To refresh, in our class Wednesday night, Beth Moore spent the majority of time talking about how songs (or psalms) are the language our souls speak. She gave several illustrations of how God uses songs and singing as a way of expressing Himself and she notes that Jesus and the disciples sang psalms in Matthew 26:30 after Jesus had instituted the Lord's Supper during the Last Supper. In following the trails through the psalms and how they related to Hezekiah, I had my Psalms of Ascent workbook open and noticed where I had written this in my workbook. So, since I was on a roll (lol), I decided to check out Matthew 26:30. 

I was glad I was sitting in the floor, because I probably would have ended up there anyway.  It was definitely another Duh! moment.  Guess what the title at the top of the page was? 

JESUS CELEBRATES PASSOVER WITH HIS DISCIPLES

Whoa. 

Duh!  Jesus was in Jerusalem because of Passover! 

It gets better.

I flipped back a few chapters to Matthew 21, The Triumphal Entry.  Verses 8-11 (NKJV) say:

And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then they multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying;

"Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Hosanna in the highest!"

And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

Jesus arrives in Jerusalem and enters the city with other Passover pilgrims.  He and the disciples - along with these "multitudes" - were probably singing the Psalms of Ascent on the journey to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem. 

I flipped back to Matthew 26, and the first verse under the "Jesus Celebrates Passover with His Disciples" heading was was verse 17.

Now on the first day of the Feast of the Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"

That one verse knocked me completely for a loop.  I had just finished refreshing my mind about the origins of the Passover.  Again, Passover marks the time when God “passed over” all the houses marked with the blood of a lamb without blemish (Exodus 12:5) when the Israelites were in Egypt.  Jesus did not come to Jerusalem to eat the Passover.  JESUS CAME TO JERUSALEM TO BE THE PASSOVER.  The disciples STILL didn't get what was about to happen.  This was the day of the ULTIMATE passover. 

Don't forget that in Jewish culture, day went from sundown to sundown.  So this "day" started around 6:00 pm or so.  All these things - from the eating of the Passover supper through the crucifixion (Matthew 26:20 - 27:56) - happened during the period of this one day.

What immediately followed Passover?  The Feast of Unleavened Bread.  What did the Feast of Unleavened Bread mark?  When the Lord freed Israel from bondage in Egypt as a result of the deaths of the firstborn in all the houses of Egypt that were not marked by the blood of the lamb.  What did Jesus do when He, the only begotten, and therefore firstborn Son of God, became our Passover lamb without blemish?  Freed us from the bondage of sin.

Double whoa.

It gets BETTER.

During our class video, Beth had made the statement that, specifically, the psalm they probably would have ended the supper with, before going out of the upper room and immediately to the Mount of Olives and Jesus' arrest, was Psalm 118. 

I flipped over to Psalm 118 and promptly FLIPPED OUT.  Just image JESUS and the disciples singing THIS (all bold emphasis and bold caps mine):

1 - Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.

6 - The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?  (Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised up." - Matthew 17:22-23)

13 - You pushed me violently, that I might fall, but the LORD helped me.  ("Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands" - Matthew 26:67)

14 - The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation.

15 - The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous; the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.  (Where did Jesus ascend to?  The right hand of the Father. - Matthew 26: (!!!) 64).

16 - The right hand of the LORD is exalted; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.

17 - I SHALL NOT DIE, BUT LIVE, and declare the works of the LORD.  ("He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.  Come, see the place where the Lord lay." - Matthew 28:6)

18 - The LORD has chastened me severely, but He has not given me over to death.  ("Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples - and Peter - that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you." - Mark 16:6-7)

19 - Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them.

20 - THIS is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter. (Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. - John 14:6)

21 - I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation.  (Then He said to them, "Thus is is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." - Luke 24:46-47)

22 - The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. (Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘ The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? - Matthew 21:42) ("let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:10-12)

23 - This was the LORD's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.

24 - THIS is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.  (I know, again, the psalmist did not intend any other meaning when writing this verse, but, WOW!  In the context of Jesus and the disciples singing THIS VERSE on the eve of the CRUCIFIXION?  Whoa.  And it is SO true.  THAT day was the day all creation had been moving toward since the fall in the garden.  I'm sure the angels were belting this one out!)

25 - Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.

26 - BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!   We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.  (Matthew 21:8-11 - See above.) 

27 - God is the LORD, And He has given us LIGHT; BIND THE SACRIFICE WITH CORDS to the horns of the altar. (Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” - John 8:12)

28 - YOU ARE MY GOD, AND i WILL PRAISE YOU; YOU ARE MY GOD, I WILL EXALT YOU.

29 - OH, GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HE IS GOOD!  FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER.

Great googly-moogly.

I have posted earlier about how I have been praying for insight and deeper understanding during this study. I hesitate to use words or phrases like "God showed me" this or "God told me to do" such and such. They are so overused in our Christian culture. I get the image of God sitting next to me on a couch and pointing out things with His finger. That's so not how it works. At least not for me. lol That would be MUCH easier. In fact, I will be totally honest. I tend to roll my eyes when I hear people used those phrases - most people anyway. If Billy Graham said that God had shown him something or told him something, I would TOTALLY believe him. :) The cranky co-worker who spends the majority of her time gossiping about others? Not so much.

At the same time, I don't want to use phrases like "I" found or "I" discovered, because "I" didn't. I really don't know of any other words to use, though, so I will probably stick with talking about connections I have made.

Anyway, I believe that God can cause little thoughts to pop into our minds and make us remember snippets of passages we have heard in the past that we hadn't thought of in years, or even thought of once since hearing it. This is what happens for me, anyway. I will be reading a passage or an explanation of a passage, and something will just pop into my head. Whether God actually sticks the thought in there in that precise moment or just enables the brain He blessed me with to wake up enough to remember something I once heard or read is irrelevant. The point is the connection gets made. And the key to making the connections is to actually pick up the Word and look for them.

So, last night was our weekly class time for Psalms of Ascent. We had just finished our first week of study. We had completed Psalm 120, 121, and the first of two lessons on 122 - the one that tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I posted about some connections found as a result of verses 5 and 6 in my previous entry. And, honestly, I thought I was done with that one and ready to finish the final lesson on it and move on. Apparently, there was much more to discover.

In the video that accompanied this week's meeting, Beth spent the majority of time talking about how songs (or psalms) are the language our souls speak. She gave several illustrations of how God uses songs and singing as a way of expressing Himself and she notes that Jesus and the disciples sang psalms in Matthew 26:30. But we will get to that in another post. ;)

So I come home from our Wednesday night meeting and decide that I have just enough time to read a few chapters in my "read through the Bible in some such length of time" plan. I am in 2 Chronicles. Last night I was on Chapter 30. The title at the top of this chapter in my Bible (I was reading out of the NIV this time) - Hezekiah Celebrates the Passover.

Basically, the Israelites hadn't celebrated the Passover in a long time, so Hezekiah sent word throughout all Judah and Israel for everyone to come to Jerusalem and observe the Passover.

What's the big deal? I didn't realize it either until I started reading. Verse 21 practically jumped off the page.

21 The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great rejoicing, while the Levites and priests sang to the LORD every day, accompanied by the LORD's instruments of praise.

I realized that Passover and the Feast of Unleaved Bread were connected.  We started our study in the Psalms of Ascent by learning about the background for these Psalms. They were sung by Jews as they made the pilgrimage from their homes to Jerusalem, mainly during the Three Great Feasts, the first of which was the Feast of Unleavened Bread. All the people who traveled to Jerusalem for this feast were probably singing the Psalms of Ascent on their journeys.  Passover occurs the night before the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins.  Passover, of course, marks the time when God "passed over" all the houses marked with the blood of a lamb without blemish (Exodus 12:5) when the Israelites were in Egypt.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread was instituted the following day after Pharoah let the Israelites go in response to the 10th plague - the death of the firstborn - as a remembrance for when the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 13).  More on that later, too.  (See Wikipedia for more info on these feasts.)

So, I stopped and went back and re-read the chapter from the beginning, more slowly this time. Two other sections of the passage struck me. The first is in verses 18-20.

18 Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone

19 who sets his heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of his fathers—even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary."

20 And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

Passover was instituted in Exodus 12 prior to the plague of the death of the firstborn.  Passover regulations were given by God in verses 43 - 49.   If you have ever read the laws in Leviticus, you will realize how extraordinary this was.  If you didn't keep the law, you could not be reconciled to God.  There were very strict rules as to who could and could not participate in the feasts and why.  This passage tell us many of the people were unclean, but had partaken anyway.  That was a HUGE no-no.   Hezekiah interceded on their behalf and prayed for God to forgive those who were seeking Him with their hearts.  And God healed the people.  He did what they could not do or had not done for themselves.   Sound familiar?  This is a pre-Christ instance of God reconciling the people to Himself outside the letter of the law.  God, by grace, reconciled the people despite their disobedience to the law.  It is a picture of what He would do for all of us through Christ.

Just a little more background on Psalm 122 before I get to what struck me next. In doing my homework lesson for Psalm 122 on Tuesday night, Beth also pointed out Ephesians 2:11-22 and asked us how it paralleled this Psalm, paying specific attention to mention of "aliens" or "foreigners." Psalm 122:3-4 says:

3 Jerusalem, built as a city [should be],
solidly joined together,

4 where the tribes, the tribes of the LORD, go up
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
(This is an ordinance for Israel.)

Ephesians 2:11-14 says:

Ephesians 2:11-22 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Unity in Christ

11 So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called "the uncircumcised" by those called "the circumcised," done by hand in the flesh.

12 At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, with no hope and without God in the world.

13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.

14 For He is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility.

So her point was that before Christ, the "peace of Jerusalem," we were alienated from God. But through Christ, we have become part of the family and now have hope, via the grace of God. That was cool, but I was so caught up in my "discovery" that Jesus was the Peace of Jerusalem (duh!) that I couldn't grasp this other connection (I'm getting there - I promise) at the same time. So God waited another day to slap me in the face with it. lol

Back to II Chronicles 30.  Verses 25-27 say:

2 Chronicles 30:25-27 (New International Version)

 25 The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and all who had assembled from Israel, including the aliens who had come from Israel and those who lived in Judah.

26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem.

27 The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.

Source:

The Lord's Supper is an important part of worship in the Christian church and it is referred to by a number of different titles. It is called the Eucharist, the breaking of bread, the last supper, and its more commonly known reference, is that of Communion. The denomination one belongs to determines when the Lord's Supper is observed. The times range from once a month, to once every week In examining the scriptures, one will find that the event Christians observe which they call communion is actuality the Passover, and it should be observed once a year.

A FEAST OF THE LORD The following verses show that Jesus and His disciples, by observing the Passover, were directly obeying a commandment of God.

(Leviticus 23:1) And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, (2) 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 (4) These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. (5) In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover.

One should take note of the fact that verse (2) and (4) point out that these feasts are feasts of the Lord. Contrary to popular belief, the Passover does not belong to any particular group of people. As indicated by scripture, the Passover belongs to the Lord for it is the Lord's Passover.

DISCIPLES PREPARE FOR THE PASSOVER The verses in Leviticus show why Jesus and His disciples observed the Passover. Next the following verses, taken from the book of Luke, will clearly show, that the meal, which Jesus and His disciples were partaking of, was that of the Passover.

Jesus required of His disciples to go and prepare a place for the Passover.

Luke (22:8) And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat.

This verse makes it clear, that Jesus is instructing His disciples, to go and acquire a place, so they could observe the Passover and partake in the Passover meal. (9) And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? (10) And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in. (11) And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the quest chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples?

The following scriptures will show that Jesus died on the Passover day, which He had to in order to adhere to the commandment, which states that the sacrificial lamb, must be killed on the evening of the Passover.

First, Jesus tells us in Matthew that He will be crucified on the Passover. (Matthew 26:1) Ye know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. At verse (21) Jesus while eating the passover meal, with His disciples ,told them, that one of them would betray Him. In the Gospel of John (21-29) you will find that the disciples were unaware what Judas was about to do, even though Jesus told the disciples, that He was to be betrayed, and Jesus said to Judas, to do what he had to do quickly. They thought Jesus was sending Judas to buy something, since Judas held the money bag. Now Jesus identified His betrayer by giving him sop. Pay close attention to when the activities of the following verse took place.

John (13:30) He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.

When Judas betrayed Jesus it was at night, the evening of the Passover. The following verses from John further confirm that Jesus was taken the night of the Passover. Note in verse (3) when they came looking for Jesus, they came with lanterns and torches, letting you know that it was still nighttime. John (18:3) Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus is going to address those looking for Him and you will see that Judas is with them, letting you know that this all happens the night of the Passover.

(4) Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? (5) They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.

The following verses also show that Jesus was crucified on the Passover. The first verse states that while they had Jesus, the Jews did not want go into the judgment hall because its still the Passover.

In the following verses it states that Pilate was conscious of the Jews custom, and would release unto the Jews a prisoner at Passover. We know that the Jews selected Barabbas to be released. This left Jesus to be crucified and by now one should realize this is still the Passover.

John (18:38) Pilate saith unto him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. (39) But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto the King of the Jews? (40) Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas, Now Barabbas was a robber.

The following verses will still yet further confirm that Jesus was crucified on the Passover. Note verse (14) states it was the preparation of the Passover. The Passover is at times also referred to as the day of preparation, because it is the day before the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

John (19:1) Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. (2) And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe. (14) And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the “Jews, Behold your King!” (16) Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.

IT IS STILL THE PASSOVER Here we will examine where the different denominations came up with the various titles they use to replace the Lord's Passover.

The Lord's Supper I Corinthians (11:20) When you come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper.  Paul in the above verse made a reference to the Passover by referring to it as the Lord's supper. If one looks at verse (11:23) they will clearly see that Paul is talking about the Passover. The following verse shows what Paul is talking about when he speaks of not eating the Lord's supper. Exodus (12:11) And thus shall ye eat it; with your lions girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord's passover.

What are you eating in the above verse? You are eating the Passover meal. Paul just substituted the word supper in place of passover. This is hardly enough for anyone to do away with God's commandment of observing the Passover and adopting a tradition of observing the Lord's supper. In addition verse (11:20) is the only time a reference is made using the term the Lord's supper in the bible.

Communion Here again we have people taking Paul's writing and coming up with their own doctrine. Some churches refer to the Passover as communion. They get this from the following verse.

I Corinthians (10:16) The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

We see that this verse is talking about the Passover where Christ instructed His disciples to take of the cup and bread. The word communion simply means to share. Paul instead of saying is it not the sharing of the blood of Christ, substituted in the word communion. Communion is used in                    II Corinthians (6:14) where it states and what communion hath light with darkness? I pointed this out to show that communion and sharing have the same meaning. Again how does one not obey God's commandment concerning the Passover? yet observe the practice of having communion. You can not find in the bible where it says observe the Lord's communion.

The Last Supper The term the Last supper comes from the fact that Jesus stated to His disciples this will be the last time He will eat with them until the kingdom of God comes. But that does not take away from the fact that it was the Passover meal they were observing. Also, Jesus did eat after the passover: Luke 24 41 And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? 42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. 43 And he took it, and did eat before them.

Eucharist My only comment on the Eucharist, is that the term itself is not found in the bible. That in itself should convey something to the reader.

The bible was written with specific guidelines and rules for man to follow. Churches have come up with their own doctrine and if one takes the time to research the scriptures, they will find that a lot of the practices that churches have implemented are not supported by the bible. Yet these same institutions will teach, that people do not have to follow the commandments of the bible.

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 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.

 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

 5 When Jesus then lifted up [his] eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

I have always read this verse from the miracle perspective.  Here is another view.  What Christ say the great company, he thought “we need to feed these people.”   He cared about their needs.

 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him,

 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

We are always so worried about our temporal needs.  Christ tried to teach people to have perspective on what matters.  It isn’t the temporal things.  All that matters is teaching the gospel and helping people to find the truth.  God easily took care of the temporal needs of the people at this time.

 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

 13 Therefore they gathered [them] together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

 15  When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

Christ didn’t want to become king.  That was furthest from his mind.  He desired with all of his heart to do the will of God.

 16 And when even was [now] come, his disciples went down unto the sea,

 17 And entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come to them.

 18 And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blew.

 19 So when they had rowed about five and twenty or thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.

Christ’s knowledge of all truth must have been profound.  He somehow knew enough and/or had enough faith that he could defy gravity and walk upon the waters.   No worries.  Let’s focus on what matters most.  He didn’t perform this miracle to show off.   The circumstances required this miracle. 

 20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid.

 21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.

 22  The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but [that] his disciples were gone away alone;

 23 (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:)

 24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus.

 25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?

 26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.

 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Jesus wasn’t interested in discussing the miracle.  That would be a distraction.  He taught them what they needed most.   “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but the meat which endureth unto everlasting life” 

 28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

 30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?

 31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

 32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.

 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.

 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.

 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

 36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

 37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

The people had asked for a sign.   They mentioned that Moses had given them manna.  Christ corrected them and said the manna came from God the Father.  The word of God is true manna from God.  Christ is true manna or the word.   Christ was the witness.   

38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

This verse has had me thinking for a few days.  God honors our free agency as witnessed by the war in heaven.   As parents, we are admonished to love our children, to teach them, to hold them accountability, and to love them and honor their dignity.  We should honor their free agency. 

In the pre-earth life, we fought for God and his plan.  Satan’s plan was forced compliance.  God’s was agency.  Christ he would carry out God’s plan and would give him all the glory.  Christ repeats frequently that he came to do the will of God and not his.   

On an individual basis what should we do? 

39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

What the Father wills is stated here.  Those that believe in Christ will have eternal life (eternal  life with God and Christ) and be resurrected.  God empowered Christ because of Christ and his words and actions.  To believe is to feel and do.  God does desire to give us all he has. 

 41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.

 42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?

 43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.

 44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

 45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

 46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.

 47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

 48 I am that bread of life.

Christ is the representative of the Father.  He has the source of strength, of power, of righteousness.

 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

 50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.

 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

 52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?

 53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

 54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

 55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

 58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

 59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

 60  Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard [this], said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?

 62 [What] and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?

 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.

 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

 66 From that [time] many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

The teaching that Christ’s words are the source of knowledge and truth needed to give us eternal life offended some of the disciples.  Perhaps they thought Christ was inappropriately elevating himself.  Christ spoke the truth.  Do people today know where they can get truth?  Are they willing to be open?

 67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?

 68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

 69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

 70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?

 71 He spake of Judas Iscariot [the son] of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.

I have reworded and updated a previous post on this subject due to some interest by others wanting to know if there was an all-encompassing book on Jewish customs (including days of the week, months, traditions and rituals, holidays, etc.). It is a book I totally advocate, and one that includes the entire Jewish year. With the Jewish High Holy Days almost upon us, The Book of Customs is an excellent resource to have by your side.

The Book of Customs: A Complete Handbook for the Jewish Year , by Scott-Martin Kosofsky, is based upon the 1645 edition of the "Minhogimbukh", which was an illustrated book of customs that was written in Yiddish. The history behind this book is intense and incredible, in itself. As the title implies, this book encompasses the customs within the entire Jewish year.

I purchased The Book of Customs almost two years ago, and am glad that I did. I find it to be an excellent resource, and one that defines the traditions of Judaism quite well. From Jewish customs and celebrations to holidays, this is a book that has been researched and written with accuracy. It is filled with in-depth information regarding daily life, days of the week, monthly calendars, explanations of holidays, monthly festivals/celebrations, seasonal holidays, life events - such as births, marriages, and so much more. The woodcuts inside the book add to the effectiveness on the information included, and the illustrations are instructional within themselves.

This paragraph from the Harper Collins website gives more detail about The Book of Customs:

"There are no works quite like the historical customs books available today and none so thorough and concise, intuitive in organization, and beautiful. Inspired by the originals, Kosofsky set out to make his own, adapting the books for modern use, adding historical perspective and contemporary application. The result is the reappearance of the Minhogimbukh after more than a hundred-year absence, and the first complete showing of all the original woodcuts -- a visual vocabulary of Jewish life -- since the 1760s."

Scott-Martin Kosofsky dedicated his energies to thoroughly researching the history and aspects of the Minhogimgukh in order to bring accuracy to his own book. The Book of Customs, by Scott-Martin Kosofsky, is a terrific reference for those who need a little more knowledge regarding Judaism, Jewish traditions, customs, mores and even for those who think they understand everything about Judaism. I highly recommend it for families to read together, and for them to incorporate the text of traditions and customs into their own family's lives. The Book of Customs is an updated, incredible, historical, all-inclusive, concise resource that belongs in every Jewish home, library, school, university, etc.

I personally own and have read this book, and continually refer back to it.

~~~~~~

Jew Wishes...Peace to you all.
© Copyright 2007 - All Rights Reserved - No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography, book reviews, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my expresss written consent/permission.

John 6:1-14

After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Seaof Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were  diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Observation

Thousands of people were following Jesus to see the miracles He would be performing next. He and His disciples sat "up on the mountain". It was apparently worth noting that this event took place near the time of the Passover. Jesus, looking at the thousands of people, asked a disciple how the crowd should be fed (Jesus tests us!?!?). Philip responds with unbelief. Andrew speaks up with a little bit of faith, saying that there is food, but nowhere near enough. Jesus then demonstrates how Jehovah Jireh provides every need that we have. He takes the little bit that they had, thanked His father for it, and began distributing it among His disciples. They then began distributing it among the multitude, and the thousand ate until they "were filled". After the feasting, Jesus told the disciples to gather all of the remaining food "so that nothing is lost" (was Jesus a recycler). There were twelve basketfuls of food left over, which could have possibly been one basket for each disciple. The people all marveled at the work of Christ and declared that he must be the foretold Prophet that they had been waiting for.

Application

This is a story that I have heard from the time that I was very young in Sunday School, and for some reason it is still hard for me to get it through my thick skull that Jesus can and wants to meet every need that I have. Every two weeks I find myself seeing my paycheck disappear the minute that it arrives. I need to meditate on this Scripture and allow my faith to rise to that of Christ's faith. I need to be grateful for the "little bit" that we do have in my family, and give it to the Lord. I know that He will meed our every need, with a super abundance of leftovers to give to others.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank You for all of the many blessings that You have poured out into my life. I have been blessed beyond measure with my family. I am very happy with so many things in my life. I know that you are aware of the struggle that we wrestle with financially, though. Please help us to be better stewards of what You have given to us, and I also pray that You would open doors for me to advance my career. I have gone through interviews over the last couple of months for a position, and will find out in the morning if I got the job or not. I pray that if there is any way for this to be in Your Will that it would be done. I am not viewed by many to be "the one" that should get the job, so I am placing it in Your hands. I know that You have what's best for our family, and am believing for Your favor in our lives. I proclaim that You are Jehovah Jireh in our household! Amen.

JESUS COMING IN THE FLESH

The Antichrist is when someone puts a false christ in place of Jesus Christ. The Apostles John, Jude, Peter and Paul give us a test to know the Antichrist. Those who deny that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh are Antichrist. (I John 4:2,3 and II John 1:7)

What does Jesus Christ “coming in the flesh” mean? One thing only. It means Jesus Christ has come of the seed of Abraham as an ISRAELITE in the land of Israel to bless the world through the seed of Abraham and the house of David, to fulfil the law of Moses. To confirm the covenant with the seed of Abraham, which Moses confirmed, in the house of David.

Now, the question is, who deny this? They are Antichrist.

1. All who deny that Jesus Christ was the Passover lamb which Moses instituted, according to the timing of the HEBREW CALENDAR.

2. All who make another person, whether flesh or not, who they also call Jesus, to be the Christ.

THIS IS NOT JESUS

This Is Not Jesus

HOW MANY HEBREWS HAVE GINGER/LIGHT BROWN HAIR? THIS IS NOT A PICTURE OF A HEBREW.

These are certain men who have crept in unawares into the church, Jude 1:4 and II Peter 2:1, and according to Apostle Paul read II Thess 2:3-5 and Acts 20:29-31. As it all began with the serpent when EVE taught ADAM to eat, and wanted equal standing with the man (which was the beginning of fornication), so it always begins with FORNICATION. Revelation shows this in the WHORE Babylon (Rev 17), who is the heart of the Antichrist. It happens today also when the woman Mary is exalted above the man Jesus in the Roman Catholic church. Not just in the Roman Catholic Church, but also whenever Jesus is denied as the Passover Lamb, and another Jesus is worshipped in his place, THEN it is the Antichrist, as we shall see below.

WHO IS THE OTHER JESUS?

So who is the other Jesus who died on a Friday and who was raised on a Sunday? Easter Sunday is always the first Sunday after the full moon after the spring equinox. The timing of Easter came from moon worship. Easter is actually about another person who was “sacrificed” and supposedly rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. His name is Tammuz. He was the son of Ishtar, and Ishtar is the moon goddess.

You see, Easter is a western pronunciation of Ishtar, who is Venus or the moon goddess. Ishtar had a son, whose name was Tammuz. The Holy Bible witnesses this time of Ishtar and Tammuz worship

Ezekiel 8:14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

They are weeping for Ishtar’s son who died on a Friday. You can see how this can be easily confused with women weeping for Mary’s son, Jesus. BUT it is not the same event, and not the same person:

Luke 23:27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. 28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

They are weeping for the wrong person. Jesus told them to weep for themselves. They are now weeping for Ishtar’s son. Do you think he knew they would turn it into an abomination, weeping for Tammuz? Ishtar is the Madonna in the Roman Catholic church, sometimes mistaken as Mary. And Roman Catholics make the sign of a “T” when they make the sign of the cross on their chests. “T” stands for Tammuz. But so many people think it is a holy thing to make the sign of the cross.

So the other Jesus is Ishtar’s son, otherwise known as TAMMUZ.

GOD HAS NO MOTHER

Celebration of Easter is worship of Ishtar. And worship of Ishtar is worship of the mother of God. But Ishtar is not the mother of God!

The event we call Easter is not actually about Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ did not die on a Friday and he was not raised from the dead on a Sunday. Jesus Christ was crucified THE DAY BEFORE THE YEARLY PASSOVER, which happened to be a Wednesday on that year, not the day before the weekly Sabbath, a Friday. Of course not. He is the PASSOVER lamb. And Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead on Easter Sunday, which is only 1 ½ days after “Good Friday”. He rose from the dead on a Saturday evening.

In case you are wondering why the Bible says in Mark 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. you need to understand that according the Hebrew calendar, the day begins at nightfall, so this would be Saturday evening at approximately 6pm. Originally, midnight was not the beginning of the day. Further confusion arises when a person does not know that “Sabbath” could mean ANY HOLY DAY which is a day of rest, including the Passover.

John 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

Easter rejects the Passover Lamb Jesus Christ, and WORSHIPS TAMMUZ in place of the real Jesus.

JESUS DID NOT DIE ON A CROSS, BUT ON A STAKE

If Jesus hung on a cross, the force on his arms would be too great to hold together, if his arms are at a 30 or less degree angle to the horizontal, the force pulling his arms apart and pulling through the nails is 2-4x what it would be if his arms were vertical. Therefore from a physical point of view, crosses would never be used in crucifixion. Only stakes. Because of the problem of supporting the weight of the body on a cross, some movie makers use ropes to support the arms when filming Christ on a cross.

As for the death resulting from being nailed up, the most popular thought is that Christ would die of suffocation/asphyxiation. According to Frederick T. Zugibe, adjunct associate professor of pathology at Colombia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, he performed extensive experiments to test this theory. These experiments show that a man on a cross would NOT suffocate to death, even when the body was unsupported by anything else. By way of comparison, Hermann Moedder, a doctor of radiology from Austria, carried out an experiment in the 1940’s in Cologne, Germany, with medical students. He strapped them with their wrists directly above their heads Within minutes the students grew pale, their lung capacity and blood pressure dropped significantly, and their pulse rates increased. Moedder concluded suffocation would occur in minutes if they were not able to stand and rest.

The Cross was adopted in an attempt to make Christianity more familiar and “friendly” to the pagan converts. Which Pagan religion would this be? The shape of the Cross had its origin in ancient Chaldea (Babylon), and was used as the symbol of the god Tammuz (being in the shape of the mystic Tau, the initial of his name). The cross had further uses especially in Egypt. It represents the Tree of Life, the age-old fertility symbol, combining the vertical male and horizontal female principles, either as an ordinary cross, or better known in the form of the crus ansata, the Egyptian ankh (sometimes called: the Tau cross), which had been carried over into our modern-day symbol of the female, well known in biology.

SUNDAY WORSHIP CAME FROM EASTER

Now, why do we have church on Sunday? We have church on Sunday because Tammuz was raised from the dead on Sunday. Sunday worship is idolatry, but it is also anti-Jew. It is to replace the original Sabbath of the Jew. Sunday now became the “holy-day”:

On March 7, 321AD Constantine decreed “Dies Solis” - day of the sun, “Sunday” - as the Roman day of rest: “On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day is not suitable for grain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.”

What happened to the real Sabbath then? The Sabbath was called “Saturn-day” or Saturday. Saturn is represented by a six-pointed star so this became the Beast’s symbol for the Jews.

What we see in the diagram below is the flag of the Vatican on the left (yellow) and the flag of the state of Israel on the right (blue). If we overlay them, we see that the six points neatly fit. This may be a coincidence, but what it teaches is that the state of Israel is linked to the Vatican, and is not the original Hebrew nation that it is meant to be.

ZION

There are Orthodox Jews (true) and there are Zionist Jews (false). During World War II (which the Beast created - do some research and you will discover how through financial power and political vote the Pope and the Jesuits raised Hitler, Mussolini and Franco) it was the Orthodox Jews who were slaughtered to make room for the Zionist Jews. ZIONIST Israel was formed as a nation after the war. Inquire where the star on the Israeli flag comes from? The ZIONIST movement.

The star on the Israel flag also appears on the reverse of the US one dollar bill, above the eagle. This indicates further that this star is the Mark of the Beast from Revelation 13:16,17 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. From the Scripture above, this mark will be involved in money transactions, and we already see it inscribed on the US dollar bill. This star is not the “Star of David” as it is fondly called. King David had no star. The star arose from symbolism developed from Baal and Ashtoreth worship, at the time of King Solomon. Ashtoreth is where we get the word “asterisk” or “asteroid” or “astronomy” or “astrology” which is “star”. And Ashtoreth and Baal are the Canaanite equivalents of Ishtar and Tammuz of Babylon. Then Ishtar or “the star” came to Rome by Julius Caesar and then Constantine. This star is the hidden prophet spirit behind every cult today which has its roots in the Beast. So we now suggest, IT IS THE MARK OF THE BEAST. In the occult, this “Star of David” is known as the Hexagram, and is used to cast spells. And

2 Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that MAN OF SIN be revealed, the son of perdition;

Do not be deceived, the Man of Sin and the mark of the Beast have to be revealed now, before the end of time. He has already been revealed as surely as the Lord Jesus Christ will return. The Man of Sin is also known as “the synagogue of Satan”.

Revelation 2:9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Revelation 3:9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Now the synagogue of Satan comes from the false prophet. The six-pointed star is his symbol. Adolf Hitler also followed Lucifer, and he used the six-pointed star to mark Jews who he used for his holocaust. Holocaust means “burnt offering” which is the same human sacrifice in the times of Solomon to the god Ashtoreth.

1 After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now in Jerusalem near the sheep-market there is a public bath which in Hebrew is named Beth-zatha. It has five doorways.
3 In these doorways there were a great number of people with different diseases: some unable to see, some without the power of walking, some with wasted bodies.
4 (OMITTED TEXT)
5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him there on the floor it was clear to him that he had been now a long time in that condition, and so he said to the man, Is it your desire to get well?
7 The ill man said in answer, Sir, I have nobody to put me into the bath when the water is moving; and while I am on the way down some other person gets in before me.
8 Jesus said to him, Get up, take your bed and go.
9 And the man became well straight away, and took up his bed and went. Now that day was the Sabbath.
10 So the Jews said to the man who had been made well, It is the Sabbath; and it is against the law for you to take up your bed.
11 He said to them, But he who made me well, said to me, Take up your bed and go.
12 Then they put to him the question: Who is the man who said to you, Take it up and go?
13 Now he who had been made well had no knowledge who it was, Jesus having gone away because of the number of people who were in that place.
14 After a time Jesus came across him in the Temple and said to him, See, you are well and strong; do no more sin for fear a worse thing comes to you.
15 The man went away and said to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
16 And for this reason the Jews were turned against Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.
17 But his answer was: My Father is still working even now, and so I am working.
18 For this cause the Jews had an even greater desire to put Jesus to death, because not only did he not keep the Sabbath but he said God was his Father, so making himself equal with God.
19 So Jesus made answer and said, Truly I say to you, The Son is not able to do anything himself; he is able to do only what he sees the Father doing; whatever the Father does the Son does it in the same way.
20 For the Father has love for the Son and lets him see everything which he does: and he will let him see greater works than these so that you may be full of wonder.
21 In the same way, as the Father gives life to the dead, even so the Son gives life to those to whom he is pleased to give it.
22 The Father is not the judge of men, but he has given all decisions into the hands of the Son;
23 So that all men may give honour to the Son even as they give honour to the Father. He who gives no honour to the Son gives no honour to the Father who sent him.
24 Truly I say to you, The man whose ears are open to my word and who has faith in him who sent me, has eternal life; he will not be judged, but has come from death into life.
25 Truly I say to you, The time is coming, it has even now come, when the voice of the Son of God will come to the ears of the dead, and those hearing it will have life.
26 For even as the Father has life in himself, so he has given to the Son to have life in himself.
27 And he has given him authority to be judge because he is the Son of man.
28 Do not be surprised at this: for the time is coming when his voice will come to all who are in the place of the dead,
29 And they will come out; those who have done good, into the new life; and those who have done evil, to be judged.
30 Of myself I am unable to do anything: as the voice comes to me so I give a decision: and my decision is right because I have no desire to do what is pleasing to myself, but only what is pleasing to him who sent me.
31 If I gave witness about myself, my witness would not be true.
32 There is another who gives witness about me and I am certain that the witness he gives about me is true.
33 You sent to John and he gave true witness.
34 But I have no need of a man's witness: I only say these things so that you may have salvation.
35 He was a burning and shining light, and for a time you were ready to be happy in his light.
36 But the witness which I have is greater than that of John: the work which the Father has given me to do, the very work which I am now doing, is a witness that the Father has sent me.
37 And the Father himself who sent me has given witness about me. Not one of you has ever given ear to his voice; his form you have not seen.
38 And you have not kept his word in your hearts, because you have not faith in him whom he has sent.
39 You make search in the holy Writings, in the belief that through them you get eternal life; and it is those Writings which give witness about me.
40 And still you have no desire to come to me so that you may have life.
41 I do not take honour from men;
42 But I have knowledge of you that you have no love for God in your hearts.
43 I have come in my Father's name, and your hearts are not open to me. If another comes with no other authority but himself, you will give him your approval.
44 How is it possible for you to have faith while you take honour one from another and have no desire for the honour which comes from the only God?
45 Put out of your minds the thought that I will say things against you to the Father: the one who says things against you is Moses, on whom you put your hopes.
46 If you had belief in Moses you would have belief in me; for his writings are about me.
47 If you have no belief in his writings, how will you have belief in my words?

This is a video of the sacrafice of a lamb by priests that took place at Passover this year in Jerusalem. The producers of this video claim this to be an actual sacrifice ritual, not a "depiction". While this sacrifice does not take place at the Temple, the urgency of some to begin ritual sacrifices is continuing to expand and intensify. Is this a major prophetic event? Actually, it is only an indication of future prophetic events that we are heading toward. As the concept and images of ritual sacrifice becomes burned into the communal public mind, the ground is being paved for the daily sacrifices to begin. Then it will be possible for prophetic fulfillment as spoken of in Daniel 12.

Click here to view this video

Daniel 12:10-12 (NIV)

"From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days."

Only 60 years ago, most people thought that the practice of ritual animal sacrifice was forever relegated to the confines of ancient manuscripts, history books, and the Bible. Even of those that believed the truth of God's Word, few could imagine ritual animal sacrifices ever being practiced in their lifetime. I suspect that many feel the same way today. So much for what we think! Everything is about to change.

]]> http://wisdom4u.wordpress.com/?p=627 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:37:59 +0000 peacefulone http://wisdom4u.wordpress.com/?p=627

In 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, Paul has something to say to the Corinthian Christians about the way they've been observing the Lord's Supper.  Actually, as Paul usually does, he has a couple or three things to say.

We take Communion in modern western churches in a number of ways, but we usually don't follow the format of the early church, which was to have a full-fledged church dinner with Communion as a part of it. This was, after all, the case in the first Communion at which Jesus Himself officiated. Today, if we have a meal at all, it's a pot-luck, and woe to the last guy in line. In view of this passage, it's probably a good thing we keep Communion as a regimented ceremony during the church service, or we might end up just like the Corinthians, being chastised for their lack of consideration for this sacred ceremony and for one another and the church body. Or maybe we will anyway?

Verse 17

Paul is irritated--I can sense it. ;) He's intimating that it would be better for the Corinthians not to take communion at all than to do it in the manner they have been doing.

Verse 18

Paul's first concern: divisions among the brethren. One of the last things Jesus did before His crucifixion was to pray that His followers would be one as He and the Father are One, that the world might know that the Father had sent Him. Looking around today at our many petty differences, is it any wonder the world laughs at the western church?

Verse 19

Keeping things in perspective, Paul admits that there must be factions and divisions among us. Luther had to break away from Catholicism when he realized how heretical it had become. Luther had his own problems, as did Calvin and Wesley, etc., but for them to break away from the established churches of their day was necessary. And it is, alas, sometimes necessary for people to leave or break away from their own established churches even today.

There must, however, be a unity of purpose between Christ following churches, whether they fly a Baptist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, or Catholic flag. We're not going to put the church back together politically again (and who would want that, considering the last time the "church" was "united"?), but we must learn to work together spiritually to bring the love of Christ to the world. We are not each other's competition . . . we are co-laborers in God's vineyard.

Verse 20

Because of the divisions, Paul says, it is not really the Lord's Supper the church has been coming together to eat. In a church divided over things like favorite leaders and other issues, both important and petty, true Communion cannot happen.

Verse 21

Again, Paul highlights the selfishness of the Corinthians in looking out for their own interests first . . . what we might call "looking out for number one."

Verse 22

Paul scolds the church members for greedily gloming onto their "share" of the food while poorer members, who might truly benefit from the meal, are left with a few scraps. This shows contempt for the church of God.

Verse 23-26

Paul repeats for the Corinthians' benefit the meaning of the Communion ceremony. Some denominations claim that this and other passages teach that the bread or wafers and the wine (the host) physically contain or become the body and blood of our Lord. I can't imagine many members or clergy genuinely believe themselves to be eating Jesus physical flesh and drinking His blood, but this is the doctrine.

In most churches, the bread and wine (or grape juice) is seen as symbolic. The bread, symbolic of Jesus body which was broken for our sakes. The wine, symbolic of His blood which was shed for us. This ceremony should bind us together and put us in remembrance of our Lord and His sacrifice. If we fail to come together respectfully, reverently, and thoughtfully, this purpose is thwarted.

Middle Eastern culture of the day recognized the idea of the covenant, which was an irrevocable, binding agreement. The Old and New Testaments might be more accurately rendered Covenants. Sharing a meal was one way of joining in a covenant with another person, and was particularly used in the marriage covenant. Jesus' use of this customary meal spoke of His commitment to His bride, the church.

Our continued participation in the Communion ceremony proclaims Jesus death. It is a ritual which He intended that we carry out until He returns. How often should we partake of Communion? This passage seems to suggest the early church may have shared Communion every time they came together. I don't know for certain. What do you think?

Verse 27-28

Paul is especially talking about the Corinthians' woeful manners during the Communion feast, but partaking in an unworthy manner could cover all sorts of things, from careless and unthinking (or even ineligible) participation to outright scorn, with participation knowingly and callously engaged in for appearance' sake only.

How do we examine ourselves? In my church, we're instructed to take part in a little quiet introspection, to ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind anything we need to repent of before we receive Communion. Then we're given, oh, about 15 seconds in which to do this. You can't blame the pastor for the ridiculously short time slot--it's behoves us as individuals to keep current on this sort of thing. In the natural course of our daily lives as followers of Christ, we should always be ready to enter into Communion.

This kind of introspection should be our daily habit, not kept for once a month or once a quarter (or even once a week) when we take Communion. If we ask Him, the Holy Spirit will be only too happy to bring our sins to our attention almost instantly upon our commission of them, so that we can repent and ask forgiveness right away. This is the best way to be prepared for Communion.

Verse 29

This statement does not mean that we should recognize the elements as the actual body and blood of Jesus, but that we must recognize their significance and the solemnity of the covenant they both represent and bind us to. A covenant sealed in the very blood of God. This is not a thing to be taken lightly.

Verses 30-31

God does bring judgement on people today, however unpopular that idea may be. More on that later. The important idea in these two verses is that we must evaluate ourselves before partaking of Communion; repent and be forgiven of any sin in our lives; and mend any broken relationships with other believers.

The Communion covenant is one which God takes seriously. It is a covenant cut and sealed with the blood of His Son. He won't have people partaking for appearances sake, to make themselves "look like" fellow believers, whether simply to avoid embarrassment or for financial or political or other gain. Communion is one of those things God does not have a sense of humor about, but He does remain merciful, even toward those who take this covenant lightly.

Verse 32

The judgement of God on believers is not a judgement of condemnation, but rather one of discipline. God has always our best interests in His heart, which is something not all people can say about their earthly parents or other authorities. Even if earthly authorities do have our best interests in mind, they lack the wisdom and understanding that God is able to exercise. We can always trust that God will do what is best for us, even if it seems unpleasant at the time. (Hebrews 12:5-11)

Sickness and death may seem like harsh judgments to us, but this is because we look at the world as we are able to perceive it within the limits of our physical senses. Neither sickness nor death is a big deal to God. If He calls us home early because we seem determined to mess up, He does it to prevent us from falling into worse error and ultimately losing our hope in Him. This is not, perhaps, His best for us, but if we refuse to follow Him closely, it is His mercy if He chooses to call us home before we wander too far to find our way back.

Verses 33-34

Paul, as usual, ends his instruction on this subject with some practical advice. Show love by thinking of others first. Wait for one another. Would this mean, perhaps, discretely standing aside to let the elderly, the sick, the little ones, and the poor be served first at the next church dinner? Could it apply to other situations in the life of the church as well?

If you're so hungry you're not going to be able to control yourself, Paul says, then eat at home before you come to the church dinner. Good advice for today as well. Even though we seldom see Communion celebrated as an actual feast, church meals are notorious for bringing out the always-famished teens,  young adults, and hearty males.

It's natural and healthy to be hungry in proportion to your body's needs, but we need to stand back and consider others as before ourselves rather than counting on the indulgent attitudes of other church members. They may indeed be indulgent, but I think it's safe to say that God is not as amused as grandma is. Eat at home if you need nourishment. Then you'll be able to show more decorum and love at the church get-together.

Again, the bottom line here is love. First, love of God and true humility and gratitude to our Lord for His stunning and astonishing love toward us. Second, love toward one another in preferring others before ourselves in another of the common situations of life--the shared meal.

God bless,

Cindy

Many non-Christian cultures celebrate special days and events - and today, the Gregorian calendar (the calendar we use in the majority of the world today) is filled with all types of random days commemorating significant moments in history; from Jimi Hendrix' birthday, which is coincidental to mine (November 27th), to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles to remember the end of the First World War on the 11th of November, 1918, to the catastrophic September 11th.

Each day is thus filled with its respective significance and the western calendar used today is therefore a mark of western anthropology; just as the Chinese lunar calendar's timing of the Mid-Autumn festival is a time of celebrating the Chinese myth of the love story between a damsel on the rock orbiting the earth.  The calendar itself speaks of culture and ideology.  The Chinese calendar marks the myths, superstitions and religions of the Eastern Orient; the Gregorian now speaks of post-modernism, relativism and a global cultural melting pot.

What of the Jewish calendar which the LORD established?  Here, we find one of the most engaging and interesting aspects of Christianity, and how much the Calendar, the dates, and the feasts reveal the progression OF Christ.

Progressive Revelation of, not towards Christ in the Feasts

Just a cautionary note and perhaps a little bit of side-tracking: the title of this post is "The Progression of, not toward