Archive for March, 2015

Passover, Nisan 14, Twilight, 33 AD

Posted in Gospel, Prophecy, Spring Feasts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on March 31, 2015 by paulthepoke

Exodus 12:5-6 Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.

Jesus-on-cross-sunset--300x221

The point is made clearly. The Passover lamb is to be sacrificed on Nisan 14 at twilight.

Leviticus 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD’S Passover.

Numbers 9:3 On the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, you shall observe it at its appointed time; you shall observe it according to all its statutes and according to all its ordinances.

Numbers 9:5 They observed the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did.

Numbers 9:11 In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight, they shall observe it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

The Hebrew word for twilight is `ereb. Per Strong’s Concordance, it means: evening, night, sunset.

This is the same word on day one, in the beginning…Genesis 1:5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

So the question is… “When is it officially twilight?” There is much debate about the meaning of this.

…to kill it at twilight. The phrase literally stated, to kill between the two evenings. The issue: when does one sacrifice the Passover lamb? Scholars have often interpreted this phrase as idiomatic language to mean a period of time before darkness.

Darkness was ending after 3:00 p.m. Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. Jesus died at or briefly after 3:00 p.m. Mark 15:34, 37 At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” which is translated, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?” And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.

Time allowed to take Him off the cross, prepare His body, and bury Him in the tomb before sun down. Sunset in Jerusalem on Nisan 14 was 6:00 p.m. local time (no day light saving time or “springing forward” back in the day). Subtract one hour from time charts to account for day light saving time.

http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/israel/jerusalem?month=4

Jesus had to be buried before sun down. The setting of the sun marked the beginning of the next day according to God (Genesis 1, Creation Week). He had to be buried before the beginning of the Sabbath in accordance with the Law.

The reality is Jesus literally died between the two evenings on Nisan 14, 33 AD. That afternoon had two evenings. It was dark from noon to 3 p.m. Mark 15:33 When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. He died at the twilight of the first period of darkness. The sun reappeared. Then the sun set at 6:00 p.m. local time.

Approximately 1,500 years after Moses was given the Law, Jesus’ sacrificial death fulfilled the requirements of the Passover lamb figuratively and literally, to the hour and to the minute.

 

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Trend Update: Temple Stone Altar, March 2015

Posted in Prophecy, Temple, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 25, 2015 by paulthepoke

Exodus 20:25 If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it.

Deuteronomy 27:5 Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones; you shall not wield an iron tool on them.

altar-model-10

These are the directions given to Moses by God.

Fast forward to the 21st century…These directions have been followed again. The Temple Institute has recently announced the completion of the stone altar for sacrificial service. The Mosaic Law has been followed accordingly. Stones from the remote shores of the Dead Sea were gathered from this location. The stones have not been touched by iron equipment, cut, or quarried. The stones were wrapped in plastic to protect them from being touched by iron. Workers completed their labor barefoot.

The completed altar is versatile. It can be assembled and reassembled easily. The altar is currently on display at the Temple Institute. When the time comes, the altar can be moved to the reconstructed Temple.

https://www.templeinstitute.org/building-an-altar-9th-av-5769.htm

http://mobile.wnd.com/2015/03/holy-altar-constructed-for-third-jewish-temple/

http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/32009/altar-jewish-holy-temple-rebuilt-jewish-world/#SMHJzDoThjRPkeb4.97

For pictures of the altar, see the link below.

https://www.templeinstitute.org/stone-altar-project.htm

Joshua followed the directions given per Moses when he built an altar.

Joshua 8:31 just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones on which no man had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, and sacrificed peace offerings.

In the days of King Solomon, the law was followed and the altar was built accordingly.

1 Kings 6:7 The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.

When the Israelites returned to Jerusalem after their exile from King Cyrus of Persia, they too built an altar. The construction of the altar was led by a high priest named Jeshua. Incidentally, Jeshua is the Jewish name for Jesus who is our High Priest.

Ezra 3:2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers arose and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.

The precedent has been set to start sacrifices without a temple. This was the case in the book of Ezra.

Ezra 3:6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, but the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid.

The seventh month on a Hebrew calendar is Tishri. This first day would be the beginning of the Civic New Year. We know it as Rosh Hashanah or the Feast of Trumpets. It is also known as the Yom Teruah. This year on our Gregorian calendar, the holiday begins at sunset September 14, 2015.

Who knows? Maybe the sacrificial system on the new altar will be initiated again this year, this fall, on this day…

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Passover, Nisan 14, Noon – 3 PM, 33 AD

Posted in Gospel, Prophecy, Spring Feasts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 22, 2015 by paulthepoke

Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.

Mark 15:33 When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.

Luke 23:44-45 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

dali_christ_of_st_john_of_the_cross1

This three hour period of darkness is one clue that confirms the year of Christ’s death.

Hebrews mark time the following way. The sun comes up in the first hour. The sun sets in the twelfth hour. Midday or noon is the sixth hour. The ninth hour is 3 o’clock in a western way of thinking. As we view time in a western sense, darkness fell upon the land at noon and remained until 3 p.m.

The event described in the Bible was not a solar eclipse. An eclipse of the sun only occurs when the moon is directly between the sun and the Earth, a new moon phase. The day of the crucifixion was the day before Passover. The spring holiday occurs during a full moon. The moon was on the far side of the Earth away from the sun. A solar eclipse can last only seven and a half minutes in any one place. Darkness in the verses of the Bible lasted three hours.

We know there was seismic activity in the region on the day of Christ’s death from Scripture and extra biblical historians. This region of the world is noted with tectonic and volcanic activity.

Matthew 27:51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

Matthew 27:54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Secular historians report a failure of the sun during the middle of the day. Below is an example.

In the fourth year of the 202nd Olympiad, a failure of the sun took place greater than any previously known, and night came on at the sixth hour of the day (noon), so that stars actually appeared in the sky; and a great earthquake took place in Bithynia and overthrew the greater part of Niceaea,”— TRALLIANUS, OLYMPIADES

This event was confirmed by many other historians. Here is a brief list: Phlegon (Greek), Julius Africanus, Thallus, Eusibis, Syncellus, Jerom, Maximus, and the list goes on and on…

http://www.bethlehemstar.net/the-day-of-the-cross/peters-argument/

http://www.freechristianteaching.org/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=184#axzz3UUQWaXsE

Bithynia is modern day Turkey near the capital of Istanbul or historical Constantinople. Niceaea is the region of northwest Turkey.

If the sun went dark in the middle of the day in the 21st century, there would be a significant historical record of the event. It would be well documented.  I can almost guarantee this. People would literally freak out if the day turned to dark and there was no solar eclipse scheduled. Put yourself in Jerusalem at the event of the cross in that day. Eerie, eerie, eerie…

The Bible confirms secular history. The sun went dark at noon. The year was 33 AD. Christ was on the cross at that time.

 

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Trend Update: Religious New Year/Solar Eclipse, March 2015

Posted in Gospel, Prophecy, Spring Feasts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 18, 2015 by paulthepoke

Exodus 12:1-2 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you…”

eclipse-14129-1680x1050

The month of Nisan is the beginning of the religious or spiritual year in a Hebrew calendar. The beginning of the civil year is in the seventh month of Tishri. These are two calendars at work in the Hebrew.

Moses referred to this month as Abib. Exodus 13:4 On this day in the month of Abib, you are about to go forth. Per Strong’s Concordance, Abib means: fresh, young barley ears; month of ear-forming, of greening of crop, of growing green; month of Exodus and Passover.

The month is called Nisan in Nehemiah 2:1 And it came about in the month Nisan…It means “their flight”. Israel took “their flight” out of Egypt in Nisan. The meaning of month Nisan is a reminder to Israel. Abib is a reminder to the time of the year, during the first fruits of the barley harvest.

As the harvest cycle goes with the Hebrews, barley is the first crop harvested in the spring or the “first fruits”. And who is considered the “first fruits”? 1 Corinthians 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

The religious new year (Rosh Chodashim) begins at the sighting of the new moon (Rosh Chodesh). It is also located specifically on the spring equinox.

The month of Nisan is synonymous with the constellation of the lamb in the Hebrew Mazzaroth.

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Spring_Holidays/Rosh_Chodashim/rosh_chodashim.html

The beginning of this Hebrew religious new year on Nisan 1 (March 20, 2015 on a Gregorian calendar) is unique. Three events will occur on the same day: spring equinox, a solar eclipse, and a super moon.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/solar-eclipse-supermoon-spring-equinox-friday-will-see-three-rare-celestial-events-10111592.html

“Experts” have stated this celestial alignment is very rare and happens once every 100,000 years. “Experts” are encouraged to look at math and science as related to the work of Johannes Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion. Thanks to the German astronomer and mathematician, he developed equations to determine the exact location of the sun, moon, planets, and stars in time and space.

When these equations are utilized (by hand or computer), there is a surprise for the “experts”. March 20, 2015 (Nisan 1) is not the first time a spring equinox and a solar eclipse occur on the Hebrew religious new year. This phenomena also occurred in the spring of 33 AD on March 20 (Nisan 1).

https://sites.google.com/site/calendarstudies/bible-studies/bible_study_year_of_crucifixion

Two weeks later in 33 AD, Jesus died as the “Passover” lamb. He was buried as “unleavened bread”. And He was raised from the dead as the “first fruits”.

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Passover, Nisan 10-13, 33 AD

Posted in Gospel, Prophecy, Spring Feasts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 15, 2015 by paulthepoke

Exodus 12:1-6 Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month…

lamb

These directions were given to Moses by God roughly 1,500 years before the birth of Christ. The setting was Egypt prior to the Exodus. Moving forward, the Jewish people are to complete this ordinance every year on these dates.

The focus of this post is the correlation of the dates noted in Exodus 12 and the dates noted in the Passion Week of Christ.

On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves… You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month.

The directions to the Jewish people are straight forward. The first month of the religious year is Nisan. On Nisan 10, take a lamb and inspect it for four days. Make sure the lamb is unblemished. The time frame is Nisan 10, 11, 12, and 13.

Fast forward over 1,500 years, Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The date is Sunday, Nisan 9, 33 AD. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb of the Passover.

We know Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday from John 12:1 Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. A Hebrew Calendar of 33 AD tells us Passover was on Friday, Nisan 14. Six days before Passover is Saturday or the Sabbath, Nisan 8. Scripture tells us Jesus is in Bethany on Saturday, Nisan 8. Bethany is east of Jerusalem approximately 1.5 miles. The Mount of Olives sits between Bethany and Jerusalem. He is visiting Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.

John 12:12 On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem… The next day is Sunday, Nisan 9. Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Jesus only looked around the Temple on Nisan 9. He did not subject Himself to criticism or analysis from religious leaders by His actions on this day. Jesus did not enter Jerusalem for inspection on Palm Sunday. He left and went back to Bethany. Mark 11:11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple; and after looking around at everything, He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late. If Jesus had cleared the temple on Sunday, He would have been in the “pen” of Jerusalem for inspection five days instead of four days as indicated in Exodus 12. The law would not have been followed.

Mark 11:12 On the next day, when they had left Bethany, He became hungry. The next day is Monday, Nisan 10. From this point forward, Jesus was inspected for imperfections. Then He cleared the Temple. He was questioned and tested. He was examined and challenged by religious leaders, other Jews, and Greeks on Monday, Nisan 10 through Thursday, Nisan 13 for four days (March 29 – April 2, 33 AD on a Gregorian calendar). He was found to be without blemish or flaw.

http://www.torahcalendar.com/Calendar.asp?YM=Y33M1

 

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Trend Update: Assyrian Empire/Nimrod, March 2015

Posted in Mosul/Nineveh, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , on March 11, 2015 by paulthepoke

Genesis 10:8-12 Now Cush became the father of Nimrod; he became a mighty one on the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.” The beginning of his kingdom was Babel and Erech and Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went forth into Assyria, and built Nineveh and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

Nimrod is the great grandson of Noah. The family tree looks like this: Noah, Ham, Cush, Nimrod (Genesis 10:1, 6, 8).

nimrod_copper

Per Strong’s Concordance, Nimrod means: rebellion or valiant. Three times, Nimrod is described as mighty, strong, and brave in the Hebrew. Some interpretations indicate Nimrod was possibly a “hunter of men” in addition to game. This guy was the original antichrist long before the term was coined.

These were the directions given to Noah and family after the flood. Genesis 9:1 And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” God said fill the earth, spread out. Nimrod rebelled and built cities. Nimrod brought people to cities. He had a significant opinion of himself. A city bears his name.

Nimrod was a real person. He built towns along the Tigris River. The first town Nimrod built was Babylon (south of modern day Baghdad). Shinar is the area of southern Iraq. Assyria is the area of northern Iraq following the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The towns mentioned in the Bible are real towns. Nimrod is effectively the founder of modern day Iraq. These towns were built roughly 4,000 years ago. Fast forward to March, 2015. These towns are back in our headlines.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/07/world/middleeast/isis-bulldozing-of-ancient-nimrud-site-in-iraq-stirs-outrage.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0

ISIS views the archaeology of the ancient city is idolatrous.

http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2015/03/06/islamic-state-militants-bulldoze-ancient-nimrud-ruins-as-idolatrous/

Irony: ISIS has effectively occupied the territory of the Ancient Assyrian Empire noted in the Bible. Nimrod and Nineveh were two important cities of antiquities. The modern day Assyrian Empire (ISIS) is doing all it can to destroy and erase the history of the Ancient Assyrian Empire.

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Preview: God’s Spring Appointed Holidays

Posted in Prophecy, Spring Feasts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 8, 2015 by paulthepoke

There are seven God appointed holidays communicated through the Old Testament Law. The first three spring holidays were fulfilled to the appointed holiday by Jesus Himself. The names of the feasts are: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits.

springfeast

The first of God’s holidays is Passover or Pesach in the Hebrew. The holiday begins on the 14th day of the Hebrew month Nisan (March or April on a Gregorian calendar). There is a play on words in the original Hebrew. A “pesach” is an unblemished lamb which was required for the sacrifice. After the “pesach” was sacrificed, the blood was to be smeared on the wooden posts of the house. When God saw the blood on the door posts, He passed over or “pasach” and the house was spared judgment.

The original directions for the Passover were given to Moses and Aaron in Egypt. The statute and happenings are noted in Exodus 12. God defines the purpose of the holiday to Israel. Exodus 12:26-27a “And when your children say to you, ‘What does this rite mean to you?’ you shall say, ‘It is a Passover sacrifice to the LORD who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.’”

The second of God’s holidays is Unleavened Bread or Chag haMatazt in the Hebrew. The holiday begins on the 15th of Nisan and runs for seven days.

The directions of Unleavened Bread are noted in Exodus 12:15-20. The focus of the week is to live a life without leaven, the symbol for sin. Leaven is not to be in the house. Leaven products are not to be consumed. Bread without yeast, matzah, is to be eaten.

The third of God’s holidays is First Fruits or Reshit Katzir in the Hebrew. The one day holiday begins on the day after the Sabbath or Sunday on our calendar.

The directions for First Fruits are noted in Leviticus 23:9-14. The priest is to make a barley offering of the first portion of the harvest to the Lord. The priest intervenes of behalf of the people. The reality of the holiday for the people of Israel is this. The people bring their grain sheaf to the priest. They are to sacrifice a lamb without blemish. The offering is also to be presented with bread and wine.

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Mark of the Beast, 666

Posted in Antichrist/Beast, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , on March 1, 2015 by paulthepoke

Revelation 13:16-18 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

666

Volumes of books and articles have been written about these three verses.

The context of the mark emerges with the total domination and rule of the antichrist. This takes place during the last 3 ½ years of the seven year tribulation.

The word for “mark” in the original Greek is charagma. Per Strong’s Concordance, it means: a stamp, an imprinted mark; the mark branded upon horses; thing carved, sculpture, graven work; or of idolatrous images.

And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves… Everyone who is alive at this time will be faced with this decision.

no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark…This decision will affect one’s ability to engage in commerce (groceries, gas, water, clothes, etc.). Take the mark, short term gain, eternal loss in the lake of fire.

Per Strong’s Concordance, “wisdom” or sophia in the Greek means: broad and full of intelligence; used of the knowledge of very diverse matters; specifically the varied knowledge of things human and divine, acquired by acuteness and experience, and summed up in maxims and proverbs; the science and learning; always giving the sagest advice; the intelligence evinced in discovering the meaning of some mysterious number or vision; skill in the management of affairs; skill and discretion in imparting Christian truth; the knowledge and practice of the requisites for godly and upright living.

One can tell by the definition of the word. Wisdom is not just knowing information. It is taking the information and applying it skillfully. Take facts and use them. Know and do.

Let him who has understanding…To “have hold” or echo in the Greek. “Understanding” or nous is defined as: the mind, comprising alike the faculties of perceiving and understanding and those of feeling, judging, determining; the intellectual faculty, the understanding; reason in the narrower sense, as the capacity for spiritual truth, the higher powers of the soul, the faculty of perceiving divine things, of recognizing goodness and of hating evil; the power of considering and judging soberly, calmly and impartially; a particular mode of thinking and judging.

calculate the number…The Greek word for calculate is psephizo. It means: to count with pebbles, to compute, calculate, reckon; to give one’s vote by casting a pebble into the urn; to decide by voting.

These verses are an appeal to your intellect. Taking the mark is not an emotional response that is made because one has a flutter in their stomach. It is not a gut hunch. Take control and hold mental faculty. Pay attention closely. Carefully think and discern. Have sober purpose. This is a massive decision. It will be the biggest vote of your life. Your eternal destination rides on this choice.

Revelation 14:9-11 Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

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