A composite of seven images shows the full Moon at perigee, or supermoon, during a total lunar eclipse on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015 NASA https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/ezekiel-16/ The Bible describes God as “a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29), so it is not surprising that fire often appears as a symbol of God’s presence Examples include the burning bush (Exodus 3:2), the Shekinah Glory (Exodus 14:19; Numbers 9:15-16), and Ezekiel’s vision (Ezekiel 1:4). Fire has many times been an instrument of God’s judgment (Numbers 11:1, 3; 2 Kings 1:10, 12) and a sign of His power (Judges 13:20; 1 Kings 18:38) For obvious reasons, fire was important for the Old Testament sacrifices. The fire on the altar of burnt offering was a divine gift, having been lit originally by God Himself (Leviticus 9:24). God charged the priests with keeping His fire lit (Leviticus 6:13) and made it clear that fire from any other source was unacceptable (Leviticus 10:1-2). In the New Testament, the altar can serve as a picture of our commitment to the Lord. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called upon to offer our bodies as “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1), engulfed by the divine gift: the inextinguishable fire of the Holy Spirit At the very beginning of the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is associated with fire. John the Baptist predicts that Jesus will be the One to “baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11). When the Holy Spirit began His ministry of indwelling the early church, He chose to appear as “tongues of fire” resting on each of the believers. At that moment, “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:3-4). Fire is a wonderful picture of the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is like a fire in at least three ways: He brings God’s presence, God’s passion, and God’s purity The Holy Spirit is the presence of God as He indwells the heart of the believer (Romans 8:9). In the Old Testament, God showed His presence to the Israelites by overspreading the tabernacle with fire (Numbers 9:14-15). This fiery presence provided light and guidance (Numbers 9:17-23). In the New Testament, God guides and comforts His children with the Holy Spirit dwelling in our bodies-- the “tabernacle” and the “temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 5:1; 6:16). The Holy Spirit creates the passion of God in our hearts. After the two traveling disciples talk with the resurrected Jesus, they describe their hearts as “burning within us” (Luke 24:32). After the apostles receive the Spirit at Pentecost, they have a passion that lasts a lifetime and impels them to speak the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31). The Holy Spirit produces the purity of God in our lives. God’s purpose is to purify us (Titus 2:14), and the Spirit is the agent of our sanctification (1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2). As the silversmith uses fire to purge the dross from the precious metal, so God uses the Spirit to remove our sin from us (Psalm 66:10; Proverbs 17:3). His fire cleanses and refines. In all four Gospel passages mentioned above, Mark and John speak of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but only Matthew and Luke mention the baptism with fire. The immediate context of Matthew and Luke is judgment (Matthew 3:7-12; Luke 3: 7-17). The context of Mark and John is not (Mark 1:1-8; John 1:29-34). We know that the Lord Jesus is coming in flaming fire to judge those who do not know God (2 Thessalonians 1:3-10; John 5:21-23; Revelation 20:11-15), but praise be to God that He will save all that will come and put their trust in Him (John 3:16)! All four Gospel accounts refer to the baptism of Jesus by John at the Jordan River (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32). Luke says, “And the Holy Spirit came down in a bodily shape, like a DOVE on Him.” Because the Holy Spirit is just that --spirit-- He is not visible to us. On this occasion, however, the Spirit took on a visible appearance and was doubtless seen by the people. The dove is an emblem of purity and harmlessness (Matthew 10:16), and the form of the Dove at Jesus’ baptism signified that the Spirit with which Jesus was endowed was one of holiness and innocence Another symbol involving The Dove comes from the account of the Flood and Noah’s ark in Genesis 6-8. When the earth had been covered with water for some time, Noah wanted to check to see if there was dry land anywhere, so he sent out a dove from the ark; the dove came back with an olive branch in her beak (Genesis 8:11). Since that time, the olive branch has been a symbol of peace. Symbolically, the story of Noah’s dove tells us that God declared peace with mankind after the Flood had purged the earth of its wickedness. The dove represented His Spirit bringing the good news of the reconciliation of God and man. Of course, this was only a temporal reconciliation, because lasting, spiritual reconciliation with God only comes through Jesus Christ. But it is significant that the Holy Spirit was pictured as a dove at Jesus’ baptism, thereby once again symbolizing peace with God At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit assumed the form of “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:3) to signify the miraculous power of the apostles’ message and their radically changed lives. The Spirit’s appearance as the dove at Jesus’ baptism symbolizes the gentle Savior bringing peace to mankind through His sacrifice. The olive tree is mentioned frequently in the Bible, from as early as the time of the flood when the dove from the ark brought an olive branch back to Noah, to Revelation 11:4, where the two witnesses are represented as two olive trees. As one of the most highly valued and useful trees known to the ancient Jews, the olive tree is significant for several reasons in the Bible. Its importance in Israel is expressed in the parable of Jotham in Judges 9:8–9: “One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’ But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’” Rather common in the Holy Land, the olive tree is a multi-branched evergreen with a knotted trunk, smooth, ash-colored bark, and oblong, leathery leaves that are silvery green. Mature, cultivated olive trees grow to 20 or more feet in height and produce small flowers of yellow or white around the first of May When the blooms begin to fall, olives, the fruit of the tree, start to form. At first, the fruit is green but turns to a deep, blue-black or dark green color when the olives are fully ripened and harvested in early fall. In the ancient Near East, olive trees were an essential source of food (Nehemiah 9:25), lamp oil (Exodus 27:20), medicine (Isaiah 1:6; Luke 10:34), anointing oil (1 Samuel 10:1; 2 Kings 9:3), sacrificial oil (Leviticus 2:4; Genesis 28:18), and wood for furniture (1 Kings 6:23, 31–33). An extremely slow-growing plant, the olive tree requires years of patient labor to reach full fruitfulness. Being well-suited to grow in the Mediterranean climate, the olive tree played a significant role in the region’s economy. The outer, fleshy part of the oval-shaped fruit is what yields the highly valuable commodity of olive oil. Still today, olive oil is considered good for health. The olive tree and olive branch have been symbols of peace and reconciliation ever since the account of Noah’s flood. When the dove brought Noah “a plucked olive leaf in its beak,” the olive branch represented new life sprouting on the earth (Genesis 8:11). The olive tree was alive and growing. The promise of the dove’s olive branch was a new beginning for humanity, peace and reconciliation with God, renewal, and revival. The slow and hearty growth of the olive tree also implies establishment and peace. Some of the oldest olive trees in the world still grow today in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. The flowering olive tree is a symbol of beauty and abundance in the Bible. The tree’s fruitfulness and ability to thrive suggests the model of a righteous person (Psalm 52:8; Hosea 14:6), whose children are described as “vigorous young olive trees” (Psalm 128:3, NLT). Olive oil was also used in the anointing and coronation of kings, making it an emblem of sovereignty. Olive tree oil is symbolic of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, as it was used as the carrier for a mixture of spices that made up the holy anointing oil. In Zechariah 4, the prophet has a vision of two olive trees standing on either side of a solid gold lampstand. The olive trees supply the oil that fuels the lamps. The two olive trees represent Zerubbabel and Joshua, the governor and high priest. The Lord encourages them not to trust in financial or military resources, but in the power of God’s Holy Spirit working through them (verse 6). As in other Old Testament analogies, God’s Holy Spirit is represented by the oil of the olive tree. The process by which olives are beaten and crushed to produce olive oil contains spiritual significance as well. Jesus Christ was beaten and crushed on the cross so that His Holy Spirit would be poured out on the church after His ascension to heaven. In essence, Jesus Christ is God’s olive tree, and the Holy Spirit, His olive oil. It is not mere coincidence that Christ’s agonized prayer, just before His arrest, occured in Gethsemane, a place of many olive trees and whose name means olive press God uses the imagery of an olive tree in Jeremiah 11:16–17 to remind His people of the covenant relationship He has with them. God’s people (the nation of Israel) are depicted as an olive tree and God as the farmer. He planted them as a beautiful olive tree but warned He would cut them down if they disobeyed His laws and worshiped false gods. The apostle Paul makes use of this imagery to teach a lesson to Gentile believers in Romans 11:17–24. Paul chooses the cultivated olive tree to portray Israel and the wild olive tree to represent Gentile believers. The cultivated olive tree is pruned and nurtured so that it bears much fruit. The fruitless, ineffective branches are trimmed and discarded, but the root remains intact. God has preserved the holy root of Israel and pruned off the worthless branches. The Gentiles, represented by the wild olive tree in Romans 11, have been grafted into the cultivated olive root. As a wild olive tree, their root was weak. Their branches were incapable of bearing fruit until they were grafted into the nourishing, life-sustaining root of the cultivated olive tree. Gentile believers now share in Israel’s blessings, but Paul warns, “Do not boast that you are better than those branches. But if you do boast—you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you” (CSB). Paul wants Gentile believers to understand that they have not replaced Israel. God has done a beautiful thing for the Gentiles, but Israel is still God’s chosen nation and the source of the riches of salvation that the Gentiles now enjoy. Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah, is the root of Jesse, or the root of the cultivated olive tree From Him, Israel and the Church draw their life. In Christianity, the Sign of the Dove was a sign by which John the Baptist recognized the Messiah Jesus Christ. The Four Gospels each record an account of the sign of the dove. The accounts are recorded in Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3, and John 1 (Matthew 3:16 (Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32)) And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. In Hebrew, Jonah (יוֹנָה) means dove. The "sign of Jonas" in Matthew 16 (Matthew 16:1–4) is related to the "sign of the dove". The Christian symbol of a dove with an olive branch in its beak pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made: "...Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf pluckt off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; which returned not again unto him any more." Doves were also used in ancient Israel as Korban, or religious sacrifice within the tabernacle and temples." And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the Lord be of fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons." In the Ancient Near East and the Mediterranean Basin, doves were used as symbols for the Canaanite mother goddess Asherah, the Phoenician goddess Tanit, and the Roman goddesses Venus and Fortuna. Additional biblical uses
Manna and Quail The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt . 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will testthem and see whether they will follow my instructions.5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumblingagainst him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8 Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.” 9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” 10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud. 11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’” 13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like froston the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer[a] for each person you have in your tent.’” 17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed. 19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” 20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. 21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers[b] for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’” 24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.” 27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you[c] refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day. 31 The people of Israel called the bread manna.[d] It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’” 33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan. A quail is a small, brown-feathered bird that resembles a partridge. It is also called a bobwhite for its distinctive call. Quail are known for their delicious meat and are often hunted as game birds for that reason. Quail are mentioned in Exodus 16:13, Numbers 11:3 and 32, and again in Psalm 105:40 in reference to God’s provision for the children of Israel when God brought them out of Egyptian slavery (Leviticus 25:38; Deuteronomy 6:12). The people following Moses had complained that they were sick of eating manna every day and longed for meat, such as they had back in Egypt (Numbers 11:4–6; 21:5). God heard their grumbling and gave them quail to eat (Exodus 16:11). Although the Lord gave the Israelites quail, He was displeased with their grumbling and their ungrateful words against Him. He told Moses to tell them, “The Lord heard you when you wailed, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!’ Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” (Numbers 11:18–20). So God sent quail in the evenings for the people to gather in the wilderness. The Bible says that “a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea” (Numbers 11:31) and that the birds were plentiful: two cubits (approximately 3 feet) deep all around the camp. Scholars interpret this to mean that the quail flew about three feet off the ground, which made them easy to catch and kill. The quail came in such great numbers that each person was able to capture about ten homers, or eight bushels (Numbers 11:32). We have no reason to believe that these quail were any different from the quail (Coturnix dactylisonans) that are still common in the Mediterranean region. It may well have been that they were on their spring migration northward and were exhausted from their flight, making it easy for the Israelites to capture them. Quail are known to migrate at night, which is the time God specified that they would arrive (Numbers 11:32). A large number of quail was caught by each person as the migrating flock continued to fly in from over the sea all night long, exhausted and easily taken. The people then “spread them out all around the camp” (verse 32), which probably refers to the Egyptian practice of drying the meat in preparation for eating it. Despite the fact that God gave the people what they wanted, He was angry over their rebellion and grumbling and sent a severe plague among the people (Numbers 11:33). The plague may have been a disease carried by the quail as a lesson to His people that often what they think they want is not good for them. When God rises up in anger against our sin, it is so that we learn to trust and obey Him. The Israelites named the place Kibroth Hattaavah (“The Grave of Lust”) to remind them of what happened when in their greed they had grumbled against the Lord (Numbers 11:34). The Israelites had already been given manna and were therefore well supplied with food But they demanded meat in addition to the manna, and their insistence on having more than they needed displeased God. “If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:8). The Israelites failed to learn contentment, and they paid a high price. First Corinthians 10:11 says, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” God holds us to an even stricter accountability since we now have the written record of His wrath and judgment upon human rebellion. We have His written Word (Romans 15:4), the testimony of all those who have gone before us (Hebrews 12:1), and His Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16) to keep us from making similar mistakes and suffering a similar fate. The scene would look quite ominous to modern-day observers-- five bloody animal carcasses on the ground, three of them split in half, with the halves separated a short distance from each other. But in Abraham’s time it would not have been so menacing. The arrangement of divided animal carcasses would have been instantly recognized as the set-up for making a type of blood covenant. When God called Abraham out of his hometown and away from all things familiar, He gave Abraham some promises. A covenant is a kind of promise, a contract, a binding agreement between two parties. The fifteenth chapter of Genesis reiterates the covenant God had made with Abraham at his calling. Except this time, God graciously reassures His promise with a visual of His presence He asks Abraham to find and kill a heifer, a ram, a goat, a dove, and a pigeon. Then, Abraham was to cut them in half (except the birds) and lay the pieces in two rows, leaving a path through the center (Genesis 15:9-10). In ancient Near Eastern royal land grant treaties, this type of ritual was done to “seal” the promises made. Through this blood covenant, God was confirming primarily three promises He had made to Abraham: the promise of heirs, of land, and of blessings (Genesis 12:2-3). A blood covenant communicated a self-maledictory oath. The parties involved would walk the path between the slaughtered animals so to say, “May this be done to me if I do not keep my oath.” Matthew 22:36–40; Romans 13:8–10 "owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another-has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You-shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other-commandment, are summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law Jeremiah 34:18-19 also speaks about this type of oath-making. However, there was an important difference in the blood oath that God made with Abraham in Genesis 15. When the evening came, God appeared in the form of a "smoking Fire pot and flaming torch [that] Passed between the pieces” (Genesis 15:17). But Abraham had Fallen “into a Deep Sleep, and a thick and dreadful Darkness Came Over Him (verse 12) Thus, God alone passed through the pieces of dead animals, and the covenant was sealed by God alone Nothing depended on Abraham Everything depended on God, who promised to be faithful to His covenant .“When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself” (Hebrews 6:13-18). Abraham and his descendants could trust, count on, and believe in everything God promised. This specific blood covenant is also known as the Abrahamic Covenant. The blood involved in this covenant, as with any blood covenant, signifies The LIFE from which the blood comes (Leviticus 17:11). The Mosaic Covenant was also a blood covenant in that it required blood to be sprinkled on the tabernacle, 'the scroll and all the people” (Hebrews 9:19-21). “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). In the Mosaic Covenant, the blood of animals served as a covering, or atonement, for the sins of the people. The animal’s life was given in place of the sinner’s life. In the Abrahamic Covenant, God, in essence, was declaring He would give His life if His promises were broken. There could be no greater encouragement to believers, since God is eternal and can no more break an oath than He can die. All of these things were only “copies,” or “shadows,” of the better covenant to come (Hebrews 9:23). The lives of animals could never remove sin; the life of an animal is not a sufficient substitute for a human life (Hebrews 10:4). The blood of bulls and goats was a temporary appeasement until the final, ultimate blood covenant was made by Jesus Christ Himself the God Man (Hebrews 9:24-28). The New Covenant was in His blood (Luke 22:20). The shadows became realities in Christ, who fulfilled all of the Old Testament blood covenants with His own blood. Christians can be confident that the gift of eternal life that God gives through Jesus is the true promise to people of faith. As the apostle Paul explains, the covenant was established with Abraham and his “Seed”—singular. Paul interprets this as the singular Person of Christ (Galatians 3:15-16). Therefore, ALL who are “IN CHRIST” are spiritual heirs of the promises made to Abraham (Galatians 3:29). To put it simply, a blood covenant is a promise made by God that He will choose a people for Himself and bless them. The covenant was originally for Abraham’s physical descendants but was later extended, spiritually, to all those who, like Abraham, believe God (Galatians 3:7; cf. Genesis 15:6). God’s promise of eternal blessing is given only on the basis of faith in the saving blood of His Son, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:12). The Heart of Exodus is the revelation of the person of Jesus Christ. Exodus is a divine love story in which God reveals through object lessons his plan for our redemption God embeds signs and symbols within Scripture to foreshadow the coming of Christ and his atoning sacrifice to save us from sin and death. The coming of the Messiah is foretold not just in Old Testament prophecies, but he is also revealed in unspoken symbology within Scripture. These signs and symbols are typologies that point always to Christ and his Church to come. Typologies are prophetic actions, situations, people, events, and objects. They are a kind of unspoken prophecy—a symbology that manifests a future reality. The Apostles and the early Church Fathers understood well the typologies of the Old Testament that pointed to the coming of Jesus Christ. For example, St. Paul writes, “These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:17). The Old Testament type is the shadow, and the New Testament fulfillment in Christ is the reality. This dynamic is most profoundly true of the Exodus. The Israelites practiced in sign and symbol in the Old Covenant what we experience as a fulfilled reality in Christ in the New Covenant. The typologies of Exodus are numerous and profound. The book serves as the preview of the Redemption. The typologies reveal through sign and symbol the coming of the Messiah, who will be the new Passover Lamb, of a new and greater Exodus, that will free us from the bondage of sin and death, and lead us into the Promised Land of heaven. Christ, the Church, and the sacraments are patterned to such a degree after Exodus, that the Gospel could very aptly be called the New Exodus, or the Second Exodus. The Old Testament type always gives way to the greater and more glorious New Testament fulfillment in Christ. The typologies of Exodus are expressed most profoundly in its central character Moses, and then later, in Joshua. The miraculous in Exodus becomes the supernatural and sacramental in the New Covenant and the Catholic Church. The typologies of Christ are found in all of the central events of Exodus: in the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, in the Column of Cloud and the Pillar of Fire, in the crossing of the Red Sea, in the manna from heaven, in the water from the rock, in the bronze serpent on the pole, in the bitter water of Marah made sweet, in the oasis at Elim, at the theophany at Mount Sinai, in the Tabernacle, in the priesthood, in the sacrifices, and in the feasts. In all of these, God is preparing humanity, through sacred object lessons, for the arrival of His Son. Exodus is the preview of the Redemption. It is the preparation for the Incarnation and the sacrifice of Christ to come. Christ is revealed most prominently in the central character of Exodus, that is, the person of Moses. Moses is the forerunner as a type of Messiah and Deliverer Moses will deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, free them from the bondage of pharaoh, and lead them into the Promised Land. Instead of saving the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, Christ saves all humanity from the bondage of sin and death. Moses is a priest, prophet, king, and lawgiver, foreshadowing the divine offices of Christ. God calls “my son” out of Egypt, as Moses and the Israelites sojourn out of Egypt to the desert. Yet, it is Christ, with the holy family, who will fulfill God’s call—“out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11:1). The central promise of a Messiah comes through Moses in Deuteronomy where God promises to “raise up for you a prophet like me, you shall listen to him” (Deuteronomy 18:15). As St. Peter declares, the prophet that God raises up like Moses is Christ. Exodus is the paradigm of the Gospel, and Moses is the paradigm for the Messiah. Moses alone speaks to God face to face, and Christ, the Son of God, speaks in intimate communion with the Father. Moses is the lone mediator between God and the Israelites; Christ is the one mediator between God and man. Moses is a prince who leaves the royal court of pharaoh to identify as a Hebrew slave; Christ is the Prince of Peace who leaves the divine throne in heaven to identify as a human servant. Moses initiates the Exodus with the sacrifice of the Passover lamb; Christ initiates the new Exodus with the Paschal sacrifice of himself on the Cross for all humanity. Moses receives the Ten Commandments and the Law on Mount Sinai; Christ gives the new Law of the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. Moses strikes the rock and life-giving water flows out; Christ is struck on the Cross and the life-giving blood and water of the sacraments flow out with the Holy Spirit. Moses leads the Israelites through the waters of the Red Sea to become anew people; Christ makes us new creations in the waters of Baptism. Moses through God provides manna from heaven for the Israelites in the desert; Christ gives the Church the Bread of Life in his body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist. Moses conquers Amalek with outstretched arms and his wooden staff; Christ defeats sin and death with outstretched arms on the Cross. Moses raises up the bronze serpent on the pole to heal the Israelites; Christ is raised up on the Cross in order to save all souls. Moses makes atonement for the sins of the Israelites; Christ makes atonement for the sins of the whole world. In short, Christ is the fulfillment of the typology of Moses, and Moses foreshadows the true Redeemer of the world. God did not allow Moses to bring the Israelites into the Promised Land. Moses is symbolic of the Law, and the Law cannot save. Man is saved by the grace of Jesus Christ. so, it is not Moses who brings the Israelites into the Promised Land, but Joshua. Joshua, is the English pronunciation of the Hebrew name, Yeshua, or Jesus. It is “Jesus” who brings the Israelites into the Promised Land! Where Moses and the Law could not save, Jesus and the Gospel succeed. St. John of Chrysostom makes this observation: “The name of Joshua (Jesus) was a type… for it was a prediction and a prophecy. He brought the people into the Promised Land, as Jesus [does] into Heaven.” The Gospel of grace and faith save, where the Law cannot. It is Joshua, bearing the very name of the Messiah, who leads the Israelites into the Promised Land It is Joshua, also, who leads the Israelites to conquer the Canaanite stronghold of Jericho. Jericho was an outpost of Canaanite pagan practices, with the worst of idolatries and in opposition to the true faith Yahweh declares Jericho is under the ban and its paganism should be wiped out. Yet, it is Rahab, a type of the Church, who was a harlot sinner, but who believes in the God of the Israelites. Rahab and her family alone are saved in Jericho. Rahab HANGS a Scarlet Cord from her window so the Israelites will know to Pass over her Dwelling in the onslaught This is reminiscent of the Israelites marking their Doors with the Blood of the Lamb so the Angel of Death would “Passover” them during the Last Plague in Egypt The Red blood of the lamb and the Scarlet Cord of Rahab in Jericho, then, are types of the blood of Christ. It is through the blood of Christ on the houses of our souls that death and destruction shall pass over us too. This is the typology of the scarlet cord that runs through the whole Old Testament—foreshadowing the Saving Grace of the blood of Christ Jericho, too, is a type for the end of the world. Joshua, the priests—carrying the Ark of the Covenant—and the faithful march around the city for seven days, and on the seventh day, they march around the city seven times. They blow the trumpets and call out to God to knock down the walls. Finally, the walls come tumbling down and Joshua and the Israelites conquer the evil pagan city of Jericho. Note that Origen links Joshua and Jericho to the Second Coming of Christ: “At that time, therefore, Jesus our Lord conquers Jericho with trumpets and overthrows it, so that out of it, only the prostitute [Rahab] is saved and all her house.” It is only through the Church marked with the blood of Christ [i.e., the scarlet cord] that we gain our salvation. In the end, Jesus will conquer the world to the sound of trumpet blasts (Revelation 8:6) in his Second Coming-- and lead us into the Promised Land of heaven. The whole Exodus event begins with the 10th plague of the destruction of the Egyptian firstborns Pharaoh has massacred the firstborn sons of the Hebrews, and now God reciprocates with the destruction of their firstborns as the Angel of Death passes over Egypt. In order to escape the destruction of the Angel of Death’s “Passover,” the Israelites are instructed to slay a Passover lamb, smear its blood on the doorposts of their house, and roast and eat its flesh that night. It is through the blood of the lamb on their door and eating its flesh that the Israelites are saved from the Angel of Destruction and death. The typology is clear. Christ is our Paschal Lamb who has been sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7). His blood on the doorposts of our souls saves us from sin and death. Jesus is the male lamb without blemish (Exodus 12:5), who had no bones broken on the Cross (Exodus 12:46). The Hebrews have to not only sacrifice the Passover lamb and apply its blood to their doorposts, but they are required to eat the flesh of the lamb that night (Exodus 12:8). Without eating the flesh of the lamb, the Passover sacrifice is not complete. If the Hebrews had to eat the flesh of the lamb, how much more so do Christians, of the greater and more glorious dispensation, have to eat the flesh of the true Lamb of God? Christ is the true Paschal Lamb of God; so, his flesh must be eaten. Jesus clearly teaches this in his Bread of Life discourse: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). This, of course, is fulfilled in Catholics eating and drinking Christ’s precious body and blood in the Eucharist. We continue to fulfill the new Paschal mystery by eating the flesh of the Lamb of God in the Eucharist. There are other foreshadowings to Christ. The Passover lambs were reared in Bethlehem , the place of Christ’s birth, and then brought to Jerusalem for sacrifice, the place of Christ’s crucifixion When the Passover lambs were prepared for sacrifice, they were, in effect, “crucified,” with skewers of pomegranate-wood thrust through them vertically while hung on a wooden stave across its shoulders. St. Justin Martyr witnessed this directly in the second century, For the lamb, which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up in the form of the cross.” Similarly, the Israelites choose their Passover lambs on the 10th day of the month of Nisan and keep it until the 14th day, when it would be sacrificed. Christ rode triumphantly into Jerusalem on the 10th of Nisan, Palm Sunday, when the Israel welcomed Jesus as her Messiah and King. It is over the next four days that Jesus is questioned vigorously by the Jewish higher authorities. Jesus is being inspected to look for any sin, just as the Passover lambs are being inspected for any spot or blemish. Christ is declared without sin and an acceptable sacrifice for the people, so on the 14th day of Nisan, his passion and crucifixion begins, just as the sacrifices of the Passover lambs commence throughout Jerusalem. The typology of the Passover lamb gives way to the reality of Christ’s passion and crucifixion One of the central, recurring themes of Exodus typologies is Baptism. The foreshadowing of the waters of Baptism, in a sense, flows through Exodus. The centrality of water in their desert wanderings highlights the importance of Baptism to our salvation. Naturally, a typology of Baptism comes directly at the beginning of the Israelites’ Exodus journey. At the Red Sea, the Israelites pass through the water as on dry ground, while pharaoh’s army and chariots are washed away and drowned as the waters rush back in on them. The Israelites come out the other side free of pharaoh and his army, a new nation journeying to the Promised Land. In the Sacrament of Baptism, sin is washed away as water is poured over us. We reemerge new creations in Christ. St. Paul knew this well: “our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). Moses and the Israelites passing through the Red Sea is a type of Baptism. The Lord, in the column of cloud, is guiding the Israelites through the waters. The column of cloud overshadows them as they pass through the Red Sea, as the Holy Spirit overshadows us in our Baptisms making us new creations. Soon after, God continues to demonstrate the importance of Baptism. The next typology occurs at the bitter waters of Elim. The Israelites are thirsty because they have run out of water. There is a well at Elim but the water is “bitter” and undrinkable. The Lord, however, shows Moses a tree, “and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet” (Exodus 15:25). The tree makes the water sweet, as the Cross of Christ makes the water of Baptism efficacious, or “sweet” with salvation. The historian Josephus even comments that Moses forms the tree into the shape of a Cross: “he took the top of a stick that lay down at his feet, divided it in the middle, and made the section lengthways. He then let it down into the well.” At their next stop, Moses and the Israelites encamp at the oasis at Elim, where there are “twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees” (Exodus 15:27). The 12 springs of water are the 12 Apostles preaching the Gospel to the 70 nations of the world St. Augustine confirms this, “ The twelve fountains watering the seventy palm trees are a figure of apostolic grace watering the nations.” Finally, another miraculous occurrence happens with water coming from the rock. The miraculous in Exodus becomes the supernatural grace of Christ in the Gospel. God is telegraphing the New Covenant. Moses strikes the rock and water flows through the desert quenching the thirst of the Israelites. Christ is struck on the Cross “ and at once there came out blood and water” (John 19:34). These are the waters of Baptism and the blood of the Eucharist come forth from Jesus’ pierced heart. The fountain opens up in Christ’s side is again the water of Baptism and the precious blood of Christ in the Eucharist. St. Paul writes of the Israelites, “all drank the supernatural drink” (1 Corinthians 10:4). Also notable, this fulfills the typology of the split rock at Horeb where the water flows out. Immediately upon Christ’s death, we read “and the rocks were split” (Matthew 27:51). The sacraments and the Holy Spirit flow from Christ’s side creating and sustaining his bride, the Church, as the water from the rock sustained the Israelites. The Israelites first crisis in the desert is a lack of water; now comes the next crisis, a lack of food. God answers the Israelites’ call and begins the longest running, continuous miracle in the Old Testament-- the daily manna from heaven. Each morning, manna reigns down from heaven like the dewfall. It is the “ bread of angels,” that God sustains the Israelites on their desert journey for 40years The wind, or “ruach,” also directs an abundance of quail over the camp of the Israelites. The Hebrew word ruach is the same word for “spirit.” Thus, the Spirit of God provides the Israelites with the bread of manna from heaven, and the flesh of the quail. God provides bread and flesh for the Israelites, as Christ provides the “bread” and flesh of his body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist is our daily manna from heaven, where the bread is transubstantiated into the flesh of Christ. He is our daily manna from heaven that sustains us on our desert wanderings of this earthly sojourn, until we cross over into the Promised Land of heaven. Again, the miraculous in Exodus becomes the supernatural in the New Testament. God is not subtle with his symbology. The supernatural Sacrament of the Eucharist is our daily manna from heaven. In fact, Jesus himself addresses this typology directly in his Bread of Life discourse. The Jews challenge him to reproduce Moses’ daily manna miracle. In response, Christ says that he is the Bread of Life, and “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him at the last day” (John 6:53-54). Many of his disciples are offended by this teaching of the Real Presence in the Eucharist and fall away. Yet, Jesus does not diminish his words. In fact, Jesus doubles down on them, saying, “For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (John 6:55). Even though the Israelites eat the type of Eucharist, they still die in the desert. Yet, those who eat Christ’s Eucharist-- the fulfillment of the manna type—“ he who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:58). There is only one other place in the Bible where Scripture speaks of eating and living forever—in Genesis at the Tree of Life. God prevents man from eating from the Tree of Life, “lest he put forth his hand and take also of the Tree of Life, and eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22). What was closed to mankind with Original Sin in the Garden of Eden is now open to all humanity with the fruit of the Tree of the Cross, and its Eucharistic manna. We can now eat and live forever. This is why St. Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of St. John the Apostle, calls the Eucharist “our medicine of immortality.” One of the central themes of Exodus is the establishment of the sacrificial system in the Tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting. God establishes the liturgical rites of worship in the Tabernacle primarily through the priest performing animal sacrifices. The animal becomes the blood-offering substitute to suffer and die for the sins of the Israelites. The animal is used to bring atonement for the sins of the Israelites. Of course, these are only type and foreshadow. God is teaching the Israelites by way of object lessons that ultimately he would send his Son as the one and true sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. All of the sacrifices of Exodus, the Tabernacle, the Temple, and indeed, the whole Old Testament are meant to prepare the world for the arrival of God’s Son in the Incarnation, and ultimately, his crucifixion This is why God instructs Moses that the animal sacrifices must be without blemish, as Christ is perfect and without sin. Only the unblemished offering will be accepted by God to take away the sins of the Israelites. In Exodus, God establishes the Levitical language so common to us now, of redemptive atonement through substitution and sacrifice by a priest in a liturgical rite. The liturgical animal sacrifices and bread and wine offerings established in Exodus are just prefigurements to the liturgy and sacrifice of the Catholic Mass to come. The backbone of the whole Jewish sacrificial system is the daily burnt offering. This is when the Levitical priests offer two lambs each day—a morning offering and an evening offering. The morning offering is sacrificed precisely at the “third hour,” or nine o’clock in the morning. The evening offering is sacrificed about the “ninth hour,” or at about three o’clock in the afternoon. This schedule of sacrifices matches the exact span of time—six hours—of Christ’s crucifixion on the Cross. St. Mark mentions this specifically, saying, “And it was the third hour, when they crucified him” (Mark 15:25). Then, we read, “at the ninth hour” (Mark 15:34) Jesus “breathed his last” (Mark 15:37). Christ’s death on the Cross is a perfect fulfillment of the daily burnt offering of the two lambs, even down to the precise hours of the day. Christ fulfills all of the other sacrificial typologies as well. There is the sacrifice of the Yahweh and Azazel goats on the Day of Atonement, the holiest day in the Jewish liturgical calendar. The sins of the nation are transposed on to the goat solely by the High Priest, who banishes the sins by sending the goat into the desert. In Leviticus, we read, “The goat shall bear all their iniquities upon him” (Leviticus 16:22). Christ is the High Priest who offers himself up as sacrifice bearing the sins of the world. As the Letter to the Hebrews states, “Christ appeared as a High Priest…he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11-12). The crucifixion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment to the Day of Atonement, and all of the sacrificial prefigurements established in Exodus. In Exodus, God establishes the liturgical rites in the Tabernacle that prefigure the reality of Christ and the Church. God reveals the plans to Moses on Mount Sinai for the sacred space of the Tabernacle and the liturgical rites, and sacrifices. Yet, God also reveals “the appointed times” of the feasts to Moses, or, in other words, sacred time: the liturgical calendar of Judaism and the seven feasts. Just as Christ fulfills the typologies of sacred space and sacrificial rites, he also fulfills the Jewish feasts. Is it not interesting that Christ fulfills in his First Coming all of the spring feasts of Exodus down to the exact day? Christ fulfills his Paschal sacrifice on the Cross at the time of the Jewish Passover, and he fulfills the feast of Unleavened Bread during the very same time with the Last Supper and inaugurating the first Catholic Mass; Christ fulfills the feast of First Fruits on the exact day as his Resurrection on Easter Sunday; and that the Holy Spirit comes on Pentecost Sunday on the exact same day as the Jewish feast of Pentecost . Jewish Pentecost was 50 days after the feast of First Fruits, just as the Holy Spirit comes fifty days after Christ’s Easter day Resurrection. Certainly, this was designed by Providence. The feasts are divinely appointed times by God which Christ fulfills to the exact day. At the theophany on Mount Sinai, the original Pentecost, Moses and the Israelites ratify the Covenant, as “they beheld God, and ate and drank” (Exodus 34:11). From that point on, God says of the Israelites, “and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). After the coming of the Holy Spirit, the new Pentecost, St. Peter speaks these same words of Moses for the Church in fulfillment of Exodus, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people” (1 Peter 2:9). The Church is the fulfillment of God’s original intention at Mount Sinai for his people to be a holy and priestly nation. The blueprint set out in Exodus is realized in the Catholic Church. Catholics are “a holy priesthood” who “offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). We offer up our daily lives, of spiritual sacrifices, intercessions, and atonement, in union with Christ, for ourselves and for the world. The whole point of living the sacramental life is the salvation of our souls. In loving Christ through the Church, the sacraments, and neighbor, we hope to awaken from death to hear those most beloved words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). Exodus is the preview of the Redemption. We are living the fulfillment now. As Catholics, we strive to stay close to Christ through the Church in our desert wanderings of this world, in hope of one day reaching the eternal Promised Land of heaven. This post concludes Brian Kranick’s series on how the miraculous in Exodus becomes the supernatural & sacramental in the New Covenant and the Catholic Church. Please move through the whole series to explore the wonders of God’s marvelous work that culminates with Christ and made present in the Sacred Liturgy of the Church: Following the Genesis flood, as the ark was resting on Mount Ararat, Noah released a raven and dove from the ark at different times. The goal in sending these birds was to determine if the flood waters had abated enough for Noah and his family to exit the ark. In Genesis 8:6-7 we read, “At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent forth a raven. It went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.” The “40 days” here is after the tops of the mountains were visible (verse 5), over seven months after the flood began. A raven was released and apparently never returned. No reason is provided regarding why a raven was selected rather than another bird. However, a raven can eat carrion and would feed off dead animals in the water. A dove, on the other hand, would return to its point of origin if no land was found. Noah sent a dove in Genesis 8:8-9: Then he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground. But the dove found no place to set her foot, and she returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took her and brought her into the ark with him.” The dove returned with no indication that a place had been found to alight. A week later, in Genesis 8:10-11, Noah sent the dove again: “He waited another seven days, and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove came back to him in the evening, and behold, in her mouth was a freshly plucked olive leaf. So Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.” Things had begun to grow once again; the earth was becoming more habitable. Another week passed. Then, in Genesis 8:12, Noah sends out the dove one more time: “Then he waited another seven days and sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.” The dove had no need to return to the ark, since it had found a home on land. The ark could soon be emptied, and humanity could begin to establish itself again in the world. From Genesis 7:11 to 8:14, we know that the flood lasted a total of one year and ten days. The raven and the dove were released over a period of 21 days after the mountaintops became visible (Genesis 8:10-12). The raven served as a first attempt to discover dry land, and the dove became Noah’s way of determining when to leave the ark. In the Psalms we also read of the dove in flight from terrors and tribulations. Typically she finds herself deep in the wilderness and alone. She is cut off from the one she loves. It is out there in the wilderness where she remembers her lost mate. She mourns for him with the plaintive call of the turtledove. This theme of the mourning lonesome dove calling to their mate in the wilderness reverberates through our literature. The song below was written by David as he flew like a dove from the face of Saul. The flight of the dove is a frequent poetic and prophetic theme in Holy Scripture. 55:1 Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.55:2 Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; 55:3 Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. 55:4 My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. The Flight to (Mystery) Bozrah. 55:5 Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. 55:6 And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. 55:7 Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness". -Psa.55:1-7 KJV, David agonized over the fact that it was a friend that had turned against him. He had been King Saul's champion. They had fought the Philistines together. Now it was this friend who was fully determined to hunt him down and kill him. It was in his flight from Saul, in fear of his life and out there deep in the wilderness, that David was wooed by the God of Israel. Even in this time of great tribulation David responded in faith rather than in fear and anger. Wrapped up in this divine covenant with God David expressed no bitterness or depression. Quite the opposite. During his "dark night of the soul" David wrote some of the most beautiful verse in all of literature. His songs are still available for us to read 3,000 years later. They are right there in the Psalms. In Psalm 23 David tells of the love he shared with his Divine Companion. His Friend was right there with him in his trials. David saw Him prepare a table before him right in the presence of his enemies. David tells of his cup running over. Is there a lesson for us in this story of David's flight as a dove into the wilderness? Shall we too experience this reality, even in the coming end-time drama? TWO TURTLEDOVES AT PASSOVER IN THE HEBREW SACRIFICIAL SYSTEM In ancient Israel it was in the Providence of God that large numbers of doves were all around and easily caught as the Feast of the Passover approached. Not all had the means to take a lamb for a burnt offering. For the poor, those who could not afford a lamb, God had allowed the offering of two turtledoves in lieu of a lamb. This was the sacrifice offered by Joseph and Mary, the parents of Jesus as they went up to the feast. LUKE 2 21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb . 22 Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." (Luke 2:21-24) It seems that God, then as now, is more interested in the heart attitude when a presentation is made to Him than the sacrifice itself . (1Sam.15:22) In the Levitical law a pair of turtledoves is acceptable to God as an offering in lieu of a lamb.(Lev.5:7, 14:22) Why should this be? Surely the absolute requirement for entry into the covenant of God would be the lamb, typifying as it does, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth. (Rev.13:8) Is God being slack here? Why does the Levitical Law permit the offering of two turtledoves for those "too poor" to provide a lamb? The blood of the turtledove is wrung out on the sides of the altar. (Lev. 1:14-15). This is interesting. Why the sides of the altar and not on the altar? And why mourning doves? What is God telling us in this picture here? TWO TURTLEDOVES; A PICTURE OF FIDELITY AND DEVOTION IN LOVE . A DOVE IS COOING IN THE WILDERNESS, AND MOURNING FOR A LOST MATE. As we look at the mourning dove is there some virtue in mourning? Does God take note of a pining over a long lost Love? Will He hear their cry? In the Beatitudes we read, "Blessed are they that mourn, For they shall be comforted". -Mat.5:4 At the climax of history the whole Jewish nation is found mourning over an "only Son", a certain Firstborn son whom they had forgotten. Nationally and climactically, at a defining moment, at a threshold in time, they will remember Him. In that day, even a day of great mourning and repentance, they will restore Him to His rightful place on the throne of their hearts. He is their peace, even the Prince of Peace. And in His righteous rule he brings peace to the heart of the Jew, peace to the Beloved City of Peace, and peace on earth. This epic end-time history is in the future and late in the 70th week of Daniel. It will occur in the city of Jerusalem, the City of God's shalom/peace, even as they are surrounded by the armies of the Nations at the Battle of Armageddon. This is the glorious destiny of the doves of Judah at the end of this age. ZECHARIAH 12 2:10 Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on all the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died. 12:12 All Israel will weep in profound sorrow, each family by itself, with the husbands and wives in separate groups. The family of David will mourn, along with the family of Nathan, 12:14 Each of the surviving families from Judah will mourn separately, husbands and wives apart. Zechariah 1313:1 On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and defilement." (Zech 12:7-13:1 NLT) "And so all Israel shall be saved" -Rom.11:26 KJV TWO TURTLEDOVES AND A DEEP MOURNING FOR A LOST RELATIONSHIP THAT NEVER BEGAN CAN LEAD ON TO REDEMPTION, SALVATION, AND RESTORATION. Can mourning over sin or a lost covenant connection to God lead on to salvation? If that mourning is of a departed soul at the judgment seat of Christ then every evangelical will agree that it will be too late by then. They will be condemned. But what if the persons being judged by Christ are still alive? What if this judgment is being conducted when they are still in their mortal bodies? If living mortal human beings are being judged for entry into the earthly rule of Messiah , (as we see at the Sheep-Goat Judgment), then this is another matter entirely. These mourning people have the possibility of a future life on earth before them do they not? And now, at the end of the age, we see them mourning and repenting. Will a God of mercy and grace cut them off, along with their little children because they are not yet saved? Perhaps not. If there is a witness. And herein lies the wonderful message of the two turtledoves. The two are received as an acceptable sacrifice. Because there is a witness! Two is the number of witness. And there are two turtledoves in this picture. God will judge the pair. And the covenant connection Messiah has to one member of the pair will suffice for the other. Mourning over a lost relationship to God is the first step to repentance. And repentance, crying out to God and laying hold of His blood covenant provision leads on to redemption. Mourning is an essential element of conversion. If we are told by a low grade evangelist to step up to the altar and get a free ticket to heaven and there is no repentance involved then this will not suffice. This quick and easy "cheap deal with Jesus" will not cut it. God puts a very high premium on true sorrow for sin. Mourning for failure to come to God is a necessary part of repentance. Mourning is an essential element as sinners come into the threshold of salvation And it is a spiritual condition that receives the favor and grace of God in the time of His judgment. This is made abundantly clear in Ezekiel ch. 9 EZEKIEL 9 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer's inkhorn at his side; 4 and the Lord said to him, "Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it." 5 To the others He said in my hearing, "Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. 6 Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were before the temple. (Ezek.9:4) What does all this tell us about our God and His attitude to wickedness? What does all this tell us about our God and His attitude to a heart that mourns for wasted years spent in sin? In Ezekiel's vision of chapter 9 we go on to read that all who were not mourning over the great wickedness in the city of Jerusalem were slain. Surely there is a salvation or at least a pre-salvation message here. Mourning, while it is not outright proof of covenant does indicate movement toward covenant. Apparently mourning does in some way engender the favor of God. It is often seen in scripture just before or just as a person turns to God. Mourning is commonly seen in the lives of those who are in the process of coming to God. It is the characteristic emotional response of a person as they enter the blood covenant to find redemption and salvation in Christ. Is the Jewish House of Judah the only people to be found mourning when our Messiah returns? Apparently not. Jesus, in that conversation with four of His trusted disciples on the Mount of Olives, told us privately what would happen at the end of this age. "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all of the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory". (Mat.24:29-30) The next verse sees Him gather His elect. But what of those who mourn at His coming? What about those people, particularly in foreign countries, who are too "poor in spirit" to have known the coming Messiah personally. What of those who have never "cut the covenant" with Him personally. He is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Rev.13:8) And what about the children who never had a chance to know God? Are they all to be consigned to Hell? Let's take a look at Jesus and His attitude to the little ones who were brought to Him. "Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; and bless them but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 10:15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.' 10:16 And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on them, and blessed them." -Mark 10:13-16 NKJV BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN. BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT. Take a trip abroad and you will rapidly appreciate that there are multitudes of spiritually poor people. Even the rich western established church is spiritually poor if it has any connection with the last-named Church of Laodicea. Many believe that it does.-Rev.3:14-18 Our church while it has ornate steeples and retains 94-96% of the tithe moneys for itself may well be spiritually poorer in fact than the hard pressed and persecuted third world church. Many in the suffering church abroad truly understand and operate in blood covenant Christianity. They may be physically poor with not much in the way of material wealth and church buildings. But they are spiritually rich. But most have not yet heard the Gospel. Most people in the teeming millions of India and in the third world many have not heard the gospel even once. Many are still on their way to finding out. They seek to know about that empty part of them that suffers the "angst". Do they hear the wooing voice of God who is reaching out to them as Savior and Friend? It is hard if they have not been presented with the Gospel. Have they had a messenger come to them and present the Good News? Most have not. Many people around the world are in the process of coming to God. Unfortunately they are under oppressive regimes or struggling to survive. Half the children of this world go to bed hungry and disease stalks the people on the southern latitudes from 10 degrees north of the equator to 30 degrees south of the equator. Many poor people are stymied by a wicked political system and Satan on the loose. There are three enemies of the Gospel. These are the world system, the flesh, and the devil. During the coming Millennium two of these enemies will be eliminated. Satan will be bound for one thousand years. (Rev. 20:1-3) And the kingdoms of this world will have become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ/Messiah. (Rev.11:15) Both of these enemies currently help to prevent men from hearing the Gospel and coming into union with God. Only the third enemy, our own flesh nature, will stand in the way of the call of God to man in the coming Kingdom of Messiah. This present evil age with its devil enshrouded spiritual darkness, along with its despotic regimes, its wars and famines have conspired to prevent or delay any evangelical awakening in the lives of most people on this planet. Many evangelicals are in prison in Hindu and Muslim countries as well as under communist regimes. In spite of the claims of big ministries the vast masses of souls on this earth have not yet heard the Gospel. Those who will eventually come have not yet come into a saving contact with God with our present Gospel and missionary outreach. Big ministries will try to give the impression that they have just about wrapped things up and are ready for Messiah to return. But the facts indicate otherwise. The Great Commission is far from complete. Even at the end of the coming Great Tribulation there will still be multitudes of such unsaved people whom we may well believe will have not been marked or initiated into the 666 devotion and system of the Antichrist. We are not inclined to consider these things. In the western countries we hear the gospel message frequently. If we reject it or neglect it we shall be without excuse. But many of these dear people in places abroad, especially children, have not heard the Gospel presented to them even once! Are we to lump all these in with those wicked ones who have taken the mark and who shake their fist at heaven and curse the returning Christ? If the scriptures say, "Blessed are they that mourn" are these people to be considered as just "too late" for any opportunity to go on with God into His coming Kingdom? TWO TURTLEDOVES: AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE IN LIEU OF A LAMB: TWO TURTLEDOVES: A PICTURE OF SECOND ORDER COVENANT BETWEEN GOD AND MAN. AN IMPORTANT KEY TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SHEEP-GOAT JUDGMENT AND THE ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS FOR THOSE COMING INTO THE MILLENNIUM OF MESSIAH. When the returning Messiah judges between the sheep and the goats He is judging people and nations. This means He is judging Gentile/heathen people who have not come into the covenant and the commonwealth or citizenship of Israel. (Eph.2:12-13) Are all these yet unsaved people to be condemned? Are all to be considered goats to be sent off into outer darkness? Have every one of them, including the little children truly "had their chance"? Are they to be condemned? If not, then might the coming Millennium of Messiah be all about providing for those masses of mankind who are still lost and yet who are truly penitent? At the Sheep-Goat Judgment He will bless those that mourn. They will be given opportunity to come to know the Messiah in the peaceful context of His coming Kingdom on earth. Shepherds tell us that sheep will only drink from still waters. They will not drink from a raging river. At the end of this age there will be much political and religious turmoil. Many will have longed to know God but never had the chance. They have not had the chance to drink from the waters of life. Will they ever be given that opportunity? Will they be led by Messiah into green pastures? Will they be and spiritually fed by the still waters in the beauty of His restored earth? Or are these people who mourn at the sixth seal all to be damned for ever along with the wicked? What is your heart and conscience saying? Do we know the heart of the Shepherd on this? Fortunately we are not left to guess or to be either judgmental or sentimental in this matter. The Bible tells us what will happen. God will judge in righteousness in this matter. The goats will be cut off and go. And the sheep will stay on and find life. Matthew 25:31-46 lays out for us the essential features of the sheep and goat judgment. It is a judgment of mortals here on earth at the end of the age. They are not saved, or they would have been glorified. Now they appear before the royal authority of the coming Kingdom of God. The sheep-goat judgment is not a judgment of souls at the gates of heaven. This judgment is the Judgment Seat of Christ. (2Cor.5:10 And it is not the Great White Throne judgment seen at the end of the Millennium. (Rev.20:11-15) This is a judgment on the earth of living mortal human beings. This is very important difference. Jesus even tells us how He will judge between the sheep and the goats. He tells us quite clearly in Matthew 25:31-46 just why the sheep people are granted entry into the Kingdom of Messiah. The judgment is based on how these unsaved people treated His covenant Elect in their time of need. Presumably, the time during which this kindness was shown was during the Great Tribulation. Yet these people have not yet been saved at the time of His coming. There is no mention at all of them being in direct covenant relationship with Christ. We see clearly in Mat.25:31-46 that the goats, people who are independent and about there own business, are damned. So why are the sheep blessed? It would appear that these specially selected unsaved people are being given a passport into the earthly Kingdom of Messiah. The favor being shown to them here is on the basis of an indirector second order covenant. They receive the favor of Messiah by virtue of an indirect covenant connection. These people are covenanted to Messiah through others, other people who just happen to be Messiah's friends. His tribulation saints, (People who are in a blood covenant relationship with Messiah), are the vital link here. The sheep of God's pasture may not yet have become Messiah's people. But they have been friends with Messiah's people. They ministered to them during their trials and tribulations here on earth. The goats were people who couldn't care less about Messiah's friends in their time of need. This is apparently is a huge issue with Messiah. The sheep people had shown God's covenant friends covenant lovingkindness. They had shown themselves to be true friends. That meant quite a lot to the returning Messiah. These people, event though they had not been saved, had in many cases risked their own lives to feed, cloth, and help these friends, who were also friends of Messiah in their time of need. Because of this covenant lovingkindness they have shown Messiah does not forget them. He cannot forget them. So like the two turtledoves, God is judging them as a pair. The tribulation saints (who are now glorified and in spiritual bodies), are more or less sponsoring those who were paired with them and who still remain on earth in mortal bodies. These were the ones who had shown them true blood covenant lovingkindness. These mortal human beings left on earth are their friends. And yet at the time of the sheep-goat judgment have still not been saved. The onrush of events in the last days will be tumultuous. Open preaching of the Gospel by the saints will not be possible except possibly for those who have been exiled in the Bozrah incarceration. The saints will be under the persecution throughout the entire 70th week of Daniel, the final seven years of this age. First the persecutions will come under the harlot system. And then even greater persecution will come under the 666 system of the Antichrist. John's vision of the woman of Revelation 12 suggests that large numbers of Christian believers may be sequestered away during the last half, (1260 days) of this age. They will be flown to a place where they can be nurtured in spiritual things. (Rev.12:6 and Rev.12:14) It seems that many people who have become inclined to respond to God never get the opportunity. But they did have an opportunity to show the Tribulation Saints some kindness somewhere down the line. Then at the end of the age they see the coming Christ. At that time they will mourn. They will mourn over their lost opportunity to have come to know the Savior. The sands of time have run out. Now the final ultimate Day of Atonement has come and gone. The sun turns to darkness and the moon to blood and they have come to the last day of this age. The Day of the Lord comes. And as the heavens open they see the sign of the Son of Man. On that Day many will mourn. They will mourn when they realize that He was the Savior they had never really known. The Antichrist and the wicked will be carried off as the tares from the wheat. (Mat. 13:30 & 40-42) The wicked will be destroyed on the awesome Day of His coming.(Isaiah 63) But what about these people who are mourning? Will they receive words of comfort in that Day? Perhaps they will. Because Jesus tells us quite clearly that at His coming some group of people, people He judges as sheep and not goats, will hear these words; "Come, you blessed of my Father You who are favored of God and appointed to salvation Inherit the kingdom prepared for you From the foundation of the world."-Mat.25:34 ".Inasmuch as you did it to the least of these my brethren, You did it to me." -Mat.25:40 AMP. (abbr.) THE END-TIME DRAMA AND THE FLIGHT OF THE DOVE FROM TRIBULATIONS. THE COMING OF SPRINGTIME AND THE TIME OF LOVE EVEN AS THE GOD OF ABRAHAM IS CALLING HIS PEOPLE TO "COME AWAY". AND THE SOUND OF THE TURTLEDOVE IS HEARD IN THE LAND. Two Turtledoves in lieu of a Lamb? The lamb is cut down the middle and offered on the altar. The two turtledoves are not cut but the blood is offered on the sides of the altar or against the altar of covenant. The blood is not sprinkled on the altar but on the sides. This is significant. It is as if God is saying "Poor though it may be, I will accept the offering of these two turtledoves . And by this means I will woo every last one of my people to Myself. I will woo them and draw them into My Kingdom from humble beginnings. And I will bring them on into My Millennial Kingdom where they can be led to green pastures. There by the still waters they will hear my voice. At that place they will come into a full realization of My covenant. Yes the scriptures are a book of Law. But our God, the Holy One of Israel, always was and always will be a gracious God. He will receive those who come to Him with a contrite heart. David discovered this in the matter of his sin with Bathsheba and the death of her husband Uriah. He was chastened and he repented, crying out to God for His mercy. The God of Israel meets His people at heart level. David even wrote a song about it. (Psalm 51) PSALM 51 16 For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-- These, O God, You will not despise. (Psa.51:16-17) The poetry and the themes which run through scripture reveal a God who even in the time of judgment is continually wooing us at the level of our heart. Even in our tribulations as we are scattered into a howling wilderness our God is there beside us. Our journey into Him is a love walk. And He gives us a song in the night. PSALM 42 7. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. 8. Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. (Psa. 42:7-8) Sacraments and Social Mission: Living the Gospel, Being Disciples This 28-page booklet and study guide highlights the connections between the celebration of the sacraments and our social mission as followers of Jesus and the Body of Christ. The Mystery of the Eucharist and the Call to Love and Transform: A reflection on section II of The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church | en Español In November 2021, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops approved The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church. The document is divided into two sections, “I. The Gift,” and “II. Our Response,” followed by a brief concluding reflection (“Sent Forth”). Section I emphasizes the gift of Jesus’ real presence in the sacrament of the Eucharist, which we experience personally and communally as members of the Mystical Body of Christ. This reflection guide by the USCCB Dept. of Justice, Peace and Human Development focuses on the “Transformation in Christ” passages in Section II, which guide our response to the gift of the Eucharist. THE MYSTERY OF THE EUCHARIST IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH 1. On March 27, 2020, at an early point in the global pandemic, Pope Francis walked alone in the rain across an empty St. Peter’s Square to offer prayer for the world in a time of crisis. “Faith,” he said, “begins when we realize we are in need of salvation. We are not self-sufficient; by ourselves we founder: we need the Lord, like ancient navigators needed the stars.”1 Recalling when Jesus was asleep in the boat as a tempest was raging (Mk 4:35-41), the Holy Father said, “The Lord awakens so as to reawaken and revive our Easter faith.”2 On that day, Pope Francis presided over the rite of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction in order to focus our attention on the presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. The Pope was reminding us that even in a time of turbulence and crisis, Jesus is present among us, as present as he was long ago in the boat on the Sea of Galilee. 2. In similar fashion, Pope Saint John Paul II reminded us of this ongoing presence when he repeated to us the words of Christ: I am with you always, to the end of the age (Mt 28:20). He proclaimed: “ This promise of Christ never ceases to resound in the Church as the fertile secret of her life and the wellspring of her hope. As the day of Resurrection, Sunday is not only the remembrance of a past event: it is a celebration of the living presence of the Risen Lord in the midst of his own people." Matthew 23:37 ESV / 8 helpful votes “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Psalm 124:7 ESV / 10 helpful votes We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped! Hosea 11:11 ESV / 9 helpful votes They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria, and I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord. Leviticus 12:6 ESV / 9 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful“And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, A Partridge in a Pear Tree is Jesus Christ The Two Turtle Doves are The Old and New Testaments The Three French Hens are – The Trinity
Blessed are…
The Eight People Saved on the Ark: Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives The Nine Ladies Dancing are The 9 Fruit of the Spirit
1.) Simon (whom He named Peter) 2.) Andrew 3.) James 4.) John 5.) Philip 6.) Bartholomew 7.) Matthew 8.) Thomas 9.) James son of Alphaeus 10.) Simon who was called the Zealot 11.) Judas son of James 12.) Judas Iscariot- later replaced with faithful Matthias. The Twelve Drummers Drumming are The twelve Points of the Apostles Creed 1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. 2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. 4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. 5. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. 6. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. 7. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. 8. I believe in the Holy Spirit, 9. the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, 10. the forgiveness of sins, 11. the resurrection of the body, 12. and the life everlasting. For a long time, studies have confirmed the presence of animal proteins on masterpieces by painters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli and Rembrandt. However, scientists always believed it to be a case of contamination. However, a study released on 28th March 2023 in the scientific publication Nature Communications has revealed that painters were voluntarily using egg yolk on their paintings. Leonardo bound his paints with organic substances such as egg yolk and oils,” Mr. Bertelli said. “He was trying something new in tempera and he failed — in the sense that the painting almost immediately began to disintegrate. Scientists have a theory as to why: the egg yolk would have had many advantages for use in oil paintings. “The addition of egg yolk is beneficial because it can tune the properties of these paints in a drastic way,” noted Ranquet. “For example by showing aging differently. It takes a longer time for the paint to oxidize, because of the antioxidants contained in the yolk.” The proteins of the egg would form a thin later around the colour pigments, which would prevent the absorption of water. Egg yolk would also allow artists to correct mistakes on their canvases (because of the oil, paint would change colour when it came into contact with light. “For example, the lead white pigment is quite sensitive to humidity, but if you coat it with a protein layer, it makes it a lot more resistant to it, making the paint quite easy to apply,” Ranquet added. Thanks to the antioxidysing properties of egg yolk, colours would better resist the effects of time and light. An age-old method The use of egg yolk was in fact commonplace since Antiquity. Tempera is a a painting technique that used egg yolk – using its fat content to combine different pigment. It was replaced in the Middles Ages with the arrival of oil paint. Easter brings to mind many things — chocolate bunnies, colored eggs and, most of all, an empty tomb and a woman crying in the garden. Mary of Magdala (Mary Magdalene) was the first to hear the news of the Resurrection and was commissioned to “ go tell [Christ’s] brethren.” For this reason, she has been known since early Christian times as the “ apostle [feminine form] to the apostles [masculine form].” In the Latin Church, three women named Mary have been conflated into one we refer to as Mary Magdalene — Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus; Mary Magdalene, “from whom Jesus cast out seven demons;” and the unnamed woman who, while Jesus was at supper, came and washed his feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them with expensive oil. For this reason, in western art, Mary Magdalene is traditionally pictured holding an alabaster jar. A medieval legend held that she spent her later years as a hermit in southern France and since she lived in such a remote area she could go without clothing, although she grew her hair so long that it provided for her modesty. This part of the legend also appears in depictions of Magdalene in the middle ages. Pope Francis has been very keen to help sort out the confusion and to restore Mary of Magdala to the place of honor she enjoyed in the early Church. His first act was to raise the “memorial” of Mary Magdalene (July 22) to a “feast” in the universal Church calendar. This is a significant “upgrade.” He also recently instituted the memorial of Mary, Martha and Lazarus of Bethany, placing it on July 29, and adding it to the universal calendar. This date formerly honored both Martha and Lazarus. There are many and varied explanations of why we color eggs at Easter, but one of them goes back to Mary Magdalene who, in Eastern Christian art, is represented holding a red egg. In the Monastery of St. Mary Magdalene in Jerusalem, at the bottom of the Kedron Valley, the painting over the entrance to the presbyterium depicts Mary standing before the Emperor Tiberius, who is seated on his throne, looking upon this poor peasant woman in disdain. The story goes that Mary once asked for an audience with the Emperor and carried with herself a basket of fresh eggs as a gift. She greeted him with the same greeting Eastern Christians use to this very day: “ Christ is risen.” The Emperor scoffingly replied, “He is no more risen than those eggs in your basket are going to turn red.” Needless to say, you know the rest of the story. Why Was the Last Supper Scheduled during Passover? The Lord God instituted Passover as a remembrance of the Jews’ salvation from slavery at the hands of Pharaoh during the final plague (death) against the Egyptians (Exodus 12:1-30). Every Jewish family was to kill a lamb at twilight, use some of the blood from the lamb and “put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it.” Afterward, they would eat the flesh of the lamb that very night (vv. 7-10). They were to eat it quickly, and God said, “It is the Lord’s Passover” (v. 11b) because He caused the angel of death to pass over those who had the blood on their doorposts lintels. The sacrifice of the lambs (as such) brought redemption to the people. John the Baptist (the last Old Testament prophet) referred to Jesus as “The Lamb of God” (John 1:29,36). Lamb of God is an Old Testament phrase referring to the sacrifices (Leviticus 4:32-35. Isaiah 53:4-12). Sin is a separator between man and our holy God, and in the Old Testament, an animal could be offered as an atonement for sin. More sin equaled more sacrifices—it would be never-ending because man sins, period. It is significant that Jesus died when the lambs were killed during the Jewish Passover celebration when extra thousands of people would be in Jerusalem. As the Jewish people prepared and killed their lambs, Jesus presented Himself as God’sLamb--the ultimate Passover Lamb who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Jesus fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17, Luke 24:44, John 1:17), and no other sacrifice for sin is needed (Hebrews 10:12) once a person accepts Him as their Lord and Savior. The basic chronology of the death of Christ was as follows. Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples in the Upper Room. After washing the disciples feet, Jesus predicted that one of them would betray him that very night. After they ate Jesus instituted a new ordinance - the Lord's Supper. Jesus then gave his disciples their final teaching session before his death- the Upper Room Discourse. Jesus and his eleven disciples then went to the Garden of Gethsemane. The traitor Judas had long since left to bring the religious leaders to Gethsemane to arrest Jesus. Jesus was arrested and taken away. After going through a number of trials he was sent to Pontius Pilate. Pilate pronounced him innocent but still ordered him to be crucified. Jesus was crucified. He was on the cross some six hours when he died. He was taken down from the cross by loving hands, anointed with spices, and then buried in the tomb of a rich man. At that time the religious leaders assumed they had defeated Jesus. However they were about to learn of an incredible event - an event that would literally change the world. Jesus of Nazareth did not stay dead! Christ institutes His Holy Supper Verses 26-30 ~ This ordinance of the Lord's supper is to us the Passover supper, by which we commemorate a much greater deliverance than that of Israel out of Egypt. Take, eat; accept of Christ as he is offered to you; receive the atonement, approve of it, submit to his grace, and his government. The meat looked upon, be the dish ever so well garnished, will not nourish; it must be fed upon: so must the doctrine of Christ. This is my body; that is, spiritually, it signifies and represents his body. We partake of the sun, not by having the sun put into our hands, but the beams of it darted down upon us; so we partake of Christ by partaking of his grace, and the blessed fruits of the breaking of his body. The blood of Christ is signified and represented by the wine. He gave thanks, to teach us to look to God in every part of the ordinance. This cup he gave to the disciples with a command, Drink ye all of it. The pardon of sin is that great blessing which is, in the Lord's supper, conferred on all true believers; it is the foundation of all other blessings. He takes leave of such communion; and assures them of a happy meeting again at last; "Until that day when I drink it new with you", may be understood of the joys and glories of the future state, which the saints shall partake with the Lord Jesus. That will be the kingdom of his Father; the wine of consolation will there be always new. While we look at the outward signs of Christ's body broken and his blood shed for the remission of our sins, let us recollect that the feast cost him as much as though he had literally given his flesh to be eaten and his blood for us to drink. The death of Jesus. Without His atoning death and resurrection, we have no part of Him (John 6:53, 1 Corinthians 15:14, 17), because, without either, we cannot be saved. The bread symbolizes His body, broken for us, and the wine (juice in most cases) symbolizes His blood poured out for us. By following His command, we proclaim what He did for us. More than once, Jesus told his disciples and others around him, “My time has not yet come” (John 2:4, John 7:6, 8), and he often foreshadowed his death: “The Son of Man came … to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45). Naturally, this raises the question of when Jesus’ time actually would come, what it would entail, and what it would mean. Here we take a chronological and fact-based day-by-day look at the last week of Jesus’ life, including the Passover, taken from the accounts of the four Gospels. In Jesus’ last week of life, he fulfilled his mission to seek and save the lost, and ultimately, he became the atoning sacrifice for humanity—once and for all. Saturday and Sunday A week before his crucifixion, Jesus approached Jerusalem, arriving in Bethany six days before the Passover. Over this weekend, he was anointed at Simon the leper’s house by a woman who Jesus said was “prepar[ing] me for burial” (Matthew 26:12). Jesus knew that his time of death was near, and he communicated this to his disciples despite their lack of understanding. In Jesus’ last week before his brutal death, he shared words of hope and life.After this, a great crowd came to Bethany to see Jesus. In Jesus’ last week before his brutal death, he shared words of hope and life. Monday The next day, Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem, known as his “triumphal entry,” fulfilling the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9. The people praised him despite his humble entrance. This entry into Jerusalem signified the beginning of the end. Jesus visited the Temple and then returned to Bethany. It was Nisan 10 when the Passover lambs were selected. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on this day was how he presented himself as Israel’s Paschal lamb who would soon take away the sins of the world. TuesdayOn the way from Bethany to Jerusalem, Jesus cursed the fig tree, warning of the consequences of spiritual fruitlessness (Matthew 21:19). He challenged the Temple practice of selling on the premises—a warning against dishonest and disingenuous spiritual practices. Some of the religious leaders began to plot ways to kill him, so that evening, Jesus left Jerusalem, presumably returning to Bethany. As the days leading up to his crucifixion and the Passover drew near, Jesus reminded his followers and the world that the way of faith looks different than the way of the world. WednesdayOn the way to Jerusalem, the disciples saw the withered fig tree, and Jesus taught them the importance of their faith (Matthew 21:21)—an especially timely lesson, as he was going to leave them. Upon arriving at the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus’ authority was questioned by the religious leaders. Still, that afternoon, Jesus went up to the Mount of Olives. He taught in parables and spoke about the signs of the end of the age. He told of destruction, wars, and persecution to come, but also shared the hope of his return (Matthew 24:6). His disciples probably had little idea what he was speaking of, but he instructed them to be on their guard. Also on that day, Jesus predicted that in two days he would be crucified at the time of the Passover. Accordingly, Judas planned the betrayal of Jesus with the religious leaders. The tension was rising, and Jesus knew, yet he continued to teach and serve. ThursdayJesus and his disciples prepared the Passover lamb and had their seder meal together. Jesus shared heartfelt words with them and interceded on their behalf. After the meal, they arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus suffered in agony awaiting what was to come, but his closest disciples kept falling asleep! Even in the midst of his agony, hurt, and betrayal, Jesus knew that what he would accomplish on the cross would far outweigh his present suffering. Later that night, Jesus was betrayed and arrested. He was tried by Annas, then Caiaphas, and then other religious leaders. Jesus was humiliated, degraded, and made into a laughing stock just before he experienced the worst pain imaginable on the cross—separation from God. FridayEarly in the morning, Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod Antipas, and then Pilate again. He was tortured and beaten. He was led to the cross at 9:00 a.m, died at 3:00 p.m., and was buried later that day. The sky went dark, and the Temple curtain was torn in two. Jesus died at the time when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed, fulfilling the Hebrew Scriptures.Jesus died at the time when the Passover lambs were being sacrificed, fulfilling the Hebrew Scriptures. He endured the weight of all of humanity’s sin, the weight of cruelty, and the weight of separation from God. SaturdayJesus’ body was in the tomb during the Sabbath, and the Pharisees employed Roman guards to keep watch over the tomb. SundayOn Sunday, Jesus was resurrected from the dead! Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb only to find that Jesus was not there. An angel told them that he had risen! His was the first of many resurrections to come, in which it was a type of firstfruits offering, which were made the day after the Sabbath. ConclusionJesus knew what awaited him as the Passover neared, yet he approached and endured the cross with confidence and grace. The last week of his life simultaneously shows his humanity and his divinity. Jesus’ last days led to the climax of God’s plan of redemption for humanity. From his entry into Jerusalem to his resurrection, every day of Jesus’ last week was filled with meaning, intention, and purpose. A chronological look at Jesus’ last days gives us a glance into the deep suffering yet incredible mercy of our God. TuesdayJesus Christ ate an evening Passover meal with His disciples (at the beginning of Nisan 14, Jewish reckoning) and instituted the New Covenant symbols (Matthew 26:26-28). Jesus was then betrayed by Judas, arrested and during the night brought before the high priest. WednesdayJesus was crucified and died around 3 p.m. (Matthew 27:46-50). This was the preparation day for the annual—not weekly—Sabbath, which began at sunset (Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:31). Jesus' body was placed in the tomb just before sunset (Matthew 27:57-60). ThursdayThis was the high-day Sabbath, the first day of the biblical Feast of Unleavened Bread (John 19:31; Leviticus 23:4-7). It is described as the day after the "Day of Preparation" (Matthew 27:62). Wednesday night and the daylight portion of Thursday were the first of three days and nights Jesus' body was in the tomb. FridayThe high-day annual Sabbath now past, the women bought and prepared spices for anointing Jesus' body before resting on the weekly Sabbath day, which began at Friday sunset (Mark 16:1; Luke 23:56). Thursday night and the daylight portion of Friday marked the second of three days and nights Jesus' body was entombed. SaturdayThe women rested on the weekly Sabbath day, according to the Fourth Commandment (Luke 23:56; Exodus 20:8-11). Jesus rose near sunset, exactly three days and three nights after His body was placed in the tomb, fulfilling the sign of Jonah and authenticating the sign He gave of His messiahship. SundayThe women brought the prepared spices early in the morning while it was still dark (Luke 24:1; John 20:1). Jesus had already risen (Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:2-6; Luke 24:2-3; John 20:1). He did not rise on Sunday morning, but near sunset the day before— three days and three nights after being put in the tomb, just as He foretold. What happens on the days of the Holy Week? In the New Testament gospels (Matthew, John, Mark and Luke) we can find descriptions of the events that culminate with the trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. 1. Palm Sunday – Jesus triumphantly enters Jerusalem, where crowds greet him waving palm branches and, according to Mark 11:19-10, cry out “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord”. 2. Holy Monday – The gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke describe cursing a fruitless fig tree in an event that’s omitted in the gospel of John; this gesture seems in stark contrast with Jesus’ personality, but religious scholars have interpreted it as a “prophetic act of judgement”. Jesus then enters the temple in Jerusalem and evicts the corrupted money changers, shouting: “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves”. 3. Holy Tuesday – Mark 12:1-11 and Mark 12:1-2 tell us that Jesus preaches to the crowds in Jerusalem, but the audience also includes Pharisees, Sadducees, and other groups of Jewish religious leaders, who were displeased with his discourses. This could be explained by the fact that most of the parables were aimed directly at them. 4. Spy Wednesday – This day marks the arrangement between Judas and the high priests (the Sanhedrin) to betray and capture Jesus. 5. Maundy Thursday – Maundy is short for the Latin word “mandatum”, meaning “command”. According to John 13:1, this is when, during the Last Supper, Jesus gives his disciples a new commandment, that they should love one another as he has loved them. He also sets the framework for the Holy Communion. 6. Good Friday – Following the betrayal of Judas in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is trialed for the charges of subverting the nation and attempting to overthrow the Roman government. He is flogged, and ultimately crucified on the hill of Golgotha (Calvary). The body is taken down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea. 7. Black Saturday – Except for Luke 23:56, none of the gospels talks about what the apostles were doing on the day after Jesus’ crucifixion. And even this is a passing mention about “resting on Sabbath, according to commandment”. It’s likely that they were meeting in secret, behind closed doors, fearing reprisals. Matthew 27:63-64 describes how the Jewish leaders went to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate and asked for the tomb of Jesus to be placed under guard, fearing the disciples would steal the body and fake the resurrection. 8. Resurrection Day – Neither of the four gospels describe the act of resurrection, but all of them (Mark 16, Matthew 28, Luke 24, Acts 1, and John 20) contain accounts of Jesus returning to his disciples on Sunday. There are also accounts surrounding the discovery of the empty tomb, the appearance of an angel and the women who met Jesus on the road. Nonetheless, the New Testament gospels all agree that: “He is Risen”. The egg travels down the fallopian tubes. If pregnancy doesn't occur, the egg is reabsorbed into the body. Levels of oestrogen and progesterone fall, and the womb lining comes away and leaves the body as a period (the menstrual flow). The time from the release of an egg to the start of a period is around 10 to 16 days. The vast majority of women ovulate 8 to 21 days from the first day of the cycle. This culminates in the rupture of the follicle, and the egg starts to travel along the Fallopian tubes towards the uterus. Following ovulation, the egg is available for fertilization. At this time the luteal phase of the cycle occurs, characterized by the transformation of the ruptured follicle into a corpus luteum. This transforms the lining of the uterus, the endometrium, into a luteinized endometrium, which is thicker and softer. This is in order to prepare for the reception of a fertilized egg. If conception does not occur, this lining is no longer needed and it is shed during the process known as menstruation, signaling the initiation of the follicular phase. Body temperature – the basal body temperature drops slightly just before ovulation and then increases very slightly, about half a degree Celsius, for the rest of the luteal phase. What Is the Moon Phase Cycle? The view of the moon from earth is constantly changing. These changes are categorized into eight phases that repeat during each synodic month. A synodic month lasts 29 and a half days and is the length of time that it takes for the moon to complete its eight-phase cycle. The image of the moon that is seen from earth changes based on the position of the sun, moon and Earth. As the moon completes its orbit around Earth, the shadow cast onto the moon changes. As the synodic month passes, the moon will appear to grow from right to left, then once full will begin to appear to shrink from right to left. The changes in the moon phase cycle can have an impact on many different processes on Earth. A well-known change is the shift in the ocean's tides based on the phase of the cycle. High and low tides will vary based on the position of the moon because of the changes in gravitation force as the moon moves along its orbit. The first moon phase of the synodic month is the new moon. This phase occurs when the moon is directly between the Earth and the sun. When the moon is in this position, there is no sunlight reflected on the surface of the moon that is facing Earth. Halfway through the moon phase cycle is the full moon. This occurs when the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun (directly opposite of the sun). During a full moon, the entire moon is visible from Earth because the sun is reflected on its surface. The third and seventh phases of the moon cycle are called the first and last quarters, respectively. The moon's first quarter occurs when it is one quarter of the way through its cycle. This phase appears to have roughly one half of the moon illuminated, on the right side. The last quarter of the cycle occurs when the left side of the moon is illuminated What are lunar phases and eclipses? The moonlight we see on Earth is sunlight reflected off the Moon's grayish-white surface. The amount of Moon we see changes over the month — lunar phases — because the Moon orbits Earth and Earth orbits the Sun. Everything is moving. During a lunar eclipse, Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon, blocking the sunlight falling on the Moon. Earth's shadow covers all or part of the lunar surface. The north pole is on the run. Although it can drift as much as 10 meters across a century, sometimes returning to near its origin, it has recently taken a sharp turn to the east. Climate change is the likely culprit, yet scientists are debating how much melting ice or changing rain patterns affect the pole’s wanderlust. The geographical poles—the north and south tips of the axis that the Earth spins around--wobble over time due to small variations in the sun’s and moon’s pulls, and potentially to motion in Earth’s core and mantle. But changes on the planet’s surface can alter the poles, too. They wobble with every season as the distribution of snow and rain change, and over long stretches as well. Roughly 10,000 years ago, for example, Earth woke up from a deep freeze and the massive ice sheets sitting atop what is now Canada melted. As ice mass fled, and the depressed crust rebounded, the distribution of the planet’s mass changed and the north pole started to drift west. This pattern can be clearly seen in data from 1899 onward. But a recent zigzag in the north pole’s path (and the opposite movement in the south pole) suggests a new change is afoot. Around 2000 the pole took an eastward turn; it stopped drifting toward Hudson Bay, Canada, and started drifting along the Greenwich meridian in the direction of London. In 2013, Jianli Chen, a geophysicist at The University of Texas at Austin, was the first to attribute the sudden change to accelerated melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The result startled his team. “If you’re losing enough mass to change the orientation of the Earth—that’s a lot of mass,” says John Ries, Chen’s colleague at U.T. Austin. The team found that recent accelerated ice loss and associated sea level rise accounted for more than 90 percent of the latest polar shift. Of course that includes ice lost across the world, but “Greenland is the lion’s share of the mass loss,” Ries says. “That’s what’s causing the pole to change its nature.” Could such a dramatic shift be so simple? In a new study published today in Science Advances, Surendra Adhikari and Erik Ivins, two geophysicists from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, think another mechanism might be at play: changes in the amount of water held within the continents. Like Chen’s team, Adhikari and Ivins compared data collected by NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment(GRACE) satellite, which measures changes in Earth’s gravitational field, with Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of the north and south poles. But Adhikari and Ivins have a couple extra years of data. They also incorporated small-scale features within the GRACE data set that are more directly related to terrestrial water storage. Although the predominant cause of the pole’s shift still turned out to be Greenland, a recent dry spell that has overrun Eurasia is also driving the pole toward the east, Ivans says. With less rainfall on a continent over time, it starts to shed some bulkAdhikari and Ivins think the sudden shift could be the latest in a series of decadal changes in drift that scientists have been unable to explain. Eurasia, which was quite lush 10 years ago, is not the only continent to experience a drought. “We think this flip is happening all the time,” Ivins says. “It’s a natural phenomenon that characterizes the entire Earth rotation time-series going all the way back to 1899.” The data do not indicate whether the recent climate changes are man-made, but Chen personally believes the drastic shift in the pole has to be the result of human activities. Meanwhile Ivins thinks he will be able to tease man-made climate change from the data in another six months or so. Given that polar motion and climate variability seem to be inextricably linked, scientists can look at historical records of the pole’s motion (which date back to well before the advent of GPS and the GRACE satellite) and see changes in Earth’s climate. If those changes are less dramatic than the ones we see today, Ivins says, then scientists could say that global warming has a controlling influence on Earth’s poles. During a pole reversal, Earth’s magnetic north and south poles swap locations. While that may sound like a big deal, pole reversals are common in Earth’s geologic history. Paleomagnetic records tell us Earth’s magnetic poles have reversed 183 times in the last 83 million years, and at least several hundred times in the past 160 million years. Recently, there have been questions and discussion about “geomagnetic excursions:” shorter-lived but significant changes in the magnetic field’s intensity that last from a few centuries to a few tens of thousands of years. During the last major excursion, called the Laschamps event, radiocarbon evidence shows that about 41,500 years ago, the magnetic field weakened significantly and the poles reversed, only to flip back again about 500 years later. A geographical pole or geographic pole is either of the two points on Earth where its axis of rotation intersects its surface.[1] The North Pole lies in the Arctic Ocean while the South Pole is in Antarctica. North and South poles are also defined for other planets or satellites in the Solar System, with a North pole being on the same side of the invariable plane as Earth's North pole.[2] Relative to Earth's surface, the geographic poles move by a few metres over periods of a few years.[3] This is a combination of Chandler wobble, a free oscillation with a period of about 433 days; an annual motion responding to seasonal movements of air and water masses; and an irregular drift towards the 80th west meridian.[4] As cartography requires exact and unchanging coordinates, the averaged[citation needed] locations of geographical poles are taken as fixed cartographic poles and become the points where the body's great circles of longitude intersect. True polar wander is a solid-body rotation of a planet or moon with respect to its spin axis, causing the geographic locations of the northand south poles to change, or "wander". Unless the body is totally rigid (which the Earth is not) its stable state rotation has the largest moment of inertia axis aligned with the spin axis, with the smaller two moments of inertia axes lying in the plane of the equator. If the body is not in this steady state, true polar wander will occur: the planet or moon will rotate as a rigid body to realign the largest moment of inertia axis with the spin axis. (See Polhode § Description.) If the body is near the steady state but with the angular momentum not exactly lined up with the largest moment of inertia axis, the pole position will oscillate. Weather and water movements can also induce small changes. These subjects are covered in the article Polar motion. The mass distribution of the Earth is not spherically symmetric, and the Earth has three different moments of inertia. The axis around which the moment of inertia is greatest is closely aligned with the rotation axis (the axis going through the geographic North and South Poles). The other two axes are near the equator. That is similar to a brick rotating around an axis going through its shortest dimension (a vertical axis when the brick is lying flat). However, if the moment of inertia around one of the two axes close to the equator becomes nearly equal to that around the polar axis, the constraint on the orientation of the object (the Earth) is relaxed. The Chandler wobble or Chandler variation of latitude is a small deviation in the Earth's axis of rotationrelative to the solid earth,[1] which was discovered by and named after American astronomer Seth Carlo Chandler in 1891. It amounts to change of about 9 metres (30 ft) in the point at which the axis intersects the Earth's surface and has a period of 433 days.[2][3] This wobble, which is an astronomical nutation, combines with another wobble with a period of one year, so that the total polar motion varies with a period of about 7 years. Since the Earth is not a rigid body, the Chandler wobble should die down with a time constant of about 68 years, a very short period compared to geological timescales. The processes that continually re-excite the wobble are of interest to geophysicists. While it must be due to changes in the mass distribution or angular momentum of the Earth's outer core, atmosphere, oceans, or crust (from earthquakes), for a long time the actual source was unclear, since no available motions seemed to be coherent with what was driving the wobble. The blood moon prophecies The Seven Seals of God" are broken Revelation 6:12-14 reads: "I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. "The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. "The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place." The Blood Moon also makes an appearance in the Book of Joel, one of the 12 prophetic books of the Old Testament. Joel 2 describes the terrifying "Day of the Lord" during which disaster and cataclysm will befall the Earth. Joel 2:29-32 reads: "Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days "I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. "The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. "And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls." were a series of prophecies by Christian preachers John Hagee and Mark Biltz, related to a series of four full moons in 2014 and 2015. The prophecies stated that a tetrad(a series of four consecutive lunar eclipses—all total and coinciding on Jewish holidays—with six full moons in between, and no intervening partial lunar eclipses) which began with the April 2014 lunar eclipse was the beginning of the end times as described in the Bible in the Book of Joel, Acts 2:20, and Revelation 6:12. The tetrad ended with the lunar eclipse on September 27–28, 2015. Overview On April 15, 2014, there was a total lunar eclipse which was the first of four consecutive total eclipses in a series, known as a tetrad; the second one took place on October 8, 2014, the third on April 4, 2015, and the fourth on September 28, 2015. It is the second of eight tetrads to take place during the 21st century AD. As with most lunar eclipses, the moon appeared red during the April 15, 2014, eclipse. The red color is caused by Rayleigh scattering of sunlight through the Earth's atmosphere, the same effect that causes sunsets to appear red. The claim of a blood moon being a sign of the beginning of the end times originates in the Book of Joel, where it is written "the sun will turn into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes." This prophecy repeated by Peter during Pentecost, as stated in Acts, though Peter says that the date of Pentecost, not a future date, was the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. The blood moon also is prophesied in the Book of Revelation chapter 6 verses 11–13, where verse 12 states, "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood." Hagee's book (and subsequent preaching series at his home congregation, Cornerstone Church) did not claim that any specific "end times" event would occur but claimed that every prior tetrad of the last 500 years coincided with events in Jewish and Israeli history that were originally tragic, yet followed by triumph. Furthermore, there have been 62 tetrads since the 1st century AD, though only eight of them have coincided with both feasts. Additionally, three of the four eclipses in the tetrad were not even visible in the biblical homeland of Israel, casting further doubt on Hagee and Biltz's interpretation; even then, only the very end of the last eclipse was visible in Israel. Rosh Chodesh and the Feminine Divine When the Jews asked Aaron to make them a golden calf, Aaron said to them, "Remove the rings that are in the ears of your wives (Sh'mot 32:2)." The women, however, did not agree to give their jewelry to their husbands. Rather, they said to them: "Should we make a calf which is an abomination and has no power to save us? We will not listen to you!" Hashem rewarded them in this world that they keep Rosh Chodesh more than the men do. He also rewarded them in the world to come that they will be renewed like the Roshei Chodoshim, as the verse says: "Your youth shall be renewed to be [as light] as an eagle (Tehillim 103:5)." When the Israelites in the wilderness gave their most beautiful materials for the making of the mishkan (the dwelling place of God's presence, coming from the same word as Shekhinah), women donated more than men. The Torah says that “the men gathered upon the women”, implying that the women were more quick to come to give the Shekhinah their treasures. Therefore, women refrain from weaving, spinning, and sewing on Rosh Chodesh in honor of their generosity and zealousness (Rashi on Megillah 22b). In this story, women are the most enthusiastic givers to the mishkan, which represents the indwelling Divine Presence. This parallels women's association with the Shekhinah. סנהדרין מ״ב א:ג׳וא"ר אחא בר חנינא א"ר אסי א"ר יוחנן כל המברך על החדש בזמנו כאילו מקבל פני שכינה כתיב הכא (שמות יב, ב) החדש הזה וכתיב התם (שמות טו, ב) זה אלי ואנוהו Sanhedrin 42a:3R. Aha b. Hanina also said in the name of R. Assi in R. Johanan's name: Whoever pronounces the blessing over the new moon in its due time welcomes, as it were, the presence of the Shechinah: for one passage states, "This month;" while elsewhere it is said, "This is my God, and I will glorify Him." Now the Shechinah never departed from the tent of Leah or the tent of Rachel...The truth is that during the lives of Rachel and Leah the Shechinah hovered over them --Zohar 1:175b The Origins of Rosh Chodesh The marking of time has been important for the Jewish people since the moment of leaving slavery in Egypt. The very first commandment G-d gave in the Book of Exodus, while the Jews wandered through the desert from slavery to the promised land, was for the Jewish people to mark each new moon. From this, we learn that the meaning of freedom is intertwined with agency over our own time. Each new month is another reminder of this freedom. In biblical days, there were no written calendars to consult. Instead, two designated New Moon-seekers would climb to the top of a hill and wait for a clear sky, since Rosh Chodesh occurs when there is the first sliver of the moon after a completely dark sky. When they were absolutely sure that there was a sliver of light, they’d report their findings back to the Great Sanhedrin, the ancient Jewish court. Then, someone would climb to the top of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem (a very steep climb!) with a long pole of cedar, reeds, and olive. They’d set the pole on fire until someone on another hilltop saw them, then that person would light a fire until they saw a third person on the hill over, and this would go on until the message reached the edges of Babylonia. Talk about the illuminating power of Rosh Chodesh! How Did Rosh Chodesh Become a Holiday for Women?The entire Jewish people received the teaching to honor Rosh Chodesh. But over time, it became especially associated as a time for women. One explanation, offered by a Medieval rabbi, teaches that when all the men decided to create the Golden Calf, the women refused to relinquish their jewelry and participate. Their bravery and faith in G-d resulted in the reward of a special holiday to rest, reflect, and reset every month. (So this holiday is also a commemoration of the power of resisting the patriarchy!) Rosh Chodesh offers us a time every month to honor the Shechinah, the feminine mystical aspect of the Divine. The waxing and waning of the moon also resembles the menstrual cycle. For menstruators, Rosh Chodesh can be a way to connect more deeply with our bodies and the internal “clock” of our fertility cycle. Whether or not you menstruate, committing to Rosh Chodesh rituals can offer a modern Jewish well-being practice rooted in ancient tradition and a way to honor our brave female ancestors. Well Circles are independently-run groups that meet around each new moon. Together, month by month, you'll get more deeply connected to yourself, your spirituality, and each other. People say it's one of their most cherished wellness practices! Since Rosh Chodesh occurs at the beginning of a month, it’s a wonderful time to set intentions for the upcoming month. One way you can set intentions on Rosh Chodesh is with a Well Circle. Rosh Chodesh doesn’t only deepen our relationship with ourselves; the holiday also transforms the way we connect with others and engage with our lives. When you meet with people regularly and witness the cycles of your life What is the significance in Judaism of Rosh Chodesh, the new moon? A: The Jewish calendar is rooted in the cycles of the moon. Each month of the year is a lunar month, beginning on the new moon and ending when the moon is dark. Rosh Chodesh, the new moon, is celebrated as a minor holiday by all Jews with special prayers and Torah readings. Sometime during the first two weeks of the month, often at the end of the Sabbath, Jews recite a blessing over the moon in gratitude for having been given the cycles of time. In the last week of the month, on the morning of the Sabbath, Jews announce the name and date of the coming month both as a welcome and a reminder to the community. Some Jewish traditions refer to the last day of the month, the dark of the moon, as Yom Kippur Katan, a little day of atonement, and regard it as a day of fasting and penitence. Then the new moon of the next month begins. When the moon dies we contemplate our own mortality, and at the birth of the moon we celebrate our potential for rebirth. In biblical times, Rosh Chodesh was a festival, and priests offered special celebratory sacrifices. Today, Rosh Chodesh remains a minor holiday for all traditional Jews, marked by the reciting of special Psalms and sections of the Torah. What is the significance of Rosh Chodesh for women? A: The connection between women and Rosh Chodesh is probably because of women’s monthly cycles: in societies without artificial light, women ovulate at the full moon and menstruate at the new moon, so the spiritual connection is very clear. According to both the Talmud and mystical tradition, the new moon is a time to celebrate the reappearance of the Shekhinah, the feminine Divine presence. This is one reason that, from Talmudic times, Jewish tradition has designated Rosh Chodesh as a special holiday for women. In the Middle Ages, Jewish women did not work on Rosh Chodesh. Instead, they held feasts, charity collections, and even gambling parties with one another – or, sometimes, they saved their laundry to do on Rosh Chodesh! Recently, Jewish feminists reclaimed the holiday and created women’s Rosh Chodesh circles with new rituals, Torah study, sharing on a monthly topic, and other practices. The tradition offers three reasons for this. The one I like best goes as follows: when the Israelites in the wilderness gave their most beautiful materials for the making of the mishkan, the dwelling place of God’s presence, coming from the same word as Shekhinah, women donated more than men. The Torah says that “the men gathered upon the women,” implying that the women were more quick to come to give the Shekhinah their treasures. Therefore, women refrain from weaving, spinning, and sewing on Rosh Chodesh in honor of their generosity and zealousness. Another midrash credits women with faith in the oneness of God. This legend comments on the story of the Golden Calf, when the Israelite nation made and worshipped a golden statue of a calf while Moses was receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai: The women heard about the making of the Golden Calf and refused to give their jewelry to their husbands. Instead, they said to them: “ You want to construct an idol, a molten form which is an abomination? We won’t listen to you!” And the Holy One of Blessing rewarded them in this world that they would observe the new moons more than men, and in the next world they are destined to be renewed like the moon This midrash suggests when the Israelites are afraid God had abandoned them, the women have faith that God’s presence will return. The third story explaining the connection between women and the new moon is perhaps the most telling. According to the Talmud, the moon starts an argument because she and the sun are the same size. The moon said to God, “Sovereign of the Universe, can two kings share a single crown?’ God replied: “Go and make yourself smaller.” “Sovereign of the Universe,” she said to him, “because I made a proper claim before you, am I to make myself smaller?” He said to her, “Go, and you will rule over both the day and the night.” She said, “ What good is a lamp in broad daylight?” He said, “Go! Israel shall use you to count the days and the years.” The moon went on complaining. On seeing that the moon would not be consoled, the Holy One of Blessing said, “Bring an atonement for me for making the moon smaller.” Hence the sin-offering of the new moon was offered in the Temple. Rosh Hashanah, the new year and festival of the rebirth of the world, falls on the new moon. Like the new moon itself, Rosh Hashanah is a time of celebrating the Shekhinah’s presence among us and of beginning again. Rosh Chodesh has long been considered a special holiday for women. There are a number of reasons:
The book Miriam’s Well: Rituals for Jewish Women Around the Year by Penina Adelman, first published in 1986, presented the experiences of one of the first women’s Rosh Chodesh groups and provided a template for creative Rosh Chodesh rituals. Adelman describes, for example, an “anointing ritual… which invokes the messiah" creating a small model of the gallows so that participants can hang “the Hamans of women’s lives — sexual harassment, low pay, the beauty industry”; and “group wailing” to recall the wailing women in the Book of Jeremiah. Researchers believe our internal biological rhythms may be linked to the Moon's cycle Changes in sleep can have dramatic effects on your overall mood – causing irritability, decreased concentration and focus, impatience, and elevated levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a health problem that is similar to premenstrual syndrome (PMS) but is more serious. PMDD causes severe irritability, depression, or anxiety in the week or two before your period starts. Symptoms usually go away two to three days after your period starts. You may need medicine or other treatment to help with your symptoms. Premenstrual symptoms include a constellation of mood, behavioral, and physical indications that occur in a cyclic pattern prior to menstruation and then wane off after the menstrual period in women of reproductive age. 5% to 8% of women have moderate-to-severe symptoms that can cause significant distress and functional impairment. PMDD causes extreme mood shifts that can disrupt daily life and damage relationships. symptoms usually begin seven to 10 days before your period starts and continue for the first 3 days of your period. Late luteal dysphoric disorder (LLDD), now known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), accounts for the most severe form with the greatest impairment of women’s functioning and perceived quality of life, often prompting them to seek treatment. physical and behavioral symptoms that occur in a cyclic pattern during the second half of the menstrual cycle. Common symptoms include anger, irritability, depression, and internal tension that are severe enough to interfere with daily activities. PMDD affects only 3 to 8 percent of women. PMDD is usually a chronic condition and can have a serious impact on a woman's quality of life. There are other medical disorders that worsen before or during menstruation, such as migraines; chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome The symptoms must occur only during the second half (luteal phase) of the menstrual cycle, most often during the five to seven days before the menstrual period, and there must be physical as well as behavioral symptoms. these symptoms should not be present between days 4 through 12 of a 28-day menstrual cycle. A blood count may be recommended to screen for other medical conditions that cause fatigue, such as anemia. can cause a woman to feel very sad or nervous, to have trouble and can cause difficulty paying attention to work or school. Some women may be very sensitive to changes in fluctuating hormone levels. women have a complete resolution of symptoms when their menses begin. Tissues throughout the body are sensitive to hormone levels that change throughout a woman's menstrual cycle. Studies suggest that rising and falling levels of hormones (eg, estrogen and progesterone) may also influence chemicals in the brain, including a substance called serotonin, which affects mood. women who develop PMDD are highly sensitive to normal changes in hormone levels. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a condition in which a woman has severe depression symptoms, irritability, and tension before menses a wide range of physical or emotional symptoms that most often occur about 5 to 11 days before a woman starts her menses In most cases, the symptoms stop when, 3 days after period begins. PMDD affects a small number of women during the reproductive years Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder is a more severe form of PMS, affecting 5-10% of women in their reproductive years. In contrast to PMS, PMDD is characterized by more significant premenstrual mood disturbance that can seriously impact relationships and impair functioning. Many women with PMDD experience clinical levels of depression or anxiety during the week or two before each menstrual cycle. It is not uncommon that the emotional symptoms of depression anxiety and irritability can seriously interfere with normal functioning and relationships. Common symptoms include: irritability, depressed mood, anxiety, or mood swings. Mood symptoms are only present for a specific period of time, during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Symptoms emerge one to two weeks before menses and resolve completely with the onset of menses. For centuries, the moon and how it affects human behavior The very word “lunacy” dates back to the 15th century when it was believed the moon and its phases could make people become more or less aggressive, depending on its place in the lunar cycle Do moon phases affect health? we do know is that the moon may have an impact on people with bipolar disorder. researchers learned that their patients cycled rapidly between states of depression and mania, and that these rapid cycles weren’t random but instead in sync with the lunar cycle. Though the exact mechanism that causes this is unknown, it’s believed that those quick changes in mood were caused by a disruption to their circadian rhythm and their sleep-wake cycle Moses departed to the mountain and stayed there for 40 days and nights in order to receive the Ten Commandments and he did so again because he broke the first set of the tablets of stone after returning from the mountain for the first time Rosh Chodesh Elul Friday, 1 Elul 5783 August 18, 2023 Candle Lighting Light Candles before sunset Torah Reading Rosh Chodesh: Numbers 28:1-3; Numbers 28:3-15 Moses ascends Sinai 40 days (1313 BCE) On the early morning of the 1st of Elul of the year 2448 from creation (1313 BCE) Moses ascended Mount Sinai, taking with him the stone tablets he had hewn by divine command (see "Today in Jewish History" for yesterday, Av 30), for G-d to re-inscribe the Ten Commandments. On the mountain, G-d allowed Moses to "see My back, but not My face" (which Maimonides interprets as a perception of G-d's reality but not His essence) -- the closest any human being ever came to knowing G-d -- and taught him the secret of His "Thirteen Attributes of Mercy" (Exodus 33:18-34:8). Moses remained on the mountain for 40 days, until the 10th of Tishrei (Yom Kippur), during which time He obtained G-d's whole-hearted forgiveness and reconciliation with the people of Israel following their betrayal of the covenant between them with their worship of the Golden Calf. This was the third of Moses' three 40-day periods on Mount Sinai in connection with the Giving of the Torah. Ever since, the month of Elul serves as the "month of Divine mercy and forgiveness." Links: The 120-Day Version of the Human Story Moroccan Jewry Saved From Portuguese Conquest (1578)In 1578, a Portuguese army led by King Sebastian I joined forces with the deposed Moroccan Sultan Abdallah Mohammed, who desired to regain the throne from his uncle, Abd al-Malik. Victory of the Portuguese king would inevitably lead to the infamous Inquisition taking hold in Morocco. On August 4, corresponding to 1 Elul, the Portuguese army was defeated in what is known as the Battle of the Three Kings. A number of Moroccan communities would commemorate this date each year as a day of celebration, thanking G‑d for His salvation. Prophecy of Haggai Encouraging Building of the Second Temple (353 BCE)On this day, the prophet Haggai received a divine message to pass on to “Zerubavel son of She’altiel ruler of Judah and Joshua son of Jehozadak the High Priest” (Haggai 1:1), instructing them to continue their efforts to build the Second Temple, whose construction had been halted some seventeen years prior. See entry for 21 Tishrei for a similar prophecy transmitted by Haggai seven weeks later Rosh Chodesh Rosh Chodesh ("Head of the Month") days for the month of Elul (when a month has 30 days, both the last day of the month and the first day of the following month serve as the following month's Rosh Chodesh). Special portions are added to the daily prayers: Hallel (Psalms 113-118) is recited -- in its "partial" form -- following the Shacharit morning prayer, and the Yaaleh V'yavo prayer is added to the Amidah and to Grace After Meals; the additional Musaf prayer is said (when Rosh Chodesh is Shabbat, special additions are made to the Shabbat Musaf). Tachnun (confession of sins) and similar prayers are omitted. Many have the custom to mark Rosh Chodesh with a festive meal and reduced work activity. The latter custom is prevalent amongst women, who have a special affinity with Rosh Chodesh -- the month being the feminine aspect of the Jewish Calendar. Why is Rosh Chodesh, the holiday that marks the entry of a new Jewish month, considered a "women's holiday"? Indeed, although the semi-holiday of Rosh Chodesh is celebrated by both men and women, there's a special feminine connection to the day. This expresses itself in the fact that women abstain from certain forms of work on this day—for the details, see How does a Jewish woman celebrate Rosh Chodesh? The special connection between women and Rosh Chodesh harks way back to the episode of the Golden Calf, when the women declined to participate in the "fundraising" effort and refused to surrender their jewelry for use in making the idol. As a reward, they were given Rosh Chodesh as a day which they observe more than the men (Tur, Orach Chaim 417). The Rebbe elaborates on this a bit, and explains that the women's non-participation stemmed from their greater faith. Though they had just spent more than two centuries in idolatry-steeped Egypt, a fact that explains why the men caved so quickly at the hint of trouble, the women's faith remained unshakable, and they considered the idea of making an idol totally unthinkable. The Rebbe continues to explain that all of Judaism is based on this strong faith, and though faith at times can become "fuzzy," it is the women who, in every situation, remain steadfast in this faith and pass it on to their children—the future generations (see Likutei Sichot vol. 8 pg. 315ff). Perhaps this explains the special connection to Rosh Chodesh. Rosh Chodesh celebrates the monthly renewal of the moon, after it wanes to the point of disappearance. Thus Rosh Chodesh celebrates the concept of perpetuity—notwithstanding life's peaks and plunges. And it is the woman who – through her steadfast faith – ensures our nation's survival; it is she who ensures that no matter how much we wane, we will always be renewed. Elul ObservancesAs the last month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionally a time of introspection and stocktaking -- a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all." Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below to view today's Psalms. Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzahs checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use. Good Year GreetingsFrom the beginning of Elul and throughout the High Holiday season, we include the blessing "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year" (Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim) in letters and greetings to one another. September Virgo; Woman of Revelation Virgin Mary, Mother of God Virgo, the Mutable Earth sign of the zodiac, is the only astrological sign whose symbol depicts a woman. Virgo's symbol is the Virgin or Maiden. The Virgo glyph symbol is similar to Scorpio's, but with an inward twist. Maiden and VirginEach astrology sign has a symbol that's associated with the mythology surrounding the constellation that bears the same name. To the ancients, the stars of the constellation Virgo appeared to be a winged woman carrying a sheaf of wheat. Virgo is the second-largest constellation and to almost all ancient cultures, the Virgo Maiden was the "Queen of the Sky." She was recognized as a Great Goddess who was linked to virginity, purity, fertility, agriculture, and the harvest The Story of the Maiden in the Sky The ancient Greeks associated constellation Virgo with Demeter, their goddess of agriculture, and Persephone, Demeter's virgin daughter. The short story is that while picking flowers, Persephone was kidnapped and raped by Hades, the god of the underworld. To get her back, a deal was struck that allowed Persephone to spend part of the year with her mother. However, each year when Persephone returned to the underworld, the earth would become barren, and nothing would grow again until she returned to her mother in the Spring. The Fall EquinoxThe Demeter and Persephone myth was the Ancient Greek's way of explaining the changing of the seasons. The Sun entering Virgo in the northern hemisphere marks the fall equinox. This was the moment when Persephone returned to the underworld. She would not return to her mother until the Sun entered Aries at the spring equinox. Virgo and the HarvestMutable signs are about change. As the mutable earth sign Virgo is the transitional sign that ushers summer into autumn. Virgo's root power is the ability to edit, fix, and adjust to life's changing situations. You could say that Virgo is about planning and preparing for a bountiful harvest. You Reap What You SowThere's also a "you reap what you sow" aspect to Virgo. Virgos are discerning, discriminating, and highly selective. In preparing for a successful harvest, they worry, plan ahead, consider the consequences, pay attention to the details, work hard, and strive for perfection in all they do. Virgo's motto could be, "Anything worth doing, is worth doing right." The VirginHow did the ancients define virgin? To the ancient Greeks, the word virgin meant "one unto herself." Latin translations add "unwedded girl, maiden." The Two Birthstones For September -Sapphire And Moonstone Known for its deep blue color, the sapphire has been one of the most sought-after gems for centuries. It’s part of what some consider to be the big three of jewelry stones, along with the ruby and the emerald. It has symbolized royalty and truth, while many have cherished its mysterious healing powers. Learn more about the history, meaning, and symbolism of the sapphire—the September birthstone! Sapphire’s ColorThe gemstone is best known for its striking pure-blue color, but it can range from greenish-blue to violet-blue. Part of the same corundum family as the ruby, stones in violet, green, yellow, orange, pink, and purple are known as “fancy sapphires.” Some exhibit color changes, depending on the lighting. Corundum is naturally colorless, but trace amounts of elements like iron, titanium, and chromium lead to a range of colors. Outside of red corundum (rubies), all other corundum gems are considered sapphires. Iron and titanium are responsible for the blue color, and the more iron present, the darker the blue color of a sapphire. Yellow and orange sapphires get their color from the presence of iron and chromium, while pink sapphires are a result of high amounts of chromium. A purple color is a combination of all three trace elements. Sapphire Meanings, Symbolism, and Folklore
Sapphire is the September birthstone, but the moonstone is another stone that can be found in September. Sapphires are stones that can be of many different colors, but most of them are blue. People have thought of them as signs of truth, sincerity, and loyalty. Moonstones are rocks that come in many different colors, but most of the time they are white or cream and shine with a milky light. People have thought that they stand for love, peace, and cleanliness. Do you know what are the two birthstones for September? Sapphire is the September birthstone, but the moonstone is another stone that can be found in September. Sapphires are stones that can be of many different colors, but most of them are blue. People have thought of them as signs of truth, sincerity, and loyalty. Moonstones are rocks that come in many different colors, but most of the time they are white or cream and shine with a milky light. People have thought that they stand for love, peace, and cleanliness. Sapphire Metaphysical Properties: People say that sapphire is the "wisdom stone" because it helps people focus, makes them more creative, and makes them think more clearly and deeply. It is thought to help clear the mind of unwanted thoughts, depression, and mental tension, as well as to help focus and calm the mind. The Sorcery Of The Stone: SapphireIf you are afraid that witchcraft will hurt you, wear a star sapphire to protect yourself. Since ancient times, people have known that sapphire is a powerful defense against evil and harm. Moonstone Birthstone Moonstone is one of the most well-known and storied gems. It's a type of the common mineral feldspar that comes in shades of ethereal white, blue, and even pale peach and yellow, just like the moon changes colors as it goes through its phases. The rarest and most magical type is a clear stone with a blue shimmer that seems to come from both inside and outside the stone at the same time, like the moon. This weird thing is called adularescence. Moonstone Metaphysical Properties: Moonstone is a symbol of inner clarity, change that happens in cycles, and a link to the feminine. It's a sign of light and hope, and it reminds us to welcome new starts. It has a lot to do with things that women are known for, like fertility, balance, softness, and intuition. The Sorcery Of The Stone: MoonstoneMany cultures have thought that moonstones are home to spirits. The ancient Romans thought that every moonstone had a picture of Diana the Hunter, the goddess of the moon. India has a similar belief. Indians have always thought that every moonstone has a lucky spirit inside it. What Is The Real Birthstone For September? The gem sapphire is the September birthstone. It is a precious stone that has been loved for thousands of years. Even though the word "sapphire" is usually used to describe the blue variety of the mineral corundum (the red variety is called "ruby") Is The September Birthstone Rare? The sapphire is the birthstone for September and is one of the rarest gemstones in nature. Who Should Wear Moonstone? The Cancer zodiac sign is the best match for the moonstone. It is thought to be the best medicine for women. It tries to make Cancerians better people, especially those who are loyal and close to their families. The Journey End 40 Year Wilderness Journey Friday, 15 Elul, 5783 September 1, 2023 September 1, 1983 As the LAST Month of the Jewish year, Elul is traditionally a time of introspection and stocktaking a time to review one's deeds and spiritual progress over the past year and prepare for the upcoming "Days of Awe" of Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur As the month of Divine Mercy and Forgiveness (see "Today in Jewish History" for Elul 1) it is a most opportune time for teshuvah ("return" to G-d), prayer, charity, and increased Ahavat Yisrael (love for a fellow Jew) in the quest for self-improvement and coming closer to G-d. Chassidic master Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi likens the month of Elul to a time when "the king is in the field" and, in contrast to when he is in the royal palace, "everyone who so desires is permitted to meet him, and he receives them all with a cheerful countenance and shows a smiling face to them all." Specific Elul customs include the daily sounding of the shofar (ram's horn) as a call to repentance. The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below to view today's Psalms. Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Elul is also the time to have one's tefillin and mezuzot checked by an accredited scribe to ensure that they are in good condition and fit for use. Links: More on Elul Chumash Parshat Ki Tavo, 6th Portion (Devarim (Deuteronomy) 28:7-28:69) Psalms Chapters 77-78 Tanya Iggeret HaKodesh, beginning of Epistle 14 Rambam 3 Chapters, 1 Chapter, Sefer Hamitzvot Hayom Yom Today's Hayom Yom In 2023, it will begin on the evening of Friday, September 15, and end at sundown on Sunday, September 17 This two-day Jewish celebration of the New Year literally translates to head of the year in Hebrew. It is observed on the first and second days of the Jewish month of Tishrei, the first month in the civil calendar. In 2023, it will begin on the evening of Friday, September 15, and end at sundown on Sunday, September 17. Yom Teruah is the biblical name for this holy day. Teruah means a massive shout by a crowd or the blowing of a horn. Its origin can be traced back to the Old Testament book of Numbers, in the Bible. The children of Israel were commanded by the Lord to make this observance: And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you. Numbers 29:1 Yom Kippur Sun, Sep 24, 2023 – Mon, Sep 25, 2023 Res Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, Marks the end of the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe) and falls on the 10th day of Tishrei (Tishri), The seventh month in the Jewish calendar Prayer time is part of the Yom Kippur traditions Yom Kippur is often considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur’s origins lie in a ritual purification of the Temple in Jerusalem from any accidental ritual impurities that had occurred in the past year. The Kohen Gadol (high priest) entered the Holy of Holies at the center of the temple on Yom Kippur. It was important that he was spiritually and physically as pure as possible. Many rituals were carried out to ensure that the Kohen Gadol was pure and that he did not carry any ritual impurities into The Holy of Holies Yom Kippur became a more somber holiday after the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. The Torah calls the day Yom HaKippurim and Leviticus 23:27 decrees a strict prohibition of work and affliction of the soul upon the 10th day of the seventh month, known as Tishrei. Many Jewish men wear a kittel or sargenes and a tallit on Yom Kippur. A kittel is a simple white robe that is also used as a shroud and is worn by bridegrooms in some Jewish communities. A tallit (tallis, taleysm) is a prayer shawl with tzitzis strings tied through each of the four corners. One or more of the strings were traditionally dyed using a blue dye known as tekhelet, which may come from the murex trunculus, a type of sea snail. It was the color of the sea, the sky, the divine sapphire-hewn Throne of Glory, according to the Tannaite sage Rabbi Meir. It was a color used in the Jewish temples, the hue of its high priests’ robes, and the shade of the blue tassel that the Bible commands be affixed to one’s garments. But starting in the seventh century CE, the source of the natural dye to produce the biblical tekhelet [blue] — as well as its royal purple counterpart, argaman -- faded from history for hundreds of years. Yom Kippur 2023 / יוֹם כִּפּוּר 5784 Day of Atonement ✡️ Yom Kippur for Hebrew Year 5784 begins at sundown on Sunday, 24 September 2023 ends at nightfall on Monday, 25 September 2023. On Yom Kippur, focusing on the spiritual above the physical is one of the core tenets of the day. Not wearing leather, especially leather shoes, is a long-held Yom Kippur tradition. Leather once symbolized luxury and high status, so not wearing it signifies that all people are humbled and equal. The Jewish mystical tradition also suggests that wearing leather shows our dominance -- not God’s — over the world. Many synagogue-goers choose to wear canvas sneakers, flip-flops or Crocs. Wearing white clothing is another widespread Yom Kippur custom. White symbolizes purity and hearkens back to the biblical High Priest who dressed in white linen on Yom Kippur. In Judaism, white is also a color which represents death, and by wearing white we are reminded of our mortality, motivating us to repent further. In some communities, adults (usually men, but not exclusively!) wear a kittel on Yom Kippur. A Kittel is a long white robe, and those who own them reserve them exclusively for special holidays. Synagogue attendees will also commonly wear a tallit, prayer shawl. In fact, Yom Kippur evening services are the only time a tallit is customarily worn at night. Most synagogue attendees dress in formal clothing on Yom Kippur (except for their shoes!) Saphire Flag, Israel In ancient times, one thread of each tzitzit was made up of wool dyed a beautiful blue color: “and they shall place upon the tzitzit of each corner a thread of turquoise (techelet) wool. It shall constitute tzitzit for you, that you may see it and remember all the commandments of God and perform them…” (Numbers 15:37-39). Blue is a special color in Judaism: God is described metaphorically as sitting on a sapphire throne; blue also reminds us of the color of the sky and recalls the infinite nature of creation. While there is no requirement that Jewish prayer shawls contain blue stripes, many do as a way of recalling the blue color our ancestors wore. Jewish stars are a more recent Jewish symbol. The Magen David, or Shield of David, is a concept mentioned in the Talmud – Jewish liturgy refers to God as Magen David, the protector of King David and the Jewish people, and the Talmud describes the Shield of David protecting him and his descendants (Talmud Pesachim 117b). In the Middle Ages, the Shield of David began to be represented with a six pointed star in Jewish communities, starting in Prague and spreading to other areas. The six points of the Jewish star have beautiful mystical interpretations: the six pointed star consists of two arrows, one pointing up to the Heavens and one down to the Earth, representing the interaction between the Divine and the physical realm. The six points of the star can also be said to represent the six days of the week, with Shabbat represented by the inner space. The twelve lines that make up the circumference of the Jewish star can also represent the twelve Tribes of Israel. The star shape is also said to recall the reinforced shields that King David and his soldiers used when they conquered the city of Jerusalem and made it the Jewish capital city. https://forward.com/news/132096/dyeing-to-be-holy/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/linking-ancient-snails-to-an-israeli-flag-in-space-a-common-thread/ https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/what-to-wear-on-yom-kippur/ https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2263483/jewish/Adar-Adar-II.htm#:~:text=Adar%20is%20the%2012th%20month,triumph%20over%20the%20wicked%20Haman. https://graceintorah.net/2015/07/15/month-of-av-tisha-bav-and-tu-bav/ https://www.simplybible.com/f32s-hebrews-throne-scepter-anointing.htm https://www.samstorms.org/all-articles/post/daniels-70-weeks "Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?" (Jonah 4:11). Familiarity breeds contempt, and in the case of the book of Jonah, familiarity with the storyline has completely desensitized us to its incredibly offensive message. This is a book written to persuade the people of Israel to love their most hated enemy because.... ready for the punchline... God does! Imagine yourself as a Messianic Jew in the city of Ashkelon listening to a sermon about God's love for the Gaza while your city is being shelled by thousands of missiles. Imagine yourself as a Ukrainian believer in Kiev listening to a sermon about God's love for Russia while the cities in your country are being reduced to rubble. Imagine being a conservative American in the Bible Belt sitting through a sermon about God's love for progressive liberals from the North East during elections. The book of Jonah is genuinely and truly offensive, no matter how you cut the cake, and only the Holy Spirit could have overcome any and all opposition from including this completely counter-cultural book in the Hebrew canon. Take a moment and think about your worst enemy, and then tell yourself: "God truly loves this person... In fact, he even cares for his/her pets!" The gospel is really good news for sinners. But at a time when all of us have many good reasons to hate, the gospel is really difficult news because its calls us to swallow a huge pill of unconditional love and forgiveness. "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt 5:44). "Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded" (John 13:3-5). The other day I had a really crazy running accident that got me thinking about the love of Jesus. Near my home are many pathways through the fields where my running partners and I often run. What I thought was normal soil ended up being a very deep pile of cow manure. I suddenly found myself knee deep in a mess, struggling with all my might to pull myself out. The stench was so awful I had to throw away my shoes and socks and run barefoot all the way back to the park behind my house to wash off my legs and feet. In spite of my protests and the gut-wrenching odor, my dear friend and running partner of 8 years did not hesitate to help me wash off all the cow poop from my legs and feet. And that got me thinking about Jesus. Our "spiritually" stinky feet, mired by the flesh, the world, and the devil, do not cause our Savior to retreat from us in disgust. Rather, they draw him closer, because he genuinely desires to cleanse us from all our sin and unrighteousness. How grateful I am for a friend who was willing to demonstrate in such a powerful way how much Jesus really loves me! "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9). For Who has Known the Mind of the Lord, so as to Instruct Him?” But we have the Mind of Christ Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life Psalm 119:50 Renewing the Mind with Truth Correctly Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but Be Transformed by the Renewing of Your Mind, That you may Prove what is That good and acceptable and Perfect Will of God Ephesians 4:22-24 NKJV Thar you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and Be Renewed in the Spirit of your Mind, and that you put on the new man which was Created According to God, in True righteousness and holiness Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious for your life… But Seek First God’s Kingdom and His Righteousness; and ALL these things WILL Be given to you As WELL Matthew 6:25,33 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that Exalt itself Against the Knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ Philippians 4:19, “ My God will supply Every Need of yours According to his Riches in Glory in Christ Jesus Colossians 3:10 NKJVAnd have put on the New Man Who is Renewed in Knowledge According to the Image of Him Who Created Him Titus 3:4-5 NKJV But when the Kindness and the Love of God Our Savior Toward Man Appeared, Not By works of righteousness which we have done, But According to His Mercy He Saved Us, Through The Washing of Regeneration and Renewing of the Holy Spirit. Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is True whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is Pure whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything Worthy of Praise, Think about these things. Joshua 1:8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, But you shall meditate on it day and night, so that You may be Careful to do according to all that is Written in it For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success Psalm 1:1-2 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but His Delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. Ephesians 4:22-24 Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is Corrupt through deceitful desires, and to Be Renewed in the Spirit of your Minds, and to put on the New Self, Created after the Likeness of God in True Righteousness and Holiness Proverbs 3:4-5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. l2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. Titus 3:5 He Saved us, Not because of Works Done by us in Righteousness, but According to HIS own Mercy, by the Washing of Regeneration and Renewal of the Holy Spirit Paul’s Message by the Spirit’s Power When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I PROCLAIMED to you the TESTIMONY about GOD For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you Except Jesus Christ and Him Crucified I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. Spiritual Wisdom (Ephesians 1:15–23) Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom-- but not the wisdom of This age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, We Speak of the Mysterious and Hidden Wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has Revealed It to us by the Spirit The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. and this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. the spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment. For who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. "'Stand upright on your feet.' And he leaped up and began to walk" (Acts 14:10). The words of Eckhard Schnabel (a NT scholar) about Paul's command to the lame man really got me thinking about preaching this morning: "Verse 10: "He commands him to do what he cannot do by himself, never having stood on his feet without people supporting him" (ZECNT, p. 606). Sermons with, and sermons without the gospel are, in one way, exactly the same: they both command people to do things they cannot do by themselves (and I am personally "guilty" of preaching both kinds). But there is also one Really big difference Only Gospel-centered Sermons can actually cause spiritually lame people to leap to their feet "For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we Pteach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.... For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of The Spirit and of power, so that your Faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the Power of God" (1 Cor 1:22-24; 2:2-5) There are some things we must realize about the church, and if we don’t, we may become disillusioned or even fall away In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul describes the Nature and work of True Apostleship In verse 6 he says, “Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, 'Do not go beyond what is written.’ Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.” It’s not entirely clear where the saying do not go beyond what is written came from, but it is obvious that the Corinthian believers were familiar with it. Some people speculate that it refers to the Old Testament quotations Paul had referenced previously (such as 1 Corinthians 1:19 and 2:16) or even the theological statements he had written up to this point in the letter. Most likely, though, this saying refers to the general principle that everything a believer does should be Based on Biblical Truth In saying, “Do not go beyond what is written,” Paul wants his readers to understand that the Words and Teachings of Scripture are ultimately sufficient and True Truth is not dependent on the personality or charisma of those Who Teach In the first century AD, the Corinthian church was full of many problems, including factional divisions and favoritism. Some in the church only wanted to follow or listen to certain leaders (such as Paul or Apollos) Rather than Christ alone (1 Corinthians 1:12). As a result of their sectarianism, it appears that some of the believers conducted themselves in a way that “went beyond “ what was appropriate as followers of Jesus We might say that they were Listening to the Words of their preferred Leader More than they were to the Words of Scripture ITSELF Paul challenged this mindset among the Corinthians by stating his desire among them was to know nothing Except Jesus Christ and Him crucified 1 Corinthians 2:2). So, to “not go beyond what is written” means to Focus on Jesus and His Word Above All Else It means to Trust that the Bible has All the answers and Truths we Need to live a Holy and Pleasing Life Before God-- we don’t need anything beyond what God has provided for us in His Word (see 2 Peter 1:3). In fact, in the very last chapter of the Bible, we are warned not to add or take away from the inspired words of God (Revelation 22:18–19). We MUST consider all Scripture as Sacred and not seek to tamper with it for it is the very Word of God For today, this means that believers should strive to know and trust the Bible as God’s Word But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power So avoid people like these. For some of these insinuate themselves into households and captivate weak women who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions. Such women are always seeking instruction, yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. And just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these people-- who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith-- also oppose the truth But they will not go much further, for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres. 2 Timothy 3:1-9 (NET) What are characteristics of the church in the last days? In 2 Timothy, one of the major themes is suffering for Christ. Paul is in prison for his faith awaiting a death sentence, and he calls Timothy to suffer with him as a good soldier of Christ (2 Tim 2:3) Christians are being persecuted throughout the Roman Empire. However, in this passage, Paul is not talking about suffering from without but suffering from within Some of our greatest sufferings, as Christians, often come from people within God’s church Paul says, “But understand this,” or it can be translated, “But realize this” (NASB). There are some things we must realize about the church, and if we don’t, we may become disillusioned or even fall away Sadly, many have fallen away because they didn’t recognize the state or condition of the times. In describing the state of the church in the last days, Paul says it will be “difficult” times. This word can be translated “terrible, “perilous,” or “violent.” It was used one other time in the New Testament to describe the two demoniacs in the region of the Gadarenes; they were so violent that nobody could pass by them (Matt 8:28) Things That Differ: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, and Pastor-TeachersCain, Lloyd When Paul was writing to the church at Ephesus and teaching them concerning the Church as the Body of Christ, he wrote of those who were gifts to the Church and said that the risen and exalted Christ had given “the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers” (Eph 4:11 ESV). Notice that the English translators of the ESV, like those of the KJV, JND, and NASB have not placed the definite article “the” before the word “teachers.” We will come back to that later, but notice the different men that were given as gifts to the Church. It is important for us to see that here it is persons who were gifts to the Church whereas in the Corinthian epistle, and elsewhere, gifts were given to persons who then, using their gifts, served in the local church (1Cor 12:7-8; Rom 12:4-8; 1Peter 4:10). Consider how these gifts to the Church differ from each other. The Apostles The word “apostle” is from two Greek words meaning “to send away from.” Interestingly, the word “disciple” refers to a learner and follower. Every apostle was a disciple, but not every disciple was an APOSTLE These special messengers, The apostles, were emissaries, ambassadors, sent out by The Lord Jesus to Carry His message to the world. They were official representatives. The word is normally used in a narrow sense of “the twelve,” but there are times when it has a wider sense as in Acts 14:4, 14. “But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out. ” (Acts 14:14 ESV). The requirements for apostleship in the narrow sense of the word are delineated in Acts 1:21-22. Paul met the requirements as per Acts 22:14. The apostles were in the foundation of the Church. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone” (Eph 2:19-20 ESV). Needless to say, we are not now in the foundation stage of the Church. It is interesting to notice in the Acts the shift in responsibility from apostles to apostles and elders, as in Acts 15:4. Prophets also were in the foundation of the structure that is called a “habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph 2:19-22). They spoke under the direct leading of the Holy Spirit. Their Bible would have been only the parts of the Old Testament Scriptures to which they and the apostles had access. Essentially, a prophet was a preacher without a Bible. A teacher is a preacher with a Bible. You can see then that the gift of the prophet was replaced by the gift of the teacher. The EvangelistsThe evangelists were those called of God to carry the message of the gospel to the unconverted world. The word is from the same root word as gospel, meaning “good news” or “glad tidings.” One of the words used for “preach” in the New Testament is the verb form of the same word. The evangelist, then, is one who announces the good news of God’s grace as seen in the Lord Jesus. Paul explained the essence of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. Evangelists were not in the foundation of the Church but they are the foundation of God’s work today. You will see this word used in Acts 5:42; 8:4, 12, 25, 35, and in many other places. It is interesting that Philip “opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35 ESV). There are other words for preach. There is a word that means to be a public herald of the message (Strong’s 2783-4). It seems to place the emphasis on the public proclamation of the gospel whereas the former word (2097-99), puts the emphasis on the character of the message – the good news. Both words are used in Romans 10:15: “And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’ (Rom 10:15 ESV). Paul told Timothy to “do the work of an evangelist” (2Tim 4:5). The Pastors and Teachers Those who are brought into the kingdom of God through the work of the evangelists will need to be shepherded and instructed. To this end, the Lord has given to the Church “The shepherds and teachers” There are reasons to believe from the grammar that we should read this instead as “shepherds, even teachers.” Note the presence of the definite article before apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds, but its absence before teachers. The shepherds are those who Teach There can be no True shepherding without the Word. Study the two words the Lord Jesus used in His charge to Peter concerning the sheep in John 21:15-17: “ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? ’ He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ He said to him, ‘ Feed My lambs.’ He said to him a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ He said to Him, ‘ Yes, Lord; you know that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘ Tend My sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ and he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep’” (John 21:15-17 ESV). Perhaps you can “give food” (1006) without “shepherding,” (4165), but you can never shepherd without feeding. These gifts to the Church in Ephesians are men of the Book. Note that their work is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph 4:12 ESV). Are there apostles today? No! Are there prophets today? No! (Eph 2:20). Are there evangelists today? Assuredly! Are there pastor-teachers today? Assuredly! Do you see the differences? APOSTLES AND ELDERS Elders were local men appointed to oversee affairs in the local church. Their sphere of office was limited by the locality. An elder in Ephesus was not an elder in Smyrna, and an elder in Smyrna was not an elder in Ephesus. In Scripture there are no local apostles, nor are there any extra-local elders; all elders are local, and all apostles are extra-local. The Word of God nowhere speaks of apostles managing the affairs of a local church, and it nowhere speaks of elders managing the affairs of several local churches. The apostles were the ministers of all the churches, but they had control of none. The elders were confined to one church, and they controlled affairs in that one. The duty of apostles was to found churches. Once a church was established, all responsibility was handed over to the local elders, and from that day the apostles exercised no control whatever in its affairs. All management was in the hands of the elders, and if they thought it right, they could even refuse an apostle entry into their church. Should such a thing occur, the apostle would have no authority to insist on being received, since all local authority had already passed from his hands into the hands of the elders. How did Paul deal with the adulterous believer in Corinth? He did not just notify the church that he had excommunicated the man. The utmost he could do was to instruct its members regarding the seriousness of the situation and seek to admonish them to remove the wicked person from their midst (1 Cor. 5:13). If the church was right spiritually they would pay attention to Paul, but if they disregarded his exhortations, while they would be wrong spiritually, they would not be wrong legally. In the event of their despising his counsel, Paul could only bring his spiritual authority to bear on the situation. In the name of the Lord Jesus he could “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh” (v. 5). He had no official authority to discipline him, but he had spiritual authority to deal with the case He had his spiritual “rod.” The affairs of the local church are entirely independent of the apostles Once elders have been appointed, all control passes into their hands, and while thereafter an apostle may still instruct and persuade, he can never interfere. But this did not hinder Paul from speaking authoritatively to the Corinthians. Even a casual reader will notice how authoritative his statements were in both Epistles. It was quite within his province to pass judgment where doctrinal and moral questions were concerned, and when Paul did so he was most emphatic; but the actual enforcing of such judgments was outside his province and entirely a matter for the local church. An apostle can deal with the disorders of a church whenever his advice and counsel are sought, as was the case with Paul and the church in Corinth. It was because of their inquiries that he could say to them, “And the rest I will set in order when I come” (1 Cor. 11:34). But the point to note here is that the rest of the matters which Paul intended to set in order on his arrival in Corinth were to be attended to in the same way as those he had dealt with in his Epistle, and they were dealt with doctrinally In like manner as he had instructed them concerning certain affairs there, so he would instruct them concerning the remaining matters on his arrival; but the Corinthians themselves, not Paul, were the ones who would have to deal with the situation. Since Peter and John were apostles, how did it come about that they were elders of the church in Jerusalem? (1 Pet. 5:1; 2 John 1; 3 John 1). They were elders as well as apostles because they were not only responsible for the work in different places, but also for the church in their own place. When they went out, they ministered in the capacity of apostles, bearing the responsibility for the work in other parts. When they returned home, they performed the duties of elders, bearing the responsibility of the local church. (Only such apostles as are not traveling much could be elders of the church in their own locality.) When Peter and John were away from their own church, they were apostles; when they returned, they were elders. It was not on the ground of their being apostles that they were elders in Jerusalem; they were elders there solely on the ground of their being local men of greater spiritual maturity than their brethren. There is no precedent in Scripture for a visiting apostle to settle down as elder in any church he visits; but, provided circumstances permit him to be at home frequently , he could be an elder in his own locality, on the ground of his being a local brother. If the local character of the churches of God is to be preserved, then the extra-local character of the apostles must also be preserved. Paul was sent out from Antioch, and he founded a church in Ephesus. We know he did not hold the office of elder in any church, but it would have been possible for him to be an elder in Antioch, not in Ephesus. He spent three years in Ephesus, but he worked there in the capacity of an apostle, not an elder; that is, he assumed no responsibility and exercised no authority in local affairs, but simply devoted himself to his apostolic ministry. "But the people of the City were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the Apostles And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them, they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region" (Acts 14:4-6). In our desire to be accepted by our people, we are often tempted to portray a 'Yeshua" who is entirely acceptable within the religious boundaries of Judaism. "Teacher," "Rabbi," and even "Messiah" are for the most part acceptable titles for the Jewish Jesus Consider for a moment, however, that Paul and Barnabas' Words about Yeshua resulted in the attempt to publicly stone them (see also Acts 7:58-59) Given the fact that stoning in the Torah was reserved for the Most blasphemous violations of the law, we can safely assume that Paul and Barnabas did not hesitate for a moment to Preach the Biblical Yeshua, the Yeshua who is God in the Flesh and LORD of the Universe Friends, when we dumb down our Christology for the sake of presenting our faith as an acceptable branch of Judaism, we cease preaching the Only Yeshua who is Able to Save his people from their sins! And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.' But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?" (Mark 2:5-7). |
The FiveWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.
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