Resurrection | Paul the Poke

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Get Ready For Christ’s Return… Joshua of Ghana

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Joshua Ghana with tags clouds, Eternity, Ghana, God, Heaven, imminent, Jesus Christ, judgment, Rapture, Resurrection, Second Coming on September 7, 2022 by paulthepoke

TEXT: LUKE 12:32-48

Key verse: “And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately” (Luke 12:36).

Each time a conversation gets to the direction of the return of Jesus Christ, many people are either dismissive, amused or unconcerned. This is because they think it is unlikely or if it will happen at all, that it would be in the distant future. In the process, they miss the essential lesson of ensuring that the Lord’s coming does not meet them unprepared.

Jesus Christ assures His disciples that almighty God has reserved a place in heaven for them. Believers should therefore, not misplace their priorities but jettison anything, including love of money, that could hinder their love, obedience and service to the Lord. They must allow their lives to shine brightly, while living in constant expectation of the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ so that when He comes, they would be ready. In fact, He would come when most people are not expecting Him.

Great blessings await those He will meet ready at His return. But those who fail to prepare for His coming and are consumed by the rat race, revelry and oppressive activities of the world, would suffer eternal separation from Him. Those that are ignorant of His advent will also face punishment; while those that knew but refused to get themselves ready, will get a more severe punishment.

This is a timely warning, especially in our present age when all talk about the return of Jesus Christ seem like fable to many. To be ready, you must not condone even the slightest sin in your life but shun all evil distractions of the world. You must diligently follow the Lord, faithfully engage in the service of winning and preparing souls for heaven and growing daily into the nature and stature of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: How ready are you to meet the Lord?

The Bible IN ONE YEAR: JUDGES 18 – 21

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Temple Veil Torn… Rodna Epley

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Gospel, Rodna Epley with tags cross, Easter, God the Father, Heaven, Jesus Christ, Matthew 27, Resurrection, temple veil, throne room on April 13, 2022 by paulthepoke

In Matthew 27:50 we read “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.” The next 3 verses is all one sentence.

“And, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves AFTER His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matthew 27:51-53)

Mark 15:37-38 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

Luke 23:44-46 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

The veil is symbolic of Jesus’ flesh that was broken for us, and raised for us, and ascended to the right hand of the Father for us, giving us access into the Father’s presence, which is glory.

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near…” (Hebrews 10:19-22a)

The place of the Holiest (the Holy of Holies) is at the Father’s right hand of glory, not anywhere on the earth or still hanging on the cross. The cross is a way-point to the Father, and Jesus is the way. He is also the door allowing us entry into the Father’s house (His presence).

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3)

Jesus never meant for us to remain forever hanging on the cross that kills us. Rather we carry the dying of Christ in us which even daily puts to death the old nature, so that the life of Christ, which is the glory of the Father, might also be revealed in us. We died with Him and are raised with Him, and we are seated in Christ right now at the Father’s right hand. And Jesus gave us His garment, the glory, to wear right now, not after we die.

If someone only has Christ in them, the hope of glory, they aren’t living the new life yet and still struggling with sin, because their perspective is on the earth. We need to shift our perspective to where Christ is, coming all the way up to where we are seated in Him at the Father’s right hand. If someone can only see Jesus hanging on the cross, as if He said “I am the way to the cross” and not “I am the way… to the Father”, then they haven’t awakened the glory within them yet to shine on them. The cross is true and we were buried with Him, but it’s also true that we were raised with Him and seated in Him at the right hand of glory.

Jesus said to His disciples (including us who are also disciples), “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.” (John 16:25)

Notice how Jesus just revealed that all of His figurative speaking, parables etc., was doing one thing: telling the world about the Father—the place where He was taking us. And He was going to speak plainly to His disciples. So, if you’re a disciple Jesus will introduce you to the Father. Then notice how after Jesus told them plainly which was immediately, His disciples received revelation from the Father and understood all things.

“His disciples said to Him, ‘See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.’”

Then Jesus said, “Do you now believe?” And started telling them how they would all leave Him alone, but He wasn’t alone, because His Father was with Him.

Once Jesus reveals the Father to us, this is how we are too. Even if everyone leaves us, we are never alone. We are strong because Christ, the glory, is the strength in our weakness, and we can endure anything because we have His joy. Joy and perfect peace are clear evidences of His glory radiating out of us—shining on us.

“All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, AND the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:27)

Let’s set our minds on things above where Christ is. Where is He? At the Father’s right hand. We died with Him already. Now we live in Him at the place where He is, where life is.

If we shift our focus to where Jesus is right now, the glory treasure that He deposited within us will wake up instantly! And we will know it because we will have instant joy and perfect peace.

“Wake up O sleeper! Arise from the dead! And Christ will shine (dawn) on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)

“Wake up My glory! Wake up psaltery and harp! I will awaken the dawn. (Psalm 57:8)

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Accept God’s Grace… Rodna Epley

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Gospel, Rodna Epley with tags cross, death, glory, God the Father, God the Spirit, Heaven, Jesus Christ, love, prayer, Resurrection, Right Hand of Father, sin on December 14, 2021 by paulthepoke

There is someone out there today whom God, our Father in heaven, wants to know that He can forgive you and He wants to more than anything. He already sees and knows every detail about your life all the way back to when He created you until now, even to the end of your life if you have an end.

He still loves you, immensely, intensely, more than you may ever realize in this life. Please do not give up. He can fix anything literally, no matter how bad, no matter how hurtful, no matter how impossible it seems. What seems unbearable and unforgiveable in this moment can change in an instant. No matter how many sins you have committed, especially the ones you think passed the threshold of God being able to forgive. All can be forgiven. Nothing is too hard for Him.

If you have written yourself off, God has written you back in. He is a good Father who will do anything to bring His son or daughter back home. Your sins which are many and too hurtful to even think about. Or perhaps you have lost feeling over them and that worries you, can be forgiven, all of them instantly. The entire weight of it all, no matter how heavy or ugly, is lifted off you. You will feel it go too. The weight of it gone, just like that.

Your Father loves you more than you can imagine. He is not condemning you. He wants to heal you completely, and He is the Healer. That is why He sent Jesus. That is why the Father walked this earth through His Son Jesus and took man to his worst end so that he can bring man to his best end, forever reconciled to Him.

Though it is a mystery, Jesus gave up His life so that the old nature of sin and the propensity toward sin can be put to death in you. He rose from the dead by the glory of the Father so that His life. The new nature of His own glory can be imparted to you. This is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

But He does not leave you in a state of only hope that can be disappointed. His glory wakes up within you as He fills you with His Spirit and the new nature of His own glory begins to operate in you.

Jesus went to be with the Father, and He showed you the way to the Father, and He sat down at the Father’s right hand on the very throne of glory, so that you can be seated there with Him right now and forever.

Allow yourself to be forgiven. Dare to see just how far God’s grace and glory can reach and transform. What have you got to lose? The very moment I decided to give God a 100% chance show me who He is, is the very moment He showed up. He was always there, but He showed me that He was there. He did not wait to interact with me. He only briefly waited for me to show a genuine attempt to know Him.

If this is for you, know that you are not alone, and that I am praying for you. Your Father in heaven does love you and can fix literally anything. All suffering is meant for His glory. The greater the suffering the more His glory is about to be released. It is at the point of being released. Please give Him that chance. In fact, the more you have sinned, the more you will be able to love God, because the depth of our ability to love corresponds to the depth of His forgiveness toward us.

Luke 7:45-47 Jesus said, “You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

If this is for you, pray this with me,

“Father in heaven, thank you for giving me this chance to be forgiven. My sins, which are many, I give to you. Thank you for giving your Son Jesus to die for me on the cross and take my place. Thank you for raising Him from the dead by your own glory and raising me from the dead with Him. Thank you for seating Jesus at your right hand on the throne of glory and seating me there with Him. I know I do not deserve that and there is no way I can earn that position in Christ, but I receive it by faith. Your word says that I have access into your presence through the door of Christ and through your promises to me. Thank you that you loved me so much that you died for me even while I was still a sinner. You believed this day would happen when I would come to you and finally surrender my life to you. Without Christ I know that I can do nothing, but with Christ nothing is impossible, and all things are possible. I am trusting that your word is true and that you can make something wonderful of my life. I promise that if you give me all of you then I will give you all of me to the best that I know how. Baptize me in your Spirit and fill me with your glory Father. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and that Christ in me put to death the old nature in me. I believe that Jesus rose from the dead by the glory of the Father and raised me up with Him. I believe that Jesus went to be with the Father and brought me there with Him. I choose You Papa because You first chose me. I love You Father because You first loved me. Thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for your favor. Thank you for giving me your Spirit and making me perfect on the inside in the inner man. Thank you for the daily transformation of my mind that is to come as I make your word my home and you teach me how to be your child and to operate in your glory, which is Christ in me that I am learning to wear on me on the outside. Thank you for eternal life and for all that you will do in me from here on out. Thank you that you are strength in my weakness, that you are filling me with joy and taking away my sorrow, that you are imparting to me your vision for me so that I can know my life has meaning. I give you all of me because you gave me all of you. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray, Amen.”

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

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Angels, Fall Feasts, Prophecy, Rapture, Resurrection with tags 1 Thessalonians 4, Colossians 2, Day of Blowing, Feast of Trumpets, I Corinthians 15, Jewish New Year, Leviticus 23, Moses, Mount Sinai, new moon, Numbers 29, Prophecy, Rapture, Resurrection, Rosh Hashanah, Sabbath, shofar, Tishri 1, trumpet, Yom Teruah on July 25, 2021 by paulthepoke

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

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

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

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

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

The directions for the holiday are straight forward.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Resurrection and rapture on the Feast of Trumpets???

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Good News from Cover to Cover

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Gospel, Prophecy with tags Easter, good news, isaiah 53, Jesus Christ, Messiah, Resurrection on April 3, 2021 by paulthepoke

So, what if Jesus was not raised from the dead? What’s the big deal about the resurrection? Who cares? We are wasting our time with Christianity and the Bible if the resurrection is not true. Without the resurrection, we physically die and our bodies are eternally buried. Death wins. We are dirt and worm food. Our bodies become the byproduct of worm digestion…

Job 21:26 Together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover them.

The gospel is not a New Testament phenomenon as some critics would have us believe. How many times have we heard, “The God of the Old Testament is a mean, cruel killer!” God is not an oppressive ogre who wants to crush you with His thumb. He has always been merciful, gracious, and forgiving. Honestly, if God smashed us like a bug any time we screwed up…would there be any humanity left? The good news has always been there. His redemption for humanity was promised from the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden. God delivered the “good news” to Satan.

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.

Just in case anyone is wondering, the message of a sacrificial death for sin rings loud and clear in the Old Testament. The best example of the gospel in the Old Testament comes from the Prophet Isaiah about 700 years before Jesus Christ walked the earth. Look at the detail of these verses. It reads as a narrative of the events along with the accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Isaiah 53:3-12 He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

This book the Bible, says His Son, Jesus Christ, is physically coming back in the clouds to get His people the church, at the resurrection and the rapture. Then, He will return later to establish His kingdom on earth.

And that is good news. Jesus is the Messiah, just believe it.

John 20:31 But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

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Along The Way… Rodna Epley

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Rodna Epley with tags cross, faith, God the Father, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Resurrection, Right Hand of Father, the way, throne on April 1, 2021 by paulthepoke

If someone isn’t experiencing much change in their behavior and thinking after giving their lives to Jesus, then it’s because they stopped somewhere along the Way, but didn’t make it all the Way to glory—to the Father.

They thought perhaps Jesus was the Way to the cross, or the Way to the resurrection. They never understood that those are only “points” along the Way.

But the destination is the Father. Jesus is the Way to the Father. Jesus never said He was the Way to the cross. He went to the cross, and we too have to go through the cross as we die to the old nature, but Jesus didn’t stay at the cross. The glory of the Father raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 6:4), and the same glory raises us too…right now, not some day.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)

We are seated in heaven in places in Christ now. Jesus always said His destination was the Father, and that is where He went to make our place so that we can be with Him where He is…right now. It’s not only a place for when we die and leave this earth, but a place where we are to live NOW while still here (John 14:3).

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. (John 14:3)

It’s okay if we didn’t know that; God is not condemning anyone. But it’s time to see everything from the position of Christ, the One who already overcame the world and even death.

“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Revelation 3:21)

Even just knowing this begins to activate the glory of the Father in us and it activates the new nature. We will feel it happening and hope will rise up within us that all things truly are possible. The imagination of the child is restored instantly (Matthew 8:13).

And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. (Matthew 8:13)

Everything in our lives now begins to change, beginning with our perspective from above rather than beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13).

And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them… (Deuteronomy 28:13)

We are seated in Christ right now where He is on the throne of glory, restored to the Father. No one can take us out of Jesus’ hand or the Father’s hand (John 10:28-30).

…and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30)

Nothing can separate us from His love whom have been separated unto Him (Romans 8:38-39, John 17:19).

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. (John 17:19)

His throne is in you (Acts 2:3), His power is in you (Ephesians 3:20), His kingdom is in you (Luke 17:21), heaven is in you; therefore your ability to accomplish anything already lives in you and is awaiting your command.

The Spirit of glory living in you will teach you how to separate darkness from light in every situation you encounter, even the secret ones in your mind, and you will help Him divide the old nature from the new through your spoken words. He may also show you something that you need to do in some cases. His words and works weigh the same and both will release His glory.

…but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” (John 10:38).

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Rapture: Be Careful What You Wish

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Culture, Prophecy, Rapture, Trend Update with tags 1 corinthians 15, 1 Thessalonians 4, death, Jesus Christ, President Donald Trump, Resurrection, sin on August 14, 2020 by paulthepoke

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 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. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

There has been a rapture cartoon circulating social media for the past few months. Essentially, people politically opposed to President Donald Trump are yearning for the rapture. See the text below.

Something for those folks to consider… You may live to see the day. However, things will not turn out as you think.

The issue is not “IF”. The concern should be “WHEN”.

1 Corinthians 15:51-57 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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Sanhedrin Completes Abbreviated First Fruits Ceremony, 5780/2020

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Prophecy, Sanhedrin, Spring Feasts with tags barley offering, counting of the omer, Feast of Weeks, First Fruits, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Leviticus 23, Passover Lamb, Pentecost, Reshit Katzir, Resurrection, sacrifice, Shavuot, two loaves bread, wheat on April 13, 2020 by paulthepoke

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

Acknowledging social distancing practices, the Sanhedrin has completed a toned down version of barley harvest and omer wave offering.

The Sanhedrin requested Rabbi Aharon Yitzchak Stern to be in charge of the abbreviated ceremony.

“We did the best we could and what we were able to do was as close to the Biblical commandment as possible. It is a pity the government prevented us from performing the complete ritual on the Temple Mount which is currently empty.” -Rabbi Stern informed Breaking Israel News

With this quote, it appears the Sanhedrin was not allowed to sacrifice the Passover Lamb on the Temple Mount.

With the ceremony, the counting of the omer has begun. The culmination of the counting will close 50 days later at Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost.

https://paulthepoke.com/2016/06/10/pentecost-shavuot-feast-of-weeks-counting-of-the-omer/

On Shavuot, the law requires that two loaves of bread be brought to the Temple. The grain of the loaves is from wheat.

Leviticus 23:17 You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the LORD.

Make no mistake, the Sanhedrin continues to look at completing sacrifices on the Temple Mount. They want to make the Shavuot offering on the Temple Mount in 50 days. The Sanhedrin also wants to make the second Passover offering on the Temple Mount next month.

https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/148522/barley-offering-prepared-despite-coronavirus-limitations

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The Gospel 33 AD

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Gospel with tags cross, Jesus Christ, Resurrection on December 8, 2019 by paulthepoke

Jesus Christ died. He was buried. And He was raised…

In love, for humanity.

The Gospel is the ultimate eternal issue. As believers in Christ, be prepared to defend the Gospel.

Jesus is so much more than a Savior.
How is Jesus like the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant?
How does Christ fulfill the Mosaic Law and the Spring Feasts during His Passion Week?
How is Jesus like the Passover Lamb?

Jesus Christ is the answer for sin, in the fullness of time, down to the literal minute from before the beginning of creation…

These questions are investigated and clarified. As believers, can we explain how Christ is the bridge between the Old and New Testament?

Defend the Gospel.

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Cling to Jesus Christ Who Is In the Father… Rodna Epley

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Gospel, Rodna Epley with tags ascension, God the Father, God the Son, Heaven, Jesus Christ, John, Mary, Resurrection, tomb on September 18, 2019 by paulthepoke

Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ “- John 20:17

After Jesus was resurrected from the dead, He commanded Mary to not cling to Him, to not fasten or adhere herself to Him. Not because there wouldn’t be a time when she couldn’t do that, but because the time for clinging to Him was not yet. The reason He gave her was that He had “not yet ascended to My Father”.

I’ve heard many a sermon in my life surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and every one of those sermons that I can recall clings to Jesus either at the cross or right after He was raised from the dead outside the tomb. But they don’t cling to Jesus where He commanded us to cling: in Christ who is in the Father after having ascended to Him. Clinging to Him there includes all other access points, including the cross and the empty tomb along the way to the ultimate destination.

Do NOT adhere to me—for I have not yet ascended to my Father!

The implication being that we CAN adhere to Him AFTER He ascends to the Father.

To ascend doesn’t appear to have meant a physical ascension at that point, because we see the disciples handling Him and perhaps clinging to Him before the mount of ascension event occurred. So during the time between His first appearance to Mary at the tomb and when He allowed His disciples to handle Him, Jesus ascended to the Father in some way spiritually, but likely not physically—not yet. He spent 40 days on earth first preaching the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus used this ascended kind of language even before the cross…

Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. – John 17:13

No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.- John 3:13

Another way to say this is: There is only one person who has already ascended into heaven, Me, the Son is Man, and I’m in heaven right now.

When Jesus revealed the Father plainly to His disciples, He left out of His explanation all the stuff He did to redeem us. As important as all of that is, Jesus focused on the reason He did everything and where He took us—our ultimate destination. Here are His words,

“I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go to the Father.”- John 16:28

This is the purpose of the Gospel: to show us the Way to the Father. The Father is the destination, and we follow Jesus all the way there, where the power exists to do the greater works, where the glory exists that makes us ONE with the Father in Christ in the same way that Jesus is ONE with the Father (John 17:22,23).

“…he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”- John 14:12

Greater works… because I go to My Father.

That’s how we do them. The power for greater works comes from being restored to glory, to the Father, right now. Our minds are still being transformed from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18), but we are still fully restored now because we are properly positioned in Christ.

We don’t continue only clinging to the cross or clinging to Jesus standing outside the empty tomb. We cling to, fasten ourselves to, adhere to Jesus Christ where He is now: in the Father. The Father is the clinging place—where His glory makes us ONE.

That’s not to say that we don’t carry about the dying of the Lord Jesus which puts to death the old nature so that the new nature in Christ wakes up within us. It’s not to say we don’t rise with Jesus from the dead by the same glory of the Father that raised Him. And it’s not to say that our minds are not being transformed from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18) as we overcome one suffering after another (Romans 8:18).

But for this post I’m just bringing into focus the actual purpose of the Gospel which has not really been understood. That Jesus restored us to the Father in Himself. He restored us to glory where we learn to cling to Him and never let go again: where we have the ABILITY to cling to Him and never let go again. Because from the place of the Father is where Christ holds us. He clings to us, we cling to Him. He abides in us, we abide in Him. That’s the point of everything Jesus did and it’s vital that we know this and are intensely aware of it. Perfect peace is the strongest and most obvious indicator that we are in Christ.

Have a blessed day everyone! ❤️🙏🏼