Levitical 23 Sermon Redemptive Story of Yeshua

Levitical 23 Sermon Redemptive Story of Yeshua.

   These 41 pages are in detail on Leviticus 23. I compiled this article in 2009 roughly during my 1500 page study on Leviticus 23. Enjoy. Take your time reading it for there is a lot to digest.

 

A. Aleph-Tav

    Open your Aleph — Tav (Bible) to Genesis 1. Why do I call the Bible Aleph – Tav because you find the Aleph at the end of the Bible in the word Amen. The Amen begins with the letter “A”. The Tav is found here in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning” It is called Beresheet. Tav is the last letter of the Hebrew Alphabet. It is pictured as a cross.

    It is the first and the last, the beginning and the end.  First … Beginning means the first book written by God. Last … End means it is the last book to be written by God. AT is pictured as “the Head of the Cross—Jesus”

AT is found 600 times in the Torah (5 books of Moses) and a total of 2000 times in the Tanakh. Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and it refers to God.

Examples: In the beginning AT (God/Jesus) created the heavens and earth.

Deut 6:4-5

Shema: Hear (Shema) O Israel, the Lord (YHVH=Jesus) our God, the Lord (YHVH) is One (Monotheism).

   5 Love the Lord (AT) with all your heart, soul, and spirit. NT and mind.

YHVH Yod is hands, Heh is reveal or behold, and Vav is Nails. So it means: Behold the hands, behold the nails (JESUS)

 

B. Evening to evening

    God says, 1 -6 six evenings and mornings. To the Jews the night/ evening begins at the time when the first three stars come out. For this study we will use 6:00 PM for the beginning of the night/ evening. This is also a 24 hour period.

C. Day and Night – Fourth Day.

     Jump down to the fourth day, now here we have the Sun, Moon, and Stars formed.

The Sun gives us 12 hours and the moon gives us 12 hours.

13.  And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.  Gen 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23).  14.  And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs (Mopheth) (token, Mark, symbol), and for seasons (Moed), and for days and years:  15.  and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.  16.  And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.  17.  And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth,  18.  and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.  19.  And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

       Not mentioned--In the fourth day's work, the creation of the sun, moon, and stars is accounted for. All these are the works of God. The stars are spoken of as they appear to our eyes, without telling their number, nature, place, size, or motions; for the Scriptures were written, not to gratify curiosity, or make us astronomers, but to lead us to God, and make us saints. The lights of heaven are made to serve him; they do it faithfully, and shine in their season without fail. We are set as lights in this world to serve God; but do we in like manner answer the end of our creation? We do not: our light does not shine before God, as his lights shine before us. We burn our Master's candles, but do not mind our Master's work.

     Nugget 1: Gen 19:34; Lev 7:15; 22:30; Jgs 19:4-9; 1 Sam 19:11 Night. The unit of time designating the period from sunset to sunrise, including the morning and evening twilight. 3 watches; Greek and roman divide the night into 4 watches (Matt 6:48; 14:24).

    Nugget 2:  In the NT the Jews had adopted the Greek division of the day into 12 hours from sunrise to sunset; the length of the hours varied according to the season of the year (Matt 20:3,5,6; Jn 11:9

    Nugget 3: Sign: A divine or extraordinary token of some generally future event like Sabbath (Lev 23).

    Nugget 4: There are 5 pages where day is mentioned in Strong’s concordance.

 D. Day of Rest

    Jump to Chapter 2. Let’s look at the first three verses.

1.  And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  2.  And on the seventh day God (1 means Godly things or “unity”) finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.  3.  And God blessed the seventh day (seven refers to heavenly things, fullness, completeness), and hallowed it (to be clean, holy, sacred); because that in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made.

   Let us remember the word rested.

    Many scholars believe that the numbers have a symbolic meaning.

    Not mentioned -- The number 7 is regarded almost universally. The Hebrew word for swear and oath is formed from the root of SB’.

1. 7 demons and Mary Magdalene possessed.  (Lk 8:2)
2. Sadducees presented a man who had 7 wives (Math 22: 25ff; Mark 12:18ff Lk 20:27ff).
3. Disaster strikes the mother of 7 sons (Jer 15:9)
4. 7 days of the week (2:2)
5. Ruth is declared to be better than 7 sons (Ruth 4:15)
6. The 7 appointed to assist the apostles (Acts 6:3ff).
7. Peter asks whether he shall forgive his brother 7 times (Matt 18:21f; Lk 17:4).
8. Jesus says that we should forgive 70x7.
9. The rites of Balaam revolved around the number 7.
10. The Israelites marched 7 days around Jericho with 7 priests blowing horns  (Josh 6:1ff)
11. The 7^th year is the year of Sabbatical.
12. The number 7 appear in Revelation: 7 churches (1:4) 7 spirits (1:4), 7 trumpets (8:2), 7 heads of the dragon (12:3), 7 horns of the beast (13:1), 7 plagues (15:10 t bowls (15:6).

E. 2000 years or 2 days.

    For 2000 years or 2 days, the nomads walked with faith shepherding their flocks and sheep. These 2000 years between Eden and Abraham is known as the Years of Void of Law.

F. 2000 years or 4 Days.

    Between Abraham and Yeshua there is another 2000 years. This is known as the years of Torah or Law.

Torah = God’s Biblical Instructions, B. I. B. L. E. spells Biblical Instructions before Leaving the Earth.

    Torah or Law to Yeshua, Paul, and Timothy refers to Genesis to Malachi. Timothy says, study the Scripture (Torah) to show thyself approved unto God (II Tim 3:16)

    Some scholars refer to Torah from Genesis to Deuteronomy.

    A Jew when he says Torah, he is referring to the Tanakh, the Oral Law, the Mishna (Oral Law first written down) and the Talmud (Mishna written down to Talmud).

G.  Exodus 12

We are going to get ahead of Passover so jump to Exodus 12.

1.  And Jehovah (Lord, YHVH, Jesus) spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,

 2.  This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. (Abib, Aviv, Babylonian: Nissan)

 3.  Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household:

 4.  and if the household be too little for a lamb, then shall he and his neighbor next unto his house take one according to the number of the souls; according to every man's eating ye shall make your count for the lamb.

 5.  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old: ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats:

 6.  and ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at even.

…. 7, 22.  And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

    The lamb was killed just outside the house at the door. Jesus was killed outside the house of Jerusalem.

….14, 24.  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.

     The passover meal is for all of Israel (12 tribes and the stranger (Gentile Christians).

47.  All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.

 48.  And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.

    Stranger here refers to the Christian who is a part of the Olive Tree (Israel). Ger in Hebrew refers to stranger or foreigner. In the Tanakh, Ger is found 60 times. Ger refers to those who are non-Jewish but who keep the Sabbaths and the kosher dietary laws. (ie. Do not eat pork or shrimp.

     Nugget 1: v. 1 YHVH =Pictorally means behold the Hands, behold the nails. Yod = hands, Vav = Nails, Heh = Behold, Reveal.

     Nugget 2: v. 2 Month = Beginning of Months,  it shall be the first month of the year to you. (Abib, Aviv, Babylonian: Nissan)

Here we have 2 prophesies.

     Nugget 3: v. 3. Unblemished lamb – Jesus went through 3 appearances in front of the governors.

     Nugget 4: v. 4. 1 year old - Jesus was at his prime when He died.

    Nugget 5: v. 6. and ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at even.

    Nugget 7: v.7 The lamb was killed just outside the house at the door. Jesus was killed outside the house of Jerusalem.

    Nugget 8: v. 14 The passover meal is for all of Israel (12 tribes and the stranger (Gentile Christians).

    Nugget 9: v. 48 Stranger here refers to the Christian who is a part of the Olive Tree (Israel).

    This passage is prior to the Temple services.

Now jump to Leviticus 23.  We will read through this Chapter and draw out some nuggets.

H. The Set Feasts Leviticus 23.

.1. And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

2. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,

3. The set (established; prescribed; appointed determined) feasts of Jehovah, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.

Jehovah = Lord, YHVH, Jesus’

     Nugget 1: Appointed: (Moadim) (Pronounced: Moed-deem). Literally “holidays”.

     Nugget 2: Holy convocations, Holy assembly.”

Our wedding Day. 

     This applies to married couples only. You men remember your wedding day. That day was an convocation, an assembly. If you were late to it, your wives will forgive you but be upset with you, so don’t forget your wedding day or anniversary.

     Nugget 3: My set feasts. Who’s are they? They are Jesus’/God’s set feasts.

I. Sabbath

4. Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of work: it is a sabbath unto Jehovah in all your dwellings.

     Sabbath- A day of Rest. God rested, we can too. Jesus partially fulfilled this, He gave us rest/ peace. Now I was a Wheat (will get to that later), I had to be spanked by God. He gave me a dream that lasted 40 years. During that 40 year period, he cleaned out my house. I came into His relationship with a lot of Garbage.

    It is a day of rest from the fast pace of the week. It is a day to reflect on God and His creation. It is a day to reflect on the week’s activities. It is a day to worship and express thanks. It is a day to do good to our neighbors.

     The day of rest was always intended to bless mankind, and, according to Isaiah, the Sabbath will continue, for all mankind, into the New Heavens and the New Earth:

     “For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord, “So your offspring and your name will endure. And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the Lord.  (Isaiah 66:22-23)

     The day of rest was always intended to bless mankind, and, according to Isaiah 66:22-23, the Sabbath will continue, for all mankind, into the New Heavens and the New Earth:

    What continues to wreck the concept of Sabbath is legalism. Time and again it infiltrates the practice of a weekly rest and turns it into dull affair. God set aside a day for us to rest, to enjoy Him and His creation, and to do good deeds to others. Without such an appointed time, we would work seven days a week 365 days a year. If we did not set aside the time, we could let our relationship with God slip away. Unfortunately, the legalists cannot be comfortable until “work” is defined in detail. By the time they are done, the blessing and joy are gone. The day starts to speak of the sternness of God, rather than His loving-kindness. It loses sight of its roots in creation, rest, and fellowship with God. Instead, it becomes one more illustration of His awesome commands and our responsibility to obey them at all costs. It was true in Jesus’ day and it has often been true in Church practice.

    Between 1985 and 2005, I became a legalist to work. I would work 7 days a week 364 days per year. I only had Christmas day off. I destroyed my relationship with God. During that period I was a hypocrite. I was a Christian but I didn’t act like one. I was a slave to work. I destroyed my marriage due to the 80-100 week hours. I knew the names of my kids but I didn’t know them. I destroyed my family all due to work. My life was in shambles. I was angry at the world and my family. (John Ashcraft).

     A distorted view of the Sabbath, held firmly by the Jewish leadership, inhibited them from recognizing Him as the Messiah. Sabbath controversies occupy all four of the gospels. In each, the controversy hinges on Jesus’ practice of healing on the Sabbath. To the Jewish leadership, healing was work and should not take place on the Sabbath. Besides, the joy expressed by those Jesus healed “disrupted” the sanctity of the Sabbath.

     “But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:6-8).

     “How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:12).

     Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).

     But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?” (Luke 13:14-16).

    So, it is okay to show compassion on the Sabbath rather than rest. It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Even those who accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath attended to the comfort of their own animals on that day. They just could not extend the concept to people. At creation, God rested and enjoyed the work of His hands. He gave mankind a day for rest and fellowship. He gave mankind a day when it was possible to do good deeds, because during the rest of the week finding the time to do such things is harder. It should reflect love and joy. It should take on the characteristics of a holiday.

     Isaiah 58:13, tells us to “turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day.” The second, Matthew 12:12, says, “It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

     Exod 31:16 says, Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.”

     You have hear it said, And He (Jesus) was saying to them “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27)

     This is a light and heavy argument against Oral Laws.

     Here is what he said in my interpretation of this passage. You have hear it said, “And He (Jesus) was saying to them, The sabbath was made for man (as a day of rest from our normal weekly activities), and not man for the Sabbath (as a day of legalism to the Sabbath).” (Mark 2:27)

     The Oral Laws (traditions of man) was nailed to the cross.

     Nugget 1: At the end of that 40 years he told me to come up to His stage, turn to the audience on His right side and told me these verses: “This is my beloved bride who I love.” “May my Peace/ Shalom protect /cover you all the days of your life for all of eternity.”

    Nugget 2: The remainder of this Sabbath will be fulfilled in the Millennium.

    Nugget 3: The Sabbath becomes a weekly reminder that God is the creator of all things.

    Nugget 4: The day of rest was always intended to bless mankind, and, according to Isaiah 66:22-23, the Sabbath will continue, for all mankind, into the New Heavens and the New Earth:

    Nugget 5: Legalism of Work.

    Nugget 6: it is okay to show compassion on the Sabbath rather than rest. It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. 

    Who did it: Nation of Israel Exod 16:30, 20:8-10; Deut 5:12-15

    The first month, month of Abib, Aviv, Nissan deals with godly events. We have Christ being redeeming us with His Death, Burial and Resurrection.

J. Passover/ Pesach – Annual Sabbath.

      4.  These are the set feasts of Jehovah, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their appointed season. 2^nd time to say this. 5.  In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, is Jehovah's passover.

      The first month is Abib. In Hebrew, “abib” means green.

      For Israel, Passover means their birth as a nation.

      Remember back in Exodus that the lamb was to come into the house on the tenth and die on the fourteenth. Four days have passed.  Tradition says Sunday and Friday. Are you going to follow the Bible or tradition?

     Mk 7: 7.  But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men. 8. Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men. 9 (And he said unto them, Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition.

     Matt 15:3 And Yeshua answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? … 6. he shall not honor his father. And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition. … 13. making void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things ye do.

     Col 2:8.  Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

      A tradition must not break a commandment of the written Torah.

      A tradition of man must not be legislated into a law, nor must it be passed as a commandment from Elohim (“God”)

      And this day (Passover) shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to Jehovah: throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. (Exod 12:14)

      Nugget 1: Passover Dinner (Matt 26:17-30) (Tuesday Night-30 AD or 31 AD depending on what Internet Bible Calendar you use. Lord’s Supper. Meal Afikomen 3 pieces of bread in 3 sections of napkin, middle one broken, it goes bye-bye to be hidden. It comes back and is redeemed. It is paid for to a child with money. We don’t know for sure what they meant.  They could mean Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees. 4 cups. Look at cup of redemption and cup of blessing. Cup of redemption is mentioned 3 times. 1. Passover Dinner afterwards, Garden of Gethsemane – take this cup from me (26:38-39), Day of Atonement. Cup of Blessing – Marriage Supper of the Lamb. (Rev 19:8-9) 8. Marriage Dress.

 Matt 26:20 Meat = Meal.

26: 26-29 Lord’s Supper. Inaugurated 30 AD after the afikomen – first half.

     Wednesday – Cross

     Nugget 2: Nailed to the cross. Morning sacrifices done. Num 28:4 Possibly Passover lambs killed at this time or after 3 PM (Num 28:4). After 3 PM for Exodus 12 lambs

     Temple lambs: How could 250,000 lambs be killed between 3 AM and 3 PM? I suspect they began at 9 AM on Tuesday and Wednesday. Remember, they are serving 1-2 million people in Jerusalem.

     Nugget 3: I thirst. At he same time Yeshua said I thirst, the pries said I thirst prior to or after the last lamb.

     Nugget 4: It is finished. When Yeshua said it is finished, the priest said it is finished.

     Nugget 5: YHVH –Plaque above Yeshua’s head. “Jesus (Y) of Nazereth (H), King (V) of the Jews (J).

     Nugget 6: Bitter Herbs and Lamb is biblical.

     Nugget 7: Lord’s Supper. Do this in remembrance of me refers to Passover Meal and not the Lord’s Supper.

 

K. The Four Cups

   “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians’” (Exodus 6:6, 7).

     The first cup speaks of our “being brought out.” The second speaks of our “deliverance from bondage.” The third speaks of our “redemption.” The fourth speaks of our “belonging.” The Gospel of Luke records the use of the third cup during the Last Supper:

   And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood (Luke 22:15-20).

    I understand this as meaning that Jesus did not inaugurate something new when He established communion, but rather identified and extended an existing tradition to communicate truth about Himself. The cup immediately after the meal was the “cup of redemption.” To Jesus and to us, it symbolizes the new covenant and our redemption, by His blood, from slavery to sin.

       Also this cup is seen in the Garden of Gethsemene,  and at the Day of Atonement.

Addedum—Introduction to Unleavened Bread.

    The woman of the house cleaned the house top to bottom to find all the leaven the week prior to Unleavened Bread. She left some crumbs in the kitchen and told her husband where they would be.

    The husband would carry a lit candle, and each child would carry a different article. One would carry a feather, one would carry a wooden spoon, and one would carry a piece of linen.

     Father prepped a bon-fire during the week prior to unleavened bread.

     They would go through the house in search of leaven. When they came to the kitchen and found the leaven, the father would set down the candle. He would take the wooden spoon and hold it on the edge of the self and scoop the leaven into the spoon using the feather. He then wrapped the linen around the spoon.

     The family would go to the bon-fire and put the spoon on top of the bonfire and light it with the candle.

     The candle represents the light of the world (Jesus).

     The feather represents the Holy Spirit.

     The leaven represents sin.

     The wooden spoon represents the cross.

     The linen represents the linen Christ was buried in.

     The bonfire represents the stripes and bruises.

Unleavened Bread

    In the Exodus story, there was no time to let the bread rise before the Israelites had to leave Egypt. Unleavened bread represents the speed of their salvation. It also speaks of sinlessness. I will have more to say about this in the next section, which is about the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

   One interesting practice during the Passover celebration is the breaking of one of three pieces of unleavened bread. The first half is used immediately, but the second is wrapped in a cloth and hidden until after the meal. This is the bread that Jesus broke during the Last Supper. It speaks of His sinless perfection. It is called the Afikomen.

    The three pieces of bread represent the priests, scribes, and Pharisees.

    They can also represent the trinity.

Bitter Herbs -- Horseradish

    Tasting the bitter herbs, i.e. horseradish, is an experience to bring tears to the eyes and a dramatic reminder of the bitterness of slavery. It was eaten on the broken unleavened bread, so it can also speak of the bitter tears of Jesus in Gethsemane and the bitterness of His coming death for mankind’s sin.

Lamb

    Since the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD, the Jews do not eat roasted lamb during Passover. Instead they commemorate the lamb with the roasted shank-bone of a lamb. The lamb represents protection against the last plague that befell the Egyptians. It seems that the Angel of Death would also have slain the first born of the Israelites, were it not for the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts. On seeing the blood, the Angel of Death passed over the house. From this the celebration gets its name.

    The above three are Biblical (Exodus 12).

    Nugget 1: “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians’” (Exodus 6:6, 7).

    Nugget 2: The first cup speaks of our “being brought out.” The second speaks of our “deliverance from bondage.” The third speaks of our “redemption.” The fourth speaks of our “belonging.” The Gospel of Luke records the use of the third cup during the Last Supper:

    Nugget 3: Luke 22:15-20

    Nugget 4: Unleavened bread. Unleavened bread represents the speed of their salvation. It also speaks of sinlessness.

    Nugget 5: Bitter Herbs – Today Horseradish

    Nugget 6: The lamb represents protection against the last plague that befell the Egyptians.

L. Jesus and Passover

    During the Last Supper, Jesus appropriated elements of the Jewish Passover. That is, He endowed them with new meaning, and that meaning was tied to Himself. Instead of having meaning restricted to God’s past redemption, these elements now symbolize the redemption of Yeshua as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” by His death at Calvary. At Passover, the Old and New Covenants meet. He is the lamb without defect. He is the broken bread. He is the cup of Redemption. As He said in Luke, He will not partake of Passover again, until He can share it with us in the coming Kingdom. The hand of God delivered from slavery in the past. On the cross, He delivered us from slavery to sin.

    The early church clearly identified Jesus with Passover. Paul says, Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (I Corinthians 5:6-8).

    Paul here encourages us to celebrate the Feast of Passover.

    Leaven represents sin. Allowing sin in our lives and the church has a corrupting influence. But we are unleavened, because Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. Thus we see that Jesus completes the promise of Passover.

    Note the suggestion in Paul’s words, “Let us celebrate the feast.” This implies that the early Christians celebrated Passover for some time. Some would argue that Paul is simply referring to Communion. That ignores Paul’s Jewish upbringing. Does not Exodus 12:14 call Passover “a feast?”

     14.  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to Jehovah: throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. (Exod 12:14)

    Why would Paul use the term “feast” and intend an ambiguous reading of it? Along these lines note also Acts 20:6, “We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread.” The least that can be said is that the early church marked a Jewish Calendar. In any case, the observance of Passover is today growing among the churches. This is a good thing. It is a celebration of the salvation of God from slavery in Egypt and slavery to sin. To the young ones in our families, it provides an opportunity to present the gospel to our children at a very early age.

   Nugget 1: At Passover, the Old and New Covenants meet. Redemption of God to redemption found through Yeshua.

   Nugget 2: He is the lamb without defect. He is the broken bread. He is the cup of Redemption.

   Nugget 3: “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”

 M. Feast of Unleavened Bread – Annual Sabbaths

     6.  And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto Jehovah (Lord, YHVH, Jesus): seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread.  7.  In the first day ye shall have a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work.  8.  But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah seven days: in the seventh day is a holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work. (Lev 23:6-8)

      “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you. You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land. You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread” (Exodus 12:15-20).

      “You shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ And it shall serve as a sign to you on your hand, and as a reminder on your forehead, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth; for with a powerful hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt” (Exodus 13:8, 9).

     The Feast of Unleavened Bread is an extension of Passover. The celebration is simple. Before it begins, you pass through your entire house to clear out all leavening agents and foods made with leaven. Leavening agents are things like yeast, baking powder, baking soda, and sour dough. Leaven makes bread and rolls rise and become soft and fluffy.

    For centuries the Jews have made a special event in the evening of this day. Crumbs of bread and other things are planted throughout the house. In the evening, the father leads the children through the house with a feather and dish to search for the last traces of leaven. When they find them, the father swishes them into the dish with the feather. After all remaining traces are swept away, they are taken outside and burned.

    For the next seven days, all food is unleavened, but the recipes are incredibly creative. Whipped egg whites can add sponginess to cake recipes. Unleavened flour is made into “matzo balls” and used in soups. Nevertheless, for seven days the diet reminds the household and the children that God delivered the Israelites from slavery.

    Unleavened bread relates two aspects of God’s deliverance. The first is the simple fact that the Israelites left Egypt in such a hurry that they did not have time to let their bread rise. The second is that the first several days saw them hurrying away, so that there still was not enough time to let bread rise. There would be no safety until there was enough distance between them and those who would come after them. Then they came to the Red Sea. In this sense the Feast of Unleavened Bread marks the very first stage of the journey. It was a time of hurry and danger, and then the trap.

   We know, of course, that the Lord parted the Red Sea so that the Israelites could cross over. When Pharaoh’s armies followed, the sea came together again and destroyed them. This celebration is an effective reminder of God’s faithfulness. Exodus 13:8 says, “You shall tell you son on that day …” The Bible anticipates that children will ask what the change of diet is about. When they do, you can tell them the whole story. Besides, young children get to pretend what it must have been like, at least as far as food goes, to live during those first days after leaving Egypt.

    Given that leaven also symbolizes sin, this feast is an object lesson in righteousness. As the family cleans the house and searches for all leaven, they play out the process of sanctification. It is a reminder of God’s righteousness. For those of us who are Christians, this Feast of Unleavened Bread reminds us of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit as He searches out and frees us from the sin that inhabits our house. As Psalm 139 says,

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way (Psalm 139:23-24).

    As it pertains to Christ, He was buried in the ground just prior to the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

    Some Christians and Messianic Jews and Jews believe that Passover is a part of Unleavened Bread. So there is 8 days of celebration instead of 7.

     In the Exodus story, there was no time to let the bread rise before the Israelites had to leave Egypt. Unleavened bread represents the speed of their salvation. It also speaks of sinlessness.

    Nugget 1: Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 23:15

    Nugget 2: Leaven symbolizes sin, this feast is an object lesson in righteousness and sanctification.

    Nugget 3: Jesus was to be in the ground for 3 days and 3 nights (Matt 12:40). The half a day equals a whole day applies to a king, however Yeshua was a sheep, so that tradition is out the window. Jonah was in a whale for 3 days and 3 nights

    Nugget 4: This is the only time of the year when the Lords supper is done with unleavend bread. The rest of the year, it is done with leaven.

N. Wednesday to Sunday.

     From my research into time, months, years, hours, etc. over a four year period, God is still following sunset to sunset as his rule for a 24 hour day. For God, His day is from sunrise to sunset and His night is from sunset to sunrise, so when Jesus refers to three days and three nights, He is referring to three 24-hour periods or 72 hours, and not 52 or 36 hours.

    Conjunction: and added to; together with; a word that joins, clauses, or sentences.

     A. Most people believe Jesus died on Good Friday at 3 PM and rose on Sunday at sunrise. Let’s postulate that he was buried around 6 PM so the people putting His body in the cave or grotto could get back home by sunset. (We will use this 6 PM for all of our math examples). We know by the scriptures that He rose at night. So let’s use three am as our starting point and work backwards. (Draw U's touching each other for seven times. Each tip will represent a 24 hour period.) From 3am Sunday morning to 3am Saturday is 24 hours. From 3am Saturday morning to 6 PM is an additional 7 hours. This totals 31 hours. If Yeshua was to be in the ground for 72 hours, what happened to the remaining hours. (It is also interesting to note that Palm Sunday to Friday does not match at all to Exodus 12:3-6 and Leviticus 23). There has to be four days between home entry and the death of the lamb and not 5 days.

     Based on the above evidence, the Good Friday to Sunday is all lies.

     B. Some suggest Jesus died on Thursday and not Friday.

     Let us check the math here using the above example in A. Sunday 3 AM to Saturday 3 AM = 24; Saturday 3 am to Friday 3 am = 24 hours. Now 48 hours has passed (24+24=48). We know from the previous example that we have to add 7 hours. 48+7=55 hours. What happened to the remaining hours?

     Based on this evidence, Example B is also a lie.

     C. Some suggest Jesus died on Wednesday afternoon.

    Let us check the math here using the above example in A. Sunday 3 AM to Saturday 3 AM = 24; Saturday 3 am to Friday 3 am = 24 hours. Now 48 hours has passed (24+24=48). Friday 3 am to Thursday 3 am is 24 hours. We have now hit 72 hours but we still have to add 7 hours. 72+7=79 hours. Opps, we went over 72 hours so this must be a lie also.

    D. Some suggest Jesus rose on the Sabbath somewhere between 5-7 PM.

    Let us check the math out between here and Wednesday since the other days do not add up to 72 hours. We are also going to use the 6 PM burial time and go forward from there. Wednesday 6 PM to Thursday 6 PM to Friday 6 PM to Saturday 6 PM equals 72 hours (24+24+24=72 hours). Wow!! Just imagine that He arose on Saturday Night and not Sunday after midnight which the math does not add up to.

    By Jewish customs, the Feast of First Fruits had to be lifted up at the beginning of the Jewish day, not in the middle of it, (Check out all the articles concerning the Feast of First Fruits on the CD I give out freely--editor).

         From the above, we can figure He arrived in Jerusalem on a Saturday.

O. Feast of First Fruits — Annual Sabbath

    9.  And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

23:10. Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring the sheaf of the first-fruits of your harvest unto the priest: 11. and he shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12. And in the day when ye wave the sheaf, ye shall offer a he-lamb without blemish a year old for a burnt-offering unto Jehovah. 13. And the meal-offering thereof shall be two tenth parts of an ephah of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto Jehovah for a sweet savor; and the drink-offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. 14. And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched grain, nor fresh ears, until this selfsame day, until ye have brought the oblation of your God: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (Lev 23:9-14)

     One of the days during the Feast of Unleavened Bread will be a Sabbath (the regular Sabbath). The day following this Sabbath is the celebration of First Fruits. On this day, the first sheaf of harvested barley is brought to the Lord and waved before Him. The grain is then left for the priest and for the poor. This is an act of thanksgiving for the Lord’s provision and bounty. No one is to eat from the new harvest until the wave offering is made.

    There is a direct Jewish Celebration of this today. It is called Resurrection Sunday or Easter sometimes. Easter is pagan and we should not follow traditions of man.

    Mk 7: 7.  But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men. 8. Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men. 9 (And he said unto them, Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition.

     Matt 15:3 And Yeshua answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? … 6. he shall not honor his father. And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition. … 13. making void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things ye do.

     Col 2:8.  Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

    However, given its placement between Passover and Pentecost and its emphasis on the Lord’s provision, I see it as a reminder of the manna in the desert, which began shortly after the crossing of the Red Sea.

    In terms of Christianity, it is worth noting that the resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred the day following the Sabbath. His resurrection corresponds to this wave offering. He is, Himself, a first fruits offering. As Paul says, But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death (1 Corinthians 15:20-26).

     Jesus’ resurrection is the assurance of our resurrection. It is the promise that we will not see eternal death, but share in eternal life. When He rose from the dead, we became able to share in the new harvest, which I believe is the Holy Spirit.

    First Fruits is such a simple holiday, and, yet, it has such significant meaning to us in the Church. Passover is our redemption, Unleavened Bread is our sanctification, First Fruits is our promise of eternal life and resurrection.

    The Jewish day begins when the first three stars come out and ends the next day when the first three stars comes out.

    Supposedly Christ rose on Saturday night just prior to the first three stars coming out so He would be lifted up at the beginning of First Fruits.

    Nugget 1: Verse 9. A break between unleavened bread and first fruits, so stop.

    Nugget 2:   v. 10 When you come into the land I give you. For Israel this is Land of Israel (Josh 1-4?), for Yeshua this is heaven.

    Nugget 3: Shall reap the harvest. Yeshua is that harvest.

    Story: The week before the harvest, the farmer and two hands go into the field and select the best of the best of barley and tie a rope around those selections. The villagers at night with cymbals, torches, and singing come to the fields for the joyous occasion. They harvest the crop and take it to the priest who waves it before Yeshua.

    Nugget 4:  v. 11. Yeshua was waved before God as our first fruit.

    Nugget 5.  v. 11 b Morrow after the sabbath is Sunday and the Sabbath is Saturday.

  Nugget 6:  v. 12 He lamb   = Yeshua

  Nugget 7:  v. 12 Without blemish = Without sin. Gone between to Governors and they could find no sin in him..

  Nugget 8:  v. 12 A year old – Yeshua was lifted up at His prime

  Nugget 9: v. 13 Meat or meal offering = Bread/ Body of Lord’s Supper

  Nugget 10: v v. 13 Drink offering = Blood of Yeshua of Lord’s Supper. I Cor 11:23-29; Acts 2:42; Dily Acts 2:46; weekly 20:7; monthly; annually;

  Nugget 11: Statue for all generations for Israel.

  Nugget 12. Barley seed is a soft shell seed. It has to be sifted by throwing into the air and the seeds drop to the ground. Some of you here are that Barley seed. You hear the word and immediately believe it and do it. My precious bride is a Barley seed.

  Nugget 13: Commanded to do it. Exod 23:19

  Nugget 14: No one is to eat from the new harvest until the wave offering is made.

   Nugget 15: It is a reminder of the manna in the desert, which began shortly after the crossing of the Red Sea.

   Nugget 16: Jesus’ resurrection is the assurance of our resurrection.

Folks, you are a part of the house of Israel if you grasp Paul’s grafting of the Olive Tree. Except for the curse of sin and death which Yeshua paid for, you and I get the blessings (Lev 26:3ff, Deut 11:27, 28:2-14)if we follow the commands of Yeshua (Noah did Gen 6:22, 7:5, 9, 16; Abraham 18:19, 21:4 26:5, 27:8; Moses and Arron--Exod 7:6, 10, 20, 8:27, 12:28, 50, 15:26, 16:16, 29:35, 31:6, 11, 34:34, and curses if we don’t Lev 26:14ff; Num 15:31; Deut 11:28, 28:15-45 .

Read Num 28, 29, Flour and Drink mentioned throughout

Add to, diminish from Deut 12:32

 The three above is called the redemption of man.

P. Mikveh/ Baptism Matt 28:19; Rom 6:3-4; sprinkling Heb 9:10; pouring 6:2; Immersion Acts 8:38-39

   Although not mentioned in Leviticus 23 and since the three above represents the Death, Burial and Resurrection of our Savior, you have the Baptism of the Messianic Jews and Christians and Purification called the Mikveh.

    To understand what "baptizein" means here one needs the Jewish background. According to the Torah one had to be ritually pure before entering the Tabernacle or Temple. Ritual purity could be lost in many ways; the preeminent means of restoring it was through washing. A quick review of Leviticus shows how frequently the matter is mentioned, and one of the six major divisions of the Talmud (Taharot, Cleansings) is devoted to it. The mikveh (ritual bath) is still observed by Jewish women after each menstrual period, in obedience to Leviticus 15; Hebrews 13:4.

    A person who immerses himself participates in the living metaphor of purification, with the water, as it were, washing away the impurity. Here, we are cleansed from a life pattern of sin.

    We see this mikveh when Moses congregation went through the Red sea. We see John the Baptist baptizing people including Jesus.

      In a river mikveh, you go in one end and come out at the other end or another way. You go in as a Passover lamb, You are cleansed, your sins are covered over. Then you come out as first fruits through the power of Lord Christ Jesus (YHVH).

      Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26.  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27.  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

      Water is an emblem of the cleansing our polluted souls from sin. But no water can do more than take away the filth of the flesh. Water seems in general the sacramental sign of the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost; yet this is always connected with the atoning blood of Christ. When the latter is applied by faith to the conscience, to cleanse it from evil works, the former is always applied to the powers of the soul, to purify it from the pollution of sin. All that have an interest in the new covenant, have a new heart and a new spirit, in order to their walking in newness of life. God would give a heart of flesh, a soft and tender heart, complying with his holy will. Renewing grace works as great a change in the soul, as the turning a dead stone into living flesh. God will put his Spirit within, as a Teacher, Guide, and Sanctifier. The promise of God's grace to fit us for our duty, should quicken our constant care and endeavor to do our duty. These are promises to be pleaded by, and will be fulfilled to, all true believers in every age.

    When the mixed multitude entered the Promised Land, they went through the river and crossed over to the other side. This is a perfect picture of us being cleansed and purified a second time before entering the Messianic Kingdom.

    Nugget 1: Baptism of the Jews and purification.

    Nugget 2: Mikveh means to purify, cleanse and baptize.

     Nugget 3: You go in as a Passover lamb, You are cleansed, your sins are covered over.

     Nugget 4: Water seems in general the sacramental sign of the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost; yet this is always connected with the atoning blood of Christ.

Q. Exodus Wilderness Walk

    Israel picked up the fire and cloud at Succoth, walked across the Wilderness of sin covering 5.6 miles per day, got baptized by the Red Sea, set up a pillar on the other side, received the commandments twice by the finger of God, got married to God the first time in 24:3, went through tribulation until the generation died off.

R. The Feast of Weeks, Pentecost.

Lev 23:15.  And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave-offering; seven sabbaths shall there be complete:  16.  even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meal-offering unto Jehovah. 17.  Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave-loaves of two tenth parts of an ephah: they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baken with leaven, for first-fruits unto Jehovah.  18.  And ye shall present with the bread seven lambs without blemish a year old, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be a burnt-offering unto Jehovah, with their meal-offering, and their drink-offerings, even an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor unto Jehovah.  19.  And ye shall offer one he-goat for a sin-offering, and two he-lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace-offerings.  20.  And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first-fruits for a wave-offering before Jehovah, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to Jehovah for the priest.  21.  And ye shall make proclamation on the selfsame day; there shall be a holy convocation unto you; ye shall do no servile work: it is a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.  22.  And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them for the poor, and for the soujourner: I am Jehovah your God.

(Lev 23:15-22)

     In the third month after the sons of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that very day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. When they set out from Rephidim, they came to the wilderness of Sinai and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped in front of the mountain (Exodus 19:1, 2).

    Pentecost gets its name from the counting of fifty days from the Sabbath following Passover. This places the holiday in the third month (Sivan) of the Jewish Calendar. It coincides with the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai, which is what the holiday celebrates. The most unique aspect of this celebration in the temple was the waving of two leavened loaves of bread before the Lord. This was the only leavened offering made in the temple! These loaves, like the earlier wave offering, are also declared to be a First Fruits offering. Perhaps the loaves were to look like the two tablets of the Law.

     Nugget 1: v. 17 2 loaves of leaven are sin. One is Israel and the other is the Gentile Church.

     Nugget 2: v. 18 lamb without blemish, year old.

     Nugget 3: v:18 meal and drink offering

     Nugget 4: v. priest wave before Jesus.

     Nugget 5: v. 21 Holy convocation.

     Nugget 6: v. I am Jehovah your God. Exod 6:7, 16:12 Lev 11:44, 18:2, 4, 30, 19:3, 4, 10, 25, 31, 34, 36, 20:7, 24, 23:22, 43, 24:22, 25:17, 38, 55, 26:1, 13;  Num 10:10, 15:41; Deut 29:6; Judg 6:10  Ezek 20:5, 7, 19,20; Joel 2:27, 3:17 – 35 times.

Keep Commandments Lev 22:31: 15:40; Deut 4:2, 14, 40 5:31-33, 6:1-2, 17, 6:24, 7:9, 11, 8:1,2,6, 10:12-13, 11:1, 8, 13, 22, 13:4, 18, 19:9, 26:16, 17,18, 27:10, 28:1, 30:8, 10, 16,  27 times. Command is mentioned over 200 times.

Married to God Exod 24:3

Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

More verses to consider: Exodus 19 verses Acts 2

Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

Because Yeshua paid the penalty for our disobedience to the Torah, death, we have been released (katargeo, as in v. 2) from this aspect of the Torah, the aspect of it which causes unbelievers to produce "fruit for death" (v. 5). The phrase, "this aspect of," is not in the Greek text, I have added it because believers have not been released from every aspect of the Torah, as explained below and  in v. 4N. In v. 3 the phrase, "that part of," is likewise not in the Greek text, yet is obviously what the text means, since the death of a woman's husband does not free her from obedience to other aspects of the Torah.

     We are delivered from the law (this aspect of the Torah) because (using the argument of vv. 1--3) we have died to, and therefore been released from, (our own inclination to turn it into a framework of legalism, (2) irremediable guilt feelings which follow disobeying it, and (3) the Torah's penalties and curses for disobeying it--the three ways (v. 4&N) in which the Torah once had us in its clutches. In the following verses Paul focuses on the first of these, our desire to make the Torah into a legalistic system because of the deadly interaction between our passions and sinfulness with the Torah itself.

     As a result of our release from the aspect of Torah that produces fruit for death, we are serving in a new way provided by the Spirit, who has written the Torah in our hearts (Heb 8:8-12, quoting Jer 31:30-33 (31-34), and Heb 10:15-22, alluding to Ezek 36:26-27) and not in the old way of outwardly following the letter of the law (literally, "in newness of Spirit and not in oldness of letter"; compare 2:29 and 2 Cor 3:6. Clearly, if the Torah has been written in the hearts of believers they are not released from every aspect of it.

Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.  

     Torah of the Spirit...'Torah" of sin and death. What are these two? Here is the wrong answer: Yeshua gave a good Torah of the Spirit which produces life, in contrast with the bad Mosaic Law that produces only sin and death. But this interpretation not only contradicts Paul's arguments in Chapters 3 and 7, but is implicitly antisemitic as well (3:20bN).

     The right answer is that the Torah of the Spirit is the Mosaic Law properly apprehended by the power of the Holy Spirit in believers, what Paul elsewhere calls "the Torah's true meaning, which the Messiah upholds" usually rendered, "the law of Christ," Gal 6:2). The second "torah" is written in lower-case and put in quotation marks, because it is "sin's 'torah'" (7:21-23&N), in other words, not a God-given Torah at all but an anti-Torah. More specifically, it is the Mosaic Law improperly understood and perverted by our old, sinful nature into a legalistic system of earning God's approval byour own works (3:20b&N).

    the law of the Spirit of life. The working of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is regular (like a law) but not mechanical (for it is life).

Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

 

      in the likeness of sinful flesh. The word "likeness" is crucial, for it indicates that Yeshua was a true man but not a sinful man.     flesh = body.

     4-8 The contrast here is between a life dominated by the flesh (= sinful nature within) and one controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

 

      For what the law, taken here, apparently, to mean merely a collection of words, could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did through His Son. All power resides in God, and he did what his own teachings, instructions and commands could not of themselves do by sending his own Son as a human being with a nature just like our own sinful one, literally, "God sending his own Son in likeness of flesh of sin." Although Yeshua was a human being and had a truly human nature (Greek sarx, "flesh"; see 7:5 N), his "flesh" or "nature" was not like that of other humans because it was not sinful, and he did not sin. He encountered temptations just like those we face, but he conquered them without sinning by the power of the Holy Spirit (Heb 2:17-18, 4:15; Matt 4:1-11; Jn 3:34).

    God sent his Son in order to deal with sin, because sin is such a serious disturbance in creation that nothing less could overcome it. In the Tanakh the central purpose  of the whole book of Job is to show that only God can solve the problem of sin in the universe. God gives Satan (the Adversary) permission to test Job (Chapters 1-2); Job looses his possessions, children and health and spends most of the book protesting his fate, justifying himself and fending off the counterproductive advice of his friends. Even God's appearing to him personally as the Creator (Chapters 38-39) merely silences him. Only when he perceives that God alone can handle Behemoth and Leviathan, who are stand-ins for Satan (Chapters 40-41), does he  "repent in dust and ashes," and his well-being  is restored.

    And in so doing he, God, executed the punishment against sin in human nature, literally, "he condemned sin in the flesh," so that the just requirement of the Torah that sin against a perfectly holy God must be punished by death might be fulfilled in us and not merely in Yeshua, because we are united with him and have died with him (6:3-6). Also, being united with him means that we do not run our lives according to what our old nature wants but according to what the Holy Spirit wants, literally, we "walk not according to flesh but according to Spirit."

    This completes the explanation of why believers are no longer under the Torah's condemnation (v. 1) But a new question is raised: why is it important to do not what the old nature wants but what the Spirit wants? The answer follows in  Rom 8:5-13.

S. The Marriage Covenant

   And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do, and be obedient. 8. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which Jehovah hath made with you concerning all these words.

(Exodus 24:7-8)

    This is a marriage contract between God and Israel and since we Christians are grafted into the Olive Tree which is Israel, then we come under this marriage contract. He cannot break His covenant once He makes it, however through sin ad hypocrisy, we can get a divorce from god and follow Satan.

    In the 2^nd to last chapter of Malachi God says, “I hate divorce”

    He also says in 3:7 From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith Jehovah of hosts. But ye say, Wherein shall we return?

T. The Wheat Kernal

    The wheat is a hard-shelled seed and has to go through a tribulane to crush it, and this is where we get the word tribulation. I am a Wheat kernel. I have to go through tribulation before I believe God.   

    A tribulane is two boards with a metal crusher. This is how the wheat becomes fine flour.

  U. Jeremiah 31:31-36

 31.  Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:  32.  not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah.  33.  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people:  34.  and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.  35.  Thus saith Jehovah, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; Jehovah of hosts is his name: YHVH 36.  If these ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

Pentecost is called Sanctification of Man

    As mentioned above, missionaries argue that Jeremiah 31:31-34 is a prophecy of an event that occurred nearly 2,000 years ago, with Jesus' death on the cross. They insist that this is the new covenant replaced the old, obsolete Mosaic covenant forged with the entire nation of Israel at the foot at Mt. Sinai.

    This Christian rendering of Jeremiah's prophecy of a "new covenant," however, is an extraordinary reconstruction of the prophet's own words. Jeremiah 31:31-34 is not a prophecy that occurred 2,000 years ago, or any time in the past. Rather, it is a prophecy that will be fulfilled in the future messianic age.

    The fact that Jeremiah 31:31-34 begins with the prophet addressing both the "House of Israel and the House of Judah" clearly indicates that Jeremiah is speaking to the Jewish people, following the reunification and restoration of the ten lost tribes. No restoration occurred at the time when Christians claim the new covenant was fulfilled in Jesus' death. Quite the contrary, during the Christian century the House of Israel did not exist – Assyria exiled the Kingdom of Israel more than seven centuries earlier (approx. 732 B.C.E.). Moreover, during the first century, the Jewish people were spread throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. Thus, the vast bulk of "House of Judah" did not reside in the Promised Land during Jesus' lifetime.

     In short, the era of the new covenant has not yet arrived. Rather, Jeremiah's prophecy addresses a future messianic age when the entire Jewish people – both Judah and Israel – will be restored, reunited, in the land of Israel (Ezekiel 37:15-22). On the contrary, there had been no time in history when the Jewish people were more fractured and dispersed than the first century C.E. when, the author of the Book of Hebrews claims that Jeremiah's prophecy of a new covenant was fulfilled. Moreover, a cursory reading of verse 31:34, further confirms that Jeremiah's prophecy is not speaking of a Christian cross 2,000 years ago but rather a restored Jewish people in the future messianic era. Missionaries often overlook verse 34 and emphasize only 31:31-33 when quoting Jeremiah's declaration of a new covenant. This oversight shatters their interpretation of this prophecy, because clearly this passage speaks of the future new covenant era. Jeremiah states:

    No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, "Know the Lord," for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.(Jeremiah 31:34)

    The above verse clearly speaks of an age that will be realized during an epoch of the universal knowledge of God. It will occur when no one will have to teach his neighbor about God, "for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them..." Did this epic event occur during the first century C.E., or at any time since? Does every human being "know the Lord"? This is hardly the case.

The Church is spending many hundreds of millions of dollars annually in order to convert masses worldwide to Christianity. There are roughly one billion Moslems and Hindus in the world today who, according to Christian teachings, do not know the Lord; and there are an untold number of atheists throughout the globe who certainly do not know any Lord.

     Has Jeremiah's prophecy of a "new covenant" as yet been fulfilled by anyone's standards? Are we living in a time when each and every person "knows the Lord"?

    The Hebrew word בְּרִית (bris) in Jeremiah 31:31 does not mean a Bible or refer to a new salvation program or Torah. The word bris always refers to a covenant, promise, or a contract. This covenant was made with the Jewish people while they were still in the wilderness – long before they entered the Promised Land.

    Nugget 1: v. 31 Covenant with house of Judah and House of Israel

    Nugget 2: v. 32 Covenant of Moses Law (Torah, Biblical Instructions) on Tablets of Stone, remember sin, not forgive inquity.

    Nugget 3: v. 33 Torah written on the hearts of men

    Nugget 4: v. 34 All shall know God, forgive iniquity, not remember sin.

    Nugget 5: v. 35 Moon regulates the seasons. Moon:  heb. yareah, from its paleness (Ezra 6:15), and lebanah, the "white" (Cant. 6:10; Isa. 24:23), was appointed by the Creator to be with the sun "for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (Gen. 1:14-16). A lunation was among the Jews the period of a month, and several of their festivals were held on the day of the new moon. It is frequently referred to along with the sun (Josh. 10:12; Ps. 72:5, 7, 17; 89:36, 37; Eccl. 12:2; Isa. 24:23, etc.), and also by itself (Ps. 8:3; 121:6). The great brilliance of the moon in Eastern countries led to its being early an object of idolatrous worship (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; Job 31:26), a form of idolatry against which the Jews were warned (Deut. 4:19; 17:3). They, however, fell into this idolatry, and offered incense (2 Kings 23:5; Jer. 8:2), and also cakes of honey, to the moon (Jer. 7:18; 44:17-19, 25).

  Nugget 6:  If Covenant and ordinances depart, the nation shall be no more

     The New Covenant can refer to the New Testament up to this point or it goes between the Millennium and the New heaven and the new earth.

V. Walk of the Lord

   Now here is an interesting nugget. We start off at the Garden of Eden. The line goes down to Noah, it shoots left, then down to Shem, right to Ham, right to Japeth

   Shem, Ham and Japeth are pagans or Gentiles.

   Out of Shem, the line goes left and down to Abraham. Then the line goes down to the divided houses (House of Israel to the right, and House of Judah to the left. The two lines go down until the cross of Yeshua intersects. After Yeshua the Gentile Church with Shem, Ham, and Japeth connect into the house of Israel. The two houses connect back together (the two sticks (Ezekiel 37:15-28)). The two become one. The one enters the Millennium as the Church of God.

W. Matt 5:17-20

Jesus said in Matt 5:17-20: 17.  Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill.

 18.  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.

 19.  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

 20.  For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.

     Nugget 1: v. 17 Yeshua does not destroy the Torah (Genesis to Malachi.

     Nugget 2: He fulfills them referring to His 1st coming and 2^nd coming.

     Nugget 3: v. 18 Till heaven and earth pass away. This refers to the end of millennium (Rev 1-21) and the beginning of Revelation 22.

     Nugget 4: Jot refers to the Yod in the Hebrew Alphabet. Tittle refers to the stroke of a pen found at the top of 7 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet. They are called crownlets.

     Nugget 5: All has to be fulfilled.

     Nugget 6: v. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments which includes the sabbath.

     Nugget 7: And teach so. Pastors teach peole to worship on Sunday which is not found any where in the Bible.

     Nugget 8: Whoever teaches them and practices them shall be great in Heaven.

     Nugget 9: v. 20. This refers to legalism which Messianic Jews and Christians should not follow.

X. Great Tribulation

    The so-called tribulation and great tribulation will take place at this time. This is when the deceiver is throwing everything at people to get them to bow down to him. At his time God is giving the seal and trumpet judgments.

    The seventh month, the month of Tishri, deals with the number 7  or Heavenly things. It is when man is resurrected, judged and enters the Millennium.

    For you who believe we are in the Millennium right now, Here is a statement to ponder. The Millennium is to be for 1000 years. If that is true then the Millennium died 1000 years ago and we would be on a new heaven and a new earth where there is world wide peace, no infirmaties, where all our needs are met by God, our cloths don’t wear out.

Y. Day of Trumpet—Ethanim

23.  And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 24.  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.  25.  Ye shall do no servile work; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah. (Lev 23:23-25)

     The phrase “blowing of trumpets” translates the Hebrew word “teruah.” The word is loosely like the English word “fanfare.” Like “fanfare,” “teruah” has an association with the sound of a trumpet, but really means those things for which we might sound a trumpet: to alert, to call to battle, to announce the arrival of a king, etc.

     The trumpets remind the Jews of at least eight things:

    1. To prepare for the coming Day of Atonement by examining the life you have lived this past year.

    2. To celebrate the creation with God as its King. This is because, according to Jewish tradition, creation began on the first day of the seventh month.

    3. To remember that the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai with the loud blast of a shofar (Exodus 19:16-19).

    4. To imagine the sound of the heavenly shepherd recalling those who have strayed from Israel’s fold.

    5. To rejoice in freedom from slavery. In the past, slaves were freed at the blast of a shofar.

    6. To rejoice in restoration. Property was returned at the blast of the shofar at the Jubilee Year (Leviticus 25:9).

     7. To remember Abraham’s obedience when he offered his son Isaac. When Abraham sacrificed Isaac, a ram was caught in the thicket by its horns.

    8. To look forward to the coming of Messiah’s kingdom, which the blast of the shofar will bring in.

     And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other (Matthew 24:31).

     … in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed (1 Corinthians 15:52).

    For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

    And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound them (Revelation 8:6). The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts (Revelation 9:20, 21).

     The first three verses above have direct correspondence to the final trumpet sounded on the eve of the Day of Atonement. The next two (Revelation 8:6 and 9:20, 21) have clear association with the trumpets announcing the coming of the Day. Like the trumpets that announce the Lord as King over His creation, so trumpets announce the coming of Messiah as King. Like the trumpets that announce the Jubilee Year and freedom to slaves, so trumpets announce the translation of our corruptible flesh into incorruptible new bodies. As the trumpets sounded before the Day of Atonement call the Jews to repentance, so these trumpets call all of mankind to repent before the terrible Day of the Lord. The seven trumpets in Revelation, like the shofars that sound in the synagogues, are a call to the earth to repent. Consequently, we have the significance of Revelation 9:20, 21: The trumpets have sounded and the world has not repented. The Bowl Judgments, containing the Wrath of God, may now be poured on the earth.

     Nugget 1: I Thess 4:16-17 At the last Trumpet in the book of Revelation is when this verse will be fulfilled.

     Nugget 2: The phrase “blowing of trumpets” translates the Hebrew word “teruah.” The word is loosely like the English word “fanfare.” Like “fanfare,” “teruah” has an association with the sound of a trumpet, but really means those things for which we might sound a trumpet: to alert, to call to battle, to announce the arrival of a king, etc.

    I Thess 4:16-17 will be fulfilled on this day.

Z. Days of Awe—not mentioned in Lev. 23.

   The Days of Awe is a time of repentance and remorse for the Jews. They are on their knees asking God to remove their sins.  These days are shorten and this is when the Wrath of God (Bowl or vial Judgments) is poured out. Between this time and Day of Atonement will be Armageddon.

Armageddon may occur on Day of Atonement.

AA. Day of Atonement Lev 8:34, 16:34 Annual Sabbath

26.  And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

 27.  Howbeit on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah.  28.  And ye shall do no manner of work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Jehovah your God.  29.  For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day; he shall be cut off from his people.  30.  And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any manner of work in that same day, that soul will I destroy from among his people.  31.  Ye shall do no manner of work: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.  32.  It shall be unto you a sabbath of solemn rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye keep your sabbath. (Lev 23:26-32)

     “He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the doorway of the tent of meeting. Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell, and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat. … for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord. It is to be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute. So the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement: he shall thus put on the linen garments, the holy garments, and make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar. He shall also make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did (Leviticus 16:7-10; 30-34).

     “And it shall be a statute for ever unto you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and shall do no manner of work, the home-born, or the stranger that sojourneth among you:” (Lev 26:29)

     The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, represents the day when the priest puts on special clothes and makes offerings to atone, or cleanse, the holy sanctuary, the temple, and the altar. He then makes atonement for the priests and the people. The day is solemn and serious. It is a day of complete rest and fasting with a goal of humbling the soul. As a holy day, it serves to remind us of the gravity and offense of sin. The eve of the Day of Atonement begins with the blast of a shofar. Afterwards, the shofars are silent until next year.

    Before the destruction of the temple, the atonement of the people involved two goats. By casting lots the priest chose between the goats. One was chosen for the Lord the other was chosen for Azazel, (usually translated as scapegoat). The priest transferred the sins of the people onto the scapegoat and then it was driven into the wilderness. The first goat paid the penalty of the people’s sin, the second took the sin away. The ancient Jews considered the two goats to be two halves of a single sacrifice. Therefore, they would select two goats that very closely resembled each other.

    The reference to Azazel only appears in Leviticus 16. It appears no where else in the scriptures. Although it is typically translated as “scapegoat,” the actual language suggests a being for which this goat is chosen. As one goat is chosen “for (to) the Lord,” so the other is chosen “for (to) Azazel.” Who or what is Azazel?

     Nugget 1: v. 27 Afflict your souls. This is a fast day. It is a day when you should be on your knees praying that the cup of redemption be taken away from you.

     Nugget 2: v. 29 Cut off from people if he does not afflict his soul.

     Nugget 3: v. 31 It is a statue forever for God’s people.

    Nugget 4: Sabbath of Rest. 27, 30, 31, 32.

    Nugget 5: Day of Judgment for the Nations.

    Nugget 6: Two-goats: Lord’s goat, scape goat

    Reference Scriptures: Revelation 1:7; Zechariah 12:10; Daniel 7:13, 14; Matthew 24:30, 31; Romans 11:25-27.

         First, Revelation 1:7 links two Old Testament Messianic prophecies: Zechariah 12:10 and Daniel 7:13, 14. That is, the day the Lord returns is the day that Israel receives “the Spirit of grace and supplication” and finds national salvation. Second, Matthew links these events to the blowing of a great trumpet (or shofar) that begins the Day of Atonement. Third, it is the day to which Paul, in Romans 11:25-27, looked ahead. As the goat chosen for Azazel takes away the sin from Israel, so according to Paul the coming of the Lord will take away the sins of Israel. The meaning of all this is that the future fulfillment of the Day of Atonement is the second coming of Jesus Christ on the earth and the salvation of Israel.

     Matthew 25 pictures the return of Christ to this earth. The text correlates to and is synonymous with Revelation 19:11-16, when Christ returns to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. Before He establishes His millennial kingdom upon earth for 1,000 years (see Revelation 20:4), He purges the earth of its rebels (see Matthew 25:31-46).

   On the Day of Atonement will come the judgment of the nations. This will be a time according to Matthew 25:31-46, when all unbelievers will be put to death in preparation for the Millennial kingdom. Only believers will populate the kingdom at its beginning, and the judgment of the nations will ensure that all unbelievers are removed before the kingdom commences.

     There are five days of grace between the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.

   BB. Days of Yeshua

 Between the first coming of Yeshua and the Millennium is 2000 years or 6 days called “Days of Yeshua.” Then we have the Millennium for 1000 years or 1 day.

CC. Feast of Tabernacles. Annual Sabbaths

 33.  And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

 34.  Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto Jehovah.  35.  On the first day shall be a holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work. 36. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah: on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah: it is a solemn assembly; ye shall do no servile work. 37. These are the set feasts of Jehovah, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto Jehovah, a burnt-offering, and a meal-offering, a sacrifice, and drink-offerings, each on its own day; 38. besides the sabbaths of Jehovah, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill-offerings, which ye give unto Jehovah. 39. Howbeit on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of Jehovah seven days: on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. 40. And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before Jehovah your God seven days. 41. And ye shall keep it a feast unto Jehovah seven days in the year: it is a statute for ever throughout your generations; ye shall keep it in the seventh month. 42. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; 43. that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Jehovah your God. (Lev 23:33-43)

    Nugget 1: v. 35-37, 39 Annual Sabbaths first and eighth day are a solemn rest.

    Nugget 2: v. 38- 39 Gathering of produce. (God’s church).

    Nugget 3: v. 40-43 Booths, Tents, God tabernacles with us.

    Nugget 4: Yeshua was born on this day in 5 BC on thee annual Sabbath (15^th)of Feast of Tabernacles.

    Scripture References: Numbers 14:11-21; Psalm 19;

Zechariah 14:9, 16-19.

44.    And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the set feasts of Jehovah.

  DD. Hoshana Rabbah -- Water of Libation Ceremony

     Hoshana Rabbah is the seventh and last day of Sukkot, which is the day before Shmini Atzeres. Named for the

fact that more hoshanot are said on this day than all the previous days of the festival. On Hoshana Rabbah the beating of the aravah, willow branch, is performed. Although Hoshana Rabbah was not accorded any different status by the Torah than the other days of Chol Hamoed, the Jewish people have observe many customs on this day and have invested it with a solemn character. For example, the white parochet, curtain on the ark, in shul remains up until after Hoshana Rabbah.

     Hoshana Rabbah assumes special importance as a day of prayer and repentance. On Rosh Hashanah all people were judged. The righteous were given a favorable judgment, those found wanting, but not totally evil, were given until Yom HaKippurim (Day of Atonement)to repent. If they failed to do so, the verdict against them was written and sealed, but not yet ‘delivered’. That was not done until Hoshana Rabbah, a day when Jews assemble in prayer, dedication, and supplication. The joy of Succoth reaches its climax not in revelry but in devotion. In mercy, HaShem finds ample reason to tear up the parchments bearing harsher sentences, as it were, and replace them with brighter tidings.

Ritual of the water libation is performed. day 7. Sukkah     42b

     Nugget 1: Day of prayer and repentance.

     Nugget 2: Day of Judgment (Rev 20:18)

EE. The Water of Libation

     During the Festival of Sukkot, a special ceremony took place every day in the Holy Temple, known as the Festival of the Water Libation.

     The Water Libation Ceremony, known as Nissuch Ha-Mayim in Hebrew, was one of the most popular parts of the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. This ceremony followed the daily sacrifices. It is no longer practiced today but it was being practiced during the Second Temple era and during the time of Yeshua.

     One reason the water libation ritual was so popular in Second Temple days was the accompanying ceremony of the water drawing, which took place at night when water was drawn from Siloam for the next morning's water libation. Each day for seven consecutive days a priest would walk up a ramp leading to the bronze altar located in the Temple Court and pour a jug full of water into a bowl that drained into the altar.

     Each morning of the festival, during the daily sacrifice, water was poured onto the altar in a special joyous service.

     At the foothills of Mount Moriah, down below in the City of David, flows a natural spring called Shiloach (Siloam). This spring is ancient, and as it is located literally in the shadow of the Holy Temple, it has always had spiritual significance for Israel. It is the original source of Jerusalem's water.

    Every day of the festival, the priests descended down to the Shiloach, accompanied by all the congregation that assembled in the Temple. There, they filled a golden flask with 3 lugs (about 1/2 liter) of the pure water. Ascending back up, carrying the flask with song and elation with that singular feeling that comes only from fulfilling the Holy One's will, the gathering entered back into the Temple through the Water Gate, one of the gates on the southern side of the court (it received its name on account of this event-Mishna Shekalim 6, 3). As they entered the gate, their steps were greeted by the sound of trumpets and shofar-blasts, in fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah's words (12:3) "With joy you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation."

    Once in the Temple, the priest who had the honor of performing this service now carries the golden flask up the altar ramp. At the top, he turns to his left. Since the ramp is located at the south side of the altar, this means that the cohen now faces the southwest corner; it is here that the libations were poured. Here at this corner, two silver cups were fixed on the top of the altar, sitting next to each other. The one further east received the wine libations which are poured out every day at the time of the daily tamid sacrifice; the other was designated for this service, which took place on exclusively on Sukkot.

"With joy you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:3).

    Based on this verse, the drawing of water from the Shiloach spring and its libation upon the altar of God was accompanied by great rejoicing and celebration in the Holy Temple. In fact, this joy was so immense, and the celebrations so uplifting, that the sages of Israel emphatically stated: "Whoever has never seen the celebrations of the Festival of the Water Libation-has never experienced true joy in his life"

        Hoshana Rabbah is known as the day of the final sealing of judgment, which began on Rosh Hashannah. During the festival of Sukkot the world is judged for water and for the blessings of the fruit and crops. The seventh day of the festival is the final sealing and since human life depends on water, Hoshanna Rabbah is somewhat similar to Yom Kippur. Hence there are additional prayers and quests for repentance as on Yom Kippur.

     Nugget 1: Known as Nissuch Ha-Mayim

     Nugget 2: This ceremony followed the daily sacrifices.

     Nugget 3: Practiced during 2^nd temple period and time of Yeshua.

     Nugget 4: Took place at night for drawing water from pool of Siloam.

     Nugget 5: Water Gate, one of the gates on the southern side of the court (it received its name on account of this event-Mishna Shekalim 6, 3).

     Nugget 6: Isaiah's words (12:3) "With joy you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation."

    Scripture References: I Sam 2:10; I Chron 16:33; Ps 7:8,9:8, Ps 96:13; Isa 2:4; I Peter 1:17; Eccl 12:14; Rom 14:10; Heb 9:27; Rev 20:18

FF. Messiah in the Water Libation Ceremony:

    Finally, on what was probably the 7th day of the feast known as Hoshana Raba,(May have occurred one day later on Shemini Atzeret) the climax of the entire week, Jesus made what some believe to be His greatest proclamation.

    On the 7^th or 8th and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."(John 7:37-38)

    This was no statement secretly whispered in the dark corner. The text says that Jesus "stood" to make His announcement, and He "cried" meaning He spoke with a loud voice. He wanted everyone to hear the good news. The stunned crowd did hear and they knew what He meant.

     Jesus was declaring that He was Messiah and that everyone who would believe in Him would receive the gift or indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the "living water," not measured in terms of a trickling spring, the Spring of Gihon, but a flowing river-even numerous rivers!

    Jesus was saying in effect "I am the reality that the water in this ceremony symbolizes-the true life giver through whom the Holy Spirit is also given."

     Some may have also been familiar with Ezekiel's prophecy of the Holy Spirit (Ezek. 36:24-27).

     Even though this ceremony is not practiced today because there is no temple, the liturgy can still be found in some Jewish prayer books. One prayer said during the Sukkot holiday reads:

     "Please God! Those who pour water before you, from the springs of salvation may they draw water, save now and bring salvation now.

     Nugget 1: John 7:37-38 "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."(John 7:37-38)

     Nugget 2: "I am the reality that the water in this ceremony symbolizes-the true life giver through whom the Holy Spirit is also given."

GG. Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah  End of Sukkot

     Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah come at the conclusion of Sukkot. Some authorities consider Shemini Atzeret to be a separate festival, but its connection to Sukkot comes from scripture:
    Leviticus 23:36
    For seven days present offerings made to the LORD by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work.
     Numbers 29:35
    On the eighth day hold an assembly and do no regular work. “Shemini” means eighth, while “Atzeret” means gathering or assembly. It comes from the Hebrew root “atzar” meaning “to hold back” or to “tarry”. In that connotation it is seen as an added day to spend with the Lord. The Talmud explains that it is similar to a great king who has invited diplomatic guests to come visit him for a week long feast. On the last day he calls his son who was also there aside and tells him: “While all these strangers were around we hardly had an opportunity to have an intimate conversation. Would you not stay for just one more day so we can have a simple feast all by ourselves?”

A rabbinical turn on this is that during the seven days of Sukkot Israel is interceding for the world, a reference perhaps to this verse:
     Zechariah 14:16-17 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. [17]

     If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. Israel then takes one last day to be alone with God. A Messianic explanation for this one day holiday is based on the theory that Yeshua was born on the first day of Sukkot. He came into the world and “tabernacled” with us.
     John 1:14 says “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us...” Then, eight days later, on Shemini Atzeret, was His bris:
    Luke 2:21 says “On the eighth day, when it was time for his Brit-milah, he was named Yeshua, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.” As a separate holiday Shemini Atzeret has fewer rituals than the preceding feasts. It is traditional though, to read one of the five “megillot”, or scrolls, Ecclesiastes, and to recite “Yizkor”, the memorial prayer for the dead. Perhaps Ecclesiastes is read because of its somber introspection, a balance to the joyousness of Sukkot, and an expression of the mood of soul searching associated with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur preceding. The mood swings upward again a day later on Simchat Torah. In Israel this day is not considered as a separate feast, but as the second day of Shemini Atzeret. In the Diaspora it is either a separate feast or considered the ninth day of Sukkot. In either case this day is not mentioned in scripture, and did not develop until the Middle Ages (ninth century). At that time the three year cycle of reading through the Torah, ending on Pesach, gave way to a one year cycle ending on Shemini Atzeret. This way a different portion of the Torah is read each week so that the entire Torah was read through in a year. Since the cycle of Torah readings would begin again, this became a joyous day. Thus the name “Simchat Torah”, “rejoicing in the Torah”. What would otherwise have been a day of tediously re-rolling all the Torah scrolls to their beginnings, now became a very joyous festival involving the whole family.
     Nugget 1: Tefillat Geshem (Rain Prayer). Israel's agriculture depends heavily on rains that come only seasonally, so Jewish prayers for rain are prominent during Israel's rainy (winter) half of the year. The rainy season starts just after the fall Jewish holidays. Because of that, and because the sukkah (and, by extension, pleasant weather) is no longer required on Shemini Atzeret, Jews begin to ask for rain starting with the Musaf Amidah prayer of Shemini Atzeret. This prayer is recited in a traditional, distinctive, plaintive melody during the cantor's repetition of the Amidah. In most synagogues, the cantor is clad in a white kittel, a symbol of piety, owing to the vitality of a positive judgement for rain. A brief mention of rain continues to be inserted in the Amidah until Passover.

     Nugget 2: In ancient times, an offering was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem on Shemini Atzeret.

     Nugget 3: Yeshua was circumcised on this day.

Traditions for this day include reading the last verses of Deuteronomy and immediately reading the first verses of Genesis after the scroll is rewind.

   Revelation 21 or 22 A new Heaven and a New Earth with a New Covenant and set of rules.

HH. Chanukkah: Yeshua was dedicated at the festival of Dedication and the Feast of Light. He was conceived on Kislev 25^th on December 22nd which is a Sabbath in 6 BCE or December 15th in 4 BCE (I personally believe 4 BCE.

Conclusion

Should the Church of Jesus Christ celebrate these things? Four times in Leviticus 23 we are told, “It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.” Of course, the command is addressed to the Jews. On the other hand, these appointed times testify over and over again about the past and future work of our Lord. Should we not make room for the principal ones like Passover, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles? These speak of three major doctrines of our faith: the Death of Jesus for our sins, His return, and His coming Kingdom. Think how clearly these holidays speak of these truths, because they are free from the secular clamor that surrounds Christmas and Easter. Besides, as I said above, the Feast of Tabernacles appears to be the big international holiday of the Millennial Kingdom.

Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Zechariah 14:16).

    We can share the Passover meal with family and friends and celebrate Jesus Christ as our Passover Lamb. We can fast for the Day of Atonement to humble ourselves before God and reflect on His return, and pray that we be found at our posts. We can build our huts during the Feast of Tabernacles and look ahead to the coming Kingdom. In this way, our children can begin learning important truths at very early ages, free from the confusing signals of secular culture.

    With the tastes of Passover, the waving of the sheaf during First Fruits, the waving of two leaven loaves on Pentecost, the sound of trumpets, the fasting on the Day of Atonement, and the huts of the Feast of Tabernacles, the story of God’s deliverance and salvation is told without words. The events stimulate the questions of the very young and provide mental pictures of sublime concepts. These days speak of past and future deliverance. They are historical and prophetical at the same time. How great is our God who can so engineer time and history to use the same holidays twice!

    “And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3. And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:2-3)