DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to God’s people that are in search of truth and hunger for knowledge. I realize that old wineskins will become angry as they read the content, and those that refuse to change will mock and scoff. All of this is of no consequence, however, if this book can be a part of building God’s house on a more sure and sturdy foundation. According to Revelation 21:1 there is to be a new heaven and a new earth. For this prophecy to be fulfilled, the old must pass away with its cracks of false doctrine, and its flimsy mortar of man’s tradition that is undermining and eroding the majority of the church today. Just as the walls of Jericho came down with the blasts of the trumpets, so the walls of that part of Christianity that ministers in hypocrisy and lies will topple as truth is sounded in these end times. I pray you find the information you are looking for within the pages of this book,
In His service,
Apostle Jacquelyn Fedor
Side Note: At the risk of not being grammatically correct, for your benefit and aid in understanding, I have taken the liberty of using Bold Type and Underlining to help you see the meat and hidden truth revealed through this book and the Scripture contained within it.
© Copyright 1998 Jacquelyn Fedor (Trumpets of Truth International).
Revised 2008
Chapters
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 ISRAEL
Who Really is Israel?
Where is the Rest of Israel?
Who is Ephraim?
Bad News - Good News
Here is Truth
Characteristics of Each Tribe
Conclusion
CHAPTER 2 GOD’S TRUE FEASTS
Introduction
Sabbath
The Feast of Passover
The Feasts of Unleavened Bread and First Fruits
The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost
The Feast of Trumpets
The Feast of Atonement
The Feast of Tabernacles
Hanukkah
Shimini Atzeret and Simchat Torah
CHAPTER 3 Satan's Feasts
CHAPTER 4 Rapture Theory
CHAPTER 5 Trinity
CHAPTER 6 Laodicea Rule
CHAPTER 7 ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED
CHAPTER 8 HOUSE PRIEST
INTRODUCTION
Matthew 24:24
24 For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
This book has been written to expose some of the most common perversions being taught in the religious community today, as well as to bring out the truth that has been shrouded behind them.
The false doctrines and traditions implemented by Satan are the core of his entire religious structure and its leadership. In fact, false doctrines were introduced to mankind from the beginning. It all began with Adam and Eve in the garden, standing before the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil. Many of the false doctrines that are in the church today are the very roots and foundation of that tree: the tree of intellect and reason. In other words, they are the intellectual interpretations of the truth that make up the traditions and commandments of men that much of the traditional church walks in today.
Matt 15:9
9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
Col 2:8
8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
The church is to be an example to the world, and we fail in this mission miserably. We are not in one accord because we do not speak the same thing. Our language or message is as confused by Satan today as was the situation at Babel many years ago by God.
Gen 11:5-9
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.
6 And the LORD said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.
7 “Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.
9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
God knew confusing their language would distort their vision, and so it is in today’s church. It is not the different dialects or languages we speak so much; we have learned to cope with this, but the different doctrines are a barrier many cannot get past. Distracting the vision worked for God and the same idea or principle works for Satan, who counterfeits all God does. Many doctrines are so variously defined by the different denominations that no single interpretation of them is possible. People are confused. The Truth has been dissected and perverted by the enemy to the place where the saying Divide and Conquer holds true for the body of Christ. While each denomination continues to preach and teach these misinterpretations of the truth, they lead thousands astray and the body of Christ is nowhere close to being one body or to being in one accord or they can build the house of God. Scripture tells us:
Matt 12:25
25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and every city or house divided against itself will not stand:
We also see in 2 Peter that there is no private interpretation of the scriptures. We all should be exposed to truth and given the opportunity to understand, then accept or reject it.
2 Pet 1:20
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
God promises that in these end times as God’s people hunger and thirst for truth they will be filled. As they grow and mature in this truth they will begin to speak the same message. Maybe they will speak in dialects that are native to where they live, but it will be the pure language of the Holy Spirit as He directs and teaches them. They will speak the language of truth and be in one accord in their actions. For those that will not hear, Zephaniah 3:8 applies.
Zeph 3:8
8 “Therefore wait for Me,” says the LORD, “Until the day I rise up for plunder my determination is to gather the nations to My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all my fierce anger; all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.
But for those that are the hungry and thirsty ones, for those that want to please God, for the ones that crave knowing truth, verse nine of Zephaniah 3 applies:
Zeph 3:9
9 “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, that they all may call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord.
CHAPTER ONE - ISRAEL
The lie: We are just spiritual Israel.
Truth: If we repent of our sins, separate from the cursed Adamic race, die to our sins and bloodlines through being submerged into the watery grave at baptism, we shall not only die to our old self in Christ’s death, but we are raised up in His resurrection to a newness of life, a new creature, new Israel. Jesus gave His life to redeem us, but we must give ours in baptism to partake of the redemption! When we are obedient to John 3:3, then we are reborn or born again into something new - completely new! No more curse on us. The Adamic race was cursed, not the new creature we have become. This is why Jesus said at John 3:3 to be a part of His Kingdom we must be born again.
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
God changes not. He is the same today, yesterday and forever. He tells us in Jeremiah 31:1 that He is the God of all the families of Israel, and that they are His people. So if we are born again, we must be new Israel, the people of His kingdom. With all these facts in mind let us consider further:
WHO REALLY IS ISRAEL?
Is Israel just a little country in the Middle East, occupied by the Jewish people, or is there more for us to understand? The answer is, there is much more to understand!
To begin with, many countries, towns, communities, etc. have been named after the people that live there, and it is no different with Israel, the country. The people that Israel was named after were the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. Jacob’s 12 sons resulted in the 12 tribes of Israel, but they were not named after a country. They were named after their father, Jacob, whose name had been changed by God to Israel.
Gen 35:10
10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.
The land that was given to Jacob, or Israel, his 12 sons and their families eventually became known as Israel, the country. So we see the word Israel can mean a people, or their country, depending on the situation being discussed.
In Exodus we see God renewing His covenant with His people, the covenant made with their forefathers.
Exod 19:5-6
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests (government), and a holy nation (people). These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.
But Israel was not obedient or holy. As they passed through the different lands, they took on the pagan religions of the people dwelling there. They eventually fought with one another, and the house of Jacob or the house of Israel was divided. Of course a house divided will fall, and fall they did. Judah and Benjamin, now known as southern Israel, stayed together and the other 10 tribes became lost in the nations. God scattered them by allowing their capture through Sargon II of Assyria. These 10 tribes, now referred to as northern Israel, mixed with the people of the land and eventually were seen no more. The tribe of Benjamin was absorbed into Judah over the years so that all that remained for mankind to see of Jacob’s sons and their families was Judah’s people. Today, the tribe of Judah is what is referred to as the Jewish people.
WHERE IS THE REST OF ISRAEL?
The 10 northern tribes of Abraham’s seed were scattered and lost in the nations of the world. Lost that is to man, but not lost to God. He knows every hair on our heads, so it is no big deal for the Father to keep track of the bloodline of Jacob, even through crossed many times into the people of the world.
Matt 10:30
30 “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Jesus said He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel.
Matt 15:24
24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
First He ministered to the Jews, but then after their refusal to hear the new doctrine He said He had another flock that would hear. Since He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel, who would this be? Of course, the 10 lost tribes. The reason the tribe of Judah was kept where man could identify it was so we could correctly trace the birth of Jesus and prove His right to the throne. Also, the early prophets had foretold of His coming and so we needed to see the tribe, the place of birth, etc.
Matt 2:6
6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
Notice, Jesus will shepherd or rule My people Israel. In the regeneration, as the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, look at who He, and the faithful who follow Him, are judging.
Matt 19:28
28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
God is the God of the families of Israel it says at Jeremiah 31:1.
Jer 31:1
1 “At the same time,” says the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”
In verse 9 it says: “I am a Father to Israel and Ephraim is my firstborn.”
WHO IS EPHRAIM?
The tribe of Ephraim was the largest of the lost tribes. Over the years all 9 other tribes were absorbed into Ephraim and Ephraim became known as Israel. So the house of Israel was divided into Israel and Judah. In the latter days, however, God will gather His people out of the nations. Jeremiah prophesied of this time:
Jer 31:10-11
10 “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.
11 For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he.
Ezekiel not only foresaw the gathering, but he was shown in a vision that they would be in one accord or united into one house and one kingdom again.
Ezek 37:19
19 “say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”
Ezek 37:22
22 “and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.
This King is Jesus as He rules Israel through His government. Jesus was a descendant of Jacob or Israel and born to the tribe of Judah in the natural. But, born again He would be the first born of Ephraim. Remember the scripture at Jeremiah 31:9?
Jer 31:9
9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.
Jesus has preeminence in all things.
Col 1:18
18 And He (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
But where do we fit in? Peter explains:
1 Pet 2:9
9 But you are a chosen generation (newborn Israel) a royal priesthood (His government), a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
We are the new Israel born through God: the people He prophesied about in Psalms 102: 18.
Ps 102:18
18 This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
Gal 3:27-29
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
This promise is the promise first made to Abraham then carried on to Isaac and now us. Again let us look at Romans 9:7-8.
Rom 9:7-8
7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.”
8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
BAD NEWS - GOOD NEWS
Bad News: Old Israel turned her back on Jesus.
John 10:22-31
22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.
23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.
24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them. “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.
26 “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. (We just read that He was talking to Jews.)
27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me (New Israel)
28 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
30 “I and My Father are one.”
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
He wept over Jerusalem just before He went to the cross. He loved her very much.
Luke 19:41-42
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,
42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
They would no longer understand truth because they did not see Him as the Messiah. He is truth. Therefore they would have to become new creatures or be born again. Remember, unless a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom - John 3:3. Old Adamic Israel would be defeated by her enemies once again, and this time it would be her end forever!
Luke 19:43-45
43 “For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side,
44 “and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
How very sad! Jesus said:
Matt 23:37-39
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
38 “See! Your house is left to you desolate;
39 “for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”
They must recognize the Messiah and those He walks through. Rom 9:6 tells us not all Israel is Israel, and he explains in verse 7, nor are they children of God just because they are Abraham’s seed in the flesh.
Rom 9:6
6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,
But - the good news is found in Hebrews 8:8.
Heb 8:8-10
8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
9 “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
This is what God does for us as new Israel when we are resurrected from death at baptism to new life. The law or truth is put back in our hearts and minds once again. Like Adam and Eve before their fall, the law will be in us, not over us.
The Good News: He loves the world (all creation) and His people have not been lost from His sight.
Rom 8:29-30
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called whom He called, these He also justified and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
How does He do this?
John 3:3
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
We cannot be a part of the cursed Adamic race no matter what our bloodlines are, and be a part of God’s Kingdom. Remember who the seed of Abraham really is.
Gal 3:27-29
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
HERE IS TRUTH
We are not as the traditional church teaches, Spiritual Israel. We are born again, New Israel. We are not in the image of the first man, Adam, that begat the people of old Israel any longer. We are in the image of the last Adam.
1 Cor 15:45-49
45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
We are the body of Christ! Israel means: a powerful prevailing Prince, Soldier of God, one who rules with the Almighty. This is the race of new creatures, born of God through baptism.
Rom 6:5
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
When united with others of like kind, they will be the vessels God will live through to regain dominion over this planet.
1 Cor 15:22-25
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.
23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.
25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.
He will deliver the Kingdom back to the Father through His body. Through His government He will act as head of the church to put an end to all rule, authority and power of Satan in the apostate church and the systems of man. Christ will rise up against the body of Satan through His people and defeat their kingdoms through those chosen to be His government.
1 Cor 3:16
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Cor 6:19
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
Col 1:27
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
As human vessels we will either house Jesus Christ, or he who is Antichrist: the lawless one, Satan. We are either a vessel of honor or a vessel of dishonor. As newborn Israel we can make the same mistakes old Israel made and be forsaken of God as she was, or we can become the manifested children of the Most High: children of truth.
CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH TRIBE
As we study the twelve tribes of Israel and their prophecies, we begin to clearly see the characteristics of Christ as well as the characteristics of Antichrist or Satan operating in all twelve of the Tribes. The traditional church is looking for Antichrist in the world, but the Antichrist God sees, and will destroy, is the Antichrist spirit or the spirit of Satan in the church today!
How does this spirit get in, many ask? You see it is the same old problem Adam had in the garden as they ate of the tree of good and evil. The Antichrist spirit is allowed access in the church through man’s intellect and tradition, resulting in false doctrine or a false message that is at odds with God’s spiritual laws. According to Mark 7:13 when our traditions stem from intellect rather than truth, the Word of God has no effect in your life and gives place for the lawless one, Satan, to come in.
Mark 7:13
13 “making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
This means: all that God promises good to mankind cannot happen because of the confused message of God’s people. Many do not care to change their old ways and their traditions and so continue teaching lies. Those who are not operating in discernment or those who reject truth when they are presented with it will continue to believe the enemy’s false doctrine and be condemned. If you look up the word condemned in the Strong’s Concordance you will see it means damned!
II Thess 2:10-12
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
New Israel or born again Israel will be much like the people of old. The characteristics of the 12 sons of Jacob are a type and shadow of what kind of people make up the church today. They will like Jacob’s sons have both the qualities of Jesus and Antichrist. So to succeed we must ask ourselves: Why did Israel fail? Why were they not obedient? Why did they not listen to the voice of the Father? Could it be because Adam’s blood flowed through their veins? Could it be that the lawless one can still appeal to the Adamic nature? I think so. As we begin to look at the 12 Tribes and their prophecies, we must understand that the ancient prophecies will still be fulfilled as God promised in Genesis 49 and Deuteronomy 33. However, the promises concerning the end times will be fulfilled through their born again descendants. God is not interested, nor does He see the old Adamic bloodline any more. He sees only new Israel, who comes out of the water of Baptism with the life of Jesus Christ in their veins: Children of Truth.
However, as stated above, the lawless one is alive and well to mislead each new born again creature of God just as he did Adam and Eve. With this in mind, let us look at the negative side as well as the positive side of the different tribes so we will not be deceived this time. We will begin our study by looking at the life of Reuben, the firstborn of old Israel.
Reuben
Jacob’s prophecy:
Reuben you are my first born, my might and the beginning of my strength, excellency of dignity and the excelling of power. Unstable as water you shall not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, then you defiled it.
Moses prophecy:
Let REUBEN live and not die, nor let his men be few.
Characteristics of Jesus:
First fruit - firstborn of Israel. (strength - dignity - power)
Antichrist Qualities:
Unstable, incest, fornication, and hatred.
Testament of Reuben:
Reuben counseled his children not to walk in fornication. He was smitten with a sore plague in his loins for seven months and repented for seven years over his fornication. He had seen Bilhah bathing in a covered place and lusted after her with his eyes. When she was drunk one night, lying uncovered in her bed, Reuben went in to her. Reuben, now smitten with this plague of sores, warns his daughters and daughters-in-law not to adorn their heads and use wiles to attract men, because this is how the Watchers were lured and became lustful after the daughters of men.
Gen 6:1-2
1 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them
2 that the sons of God (angels) saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
The whole world was destroyed over this act.
Gen 6:7
7 So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
For a deeper study, read from the Book of Enoch. This is how God looks at fornication, as He is the same yesterday, today and forever.
However, to the good side: Instead of desiring to kill his brother Joseph (like the rest of his brothers), Reuben saved his life by putting him in a pit. But the point is, as the firstborn, Reuben should have been a leader to his brothers and should have received the birthright, the double portion of the inheritance. But his act of incest cost him dearly. He never lost his legal standing as the firstborn, but he forfeited his right to the birthright.
This is a perfect picture of the corrupt Church today.
Simeon
Jacob’s prophecy:
Instruments of cruelty are in their habitation. In their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath for it is cruel, for I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
Moses prophecy:
Not mentioned
Characteristic of Jesus:
Mighty man of valor - Honest - Repentant - Elegant - Hears with understanding.
Antichrist Qualities:
Jealousy, anger, rage, hate, murder, and cruel to animals.
Testament of Simeon:
He counsels against jealousy and envy. It was his jealousy of Joseph that caused the desire to destroy his brother. When Judah his brother let Joseph live, Simeon was very angry for five months. God then partially withered his hand until he repented, then the power in his hand was restored. He learned that deliverance from envy comes from the fear of the Lord. Simeon mourned more than any of the other brothers from the guilt he carried because of his involvement in throwing Joseph into the pit.
Levi
Jacob’s prophecy:
Instruments of cruelty are in their habitation; let not my soul enter their council, let not my honor be united to their assembly, for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger for it is fierce, and their wrath for it is cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
Moses blessing:
Let your Thummin and your Urim be with your holy one. They shall teach Jacob your judgment and Israel your laws - Bless his substance Lord.
Side Note: URIM AND THUMMIM mean Perfection (Thummim) and Light, break of day, shine (Urim).
Characteristics of Jesus:
They were the High Priests, Teachers, Prophets, ministers. They wanted to separate from iniquity. They were filled with wisdom, understanding to give instruction and guidance. The rest were servants to the High Priest and the rest of God’s Government.
Antichrist Qualities:
Murder, anger, cruelty and rage.
Testament of Levi:
In a vision an angel told him-- “From the Lord’s portion shall be thine, and he shall be thy field and vineyard, fruit, gold, and silver.” In other words when a person with the characteristics of Levi is called into God’s service, nothing he or she does in the world will succeed any longer. They will fail at everything except in God’s service. Levi urges his children to educate themselves and gain knowledge (in God). He saw a vision of seven men in white garments, who put on him the robe of priesthood, the crown of righteousness, the breastplate of understanding, and the garment of truth. Also put on him were the plate of faith and the ephod of prophecy. Levi also prophesied the coming of Christ years before He was born.
LEVITES
[LEE vytes]-- descendants of Levi also served as assistants to the Priests in the worship system of the nation of Israel. As a Levite, Aaron and his sons and their descendants were charged with the responsibility of the Priesthood -- offering burnt offerings and leading the people in worship and confession. But all the other Levites who were not descended directly from Aaron were to serve as priestly assistants, taking care of the Tabernacle and the Temple and performing other menial duties (Num. 8:6).
The choice of the Levites, as a people who would perform special service for God, goes back to the days of the Exodus when the children of Israel were camped at Mount Sinai.
The people grew restless while they waited for Moses to return from talking with the Lord on the mountain. Breaking their covenant with God, they made a golden calf and began to worship it. The Levites were no less guilty than the other tribes. But when Moses returned and called for those who were on the Lord’s side to come forward, the descendants of Levi were the only ones who voluntarily rallied to his side, showing zeal for God’s honor (Ex. 32:26-28).
Even before this event, Aaron and his sons had been set apart for the Priesthood. But many helpers were needed to attend to the needs of the Tabernacle, which was built later at God’s command in the wilderness of Sinai. The Levites were chosen for this honor.
A Levite’s special service to God began with his consecration at about age 25. First he was sprinkled with the water of purification (Num. 8:7). Next, the hair was shaved from his entire body, his clothes were washed, and sacrifice was made of two young bulls, and a grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil (Num. 8:7-8). After this purification, he was brought before the door of the Tabernacle and set apart for service by the laying on of the hands by the Elders (Num. 8:9-15).
1. The sprinkling of water is symbolic of Baptism.
2. The shaved hair is a symbol of the covering of Adam, replaced by the Covering of truth, which is God.
3. The bullock represents strength - the manifested Son of God.
4. The grain or fine flour (the wheat without the tares) represents the positive characteristics of the 12 Tribes - no sin in them - The Showbread, also represented the people of the end time, the generation that through the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony would become the law over all sin and iniquity.
5. The Oil - represents the oil of anointing that is on each of the restored tribes to bring restoration of Jesus Christ back to the planet. The oil also is the result of the anointing that is on God’s feasts as they are experienced by Israel. The perfume is the sweet aroma as our carnal life is burned up in God’s perfecting fire at the Altar of Incense. This special oil also symbolized the future anointing that is now on the end time remnant, children of the 8th day, that have experienced all of the feasts. It is an anointing to preach as Jonah did without signs or wonders, yet causing a major repentance and turning to God. These will be a humble people, content to let their works follow them and not caring about being noticed or important so God can be who He is in them and through them.
The negative side:
In His parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus insisted that true worship consisted of doing good to others. This is demonstrated by the lowly Samaritan traveler who stopped to help a wounded man. What a contrast his compassion is to the hands-off approach of a Priest and a Levite, both of whom "passed by on the other side.” (Luke 10:31-32). This is a type and shadow of a time when the lost tribes would react as the good Samaritan, while legalistic, self-righteous Judah would only be interested in one tribe -- Judah, and the Pharisaical Levites would refuse the MESSIAH. We see God’s remedy for all this foreshadowed and prophesied by Abraham as he tithed to Melchizedek. This was so the carnal priesthood of Levites, who would fail as part of Judaism would die and be replaced with a Priesthood “after the Order of Melchizedek” (Jesus). Jesus in them would tithe to God ten percent of His followers to harvest a people with no beginning and no end: The people of 1 Corinthians 15:51.
1 Cor 15:51
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-
Judah
Jacob’s prophecy:
Judah you are he whom your brothers will praise. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp. From the prey my son you have gone up. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes. Judah would become the governing tribe. Judah actually means praise. So Judah conquers through praise. Jesus was of the tribe of Judah and all born again through Him are His offspring or whelp.
(SCEPTRE) Outline from Nave’s Topical Bible
1. A wand used by kings to signify favor or disfavor to those who desired an audience with them.
2. A symbol of authority.
3. Made of gold.
4. Made of iron.
The scepter or rod symbolized THE ANOINTED AND CHOSEN HOUSE OF ISRAEL in the hands of God’s Government as the Rod of Authority, through which Jesus Christ, the Head, the King, lives and reigns.
Side Note:
It is of interest that it was at Shiloh that the Tabernacle received its first permanent home, after the initial conquest of Canaan by the children of Israel.
Josh 18:1
1 Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them.
This established Shiloh as the main Sanctuary of worship for the Israelites during the period of the Judges (Judges 18:31).
Judg 18:31
31 So they set up for themselves Micah’s carved image which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
It is interesting to note also that it was the only city that had doorposts. Doorposts symbolize the doorposts of our hearts where the blood of the Lamb is put as a mark on the born again. So Judah was to bear the scepter with victorious, lion-like courage, until in the future Shiloh was to descend from Judah: The born again! Now, it also says the judges are to be restored at the last days in Isaiah 1:26.
Isa 1:26
26 I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”
So the new Church was birthed through the side of Christ as His side was pierced on the cross. Much of the original church, Christianity, would die off because of not receiving new truth as it was released. She would be steeped in man’s religions and traditions and therefore fall into apostasy and false doctrine. But, a new generation would be birthed out of her, and the new church triumphant would mature and manifest the heart of the lion, as the lion’s whelp. Another interesting fact, as we look at the words Young Lion, we see that in Strong’s Concordance, number 3715, it means a WALLED CITY. A new Shiloh now called Zion would house the government. It would be a city occupied by the priesthood where they can be separate from the world and set aside for God’s service.
Moses blessing:
Hear Lord the voice of Judah (his name means praise), and bring him to his people. Let his hands be sufficient for him and may you be a help against his enemies. As government praises, the enemies of God are put under their feet through the Lord of Hosts who is enthroned in the praises of Israel.
Mal 4:3
3 You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the LORD of hosts.
Ps 22:3
3 But You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.
Characteristics of Jesus:
Strong, fearless, mighty warrior, kingly lion, symbol of royalty, royal authority. These characteristics are symbolic of the Father’s Ministry through Christ as the head of His body. Jesus said to Philip “You see Me you see the Father.” Jesus was birthed from His mother’s womb as the Lion of Judah. As He was born again through baptism, He came up as Judah, through His Father, but at the cross He died as Judah, and was resurrected as a combination of all the other tribes, that they too might be saved. So as the Father, He is Judah, as the Son, He is Ephraim and as the Holy Spirit He is the Christ in us all. We are birthed, through baptism, as Ephraim - Israel. Jesus is referred to by these names.
Jer 31:9
9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.
He is Ephraim and we are in His image.
Rom 8:29
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
He is the Head through born again Judah and His whelp, Dan (see tribe of Dan) and the body through Ephraim. He becomes whole as we understand this and walk in this truth.
Side Note:
Adam and Eve were both created in God’s image. Adam was the outward image of God, Eve was the unseen or inner part of God. She was given a body made from Adam’s rib, but they were one in God’s eyes. You will not see Dan and Ephraim mentioned in the 12 tribes seen in Revelations the 9th chapter because they are the Bride of Christ. Dan will rule and judge as the head of the Bride or the governing Queen, while Ephraim makes up the body members of the Queen. Dan and Ephraim are the unseen in the old church but they are the new Israel, the revealed generation yet to be created of Psalm 102:18.
Ps 102:18
18 This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
Antichrist Qualities:
Disobedience, jealousy, lust, the love of wine and the love of position, state and rank.
Testament of Judah:
He saved Joseph from death by taking him out of the pit and selling him to the Ishmaelites. This is a type of Judah through Christ setting the Church free through death and resurrection. He was an exceptionally fast runner. He slew a lion and plucked a kid from its mouth. This is a shadow of slaying the old Church and setting the new church free. He was responsible for many strong, physical exploits catching many wild animals with his bare hands (see Book of Jasher). The negative side of Judah, however, transgressed the commandment of the Lord by laying with Bathshua the Canaanite woman and marrying her. This brought him much misfortune in his lifetime. This can be likened to the Church (the Adamic church) committing adultery with the Governments of man, as did the Sadducees in Christ’s time, which resulted in His death.
Side note:
There are those today that are in leadership positions in the church that are connected to the governments of this world also: Modern day Sadducees that would kill the body of Christ once again if we gave them the opportunity.
Zebulun
Jacob’s Prophecy:
Shall dwell by the haven of the sea. He shall become a haven for ships and his borders shall adjoin Sidon. A safe haven, a City of Refuge.
Moses prophecy: (was the same to Zebulun and Issachar.)
Shall call the people to the mountain of the Lord (Mount Zion, God’s Government). He shall offer sacrifices of righteousness, and shall partake of the abundance of the sea and hidden treasures in the sand. Here again, the Remnant is spoken of, and a time when the wealth of the wicked will be restored to the righteous and the remnant will walk in holiness.
Characteristics of Jesus:
Kind to man and beast. A haven, a refuge, he encouraged unity of the brethren. Cooked and shared food with the needy.
Testament of Zebulun:
He invented the first sailboat. Spent summers fishing and shared the catch with the poor. A shepherd during the winter. He was a fisher of men - he will fish for the Remnant. He shared his catch with the poor - this refers to the poor in spirit whom he will minister to. We read in Judges 5:14 that those from Zebulun’s tribe would “handle the pen of the writer.” He did not want harm for his brother, Joseph, and as a result God blessed him by protecting him from being sick and from all danger.
Issachar
Jacob’s blessing:
A strong donkey, lying down between two burdens. He saw that rest was good, and that the land was pleasant. He formed his shoulder to bear a burden and became a band of slaves. The donkey here symbolizes the one ridden by Christ when he entered Jerusalem. The donkey had never been ridden. The Virgin Church today will not be yoked because the anointing of its master (Christ in us) destroys all yokes and bondage. She will not be ridden by Satan’s gods or be a spiritual Moabite (one who cannot separate from Babylon). This donkey will lay down Judaism and Christianity, both burdens, to carry the body of Christ to Victory.
Moses blessing:
Shall call the people to the Mountain, there they shall offer a sacrifice of righteousness, for they shall partake of the abundance of the seas, and treasures hidden in the sand. This prophesies of the Remnant, which will be taken from the sea of humanity.
Characteristics of Christ:
Sympathy, singlemindedly sought to do the will of God, loved his neighbors, shunned evil, went to the poor Servant, hears burdens, honor to the king, loved God with all his heart.
Antichrist Qualities:
His love of comfort could make him settle for the easy way out.
Testament of Issachar:
He was a husbandman (farmer of the land). Gave the first fruit to the Lord. Also gave first fruit to his father, Jacob (double tithe). For this obedience and diligence God multiplied him greatly during his lifetime.
Dan
Jacob’s Prophecy:
Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horses heels so that its rider shall fall backwards. I have waited for your salvation, O Lord.
Remember the judges shall be restored in the end times. In fact the name Dan means the judge. God will judge the nations through those with the characteristics of Dan.
Dan will be a serpent by the way. Psalm 19:1 says the heavens forever declare the glory of God. The way and path to the ancient people meant the circle in the sky. The story of Dan the serpent is seen in the sky as Hydra the serpent that travels in line with the Lion of Judah. Together they will subdue the kingdom of this world: the Lion and his whelp.
Definition of VIPER: Strongs 6137 (Hebrew) - Braided Whip.
This symbolizes Jesus cleaning out the Temple with Dan, the Government of God.
Moses Prophesy:
Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.
Deut 33:22
22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.
So those chosen by God to manifest the characteristics of Dan, the Judge and Ruler, will come up from Baptism as a son of the Lion of Judah, a lion’s whelp (or child) to make up the Head of the Body of Christ.
Characteristics of Jesus:
Rearguard, The Lamb, Judgment, obedience to the Law of God.
Antichrist Qualities:
Anger, jealousy, and spite: FRUIT OF BEHEMOTH (Job Chapter 40).
Testament of Dan:
A spirit of anger, jealousy, and vain-glory prompted him to kill his brother, Joseph. It was Dan that gave his brothers the sword to kill Joseph. He repented and prophesied to his children that on the day Israel would repent and turn from sin that Michael the angel would stand up for God’s people and at that time their enemies would be defeated.
Dan 12:1
1 “At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book.
Gad
Jacob’s prophecy:
A troop shall tramp on him, but he shall triumph at last.
Moses prophecy:
He dwells like a lion and tears the arm and crown of his head. He provided the first part for himself, because a lawgiver’s portion was preserved there. He administered the justice of the Lord and His judgment with Israel.
Characteristics of Jesus:
Shepherd guardian, overcame death. Anointed by God to destroy troops coming against Israel. Valued knowledge, love, peace, forgiveness, repentance, faithfulness to duty, and bravery.
Antichrist Qualities:
Hate, jealousy, and a hypocrite.
Testament of Gad.
He hated Joseph because when Joseph was a young boy he told his father that Gad was killing and eating lambs. He also hated Joseph for his dreams and wished him dead. He suffered liver problems for eleven months. This was the same amount of time he had hatred against his brother, Joseph. In front of his father he spoke well of Joseph, but secretly he hated him. He repented, however, and later taught his children not to hate, but to love.
Asher
Jacob’s prophecy:
The bread from Asher shall be rich, and shall yield royal dainties. As an Intercessor, Asher stands in the Gap for the body of Christ.
Moses prophesy:
Let him be favored by his brothers and let him dip his foot in oil. Your sandals shall be iron and bronze. As your days so shall your strength be. To give a sandal symbolized a total commitment, or vow: The shoes of Judgment.
Characteristics of Jesus:
Prophetic intercessor, (Anna was from the tribe of Asher), strength, judgment, provision, loved the truth.
Testament of Asher:
Teaches his children not to wear two faces. There is either good or evil --never intermingle one with the other. He prophecies of his children that they will be set to naught in the dispensation, until the Most High shall visit the earth, coming Himself as a man, breaking the head of the dragon in the water (This is Leviathan).
Two faces - TRANSPARENCY - means no resistance - no hidden agendas. Asher will recognize the Government of God. He will be a willing Prayer Warrior and Covering to assure the establishment of God’s Government.
Naphtali
Jacob’s prophecy:
A deer let loose: He gives goodly words.
Habakkuk 2:2
2 Then the Lord answered and said, "Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it." (He runs a good race).
This is symbolic of running with the Word, or Truth, spoken by the Prophet.
Moses prophecy:
Satisfied with favor, and full of blessing of the Lord, possesses the West and South.
Characteristics of Jesus:
A messenger, Revelation Knowledge, valued orderly wisdom (An Apostolic gift).
Testament of Naphtali:
He understood spiritual blindness and taught his children to obey the Law rather than be lawless. He warned them of the wiles of the Watchers, as taught by Enoch (See Book of Enoch. Enoch was the 7th son from Adam who was translated and never saw physical death). He knew that in the End Times a righteous Remnant would rise out of the nations, which would be comprised of all 12 Tribes. He saw a vision of a ship (The Church) and on the ship was written THE SHIP OF JACOB. His 12 brothers were all in the vision. When he told his father, Jacob, that Joseph was in the vision, Jacob realized that his son was still alive. He was one of the five brothers chosen by Joseph to represent the family of Jacob in the presence of Pharaoh.
Joseph
Jacob’s blessing:
Fruitful bough, by a well, his branches run over the wall. The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him, but his bow remains his strength. From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel. Blessings shall be on his head and on the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers. The wall mentioned in this blessing refers to the walls of the City of New Jerusalem. The branches - THE REMNANT - will bring fruit to the nations.
Moses prophecy:
Blessed with precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let blessings come on the head of Joseph and on the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers. His glory is like a firstborn bull and his loins are like the loins of a wild ox. Together with them he shall push peoples to the ends of the earth. They are ten thousand of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.
Firstborn -Ephraim.
Bull - Strength.
Glory - Christ in us.
The number 10- Completedness.
Characteristics of Jesus:
Was given the double portion, cornerstone, shepherd, strength, patience, endurance, chastity, purity, humility, mercy, forgiveness, unity of the brethren, revealer, interpreted dreams.
Antichrist Qualities:
He was conceited and prideful about his dreams, prophecies, and being his father’s favorite.
Testament of Joseph:
His coat of many colors was symbolic of the 12 Tribes coming together to form the body of CHRIST as the Robe dipped in blood as seen in Revelation that would one day cover Israel. God preserved Joseph’s life for the purpose of preserving Israel during famine. Joseph was connected to World Systems (Egypt) the Beast and the world’s financial systems - but through these, Israel was fed and preserved. This is a type and shadow of Jesus through born again Josephs feeding His people Spiritual food during a time of famine. Joseph never remembered or brought back to mind his brothers cruelty to him. He was forgiving and loyal to God and family.
Benjamin
Jacob’s prophecy:
A ravenous wolf in the morning he shall devour his prey, and at night he shall divide his spoil.
Moses prophecy:
The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him, who shelters him all day long, and shall dwell between his shoulders. He makes up part of the Mighty Men of Valor- those that guard government. They form the neck on the body of Christ.
Characteristics of Jesus:
Warrior, protector, giver, sharer, mighty man of valor, protects the Government of God. Benjamin will help in figuring out the times and seasons by the stars in these end times. Man’s Intellect is faulty and causes error on calendars and computers - but the stars accurately tell God’s Story!
Testament of Benjamin:
When Jacob lost his beloved Joseph, he became very attached to his youngest son, Benjamin. This was now the only surviving son of Rachel. When his sons went to Egypt in search of food during the famine, Jacob was reluctant to let Benjamin go with them. Not only did Benjamin’s father love him, but it is also apparent that Joseph loved Benjamin greatly. He was his only full-blooded brother. However, his other brothers had great affection for him also.
CONCLUSION
So as we have seen, we are not just spiritual Israel. The people God chooses He calls Israel and when we are properly born again we are the chosen. We as born again humanity still have the same characteristics and will do what we want to do as did old Israel. Our Father is different, though, and His example of how He expects us to live has been set very clearly before us throughout the scriptures. There are rules to His household much the same as there are rules that are set within our own homes, and He expects them to be kept! If we are taught the false doctrine that we are only some kind of spiritual Israel then we are being led and allowed to break Father’s household rules and we are rebellious to His Kingdom without our even knowing it!
Eph 2:19
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
Hebrews 13: 8 tells us the Lord is the same yesterday, today and forever, so let us look at what the Father’s desire for His family was yesterday and we will know it is the same today unless He actually stated a new set of rules concerning a specific situation. His grace has lightened many of His requirements, but there are many things He still requires of us. One of the most neglected requirements is our experiencing the feasts in our lives. Jesus, who set the perfect example, was baptized, or born again and then walked the walk that the many to be born after Him should walk. With this is mind I would like to discuss another false doctrine pertaining to Israel: the belief that the feasts of Israel are not for today.
CHAPTER 2- GOD’S TRUE FEASTS
INTRODUCTION TO GOD’S FEASTS
We, as the body of Christ, must continue to eat at the Lord’s table all our lives. Each course or meal becomes much richer and even more delicious as deeper truths are revealed. Especially tasty are the revelations concerning God’s feasts. We must eat all of the Lamb (or the word), just as Israel was instructed to do so long ago when they left Egypt.
Exodus 12:9-10
9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire-- its head with its legs and its entrails.
10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. (The Lamb was only for Israel as it will provide escape from God’s wrath.)
Here is the real wedding feast with its ten courses. They are served to the body as the seven seals of Revelation are opened through God’s revealers. As the last of the seals are opened, truth concerning the end of the age and the age to come is being revealed as the final dessert. When the Bride completes the last feast, she will be prepared to forever tabernacle with her God. He will have removed the veil so that she can enter the SABBATH and rest from the labors of this realm and begin to PASSOVER from time into Eternity.
No UNLEAVENED BREAD, for she died to the Adamic race in baptism. She walks in repentance, separate from the world, and is now one loaf with Him. She is a born again FIRST FRUIT that is filled with His Spirit and shines as the complete menorah, or PENTECOST. She heralds the truth as a TRUMPET. No spot or wrinkle is found in her. There is nothing left to ATONE for: She has allowed God to put her through the fire. Pure gold she has become.
She is prepared. Her lamp is full of oil, and the Bride has been made ready to TABERNACLE with her God. She is so wonderful that she is invited to stay after Tabernacles.
Leviticus 23:36
36 ‘For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. lt is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.
Now the dessert! She partakes of this final course and becomes the bride of the eighth day, SHIMINI ATZERET, the seventh holy Convocation. She is lavished in miracle oil and becomes a very sweet aroma to the Lord. After experiencing this convocation, the Bride and Groom will destroy Babylon (the Harlot Church) at the final HANUKKAH and the Beast (Satan through evil mankind) will be destroyed at the final PURIM. The King and His Queen will reign in righteousness, conquering all sin, thus destroying the ability of death, hell and the grave to defeat creation. They will rejoice in the law or the Torah, SIMCHAT TORAH, as they have become the law over the wickedness of man’s systems and now the kingdoms of this world become the Kingdom of our God. This is total jubilee and victory.
SO WHAT ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE TODAY?
Leviticus 23:1-2
1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.
Christmas, Easter, Halloween etc. are not His feasts. They are Satan’s! Sadly for the most part, the church has very little understanding of the feasts of God. In fact, there are many people today who have heard little more than, these are holidays celebrated by the Jewish people. Those that have heard of them say: “They are not for today and certainly not for Christians, or, that was the Old Testament. Yet God has commanded these feasts to be celebrated forever.
2 Chronicles 2:4
4 Behold, I am building a temple for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to Him, to burn before Him sweet incense, for the continual showbread, for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the New Moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.
In the New Testament we read,
Hebrews 13:8
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
We are the temple of God and dedicated to Him. We are the twelve loaves of the showbread as well, that symbolize the 12 tribes. We are newborn Israel, and so the ordinance to experience the Feasts forever is pertaining to us.
Galatians 3:27-29
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
In Colossians 2:17, the Apostle Paul writes concerning the feasts that they are a symbol and shadow of things to come.
Colossians 2:17
17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.
The things the feasts were about in the natural foreshadowed what we would become in the supernatural as we experience them in our lives. The feasts empower us and prepare us and anoint us for the age to come. The feasts mature our spirit man and cause our carnal man to submit.
As individuals we experience the feasts and are prepared, anointed and perfected more and more to be His Bride. As a corporate body, as we experience the feasts we come closer and closer to being the full stature of Christ, becoming both His Head (government) and His Body.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FEASTS
There are ten feasts of God, divided into seven holy convocations. Ten is the number of completions and seven is perfection, the number of God. The feasts are, in order:
Sabbath - the first holy convocation,
Passover
Unleavened Bread
First fruits - these three make the second holy convocation.
Pentecost - the third holy convocation
Trumpets - the fourth holy convocation
Atonement - the fifth convocation
Tabernacles - the sixth holy convocation.
Shimini Atzeret and Simchat Torah - the seventh convocation
What does the word convocation mean? It is a holy assembly or a meeting of God’s people with their God. It is an appointment with God at a time set by Him. Not one of us should want to break an appointment with God! Besides, all ten feasts experienced at the seven holy meetings must be experienced by God’s people in order to be prepared to walk into eternity without seeing physical death. There is a special anointing released at each feast and it is the combined oils from all of them that results in the miracle oil that breaks the yoke of time and death. This holy oil was foreshadowed in Israel thousands of years ago in Exodus 30:31 -33.
Exodus 30:31-33
31 “And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.
32 It shall not be poured on man’s flesh (only those chosen for sacred service, they are set aside as holy vessels and not seen by God as natural man); nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.
33 Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.” (Satan has counterfeited and has used it many times in churches he controls.)
Those that are filled with this precious oil will experience I Corinthians 15:51-52.
1 Corinthians 15:51-52
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed- -
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
WHO WILL HEAR THIS TRUTH?
The spiritually dead church will hear the truth at the sound of the trumpet. Some will rise from the grave of the religious church and her false doctrines to everlasting life. Others will rise up unwilling to change, and will walk in shame and contempt.
Daniel 12:2
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.
But they will hear the voice of the trumpet.
Amos 3:6-8
6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?
7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?
Those that hear the trumpets on the wind are a fulfillment of the prophecy in Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven verses nine through eleven.
Ezekiel 37:9-11
9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!
This is the great end time army, the house of Israel. As belonging to that household, we should surely want to attend the meals or feasts offered by the King and enjoy drinking from His fountain of life. We must develop a taste for Lamb in these end times, and thirst for the living waters of truth if we want to experience the Sabbath rest and Passover from death to life.
WHY SHOULD WE STUDY THE FEASTS?
Numbers 9:2
2 Let the children of Israel keep the Passover at its appointed time.
In the natural there is a set time for the church to celebrate the feasts. In the supernatural, the feasts will be experienced in our personal lives when God sets the time for that as well. Notice I used the word experienced.
SABBATH
The first feast was instituted at the close of God’s creative week. All things were actually finished before this week began. But, the beginning of their reality on this planet was accomplished during this week and would continue to be manifested into being in God’s timing. When we first discover God, we enter into this resting period and begin to take our part in manifesting these previous works to this realm. We memorialize God’s rest at the end of His week by our rest at the end of ours. It also shows the powers and principalities that the works we do are His, not our dead works, right down to His rest.
Example:
This is why it is so important to wait on the timing of the Lord to bring someone into the Kingdom or as tradition says, “get them saved”. If God has not set the appointment for Sabbath in their life, they will not be ready for the change of going from their works to His. Everyone comes to the Kingdom concerned mostly about themselves, and He will not have things in place to change them! Remembering now that the physical feasts are all a shadow of things to come, let us look at the second feast, the Feast of Passover.
PASSOVER
The feast of Passover was first instituted at the time of Moses. The Egyptians had enslaved Israel, (much as the world has us enslaved today). For this reason God sent plagues on the people of Egypt. The world today is, and will continue to experience God’s wrath also. The last plague Egypt experienced was that of the death of all the firstborn of man and animal. I surely hope this is not repeated! However, if it should be we can be comforted that God warned Israel, and told them what to do to save their firstborn from the judgment and His wrath. They were told to kill a lamb without blemish and spread its blood on the doorposts of their homes. When the death angel went through the land, he saw the mark of the blood alerting him to “pass over” them. The children of Israel were later commanded to remember this day in Exodus chapter thirteen verse three and to celebrate it forever.
Exodus 13:3
3 And Moses said to the people: “Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten.
However, did you know that this feast was foreshadowed much earlier? In Genesis chapter three verse twenty-one, we read that God made “coats of skins” for Adam and Eve.
Genesis 3:21
21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them
So what does this have to do with Passover? The coats of skin or covering did not just appear out of nowhere. The blood of innocent animals who had never sinned was shed to cover Adam and Eve’s transgression. We see the shadow of the feast of Passover fulfilled further in the life of Jesus Himself, however. He was made the Passover Lamb and His blood was shed to cover us from the coming wrath of God that is soon to be loosed because of the sin and iniquity of the Adamic race we were born into and the religious systems that allow it. The Apostle Peter puts it this way:
1 Pet 1:19
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot
Also, John the Baptist said it this way when Jesus came to be baptized,
John 1:29
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
So we see that Jesus is the Passover Lamb. So what meaning does this have for God’s people today?
Eph 1:7
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
Just as the blood of the animals, whose skins were made into coats for Adam and Eve, was shed to cover them from sin, so Jesus’ blood was shed to atone for our sin. When we die at baptism we are resurrected in Christ. We are covered by the Unleavened Bread (His flesh, the Word).
Gal 3:27
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
So you see, the feast of Passover is experienced as we ask Jesus to save and protect us from the world and its people and choose to begin walking with Him. He never refuses us, and supernaturally His blood is placed on the doorposts of our heart. We are set aside.
This is the only feast that many in the religious church have ever experienced. They do not understand entering into God’s Sabbath first, nor do many even meet with God to memorialize it at the correct time, mainly because of improper evangelism, but yet they claim to have experienced Passover. This is also why the lie “Once Saved-Always Saved” is so accepted. They are not told the feast of Passover is only the second little step in making their walk. There are eight more feasts to go!
Much of this lack of interest and misunderstanding is because the people of God do not understand that they are Israel if they are born again correctly. They think the feasts are only for Judah or the Jews. Wrong! We, as new Israel, must experience all of them, also.
Galatians 3:27-29
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (like the skins discussed earlier on Adam and Eve).
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
So you see, we are new Israel - The old bloodlines only establish who old Israel was. Jesus says we must be born again to see the kingdom and if we are born through God we are heirs to that Kingdom. All that is a part of that Kingdom affects us. Therefore the King’s feasts must be attended and the meals experienced.
Each of the feasts are attended over and over in our lives, and each time we experience them we pass over from one place of maturity to another, until we, as individuals, and as the body of Christ, pass over from mortality to immortality. As the scripture states, these are those that won’t sleep, but will be changed in a twinkling of an eye. These are people who experienced all the feasts so, let us go on to the third and fourth feasts, the feasts of unleavened bread and first fruits and second holy convocation.
If we have only experienced the feasts of Sabbath and Passover, positionally we are like the thief that was crucified with Jesus.
Luke 23:42-43
42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me (He knew He was Lord and wanted to be with Him, so the thief experienced Sabbath) when You come into Your kingdom.”
43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (the thief's passover from death to life)
So the thief experienced the feasts of Sabbath and Passover. Thus, when he died, he was placed in Paradise. If people in the past had only experienced the feast of Passover, not knowing about the other feasts, and the end time revelation had not been revealed concerning the feasts, the same would happen with them. But today if we wish to be that 1 Corinthians 15:51 people, the ones Daniel prophesied about, we must go on to the next feasts, which are:
THE FEASTS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD AND FIRST FRUITS
The feasts of Unleavened Bread and First fruits were also instituted in the book of Leviticus. God commanded the Israelites to eat bread without leaven in it.
Leviticus 23:6
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
Seven is the divine or sacred number of God. So at the divine or sacred day appointed by God and set aside for your salvation from the world, you must eat of the truth that you are a sinner and in need of a savior. You have answered the call of Christ to His rest and have experienced the feasts of Sabbath and Passover, but now you must repent of your personal sins to become unleavened bread.
Acts 2:38
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Notice we can’t just come forward in a crusade or answer an altar call, there is more.
1 Corinthians 5:7
7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, (Adam's sin), that you may be a new lump, (born again and a part of the bread of Life, Jesus) since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
John 6:35
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
As we repent, we experience the feast of Unleavened Bread, but to become a new creature in Christ, we must experience First Fruits. This feast is experienced through proper water baptism. In this way, after we have purged out the old leaven, we are baptized into the death of Christ. You are now dead to your Adamic family and your worldly traditions. Satan’s feasts, his world and systems and your Adamic family, unless saved, are no longer what you look to for family, friends, protection, cover or provision. We are covered by Christ as Adam was covered in the garden in skins. You may wonder: What does water baptism have to do with the feast of First Fruits? For that answer, let us take a look at the tabernacle in the wilderness.
The tabernacle in the wilderness is a symbolic model of the feasts. First we hear of God and want to belong to Him and enter His rest or Sabbath. We then pass through the gates to be saved, experiencing Passover. As the priest killed the animal at the altar of sacrifice for the sins of Israel, Unleavened Bread was experienced. He then dipped his finger in the blood and went to the laver. The laver was a large bronze basin with mirrors in the bottom. The laver was filled with water, and the priest could see his reflection in the mirrors until he dipped his finger with the blood on it in the water. Then the water became cloudy, and he could no longer see his own reflection.
This is symbolic of being properly baptized or submerged in the watery grave and losing our own identity. Having cut the cords of iniquity to the Adamic race, we come up new creatures as unleavened bread with new wine or new blood running through their veins. We no longer carry the tainted bloodline of Adam, but have the Father’s pure life in our blood. We are truly born again and become new creatures and:
FIRST FRUITS
Even Jesus had to be baptized. Why? He was God manifested in the flesh! To answer that, let’s go to the book of Matthew.
Matt 3:13-15
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.
14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. “Then he allowed Him.
Why did Jesus say that? Even though He was God, He had soul ties to His Adamic mother through a cursed birth. Had He not broken those ties and escaped the curses of Adam’s race, He would not have been that perfect sacrifice, necessary to be our Passover Lamb. It was after Jesus had broken the soul ties, God said:
Matt 3:17
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Note carefully the account of the wedding at Cana. (This took place after His baptism.)
John 2:4
4 Jesus said to her (Mary),”Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”
Jesus called His mother woman here because He had already broken the soul ties to her and been baptized! He no longer was connected to His Adamic family.
Matt 12:48-50
48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who My is mother and who are My brothers?”
49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!”
50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
However, we do see later in scripture that Mary became a follower of Jesus. We also find Jesus making provision for her to be taken care of at the time of His crucifixion. Certainly He loved His mother, but He set an example of separation and how to act concerning family members that do not want us to serve. His relatives were those that did God’s will and the people God placed around Him. We can no more choose our spiritual families than we can chose our families at our first birth. However, Jesus did love His natural Mother as she became a follower of His doctrines or truth. We see Him at the last saying to His most trusted disciple:
John 19:26-27
26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”
27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother! “And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home
We also see Mary included in those that were in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, thus proving that she followed Jesus. That is why Jesus made provision for her. However, had Mary refused to walk in truth, or opposed the truth, Jesus would have disregarded her. “For My mother and My brothers are those that do the will of God” (Matthew 12:50).
When we are baptized into Christ, we become one in Jesus. We see this at Galatians chapter three.
Gal 3:27-28
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (like a skin).
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
God sees us corporately as Jesus. If you are not where you should be or not born again, He will not even see you in the day of wrath. Why? Because He only sees the body of Jesus corporately, and the Bride individually as Abraham’s seed or Israel.
So, when we cut the cords and go down in baptism, we put off the carnal man and put on Christ. We have experienced Unleavened Bread, thus we come up the first fruits of God, Israel! We will have just experienced the feast of First fruits. But we cannot quit here. Now is not the time to stop. We know that Once Saved-Always Saved does not hold true, and neither does Once Baptized- You’re Home Free, so to speak. You are first fruits, a new creature, but you MUST mature. So, let us go on to our next feast.
But we have to eat of this truth or eat all of the Lamb as commanded by God to Israel in Egypt. You must partake of His gift of forgiveness and renounce the cursed race you were born into and sever all cords of iniquity and soul ties to its people. As you repented and and chose to purge the sin from your life and walk in holiness through God’s grace and the gift of repentance, you experienced the feast of Unleavened Bread, and are now ready to be born again through baptism and experience the feast of First Fruits.
We see these first fruits, or the born again at 1 Corinthians 15:49.
1 Corinthians 15:49
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust (or Adam), we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man. (Jesus)
Remember Galatians 3:27-29 now.
Galatians 3:27-29
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Through baptism you have just experienced the feast of First fruits. But we cannot quit here, now is not the time to stop! You have only experienced the second holy convocation. There are six more feasts to go, or five more holy convocations. This is not even counting Hanukkah or Purim! Although not a part of the appointed ten and not a holy convocation, they are held in remembrance of the miracles God performs for His people. They are to be celebrated by the remnant in the last days as they are highly significant for these end times. They are confidence builders.
PENTECOST
Now that you are first fruits, and new creatures, you MUST mature and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to experience the feast of Pentecost and the third holy convocation. It is at this time that Jesus empowers you with His supernatural abilities and gifting to better accomplish His works. The feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, was first instituted at the time of Moses as were the other feasts.
Exod 34:22
22 And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the first fruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end.
God heard the cries of His people as they prayed to Him for their release from slavery in Egypt. You see, God loved His people Israel so much (even though they had rebelled against Him) that He would graciously give them an opportunity to make things right and to come once again into His presence. He would gather them or harvest them as wheat from the tares to Himself from the world. His desire was to make them a kingdom of Priests to rule, and a happy holy nation of people to be over all the peoples of the earth.
He had delivered them from the world at Passover. The crossing of the Red Sea represented their prayers and repentance being accepted and their death at baptism, where Pharaoh (symbolic of Satan) was destroyed out of their previous lives. Commemoration of this event was the feast of Unleavened Bread. Now, standing at Mount Sinai as a kind of First Fruit, taken from the world or Egypt, they were in need of direction from God to make it to the promised land, where He would tabernacle or dwell with them.
However, even though they were First Fruits they still thought like the world or Egypt, so God spoke to Moses telling him to consecrate them or set them apart: In other words, make their robes white by washing them or make their covering pure. Let them be made ready for Me to come down to them. God was saying He was preparing Israel to be His Bride. He was actually preparing them for the first Pentecost. We see this story of Israel in Exodus chapter 19:10-11.
Exod 19:10-11
10 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.
11 “And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
God goes on to say that if the people would obey His voice, keep His commandments and be faithful to their vows to Him, that they would be a special treasure to Him and above all other peoples of the earth. Let us read on in Exodus 19:4-8.
Exod 19:4-8
4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
5 ‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people for all the earth is Mine.
6 ‘And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him.
8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.“ So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.
But their vows did not last even forty days before old Israel continued in her familiar ways of being rebellious.
A FORGIVING GOD
PENTECOST
Israel was always such a disappointment to God, but He would try to gather her once again. The next time the church experienced Pentecost was after the death and resurrection of Jesus. Let us read Acts 2: 1-2.
Acts 2:1-2
1 Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place (They were set aside and assembled as at Mt. Sinai).
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting (God’s power was heard as well as felt).
Do you see the comparison in the first Pentecost and the second one? Just as the Lord came down in the sight of the people at Mt. Sinai, in Acts chapter two verses three and four He manifested His presence once again.
Acts 2:3-4
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now let us look back at verse eighteen in Exodus chapter nineteen to see more of the comparison.
Exod 19:18
18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.
The Lord descended in fire on Mount Sinai and He appeared to the people in Acts as cloven tongues of fire. The mountain shook and quaked and so did the upper room.
As we said before, God told Moses to sanctify (or set apart) the people and make them wash their clothes. After this He would meet with them and give them His covenant or ten commandments as we now call them as a kind of marriage contract (the Hebrew word is the Ketubah). They broke the contract with Jehovah and turned to other gods, even after saying “all the Lord has spoken we will do” to God Himself.
Likewise, in Acts they were again set aside in an upper room in one accord, only this time the law or Ketubah would be written on their hearts and inward parts rather than on the tables of stone in fulfillment of the prophecy in Jeremiah chapter thirty-one verse thirty-three.
Jer 31:33
33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Here is the difference the new covenant made. In the Old Testament the Spirit would come upon certain select ones and they did mighty things, but in the New Testament as they matured past the feast of First Fruits to Pentecost the Spirit would fill them or be in them. We see this in Colossians chapter one verse twenty-seven.
Col 1:27
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
It is at Pentecost that we as individuals, and the church of the overcomers, have the Spirit of God enter into us rather than be on us or covering us as at First Fruits or baptism.
Gal 3:27
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (This was before Pentecost).
Col 1:27
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (This was after Pentecost).
Now we can begin to manifest the nature or fruit of Christ because He is in us. He, if allowed, will reshape our thinking, mold our attitudes and direct our steps. We will be like Him.
1 Cor 15:47-49
47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
Gal 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
23 Against such there is no law.
Why is there no law over fruit? It is because we become the law over sin and iniquity. It is written in us so we actually become the law, with dominion over all evil, as was Adam in the beginning. We will defeat of the works of the flesh or the actions of the old man that died at Unleavened Bread in baptism. We will be led by the Spirit of God within us from now on.
It is also at Pentecost that we learn to yield and let the Spirit of the Lord manifest through us to profit the rest of the body. We see this in 1 Corinthians chapter twelve verses seven through ten.
1 Cor 12:7-10
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
Note that the Greek words in the Strong’s Concordance describing the definitions of Pentecost are feminine. Why? This is because, after we are baptized properly and become Israel, we become His bride.
PENTECOST CAN BEE SEEN IN THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS
This feast, like the others, is also seen symbolically in the tabernacle in the wilderness. The next piece of furniture we see in the tabernacle after the already explained altar and laver, was the golden lampstand or Menorah.
Exod 25:31
31 You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece.
We see this lampstand described in Zechariah and again in Revelation. There is much we could talk about concerning the truth hidden in these scriptures concerning the lampstand, but for now let me just say simply that the Menorah or lampstand represents the light and anointing of God through His priesthood to direct His people.
The tabernacle consisted of three parts: the courtyard, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies.
As we walk past the courtyard into the Holy Place and the light begins to shine on us from the Menorah, our oneness with God begins. It is here, however, that He places us on the potter’s wheel to mold and shape us to His liking. The light of the Menorah begins to illuminate the Highway of Holiness set before us that we must walk on. Just like the shaft of the lampstand, the government or Priesthood is hammered into pure gold to become a light for the world and His people. The Menorah shines from the top of God’s Holy Mountain as the light of revelation knowledge or the revealed Word (see diagram of the Mountain of Zion).
So by now you are probably getting the picture that the feast of Pentecost is not the last feast we have to experience, and so, with Pentecost now a part of our lives, let us follow the light of the lampstand to the next feast, which is:
THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS
Restoration of God’s Prophets (early church)
Restoration of Christ as the Prophet (end time church)
Lev 23:24
24 Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
To begin with, let us look at the definition of a Trumpet.
7782 showphar (sho-far’);
or shophar (sho-far’); from 8231 in the original sense of incising; a cornet (as giving a clear sound) or curved horn:
8231 shaphar (shaw-far’);
a primitive root; to glisten, i.e. (figuratively) be (causatively, make) fair:
So Trumpets glisten or shine and they give us a clear sound or message. Let us look a little deeper at the word trumpet and we will see there is another meaning as well.
2689 chatsotserah (khats-o-tser-aw’);
by reduplication from 2690; a trumpet (from its sundered or quavering note): KJV--trumpet (-er).
2690 chatsar (khaw-tsar’);
a primitive root; properly, to surround with a stockade, and thus separate from the open country; but used only in the reduplicated form chatsotser (khast-o-tsare’); or (2 Chronicles 5:12) chatsorer (khats-o-rare’); as dem. from
2689 to trumpet, i.e. blow on that instrument:
What does a trumpet have to do with a stockade, or a wall? Well, let’s look at the definition for wall.
7791 shuwr (shoor);
from 7788 a wall (as going about): KJV-- wall.
7788 shuwr (shoor);
a primitive root; properly, to turn, i.e. travel about (as a harlot or a merchant):
See 7891.
7891 shiyr (sheer);
or (the original form) shuwr (1 Sam. 18:6) (shoor); a primitive root [identical with 7788 through the idea of strolling minstrelsy] ;to sing:KJV -behold [by mistake for 7789], sing (-er, -jag man, -ing woman).
7789 shuwr (shoor);
a primitive root [identical with 7788 through the idea of going round for inspection]; to spy out, i.e. (generally) survey, (for evil) lurk for, (for good) care for: KJV--behold, lay wait, look, observe, perceive, regard, see.
So now we begin to understand that the word wall goes back to a root word meaning to sing and also to perceive, regard or see. But what does this have to do with the word prophet or the feast of Trumpets? For our answer let us look at the definition of a prophet.
5030 nabiy’ (naw-bee’)
from 5012; a prophet or (generally) inspired man:
5012 naba’ (naw-baw’);
a primitive root; to prophesy, i.e. speak (or sing) by inspiration (in prediction or simple discourse):
7203 ro’eh (ro-eh’);
active participle of 7200 a seer (as often rendered); but also (abstractly) a vision:
7200 ra’ah (raw-aw’);
a primitive root; to see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative):
An example of these definitions is found in 2 Samuel 24:11
2 Sam 24:11
11 Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying,
This scripture was printed to show that the prophet was also known as a seer. Note the root word for seer means to see, meaning to perceive, which is the same meaning as the root word for wall. So when we put all the definitions together, we see that as we experience the feast of Trumpets, Jesus through His prophets will speak or sing into our lives. When the church as a corporate body entered the feast of Trumpets in late 1978 to the early 1980’s, the prophets became a big part of the prayer covering. The prophetic community also became a source of direction as well as being a wall of protection. We became aware that God not only speaks or sings to us as individuals through His prophets, but He chastens, warns and guides the church at large through them as well.
Before the church had experienced the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came on the prophets and they spoke for God, but since Pentecost has been experienced by the universal church, God Himself speaks or sings through His prophets. In other words, the church experiences the feast of Trumpets as we accept the restoration of Christ the Prophet to the church. He uses human vessels and places those in office that have been ordained by Him for this use. Through these ones He speaks into the lives of His church, telling them what He wants to use them for, or as we say, give them their call. Many times He will give a new direction to a local congregation or even a whole nation. In other words, if you do not know what God wants to use you or your church for, you have not experienced the feast of Trumpets in your life. The church at large had been aimlessly milling around for years trying to get back to mankind’s original state of dominion over the earth and all on it without any real guidance or success. That is - until the restoration of the Prophet!
*** insert hand diagram***
Think of the hand of God that will be extended to defeat the enemy.
Heb 10:31
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Each finger can be likened to one of the fivefold ministry offices. The prophet is the index finger, used to point out the things the Lord wants exposed. For instance he points out the sin and flaws in our lives that could hinder our walk with God or blemish our ministry. He exposes cracks in our foundations before our whole life or church crumbles. Thus we see the applications of the words we studied in the Strong’s Concordance see, behold, and perceive, and discern. As a part of the ministry of today’s prophet, the Old Testament shadow was the High Priest. These were those that stood between God and the people to solve problems, judge disputes, raise up others for ministry and direct the nation of Israel. They sought the mind of the Lord on these matters and revealed God’s wisdom to the people concerning these matters.
Today Jesus is still operating as the High Priest, interceding for the church and the rest of the government through the Office of Prophet.
THE TRUMPET IS SYMBOLIC OF THE VOICE OF GOD
The physical trumpets were used by Israel for gathering and direction. Likewise the prophet, as the instrument God uses to speak or sing through, will aid in gathering and directing Israel once again. The prophets sought the Lord on how or when He wanted things done and that the message was conveyed to the people through the trumpets. One blast of the trumpet meant one thing, two meant something else, etc. In this end time all Israel is being gathered once again and direction is coming to God’s people from the spiritual mountain of God (His Government). All the government must be in place. The seals are being opened by the Lamb through those He chooses to reveal His secrets, and this knowledge is then trumpeted by God’s prophets to the world. Joel prophesied about this time in Joel 2:1.
Joel 2:1
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble for the day of the LORD is coming, for it is at hand:
When trumpets are blown, God arises to bring victory. Let us look on down in Joel 2 verse 11.
Joel 2:11
11 The LORD gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible who can endure it?
LET THE PROPHETS SPEAK
A good example of why we need to allow the prophets to speak today is found in Amos chapter three verse seven.
Amos 3:7
7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
For instance we may ask, when will the end be? This is a question on almost all hearts! How much longer must we endure, we question. In 1 Thessalonians 5:4 we read:
1 Thess 5:4-6
4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
In verse 4, we read that the brethren will not be caught unaware. Verse 5 says that we are sons of the day, the 3rd day, and sons of light that have experienced Pentecost. John prophesied of this time in Revelation 11:11.
Rev 11:11
11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
We are now ones that have heard the revelation blown through the trumpets and are awakened from the streets where we were lying in complacency and spiritual death.
Rev 11:8
8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
We, like the parable of the virgins, will not be caught sleeping, but will be awake and watching for the seventh trumpet to blow to tell us that the victory has taken place and the kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdom of our God. We will hear the voice of the Bride (God’s government) and the voice of the Bridegroom, which is Christ through them, with the prophets having a large part. God does not want His people to perish. He is blowing the trumpet to warn them.
1 Thess 5:9
9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God did not appoint the day of judgment and wrath for His people. This is for informed ones that turn their back on truth. He died that we can live: that is if we can hear the trumpets and if we have experienced the Feast of Trumpets in our life.
An interesting side note: did you know that the feast held by the Pilgrims that came to America in 1620 that we know as Thanksgiving, was actually a celebration of Rosh Hashanah, or the Feast of Trumpets! They knew, understood and celebrated this feast. Today it has become just another holiday celebrated by man. It has lost its meaning and even its date! The true church celebrates Rosh Hashanah. Also, Rosh Hashanah means New Year or The Head of Days on Israel’s civil calendar. It is quite likely that it will be on this day or feast that God will sit down as judge over the earth through His government. Again we see this after the 7th trumpet in Revelation 11. Let us look at verse 18.
Rev 11:18
18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, (the dead church of Sardis) that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.”
God will judge the dead church and reward those that have obeyed the voice of God through His prophets. Those that hear the prophecy will come out of the harlot church (Babylon) and be gathered to a spiritual Goshen.
Rev 18:8
8 “Therefore her plagues will come in one day-- death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
From there they will await direction from the King.
WHAT IS SYMBOLIC OF THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS IN THE TABERNACLE?
As we walk from Pentecost to Feast of Trumpets in the light of the menorah, we will see the table of showbread. There are twelve loaves of bread in rows of two on the table. These twelve loaves represent the twelve tribes of Israel. Where do we fit in those loaves? What will the Lord use us for? Which tribe do we have the characteristics of when we were born again through baptism? On and on the questions go. The first row is symbolic of the Head of Christ (His government) and the second row His body. Which row and tribe do you belong to? The prophet can answer all these questions as you experience the feast of Trumpets. As a corporate body we must allow the prophetic to show us where we have gone wrong in the past and where we are heading in the future. The prophet can help us to see what we as individuals and the universal church are doing that could keep us out of God’s perfect will and His timing. In other words, we need the prophetic to succeed. 11 Chronicles 20 tells us in verse 21: “Believe the Lord your God and you shall be established; believe His prophets and you shall prosper.” As we are shown our shortcomings, we are being prepared to experience the feast of Atonement.
THE FEAST OF ATONEMENT
The Restoration of the Apostle (early church)
The Restoration of God the Apostle (end time church)
Lev 23:26-29
26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
27 Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.
28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.
29 For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people.
The people of Israel were to be afflicted in soul as a people and as a nation on the day of Atonement.
Definition for afflict (Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary)
6031 “anah (aw-naw’);
a primitive root [possibly rather ident. with 6030 through the idea of looking down or browbeating] to depress literally or figuratively, transitive or intransitive (in various applications, as follows): KJV - abase self, afflict (-ion -self,), answer [by mistake for 6030], chasten self, deal hardly with, defile, exercise, force, gentleness, humble (self), hurt, ravish, sing [by mistake for 6030], speak [by mistake for 6030], submit self, weaken, X in any wise.
In other words, we must repent and deal with our carnal selves to go on with God. We must search ourselves for all that is not pleasing to the Lord or humble ourselves to experience the Feast of Atonement. Let us continue our study of the word afflict.
6030 `anah (aw-naw’);
a primitive root; properly, to eye or (generally) to heed, i.e. pay attention by implication, to respond; by extension. To begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify, announce:
We testify in word or song, of our own shortcomings and repent wholeheartedly for our sin and rebellion.
Now let’s look at the definition of atonement.
3725 kippur (kip-poor’);
from 3722; expiation (only in plural): -atonement.
3722 kaphar (kaw-far’);
a primitive root; to cover (specifically with bitumen); figuratively, to expiate or condone, to placate or cancel: KJV-- appease, make (an atonement, cleanse, disannul, forgive, be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make) reconcile (-liation).
We must become a part of the Tree of Life or Truth rather than the Tree of Good and Evil or the tree of lies. All false doctrine and the tradition of man must be removed as God does a further circumcision on our hearts. He wants to come in to us fully to tabernacle in us. Our bodies are His temple and this temple must be clean. We must be Trees of Righteousness whose leaves can heal the nations and bear fruit that can feed them. Atonement is experienced through the ministry of Isaiah 61. ministry of deliverance that can heal broken hearts and set us mindsets and blind spots. It is a service to the body of Christ out our temples (our bodies) where the enemy has come in to minds and harm our physical and spiritual lives.
Isa 61:1-3
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
The Isaiah 61 ministry also frees God’s people from all generational curses, bitter roots, and unforgiveness. If the person is willing and receptive to the Spirit of God He will gently minister to them and set them free through the Isaiah 61 ministers. We all need this ministry! A word to leadership: If we have not experienced the feast of Atonement or the Isaiah 61 ministry, we should not try to minister to others. We teach what we know, but we reproduce what we are.
Even though we are born again new creatures, we still have carnal ways that are a part of our thinking and actions. The deliverance ministry will help us overcome our old man as Satan tries to resurrect him. It will remove word curses brought on by those who have been in authority over us, and even curses we bring on ourselves through wrongdoing or wrongful speech.
To sum it all up, the Office of Prophet points the finger at sin and iniquity at the Feast of Trumpets, and the Office of Apostle does battle in the heavenlies with the powers, principalities and rulers of darkness to set God’s people free of their sin at the Feast of Atonement. So let us look at the word apostle in the Strong’s Concordance.
652 apostolos (ap-os’-tol-os);
from 649 a delegate; specially, an ambassador of the Gospel officially a commissioner of Christ [“apostle”] (with miraculous powers):
649 apostello (ap-os-tel’-lo);
from 575 and 4724; set apart, i.e. (by implication) to send out (properly, on a mission) literally or figuratively:
apo (apo’);
a primary particle; “off,” i.e. away (from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation literal or figurative):
4724 stello (stel’-lo)
probably strengthened from the base of 2476 properly, to set fast (“stall”), i.e. (figuratively) to repress (reflexively, abstain from associating with): KJV-- avoid, withdrawself.
2476 histemi (his’-tay-mee);
a prolonged form of a primary stao (stah’-o) (of the same meaning, and used for it in certain tenses); to stand (transitively or intransitively), used in various applications (literally or figuratively): MV--abide, appoint, bring, continue, covenant, establish, hold up, lay, present, set (up), stanch, stand (by, forth, still, up).
The Office of Apostle is like a military commander in man’s natural army. Christ manifests Himself as Lord Sabaoth (Captain of the hosts) through His apostles to do spiritual warfare. The Office of Apostle also brings structure and order to the Body of Christ helping them to separate from the world and its pleasures. They bring unity to the body of Christ by preaching uncompromising truth and helping the body to walk in this truth.
Not only is Jesus through the Apostle a warrior against the evil in the supernatural, but He is the devil’s worst nightmare when it comes to stamping out the false doctrine and the lies that most of the church is built on. Jesus chooses very uncompromising people as the vessels He operates through as an Apostle.
The Apostolic office operates in the revelation knowledge released through the revealers. This office has the anointing to bring the necessary changes to the church so, as stated before, the people can walk this truth out as well. They have the anointing or the oil that softens old wineskins, so to speak.
Jesus will restore the economy of His Kingdom through the Apostle also. They have the anointing to distribute fairly. This is why when the early church brought all they had to the feet of the apostles there was no need among them.
WHEN IS THE FEAST OF ATONEMENT?
We as a people and a corporate body have already been given the opportunity to experience the Feast of Atonement. A plea for holiness has been sounded by the prophets many times! God is purging His church even as this book is being written. He wants a Bride without spot or wrinkle:
One that is holy as He is holy. He asks us to lay all that is left of us on the Altar of Incense where, if we have truly experienced the Feast of Atonement, we will be a sweet smelling savor to Him. Those that will not die to sin and rebellion will be a stench to His nostrils. The altar of incense, by the way, is the furniture in the tabernacle that foreshadows or represents the Feast of Atonement.
Once we totally lay down our own will and agendas on the altar of incense and enter much deeper into His rest, we come to our next feast as His wife to be. We actually become His Queen at the feast of Tabernacles.
THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES
After we have experienced the first six feasts, we come to the Feast of Tabernacles.
Lev 23:34-42
34 Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD.
35 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it.
36 For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.
37 These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day -
38 besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD.
39 Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD for seven days; on the first day there shall be a Sabbath rest, and on the eighth day a Sabbath rest.
40 And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.
41 You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths,
In the last Feast of Tabernacles there will be no one from Adam’s race found, only native Israel or the new generation of Israel (the born again ones). Israel dwelt in booths seven days. When we look at “dwell in booths seven days” in the original Hebrew, we find the correct way this feast is to be experienced.
Definition of Dwell (Hebrew)
3427 yashab (yaw-shab’);
a primitive root; properly, to sit down (specifically as judge, in ambush, in quiet) by implication, to dwell, to remain; causatively, to settle, to marry:
Definition for Booth
5521 cukkah (sook-kaw’);
fern of 5520; a hut or lair:
5520 cok (soke);
from 5526 a hut (as of entwined boughs); also a lair:
We see the definition of dwell (3427) means to settle, marry, and interestingly to sit as judge quietly or unseen. Seven (7651) means perfect and complete. Days (3117) means always, perpetually, and forever more. Booths (5521) means a screen or veil and to cover or hide.
When we put this all together, it means that at the feast of Tabernacles, we will have been judged without our knowing it and if chosen we will be hidden with Him, dwell with Him, settle and marry. These will be perfect and complete forever more or for eternity.
Only the sacred seed will be chosen at the Feast of Tabernacles to live eternally or be glorified. These are ones that kept and experienced all the feasts God put before them, ones that have renounced their first birth into Adam’s race and were born again as New Israel at the First Holy Convocation. These loyal ones allowed the light of the Menorah to shine a path for them to walk the highway of holiness where they began to speak the message of the Spirit and to take on His nature and abilities at the feast of Pentecost or the Second Holy Convocation. The faithful ones continued on and allowed the prophets to speak into their lives at the Feast of Trumpets. Sometimes they were rebuked and humbled, other times they were lifted up and edified, but always they stayed on the Potter’s Wheel and remained in the fire until they were finally delivered at the Feast of Atonement. Some did not go beyond the Feast of Atonement, however, because they could not give up their own will. They wanted control of their own life and this desire has made their nature like that of Satan. Even though born again, they, like Adam and Eve, sold out to the lawless one. These would not listen to the prophets at the Feast of Trumpets. They are the twice dead found at Jude. They made all the feasts up to the 5th Holy Convocation. They are not trees of righteousness but unrighteous trees with no fruit. They are like clouds without the living water of truth, empty and blown around by the winds of adversity. These serve only themselves and are not interested in the needs of others especially if it takes sacrifice for them. They feasted right along with the faithful ones up to a point, but did not fear what God would do if they did not attend the other feasts. These will be pulled up by the roots as they are spotted and their robes are not clean.
Jude 1:12
12 These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots;
They just wouldn’t atone or change. Never will these be chosen for the fullness of the God Head to enter into them at the Feast of Tabernacles.
THE FEAST OF HANUKKAH
Hanukkah is called in New Testament Scripture “The Feast of Dedication”.
John 10:22-23
22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.
23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.
Jesus celebrated this feast, so we should too if we are to walk in His footsteps. Therefore we will leave God’s ordained feasts for a moment to study two celebrations God’s people instituted to remember the generosity of God in His intervention for man. Actually, these two celebrations foreshadowed the last two feasts of God as well, and to study them will help us as we resume our study of the Lord’s appointed feasts.
To understand this holy day we must go back to somewhere around 167 B.C., when the Hebrew people were living under the foreign power of the Greeks. This culture was called Hellenism, and was ruled by Alexander the Great. After Alexander the Great passed on, Antiochus the 4th gained power and control over the province, including the Jewish community in Jerusalem. To make his holdings more secure, he enforced a policy of assimilation into the Hellenistic culture. This by the way, is still Satan’s favorite method of gaining control of God’s people and draining them of their Godly lifestyle. In other words, Antiochus demanded that the people submit to the Greek language, arts, their way of life and even the Greek’s religion. An ultimatum had been given, either Israel must become a part of the Hellenistic ways and give up their customs, Shabbat, Kosher laws, the feasts, circumcision etc., or die! To prove he meant business, Antiochus marched his troops into Jerusalem and totally desecrated the Temple of God. The Altar and the utensils were mutilated, even the golden menorah was defiled and torn down. That was just the beginning of his tyranny.
A pig, which was unclean meat to the Hebrews and a forbidden food, was sacrificed on the holy altar and a statue of the Greek god Zeus was erected as the new point of worship. Antiochus himself insisted that he be called “Epiphanes”, meaning “God manifest”! The people of God were forced to participate in his ceremony, with the highlight of the ceremony being the eating of the abominable flesh of the sacrificed swine. Everyone, with no exception, was required to participate in this feast.
In a little village called Modi’in, about 15 miles from Jerusalem, there was an old, Godly priest named Mattathias Maccabee and his 5 sons. When the Greeks chose Mattathias to lead in the horrible ceremony, righteous indignation rose up in his family. Enough was enough! Mattathias and his sons started a revolt. They killed the soldiers that were desecrating the temple and attacked those occupying and holding captive the city. One of the sons named Judah rose to leadership as the people of God one by one began to join them.
Although overwhelmingly outnumbered and under-supplied, the armies of the Maccabees knew the surrounding country much better than the Greeks and through guerrilla warfare and ambush, succeeded in defeating the enemy. These faithful men held firm to their conviction that the God of Israel was true and faithful and would never let them down. Through their courage and their strong faith in their God, the Maccabees proved that the impossible can happen. In the month of Kislev (December) they recaptured the temple and the city of Jerusalem and successfully drove the Greeks out of their territory.
RESTORATION
Now they faced the horrendous task of restoring the Temple. They first restored the altar and the holy utensils, but of particular importance was the broken 75 pound gold menorah. The menorah represented the light and truth of God as well as being an instrument to show the Hebrews they must experience all 7 holy convocations in their lives. There are 7 lights on the lampstand to remind us of God’s appointments with us.
Each convocation is represented with the service lamp in the middle symbolic of the Holy Spirit and the holy convocation of Pentecost.
They managed to quickly mend the menorah, but another problem developed as they attempted to light it. When they searched for the specially prepared oil, they found only enough to burn one day! Unfortunately it took 8 days to prepare the holy oil. They decided it was better to light the menorah anyway. At least the light of God would shine one day on their victory. To their surprise the menorah burned miraculously non-stop for the 8 days it took to make the new oil ready! God had truly intervened.
So with the temple, its vessels and the menorah now restored, the first feast of dedication, or festival of lights (Hanukkah) was celebrated. The festival was held in honor and gratitude for what God had done. How He supplied the miraculous oil, made possible the refurbishing of the temple and the military victory over Antiochus and his armies. As Hanukkah was celebrated over the years, a different lampstand was introduced for the occasion or season. This one had 9 branches, whereas the first menorah had but seven, depicting the intervention of God when He met with man and joined in the battle to bring victory. However, the restoration of the original lampstand was very much a part of why God fought alongside man. The menorah symbolized His future appointments with earth and her inhabitants.
Leviticus 23:2
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts (not Christmas, Easter and Halloween etc). These feasts are not only celebrated, but they are experienced by God’s people as they grow and mature.
HERE IS A COMPLETE LIST OF GOD’S FEASTS
Sabbath = entering God’s rest to manifest His works
Passover = salvation
Unleavened bread = repentance and forgiveness of sin
First Fruit = Baptism
Feast of Weeks or Pentecost = Spirit filled with evidence of speaking in tongues (receiving the nature and gifts of the Holy Spirit).
Trumpets = receiving your call from the prophets (restoration of the prophets)
Atonement = laying your will and life on the altar and circumcision of the heart ( restoration of the Apostles)
Tabernacles = Christ in us (restoration of the revealers).
The last two feasts that I will print out are foreshadowed by Hanukkah and Purim:
Shimini Atzeret = the beginning of the church triumphant, children of the 8th day, benefactors of the new holy oil.
Simchat Torah = God’s people become the law over sin and all laws pertaining to this present physical realm, dominion is restored.
After carefully listing each feast God said that they should “be a statute forever through all generations”. When God moved the hearts of His people to add the other two candles for Hanukkah and Purim,without realizing it they were prophesying a far greater fulfillment of these two feasts also.
SO HERE IS WHY WE CELEBRATE HANUKKAH AND PURIM TODAY
Because Hanukkah commemorates a past victory over an evil race of people, their rulers and their society, shadowing a future victory over the Adamic race with its governments and man run systems and religions, including what Christianity has become. It also symbolizes through the restoration of the temple and Israel’s separation from that evil empire, the birth of the new family of God and its pure society. Babylon the Harlot will fall because of this separation and the faith of the new generation will be established.
Psalm 102:18
18 This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
PURIM
Purim on the other hand is held in commemoration of the victory led by Esther, over the enemies of God’s people. She is a perfect picture of the enlightened, perfected and united Bride of Christ or the Warrior Queen that has become the law over sin and the physical laws of this planet. She will be directed through Christ who dwells in her, to overcome Satan, foreshadowed by Esther’s tormentor Haman. In the final quest for victory over the Beast, man’s governments, and the kings of the earth, the Warrior Queen, at one with King Jesus dwelling in her, will be victorious. Purim means lots, or a game somewhat like today’s dice. God, through His body will cast lots for the Kingdoms of this world against Satan and his body. Satan loses!
Revelation 11:15
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
As David remembered his past victories of successfully killing a lion and a bear before coming against Goliath, so these past two victories (Hanukkah and Purim) have become Israel’s lion and bear. They are memories of how God performed a miraculous deliverance for us! By recalling why we celebrate these feasts, we build our confidence for the job that lies ahead as we experience the greater Hanukkah and Purim.
For instance, we can see that the oil God provided to keep the lamp going was a shadow of the Holy Spirit and His anointing. This anointing that was on past generations who had obediently experienced the feast of Pentecost, would light the way to the 8th day until the new oil or anointing of the newborn generation could be prepared. This early anointing was experienced by the first church at Acts, the second chapter, as Christianity was birthed.
Acts 2:1-4
1 Now when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
However, the anointed two witnesses (Judaism and Christianity), along with the people they lead, are almost gone. Why? As the dark ages came upon the church the light went out, and somehow the apostles and prophets who brought the miracles and revelation to God’s people were killed off and forgotten. The church died for a lack of knowledge or spiritual food, and became powerless without the light of revelation and the anointing that is on truth.
Luke 11:49-52
49 “Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’
50 “that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,
51 “from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.
52 “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.
Ezekiel saw the powerless, almost dead church in a vision hundreds of years ago as He saw the valley of dry bones. That valley was actually the valley of decision of Joel 3:14.
Ezekiel 37:1-3
1 The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley and it was full of bones.
2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley and indeed they were very dry.
3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.”
There has been no one to raise the spiritually dead church back to life until new revelation birthed a newborn breed of people that now has the anointing to call them forth.
Joel 2:2
2 A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations.
These are ones who were created to be vessels of light to shine the way to the rest of the feasts and guide God’s people up the Highway of Holiness on into eternity. The anointing that is on the prophetic words of this new breed with Christ manifesting through them as they preach and prophesy, will have the power to resurrect the spiritually dead that are still on the streets of the dead Adamic church. Again, let us look to Ezekiel for a glimpse of this phenomenon.
Ezekiel 37:12-13
12 “Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 “Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.
How are they made to wake up? Verse 12 tells us through prophecy. The new generation is saying “wake up and come out of her”, let the dead bury the dead. Leave the dead church while you can. Sides are being chosen for the final fight, for the final Hanukkah!
Revelation 18:4
4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.
These new creatures are the remnant that God has chosen, preserved, perfected, and prepared to shine as the Menorah, the lampstand lighting the path to eternity. They were chosen before time to walk out of time. However, to be a part of the children of oil, and have the anointing to help others find their way out of the systems, you must have already experienced the first eight feasts. Why? Because the number 8 is symbolic of new beginnings. It takes the combined anointings from all eight feasts to break the yoke the world has over God’s people so they can move forward to the new day. Only those that have enough oil in their lamps gathered from experiencing the first eight feasts are prepared to defeat the enemy as a modern day Maccabee and be qualified to attend the last two feasts, Shimini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. So don’t miss any appointments with God so your lamp will be filled and always ready. The last chapter is about to unfold.
THE CHILDREN OF OIL
The children of oil are God’s people that do not have any cords or soul ties at all to the old Adamic race, their world or society. They are a totally separate race of mankind as they have severed all connections to the old ways and have been reborn through God. Many of the modern day Maccabees have already been birthed; the body of Christ is coming to full stature. God’s temple is being restored and added to daily. To be a permanent part of this dwelling place of God as one of its living stones, I again point out, we must experience all ten of the feasts to be one of the perfectly prepared. This means we keep all of our appointments with God at the seven holy convocations. We cannot break an appointment and grow to perfection.
There is a specific anointing or spiritual oil that is released as we experience each feast and it takes all of the combined anointings to defeat the enemy and accomplish the final victory. What exactly is that victory? It is victory over death, hell and the grave. The children of oil begin to appear as they unite and pull together. Satan’s trick to divide them up through differences in personalities and lifestyles will not work as they are all Kingdom minded and focused on God’s plans. Children of oil assess the needs of others above their own and so are not as much a target for the enemy to bring division to New Israel. They are brought forth in this age predestined for this time, to shine the light for others to find their way to the triumphant church and eternity. The book of Daniel in the 12th chapter spoke of them many years ago.
Daniel 12:2-3
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt (they will awake to be a part of Christ’s body or the body of Satan).
3 Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.
Where it says the wise shall shine - the word shine that is used there is number 2094 in the Strongs in the Hebrew. It means to gleam fig. to enlighten, (by caution) admonish, teach, (give) warning.
GOD IS RESTORING THIS TEMPLE
MODERN HANUKKAH
God said through Amos the prophet long ago in the year 750 BC that He would restore the tabernacle (or temple) of David. The word David actually means “The Beloved”. So in other words, God would restore the Beloved, His Bride or His wife, and she would guide others to eternity.
1 Corinthians 3:16
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19
19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
Through Eve, Adam’s wife, mankind was led astray. Through God’s wife, His temple or tabernacle, mankind will be led back to the garden. In other words, through a woman, man fell, and through a woman, God’s wife, mankind will be restored.
Acts 15:16-18
16 ‘After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David (the Beloved), which has fallen down I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up
17 So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles (heathen) who are called by My name, says the Lord who does all these things.’ (Her nature is refurbished to draw people to her with the fruit of the Holy Spirit and she is a well of knowledge for the nations to drink from. Just as in the old temple, she is a place of refuge and of learning about the Kingdom and God’s promise.)
18 “Known to God from eternity are all His works (all this was preplanned before the foundation of the earth).
The “head” part of the wife of God (the Warrior Queen) is called the lambkin in scripture. She is His government, Zion or the Shulamite. He dwells in those that make up the head to rule, guide and judge His people.
Colossians 1:27
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The body part of the Bride is New Jerusalem. She is the city of God that is perfected, led, and enlightened by the Lamb through the lambkin, the government of God. She in turn will nurse and teach the newborn as they come from the nations to God’s kingdom as Jesus lives through her.
TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN MUCH IS REQUIRED
The Warrior Queen (the government, the head) must experience all ten feasts in a greater manner than what is expected of the rest of her body. The death of the early government, the original apostles and prophets, was an example or symbolic of the spiritual death that must take place for the Queen at the feast of Atonement. It is at this feast that we lay our lives on the altar and die to our will and who we are so Christ can be who He is in us. Obedience and holiness is an absolute requirement for the children of oil today! The death of the early leadership was a physical death, however. They were the seed planted by Jesus that would harvest one day or manifest into the new breed, the sacred hybrid seed grown and selected by God for the Day of the Lord. This seeding or planting was based on the spiritual law at John 12:24.
John 12:24
24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone but if it dies, it produces much grain (the sacred seed).
As the Lord’s day is a thousand years long, it has only been a week as far as God is concerned from the fall in the garden until now.
2 Peter 3:8
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
We are still in His Sabbath, or the 7th creative day of rest.
Genesis 2:2
2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.
WHY WE MUST ENTER HIS REST
The sacred seed must rest from their works also, as it is the Sabbath, and allow Christ who is in them to sustain them and feed others. God’s Word says we are His land, so when this land is resting there is still plenty of fruit there for others to glean: The fruit of the Holy Spirit that is in them, along with the meat of revelation will feed the hungry.
The children of oil must continue in His rest, His Sabbath day, to be yielded vessels that cease from their works so that He can exercise His plans through them to bring about the 8th day.
Hebrews 4:9-10
9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
NEW BEGINNINGS
The children of oil are the children of the new day, the new earth, the new heavens: Children of the dawn. They are God’s temple, His land that has been rested and is now ready to bare new fruit or birth a new people of God on the new earth. Old things will pass away shortly, and there will be no more remembrance of the old church, the world or its systems, or even its pleasures. All will be new and Godly: His Kingdom. As Antiochus Epiphanes was defeated and his empire with its lifestyle was eradicated from the Hebrew culture, so Satan will be defeated and the whole Adamic race with its sin, wickedness, pain and sorrow will fold up and pass away to be remembered no more.
Revelation 21:1-5
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem (the body of the Bride), coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God (Zion - government - the Shulamite) is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.
VICTORY
The children of oil or children of the new day will lead the way to this victory: Those with the Jonah anointing. This is an anointing that is a mixture of all the anointing of the holy people that have walked before us, added to the anointing that is on each feast as we experience them and this in turn is added to the anointing that is on the new truth being released by the revealers for this end time. This oil or anointing makes possible miraculous mighty exploits.
Power is in the language of this prophetic people to create a new day as they unitedly speak truth. There is an anointing on truth to create because Jesus is Truth.
He is also the Word. He is the Christ or the anointed one with the miracle oil that He pours on those that die in Him and resurrect beautiful new vessels for His use. These are His warriors, His army, His Bride that He will use to manifest the victory He secured on the cross in the supernatural to reality on this earth.
LEARNING FROM PAST MISTAKES
The angels that have a part in this end time battle must learn from the mistakes of Lucifer and his hosts. The fallen angels got caught up in their power and gifting and wanted to be like God. They united in their evil and convinced themselves they could be like God.
Eve bought the same lie. Can we walk in the same power and gifting as mankind that is even more perfect as we are God’s children not born from Adam, and not abuse this power? Can we be trusted to only eat of the tree of Life (truth, Jesus) so that we can bear fruit that will feed the new creation, or will we too eat of the tree of intellect or the tree of good and evil and taint the next generation of mankind, as did Eve?
Please understand what I am about to tell you: When we are newly born again, we are in the exact same position as the newly created Adam and Eve before their fall. Will we look back to the world longing for all it has to offer and believe the lie of Satan that we too can be like God and distinguish the right from the wrong for ourselves? Maybe like Samson we prefer the people of the land over Israel. Will we make decisions on our own concerning what we will do or not do, or will we rest in God’s Sabbath? We can only make it to the 8th day if we will allow the Lord to prepare us and correct us. We must separate, be obedient and holy, and rest in God’s sovereignty and love.
CHILDREN OF THE DAWN
Children that are being prepared and perfected for the dawning of the new age, I address you. Will you be a blessing or a curse? As the born again, will you be a miracle, a sign and wonder of God, with the oil of the eighth day in you? Will you be a part of the superior, lion-like race, a part of the body of Christ, or will you be a puppet of Satan, a part of his body, and see defeat? If you choose the latter, we will meet at the final and last fight. And guess what: you lose!
There is a future invitation to be released in the Lord’s timing: Will you be invited to the Lord’s final Feast, Simchat Torah. Will you be prepared and able to attend? Are you wearing the robe of separation, the mark of dignity or royalty? Are you dressed properly for this special party, having no spot or wrinkle? Angels will be standing at the door to make sure there are no party crashers. Adam’s race is absolutely not permitted entrance, nor allowed to mix with the holy that will be the guests of honor, celebrating the final feast of the Lamb and the Bride. This is a closed family celebration! It is for Israel only.
Matthew 22:11-14
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.
12 “So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.
13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Will you be able to attend?
In closing, as stated before, Hanukkah and Purim are feasts that were instituted by man to celebrate victory over the world’s systems through the intervention of God. These feasts are only substitutes however until the real and final feasts, set by God, are not only celebrated, but experienced by the children of the 8th day, the children of the miracle oil. The anointing of this oil, breaks the yoke of bondage that time and death have over the earth’s creation and its people. These seedlings grow to maturity as the latter rains of God’s truth is released from the seals. They absorb the living water and become trees of righteousness, the plantings of the Lord. It is these holy ones that are chosen to attend the final feasts, Shimini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, and become one with the Tree of Life.
The lie: The feasts are not for today’s church.
The truth: They are for all generations of God’s people. If we do not experience them as a people and a corporate body we will never mature or grow to be a part of God’s Kingdom. Satan has a counterfeit of all that God does and the feasts are no different. He has implemented his feasts to build his kingdom, and most of the church in ignorance, helps him. See chapter titled Satan’s Feasts.
Let us proceed on as we continue our study of the feasts by looking at Shimini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, God’s 7th holy convocation.
WHAT IS SHIMINI ATZERET?
Shimini Atzeret is the feast celebrated on the 8th day, counting from the beginning of Sukkot or Tabernacles. It is a separate feast from Tabernacles however and is in no way a part of it. It is its own convocation.
Lev 23:36
36 ‘For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.
Shimini means 8th. The number eight is symbolic of new beginnings and completion. For instance, the covenant of circumcision is performed on the 8th day to complete as it were, or “to instill the potential for perfection” in the human being. Atzeret means: “to hold back” or “that which is held back” for the purpose of bringing something to a state of perfection. The last or seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles pictures the final day of harvest.
Rev 14:14-16
14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
Part of this latter crop will be put in the Lord’s house for His use, as they have been prepared as His government. These are ones that God has poured truth on and that have accepted the word or revelation released for this end time. This truth is called “the latter rain”. It has been released to nourish and give life to the 7th day last planting that is the 8th day special crop. A symbolic picture is portrayed during Tabernacles foretelling this event. Seventy bulls were sacrificed to God representing the seventy different nations of mankind: but during Shimini Atzeret, only one bull was sacrificed, representing the one nation, the special crop, the new Israel. This is the true seed of Abraham that celebrate this 8th day feast. The generation that is created for the 8th day is higher or greater than what was created during the 7 days. They would not be born of Adam, but born through God Himself!
John 3:6-7
6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
1 Pet 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
I Jn 5:18
18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
God promised Abraham one level higher, a level “closer to God”, a special people, a special nation, a special priesthood. These are ones that keep themselves clean and make their robes white. This was a covenant entered into by circumcision on the 8th day, first in the natural, and then in the supernatural. These are a people of covenant, a people of circumcision, a people that are in no way Adam. These are completely set apart, cut off from the world and its people. They are their own nation of people separate and yet open to all people that love God and want to be a part of God’s Kingdom.
The 8th day people will manifest God’s victory over the enemy and through them as their society grows, the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our God. This carnal realm will slowly fade from sight. Malachi says it this way:
Mal 4:1-3
1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the LORD of hosts.
His will is much more important to an 8th day child than their own, so their works are really His. Their agenda is actually His. Therefore disappointment is accepted as part of God’s plan that we just don’t understand as yet, and seeming failures are but instruments to shape and mold us into His image and show us direction. A closed door simply means we are on the wrong path and we appreciate the Lord interfering on our behalf and for the sake of the Kingdom.
Rev 3:7-8
7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, ‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”:
8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
We are the church triumphant. Nothing really can overcome us because our Father has all in control and we are etched in His hand. We were predestined for this time: a different generation, a different race of people who were born in the city of Sion.
The 8th day children are not afraid to be different either, because the Bible talks of an age to come and we must be different to enter that age. No other generation has entered. Does the Bible actually speak about the age to come? Here are just a few examples.
Matt 12:32
32 “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Mark 10:30
30 “who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time-- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life (eternal life is in the age to come).
Eph 1:21
21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
The age to come is very real and as we saw from scripture, those that enter into it will be made eternal. First Corinthians 15:51 will be fulfilled in them. They will not only be willing to walk out God’s plans, but will obediently obey the laws in their hearts until they actually become the law over sin and evil. In fact, one day they will not even look for or at the wrong thing, but will see only good. Like Adam and Eve before the fall, they will eat only of the tree of Life, and will not taste of the world’s fruit and its tree of good and evil. They will see only the Kingdom of God. This realm will dissolve or disappear from their eyes, and they will have no remembrance of it. All is good in God’s world: no sickness, no pain, no defeat - only good and life eternal. What a beautiful promise for the children of the 8th day!
Rev 21:3-4 says it this way:
3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
The eternal ones will rule with God a thousand years, which to God is but one day, to train the nations. They will be the living law to them. They are the full stature of the body of Jesus. Jesus is the law, the Torah and His Spirit manifests through the 8th day children to train the world. Those that choose to follow at the end of the thousand years will rejoice in the Torah and will also celebrate the last and final feast: Simchat Torah. What does the number 9 stand for? The gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the 9th day the final battle will have been fought. Satan, who has been locked up for the thousand years will be released to test those trained during the thousand years, and at last the greatest gift the Holy Spirit has ever given man will be released for all mankind that have become the Torah: the gift of an eternal physical life and dominion once more over this planet. Satan’s rule will finally be destroyed, along with his world and its dress, music, arts etc. Let us read of this victory in Daniel 7:26 - 27.
Dan 7:26-27
26 ‘But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever (we are speaking here of Antichrist - the body of Satan).
27 Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’
Hanukkah of old was in the natural a type and shadow of Shimini Atzeret: a time like now, when the people of God were tired of the system they were forced to live in and the force behind it. For the Maccabees it was a physical Antiochus with his armies, his lifestyle and culture that was in opposition to God and His people that they fought, but for the people that will make the 8th day it is a battle against the evil powers and principalities that operated through them. Ours is a worse fight as our opponents are supernatural and so powerful that only Michael is strong enough to subdue and finally defeat them. The Menorah is symbolic of the feasts we must experience in our lives to carry us through this terrible battle. It is symbolic of the church, the people of God with the Holy Spirit of Christ dwelling in them to sustain them to the 8th day. The spiritual menorah (the church), although broken and powerless, does have the strength of Christ the anointed one (the holy oil) to make it through to victory, Shimini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Satan is convinced he has us so entrenched in his world that we can’t fight our way out. There’s not enough of us, or is there? There were only Mattathias and his family in the physical Hanukkah, but with the help of God they won. Could it be if we take the same hard stand against all that offends and opposes the family of God that we too could make the spiritual 8th day? We have the prophecies of old as promises that we can, as well as the song of God today that says we can. We must be separate from this evil system to be aware of the prophecies or the song.
Rev 14:1-3
1 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on ‘Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty~four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps.
3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.
There’s the song of God for direction today.
Ezek 37: 10-14
10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’
12 “Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, 0 My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 “Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, 0 My people, and brought you up from your graves.
14 “I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,” says the LORD.”
This is a prophecy, the breath of life that God promises.
Dan 8:21-26
21 “And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.
22 “As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.
23 “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise (the body of Satan, Antichrist), having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes.
24 His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power (Satan’s); he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive he shall destroy the mighty (stop God’s angels), and also the holy people.
25 “Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity (his economy will hurt the people). He shall even rise against the Prince of princes (Jesus); but he shall be broken without human means. (God will do it)
26 “And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.”
Spiritual Hanukkah is real, and victory promised. Let me read Revelation 11:7-15, as it tells the whole story better than us.
Rev 11:7-15
7 Now when they finish their testimony (the great man and women of the old church), the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them (make them idols and denominations).
8 And their dead bodies (the spiritually dead) will lie in the street of the great city (Babylon) which spiritually is called Sodom (because of the sexual permissiveness) and Egypt (the world), where also our Lord was crucified (Jesus was killed by the religious system of His day and the government of man).
9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.
10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. (There were people of the old church that spoke truth that the church world as a whole did not want to hear. To be obedient to that truth they would have had to change, which was not what they wanted to do. So they ruined the validity of those speaking truth and killed them spiritually in doing so. The same tactics are used today.)
11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them (God prophesied life into them), and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud (there are no boundaries on these eternal ones), and their enemies saw them.
13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake seven thousand men were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.
15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
WE SEE IT - WHEN CAN WE BE IT?
God has been calling up His army for quite some time now. We can only proceed when we are fully prepared (it takes 7 feast days to become the Bride). We as individuals cannot skip any of the truth that has been released, or ignore it and not mature, or we as a church will be found lacking as the eighth day manifests. And above all, we must be a holy people so the angels of God will march with us and fight for us. Remember, the battle is won without human hands.
CHAPTER 3- SATAN’S FEASTS
Isa 1:14
14 Your new Moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.
People in the world as well as many in the church partake of the feasts that God was speaking of in the above scripture. Often, they have no idea what the origins of the feasts spoken of in Isaiah are. The fact of the matter is, these feasts are none other than the feasts of Satan. They are a counterfeit of the true feasts of God. You may ask, “What are Satan’s feasts?” Satan’s feasts are the holidays that are celebrated the world over, such as:
• Christmas
• Easter
• Halloween
• Valentine’s Day etc.
Many people, especially those in the church, hold these holidays dear, but the truth is, these holidays are indeed of pagan origin and have no place in the Kingdom of God. It is our purpose to unmask the enemy, who for so long has promoted these holidays as godly or Christian. Remember the Scriptures warn us that Satan comes as an angel of light.
2Cor 11:14
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
As God’s people, what do we do about this? The book of James tells us:
James 4:7
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
How do we resist the devil? We fight him with truth. So, let us expose the enemy for what he really is - the father of lies
John 8:44
44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
With that scripture in mind let us look at:
CHRISTMAS
The early church did not celebrate the birth of Yeshua, they taught of His born again experience and celebrated His resurrection. As the church developed a calendar many years later to commemorate the major events of His life, they decided they needed to determine a date of His beginning or birth. The Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite churches within the Roman Catholic Church chose January 6th. The Western Church based in Rome chose December 25th. At best this holiday was to compete with the pagan festivals that occurred at the same time, one of those being Saturnalia; worship of the sun god, which was celebrated in Rome at this time. To bring Christ into the already set aside holiday they just made it the Son of God in place of the sun god. Their pagan customs were already a festive tradition and adopted by the church. Ancient pre-Christian festivals used rocks, trees, evergreens and wreaths as symbols of eternal life. Evergreens stood for immortality and the circle in the wreath was a symbol of no beginning and no ending. As one smelled the fragrance of the evergreens it was thought to extend your life. Where is God in all this?
The tree was worshiped as a phallic symbol by the Canaanites or the Phoenicians. At Israel’s emergence into Canaan, they adopted the pagan worship of trees and rocks as talked about by Jeremiah and Isaiah.
Jer 2:27
27 Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’ For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us.’
Jer 3:9
9 “So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
Jer 10:3-4
3 For the customs of the peoples are futile for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple. (Does this sound familiar?)
All this was in honor of the god Baal however, long before the birth of Jesus. Even the mistletoe we have perhaps been kissed under was a part of Celtic ceremonies by the Druids! They believed the mistletoe had magic powers, especially if it was on the oak, a sacred tree!
Angels in the Bible are always described as males. Have you ever considered why the angels we use at Christmas are female? In Genesis chapter six we see where the angels of God saw the daughters of man and took them for wives. The fourth verse says they bore them children. God destroyed all of mankind with the exception of Noah, his three sons and their families because of this wickedness. The fallen angels, themselves, are restrained in heaven until the final judgment, but the spirits of their offspring are the demons affecting mankind today. Could it be that their female offspring are the evil spirits behind this custom of female angels? Especially since the custom was to put them on top of the phallic symbol, the sacred tree! Is this not a disgusting thought!
The Christmas tree as America knows it, was brought to the American colonies in the seventeenth century by German settlers. By the nineteenth century it was a widely spread custom. The Germans were quite influenced by Celtic worship. In their early homes they had a pyramid that represented energy and life, the sacred tree and of course the evergreens. As Jesus began to be included in the celebration, apples were hung on the tree representing the Garden of Eden; and the tree was called a Paradise tree. They also hung wafers, symbolizing the bread of the Holy Communion. Candles represented Christ as the light of the world, and a star was added. By the sixteenth century the pyramid, the evergreens, the paradise tree, the candles and star had all merged into the tree that was introduced to America.
The manager scene was added in the year 1224 AD on Christmas Eve, by St Francis of Assisi, and Christmas cards are believed to have been first designed in England in 1843 by John C. Horsly.
There is a wide range of Christmas music used both as sacred and nonreligious. Interestingly, the word Carols was associated with open air theater and dance used by the bards in Celtic festivals! It later came to mean a joyful religious song.
The legend of Santa Claus started with a real person, Saint Nicholas. He is one of the saints most honored by the Greek and Roman churches of the fourth century. He came from the southwest coast of Asia Minor, became bishop of the church at Myra and, during the persecution of the Christians by Emperor Diocletian, he was imprisoned. Constantine the Great released him. Little else is known about Saint Nicholas. By the sixth century his burial shrine was well known at Myra. In 1087 his remains were moved to Bari, Italy, which became a crowded pilgrimage center in his name. Devotion to him spread throughout the Christian world, and he was chosen the saint of Russia and Greece.
Thousands of churches throughout Europe have been named for him. His original feast day was December 6th. The transformation of Saint Nicholas into Santa Claus began in Germany. There he was known as Kris Kringle, derived from Christlindle, meaning Christ Child. From there his legend spread to France, where he was called Pere Noel. In the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (now New York), he was called Sinter Claus. As Christmas was more widely celebrated, his legend grew. In 1823 Clement C. Moore wrote A Visit from St. Nicholas, portraying Santa riding a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer and bringing gifts.
There is so much more if you would like to investigate this subject yourself, and what you are going to find out is that Yeshua, the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Saviour had nothing to do with this holiday.
He become involved only by the fact that man liked the festivals of the pagan oriented worship and did not choose to give them up and so put a Christian connotation on them. Man-made holidays are not God-ordained holidays. What are the God-ordained holidays? Leviticus chapter twenty three verses two through four will show you.
Lev 23:2-4
2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.
3 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
4 These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.
God speaks of a time when He will take the joy out of the feasts His people have ordained for themselves. In Hosea, the prophet prophesied:
Hosea 2:11
11 I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her New Moons, her Sabbaths -- all her appointed feasts.
Let it be our hearts’ desire to declare war on the soulish worship that permeates the church today. Let us, like the Maccabees of old, restore pure worship to our God in a way that is pleasing to Him, at the time appointed by Him and stripped of pagan rituals and traditions.
As the Word says, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:23-24
EASTER
Easter is another of Satan’s major holidays. When the people in the church are confronted with the fact that Easter is not a Biblical holiday, they respond with the following Scripture from the King James Bible.
Acts 12:4
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. (KJV)
It sounds very convincing, does it not? There it is in the Bible. How do we answer to that scripture? Well, understanding that the Bible was translated by people that had their own doctrines and eschatology, we actually need to go to the original Greek to find out what the word Easter really means in that scripture. When we look up the word in the Strong’s Concordance, we find that it is not even the word Easter at all!
Let us look at the Greek definition of the word translated as Easter in Acts chapter twelve.
3957 pascha (pas’-khah);
of Aramaic origin [compare 6453 (Hebrew)]; the Passover (the meal, the day, the festival or the special sacrifices connected with it): KJV-- Easter, Passover.
6453 Pecach (peh’-sakh);
from 6452; a pretermission, i.e. exemption; used only technically of the Jewish
Passover (the festival or the victim): KJV-- passover (offering).
This Greek word, pascha, actually means PASSOVER, not EASTER! Where does the word Easter come from? It comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, or Astara, who is also associated with such goddesses as Ashtoreth, Ishtar, Isis, and Aphrodite. Eostre was known as the dawn goddess. All these goddesses were associated with fertility and spring. In ancient times, one culture or empire was usually prominent over the rest. Each time an empire was conquered and another one rose to power, the gods and goddesses of this culture took on the same characteristics and rituals of worship of the gods of the previous culture. Only the names were changed, so upon study we find one god or goddess with many different names, according to the various cultures. So Easter is really the pagan ritual to the goddess Eostre with the Lord worked into it, making it seemingly okay to hunt the Eostre eggs symbolic of her powers to make the people and their livestock fertile.
Such symbols as the Maypole (first used for May Day, but now also commonly used on Easter) have their origins also in these ancient fertility rites. Fertility rites are ceremonies to ensure the continuity of life. From the earliest times, people have performed these rites in an attempt to control the environment. They have used invocations, incantations, processions, dance and drama in their effort to induce fertility in humans, animals and also vegetation. All this was to ensure an abundant harvest. Ritual prostitution, animal and human sacrifice and displays of phallic symbols were also sometimes believed to stimulate fertility. How sad that people were reduced to such levels in an attempt to obtain blessing and prosperity. We as Israel know that if we are obedient to the Word of God, we will be blessed.
Isa 1:18-19
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land
Let us take a closer look at some of the fertility gods and goddesses and see the counterfeit blessing Satan has presented to the people. Ishtar, the great mother, goddess of fertility, was known as the queen of heaven! She was portrayed naked with prominent breasts. Her consort was the beautiful young shepherd, Adonis, who was connected with Phallic worship. This is a poor counterfeit of Christ in us. Through the bride and groom becoming one, they form the door for the nations to enter into New Jerusalem. Jesus is the door - He manifests through people. Note that the famous Ishtar Gate was the gate through which one entered the ancient city of Babylon, built by King Nebuchadnezzar. The walls on either side of this gate were decorated with lions, bulls and griffins (dragons). This gate is a counterfeit of the gateposts on which Christ’s blood (as the Passover lamb) was smeared at the feast of Passover.
Exod 12:13
13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Another fertility goddess was Astarte, the goddess of love and fruitfulness. She was goddess of the moon, represented by a crescent. We see this crescent moon everywhere today: on clothes, in decorations etc. Her husband was Baal, a sun deity and a fertility god.
Greek myth tells of Persephone, goddess of the earth, who returns from the underworld to the light of day. Her return symbolized resurrection of life in the spring. Where is Jesus in this? Adonis was one of her many lovers. Names change, but the deities are the same. Sadly these myths have all been woven into Christian tradition. Study of mythology reveals that the characteristics of pagan gods revolved around sex; usually very perverted sex! This is of course the opposite of God’s natural order of things. The phallic symbol was very important in pagan worship. As we see, even the Christmas tree derives its origin from a Canaanite phallic symbol. Large Celtic stones in the shape of phallic symbols are to be found scattered throughout the countryside of England, Ireland and Scotland.
Side note: Things are no different today! The Washington monument, Empire State building and Eiffel Tower are also phallic symbols. Interesting to note is the fact that the building of all three can be attributed to Freemasons!
Now that we have an understanding of the pagan worship upon which Easter is built, let us take a look at some of the traditions associated with Easter:
The Easter bunny is actually a symbol of fertility. It is thought that a rabbit was a symbol of the moon, and we all know about their prolific breeding habits.
Easter eggs, which children so happily decorate in bright colors, represent the sunlight of spring. Remember that pagans also worshiped sun deities. It is also obvious that they have a fertility connotation. The latest fad in decorating for this festival has the eggs hanging on trees, thus incorporating the Canaanite phallic symbol into the whole mess.
In the early church, Christians who were newly baptized during the Easter Octave, or to them Passover, wore white garments signifying light, purity and joy. Traditions of man somehow always manage to pervert the things of God. Today people rush to the department stores to purchase their Easter dresses and bonnets, which are usually bright colored and fussy, being decorated with spring flowers. This is indeed a far cry from the white garments, but quite pleasing to Satan. We know these white robes to be robes of righteousness and separation. To obtain them we must die in physical death to separate us from the Adamic race, or die in baptism to the Adamic race and be born again into a new creature. So if the robes of white are robes of separation, what are the colorful clothes?
Man, of course, has capitalized on this paganism and a commercialized money-making racket has been the result.
During the Dark Ages many of the early Christian writings were lost and as time went on serious differences arose about the actual date of Christ’s Resurrection. The Roman Emperor, Constantine l, ruled through the NICAEA COUNCIL, that the Easter festival should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the Vernal equinox. (Note that Eostre’s festival was celebrated over the vernal or spring equinox!) Later dating methods only added to the confusion and, over time, Easter became a movable feast so as to avoid inconvenience of secular affairs.
The traditional sunrise service so well loved originated in France, where they celebrated God’s angels dancing for joy. Let us look at Colossians chapter two verse eighteen.
Col 2:18
18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
In Ireland, men danced at sunrise according to the rites of the spring festival, while the women baked cakes. Let us see what God had to say about these celebrations:
Jer 7:18
18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.
As mentioned earlier, the queen of heaven is Ishtar. It is also of interest to look at these dawn celebrations in pagan worship. Notice they are counterfeits in that Jesus resurrected in the dawn, and we too are the children of the new day or dawn. We are also the sacred seed, born of God, the real harvest!
Considering all this, why is Easter a major holiday in the church? The answer is - COMPROMISE! The church has compromised the truth for the sake of numbers. Nowhere in the Word of God are we commanded to celebrate this holiday either! In fact, if this day is the celebration of fertility gods and goddesses, why do we even want to celebrate it? God tells us not to have any other gods before Him.
Exod 20:3
3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
What is the result of our compromising truth to build large congregations and not anger people?
II Thess 2:10-12
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
If we partake of this and any other man-proclaimed holiday, then we are in no better shape on this commandment than the pagan nations who first celebrated these holidays. As God’s people, we need to remember what God said in Isaiah chapter one verse fourteen, “your new moons and appointed feasts MY SOUL HATES”. We must love truth and reject compromise, for if we do not love truth, we will believe the lies Satan feeds us.
We must learn what feasts God wants us to keep by reading Leviticus chapter twenty-three. We see that God instituted the feast of Passover, not Easter. Jesus was our Passover Lamb. He took our sins on the cross in His flesh and paid the penalty of sin for us, which swept the house of Israel clean (unleavened bread) and was resurrected (first fruits), the first of many brethren, the sacred seed. The resurrection of Jesus was the resurrection of the Tree of Life and all that eat of the Lamb will live eternally. Remember: they had to eat all of the lamb at the first Exodus, which Passover is in commemoration of, as we read in Exodus chapter twelve verse fourteen.
Exod 12:14
14 So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance.
Communion is our remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Passover is experienced by us as we eat of the lamb, or the Truth concerning our salvation. Because of this truth we also see that we are sinners and repent, resulting in our experiencing Unleavened Bread. As we came to the understanding of our need to be born again, and see that we cannot live successfully or eternally unless we die to the Adamic race, we are baptized into the death of Christ and resurrect to First Fruits. These three feasts make up one Holy Convocation, and men have replaced that Holy Convocation with the unholy ritual known as Easter! As we understand more fully the festival of Easter, let us now look at another major holiday of Satan: Halloween.
HALLOWEEN
The name of this man-ordained festival or holiday derives from All Saints Day. The Catholic Church set aside November 1 to hallow all saints who had no special day of their own. Saints were believed hallowed (or holy) ones. We know number one, that the worship of saints, who are people and not divine, is not godly as we see from God's command in Exodus chapter twenty verse three. These saints were people who had passed away in death so their worship would also be regarded as necromancy. We see this in Deuteronomy chapter eighteen verses eleven and twelve.
Deut 18:11-12
11 "or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead (this is necromancy).
12 "For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.
This day has also been known as All Hallows Day, or Hallowmas. The night before, which is October 31st was called All Hallow's Eve. It was eventually shortened, and the night of October 31st became Halloween. It is one of the oldest holidays, and has been celebrated for thousands of years. It was the autumn harvest festival. The Celts believed winter was the season of death. SAMHAIN was the god of death and they believed that he walked the earth once a year, at Halloween. Some believed the souls of the dead were picking out those who would die the following year!
The Druids were the Celtic priesthood of Gaul and Britain, which consisted of prophets, bards and priests. They operated in magic, sorcery and the mysterious powers of plants and animals. The word druid means knowledge of the oaks. They worshiped the oak tree and as stated before, considered the mistletoe as sacred. They also regarded the moon as the source of healing to all things. These Druids were powerful people, being doctors, judges and teachers. They had their own colleges and believed in immortality.
It is interesting to see how much the devil knows of God's plans. The Bride of Christ are those who have died (died to self that is). They have become transparent or pure and reflect His light, just as the moon reflects the light of the sun. These ones will be the leaves that heal the nations and not the sacred oak. Israel, as the Bride, will walk into eternity without seeing death, without worshiping phallic symbols or smelling evergreen trees, as we see in 1 Corinthians chapter fifteen verse fifty-one.
1
Cor 15:51-52
51 Behold, I tell you
a mystery: We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed
52
in a moment,
in the twinkling
of an eye,
at the last
trumpet.
For the trumpet
will sound,
and the dead
will be raised incorruptible,
and we
shall be changed.
A WALL OF FIRE
On the night of Halloween these Druid priests commanded everyone to put out the fires in their own hearths. Then they lit bonfires on the top of the hills to drive away the demons roaming the earth on that night. The festival of Samhain began with three shouts. The fires were made with oak branches which, as mentioned before were sacred to the Druids. Animals, crops and possibly even humans were sacrificed on these fires! This perverted attempt at protection can be seen as the counterfeit of God's promise of protection to His people, Israel, which we read about in Zechariah chapter two verse five.
Zech
2:5
5 For I,'
says the LORD, 'will be a wall of fire
all around her, and I
will be the glory in her midst.'
Regarding the shouts that started this ceremony, it is interesting to note that it is said that the name YAHWEH, when repeated three times, will withstand any attack of the enemy on God's children, Israel. Remember that the number three is the number of emphasis.
These pagans protected themselves further with costumes and masks so that the spirits of the dead would not pick them to die. They dressed up in these costumes in the hope that the spirits would think that they were of their own evil ilk, and in this way the Druids could trick the demons into leaving them alone. Thus the custom of Trick-or-Treat came into being. They also tried to appease the spirits by giving them good things to eat. Some believed that on this night, the doors to the underworld burial chambers, known as sidh, stood wide open and the gods of the underworld came out to play tricks on humans. Therefore, all the rituals of Samhain were intended to appease the gods or demon spirits. In Britain the bonfires of Guy Fawkes night, which today is celebrated with fireworks, actually had its roots in this pagan festival.
This night was regarded as the most favorable time for divinations concerning marriage, luck, health and death. It was supposed to be the only time the help of the devil could be invoked. In Scotland young people gathered for games on this night to ascertain which of them would marry in the coming year. The Irish introduced Halloween to the USA. How sad that today's children, many of them Christian, are from the earliest age brought up to look forward to this festival as a time of fun!
Let us take a look at some of the symbolism behind today's Halloween traditions:
Jack-o'-lanterns derive from a folk tale of a man called Jack, who tricked the devil into promising him that he would not take his soul. The devil became angry and when Jack died his spirit supposedly roamed the earth because he could not enter either heaven or hell until judgment day. Now Jack complained that it was too dark, so the devil gave him a burning coal, which he put into a carved out turnip because it was so hot. This was the first Jack-o'-lantern. The USA adopted the practice of carving out pumpkins instead of turnips.
Folklore has it that the Druids would knock on the doors of homes asking for favors of the young girls living there. If they refused, the Druids killed the girls and left a lighted Jack-o'-lantern announcing their visit. What gruesome rituals on which to base a so-called fun game of carving pumpkins!
Graveyards are popular places which young people visit because tradition has it that the ghosts of the dead danced the graveyards on this night.
Black and Orange are the colors of Halloween. Black of course is symbolic of witches, death and night. Orange pertains to the harvest and the color of pumpkins. One of the most important sabbats or witches holidays is at Halloween.
Black cats were believed to have magical powers and the ability to see in the dark. Because cats are independent animals they were thought to be spirits. The idea that witches spirits, or familiars inhabit cats originated from these beliefs.
Broomsticks of course are synonymous with witches. In ancient times, before bridges were built, men used poles to vault over ditches or streams. Sometimes the women used their broomsticks for the same purpose. It looked as if they were flying. This is a possible reason for the myth that witches fly on broomsticks. We know that witches with broomsticks are popular costumes worn on Halloween night. A more probable explanation is the occult’s unholy interest in phallic symbols.
Apple bobbing and other games centered around apples derived from the pagan Roman and Celtic harvest festivals. The Celts regarded apples as a highly desirable fruit. King Arthur, according to folklore, was of Celtic origin. When he died he went to live in Avalon (the word avalon means land of apples). All this had to do with remembering what happened in the Garden of Eden. Satan has convinced much of the church that the apple is the fruit Eve ate of rather than having them understand she ate the fruit of his lies.
One of the games, other than apple bobbing, played during these festivals, involved peeling an apple in an unbroken ribbon then throwing it over the left shoulder. The form in which it fell was used for divination regarding the name of a future husband, among other things.
Side Note: The word ribbon or twine in Strong’s Concordance goes to the word bound. The word bound goes to bone. The apple is taught to replace the fruit of lies or Satan’s message to Eve. The word flesh goes to message. Who are we the flesh of His flesh with and bone of His bone?
Eph 5:30-32
30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Interesting to note is the fact that an apple, when cut through the inner core, reveals five pips which form a five-pointed star. To Satanists this is a pentagram. Who does this point to as the husband of the players?
Let us teach our children the Word of God, prophesying in song and dance, and praising their God instead of the keeping of pagan rituals and playing pagan games. Let us show them how to keep the feasts that God has ordained according to Leviticus chapter twenty-three instead of allowing them to participate in the devil’s holidays and festivities. In this way they will walk the highway of holiness into eternity, making their robes white. They will be elohim, or the children of the Most High God, who inherit the earth!
FESTIVALS OF MAN
We have been looking at the feasts ordained by God, and also at the festivals ordained by Satan. Now let us take a look at some of those proclaimed by man, known as national holidays. They have largely come into being for political reasons to recognize or bring to attention a particular group or event.
Labor Day recognizes the working class.
Memorial Day brings to remembrance soldiers lost in battle in various wars.
Saint Patrick's Day is Ireland's greatest national holiday and is celebrated in the USA as well. To the Irish it is a day of joy and celebration, as well as being a holy day. Legend has it that Saint Patrick, who was the patron saint of Ireland, used the three-leaf clover or shamrock, to teach about the Trinity. As we learned a little earlier, the worshiping of saints is necromancy. If a four-leaf clover was found, this rarity was believed to bring good luck. This of course was nothing other than divination.
Presidents Day recognizes the leaders of the country. Upon study of our book Governments of Satan, we see that almost all the presidents of the USA were either connected with or were in actual fact Freemasons, whose beliefs are based on the Secret Doctrine which dates back to sun worship. As we discover from this study, Freemasons initiation rituals include sexual perversion and blasphemy and perversion of truth.
Columbus Day keeps us in remembrance of the first sighting of the American continent.
Martin Luther King Jr's birthday is a memorial to the civil rights leader.
Japan Day venerates soldiers of war with Japan.
Veterans of Europe are recognized for their services in the two World Wars.
Kennedy Day commemorates the life and death of President Jack Kennedy, whose family were well known for bootlegging and their Nazi connections.
Hold onto your hats - there is even an Elvis Presley Day! This world icon was in fact known to be a Theosophist. He was an admirer of Helena Blavatsky. Our book on Governments of Satan gives us knowledge of Madam Helena Blavatsky. She was a Russian mystic on whose beliefs the New Age Theosophy is founded. Her teachings are based on the Secret Doctrine and the lost city of Atlantis, whose inhabitants had psychic powers of the mind's eye, and who roamed the universe through astral projection. She weaves mythology, spiritualism, satanism and Freemasonry into her Secret Doctrine.
Again we ask: where is God in all this?
In looking through the above list, the important point to be made is that none of these holidays are scriptural. God has shown us in Leviticus chapter twenty-three what feasts or holidays He wants us to keep. Any time we are side-tracked into something God has not ordained, you can be sure Satan is there as the one who has offered it to us. The meaning of holidays proclaimed by him will aid and further his cause one way or another. Remember the harlot church (Babylon) and all her pagan holidays will be destroyed along with the holidays of the systems and empires of man that the Bible calls the Beast. Let us be no part of them.
CHAPTER 4 - RAPTURE THEORY
The Rapture Theory is based upon a vision that a young woman had in the early 1800’s. A Jesuit priest in turn capitalized on it. Soon this theory was being taught and is still being taught and received in the church around the world. The theory teaches the church that it will be removed from this world as God executes His wrath on evil. On the contrary the Bible teaches we must be overcomers, good warriors, and help establish the Kingdom of God. We live under Satanic power and rule where every day can be a literal struggle.
We must remember, to keep the right frame of mind, that we do live in the midst of Satan’s kingdoms and that the tribulations we experience come directly from the enemy and not God.
To understand the true meaning of tribulations, let us look at the definition of the word itself. The Greek word thlipsis being translated tribulation means a pressing together, a squeezing, a pinching; used figuratively for distress, tribulation, affliction, trouble and persecution. The word is used strictly in connection with the hardships which Christ’s followers would suffer. The following are scriptures that support this statement.
Mark
4:17
17
and they have no
root in themselves,
and so endure
only for a time.
Afterward, when tribulation
or persecution
arises
for
the
word's sake,
immediately they
stumble.
Tribulation can weed out those that are not rooted into the living waters of truth so we must not believe the false doctrine concerning the rapture.
John
16:33
33
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In
the world
you
will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world.
Tribulation is something Christians pass through on the road to maturity and in the midst of battle to establish God's Kingdom.
Rom
5:3
3
And not only that, but we also glory
in tribulations,
knowing that tribulation
produces
perseverance;
Rom
12:12
12
rejoicing in hope, patient
in tribulation,
continuing steadfastly in prayer;
2
Cor 4:17
17
For our light
affliction,
which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory,
2
Cor 2:4
4
For out of much
affliction
and
anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should
be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so
abundantly for you.
Rev
7:14
14
And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me,
"These are the ones who come
out of the great tribulation,
and washed
their robes and
made
them white
in the blood of the Lamb.
Here are the end time warriors. they made it through the end time battle by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of their testimony.
BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO THE RIGHTEOUS
Many times we ask, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Often times the church confuses the tribulation of Satan against righteousness with the wrath of God that will eventually come down on those walking in sin. We see in scripture the object of God’s wrath in Romans 1:18 and again in Ephesians 5:6.
Rom
1:18
18
For the
wrath of God is
revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness
and unrighteousness
of men,
who hold
the truth
in
unrighteousness;
In other words, the wrath of God will come upon those who know the truth but walk in disobedience against it.
Eph
5:6
6
Let no man deceive
you with vain
words:
for because of these
things
the
wrath of God
comes
upon
the
children of disobedience.
We see from these scriptures the punishment is for those that operate through false doctrine and lawlessness. This wrath is against the lukewarm, immoral, compromising and dead to the Word of God church! This confusion leads into the understanding, or rather the misunderstanding of a rapture, whereby the children of God will be retrieved by Christ from the earth to live in Heaven. This is believed because people are not willing to endure trials and tribulations for righteousness sake. They would rather take the easy way out and leave everything behind. They ignore the scripture at 2 Timothy 2:3.
2
Tim 2:3
3
You therefore must endure
hardship
as a good
soldier
of Jesus
Christ.
HOW THE CHURCH IS FOOLED
In essence people today are filled with the same ungodly lies and evil thinking that was once in the hearts of the fallen angels. In Genesis 6 we see the angels or sons of God lusted after the daughters of men and took for themselves wives of their choice. They forsook their abode in Heaven and made earth their new home. In Jude, the sixth verse we read of the punishment these angels received.
Jude
1:6
6
And
the
angels
who did not keep
their proper domain,
but left
their own abode,
He has reserved in everlasting
chains
under darkness
for the judgment of the great day;
Now let us reason together, if God was angry that the angels gave up their home in heaven to come to earth, what about teachings that encourage men to want to give up their home on earth to be in heaven?’
In scripture we can see that the earth was created to be inhabited and that God did indeed give it unto the children of men to possess and have dominion over.
Isa
45:18
18
For
thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God,
Who formed
the earth
and made it, Who has established
it,
Who
did
not create it
in vain,
Who
formed it to be inhabited:
“ I am
the
LORD, and there
is
no other.
Ps
115:16
16
The
heaven,
even
the
heavens,
are
the
LORD’s;
But the
earth He has given
to the children
of men.
Remember, that Jesus taught on the mountain saying, ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.’ (Matthew 5:5) In Isaiah 49:8 we see clearly that God plans to restore the earth and in fact all that is on it. He will not remove man, but He will preserve them.
Isa
49:8
8
Thus
says the LORD: “ In an acceptable time I have heard You And in the
day of salvation I have helped You; I
will preserve You
and give You
As a
covenant
to the people
(talking
to the end time warrior),
To
restore
the earth,
To cause
them to inherit
the desolate
heritages;
To make another point to correct our thinking, one of the reasons people want to fly out of here is because the religious church has also taught that the earth will be destroyed. We have already seen that God wishes to restore the earth however, and Revelations tells us that God will go so far as to destroy those who destroy the earth.
Rev
11:18
18
The
nations
were angry,
and Your
wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You
should reward
Your
servants the prophets
and the
saints,
And those
who fear
Your name,
small and great, And should destroy
those who destroy the earth.”
God's people are here at this time of judgment and as we see, the earth will be rid of those that pollute it, but the land itself will be restored not destroyed.
DESTROYING FALSE DOCTRINE
The confusion does not stop with just wanting to escape trials and tribulations, but it gets worse. In order for man to justify his beliefs, he constantly adjusts his understanding of scripture or the interpretation of scripture to fit his doctrine. For example, it is not enough that they believe and teach this theory, but they have added to it. It now stands that there are three different theories on the one subject, pre-tribulation rapture, mid-tribulation rapture and a post-tribulation rapture. Some philosophers teach that God will not allow His people to undergo any hardship from the tribulations and so teach that the church will fly out of here before the tribulation begins. This is what they call Pre-tribulation Rapture. Remember what we read in John 16:33?
John
16:33
33
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In
the world
you
will
have
tribulation;
but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Others preach the message that the church will undergo some tribulation but before the big stuff starts God will remove His church (Mid-tribulation). Let us turn back to Revelation 7:14
Rev
7:14
14
And
I said to him, “Sir, you know.”
So he said to me, “These
are the ones who come out
of the great tribulation,
and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Others teach that the church will experience all of the tribulation and then will be taken to heaven.
Rev
20:4
4
And
I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to
them. Then I
saw
the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus
and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his
image, and had not received his
mark
on their foreheads or on their hands. And they
lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
We see in Revelation 20:4 those that come through the tribulation will rule with Christ, be glorified in verses 5 and 6 and we see in verse 9 that all this takes place on earth!
Rev
20:5
5
But the rest of the dead did not live again until the
thousand years
were finished.
This
is the
first
resurrection.
(This
is the dead that came up off the streets at Revelation 11:11.)
The Scripture at Revelations 20:6 goes on to say:
6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Where did they reign? See verse 9.)
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.
9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. (New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:2) And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.
We see from these scriptures that we as the church and God’s end time army are going nowhere. Heaven will fight through us and hell will fight through those that are opposed to truth and walk in opposition to it. God’s people will remain on earth to manifest the body of Christ and will come against and defeat those manifesting Satan, the Antichrist. By the way...We win! How?
Col
1:27
27
To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory
of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ
in you,
the hope
of glory.
Matt 19:26
26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
We would like to emphasize that this false doctrine, (escape through rapture) and every version of it, is strictly theory. There is no scriptural evidence to support it. What is a theory anyway? Taken from the American Heritage Dictionary, the definition for theory is:
Theory (thir’e) n. 1. Systematically organized knowledge applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstances; especially a system of assumptions, accepted principles, and rules of procedure devised to analyze, predict, or otherwise explain the nature or behavior of a specified set of phenomena. 2. Abstract reasoning; speculations. 3. a hypothesis or supposition.
These definitions do not at all sound like TRUTH! Truth does not change with every shift of the wind. This theory sounds more like the voice of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil to the discerning ear. In other words, this is man's intellect again without any input from the word of God.
Now let us investigate what the word rapture actually means.
First of all, it cannot be found anywhere in scripture. It is neither a Hebrew nor a Greek word. Looking at the definition of this word in the American Heritage Dictionary, we see that, rather than being something that takes place, (i.e. an occurrence as in being transported to Heaven, as the religious church teaches), it is an emotion.
Rapture (rap ´cher) n. 1. The state of being transported by a lofty emotion; ecstasy. 2. Often plural. An expression of ecstatic feeling. 3. Rare form. The transporting of a person from one place to another. (This last meaning is a latter definition and put in to accommodate the church.)
As anyone can see it was originally based on emotion. It comes from the Latin word raptura, which directly translated is ecstasy! This is important because what the word ecstasy actually means is a state of being overpowered by an emotion. It is what you experience when you are controlled by your emotions.
This is in essence the soul or carnal man's emotions taking control. This does not exercise the fruit of the Spirit, which is self control. (Galatians 5:23) And it is the direct opposite of how we are commanded to walk.
Gal
5:16
16
I say then: Walk
in the Spirit,
and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
We have covered a thorough word study and have brought out scriptures to help you understand this subject. Now we turn to the scriptures that seem to throw everyone off. Let us begin by taking a look at 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.
1Thess
4:16-17
16
For
the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
This frequently misinterpreted scripture is used to mistakenly support the rapture theory. Upon looking at it through the eyes of discernment and dissecting it through the original Greek language using Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the proper way to read this scripture would be this way: “The Lord Himself through the office of the Chief messenger who speaks for God will sing a song of encouragement and command those who are dead to self (or dead to the Adamic nature) to arise as a banner for the nations to see, that the nations would gather together to the Mountain of God in order to be changed from an undesirable condition as they experience the Feast of Tabernacles.”
We can see this same thought pattern as we look into the mirror of the Old Testament. First turning to Isaiah 5:26-28, we see that God will raise a banner to the nations from afar. This banner is described in more detail in Zechariah 9:16, when God saves His people and lifts them as a banner over His land.
Isa 5:26-28
26 He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, and will whistle to them from the end of the earth; surely they shall come with speed, swiftly.
27 No one will be weary or stumble among them, no one will slumber or sleep; nor will the belt on their loins be loosed, nor the strap of their sandals be broken;
28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent; their horses' hooves will seem like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind.
Zech 9:16
16 The LORD their God will save them in that day, as the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, lifted like a banner over His land--
These are His chosen ones who have been found faithful and have laid all things down and have separated themselves unto God alone.
They are the dead who will be raised first. The scripture goes on to say that He will whistle and they shall come with speed swiftly. This means that once the banner is raised and as God sings, the nations will come running to the Mountain of the Lord in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. When this takes place they shall be changed! Zechariah 10:8 says it this way: “I will whistle for them and gather them, for I will redeem them; and they shall increase as they once increased.” To be redeemed is to be changed from an undesirable condition. This portion of scripture in Zechariah goes on to say that He will gather them to Gilead and Lebanon, which is no surprise to those who study the scriptures. Gilead and Lebanon are symbolic of the Mountain of God or the government with the Ark of His Testimony, which by the way all takes place on earth.
To believe in a snatching away of people to Heaven would directly contradict the very words of Jesus himself in John 17:15. In praying for His disciples, it is important to know that he was praying for the foundation of the church as we know it today. There we see Jesus was not praying them out of the world. Why would the Lord build a foundation here on earth and not a house?
To conclude this chapter, we leave you with the words of one that walked with Christ.
I
John 4:17
17
Love has been perfected among us in this: that we
may have boldness
in the day
of judgment;
because as He
is,
so are we
in
this world.
Notice, on the “Day of Judgment”, God's people will be found like Him, in this world on that day. In other worlds, there are people, here on earth, that have matured to be like Jesus at the time of Judgment. These people are not heathens, they are the church!
CHAPTER 5 - THE TRINITY
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is ONE LORD” Deuteronomy 6:4
THE DOCTRINE DEFINED:
The Trinity refers to the Christian understanding of God as a unity of three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity is a post scriptural attempt to bring to human understanding the diverse affirmations about God, all of which seemed necessary for a full statement of Christian experience and belief. For most Christians today, the one God appears in what they call a threefold economy.
Difficulties with this belief emerged when formulating an understanding of this threefold economy. Various views led to numerous Trinitarian controversies such as those over subordinationism, the teaching that the Son is subordinate to the Father and the Holy Spirit to both, and modalism, the view that the three modes are transitory. The Councils of Nicaea and Constantinople outlined the dogma of the Trinity in express rejection of these two teachings.
But the Scripture will show us all these teachings including the Trinity are in error.
WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS:
The first thing we should understand is that God is a Spirit.
John
4:24
24
God
is Spirit,
and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
And secondly, the scriptures very plainly tell us, ‘Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord your God is ONE God.’ Deut 6:4
Isa 43:11
11 I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior.
Mark 12:29
29 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Mark 12:32
32 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.
1 Cor 8:4
4 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.
Gal 3:20
20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.
1 Tim 2:5
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
James 2:19
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-- and tremble!
God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The same God that speaks to us in the Old Testament is the same God that speaks to us in the New Testament. To truly understand the Godhead is impossible. He created us, we did not create Him! His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. In the Old Testament Book of Isaiah God speaks very clearly concerning His thoughts in comparison with man’s.
Isa 55:8-9
8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.
Looking also in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul asks:
Rom
11:34
34
For
who
has
known the
mind of the Lord?
Having different thoughts and different ways from the Lord’s, how can we even begin to comprehend YAHWEH Himself? Most people try by humanizing Him. How ridiculous, attributing to a righteous God the characteristics of sinful man. Even though God manifested as a man through Jesus, He was without sin and was in fact the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
Col
2:9
9
For
in
him
(Christ
Jesus)
dwells
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
I
John 3:5
5
And you know that He (God)
was manifested (Jesus
the Son)
to take away our sins, and
in
Him there is no sin.
Heb
4:15
15
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points
tempted as we
are, yet
without
sin.
Jesus was God in a body suit and the following scriptures go on to prove this.
John
1:1,3,14
1
In
the beginning
was the
Word,
and the
Word
was with
God,
and the Word
was God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Matt
1:23
23
“Behold,
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they
shall call His name Immanuel,”
which is translated,
“God
with us.”
First Timothy 3:16 probably explains it best.
1
Tim 3:16
16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God
was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.
God came to earth in the bodysuit of Jesus and He called that fleshly body His Son. That bodysuit was His Son in that He formed it in Mary to be born a normal human body, but He dwelled in that body as the complete Godhead. This was for the purpose of setting an example of how we must walk since we no longer had an example. All born after Adam would walk in sin like him. Not only would God through Jesus set the example for our walk, He would die to pay the death penalty for our sin. He would then give us the opportunity to choose between Adam and Himself (the last Adam) as to who would be our father.
1 Cor 15:45
45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
If we chose the last Adam, we would have to be born again. We are born again through baptism. He too was born of an Adamic mother. He set the example of how to be born over again by being baptized Himself (See the chapter on baptism). But the point I am making is: it was one God doing these things through the bodysuit called Jesus, reconciling the world back to Himself. He (God) took our sin on Himself through Jesus and died for us!
2
Cor 5:19
19
that is, that God
was in Christ
reconciling
the world
to Himself,
not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the
word of reconciliation.
Interestingly enough, those who do not confess that God was made manifest in the fleshly body of Jesus, their spirit, Apostle John tells us, is not of God, but of Antichrist. We see this in 1 John 4: 2-3.
I
John 4:2-3
2
By this you know the Spirit of God:, Every
spirit that confesses
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
John
2:19
19
Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple,
and in three days I
will raise it up.”
John
2:21
21
But He
was speaking of
the temple of His body.
Notice also, He said He would raise His own body. In John 2:21 Jesus referred to His body as the temple. Scripture also tells us that we too are referred to as God’s temple.
1
Cor 3:16
16
Do
you not know that you
are the temple of God
and that
the Spirit
of God
dwells
in
you?
Not only are we called His temple but in another place we are called the Body of Christ.
1
Cor 12:27
27
Now you
are the body of Christ,
and members
individually.
When we are born again, God comes to dwell in us as He did in Jesus. So in us as believers, also dwells the fullness of the Godhead. Not as individuals (until we are glorified), but as the corporate Body of Christ.
Col
2:9-10
9
For in
Him dwells
all the fullness
of the Godhead
bodily;
10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.
Rom
12:4-5
4
For as we have many
members in one
body,
but all the members do not have the same function,
5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
It is Christ in us, the hope of glory.
Col
1:27
27
To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of
this mystery among the Gentiles: which
is Christ
in you,
the hope of glory.
1
Cor 6:17
17
But he who is joined
to the Lord
is one
spirit
with
Him.
Eph
4:4-6
4
There
is
one
body
and one
Spirit,
just as you were called in one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
We have shown you through the scriptures the fullness of the Godhead pertaining to Jesus, who was the flesh suit of God, and also the Holy Spirit through God’s people in many bodysuits as One Body). The latter is not to say that we are God. His Holy Spirit dwells in us. We are just vessels that carry this treasure inside. When we too are born again as a child of God, His Spirit comes into us also to give us life much as He breathed His life into Adam so he could live. One God in us!
PERSONS vs. MANIFESTATIONS (Trinity)
The Trinity presents a problem when it reads that there are three persons in one God. It would do better to say three manifestations of One God or the same God. He manifested as:
1.The
FATHER in creation
2.The
SON in redemption
3.The HOLY SPIRIT in His people
We may not understand it, nevertheless it is Truth. The Word of God never refers to God as triune. To say that One God has three persons would be to say that God has Multiple Personality Disorder, which simply put means two or more personalities in one individual. This disorder is socially unacceptable in the human race, how then can we justify it in the ONE true and perfect God?
THE GREATER GOD (Subordinationism)
Subordinationism (also called Arianism) is one of the two views of God that provoked the outline of the Trinity. There are some today who hold to this view. It states that the Son is subordinate to the Father and that the Holy Spirit is subordinate to them both.
This view is based not only on Jesus having to be born on earth, but also on certain scriptures where Jesus is seen praying to the Father or speaking of the Father as if He were another person and greater than Himself. The truth of the matter as I stated before is, that God had to manifest through Jesus, as the Son for the redemption of His people and at the same time set an example of how we are to walk as believers. Through His prayer He was teaching us submission to God's Authority. It shows us that we can do nothing apart from the Father. He and the Father are in perfect unity. Why? Because they are ONE.
John
10:30
30
I
and My Father are one.
The separating of God begins in part when people feel more compassionate towards a certain side of God. It is common for individuals to be drawn to the Holy Spirit; for example, because He is the comforter, rather than to the Father who is a disciplinarian.
As people separate Jesus (the word or the message of God or the Truth) from the Father or from the Holy Spirit, they take away from having the fullness of God and they lack direction as well as portions of His anointing. They may understand the love of God (the Holy Spirit), but not receive the chastisement of God (the Father) or see the importance of believing and walking in total Truth (the Word, the Son).
I
John 5:7
7
For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father,
the Word,
and the Holy
Spirit;
and these
three are one.
John 14:7-10
7 "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
Each of the three manifestations of God has an anointing and without all three present, the Body of Christ cannot be the full stature of Christ to defeat our enemies. As an example: there are those who refrain from receiving and accepting the baptism of the Holy Spirit as they mature. In doing this they miss being fashioned and shaped into His image. Through the nine gifts of the Spirit we acquire the ability and power of God and through the fruit of the Spirit of Truth we acquire His nature. As a result of this refusal they remain babies, more in the image of Adam than Christ, and operate in intellect displaying the works of the flesh found at Galatians 5:19-21.
Gal 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
If the Body today walked in the fullness of Christ, then His authority and power would be present and our enemies would be under our feet. It is the plan and intent of the enemy to keep this from happening and therefore Satan divides and conquers. He divides God into three different people in our minds and causes us to be divided through his false doctrine and lies. Sadly many believe the lies and are mislead. In other words, Satan operates through unrighteous, gullible man to manifest his power so as to keep the House of God divided and powerless.
GOD, A TRANSITORY MODE (Modalism)
Modalism is a view that was taught in order to affirm the unity of God and guard against polytheism (the worship of many gods). However, this belief teaches God’s manifestations are transitory or temporary.
We know that God is the Father of creation. This manifestation is not temporary as we can see in Isaiah and in the Book of Philippians.
Isa
9:6
6
For
unto us a Child is born,
Unto
us a Son is given;
And
the government will be upon His shoulder.
And
His name will be called Wonderful,
Counselor,
Mighty
God,
Everlasting
Father,
Prince
of Peace.
Phil
4:20
20
Now to our God
and Father be
glory forever and ever.
Amen.
We also know that God is Jesus, the Son in redemption. This manifestation is not temporary.
Heb
9:11-12
11
But Christ came as
High
Priest
of the good things to
come,
with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands,
that is, not of this creation.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
Rev
1:8
8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
Beginning
and the
End,”
says the Lord, “who
is
and who
was
and who
is to come,
the
Almighty.”
Heb
13:8
8
Jesus
Christ
is
the
same
yesterday,
and
today,
and
forever.
The Holy Spirit is manifested through His people. Neither is this a temporary manifestation.
I
John 4:13
13
By this we know that we
abide in Him,
and He
in us,
because He
has given us of His Spirit.
Eph
3:16
16
that
He would grant you,
according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might
through His
Spirit
in
the inner
man,
Rom
8:11
11
But if
the Spirit
of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells
in you,
He
who raised Christ from the dead
will also give
life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells
in you.
Gal
6:8
8
For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but
he who
sows to the Spirit
will of the Spirit reap everlasting
life.
IN CONCLUSION:
JESUS PRAYED THIS WAY:
John
17:21-23
21
that they
all may be one,
as You,
Father, are
in
Me, and I
in You;
that
they also may be one in Us,
that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Jesus made it clear that you cannot separate God as He is one God and if we want victory, then as the body of Christ, we must be one in the Word or have the same Truths and the same message. We must not be a confusing voice to the new people God brings to us to feed. The first thing we must do is weed out all false doctrine and lies that Satan has divided us with. We must be in one accord!
CHAPTER 6 - LAODICEA RULE
TODAY’S LEADERSHIP & LAITY RULE
For many years the Church has been taught by leadership who have not been anointed or appointed by God. They have compromised God's Truth to satisfy the itching ears of the people and cement their position.
2
Tim 4:3-4
3
For the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine; but according to their own
desires, because they have itching ears; they will heap up for
themselves teachers;
4 And they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
Thus the enemy has built a foundation of deception on which the religious church now stands. This deception becomes the chasm of unrighteousness, which separates man from God.
The structure of today's religious and traditional leadership, in reality, has no true scriptural basis at all. The idea of a church government with the laity calling the shots is absolutely absurd. If you look at the way a body operates, it is the Head (governing authority) that gives direction to the body (members) and not the other way around. In this instance the word of God specifically says that we are the Body of Christ and members in particular. Without the direction of the Head (governing authority) the body (members) cannot function, thereby having a powerless body. Nowhere do we find in God’s word that the instruction comes from the body or laity (members). In fact Colossians 2:18,19 tells us that nourishment for the body members comes from the Head.
Col
2:18-19
18
Let
no one cheat you
of your
reward,
taking delight
in false
humility
and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not
seen, vainly puffed
up by his fleshly mind,
19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
We all for the most part understand that Christ's Body is made up of people, but to see the Government of God we must see also that He manifests as the Head of the church through people as well. In the thirteenth chapter of Romans we are instructed by the Apostle Paul to submit to the Government of God. This portion of scripture has been incorrectly and intellectually misinterpreted. Instead of being taught that the people of God are to submit to His Government, rather they are being taught to submit to the Government of Satan (systems of man, or what the scriptures call the Beast). This is because they are ministers teaching the Word of God from their own intellect and reasoning ability and not with the mind of Christ. This is the fruit we are seeing from ones chosen by man and not anointed or appointed by God. These chosen by man will come against those who are called of God and the people are in the dark as to what is even going on. Romans 13:1-3 is an often-used scripture to preach being obedient to the world’s systems.
Rom
13:1-7
1
Let
every
soul
be
subject to the governing authorities. For
there
is
no authority except
from God,
and
the
authorities
that
exist
are
appointed
by
God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
4 For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience' sake.
6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing.
7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
A study from the Strong’s concordance will give you a better translation of these scriptures to show you that they refer strictly to God’s Government, His authority, and not man’s. For instance, in verse 4 of Romans 13, we read “for he is God’s minister to you for good...” the Greek rendering of the word minister comes from the Strong’s number 1249 diakonos (dee-ak'-on-os);
1249 diakonos (dee-ak'-on-os);
probably from an obsolete diako (to run on errands; compare 1377); an attendant, i.e. (genitive case) a waiter (at table or in other menial duties); specially, a Christian teacher and pastor (technically, a deacon or deaconess): KJV-- deacon, minister, servant.
Now we know that all the government officials in this world cannot be ministers of God, nor are they all Christian teachers or pastors! How then could this scripture possibly be referring to man’s governments? It isn’t! And as far as the taxes are concerned, this does not refer to the taxes that are brought on the people through the systems of man. These are taxes or tributes due to the people of God (the priesthood or government) who diligently minister His word and care for the people. Part of this tax is for the upkeep of the buildings we meet in also.
We see yet another reference to the Government of God in the following scripture:
1
Pet 2:13-17
13
Therefore
submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for
the Lord's sake, whether
to the king as supreme,
(through
the top of His mountain)
14 or to governors, (Five-fold ministers) as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men --
16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.
17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
In this reference to the Government of God, we again turn to the Greek for the rendering of the phrase, every ordinance of man, and find that the actual translation reads: Submit yourselves to every human craftsman. We are to be shaped and molded by God’s people, the leadership of the church.
Prov
29:2
2
When
the righteous
are in
authority,
(those
chosen by God as His government)
the
people
rejoice:
but when
the wicked man rules,
(man’s
systems governed by Satan)
the
people
groan.
On an in depth study we find that the craftsmen of God (those He shapes and molds us through) are who we refer to as the Fivefold Ministry. (See book Government of God). Ephesians 4 gives us a list of these ministers.
Eph
4:11-13
11
And He Himself gave some to be apostles,
some prophets,
some evangelists,
and some pastors
and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
These are an extension of the Hand of God by which the power of God’s authority (direction of the Head) flows. The fact that they are human is obvious, being that it is through human vessels that God manifests and dwells.
2
Cor 6:16
16
And
what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the
temple of the living God; as God
has said,
I
will dwell in them,
and walk
in them;
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
GOD AS KING THROUGH PEOPLE
God alone is the authority over all things and He will exercise this authority through those He chooses to manifest through to the defeat of all that opposes both Him and His people.
Ps
95:3
3
For
the LORD is a great God, and a great King above
all gods.
This is why we should honestly want to be covered by those God chooses, knowing it is God through them acting on our behalf, rather than our leadership being chosen by man. Many times these are chosen because they are likable, educated or do things to our liking.
All who are in authority, be it in the Church or in the home, in the natural or in the supernatural, all the authorities of the universe are instituted by God. We must recognize the God delegated authority that operates through those He chooses. People are but earthen vessels, but the authority of God in them must be obeyed. (For more information on the Sovereignty of God and His inherent and delegated authority and power, please again see the Government of God).
The religious church today chooses leadership by forming a panel of members or a Board of Directors who vote and then hire people of their choice, who are in no uncertain terms stealing the right of our Sovereign God to choose whom He wishes.
Deut
17:15
15
You
shall surely set a king over you, whom the LORD
your God
chooses:
one
from
among your brethren
you shall set
as king over
you: you
may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.
We can see from this scripture God would never tell us to be obedient to the world’s systems, and He did not give us permission to choose our own leadership! It is only through the flesh satisfying the intellect of man that these fruitless methods exist. Jesus spoke of the reality of those brought in or hired to lead the people.
John
10:12-13
12
But
a hireling,
he who
is not the
shepherd,
one who does not own
the sheep,
sees the wolf
coming and leaves
the sheep
and flees;
and the
wolf catches the sheep
and scatters
them.
13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.
A hireling placed in a position by man does not have the anointing (approval) of God to accomplish God’s will for his people because God did not choose him or her. Only God, manifesting through His servants the prophets and apostles, can anoint and appoint whomever to lead His people. It should be noted however, that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34 & Galatians 3:28). He looks for yielded vessels and many times chooses the most unlikely people by our standards. Nationality or gender does not count with God. If you are born again you are His and He will use you as He sees fit.
Acts
10:34
Then
Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God
shows no partiality.
Gal
3:28
There
is neither Jew
nor Greek,
there is neither slave
nor free,
there is neither male
nor female;
for you are all one
in Christ Jesus.
This last scripture brings us to a sore spot for most of the church. There are many instances where God has chosen women to sit in an office to extend His hand of authority. It is Christ in us, we are but vessels, and God does not seem to have a problem with using females to govern through.
Here is a list just to name a few:
Miriam (Exodus 15:20)Deborah (Judges 4:4,5)
Huldah (II Chronicles 34:22)Anna (Luke 2:36)
Hannah (I Samuel 2:1-10)
It is God who established the offices and He chooses those He wants to fill them.
1
Cor 12:27-28
27
Now
you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
And again in Ephesians 4:
Eph
4:11-13
11
And
He
Himself
gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some
pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
If you look at much of today’s religious systems, and compare them to today’s political systems, for the most part you will see virtually no difference. Both are run by man through Satan to the benefit of Satan’s kingdom. The fact is there is no one equipped to handle life's affairs except those God selects to operate through on behalf of man and His Kingdom. The word of God says “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” - Romans 3:23. With no one being perfect in themselves, they work in vain to forward man’s ideas and ways, which are promoted by Satan and doomed to fail. There are many large, what man would call successful ministries today, but man has evil intentions and no matter how many people he sways to join with him in his wrong decisions, he will still be wrong and those that side with him are just as wrong. Most of the time ones that fall into that trap are the intellectual that think they know more than everyone else.
1
Cor 3:18-20
18
Let
no one deceive
himself.
If anyone among you seems to be
wise in this age,
let him become a fool
that he may become
wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness";
20 and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."
Systems and individuals that operate in the carnal intellect developed through man's reasoning power are subject to the curse spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah.
Jer
17:5
5
Thus
says the LORD: "Cursed
is the man who trusts
in man
and makes flesh
his strength,
whose heart
departs from the LORD.
It is Christ in us, the hope of glory, not our intellect or ability. Satan told Eve she could be like God and much of the church buys the same lie! With man’s ways so condemned, what better way is there to straighten out our lives than to do it God’s way. God is a spirit and those that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). The truth we are sharing here is concerning today’s end-time leadership: It is not Laity rule! God is a spirit that manifests through man. He chooses whomever He desires to manifest through. He rules! There is nothing we can say or do to change that. We as a body must learn to humble ourselves and submit to the manifestation of Jesus in our leadership, trusting the Jesus in them and allowing God through them to raise us up. This is why it is so important for it to be God who calls them!
We also must understand the functions of the body. We are not all going to feel the same way about certain things. When a situation arises the different parts respond as they are to respond. Let us take a situation where our natural body is wounded. The heart speeds up, the brain says: “slow down, don’t panic, lean on word of knowledge.” Now the heart is already pumping blood to the injury, starting a healing process. So it is not wrong for speeding up but we do want word of knowledge from God as to what to do. Maybe we are trying to determine whether to go to the hospital or not, etc. So the brain is not wrong for slowing down. Another rather silly example of the way the body of Christ may operate would be for the hands to look down on the feet because ‘They do not raise themselves to praise God!’ Our hands do not expect our feet to do this. Yet the Accuser of the brethren, Satan, makes us think: “Look at those feet, they don’t even appreciate the Lord.” Yet maybe the feet are dancing to praise the Lord. Each part does things differently. Each has its own function and personality.
So to establish God’s kingdom, carry out God’s vision or plan, or receive direction from God, all parts must be allowed to work.
THE BODY MUST ALLOW THE HEAD TO LEAD
When we think of the body of Christ we must picture Him as having a head! This head is made up of those He chooses to direct His body through. The body does not direct the head. It will not be the haughty or proud ones He chooses to work through, but the ones with a contrite spirit. Ones that really understand that it is Christ in them, and not their own ability, or they will get in God’s way. The body also must be humble enough to receive God’s leadership.
Isa
66:2
2
For
all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,"
says the LORD. "But on this one will I
look:
on
him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and
who
trembles
at My word.
With this truth in mind, let us humble ourselves and submit to God by obeying His leadership. Then there will be the power of God within the body to put an end to the wickedness of the world so we can walk into eternity!
Remember that there is a voice that whispers in our ears that questions the authenticity of God in our leaders. This voice is nothing more than the spirit of division, the spirit that is against Christ in us or Antichrist. It can be defeated with the sword of God’s word that says: “You will know them by their fruits.”
What is the fruit of your leadership’s lives? Are they there for you when you need them? Do they live at home like they appear to be in the church? An evil tree cannot produce good fruit! Good leadership counsels from God, not their own intellect for instance. Learn to tell the difference.
He will turn the wise men of the world back and make their decisions, based on their human intellect, foolish. Why take advice from people that operate through this carnal reasoning? The Lord will confirm the counsel of His messengers if He has chosen them!
Isa
44:25-26
25
Who
frustrates the signs of the babblers, and drives diviners mad; who
turns wise men backward,
and makes their
knowledge foolishness;
26 Who confirms the word of His servant, and performs the counsel of His messengers; who says to Jerusalem, 'You shall be inhabited,' to the cities of Judah, 'You shall be built,' and I will raise up her waste places;
Matt
7:15-16
15
"Beware
of false prophets,
who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous
wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?
A tree of righteousness that is the planting of the Lord (Isaiah 61:3) will bear holy fruit in their own lives. Be good fruit inspectors and do not let fear overtake you.
Therefore submit yourselves to God’s governing authorities.
CHAPTER 7 - ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED
The lie: Once saved, always saved
“Repeat the ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ and God will save you and keep you saved that you might spend eternity in Heaven and not Hell.” - quote taken from an actual tract.
There are those of the religious church today teaching that all a person must do to be saved, and maintain that position, is to repeat a formulated prayer similar to the prayer spoken of above. We will discuss the validity of that statement a little later in our study. We will prove there is more to salvation than just repeating a sinner’s prayer. In fact, unless one walks in repentance and is changed by the Spirit of God even salvation cannot be obtained. And if the walk is started, but not maintained, salvation could be lost. Apostle Paul encouraged the saints in Philippi to work out their own salvation in Philippians 2:12.
Philippians 2:12
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
The Doctrine of Salvation has concentratedly been more perverted by the enemy than any other false doctrine for the simple fact that if not baptized correctly, people are not able to enter God’s Kingdom at all. Unknowingly they remain a part of Satan's church, Babylon, and fulfill the scriptures found in Matthew 13:13-15.
Matthew 13:13-15
13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14
And in them
the prophecy
of Isaiah
is fulfilled,
which says:
‘ Hearing
you will hear
and shall
not understand,
And seeing
you will see
and not
perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’
Again, here is the problem.
John 3:3-5
3
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a
man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his
mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Most
assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water
and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God.
WE MUST TELL IT LIKE IT IS!
Those whose job it is to carry the message of salvation bear a very great responsibility. In Ezekiel chapter 3 we can see the seriousness of that responsibility.
Ezek
3:17
17
Son
of man, I
have made you a watchman
for the house
of Israel;
therefore hear
a word from My mouth,
and give
them warning from Me:
What we see first is that the watchman is sent to Israel, and secondly, the watchmen must not be afraid to warn.
Jesus commanded His disciples in Matthew 10:5-6 not to go into the way of the Gentiles, rather go to the lost sheep of Israel. (More on the lost sheep of Israel later in our study.)
Matt
10:5-6
5
These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go
into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the
Samaritans.
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Now continuing with Ezekiel:
Ezek
3:18
18
When
I say to the wicked, 'You
shall surely die,' and you give him no
warning,
nor speak to
warn the wicked
from his wicked way, to
save his life,
that same wicked man shall die
in his iniquity;
but his
blood
I will require at your
hand.
In verse 18, we see that if the opportunity to give the wicked a warning is not carried out then the blood of the wicked man will be required at the hand of the watchman.
Ezek
3:19
19
Yet,
if you warn
the wicked, and he does not
turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he
shall die
in his iniquity; but you
have delivered your
soul.
Do not let the spirit of timidity keep you from reaching out if God opens the door. But do not reach out unless it is He that opens it!
In verse 20 we see yet a different scenario. Here the righteous must be warned, just as the wicked man had to be warned by the watchman, of evil obstacles in his path. If the righteous man does not adhere to the words of the watchman or man of God, he will die in his sin. But wait! I thought that being righteous meant being saved and eternally secure? Not so. There is no such thing as being eternally secure. In this life there are two roads, one leads into eternity and one leads to death. All the same they are still roads, which means that it is a daily walk until we reach our final destination. We must walk out our salvation and our deliverance on the Highway of Holiness if we are to attain salvation and eternal life.
Ezek
3:20-21
20
Again,
when
a righteous man turns
from his righteousness and commits
iniquity,
and I
lay a stumbling block
before him, he
shall die;
because you
did not give him warning,
he shall die
in his sin, and his
righteousness
which he has done shall
not be remembered;
but his blood I will require at your
hand.
21 Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul."
There is no doubt that the responsibility is great. With that in mind we will discuss how and why Satan, operating through the religious and traditional church, has come to deceive so many with the tactics he uses. The biggest Lie Satan has perpetuated is once saved always saved, instead of the Truth, we must beware that our name is not blotted from the Lamb’s book of life!
At the beginning of this chapter is a quote from a frequently used tract that is used to support this LIE. Take a look at its content. There should be at least three things that stand out to you as wrong.
1.
Repeat
the Sinner’s Prayer. Repentance should come from the individual's
heart based on their own conviction.
2.
God will keep you saved. The Word tells us we must mature into
the image of God.
3. Spend an eternity in Heaven and not Hell. If we die we go to paradise not heaven for one thing, and secondly paradise is here on earth concealed from carnal eyes. The sword that kept Adam and Eve out stops our entrance also.
SAMPLE PRAYER
“Oh, God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank you for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”
What is wrong with this tract? Not a thing if it was truly the testimony of an honestly repentant person crying out to God for forgiveness, causing Him to come into their heart. Or was it just a person repeating a formulated prayer looking for a quick fix? Understanding the need for salvation comes from seeing and understanding that there is no hope for Adam’s race and wanting to be born into something else that will allow us to change. The above prayer is an excerpt from a tract that you might find in public facilities or being handed out on the street.
FOUNDATION BUILT ON LIES
These tracts are a major aid in publicizing false doctrine making sure people’s Christian foundation is built on lies. The tracts are often printed with bright colors and catchy phrases and are packed with plenty of scriptures in order to appeal to people in three ways.
1. Lust of the eye: They are attractive, being well designed.
2. Lust of the flesh: They appeal to the soulish emotions of man and his desire to be like God and live forever without facing any type of judgment or facing a major change in their lives.
3. The Pride of Life: They provoke a false sense of security without having to walk holy: “I’m okay, you’re okay” line of thinking.
What do the people that believe this way do with scriptures like: “Those that love Me keep My commandments”? Or how about: “Be holy as I am holy”?
Scripture tells us that most of the tactics used in this tract are things of the world and are not of the Father. (1 John 2:16,17)
1
John 2:16-17
16
For all
that is in
the world—the
lust
of the flesh,
the lust
of the eyes,
and the pride
of life—is
not
of the Father
but is
of the world.
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
There are many ways people are drawn to repeat this prayer. The devil sees to it for an example, that a tract of this kind is available to a person just exactly when they are at their lowest point in life and in search of a savior. Let's get them started wrongly in the very beginning is his motto.
Other ways in which people are drawn are through widely advertised Christian concerts and invitations to different church activities, bait on the hook. Many times you really cannot tell the difference between the church and the world’s concerts and gatherings.
It has become standard practice among most denominations with the intent of building God’s Kingdom to emphasize fear, and the terror of eternal damnation for nonbelievers. The very horror of burning in hell is enough to compel anyone to their knees. No one wants to perish! Is this method allowing God to draw them? The traditional church uses many different ways in order to draw people to Christ. John 3:16 is a very common scripture used.
John
3:16
16
For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever
believes
in him should not
perish,
but have everlasting life.
Using these tactics, they are in danger of creating a no fault mentality as they entice people to not just have faith in His saving grace, but come to believe that this is all that is necessary on their part. Just believe. In other words they are saying if a person receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior, without any further requirement of maturing or change, they remain guiltless, because Jesus paid the price for their sins. Thus they fool people into thinking that they are saved and eternally secure from entering into a life of damnation, through this one act or prayer on their part. This false doctrine so sadly abuses the grace of God.
NO REAL RELATIONSHIP
Once saved always saved is a lie that is embraced by those who are looking for a painless solution to their own self condemnation and guilt.
They seek for a method of salvation rather than a true relationship with God followed by obedience as they mature. We see this in Matthew 19:16-24, where the rich young ruler sought after a method.
Matt
19:16-20
16
Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what
good thing
shall I
do
that I
may have eternal life?”
17
So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but
One, that is, God. But if
you want to enter
into life,
keep
the commandments.”
18
He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “ ‘You shall
not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not
steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’
19
‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.’”
20
The
young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth.
What do I still lack?”
Jesus requested a very hard thing of the rich man then. He was told to give up all he had and follow Him. In other words, die to this life and its solution to joy and peace. He was to make himself reliant on God rather than his riches he had accumulated himself. He was to depend on God to give him the life he needed to lead in order to be shaped and molded into the image of God. A maturing was required. When God brings prosperity into our lives it is because we are solid in our faith enough to handle it. Why would God bring prosperity to His children if it would destroy them? Remember, the root of all evil is the love of money.
There is nothing that we can do in ourselves to be saved except repent of the way we have been walking, renounce the Adamic race, submit to baptism and be born again as a new creature.
Eph
2:8
8
For
by
grace
are you saved
through
faith; and
that
not
of yourselves:
it
is the
gift of God:
The initial salvation comes by grace as a gift, but continuing to grow in our walk comes about as we receive the love for the Truth and mature. Since God is truth, we develop a love for Him and seek how we can please Him. If we do not hunger for truth Satan's lies will overtake us and it would be very hard to remain on the Highway of Holiness.
II
Thess 2:10
10
And
with all unrighteousness
deception among those that
perish;
because
they did
not receive
the love
of the truth,
that they might be
saved.
CONFESSION
Before going any further, let us address the subject of confession. It is taught that a person must confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and this is so, but the word confess means so much more than what most of us have been taught! This is modeled after Romans 10:9,10.
Rom
10:9-10
9
That
if you confess
with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe
in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved. 10
For
with the heart one believes unto righteousness; and
with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation.
The word confess in this scripture means to establish covenant with. It is a verbal contract carried out through obedience.
We can't be perfect in this world, but we can repent. God faithfully forgives us. For we know that: all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and we also know that the Lord is not willing for any to perish, but that all should come to repentance
2 Pet 3:9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
ONLY ISRAEL IS TO BE SAVED
The Word of God also says that there are vessels created, some for honor and some for dishonor.
Rom
9:21
21
Does
not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make
one
vessel for honor,
and another
for dishonor?
Not all will be saved! Now pay very close attention to this next verse. Matthew 1:21 says ‘Jesus will save His people from their sin.’ Who will Jesus save? His people! And who are His people? They are the lost sheep, from the stock of Israel. Jesus says He has another flock. These are the ten lost tribes that are scattered through the nations, but they are still Israel! God knows where they are. Every hair on their heads is numbered. They are now gentiles or heathen, wild olive trees, but His sheep nevertheless. He is calling them out of obscurity where they have been scattered throughout the nations.
John
10:27-28
27
My
sheep hear My voice,
and I know
them,
and they
follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
And again Jesus says;
Matt
15:24
24
But
He answered and said, “I
was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
To the Romans, Apostle Paul wrote:
Rom
11:26-27
26
And
so all
Israel
will be saved,
as it is written: “ The
Deliverer
will come out
of Zion,And
He will turn away
ungodliness
from Jacob;
27
For this is
My covenant
with them, When
I take away their
sins.”
Yes, God will call old Israel out of the nations where she has crossed may times with other bloodlines, to give her opportunity to be born again and start anew. She must be born again to see the Kingdom of God. To understand more about Israel, refer to the chapter entitled Israel. If you care to study Jeremiah 31 you can see this clearly.
GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD
God loves all He has created and He desires it to be restored to the original perfection. He is indeed the God of Israel, but when we are born through Jesus at baptism, we become Abraham's seed regardless of our natural bloodlines. We are born through the lion of Judah, Christ and therefore we are Israel, the seed of Abraham. Galatians 3:27-29 explains this perfectly.
Galatians 3:27
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Scripture does say that when a person believes in Christ, he is saved (Acts 16:31). This scripture should not be interpreted as the end result in receiving salvation however. Scripture also tells us this:
Phil
2:12
12
work
out
your own
salvation with fear and trembling.
While it is true that part of being saved is believing in Christ, it should be understood what is meant by “believe in Christ.”
Do not forget that devils believe and tremble! So to just believe does not ensure a person’s salvation.
James
2:19
19
You
believe that there is one God; you do well: the
devils
also believe,
and tremble.
Did you know the word believe in Greek; means to obey? Hmmm ... this radically changes the whole meaning of that verse, doesn’t it? The Strong’s definition for obey is this:
5219 hupakouo (hoop-ak-oo'-o);
from 5259 and 191; to hear under (as a subordinate), i.e. to listen attentively; by implication, to heed or conform to a command or authority: KJV --hearken, be obedient to, obey.
With the recent Me and Jesus charismatic move and the world thrust of self-worth and self-reliance, there are more and more people unwilling to be obedient to God’s truth or to submit to a structured, Godly government.
See Government of God. To receive salvation is to not only believe, but experience Jesus, and not reject His call to obedience and holiness. The Greek word receive according to Strong’s Concordance means:
3880 paralambano (par-al-am-ban'-o);
from 3844 and 2983; to receive near, i.e. associate with oneself (in any familiar or intimate act or relation); by analogy, to assume an office; figuratively, to learn:
KJV-- receive, take (unto, with). Not to reject nor withhold obedience; to experience.
Col
2:6
As
you therefore have received
Christ Jesus the Lord,
so walk
in him:
Learn of Him. Associate closely with Him. Walk worthy of what He has called you to do for Him. Be obedient.
GOD WILL KEEP YOU SAVED.
Not only does this false statement appeal to the carnality (flesh) of man, it also instills in him a false sense of security, thinking to himself that he is Free of any responsibility for his sin. How many times have we heard the old remark from the newly baptized: “free at last, thank God Almighty I’m free at last”. They are under the impression they are covered by the blood of Jesus as they continue to walk in a life of sin. This line of thinking leaves out the accountability we have as children of God to walk holy before Him. The scripture tells us plainly, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
1
Pet 1:15-16
15
but
as He who called you is holy, you
also
be holy
in all
your conduct,
16 because it is written,
"Be
holy, for I am holy."
Gal 6:7-8
7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked: for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
The end result of those that do not walk holy is that they will not inherit the kingdom of God, as you can see here.
1
Cor 6:9-10
9
Do
you not know that the unrighteous
will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not
be deceived:
neither fornicators,
nor idolaters,
nor adulterers,
nor homosexuals,
nor Sodomites
10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, will inherit the kingdom of God.
This list eliminates quite a few people from the Kingdom unless they change the direction of their life.
SO WHAT REALLY IS SALVATION?
Salvation is regarded by the traditional church almost exclusively as freedom from the power and dominion of sin over us after a one time act of salvation. The prayer of repentance and asking Jesus to change us by coming into our lives is only one aspect of our salvation, however. To be saved is to be allowed into the spiritual gate of the courtyard of New Jerusalem to begin our walk with God. We have quite a journey as we continue on however to get to the holy of holies. The tabernacle in the wilderness is a beautiful picture of the Christian walk. See chapter on the Feasts.
We enter into the courtyard through the gospels to begin our walk. We pass by the altar of sacrifice where the blood of Jesus covers our past sin. We continue to the laver, where we lose our identity in baptism. We next enter into the Holy place as our lives are touched by the fivefold ministers and we are encouraged to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. We then walk in His light symbolized by the Menorah. We find out we are part of Israel as we see the table with the twelve loaves of shewbread on it. Each loaf stands for one tribe. When we are baptized, as discussed before, we become Israel with traits resembling the tribe we were born to. As the prophets blow the trumpet, or the prophetic word is given, we receive our call designating our place in the body experiencing the Feast of Trumpets. We continue to the Altar of Incense where Atonement is offered as we stand before Him repenting and laying down our lives. We are either a stench as we have not completely separated from the world and its Adamic race, or we are a very sweet aroma to God and He wants to fully Tabernacle in us. If pleased He invites us to be further prepared so we can attend Shimini Atzeret. As we continue to mature we become the law over all evil, over all law through the covering of the blood of Christ. Finally our journey ends. We become the triumphant church at Simchat Torah. So you see, salvation certainly is not a one-time act somewhere back in our past!
SALVATION
Salvation is a term that stands for several Hebrew and Greek words, the general idea being safety, deliverance, ease, health, prosperity, freedom and soundness. (You can find these definitions in the Strong’s Concordance #3444 and #3467.)
The word salvation alone encompasses our whole being - spirit, soul and body; furthermore it is used to refer to Israel, God’s people.
Gal
6:16 (New Testament)
16
And
as many as walk according
to this rule,
peace
be on them,
and mercy,
and upon the Israel
of God.
(Here
the Apostle Paul is speaking of the act of
walking in the spirit as opposed to walking in the flesh.)
Rom
11:26
And
so all
Israel
shall be saved:
REPENTANCE – FAITH – GOD'S GIFT OF FORGIVENESS
RECAP
Again, because God scattered Israel throughout the nations. Satan really thought he was destroying God’s people by separating them from each other, but God allowed it because it was His way all along of redeeming mankind back to Himself. However, our salvation is still conditioned upon repentance. Repentance means turning completely from sin, changing the mind and then walking in a different direction opposite of that sin.
Then we must have faith in Christ. This faith includes believing on the name of Jesus for your salvation, then being obedient to the Truth and walking in His commandments. Remember Jesus said in John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is he who loves Me.”
So, salvation proceeds from the love of God. (John 3:16) It is based upon the atonement wrought by Christ.
Eph 1:18-23
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, (now get this next statement!)
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Col 1:27
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Salvation then is experienced and continued through our repentance and God’s forgiveness, regeneration and sanctification. All this is worked out daily as we walk forward. It culminates in the resurrection and glorification of all true believers. But, this is only possible after proper baptism, or being born again into a new generation of people that are separated from the carnal Adamic race and partaking of the wisdom of God that flows from His fountain (see Government of God, chapter Zion Praise). It is a fact, if we do not walk in obedience to what He says and continue to mature, we will be deceived even though we are the elect.
THE DOCTRINE, ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED, BIRTHS SPIRITUAL ORPHANS
This particular deceptive false doctrine has been responsible for more spiritual orphans than any other, leaving many people spiritually abandoned and destitute after altar calls and large evangelistic moves. Many scriptures are used as bait on the hook to draw people to the altar, concerts, etc.
Side Note: The altar call was initiated by Charles Finney only 150 years ago. No one in the Bible, including Christ, ever ministered in this way! They didn't hold concerts, sideshows or crusades either.
Think of all the people that are being drawn, not by the Father, but by those who strive to obtain favor with God by their works, that they should boast and be seen of men as they notch their belts for every soul won, so to speak.
Eph
2:8-9
8
For
by
grace
are you saved
through
faith;
and
that
not
of yourselves:
it is
the
gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
They merchandise the anointing of God and build for themselves empires, known as denominations. All this is in order to expand their boundaries so that they can grow in numbers. They devise ways to bring people unto a false salvation through appealing to the carnal nature of man rather than allowing God to draw their spirits to His.
Isa
56:11
11
Yes, they
are
greedy
dogs
Which
never
have enough.
And they are
shepherds
who cannot understand;
They
all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain, from his own
territory.
Ps
127:1
1
Except
the LORD build the house, they
labor in vain
that build it:
John
12:32
32
And I,
if I
am lifted up from the earth, will
draw all peoples to Myself.”
Col
2:8
8
Beware
lest anyone cheat
you
through philosophy
and empty
deceit,
according to the tradition
of men,
according to the basic
principles of the world,
and not
according to Christ”
Diligently they make the preparations organizing gatherings called Revivals. How can the dead church of Sardis give life anyway? These gatherings extend across the world to gather potential babes in Christ under the false pretense of bringing them to Jesus. They do not heed to the word of God that says:
John
6:44
44
No
one can come to Me
unless
the Father
who sent Me draws him;
and I
will raise him up at the last day.
Side Note: If it is not the Holy Spirit within men drawing the new ones, what spirit then is really drawing them? Antichrist! He diligently works building his church daily with those that lie in sleep, caught up in man’s intellect they are dead upon the street – This is a line from a song God gave me in 1997. *Turn to our song page to hear it if you choose. It is called “Securely Waiting”! The abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel and Matthew concerning the end of this age is the spirit of Antichrist or lawlessness that indwells born again people. It enters, through disobedience, to sit on the throne of their hearts, taking the place of the Spirit of God who was dwelling there. They become the Bride of Satan instead of the Bride of Christ. Because of this false doctrine, and in fact, all false doctrines that are taught from the knowledge of the tree of good and evil, so many of potentially Godly and talented people are lost to serve the wrong god. The church has often appealed to a person's soulish or carnal nature to give them a feel good mentality. It is for the most part all about building large congregations and taking in tithes and offerings. The Word of God in Romans 8:6-7 states however that:
Rom
8:6-7
6
For
to be carnally
minded
is death;
but to be spiritually
minded
is life
and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
THE LIE:
ONCE SAVED ALWAYS SAVED
I believe the motivation behind the falsehood simply to be unwillingness to die to our carnal man and live a holy and righteous life before God. We then take others with us thinking there is safety in numbers. I agree that it is nothing of ourselves that brings forth salvation, and that it is only by God’s mercy and grace that we are saved. But I do believe it is absolutely necessary that we walk daily in repentance, seeking the Lord’s face every time we stumble and praying as King David did.
Ps
51:10-11
10
Create
in me a clean heart,
O God, And renew
a steadfast spirit
within me.
11
Do not
cast me away
from Your
presence,
and do not
take Your Holy
Spirit from me.
This was a spirit that was humble before its Lord. Here James 4:10 says:
James
4:10
Humble
yourselves in
the sight of the Lord,
and He
will
lift you up.
We must be humble in knowing that it is very possible to lose our salvation, but it is equally important to understand that it will be only by our choice. Hebrews 10:26 and 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 tells us clearly that we can fall away if that is our will and never return.
Heb
10:26
26
For
if we sin willfully after
we have received
the knowledge
of the truth,
there no
longer
remains
a
sacrifice
for sins,
Only if we hunger for the Word, for Truth, can we be prepared as His Bride without spot or wrinkle.
II
Thess 2:10-12
10
and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish,
because they
did not receive the love of the truth,
that they
might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Jesus said of backsliders and those that do not want to change as new truth is understood: “He that puts his hands to the plow and looks back is not worthy of the kingdom of God.” He also said “Many shall call upon my name and say ‘Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, cast out devils in your name?’ And I will say ‘Depart from me you workers of iniquity, for I never knew you!’” Jesus also talks about ones having their names blotted out of the Lamb’s book of life, meaning their names were once in there! There is endless proof in God’s word that uproots the lie of ‘once saved, always saved.’ This false doctrine is nothing more than a buffet of laziness and complacency. It feeds those who are satisfied with the status quo in God and are unconcerned about pleasing Him. It is a lie that is meant to entrap and enslave people into a false sense of security and confidence, all the while, building up strong the walls of flesh and disallowing the true spirit of God to shape and mold them into the vessels of honor He wants them to be.
We must remember that to believe is to obey. To willingly disobey the command to "Be holy, for I am holy." and consider yourself a saved child of God is futile. Death surely will lie at your door.
Rev 22:14
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
Apostle Paul said to the Galatians “God will not be mocked, that which you sow, so also shall you reap.”
We must consider that the gift of salvation is just that, a gift, given out of a heart that cannot be equaled in perfection and love. Jesus died for our transgressions. Let us fight a good fight against the powers of darkness and live holy for Him so we can help teach others and be pleasing in His sight.
WE MUST BE OBEDIENT AND SEPARATE FROM THOSE WHO ARE NOT
Revelation 3:5 tells us that those that are overcomers will have white robes.
Rev 3:5
5 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
These white robes are garments of separation and holiness.
Rev 7:14
14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
We find these robes in Strong's as 4749. It comes from 4724 which means: long fitting gown as a mark of dignity.
It is strengthened by 2476, meaning to abstain from associating with. KJV translates this number (to withdraw self). It continues to a primary root 2476 that translates: covenant, establish, stand.
THE LAMB'S BOOK
Rev
21:27
27
But
there shall by no
means enter
it anything
that defiles,
or causes
an abomination
or a lie,
but only
those
who are written
in the Lamb's Book of Life.
We see also in Luke 10:20 where Jesus told them to rejoice because their name was written in Heaven, and not to rejoice over their power over the enemy which He had given them.
Luke 10:20
20 "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
The flip side of this however, is Jeremiah 17:13
Jer
17:13
13
O
LORD, the hope of Israel, all
who forsake You
shall be ashamed.
"Those who depart
from Me
shall be written
in the earth,
because they have forsaken
the LORD,
the
fountain
of living
waters."
Side Note: If you want to see this in action turn to John 8:4-9. There the woman had a repentant heart and Jesus would forgive her. The opposite happens to the scribes and Pharisees who were self righteous. They thought they were right through the law of Moses, but Jesus wrote their names in the earth as in Jeremiah 17:13 above. They were cursed and their names were stamped out of the Book of Life. How can this be? God is a God of mercy and grace! He is also a just God. His word plainly says, once we know truth and are filled with the Holy Spirit after baptism, that we must separate and be holy. We are held responsible for our walk. If we fall away after we know truth we are in deep trouble!
Heb
6:4-6
4
For
it is impossible
for those
who were once
enlightened,
and have tasted the heavenly gift,
and have become partakers
of the Holy
Spirit,
5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
Why did they not make it? They were saved through the gift of salvation, filled with the Holy Spirit to guide and teach them, but they did not walk the walk of holiness. They would lose their salvation because of disobedience. Even Jesus experienced learning obedience. Why should God not expect as much from us!
Heb
5:8-9
8
though
He was a Son,
yet He
learned obedience
by the things which He
suffered.
9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
He is eternal salvation to whom? All who obey Him.
CONCLUSION
In closing, He, Jesus, is truly the savior. Not for those however that have simply repeated a formulated prayer contrived by the religious community with no real conviction beyond emotion. He is Savior to those that are repentant, actively separate, and love Him enough to try to obey Him, that His blood may cover them and His grace bring eternal life. So, God help and forgive those that have caused God's people to believe the lie once saved - always saved. Especially the leadership that shepherds the flock of God!
Jeremiah 23:1-2
1 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the LORD.
2 Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the LORD.
Once saved, always saved, sorry you are wrong!
CHAPTER 8 - HOUSE PRIEST
For many years the church has taught that women are inferior to men both in the home physically, and in the church spiritually. The role of a woman has been thought to be of little significance. This is not so with God! Because of the errors concerning this issue, the body of Christ has failed in both the home and the church.
Gal
3:26-28
26
For
you
are all
sons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Col
3:9-11
9
Do
not
lie
to one
another,
since you have put
off the old man with his deeds,
10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Since the Word of God does not contradict itself, we must search the scriptures with the mind of Christ to understand what is truly being said.
1
Cor 2:13-14
13
These
things we also speak,
not
in words which man's wisdom teaches
but which the Holy
Spirit teaches,
comparing
spiritual things
with spiritual.
14 But the natural
man
does
not receive
the things
of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness
to him; nor
can he know them,
because
they are spiritually
discerned.
The religious church uses their own human understanding and intellect to teach that which is spiritual. As we yield to the Spirit of God putting on the mind of Christ, we allow Him to reveal to us what the Spirit is speaking to the true church.
Now as we read through the scriptures I will list below you will probably think, “Surely they are saying the woman is inferior,” but you see, most of us have a traditional church doctrine as a background for our thinking.
The scriptures most quoted by the religious church pertaining to this subject are as follows:
1
Cor 14:35
45
And
if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home:
for it is a
shame for women to speak in the church.
But the fact is, women did indeed teach men in the church, enjoyed God’s blessings in doing it and were praised for it by other believers.
One evidence we see of this is found in Acts 18:26
Acts
18:26
26
So
he began to speak boldly in
the synagogue.
When Aquila and
Priscilla
heard him, they
took him
aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
Here we see Priscilla had a part in straightening out Apollos and she did this in the synagogue!
2
Tim 1:5
5
when
I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt
first in your grandmother
Lois
and your mother
Eunice,
and I am persuaded is in you also.
Lois and Eunice taught Timothy as a youngster. In fact they held church in their home.
Judg
4:4-5 says:
4
Now
Deborah,
a prophetess,
the wife of Lapidoth, was judging
Israel
at that time.
5 And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
So Deborah is seen here judging all of Israel for forty years. In that forty years surely someone would have informed her that she was out of line! Instead she had prophetic insight, talents and leadership abilities that she was loved and accepted for. She was a military commander as well as judge and in her time of rule the land had rest for forty years from their enemies.
Judg 5:31
31 "Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD! But let those who love Him be like the sun when it comes out in full strength." So the land had rest for forty years.
Let us look at Ephesians 5:22-24, another misunderstood scripture.
Eph
5:22-24
22
Wives,
submit
yourselves
unto your own husbands,
as
unto the Lord.
23 For the husband
is the head
of the wife, even
as
Christ
is the head of the church
and he is the
savior
of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing
Wives are to submit to their husbands this is true, but not the way or for the purpose most of the church believes. We will discuss what is really meant in this scripture later, but let us look at some examples from the Bible that will show us that Godly women did in fact act apart from the unrighteous decisions of their husbands. Let us look at the story of Abigail. Abigail who knew her husband was very wrong in his attitude towards King David, chose to serve the King. We know also that Jesus is referred to in scripture as the greater David. The key is this. Women are to submit to the Jesus in their husbands. Women do not have to submit to the carnal nature of man and his wrong attitudes as we shall see, but first let us read this account found at 1 Samuel 25:14.
1
Sam 25:14
14
Now
one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's
wife,
saying, "Look, David
sent
messengers
from the wilderness to
greet our master;
and he
reviled them.
David and his men had provided protection for Abigail’s family and friends and now her husband slanders David as though he were a slave running from his master. This strong lady served God and His appointed leadership rather than follow her husband in this very crucial circumstance.
1
Sam 25:18-19
18
Then
Abigail
made haste
and took two
hundred loaves of bread,
two
skins of wine,
five
sheep already dressed,
five
seahs of roasted grain,
one hundred
clusters of raisins,
and two
hundred cakes of figs,
and loaded them on donkeys.
19 And she said to her servants, "Go on before me; see, I am coming after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
In talking to David, Abigail said:
1
Sam 25:25
25
"Please,
let not my lord regard this scoundrel
(
the KJV
version renders
this word man
of Belial)
Nabal.
For as
his name is,
so is
he: Nabal
is his name,
and folly
is
with him. But I,
your maidservant,
did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.
What did God do to Nabal for his disobedience?
1 Sam 25:38
38 Then it came about, after about ten days, that the LORD struck Nabal, and he died.
How did God through David reward Abigail for her obedience? He ended up marrying her! How will Jesus reward women who are obedient to Him and do the correct thing??
Let us continue reading in 1 Samuel chapter 25 to see what would have happened if Abigail had not overridden her husband’s decision.
1 Sam 25:34-35
34 "For indeed, as the LORD God of Israel lives, who has kept me back from hurting you, unless you had hastened and come to meet me, surely by morning light no males would have been left to Nabal."
35 So David received from her hand what she had brought him, and said to her, "Go up in peace to your house. See, I have heeded your voice and respected your person."
This statement came from a man who was anointed and appointed by God as king. He was not prejudiced. Let us read further:
1 Sam 25:38-42
38 Then it came about, after about ten days, that the LORD struck Nabal, and he died.
39 So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the LORD has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head." And David sent and proposed to Abigail, to take her as his wife.
40 When the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, they spoke to her saying, "David sent us to you, to ask you to become his wife."
41 Then she arose, bowed her face to the earth, and said, "Here is your maidservant, a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord."
42 So Abigail rose in haste and rode on a donkey, attended by five of her maidens; and she followed the messengers of David, and became his wife.
Here is another very often misquoted scripture:
Col
3:18
18
Wives,
submit
yourselves
unto your own
husbands,
(but
here is the rest of the scripture we so often seem to miss) as
it is fit
-
in the Lord.
See the key (as it is fit in the Lord.)
1
Pet 3:1
1
Likewise,
ye wives, be
in subjection
to your own husbands;
that, if any obey
not the word,
(or
torah)
they
also may without
the word
(or
Torah) be
won
by the conversation
of the wives;
But tradition teaches women should not teach men at all, let alone teach their husbands! How many men there must be that have not answered the call of God on their lives because the church taught that women were to say nothing to encourage them. Many times the traditional church will even teach that if a man resists going to worship services the women should wait to attend until he (the husband) decides to go. How sad! This false doctrine has lead many women back into the worldly lifestyle of their husband and both were lost to God! But what really is our responsibility to God as an individual?
Eph 4:1
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
We are to walk worthy of our calling, or what God has called us to do. We as individuals cannot stand before God at His judgment and say I could not serve You or do anything for Your kingdom because my husband or my wife did not want to.
Matt 10:36
36 "and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.'
Matt 19:29
29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
1 Timothy 2:9-15 talks of silence and submission. Did you realize that in the Ancient Near East this statement actually means to hear the will of God and to obey His will. The ancient peoples understood this.
So in order to understand what the Spirit of God was speaking through the Apostles, we must look to the exact renderings of the words from the language in which was spoken at the time. We must also understand that man, over the ages has twisted many passages of scripture to fit his own desires and doctrine for his selfish gain. This is what is referred to as the false doctrine and tradition of man.
In each of the verses we have just read, a common denominator is the word husband. In addition to the word husband, we have the words submit, submissive, subject and the like.
At first glance these scriptures seem to be saying that the husband holds a position above that of the wife. However if you take a closer look at the Greek word for husband you will find that the definition never indicates a mortal man. Nor does this word give reference to the husband as being master or ruler as if an owner of a slave. It simply states the gender. In all the above scriptures used by the church to teach women to be submissive to their husbands, in the sense she must submit to him in all things, the number for husband is always 435 in the Strong’s Concordance in the Greek section.
435 aner (an-ayr'); is a
a primary word [compare 444]; a man (properly as an individual male): KJV-- fellow, husband, man, sir.
444 anthropos (anth'-ro-pos);
from 435 (the countenance; from 3700); man-faced, i.e. a human being: KJV-- certain, man.
The same holds true in the Old Testament. The number most used for husband is 376.
376 'iysh (eesh);
contracted for 582 [or perhaps rather from an unused root meaning to be extant]; a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation):
There were adverse conditions referred to where other numbers were used. For instance:
605 'anash (aw-nash');
a primitive root; to be frail, feeble, or (figuratively) melancholy: KJV-- desperate (-ly wicked), incurable, sick, woeful.
This would certainly be an undesirable husband.
Another number was 1167 used in the sense of women being married to a great man, not necessarily a Godly man.
1167 ba` al (bah'-al);
from 1166; a master; hence, a husband, or (figuratively) owner (often used with another noun in modifications of this latter sense): KJV-- + archer, + babbler, + bird, captain, chief man, + confederate, + have to do, + dreamer, those to whom it is due, + furious, those that are given to it, great, + hairy, he that hath it, have, + horseman, husband, lord, man, + married, master, person, + sworn, they of.
And if the husband described in scripture was really brutish, evil, or harsh etc. the number could continue back to 1166.
1166 ba` al (baw-al');
a primitive root; to be master; hence, (as denominative from 1167) to marry: KJV-- have dominion (over), be husband, marry (-ried, X wife).
But what I am trying to establish is the fact that the numbers 605, 1167 and 1166 for husband are not those used in the scriptures we are examining. This is important because these numbers refer to a master as having the rule, thus differing from the words used, which simply mean a husband as a man or male, and not a master.
The words submit, submissive and subject mean exactly that. The context in which they are used is important, however, to correctly understand its intent. The wife is not submissive to the husband as a man per se, rather she is submissive to the authority that has been placed in the man through God to have dominance over the powers and principalities. This authority has been placed in the male to protect his family, not to control it.
Eph
6:12
12
For
we do not
wrestle
against flesh
and blood,
but against principalities,
against
powers,
against the rulers
of the darkness
of this age, against spiritual
hosts of wickedness
in the heavenly places.
We do not war in the flesh, husbands against wives or wives against husbands! Our enemy is Satan and his hosts. Then what do the scriptures mean that a wife should submit to the husband? As we continue our study we will see that God chose the man to stand as a type of covering over the woman in order to shield her from the onslaught of the above enemy. She in turn however, must submit to the authority delegated to him by God to be perfectly covered by this authority. Now I am not saying the husband should not run a smooth household, but the wife has an equal part in this function as well. Is the God of the Old Testament the same God of the New? If your answer is yes, let us read Proverbs 1:8-9.
Prov 1:8-9
8 My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother;
9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck.
Another often-misunderstood scripture is 1 Corinthians 11:7-10.
1
Cor 11:7-10
7
For
a man
indeed ought not
to cover
his
head, since he is
the image
and glory
of God;
but woman
is the glory
of man.
8 For man is not from woman, but woman from man.
9 Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.
10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
Let us first look at the latter part of the scripture where it refers to angels. To understand we will turn to Genesis 6 and read one through seven.
Gen
6:1-7
1
Now
it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth,
and daughters
were born to them,
2 that the sons of God (angels) saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
3 And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."
4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
7 So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."
Those of angelic birth, along with their fathers the angels, turned themselves back into their original state in the invisible realm. We see a much deeper account of this part of mankind’s history in the book of Enoch. We see Jude, the half brother to Jesus, explaining this also at Jude 6.
Jude 1:6
6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;
But what about the first part of the scripture in 1 Corinthians eleven? It said man was the image and glory of God and woman the glory of man. It stated also that man was not from woman but the woman from man.
Surely this makes men better than women somehow? For a clearer understanding however, let us go back to Adam and Eve, starting at Genesis 1:27.
Gen 1:27
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Number one fact: the word man (120 in the Hebrew section of the Strong’s Concordance) means human being or mankind. So God created them both as humanity and it would take both of them to make up the image of God. How can this be? An image is an appearance that is a visible or seen thing that is a reflection or appearance of something else.
It said in this scripture (1 Corinthians 11:7-9) that Adam was the glory or appearance of God and Eve was the glory or appearance of man. The word glory in the Strong’s is number 1391 in the Hebrew section.
1391 doxa (dox'-ah);
from the base of 1380; glory (as very apparent), in a wide application (literal or figurative, objective or subjective):
Paul explains this phenomenon to us at Romans 1:20.
Rom 1:20
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
Adam’s body (as an individual) was created to reflect how God sees Himself outwardly, whereas Eve’s body was created to reflect how God sees mankind, which is His Bride, but on the inside she was still a part of the original being that was created in God’s image.
She was formed from the outward reflection of God which was man, but she (woman) was actually the manifestation of the other half of the inner invisible God. Again remember, He created both of them in His image. In other words Adam’s physical body shows us what God looks like and Eve’s physical body shows us what mankind looks like, but what is inside of both Adam and Eve was the image of the invisible God. Again, on the outside Adam reflected God’s image, on the outside Eve reflects man’s image, but both bodysuits contained the invisible God. So man is covered by God’s reflection and woman is covered by man’s reflection, but again on the inside is the invisible God. How can we possibly say that one is any more important than the other? Both are a part of God on the inside. This is where the saying came from: “My other half” when a man or woman refer to their marriage mate.
Another way of looking at all this is: the outside of God reflects His image as Adam and that image in turn reflects itself in Eve, but the entire reflection is originally from God. An example God gives us for better understanding is the relationship of the sun and the moon. The sun reflects its light to the moon. The moon has no light of her own but she is filled with the same light of the sun and shines beautifully in the dark. The light that originates with God, is then passed to the sun, which in turn passes it to the moon. Together the sun lights the day and the moon gives light to the darkness. Both are equally important! This example is symbolic of God and His church as well. The Father of Light reflects through His Son, who passes this Light into His church, who in turn shines the way out of the sin, iniquity and the evil darkness that is so prevalent on this planet. The darkness Satan has brought to our world when he took dominion away from Adam and Eve will be dispelled by the light of the church. She will never-the-less be dependent on the light from the Son of God.
Here is the sun / Son / Adam / husband.
John 1:2-4
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Here is the moon / church / Eve / wife.
Matt 5:14
14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
In the church: The light of the Father shines through the King’s city: Zion, the home of His government. Zion reflects that light to the city of New Jerusalem, His Bride. What is this light? The Light is the Word or the Truth or revelation of God’s hidden mysteries.
The Apostle Paul understood all this. We in our human intellect have just let false doctrine in.
Let us now go back to the scripture we were discussing in 1 Corinthians 11 and continue our study reading at verse 11 and 12.
1 Cor 11:11-12
11 Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord.
12 For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.
Let me sum this up by saying it this way: When God looks down on man, He sees a holy being, a man that is a reflection of Himself (again like a mirror). When He looks on woman, however, He sees His Bride, His wife, the reflection of mankind, and He wants her covered or protected by the reflection of His image. The church can boldly shine her light, preach the truth and release the revelation that will draw mankind out of the darkness to be birthed into new life if she is covered or protected by the greater husband from the power of darkness. It is the same principle in the human home. The wife can only be all she is in God if she is properly covered by her husband, or if not the husband, the Greater Husband through the leadership of the church.
The veil covering the woman’s head as is custom in some countries is symbolic of this understanding, but a more natural symbol that shows we understand, is the hair. Longer hair on the women than on the men in today’s society is symbolic of this understanding as well. Plus it is a sign to the supernatural that this is a woman protected by God’s image (the Godly man).
Side Note: It is true that man is the spiritual covering over the woman in the home, she is his bride in the natural, but all mankind is actually God’s Bride. The Symbolizing of this was when the men in the Old Testament took a vow of separation to God for priestly duties they didn’t let a razor touch their hair. This was symbolic of the time of the end when humanity would become His Bride: men and women. To be shaved was a sign of being cursed, denoting a wife had been unfaithful to her husband. The long hair on the priests was a sign of their faithfulness and loyalty to God. The haircuts, that so many of the youth today indulge in, give a message to the powers, principalities and rulers of darkness that they are the unfaithful ones. They are unknowingly exposing themselves to the evil powers through their baldness or short hair. They are uncovered, and an easy target for the evil ones to attack or come into. Satan is very cunning! God’s people will die for a lack of knowledge. They will also perish of course if they are informed, but rebelliously do as they want.
GOD’S UMBRELLA
God loves His church. He provides for her, guards and watches over her as a protective covering and sees to her every need through His appointed leadership.
It is very important for all the people of God to have an understanding of this covering. Without it, we too will be an open target for the enemy. We have an understanding now through our study of why the woman is to be covered by the man in the home, but what about the covering in the church?
Jesus, who took Adam’s place by becoming the last Adam, will cover the church, who has now replaced Eve (the mother of all living on the planet).
1 Cor 15:45
45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
Jesus explains to Peter how he was a target, but Jesus covered him.
Luke
22:31-32
31
And
the Lord said, Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan
has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat:
32 But I have prayed (prayer covering) for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
Here again in scripture we see that even the seventy who were sent out were a direct target of the enemy. Those seventy were people called to leadership positions and so were given the authority over the powers of darkness to protect His people.
Luke
10:18-19
18
And
He
(Jesus)
said
to them, I
saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
So again let us make this clear: who is the covering for the church?
Answer: If God calls someone to be a covering, He gives them the authority over the enemy as in the above scripture. Where the church is concerned however, God chooses both men and women as leadership. He does not see gender or care about gender because it is actually Him through the leadership protecting the church. They are just vessels He manifests through.
Col 1:27
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Remember that the word glory means very apparent? Christ cannot appear on this planet without the knowledge of His people concerning Him, bit men and women, so He can manifest in His full stature to defeat our enemies.
Eph 4:13
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Gal
3:28
28
There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is
neither male
nor female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Through His body, made up of both men and women, He manifests the daily walk in His Kingdom, but through His government or leadership, composed of both men and women, He manifests as the Head of the church. As stated before, in the home the duty and responsibility of covering belongs to the male, so the authority is placed in him. The woman must submit or be submissive to this arrangement, as she cannot cover herself! But, in the same vein of study the church must submit to the leadership, all of it. That means women as well as men, or the church will not be covered. Now maybe we can understand better why the physical human marriage is used by God as a visual aid to teach us about His relationship with His church. When the Body as the Bride recognizes the authority of God or sees the Head (God’s government) and accepts its covering, the two can become one, and the body of Christ as well as the body of the Bride will be in its full stature that the power and life of God can flow. Let us look at Ephesians 4:11-13 for the government.
Eph 4:11-13
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Here comes the Bride:
Rev 21:9-10
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
UNDERSTANDING THE HEAD
OR
UNDERSTANDING COVERING
The head in the local church is Christ through the local leadership with one as overseer. The head in the universal church is Christ through the five-fold ministers with the Capstone at the top. (See our book Government of God)
Our study concerns mostly the home, however, and the role of the house priest. So let us continue once again in this direction.
The husband, not the carnal / mortal man, but the regenerated born-again spiritual man is God’s authority in the home. God is a Spirit and He has given His Spirit to man as authority in the spiritual to protect his wife and children from the powers and principalities. Why? So that the life of Jesus in the wife and the children is not hindered from being able to completely manifest whatever it is that He chooses to do through them. The husband is not the authority over the wife and family, Christ is. Their loyalty must be to Him first! But he is the authority over the powers and principalities as their covering. He prays and his prayers are heard and answered on their behalf. It is God’s arrangement. As stated before, if the spiritual authority God has placed in the husband is not recognized by the wife, then she will be left open for attack by the enemy. But, the husband must also recognize and fulfill his duty to honor the wife by covering her, or the wife can still be open for attack. Hence, the marriage will be defeated and the devil wins.
The same pertains to the body of Christ. If the congregation of Israel (body of Christ) does not recognize the Government of God, including the Capstone (God’s revealers) as the Head of Christ’s body then the church will be Ichabod, meaning the glory has departed. Christ in all of us must be recognized in order for the body to fully function and be visible to the nations so they too can come into this relationship with God and be covered from Satan.
We all must submit to one another so that the power and life of God can flow through us. We must see the Jesus in one another so His glory or (the appearance of His presence) can flood the earth bringing defeat to the enemy’s attempt at one world government, one world religion and one world economy. The word clearly says:
Eph
5:21
21
submitting
to one
another
in the fear of God.
Again, the body must recognize the Christ in each other for God to be able to live through His body to protect His Bride and possesses once again all that is His. The word at Daniel says it will be done without human hands, and this is true. It will be Christ in us! The Bride in her full stature covered by the Groom in His full stature.
Dan
8:25
25
“ Through his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his
rule;
And
he shall exalt himself
in
his heart. He shall destroy many in their
prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he
shall be broken without human
means.
WHY ARE WE SO DIVIDED TODAY?
Satan successfully divided the unity of God in man and woman when he caused Adam and Eve to partake of Intellect and Reason (Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil). Lies and false doctrine were introduced to mankind at the very beginning of their creation. Satan means to divide and conquer. Eve acted apart from Adam, her covering, or it may have been that Adam chose not to cover as scripture tells us he was not deceived. Rather than allowing the wisdom of God to flow through her as she confronted Satan, she allowed the intellect of Satan to beguile her. Adam chose to be in harmony with Eve over God. Now God will use the woman in the church in the last days to restore what was lost through her - wisdom! His Wisdom! He will not be defeated. The church as the last Eve will stand firm against the wiles of Satan this time.
HOW DID THE SCRIPTURES GET SO MISUNDERSTOOD?
Most often people will read the scriptures and quit at a certain point, not reading on to obtain the full meaning. In 1 Peter 3, such is the case. They read verses 1-5 and stop, not seeing that verse 7 says ‘Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.’
This scripture states that they are heirs together. Not one or the other, but together. From an in depth study however, we see that this scripture is saying so much more than even that. The unity of the husband and wife make up a complete dwelling place for God to manifest through. The understanding that the husband is to dwell with them is of a spiritual nature. It will bring a strength and protection joined with wisdom in the supernatural. Together or united they will obtain the highest degree of honor, a sharer by lot and possessor of the spiritual gift of life, not hindered or cut off from worship and prayer to God. Most of the scriptures centered around the marriage between husbands and wives are identical in meaning and definition except Titus 2:5. One could ask ‘How do we reckon Titus 2:5 with what we now understand?’
In the previous scriptures the spiritual aspects of both husband and wife have been addressed. Titus 2:5 however, seems to give a description of the duties women are expected to do.
Titus
2:5
5
To
be discreet,
chaste,
keepers
at home,
good,
obedient
to their own husbands,
that the word of God be not blasphemed.
We have addressed submission and obedience as being submissive and obedient to the authority placed in the husband as the covering, but what about the keepers of the home in the light of what the scriptures show us about different women in ministry?
Let us take Phoebe for instance.
Phoebe was a lady who was a minister at Cenchrea. This word minister is diakoneo, the same word used for a governmental official. The word used elsewhere in the Bible is even overseer. Cenchrea is a port city in Corinth. Remember that is where Paul made the statement that if a woman wanted to learn anything let them ask their own husbands at home because it was a shame for women to speak in the church. Yet at Romans 16:1,2 Paul calls Phoebe a diakoneo that does church business and tells the church there to help her!
Furthermore, in verse 7 you will see Paul greeting Junia as an apostle of note that was in Christ before him.
Back to the Strong's we go and again we will find a whole different train of thought was actually being taught in this scripture by Paul’s co-worker Titus.
Let us break down Titus 2:5.
1.To
be discreet is to be preserved completely.
2.Chaste
is holy, perfect and innocent.
3.Keepers at home refers to the temple, the dwelling place of God
(1
Corinthians 3:16).
4.Good
means beautiful.
5.Obedient
to means set.
6.Their
own means apart from.
7.Husbands
is the spiritually renewed man.
8.That
the means in order that.
9.Blasphemed is speaking evil of, being hindered and hurt.
To
put this all together would be to read it this way:
Being preserved completely, a holy, perfect and innocent temple, beautiful and set apart being spiritually renewed in order that the Word of God is not spoken evil of, hindered, nor hurt!
Finally the enemy can be defeated through the restoration of truth. God can restore what Satan divided in the garden as he caused Eve to prostitute herself to him and believe his lies. The truth is: men and women are equally important to each other and to God. The lie that men or women can run the home by themselves, or the church, is false and of Satan. It takes harmony between men and women in the home for God to dwell there in peace, and it takes harmony between men and women in the church for God to dwell there in peace. This is why the scripture at Ephesians 5:31 and 32 says:
Eph
5:31-32
"For
this reason a man shall leave
his father and mother
and be joined
to his wife,
and the
two
shall become one
flesh."
(one
flesh) This
is a
great mystery,
but I speak concerning Christ
and the church.
In conclusion of this study, let us look at the part of the scripture that says a man should leave all others and be joined or bound forever to his wife. Did you know that bone is number 6106 in the Hebrew Section of the Strong’s Concordance and means: selfsame body or life, and also to bind fast or join? So those we are bound fast to, we are bone of their bone!
The scripture then goes on to say “the two shall become one flesh”. The word flesh is number 1320 in the Hebrew, meaning: rosy from its freshness, to 1319 – glad news! It also means message, preach, publish, bearer of good news, glad tidings. So when they become one flesh it really means they will speak the same message: The message from the Tree of Life and not the False Doctrines of the Tree of Good and Evil. The rest of the scripture says – “this is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church”!
Gen 2:23
23 And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man."
Eph 5:29-30
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
We, men and women, are His Bride and He is the High Priest over His house!
Heb 3:6
6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.