excerpt copied from: http://tinyurl.com/onfmpdf
The Meaning of the Shofar [Below are] several passages that reference the shofar and...some suggestions as to what therefore we should remember when it is blown. In most English translations of the Hebrew Scriptures, the word shofar is translated either as horn or trumpet. Horn, of course, is better, since it clearly shows the difference between the use of a hollowed-out animal horn and a man-made metallic trumpet. In each of the following cases, ...whatever English word was used [is replaced] with the original Hebrew word, shofar. The Covenant on Mt. Sinai: Redemption and Revelation On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud shofar blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the shofar grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder (Shemot/Exodus 19:16-19). The blowing of the shofar reminds us of God's rescue from bondage, his commitment through covenant faithfulness, and the gift of his Word. The Walls of Jericho: No Obstacles Are Too Great for God So the people shouted, and the shofars were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the shofar, the people shouted a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city. (Joshua 6:20). The falling of the great walls of Jericho following the sounding of the shofar reminds us that when we are in God's will, doing what he wants us to do, nothing can stand in our way. God Alone Is King: Let Us Boldly Acclaim His Rulership God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a shofar. (Tehillim/Psalms 47:5) As the shofar blast proclaim God's rule, so should we, boldly and without fear. God Is Worthy of Praise Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the shofar make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! (Tehillim/Psalms 98:4-6) The shofar reminds us that God is worth celebrating. We make a big deal over far lesser things. So let us make some joyful noise about God! The Voice of the Prophet: We Need To Speak Up More "Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a shofar; declare to my people their transgression to the house of Jacob their sins. (Isaiah 58:1) As the voice of the prophet is clear and distinct, the shofar encourages us to not hold back, but to speak up for God and his ways, clearly and unashamedly. God's Alarm: It's Time To Wake Up Blow a shofar in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near. (Joel 2:1) The shofar was used as a practical device to get people's attention. In this passage it is as an alarm to warn God's people of his coming judgement. One of the great Jewish thinkers of all time was Moses Maimonides. He was a rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt, who lived between 1135 and 1204 AD. What he said with regard to what people should think of as the shofar is blown goes along with this: Wake up, wake up, sleepers from your sleep, and awake slumberers from your slumber. Search your deeds, repent, and remember your Creator. Some of you might catch how these words sound similar to other words written long before Maimonides, from the New Covenant Writings: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and [Messiah] will shine on you." Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:14-16) The shofar, God's alarm clock, is to alert us as to the nature of the times in which we live. It is so easy to allow cynicism and apathy to lull us to sleep. It's much easier to go along with the flow, submitting to the pressures of the culture, than to pursue the things of God day by day. As I write this, the world remembers the September 11, 2001 tragedy, which many at the time said was a "wake up call." But how many of those same people hit the alarm and drifted off to sleep again. Since then the world has experienced alarm after alarm. Eventually it will be too late. Which brings us to the next one. The Last Shofar: The Coming of the Lord Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the shofar and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south. (Zechariah 9:14) The day will come, when God himself will blow the shofar to signal the return of Messiah to call creation to account, and judge the world. No more opportunities to go back to sleep. No more chances. This is reiterated in the New Covenant Writings. Since it was [possibly] originally written in Greek, we don't know if it is referencing a trumpet or a horn, but the connection with the shofar is clear as is the point it makes: I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 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?" (1 Corinthians 15:50-55) As the final blast marks the end of life as we know it, it also signals the beginning of the age to come, when death and all its effects will be no more. For some it will be a time of absolute dread, but for others the greatest moment of our lives. How can you be assured of eternal life? Here too, the shofar shows the way. Substitution: Life for Life He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, "The Lord will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided." (Bereshit/Genesis 22:12-14) The Hebrew word here is not actually shofar, but a synonym, "keren." This reference from the first book of the Bible is foundational for everything else the shofar reminds us of. God's requirement for the offering of Abraham's son Isaac was fulfilled through the provision of a ram. All through Scripture the sacrificial system, as established by God, reminded the people that an offering of an innocent animal was a satisfactory substitute for sin. While this is foreign to most of us today, it is God's way, all the while pointing the people of Israel to the perfect and final offering of the Messiah on our behalf. His life was accepted in place of ours, so that all who trust in him would live forever. It is no coincidence that among all the things that happened to him during his unjust arrest, trial, and execution that he was mocked by the Roman soldiers by their placing a crown of thorns on his head. Yeshua, like the ram of Abraham's day, found himself caught in a thicket, and offered in our place, so like Isaac, we too may go free. The shofar gives us so much to think about, but it is all meaningless unless we are in right relationship with God. By accepting Yeshua as God's provision, everything else becomes clear. The shofar sound not only will reverberate in our ears, but the fullness of its meaning will find its way into our hearts. Click here to listen to the shofar now. michael servetus, john calvin & martin luther -- old buddies whose history we should all know!5/9/2015 Back in February, I was doing a little reading up on church fathers. You know, those guys the western church holds in high esteem and with high, almost god-like regard. I already knew some less-than-savory things about Martin Luther, the [supposed] father of the reformation that, frankly, made my stomach turn, but thought I had better follow a few rabbit trails that kept coming up and see if I was able to find anything new, anything interesting.
Boy, did I find interesting. Wow! Enter John Calvin and Martin Luther and their bff Michael Servetus. I obviously knew about Calvin and Luther -- I grew up in the Christian church, but the other guy was a no-name in my world. Wikipedia often comes in quite handy -- and if you don't trust them, they (usually) are well-sourced so that you are better able to do a little (or a lot) more research yourself. On the surface Servetus is just a slightly-above-average guy of the mid-1500's ... but that is the end of the simplicity. The more intimate details of his life are like a Russian spy novel. Whether you love or hate him depends on whose version of the story you're reading. Servetus was most likely born in Spain, and is probably the namesake of the Catholic Saint Michael's Day (which is celebrated on his birthday), but that hasn't been substantiated (and frankly, doesn't really matter to me at all). More importantly, he was an early follower of the reformation, as well as a contemporary of John Calvin and Martin Luther, having worked, studied and written with them. Furthermore historically, he was a theologian, physician, cartographer, and Renaissance humanist, as well as the first European to correctly describe the function of pulmonary circulation, as discussed in his book Christianismi Restitutio (published in 1533). Even though I indicated that Calvin, Luther and Servetus were best buddies, I confess that was a poor attempt at sarcasm on my part. The three men did know each other, well, and they worked, at first - in cooperation. Later, that all changed when Servetus' views on certain accepted church doctrine began to evolve somewhat. From that point on they began to work against each other. In the end, two of them had a rather far-reaching hand in the third one's death, more specifically, his murder. I won't spoil all the details for you. It's a tangled web of inquisition, aliases, travel and intrigue, prison escapes, stealth, as well as back-stabbing accusations and lying, religious intolerance, hatred, domination and shocking evil, all in the name of Christ -- just like any modern-day Hollywood thriller and too many true-to-life stories. And sadly, like most "entertainment" coming out of Hollywood, someone "gets dead" while others walk away free and unburdened by their own choice to do evil, and even attain great infamy and the worship and admiration of millions of unsuspecting followers. I'll let you figure out the who's who in this page-turner. Oh! those rascally reformation church fathers. What paragons of divine sanction they were! Read about all the intrigue and subterfuge for yourself -- and then do some follow-up research using some of the links at the end. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Servetus Well, simply, IT DOESN'T. So, how long was Yeshua in the tomb? How do we know? The traditional timing has bugged me my whole life. This article (explanation) is by Scott Ashley. About one billion Protestants and another billion Catholics believe that Jesus Christ was crucified and entombed on a Friday afternoon—"Good Friday"—and raised to life again at daybreak on Easter Sunday morning, a day and a half later. Yet when we compare this to what Jesus Himself said about how long He would be entombed, we find a major contradiction. How long did Jesus say He would be in the grave?
"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" Matthew 12:40 The context in which Jesus Christ said these words is important. The scribes and Pharisees were demanding a miraculous sign from Him to prove that He was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. "But He answered and said to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah'" Matthew 12:39. This was the only sign Jesus gave that He was the promised Messiah: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (emphasis added throughout). Traditional timing doesn't add up The Gospels are clear that Jesus died and His body was hurriedly placed in the tomb late in the afternoon, just before sundown when a Sabbath began John 19:30-42. By the traditional "Good Friday to Easter Sunday" timing, from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown is one night and one day. Saturday night to Sunday daybreak is another night, giving us two nights and one day. So where do we get another night and two days to equal the three days and three nights Jesus said He would be in the tomb? This is definitely a problem. Most theologians and religious scholars try to work around it by arguing that any part of a day or night counts as a day or night. Thus, they say, the final few minutes of that Friday afternoon were the first day, all day Saturday was the second day, and the first few minutes of Sunday morning were the third day. Sounds reasonable, doesn't it? The trouble is, it doesn't work. This only adds up to three days and two nights, not three days and three nights. Also, John 20:1 tells us that "On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb." Did you catch the problem here? John tells us it was still dark when Mary went to the tomb on Sunday morning and found it empty. Jesus was already resurrected well before daybreak. Thus, He wasn't in the tomb any of the daylight portion of Sunday, so none of that can be counted as a day. That leaves us with, at most, part of a day on Friday, all of Friday night, a whole daylight portion on Saturday, and most of Saturday night. That totals one full day and part of another, and one full night and most of another—still at least a full day and a full night short of the time Jesus said He would be in the tomb. Clearly something doesn't add up. Either Jesus misspoke about the length of time He would be in the tomb, or the "Good Friday–Easter Sunday" timing is not biblical or accurate. Obviously both cannot be true. So which one is right? Understanding God's time is the key The key to understanding the timing of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection lies in understanding God's timetable for counting when days begin and end, as well as the timing of His biblical festivals during the spring of the year when these events took place. We first need to realize that God doesn't begin and end days at midnight as we do—that is a humanly devised method of counting time. Genesis 1:5 tells us quite plainly that God counts a day as beginning with the evening (the night portion) and ending at the next evening—"So the evening [nighttime] and the morning [daylight] were the first day." God repeats this formula for the entire six days of creation. In Leviticus 23, where God lists all of His holy Sabbaths and festivals, He makes it clear that they are to be observed "from evening to evening" (verse 32)—in other words, from sunset to sunset, when the sun went down and evening began. This is why Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, followers of Jesus, hurriedly placed His body in Joseph's nearby tomb just before sundown in John 19:39-42. A Sabbath was beginning at sundown (verse 31), when work would have to cease. Two kinds of "Sabbaths" lead to confusion As John tells us in verse 31: "Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies [of those crucified] should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken [to hasten death], and that they might be taken away." In the Jewish culture of that time, the chores of cooking and housecleaning were done on the day before a Sabbath to avoid working on God's designated day of rest. Thus, the day before the Sabbath was commonly called "the preparation day." Clearly the day on which Christ was crucified and His body placed in the tomb was the day immediately preceding a Sabbath. The question is, which Sabbath? Most people assume John is speaking of the regular weekly Sabbath day, observed from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. From John's clear statement here, most people assume Jesus died and was buried on a Friday—thus the traditional belief that Jesus was crucified and died on "Good Friday." Most people have no idea that the Bible talks about two kinds of Sabbath days—the normal weekly Sabbath day that falls on the seventh day of the week (not to be confused with Sunday, which is the first day of the week), and seven annual Sabbath days, listed in Leviticus 23 and mentioned in various passages throughout the Bible, that could fall on any day of the week. Because traditional Christianity long ago abandoned these biblical annual Sabbath days (as well as the weekly Sabbath), for many centuries people have failed to recognize what the Gospels plainly tell us about when Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected—and why "Good Friday–Easter Sunday" never happened that way. Most people fail to note that John explicitly tells us that the Sabbath that began at sundown immediately after Jesus was entombed was one of these annual Sabbath days. Notice in John 19:31 his explanation that "that Sabbath was a high day" —" high day" being a term used to differentiate the seven annual Sabbaths from the regular weekly Sabbath days. So what was this "high day" that immediately followed Jesus Christ's hurried entombment? The Gospels tell us that on the evening before Jesus was condemned and crucified, He kept the Passover with His disciples (Matthew 26:19-20; Mark 14:16-17; Luke 22:13-15). This means He was crucified on the Passover day. Leviticus 23, which lists God's festivals, tells us that on the day after the Passover a separate festival, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, begins (verses 5-6). The first day of this Feast is "a holy convocation" on which "no customary work" is to be done (verse 7). This day is the first of God's annual Sabbaths. This is the "high day" of which John wrote. Several Bible commentaries, encyclopedias and dictionaries note that John is referring to an annual Sabbath here rather than the regular weekly Sabbath day. Passover began at sundown and ended the following day at sundown, when this annual Sabbath began. Jesus kept the Passover with His disciples, then was arrested later that night. After daybreak the next day He was questioned before Pontius Pilate, crucified, then hurriedly entombed just before the next sunset when the "high day," the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, began. Leviticus 23 tells us the order and timing of these days, and the Gospels confirm the order of events as they unfolded. Jesus crucified on Wednesday, not Friday Several computer software programs exist that enable us to calculate when the Passover and God's other festivals fall in any given year. Those programs show that in A.D. 31, the year of these events, the Passover meal was eaten on Tuesday night and Wednesday sundown marked the beginning of the "high day," the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus, then, was crucified and entombed on a Wednesday afternoon, not on Friday. Can we find further proof of this in the Gospels? Yes, indeed we can! Let's turn to a seldom-noticed detail in Mark 16:1 "Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him." In that time, if the body of a loved one was placed in a tomb rather than being buried directly in the ground, friends and family would commonly place aromatic spices in the tomb alongside the body to reduce the smell as the remains decayed. Since Jesus' body was placed in the tomb just before that high-day Sabbath began, the women had no time to buy those spices before the Sabbath. Also, they could not have purchased them on the Sabbath day, as shops were closed. Thus, Mark says, they bought the spices after the Sabbath— "when the Sabbath was past." But notice another revealing detail in Luke 23:55-56: "And the women who had come with [Christ] from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment." Do you see a problem here? Mark clearly states that the women bought the spices after the Sabbath--"when the Sabbath was past." Luke tells us that the women prepared the spices and fragrant oils, after which "they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment." So they bought the spices after the Sabbath, and then they prepared the spices before resting on the Sabbath. This is a clear contradiction between these two Gospel accounts—unless two Sabbaths were involved! Indeed when we understand that two different Sabbaths are mentioned, the problem goes away. Mark tells us that after the "high day" Sabbath, which began Wednesday evening at sundown and ended Thursday evening at sundown, the women bought the spices to anoint Jesus' body. Luke then tells us that the women prepared the spices—activity which would have taken place on Friday—and that afterward "they rested on the Sabbath [the normal weekly Sabbath day, observed Friday sunset to Saturday sunset] according to the commandment." By comparing details in both accounts, we can clearly see that two different Sabbaths are mentioned along with a workday in between. The first Sabbath was a "high day"—the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which fell on a Thursday. The second was the weekly seventh-day Sabbath. (To see these events spelled out in day-by-day detail, see the chart above.) The original Greek in which the Gospels were written also plainly tells us that two Sabbath days were involved in these accounts. In Matthew:28:1, where Matthew writes that the women went to the tomb "after the Sabbath," the word Sabbath here is actually plural and should be translated "Sabbaths." Bible versions such as Alfred Marshall's Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, Green's Literal Translation Young's Literal Translation and Ferrar Fenton's Translation make this clear. When was Jesus resurrected? We have seen, then, that Jesus Christ was crucified and entombed on a Wednesday, just before an annual Sabbath began—not the weekly Sabbath. So when was He resurrected? John 20:1, as noted earlier, tells us that "on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb." The sun had not yet risen— "it was still dark," John tells us—when Mary found the tomb empty. Obviously, then, Jesus was not resurrected at sunrise on Sunday morning. So when did this take place? The answer is plain if we simply read the Gospels—and Jesus Christ's own words—and accept them for what they say. "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth," said Jesus. Matthew 12:40 As we have proven, Jesus was entombed —placed "in the heart of the earth"—just before sundown on a Wednesday. All we have to do is count forward. One day and one night brings us to Thursday at sundown. Another day and night brings us to Friday at sundown. A third day and night brings us to Saturday at sundown. According to Jesus Christ's own words He would have been resurrected three days and nights after He was entombed, at around the same time—near sunset. Does this fit with the Scriptures? Yes—as we have seen, He was already risen and the tomb empty when Mary arrived "while it was still dark" on Sunday morning. While no one was around to witness His resurrection (which took place inside a sealed tomb watched over by armed guards), Jesus Christ's own words and the details recorded in the Gospels show that it had to have happened three days and three nights after His burial, near sunset at the end of the weekly Sabbath. Try as you might, it is impossible to fit three days and three nights between a late Friday burial and a Sunday morning resurrection. The Good Friday–Easter Sunday tradition simply isn't true or biblical. But when we look at all the details recorded in the Gospels and compare them with Jesus' own words, we can see the truth—and it matches perfectly. The words of the angel of God, who so startled the women at the empty tomb, are proven true: "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said". Matthew 28:5-6, NIV Let's not cling to religious traditions and ideas that aren't supported by Scripture. Be sure that your own beliefs and practices are firmly rooted in the Bible. Are you willing to make a commitment to worship God according to biblical truth rather than human tradition? Originally from Bibles for Isra'el “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) Many Christians around the world have set up their Christmas trees, bought their presents to give family and friends, and depending on which denomination they belong to, are celebrating the prophetic fulfillment of the birth of the Jewish Messiah in Bethlehem in just nine days. (Micah 5:2) Armenian Apostolic and Eastern Orthodox Christians, unlike Protestants, do not celebrate the birth of Yeshua HaMashiach on December 25th, due to differences between the Armenian, Julian and Gregorian calendars. The Tanakh (Jewish Scripture), however, doesn't identify the month in which the Messiah would be born, nor does the Brit Chadashah (New Testament) identify the exact date of His birth. Scripture does give us an indication of the time of year. “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:10–11) Semiramis set December 25th as the date of her son's birth, who came to be associated with Baal, on the advice of her astrologers, since the sun is at its farthest point from the earth during the winter solstice. “The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger.” (Jeremiah 7:18) Over time, the sun god came to be worshiped throughout the ancient world on December 25th. It was a time of orgies, drunkenness, and the sacrificing of infants to the pagan god, Baal. Because this feast was so popular among the pagan population of Greece and Rome, the date was simply adopted as the time of the birth of Yeshua by the Roman Church. Gift-giving, Saturnalia and Violence Against the Jews Many customs associated with the season—the giving of gifts, house-to-house caroling, and the general rejoicing and festivity derived from this winter festival of Saturnalia—are a remnant of paganism that has remained attached to the Christian Church. The Christians who first observed the birth of Yeshua on December 25th did not do so thinking that He was actually born on that day. Because the pagan winter festival of Saturnalia was celebrated on that date in Rome, they were willing to have this pagan holiday metamorphosed into a Christian one. Due to the pagan origin of Christmas and the violence and excess associated with it, the Puritans (Christians from the Church of England) actually banned Christmas altogether. Although Christmas caroling today brings cheer to many Christians, in their earliest beginnings, carols really had nothing to do with Christmas. The melodies were originally written to accompany an ancient dance form called the circle dance associated with fertility rites and pagan festivities. When Was the Messiah Born? “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.” (Luke 2:8) Although Christmas in December is a well-established Christian tradition, Bible scholars agree that December 25th is not the true date of Yeshua’s birth. Winter in Israel is generally too cold at night to be out shepherding flocks, and yet at the time of Yeshua’s birth, the shepherds were in the fields watching over their flocks at night. Another point to consider when determining the time of year when Yeshua (Jesus) was born is that winter in Israel is not a logical time to take a census because of the cold and rain. Although the weather can be mild in December, snow in the Jerusalem area is a semi-frequent occurrence. Just days ago, for instance, Jerusalem even saw more than a foot of snow, causing major disruptions to transportation and power. Flooding in southern Israel also resulted in two men dying when their car was washed away. So the fact that Yosef (Joseph) and Miriam (Mary) had gone to Beit Lechem (Bethlehem) to register for a census is a good indication that they were traveling in a warmer, drier season (Luke 2:1–5). When they arrived, Jerusalem and Bethlehem were so crowded that no accommodations were available at the inn. Such crowding would have been more typical during one of the three pilgrimage feasts: Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost) or Sukkot (Tabernacles/Booths). “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” (Luke 2:6–7) With that in mind, it is likely that Yeshua was born at the end of the harvest, during the Biblical holiday of Sukkot, in fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy that one day the Lord would "tabernacle" with His people. “My dwelling place [mishkan—tabernacle] will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people.” (Ezekiel 37:27) When the New Jerusalem is established, Yeshua will tabernacle with us forever: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” (Revelation 21:3) Birthdays and the Culture of the Time “The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” (Ecclesiastes 7:8) Yeshua was born into a completely Jewish, Hebraic culture where the date of one’s death was remembered and observed rather than the date of one’s birth. This could explain why we are certain of the date of His death (Passover), but not clear on the date of His birth. How, then, did December 25th come to be celebrated as the day of Yeshua’s birth, and what is the origin of the festival of Christmas? It was certainly not included in the early celebrations of the Christian church. The Catholic Encyclopedia explains that “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. Irenaeus and Tertullian [early Church fathers] do not show it on their list of feasts.” Later, when churches in different parts of the world began celebrating the birthday of Yeshua, they had various opinions as to the correct date. It was not until the latter part of the fourth century that the Roman Church began observing December 25th. By the fifth century, it was decreed that the birth of Yeshua would be forever observed on this date, even though this was the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol, one of the names of the sun-god. Mithraism—a large, pagan, sun worship cult--fostered the celebration of December 25th as a holiday throughout the Roman and Greek worlds. This winter festival was called "the nativity" and "the Nativity of the sun." This type of cult even reached Israel. Semiramis, the Queen of Babylon, (also called the Queen of Heaven and Ishtar) also contaminated the Israelites’ worship of God with Baal worship (Jeremiah 7:18, 44:17). Her influence spread far and wide because she ordered the ancient world to celebrate the birth of her son Tammuz, who was apparently believed to be the reincarnation of her son (Nimrod). She then proclaimed Tammuz to be the sun god. In the US State of Massachusetts, the observance of Christmas was illegal between 1659 and 1681. Louisiana was the first US state to institute Christmas as a holiday only as recently as 1830. Despite its association with paganism, Christmas was, and still is, celebrated by most Christians. Rabbis and Orthodox Jewish anti-missionaries often use this information to discredit Christianity as a pagan religion, saying that the story of the birth of Yeshua is inspired by the pagan festival celebrating the birth of the sun-god Sol. According to this logic, the rabbis argue that Yeshua couldn't be the Jewish Messiah! Beside the ties to Saturnalia and Mithraism that discredit the celebration of Christmas, violence against the Jews on Christmas understandably blackened the holiday among the Jewish People. According to David Kertzer, in his book The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican’s Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism, throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Jewish rabbis of the ghetto in Rome were forced to wear clownish outfits and march through the city streets to the jeers of the crowd, pelted by a variety of projectile objects as part of the Saturnalia carnival (p. 74). In 1836, the Jewish community of Rome sent a petition to Pope Gregory XVI pleading with him to stop the annual Saturnalia abuse of the Jewish community, to which the Pope responded, “It is not opportune to make any innovation.” And on December 25, 1881, riots broke out across Poland when Christian leaders incited the Polish masses into an anti-Semitic frenzy. On this Christmas Day, 12 Jews were brutally murdered in Warsaw, several others injured, and many Jewish women raped. As well, two million rubles worth of Jewish property was destroyed. The Origins of Christmas Customs Although many Christians and Messianic Jews do not celebrate Christmas because of its pagan origins, the season of Christmas is a joyous time with deep significance for many other Christians. With the pagan origins of Christmas trees forgotten and / or dismissed as irrelevant today, many Christians consider the tree to be a symbolic reminder of how Yeshua became a curse for us by hanging on a tree. “Yeshua redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’” (Galatians 3:13) They adorn their trees with beautiful lights reminding them of how Yeshua is the Light of Life who calls us to shine His light on a dark world. “Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light." (John 12:36) They give gifts to each other honoring the fact that Yeshua became the ultimate gift for them. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15) Although many consider modern-day Christmas customs helpful in sharing the joy of Yeshua and the glory of God among family, friends and neighbors, one should know the history of the traditions they keep. While the custom of decorating a Christmas tree dates back only a few centuries, the principle behind it is ancient. Pagans had a custom of worshiping trees in the forest (Jeremiah 7:18), or bringing them into their homes and decorating them (Jeremiah 10:3–4), and this observance was adopted by the Christian Church. Furthermore, sacred trees as symbols of the life force were also associated with Canaanite cults. Cylinder seals dating from the Late Bronze Age often show a worshiper standing in front of a tree. Other seals dating from the 8th to the 10th centuries BC, which depict a tree flanked by worshipers, have been found at the Lachish, Beth Shemesh, Gibeon, Samaria, and Megiddo archaeological sites in Israel. A drawing of a sacred tree with lily flowers being eaten by two ibex was discovered on a jar at the religious center of Kuntillet Ajrud. Gold pendants of the Late Bronze Age from Tel al-Ajjul (near Gaza) and from Ugarit show stylized trees growing out of a formalized goddess, according to The Harper Atlas of the Bible (pp.101–102). Sexual intercourse under these so-called "holy" trees was thought to transmit the potency and vitality of the goddess. What was really being transmitted was infidelity, paganism, and prostitution: "They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar and terebinth trees, where the shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery." (Hosea 4:1) These female deities could well have been the Asherah or Astarte who are often mentioned in the Jewish Scriptures (Tanakh/ Old Testament) as the consort of the weather god Baal. "The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs." (Judges 3:7) In at least 10 Bible references, the "green tree" is associated with idolatry and false worship. "They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree." (1 Kings 14:23) As well, the use of holly and mistletoe comes from Druid ceremonies. Some historians think that the Druids used mistletoe to poison their human sacrificial victim. Kissing under the mistletoe is a synthesis of Druid sacrificial rituals with Saturnalia sexual immorality. Christmas Today “Look! The young maiden [also translated virgin] will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” (Matthew 1:23; see also Isaiah 7:14) In light of these facts, many Messianic Jews and born-again Christians choose not to celebrate Christmas in any form whatsoever. Redeeming the Time "Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days." (Ephesians 5:16) Although the date and customs of Christmas have pagan origins, this time can be redeemed by doing special mitzvot (good deeds) to help those who are feeling isolated, lost or alone while others are celebrating with friends and family. It’s a fact that this time of the year is the hardest for many people who don’t have family or who are struggling. We can be a "light" by bringing cheer, comfort, hope and support into the lives of friends, family, neighbors, and those less fortunate than ourselves. This season is a good time to help single parents, widows, or anyone who has fallen upon hard times. Regardless of the origins of the Christmas customs, our focus should be celebrating the Messiah’s birth and life everyday of the year because Yeshua was born in prophetic fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures to redeem the world. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) It is right to celebrate our Creator and His Scriptures (The Word) and the Messiah (The Word that became flesh). "But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'" (Luke 2:10–12) God is love and so He gives us His very best. Shouldn't we do the same? You can choose to share the love of God during this festive season by giving of yourself so that the people here in Israel and Jewish people around the world, can also come to know salvation. Many Blessings to you from all of the Bibles For Israel Staff This scene used to mean something wholly different to me.
Here we are right in the middle of the Christmas season again. I see the decorations and trees and hearing the carols and I sigh a sad sigh filled with pain. Instead of smiles and merriment like so many who have bought into the this world's rabble, I am sad when I think about all of the things we have been told that are not true-- but more so, all of the things we BELIEVE that are not true. Or are half true. Or outright lies. How long, YHWH, until we can all know the Truth and see you? After the events of the last several weeks, my heart knows, without a doubt, that this world is not my home. I long to be in Your Presence, Sweet Savior. I long to rest at your feet and serve and worship you with whole being. I long to see the new heavens and the new earth and to see your feet standing on Mt. Zion, all things made new and right and just and whole on that great and terrible day of judgement. I praise you, YHWH. Blessed are you, oh YHWH our GOD, King of the universe, who has made us holy in Yahshua the Messiah, the Light of this world. Baruch atah YHWH, Elohenu Melech ha olam, asher kidshanu b'Yah'shua ha Mashiach, or ha olam. (Material below is copied, but I don't know from where; it was old material I had written out on the back of a meeting handout from late 2010) Many are always seeking answers on death like what happens when you die? Do some soar to heaven while others descend to hell? Is there a holding place called “purgatory”? Do we enter the spirit world? What about reincarnation? Might I return as an eagle? Can the living actually communicate with dead and do the dead haunt the house they used to live in? The truth about death can be found only in the Bible. The book of Revelation says, “Satan deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9), thus we cannot expect the majority of human beings to be right about anything! The purpose of this study is to prove these seven simple facts:
What is the Spirit and Soul?The Spirit and Soul is something that is very misunderstood by many sowe will primarily let the Strong’s dictionary followed by the Bible define what they are. Put simply, the Spirit is basically the BREATH of life from God. Both the Greek and Hebrew words translate “spirit” to “breath” or “air.” The Greek word “pneuma” is known by many of you in relation to things like pneumatic tools which are air driven or pneumatic tyres which means tyres inflated by air. As you can see, the word “pneumatic” originated from the Greek word “Pneuma” and means “breath” or “air.” Strong’s Old Testament Hebrew dictionary definition for Spirit. H7307 ruach, Pronounced roo'-akh. From H7306; wind; by resemblance breath, that is, a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions): - air, anger, blast, breath, X cool, courage, mind, X quarter, X side, spirit ([-ual]), tempest, X vain, ([whirl-]) wind (-y). Strong’s New Testament Greek dictionary definition for Spirit. G4151 pneuma, Pronounced pnyoo'-mah. From G4154; a current of air, that is, breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively a spirit, that is, (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, daemon, or (divine) God, Christ’s spirit, the Holy spirit: - ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind. Compare G5590. A person’s soul is just simply a living breathing creature. Have you heard the expression; I went to the park and there wasn’t a soul there? A soul just simply means a person and is who and what you are. Strong’s Old Testament Hebrew dictionary definition for Soul. H5315 nephesh, Pronounced neh'-fesh. From H5314; properly a breathing creature, that is, animal or (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental). In the Beginning Genesis 2:7 God formed Adam into “a living soul.” Genesis 2:16-17 God warned that if Adam sinned, he would “surely die.” Genesis 3:4 The serpent said, “you will not surely die.” Genesis 3:19 Because of sin, man will return to dust. Ecclesiastes 12:7 Death is creation of a living soul in reverse. We return to dust “and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Job 27:3 The spirit of God does not live in our nose! This is referring to the breath of life from God. Genesis 3:22-24 God did not want Adam and Eve after sin to take from “the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.” So He drove them out of Paradise. Therefore no sinner will naturally “live forever” apart from Jesus Christ. Genesis 5:5 After Adam lived 930 years, then “he died.” The Soul is Not Immortal Job 4:17 The Bible calls man mortal. Revelation 16:3 "Every living soul died in the sea." Souls can die. Ezekiel 18:4 God said, “The soul that sins, it shall die.” Again, the soul can die! Exodus 1:5 “Seventy souls” went to Egypt. Souls are people. Acts 2:41 “Three thousand souls” were baptized. Again, souls are people. 1 Peter 3:20 “Eight souls were saved” in Noah’s day. Again, souls are people. 1 Timothy 6:16 God “only has immortality.” Man is not immortal. 2 Timothy 1:10 “Immortality” comes only “through the gospel.” Romans 2:7 Christians “seek for immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:53 At the end, “this mortal” shall “put on immortality.” Death is a Sleep Job 14:12 The dead “shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep” until “the heavens be no more.” Psalms 13:3 “Lest I sleep the sleep of death.” Daniel 12:2 “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake.” Acts 7:60 When Stephen died, “he fell asleep.” John 11:11-14 “Lazarus sleeps … Jesus spoke of his death.” 1 Corinthians 11:30; 15:6, 18, 51 Paul said death was “sleep.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 Those “which sleep in Jesus” will be resurrected. Do the dead haunt their house? Job 7:10 The dead “shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.” The Dead are Unconscious Psalms 115:17 “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Psalms 146:4 When a man dies, “in that very day his thoughts perish.” Ecclesiastes 9:5 “The dead know not anything.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 “There is no work... nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave.” Jesus Christ Taught the Resurrection of the Dead Matthew 22:23, 29 Jesus rebuked those who said there was “no resurrection.” Matthew 22:31 Jesus taught “the resurrection of the dead.” Luke 14:14 The saints will “be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” John 5:28-29 “All who are in their graves” will be resurrected at the second coming of Christ. John 6:39, 40, 44, 54 All believers will rise “on the last day.” John 11:24 Martha said to Jesus, “I know that he [Lazarus] shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Matthew 16:21 Jesus would “be killed, and be raised again on the third day.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “Christ died ... was buried ... he rose again.” Matthew 28:7 The angel said, “he is risen from the dead.” Revelation 1:18 Jesus “was dead,” but is now “alive for evermore.” Revelation 2:8 Jesus “was dead, and is alive.” Death and Resurrection in the Book of Acts Acts 2:29 David is “dead and buried.” His body is still in the tomb. Acts 2:34 David has not yet “ascended into the heavens.” He’s not in heaven yet. Acts 9:36-41 Tabitha “was sick, and died ... Peter ... prayed; and turning to the body said ... arise ... she opened her eyes ... presented her alive.” Acts 13:36 David “fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption.” Acts 24:15 “A resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.” All Believers will be Resurrected when Jesus Christ Returns1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 “The Lord himself shall descend ... the dead ... shall rise ... to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:50-55 The saints cry out, “0 death, where is thy sting” when they are resurrected at the second coming of Jesus. John 14:1-3 Jesus will take us to heaven when He “comes again.” 1 Corinthians 15:12-23 Paul says there is a resurrection of both Christ and the dead, “but every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.” We Must Beware of Satanic Deceptions Matthew 24:4 “Take heed that no man deceive you.” 2 Corinthians 11:14 Satan deceives as “an angel of light.” 1 Timothy 4:1 We must beware of “doctrines of devils.” Genesis 3:4 The first doctrine the devil taught Eve was that if she sinned she would “not surely die”! 2 Corinthians 11:3 As “the serpent beguiled Eve,” so Satan continues to mislead even good people “through his subtlety.” Matthew 24:24 All can be deceived by the “great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Behold, the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice, and come forth, they that have done good, to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation. ~~Jesus Christ (John 5:28-29) So far it has been proven from the Bible that when a man dies, he is dead, asleep and unconscious in the grave until the resurrection when Jesus Christ comes again. Some will say, if this is true, then how do we explain other verses in the Word of God that seem to teach that either people or their souls go directly to heaven when they die? The following passages are often used to teach an “immediate flight to glory”, whereas, upon closer analysis, they really do not. Read them all carefully, and then don’t forget what Jesus and the rest of the Bible says. The Thief on the Cross Luke 23:42-43 When Jesus was dying on the cross the crucified thief right next to Him said, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” First of all, the thief’s question looked forward to the Second Coming, not themoment of death. The interpretation of Jesus’ response depends upon where you place a tiny particle called a “comma.” The fact is, commas are not inspired, but were added over a thousand years later along with chapters and verses. Did Jesus Christ say, “I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” or, “I say to you today, you will be with Me in paradise” (at the Second Coming)? Here is one translation that put the comma in the place that lines up with all other scripture. Luke 23:43 TS98 “And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you today, you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Here is further proof that punctuation is not inspired. Acts 19:12 KJV “So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” In this verse we see the diseases departed from the sick handkerchiefs or aprons. The comma should have been placed after the word “sick”. There are many such examples through even the King James Bible as well as other translations. Let’s look at just one more that proves beyond all doubt that punctuation is not inspired by God. This following example involves chapters, verses as well as a comma. Matthew 28:1 reads, “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.” The end of the Sabbath which is sunset and dawn are twelve hours apart, so why the apparent contradiction in the above verse? The answer is found in the translation of this passage. By reorganizing the last verse of Matthew 27 and the first verse of Matthew 28, the apparent ambiguity completely disappears. See Matthew 27:62-66. In Matthew 27:62, a request for a guard on the tomb was made on the Sabbath (the day after the preparation) and that the request was for a guard until the third day. By simply moving the text “in the end of the Sabbath,” from the beginning of Matthew 28:1 to the end of Matthew 27:66, which is where it should have been placed when punctuation and chapters and verse were added, we would have the following. Matthew 27:66 “So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch in the end of the sabbath.” Matthew 28:1 “As it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.” It was the watch guarding the tomb that began at the end of the Sabbath. Since Jesus was to rise the third day, the Roman guards were put in place immediately at the end of the Sabbath because they anticipated that the body of Jesus would be stolen by the Jews sometime on Sunday. Four reasons why the comma is wrongly placed in Luke 23:43
What about Moses and Elijah? Luke 9:27-36On the mount of transfiguration, “two men ... Moses and Elias ... appeared in glory.” These where not spirits or disembodied souls, but “two men.” Elijah never died. He was translated without seeing death. 2 Kings 2:11. Moses “died” and was “buried.” Deuteronomy 34:5-6. Yet the book of Jude reveals that Michael came from heaven and, “contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses.” Jude 1:9. Moses was also raised, that’s why the devil protested. Then Michael said, “the Lord rebuke thee.” Hence it was a living, resurrected Moses and a living, translated Elijah that appeared on the mount. Immediately prior to this appearance, Jesus told his disciples that they would soon “see the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:27. On the mount they saw God’s kingdom in miniature. Jesus was there, so was Moses (representing all resurrected saints), and Elijah (representing all translated saints at the Second Coming). Both groups are described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Absent from the Body, Present with the LordPaul longed “to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8. The question is, would this transition take place at the moment of death, or at the Second Coming? Paul clarified in verse 4 that it would occur when “mortality” is “swallowed up by life” (verse 4). When is this? In his previous letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote that “mortality” would be “swallowed up” when the resurrection of believers occurs at the end of the world. “In a moment ... at the last trump ... the dead shall be raised ... this mortal must put on immortality ... then ... Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:50-55. Thus Paul expected “to be present with the Lord” at the Second Coming. He later wrote, “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout ... the dead in Christ shall rise ... so shall we ever be with the Lord.” l Thessalonians 4:16-17. Jesus said we will be with Him when He “comes again.” John 14:1-3. Because death is like sleep, it will seem like barely a moment until we are “present with the Lord.” Souls under the Altar - Revelation 6:9-11During the “fifth seal,” John “saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood.” This scene is symbolic, representing the martyrs who died for their steadfast faith in Jesus Christ. God said to Cain after he murdered his brother Abel, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries unto me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10. These words parallel what John saw in Revelation 6. The blood of Abel did not literally cry out from the ground. Neither are there actual souls underneath a real altar in heaven. The “souls under the altar” scene occurs right after “the fourth seal” scene. There “Hell” is seen following “a pale horse” ridden by “Death.” Revelation 6:7-8. Again, this is obviously symbolic and refers to those martyred for their faith and whose deaths cry out to God for just retribution. Those slain are represented as being told to “wait” for God’s judgment and their future reward at the second coming of Jesus Christ. The Rich Man and Lazarus - Luke 16:19-31Believe it or not, this is the ONLY place in the entire New Testament that suggests that a lost soul goes into a fiery hell immediately at death. This idea is not taught anywhere else - not by Matthew, Mark, John, James, Peter or Paul. Jesus often told parables. While containing many practical lessons, parables are not meant to be taken literally. Here are 9 reasons why the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus is definitely a parable:
Note: We should interpret parables in the light of the rest of the Bible, rather than the rest of the Bible in the light of one parable. Saul, Samuel and the witch of Endor - 1 Samuel 28:5-14 Did King Saul really speak to Samuel after his death? Do the whole host of scriptures that clearly state the dead sleep until the second coming of Christ contradict this passage? Definitely not! In 1 Samuel chapter 28 we find Saul afraid of the host of Philistines and so enquiring after the Lord for help. But the Lord would not answer Saul so he went to the witch of Endor to see if he could contact Samuel from the grave and have him ask God how he could gain victory over the Philistines. Saul of course sinned greatly by inquiring of an evil spirit in place of the Lord. If Samuel had actually gone to heaven, Satan would certainly not have been given permission to bring him down in response to the incantations of a wicked woman. The figure that appeared to the witch had to be an impersonation of Samuel by a demon or even Satan himself. If Satan can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), he can certainly appear as the prophet Samuel. Note in verse 11 that Samuel was supposedly brought up from below. Heretical but popular theology says that righteous people such as Samuel would come down from heaven, but pagan ideas assume that the dead are below ground. This popular pagan idea about death had obviously crept into the beliefs of God’s people well before the time of Christ. See the story of the rich man and Lazarus earlier and John chapter 11 for example. This witch of Endor was known for having a familiar spirit but what is a familiar spirit? It is certainly not an angel of God because of His strong condemnation against consulting with them. A familiar spirit is a demonic spirit (fallen angel) that is in league with Satan. This is what the woman at Endor had. She had communication with a demon that was quite capable of impersonating Samuel. It was not Samuel who appeared but a demon masquerading as Samuel. Note in verse 12 that the first thing the demon did was expose Saul’s masquerade to the witch. Note also that Saul did not actually see anything himself and had to ask what she saw. The witch replied that she saw gods ascending out of the earth and an old man covered with a mantle. What were these so called gods ascending out of the earth with Samuel? More demons! Saul assumed it was Samuel he communicated with based only on what the witch said. Since the witch said she saw Samuel coming up from out of the earth (not down from heaven), King Saul was putting his trust completely in a spirit medium, a necromancer, a witch, against the expressed will of God. So the conversation that followed was not between Saul and Samuel, but between Saul and a witch with a familiar (demonic) spirit. So with all these facts in mind and understanding what the Word teaches about the state of the dead and the circumstances of Saul’s relationship with God at the time, we know that it could not have been Samuel raised from the dead but a fallen angel. The fact that Saul even attempted this séance with a witch or spirit medium was an abomination and rebellion against God of which Saul paid for with his life. 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 “So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; 14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.” The italicized words in verse 13 are added by the translator and are not in the original Hebrew text. So if we translate 1 Chronicles 10:13 verbatim, it actually reads as follows: 1 Chronicles 10:13 “So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking of a familiar spirit, to enquire;” So this verse also actually states that Saul communicated with a demonic spirit and not the prophet Samuel! One must not base their theology on what they think one scripture shows when several black and white scriptures clearly say otherwise. Out of Body ExperiencesSome will say, but what about all those out of body experiences you hear about? Firstly, when a persons heart stops beating they are not actually dead yet but their body is being derived of oxygen. It has been scientifically proven that when the body is deprived of oxygen that it can start to hallucinate and or have dreams which will probably be based on one’s own beliefs. In one experiment Dr. Ladislas Meduna administered 30% Carbon Dioxide and 70% Oxygen to a subject. Afterwards the subject stated, “I felt as though I was looking at myself, as though I was way out there in space…I felt sort of separated.” There have also been many other experiments done that have made the person feel as though they were having an out of body experience. One cannot base their theology on what one claims to have experienced. The word of God is very clear and is totally trustworthy. One cannot go by what they think they have seen or felt. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight:” Conclusion Does it really matter if we know what happens when we die? Most definitely! The Bible says that people who misunderstand the subject of death will almost assuredly be deceived by the Devil on other issues including the final Battle of Armageddon. Revelation 16:14 says, “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” We must understand what the Bible really says happens when a person dies and what is the truth about death. David declares that man is not conscious in death. “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” Psalm 146:4. Solomon has the same testimony, “The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything.” “Their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.” “There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10. Jesus said that He would go and prepare a place for us so when comes again we can be with Him where He is now. Obviously the dead cannot possibly be with Him there now according to the words of Jesus. John 14:2-3 says, “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” So this is what happens when you die from the Word of God and by no mans interpretation. This leaves only one conclusion to those who believe they have spoken to loved ones in séances etc. Since the dead sleep until the second coming of Christ, theses manifestations have to be demons masquerading as our loved ones to deceive us. As for Purgatory, it is found nowhere in the Bible and was manufactured by the Papacy as a means of extorting money from people through the dark ages. (No offence intended to the many wonderful people in the Roman Catholic Church) Truth is truth and this is the truth about death. As there is no consciousness of time in sleep, the moment we close our eyes we will see Jesus coming in the clouds of Angels. Here are just some of the Old Testament scriptures that could be quoted to prove what happens when you die. Ecclesiastes 9:5 “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatsoever your hand findeth to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither you goest.” Job 14:12 “So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” Psalms 13:3 “Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;" If I was in heaven, I most definitely would be praising the Lord. How about you? Psalms 115:17 “The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.” Daniel 12:2 “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earthshall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Below are most of the New Testament scriptures that can be quoted that proves what happens when you die. Luke 23:42-43 “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when you comest into your kingdom. 43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto you, To day[,] shall you be with me in paradise.” Punctuation, chapter and verses were added when the Bible was translated and the above verse has to be wrongly punctuated to be consistent with ALL other scripture. The following translation of the same verse done by “The Scriptures 1998, Copyright by the Institute for Scripture Research” has been correctly punctuated. Luke 23:43 TS98 “And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you today, you shall be with Me in Paradise.” The following three verses prove that Jesus had not yet gone to His Father in Paradise on the Sunday let alone on the Friday. John 20:17 “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” Revelation 2:7 “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the TREE OF LIFE, which is in the midst of the PARADISE of God.” Revelation 22:1-3 “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of GOD and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the TREE OF LIFE, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:” Here is further evidence that punctuation is not inspired. Acts 19:12 KJV “So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” In the above verse we see the diseases departed from the sick handkerchiefs or aprons. The comma should have been placed after the word “sick.” There are many such examples throughout the King James Bible as well as other translations. John 5:28-29 “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the whichall that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 6:39 “And this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” John 6:40 “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” One more time just for good measure. John 6:54 “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 11:11-14 “These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. 12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. 13 Howbeit Jesus spoke of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. 14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. Martha understood this as well as she said to Jesus that if He had been there earlier that Lazarus would not have died. John 11:24 “Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;that where I am, there you may be also.” Acts 2:29 “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.” Acts 2:34 “For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit you on my right hand,” This is what Stephen said as he died when he was stoned. It was obviously well known in those days that death was referred to as a sleep. Acts 7:60 “And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” Acts 24:15 “And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.“ 1 Corinthians 15:6 “After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, butsome are fallen asleep.” While still speaking of the resurrection of the dead, Paul shows quite clearly what happens when you die. Paul says in verses 17 and 18, that if Christ did not rise from the dead then all those that are fallen asleep (dead) have also totally perished. He also says that Christ was the firstfruits, that is, the first to be risen from the dead and afterwards, those at His second coming will be resurrected (verse 23). 1 Corinthians 15:12-23 “Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” My boys and I went hunting again a couple of weeks ago; not animal hunting. We went hunting for information about Thanksgiving and we found some very interesting stuff.....for instance, I didn't know that Thanksgiving wasn't always on the 4th Thursday. It used to be on the last Thursday. Lincoln gave us Thanksgiving as a national holiday, but FDR changed its placement on our calendar so retailers would have more days available for shoppers before Christmas.
But, the boys and I wanted to know where it came from before that, before Lincoln and FDR, you know -- waaaaaay back when --- especially because as we learned more and more about the biblical feast of Sukkot this year, we saw such striking similarities to what we know as Thanksgiving (both now and in the 1620s when the pilgrims celebrated it with the American Indians). We all know what we are told in school, right? Here are some of the more informative articles and information we found, all copied with the proper links for authentication. Enjoy!! ~prairie Thanksgiving: A Harvest Festival with Roots in Sukkot By Rabbi Elias Lieberman http://www.interfaithfamily.com/holidays/shabbat_and_other_holidays/Thanksgiving_A_Harvest_Festival_with_Roots_in_Sukkot.shtml October 13, 2011. I have the great good fortune to live on Cape Cod, just a short drive from Plimoth Plantation. It was there, in the Plimoth settlement, that history records the first "Thanksgiving." The intervening centuries have made it difficult to sort fact from Hallmark-fiction, but this much we do know, from one contemporaneous account from 1621: There were three days of feasting, in the company of Native Americans. The Thanksgiving holiday that we celebrate did not become a national holiday until President Abraham Lincoln declared it one in 1863. And it wasn't until the 1941 that its date was firmly established by Congress as the fourth Thursday in November. While we cannot be certain about what motivated those Pilgrim settlers to initiate a feast of thanksgiving, it is likely that they consciously drew on a model well-known to them from the Bible they cherished. Seeing themselves as new Israelites in a new "promised land," the Pilgrims surely found inspiration in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Leviticus in which God commands the ancient Israelites to observe the Feast of Booths — in Hebrew, Sukkot, "to rejoice before Adonai your God" at the time of the fall harvest [16:11]. In Jewish tradition, the Festival of Sukkot is a joyous occasion to give thanks and praise to the Source of Creation for the bounty we enjoy. In fact, we are told that during Sukkot, "you shall have nothing but joy." [Lev. 16:15] Jews erect a sukkah, a harvest booth, in which they eat their meals, and sometimes sleep, during the festival. It is a reminder of the booths in which their ancestors are said to have dwelled during their forty-year Sinai sojourn. It is also precisely the kind of structure farmers in the Middle East still construct at the edges of their fields as crops come ripe and the need to rise early for harvesting makes it prudent to sleep nearby. The sukkah is a temporary structure, hung with fruits and symbols of the harvest season. Its roof is thinly covered with branches, admitting sunlight, starlight, wind, and rain, reminding of us the precariousness of our existence in the face of the forces of nature. But the sukkah is also a powerful reminder of the many reasons for which we feel grateful to God, not the least of which is the fact that for the other fifty-one weeks of the year most of us are blessed to have solid roofs over our heads, clothes to wear, and food enough to fill our bellies. Such was not always the case for the Pilgrims, who often contended with illness, meager rations, disappointed hopes, and death. During that very hard winter before the first "Thanksgiving," it is recorded that food became so scarce in some settlements that the daily ration of food per person per day was five kernels of corn. In order to remember those harsh times and maintain their gratitude for the plenty they now enjoyed, some New Englanders started the custom of putting five kernels of corn on each plate at their feast. There is a strong thread which runs from the Israelite wilderness experience to that of the Pilgrims and the harsh years they endured as they strove to sink roots in this new land. Like the ancient Israelites of whom they read in the Bible, they were people of great faith who believed themselves to be sustained through God's great mercy and beneficence. That they should rejoice and give thanks at harvest time was as natural an impulse for the Pilgrims as it was for the ancient Israelites. Few of us today are farmers; we "gather" our food pre-packaged from the supermarket, far removed from the natural processes which make or break a harvest. But Thanksgiving and Sukkot come to remind us that there is far more to be grateful for in this world than a bounteous crop. Both of these splendid holidays encourage us to stop and acknowledge the manifold blessings God bestows upon us each and every day. And whether we accomplish that stock-taking over a slice of Thanksgiving pumpkin pie or beneath the leafy branches of a sukkah roof — or both — we understand and embrace the impulse which inspired our Pilgrim and our Israelite ancestors. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Thanksgiving and Sukkot What's the Connection? by John J. Parsons THE AMERICAN HOLIDAY OF THANKSGIVING certainly has its roots in the Jewish tradition of giving thanks to God, and some historians believe that the early "pilgrims" derived the idea directly from the Biblical festival of Sukkot (i.e., "Tabernacles"). According to some scholars, before coming to the New World, the pilgrims lived for a decade among the Sephardic Jews in Holland, since Holland was considered a safe haven from religious persecution at the time. Since the pilgrims were devout Calvinists and Puritans, their religious idealism led them to regard themselves as "new Israel," and it is likely that they learned that Sukkot commemorated Israel's deliverance from their religious persecution in ancient Egypt at that time. After they emigrated to the "Promised Land" of America, it is not surprising that the pilgrims may have chosen the festival of Sukkot as the paradigm for their own celebration. As the Torah commands: "[Celebrate the feast] so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God" (Lev. 23:39-43). The highly religious pilgrims regarded their perilous journey to the new world as a type of "Exodus event" and therefore sought the appropriate Biblical holiday to commemorate their safe arrival in a land full of new promise... Recall that during the holiday of Sukkot we are commanded to dwell in sukkahs to remind ourselves of the sheltering presence of God given to our ancestors in the wilderness. After the Jews finally began inheriting the land, the theme of Sukkot shifted to an expression of thanks for God's provision and steadfast love. In that sense, Sukkot is a sort of "Jewish Thanksgiving" celebration. During the fall harvest (traditionally called the "Season of our Joy") the Torah commands us to "rejoice before Adonai your God" (Deut. 16:11-15; Lev. 23:39-43). When we wave our lulavs (symbols of the fruit of the earth and the harvest), it is customary to recite the following expression of thanks: הוֹדוּ לַיהוה כִּי־טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ ho·du la·Adonai ki tov, ki le·o·lam chas·do "Give thanks to the LORD for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever." The Refrains of Praise A basic principle in Bible interpretation is to note repeated occurrences of a word or phrase. This is sometimes called the "law of recurrence." The assumption here is that since God is the consummate Communicator, if a word or phrase is repeated in Scripture, there is surely a good reason. In some cases the function appears to be instructive (such as the two sets of instructions given for building the Mishkan (tabernacle) in Exodus); in other cases it appears to be exclamatory: the LORD doesn't repeat Himself without the intent of getting our attention. But notice that the phrase, hodu la-donai ki-tov, ki le'olam chasdo ("Give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His stedfast love endures forever") appears no less than five times in Scripture (1 Chr. 16:34; Psalm 106:1; Psalm 107:1; Psalm 118:1,29; Psalm 136:1), and in each case it is clear that the Holy Spirit is emphasizing that God's love for us -- His chesed -- is the primary reason for us to give Him thanks (in Psalm 136, the refrain, "ki le'olam chasdo" occurs no less than 25 times). Notice also that the verb hodu is the imperative ofyadah (to confess or express gratitude) and therefore we can understand this verse to mean that we are to "confess" or "acknowledge" that the LORD is good. Indeed, the Hebrew word todah (תּוֹדָה), usually translated "thanks," can mean both "confession" and "praise." ********************************************************************************************* A Thanksgiving Seder Thanksgiving is perfectly compatible with Messianic Jewish observance, and since the holiday always falls on a Thursday there is never a conflict with Sabbath celebrations. You can create a simple "Thanksgiving Seder" by reciting Kiddush (the blessing over the wine and the bread) and then offering a special prayer of thanks before eating the meal. Everyone could recite the refrain: "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His steadfast love endures forever" (see Hebrew text above). The "Shehecheyanu" blessing may then be recited to mark the occasion as spiritually significant: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה ba·ruch at·tah Adonai E·lo·hei·nu Me·lekh ha·o·lam she·he·che·ya·nu ve·ki·ye·ma·nu ve·hig·gi·a·nu la·ze·man haz·zeh "Blessed are You, LORD our God, Master of the Universe, Who has kept us alive and sustained us and brought us to this season." During the meal, people might take some time to share their own experience of finding freedom in America or to discuss why they regard freedom as important. The connections between Passover (the Exodus), Shavuot (the Sinai and "Pentecost" experiences), Sukkot (God's care for Israel during their wanderings in the desert), and the American holiday of Thanksgiving would also make an excellent discussion. It is also interesting to note that the Hebrew word for "turkey" is tarnegol hodu (תַּרְנְגוֹל הוֹדו), literally, "Indian chicken," which is often shortened to hodu (הוֹדוּ). It is a happy coincidence that we customarily eat turkey on Thanksgiving, and this reminds us of the "thanks" connection: "Give thanks(hodu) to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever." Since Yeshua is the ultimate expression of God's steadfast love (i.e., chesed: חֶסֶד), how much more should we give heartfelt thanks to God for Him? Is there anything greater than the astounding love of God? Can anything overcome it? Can even the hardness of your own heart somehow veto or negate it's purposes? It was because of His great love that God (יהוה) "emptied Himself" of heavenly glory, becoming clothed in human flesh and becoming disguised a lowly slave (δοῦλος). God performed this act of "infinite condescension" in order to "tabernacle" with us as our "hidden King" (John 1:1,14, Phil. 2:7-8). Ultimately our thanks to God is our praise for Yeshua, our Savior, King, and LORD. We wish you a joy-filled time of reflection during this Thanksgiving Holiday. May you remember the many blessings that the LORD God of Israel has lovingly bestowed upon you and your family.... Hodu La-Adonai! selection taken from: hebrew4christians.com ********************************************************************************************* more info here if you are interested: http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday5.htm which contains this -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Many Americans, upon seeing a decorated sukkah for the first time, remark on how much the sukkah (and the holiday generally) reminds them of Thanksgiving. This may not be entirely coincidental: I was taught that our American pilgrims, who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, borrowed the idea from Sukkot. The pilgrims were deeply religious people. When they were trying to find a way to express their thanks for their survival and for the harvest, they looked to the Bible for an appropriate way of celebrating and found Sukkot. This is not the standard story taught in public schools today (that a Thanksgiving holiday is an English custom that the Pilgrims brought over), but the Sukkot explanation of Thanksgiving fits better with the meticulous research of Mayflower historian Caleb Johnson, who believes that the original Thanksgiving was a harvest festival (as is Sukkot), that it was observed in October (as Sukkot usually is), and that Pilgrims would not have celebrated a holiday that was not in the Bible (but Sukkot is in the Bible). Although Mr. Johnson claims that the first Thanksgiving was "not a religious holiday or observance," he apparently means this in a Christian sense, because he goes on to say that the first Thanksgiving was instead "a harvest festival that included feasts, sporting events, and other activities," concepts very much in keeping with the Jewish religious observance of Sukkot. See Religious Beliefs of the Pilgrims and Debunking a Popular Internet Lesson Plan. and more: http://theshiksa.com/2010/09/22/sukkot-the-harvest-holiday/ and from a homeschooling site: http://heartofwisdom.com/biblicalholidays/2011/10/10/was-the-feast-of-tabernacles-the-first-thanksgiving/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Was the Feast of Tabernacles the First Thanksgiving? Oct 10, 2011 The Feast of Tabernacles is a week-long autumn harvest festival. The two days following the festival are separate holidays, Shemini Atzeret and Simkhat Torah, but are commonly thought of as part of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles was the final and most important holiday of the year. The importance of this festival is indicated by the statement, “This is to be a lasting ordinance.” The divine pronouncement, “I am the Lord your God,” concludes this section on the holidays of the seventh month. The Feast of Tabernacles begins five days after Yom Kippur on the fifteenth of Tishri (September or October). It is a drastic change from one of the most solemn holidays in our year to one of the most joyous. The word Sukkoth means “booths,” and refers to the temporary dwellings that Jews are commanded to live in during this holiday, just as the Jews did in the wilderness. The Feast of Tabernacles lasts for seven days and ends on the twenty-first day (3×7) of the Hebrew month of Tishri, which is Israel’s seventh month. This holiday has a dual significance: historical and agricultural (just as Passover and Pentecost). Historically, it was to be kept in remembrance of the dwelling in tents in the wilderness for the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert. It is expounded in Leviticus 23:43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. What were they to remember? Matthew Henry’s commentary explains, 1.) The meanness of their beginning, and the low and desolate state out of which God advanced that people. Note: Those that are comfortably fixed ought often to call to mind their former unsettled state, when they were but little in their own eyes. 2.) The mercy of God to them, that, when they dwelt in tabernacles, God not only set up a tabernacle for Himself among them, but, with the utmost care and tenderness imaginable, hung a canopy over them, even the cloud that sheltered them from the heat of the sun. God’s former mercies to us and our fathers ought to be kept in everlasting remembrance. The eighth day was the great day of this holiday, because then they returned to their own houses again, and remembered how, after they had long dwelt in tents in the wilderness, at length they came to a happy settlement in the land of promise, where they dwelt in goodly houses. And they would the more sensibly value and be thankful for the comforts and conveniences of their houses when they had been seven days dwelling in booths. It is good for those that have ease and plenty sometimes to learn what it is to endure hardness. They were to keep this holiday in thankfulness to God for all the increase of the year; however, the emphasis is that Israel’s life rested upon redemption which in its ultimate meaning is the forgiveness of sin. This fact separates this holiday from the harvest festivals of the neighboring nations whose roots lay in the mythological activity of the gods. Was the first Thanksgiving a Feast of Tabernacles Celebration? Many Americans, upon seeing a decorated sukkah for the first time, remark on how much the sukkah (and the holiday generally) reminds them of Thanksgiving. The American pilgrims, who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, were deeply religious people. As they were trying to find a way to express their thanks for their survival and for the harvest, it is quite possible that they looked to the Bible (Leviticus 23:39) for an appropriate way of celebrating and based their holiday in part on the Feast of Tabernacles. Note: celebrating Thanksgiving on the third Thursday of November was established by the American government and may not necessarily coincide with the pilgrim’s first observance. Tabernacles is also known as the Feast of the Ingathering, Feast of the Booths, Sukkoth, Succoth, or Sukkot (variations in spellings occur because these words are transliterations of the Hebrew word pronounced “Sue-coat”). `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Thanksgiving: the American Sukkot? http://www.jewishaz.com/jewishnews/041112/sukkot.shtml LINDA MOREL Jewish Telegraphic Agency Did you know that Thanksgiving is really a Jewish holiday? Although Thanksgiving is not on the Jewish calendar, historians believe Sukkot may have inspired America's favorite farewell to fall, often nicknamed "Turkey Day." "The pilgrims based their customs on the Bible," says Gloria Kaufer Greene, author of the "New Jewish Holiday Cookbook" (Times Books, $29.95 hardcover). "They knew that Sukkot was an autumn harvest festival, and there is evidence that they fashioned the first Thanksgiving after the Jewish custom of celebrating the success of the year's crops." Linda Burghardt, author of "Jewish Holiday Traditions" (Citadel Press, $24.95 hardcover), says, "Sukkot is considered a model for Thanksgiving. Both holidays revolve around showing gratitude for a bountiful harvest." Today Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, but President Franklin Roosevelt didn't propose this timing until 1939. It was Abraham Lincoln who made Thanksgiving a national holiday. Roosevelt actually changed Lincoln's decree that Thanksgiving be observed on the last Thursday in November, which sometimes fell on the fifth Thursday of the month. The pilgrims invited local Indians to the first Thanksgiving during the fall of 1621. Historians speculate that this celebration occurred somewhere between Sept. 21 and Nov. 9, but most likely in early October, around the time of Sukkot. "Originally, Sukkot entailed a pilgrimage to Jerusalem," says Greene, who believes the two holidays share much in common. The Puritan Christians who landed on American shores seeking religious freedom were called pilgrims, in deference to their journey from England. Their dream of finding a place where they'd be free to worship as they pleased is a recurrent theme in Jewish history. After their pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the ancient Israelites lived for a week in temporary huts while giving thanks for a plentiful harvest. Likewise, during their first winter in Massachusetts, the pilgrims dwelled in makeshift huts, wigwams that the Indians helped them build. While Sukkot remains a seven-day observance, the first Thanksgiving celebration continued for three days, a time frame more similar to the Jewish harvest festival than today's Thanksgiving dinner, which often begins in late afternoon and ends several hours later. With its pumpkin pies and cranberry garlands, Thanksgiving mirrors many of Sukkot's customs and culinary themes. Burghardt says she is amazed at how many of the same foods are connected to both holidays. Piping hot casseroles brimming with vegetables and fruit grace the American and Jewish harvest tables, as do pastries that are filled with apples, nuts, pumpkins and squash. Stuffing one food inside another as a metaphor for abundance is the hallmark of Sukkot cuisine. Yet there's nothing more opulent than the elaborate bread stuffings found inside Thanksgiving turkeys. Burghardt's favorite dishes at both holidays are hearty and basic. When entertaining, she starts with her harvest vegetable soup, which sets a homey tone. "Sometimes we roast sweet potatoes outside on the grill just because it's past the season and therefore fun," she says. "I make my applesauce from scratch." Greene enjoys transforming traditional Thanksgiving recipes into kosher cuisine. "I like mixing New- and Old-World themes," she says. One of her favorite recipes is glazed turkey with fruit-nut stuffing. Bursting with so much produce, it's a one-dish harvest festival. Because the pilgrims and Indians shared roasted corn during the first Thanksgiving, Greene's double cornbread is a fitting choice. It is soft and moist, almost like a kugel. Harvest-time cranberry relish is always a big hit at Greene's house. "Several years ago, I invited a family of Russian-Jewish immigrants to celebrate their first Thanksgiving. While they adored traditional American foods, they were especially fascinated with the taste and bright color of cranberries." But since the two holidays are so close in time, is there any reason for American Jews who celebrate Sukkot to pay homage to a second harvest festival six weeks later? "Participating in Thanksgiving is how we feel American," says Greene, a former food columnist for the Baltimore Jewish Times, who used to submit a Thanksgiving story every year. She agrees with Burghardt that Thanksgiving is a lovely experience. It's an easy holiday to include friends and neighbors of other faiths. "While Thanksgiving is not technically a Jewish holiday, it's not a Christian one either," says Burghardt. "It's a great equalizer with a multicultural theme." Although Burghardt believes that Thanksgiving with its chocolate turkeys and pilgrims lacks Sukkot's depth, Greene feels there's something spiritual about the whole country partaking in a communal meal, even though menus and customs vary from home to home. At her table, she asks guest to share one thing for which they're grateful. "Like Sukkot, at Thanksgiving you're supposed to invite people to share abundance with your family," says Burghardt. "You can't serve too much food. Could there be anything more Jewish than that?" `````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Sukkot The Biblical Thanksgiving by Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman http://bustedhalo.com/features/sukkot Each fall, Jews celebrate the holiday of Sukkot, named after the “huts” the Jewish people lived in during their 40 years in the wilderness. Sukkot begins on the night of the largest full moon of the year, the harvest moon. This year it began at sundown on Friday, October 2, and runs through October 10. As a celebration of the year’s largest harvest, Sukkot reminds us to give thanks. The American Pilgrims understood this biblical significance of Sukkot, and made it the basis for Thanksgiving. Tradition calls us to “live” for a week in a sukkah (sukkot is the plural form) — a hut, open to the sky, with some leaves for a roof. (Eating meals there can qualify for “living,” especially during inclement weather.) Living in a hut reminds us of our interdependence with nature. Our buildings and vehicles are artificial barriers, which insulate us from so many effects of nature. We succumb to an “edifice complex.” They distract us from our constant interaction with nature, inhibiting us from “smelling the roses.” They limit our awareness of the impact we have on nature, so we don’t deal with pollution, conservation of resources — dying species, sustainable development, diversity of energy resources — global warming, or even adequate preparation for “natural” disasters. Just ask the residents of New Orleans. As we become more aware of interdependence, we accept our stewardship of nature. What living in sukkot can teach usLiving in sukkot — symbols of freedom from civilization — might teach us to detach from those values of our surrounding society that limit our freedom, such as materialism, isolationism and rugged individualism. Freedom is our ability to “worship God” (in secular vocabulary, to “live as we should”): to use all of our resources to pursue our highest values, to fulfill our potential to create or improve ourselves and our world. If all lived freely, then we would celebrate the Messianic dream, our harvest of the moral deeds, which we plant each time we do one. On the other hand, living in sukkot might remind us of our interdependence with the society around us and push us to connect more closely with the positive values of our American society, such as individual freedom, respect for cultural diversity, caring for one’s neighbors and entrepreneurial creativity. Living in sukkot — symbols of freedom from civilization — might teach us to detach from those values of our surrounding society that limit our freedom, such as materialism, isolationism and rugged individualism.This season of abundance might remind us of our potential to produce from our earth more than enough food and other resources, so that every person can live a most comfortable life. Our Torah/Bible teaches “distributive justice” — that everyone deserves a base, a “safety net,” of food, housing, health care and education. If so, then all would be freed not only from the “Pharaoh” (any factor which inhibits our freedom to do what we should) of poverty, but also from the Pharaohs of oppression. All oppression derives from corruption — when a relatively small group of people uses power to control and obtain more than it deserves, more than its fair share. Corruption cannot flourish amidst widespread prosperity, because not only will a strong middle class demand justice and transparency, but also it will have the power to make those things real. Dwelling in Sukkot might also teach us to protect ourselves from danger not through an exclusive reliance on arms (military and police) and secured buildings, but instead through our love and our connections to other people, based on God’s values. Our prayers call this a “sukkat shalom,” a shelter of peace. The guests we invite to our sukkot, called ushpizim, might remind us that we are not the first people to envision a world of freedom, comfort and caring. The seven traditional guests provide seven role models from Jewish history – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. Modern versions ofushpizim add women from our tradition, and may also add recent Jewish and non-Jewish heroes. They might reconnect us to our brit, our covenant with God, our partnership agreement to create or improve our world. We call Sukkot z’man simchateinu, the time of our rejoicing. We celebrate plentiful food and resources, freedom, interdependence with nature — and our ability to create or improve our world, to achieve the Messianic ideals of justice, freedom, peace, caring and creativity. Happy The Author : Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman has been the spiritual leader of Temple of Israel in Wilmington, NC since July 2007. A native of Los Angeles, he practiced for five years as an attorney after graduating from UCLA School of Law. See more articles by Rabbi Harley Karz-Wagman (2). 3 comments about “Sukkot”richard -- October 19th, 2009 at 3:22 am thanksgiving ahava -- October 20th, 2009 at 5:45 pm I teach the connection between Thanksgiving and Sukkot also. Did you know that the Quakers in England were persecuted because they protested the celebration of Christmas-because of its pagan roots and that it is not scriptural and that he was NOT born on Dec 25th. That is the main reason that they were persecuted and had to come to America-to keep the scriptures as they were written! ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Here are some more links if you're really finding this interesting..... :) http://www.ucg.org/holidays-and-holy-days/thanksgiving-rooted-biblical-festival/ http://frumteacher.blogspot.com/2007/09/sukkot-and-thanksgiving.html |
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