Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.
Do not focus on the negative in your life. Don’t let your struggles keep you in bondage. Make your struggles turn you into a better & stronger person. Focus on all the good you have, on all the good that’s to come. Keep your thoughts free from negative thinking.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Exodus 12:19 Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land.
This is the original Spring cleaning. Get the sin out of your life. The holiday is for seven days. 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. Goodbye to a loaf of bread, biscuits, and donuts.
Matzah has taken its place as the unleavened bread. At a Passover Seder, the matzah is broken before the meal. Part of the matzah is taken and wrapped in a cloth napkin. The cloth with the unleavened bread is taken away and hidden. At the end of the Seder, the unleavened bread is returned and eaten to close out the ceremony.
1 John 3:5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.
Does this sound familiar? Jesus, the sinless man, was broken in death. His body was without sin. Christ is the unleavened bread.
1 Corinthians 11:24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
After He died, the body of Jesus was wrapped in a linen cloth. He was hidden or buried as the unleavened bread.
Mark 15:46 Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
Christ was raised from the dead and resurrected. The unleavened bread is returned. Those who partake in Him shall have everlasting life.
Mark 16:6 And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.”
Jesus Christ is the body without sin. He is the truth.
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
I am no better than the person holding the sign on the corner asking for help. I am no better than the person in the person in the public records in the paper that was arrested. I am no better than the person that is a different race than me. I am no better than the person that has a different sexual orientation than me. I am no better than anyone. Stop treating others different & like they are less just because they are different.
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.
April 9, 2017: Prior to this year, it was illegal for the Sanhedrin to perform a full scale Temple Passover sacrifice in modern Israel. This year, a court decision changed that. The Passover Lamb was sacrificed in the Old City across from the Western Wall and the Temple Mount. And the lamb was roasted in accordance per the Mosaic Law. The ceremony took place near the Hurva Synagogue.
Malachi 4:5-6 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.
These are the last words and thoughts of the Old Testament. There would be silence for approximately 425 years…
A tradition at a Passover Seder is to leave an empty seat for the prophet Elijah. The empty seat is at the head of the table. A cup of wine is poured for Elijah should he show at the Seder. Elijah is the honored guest who is to announce the arrival of the Messiah.
Tradition has children opening the front door of the home in the hope of the arrival of Elijah. As the door is opened, the guests say… “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Christ in the Passover, Ceil and Moishe Rosen, Moody Press, Chicago.
John the Baptist was a type or forerunner for the first coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself made the declaration.
Mark 9:12-13 And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.” –Jesus.
And Jesus confirms that John the Baptist functions as if Elijah.
Matthew 11:14 “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.” –Jesus.
…and they did to him whatever they wished…and that they did. John the Baptist was beheaded. King Herod used the excuse of a “good dance” to complete what he wanted to do anyway.
Matthew 14:10-11 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.
Jesus is coming a second time and will return to Earth. At that time, Christ will have a forerunner as He did the first time. I take it this next time it will be Elijah himself. Although he is not specifically named, Elijah is likely one of the two witnesses in Revelation 11. The skill set and characteristics of the witnesses are consistent with the prophet Elijah on his first mission.
See 1 Kings 17-21 and 2 Kings 1-2 for Elijah’s initial career and efforts.
Revelation 11:3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.
And like John the Baptist…
Revelation 11:7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.
So when Elijah shows up and drinks the cup of wine at the Passover Seder, Yeshua HaMashiach is close…
Isaiah 17:1 The oracle concerning Damascus. “Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city and will become a fallen ruin.”
Sadly, chemical gas attacks on the Syrian population are nothing new in the Syrian civil war.
Ghouta, Syria: Sarin gas was used in 2013 that resulted in the death of over 1,000 citizens. Ghouta is a suburb east of Damascus.
Idlib, Syria: At least 100 people have died from the recent gas attack. Hundreds more have been injured and hospitalized. The attack occurred on April 4, 2017.
Hama, Syria: On March 30, 2017 chlorine gas was used as a chemical weapon in Hama, Syria. The Assad regime of Syria was accused of using chlorine on civilians. Approximately 100 civilians were affected.
Damascus, Syria: Chlorine gas was dispersed in the Al-Qaboun district northeast of Damascus on Wednesday, March 29, 2017.
The Assad regime has continually denied the use of chemical weapons during the civil war.
April 6, 2017: The United States military has begun missile strikes near Homs, Syria. Multiple reports from NBC and CNN indicate 50-60 Tomahawk cruise missiles have been fired. President Trump has changed his mind on Syria’s President Assad after the chemical attacks on civilians.
The United States has indicated a coalition of countries is forming to overthrow President Assad of Syria. This past week, the presidents of Egypt and Jordan have visited the White House. It would appear the United States is forming an alliance with Sunni Arab nations south of Syria.
Battle lines are being drawn. Russia is supporting its Shia Muslim countries in the north of the theater with Iran, Syria, and Lebanon (Hezbollah).
Turkey is primarily a Sunni Muslim nation with President Recep Erdogan. He has a big election coming in a couple of weeks. Erdogan has ambitious plans for the region. Turkey is determined to be a player.
“All options are on the table” regarding a United States response to Syria’s use of chemical weapons. Vice President Mike Pence.
It saddens me deeply when a life is lost too soon. We never know what someone else is fighting on the inside. Be kind to everyone. Be there for them. Be someone that hopefully they can come to when they are struggling. Depression is so real & so scary. It feels like you’re alone, even if you’re around others a lot. If you are struggling, reach out to others. There are those of us that want to help & understand. Reach out to God, because he does truly heal.
Psalm 147:3 He heals the broken-hearted & binds up their wounds.
Nahum 3:1 Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage; her prey never departs.
Nahum 3:3 Horsemen charging, swords flashing, spears gleaming, many slain, a mass of corpses, and countless dead bodies. They stumble over the dead bodies!
The prophet Nahum describes the future destruction of the Nineveh area in the short book.
April 3, 2017: The death toll is mounting in modern day Mosul, Iraq or what is ancient Nineveh. ISIS has been surrounded in western Mosul, Iraq. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
On March 17, 2017, air raids involving F16’s were noted in western Mosul. The population of western Mosul is around 400,000. The al Jadida area southwest of downtown was devastated. It is estimated that over 200 civilians were killed in the bombing. Belgium is investigating the event. Belgium is participating in the United States led coalition against ISIS. Bodies are still being recovered from the events two and a half weeks later. ISIS is an obstacle to the progress in the recovery of bodies by dropping bombs from drones.
Food and water are in short supply. Civilians are trapped with no escape. ISIS is taking people’s homes and vehicles. Stolen homes have been rigged with bombs. Stolen cars are used for suicide bomb missions against enemy tanks.
“I am with my family in my neighbor’s house, which is fairly big and contains about 35 people. Children are crying from hunger and we have run out of the flour. We have only wheat and bran that we put some in water to become soft and give it to the children.” Omar, 39 year old resident of the Old City in Mosul.
Reports estimate ISIS is down to roughly 1,000 fighters. Weapons and ammunition are reportedly starting to dwindle. ISIS started with approximately 7,000 fighters in Mosul…
Of all the jobs I’ve had, the one constant is being a parent. It’s the one I’m most proud of & strive be better at. It’s the one that’s most important to me. It’s the one I feel I probably fail at the most, but I truly hope & pray I get better at & my children respect, appreciate, & love me for. I know there are some that for whatever reason, will not have kids, but believe me when I say there are kids that look up to you. You have a job with them too. It truly takes a village. Have a heart for children & be an example…
Psalm 103:13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
Hebrews 12:7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
There are seven God appointed holidays communicated through the Old Testament Law. The first three spring holidays were fulfilled on the appointed holiday by Jesus Himself. The names of the feasts are: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits.
In the Gregorian calendar year of 2017, the holidays occur as follows. Passover essentially begins on Tuesday, April 11 on a western calendar. The first day of Unleavened Bread is the next day on Wednesday, April 12. Lastly, the feast of First Fruits starts on Thursday, April 13. Please note, there is not consensus on these dates within various studies of Judaism and Jewish Messianic believers in Yeshua or Jesus Christ. Humanity struggles to keep time as God has directed.
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.
