Archive for the Angels Category

Gabriel God’s Messenger

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Prophecy with tags , , , , on March 27, 2022 by paulthepoke

Gabriel God’s Messenger
This is the career of the angel Gabriel.

Gabriel speaks to three people in the Bible: Daniel, Zechariah the priest, and the virgin Mary. In every case, Gabriel’s message from the throne of God tells of the promise of the Messiah. His career spans at least 3,500 years.

What exactly is an angel? What kind of angel is Gabriel? What are the physical characteristics of Gabriel and other angels? How many different kinds of angels are mentioned in the Bible?

The prophet Daniel is the only person in the Old Testament to meet Gabriel. Daniel was informed of the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms from his time on earth through the first and second coming of Christ and through to eternity. From Babylon to Persia to Greece to Rome and beyond, Gabriel’s message from God has been fulfilled to the very day in the fullness of God’s timing.

In the New Testament, Gabriel brings a message to Zechariah the Priest of his coming son, John the Baptist. His son’s purpose and career are foretold. Gabriel reminds us all of the call to repent and return to God.

The angel Gabriel meets the virgin Mary with grace. He describes to her the character of the Son. Nothing is impossible with God. Gabriel’s message to us all, the Messiah is coming!

https://www.amazon.com/Gabriel-Gods-Messenger-Paul-Lehr/dp/B09W7FFC93

Paul Lehr is a Speech Pathologist and home health care provider. The majority of his work focuses on swallowing disorders in neurologically impaired patients for the past 30 years. Paul earned his BS and MA in Speech Pathology from Oklahoma State University.

A friend and fellow Boy Scout father encouraged Paul to start a YouTube channel along with other social media outlets. God’s prophetic words have reached tens of millions in over 190 countries.

Isaiah 55:11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

Guest speaker and presenter duties have focused on the topics of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in God’s Appointed Spring Feasts and current events related to Bible prophecy.

At this time, Paul would like to encourage each individual to learn about who God is. Because one way or another, we are all eternal. The issue is our destiny.

To read excerpts and purchase, click on the cover below.

This Week in Prophecy: NASA, Aliens, Main Stream Media, and the Bible

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 6, 2022 by paulthepoke

This Week in Prophecy

https://valortube.com/groups/paul-lehr/

NASA has reached out to 24 theologians to assess how humanity would respond to the discovery of alien life. This story was released during the recent holiday season.

The Bible has answers. ALL things were created by and for Him (Jesus). And because of His work on the cross and His resurrection, ALL things in the universe are under His subjection.

Colossians 1:16 For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Colossians 1:20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross.

Yes, the Bible also has answers about hybrid offspring. Yes, I understand this will be perceived as crazy talk by many. One may not like the Biblical historical account, but answers are given.

Genesis 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of mankind, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

There are many verses that point to the “giant” offspring of this sordid affair. There are the Nephilim, Rephaim, Zuzim, Emim, Amorites, Anakim, Goliath and his brothers. Physical descriptions are provided along with heights and other details.

Pope Francis is willing to baptize aliens in the name of Christ.

The mainstream media is publishing articles on the topic of UFOs. The Hill, The Guardian, The New York Times, and DailyMail do not fancy themselves as fringe and conspiracy sources of information. The History Channel has produced a series on US government declassified information related to the topic of UFOs.

Recently deceased US Senator Harry Reid from Nevada wanted resources to be allocated to the Pentagon and other agencies to investigate Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs).

Trey Smith at GodinaNutshell has made multiple videos on these topics. I get the sense his work from a decade ago is about to become more relevant.

Brace yourself, this topic is coming regardless of what we think about it.

Matthew 24:37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. -Jesus

All of this and more on This Week in Prophecy. Click on the YouTube link below for news, analysis, and commentary.

There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Feasts (Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot/Booths)

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Fall Feasts, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 22, 2021 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:25b …there shall be seven weeks…

The context of this series of posts is the course of the Jewish people for the initial 49 years of the 483 year period communicated from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel. The city of Jerusalem has been rebuilt post exile. These events are covered in Nehemiah 8-13. Israel is returning to God’s Law. The focus is on God’s appointed holidays. This week, the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot is the topic.

Leviticus 23:33-36 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work of any kind. For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.’”

This is the last of God’s appointed feasts or festivals. This holiday is known by many names. It is called the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot, the Feast of Booths, the Festival of Tents, or the Feast of the Harvest because it was after the harvest in the fall. Simply put, it was also called “the feast” or “the festival”.

This festival is a week-long festival from Tishri 15 to 21. When working in the fields during harvest, people lived in tents. The tents served as a reminder of the forty years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. The holiday is a reminder of the provision and safety God showed Israel during their travels in the desert as noted in Deuteronomy 8. The feast is a thanksgiving for the harvest of grapes (Exodus 23:16). It is to be a joyous festival (Deuteronomy 16:14). Sabbatical rest without work is part of the holiday. (New Manners and Customs of Bible Times).

Jews sing Isaiah 12:3 Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation, during Sukkot. The feast is a reminder to the Jewish people they lived in tents after the Exodus from Egypt. In addition, the Feast of Tabernacles requires sacrifices of sin offerings and burnt offerings. At the time of preparation for the morning sacrifice, a priest descends to the Pool of Siloam amidst great music, celebration, and singing of Isaiah 12:3, and fills a golden pitcher with water. After dipping his pitcher in Siloam’s water, the priest returns to the Temple Mount and pours the water into one of the silver basins by the altar (Wayne Stiles, Insight for Living).

All three members of the Trinity will dwell with humanity. Isaiah 12 refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit and the reign of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was given to believers of Christ at Pentecost (Acts 2) and ushered in the Church Age. He will return on the Mount of Olives with an earthquake. 

Zechariah 14:4 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.

Revelation 19 has Jesus returning to Earth to initiate his 1,000 year reign and He will live with humanity.

The ultimate expression of “the feast” after the Millennial Kingdom is with God and the New Jerusalem. 

Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them…

And He is going to live and dwell with us, forever…

There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Feasts (Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement)

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Fall Feasts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 15, 2021 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:25b …there shall be seven weeks…

The context of this series of posts is the course of the Jewish people for the initial 49 years of the 483 year period communicated from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel. The city of Jerusalem has been rebuilt post exile. These events are covered in Nehemiah 8-13. Israel is returning to God’s Law. The focus is on God’s appointed holidays. This week, the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur is the topic.

Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement is celebrated on Tishri 10th. It is the last day of the 40 day period of Teshuvah.

This holiday is viewed at the holiest day of Judaism. The day is a Sabbath day of rest. Yom Kippur is the only day a fast is required. The day begins at sun down. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest was kept awake during the dark of the night. The high priest was dressed in a white robe. Sacrifices of a bull, ram, and a goat occur. The priest makes a sacrifice for himself and for the nation of Israel. Yom Kippur is the day the high priest came into the inner sanctuary of the temple to make sacrifices on behalf of the nation of Israel. He is the only person allowed into the inner sanctuary. This day is the only day the high priest is allowed in the inner sanctuary. He entered the highest holy place with incense and coals. The incense was burned. Next, the recovered blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat, the top of the Ark of the Covenant. This is the busiest day of the year for the high priest.

See Leviticus 16 for specific details. New Manners and Customs of Bible Times

In the 21st century, we have a high priest. 

Hebrews 6:20 …where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

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Today, animal sacrifices are no longer necessary, even when the Jewish Temple is rebuilt. 

Hebrews 9:11-14 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Hebrews 13:11-12 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

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Some believe this is the day at the end of the 7 year tribulation that Christ will physically return to Earth and establish His millennial kingdom.

Hebrews 9:28 …so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Feasts (Trumpets/Teruah, The Only New Moon Feast)

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Fall Feasts, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 8, 2021 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:25b …there shall be seven weeks…

The context of this series of posts is the course of the Jewish people for the initial 49 years of the 483 year period communicated from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel. The city of Jerusalem has been rebuilt post exile. These events are covered in Nehemiah 8-13. Israel is returning to God’s Law. The focus is on God’s appointed holidays. This week, the Feast of Trumpets or Yom Teruah is the topic. Many know the day as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish civil New Year. This is the last of three posts on the initial Fall Feast.

God operates on a lunar calendar. Jews have utilized the following procedure every month for thousands of years. It is called Rosh Chodesh which means “head of the month”. At the end of a lunar cycle, the moon is dark and is not seen for 2-3 days. So, the new moon could be identified during this 2-3 day period …of that day or hour no one knows…

By God’s standards, determining the new moon is not a mathematical calculation as we do today.

By His definition, a new moon is proclaimed when the first little sliver emerges from a darkened moon. It is a tiny crescent that is noted briefly at sunset on the western horizon. The month begins at the sighting of the new moon. Two witnesses have to confirm the sighting. Upon agreement, the two witnesses report to the high priest. When the new moon is confirmed, the trumpet (shofar/ram’s horn) is blown.

It is not hard to see how humanity’s time keeping system is different than God’s. It is easy to see how the concept of time is likely different and not on the same page. God marks time from month to month on a lunar calendar.

There are people who are trained witnesses to identify the new moon. They are outside of Jerusalem when the moon goes dark and they are looking for the tiny sliver to emerge. If you are interested, see this website. http://whenisthenewmoon.com/

Why two witnesses? This concept is part of Jewish law. 

Deuteronomy 19:15-21 A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

In the future, God will have two people bear witness to the world that humanity is sinful. With these two witnesses, He is establishing a legal declaration of evidence. If God is wrong and lying about humanity, He would bring judgment accordingly upon Himself per the law stated above. 

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.

Two or more witnesses to the new moon are legally establishing as fact per the law. It is about truth, character, morality and verification before God, not math.

You can know the holiday …of that day or hour no one knows… only the Father knows when the new moon is official and the holiday begins.

There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Feasts (Trumpets/Teruah, Many Names)

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Fall Feasts, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 1, 2021 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:25b …there shall be seven weeks…

The context of this series of posts is the course of the Jewish people for the initial 49 years of the 483 year period communicated from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel. The city of Jerusalem has been rebuilt post exile. These events are covered in Nehemiah 8-13. Israel is returning to God’s Law. The focus is on God’s appointed holidays. This week, the Feast of Trumpets or Yom Teruah is the topic. Many know the day as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish civil New Year. This is the second of three posts on the initial Fall Feast.

Leviticus 23:23-25 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’”

Numbers 29:1 ‘Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall also have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets.

Image: Getty

The shofar is blown 100 times on the Feast of Trumpets.  There are three different sounds (Tekiah, Shevarim, Teruah). Each is blown three times for a total of 9 blasts. This pattern is completed 11 times for a total of 99 blasts. The last blast is set aside. It is the longest and loudest. It is known as the “Last Trump”. References provided by (El Shaddai Ministries).

This holiday has many different names. Some of the names are listed below. Jewish tradition has Rosh Hashanah as the birthday of the world and the head of years.

It is known as the “Coronation of Messiah”. Traditionally, kings of Israel have been appointed on Yom Teruah. King David was coronated on this new moon holiday. Israel’s Messiah comes from the lineage of King David.

Psalm 47 O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy. For the Lord Most High is to be feared, a great King over all the earth. He subdues peoples under us and nations under our feet. He chooses our inheritance for us, the glory of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.

God has ascended with a shout, the Lord, with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a skillful psalm. God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne. The princes of the people have assembled themselves as the people of the God of Abraham, for the shields of the earth belong to God; He is highly exalted.

It is known as the “Hidden Day”. Psalm 27:5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.

Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the LORD, All you humble of the earth who have carried out His ordinances; seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the LORD’S anger.

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It is known as the “Wedding of the Messiah”.  Joel 2:15-16 Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room and the bride out of her bridal chamber.

There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Feasts (Trumpets/Teruah, Day of Blowing)

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Fall Feasts, Prophecy, Rapture, Resurrection with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 25, 2021 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:25b …there shall be seven weeks…

The context of this series of posts is the course of the Jewish people for the initial 49 years of the 483 year period communicated from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel. The city of Jerusalem has been rebuilt post exile. These events are covered in Nehemiah 8-13. Israel is returning to God’s Law. The focus is on God’s appointed holidays. This week, the Feast of Trumpets or Yom Teruah is the topic. Many know the day as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish civil New Year. This is the first of three posts on the initial Fall Feast.

Leviticus 23:23-25 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’”

Numbers 29:1 ‘Now in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall also have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work. It will be to you a day for blowing trumpets.

And blow the trumpets they do. This holiday has many names. It is called the Feast of Trumpets by Christians. It is recognized as the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. In Judaism, it is called Yom Teruah which means the “Day of Blowing”.

The directions for the holiday are straight forward.

  1. It is to be a day of rest or a Sabbath.
  2. The day is a holy or separate day. It is a convocation. The Hebrew word for convocation is miqra’. Per Strong’s Concordance it means: rehearsal, convocation, a reading, a calling together, or sacred assembly.
  3. It is a memorial and reminder to blow or shout. The Hebrew word is teruah. It means: alarm, signal, a sound of tempest, shout of joy, blast of war, alarm, joy, war-cry, or battle-cry.

Judaism recognizes three trumps: first trump, the last trump, and the great trump. Each one of these named trumps represents a specific day. The “first trump” is blown on the Feast of Pentecost (Exodus 19:19). The “great trump” is blown on Yom Kippur and signals the return of Christ to Earth (Matthew 24:31). The “last trump” is synonymous with Yom Teruah or Rosh Hashanah (1 Corinthians 15:52). Resources: Festivals of the Jewish Year, Theodore Gaster; The High Holy Days, Herman Kieval.

This God appointed holiday is the only new moon observance. This is not some Old Testament warm and fuzzy tradition. God has a point and a reason. He has not forgotten. The Apostle Paul makes note of this holiday. 

Colossians 2:16-17 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

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God has singled out this appointed holiday for some big time fireworks! Judaism has been rehearsing this holiday for thousands of years since Moses.

Has the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed) connected the dots… (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.)

Resurrection and rapture on the Feast of Trumpets???

There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Feasts (Pentecost, Solid Food)

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Pentecost/Shavuot/Feast of Weeks, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on July 19, 2021 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:25b …there shall be seven weeks…

The context of this series of posts is the course of the Jewish people for the initial 49 years of the 483 year period communicated from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel. The city of Jerusalem has been rebuilt post exile. These events are covered in Nehemiah 8-13. Israel is returning to God’s Law. The focus has shifted to God’s appointed holidays. This week, Pentecost remains in focus. This is the second of two posts on what is known as Shavuot in the Hebrew.

Hebrews 5:12-14 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

The author of Hebrews is addressing believers. God’s word is being equated with milk. Grow up! You are going in the wrong direction. Stop acting like a baby! Babies drink milk. They do not eat food. At this point as believers in Christ, there should be more maturity. These believers should be ready to eat real, solid food and should be getting off of the liquid diet. Moreover, they should be teaching others about Christ.

Hebrews 6:1-4 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits. For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit…

According to the text, these are the fundamentals of Jesus Christ: repentance of dead works, faith toward God, instruction about washing and laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

There is also a reminder. At the time of the writing of Hebrews, Jewish men had been coming to the Jerusalem for over 1,500 years per God’s instruction for Shavuot (Exodus 23:14-17) since the time of Moses. God gave the instructions for Shavuot to Moses on Mount Sinai on this ordained holiday (Leviticus 23).

Shavuot and Pentecost are synonymous. Shavuot is often associated with God giving the Torah, the birth of Judaism. Pentecost is often associated with God giving the Holy Spirit, the birth of the church. Part of the celebration of the holiday includes eating and drinking milk products. The author of Hebrews is equating milk with the holiday as a reminder.

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/shavuot-101/

Today, the tradition of eating and drinking dairy products continues with Shavuot. In addition, the book of Ruth is read. There is a reminder to us as well. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit of God within us. We are sealed with the Spirit. 

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

Spread the Word. It is time to get off the teat…

There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Feasts (Pentecost, Beginnings)

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Pentecost/Shavuot/Feast of Weeks, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 11, 2021 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:25b …there shall be seven weeks…

The context of this series of posts is the course of the Jewish people for the initial 49 years of the 483 year period communicated from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel. The city of Jerusalem has been rebuilt post exile. These events are covered in Nehemiah 8-13. Israel is returning to God’s Law. The focus has shifted to God’s appointed holidays. First Fruits was covered last week. This week, Pentecost is in focus. This is the first of two posts on what is known as Shavuot in the Hebrew.

SONY DSC

Leviticus 23:15-16 ‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.

Other provisions for the holiday include two loaves of bread, sacrificial lambs, a bull, two rams, a goat, and a drink offering of wine. The holiday is also a day of rest with no work (Leviticus 23:17-21).

In the Old Testament and in the Hebrew, this holiday is referred to as Shavuot. The word means: weeks.

Shavuot is one of the three holidays where Jewish men are required to come to Jerusalem (Exodus 23:14-17). The men were to make their presentation and sacrifice before God at the Temple.

As stated in the Leviticus passage, it is seven weeks after the Sabbath. It is a celebration of the completed grain harvest. The holiday is also a celebration of God giving the Torah (instruction or law) to nation Israel. Because of this, Shavuot is considered as the beginning or birth of Judaism.

The Law was given on Mount Sinai roughly 1,500 years before Christ. Nation Israel honored this holiday every year. Eating and drinking dairy products are part of the celebration of Shavuot. Many think the custom of dairy products is in reference to Bible verses in Exodus referring to a promised land flowing with milk and honey.  

Exodus 3:8a “So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey…

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/why-dairy-on-shavuot/

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Fast forward to 33 AD. Nation Israel is celebrating and living the holiday. Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they (apostles) were all together in one place. In the Greek New Testament, Shavuot (Hebrew) is translated as Pentekoste (Greek). Per Strong’s Concordance, it means: the fiftieth day; the second of the three great Jewish feasts, celebrated at Jerusalem yearly, the seventh week after the Passover, in grateful recognition of the completed harvest. We have transliterated the word to Pentecost (English).

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This is the day promised by Jesus of the giving of the Holy Spirit. 

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

~

Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. 

It is seven weeks after the death of the sacrificial lamb, Jesus. Shavuot or Pentecost is also the day God the Father gave the Holy Spirit. Because of this, Pentecost is considered the beginning or the birth of the church (believers in Jesus Christ).

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Spring_Holidays/Shavuot/shavuot.html

Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…”

There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Feasts (First Fruits)

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Gospel, Prophecy, Resurrection with tags , , , , , , , , , , on June 27, 2021 by paulthepoke

Daniel 9:25b …there shall be seven weeks…

The context of this series of posts is the course of the Jewish people for the initial 49 years of the 483 year period communicated from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel. The city of Jerusalem has been rebuilt post exile. These events are covered in Nehemiah 8-13. Israel is returning to God’s Law. The focus has shifted to God’s appointed holidays. Passover and Unleavened Bread were covered last week. This week, First Fruits is the focus.

Nehemiah 10:33 …the appointed feasts…

There are seven God appointed holidays communicated through the Old Testament Law. They are Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles.

The first three spring holidays were fulfilled on the appointed holiday by Jesus Himself. The name of the feast covered today is First Fruits.

Leviticus 23:9-14 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD. And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the LORD with a pleasing aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin. And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

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 priest is to make a barley offering of the first portion of the harvest to the Lord. The priest intervenes on 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. This is to be done every year in perpetuity.

1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Jesus had unfinished business for this appointed day of His resurrection. He was going to Heaven to be the First Fruit offering before God the Father in Heaven.

Jesus was the first portion barley offering before the Father. Jesus also brought a grain sheaf offering with Him before His Father. 

Matthew 27:52-53 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Jesus is our High Priest and representative before God the Father.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of First Fruits, Reshit Katzir.

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