Habakkuk 1:5 Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. -LORD God
Ecclesiastes 7:12 For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
Michael Douville provides his year in review for 2019. Michael looks forward to 2020 and emerging economic conditions that will shape the new year.
Ezekiel 38:5 Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet…
These are Noah’s grandchildren. The sons of Ham by and large settled in Africa. Historical Put is a country that will join Russia, Turkey, Iran and others in their future invasion of Israel per the prophet Ezekiel.
Put or Phut means “a bow”; a nation and people of northern Africa; probably Libyans. –Strong’s Concordance. Consensus among researchers and scholars is noted that Put is modern day Libya.
The ultimate issue is oil and natural gas. Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa. Production is approximately 700,000 barrels per day. With political stability and safety, production could increase to 2,500,000 barrels per day.
Libya is also the main gateway to Europe for African immigrants. Six billion pounds a year are made in trading humans across the Mediterranean Sea. Italy is less than 300 miles away. Vladimir Putin looks to control the flow of immigration as a political tool against Europe.
Russian special forces have been in Libya since March of 2017. Russia supports General Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA). General Haftar met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow in November 2016.
December 2019: Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) has requested Turkey’s military support. The GNA has the support of the United Nations.
President Recep Erdogan of Turkey intends to present legislation in early January 2020 to parliament.
“Since there is an invitation (from Libya) right now, we will accept it. We will present the motion to send troops as soon as Parliament resumes. God willing, we will pass it in Parliament on January 8-9 and thus respond to an invitation,” President Erdogan, Turkey.
Erdogan went on to further state the following.
“They are helping a warlord. We are responding to an invitation from the legitimate government of Libya. That is our difference.”
Turkey’s potential military move into Libya only complicates the situation further. Turkey will be supporting Libya’s GNA. Russia will be supporting General Haftar’s LNA.
Is Libya on the cusp of being like the situation in Syria?
Ezekiel 38:1-3 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.
Ezekiel 38:6 Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-Togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes—many peoples are with you.
The brothers of Magog (Meshech, Gomer, and Tubal) appear to point to modern day Turkey.
Russia and Turkey are aligning with political factions in Libya, just like Ezekiel said…
December 25 is the day we culturally celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church declared December 25 as the day of the birth of Christ. This declaration occurred in 336 AD. It was an attempt to replace the Roman holiday Saturnalia, a week long holiday of every imaginable debauchery. December 25 was the birthday of the sun. In the interest of getting along with the culture, the Catholic Church replaced the birthday of the sun with the birthday of the Son.
Today in the 21st century, we have returned to the roots of Saturnalia. The “Christmas” celebration through New Year’s has become a week long party. There is nothing new under the sun…
There is no Biblical evidence for a specific December 25 date for the birth of Jesus. If you find it, let me know. Christmas, December 25 is not a God Appointed Feast or holiday, plain and simple.
Luke 2:1-3 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
This is the context of the birth of Jesus. Joseph and Mary were on their way to pay taxes.
Now, say you are a money grubbing emperor or a king or a politician. Let’s say you want to collect tax revenue from your subjects. When would you do this? For maximum collection of funds, travel conditions and weather would need to be at their best. People are going to have to travel to register. Would you pick late December? I don’t think so. Greed dictates a different season of the year to allow for the best possible participation and revenue.
Yes, God can use the payment of taxes to fulfill His Word and His will. Jesus needed to be born in Bethlehem.
Micah 5:2 But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.
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There are many factors that point toward Jesus being born in the early fall. Some of these include: the timing and relationship to the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1), shepherding habits and timing (Luke 2), Biblical patterning of God’s appointed Fall Feasts, and Zechariah’s appointed priestly Temple service.
Excellent arguments are made for Jesus being born during the Spring Feasts. Rabbi Jonathan Cahn makes an articulate case.
The bottom line is this. The Bible does not say specifically when Jesus was born. When He was born is not the issue.
But, what is of the utmost importance is stated by the Apostle Paul. This is the priority. As believers in Jesus Christ we should draw a line in the sand and stick a flag in the ground over this issue.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…
He was born. It is not about when He was born.
Christ died for our sins. He was buried. And Jesus was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth…
In the Hebrew, Gabriel means “man of El” or “man of God”. Some also interpret the name to mean “God is my strength”.
A time point is given in the verse above, the sixth month. So what is the sixth month on a Hebrew calendar? After all, the Jewish people keep two calendars, a civil and spiritual calendar. In today’s 21st century world, Israel follows a civil calendar and the Jewish New Year takes place in the fall on Rosh Hashanah in the month of Tishri.
God has other instructions. He made the directions very clear to Moses. God states the first month of the year is Nisan in the spring. Moses was to proclaim this calendar to the people of Israel. God’s New Year begins in and around spring.
Exodus 12:2 This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.
The Lord makes further notations regarding time when it comes to the Fall Feasts. His Fall Appointments begin in the seventh month, Tishri.
Numbers 29:1a ‘Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall also have a holy convocation… .
See also Leviticus 23:23-25.
As God defines and keeps time, the month before the seventh month of Tishri is the sixth month of Elul. The Hebrew month of Elul typically lines up with the Gregorian month of August on a western calendar.
Isaiah 11:1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
The focus in the prophetic verse above is on the word “branch”. The Hebrew word is netzer. It is the netzer or branch or offspring who will bear fruit.
The Hebrew term netzer is transliterated to the Greek term Nazara, Nazaret, or Nazareth.
The town of Nazareth is specifically mentioned only in the New Testament and this occurs 6 times.
John 1:46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Back in the day, Nazareth was not exactly held in high esteem by the people of Israel. Morality was not a strength of the locals. God the Father had His chosen Son come from the worthless, country, hick town of Nazareth.
Let there be no doubt. The people identified Nazareth with Jesus. Nazareth was Jesus’ home town.
Matthew 21:11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”
Even the spirits and demons knew Jesus came from Nazareth.
Mark 1:24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
Luke 4:34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
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Gabriel is an angel, a messenger of God. He is going to the countryside town of Nazareth, which means “branch”. He was sent late in the summer when the region is hot and dry and plants struggle to survive. The Hebrew month of Elul is a call to attention. Repent and return to God. Seek His Word. Gabriel is delivering a message of hope to Israel and this little town…
Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all, the apathy of human beings. —Helen Keller
We all know the feeling of being worn down as our body fights off a common cold or the flu. All you want to do is the very thing you need to do, which is rest. We know that the best thing we can do is stay in our nice, comfy beds, curled up under the blankets until our symptoms pass.
But what if you didn’t have a bed? Or a roof to sleep under? What if, when winter hit, you didn’t have so much as a winter coat or blanket? That pesky common cold now becomes a huge fight for your life.
Even in the worst of circumstances, we instinctively seek out comfort. Have you ever thought of where a homeless person goes when they are fighting for their life in this way?
As you journey with me through this next story, put yourself in my shoes. Allow yourself to feel what I felt.
Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.—Matthew 25:34–36, NLT
“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald
Luke 21:36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be COUNTED WORTHY to ESCAPE ALL these things that will come to pass, and to STAND BEFORE the SON OF MAN.
Revelation 7:9-10 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, STANDING BEFORE the throne and before the LAMB, clothed with WHITE ROBES, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “SALVATION belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the LAMB!”
These are the only two places in the entire Bible with the common elements of: * being counted worthy * have escaped all * standing before the Lamb/Son of Man.
The expression “escape all” can equally mean two things. It can mean: •Not experience everything AND •Not experience anything
The multitude in Revelation 7 experiences the first six Seals of the Scroll but do not experience the remainder of the book on earth. They have “escaped all” in that they do not experience everything.
This multitude is the group Jesus was referring to. They * are considered worthy * escape all * are “standing before the Lamb/Son of Man”
It is interesting to note that those hiding in underground bunkers say the exact opposite. They say, “HIDE US from the FACE OF HIM who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and WHO IS ABLE TO STAND?”
They are NOT worthy, they DON’T escape all these things, are NOT able to stand before the Lamb.
Matthew 24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand) …”-Jesus
Jesus is quoting the prophet Daniel. There will be a temple during the end times scenario and tribulation. Yes, Jesus knew the sacrificial system would no longer be necessary because of His future death, burial, and resurrection for sin.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
All that said, the idea of a third temple is still prophetic per Christ Himself.
photo: Jerusalem Post
Temple Mount, December 2019: Jews are returning to the Temple Mount to pray. And prayers are being done in front of policing authorities. In the recent past, Jewish worshipers would be removed if observed praying on the Mount.
Muslim and Jewish authorities both indicate there has been no official change in status regarding prayer.
Rabbi Eliyahu Weber and 10 others sang, “Let us go up to the Temple” and repeated prayers. This was a shortened version of the morning prayer service. The proceedings were completed under no pressure from authorities. The worshiping Jews were not asked to leave the Temple Mount.
Rabbi Weber states he ascends the Temple Mount almost every day. Weber also had the following comments.
“Our ascent to the Temple Mount makes known God’s name in the World.”
“The essence of our presence on the Temple Mount shows that this place belongs to the Jewish people. If we don’t come, (it appears) that it doesn’t interest us. The Temple Mount is ours, and we need to know the importance of being there.”
“The ultimate goal is to be able to offer sacrifices in the Temple. We are not really dealing with that right now because there are many stages to this.”
Weber appears to be realistic about the prospects of the return of the Temple.
“We are dealing more with restoring prayer to the site in an orderly fashion. I would love for it to be tomorrow, but offering sacrifices sounds to be a bit more distant.”
Click on the link below for video of the prayer service.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
This is the first mention of the serpent in the Bible. The Hebrew word is nachash. The term is used 31 times in the Old Testament.
Genesis 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
As originally created by God, snakes were not in the form they are now. They were physically different prior to the fall of man. This is implied in Genesis 3:14. There was a consequence to the serpent for deception. The serpent was cast to its belly.
So what did a snake look like before the fall?
A recent published study from Science Advances has some interesting observations. A fossil of a snake was shown to have back legs. Because the fossil was found in the sand away from the ocean, the creature was three dimensional and not smashed flat.
Najash rionegrina is the scientific name. Science turned to the Bible for the original name of a snake. Below is a quote from the article.
Najash rionegrina is named after the legged biblical snake Nahash (Hebrew for snake).
The discovery was made in the Río Negro Province in Argentina. This is in central Argentina. The snake was actually found in February of 2013.
This is an article from an evolutionary perspective. Science postulates the snake is 95 million years old. Predictions and speculations are made based on the findings and how this relates to Darwin. For more details if interested, see the link below.
Jesus Christ died. He was buried. And He was raised…
In love, for humanity.
The Gospel is the ultimate eternal issue. As believers in Christ, be prepared to defend the Gospel.
Jesus is so much more than a Savior. How is Jesus like the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant? How does Christ fulfill the Mosaic Law and the Spring Feasts during His Passion Week? How is Jesus like the Passover Lamb?
Jesus Christ is the answer for sin, in the fullness of time, down to the literal minute from before the beginning of creation…
These questions are investigated and clarified. As believers, can we explain how Christ is the bridge between the Old and New Testament?
Ezekiel 1:15a Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures…
Ezekiel 10:9 And I looked, and behold, there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one beside each cherub…
Each wheel has a corresponding cherub. The cherub and the wheel belong to each other. In each of the three cases above, the word is translated as “beside”. This is the Hebrew preposition etsel. Per Strong’s Concordance, the word can be defined as a joining together, proximity. The idea is the wheel and the cherub are joined together.
Ezekiel 10:17b for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
Ezekiel 1:20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
Ezekiel 1:21b … for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
The spirit of the individual cherub is housed in the wheel. The spirit of the cherub is outside of its body. The cherub needs its wheel. The cherub and spirit are in sync, body and spirit.
Photo: youtube
Ezekiel 10:16, 17, 19a When the cherubim moved, the wheels moved beside them, and even when they spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not veer away from their side. When the cherubim stood still, the wheels also stood still, and when they ascended, the wheels ascended with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in them. As I watched, the cherubim lifted their wings and rose up from the ground, with the wheels beside them as they went.
Ezekiel 1:17, 19-21 When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
The individual cherub and its wheel move together where ever they go. The direction does not matter, up, down, or sideways. The wheel sticks to the cherub like glue regardless of the speed or direction. The two work together as a concurrent, coexisting team.
Roughly 2,600 years ago, Ezekiel saw these things on Earth in what is modern day eastern Syria…
