Tag Archives: Messiah

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Time to Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles!

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Shalom friends!

Tomorrow night at sundown marks the beginning of the Feast of Tabernacles, the seventh (and final) annual feast of Israel.  What an incredible celebration it is!  (Be sure to read to the end for a special invitation to celebrate!)

Yesterday, we reviewed the fall feasts, beginning with the Feast of Trumpets and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).  Now we come to the culmination of the feasts!  Jesus will fulfill the Feast of Tabernacles, just as He has already fulfilled the spring feasts (Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of First Fruits and Pentecost).  In fact, fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles will also fulfill the Davidic Covenant, and we know that time period as the Millennial Kingdom!

It is this time period that the prophet Zechariah writes about in the passage above.  Notice that ALL nations are invited to the Feast of Tabernacles to worship the King of Kings!  This is the only Jewish feast that isn’t totally, 100% Jewish.  Why?

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
~Galatians 3:28

Related imageOne in Christ Jesus!  No Jews, no Greeks (no Gentiles)…just one in Him!  No need for “Jewish feasts” any longer because Jewish feasts are simply shadows of what is to come.  Jesus is the substance!  (See Colossians 2:17.  The context is a bit different here, but the principle is the same: God uses certain things to teach about Himself.  Those things, however, are not the “real deal,” they simply point to the “real deal” – Jesus!)

Thus, we are all invited to the Feast of Tabernacles, where the greatest worship the world has ever seen will take place!  It comes after the Feast of Trumpets (to be fulfilled when a trumpet sounds and Jesus’ foot touches down on the Mount of Olives) and Yom Kippur (to be fulfilled when the eyes of our precious Jewish friends are opened, they repent and finally see their Messiah).

For those who follow this blog, we just finished a study called Why Israel Matters.  In it, one of the foundational principles is that all nations will be blessed through Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:3), and we know that blessing to be salvation.  Put the puzzle pieces together and you come to this:

  • God set apart a special group of people (Abraham and his descendants) for a very unique purpose: to be vehicles of world redemption.
  • They became that, but missed the day of His visitation (Luke 19:41-44).  ie – they did not recognize Him as the Messiah.
  • That opened the door for Gentiles to be grafted into the olive tree.  (The olive tree represents spiritual Israel.  Thus, Gentiles were offered a means of salvation through the Jewish Messiah!)
  • God implemented the 7 major feasts as a calendar of His plan for His people (the Jews), which includes drawing them back to Himself…in salvation.  Four of the seven are already fulfilled, the final 3 will happen in very quick succession!
  • Once the trumpet sounds and Jesus physically appears, the Jews will repent and turn to Him, THEN Jesus says He will “tabernacle” among His chosen ones…both Jews and Gentiles, and there will no longer be a distinction!

Wow!  Incredible, isn’t it!?!  I can hardly wait for that day!

But…we can practice while still on earth!  It is a faint glimpse, but a glimpse nonetheless, when the Feast of Tabernacles kicks off in Israel tomorrow evening.

Did you know the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem hosts a huge Feast of Tabernacles celebration each year, and that people come from all over the world to worship the King of Kings right there in the Holy City!?!  Yes, its a preview!

Most of us cannot physically go to Jerusalem to participate, but thanks to modern technology, the ICEJ sends the Feast of Tabernacles celebration right to our computer screens!  They will live stream (and record) events during the Feast of Tabernacles, and they invite us all to join!  You will find a calendar of events here, so join in by clicking the “Media/Live Stream” button on the top right!

Take advantage!  Join the celebration, and rejoice with believers around the world in worship of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!  Enjoy!

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…and the Shofar Blows!

 

This evening at sundown the shofar will blow, signaling the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish civil New Year.  Jewish people around the world will celebrate one of the most joyful days of the year.

Biblically speaking, though, it is the Feast of Trumpets…also a most joyful time!  If you follow this blog, or have heard Biblical teaching regarding the seven major feasts of Israel, you know that each feast points to Jesus, the Messiah…and Jesus fulfills each one.

But consider this: the four spring feasts…Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of First Fruits and Pentecost…have already been fulfilled.

  • Jesus was the Passover Lamb, sacrificed for our sins.
  • Jesus was striped, bruised and pierced for our transgression, symbolized by unleavened bread.
  • Jesus was the First Fruit, raised from the dead to redeem us from the curse of death.  We will follow Him in resurrection.  (Keep reading to understand!)
  • Jesus ascended to heaven, leaving us the Holy Spirit to guide us.

Yes, Jesus has fulfilled those feasts!  However, the feasts of Israel are God’s calendar, so we need to examine what comes next.

The Feast of Trumpets, the celebration of which begins at sundown, is highly significant.  The Bible tells us:

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 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. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
~1 Corinthians 15:51-57  (Emphasis mine)

Dear friends, when that trumpet sounds, we (believers) will be snatched out of this world to meet Jesus in the air. (That is called the rapture.)  Death has no reign.  Just as Jesus was raised from the dead, so we who die before the rapture will be resurrected to eternal life.

God’s calendar is 100% accurate.  Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb, He was pierced and bruised for our transgressions, He was the first to raise from the dead (preparing the way for us), and He left the promised Holy Spirit to guide us.  We are awaiting the next event…the trumpet, signaling the rapture!

If you are reading this and do not know Jesus as your savior, today is the day.  We don’t know when the rapture will occur, but it could literally be any moment.  It is the next thing on God’s calendar, and those who miss it will be left to endure the tribulation…hell on earth, followed by eternal hell in a place beyond what can even be imagined.  Don’t miss your opportunity.

The Bible says:

There is someone reading this RIGHT NOW who is struggling to find meaning in life.  If that is YOU, stop what you are doing and read each of the verses linked above.  Then, pray this simple prayer, inviting Jesus to be your Savior:

Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.  Amen

Those words are not magic, but if you prayed sincerely, asking Jesus to do those very things, you ARE now a child of God!  Welcome to the family….and keep your ears open for that trumpet sound!

PS: The best thing you can do now is tell a Christian friend, or go to a Bible-teaching church and let them know that you prayed that prayer.  We all need help to grow in our new lives and that’s where you will find it!

Be blessed my friend!

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It’s Not too Late to Join the Fun!

Fall Feasts of the Lord

Sundown on Sunday marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish civil New Year.  (The religious new year begins with Passover in the spring.)  In Israel and around the world, Jewish people will welcome the new year by wishing one another Shana Tovah (Happy New Year) and sending one another greeting cards.  (Hint: send a “Shana Tovah” card to your Jewish friends…you can find them at almost any card shop!)

This past Sunday, Stan Meyer, a missionary with Jews for Jesus, came to share about the fall feasts in a Jewish home and we had a wonderful time.  He led us in a couple of upbeat Jewish songs, we enjoyed challah (a common Jewish egg-based bread) and listened intently as Stan shared the significance of the first two fall feasts, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, as celebrated in a Jewish home.  We learned the symbolism of round challah, of the shofar being blown and several other things made significant by Jewish history and tradition.

As Christians, we understand all the Jewish feasts point toward the Messiah.  Though the Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah on the first day of the Jewish month Tishri, the Biblical event is the Feast of Trumpets.  Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) falls on Tishri 10, followed by the third fall feast, Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), beginning Tishri 15.  (This year, those Jewish high holidays fall on September 10, September 18 and September 23-30, respectively.  Keep in mind, on the Hebrew calendar, a day begins at sundown the day before.)

Stan and his wife, Jacqui, are evidence of Jewish people who discovered Jesus the Messiah and now celebrate Him in the midst of those incredible feasts!  In fact, you can read Stan’s incredible story here.

The invitation remains open for you to join us this coming Sunday (September 9, 2018) for our second class time with Stan.  Rosh Hashanah actually begins later that evening, so we will celebrate a bit early with apples and honey (traditional Jewish fare on Rosh Hashanah) before Stan reveals the wonders of the Feast of Tabernacles from his unique Jewish perspective.

Join us:

  • Sunday, September 9, 2018
  • 11:00am
  • CalvaryPHX Central Campus, Fellowship Hall
  • All adults and young people (junior high and above) are welcome!

Click here for directions and more information.

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Revealing the Wonders of the Fall Feasts

Fall Feasts of the Lord

As Christians, we understand the spring and fall feasts of Israel point to Jesus the Messiah, who fulfills every feast.

But the feasts are Jewish at their core.  So, how are the feasts celebrated in Jewish homes, and what more can we glean from them from a Jewish perspective?  Are there wonders waiting to be revealed?

I think so!  Often, understanding passages of Scripture from a Jewish perspective brings a depth of understanding we would not have otherwise.  The Jewish perspective is exactly what we will get from Stan Meyer from Jews for Jesus!

Tomorrow and next Sunday (September 2 and 9), we have a special opportunity to hear about and experience Jewish traditions related to the fall feasts, and to uncover new depths of understanding.  It will be fun and interactive, so for those of you in Phoenix, I hope you will join us for this 2-week special event.

  • Sundays, September 2 and 9, 2018
  • 11:00am each Sunday
  • CalvaryPHX Central Campus, Fellowship Hall
  • All adults and young people (junior high and above) are welcome!

Click here for directions and more information.

See you there!