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Trend Update: God’s Fall Appointments, September 2015

Posted in Fall Feasts, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 19, 2015 by paulthepoke

The God appointed fall holidays are the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Below is a brief 10 minute video that provides a framework for God’s fall appointed holidays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_sHxtUklR4

grapes

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.

See also Leviticus 23:23-25.

The first fall holiday has many names. It is called the Feast of Trumpets by Christians. It is recognized as the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Some refer to it as the “Hidden Day” or the “Wedding of the Messiah”. In Judaism, it is called Yom Teruah which means the “Day of Blowing”.

It is the beginning of the civil new year. The date for the Yom Teruah is near Sunday, September 14, 2015 depending on the sighting of the new moon. The new year begins when the new moon is confirmed by two witnesses. There is a partial solar eclipse scheduled for Saturday, September 13, 2015. This solar event time marker ends the year. Jewish rabbis teach when the sun is in eclipse on God’s appointed holidays it is a bad omen for the world (no Biblical support for this claim).

http://paulthepoke.com/2014/09/07/yom-teruahrosh-hashanahfeast-of-trumpets-part-1/

http://paulthepoke.com/2014/09/14/yom-teruahrosh-hashanahfeast-of-trumpets-part-2/

The second fall holiday is the Day of Atonement. See Leviticus 16. 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. This is the busiest day of the year for the high priest with multiple animal sacrifices. The beginning for the Day of Atonement in 2015 is Tuesday, September 22 at sun down.

http://paulthepoke.com/2014/09/21/yom-kippurday-of-atonement/

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.’”

The third and last fall holiday on God’s calendar is Tabernacles. It is also called 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 on a Hebrew calendar. On our western Gregorian calendar, in 2015, the Feast of Tabernacles will be observed from September 28 through October 4. In 2015, the start of the holiday will coincide with a Super Blood Moon (lunar eclipse) that is most visible over Jerusalem. Jewish rabbis teach when the moon is in eclipse on God’s appointed holidays it is a bad omen for Israel (no Biblical support for this claim).

http://paulthepoke.com/2014/10/05/feast-of-tabernaclessukkotboothsthe-feast/

There are seven God appointed holidays communicated through the Old Testament Law. The first four were fulfilled to the day by Jesus Himself with His death, burial, resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. If the first four spring holidays were fulfilled on the God appointed holiday, why would the fall holidays be any different?

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Trend Update: Abortion/Planned Parenthood, July 2015

Posted in Culture, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 22, 2015 by paulthepoke

In the news (July 2015), Planned Parenthood has recently come under scrutiny for their practices with aborted human tissue from the womb. Dr. Mary Gatter, the previous president of Planned Parenthood Medical Directors’ Council discussed compensation for aborted tissue. Dr. Gatter currently serves in leadership and advisory at the local and national level of Planned Parenthood. In the interest of fairness to Dr. Gatter’s comments, see the link below. She articulates her position clearly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=82&v=MjCs_gvImyw

Yes, abortion is a highly controversial topic. The culture has communicated its position on the subject. Elements of the culture and critics state the Bible has nothing to say on the subject. This is incorrect. God has plenty to say in His word.

Next are God’s words. It is acknowledged, His words are offensive to segments of society. Eventually, His words are offensive to all of us if we are honest with ourselves. Please take your complaints and comments directly to Him. He will listen. He is a big boy. He can handle it.

baby

The focus of the post is in regards to the definition of abortion and legal considerations as God states in His word. Here is what God says.

Amos 1:13 Thus says the Lord, “For three transgressions of the sons of Ammon and for four
I will not revoke its punishment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
In order to enlarge their borders.   

The sons of Ammon are modern day Jordan. Back in the day, Ammon wanted to expand their territory at the expense of unborn children. God states judgment is coming because they “ripped”. The Hebrew word for “ripped” is baqa`. Per Strong’s Concordance, it means: to cleave, cleave open; to break through or break into.

A modern day abortion chemically and mechanically breaks through and into the womb invasively.

Abortion is premeditated and not accidental. God makes provision for the unborn child in His Law. Even if the child is harmed in utero and lives to see birth, there are consequences to the offending party. God’s Law accounts for the involuntary manslaughter of an infant in the womb of a mother. He recognizes the baby in the womb as a person and an individual life.

Exodus 21:22-25 “If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

The Hebrew word for “child” is yeled. It is defined as: child, son, boy, offspring, youth, or descendants. God states the life inside the mother is a child.

Exodus 20:13 You shall not murder. Obviously, pre meditated murder is not acceptable.

Hands that shed innocent blood are one of the seven things God hates in Proverbs 6:16-19.

Planned Parenthood and doctors are getting paid and profiting to murder innocent lives. Others profit from the removed tissue. They are not even taking a bribe. It is a series of business transactions. Our tax dollars fund this process.

Deuteronomy 27:25 Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to strike down an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

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Shavuot/Pentecost, Part 1

Posted in Gospel, Pentecost/Shavuot/Feast of Weeks, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 17, 2015 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.

SONY DSC

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 Passover. 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 referring to a promised land flowing with milk and honey. An example is 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/

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).

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…”

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Sabbatical Year/Shemitah, Part 1

Posted in Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , on October 12, 2014 by paulthepoke

Leviticus 25:1-7 The Lord then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the Lord. Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. Your harvest’s aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. All of you shall have the sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you. Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.

These commands in Leviticus were delivered personally to Moses by God. These were words were given to Moses approximately 3,500 years ago from today (October 2014). This is part of the ceremonial law, yet it has practical applications today. God wants His people to be holy or separate. God’s people should separate themselves from others by their behavior.

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.

Exodus 23:10-11 You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

“you shall let it rest…” The word is “shamat” in the Hebrew. It is defined by Strong’s Concordance as: to release, let drop or loose or rest or fall.

The Jewish people also refer to this as “shemitah”. It literally means to release.

Deuteronomy 15:1-2 At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. This is the manner of remission: every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because the LORD’S remission has been proclaimed.

“remission of debts…” In the original Hebrew text “of debts” is not present. “of debts” was added by the translators. Shemitah is the Hebrew word for remission. Shemitah as defined by Strong’s Concordance means: cancellation of debts, letting drop of exactions, (temporary) remitting, release (from debt).

Shemitah comes from the root word shamat.

The land is supposed to rest for one year…

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Trend Update: God’s Fall Appointments, September 2014

Posted in Fall Feasts, Gospel, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 3, 2014 by paulthepoke

There are seven God appointed holidays communicated through the Old Testament Law. The first four were fulfilled to the day by Jesus Himself. If the first four spring holidays were fulfilled on the God appointed holiday, why would the fall holidays be any different?

Jesus is the Passover Lamb. 1 Peter 1:19-21 …but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Jesus was crucified on the Feast of Passover.

Jesus is the unleavened bread. He is the bread of life. John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. Leaven is a symbol of sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Jesus was buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Jesus is the first fruits, the resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 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. Jesus was resurrected on the Feast of First Fruits.

Jesus promised and delivered the Holy Spirit. John 14:16-17 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. That promise was kept on the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 2).

The God appointed fall holidays are the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. Above is a brief 10 minute video found on YouTube that provides a framework of the fall God appointed holidays.

 

 

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Trend Update: Sabbatical/Shemitah Year, August 2014

Posted in Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , on August 20, 2014 by paulthepoke

Exodus 23:10-11 You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, but on the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

The government of Israel has set aside approximately $29 million for farmers who are choosing to honor this law of God. Obedience to the law will result in loss of income to farmers. This upcoming Jewish civil year is a Sabbatical or Shemitah year. It runs from roughly September 24, 2014 through September 13, 2015 on the Gregorian calendar. On a Hebrew calendar, the year runs from Tishri 1 through Elul 29.

Why now? What has possessed the Israeli government to set aside money for farmers to honor this commandment from God? Israel has not paid attention to this law since they returned to the land and were reborn in 1948. The Sabbatical year has not been followed since 70 AD. There is increased interest and concern for this law by farmers and citizens of Israel.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24661/Default.aspx?archive=article_title

http://www.wnd.com/2014/06/israel-rediscovers-shemitah-in-time-for-blood-moons/

http://www.charismanews.com/world/44452-blood-moons-the-shemitah-and-prophetic-implications-we-can-t-ignore

For more details of the Sabbatical Year law see Leviticus 25:1-7 and Deuteronomy 15.

Money has also been set aside in light of Deuteronomy 31:10-11 Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of remission of debts, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing…” This ceremony is scheduled to take place on the Jewish Holiday of Tabernacles or Sukkot. Christians call it the Feast of Booths. The ceremony will be celebrated at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on September 28, 2015. That evening, there will be a big red lunar eclipse that is a Super Moon. Traditionally, lunar eclipses on holidays are a bad omen for Israel.

So what is the big deal? Why should Israel honor this statute in the 21st century? Is this relevant today?

God warned continually of consequences and judgment if His commandments were not followed. Eventually, judgment came at the hands of the Babylonians. Jerusalem was destroyed. People were killed. Those who survived were taken into captivity by Babylon. See 2 Chronicles 36:15-20 for more detail. God was keeping track. The land will have its rest. 2 Chronicles 36:21 …to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

Is God still counting??? If so…??? Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill…” –Jesus

Got Jesus…???

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Isaiah 5:24-25 Israel Rejects God’s Word

Posted in Isaiah with tags , , , , , , on September 15, 2012 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 5:24-25 Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble and dry grass collapses into the flame, So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

On this account the anger of the LORD has burned against His people, and He has stretched out His hand against them and struck them down. And the mountains quaked, and their corpses lay like refuse in the middle of the streets. For all this His anger is not spent, but His hand is still stretched out. 

The imagery of a consuming fire is not that hard to imagine considering the summer of 2012. There were stories of sparks starting massive fires across the country side. Flowers were literally drying and shriveling away to nothing due to the heat. This is the comparison to the reality of Israel. They are the burning grass and withering flower.

Why is Israel in such peril? They rejected God’s word. The grammar in the Hebrew indicates that Israel has intensively rejected and spurned God’s word. They have not casually dismissed His commands. They have actively shunned.

God will have an emphatic response to this rejection. The people of Israel will be subjected to fire, death, and earthquakes for starters. The figurative language describing the death is vivid. The bodies will lie in the street like a pile of dung. Growing up in Oklahoma, I can visualize the splat of a cow patty on Main Street after the rodeo parade in the middle of summer.

This will not be the end. God’s wrath is not complete. He is poised to continue. Moving forward from verse 26 through the end of the chapter, there will be an invasion from a swift and hostile country.

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