Gabriel | Paul the Poke

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Gabriel God’s Messenger

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Prophecy with tags daniel, Gabriel, John the Baptist, Virgin Mary, Zechariah the priest 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.

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

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Fall Feasts with tags daniel, Day of Atonement, Gabriel, Gospel, Hebrews 13, Hebrews 6, Hebrews 9, High Priest, Israel, Jesus, Leviticus 16, Sabbath, sin offering, Temple Sacrifices, Yom Kippur 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 21^st 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.

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.

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.

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

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Spring Feasts with tags bread of life, Chag haMatazt, Daniel 9, Exodus 12, Feasts of the Lord, Gabriel, God, Jesus Christ, leaven, Nehemiah 10, Nisan, Passover, Pesach, Sacrificial Lamb, sin, Spring Feasts, Unleavened Bread 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 14^th 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 15^th 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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There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Monthly Offerings

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags daniel, drink offering, ephah, flour, Gabriel, Gospel, hin, Jesus Christ, Mosaic Law, Nehemiah, new month, New Moons, Numbers 28, Old Testament Sacrificial System, Rosh Chodesh, two witnesses, wine on June 13, 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 Temple worship service. The Sabbath offering was covered last week. Next, Nehemiah reminds the Jewish people of the Monthly Offering or the New Moons.

New Moons is a phrase and a reminder of a new month. How is a new moon or a new month determined on the Hebrew calendar? 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 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. Why two witnesses? This concept is part of Jewish law. See Deuteronomy 19:15-21.

Two or more witnesses to the new moon are legally establishing as fact per the law.

Every new moon the following sacrifices are to take place.

Numbers 28:11-15 At the beginning of every month, you are to present to the LORD a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old, all unblemished, along with three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each bull, two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with the ram, and a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering with each lamb. This is a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.

The elements of animal sacrifice and bread remain from the daily offering to the Sabbath offering to the monthly offering. All animals are unblemished and one year old. More bread is required for larger animals and the amount of flour decreases from the bull (3/10 ephah) to the ram (2/10 ephah) to the lamb (1/10 ephah). An ephah is roughly one bushel or 8 dry gallons or 35 liters or 8 pounds.

The element of fire, symbolic for judgment remains. Grilled meat and baked bread is a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

Numbers 28:14 Their drink offerings shall be half a hin of wine with each bull, a third of a hin with the ram, and a quarter hin with each lamb. This is the monthly burnt offering to be made at each new moon throughout the year.

Wine is required with the sacrifice as well. The bigger the animal, more wine is required. The amount of wine for a bull is 1/2 hin, for the ram 1/3 hin, and for the lamb 1/4 hin. The liquid measurement of a hin is roughly 1.5 U.S. gallons or 5.7 liters.

Numbers 28:15 In addition to the regular burnt offering with its drink offering, one male goat is to be presented to the LORD as a sin offering.

Perfect, spotless animals are sacrificed and burned. Symbolically, judgment has been delivered perpetually. Daily, weekly, and monthly examples are provided as a reminder. Bread and wine are served with these sacrifices. These elements represent perfect sacrifices.

And why are the sacrifices offered? Because of the male goat, a symbol for sin.

Christ is the fulfillment! Got Jesus???

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There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Show Bread

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags apostles, daniel, Gabriel, Jesus Christ, Leviticus 24, Lord of the Sabbath, Matthew 12, Nehemiah 10, Pharisees, shewbread, showbread on April 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 Temple worship service. Up first is the showbread or shewbread.

Modern day replication by the Temple Institute https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150789341114969&id=22738684968

Nehemiah 10:33a …for the showbread…

Simply put the term for showbread is “bread” in the original Hebrew. The Hebrew term is lechem. The word is also translated as food or meal. It is bread made from the grain of barley, wheat, or corn.

The original source for the showbread comes from Leviticus 24.

Leviticus 24:5-9 “You shall take fine flour and bake twelve loaves from it; two tenths of an ephah shall be in each loaf. And you shall set them in two piles, six in a pile, on the table of pure gold before the LORD. And you shall put pure frankincense on each pile, that it may go with the bread as a memorial portion as a food offering to the LORD. Every Sabbath day Aaron shall arrange it before the LORD regularly; it is from the people of Israel as a covenant forever. And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, since it is for him a most holy portion out of the LORD’s food offerings, a perpetual due.”

Let’s take a look at the specifics of the verses above from Leviticus 24.

There are 12 loaves of bread, 2 piles of 6. The point of the bread is a memorial portion as a food offering to the LORD.

The text makes it very clear. This is to be done every week on the Sabbath by the descendants of Aaron or the Levites. The bread is to be arranged regularly. It is a covenant forever for the priests. The bread is to be presented weekly as a perpetual due.

photo: Temple Institute

Fast forward roughly 1,440 years from Moses to Jesus. Christ is about to give the Pharisees more than they can handle. Jesus, of course, is going to choose the Sabbath to make a point.

Matthew 12:1-7 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.

If one is hungry, they can eat, even on the Sabbath. The disciples were hungry. It is not illegal to eat on the Sabbath.

But yet, the Pharisees wanted to make an issue of the situation. Jesus chose to use the illegal and sinful example of King David (See 1 Samuel 21 for the incident). David lied and manipulated the situation. Christ also pointed out the hypocrisy of the priests.

Jesus is the Lord. The showbread is a food offering to the LORD. The only crime Jesus committed is He broke the “law” of the Pharisees. Jesus is not breaking the law by eating the showbread on the Sabbath. Taking care of your friends with provision is more important than following a man made tradition.

Matthew 12:8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

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There Shall Be Seven Weeks: The Temple Tax

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Prophecy with tags beka, Daniel 9, Exodus, Gabriel, half shekel, Mosaic Law, Moses, Nehemiah 10, Sanhedrin, stater, temple tax on April 18, 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 Shemitah has been revived. Up next is the reinstatement of the Temple Tax.

Nehemiah 10:32 We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God:

Under the leadership of Nehemiah, the Temple Tax was reinstated. Let’s look at what Nehemiah is proposing compared to what Moses states in the law.

Exodus 30:13-16 This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the Lord. Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the Lord. The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves. You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.”

Here are the specifics of the Temple Tax for service.

Tax of 1/2 Shekel is cost.
Men 20 years of age and older shall pay.
No sliding scale of taxation. Rich and poor pay the same.
Yearly contribution required.
Purpose is for atonement of personal life.

Everything appears to be in alignment with one exception. Moses said 1/2 shekel and Nehemiah says 1/3 shekel. Why the difference? Is Nehemiah being disobedient or cheap?

There are many theories and conjectures as to why the difference. The most reasonable explanation may come from Ridgeway’s Origin of Currency and Weight Measures.

In Moses’ day, Jews contributed a beka or a half shekel.

Exodus 38:26 a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary)…

One beka or a half shekel equals 5.67 grams or about 65 grains.

Ancient Beka Found Near Temple Mount in Jerusalem

Roughly one thousand years had passed from the Exodus and Moses (1440 BC) to Nehemiah’s return to the Promised Land (440 BC).

In Nehemiah’s day, the Babylonian Empire standard was the stater or shekel. This would have been the relevant currency for the Israelis of the time. The stater weighed about 173 grains. One third of a stater or shekel would be 58 grains.

One beka or a half shekel equals 65 grains verses one third stater or shekel equals 58 grains. These two measurements relative to their time and cultural influence are essentially equal.

Fast forward about another 470 years to the time of Jesus. The Roman Empire is in control over the region of Israel and the city of Capernaum. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus made the following observation.

‘The emperor commanded every Jew to pay the two drachma annually to the Capitol which they had before been accustomed to pay to the Temple at Jerusalem.’

Matthew 17:24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?”

This had to really irritate the Jews, specifically Peter and the apostles. The trap had been set. The Roman tax collectors knew who Jesus claimed to be. Jesus was the Jewish King and Messiah. Would Jesus bow to the Romans and pay the tax?

The two-drachma tax is known as the δίδραχμον/didrachma in the original Greek text. The didrachma was a silver coin during the life and times of Jesus that was equal to one half shekel.

We know how the rest of the story goes. Jesus had Peter go fishing. No problem, Jesus and Peter’s tax was paid.

Historical research provided by Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges via Bible Hub.

So here we are roughly 2,000 years later from the time of Christ. Israel is back in the land. Jerusalem is their capital. The modern day Sanhedrin has reconvened. The Temple Tax and the beka are back in the news.

The modern day Sanhedrin issued a Temple Tax back in February 2017. They even minted 1,000 coins with the images of Cyrus the Great and President Donald Trump. They are raising money for the promised third Temple.

Trend Update: Sanhedrin Issues Temple Tax, February 2017

So a tax written by Moses as told to him by God over 3,400 years ago, still relevant…

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There Shall Be Seven Weeks: The Sabbath

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags 10 Commandments, daniel, Exodus, Gabriel, holy, Mosaic Law, Nehemiah 10, Rest, Sabbath on February 28, 2021 by paulthepoke

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

Nehemiah 10:31a And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day.

The concept of the Sabbath was introduced to Israel when they were wandering in the desert for 40 years. This is the first mention of the term “Sabbath”. The specific details are noted in Exodus 16:22-30. God is promising Israel He will provide. Take a day off and rest. It is a gift from God.

Exodus 16:23 then he said to them, “This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.”

Exodus 16:29 “See, the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”

The word “Sabbath” in the Hebrew is transliterated. It is also “Sabbath” in English. The term is equated with rest. It is to be set apart, sacred, and holy.

Genesis 2:2-3 The Sabbath

God introduced the concept in the creation week. On the seventh day, He rested and reflected on His work. God did not need to rest but He did. The Sabbath is “barak” in the Hebrew or blessed. This day is set apart and clean. The ordinance is best described as given to Moses by God Himself. The context is the 10 Commandments.

Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Isaiah 1:12-15 Rest Means Rest!

Nehemiah is teaching Israel about the Sabbath at the end of the week and the holy days. Economic activity will cease during these days. Sales will come to a halt. God set the standard.

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There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Marriage & the First Commandment

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags 2 Corinthians 6, Daniel 9, Exodus 34, First Commandment, Gabriel, God, heart, marriage, Mosaic Law, Nehemiah 10, unequally yoked on February 14, 2021 by paulthepoke

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

Nehemiah 10:1a On the seals are the names of Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah…

It is from this verse we learn of Nehemiah’s position and title. We have the term “governor” in English. The original Hebrew text has the word tirshatha which is a Persian word for “governor”. This term is used five times in the Bible and only by Nehemiah and Ezra.

Nehemiah 10:1-27 is a list of people who were willing to seal their name as a commitment to keep God’s laws and commandments. Others willing to commit to God’s law included a pretty comprehensive list. These folks were required to swear allegiance to God with their obedience (Nehemiah 10:29).

Nehemiah 10:28 The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding…

The first item on the agenda with Nehemiah is marriage. The first item on God’s agenda in the garden was marriage.

Nehemiah 10:30 We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.

This is a reminder from the Mosaic Law. The law is mentioned in Exodus and Deuteronomy.

Exodus 34:16 …and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods. See also Deuteronomy 7:3-4.

The issue is ultimately worshipping the God of Israel. If a man marries a pagan worshipping woman, he will follow her spiritually. He will turn his back from God and go another way. The result will be a violation of the First Commandment.

Exodus 20:3 You shall have no other gods before Me.

Solomon for all of his wisdom did not follow this command. He intermarried many times over and the result was pagan shrines, temples, and idols being built all over Israel. His heart was with pleasing his wives instead of worshipping and focusing on God.

Granted, we are not under the Mosaic Law today in Jesus Christ. For Christians, the issue is not marrying within our tribe or country. We are called to seek the like-minded in Christ in marriage.

2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Christians should present themselves differently. Because of Christ’s work on the cross, we are free from the bondage of sin. He fulfilled the law for us. Jesus imputed righteousness to believers. An unbeliever remains stained with the guilt of sin.

Jesus calls believers to be salt and light for the world. 1 John 1-2 proclaims believers should walk in the light of Christ and keep His commandments. How can an unbeliever illuminate if they are not in the source of light?

In all cases whether it is the Old Testament or the New Testament, this is ultimately about having one’s heart set towards God. Place God first in your lives. Stay focused on God. He knows and wants what is best for us.

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There Shall Be Seven Weeks: God Is With Us

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags Daniel 9, Gabriel, God, Gospel, Israel, Jesus Christ, Nehemiah 9 on February 7, 2021 by paulthepoke

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

As the Israelites read the law, confessed their sins, and worshipped God, the priests made a proclamation.

Nehemiah 9:5b “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.”

The focus of the announcement was a history of who God is and what God has done. It was a time for review and reminder. God is with us.

God is the Creator (Nehemiah 9:6).
God called Abram and established a covenant with Abraham (Nehemiah 9:7-8).
God saw and heard the misery and poverty of His people in Egypt (Nehemiah 9:9).
God performed miracles against Pharaoh and Egypt (Nehemiah 9:10).
God divided the Red Sea (Nehemiah 9:11).
God led by smoke and fire (Nehemiah 9:12).
God delivered the law on Mount Sinai (Nehemiah 9:13-14).
God provided manna and water (Nehemiah 9:15).
God was forgiving, gracious, and compassionate when Israel disobeyed (Nehemiah 9:16-17).
God stuck with and continued provision for Israel even when they made idols (Nehemiah 9:18-20).
God provided and clothes were preserved for forty years in the desert (Nehemiah 9:21).
God gave Israel the Promised Land and the people multiplied (Nehemiah 9:22-24).
God delivered prosperity to His people (Nehemiah 9:25).
God gave Israel to oppressors because of their disobedience (Nehemiah 9:26-30).
God does not forsake Israel and remains gracious and compassionate (Nehemiah 9:31-32).
God is just (Nehemiah 9:33).

At this point in the proclamation, Israel admits their iniquities and sins. They know they are guilty many times over. Israel realizes they are deserving of punishment.

Every level of society from top to bottom was disobedient to the law (Nehemiah 9:34).
Israel did not serve God or repent (Nehemiah 9:35).
Israel acknowledges slavery to God and the land due to sin (Nehemiah 9:36-37).

The good news, Israel is not stuck in its past because of sin. God has an answer for sin. Gabriel told Daniel a Messiah is coming.

Daniel 9:25 Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince…

From our view point today in the 21st century, history tells us Israel rejected their Messiah at His first coming. Despite the rejection, Jesus died on the cross for their sins as well as the remainder of humanity.

Isaiah 53:12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Colossians 2:14 By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Romans 5:8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

But there is more good news for those who believe in Jesus. He is coming again.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

For those who think this is nonsense and do not believe. Your choice has consequences regardless of what you think.

Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

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There Shall Be Seven Weeks: Confession of Sin

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels with tags confession of sin, Daniel 9, Gabriel, holiness, holy, Nehemiah 9, sin on January 31, 2021 by paulthepoke

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

The people of Israel have returned to God and celebrated the Fall Feasts for the first time as a nation in their Promised Land and in Jerusalem. The Fall Feasts concluded on Tishri 22nd. Two days later…

Nehemiah 9:1 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads.

Israel under the leadership of Nehemiah and Ezra, they wasted no time. The date is two days after the solemn assembly on the 24th of Tishri. We know the occasion is of serious tone. Note the description of the scene: fasting, sackcloth, and dust on their heads. Humility is the idea.

Nehemiah 9:2 And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

The nation Israel “separated” or badal in the Hebrew. They set themselves apart from other peoples. Badal is the same word used in the creation week. God divided the day from night. He separated the light from darkness.

The same is true for us today as followers of Jesus Christ. Believers are not to be a part of this world. We are called to be holy and different.

John 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

1 Peter 1:15-16 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

…and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

This is a corporate and historical confession. The people of the nation of Israel are admitting they are sinners both currently and in the past. Israel is expressing their guilt. They know they are worthy of punishment. But, the people continued to worship God.

Nehemiah 9:3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God.