Chanukah; A Shadow of Things to Come?

It is said that history repeats itself and that we should pay attention to it so that we can learn from it.

Chanukah is a time of celebration because of a miracle that was done by YHWH when He caused the oil that lit the Temple (that should of lasted only 1 day) to last 8 days!  It is a time to remember the strength of YWHW's hand and rejoice for His goodness, a time to come together with the people you love and eat and play games and give thanks.  But, Chanukah is also a lesson that we should take to heart, because history does repeat itself.

In one teaching done by Mark Biltz (I'm sure there are others out there that teach something like this), he describes the story of the Macabees and their lives with Antiochus as ruler.  Biltz talks about what is actually happening during this time, the push for everyone to assimilate.  Antiocus' goal was to cause everyone to worship the way he worshiped.  He felt that all of the "customs" of the Jewish people must be done away with and so, he forbade them to practice their religion.  They were no longer able to circumcise their sons, they could not keep Sabbath, their virgins were defiled prior to their weddings and so on.  Anciochus did all he could do to take away from them what YHWH had instructed them to do.

Biltz goes on to explain that the push for assimilation was an effort to blot out the separateness of YHWH's people and cause them to "blend in" or mix with the rest causing them to become like the world, exactly what YHWH commanded them NOT to do IF they were His followers.

In his teachings, Biltz explains that Chanukah is a shadow or foretelling of future events.  How that in the future this will play out again.  A ruler will rise up and he will desire to cause the world to be "one" and he too will attempt to remove "customs" of YHWH's people, possibly forbidding them to dishonor Sabbath, etc. 

A Few Chanukah Thoughts

Chanukah, following after Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur during which we took time to inspect our lives and hearts, is a time of rededicating our temple (ourselves) to YHWH.  We have taken time to "cleanse or temples" and now can work toward dedicating our ways once again. Chanukah is the season of "the Miracle of Oil."  One lesson in the miracle of oil is this:  Oil cannot, does not, will never be able to mix with water.  We are to be like that oil!  We are called to be separate and NOT MIX with the world..."come out and be separate."  The story of Chanukah is also a reminder that sometimes there is a cost to being separate and standing apart from the pressures of a pagan world, and it can be difficult at times.  I think most of us have all experienced this in some way.  YHWH knows what we face and He is not blind to it and with Him we are not defeated.  

Chanukat HaBayit

I really liked this as I read about it, the concept of "rededicating" our temples/homes. It is good as it causes us to consider things that may not be honorable in our lives that we can remove. Our ancestors lit a menorah and in its glow, they reclaimed their home. The ceremony was called Chanukat Habayit—literally, "rededicating the house."    In our own time, at Chanukah, we think about our own homes as places where we encounter the sacred, and we deepen the way we experience home as a holy place. I like this idea.

My prayer

Abba YHWH, may it be so, that we think about our home as a place that we encounter you, a place you dwell with us and help us to dedicate it to honoring you in all our home is used for.  In feeding and serving, in resting and peace, in worship and petitioning, in meditation and prayer.  Open our eyes YHWH so that we may understand how to create a place where you will dwell among us.  Teach us your ways and help us to have a daily attitude of Chanukat Habayit. 

 Please hear our prayer, YHWH.

Sukkot 2011

Sukkot, a picture of the wedding of Yahoshuah to His bride, Israel.  It is the Feast the whole book is about.  Restoring His bride and returning all things to their place, once for all.

Lev 23:33  And YHWH spake unto Moses, saying, 

Lev 23:34  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto YHWH. 

It is called the Season of Our Joy.  It is agricultural in nature occurring during the fall harvest and pointing to the harvest of souls which is to take place at the end of days.  During Sukkot we are called to be in temporary dwellings or tents/ sukkahs during this time which also reminds us that we are all in temporary dwellings because this earthly body is not our permanent home!  We are strangers and sojourners here...just passin' through.  Our earthly homes are temporary and life is fleeting.

We are called to willingly and obediently leave the comforts of our houses and live in temporary dwellings.  We expose ourselves to the elements and place ourselves in a situation where we realize that true security and shelter are found only as we remain in YHWH's will and under His care.

Sukkot is also known as a time for hospitality, a time for inviting guests into your sukkah to dine and have fellowship.  It is especially good to invite those in need.

It is the feast where we are called to rejoice:

Lev 23:40  And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before YHWH your God seven days. 

All things that have taken place will bring us to the time of promised restoration that is soon to come in it's completion during the Feast of Sukkot!!

Pesach (Passover)

THE PROPHECY OF YAHUSHUAH
Isa 53:5-7  But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our crookednesses. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 

 We all, like sheep, went astray, each one of us has turned to his own way. And יהוה (YHWH) has laid on Him the crookedness of us all. 
  He was oppressed and He was afflicted, but He did not open His mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, but He did not open His mouth. 

Isa 53:12  Therefore I give Him a portion among the great, and He divides the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His being unto death, and He was counted with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. 

YHWH'S INSTRUCTIONS TO ISRAEL CONCERNING THE PASSOVER LAMB

Exo 12:46  “It is eaten in one house, you are not to take any of the flesh outside the house, nor are you to break any bone of it. 

THE FULFILLMENT OF HIS FIRST COMING

Yahushuah on the cross:

Joh 19:30-37  So when יהושע (Yahushuah) took the sour wine He said, “It has been accomplished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. 

  Therefore, since it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the stake on the Sabbath – for that Sabbath was a high one (the Passover) – the Yehuḏim asked Pilate to have their legs broken, and that they be taken away. 

  Therefore the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was impaled with Him, 

  but when they came to יהושע (Yahushauh) and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 

  But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and instantly blood and water came out. 

  And he who has seen has witnessed, and his witness is true. And he knows that he is speaking the truth, in order that you might believe. 

 For this took place in order for the Scripture to be filled: “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” 

  And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” 

1Pe 1:18-21  knowing that you were redeemed from your futile way of life inherited from your fathers, not with what is corruptible, silver or gold, 

  but with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, 

  foreknown, indeed, before the foundation of the world, but manifested in these last times for your sakes, 

  who through Him believe in Elohim who raised Him from the dead and gave Him esteem, so that your belief and expectation are in Elohim. 

Joh 1:29  ... Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world

Yahushuah HaMassiach:

Rev 1:18  I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 

Thank you Abba for the gift of your Salvation, Yahushuah, which has made atonement for our sins, if we will believe and turn away from sin  and turn back  to you.  You say that if we will hear and do, you too will keep your promise to hear us and to heal us.  Thank you for making provision for the Salvation of your people from the beginning of the world...

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand (His elect), Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 

Heb 4:3  ... And yet His works have come into being from the foundation of the world. 

Rev 13:8  ... the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 

You are faithful to all generations to keep your promises and offer the gift of your Yahushuah to all who will come.   

Hallelu Yah!

Yahushuah literally means, "Salvation of YHWH".  

Sin = things which are contrary to YHWH's WORD or transgression of Torah: 

1Jn 3:4  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the Torah: for sin is the transgression of the Torah.  

To repent is to return or turn back to  YHWH.

Shabbat Shalom

Sabbath...

a weekly "Sign" or reminder of Abba's promise that He will  restore us to the place that was created for us to dwell, from the beginning...

that is Abba's kingdom...in the garden 

where there are no tears, no death, and no sorrow, FOREVER!

Exo 31:13  “And you, speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, יהוה, am setting you apart. 

Eze 20:12  “And I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, to know that I am יהוה who sets them apart.

Exo 31:16  ‘And the children of Yisra’ĕl shall guard the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant.

May the blessings of life rest on the WHOLE house of Israel, forever.

Passover: Yeshua, Our Passover Lamb A video

Num 9:2  “Now, let the children of Yisra’ĕl perform the Passover at its appointed time. 

Deu 16:1  “Guard the month of Aḇiḇ, and perform the Passover to יהוה your Elohim, for in the month of Aḇiḇ יהוה your Elohim brought you out of Mitsrayim by night. 

Heb 11:28  By belief, he performed the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the first-born should touch them. 

Passover in the Month of Abib: A Video

Passover is just around the corner!  I am praying it will be a blessed time in our home.  I have been looking for some cool things to share on the subject.  Each year we learn a little more about this Feast that Abba commands us to remember.
I found this video on the blog of "Our Whole Hearted Family".  It describes how the time of Passover is determined by the visible sighting of the new moon and the ripened (abib) barley found in Israel.  Passover was not/ is not determined by a set date on the calendar...my guess is Abba wants us to be "WATCHMEN" right?  And He wants us to be looking to see His plan as He brings it to pass before us at all times!!!  That is so cool to me because it shows that He is still working His plan for creation before our eyes today just like in the time of the first Passover!!  

  I hope this is useful in your search to understand Abba's accounting of time and His Feast Days.

Observing Holy Days or Holi-days?

Lambs or bunnies...I choose "The LAMB."

There is a difference between Holy days and holidays.  There is also a difference between the times and days, new moons and Sabbaths...on one hand you have those determined by Abba, on the other, you have those determined by man.

This is briefly written to point out that there days determined by Yah which are to be observed and there are days determined by man which Yah does not delight in...do we know the difference...do we care to?  

Which one should you keep?

(This post does not detail the instructions given by Abba to keep the Feasts and Sabbath.  The instructions for these days and their observances are found in Leviticus ch. 23)

Several places in the bible talk about observing times, days, new moons, and Sabbaths.  Is all observing of times, new moons and Sabbaths against Abba's instructions or is it just those "times" that man has set up...

 Let’s look at scripture to see if we can make Abba’s instructions clear:

2 Kings 21:6  (21st Century King James Version) 
6And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards. He wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

II Chron. 33:3-6 3For he built again the high places (high places are places men built to worship "other" gods) which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for the Baalim, and made Asherah (Ashteroth/Dianna queen of heaven/easter) poles, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 
4Also he built altars in the house of the LORD (he built his alters for false idol worship in the house of God), whereof the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem shall My name be for ever." 
5And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 
6And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with mediums and with wizards. He wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger.

God said:

Deuteronomy 18:10 (21st Century King James Version) 
10There shall not be found among you any one who maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or who useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 
11or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 
12For all who do these things are an abomination unto the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. 
13Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. 

Paul reprimands the Galatians for returning back to their old ways from which they came from…Paganism:

Galatians 4:9-10

9But now after ye have known God, or rather are known by God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements unto which ye desire again to be in bondage? 
10Ye observe days and months and times and years.

The observing of “times” that is being spoken of as evil was in reference to the "times" and practices which are NOT prescribed by God. These “times” that made God angry are the ones that come from the practice of idol worship done by those who didn't know Yah and were following after false gods and seeking signs and making sacrifice to these false gods.

Jeraboam is the prime example of this because he determined to change Abba’s Feast Days and the location where the Feast was to be held according to Torah.  Jeraboam made the change according to his desires, and did not honor the instructions given by Yah.

1 Kings 12:25-33

25Then Jeroboam built Shechem in Mount Ephraim and dwelt therein, and went out from thence and built Penuel. 
26And Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David. 
27If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah."

28Whereupon the king took counsel and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!" 
29And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. 
30And this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. 
31And he made a house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi. 
32And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made; and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 
33So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart, and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel; and he offered upon the altar and burned incense.

**This Feast that Jeraboam changed the date and location to, is the Feast of Sukkot.  According to Torah, it is to be kept in the seventh month on the fourteenth day in Israel.

See Hosea 2 (especially verse 11)  This chapter of scripture gives reference to the bride who is practicing adultery by following after other gods and observing false feast days. God says He will take them away from her.

Amos 5:21-22

21"I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell the scent in your solemn assemblies. 
22Though ye offer Me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

Again, you see Abba is expressing His displeasure of their idolatry practices, not displeasure in the times and feasts that are set by Him.

The days determined by God that we are to observe are set in place because of their prophetic significance to teach us what to look for and set in a time period that we are to expect to see it come to pass. They deal with the prophecy related to the Messiah and His comings. Satan desires to hide those days and replace them so that we won't see or understand who the Messiah is or what He will be coming to do or when He is to come. I believe the reason why satan puts it in men's heart to change these days is so that we will not understand what we are looking for and be blind because he hopes that we will miss Messiah. 

Remember:  The "Old Testament" is the foundation!!!  The "New Testament" or more likely, the "Re-newed Testament" MUST stand on what has already been written!!!

  

 Ultimately it is this:  We have 2 choices...one, we choose what Abba has prescribed OR what man has determined in his own heart to do and then declare it is Abba's.  The choice is ours.

Just thinkin'

So, have you ever wondered why...

So, have you ever wondered why we no longer celebrate the HOLIdays? Well, we traded them in for the HOLYdays. Let me explain what I mean. A few years ago, we began to study the origins of the HOLIdays (speaking of Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas). We learned in our studies that these days actually came out of worship to gods other than the one who created the heavens and the earth. In Leviticus Ch. 18: 1-4 God tells the ones who follow Him not to take on the customs of the people who are worshiping other gods and to keep HIS statutes (that means HOLYdays) which God told them that if the would do, they would live. Many other places in the bible Yahuah warns them against doing the things that other people were doing who were worshiping other gods. He gave them instructions so that they would be different, set apart, not like "the world" but special to Him.

As we studied the scriptures more, we discovered that Yahuah gave instructions to observe some specific days, He calls these days "Feasts Days" (these days are more commonly known as Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles) and He said to celebrate these days FOREVER because they are prophetic to us who follow Him. They teach us about His first coming and His second coming.

Passover is for us to remember: Exile from Egypt and the protection the blood of the lamb gave us from the death angel...fulfilled by Yahushua's death on the cross. Both occuring on the same Feast day.

Penecost is for us to remember: the giving of the law to Moses at Mt. Sinai and the Holy spirit falling in the upper room in the book of Acts. Both occuring on the same Feast day.

Tabernacles is for us to remember: This is a two part feast. It is the only Feast Day which has not beed fulfilled in it's entirety...in the "old" testament and the "new". It has been fulfilled in the "old" as it is believed Yahushua was born on this day, thus marking His first coming. Scripture foretells of His second coming which would then need to be fulfulled on this Feast day.

The reason why He tells His followers to keep these Feast Days is so we will look for His coming and to be ready. This is why we are not to put them away as many have done. He wants us to watch for Him and be ready. He gave specific instructions to keep His HOLYdays and not trade them in for man made customs because the HOLYdays are prophetic and point to the LORDs soon return. Satan is a liar and he has tried to duplicate God's HOLY and set apart days with days that LOOk like or have a similarity to the LORD's Feast Days but have no connection in teaching us to look for our Messiah who is yet to come...again!

Definitions: Holiday...custom of men

Holy day... a day set apart by Yahuah appointed by him to be perpetually observed and remembered forever thoughout our generations.

Just goin' by the book