Archive for Feasts of the Lord

The Number 7 – Truth or Coincidence??? Kristina Weinreich

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Kristina Weinreich with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2023 by paulthepoke

During my scripture studies, I have been reading about the number seven (7). I find the truth and reliability of the Scriptures reinforced in a number. When you see the number and the situations that stretch across the time of the Old and New Testaments, you cannot dismiss the divine as coincidence but see it as proof of its truth.

In the Old Testament:
There were seven days of creation. The seventh day being the day of completion and rest.

In Hebrew scriptures, there are seven words in Genesis 1:1 and 14 words in Genesis 1:2.

Also in Hebrew Scriptures, there are seven paragraphs from Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:3, which is the verse about the seventh day.

According to Jewish tradition, the creation of Adam occurred on September 26, which is the first day of Tishri, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar.

It is also believed that Jesus, the 2nd Adam, was born around this time, during the fall feasts. (Bethlehem & Herodium Hill)

There are seven sabbatical feasts:

  1. The Passover (Leviticus 23:5)
  2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6-8)
  3. The Feast of First Fruit (Leviticus 23:9-14)
  4. The Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-21)
  5. The Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23: 23-25)
  6. The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:26-32)
  7. The Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-34)

There are seven colors in the rainbow that God created as a covenant after the flood.

Abraham swore an oath of ownership over a well at Beersheba. The well is called “The Well of Seven”. Seven lambs were given as payment. (Genesis 21:25-34).

At Jericho, Joshua was instructed to march seven days around the walls. On the seventh day, seven priests joined the march while blowing seven trumpets (Joshua 6:1-27).

In 2 Kings 5:1-19, Naaman was instructed to wash seven times in the Jordan River for healing.

Isaiah 11:1-2 speaks of the coming of Christ and the seven spirits (traits of perfection) that will upon him:

  1. The spirit of the Lord
  2. The spirit of wisdom
  3. The spirit of understanding
  4. The spirit of counsel
  5. The spirit of might
  6. The spirit of knowledge
  7. The spirit of the fear of the Lord

King David referred to God’s word “like gold refined seven times” (Psalm 12:6).

https://openclipart.org/detail/171713/lucky-seven

In the New Testament:
There are seven petitions in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6: 9-13).

  1. Thy kingdom come
  2. Thy will be done on earth as in heaven
  3. Give us this day our daily bread
  4. Forgive us our debts
  5. As we (let us) forgive our debtors
  6. Lead us not into temptation
  7. Deliver us from evil

In Matthew 18:21-22, we are told to forgive not seven times but seventy times seven or seventy-seven (depending translation).

Christ used seven metaphors to describe himself as the path to salvation:

  1. The Bread of Life (John 6:35)
  2. The Light of the World (John 8:12)
  3. The Door to Salvation (John 10:9)
  4. The Good Shepherd (John 10:11)
  5. The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25-26)
  6. The Way, The Truth, The Life (John 14:6)
  7. The Vine (John 15:5)

Jesus healed seven individuals on the seventh day of the week. He made them complete on the day of completion.

  1. A man with a deformed hand (Mark 12:9-13)
  2. A man possessed by an unclean spirit (Mark 12:23-26)
  3. Peter’s mother-in-law with fever (Mark 12:29-31)
  4. A woman with an eighteen year infirmity (Luke 13:10-13)
  5. A man with dropsy (Luke 14:1-4)
  6. An invalid man by the pool of Bethesda (John 5:5-9)
  7. A man blind from birth (John 9:1-7)

Christ made seven statements from the cross:

  1. “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:4)
  2. “Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
  3. “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 2:45)
  4. “Woman, behold thy son” and in the same statement “Behold thy mother” (John 19:26-27).
  5. “I thirst.” (John 19:28)
  6. “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
  7. “My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me.” (Matthew 27:46)

In Revelation, there are:

Seven letters to seven churches
Seven seals to be broken
Seven trumpets blown by seven angels
Seven bowls of wrath to be poured out by seven angels

While this is not a comprehensive list of the number seven in the Bible, I believe this supports my belief in the truth of the scriptures. It is truth not coincidence.

Citations
Bethlehem & Herodium Hill. The Birth of Yeshua (Jesus) and the Fall Feasts, https://free.messianicbible.com/feature/birth-of-yeshua-jesus-fall-feasts/.

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There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Feasts (Passover/Unleavened Bread)

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Spring Feasts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 20, 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. The monthly offering of the Temple service was covered last week. This week, Nehemiah reminds the Jewish people of God’s appointments or the feasts.

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 names of the feasts covered today are: Passover and Unleavened Bread.

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.’”

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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 12:14-20. 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.

Exodus 12:14-20 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you. And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”

Who is the sacrificial Passover Lamb of God? Who is the sinless Bread of Life? Got Jesus?

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Concerning the Rapture… Mike Brotherton

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Prophecy, Rapture with tags , , , on September 29, 2019 by paulthepoke

Concerning Jesus’ return for the church, we are told to keep watch and always be ready. Some are foolish and set dates while others seek Him out through the Scriptures to determine what to look for.

Those who come to expect the Lord during the feast days are hopeful. We have learned of the fulfillment of the feasts which in the past were fulfilled on the very day of their feasts. It only stands to reason He will fulfill the last 3 on the day of their remembrance as well.

Although no one knows the day or the hour or the year, we can know the season… so we watch and make others aware of the meaning of the feasts or other prophecies. Being hopeful and keeping watch are what we are supposed to be doing as faithful stewards of the Word. Some get overzealous due to the abundance of prophecies being fulfilled. And knowing the signs of the times, they cry out with hope and expectation.

We or they are not being false prophets. We are expressing our hope and great desire to see the Lord and to go to our new home in glory. It is out of an abundance of love for God and our fellow saints that we prognosticate. We are all as Christians continually growing and learning the faith. We all make mistakes. It is when we twist the Scripture purposely for our own glory that we can be seen as false prophets. But the vast majority of us who speak in expectation are sincerely looking for our blessed hope. Nothing more, nothing less.

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Shavuot/Pentecost/Feast of Weeks, 5779/2019

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Pentecost/Shavuot/Feast of Weeks, Spring Feasts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 1, 2019 by paulthepoke

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.

On a Gregorian calendar in the year of 2019, the holiday of Shavuot/Feast of Weeks/Pentecost begins at sunset on Saturday, June 8. The God Appointed holiday ends at sunset Monday, June 10. The Feast takes place in the month of Sivan on the 6th and 7th of a Hebrew calendar. This is the Hebrew year 5779.

Exodus 23:14-17 “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed. You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord GOD.

Shavuot is one of the three holidays where Jewish men are required to come to Jerusalem. The men were to make their presentation and sacrifice before God at the Temple. This holiday is one of seven holidays appointed by God.

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For Shavuot, Jewish men have been commanded to come to Jerusalem for over 3,500 years since the time of Moses. One of the traditions of Shavuot is the consumption of dairy products. God’s word is being equated with milk. A favorite during the holiday is cheesecake. Some think the reason for cheesecake is a reminder the Promised Land flows with milk and honey. There are at least twenty references to a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey in God’s word.

Deuteronomy 26:9 and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Get into God’s Word and eat some good food! Celebrate with cheesecake!

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.

Shavuot, Feast of Weeks 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. God chose His appointed holiday to reveal aspects of who He is.

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Creation of Time: The Calendar

Posted in Creation with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 6, 2016 by paulthepoke

Genesis 1:14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years…

newmoon

There are multiple purposes for these lights and they are stated clearly. One, the lights are to separate day and night. Two, they are signs. Three, they are time markers (seasons, holidays, appointments, days, and years).

…let them be for signs and for seasons…

The Hebrew word for “seasons” is mow`ed (singular); mow`edim (plural). It means: appointed place, appointed time, meeting; appointed time; sacred season, set feast, appointed season; appointed meeting; appointed sign or signal; tent of meeting (definition provided by Strong’s Concordance).

The Jewish calendar is based on three astronomical phenomena. These three are independent of each other.

1) Rotation of the Earth about its axis (a day):

2) Revolution of the moon about the Earth (a month): The average time for the moon to revolve around the Earth is 29.5 days. A pure lunar calendar has a minimum of 354 days in a year.

3) Revolution of the Earth about the sun (a year): The Earth revolves around the sun in about 365¼ days. A pure solar calendar has 12.4 lunar months.

The Jewish calendar coordinates all three of these astronomical phenomena. It is based on moon cycles instead of sun cycles. “Leap months” are added to sync up with sun cycles. Prior to the 4th century, the calendar was determined by observation. The calendar has been calculated mathematically since 4th century. Years are numbered from creation.

A Hebrew Year always contains 12 Hebrew months in a regular year or 13 Hebrew months in a leap year.

http://www.jewfaq.org/calendar.htm

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Calendar/calendar.html

The context of Exodus 12:2 is God giving Moses and Aaron directions prior to the first Passover and eventual exodus from Egypt. This is how and when God determined His New Year.

Exodus 12:2 This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.

The Biblical or Religious New Year begins at the moment of sunset at Jerusalem, on the evening of the first potentially visible crescent moon (Rosh Chodesh) beginning Day 1 of Month 1. The spring equinox is the demarcation point governing the solar cycle. A Biblical New Year can begin before or after the spring equinox.

Exodus 13:10 Therefore, you shall keep this ordinance (Unleavened Bread) at its appointed time from year to year. The first day of Unleavened Bread never occurs before the spring equinox. The rule of the equinox always places Day 15 (Feast of Unleavened Bread) of Month 1 on or after the spring equinox.

The first day of Unleavened Bread on Day 15 of Month 1 is the critical day for calculating a Hebrew Year. This ensures all three festivals take place within a single year as The LORD (Yahweh) specified.

Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.

http://www.torahcalendar.com/ORBITS.asp?HebrewDay=20&HebrewMonth=12&Year=2015

So when is the Biblical New Year? This year of 2016, there is disagreement.

Traditional Hebcal and secular thought has Nisan 1 occurring on sunset, Friday, April 8, 2016 (Gregorian).

The Hebrew Creation calendar has Nisan 1 occurring on sunset, Friday, March 10, 2016 (Gregorian).

Man cannot follow God’s directions when it comes to marking time. Our western Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. Discrepancy and confusion reigns.

What time is it?

Sun, moon, stars, heavenlies…God’s time piece.

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Jesus Christ’s Resurrection, First Fruits

Posted in Gospel, Prophecy, Spring Feasts with tags , , , , , , , on May 18, 2014 by paulthepoke

1 Corinthians 15:20-24a But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming…

So people ask, what are the “first fruits”? This is a reference to the Lord’s Festival. It is as known as different titles. It is called the “Feast of First Fruits” in Christianity. In Hebraic Judaism, it is known as “Reshit Katzir”. In a Jewish mindset it means, the beginning of the harvest. The harvest is resurrected bodies. First Fruits is the third of the LORD’s spring holidays. First Fruits has its roots in the Old Testament after the Jews Exodus out of Egypt.

Leviticus 23:9-14 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD. Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the LORD for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a hin of wine. Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 

The Jewish people were given this appointment from God after leaving Egypt. There are specific directions as to the administration of this holiday. Traditionally, the first fruit to be harvested is barley. The grain is to be presented before God as a fine flour mixed with oil and baked. Translation, a barley bread was baked without yeast (yeast is symbolically sin). The drink offering is wine. Contained in these instructions is a foreshadowing of the elements of communion, bread and wine. Who proclaimed to be the “bread of life”?

Another condition, a perfect lamb was presented and sacrificed. Jesus is called the Lamb of God at least 27 times in the Book of Revelation alone. We know He was sacrificed on a cross. Christ, the seed of grain, was planted in a tomb and resurrected a glorified, incorruptible body.

This is to take place one day after the Sabbath, the first day of the week, or Sunday. God tells the Jewish people this festival is to be completed continually where ever you live. Give thanks to God before eating.

Jesus is the initial harvest of the resurrection. There was a wave of believers in Jesus who were resurrected in Jerusalem after Christ (Matthew 27:52-53). Christ, as high priest, presented and waived this resurrected harvest before the Father.

These spring holidays tell the story of Jesus at His first coming. He was the Passover Lamb that was sacrificed. He was buried before the Sabbath began. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was celebrated on the Sabbath. And he was resurrected on the first day of the week in accordance with the Feast of First Fruits. The Jewish people participated in this holiday for thousands of years from the time of Moses. These spring feasts were literally fulfilled to the day in the person of Jesus.

So who is next? But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming…

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