, but only by mercy and grace from The One that declared it. That is why God gave us the instruction in the Torah of the adulterous wife. It is the teaching that says the woman found guilty of adultery may not marry another man while her first husband he is still alive. The dilemma is raised in Jeremiah 5:7. Yet He gives us the promised solution, the appointed "visit":

"Shall I not visit for these [things]? saith YHVH: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" Jeremiah 5:9

The prophecy of His visit is amazing and powerful. So that we can be married as "the bride of Messiah", He had to die by His own unchanging word given to both Adam and Moses. He promised to finish that penalty in the beginning by crushing the head, the authority of the deceiver which is physical death. God is life. His word, His Torah is the book of life. This life principle is one of the reasons He said:

“For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me: for he wrote of me.” John 5:46

Moses was given the amazing prophecy of this teaching by Messiah and he was honored by God to convey this great truth to us:

“whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” Deuteronomy 18:19

Because of God's incredible promise of life we can show our love and worship of Him by choosing to walk in the Spirit and path of His righteous Word which is the covenant of peace (shalom). Shalom means peace which is filled with greater depth by it Hebrew meaning which is not only peace but "completeness, safety, soundness, health, prosperity, tranquility and friendship"!

This "shalom" blessing is why we are given these eternal words at the end of His unchanging word:

"Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Yeshua." Revelation 14:12

"Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14

The Bible tells us Yeshua (Jesus) did not “do away” with adultery as a sin, yes he filled it up, He amplified it with greater meaning and application in our lives and our relationship with Him and others around us. May we be like Him and hearken to His words by living and walking in “the covenant of peace” in His footsteps. So that we could understand, James taught us the flip side of this covenant:

"Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:15

Paul teaches when we walk in faith we are children of Abraham (Galatians 3:7), walking in His blessing, in the covenant of peace and friendship with God and mankind just like Abraham did. This walk is ours to choose because:

“He was wounded far our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.”

Ezekiel gives us the prophecy we will soon see fulfilled when he writes of the descendant of David our Messiah and our future with Him in the Kingdom:

“And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore. Ezekiel 37:24-28

That is why His disciple John wrote so much on this:

And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 1John 2:2-4

And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. 1John 3:24

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 1John 5:2-3

And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. 2John 1:6

The remaining issue is that in the end, the same dragon that deceived Adam and Eve will also oppose us as we walk the walk and talk the talk. But He gives us the armor to wear Here’s the witness:

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Messiah Yeshua. Revelation 12:17

And Paul teaches in Ephesians 6 that God gives us the armor to wear to protect our heart: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Please read Ephesians 6. What many do not realize is that the armor of "righteousness" that protects our heart is the Torah. The conclusion is, our savior declared that not one jot or tittle of the law would fall or change so long as heaven and earth remains to exist for good reason. See Luke 16:17 & Matthew 5:18.

The message here is that we are to come dressed in righteousness and in the spirit to be a part of the wedding party: "My tongue shall speak of Your word, For all Your commandments are righteousness." Psalm 119:172

Scripture teaches us that those who have received Yeshua and His salvation within their lives are redeemed from the high penalty, the death penalty written in Genesis and hung on the cross (Colossians 2:14), yet we must also know that our Savior instructed the disciples and us to follow Torah as a walk of life. Being “under the Law” then, is the situation of those that reject Him and His instruction.

Being no longer “under the Law” of the death penalty is His “Jubilee” as He releases that debt. It is why He came and why He read and preached the gospel, the good tidings, the Jubilee gospel of peace declared in Isaiah 61:1:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because YHVH hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek ; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" Luke 4:14-21

It is why Paul declared:

"And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" Romans 10:15

Because of that gospel of peace, we “get to” obey His commandments and live in holiness and in peace with His word as the penalty of its transgression is resolved. Walking in His word is how we are to draw near to Him, how we are to show him we love Him. It is much the same as children show their Father they love and respect Him. They do this by following His advice, His teaching and instruction that is there to protect them and guide them as a loving, caring parent.

So let's not confuse tradition with our Lord's teaching, it is why he taught the Pharisees:

“Then Pharisees and scribes came to Yeshua from Jerusalem, saying, “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.” “He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?” Matthew 15:1-3

Now we know, if we just think about the act of adultery with another, we transgress the royal law of God which was given complete spiritual meaning, the heart of Messiah. If we consider this to the depth and core of its meaning, we must ask: is it not deceptive to assume of the Torah (teaching) of God “It is finished”? If so, then wouldn’t the actual act of adultery now be OK? After all, its hung on the cross… We must wake up and know that thinking is one reason we have so much divorce today as we fall away.

Adultery is a grievous sin against God (idolatry) and mankind (lust). They are very much the same and the spiritual application is filled up with greater meaning when it includes what is in one’s heart.

“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law (Torah).” Romans 3:31

One of the signs that our societies are is in a state of falling away, of decay and destruction is based on the subtle, yet deceptive thinking that God’s principles, His Kingdom constitution of life walking near Him, in His path no longer matters. This is the falling away we are warned so gravely about. Paul tells us something we need to see in Romans 1:5:

"we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake"

This is well worth repeating because so many just speed read past the message not pulling the word into the intent of our heart and understanding that he teaches which is... When grace is received it brings about obedience.

This is why Yeshua warned us after His expansion of the sin of adultery… was He just kidding around? He said:

“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” Matthew 5:29-30

No sane person wants to mutilate their body do they? So we need to listen to His plain word, His Torah, His teaching and instruction with our heart.

THE TRUTH IS, the law hung on the cross – is the law of death, the curse of sin is finished if we choose life. God offers life, His life for those that repent, return to Him and turn away from our grievous sin.

Make no mistake, deliberate sin against God is still punishable by death, like all willful perverse sin against God or mankind. But our Savior provides us His awesome gift of grace and mercy. Though he lived in sin city, Lot understood before it was too late (Genesis 19:19). Moses understood (Exodus 15:13).

And He protects us with His instruction. It is a gift, so precious that he gave His life to finish its penalty so that we do not eat from the tree of good and evil, but of the tree of life.

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shall surely die. Genesis 2:17

His living word, the tree of life gives us the promise. He offers to give us all a release from the death penalty and take it away so that we may too live with Him in victory over death, in resurrection to eternal life with Him. Praise God it is finished.

I pray you will accept His gift of redemption, accept Him, return to Him and show the world you are set apart in His grace and mercy, that you love Him by your patient walk of faith in His covenant of peace and the light of His unchanging teaching and instruction so that Hosea's words are for another.

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." Hosea 4:6

The Three Fall Feasts of The Lord

2011-09-27T19:44:00.066-05:00

Photograph by Michael Melford, National Geographic
Just as the four Spring Biblical Feast Days of Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits and Pentecost have tremendous significance in God's plan of redemption, the fall feast days also portray the future appointments of for mankind on God's creation calendar.

In this study, I am only able to just barely scratch the surface on the deep significance and meaning of God's prophetic, appointed days for His inteactions with mankind. That's what they are after all and it's up to you to participate because they are coming whether you are in or not. So keep digging and to learn to honor and keep their counsel and purpose for your life. If you have a deep desire to do this, that is probably why you are here today reading this and you are a part of the prophecy that was foretold by God to Zephaniah:

"I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts-- They came from you, {O Zion;} {The} reproach {of exile} is a burden on them." Zephaniah 3:18

This year (2011) the appointed Fall Feasts are the set apart days of Trumpets-Yom Teruah September 28-29th, Atonement-Yom Kippur October 7-9th and the eight day celebration of Tabernacles-Sukkot October 12-20th. Remember, On God's calendar His appointed days begin in the evening at sunset.

Thanks to the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, this year we know that the day of Trumpets arrive with a big announcement, a suoermoon this year according to National Geographic.

"Tomorrow night the new moon will make a close approach to Earth, giving rise to the second supermoon of the year — but this one will have the power of invisibility. Because the moon's orbit is egg shaped, there are times in the roughly month long lunar cycle when the moon is at perigee—its closest distance to Earth—or at apogee, its farthest distance from Earth.

"A supermoon occurs when the moon is at perigee and it's in either a full or new phase," said Raminder Singh Samra, an astronomer at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, Canada."

The comment by Andrew Fazekas on the moon's invisibility is interesting when you think about it because the arrival of the day of Trumpets is referenced in this awesome declaration: "no man knows the day or hour". These words from Matthew 24:36 were made famous by none other than Yeshua of Nazareth (a.k.a. Jesus) when he spoke of the day of Trumpets. As you can see, there is a lot more going on than you might expect.

Interestingly, Trumpets, Yom Teruah is the only holy appointed day that arrives with the sighting of the new waxing cresent moon. In ancient time, this day was never really certain, perhaps the same is true today, and the reasoning is really quite simple. The period of a dark or invisible moon as it transitions in its cycle actually varies from month to month. For example, today thanks to NASA, this year we know that the lunar calendar this month has the normal 2 days in which the moon will be in darkness as it transitions from waning to darkness to waxing new light on the third day. By the way, does that sound like a pattern to any Bible students out there? Remember the 3rd day resurrection of Messiah!!!

This lunar transition from darkness to light is due to the moon's orbital shape and alignment, but my iPhone's astronomy software, Pocket Universe, shows that in April 2012, we will have 3 days. So, if you consider it, this Feast day's official appointed arrival is really only "known" with the actual sighting of the light of the new waxing cresent moon. Simply put, within God's "purpose" in His creation design and by His own declaration, this Feast Day is not really "known" until it is seen - when the day and hour is "confirmed" (known). When you also consider the moon's location or proximity to the sun during the day also effects the timing and our ability to see its cresent light, the ancient message that the day and hour is unknown becomes more clear and it point directly at Trumpets Day. This is sure, God knows which future Trumpet's day will be "the day" of The King's shofar blast, the announcement of His return. So don't miss out on your chance to rehearse and celebrate that coming day that will accomplish His purpose!

We all need to know, to remember the former things which are the pattern of His appointments to understand God's future plans, they are "the" fullfillment of the appointed fall feast days. They start with the Day of Trumpets and declare the end (Autumn) harvest of things not yet done to accomplish His purpose from the beginning (Spring) of new life.

"Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose..." Isaiah 46:8-11

From my Scripture studies, I have learned that God's calendar, His Biblical lunar and solar calendar is quite different that than the solar one that I have grown up with in my everyday life. His timekeeping all began with God's creation. In God's timekeeping, each month is marked by the moon and each day is marked by the sun as every Biblical day begins at sunset instead of midnight and a day by our Creator's definition continues on through the night and the next day's evening sunset as the earth rotates. How do we know this about the day?

"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." Genesis 1:5

Think about the basics here: "creation" began before there was light and before there is light there is darkness. God does not change, so it is the same with His definition of a day. It has never changed. To understand Scripture, and the Feast Days, we just need to start thinking like He doe and has since "in the beginning".

In the same way, each week is always counted with the same seven days given to us by God on His Biblical calendar and each week ends on His 7th Sabbath day of rest. The week ends with the Sabbath Saturday, it does not begin there! This has never changed either, Sunday is a religious invention of man. For more on that see my study, "The Sabbath.... When Did For Ever Change?".

Finally, each month is recorded by the Creator's perfectly amazing and exact movement of His timepiece, the orbit of the moon around the earth and the orbit of the earth around the sun. This precise movement marks each Feast month and Feast day as it rotates in God's time keeping. The beginning of all Biblical months begins with the sighting of the sliver of each new crescent moon. Can't you just imagine that the first sight of the newly created light of the night was a new moon?

In the Bible, all of God's set apart days, all of His "Holy" appointed days are in accordance with His creation calendar which combines the earth's rotation and orbit around the sun with the moon's rotation and orbit around the earth. The moon's axis rotation exactly matches that of its orbital revolution around the Earth. It is no coincidence, God is keeping this perfect synchronization and it is why we never see the "dark side" of the moon.

God's precise timekeeping is quite different from today's solar Gregorian calendar that ignores the perfect Biblical month lunar component of God's Feast Day calendar. It was introduced really not that long ago by none other than a guy name Gregory, Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.

Before we can understand the great significance of God's appointed rehearsals, His Fall Feast Days, we must first look at the timing and events of the fulfillment of His Spring Feast Days. First of all, we must understand this truth from Scripture: the "fulfillment" of the spring Feast Days was completed by Jesus (or in Hebrew - Yeshua). Like God's calendar, the Feast Days are cyclical, they repeat becasue they are based on a rotational timepiece, they are not linear. So too, Messiah's mission is cyclical. They are two-fold. That is why the prophetic Feast Days are divided into two separate seasons, both spring and fall. In Hebraic thought, the spring days tie to His humble role as "Messiah ben Joseph", the suffering Messiah, the lamb. The fall days tie to His role as "Messiah ben David", the King who comes in judgement of those opposing His ways and His people.

He is "The Lamb of God" as foretold by Abraham and declared by John the Baptizer. He entered Jerusalem during the Spring preparation days for Passover riding a lowly donkey as foretold by Isaiah. According to Biblical teaching (Torah) and instruction, the Passover lamb is to be selected on the 10th day of 1st month, and Yeshua was hailed as Messiah on His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the exact day of the 10th of Nisan.

The day of the Passover is day when the lamb was killed, the 14th of Nisan. Yeshua was crucified as the Lamb of God on the exact 14th day of the 1st month of God's calendar.

On the day after the weekly Sabbath during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, according to Torah instruction, the First Fruits offering is to be made before God as a wave offering, a barley sheaf of the spring harvest.

According to the promised sign of Jonah that He gave, Yeshua was raised from the dead, resurrected three days and three nights after being crucified. Do the math for yourself to see if the story you have heard about a Friday afternoon crucifixion and a Sunday morning resurrection adds up to three days and three nights. If not, then you are like me and learning that there is much more to learn about the Feast days of The Lord, and they are suddenly very important in our lives.

As you will see, Easter, with it baskets and colored egg hunts is clearly not part of this picture, the Easter bunny distorts it with subtle, soft deception. The time is the holy, set apart Feast Days of The Lord which The Bible calls Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits not Easter. The lamb is the focus not a rabbit or some Easter ham.

To know the next Feast Day, we are told by God to count seven Sabbaths after the weekly Sabbath following Passover. If we do not know the true Sabbath day we will miss this count too. It is the day following the 49 day count. Can you imagine the Biblical disaster we would have if the disciples did not know how to count these days? They would have been in the wrong place at the wrong time!

For more on this please see my study "Do As The Disciples Did - Count The Omer!"

On the 50th Day of the Counting of the Omer, the day arrives that many call Pentecost or The Feast of "Weeks" (in Hebrew - Shavuot). These 50 days also commemorate the 50 day journey from the Passover in Egypt to Mount Sinai. On Shavuot, two loaves of bread made from the spring harvest are to be waved before God at the altar representing His two witnesses. Just as the Torah was given on Mount Sinai, exactly on this day, the Holy Spirit "as tongues of fire" was poured out on born-again believers in Jerusalem fifty days from the Passover of Messiah. Those that were present were gifted with "words", the languages (tongues) of all nations so that the message of the Kingdom of God could be immediately declared to all peoples, tribes and nations.

Just as the appointed Spring Feast Days pinpoint the exact days of fulfillment of the Heavenly Father's incredible eternal plan of redemption, so too we must see that the Fall Feast Days are the rehearsals which point toward the next steps of His plan as declared in His word. Just like the fulfilled Spring appointment days, the coming Fall Days will be fulfilled sequentially on the exact appointed days of the Fall Feasts. That is why we must participate in them today as believers and followers of Messiah.

In Biblical Hebrew thought, these days focus on the "Day of The Lord", the "Day of YHVH" and they reflect His return as Messiah ben David, the returning King, the Lord of Hosts, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

Hosea prophesied of the two appearances of Messiah. Both the Spring and Fall Feasts are tied to the spring barley and fall wheat harvest times... which are the seasons that God has always taught us about.

In ancient time before modern irrigation, crop harvests were totally dependent upon the patterns of the spring and fall rains that only God provides. The "key" spring harvest crop has always been barley, it's success depended on the "former" spring rains.

The "key" fall harvest has always been wheat, its crop yield was dependent on the "latter" rains. If we just look, we can see these agricultural themes throughout Scripture. Remember the "end time" parable of the wheat and the tares? It is wheat for a reason, the reason is the season, the Fall Feasts!

Hosea wrote of Messiah's two missions, both the former and latter rain. Notice to know we have to follow. We are to participate:

"Then shall we know, [if] we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter [and] former rain unto the earth." Hosea 6:3

Yom Teruah - The Day of Trumpets

The Day of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) is the only Biblical Feast day on God's calendar that occurs on the first day of any lunar month, the day of the "new moon" (in Hebrew - Rosh Kodesh). Trumpets occurs on the first day of the seventh month. Scripture tells us that in God's creation the heavens govern the timing of His Feast days. Without an eye toward the heavens we cannot know the season nor the signs or the wonders of God's plan as foretold by these appointed Fall rehearsal days. In Biblical time, the moon declares each new month. Fortunately, God's word, His Torah is wonderfully precise in His instruction of how we are to participate and observe this day, this "High" Sabbath Day, this day of blowing trumpets announcing the coming King.

It might be easy to lose sight of the instructions of our Father, after all, many may think that the "Feast Days" were somehow only for those living in the so-called "Old Testament" times. I used to think like that or perhaps in ignorance... I did not think at all about them, but I now know we must not ignore the observance of any of God's teaching. After all, Jesus (Yeshua) himself spoke of this. Matthew 5:17: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law [Torah], or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

With this instruction from Messiah himself, we must understand He has not changed His mind. The goal here is to show why this is true and to address the meaning and imagery of His holy days and the prophetic significance of this appointed rehearsal, this "set apart" (holy) day.

Our focus today should be on how to honor and "keep this day" and to rehearse it with the instruction words of Scripture. We need to know first of all that God's "High Sabbath" days are to be "rest" days which occur during each of the seven feasts of The LORD. Of course, they do not necessarily fall on the weekly (seventh day) Sabbath days. In Scripture, God always identifies these appointed days with the simple instruction, “do no work".

To better understand this, begin by reading the instruction given in the Word of God in order to comprehend the foreshadowed "principles" of any Feast Day and their relation to what you know about the Messiah. This is important so that we can honor each day according to God's Word and keep "Trumpets" set apart and holy, after all, it is a "High Sabbath". Let's search some key words in Scripture relating to this day to find the passages that reveal to us how we can keep this day of Trumpets.

The first time we learn about "Yom Teruah", The Day of Trumpets is in the Scriptures of Torah in Leviticus 23:24-25. Leviticus is misunderstood, but it graphically portrays the redemptive planning manual of God so pay close attention to every detail, they all symbolically portray imagery of The Messiah! Let's take a look at what this allegorical passage says about this prophetic day of gladness that Messiah Himself refers to as "the day no man knows", the Day of Trumpets - Yom Teruah.

Leviticus 23:24-25: "Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD."

There are five books, five scrolls of the Torah as recorded by Moses, and by no coincidence whatsoever we can see that there are five principles of this holy, "set apart" day:

1. It is to be in the first day of the seventh month.
2. It is a Sabbath day.
3. It is a memorial day of blowing the shofar.
4. It is a day of holy convocation or assembly.
5. It is a day to make offerings to our Father, God.

The shofar is a picture of freedom. We see this as the shofar is to be blown in the Year of Jubilee to announce freedom to all (see Leviticus 25:9-10). Isaiah also speaks of the shofar being blown when God gathers the House of Israel to Himself in the Land He gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob:

"It will come about also in that Day that a great shofar will be blown and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt, will come and worship Yahveh on the Holy Mountain in Jerusalem." Isaiah 27:13

Trumpets is a one day "Feast" and it is critically important to remember that our Heavenly Father tells us to not add or take away from any of His words of instruction as He expressed in Deuteronomy 12:32.

So let's celebrate it because we love God!

He is God after all and He determined the way that we should walk if we truly want to love and follow Him. With the Spirit of truth from Messiah Yeshua, we can honor His appointments and walk in His ways of worship that He gave to us. As we keep His Feasts we are proclaiming our love for God for what He has done and will do for us, and we are witnessing to the world that we are His children.

We are also learning and experiencing His ways as we look forward to His return.

Let's look to see what the Israelites experienced when they first heard this commandment of keeping a "memorial of blowing trumpets" for the first time after their Exodus from Egypt. Scripture reveals that the commandments in Leviticus 23:24-25 were given one year after leaving Egypt and the instructions found in the Book of Leviticus are given to Israel in the month known as Aviv. For more details please read Exodus 40:1-17.

If you search for the words "trumpet" which is "shofar" in Hebrew or "trumpets" online at BlueLetterBible.org you will find that four verses contain these words prior to Leviticus 23:24-25. The verses that contain the word "trumpet" or "trumpets" directly relate to the events where God "descended" upon Mt. Sinai. Other verses are contained in Exodus Chapter 19 which tells the story of God's descent upon Mt. Sinai to give the Ten Commandments. The four specific verses are Exodus 19:13,16,19 and 20:18. First, let's review the verses of Exodus 19. These trumpet blasts did not occur on the Day of Trumpets but you should read carefully, these words don't just contain history but they represent the future as well:

Exodus 19: 1-25 In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt--on the very day--they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain. 3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." 7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD. 9 The LORD said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you." Then Moses told the LORD what the people had said. 10 And the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes 11 and be ready by the third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. 12 Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. 13 He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.' Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain." 14 After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. 15 Then he said to the people, "Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations." 16 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled. 17 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, 19 and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him. 20 The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the LORD said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them." 23 Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, 'Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.'" 24 The LORD replied, "Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out against them." 25 So Moses went down to the people and told them.

The people of Israel and those that traveled with them assembled at the base of the mountain. They came out of Egypt and were gathered together headed for the promised land. Perhaps, the most memorable event for the Israelites when given the commandment to keep a memorial of blowing trumpets is that God physically descended in fire upon Mount Sinai while the trumpets sounded louder and louder. That is why the main theme of Yom Teruah (Trumpets) is a "celebration", the celebration of His return on the third day. As seen in the three biblical witnesses of 1) the Creation week described in Genesis 1:11 when harvest life was created on Earth on the 3rd day, and 2) as promised by Hosea 6:2 "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence" and as 3) seen in the message of Luke 18:33, we have been given two days (2,000 years) from His Spring Feast coming as the lamb of God to prepare, to consecrate ourselves for His return at The Fall Feast as the King, the Lion of Judah. Here is a key to understand Biblical days in God's redeemption calendar:

Psalms 90:4 For a thousand years in thy sight [are but] as yesterday when it is past, and [as] a watch in the night.

Ecclesiastes 6:6 Yea, though he live a thousand years twice [told], yet hath he seen no good: do not all go to one place?

2Peter 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Are your ready for the Trumpet and the smoke and thunder of the third day, The Day of The Lord?

If not. You can start by reading The Ten Commandments which are first recorded in Exodus 20. The Biblical narrative reveals that Mount Sinai continued to smoke, thunder and display lightening as the trumpet of God sounded. See Exodus 20:18.

It is critically important to know that exactly ten days beyond Yom Teruah - Trumpets Day, the holiest of all days: Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement and Judgement is to be honored. This is significant because Yom Kippur is synonymous with "atonement" the great gift of God that can not be earned, only received as a gift of His mercy and grace. With the true message of Yom Kippur, we can truly begin to "see" that mercy and grace began within the very words of the Torah! It did not start in the new Testament.

You should continue to search the Scriptures for similar verses that contain the word "trumpet" or "trumpets". I like to use Blue Letter Bible as an online resource. It offers several translations and based on my own research, a key verse in the Torah that explicitly relates to Yom Teruah is in Numbers 29:1. I also found the word "trumpets" in Numbers 10:10 but it does not seem obvious to be a verse about Yom Teruah. So let's see what Numbers 29:1 says:

Numbers 29:1: "And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you."

Now, take a look at Numbers 10:10 and see how this verse relates to Yom Teruah.

Numbers 10:10: "Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God."

Here in Numbers we see the commandment to sound the trumpet at the beginning of months. In other words this is God's declaration of His new year. That is why the day is also know as Rosh haShanah, the "new year", it will be the first day of the millennium. Yom Teruah is the beginning of the month (new moon) as well as a memorial blowing of the trumpet that is relating to our Creator's meeting with His people at Mount Sinai, the giving His covenant and His return. In consideration of this, there is no new principle identified by Moses in Numbers about keeping Yom Teruah. But from this passage, we do learn that we are also to sound the trumpet at the beginning of months. Why? We need to practice so that we will be ready for the day no man knows!

Now if you search for the word "solemn," we learn that it relates to "solemn" assemblies in the Feast "Days". If you search for the word "gladness," we learn that in one way it relates to "gladness" in keeping the Feast "Days", they are THE Biblical set apart, holy days ( see 2Chronicles 30:21-23). The phrase "day of your gladness" also refers to the appointed Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles), which is also known as "The Season of our Joy" and "The Feast of Ingathering". These names hints are pretty obvious as to their future fulfillment, so don't ignore these days any longer!

In review of these passages, Yom Teruah is reserved for the first day of the seventh month. Seven is a big number in the Bible, whenever you see it pay attention to the theme and clues that God gives. It is a day the assembly of people came together, a day marked by blowing the trumpet as a memorial for the giving of the covenant by our Heavenly Father, God. So, what are you to do? What else, buy a shofar and blow it! This day will mark His return and believe me you will want to know what is going on and what you are supposed to do!

It is important to understand the meaning and purpose of blowing a shofar in order to appreciate this special day. Yom Teruah is one of the appointed days where we are to gather in fellowship for praise, prayer and intercession with other believers in the Body of Messiah because Scripture reveals it is a day of "holy convocation" or "assembly." This is a prophetic instruction as the trumpet will signal the arrival of the King. Don't you want to be celebrating on that day with your own trumpet, your shofar in hand when He returns?

Scripture reveals it is a day where we are to make an "offering made by fire" to God. Because the Temple and the altar are now gone, both Jews and believers in Jesus or Yeshua (in Hebrew) are to know from the principles of the Scriptures that our "offerings" to our Father - God are our praises, prayers and worship. Because it is the Day of Trumpets, we are to also offer our celebration of the coming day of His return!

It was also the day of His His birth. For more on this amazing story please consider My Scripture Study, "Texting With Gabriel".

Wow! Yom Teruah is both a prophetic and a past celebration marking the arrival of The King in the Spring and the Fall seasons of God's plan.

Trumpets also stands for the beginning of the Sabbath, the 7th day, the future 7th "millennium day" of rest. This day (1,000 years) symbolizes the beginning of the last events leading to this "end time", the end time in which God's children no longer live outside the physical, earthly presence of Messiah. The reason for the season is simple, Yom Teruah is the announcement of the beginning of the 7th month of the year and the fall Feasts of God are truly a foreshadow of the end of the time that the Gentiles no longer trample Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. It marks Messiah's return which begins His 1,000 year millennial reign as King on Earth undoing the deceiver's temporary six day (6,000 year) authority ruled by death which began in Eden. Just as the 7th day of the week, the Sabbath, is symbolic of the 7th millennium, it represents the 7th month of the Biblical year which is the timeframe of God's plan, 7,000 years until His creation of the promised new heaven and new earth. This is the day after the 6th that no man knows.

By the way, there are six verses in Scripture that contain the words "new" and "heaven", they are: Gen 27:28; Dan 4:15; Dan 4:23; Mat 13:52; Rev 3:12 and

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.

There is a good reason that the Day of Trumpets is the day non man knows, just ask your Jewish friends or any astronomer, or just look at the sky for yourself. The New Moon cycle varies slightly from month to month, it is not exact to our own calendar counting but it is to God's... it might be after two days of darkeness or three depending on the earth and lunar orbits that had has precisely set. So, without the help of NASA, you do not know when a new cresent moon arrives until you see it. But remeber, God promised Daniel that in the latter days knowledge would increase, knowledge of His Word and knowledge of His creation that point us right back to His word.

So what can we learn from this?

Yeshua-Jesus was actually giving us a clue from The Messiah's Bible.

Look at Genesis 1:14 "And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years". Jesus (Yeshua) was referring to His appointed Feasts and a future Feast of Trumpets, the new moon day (in Hebrew, Rosh Chodesh). His message means we must be watchful of the signs and the Feast Days He gives us. The ancient words, the Scriptures of the Torah, the Writings and the Prophets are His witnesses, indeed He is found among them. They give us all the clues about Him. Thinking on this gives more meaning to His words:

"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." Matthew 18:20

Today, thanks to NASA's scientific research, we have access to everyday computer programs that can mathematically and graphically model exactly when the new moon will become visible in the sky at any location on earth at any time. But prior to these fantastic new technologies, ancient man had to watch the sky and wait for the first sliver of the new moon, not really ever knowing the exact hour or the precise day when the new moon would make its appearance in the sky. As you can see, in ancient Hebrew thought and time, the sighting of the new moon to begin the "Day of Trumpets" truly was the day no man knew, only The Father, the Creator knew. But at the same time is is a command for us to seek out the meaning of His words that would become clear in the latter days. Contrary to modern teaching, Paul taught that we as the body of Messiah are not to let others obstruct our observance of God's diet instruction nor our watch and celebration of these coming Fall Feast days marked by the new moon's Trumpet Day appearance:

Colossians 2:16-17 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ."

Messiah Yeshua warns us if we do ignore them: Revelation 3:3 "Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee."

Let's review because we need to know that each month, there are always two nights that there seems to be no moon at all as it is hidden in darkness. The reality is, before the precision of Global Satellite Positioning system calculations, no man knew exactly when he'd see the Trumpets Day new moon. According to Scripture, once the new moon is spotted it signals a new month. Yom Teruah being on a new moon, a Rosh Chodesh day has extreme significance in this way, so much so we are to also celebrate each new moon. We are to watch and wait with anticipation for this day to be revealed, just like we wait for Messiah's return so we may celebrate the day of the bride's celebration which is to be announced on the day of Trumpets! If we just look, King David gave us a subtle hint of this coming great day when he told his friend Jonathan:

"And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow [is] the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third [day] at even." 1Samuel 20:5

Since there are three recorded resurrections in the Old Testament and three resurrections found in the New Testament prior to that of Yeshua (Jesus). His resurrection was the seventh. Seven is the biblical number for completion and perfection. I believe that it is possible that our generation may be witness to the seventh event of resurrection of mankind when the Trumpet sounds as we approach the beginning of the third day (3,000 years) since His first coming.

As I pray you can now see, understanding your true Hebraic roots is extremely important in understanding the sayings embedded for us in Scripture, and it is critical to obtain an understanding of the "gathering of the saints" on the coming days of Tabernacles. Perhaps, one of the most important concepts is seen in the Jewish tradition where the three trumpets blasts of God each have a name. For thousands of years, these three trumpet blasts have been called the 1) "first trump", 2) the "last trump" and 3) the "great trump." But don't let the names confuse you as to the sequence that they are blown on the Fall Feast Days! Understanding these trumpet blasts by there name and timing opens up the prophecy of the Scriptures.

Are you beginning to see that understanding the fall feast days is so critical?

The "last trump" in Hebrew is the Tekiah HaGadol and it is blown on the Day of Trumpets I believe this trumpet is to be blown by God himself.

With an understanding of the actual name of this "trumpet blast", we can understand what the Jewish Rabbi, the Apostle Paul said in 1Corinthians 15:51-53: "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."

He was saying the resurrection of dead will occur on the Day of Trumpets. With this understanding, I like to think of the Day of Trumpets as our assembling together of those living called out ones to King Messiah for His magnificent return to the Mount of Olives and to participate under God's instruction in the herald of the events of the resurrection and the in-gathering of His people into His Kingdom reign.

Moses first described this great in-gathering in the Torah.

Deuteronomy 30:3-6 "then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live."

The Prophet Ezekiel and Jeremiah provide a second and third witness to confirm the words Moses.

Ezekiel 36:24-27: I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Jeremiah 31:7-10: For thus says the Lord : "Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, 'O Lord , save your people, the remnant of Israel.' Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here. With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Hear the word of the Lord , O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.'

So, the fulfillment of Messiah's revelation is in the fall feasts.

The Feast of Trumpets is the day of resurrection. The resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous, the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats. There is a rapture all right, but it is no secret day. It occurs on the Day of Trumpets, the harvest day of His people and those that are not His people. We just do not know which Day of Trumpets that will be or at what hour He will blow the "Last Trumpet".

Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement

A study of Yom Kippur, known as the "Day of Atonement" begins in Leviticus 16:29-34. It too is a "High Sabbath", the conclusion of the "Ten days of Awe" that follow the Day of Trumpets. Can you possibly imagine "the awe" of those ten days when the redeemed will awaiting the resurrection and the arrival of The Lord in Jerusalem?

Yom Kippur is the day that I believe that Messiah will "separate" the wheat from the tares just as one goat represented redemption and the other was cast out to the wilderness. As I said, I believe this is the day of the resurrection. This Feast Day is also described by Ezekiel as the Fat Sheep and Lean Sheep judgment of Ezekiel 34, the same Sheep and Goats judgment described by Matthew in chapter 25. To learn more about this day we all need to read every bit of Leviticus chapter 16. This reading is all about the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur is a solemn day of fasting and prayer. Yom Kippur is known as the "Sabbath of Sabbaths". Indeed, it is the holiest day of the year as Yom Kippur is also the day of atonement and forgiveness.

Let's look at Leviticus 16 and see what it says to identify what principles there are to keep the Day of Atonement.

Leviticus 16:29-34: "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work--whether native-born or an alien living among you-- because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. It is a Sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the community. This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites." And it was done, as the LORD commanded Moses."

Exodus Chapter 25 through 30 address the setting up of the Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle) shortly after Moses returns from the top of Mount Sinai for the first time before the "Golden Calf" incident described in Exodus Chapter 32. Exodus 30:1-10 covers the set-up for the "Altar of Incense". Key words in the phrase in Exodus 30:10 state: "Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement..." this gives us understanding that this verse is about The Day of Atonement. After searching the Scriptures for verses containing key words such as "atonement," "tenth," "seventh," "deny yourselves," I can't seem to identify other verses that address the "Day of Atonement" until we read about it again in Leviticus 23:26-32 where the fall Feast Days are described.

Leviticus 23:26-32: The LORD said to Moses, "The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. Anyone who does not deny himself on that day must be cut off from his people. I will destroy from among his people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. It is a Sabbath of rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your Sabbath."

Just as with the Day of Trumpets, again we see that like the five books of Torah, there are five principles that applies to keeping the Day of Atonement:

1. It is to be in the tenth day of the seventh month.
2. It is a Sabbath day.
3. It is a day to deny oneself (this is a day of fasting).
4. It is a day of sacred assembly.
5. It is a day to make offerings to our Everlasting Father, God and make intercessory prayer.

The sequence of end time events is clear in the Fall Feasts. Peter tells us plainly of of the grace that will be brought to the redeemed at His return:

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1Peter 1:13

The book of Revelation was given as a gift to John and all those that would read it as to the plan of God to fulfill the Fall Feasts of YHVH. The Fall Feast must be studied for Revelation to be understood in any fashion. Many today may think that it is a cryptic book because they do not study the Feasts of The Lord. The Fall Feasts Days are the "key" to unlock the meaning of the Revelaion of Messiah Yeshua - Jesus Christ.

Revelation describes these events in their sequence of Feast Days which are the Day of Trumpets when we see the return of Messiah in His Glory and the Day of Tabernacles which includes the restoration of God's people to the Promised Land for the "Marriage of the Lamb" and just as it was with the battles when Joshua entered Canaan with the twelve tribes of Israel, there will be a great battle for the land as the nations come against Israel.

Revelation gives us this sequence of major events relevant of the 1,000 reign. Beginning of the 1000 Years. In the beginning, Satan's power over earth, the "power of death" is taken away as he is imprisoned until the end of the 1000 years.

On the Day of Trumpets at Messiah's return, the "first resurrection" occurs for the elect through time that have chosen to follow God and Messiah which includes those from the "Tribulation" which "keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Messiah Yeshua" (Revelation 12:17). They rule under His direction for the 1,000 years. These overcomers who are raised in the "first resurrection" just before the 1,000 years (The Day of Tabernacles) will be immortal and incorruptible. This people includes all who have overcome "in Christ" throughout time including those still alive after the tribulation.

These people are give the gift of eternal life and they are restored by God to the perfect physical condition of Adam and Eve at creation and Yeshua at His resurrection. They will rule as Kings and priests with Messiah for the 1000 years and can never die. This is the advantage of the first resurrection.

All other survivors after the battles desribed in Psalms 83 will continue to be mortal through the 1,000 years, which means they can of course still die if they willfully sin against God's instruction and His Kingdom.

This is proven by the fact that when the rebels from among them attack the Holy City at the end of the 1000 years these wayward people are "devoured" by fire from heaven when Satan isreleased and inspires a rebellion at the end of the 1000 years, which is promptly put down with the rebels destroyed.

"Death will be no more" only after Messiah's fulfillment the second resurrection at the Feast of Trumpets at the end of the millenium age and the Day of The Lord, the final Yom Kippur is concluded, which is called the Great White Throne Judgment when Satan, his demons and mankind, those goats and tares that reject God are thrown into the Lake of Fire.

After this judgement, all God's people whose names are written in The Book of Life then enter into the eternal state of the New Heaven and New Earth. (Revelation 21 and Revelation 22). They are the ones that are "blessed" as they do his commandments". They alone have the "right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city" which is the "New Jerusalem", Eden restored.

Sukkot - Tabernacles

Tabernacles, or Sukkot is also know as the Feast of Booths also as The feast of "Ingathering". It's instruction tells us about how to keep the seven day celebration in the seventh month at the end of the Biblical Year, this is found in Leviticus 23:34-43. The first day is a High Sabbath, the celebration lasts seven days and it is then followed by the eighth day.

The second time in the Torah is in Numbers 29:12-40. The third time we learn more about the Sukkot is in Deuteronomy 16:9-17. The verses in Leviticus focus on a general outline for observing the Feast. The verses in Numbers focus on the type of offerings to be made at the Feast. The verses in Deuteronomy reveal who may keep the feast.

Sukkot has a great name, it is called the "Feast of Ingathering" and is one of three appointed days or festivals (the other two are Passover and Pentecost or Shavuot) where "thy males appear before God thy God in the place which he shall choose..." (Exodus 23:14-17, Exodus 24:22-23, Deuteronomy 16:16).

This "pilgrimage" instruction to be in Jerusalem is ultimately why the place God chooses for His name is Jerusalem. This is due to the fact that He appointed these days as the actual days Yeshua (Jesus) would actually be there in person to fulfill His complete plan of salvation and redemption for all believing mankind. He was there at His Passover almost 2,000 years ago as were all the witnesses around the world that journeyed there to Jerusalem at that time.

It is a time to spend outdoors in the beautiful night sky so that we may behold God's creation and night sky. If we are not outside looking up we certainly will not see the sign of Messiah first hand that He promised us in Matthew 24 because this is the appointed season of it appearance. So too we will not see the starry night sights described in Revelation 12. For more on some of the heavenly events to be seen on the appointed Fall Feast Days of 2011, take a look at "Testimony of a Watchman"

Matthew record's Yeshua as He tells us a parable about Tabernacles in chapter 13:

He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one]; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 13:37-43

Yeshua (Jesus) had to be there in Jerusalem of course on Passover for His crucifixion and His resurrection. Fifty days later, God sent His Spirit there on Pentecost to indwell the believers and disciples so that they could literally preach the gospel to all the nations in their own tongue (languages). That is what we hear the term "speaking in tongues". It was the gift of a supernatural Spirit given ability to immediately speak in another language so that the Gospel could instantly be spread around the nations of peoples from all around the world that were there in Jerusalem at the Feast of Shavuot.

The world still speaks all of the languages (or forms of them) that God gave to mankind at the Tower of Babel. As Scripture says, He will return there in Jerusalem to begin His reign as King of the Universe on Tabernacles, and at that time I believe that He will fully restore His pure language (we call it Hebrew today) so that we can all worship Him in one unified voice as He told the prophet Zephaniah.

Zephaniah 3:9: For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.

To better understand the celebration of Sukkot (Tabernacles), lets again look back at the Book of Exodus. By reflecting on the Book of Exodus we know that the children of Israel observed their first Passover in Egypt in the month of Aviv (Abib), the first month of the year (Exodus 12:2). Exodus 12:37 reveals that the children of Israel encamped first at Succoth after the exodus from Egypt in the month of Aviv. The next few chapters tells the story about the crossing of the Red Sea between the first (Aviv) and second (Iyar) months. Exodus 16:1 reveals that on the 15th day of the second month after the "exodus" from Egypt the children of Israel came into the wilderness of Sin. This is where they were given and fed the manna by God. After camping in Sin, they journeyed on to Rephidim where they received water from the Rock (Exodus 17:1). Finally, in the third month (Siwan) they arrived in the wilderness at the mountain, Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:1).

By reflecting on the journey of the children of Israel it helps us better understand the future fulfillment of the Feast of Sukkot. Our Everlasting Father, God, expressly tells us why we observe Sukkot in Leviticus 23:42-43.

It is a "memorial celebration" to remember that God made the children of Israel to dwell in "booths" (tents or tabernacles) when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. The dwelling of God's people in booths is fundamental to celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles.

From the 15th to the 22nd of the seventh month was a time of the greatest rejoicing of the people of Israel and those that sojourned with them from Egypt. This is because it is the future "appointed time" of the beginning of His reign as King.

In the Scripture reading we learn that both the first day and the eight day are His High Sabbaths.

It was the festival of all festivals and it will be again. Israel was commanded to build tabernacles and live in them during the feast days. This commemorated how God brought them out of Egypt through the wilderness and into the promised land. Secondly, they were to cut off branches of palm trees and wave them, rejoicing before the Lord. This eight day Festival holds a wonderful future promise. In the Messianic Kingdom era to come, when the other festivals have indeed been shown to have served their purpose, Tabernacles will continue to be celebrated since praise and thanksgiving to God as our King will never end. That is the meaning of the eight day. It represents eternity.

Zechariah tells us of this time when all the nations will go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Jews today recognize that the Feast of Tabernacles points to and looks forward to the Kingdom of the Messiah. Zechariah 14:16-21 states clearly that after Messiah sets up His Kingdom His people, the children of God will celebrate the joy and blessings of the Feast of Tabernacles as a yearly memorial in Jerusalem.

Yeshua (Jesus) celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles and was there at the Feast's water libation ceremony just as He did all the appointed days of His plan of redeemption. Read the words of John 7:37-38:

"In the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water"

He was there the next day too while the torches of the ceremony still burned at The Temple above the city when He said:

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:12

Trust God's word, you don't want to miss Him at this Harvest celebration of Ingathering when He returns giving the water of eternal life as the light of the world!!

The Torah is His written Word, Yeshua is the Living Word. In Him all The Feast days will be fulfilled. (See Matthew 5:17)

And consider Revelation 7:9-17, it describes the saints who have come through the "great tribulation." This scene takes place at Tabernacles and it certainly appears to describe the last day, the day known as Simchat Torah, meaning "rejoice in Torah" at the inauguration of His Kingdom. How can we consider this? It depicts "the" grand celebration with the saints waving "palm branches." Why are the "saints" of Revelation waving palm branches?

They are celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles which represents the great marriage supper feast that will soon take place. Its is a feast which will last for seven days until the eighth day, which represents "eternity on" when death is swallowed up in victory. For more, see Isaiah 25:6-9. This is the greatest day of all celebrations (the marriage feast) when all redeemed people, "the bride" will say "I do" in the future Great Wedding Feast of The Lamb of God. This was first established and foreshadowed by the meal with God in the wilderness where Moses, his brother Aaron and Aaron's "two sons" were invited with "the seventy" elders of Israel at the top of Mount Sinai to celebrate The Giving of Torah and have dinner in the very presence of God. This future day is prophetically described in Exodus 24:

There at Mount Sinai they celebrated after everyone accepted His marriage covenant and said they would do His Word:

"All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do." Exodus 24:3

The term "Seventy" here and the two sons of Aaron represent all the nations and peoples of mankind that also accept His covenant of grace and mercy. Amazingly, these men ate and drank there in sight of God. The Scripture says they saw God Himself. This "seventy" and the "two" sons symbolism is also seen when Luke describes that Yeshua (Jesus) appointed "seventy two" disciples of the "harvest LORD" to spread His gospel of the Kingdom in every city of and place.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go." Luke 10:1

This assignment may have well occurred while they were gathered in Jerusalem with Messiah during the great celebration of Tabernacles. I only imagine that this divine mission given by the Master to the seventy-two took place immediately after the celebration on the day of Simchat Torah. After all, the assignment give to Israel was to be a royal priesthood:

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation... Exodus 19:6

Let's look back again carefully at Exodus 24:1-18:

"Then he said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.” When Moses went and told the people all the Lord's words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.” Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them.” When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights."

Tabernacles declares the future great celebration following the "in-gathering", that many call the rapture, the event that will bring some from life and some from death. I believe that the assembly that will occur before The Lord at the Feast of Tabernacles will occur at the very spot where Yeshua (Jesus) took Peter, John and James to witness His "transfiguration" and the appearance of Moses (representing the Torah) and Elijah (representing the Prophets).

Messiah as well as Peter, John and James were prophetically and thematically represented some 1,500 years before Luke recorded his story. This is seen in Moses, Aaron and his two sons. In each occasion, we see a glimpse into the future of Tabernacles. This is why Messiah says in Luke 9:27: "But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God."

Think about it, at the future resurrection of the saints before Tabernacles, many people will be living, standing there in that very spot.

Unless we study and consider the instruction we receive in the Torah, we can not possibly understand the great meaning and implication of the future days of celebration during Tabernacles or the other Feast Days of The Lord. Simply put, one of the greatest prophecies of the Messiah can not be known because so many of us have not been taught to base our understanding of His words on Torah. Unless we study His Torah, Bible students will skim over and read past this magnificent promise without understanding it.

To understand these Words of Yeshua (Jesus) is to recognize that He was prophetically talking about the climatic celebration and rejoicing of future saints that are to be gathered and standing there at the place Peter, John and James stood during the seventh month and the conclusion of the seven day Feast of Tabernacles! All the details are important! And "...Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah..." Luke 9:33

We have the same instruction Peter understood from Leviticus 23:40; 41 and 42: "...you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days." "...It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month." "..."You shall dwell in booths..."

We must consider it a great privilege to know that Luke's fantastic narrative of this story many know as the "Transfiguration" actually occurred at Tabernacles.

This story also hints of the resurrection (awakening from death) with the foreshadowing language that they were heavy with "sleep". Here are the words of Luke 9:32: "But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him."

Following the events described by Luke which were witnessed by Peter, John and James, the Master also made a grand appointment just like the seventy at Sinai that were there with Moses and Aaron to dine with them and Aaron's two sons... The Lord, Yeshua (Jesus) likewise appointed seventy-two.

This is well worth repeating and critically important to understand in this context from Luke 10:1-3: "After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly [is] great, but the laborers [are] few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves."

After the future "ingathering" (harvest) of the saints in Jerusalem for THE fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles which is the marriage supper of the Lamb, the celebration will conclude at the end of the seventh day - the rest (Sabbath) of Messiah's 1,000 year Kingly reign over all the earth. We will then have the eighth day. That eighth day represents completion and marks the beginning of the New Jerusalem!

We are instructed us to do no work on this eighth day of Tabernacles, instead much like a wedding rehearsal, we are to rehearse for this great celebration following the wedding day, The Feast of Tabernacles!

We have to understand the eight day reference recorded in Luke 9:28 leads us straight to a greater understanding of Tabernacles...

"And it came to pass about eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray."

Luke clearly show us that this happened on that awesome eighth day of Tabernacles, almost 2,000 years ago!

It is critical that we realize that just before this eight day of Tabernacles nearly 2,000 years ago, Messiah fed the multitude of followers. They had supper with The Lord, another witness and foreshadowing of the great wedding feast of His people to come and a reflection of the great feast that occurred at the top of Mount Sinai. The feeding of the multitude of the 5,000 described in Luke chapter nine has significance to the Torah as well.

Like the 5,000, the five books of Torah in this story teaches us five truths:

1. There were five loaves of bread - there are five books of Torah!
2. There were two fish - we also have the Writings and the Prophets!
3. He blessed them and gave them to the disciples - He gave His words to the great men that recorded the Bible!
4. The multitude were filled - We are to read and study ALL of His word!
5. Twelve baskets of leftover fragments were taken up - the scattered twelve tribes of Israel will be regathered.

For more on the scattered twelve tribes see my post on the Lost Sheep Scriptures.

Luke 9:13-20: "But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets. And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist; but some [say], Elijah; and others [say], that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Messiah of God."

The great thing about this story from Luke is that out Messiah taught the crowd there in the town of Bethsaida. It is a small fishing village on the west shore of The Sea of Galilee, the home of Andrew, Peter, Philip and John. Bethsaida means "house of fish". When we understand Tabernacles we can also understand that His teaching there was also prophetic. Jesus (Yeshua) spoke to them "of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing".

As we have already shown, Zechariah tells us that Tabernacles and Messiah's teaching are inseparable. But this is well worth repeating:

"Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths." Zechariah 14:16

Isaiah too is talking of Messiah's teaching as He will certainly tabernacle here on earth with us: "It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord , to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, [Torah] and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Isaiah 2:2-3

The Feast Days are intertwined and tied to the Jubilees and God's calendar. This fall we will again celebrate Tabernacles with some great backyard camping.

Following that celebration time of the Feast Days of Tabernacles, I started thinking about what God told Noah before the judgment of the flood in Genesis 6:3:

"And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be "an hundred and twenty years."

You see the unique thing is that the word translated in every Bible I have as "year" is actually the Hebrew word "shaneh". Translating Hebrew, the word literally means "divisions of time". It is the same Hebrew word that is used in God's announcement of the Jubilee "year" in Leviticus 25:10.

Considering the flood judgement, like most I think that the 120 years is mentioned in connection with God’s patience wearing thin before His impending judgement by water. But as to man's timetable, I think that there is a solid tie to 120 Jubilees, not to individual human life spans... after all no one I know of lives to be a 120 years of age.

The great flood was possibly at the onset of a Jubilee, probably the 30th. That would make it 1,500 years after creation. Scholars vary a bit on some of the dates but most agree that a straightforward reading of the Bible indicates the "flood" must have taken place around 2500 BC.

The Exodus from Egypt (following the 10 judgments on Egypt) occurred around 1,500 BC, this would have been around the 50th Jubilee which means that the Sodom and Gomorrah judgement story would have occurred somewhere around the 40th Jubilee or 2,000 BC. Not surprisingly we see 40 as a time of judgement throughout Scripture.

Here's how Moses recorded God's instruction about the 50 year cycle of the Jubilee at what have very well been the 50th Jubilee:

Leviticus 25:8-10 "You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. "Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. "And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan."

Continuing on, the birth of Jesus would have been born about the 80th Jubilee. Luke records what he declared in His ministry from the synagogue in Galilee thirty years later:

Luke 4:18-19: "The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

He taught about the future of His Kingdom and the fulfillment of the meaning of Jubilee.

The Greek word “kai” καί is translated as: “and” in Revelation 14:12...
But did they (the translators) perhaps just miss something in the meaning of this word? It also means “indeed”...

“Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, [indeed] the faith of Yeshua.”

Indeed we are to walk like Yeshua walked.

If you'd like to learn more about the Feasts of God I can recommend a few great resources: 1. The Feasts Of The Lord God's Prophetic Calendar From Calvary To The Kingdom, 2. God's Appointed Times, and 3. A Family Guide to The Biblical Feasts and a real favorite is Israel's Feats and Their Fulness.

If you would like to hear an excellent teaching regarding the importance of returning to the times and seasons of The Lord, I'd recommend that you listen to this Fall Feast Message recorded on August 28, 2009 from Pastor Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries in Tacoma, Washington.

"For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying,"There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober." 1Thessalonians 5:2-6

The Fall Feast begins with the Day of Trumpets so consider this... what day is John calling The Lord’s Day?

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind {the Greek word is it mean behind as in time.. the same one that spoke in the beginning is the same One that is coming} me a great voice {the Greek word here is actually phōnē… yup it where we get the same word, in Greek it also means tone}, as of a trumpet. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega {in Hebrew Aleph & Tav which literally means “strength of the covenant}, the first and the last {nothing changes with God} Revelation 1:10

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, [Concerning] the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim [to be] holy convocations, [even] these [are] my feasts. These {Feast Days} [are] the feasts of the LORD, {wait, you mean they are not just Jewish feasts but for all Israel?} [even] holy convocations {a reading, calling together} , which you shall proclaim in their seasons. Leviticus 23:2;4

And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh {seven is God’s symbol number for completion… the end days} month, in the first [day] of the month {new moon}, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy {set apart} convocation. Ye shall do no servile work [therein]: but you shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD {Offering by fire? Yup, at the return, His judgment will be a consuming fire}. Leviticus 23:23

Paul tell us in Romans that Gentiles are grafted into the olive tree of His people, whose root is Messiah and God calls them Israel. Today, like yesterday, there is an identity crisis (Who is Israel?), but there is no difference between the Gentile and Jew that are grafted into the family of God, that is why He is called the God of Israel.

To be a fruitful part of the tree, the wild branch has to be grafted into the tree. When that happens the wild branch becomes a part of the tree, it is no longer separate and it gives fruit. The same was true in the exodus wilderness journey, the sojourners and those with them were grafted into the people, Israel. They all received the same covenant promise given Abraham. Israel is the identity that God YHVH gives those who are the chosen, the elect, the saints and the name that God chose to call His people. The new covenant we receive is that Torah (God’s word and teaching) will be in the minds and written on our hearts.

Romans is clear – those that are scattered and lost, can be adopted, grafted back in and be a part of the olive tree, God’s “People House”. To be grafted in gives the branch life in the tree, it receive it's life and gives its fruit, and that tree is all Israel. The Psalmist tells us:

But I [am] like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done [it]: and I will wait on thy name; for [it is] good before thy saints. Psalms 52:8-9

As a part of the tree, a part of the remnant by grace, we also need to be ready for the coming shaking, the fire, ready with lifted voice to glorify our God for the coming harvest in the day in which some will not be ready… our job is to tell them of the promise of grace.

Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Romans 11:5

A strong tree survives the harvest shaking, but it is needed for the harvest of the fruit. By no coincidence of God’s intent and creation, olive trees are harvested in the Autumn at the end of September matching with God’s fall feasts. By no coincidence, the only way to grow good olives is to graft in branches of other wild olive trees and the only way to harvest the fruit is by shaking the boughs of the whole tree. But remember, the expert harvester never bruises the fruit of the tree.

When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, [there shall be] as the shaking of an olive tree, [and] as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice {in Hebrew, qowl sound (of instrument)}, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, [even] the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea. Isaiah 24:13-15

The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, [and] of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken. Jeremiah 11:16

Today, "all Israel" both native and stranger must know their identity because understanding Israel as a people is a part of our mission, our goal is Israel’s full restoration, and it’s ALL about ONE House... one people united in Messiah, it is about the identity of the people God calls out to Himself. After all, “Israel” literally means God Prevails!

As we know, Paul told the Ephesian “gentiles”… you once were separate, excluded "strangers" from Messiah and the identity of none other than… Israel!

“Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles… remember that you were at that time separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” Ephesians 2:11-12

God recruits, He calls people into His commonwealth Kingdom under the very name He chose to give Jacob for His chosen, the whole family. We need to know He calls all believers, all that follow Him -- by the name “Israel” -- they are His chosen, both native and stranger! And Israel has a servant duty to be priests to all nations. To draw close to God and to spread the good news of His plan of salvation and redemption to all mankind.

Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin.

Ephesians 3:14-15 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named…

As noted above, for more on some of the heavenly events to be seen on the appointed Fall Feast Days of 2011, take a look at "Testimony of a Watchman".

Hosea told us About Bird and Fish Deaths… "at that day"

2011-09-15T19:52:00.015-05:00

We all saw the news earlier this year. Birds falling from the sky, fish washing up on the shores in the nations of the U.S., Haiti, Brazil, the UK, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Japan, Vietnam, Philippines and Taiwan.

You may have missed it while birds have been found dead from the West Nile virus this week in Los Angeles and now today: "Fears are increasing in Germany that blackbirds are being wiped out by a tropical disease, while tests are being conducted on a number of cadavers to try to find out why they died.

Reports of mass deaths of blackbirds through the Rhine-Neckar area of Germany have been gathering pace over the last few weeks, and on Wednesday the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, pointed the finger at the Usutu virus which comes from Africa.

“The find is alarming as the Usutu virus can also infect people,” said Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit, virologist at the Institute, although he stressed there was no known case of a person becoming infected with the virus in Germany."

Why?

Hosea told us...but are we listening? I am not sure. Since the 1970s, the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center in Wisconsin has tracked mass deaths among birds, fish and other animals. Until you probably did not know that. Global mass deaths are tracked as well on The Global Wildlife Disease News Map displays news articles from the Wildlife Disease News Digest.

In the past eight months, the USGS has logged 95 mass wildlife instant die-offs in North America and that's probably a dramatic undercount, according to the USGS. The list includes 900 some turkey vultures that seemed to drown and starve in the Florida Keys, 4,300 ducks killed in Minnesota, 1,500 salamanders in Idaho, 2,000 bats in Texas, and the still mysterious death of 2,750 sea birds in California.

On average, 163 such events are reported to the federal government each year, according to USGS records. And there have been much larger die-offs than the 3,000 blackbirds in Arkansas. Twice in the summer of 1996, more than 100,000 ducks died in Canada.

Do we know what is coming? Well, we should because God declares the end from the beginning.

“And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.” Genesis 15:14

The people of this nation and others have declared lies and deceit…. let’s outlaw prayer in school, speaking the name of our Savior, let’s replace the Bible with the false religion of evolution, let’s have our highest court legalize murder in our abortion clinics and let our lower courts make divorce commonplace. Let’s call it "pro-choice" and "a right to choose". Let’s give "tolerance" and embrace false gods and false prophets of many religions, let us separate God from our state. Let’s waste billions of dollars each year searching for the origins of life in space in our foolish attempt to promote the atheistic false religion of Darwin.

While we are at it, we might as well make the rule of the people as the days of Noah, so we approve the marriage of man to man, woman to woman and we teach in our schools that homosexuality is an acceptable life-style, one that you are free to choose.

And now some even say Jesus was ‘just a man’. They think that we can put God in a box and understand His mystery as Messiah Yeshua. Some proclaim that God did not remove the curse of death by the law He established, that the penalty that only He can overcome and reverse by His own perfect life and resurrection was done by a mere man. Because of love I am here to warn all about this great sin.

Turn your heart. God’s purpose in chastisement and tribulation is according to God’s own proclamation.

It has a divine purpose, to get us to a point of turning our hearts and our actions back towards Him and His word and to show us that we are to away from the sins that keep us from fellowship with Him. God often does this at a personal level with only minor chastisement.

But told Hosea warns us about this… that cities and the nations will come to their knees with devastating chastisement before they will give up their stubborn refusal to honor and worship him.

Anyone who has been through a traumatic experience because of the behavior of one of their children knows how stressful that can be. If your child committed a robbery or killed someone, as a parent it would affect you deeply and gravely. If you had ten children, but only one or two of them ever bothered to call you or visit you, the loneliness you might experience would hurt very much.

It is difficult to imagine what it must be like for our God to have to deal with a people, a ten-nation like ours. So the coming chastisement is something He will do to discipline those who He loves when they refuse to repent and return to Him. The following words come from Hosea. They have updates placed in them for what we are seeing today so that your eyes might be opened.

The verses are not labeled because you need to open the book of Hosea for yourself, study it and find these words and let them speak to you directly. {Inserts are mine.}

For the land has committed great whoredom, [departing] from YHVH. And it shall come to pass at that day, that you [are] not my people. [That you do not even know your name, your identity as my chosen or who I AM.] And I will cause all your religious joy to end, your own festival days, your Sunday sabbath, Easter and Christmas or imaginations.

But the two witnesses called out by Moses - heaven and earth will speak and it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, says YHVH, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth. [As for you, you are to] Hear the word of YHVH, you children of Israel; For YHVH has a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "Indeed there is no truth, Nor goodness, Nor knowledge of God in the land. There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery.

[Even] In the [Promised] land itself they break boundaries, and bloodshed [from terrorism] causes more bloodshed. {They think giving the heritage land I gave to them in a peace treaty is their solution.}

{Because of my love I will warn you of your sin} Therefore the land will mourn, And everyone who dwells therein will waste away. All living things in her, even the animals of the field and the birds of the sky; Yes, the fish of the sea also die.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because they have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you will not be a priest to me: seeing you’ve forgotten the Torah of your God, I will also forget your children. As they were increased, so they sinned against me: [therefore] will I change their glory into shame.

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hid from me: [but] Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I declare what is sure. [This will be at a time when] The representative leaders of the people of Judah have become like those who move a boundary; On them I will pour out My wrath like water.

[Then] they will then call out and say "Come, let us return to YHVH. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.” "He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him.”

[His identity is not seen in his own mirror because] Ephraim mixes himself with the nations; yet I will spread My net over them;

I will bring them down like the birds of the sky.

I will chastise them in accordance with the proclamation to their assembly. Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me.

Their princes [representative leaders of people] will fall by the sword Because of the insolence of their tongue.

"Put the shofar to your lips! Something like an eagle is over YHVH's house

Because they have broken my covenant, And rebelled against my Torah. They have set up kings, but not by me. They have made princes (leaders of people), and I didn't approve.

I wrote for him {Ephraim} the many things of my law [Torah]; But they were regarded as a strange thing {They strangely think it was hung on the cross.}

For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; And Judah has multiplied fortified cities; But I will send a fire on his cities, ....For you were unfaithful to your God. You love the wages…

What will you do in the day of solemn assembly, And in the [appointed judgment] day of the feast of YHVH?

[Their economy will collapse] Nettles will possess their pleasant things of silver. Thorns will be in their tents. The days of [punishment’s] visitation have come. The days of reckoning have come.

Israel will consider the prophet to be a fool, And the man who is inspired to be insane, Because of the abundance of your sins, And because your hostility is great. [But] A prophet watches over Ephraim with my God. A fowler's snare is on all of his paths, And hostility in the house of his God. {The opposition against the prophet to Ephraim will come from within}.

{What happened to Ephraim?} My God will cast them away, because they did not listen to him; And they will be wanderers among the nations. Their heart is divided. [What will happen?] Now they will be found guilty. They make promises, swearing falsely in making covenants [against God and the land]. Therefore judgment springs up like poisonous weeds. When it is my desire, I will chastise them; And the nations will be gathered against them, When they are bound to their double guilt.

{In this tribulation, this chastisement}, it is time to seek YHVH, Until he comes and rains righteousness on you. [Because] You have plowed wickedness. You have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, For you trusted in your way, in the multitude of your mighty men. {you trusted your military to protect you but they could not stop the chastisement}. Therefore a battle roar will arise among your people, And all your fortresses [systems] will be destroyed.... Though he flourishes among the reeds, an east wind will come, The wind of YHVH coming up from the wilderness; It will plunder his {Ephraim’s} treasury of every precious article {your debt based economy will fail}.

{So why the chastisement?}

Ephraim surrounds Me with lies and the house of Israel with deceit; Judah is also unruly against God, Even against the Holy One who is faithful. It is your destruction, O Israel, That you are against Me, against your help.. Where now is your king that he may save you in all your cities...

The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; His sin is stored up. The pains of childbirth come upon him....

{But there is a great promise after the slavery as in the days of bondage for Israel in Egypt…}

I will not execute the [complete] fierceness of my anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim: For I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of you; And I will not come in wrath.

{Like the days of the Exodus} They {Ephraim} will walk after YHVH, Who will roar like a lion; For he will roar, and the children will come trembling from the west. Return, O Israel, to YHVH your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

Take words [the Torah] with you and return to YHVH.... I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from them. Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways {the ways are God’s Torah, His teaching and instruction} of YHVH are right, And the righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them.

But God keeps His promises} it shall come to pass, [that] in the place {in Israel} where it was said unto them, You [are] not my people, [there] it shall be said unto them, [Ye are] the sons of the living God. {that place, that land is the promised land}. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land.

Therefore I will return, and [I will] to cover her {all Israel – Ephraim’s and Judah’s sin} nakedness. I will sow her [all Israel] unto me in the land; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to [them which were] not my people, Thou [art] my people. Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek YHVH their God, and David their king; and shall fear YHVH and his goodness in the latter days.

Did you see that? All the Children return in the latter days!

Exalted (YAHWEH)

2011-09-06T20:12:00.003-05:00

Thought that you would enjoy this song about the great name of the Exalted One that appears over 6000 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. While it takes the chorus a couple of minutes to get there it is worth the wait!!

Exalted (YAHWEH) is from Chris Tomlin.. may HIS name bless your day!

The lyrics to Exalted (YAHWEH) are:

Exalted, he is exalted
On high, he is exalted
Great is the Lord, let all the nations say
Exalted, he is exalted

Blessing and honor
Glory and power unto the Lord be praised
Sing with a chorus resounding before us
Holy is his name, his name

Exalted, he is exalted
On high, he is exalted
Great is the Lord, let all the nations say
Exalted, he is exalted

Blessing and honor
Glory and power unto the Lord be praised
Sing with a chorus resounding before us
Holy is his name

Blessing and honor
Glory and power unto the Lord be praised
Sing with a chorus resounding before us
Holy is his name, his name, his name

Yahweh, holy is your name
Yahweh, holy is your name
Yahweh, holy is your name
Yahweh, holy is your name

Blessing and honor
Glory and power unto the Lord be praised
Sing with a chorus resounding before us
Holy is your name

Blessing and honor
Glory and power unto the Lord be praised
Sing with a chorus resounding before us
Holy is your name, your name

Yahweh, Yahweh, holy is your name

Yahweh, holy is your name
Yahweh, holy is your name
Yahweh, holy is your name
Yahweh, holy is your name

Israel Palestinian Conflict: The Truth About the West Bank

2011-09-03T16:47:00.003-05:00

In case you did not know it... the "Mountains of Israel" are The West Bank!!

This website is based on my own "discovery" that the whole Bible is true and it is indeed unchanging, inspired and the inerrant Word of God. He is our Creator and Redeemer by which "all things are given to us pertaining to a set apart life and holiness" and we are to follow His teaching and instruction, His Torah, so forget tradition, seek truth and

...keep the instruction of The Lord your God, and walk in his ways.

Ezekiel 36:1-11 "And thou, son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say: Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.

Thus saith the Lord GOD: Because the enemy hath said against you:

Aha! even the ancient high places are ours in possession; therefore prophesy, and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD:

Because, even because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the rest of the nations, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and the evil report of the people; therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD:

Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains and to the hills, to the streams and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which are become a prey and derision to the residue of the nations that are round about; therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Surely in the fire of My jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the nations, and against all Edom, that have appointed My land unto themselves for a possession with the joy of all their heart, with disdain of soul, to cast it out for a prey; therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains and to the hills, to the streams and to the valleys:

Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and in My fury, because ye have borne the shame of the nations; therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: I have lifted up My hand: Surely the nations that are round about you, they shall bear their shame.

But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to My people Israel; for they are at hand to come.

For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown; and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded; and I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they shall increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited after your former estate, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings; and ye shall know that I am the LORD."

Ezekiel 37:22-28 "And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.

And David my servant [shall be] king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, [even] they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David [shall be] their prince for ever.

Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore."

For more truth as we come up on the anniversary of 9/11, please see my September 3rd update to Zechariah's Vision and the Quartet.

Do as The Disciples Did - Count the Omer!

2011-06-12T08:20:00.005-05:00

Pentecost is the appointed Feast Day of Shavuot, it is called The Feast of Weeks because God tells us to count weeks or Sabbaths from Passover. It is the 50th day of counting the Omer, the day after the 7th weekly Sabbath which first commerated the day of the giving of the Ten Commandments upon the firey mountain top at Sinai and the giving of the Spirit at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Do like the disciples, there was nothing to figure out after the fact, they knew our Savious ascended on the 40th day because they were counting the Omer days!!! Do the same and count the Omer days to June 8th which is Day 50 of the Omer Count. It is Pentecost/Shavuot Day!! It is the last spring holy day, the day of the giving of the Ten Commandments at the mountain of Sinai in the wilderness and the day of the indwelling of His Spirit at the Temple Mount in Jersualem.

The next Biblical Holiday will be in the fall, it is Rosh HaShanah, the Day of Trumpets.

But this Scripture Study is a about the importance of counting because a part of Passover is to participate in God's Biblical countdown to Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks. This important because Pentecost is one of the three major appointed days of God's Word. It is a day that God instructs us to not work so that we can gather before Him and present an offering to Him. It is the only appointed day that God asks His people to actually count up to.

The "big three" holy days also include Passover and Tabernacles. They are the days God instructed Israel to appear before Him at the Temple in Jerusalem. Thankfully today, many people are coming to realize the feasts are important to keep in order to demonstrate our love for God in the order and manner of worship He asks of us. After all, all Scripture is unchanging and written about the mystery of the revealing of the Messiah, in His word from Genesis to Revelation.

Across the world, thirsty souls are seeking the pure, pristine water from His rock and many are hungry and seeking nourishment from His unleavened bread of life. People from all walks and nations are now seeking to understand the importance of God's walk which includes honoring the appointments and His Biblical calendar. They are discovering that living by faith is not just a mental exercise, it is not a spiritual state of mind, they are coming to the truth - that there is more to walking in His Spirit-filled path of light.

Perhaps you like me me are learning that drawing nearer to the presence of God is indeed done by walking in the step and rhythm of our Creator just as He instructed us to in the annual appointed "cycle" of His eternal rehearsal days, His Feast Days so that we can "be near" at the appointed time in God's calendar.

Jesus the Messiah, the one whose Hebrew name is Yeshua (it means "Salvation") is the fulfillment of Passover (crucifixion), Unleavened Bread (grave) and First Fruits (resurrection).

As Genesis 1:14 says, the sun and moon were created for signs, appointed times, days and years. They are always in synch with His creation of greater and lesser light by His timepiece, the moon, in the 1st Biblical lunar month called Abib. Passover is always on the 14th day so the moon is always full, unleavened bread is the 15th day count and first fruits the 16th and the 7th day of the Passover week is a “High Sabbath” and always the 20th day of the Hebrew month.

It’s amazing that Messiah's appointed passion week matches His creation story. Day one light.. the light of the world was there on the tree for all to see, day two He separated the firmament, His body was behind the stone separated, day three the seeds and fruit burst forth just like the first fruits of Messiah rose to new life in resurrection.

Yeshua-Jesus is the "firstborn" through resurrection. We are first taught about the firstborn by the symbols seen in Exodus: 22:29: "Thou shalt not delay [to offer] the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me."

According to Random House Dictionary (2010) the definition of a "cycle" is:

1. any complete round or series of occurrences that repeats or is repeated.
2. a round of years or a recurring period of time, esp. one in which certain events or phenomena repeat themselves in the same order and at the same intervals.

Like the laws of physics God's word does not change. Physics defines a "cycle" as:

a. a sequence of changing states that, upon completion, produces a final state identical to the original one.
b. one of a succession of periodically recurring events.
c. a complete alteration in which a phenomenon attains a maximum and minimum value, returning to a final value equal to the original one.

Understanding this is important because Firstfruits is very special in the significance and "eternal" meaning of the Passover season of The Lord's appointed feast held "every" spring at the beginning of the grain harvest season. It is "always" observed on Nisan 17, which is the third day after Passover and the second day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Firstfruits is representative of the eternal cycle of the appointed time of thanksgiving for God’s provision and salvation. It is and will be THE fulfillment of the reality of the promise of our restoration to the original relationship that God intended for us. It may be well beyond our comprehension, but He will accomplish this through resurrection into eternal life.

Leviticus 23:9-14 institutes the symbol of resurrection through the instruction of the "firstfruits" offering described in the Bible. God instructed His people to bring a sheaf of grain to the priest, who would wave it before the Lord along with a burnt offering, a meal/grain offering, and a drink offering. The teaching of Deuteronomy 26:1-10 gives us even more information on this great day.

Our job is to seek understanding and truth.

The Scriptures constantly give us visible and physical symbols of our Creator's invisible spiritual truths that we can relate to from God's creation. The offering of the first fruits of the spring barley harvest represents the promise of God for eternal life and it leads to the Day of Shavuot or Pentecost and the first wheat harvest. Messiah Yeshua's resurrection is represented by the barley harvest of grain. Interestingly, agricultural history shows us that barley grain was the first known cultivated harvest grain. His followers and believers are represented by the fall wheat harvest of grain. Regretfully, their are unbelievers and their judgement will occur. This is represented by the pulling of the "tares" - the weedy grasses.

Incredibly, both barley and wheat contain the eight essential amino acids that are regarded as essential for human life! They are: phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, isoleucine, methionine, leucine, and lysine. In all of Scripture the number eight (8) signifies a new beginning and eternity.

According to BibleStudy.org "It is 7 plus 1. Hence it is the number specially associated with Resurrection and Regeneration, and the beginning of a new era or order."

Numbers are important in Scripture, so are the pure metals. In Scripture fifty equates with "deliverance" and silver represents "redemption". Have you ever noticed this?

And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD [some part] of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed [shall be valued] at fifty shekels of silver. Leviticus 27:16

Even the most obscure verse alludes to Messiah. Truly, God's word is amazing -every word has a meaning and purpose!!

The three symbols of the First Fruit offerings are: 1) a burnt offering = the crucifixion death, 2) a meal/grain offering = Messiah's body given as the unleavened bread of life, and 3) a drink offering = Messiah's life blood given as a covering and atonement for sin. But unlike the burnt sacrifice of a lamb or heifer, The Messiah lives as the First Fruits of eternal life. He has victory over death through his resurrection. By His own words we know:

I [am] he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Revelation 1:18

Just after His resurrection on the third day following Passover which is called First Fruits, we see some unusual instruction that is tied to Leviticus 23.

"Yeshua saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God." John 20:17

After Walking a few miles outside of Jerusalem, two disciples met the resurrected Yeshua whom they did not recognize in the physical glory and form of His resurrected body until He interpreted the ancient Scriptures for them in relation to the true understanding of just Who He really is hidden within the words and symbols of the Torah. The five scrolls penned by Moses that so many today call the Old Testament... the very Word and Bible Yeshua always read and taught from.

This "Word" is referred to as the bread of life. It is not "old" - and there's no mold!!

As soon as the two disciples understood the "Word" as told in the story recorded by Matthew says that they entered a home to have a meal, and with the giving of "the bread" and "meat" at the meal, they understood who He was as their eyes were "opened" to the "truth" which is the meaning of the symbols of the Scriptures.

I want to repeat the theme, "all" Scripture is full from the front cover to the back cover of the physical symbols for God's eternal spiritual truth. Truth from God that does not change, that cannot change because it is the very spoken word of the unchanging, eternal Creator. The Creator that describes Himself as the One that was, is ans will be. In the same way, the laws of physics that God created do not change, they cannot change. He does not change.

Think about it, if either the law of physics, which were spoken into existence by God at creation were to change or if the instruction of any word of God were to change, then the heavens, the earth and life itself would cease to exist. Think of it as sort of a reverse big bang if you will.

That is why Yeshua (Jesus) told all of us plainly about the truth of the Scriptures He taught from. The perfect One said:

"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." Matthew 5:18

The "Jot" is representative of the letter "Yod", which is the 10th and smallest letter of the Hebrew alephbet. It is also the smallest letter. The "tittle" is the small decorative spur or point on the upper edge of the yod.

The meaning of this passage is very clear and straightforward:

Not even the smallest Hebrew letter or even its decorative corner will ever disappear from God's own "spoken" Word until all is fulfilled. The point:

Nothing changes with God.

Only when heaven and earth are restored by a renewed heaven and earth will the Words of the Lord have accomplished their purpose and only then will His Word be fulfilled in every detail even to the very letter of every single word.

We can see this "revelation" described again in Revelation 21:1-7:

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, (the Aleph and Tav) the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.""

Here we see God's unchanging word is validated, His words are trustworthy and true. So, the way we are to understand and "see" the story of the road to Emmaus is:

Walking a few miles outside of Jerusalem, two disciples met the Master whom they did not recognize until He interpreted the Scriptures (the bread of life = Torah) for them in relation to the true understanding of Who He really is (meat = truth) hidden within the words and writings of the so-called "Old" Testament... the Bible Scriptures that He read and taught from. There is no mold they are not old.

The disciples then returned to Jerusalem and while they were announcing the resurrection, Yeshua (Jesus) appeared again and commissioned them to preach repentance and forgiveness to all. He told them to stay in Jerusalem "until you are clothed with power from on high".

His instruction to stay in Jerusalem matched the instruction of the 49 day counting of the omer. Have you ever wondered how the the disciples knew to gather on the Pentecost Day? Ir was the 50th day, THE day following the 7 weeks, the 49 days of counting the omer, THE day called Shavuot, THE day that had been celebrated for nearly fifteen hundred years by the people of Israel. That's why there were thousands gathered there in Jerusalem at the Temple listening to Peter. In fact, just as 3,000 of Israel died at the scene of the golden calf (Exodus 32:28); 3,000 were redeemed that great day (Acts 2:41-42) as they listened to the witnesses. In the same manner, the 12 "nations" of Israel and the sojourners with them gathered together to hear the voice of God declare the ten commandments from the fiery top of Mount Sinai. So too, the "nations" of people gathered at the Temple Mount to hear with one voice - the word of God as spoken by the disciples, each in the native languages (tongues) of the people that gathered in from nations. That is what "tongues" is all about. It was the gift given by the fire and Spirit of God so all men could hear the truth that day as Peter spoke on the Temple Mount.

Before this great day Our Savior told His disciples:

"And he said unto them, these [are] the words which I spoke to you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Torah of Moses, and [in] the prophets, and [in] the psalms, concerning me. Then he opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Messiah to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." Luke 24:44-49

This comes from the unchanging instruction given regarding determining the exact day of Pentecost which was first given some 1,500 years before His disciples would participate in its fulfillment of reality at Pentecost. Can you imagine what would have happened on this day which is known in Hebrew as Shavuot if the disciples had not counted the 49 days? No wonder God instructed that seven Sabbaths are is to be counted day by day to Shavuot, which is also called Pentecost.

Can you just imagine that they would have all missed the giving of His Spirit had the disciples started counting on Sunday rather than on God's Sabbath Day which is Saturday. They woulod have missed His gifts by a day. Why? His word is unchanging!

"And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath... Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord." Leviticus 23: 15-16

The book of Acts recounts the story of the counting of the Omer by the disciples to the day of Pentecost "when it was fully come":

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:8

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them." Acts 2:1-3

You need to know the Counting of the Omer covers THE jubilee of counting the forty nine day period of time until Shavuot (Pentecost) which is the 50th day. I think it is probable that the year of the death and resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus) occurred in 30AD. That year, synchronizing with Scripture, the weekly Sabbath and the 3rd day, the resurrection day was First Fruits.

Counting of the Omer is called Sefirat Ha'omer in Hebrew. It is the actual acknowledgement of counting seven Sabbaths and each of the forty-nine days between the appointed days of Passover and Shavuot. Shavuot or Pentecost as it is called by so many today is known as the Feast of Weeks. It is the Feast of the seven weeks of counting.

During the "Counting of the Omer", we are to "count" to the Feast of Shavuot and with each day of counting, we are actually participating in "adding to" the growing expectation and anticipation of what THE DAY we call Pentecost actually represents. At the Exodus time, it was His voice from the mountain giving His Torah, His wisdom as seen with the fire of Mount Sinai and at Messiah's time it was the giving of His blessings by His Spirit like a mighty wind as seen through the cloven tongues of fire.

“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

During the daily Counting of the Omer in times past, many have started their days by reading a verse from King David's Psalms 119.

Just imagine the previous 49 days in the life of the Israelites as they stood below Mount Sinai. They had come from from Egypt(which means confusion), they had seen the plagues and they made the sea crossing. Everyone had to be thinking about and anticipating the moment of their meeting at Sinai, the mountain of God. Can you just imagine that perhaps you too may be privileged to see the plagues (tribulation) and take the journey across the sea to Israel, to the Temple Mount across from the Mount of Olives to meet with The Lord at His return to the place of His name - Jerusalem?

Each day of counting has a special meaning. Just consider day five of the counting to Pentecost/Shavuot. In the Hebrew language, letters are also used to not only spell but to count. The alef-bet starts with 1) Aleph, 2) Bet 3) Gimel, 4) Dalet and 5) Hey. Hey = five.

The ה HEY, the 5th day's verses are: Psalms 119: 33-40. So give it a try reading the Psalm of David in a manner that we may each review and reflect on the condition of our lives and path of separation toward God.

HEY ה

Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes,
And I shall keep it to the end.
Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law;
Indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.
Incline my heart to Your testimonies,
And not to covetousness.
Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in Your way.
Establish Your word to Your servant,
Who is devoted to fearing You.
Turn away my reproach which I dread,
For Your judgments are good.
Behold, I long for Your precepts;
Revive me in Your righteousness.

Every year, every Passover, we are reminded of the greatest gift ever given to man--the gift of Salvation. In Hebrew that would be translated "the gift of Yeshua", the Hebrew name of Jesus. We are asked by God Himself to count the 49 days-and then we present ourselves ready for His Spirit by the tongues of fire on the 50th day, enabled to carry out His assignment to the ends of the earth!!

"And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Sabbath, from the day on which you bring the Omer offering, seven complete weeks they shall be; until the morrow of the seventh week, you shall count fifty days... And you shall proclaim that very day a holy festival" Leviticus 23:15-21

So teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom. Psalms 90:12

Read God's Word, listen to His voice alone and you will find the destination He wants to lead you to. Since the beginning, His words ARE unchanging AND true so... come out of Egypt, out of confusion, obey His voice and

Do as the Disciples Did - Count the Omer!!

But never simply take my word or anyone else's, get a second witness from the Scriptures. Open and study God's word and let it be your witness for truth.

Tradition?

2011-04-22T22:11:00.043-05:00

Have we unwittingly become just like the Pharisees?

But he answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? Matthew 15:3

Video by Richard Rives.

There is a redeemer. His name is a Jewish name. It is Yeshua, His name means "salvation" and He kept Passover, the feast of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits - not Easter... and taught His disciples to do the same.

And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. Matthew 26:18-20

After two days was [the feast of] the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put [him] to death. Mark 14:1

Over time, "tradition" has changed His Hebrew name and it became the Greek Iesous, now in English it is known traditionally as Jesus. But He will come and establish His Kingdom on the earth just as He left, as Yeshua. So let's return to Passover and skip the Easter bunny eggs.

Every knee will bow to Him, every tongue will recognize that He is Lord. He will keep His promises to Israel, and they will be literally fulfilled. The King will return to Zion and regather His people.

He wants us to be living in the manner to be ready for His return. To do that we must repent, we must return to do His ways, to walk in His light and path.

Type the term in for yourself and you will see that The Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, defines "Easter":

"mistranslated "Easter" in Acts 12:4, AV, denotes the Passover (RV). The phrase "after the Passover" signifies after the whole festival was at an end. The term "Easter" is not of Christian origin. It is another form of Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean goddess, the queen of heaven. The festival of Pasch held by Christians in post-apostolic times was a continuation of the Jewish feast, but was not instituted by Christ, nor was it connected with Lent. From this Pasch the pagan festival of "Easter" was quite distinct and was introduced into the apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt pagan festivals to Christianity" (W.E. Vine, 1940)

So imitate the Messiah, seek the truth and walk away from our traditions toward our Risen Saviour. One of the best ways to do that is to start by returning to keep the celebration of Passover, just as Yeshua taught His disciples. They did not have an Easter ham with hot cross buns at the Last Supper. They ate unleavened bread.

Passover was instituted forever. Paul understood this.

His instruction is found in I Corinthians 5:7-8:

“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth."

Rest assured, the gospel, the Good news is that Jesus the One who is Yeshua will return. How, then, should we live today? In His truth or by our tradition?

Let the countdown to the Feast of Weeks begin and recover from tradition, restore your identity.!

EGYPT: At the Crossroads of Prophecy

2011-02-27T23:00:00.032-06:00

Through thousands of years, Egypt has known many moments of transformation. The voices of the Egyptian people tell us that this is one of those moments; this is one of those times.

Before you read on you may want to read this primer, "The Burden of Egypt".

President Barack Hussein Obama – February 1, 2011

Egypt: This ancient nation, which is spoken in Hebrew as "Mitzrayim" and means “constricted” is linked forever in history and is a key part of the prophetic future of the people God calls -- Israel. Many may not understand Egypt’s future and key role in Biblical prophecy, perhaps it is because they do not know just “who” the commonwealth people of Israel really are.

Today, "all Israel" both native and stranger must know their identity because we are living in "Biblical Days", we are living out the words of prophetic Scripture and understanding the name of Israel is part of our mission today... it is about the identity of the people God calls to Himself. “Israel” literally it means “God Prevails”!

As we know, Paul told the Ephesians “gentiles”… you once were separate, excluded strangers from Messiah and the identity of none other than… Israel.

“Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles… remember that you were at that time separate from Messiah, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” Ephesians 2:11-12.

God recruits, He calls all people into His commonwealth Kingdom to follow Him as King under the name He chose to give Jacob for His chosen people. He calls all that would believe, all that would follow after Him through the wilderness -- “Israel” -- they are His chosen, both native and stranger. And Israel, as a set apart people, have a servant duty to be priests to all nations, to spread the good news of God’s plan of redemption for all mankind, and of His Kingdom. God wants us to know that when He speaks of “Israel” throughout His word, He speaks of “all” Israel and not just Judah. Otherwise, we are still somehow divided and avoiding each other as brothers in one family of God!

Just as today’s news reports that the restoration of Joseph’s tomb is completed in Israel, and that Zechariah’s tomb is discovered it is amazing to consider that the news on Egypt’s youth uprising against its dictatorial government shows us how one of God’s great prophetic mysteries will work itself out:

And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother and every one against his neighbor; city against city, [and] kingdom against kingdom. Isaiah 19:2

Regarding Egypt, there are three historic and prophetic national keys. Two other nations are needed to understand what is happening in Egypt: these are 1) Iran and 2) Iraq.

But first consider the prophetic events that will soon follow this uprising in Egypt:

And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord, the LORD of hosts. Isaiah 19:4

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Update December 24, 2011: AP reports: Egypt Islamists continue gains in 2nd round vote

"CAIRO (AP) -- Islamist parties have consolidated earlier gains in Egypt's multistage parliamentary elections, winning nearly 70 percent of the seats determined so far, according to results announced Saturday."

Update September 17, 2011: News Analysis from the New York Times:

Tumult of Arab Spring Prompts Worries in Washington

“We’re facing an Arab awakening that nobody could have imagined and few predicted just a few years ago,” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a recent interview with reporters and editors of The New York Times. “And it’s sweeping aside a lot of the old preconceptions.”

“The region has come unglued,” said Robert Malley, a senior analyst in Washington for the International Crisis Group. “And all the tools the United States has marshaled in the past are no longer as effective.”

“In the case of Egypt, the administration has promised millions of dollars in aid to support a democratic transition, only to see the military council ruling the country object to how and where it is spent, according to two administration officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic matters. The objection echoed similar ones that came from Mr. Mubarak’s government. The government and the political parties vying for support before new elections there have also intensified anti-American talk. The officials privately warned of the emergence of an outwardly hostile government, dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood and remnants of Mr. Mubarak’s party.

The upheaval in Egypt has even raised the prospect that it might break its Camp David peace treaty with Israel, with Egypt’s prime minister, Essam Sharaf, telling a Turkish television channel last week that the deal was “not a sacred thing and is always open to discussion.””