Are We in A Divine Pause?

40th day of the Omer on the Hebrew Calendar is 25 IYYAR, it was on Thursday, May 30th.

– Divine Gaps and Pauses – בהשהייה

The 40th day also marked the day of Yeshua/Jesus’ Ascension into the Heavens.

Shamayim – שָׁמַיִם

Strongs 8064: Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-mah’-yim)

Then Jesus blessed them, and as He gave the blessing, He began to ascend into heaven.

The account of Yeshua/Jesus’ Ascension is found in Luke 24:50-51 and Acts 1:9-11.

It is plain from Scripture that it was a literal, bodily return to heaven.

 The Ascension is a mystery of faith, just like Yeshua/Jesus’ Resurrection, with which it is closely associated. The event is mentioned briefly in Mark (16:19) and Luke (24:50-53).

“This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

Messiah, Ascension of, and as the forerunner of His people. Hebrews 6:20

He was the first fruit.

This event occurred 40 days

which is the 40th day of the Omer count to Shavuot (Total 50 days – Pentecost)

There is some significance to certain numbers in the Bible, however we should be discerning about trying to interpret their meanings. God did have reasons for using certain numbers over and over in the Bible, but only He may know the true reasons.

The number 40 is used 159 times. There is a general consensus among scholars that it is a number symbolizing trial, testing, or judgment. 40 also represents transition or change; the concept of renewal; a new beginning. The number 40 has the power to lift a spiritual state. This seems evident in a number of places in the Bible, however, it also is used for more than that.

Every time one finds the number forty in Torah, its inner meaning is the ascent from one level to the next higher one. (Ascension!)

The letter Mem is the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet, Alphabet. The letter Mem has the numeric value of forty (40).

The Mem represents the age, or time of completion.

The pictograph for Mem looks like a wave of water, whereas the classical Hebrew script (Ketav Ashurit) is constructed of a Kaf with a Vav beside it: Interesting note is that the gematria for these components equals the value for the Divine Name.

Below is a list of the ways it could be taken as a number signifying trial, testing, judgment, transition or change, the concept of renewal, or a new beginning.

Strongs #40 is Abimelek- Phonetic Spelling: (ab-ee-mel’-ek) – אֲבִימֶלֶךְ – meaning ‘father is king’!

When God destroyed every living thing on the Earth by flood, it rained 40 days and 40 nights (Gen 7:4,12,17).

Three men in the Bible fasted 40 days and 40 nights: Moses (Ex 34:28)(Deut 9:9,18,25)(Deut 10:10), Elijah (1 Kin 19:8), and Jesus (Mt 4:2)(Lk 4:2)(Mk 1:13).

Because Israel refused to enter the Promised Land, God condemned them to wander in the “wilderness” for 40 years (Num 14:33-34)(Num 32:11-13)(Deut 8:2)(Josh 5:6).
(God also kept their clothing and sandals from wearing out for the whole 40 years: Deut 29:5, Deut 8:4.)

The Israelites were given manna in the desert for 40 years to “test” and “humble” them (Ex 16:35)(Deut 8:3,16)

When scourging someone, they could not receive more than 40 lashes (Deut 25:3)(2 Cor 11:24).

The Israelites were in captivity to the Philistines for 40 years for doing evil (Judg 13:1). 

Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days and nights (1 Sam 17:16), until David defeated him.

Ezekiel laid on his right side for 40 days to “bear the iniquity” of Judah’s sins (Ezek 4:6).

God proclaimed judgment against Egypt, saying it would be desolate for 40 years (Ezek 29:10-12).

God gave Nineveh 40 days to repent or be overthrown (Jonah 3:4).

Other References:

After the flood waters had receded, and the tops of the mountains were visible, Noah waited another 40 days to open the window of the Ark (Gen 8:6).

Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebekah as his wife (Gen 25:20).

Esau, Isaac’s son, also got married when he was 40 (Gen 26:34).

Embalming took 40 days in early Bible times (Gen 50:3).

Moses was on Mt. Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights (twice!) (Ex 24:18)(Ex 34:28)(Deut 9:9,11,18,25)(Deut 10:10).

The spies that Moses sent to spy out the Promised Land were there for 40 days (Num 13:25)(Num 14:34).

One of those spies was Joshua, and he was forty years old when he went (Josh 14:7).

Moses died when he was 120 years old (Deut 34:7). His life can be divided into 3 sections of 40 years: (first 40) being born and growing up in Pharaoh’s house in Egypt (Acts 7:20-23), (middle 40) fleeing to Midian after killing the Egyptian, and living there for 40 years (Acts 7:29-30), (last 40) returning to Egypt, the exodus, and the events that followed (Acts 7:36)(Ex 7:7).

Aaron died 40 years after the Israelites had left Egypt (Num 33:38).

Three different times in Judges, the land had rest for 40 years (Judg 3:11)(Judg 5:31)(Judg 8:28).

Eli judged Israel for 40 years (1 Sam 4:18).

Ishbosheth became king over Israel when he was 40 years old (2 Sam 2:10).

Three kings reigned for 40 years: David (1 Kin 2:11)(2 Sam 5:4-5), Solomon (1 Kin 11:42), and Joash (2 Chr 24:1)(2 Kin 12:1).
(Saul may also be a part of this group [Acts 13:21], but this is controversial [1 Sam 13:1].)

The 10 lavers in the Temple each held “40 baths” (about 230 gal.) of water (1 Kin 7:38).

The time period between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension was 40 days (Acts 1:3).

The book of Exodus has 40 chapters.

The average length of a woman’s pregnancy is 40 weeks.

In other denominations observance of Lent is the 40 days before easter (not counting Sundays).

So the meaning of trial, testing, or judgment could be aligned with the Omer as days of self spiritual preparation. A gap in time, a season of a divine pause?

As a point of reference today, most technical equipment and those with Remote Control units often have a pause or hold button that will suspend action, the motor, the motion.

Or to stop the DVD video and/or replay the one we are watching. It is convenient and on our time schedule then when we are ready we continue to fit in with our plans.

We are often put

on the phone, which can be frustrating while music is played.

The Omer is like a spiritual pause.

When the disciples were

on hold – ( בהשהייה ) –

because He had said to them –

wait – שְׁבוּ־ – šə·ḇū- 

in Jerusalem

after the 49 days of the Omer, it was Shavuot and the Ruach HaKodesh came.

Then the pause was removed and the command to

go – לְכ֣וּ –lə-ḵū

replaced the command to . 

wait – שְׁבוּ־ – šə·ḇū- .

It was set in as an appointed time of preparation and an Annual rehearsal for all the generations prior to Messiah appearance.

This was a very long divine pause/gap, from it’s initiation and institution at Sinai to its fulfillment in Jerusalem. God’s timing and ways and thoughts are not like our human ones.

We often forget that after His resurrection, first fruits; the risen Messiah was seen by many. Was He with His disciples for all of the 40 days, almost 6 weeks?

Was He still teaching them in His resurrected body?

The first written reference to the resurrection is in 1Cor 15:3-12; Here is context:

 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter/Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Read verse 6 again…..how many?

he appeared to Peter/Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

It is amazing that nowhere in the 4 gospels is there a record of an appearance to more than 500 brothers and sisters at one time. (The reference to brethren always included the women and children.)

The location where Yeshua/Jesus met with the disciples in the last chapter of Matthew was in Galilee on a mountain top. 

The particular mountain was not specified, although according to tradition there were two possible locations, Mt. Tabor and Mt. Hermon.

Mt. Tabor (above) is in the Jezreel Valley in southern Galilee.

Mt. Hermon in northern Galilee rises to over 9,000 feet above sea level.  Either location would have provided a safe place away from the watchful eyes of the authorities for a group of 500 or more subversive (rebel lions!) peasants to gather.

Interesting to note that the base of Mt Hermon was known as the gates of hell, because it was a pagan altar to Pan.

The followers of Yeshua/Jesus climbed the mountain and the risen Messiah appeared to them, and what did the disciples see? 

Our scripture doesn’t give us much of a clue, just one verse 17:  And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted.

Why did some doubt? Whatever His followers saw that day must not have been totally convincing because this indicates that despite His appearance there was still some room for honest doubt, enough to be recorded.  Maybe some of them simply couldn’t believe their eyes and ears; even though Yeshua/Jesus appeared to them and spoke to them, still they doubted.

There is not much written in the Scriptures of what he taught them or did during that one month in 10 days.

However He was bridging the gap, the pause, as they counted the Omer to Shavuot/Pentecost.

Was He with them daily in Jerusalem as they met in the upper room?

We do know He was seen in Galilee.

On the morning of the Resurrection, the angel tells the women to tell the disciples that Messiah would go before them into Galilee.

“Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” (Mt 28:7)

After seeing the angel on their way to tell the men, the risen Messiah met them…

9 Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came to Him, grasped His feet, and worshiped Him.

Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. 28:10

We might think that it would be better to remain in Jerusalem. Obviously in the city, He would have more witnesses to the resurrection.

Why did Yeshua/Jesus chose Galilee?

Maybe because Galilee served every purpose that Jerusalem couldn’t!

It was a call to faith.

Yeshua/Jesus had been warning them, prophesying that He would be killed but would rise from the dead (Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34, Luke 9:22).

This would be an act of faith for them to go to Galilee purposefully to meet Him there. They would of necessity have to believe the eye-witness testimony of the women who reported that they saw Yeshua/Jesus risen from the dead.

Furthermore, they would also have to believe that Yeshua/Jesus was really going to appear to them. The location away from Jerusalem, would help to separate them from that highly emotional environment which might be seen as a place where false identifications or hallucinations might proliferate.

Instead they had time to calm their emotions as they traveled the miles to Galilee because if they were really going to meet Yeshua/Jesus in Galilee it would be the real person and not be any mirage or trick.

Those who had made the pilgrimage for  Pesach/Passover would be returning home. A remote mountain in Galilee would be a good location to meet with His disciples without chance of interruption, because He wanted to show Himself openly to all His assembled disciples. The Jews would not have permitted them to assemble in Judæa. Another reason may have been that this location would allow Yeshua/Jesus to easily choose those who were to be witnesses of His resurrection.

We saw in a previous post that the Jews of that time believed that the soul of the departed hovered around the tomb for several days after death. If Yeshua/Jesus met the disciples in Galilee then there would be no suspicion that the post-resurrection appearances were of this kind. (Cf. Edersheim, Life, II, 631). Nobody could claim that the disciples only saw Yeshua/Jesus’ ghost hovering around His tomb.

This choice in location showed His wisdom because Galilee was home. He was well aware of the disciples emotional and psychological state. Just as the two on the Emmaus Road, they were broken and in despair, probably even frightened.

Judas had met a horrible end, Thomas was alone with his doubts and depression, many were confused.

His goal was to regroup them and help rebuild their faith, bringing the fulness of His shalom to their shattered hopes.

His choice of home is echoed in the prodigal sons return home and also today when young people mess up their lives and need to know some semblance of normality and hope, going back home is their best option. Here they will most likely find that security, love and a sense of belonging/family stability that they might live more safely among their own relations …

Yeshua/Jesus was aware that taking them back to Galilee would be a positive move because in Galilee, Yeshua/Jesus had preached, and performed very many miracles there.

This would help remind them of their time with Him, the miracles, casting out demons, healing the sick, preaching to the multitudes, the victories and the successes. Taking them out of the hostile environment of Jerusalem; which was a place of conflict, where the attacks of the Jewish leaders were relentless and it was the place of turmoil, suffering and death.

The meeting in Galilee would be a more calm and friendly place; which would make it easier for them to see their new apostolic calling: to take the gospel message of the kingdoms to the uttermost ends of the earth.

These may be some reasons why He chose Galilee, because He knew best and has always known what He is doing.

The most important question is, do we believe He knows what He is doing and will we trust Him?

He does not say they should not see Him before: for they saw Him – all but Thomas – that very evening. All of them saw Him eight days later; and both times were before they went into Galilee: but this He said, to put them in mind of what He had promised them, Matthew 26:32. Also to confirm the words of the angel; and which might serve for a confirmation of the truth of these things, both to the women, and to the disciples, when they observed the exact agreement between Jesus/Yeshua’s words, and those of the angel.

Go tell my brethren;

This was significant in that He was meaning those who were not His kinsmen according to the flesh, but His disciples, who were in this relation to Him, as all the elect of God are.

Not only through His incarnation, He being their “Goel”, their near kinsman, and Redeemer, and of the same nature, flesh, and blood with them, and like unto them in all things, excepting sin. This was rather on account of their divine adoption, to which they were predestinated, and which they received through His redemption, and under the witness of the Ruach:

“And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brothers! his disciples For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:49,50

The disciples stood in an unique relationship to Messiah, who is the eternal Son of God, and heir of all things; and that relationship was in Him now He was raised from the dead, and had all glory given to Him. Here He declared this relationship, even when they had so recently forsaken Him;

Go, tell my brethren indicates His continued affection for them and their fellowship with Him in His glory.

It gives rise to the question did he visit His mother and brothers and sisters?? We know in 1Cor 15:7 Then he appeared to James,

But no reference to the family.

Mount of Olives –

A place of goings and comings.

Jesus/Yeshua explains that God has given Him all authority in heaven and on earth. “Go, therefore,” Jesus urges them, “and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.” Matt 28:18-20.

While the disciples are still in Galilee, Jesus/Yeshua directs them to return to Jerusalem. When meeting with them in the city, He says: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but keep waiting for what the Father has promised, about which you heard from me; for John, indeed, baptized with water, but you will be baptized with holy spirit not many days after this.”​—Acts 1:4, 5. exactly 10 more days after His Ascension.

Later Jesus meets again with his apostles. He leads “them out as far as Bethany,” which is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. (Luke 24:50)

The apostles are on the Mount of Olives with the resurrected Messiah when He begins to rise heavenward.

Soon a cloud obscures him from their sight. After His resurrection, Messiah had materialized a supernatural fleshly body. But now He dematerializes the body He used on this occasion, and He ascends to heaven ‘bodily’ as a spirit creature. (1 Cor. 15:44, 50;1 Peter 3:18)

As the faithful apostles are gazing after him, “two men in white garments” appear beside them. These are materialized angels, who ask:

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky?

This Jesus who was taken up from you into the sky will come in the same manner as you have seen him going into the sky.”​ 

Acts 1:10, 11.

Yeshua/Jesus left the earth without a huge public display, His faithful followers being the only observers.

Does this indicate that He will return “in the same manner”​—without public fanfare, with only his faithful followers discerning his presence in Kingdom power?

Like the thief in the night? It’s the second coming that every eye shall see Him not when He comes for His Bride/Challah.

On the top of the mount of Olives are the Church of the Ascension and the Chapel of the Ascension, both claiming to be the spot from where Jesus ascended to heaven.

The Chapel of the Ascension is actually neither a chapel nor a church but a mosque run by Muslims and a myth was made up about finding on the two footprints, which they said were made when Jesus pressed into the earth before leaping into the air.

A building was built over it and Muslim men who concede that they are Muslim only when directly questioned, charge an entrance fee to unsuspecting Christians under a sign that labels their mosque, “CHAPEL OF THE ASCENSION.

What does the Bible say about the spot from which Yeshua/Jesus ascended to heaven?

The Bible simply says that it was on the “mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey.” 

Worth noting that “a Sabbath day’s journey” isn’t the distance to be covered by walking for a day. It is a specific distance of 2,000 cubits, equal to 3,000 feet, 1,000 yards or 914.4 metres.

So the location of Jesus’ ascension could be anywhere on the Mount of Olives, which is a mountain ridge that runs about 1,000 yards east of Jerusalem.

Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?

This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. (Acts 1:6-12)

It seems as if we really are in a divine Gap/ Pause that has lasted over 2000 years! They all thought, including Paul, that His return was imminent.

God’s pauses are longer than ours; many of His gaps are extended beyond our life times and even generations.

We are still

on hold

since the time of Jesus/Yeshua reading in the synagogue from the scroll of Isaiah.

When He paused, at 61:2 saying, today this is fulfilled in your hearing.

He rolled up the scroll never finished the portion….

At the end of this divine gap when the pause is removed, the heavens themselves will roll up like a scroll as the rest of the verse will be fulfilled.

Is His second coming connected in some way to Shavuot/Pentecost feast?… maybe?

What we do know is He is returning for His bride – כַּלָה – kallah

Phonetic Spelling: (kal-law’) Strongs 3618

we are to be ready looking for Him.

Our prime focus must be on being spiritually prepared. which is the message of the parable of the 10 virgins. Having our oil lamps filled. The Shavuot promise was completed; the oil, the spirit, the ruach was poured out. Be-being filled, we cannot afford to relax spiritually. We know not the day or the hour and when we least expect Him…..He will come.

The signs of the times, of the return of the King listed in Matthew and Luke, are all around us and are increasing.

The long gap almost complete?

Is the pause button on the age of grace, the times of the Gentiles being fulfilled and coming to an end?

In an hour we think not …. are we ready?

 

Completion…. Is the prophetic scripture in Isaiah 61 verse 3 about to resume?

The only reason the end of the age has gone on so long is due to the patience of God. Our heavenly father is waiting for the precious fruit of the earth James 5:7

Behold, the husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently until it receives the early and latter rain. Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until he receives the early and latter rain.

Any unripe and premature fruit are bitter and hard, that’s exactly what James was referring to when he spoke of waiting for the precious fruit of the earth; except the fruit he spoke of was people. He is waiting for the ‘precious fruit of the earth.’

In the same way as a farmer patiently waits for the early and later rains to fall and for the harvest to ripen and be reaped, Yeshua/Jesus wants us to understand that He is waiting for ‘precious fruit.’ Every man, woman and child is precious to the Lord.

God’s promises are for us personally, but they are also for everyone who will believe. Because of this, God delays what all believers long for.

God is not slow, but patient.

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

God is not limited by hours in a day or by the number of days in a year. 2 Peter 3:8 says that to God, “A day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day.”

It is a beyond human patience – it’s the long suffering, compassionate love of a parent waiting for the child to grow up and do what they know to do. To fall in line with the program and stop being wayward children doing their own thing.

It’s time for us to grow up into the fullness of the likeness of the Son He said for us to emulate and until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

Hebrews 6:1; Ephesians 4:13-15,

It’s time to make our heavenly father smile, as we wait eagerly watching for His return; for the pause is coming to an end and the end of Is. 61:1  and verse 2 is about to begin

And all through to verse 11… righteousness and praise will spring forth before all the nations.

Isaiah 53:6. We all like sheep have gone astray.

Isaiah 56:6 seek the Lord while he may be found call while he is near

The day of vengeance of our God to comfort all who mourn Matthew 5:4

he will give beauty for ashes and oil of joy for mourning

The garment the prayer shawl/tallit, of praise instead of the spirit of infirmity.

This word in Strongs 3544 in Hebrew is KEHEH – כֵּהֶה

Phonetic Spelling: (kay-heh’)

that truly means to be pale, dull, faint or dim is used as an expression for feeling weak, sickly, so they could be called Oaks of righteousness the planting of the Lord so he would be glorified.

(They are called Oaks, as the opposite of weak and sickly.)

Luke 4:18, 19

 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

The spirit of the Lord is upon me to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor……..

There He stopped and declared it was fulfilled in their hearing.

Indicating that He was the substance of which the ritual had been merely a type foreshadowing His Coming.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me “The Spirit of Jehovah is upon me” – The Septuagint, Vulgate, and St. Luke, ( Luke 4:18;), and a MS., and two old editions omit the word אדני Adonai, the Lord; which was probably added to the text through the superstition of the Jews, to prevent the pronunciation of the word יהוה Jehovah following.

The following is yet to be completed…

Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Ver. 3. To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion. Isaiah 61:4-11 King James Version (KJV)

4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.

For I the Lord love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

While we wait and we are on HOLD…

So it would seem we are in a divine

 The anniversary of Messiahs Ascension has passed once again and the Gap to Shavuot is closing fast. One of these days the pause button will be released and the play will continue to the fulfillment of the end of this age.

What remains for us, is to be clothed in the armor of light and look up.. for our redemption draws nigh.

Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah). Rom.13:11

And He is NOT slack concerning His promises…

Shalom shalom…

Please don’t leave this site without knowing you are saved and assured that you belong to Him; with a deep conviction that you know where you will go, when your body can no longer sustain you in this realm. 

Make certain Jesus is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him. 

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

Its all about Life and Relationship not Religion.

NOT SURE?

Then simply SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Pesach Dalet in Time; a Man Between 2 Realms; Yonah and The Watches of the Night.

In previous posts we have seen that the Hebrew letter Dalet, represents a door, or an opening and a place, (Hakem) of a threshold. It’s a point where one can CROSS from one place or location into another. A doorway or transition can also be called a portal.

It is where we get our English word Port from, where ships come and go to other places and destinations. Many towns have port as part of their names due to their proximity to water. It is also reflected in the French word for the door – la porte.

Sea going vessels have portholes for windows, again representing a connecting barrier and indicating two sides which are separated.

Interesting they are circular, not square and have 3 component parts which are connected into one unit.

Windows also represent a barrier and indicate a change, a threshold, and a place of passing, or looking through to a different Hakem.

Ha Makem’- ‘The Place’-המקום

We are quite familiar with the Exodus story and remember this event is inexorably linked through time to the events at Passover/Pesach. Ex.12: 21-27.

On the night of the Passover, the Hebrews were to put the blood of the Lamb on the wooden beams of their doorways. This was probably the only WAY /portal/in and out of their home, as slaves, they would have had little luxuries.

They would have then entered in through the bloodstained doorway and stayed inside their houses. When they passed through that WAY again, it would be for the last time. It would be to leave Egypt and never return.

It would be to depart from all bondage of that life of slavery and in going through the portal, they entered a new life of freedom.

They were entering a new realm and eventually a new land; with a new identity as the people chosen by the Lord when they accepted the covenant at Sinai. A people set apart – Holy, to the Lord. This is the gospel message! And the type for our lives and us both as individuals and corporately is clear.

The blood was not on the threshold, so they did not tread on it, it was on 3 sides and looked like a door.

The letter TAV also resembles a door shape.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/nail-i-am/

The last letter of the alef bet and is the symbol of the cross.

This blood marked the door transforming it into a portal – a spiritual transition point. A supernatural phenomena, enabling them to pass from the old to the new, effective in the spiritual realm for its divine purpose. This was so prophetic as, centuries later there would come the fulfillment of another Pesach, with another lamb, whose blood was shed for the world

and that blood created another supernatural portal.

The DOOR (Dalet) – THE WAY (Derech) back to the Father, spiritual reconciliation restored.

This portal transcended all previous types and shadows of His plan for He is the Dalet. He is the One between 2 realms; spanning the transition zone, the bridge. The Pesach Dalet in time that leads to eternal life.

The spiritual number 4, which is represented by Dalet in Hebrew, means message motion or world.

We should not mistake His death for a martyrs one. According to John 8:37, He came on purpose to die. It was His plan. He was a willing sacrifice, His free will choice to offer His life for ours. The key was in His deaths, reminding us that death leads to life and is not anything to be feared.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/the-mystery-of-in-his-deaths/

We merely exchange this body of flesh for something far better. Death has lost it’s sting of sin if we are truly saved; it’s just a simple transition through a portal in time. And Jesus/Yeshua Messiah is that Dalet.

The cross was a tree, made of wood, some translations say it was the same wood as the lintels of the Hebrews dwellings back in Egypt.

Both were marked with the Blood of a lamb.

The Romans used the cross beams as an execution stake, a most cruel, punishing death. And yet its very use became the fulfillment of God’s perfect plan to redeem all mankind.

Look at the cross from another perspective.

It’s a set of wooden beams just like those that formed the doorway, and marked with the Blood of the Passover Lamb, Messiah Jesus/Yeshua. In a sense, the cross is also a Portal… so the only Way it can truly be understood and known and experienced is BY (X) entering in.

How do we enter in?

BY (X) becoming One/Echad with Him

Unlike physical doorways into places in the earth realm/kingdom, that take us from one place to another; this doorway, this portal is the WAY to a different realm. It’s a portal leading to a new Kingdom, a new reality and a whole new existence. This door enables us to leave behind our old lives, (just as the Israelites left Egypt,) and enter into a new realm. A new chaim, a new existence, a new reality with a new King and Lord.

The door is narrow, it’s only the width of a beam of wood and we must lay down all we are carrying because the door is not wide enough for burdens to be carried through it.

But it seems like there’s no opening in the cross… that is because it is a spiritual experience. His kingdom and realm is not of this world. It is supernatural, above natural. The only WAY to know this doorway, to experience this portal, is to go through it – through Him.

Those who do, will leave the kingdoms of the world behind and enter in, to the realm of His kingdom of the heavens/shamayim; which spiritually began here, and is our equivalent of entering the promised land through the portal of His cross.

It’s the only WAY to leave what we can never leave.

It’s the only WAY to go where we could never go.

By entering the portal, the Dalet of His cross. He is the door, the portal in time, the Dalet of Pesach.

The Door of the sheep of which He was the Passover Lamb.

A Question of Jonah’s Timing.

Yonah is the name Jonah in Hebrew and means dove. The connection to Jesus/Yeshua is referenced in Matthew 12:40 and can be understood when examined from the Hebraic mindset and the Jewish way of counting days and nights. Sunset always starts the Hebrew day, it’s roots are in Genesis 1.

In Hebrew Weeks is Shavua. [שבוע] A cycle of seven days, mirroring the 7 day period of the book of Genesis in which the world is created.

The names for the days of the week, like those in the creation account, are simply the day number within the week, with Shabbat being the seventh day. Each day of the week runs from sunset to the following sunset and is figured locally.

The Hebrew calendar follows a seven-day weekly cycle and in Hebrew, these names may be abbreviated using the numerical value of the Hebrew letters,

for example ‫יום א׳‎ Day 1, or Yom Rishon ‫יום ראשון‎:

Day 1 Yom Rishon – abbr. יום א meaning first day corresponds to Sunday  ‫יום ראשון

Yom Sheni – abbr. יום ב   meaning second day corresponds to Monday   ‫יום שנ

Yom Shlishi – abbr. ‫יום ג׳ meaning third day corresponds to Tuesday יום שלישי

Yom ReviʻI – abbr. ‫יום ד׳   meaning fourth day corresponds to Wednesday יום רביעי

Yom Chamishi – abbr. ‫יום ה׳ meaning fifth day corresponds to Thursday יום חמישי

Yom Shishi – abbr. ‫יום ו׳ meaning sixth day corresponds to Friday יום ששי

Yom Shabbat – abbr. יום ש׳ meaning rest שבת, or more usually Shabbat יום שבת

Also known as Yom Shabbat Kodesh יום שבת קודש (“holy rest day”).

This means that our Friday really begins on Thursday evening at sunset. The 2nd day begins at sunset on our Friday and continues through the daytime of our Saturday. Then our equivalent of Sunday begins at sunset on Saturday and continues through Saturday night and the hours of daylight of Sunday, making the third day.

Because the Jewish system was to count any portion of daylight as a full day, then Friday a.m. through Sun a.m. would have been understood as, and seen as, 3 complete days and nights. Reference to Jonah.

 

1st Day of the 3 days: Friday (really Day 6 of the week) was sunset on Thurs. night to sunset on Friday (really Day 5 of the week).

2nd Day Saturday (really Day 7 of the week) was from sunset on Friday night to sunset on Saturday night

3rd Day Sunday (really 1st day if the week) was from sunset on Saturday night to sundown on Sunday. Resurrection that day.

He was crucified at 9am on Friday and released His Spirit to the Father at 3pm. His body was prepared for burial and interred at sunset the same day. That was the beginning of the festival of Unleavened Bread. Then on Sunday after sunrise He became the first fruits.

To help explain the hours look at The Roman versus Mosaic Time Clocks

Sundials were used prior to the numbers on a clock face that we are accustomed to.

Venetians and Germans, both under Roman Influence, developed the modern clock. According to authorities, and Roman Catholic Church Archives, (Vatican Library); the first hour of the day began at what we now call 6 o’clock in the evening – directly opposite to the God’s original time clock as described in the Bible! This was likely done by demonic spirits (Eph. 6:112) influencing leaders, in order to spiritually disorient and disempower people.

This causes confusion and made understanding the scriptures harder. God is not the author of confusion, and why would He change that which He originally set in place and said was good? When we read of the 3rd hour, it is really 9 o clock and the 6th hour is 12.

The standard Mosaic Time Clock was in use for many thousands of years and people began their days in the evening according to Genesis 1:5 and John 11:9.

It’s physical orientation was changed upside down and back to front!  We know who is responsible for that!

Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? Isa.24:1
The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. Ps. 146:9

Theoretically by reverting back to God’s WAY of keeping time, left and right brain function would improve as so too would people’s spiritual receptivity.

In the Creation Calendar, Hebrew Hours begin at sunrise and sunset.

A Hebrew Hour occurring between sunset and sunrise is called Hebrew Night Hour.

A Hebrew Hour occurring between sunrise and sunset is called Hebrew Day Hour

Sunset occurs and the First Watch begins exactly at the beginning of the first Hebrew Night Hour.

The Second Watch begins exactly at the beginning of the fourth Hebrew Night Hour

Mid-night occurs and the Third Watch begins exactly at the beginning of the seventh Hebrew Night Hour.

The Fourth Watch begins exactly at the beginning of the tenth Hebrew Night Hour, and ends at sunrise at the end of the twelfth Hebrew Night Hour

Sunrise is always exactly at the beginning of the first Hebrew Day Hour

Mid-day occurs exactly at the end of the sixth Hebrew Day Hour

Sunset occurs exactly at the end of the twelfth Hebrew Day Hour.

The duration of a Hebrew Hour varies with the season.

A Hebrew Day Hour is shorter in duration during winter when a Hebrew Night Hour is longer in duration.

A Hebrew Day Hour is longer in duration during summer when a Hebrew Night Hour is shorter in duration.

JEWISH TIME DIVISIONS IN THE 1ST CENTURY A.D.

Jesus/Yeshua replied, ‘Are there not 12 hours in a day?’
John 11:9

Why did He say this? Is it in reference to the importance of the Hours, Days, Times and Seasons of which we are to be mindful? They all have a deep meaning and He was not one to waste words, so it must have an importance that we have not fully understood.

A Hebrew Day consists of 12 Hebrew Night Hours and 12 Hebrew Day Hours.

The midpoint of the 12 Hebrew Night Hours is called Mid-Night. The moment of Mid-night occurs exactly halfway between sunset and sunrise separating the 6th and 7th Hebrew Night Hours. 

The midpoint of the 12 Hebrew Day Hours is called Mid-day. The moment of Mid-day occurs exactly halfway between sunrise and sunset separating the 6th and 7th Hebrew Day Hours.

Between the moment of sunset at the end of the 12th Day hour and the 1st hour of the Night is called Between the Evenings or evening twilight.

At the last moment of that hour as the night begins is called Twinkling of an eye

These are the 12 Day hours of a day and what follows is what took place at each of them. As everything is connected to Messiah and speaks of Him and His fulfillment of Fathers’ plan of redemption, read with that perspective of, type and shadow, in mind and allow Ruach HaKodesh to reveal Himself to us in them.

The numbers on a Hebrew clock are the letters of the alef bet which each have numerical value. This one represents the modern clock with 12 at the top.

FIRST HOUR DAWN-8AM 
After the priests prepare the altar (Lev 1:76:1-6/8-13; Mishnah: Tamid 1:2), the first male lamb of the Tamid sacrifice is brought out and tied to the altar at dawn (Mishnah: Tamid 3:2-3:3)

Sunrise over mount of Olives.

The twice daily communal sacrifice of the Tamid is the focus of religious life for the covenant people (Ex 29:38-42Num 28:4-8). It is the only sacrifice other than the Feast of First Fruits or the Sabbath that requires a single male lamb for the liturgical service. The Sabbath requires a male lamb in addition to the Tamid lamb for each of the two Sabbath services (Num 28:9-10)

SECOND HOUR  8-9am

THIRD HOUR 9-10AM 
The incense is offered in the Sanctuary and the first Tamid lamb is sacrificed as the Temple gates open [Mishnah: Tamid 3:7; Edersheim, The Temple, chapter 7,

ROMAN TIME 9-10AM 
It is the time for the communal “Shacharit” (morning) prayer service (Acts 2:15) at the start of the 3rd hour. Individual morning prayer may be recited until noon (Mishnah: Berakhot 4:1A; Acts 10:9)

FOURTH HOUR 10-11AM

FIFTH HOUR 11-12PM

SIXTH HOUR 
The second lamb is brought out and tied to the altar at high noon. [Mishnah: Tamid 4:1]

NOON -1PM 
The second Tamid lamb is given a drink from a gold cup and remains near the altar until the time of sacrifice (Ex 29:41Mishnah: Tamid 3:4; 4:1G; Josephus, Against Apion, 2.8[105]).
Individual afternoon prayer lasts from the sixth hour (noon) to about the eleventh hour (5 PM), the length of the time from when the second lamb is tied near the altar to the conclusion of the afternoon service (Mishnah: Berakhot, 4:1C; Acts 10:9).

SEVENTH HOUR 1-2PM

EIGHTH HOUR 2-3PM

NINTH HOUR 3-4PM 
The second Tamid lamb is sacrificed [Antiquities of the Jews 14.4.3 (14:65); Philo Special Laws I, XXXV (169)]
3 PM is the second hour of prayer [Acts 3:110:9] “Minchah” (gift-offering); also called the hour of confession.

TENTH HOUR 4-5PM

ELEVENTH HOUR  5-6PM

The afternoon liturgical service is concluded with the burning of the incense (sacrifices of the two lambs is embraced by the burning of the incense, making it a single sacrifice) and the priestly benediction (Mishnah: Tamid, 6:3-7:2; Num 6:24-26).

TWELVETH HOUR 6PM-SUNDOWN

The end of the 3rd watch and the beginning of the 4th watch was signaled by a trumpet call, which occurred at the end of every watch.

This one was known as the cockcrow, as Jesus/Yeshua noted in Mark 13:35:
So stay awake, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming: evening, midnight, cockcrow or dawn.

Matthew 26:34, Luke 22:34, and John 13:38 all record:  “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “This very night, before the cockcrow, you will disown me three times.

Cocks crow in the morning not during the night. This is the end of third watch of the night, in the time of Christ and the beginning of the tenth Hebrew Night Hour.

So it would seem He was saying that Peter would deny Him before the start of the tenth Hebrew hour, which was a full 2 hours before sunrise.

In our Lord’s time the Jews had adopted the Greek and Roman division of the night into four watches, each consisting of three hours, the first beginning at six o’clock in the evening (Luke 12:38Matthew 14:25Mark 6:48). But the ancient division, known as the first and second cock-crowing, was still retained.

The cock usually crows several times soon after midnight (this is the first crowing), and again at the dawn of day (and this is the second crowing). Mark mentions (14:30) the two cock-crowings.

Roman Horn

Matthew (26:34) alludes to that only which was emphatically the cock-crowing, the second, kok’-kro-ing (alektorophonia):

An indefinite hour of the night between midnight and morning

(Mark 13:35), referred to by all the evangelists in their account of Peter’s denial (Matthew 26:34, 74Mark 14:30; Luke 22:34; John 13:38). (It is derived from the habit of the cock to crow, especially toward morning.)

And is also a symbol of the Resurrection, our Lord being supposed to have risen
from the grave at the early cock crowing:

Roosters were not allowed in the city, according to Jewish ritual law. More likely, the Gospels refer to the trumpet call marking the changing of the guard at 3 A.M. This trumpet blast, heard city-wide, was called the cock-crow.

Roman signal horn.

Notice that according to St. Mark, Jesus went to the cross at the third hour, which in Jewish time corresponds to our 9AM [Mark 15:25], and according to the Gospel accounts He gave up His life at the ninth hour, our 3PM.

At the 9th hour during the temple lamb sacrifices, the same words were also shouted.

It is finished!

The Jewish day began at sundown.

sunset over old city

The daytime was divided into 12 seasonal hours, but the day division of hours was focused on the schedule of the Tamid sacrifice. 

Twelve-hour night time division. 

In Judaism, an hour is defined as (1/12), one twelfth of the time from sunrise to sunset, so, during the winter, an hour can be much less than 60 minutes, and during the summer, it can be much more than 60 minutes. This proportional hour is known as a ‘sha’ah z’manit’ (lit. a timely hour).

The daytime hours are often divided into Sha`oth Zemaniyoth or “Halachic hours” by taking the time between sunrise and sunset or between dawn and nightfall and dividing it into 12 equal hours.

Halachically, a day ends and a new one starts when three stars are visible in the sky.

The time between true sunset and the time when the three stars are visible (known as ‘tzait ha’kochavim’) is known as ‘bein hashmashot’.

The nighttime hours are similarly divided into 12 equal portions, albeit a different amount of time than the “hours” of the daytime.

(Roman night watch division was adopted after Roman occupation began in 63 BC)

THE NIGHT WATCH IN THE 1ST CENTURY A.D.

Sundown to 9PM First watch

9PM to midnight Second watch

Midnight to 3AM Third watch 

3AM to sun rise Fourth watch

Sixth to the ninth hour were the hours of darkness when Messiah was on the cross.

The Roman calendar took precedence with the Julian calendar. Julius Caesar first implemented it in 46 B.C. Since the Roman emperor’s system miscalculated the length of the solar year by 11 minutes, the calendar had since fallen out of sync with the seasons.

The Julian Calendar marked a major change from the Lunar Republican Calendar, being a Solar calendar and the predecessor of the Calendar still in use today. It was not until 1582 AD that Pope Gregory XIII decreed a modification to the Julian calendar, giving us the “Gregorian Calendar” that governs modern time.

He removed 10 days from the calendar!

In reference to Jesus/Yeshua, the year was returned to 0 and separated B.C. from A.D. We are now at 2019 A.D. It is really approx. the year 6019, if we count from Creation to Messiah 4,000+ years and then add 2019!

Gives a whole new meaning to the statement no man knows the day nor the hour.

Some other references to hours

In contrast to Matthew, Mark, Luke and Acts, the book of John, as it now exists in the Greek manuscripts, numbers hours from midnight as the Romans did.

Pilate questioned  יהושע the Messiah at the sixth hour Roman reckoning according to John 19:14 which is the twelfth Hebrew Night Hour 

יהושע the Messiah sat at Jacob’s well at Sychar at the sixth hour Roman reckoning after a tiresome journey according to John 4:6 which is the twelfth Hebrew Day Hour.

A nobleman travelled the better part of a day from Cana to Capernaum and met  יהושע the Messiah at the seventh hour Roman reckoning according to in John 4:52 which is the first Hebrew Night Hour.

The disciples came to the place  יהושע the Messiah was staying at the tenth hour Roman reckoning and stayed with Him for the rest of that day according to John 1:39. The tenth hour Roman reckoning is the fourth Hebrew Day Hour.

Acts 2:15 Peter speech at pentecost/ Shavuot four these are not drunk as you assume as it is the third hour of the day. 9 AM is the hour of morning prayer how is hour three equal to 9 AM?

John 4:6 it was about sixth hour which was noon 12 o’clock this also fits with the evening morning the first day. John 4:2 1 PM the seventh hour.

Because the clock has been reversed and that was 2000+ years ago and since that time everything has been altered to benefit those under the influence of the god of this world. Primarily to hide the truth and to throw everything out of kilter. The scriptures say he will change the times and seasons, that spirit of antichrist working in the worlds systems. The opposite of and in contrary rebellion to all that which was set in place by the Lord. He is the wrong DOR, an acronym for Direct Opposite Reverse.

For example: The evening and the morning constitutes a day, not morning and evening. The english language goes from left to write instead of right to left and books are red from left to right. This is not the way that the Hebrew language is written and read.

If we follow the scripture in Matthew 20:1–6, then 9 AM is the third hour.

vs.5, six and nine are equal to 12 Noon and 3 P.M.

vs 6. 5 PM is the 11thhour.

So if the day begins at sundown which is 6 P.M. to us, with the original clock that would be 12 PM.

Then 1 AM would begin and two cycles of the clock face for 24 hours would give the 24 hours of the day.

If this is true then what we call ‘anti clockwise’ is actually not anti but correct?

We really should be vigilant because..

Time is running out so…..

Messiah is The Pesach-Dalet in Time; He is The One Between 2 Realms; and the type of Yonah is fulfilled in The Watches of the Night.

Shalom Aleikhem Mishpachah  שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם‬  מִשְׁפָחָה

Please Do Not leave this page without the surety in your heart that you have Messiah our Passover Lamb, our Tamid in your life and heart as the days draw ever closer to the end of the age..Open the Dalet of your heart and let the King of Glory in..

Make sure Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

NOT CERTAIN?

YOU CAN BE..

Its all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and very precious in His sight.

He longs to give you the Shalom He paid the ultimate price for..

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.

13 For Supper and Only 4 Cups?

Arba’ah Kosot

אַרְבַּע כּוֹסוֹת 

Four Cups of Wine

at their

Pesach (Passover) Seder.

סדר ‎‎פסח

Arba’ah (Arba) Kosot —

Hebrew for ‘four cups.’

In this case, it refers to the four cups of wine drunk at the Passover/Pesach Seder.

Passover is the name of the celebration of the release of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage.

It is celebrated with a feast called Seder, the evening meal that teaches of God’s miraculous deliverance described in Exodus.

Jesus/Yeshua and His 12 Disciples and every author of the New Testament celebrated Passover/Pesach.

In the year 196 A.D. the celebration of Passover was replaced with the worship of Ishtar, the Babylonian fertility goddess. The name Ishtar was written in Greek as Istar, due to the fact that there is no ‘sh’, sound in the Greek language. Because the Greek and Latin letters for I, are pronounced EE, Istar became Easter, when spelled with English letters. The celebration of Ishtar brought with it eggs and rabbits– symbols of fertility and reproduction. This was done by the then church leaders, to separate ‘christianity’ from the Hebrew/Jewish roots of our faith and belief in Messiah, to make it easier for heathens to become Christians by letting them retain some of the pagan customs.

Seder is the name of the Passover/Pesach meal.

This meal may be called a feast but it really is a modest meal.

In modern times frequently featuring lamb/roast chicken and although ample, never the over eating many associate with celebration dinners.

The Seder meal, which included ‘the communion’ even prior to Jesus/Yeshua’s death, was observed in every home and in extended families since the Exodus.

The four cups of wine, known in Hebrew as, arba kosot, are drunk by each participant at the Passover Seder meal.

(סדר ‎‎פסח – Pesach Seder)

Seder means, order, and is a reminder of the Passover meal eaten by the Hebrew people before they were delivered from bondage as Egyptian slaves.

The Passover was the reference to the final plague of the angel of death who had to PASS OVER the homes of the Israelites that had applied the Blood of the sacrificial lamb on their doorposts.

The word SEDER is the same root from which we derive the word ‘siddur’, (prayer book). 

The text of the Passover Seder is written in a book called the Haggadah, which means, tellingהַגָּדָה.

A retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt and the first Passover.

This begins with the youngest person in the gathering, asking The Four Questions, a set of questions about the proceedings designed to encourage participation in the Seder.

The Four Questions are also known as 

Mah Nishtanah נשתנה מה  

(Pronounced MAHN-isht-ahn-ah.)

This Hebrew saying originated in a religious context: it’s the beginning of first of the four questions asked during Passover, which asks “How is this night different from all other nights?”

The questions are included in the haggadah as part of the maggid which is designed to satisfy the needs of four different types of people:

the wise son, who wants to know the technical details;

the wicked son, who excludes himself (and learns the penalty for doing so);

the simple son, who needs to know the basics;

and the son who is unable to ask, the one who doesn’t even know enough to know what he needs to know.

At the end of the maggid, a blessing is recited over the second cup of wine and it is drunk.

Maggid: מגיד (a term used to describe two distinct concepts); The Story. 

The Passover became communion when Jesus/Yeshua, instituted it at His last Pesach Seder, His ‘last supper.’ Making it the remembrance of Him being THE Pesach Lamb (of God) and fulfilling perfectly the meaning of the Passover sacrifice. So communion came out of the SEDER and is still part of every Sabbath meal for an orthodox Jewish home as well as service in the synagogue. In ‘taking communion,’ we are reaffirming our covenant with God, each saying ‘everything I have is yours.’

The Seder that the disciples were to prepare for was to begin after sundown on Nissan 14 which was the Thursday night, ie at sundown at the start of the 6th day of the week, and eaten that same night. Ex. 12:6.

Remember the Hebrew day follows God’s original order in Genesis 1:5..

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Each day begins at sundown.

 

John’s text referred to the Seder in 18:28 and 19:14; this was not just any supper it was the Passover Seder Pesach meal פֶּסַח (Pesah, Pesakh pronounced pay-sak).

Every year it served as a reminder to the Israelites that they ate Passover with the blood of the lamb on the door posts then eaten in Egypt at the deliverance of the chosen people from their bondage as slaves and also as a rehearsal of their future coming Messiah.

This is what Jesus/Yeshua was literally about to do, in fulfilling the prophecies concerning Messiah, Son of Joseph, (משיח בן־יוסף‎‎, Mashiach ben Yoseph), being, the suffering servant.

He was about to break the bondage of the god of this world and set the people free by the sacrificial shedding of His own Blood.

It may or may not be clear to all that read, that the meal was and is very significant. Within the ‘order’ of how it was eaten, was hidden the secrets of our freedom.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/midweek-mannabite-secrets-of-the-seder-plate/

CUP 1

To start the Seder, a cup of wine was raised and a blessing recited to sanctify the table. This was so it can serve as an altar for the evening’s service, (of remembrance.)

This is the first cup and is called the Kiddush.

A silver Kiddush cup.

The Kiddush – from Kadesh, קדש,‎‎ means the sanctification and is recorded in Luke 22:17.

The first cup is mixed with water and wine. After the mixing occurred, (in a family setting,) the father begins with the formal blessing over the cup. The blessing over the meal is referred to in Luke 22:19 when Jesus/Yeshua raised the bread.

Each blessing He said started with ‘Blessed are you Lord our God King of the universe.”

The blessing over the bread continued with “who brings forth bread from the earth.” Bread in this context means everything we need.

After the blessing, the food is then brought out, which includes unleavened bread, bitter herbs, a bowl of sauce, and the roasted lamb.

This is known as the body in traditional Jewish sources the actual meal had not yet started. Before eating the exodus story is told.

These four cups are named using an excerpt from Exodus 6:

Say therefore to the people 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 slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Exodus 6:6-7

The main theme of Cup 1 is

I will bring you out

from under the burdens of the Egyptians. This is the promise to remove the children of Israel from their bondage of heavy labor.

Luke 22:17 refers to the cup Jesus/Yeshua drank and He said the blessing in Hebrew /Aramaic as He gave thanks.

A second cup of wine is also drunk during the meal.

Already there is a difference to our traditional communion service, for we only ever have one cup or drink one sip from a communal chalice.

CUP 2

The Cup of Proclamation – the Haggadah cup – also called the cup of Deliverance or Judgment, (from the plagues.)

The second cup would be mixed, but not drunk. The father would “proclaim” what the Lord did for Israel in Egypt. It is at this point the son asks the question – why is this night different from other nights? The son’s question is connected to the drinking of the second cup.

The father would then answer by quoting a specific section from the Scriptures Deuteronomy 26:5-11.

5 “And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. 7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; 10 and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. 11 Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.
26:5. A Syrian was my father…That is, Jacob; for though born in Canaan, he was a Syrian by descent, his mother Rebecca, and his grandfather Abraham, being both of Chaldea or Mesopotamia, which in Scripture is comprehended under the name of Syria.

This exchange between the father and the son displays how the Passover meal looks back to the exodus and redemption the Israelites received by God in Egypt.

The father then explains the parts of the meal – unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and the lamb. Explaining the significance of the meal was essentially the center of this part of the meal.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/midweek-mannabite-secrets-of-the-seder-plate/

To express their thanksgiving to God, the family would then sing the Hallel, ‘praise’; Psalms 113 and 114.

The Hallel is where our word ‘hallelujah’ comes from.

The main theme of Cup 2 is .. and I will rescue/deliver you from their bondage; as it tells of the exit from Egypt and from the slavery.

Some translations say ‘I shall save’, but deliverance is the primary meaning of the Hebrew.

For believers, this is an interesting parallel that should be in the walk of each disciple. As each receives the promise to be taken out of bondage and receives salvation by faith, the next step should be deliverance from all bondage.

Very few churches come through with deliverance and it has resulted with many churches full of ‘walking wounded’. In Jesus/Yeshua’s ministry it was recorded that at least one third of His time was spent in ministering deliverance, it goes hand in hand with healing and wholeness. This cup is a much needed one and little employed or ‘drunk’ today.

This cup is drunk during the meal and represents our walk with Him while proclaiming the freedom He bought for us. The blessing over the meal is what Jesus/Yeshua would have said in Luke. 22:19. Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe Who is bringing forth bread from the earth.

However this is not the end because there is a third cup which is taken after the meal and this is the one that Jesus/Yeshua lifted up as recorded in Luke 22:20.

CUP 3

The Cup of Blessing (for the food, i.e. the Passover sacrifice)

Called the Berakah cup – Cup of Redemption

The third cup would be mixed and this is where the supper officially begins. The family would finally eat the lamb and the unleavened bread. As customs change over time, it’s hard to be certain exactly how this actually was staged, however there was a blessing over the bread, and a serving of a small morsel of bread, and at the end the main course was eaten. Once the meal was completed, the father recited another blessing over the third cup and it was consumed.

The main theme of CUP 3 is I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Yeshua is the prophetic arm of the Lord the זרוע – Z’roah – strong arm – a roasted shank bone.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/midweek-mannabite-secrets-of-the-seder-plate/

Redemption came to Israel when they passed through the ‘Reed sea’.

The only redeemer in Hebrew is the kinsman redeemer (more on Ruth & Boaz link below) the one who pays the price to redeem his kin.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/50-days-later-an-earthly-and-spiritual-harvest-pentecost-shavuot/

The children of Israel and their descendants are His kin, His family and we are grafted into spiritual Israel.

This is the cup Jesus/Yeshua drank in verse 20 when He said that this was the renewed covenant in His Blood – this is the Cup of Redemption and He made it very personal and real as He was literally about to fulfill the prophetic type.

Each time we are ‘taking communion,’ we are renewing our covenant with the King of the universe.

The third cup of wine is poured, and grace after meals is recited. This is similar to the grace that would be said on any Sabbath. At the end, a blessing is said over the third cup and it is drunk.

The fourth cup is poured, including a cup set aside for the prophet Elijah, who is supposed to herald the Messiah, and is supposed to come on Passover to do this. The door is opened for a while at this point (supposedly for Elijah.)

The Seder closes with the fourth cup which is called the cup of Elijah, coming to announce the arrival of Messiah. This cup is not drunk.

A mini Seder is held every Sabbath in Jewish homes.

CUP 4

The Cup of Praise (the hallel cup) –

The remainder of the Hallel Psalms (115-118) would be sung. Psalms 115-118 are known as the Great Hallel. These psalms may not mean much to us today, however it is important to learn their significance, they were well known to Jesus/Yeshua and His Apostles/Disciples for the simple reason they would sing them every year for the Pesach/Passover.

The Hallel Psalms were like a script for the one offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Psalm 116). After Psalm 118 was sung, the meal was finished.

It is very pertinent to note that Jesus/Yeshua would have seen His own imminent fate prophetically declared in the Psalms. When He said, He had desired to eat this Passover with them He was saying in effect “My whole life I have eaten the annual Pesach Seder waiting for this specific year and now My life will fulfill the prophetic events in real time.”

The main theme of Cup 4 is: and I will take you to myself for a people and I will bring to you and you will know that I AM the lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

This represents the crossing of the Jordan into the promised land. (Here where God said He would go before them His angel… was it the pre-incarnate Messiah who went before them? In the same Way as He does for us today, as we cross our Jordan and enter into the Promised Land, where He leads and guides us until we complete our walk through this life.)

Spiritually, the fourth cup represents crossing into eternal life. As it is called the cup of Elijah which is poured but not drunk. It can only be drunk after Elijah comes heralding the return of Messiah and the beginning of the Messianic reign. (Some rabbis have taught that there are 5 cups by inserting one after the 3rd cup but before the cup of Elijah.) Traditionally the cup of Elijah announces the Messianic reign but we have not yet had the Messianic reign bringing peace-shalom, to all mankind. So we cannot yet drink the cup of Elijah.

Other pertinent facts about the 4 or is it 5 cups?

The four cups symbolize the Israelites freedom from the four exiles: The Egyptian, Babylonian, and Greek exiles, and the current exile which they hope to be rid of very soon with the coming of Moshiach. The words “cup of wine” are mentioned four times in Pharaoh’s butler ‘s dream (Genesis 40:11 -13).

Other Possible Reasons: There are 4 Cups of Wine at Passover. One view suggests that each cup of wine represents one of the matriarchs: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. Therefore the Cup of Elijah is the fifth cup that appears at the seder?

Other examples of the special symbolic significance of the number four in the Haggadah are the Four Questions (“Mah Nishtannah”.) Four Sons, and the four types of food at the seder meal: unleavened bread (matzah), lamb, bitter herbs, and ḥaroset.

The four cups of wine should be drunk in a reclined position, as in Roman times reclining was a sign of freedom.  They did not sit up to a table on chairs as many artists have portrayed the setting.

In examining the Passover Seder, here’s some questions to ponder as we dig a little deeper– Did Yeshua/Jesus, finish the meal and how many cups did they drink?

Some possible answers…Firstly, Yeshua /Jesus vowed not to drink of ‘fruit of the vine’ until the coming of the kingdom of God, so was He speaking of the fourth cup?

 (Luke 22:18). This announced the fourth cup, the cup of praise for the coming of God’s Kingdom and His return as Messiah the King (בן־דוד משיח, Mashiach ben David).

Second, after the third cup, Yeshua /Jesus and Apostles/Disciples ‘sing a hymn” (Hallel, Psalms sung glorifying God and blessing Israel. Included in these songs are The Hallel Psalms (113-118) which were usually sung both at the end of the meal (Mat. 26:30, Mark 14:26) and during the offering of the Pesach sacrifice) and then they ‘went out,’ however nothing else was drank…. In both Matthew and Marks Gospels they speak of where Yeshua/Jesus makes reference to the fourth cup, but refuses to drink it. Did they leave before the meal was finished?

In Matthew 26:36-46 we are told Yeshua/Jesus and His Apostles/Disciples make their way to the Garden of Gethsemane. Here we read that Yeshua/Jesus prays three times for the cup that He must drink.

He said: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:42

Consider this scripture Luke’s narrative of Jesus/Yeshua’s celebration of Pesach right before His death, it becomes apparent that he understood this tradition:

And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had 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 likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying,This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Luke 22:7,14-20

Jesus/Yeshua begins the celebration with the cup of blessing (Luke 22:17). The next cup in this text is the third cup, the cup of redemption or blessing after the meal.

So where is the second cup, the cup of plagues? And where is the fourth cup, the cup of praise?

With His first cup, Jesus/Yeshua started the meal (Luke 22:17).

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 1 Cor. 10:16

Jesus/Yeshua spoke of the second cup, the cup of judgment, shortly after the celebration with His disciples. This is the cup He drank on the cross.

The Scriptures mention three “cups” that Jesus faced in connection with His death on the cross. He confronted the cup of God’s wrath in stark reality in the Garden of Gethsemane.

As He looked closely at its contents, He prayed: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:42

When Jesus arose from His final period of prayer in this garden, He was committed to drinking this cup completely. This is the judgment that we deserved, the plague He took by dying for us:

The second cup that Jesus confronted was the cup of sedation, a cup that would have a numbing effect upon Him, depriving Him of clarity of mind.

Jewish tradition says that kindhearted women in Jerusalem customarily provided wine mixed with myrrh or another deadening property for condemned prisoners to drink just before they were executed.

Matthew records that as Jesus went to the cross, “They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink” (Matthew 27:34). Mark described the drink as wine mingled with myrrh (Mark 15:23). The drink offered to Jesus was a cheap Roman vinegar wine, which had a drug mixed in to dull the senses.

Is this cup, (or chalice in some translations), the fourth cup, the final cup of the Passover meal?

Between the giving of His body at the Passover/Pesach Seder as the sacrifice and declaring one of the cups as His own Blood, Yeshua/Jesus classifies His body as the New Passover, (Re-newed Covenant).

Once the meal is over, His blood will be literally poured out, and Yeshua/Jesus will be dead within the day as the sacrificial Lamb.

Did He finish the meal in the Upper Room or finish it with His death on the cross? Is this another reason for Him saying, ‘It is finished’?

The other cup in relation to Yeshua/Jesus’ death on the cross is also known as the Cup of Consummation.

However when we look at the final moments of His life on the cross, we notice the reference to “the fruit of the vine.”

Toward the end of His torturous six hours on the cross, Yeshua/Jesus called for another cup, a cup of refreshment. According to John, He said, “I am thirsty” (John 19:28).

The soldiers had a jar of sour wine available for their use. A kind hand took some of the wine, put it on a sponge, and lifted it to His lips.

Jesus “received the sour wine” (John 19:30).

This was the only personal request that Jesus made from the cross, and it was granted by some nameless person beneath the cross who heard His appeal for a sip of something to quench His thirst.

Of the second of these three cups, the one Jesus rejected, Matthew said, “They gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink” (Matthew 27:34). Mark wrote, “They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it” (Mark 15:23). The “gall” mentioned by Matthew must be a figurative term for “bitterness,” while the “myrrh” mentioned by Mark names the specific substance that produced the bitter taste. The myrrh could act as a narcotic, providing some numbness to His mind and body. When Jesus realized what He was being offered, He refused to drink it.

However, in Mark 15:23, does He drink, since the wine is filled myrrh, which would have dulled his sufferings?

Matthew 27:48 states, “a sponge…filled it with vinegar” is lifted up for Him to drink. The most interesting reference comes from John 19:28, which states that Jesus/Yeshua requests a drink and says, “I thirst.” Did He drink of the vinegar given to Him?

It would seem to indicate that He literally drank this cup while hanging on the cross:

During His last hour on the cross, Jesus asked for a drink with the words “I am thirsty.” John said that He made such a request in order to fulfill an Old Testament prophecy (John 19:28). He was no doubt referring to Psalm 69:21b ‘And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.’ The writer of this psalm was describing an awful trial that he was going through, but the Holy Spirit guided his words for a much higher purpose, using them to picture one aspect of Jesus sufferings on the cross.

For then in John 19:30, Yeshua/Jesus says, “It is finished.” When Messiah speaks these words, is He referencing the meal started at the Passover/Pesach Seder and not referring to His life or ministry? Was it there on the cross that Messiah finishes the Pesach/Passover meal, and drank the fourth cup?

Ex 6:6,7; set the pattern for the Seder, each cup representing a promise in those verses. These are referred to as the four expressions of Redemption

1 Cup of Sanctification (Kiddush: Thanksgiving to the Lord for ‘the fruit of the vine’)

2 Cup of Wrath (Maggid: After reciting the ten plagues; wine is also sprinkled on the table)

3 Cup of Blessing (Birkat Hamazon: After The main meal is consumed; the cup that over-flows)

4 Cup of Praise (Hillel: After the reciting of the last Hallel hymns, the end of the Passover)

The Scriptures likens the cup to our life, with all the sorrows and joys we experience and guides us to “drink to the bottom,” fulfilling the mission God has called us to. The cup of rejection and opposition, betrayal and regret. Like vinegar and gall, pungent and tart, making you wince and recoil. But not only that – for the cup is deceptively deep – there are hopes and joys in there, too. 

Matt 20:22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” Berean Study Bible “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” the brothers answered. Berean Literal Bible And Jesus answering, said, “You do not know what you ask for.

‘You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?’

If He were to ask us ‘Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?’ what would be our answer?

One final mysterious question for thought…. Luke 22:17-19 states And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you verse 20.
17 And having taken a cup, having given thanks, he said, `Take this and divide to yourselves, 18 for I say to you that I may not drink of the produce of the vine till the reign of God may come.’ 19 And having taken bread, having given thanks, he brake and gave to them, saying, `This is my body, that for you is being given, this do ye — to remembrance of me.’
Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)
17 And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He said, Take this and divide and distribute it among yourselves; 18 For I say to you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine at all until the kingdom of God comes.  Amp.

Does this indicate that He took just one of the 4 cups (which one of the cups?) and then told them to divide His portion from His cup!

Very significant… and how did one small cup divide between 12 other men’s cups? Unless, like the loaves and fishes, as they began to divide and distribute it, the wine (symbolic of His poured out Blood,) multiplied, as He had already ‘given thanks‘, just as He had for the feeding of the multitude.

Was there a miracle implied by this verse? That His cup would yield a miraculously never ending supply in His atoning blood, for all that would celebrate Passover with Him?… Just a thought!

My cup is poured out for you is My blood. Jesus/Yeshua’s blood/wine/water mix, was poured out into 12 cups, v.17; if there had been no cups it could not have been poured out. The water and the blood, it is also significant of that which was released from His body, by the soldiers spear piercing His side.

The Lamb died wearing a crown…

it ended in VICTORY and a perfect place to sing the Hallel-ujah!

Yeshua/Jesus, was the Lamb of God, fit for the Passover/Pesach sacrifice, because John, as a son of Zechariah the High Priest, (Luke 1:3), was legally allowed to declare lambs pure for a Pesach sacrifice.

‘Taking Communion’ came out of this celebration of Passover remembrance and when we take the bread and wine, remember these 4 cups combined into the cup we drink and all the Lord has done for us.

https://www.minimannamoments.com/scripture-based-prayers/taking-the-bread-and-the-wine/

Shalom, Shalom to all Mishpachah – family.

Please don’t leave this page until you have the assurance that you are sealed to the day of redemption by the Blood of Messiah Jesus/Yeshua.
Not sure ..you can be…
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.

Secrets Of A Life Filled With Feasts

Are we living life to the full?

A moedim-chaim?

There are several scriptures where the length of our life appears to be given a specific number of years. One is in Psalms 90:10. The days of our years are three score years and ten, which equals 70 and we often this use as an indicator of human lifespan. The other sometimes referred to is in Genesis 6:3.

Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” (Berean Study Bible) So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.”

Notice this verse does not explicitly teach that mankind’s lifespan was limited to 120 years, however what are we to do with what we are allotted?

Interestingly the 120 year timeline was given 120 years prior to the flood, so maybe it was referring to the fact that humanity as a whole only had another 120 years to live before the flood came and not to the length of years that an individual could live?

Whether this is correct or not, our lives do have structure when we are His own, as believers in Messiah.

Is there is a pattern for His Ecclesia in His Moedim? (Annual appointed times for every year?)

In the cycle of life, they are not only for seasons and times of harvest in the agricultural year but they are also for remembrance and rehearsal…

They are also for indicating the promise of future prophetic fulfillment. Do the Moedim/ 7 feasts/appointed times; also have a practical application to our individual lives?

Pronounced moe-eh-DEEM – מועדים

Strong’s Hebrew: 4150. מוֹעֵד moed or Mow’ed: Appointed time, place.

There are many 7’s in the Scriptures.The KJV mentions the word 391 times.

The Gospel of Luke lists 77 generations from Adam to Jesus/Yeshua.

Important Note: the reference to words and their equivalent numbers in posts, is due to every letter in the Hebrew alphabet having a numerical value assigned to it, similar to Greek etc. (See charts below.)

(The first mobile cell phones used this same principle for texting).
MMM is NOT recommending occult based numerology and/or the use of numbers as in Horoscopes/dark arts, or connected to the magic and mysticism of Jewish Kabbalah.)
The definition of Gematria / ɡ ə ˈ m eɪ t r i ə / (Hebrew: גמטריא or גימטריה , plural גמטראות or גמטריאות , gematriot) is one of several methods of assigning a numerical value to a Hebrew name, word or phrase based on its letters.
Gematria is a type of numerological study that may be defined as one of more systems for calculating the numerical equivalence of letters, words, and phrases in a particular Hebrew text and to finding hidden meanings in the numerical values of words.

Gematria works on the premise that the letters of the alphabet can also be used as numbers, and therefore words and phrases acquire distinctive numerical values.
A well known example is that of Revelation 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of that beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six [666].

Proverbs has seven pillars of wisdom that are in the building of the house of the Lord which can now be applied to our physical bodies, as we are containers of His spirit – ruach, instead of the temple sanctuary of a literal stone building.

Torah – is the wisdom of God – understanding our life with wisdom – we are to get understanding – wisdom is for spiritual life.

The Ark of the Covenant

It was the heart of Gods’ shekinah presence.

 (Hebrew: אָרוֹן הַבְּרִית, Modern: Arōn Ha’brēt, Tiberian: ʾĀrôn Habbərîṯ),
also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is a gold-covered wooden chest with lid cover described in the Book of Exodus as containing the two stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. The covenant on stone as Daniel saw in 2:34.

The Stone cut without human hands, is the child born without human hands. 

A virgin conception! 

The stone that was cut without human hands represents God’s kingdom.

This stone will replace all the earthly kingdoms (Revelation 21:1).

The renewed covenant written on hearts of flesh as prophesied by Jeremiah 31:33

Therefore entrance into the blessings of the Covenant, must come through Messiah Jesus/Yeshua/Yahshua alone, for He is the HEART of Torah.

The first letter of the Torah is b (and a v), a Bet (בּ) (bereishit –בְּרֵאשִׁית) Genesis; and the last letter of the Torah is l, a Lamed (ל) in the word יִשְׂרָאֵל – Israel . These 2 letters together spell the Hebrew word for heart which is l-v and lev with the vowel added.

The circumcision of the flesh regulation stated previously was a sign of the Abrahamic Covenant, but Christ circumcises those who have faith in Him, and this circumcision is of the heart [Rom 2:28-29] [Luke 22:20].

The seven pillars of His wisdom are continually maturing within our hearts and minds and as we become conformed to His image; this foundation gives place for the pillars of His life within us.

The pillars are integral to support the life of the spirit within. Cycling us continually towards His heart at the center of our beings. Returning to Him whenever we stumble or stray from His path.

Do the 7 pillars of wisdom perhaps also refer to the 7 Moedim?

Turn and keep on coming. Joel 2:12 AMPC. Therefore also now, says the Lord, turn and keep on coming to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning [until every hindrance is removed and the broken fellowship is restored].

Jerusalem is built on seven hills just as Rome is, one reflecting the natural world, the flesh and the devil principles.

The other Jerusalem is the spiritual type and also reflects the shadow of that which is to come.

Even the new Jerusalem is the final dwelling place of all that is complete in shalom.

Ezekiel prophesied of the Rebirth of Israel. He gives a chronological order of events from the rebirth of Israel to the construction of the third temple (which is the end of Ezekiel prophecies).
Israel’s restoration prophesied by Ezekiel was to be physical then followed by spiritual. Ezekiel 36:36-7 Prophecy to the Mountains of Israel. 36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.
He prophesied of the hills!
and the people shall fill the waste cities as the flocks at the time of the great feasts covered the hills …

The 7 Moedim are an annual guide to the believer, both of that which has been fulfilled by Messiah; and also for the preparation and ongoing prophetic timeline on future events.

Taking another perspective, reveals that they also possibly hold the mystery of spiritual development, growth and maturity in each of our individual lives. Could this be one of the secrets to living a life fulfilled in the will of God?

Has God hidden the mystery of our life within the Hebrew year and His Moedim?

The annual cycle of the year begins with Passover – Pesach.

This is the beginning of our life in Him. It starts with salvation and as we receive the Lamb of God the pesach offering, our sins are taken away and we start a new life, sinless. The Power of the Passover/ pesach changes us and changes our future, our life will never be the same again. If it is, then consider if we are really walking in His provision, for out of true repentance comes the 180° turn around to go the other way the opposite direction.

The disciples, apostles, left the old way of life –leaving their nets behind them – have we left the things that held us? or have we compromised a little by simply adding Him into what we are content to remain with and want to keep and all we are familiar with? Can our families and friends see a change?? Are our lives really truly centered, focused and fulfilling the gospel word of Jesus/Yeshua? Or is our time with Him carefully slotted in and scheduled at our convenience?

The Moedim cycle of each and every year we live, presents an opportunity for reflection and change!

The power of Pesach truly releases us from bondage just as it did for the children of Israel coming out of Egypt. It ends the old life of slavery to sin and marks the beginning of a journey of life in and with God.

Pesach = Deliverance.

Set free to serve Him – willingly.

The second feast/ appointed time and level of our lives /walk/ journey with Him is our First fruits. Yom Resheet the day of first fruits the first day of the week of eating Unleavened Bread.

As we begin to walk in the power of His resurrection we begin to bear fruit in our lives.

The First Fruit of our salvation is the First Fruits of repentance and change.

First fruits of the unconditional love of the father flowing through us which pertains to life and all godliness in the image of Jesus. First fruits of the newness of life abundant, the joy of salvation and the glory of the father as we walk with Him. This is the first harvest. 

Omer count = Separation to Revelation.

Father will often separate us from old things in order to reveal to us new things and we become part of the ecclesia- the called out ones.

3rd Feast – next is our life experiences – Pentecost/Shavuot – the fire of the father in the form of the Ruach haKodesh.

Giving of the Spirit.

The promise from the Sinai covenant when Torah was first given.

He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Deep cleansing and preparation waiting on Him and learning among other things, patience!

Tarry here – we wait along the way for the infilling of the exousia, the raw power to make us ready, anointed and willing to do the works of God and to fulfill all that we have being called to be and do for His kingdom.

To go and make disciples, having first become one ourselves.

The fire burns away all the chaff from our hearts and enables the gold within to shine forth and empower us to reach forward for the next greater summer harvest in the life cycle.

The 4th harvest feast could be speaking of the harvest of our salvation as we GO forth for the fields white unto harvest but the workers are few.

Leviticus 23; Psalm 139:16

As we reap the rewards of blessing by giving life to others in sharing the true bounty of life abundant.

Fulfilling our calling in ministering both to the lost and to the Saints. 2 Cor.9:1; Heb.6:10.

This could represent the main period of our life as it continues and makes up the major content of our years.

Until we come into the fifth appointed time of our lives. Yom teruah the blowing of the shofar/ trumpet;

And then will come the time of trumpets, ‘the autumn’, ‘the fall’, of our salvation.

The golden years.

The finishing up of our reaping His harvest, the completing of its gathering in; and our time of preparation to meet our Heavenly Father.

Tying up the loose ends putting everything in order. Anything as yet left undone is quickly put in place, decently and in order. 

True shalom.

Nothing missing nothing broken, mislaid, misplaced or left undone. All is as it should be, no omissions or regrets, for soon will be upon us the remaining feasts in quick succession.

Yom kippur the day of atonement, the sixth appointed time of our life as we will stand alone before our heavenly father.

Panim al panim – face to face.

מָּנִים אֶלמָּֿנִים

Strong’s Hebrew: 6440. פָּנִים (panim or paneh) — face, faces

The Mercy Seat where the blood was sprinkled

Hebrew רחמים (pronounced rakhamim) is usually translated as “mercy.” Notice the IM! It’s actually plural in form, multiple mercies on the Ark of His Presence.

His MERCIES are new every morning!

In an earlier post we looked at Hebrew words including “face” (פנים, panim), “water” (מים, mayim), and even God (אלהים, elohim).

Then we shall behold Him, face to face. And see Him as He is. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 John 3:2; Rom. 14:10

It’s not in judgment for sin for we are already acquitted. (The great white throne judgment for those who are not His own, but the Bema seat of Christ, the judgment seat of Messiah, is for the works we have done in obedience to His call.)

The Holy fire of His presence will consume all that was not of His command and reveal only the gold of that which was His will. 1 Cor. 3:12-15

This leads us to Sukkot, 

the 7th and final appointed time in

 the lifecycle of a true believer will be to live, abide and stay with Him forever.

To Tabernacle in His presence, the booths containing His presence, His joy, His love, His blessings and its ultimate conclusion,

Shemini atseret – the eighth day of Sukkoth – the completion of reading Torah and Simchat Torah – the joy of the Torah.

The Eighth Day

8 represents a new beginning, meaning a new order or creation, and man’s true ‘born again’ event when he is resurrected from the dead into eternal life.  Eight is the personal number of Jesus. When we add together the letter values of the name Jesus in the Greek we get 888.

8th day– the great last day – eternity – the prophetic Torah complete – the day that celebrates the torah called, the joy of the torah, or rejoicing of/[with the]Torah

Hebrew: שִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה שִׂמְחַת

and the new beginning* – enter the JOY of your Lord

as He says well done you good and faithful servant – no more tears only JOY.

*Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah (also Simkhes Toreh, Hebrew: שִׂמְחַת תורָה, lit., “Rejoicing with/of the Torah,”) is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Biblical Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret (“Eighth Day of Assembly”), which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei (mid-September to early October on the Gregorian calendar).

J udge

O ur

Y ears

Judge ourselves with JOY that we be not judged…

The Moedim and what they represent seem to be a cycle that should be an integral part of every believing ecclesia?

Although we are not to come under bondage again to the law as such; according to 2 Timothy 3:16. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So the Moedim have value for our training.

His Word both the written word and the living Word are mirrors for us and we should hold them up in front of our lives to see if the reflection is that of Jesus/Yeshua in us, the hope of glory. He is in the Moedim, the very essence and fulfillment of them both in our lives and literally. He is the only Feast that truly satisfies.

He is the Word –

He is the Heart of the Word/Torah –

His life is The Word –

Written not on stone in an ark but on our hearts; and we are now the ark of His renewed covenant

The container of His Ruach/Spirit –

The 7 pillars of His wisdom supporting His life within –

The corner stone of our faith – not cut with hands –

We see Him as we walk through every one of His Moedim and finally to join us to Himself in the marriage of the Lamb on that last great day! Hallelujah!

Shalom shalom!

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Shavua Tov Mishpachah & Chaverim!

Have a good week Family & Friends. 

Please Do Not leave this page without the surety in your heart that you have Messiah in your life and heart as the days draw ever closer to the end of the age..

NOT CERTAIN?

YOU CAN BE..

Make sure Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him. He is the fulfillment of the Moedim and truly is the Feast that will satisfy.

Its all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.

You are greatly loved and very precious in His sight.

He longs to give you the Shalom He paid the ultimate price for..

SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute, SAY IT RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name. Amen.