Is God a Liar?

Here's The Big Question: If God is not a liar and does what He said He would do... and if Jesus came and fulfilled the first festivals down to the smallest detail... down to the very minute that was predicted centuries ago... then wouldn't He also fulfill the final festivals in the same, precise, promised manor? Of course he will!

Now some people use that information and say, "but I thought that no man could know the hour of his return?" As we have shown, because of the calendar problems we will not know the timing of the 7 year tribulation until it is here. At that time, the Bible gives us the exact number of days until His return.

Just prior to the return of Christ to the earth, the bible tells us that Christ will return in the air, that all believers will be raptured or taken to him when he shouts "come up hither". At that time, believers from all time will take place in the coronation and marriage supper of the lamb. If this is all new to you, hang on, it's just a quick overview. While there is celebrating in heaven, there will be a period on earth of 7 years of trouble that we have termed the Tribulation.

Although this word is not used for this specific period of time, it has been accepted as an appropriate word to describe the events outlined in the Bible.

This period of time we are speaking of is also called Daniel's 70th week. Whatever label you give it, the Bible gives specific periods of time and even exact numbers of days that events will occur. You may be surprised to learn how specific God has instructed us about this time. You will see this mentioned in the Bible in different ways: The 70th Week, two periods of 'Time-Times-and 1/2 time', a certain number of days, etc. Some periods may only describe the last half of this period. We don't have the space to cover all of these verses, but below is a simplified version:

The Jews have been upset because the site of the old temple is currently occupied by the Dome of the Rock -- the Islamic temple. This is the spot that Muslims claim Mohammed ascended to heaven. If the Jews were to take over this site, destroy the Dome and build their temple, we would have major war involving the entire middle-east.

As you may know, the religion of Islam allows for the murder of any non-muslim, so the situation is extremely volitile. We have seen what suicide bombers and the 9-11-01 radicals are capable of doing. God is going to allow the Jewish temple to be built, even though it wouldn't be necessary because of the "New Covenant" (sacrifices are no longer needed ...remember?). How this will happen we do not know, but it will be built... and soon. It will be built during a period of peace, and animal sacrifices will certainly return. What is even more exciting is that garments and temple instruments have already been completed! Note: This does not mean that a return to the sacrifices is needed, it just means that the Jews believe it is, and we are close to this prophecy being fulfilled.

It is interesting to see all the peace negotiations currently taking place. Eventually, one specific treaty or negotiation will lead to a final "guaranteed" contract of peace. "People will claim peace at last... but then sudden distruction will hit them like labor comes upon a pregnant woman".

Unfortunately, a man brought to world attention because of this peace contract will convince the Jews he is actually the Messiah they have been waiting for. In fact, the Bible states that exactly 1260 days (3 1/2 years) after the signing of the final peace contract between Israel and it's neighbors, this man will physically enter the temple, stop the sacrifices and actually claim to be God in the flesh. The Bible calls this the 'Abomination and Desolation'. We'll cover that at a later point.

We will be using several forms of this timeline throughout my blog as we continue our study.
Below is a condensed timeline that describes Daniel's 70 weeks, and includes the 70th week. The bible actually defines this as '70 weeks of years' so each 'week' is a 7 year period. Spend a few moments studying this.

Next time we'll dive in deeper...

Time Tables

The Religious Calendar
The basis for understanding prophecy & God’s Time Table

I can't help but feel extremely sad (as well as frustrated) to know how little the masses know about prophecy. The reason, as I've been trying to build the case for you, is that MAN has continued to try and make up the rules. When God gave us the law he provided a provision for its completion through Jesus. But, because man got involved, various religions developed over time which destorted what God had originally given.

If you haven't already figured this out... I would probably be Jewish. But since I get the whole Jesus deal... I'm a Christian. However, in terms of understanding prophecy you need to come to grips with the fact that the Jews are the chosen people. The gentiles are "grafted in" to his plan and thus you need to think of things from a Jewish perspective if you are to ever understand end times events.

One thing you must learn is that the dates, times and appointments God has provided for us in the Bible are based on the Jewish calendar. If you fail to get a grasp on this calendar, you will never understand prophecy. Whenever you study prophecy, try to think of things from a Jewish perspective.

Did you know that the Jews use a different calendar than the rest of us? They use the calendar that God himself gave to man.

From the beginning of recorded history, the calendar has been used to keep records and predict the time for the changing of the seasons. The calendar provided a framework in which man could plan his work. It was an effective timetable for marking various religious festivals that were to be celebrated at regular intervals.

The "Day"

The Bible's timetable, and thus the festival days, are confusing at first since the calendar has been changed multiple times. The Hebrew calendar is determined by the moon's position (the "new moon" of scripture), while the current Gregorian calendar is based on the movements of the sun. Unfortunately, this confusion has made predicting the date of Christ's return impossible. We cannot know the year of Christ's future appointments but we can know the days and the season. In fact, those who know scripture will understand when the season is... even when it is 'at the door'. The Bible also states that if you are one of light (believer) the day will not overtake you like a thief in the night as it will to those in darkness (unbelievers). In fact, we CAN know the days of prophetic events but we do not know the year ....yet!

God originally designated Nisan (Abib) as the first month of the year. Later, God made Tishri 1 the Jewish "New Years Day". This was in preparation for the fall feasts yet to be fulfilled. It's also important to know how the "day" differs:

Prophecy is still based on the biblical months, so an understanding of that calendar is a must. The 12 thirty day months you should become familiar with are given below. You may want to purchase a Jewish calendar which allows you to follow these months along with our current calendar. For example, the year 2009 on the Jewish calendar says 5769. Unfortunately Jews in the past only counted years that had favorable kings or rulers... go figure! You can begin to see why the margin of error results in a problem with date setting. The accurate current year is somewhere between 5985 and 5999. Review the months below:

• Month 1 Nisan (Abib) March-Ap
• Month 2 Zif April-May
• Month 3 Sivan May-June
• Month 4 Tammuz June-July
• Month 5 Ab (Av) July-August
• Month 6 Elul August-September
• Month 7 Tishri September-October
• Month 8 Bul October-Nov
• Month 9 Chisleu Nov-Dec
• Month 10 Tebeth Dec-January
• Month 11 Sebut January-February
• Month 12 Adar February-March


To further complicate things, God changed the 1st month of the year to Tishri later in the Bible, so simply start with that month and proceed forward to understand the new sequence. This was changed to prepare for the coming fall festivals which are to be fulfilled in the near future. Everything God does has a purpose, even though we might not understand it.

6000 Year Plan of God

God is really incredible! Everything he has designed has purpose. For yesterday, today, and for the future. Time as we know it has been stretched out, but we don't need to get bogged down with the techical aspects of quantum physics again!

God created the earth in 6 days. It is not important for us to know how he measured the day. "A day is as a thousand days with the Lord, and a thousand years as one day". Whether the day was 24 hrs or a billion years is not important. The period of 6 is.

The world was Created in 6 Days, on the 7th Day God called for Rest

Remember, EVERYTHING God does has purpose (past, now, future). This creation plan is a shadow of things to come. It is a picture of His overall BIG plan. He intends on giving man 6000 years to "try and figure it out" but eventually realize "without God, nothing works right". His plan then includes His return to get us back on track. The 7th day represents his plan of 1000 years of rest under His rule and reign back on earth. So, in short, his 6 Day Creation plan is a mirror of his 6000 year world plan.

Now, if we get back to the calendar... we are approaching the Jewish 6000th year. Do you see the significance of this? God is not slack with his appointments with man. On the 6000th year of human history in His plan, God will begin to complete his overall time table.

Back to the Festivals. Don't Freak Out... I know this may be a bit confusing!

The first 4 festivals (or appointments with man, if you will) were fulfilled at Christ's first coming. There was then scheduled a 2000 year period (The age of Grace, or the "church age") and then the clock will resume ticking, and the last 3 feasts will be fulfilled. This age of Grace was a time for the gentiles to really excel and prosper through God's plan of grace. At the end of this period things will return to a Jewish perspective. Keep in mind, this does NOT mean we are returning to the law. We are not condemed by the law but freed by Christ's fulfilling it. Nevertheless, the Jewish Festivals will become "Believer Festivals" and they will have significance in the new millenium after Christ's second coming.

The Jewish (or biblical) calendar is composed of 12 months of 30 days each for a total of 360 days per year. There was also an extra month in the 7th year to allow for a correction due to the sun's rotation. This is why man changed the calendar on more than one occasion to reflect a 365 day year. While this has been beneficial for man, it has provided a great deal of confusion among those who study prophecy. Both calendars are extremely accurate. One is religious. One is secular.

This makes it impossible to know the current biblical year we are in! It also means we cannot know the YEAR these events will begin (that is until Tishri 1, 6000 is here!). At that point, God gives us the exact number of days until His return! We'll be covering these things in detail if you feel a bit lost.

You recall me mentioning I believe we are beginning to enter the period of the loss of prosperity. This is a prelude to the Tribulation period. There will be a 7 year period of trials and tribulation for mankind. It is divided into two parts. Each 3 1/2 years long. This is also referred to in the Bible as "Daniel's 70th week". Here again, the word week is referring to a figure of seven. There are 69 sevens, and a final 70th seven. Sixty nine weeks of years, and a final 70th week of years (or 7 years). DON'T FREAK ON ME YET! I will be covering all this stuff later.

Dan 12:11 11 "From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. (NIV)

In biblical years, 2009 would actually be 6009. However, as we mentioned above, we don't know the exact year and we may be off as much as 15 years. After studying this for about 35 years, it is MY OPINION that the seven year period we are talking of should occur before 2017 if you consider all possible errors in our calendar. The start of that period would be no later than 2010. Regardless if I am accurate or not, it is indeed still very, very close!

Example Calendar: Here is a sample of a calendar in Year 2001. Not all of the Jewish events are listed on it, but you can see how the dates of November and December correlate to the Religious calendar of Kislev. Also note that all months have 30 days. This is essential to understanding Biblical prophecy.

Once we have been able to obtain information on the Jewish festivals, we see (as did all believers in the 1st century) that God kept His promise. He said these festivals were holy. He also said they were rehearsals of His appointments with man. Jesus was sent to fulfill those appointments. And Jesus did so, down to the exact minute. However, no human could be born, live a life, and die on the exact dates (down to the minute) as the Festivals predicted without supernatural direction and advance knowledge of time. Jesus was God in the flesh.

The Jewish day begins and ends at sundown. Thus, all holidays begin at sundown of the day preceding the date shown and end at sundown of the (last) day shown.

Since the Jewish calendar begins with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish year always straddles two years from the civil calendar. In other words, spring holidays (such as Pesach and Shavuot) occur in the civil year following Rosh Hashanah.

An additional note: not all Jews observe two days for holidays shown as lasting two days.

If you recall... only the first festivals have been fulfilled. Here is a sample of Festival Dates for different years. My point in showing you this is so that you understand, we know ALL the dates of past festivals, and we know ALL the dates of future festivals.

Our next topic will begin with a study of this period of time, called the 'Tribulation Period' or 'Daniel's 70th Week'.

Dual Meanings

The Dual Meaning in the Festivals... Only God could do something this cool!

As I stated, long before Jesus appeared on the earth the people were given various holidays, festivals and customs to follow until the coming of their Messiah. Let us look at these Old Testament Festivals (we'll often call these the 'Jewish' feast days since they still follow them (not recognizing Christ is the fulfillment of the Law).

To Recap: Centuries before Jesus was born, the Jews were following the various Festivals and customs... waiting for the coming of their Messiah. These were to be followed on the EXACT days and hours given by God. The original Hebrew translation for these special festivals was "a practice" or "preparation" and "rehearsal of future things".

The principle of hidden information was given to us through these feast or festival days. The verse is "Let no man judge you in meat or in drink, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days .... which are a shadow of things to come." In other words, don't worry about what others might say about what I have instructed you to eat or drink on these holy days, or let them judge you regarding the new moon each month which I have placed in the sky along with the stars to inform you of the dates these festivals should be followed .... because, these are a rehearsal of My future appointments with you! These feasts are pictures of great events on God's calendar. They are a shadow of things to come.

Throughout history, numerous spiritual events have occured on these exact pre-established Jewish Holy days. Yes, ON THE EXACT DAY, even on the exact hour! Even at the exact minute!
We know the exact dates of these festivals for the past 3000+ years... and we know the exact dates for them in the years to come as well. The Bible and other historical documents give us the exact dates of Jesus' travels and the day of His crucifixion. The dates coincide EXACTLY with the festivals. Hopefully, you will begin to see these match-ups are not accidental. This is probably the most significant aspect of prophecy. These feasts are pictures of God's appointments with mankind... actual "rehersals" of great events on God's calendar.

The First Festival's Dual Meaning

Almost 1500 years before Christ, God called Moses to lead the Jewish nation out of bondage in Egypt. Their release came after the first born child in every house died at the hand of the Lord. Miraculously, the firstborn in each Jewish house lived because of the Lamb's blood that was placed around the doorway. The yearly PASSOVER meal is a memorial of those saved lives and the nation's release from slavery.

But wait, God said these festivals are a picture of things to come. Let's look at some specifics:
During the Passover Festival each house was to take a perfect lamb without blemish on an EXACT date each year. The lamb was to be brought into town for public inspection. For those traveling from out of town, a lamb could be purchased in the city that was considered the "lamb factory". In fact, over 250,000 lambs were raised in this town for this first passover alone! When the lamb was brought into town, the onlookers waved palm branches as it passed by... on it's way to be inspected and then sacrificed.

Once in the center court of the city, the lamb was to be inspected for 4 days to make sure it was indeed perfect. On the 14th of the month of Aviv (the Jewish or biblical calendar), the lamb was to be killed at Exactly 3:00 p.m. At that time, the lamb's throat was to be cut, shedding the blood while it was bound to an upright stick. At the time of the lamb's death, the phrase "It is finished" is to be spoken aloud.

The lamb is then prepared for a meal by roasting it on an upright stick, not across the fire as meat is usually prepared. It's intestines are removed, rolled into a circle and placed like a crown on the lambs head. There are so many other elements that we don't have space to tell them all.
Have you seen the whole picture here? If you have doubted who Jesus Christ is, you need to read the fulfillment of this festival. No human being could stage an event like this... from prophecy provided generations before!!

On the very day the Jews were celebrating their Passover, a man (who had been born in the same town as the lamb factory; Bethlehem) was riding into town. Keep in mind that a person cannot choose his place of birth! Those Jews that knew Jesus turned away from the lambs that were going through town and waved their palm branches at Jesus instead (Christians call this Palm Sunday). Have you ever wondered why the people waved palm branches, or why Jesus is called "the lamb that was slain"? God was fulfilling his appointments with man through Jesus... down to the exact detail!

As you may remember, exactly like the inspection of the lamb, Jesus was inspected and questioned 4 days by the Sadducees, Pharisees, and other government officials who could not find fault with Him but sentenced Him to death anyway. Jesus had no say in why they took exactly 4 days (just like the lamb!). Like the lambs that were inspected for fault, He was also inspected for fault, but none was found... He was innocent. He was found without 'blemish', just like the lambs to be sacrificed. Regardless of His innocence, He was nailed to an upright stick. Was it just coincidence that Jesus had to be placed on the cross early that day because the next day happened to be a Sabbath, and no bodies could be left up at the crucifixion sites. And records (even non-biblical sources), show that he died at exactly 3:00 pm which, in fact, was the exact time of the slaying of the lambs.

Was it also a coincidence that his legs were not broken, even though all crucifixions of the time involved breaking the legs to speed the dying process (remember that the prophecy in the old testament indicated his legs would not be broken). What were His very last words spoken in front of hundreds of witnesses? "... Jesus said, "It is finished:" With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." (John 19:30) The same words were spoken on the other side of town (at the exact moment) when the lambs were killed. WOW!

Coincidence, followed by coincidences, followed by coincidence, followed by another coincidence, continued by more coincidence, followed by a coincidence, following more coincidences? I think NOT. Remember, we are only able to cover part of the fulfillment of this ONE prophecy alone. We also have non-bibical historical documents supporting this event. If you ever doubted that Jesus was God in the flesh... you now have a non-disputed answer.

If this hasn't brought you to your knees, we'll share a bit of the second festival for you skeptics. Remember, these festivals were celebrated 1500 years before Christ, and continue 2000 years after Christ!!! These predicitons were given generations before Christ's birth. No man can choose events in his life, his birth date, and the day of his murder. Unfortunately, most Jews have failed to see the connection and Christians haven't pieced it together either. Many have never even considered the evidence. It is this very lack of understanding that will play a significant role in future events... as this was predicted too.

Another Festival

This festival began on the Passover preparation at which time only unleavened bread could be eaten. (This commemorated the hurried release of the Jews from Egypt when they had to take their food (bread) before it was finished and get out of town ).

The presence of leaven (yeast) in bread causes it to rise and become puffed up. Bread baked without is flat, but does not spoil or mold. Leaven in our Bible is a symbol of sin:

"Know ye not that a little leaven does leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out ...the old leaven that you may become a new lump." "...let us keep the feast not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Christ Himself was without leaven (sin). This graphic taking away of leaven is a picture of Christ taking away our sins after shedding His own blood.

These festivals are quite involved, and if you study the details, there would be no doubt in your mind regarding their significance. Just one other interesting element of this feast: Instructions during this festival include piercing the bread and grilling it. This makes holes and stripes on the flat bread. then, the piece of matzah (unleavened bread) was to be wrapped in linen and buried.

Remember these verses:
Isa 53:5 "...by his stripes we are healed." and John 19:37, "They will look on the one they have pierced." (NIV)

Three days later, the children who watched the burial try to steal it and hold it for ransom from their father. Do you remember that Christ's body was called bread? Remember what the bread and wine stand for during communion? Jesus (the pure unleavened bread) was pierced, striped, wrapped in linen, was buried, and EXACTLY 3 days later was out of the tomb? The body was thought to be stolen... held ranson from the Father. Once again, the Jews celebrate this festival but have not seen the entire picture of it's intended meaning.

Coincidence, following coincidences? The probability of the past two festivals being fulfilled by a human are not even measurable.

Have you begun to see the awesome significance of these festivals? Every major event of Jesus's life occurred on the exact days of the festivals. Even at the EXACT minute of the day. Read that last line again. Not in a "similar manner", not "like the festival", but at the very SAME minute in time!

Stay Tuned...

Appointments with God

You only need to turn on the TV this week to see a world in distress. Oh, but we've had bad times in the past and got through them. Right? Yes, but there is much more happening at the same time in today's world. In fact, the ancient texts said the Jews would be forced out of their land for 2000 years. When they returned (which happened in 1948) and when they were back in control of Jerusalem (which happened in 1967), THAT generation would not die but would see the fulfillment of all the biblical prophecies.

We are that generation friends.

Scriptures have a clear forecast of the "last days", "the time of the end", when the career of mankind in the earth will come to a critical point. It is not a picture of continuing progress and peace, but rather of world trouble and fear. It is a world of distress and perplexity, of fear seizing men's hearts as they contemplate the events taking place on "the inhabited earth" (as the word Jesus used literally means).

The Apostle Paul, writing about 35 years after the time of Jesus` prophecy, has this to say about the character of the last days:

. . . In the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents. ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it . . . (2 Timothy 3:1-5, RSV).

This is an astonishing picture of a civilization; mankind is throwing off all restraint and indulging its own desires, reckless of consequences. Its uncanny resemblance to the developments in our own world cannot be denied. Especially as we see our moral and economic systems degrade.

So this is the position: whereas the "wise men" of only 100 years ago were confidently anticipating an era of progress and peace for the nations of the world, the Bible, in the words of Jesus and Paul, was foretelling a world of distress, fear, and perplexity, an age of violence, self-indulgence and hatred. Our human philosophers were wrong; Jesus and Paul were right. But they spoke and wrote thousands of years ago! How could they have known? Only because neither of them spoke his own words, but the words of God Himself. It was God who knew, and inspired His Son and His apostle to reveal the character of the last days.

God's Appointments with Man. Now this is gonna be interesting!

When you hear people talk about the end of the world, or the "end times", they may not have read the bible! God's word clearly tells us that this is 'a world without end' although we will soon be coming to the end of "this age" and Christ's return to earth. Christ will live and reign here on earth for 1000 years before the world is destroyed (actually the original text indicate a "revitilization" not destruction) and a new world created.

The bible teaches us that just like creation, ( the world was made in 6 days, and the 7th day was a period of rest) man's history since Adam will be for 6000 years, and then we will have 1000 years of peace... the way God originally intended before man decided he could run things on his own. To God, a 'day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day'.

Many things that were known during and shortly after Christ's life have been lost in today's teaching. Remember, the first Christian believers were indeed Jews. There are many laws and holy days that were given by God and through Moses that we should be aware of. God had a specific plan for the Jews. It is not that they are any more special than us, but that God wanted to use them to fulfill a purpose in His master plan of which we will all take part.

Much of this "hidden" knowledge was known in the first several centuries following Christ's death, but has slowly been lost with time. However, this information is still in our Bibles, we just don't discuss or study it! Some say that the information pertains to the Jews, and therefore Christians don't need to get bogged down with these details. However, every word in the Bible is placed there for a purpose!

Have you ever wondered why certain names or titles were given to Jesus in the Bible. For example:

• The "Lamb that was slain"
• Christ "our Passover"
• Bread described as His "body"
• Christ "our Tabernacle"
• Christ, the "unleavened bread"
• He was the "Firstfruits" of the harvest
  

And have you wondered about phrases of events that seem strange. For example:

• The "bride" of Christ
• The "marriage supper of the Lamb"
• The "wedding feast"

No wonder some find the Bible difficult to read, most have no idea what these things mean. Jesus wasn't a literal lamb, so why was He called one? These phrases and hundreds more, are easily explained by looking at the Laws and Festivals delivered to the Jews. If we are to understand the Bible fully, and appreciate all the details, we must have a background of our heritage and detailed information on these festivals. These terms all describe Christ's actions fulfilling the Festivals.

Why does the Bible talk so much about the "shedding of blood"? Remember, when man first arrived on the scene (Adam and Eve), God had designed a perfect world with man living in God's presence. However, God gave man free will and did not force Himself upon them. The only rule was that they were not to eat of the knowledge of good and evil. Remember, prior to man's existance there was only the spirit world, and there was a falling away in that realm led by Lucifer (Satan, God's most beautiful angel).

Everything was great until Satan told Adam and Eve they didn't need God, that they could know everything God knows, and that they could be in control of their own destiny. So they ate of the knowledge and they were aware immediately of good and evil. At that EXACT moment, sin entered the world... and so did death. You see, God's original plan for man did not include sickness, disease, sorrow or even death!

Noticing they were naked in front of God, they felt shame and they tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. It was at that point that God had to kill an animal to provide their clothing. It was the world's first death to "cover the sins" of man. God said that now there would be no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood.

Man now needed a method of forgiveness for these sins. This process included animal sacrifice (shedding of blood) . These required offerings (sin offering, guilt offering, grain offering, burnt offering, etc.) are described briefly in the book of Leviticus in the Bible. The only problem was that these animal sacrifices did not "take away" sin, but like the clothes God provided, they merely "covered them" until the next sacrifice. This needed to be repeated over and over and over, year after year. This was because man was sinful and could not lead a pure life.

However, God said he would send the only one capable of living a perfect life... his son (the Messiah) who would "cover sin" once and for all for all mankind by the shedding of his own blood and becoming the 'sacrifice' for all mankind. God knew that no human like us could ever fulfill this task. He would allow Christ to take on the sin for all man for all time. This would cover the offering to God once and for all. He would establish a New Covenant that would replace the Old Covenant (Law). Hang on... we're almost done...

Now the Bible specifically states that a Will or Covenant goes into effect at one's death, and indeed when Christ died the New Covenant took effect.

QUESTION: If you believed In God, and believed that He was to send a Messiah to fulfill this Law, BUT you failed to realize that Jesus actually was the one, what would you still be thinking and believing today? Think before reading on ....

Well, you would still think that you should be following the Law of the Old Testament. You would still think that you should be sacrificing animals, and you would still be waiting for your Messiah to come! Who does this describe? The Jews (and even the Muslims to a lesser extent).
Even in the Old Testament (also used by Jews & Muslims), the Bible describes this Messiah as a suffering servant AND a conquering King. The Jews have a really hard time explaining this one because they don't realize that this Messiah actually comes two times... first as a servant to mankind and later as a king to rule on earth.

Once you understand the importance of this information, the whole middle-east crisis can come into focus. Why do you think there has never been lasting peace between the Jews and Arabs? It is because of religious differences that relate to this very problem. God told the Jews that they were to build His temple on a specific site in Jerusalem, and they did... twice! Unfortunately, it was destroyed both times (most recently in 70 A.D.). The Jews were scattered throughout the entire world and did not return until 1948 when the state of Israel was born. This is a fulfillment of prophecy. They also took control of Jerusalem in 1967 during the 6 Day War (Yom Kippur War).

It Is Important to note that Bible prophecy also states that the generation that sees the Jews back in control of their holy city, Jerusalem, will not pass before all prophecy in the Bible is fulfilled. They were absent from their land for nearly 2000 years until 1948, and have been in control of Jerusalem since 1967. That generation referred to is alive today. We are that generation! Just one more piece of information that shows we are coming to the end of this age.

Hidden Knowledge

You may have read parts of the Bible and thought it was impossible to understand. Unfortunately, over time many of the "pieces of the puzzle" have been distorted or lost. In fact, the church today in many areas is not teaching correct theology. It is so sad to hear the same sermons year after year, when there is so much we need to learn to form a better relationship with God. A note to confused believers: this does not mean we are returning to Old Testament Law!

The Festivals

In the book of Leviticus and numerous other books of the Bible, God had instructed the Jews to follow and observe certain feasts. We are all familiar to some degree with these festivals, but because we have no knowledge of the Jewish faith, we do not understand the full significance of these special days. Also, since Christ came to fulfill the law previously taught, we Christians do not need to keep the festivals... but we better have an understanding of them. If you're like most folks, you may be learning this for the first time. Remember, you don't have to become Jewish to learn from this information. Never forget that Jesus and his followers were Jews. The Bible was written by Jewish writers inspired by God, and was printed by Jewish people. The first people that believed in Christ (Christians) were also Jews.

When Moses received the Torah (the Law) from God, which included the 10 commandments, there were also numerous other laws that were to be followed. Christians no longer need to follow these laws, as God had a separate plan for the body of believers. However, the day is coming when there will be a return to things Jewish (but not a return to the 'Law'). Jesus will return to earth, after He has completed His master plan and the Jews finally figure out that He indeed was (and is) their Messiah. The Bible, as you may know, says that Christ Himself will reign from Jerusalem for a 1000 year period. The Jews are promised an eternity with Christ as King in their own land. However, believing Christians have the same promise of eternity with since they were 'grafted into' the same 'fig tree'.

Knowledge of these Jewish things will not change anything about who you are as a believer, except that it will allow you to understand more fully about the Bible and future events. In fact, an understanding of prophecy is impossible without an understanding of the Old Testament Festivals.

Getting Started

Centuries before Jesus was born, the Jews were following the various Festivals and customs... waiting for the coming of their Messiah. These were to be followed on the EXACT days and hours given by God. The original Hebrew translation for these special festivals was "a practice" or "preparation" and "rehearsal of future things".

In Colossians 2:16-17 the principle of hidden information was given to us through these feast or festival days. The verse is "Let no man judge you in meat or in drink, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days .... which are a shadow of things to come." In other words, don't worry about what others might say about what I have instructed you to eat or drink on these holy days, or let them judge you regarding the new moon each month which I have placed in the sky along with the stars to inform you of the dates these festivals should be followed .... because, these are a rehearsal of My future appointments with you! These feasts are pictures of great events on God's calendar. They are a shadow of things to come (including Christ the Messiah!)

The Jews know every little detail of these holy days, and follow them exactly. Because the early church leaders knew these festivals related to Old Testament Law, and Jesus came to fulfill that Law and replace it with the New Covenant, they didn't see a need to continue to teach about the holy days. Wrong! Yes, it is true that believers don't need to practice these holy days. However, we must thoroughly understand them if we are to know what is coming in the future. Even though they contain an Old Testament legal element, they also reveal a fulfillment by Christ.
The problem is the Jews are following the holy days because they think they still need to. Unfortunately, they don't see the significance behind them. Christians on the other hand, don't know anything about them because we think it's just something the Jews do and the festivals must not be important for us.

There are a total of 7 feasts or festivals that were to be observed. The Bible also instructed us that these would be fulfilled by Christ on their EXACT days. The first 4 feasts occur early in the year at the time of the "former rain". This refers to the rainy season early in the year, but also describes "reign". These are known as the spring festivals. The final 3 festivals occur during the "latter rain" late in the year and are called the fall festivals. This is also a picture of Christ's first coming (the former reign) and Christ's second coming in the future (the latter reign).

These festivals are often related to agriculture. The dates they are to be practiced are EXACT, and are provided via the earth's position to that of the heaven's. It is interesting to note that God gave us the stars and what we hear of as the "zodiac" to help us relate back to Him and what He wants us to do and to look forward to on specific days. Satan has, like most things, confused the entire situation so that today people are looking to the stars for answers... not to God! What a disaster. (Be sure to go back in my blog and read the entry on the zodiac)

The spring festivals have already been fulfilled by Jesus. There was then a 'pause' scheduled (the age of grace or the church age) of 2000 years. The prophetic time clock stopped. When it resumes, then the fall festivals are to be fulfilled.

We do not have time to go into the fine details of each festival here, but I would like to show you some examples of feasts that have been fulfilled by Jesus and then skip to the festivals that are coming soon!

Let me stress here again: Everything God does, everything recorded in his word, is EXACTLY what he wants to convey to us. The numbers, dates, the stories, etc., have all been designed and recorded for his purposes. Tune in next time...

Don't Freak Out... Yet!

As you know, my goal is to get into a study of prophecy on this blog. I'm still laying some ground work so that you are able to see that there is a basis of truth and a history of accuracy in the ancient biblical texts the Lord gave to us.

Today I'm taking just a momentary detour to discuss the current financial crisis our country is facing. A lot of people that know I'm into prophecy have been asking me what I think about the current news.

This is a very serious and sobering topic. What I want you to keep in mind is that the Lord told us as we approach the "end of days" there would be tribulation. In fact, God tells us that there would be a period of 7 years that will be the worst in the history of mankind. The good news is that this is a temporary condition. God allows this to happen because man has become so full of himself, that no credit or honor is given to God.

Let me be clear. The world is not going to end. Ever. There will be a rejuvenation of the earth (similar to after the flood) but God always improves on his work. He is a God of second chances. Not a God of destruction.

We are facing a series of critical and devastating problems in the next few years. From economic collapse, to hate-filled nations obtaining nuclear weapons. We have the President of Iran saying when they obtain a nuclear weapon the "pigs and dogs" (Jews and Christians) will get their punishment. He has promised to "wipe Israel off the face of the map" and push the Jews "into the sea". He feels it is his duty to bring about this condition in the world that will help make this happen. More on that in later blogs...

Thousands of years ago, detailed prophecy was given about an economic collapse. It would start in one area but eventually affect the entire world. This starts with a period that is described as the "end of prosperity" which likely takes place over a few years.

Of course, there have been many nations in the course of history that have come and gone. Those that have been left in ruins and those that have suffered economic collapse. The texts here, however, speak of something entirely different. It is a complete collapse that will not have a recovery.

For those that have a good knowledge base of prophecy, we know that the time for this economic collapse is just proceeding the "day of the Lord" or "end of days". Once again, this actually refers to the end of the current way the world operates, just prior to the Lords return and his reconditioning of the earth into what he intended it to be.

The ancient texts tell us that the Jews would be forced out of their homeland for 2000 years. And, when they return and are back in control of their holy city (Jerusalem), THAT GENERATION would not perish before the entirety of the biblical prophecies would be fulfilled.

For those that may deny these writings and suggest they are simply stories... I would remind you that the bible has had over 5000 prophecies fulfilled. And its track record is 100%.

I would suggest you learn a bit more about it. And this blog may be a good place to start.

I don't believe the current economic crisis is the collapse the bible refers to, but I do feel the seeds are being laid down that will eventually contribute to this happening in the next 5-10 years.

Before you pull your money out of the market and go live in a cave, I'd want to remind you that the Lord will provide. Just has he did with Jews in the wilderness, we're to trust in Him completely and he will take care. God specifically tells us to be aware of these things. Not to let them alarm or worry us. Not to be discouraged. But to recognize when they are coming, even at the door.

Here are a few descriptions of a country and its people. Read them over and guess who you'd think meets the criteria:

-A nation that provides for the entire world
-The world's greatest economic power
-A great river divides its land in two
-A nation that is awesome, even from its inception
-People who have the attitude of "who can beat us?"
-People that are lifted up in self-pride
-People that dwell in peace and security
-The world's mightiest kingdom
-A land of mixed peoples and diversity
-The most heavily fortified nation on earth
-The entire world looks on her with envy
-She ships products to the entire world

I'm not going to put words into the biblical texts. I'm not going to even suggest what nation this describes. I think you're intelligent enough to figure it out.

So, the texts say that when the Jews are back in control of their homeland... things would start to happen. Tribulation would come on that generation.

Guess what? The Jews were removed from their land for 2000 years. And they returned and were given statehood in 1948. Then in the 7-day war (Yom Kippur War) in 1967 they took back the holy city of Jerusalem. So we are told the generation from either 1948 or 1967 would see all the biblical prophecies fulfilled.

So what is a generation? In biblical terms, it was usually 40-50 years. In our modern day world, we may think of it in terms of 60-70 years. Regardless my friends, we are indeed that generation.

So what exactly does the bible say will happen to this nation and its people during this prelude to the 7 year tribulation?

"In one hour, her great riches are brought down to nothing"
"In one hour her riches and splendor will vanish, never to be recovered"
"In one hour, her doom has come"

"The merchants of the earth look at her in fear, of the great riches she has lost. The merchants of the earth that grew rich from her excessive luxuries, the kings of the earth who shared in her luxury... will mourn and weep at her total demise."

OK, time for a valium. I know, it is brutal. It is the word of God, though... and you should know what He has to say. Unfortunately, the problems for this country don't end there.

"I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter"
"Her images and idols will be broken into pieces"
"Her wealth will be cut off"
"Men of war will be terrified at her destruction"


Bottom Line: This is going to happen in our lifetime. The name of the land isn't given. Only it's description. Its devastation will eventually affect the entire planet as nations degrade into war and conflict.

So what do I do with this Information?

I guess my point in bringing this up now is that you cannot put all of your hope and trust in the things of this world. I can assure you, my lovely wife who is in paradise today... is not concerned she didn't make enough money. She is not concerned she didn't work enough. She is not concerned she that she wasn't rich enough. Because ultimately, this is all temporary folks. Store up your treasures in heaven... not on earth.

Plan for a long life of success. Plan wisely for your retirement. Keep on doing what you've been doing. But don't freak out if you end up losing it one day. We'll all be in the same boat. And better days will eventually be coming.