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ZECHARIAH: GOD REMEMBERS -Mark Wilson

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Mark Wilson with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 11, 2026 by paulthepoke

Mark provides outstanding Biblical content on X @ https://x.com/Mark_Wilson_25/

A figure dressed in biblical attire stands on a rocky ledge, overlooking a city with ancient architecture under a dramatic sky filled with rays of sunlight and clouds.

Zechariah is one of the most breathtaking books in all of Scripture.

Its name means “YHWH remembers,” and that truth runs through the entire book.

God remembers His covenant.
The LORD remembers Jerusalem.
The Holy One of Israel remembers His people.
The King remembers every promise He has spoken.

Zechariah begins with a returned remnant, a damaged city, and a Temple being rebuilt. But the prophecy quickly moves far beyond Zechariah’s own generation.

The horizon expands to Israel’s future, Messiah’s coming, Jerusalem’s central role, Israel’s repentance, the judgment of the nations, and the establishment of the Kingdom.

Zechariah is a prophetic mountain range.

GOD HAS NOT FORGOTTEN JERUSALEM

The LORD declares: “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion.” Zechariah 1:14

And again: “I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.” Zechariah 8:3

Then comes one of the most beautiful pictures of restoration: “Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem… and the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing.” Zechariah 8:4–5

Jeremiah gives the same assurance: “If this fixed order departs from before Me… then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before Me forever.” Jeremiah 31:35–36

And in that same chapter: “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” Jeremiah 31:31

Ezekiel adds: “I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.” Ezekiel 36:24

Then comes spiritual renewal: “I will sprinkle clean water on you… and I will give you a new heart.” Ezekiel 36:25–26

Zechariah is not standing alone. He is part of a much larger prophetic chorus.

THE KING CAME HUMBLE

Zechariah foretold the arrival of Israel’s King: “Behold, your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9

Yeshua fulfilled that prophecy literally. But the next verse looks beyond His humble arrival: “His rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” Zechariah 9:10

The same Messiah who came in humility will rule in glory. First the suffering. Then the crown.

THE SHEPHERD WOULD BE STRUCK

Zechariah also foretold Messiah’s rejection: “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” Zechariah 13:7

Yeshua Himself applied this passage to what was about to happen to Him. But Zechariah never leaves the story at rejection. The Shepherd who was struck will return as King.

ISRAEL WILL LOOK UPON THE ONE THEY PIERCED

Zechariah 12 is one of the most remarkable passages in the Tanakh. The LORD says: “I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy.” Zechariah 12:10

Then comes the stunning line: “They will look on Me, on Him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him.”

Recognition. Repentance. Grace. Restoration.

And the next chapter follows with cleansing: “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.” Zechariah 13:1

Yeshua later spoke of a future day when Jerusalem would welcome Him: “You will not see Me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Matthew 23:39

Paul says the same storyline continues in Romans 11: “A partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” Romans 11:25

Then: “And in this way all Israel will be saved.” Romans 11:26

And why can we trust that promise? “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Romans 11:29

Israel’s story is not finished.

JERUSALEM WILL STAND AT THE CENTER OF WORLD EVENTS

Zechariah says: “I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples.” Zechariah 12:3

The nations gather against the city.

But Jerusalem is not only the center of conflict. It is also the center of the coming Kingdom.

Isaiah saw the same future: “It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established.” Isaiah 2:2

And: “For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” Isaiah 2:3

Jerusalem is not erased from the prophetic story. It becomes central to it.

THE GOD OF ISRAEL WILL INTERVENE

Zechariah describes a future moment when the nations gather against Jerusalem. Then: “The LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when He fights on a day of battle.” Zechariah 14:3

And then comes one of the most dramatic prophecies in Scripture: “On that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east.” Zechariah 14:4

The mountain splits. The geography is specific. Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives. A real city. A real mountain. A real intervention.

Revelation 19 describes Messiah’s triumphant return as heaven opens and the King comes in righteousness and judgment.

Then Revelation 20 follows with His thousand-year reign.

The sequence is powerful: The King returns. His enemies are judged. Israel is restored. The nations come under His rule. The Kingdom is established.

THE KING WILL REIGN OVER ALL THE EARTH

Zechariah reaches its climax here: “The LORD will be King over all the earth.” Zechariah 14:9

That is where history is heading. Not toward the failure of God’s promises. Not toward the abandonment of Israel. Not toward the disappearance of Jerusalem from the prophetic plan.

But toward the reign of the King.

Living waters will flow from Jerusalem. The nations will come to worship. The city will be holy.

And: “Everyone who survives of all the nations… shall go up year after year to worship the King.” Zechariah 14:16

That is the breathtaking message of Zechariah.

The God of Israel remembers. The Shepherd was struck. The King is coming. Jerusalem will see Him. Israel will be restored. The nations will worship.

And one day: “The LORD will be King over all the earth.” Zechariah 14:9

Every promise will stand.

~

Mark provides outstanding Biblical content on X @ https://x.com/Mark_Wilson_25/

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WILL THERE BE A THIRD AND FOURTH JEWISH TEMPLE? – Mark Wilson

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Mark Wilson, Prophecy, Temple with tags , , , , , , , , , , on October 3, 2026 by paulthepoke

Mark provides outstanding Biblical content on X @ https://x.com/Mark_Wilson_25/

Infographic discussing the potential for a third and fourth Jewish temple, comparing the size of today's Temple Mount (36 acres) to Ezekiel's envisioned sacred enclosure (630 acres).

Here is a remarkable problem: Ezekiel’s future Temple complex does not fit on today’s Temple Mount.

The present Temple Mount covers approximately: 36 acres.

But on the traditional 500-reed reading of Ezekiel 42:15–20, Ezekiel’s sacred enclosure would cover roughly: 630 acres.

That is about 17½ times larger. 36 acres today.

630 acres in Ezekiel.

That is not a minor architectural difference. It may be an important clue that Scripture describes two different future Temple settings.

A TEMPLE BEFORE MESSIAH RETURNS

Daniel writes: “In the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.” Daniel 9:27

For sacrifice to be stopped, sacrifice must first be occurring.

Jesus then points directly back to Daniel: “When you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place…” Matthew 24:15

Paul adds that the man of lawlessness: “sits as God in the temple of God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4

And John is told: “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.” Revelation 11:1

The surrounding context gives us Jerusalem and 42 months.
Notice the progression:

Daniel: sacrifice.
Jesus: holy place.
Paul: Temple.
Revelation: Temple, altar, worshipers, Jerusalem, 42 months.

This is what Christians commonly call the Third Temple. The Bible never uses that number. It is simply shorthand for a Jewish sanctuary existing after the Second Temple and before Messiah’s kingdom.

AND THIS IS NO LONGER PURELY THEORETICAL

No Third Temple is currently under construction.

But preparations associated with future Temple worship are real.

The Temple Institute in Jerusalem continues preparing sacred vessels, priestly garments, and other elements connected with renewed Temple service. It has also clarified recent speculation about the red heifers: an earlier burning was only a practice exercise, while several heifers remain under evaluation. Jewish worship on the Temple Mount has also become more visible in 2026, including expanded use of prayer materials and public prayer in circumstances that would have been highly restricted in previous years.

None of this proves Daniel’s seventieth week has begun.

Prophecy calls for watchfulness, not date-setting.

But after nearly 2,000 years without a Jewish Temple, renewed discussion of Temple worship is no longer purely hypothetical.

THEN COMES JACOB’S TROUBLE

Jeremiah describes an unprecedented future crisis: “It is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.” Jeremiah 30:7

Daniel echoes it: “There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.” Daniel 12:1

Jesus uses almost identical language: “Then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world.” Matthew 24:21

Jeremiah.

Daniel.

Jesus.

An unparalleled crisis centered on Israel and Jerusalem, followed by deliverance.

ZECHARIAH SHOWS WHY THIS IS STILL FUTURE

Zechariah says: “Two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it.” Zechariah 13:8

Then the surviving third is refined: “They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; and each one will say, ‘YHVY is my God.’” Zechariah 13:9

And the prophecy continues directly into chapter 14:

Jerusalem attacked. The nations gathered. YHVY goes forth to fight. His feet stand upon the Mount of Olives. Zechariah 14:1–4

That complete sequence has never occurred.

Neither Antiochus IV nor AD 70 fulfilled it.

The Holocaust was an unspeakable catastrophe, but it did not culminate in the full Zechariah 13–14 sequence of national refining, YHVY’s intervention, and His feet standing upon the Mount of Olives.

That is why the futurist reading understands Jacob’s Trouble as still future.

DOES THE TANAKH REALLY REQUIRE TWO FUTURE TEMPLES?

This is one of the strongest Jewish objections.
A Jewish reader can reasonably argue:

Daniel’s desecration prophecies were fulfilled in ancient history, while Ezekiel 40–48 describes the future Messianic Temple. Why introduce another Temple between them?

So leave the New Testament aside for a moment.
Daniel 12 itself gives us:

Sacrifice.
Abomination.
Unparalleled trouble.
Israel’s deliverance.
Resurrection.

Daniel 12:1–2, 11
Antiochus IV did not complete that sequence.
Neither did Titus in AD 70.

Zechariah likewise points to a future crisis culminating in YHVY’s direct intervention at Jerusalem.

The Tanakh itself therefore points toward a future climactic period involving Israel, Jerusalem, sacrifice, desecration, national refining, divine intervention, and deliverance.

The New Testament does not invent that expectation.

It adds further detail.

COULDN’T EZEKIEL’S TEMPLE SIMPLY BE THE NEXT TEMPLE?

Possibly, if the settings were the same. But they are not.

The sanctuary associated with Daniel exists amid: Sacrifice. Desecration. Unprecedented trouble. Jerusalem under assault.

Ezekiel’s Temple exists after restoration, in a reordered land, with tribal allotments, a supernatural river flowing from the sanctuary, and YHVY declaring:

“This is the place of My throne… where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever.” Ezekiel 43:7

Then comes the size problem again:

Present Temple Mount: ~36 acres. Ezekiel’s enclosure: ~630 acres.

How could it fit?

Perhaps it is not supposed to fit today’s Jerusalem.

Zechariah says that when Messiah comes: “The Mount of Olives shall be split in two.” Zechariah 14:4

And: “All the land shall be turned into a plain… Jerusalem shall be raised up.” Zechariah 14:10

Ezekiel’s Temple belongs to a transformed Jerusalem after Messiah returns.

DOESN’T THE CROSS END TEMPLE SACRIFICES FOREVER?

This is probably the strongest Christian objection.

Hebrews is unmistakable: “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Hebrews 10:10

Christ’s sacrifice cannot be repeated or supplemented.

Yet Ezekiel 40–48 unmistakably describes sacrifices.

Therefore those sacrifices cannot provide eternal redemption.

Whatever ceremonial function they serve in Messiah’s kingdom, they cannot compete with Calvary.

Hebrews must mean exactly what Hebrews says.
And Ezekiel must mean exactly what Ezekiel says.

THE PROPHETIC SEQUENCE

Second Temple destroyed

↓

Future Jewish Temple

↓

Sacrifice restored

↓

Abomination of desolation

↓

Jacob’s Trouble

↓

Two-thirds cut off, one-third refined

↓

Israel calls upon YHVY

↓

The nations gather against Jerusalem

↓

Messiah returns

↓

Mount of Olives splits

↓

Jerusalem is transformed

↓

Ezekiel’s approximately 630-acre sacred enclosure

↓

Messiah’s kingdom

And eventually comes the New Jerusalem: “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” Revelation 21:22

So will there be a Third and Fourth Jewish Temple?

If these prophetic texts retain their ordinary historical, geographical, and national meaning, the sequence is remarkably coherent:

A Temple before Messiah returns.

A vastly different Temple after He returns.

“And YHVY shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be, YHVY is one,’ and His name one.” Zechariah 14:9

Mark provides outstanding Biblical content on X @ https://x.com/Mark_Wilson_25/

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Feast of Tabernacles 5787/5951/2026

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Fall Feasts with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2026 by paulthepoke

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.’”

On our western Gregorian calendar in 2026, the Feast of Tabernacles will be observed from about Friday, September 25th to Friday, October 2th (Great Day). Or pending the new moon confirmed at the beginning of the Hebrew month of Tishri.

This year, the Essenes mark the beginning of Tabernacles on Wednesday, September 30th and runs through Tuesday, October 6th. The last and Great Day occurs on Wednesday, October 7th.

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.

Jews sing Isaiah 12:3 Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation, during the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot.

The Jewish holiday 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 and pours the water into one of the silver basins by the altar (Wayne Stiles, Insight for Living).

Jesus connects the dots for us in the Book of John. He is promising those who believe in Him the Holy Spirit. Jesus is making this proclamation on the last day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

John 7:37-39 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

This chapter of Isaiah is a universal promise to the entire world. The Holy One, Jesus is our salvation. Isaiah 12 refers to the promise of the Holy Spirit and the reign of Jesus. And He is going to live and dwell with us.

John 4:14 “…but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”-Jesus

~

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

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Red Heifer Update: Sacrificial Practice

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , on July 14, 2025 by paulthepoke

Numbers 19:5-6 And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned. And the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire burning the heifer.

Somewhere in Samaria…

In the drill, a red heifer that had been housed at Shiloh by the Boneh Israel organization was prepared and burned on a pyre of wood as preparation for the possibility of an actual ceremony in the future. The heifer was not suitable for the actual ceremony, as it had been inspected by the rabbis of the Temple Institute and judged to have non-red hairs, thereby disqualifying it. The heifer was burned on a pyre of wood precisely as specified in Jewish sources.

When the time comes, the official sacrifice will take place on the Mount of Olives.

The red heifer project is under the direction of Rabbi Azariah Ariel of the Temple Institute.

https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/411316

Practice Burning of Red Heifer Carried Out

Sacrificial red heifer practice was initiated back in August 2019.

Red Heifer Update: Heifer Burning Practice

As of March 2025, there are no red heifer candidates per Rabbi Azariah Ariel.

“At this moment, we don’t have in our possession in Israel a red heifer that is verifiably kosher and suited for the ceremony…”

For all things red heifer coverage dating back to 2014, click on the link below.

https://paulthepoke.com/?s=red+heifer

~

As many Christians are acutely aware, animal sacrifices for sin are no longer required. However, these things are still prophesied. After all, the antichrist needs a Temple to defile.

To be clear, the red heifer is the symbol or type of things to come. Jesus Christ is the real deal, the fulfillment.

The innocent, shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross is the fulfillment of forgiveness and the release from sin.

Hebrews 9:22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

As the red heifer was and will be again sacrificed outside the city limits of Jerusalem, so was Jesus Christ. As the sacrifice of the red heifer is for the purification and consecration of the people of Israel, so was and is Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 13:12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

Christ’s sacrifice is not only for the people of Israel, but for all the people of the world. He is the sacrifice for all sin for all time.

1 John 1:7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

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Red Heifer Update, August 2024

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Prophecy, Sacrificial System, Trend Update with tags , , , , , on August 17, 2024 by paulthepoke

Arabs have the understanding the red heifer will be sacrificed on the Mount of Olives across the valley from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Muslims are acutely aware of the 5 red heifer candidates imported from Texas.

The article also recognizes the existence of the two previous Jewish Temples.

“Temple worshipers are now practising the mitzvah [religious duty] of a red cow in front of the Temple Mount, which will enable the return of purity and the observance of all the temple mitzvahs,” Yinon Magal, journalist.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-practise-red-heifer-ritual-al-aqsa

“We look back 100 days to remember the educated, the complicit, and the incapacitated among the world powers governed by the law of the jungle, reminding them of an aggression that reached its peak against our path (Al-Quds) and Al-Aqsa, with the start of its actual temporal and spatial division, and the ‘bringing of red cows’ as an application of a detestable religious myth designed for aggression against the feelings of an entire nation in the heart of its Arab identity, and the path of its prophet (the Night Journey) and Ascension to heaven.” -Abu Obeida, Military Spokesman, Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas

https://www.israel365news.com/382489/hamas-spokesman-oct-7-attack-launched-to-stop-the-red-heifers

As the Temple Institute and modern day Sanhedrin see it, the ashes from the sacrifice of the red heifer are necessary for purification prior to the building of the Temple.

Three to four years of age is an oral tradition that has been passed down through the generations. This is the minimal age necessary for red heifer sacrifice.

According to Jewish tradition, historically there have been 9 perfect red heifers. The 10th perfect red heifer is to coincide with the advent of the Messiah and the third Temple.

Back in October 2019, Heifer burning practice was initiated.

Red Heifer Update: Heifer Burning Practice

The innocent, shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross is the fulfillment of forgiveness and the release from sin.

Hebrews 9:22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

As the red heifer was and will be again sacrificed outside the city limits of Jerusalem, so was Jesus Christ. As the sacrifice of the red heifer is for the purification and consecration of the people of Israel, so was and is Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 13:12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

Christ’s sacrifice is not only for the people of Israel, but for all the people of the world. He is the sacrifice for all sin for all time.

1 John 1:7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

~

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

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Sukkot/Tabernacles 5783/2022

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Fall Feasts, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 9, 2022 by paulthepoke

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.’”

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).

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 is after the harvest in the fall. Simply put, it is also called “the feast” or “the festival”.

The new moon was identified in Israel on Tuesday, September 27th, 2022. Sukkot/Feast of Tabernacles/15th Day of the 7th Month is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, October 11th at sunset. As calculated by modern man, Tabernacles is scheduled to begin on sunset Sunday, October 9th through Sunday, October 16th, 2022.

Tishri is the seventh month on a Hebrew calendar. This festival is a week-long festival from Tishri 15 to 21.

Tabernacles is the last of three festivals where men are required to make a road trip to Jerusalem and go to the Temple.

Per Zechariah 14:16-19, the Feast of Booths is the only God appointed holiday gentile nations will be required to attend. The nations will be required to go before the Lord Jesus Christ during the Feast of Booths. For those nations who do not attend, no rain for your crops.

Zechariah 14:16-19 Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. And should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, then the rain will not fall on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

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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…

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Temple Mount Shofar Blowing Denied on Rosh Hashanah, 5781

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Fall Feasts, Prophecy, Sanhedrin, Trend Update with tags , , , , on September 20, 2020 by paulthepoke

Temple Mount, Rosh Hashanah 5781/2020: For this year, the shofar was not allowed to be blown on the Temple Mount.

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.

The Sanhedrin and the Shalom Jerusalem Foundation had requested to blow the shofar on the Temple Mount to bring in the secular Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. In Judaism, it is called Yom Teruah which means the “Day of Blowing”. The appointment is called the Feast of Trumpets by Christians.

Although, they were not allowed to blow a shofar on the Temple Mount… it did not stop them from playing recordings of a shofar from their cell phones on the Temple Mount.

Click on the video from Yehuda Glick as he provides commentary before he blows the shofar from the Mount of Olives across the valley from the Temple Mount. Listen closely, it was a bit windy on the Mount of Olives.

For those of you who are not familiar with Yehuda Glick, he has led a most interesting life.

https://www.shalomjerusalem.org/

Yehuda Glick was a member of the Israeli Knesset from 2016-2019. After serving his term, Glick founded the Shalom Jerusalem Foundation. A stated goal of the foundation is to “pave the road for the rebuilding of the Third Temple”. Check out the link to the Shalom Jerusalem Foundation.

In 2014, Yehuda Glick took multiple gun shots from an intended assassin and survived. He is the same rabbi who was the head of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. He believes Jews should be able to pray on the Temple Mount. Previously, Glick has stated a vision of three faiths (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) sharing the Temple Mount.

https://www.shalomjerusalem.org/

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Red Heifer Update: Heifer Burning Practice

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Prophecy, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , on October 16, 2019 by paulthepoke

Numbers 19:5-6 And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned. And the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire burning the heifer.

Before the third Temple will be built, a red heifer must be burned for purification. Rabbis at the Temple Institute have established qualifications for the red heifer as noted in Numbers 19:1-2. See the link below for the specifics.

https://www.templeinstitute.org/red_heifer/red_heifer_requirements.htm

Heifer burning practice has been initiated. Granted, the heifer was slaughtered outside of Jerusalem and not on the Temple Mount. So technically, this was not a sacrifice in the strictest sense. Below is an overview from an article published by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz at Breaking Israel News. See the link for more details.

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/135387/exclusive-burning-red-heifer-takes-place-preparation-third-temple/

The location of the burning of the heifer was on the Mount of Olives. The event lasted about 9 hours.

Professor Zohar Amar, Department of Land of Israel Studies at Bar-Ilan University made the following comments.

“A simulated experiment of burning a red heifer was conducted to investigate several research questions, such as: How much wood was required to burn a red heifer completely to ashes and how much ash actually remained after the burning? How is it possible that ashes from immolating one heifer, as it appears in the sources, can supply  ritual purposes for many years?”

Photo: Zohar Amar

“The design of the entire experiment took many months, and the implementation itself was carried out far from the eye of the public and the media. Only after analyzing the results did it become possible to publish it. In the course of the experiment, all of the specifications mentioned in the sources were reconstructed, beginning with the excavation of a ‘winepress; a rectangular pit, in which the pyre was built of dried wood of the pine, oak, and fig trees.”

To be clear, a red heifer was not sacrificed.

“For the purpose of the experiment, a mature sick heifer was selected of the Baladi breed which was prevalent in ancient Israel.”

“A continuous and intense fire is required since the red heifer must be completely consumed, bones and all.”

Professor Amar indicated the following based on his research. A half-ton heifer would require 5.2 tons of wood, or five kilograms wood for every kilogram of flesh.

In the article, there are specific details regarding the size and type of wood utilized. The shape and construction of the pyre was noted. The placement of the heifer and orientation of the heifer were detailed. Notes were taken during the nine hour burning process. Temperature of the fire was taken (940 degrees Celsius). Amount of wood consumed was considered. The amount of ash produced was documented.

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Rabbi Azariah Ariel of the Temple Institute is in charge of the search for a red heifer.

“We still do not have a certifiable red heifer. We are currently checking out two calves of the Angus breed that are five months old. For them to be considered heifers, as the Bible describes, they must be two years and one day old. There can be no blemish, no holes in the ear. If two hairs are not red, the heifer is unfit. There are Halachic issues with them right now since a few hairs may not be the correct shade of red, though this may be rectified as they get older.” 

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/135387/exclusive-burning-red-heifer-takes-place-preparation-third-temple/

See the link below for recent red heifer articles and history dating back to 2014.

https://paulthepoke.com/?s=red+heifer

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As many Christians are acutely aware, animal sacrifices for sin are no longer required. However, these things are still prophesied…

Hebrews 9:22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

As the red heifer was and will be again sacrificed outside the city limits of Jerusalem, so was Jesus Christ. As the sacrifice of the red heifer is for the purification and consecration of the people of Israel, so was and is Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 13:12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

Christ’s sacrifice is not only for the people of Israel, but for all the people of the world. He is the sacrifice for all sin for all time.

1 John 1:7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

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Sukkot/Tabernacles 5780/2019

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Fall Feasts, Prophecy with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 13, 2019 by paulthepoke

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”.

photo: wiki commons

On a Hebrew calendar, 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).

Tabernacles is the last of three festivals where men are required to make a road trip to Jerusalem and go to the Temple.

In October 2019 (Gregorian calendar), per the sighting of the new moon, “The Feast” is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 14th and proceed through Sunday, October 20th. On a secular Gregorian calendar with astronomical calculations, “The Festival” will begin on Sunday, October 13th.

Per Zechariah 14:18, the Feast of Booths is the only God appointed holiday gentile nations will be required to attend. The nations will be required to go before the Lord Jesus Christ during the Feast of Booths. For those nations who do not attend, no rain for your crops.

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.

Jesus 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 God is going to live and dwell with us, forever…

https://paulthepoke.com/category/fall-feasts/

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