When reading this passage we have all no doubt always understood Jesus/Yeshua was talking about paying taxes…..but which taxes? …And then, was there something more to the connection with the fish?
It’s a well known story in Matthew where Yeshua/Jesus sends Peter to catch a fish; telling him that there would be money in the fish’s mouth and that they would then use that money to pay the tribute tax for them both.
Matthew 17:24-27 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
This may sound strange to western ears and other than a miracle…how could there be money in a fish’s mouth? Consequently many answer that question by saying just that… God, by way of a miracle, placed some money in that particular fish’s mouth.
Once again, understanding the eastern culture in which the Bible was written helps us to understand the story a little better. Again these are things to think on and further research for those inclined to do so, we should all be good Bereans; and here, research showed there are fish in the middle east called the Musht. Describing them as small fish about six inches long with a large head. Apparently they also have what we would call a bag, or a pouch under the mouth.
Pertinent articles tell us that after new Musht hatch, the parents keep them in the pouch for a short while to protect them. Then when it is time, the parent fish will begin to pick up pebbles from the bottom of the sea and put them into the pouch. This is done so the new fish will not be so comfortable because it’s time for them to leave!
These Musht fish basically eat plankton, so at certain times of the year you can find them in very shallow water. At times they do pick up shiny objects, coins, gold etc… Whether this is the fish Peter caught is not certain/proven but it is interesting nevertheless.
Another custom:
We must remember that in Bible times, offerings to God were taken very seriously. Sometimes there were those individuals who wanted to give an offering however they didn’t want to receive any recognition; because, many believed that if you received praise from men then you had already received your reward now in this world and they preferred to receive their reward in the one to come. People would throw their offerings into the waters in order to keep it private and threw their offerings into what was considered ‘holy waters’ would be best, but, depending on where one would be, any water would do.
Many traditions have grown over the years of throwing coins into a fountain or well for good luck. The Trevi Fountain in Rome is a famous location as well as the Ganges River which is considered a holy river.
In the scriptures Yeshua/Jesus told Peter to go to the sea, Galilee, cast in a hook, and take the first fish that came up. He further told him that when he opened the fish’s mouth he would find a piece of money.
Peter was a fisherman and possibly was well aware that this type of fish could have a coin in its mouth but that it was a rare thing to catch one.
Think of the sequence of events that would have been needed: First, someone had to lose or throw a coin in the water. Then, a fish had to take that coin in its mouth and keep it there. That same fish then had to bite Peter’s hook even with a coin in its mouth and be caught. This cannot be explained away so easily.
Consequently, it may not have been such an amazing miracle that the fish had a coin in its mouth; but rather the more amazing miracle being that it was the very first and only fish that Peter caught!
Just as Peter did, we can have confidence in the promises of our Heavenly Father, by accepting that what He has promised is true and believing that He can and will supply all our needs. Furthermore we should not limit the manner in which He meets those needs.
The scripture tells us that the reason Peter had to find the fish was to pay the taxes but which tax?
While they were in Capernaum, those who collected tribute money approached Peter and asked, “Doth not your master pay tribute?” (v. 24).
This tribute was not a civil tax but a religious tax, also known as the temple tax. The amount due was a coin known as a didrachma, for a day laborer this wasthe wages equivalent of about two days work. This was based on Exodus 30:11-16, which required every adult male to pay half a shekel as ransom money towards the building of the tabernacle. It is not clear from the original text whether this was to be an annual tax or, more likely, just a one-time tax towards the making of the tabernacle Ex. 26:20-25; 38:25-31. Later in Nehemiah, a similar tax was levied for the rebuilding of the temple Neh. 10:32-33.
Peter, answered the question in v. 25.However in reading the verse carefully..
He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying,
when Peter went to tell Yeshua/Jesus, Who it says was in the house,
He prevented him,
or anticipated him,
revealing His omniscience.
This is a gentle reminder that wherever we are, Messiah is the silent witness of our conversations and even what we think are our private thoughts. He asks Peter a question saying in other words:
Kings do not normally charge tax to members of their own family, but they do charge taxes from their subjects. Which am I?
An interesting question which, when we recall when Peter had declared just before in the previous chapter,
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 16:16.
Was this highlighting a change from His earlier confession? Again possibly a gentle reminder that as disciples we often live so differently from our confession without thinking twice about it.
Is this also the reason that Yeshua/Jesus called him Simon in verse25, that being Peter’s former name and a reference to the fact he had acted so easily and quickly according to his old nature?
We all need to be continually doing what Rom.12:2 encourages us to do….. renewing of our minds.
He says to Peter, What thinkest thou?
or as we might say,
What are you thinking?
We need our minds to be on the things of God and not be distracted from what He has asked us to be doing.
It is recorded that every Jewish male over the age of 20 was required to pay the temple tax each year and the money was used for the upkeep and maintenance of the temple. In Exodus 30:13–16,
In Yeshua/Jesus day, the Temple tax
literally. מחצית השקל – the half shekel,
was a tax paid by Israelites and Levites which went towards the upkeep of the Temple in Jerusalem/Yerushalayim.
Yeshua/Jesus pointed out that a king does not order his own son/family to pay taxes.
Since Yeshua/Jesus was and is the Son of God, Lord and Owner of the Temple, He and His family/children should have been free from paying taxes because for Him to pay the tax would be like paying taxes to Himself. When He says,The children are exempt. v. 26, meaning that because of our relationship/connection with Him, that which applies to Him applies to us also; and in this instance meaning, neither Messiah nor His disciples should have to pay the temple tax?
The reason why Yeshua/Jesus had Peter locate a hook and line and go fishing could also be that fish have always played an important role in Jewish tradition and mysticism. Fish called gefilte fish are still popular today. Interestingly the word gefilte means fullness. Fish have always been symbolic of God’s provision. Fish lay many eggs and symbolize both prosperity and multiplication. We have looked previously at the pictograph for the letter N – nun or noon which is the word fish in the Hebrew and has the idea of flowing, going with the stream.
There is another possible reason why Messiah may have asked Peter to go fishing for the coin/money. There is a tradition that says before the Day of Atonement, all observant Jews go to a river to fish. Why? This is because the Talmud (Talmud-the written oral Law); teaches that men are like fish who are often as prey when the hooks and nets are set before them by the Yeitzer Hara /evil desires/temptations. This tradition is a reminder that freedom from sin comes only through repentance and repentance for forgiveness of sins was also a common teaching during Yeshua/Jesus’s day. Was He offering Peter a chance to reflect on how easily it is to get hooked by the enemy and the coin in the fish’s mouth represented how the enemy can use money to get you hooked?
The money collected for the temple tax was a fund also used to help the poor, which Messiah would not have objected to. Peter would have thought that Yeshua/Jesus as his rabbi was teaching him something in this situation.
The coin would have had to have been a Jewish or temple coin and not a Roman coin. Yeshua/Jesus told Peter he would find a piece of money in the fish’s mouth. The Greek word used for money is sater which means a silver coin. In Aramaic, the word used is ‘astra which is a coin worth about one shekel. Scholars believe this would have been one shekel in Jewish money and the tax was one half shekel per person, so one shekel would cover both Peter and Yeshua/Jesus. The Roman coin usually had the image of a Roman emperor on it who considered himself a god and this would have violated the 2nd commandment particularly if it were brought onto temple grounds. This is possibly why the temple had money changers in the court in order to change the pagan coins into one the priesthood approved as clean? It could also have been a reason why Messiah turned over the money changers tables; if they were piling up pagan coins and thereby violating the 2nd commandment right on the temple grounds by using paganism and idolatry to conduct their commerce? As a rabbi, Yeshua/Jesus was not going to allow it and by overturning the tables He was performing a task well within His authority as a master teacher, which is probably why the temple guard did not try to stop him?
Which coin was it?
Quoting the section from Mark, “Whose is this image and superscription?” From the answer, we understand that the coin must have had a portrait of a ruler and also have a superscription, or in other words the word Caesar was in the title and it would be a coin of the denarius or possibly drachm denomination. Apparently denarius coins of Julius Caesar s portrait did exist but were quite rare, and would not have been minted after 44 B.C., although certainly a candidate, it would not have been a common type of coin in circulation at the time.
There were coins of Augustus, which featured the word Caesar; he issued a lot of the denarius coins in his reign with his portrait on. This would have been from before Yeshua/Jesus’ birth into His young adulthood from around 27 B.C. – 14 A.D. and would probably be a more likely coin that was shown to Him.
Traditionally the most likely coin that was referred to as being the Tribute Penny, is the silver denarius which was the coin of emperor Tiberius, he reigned 14-37 A.D. and these coins also featured the title of Caesar on them. In the context of the time period described, these would have been the most recently-minted coins and therefore the most widely-accepted form of the Tribute Penny.
Further information gleaned says that the shekel of Tyre was minted between 125 BC and 66 AD when the first Jewish war broke out. It was the standard coin and only coin accepted in the Jewish temple at the time of Messiah. One reference to the story of Yeshua/Jesus telling Peter to pay the temple tax for the two of them says it was a Tyrian shekel which was retrieved from the mouth of a fish.
How many times we read a passage and still miss some deeper meaning Matthew 22:20-21 for example
And He said unto them, whose is this image and superscription? They say unto Him, Caesars.Then saith he unto them Render unto Caesars the things which are Caesars and unto God the things that are God’s.
The drachma was given for the roman tax.
Looking at the whole scenario a little more carefully, the Pharisees and Herodians were on a quest to trap Jesus/Yeshua in any way they could and this time they really thought they had Him trapped when they asked Him about paying taxes.
With the Roman guards no doubt standing nearby and the Pharisees also within hearing distance, a Pharisee asked Yeshua/Jesus if it was right to pay a tithe or 10% to the Roman government in taxes.
Why?
Because If He said yes, the Jewish leaders/Pharisees, would condemn Him for giving support to a pagan government and they would probably have brought Him before the Sanhedrin accusing Him of being a law breaker.
It was taught by oral law, not the written Torah Law, but the law as man wrote it, that to pay a tax was to pay a tithe and you could only tithe to God, not man.
Paying tax to a foreign government was considered as the same thing as paying a tithe to the government which was not forbidden by Mosaic law but it was by the Traditions of the Fathers.
Torah Law taught you were to give 10% of your earnings in a tithe. Tithe means ten and strangely coincidental, the Roman government demanded that you pay 10% of your income in taxes! So to pay the government 10% was like paying a tithe and the oral law forbade paying taxes that equaled 10%.
Time after time Yeshua/Jesus was condemning much of oral law as not being authoritative. For example the Torah teaching/instruction/Law, taught that no one could work on the Sabbath. Oral teaching/law or man’s interpretation of that teaching/law was that to heal on the Sabbath was considered work; therefore if a person healed someone on the Sabbath they were breaking Torah Law by ‘working’. Messiah healed on the Sabbath in direct violation of their oral law, which is why they called Him a sinner.
These traditions were later part of the forming of what is known as the Talmud. The Talmud was not considered to be inspired, but it was nonetheless authoritative instruction; and to violate the teachings of the tradition of the Fathers was a chargeable offense and that had to be heard before the Sanhedrin which was the religious court.
If Messiah answered no it implied He agreed with the teachings of the Tradition of the Fathers…then the Roman government could arrest Him for treason and for being disloyal to the Roman government and inciting others to also rebel!
Why did His response cause the reaction it did from the Pharisees and Herodians? When Yeshua/Jesus said: Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar and to God that which is Gods. Matthew 22:20-21
Wasn’t He saying that it was alright to pay the taxes? Meaning in so many words.. just pay taxes with Roman money and not the coins issued by the temple.
Didn’t His enemies have Him right where they wanted Him?
Why did Yeshua/Jesus call them hypocrites in verse 18?
Reading around this subject in Jewish literature there is an interesting note about the 2nd commandment.Exodus 20:4: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image in the likeness that is in heaven above or in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the sea.”
Thou shalt not make…
The word make in Hebrew is ashah which is followed by the word leka which means to you.
Ashah leka has the idea of taking something unto yourself.
So You are not
to take for yourselves any graven images.
The word for graven image is pesel
Pesel letters:Pei Sade Lamed
which means:
to carve out and fashion something that is seen.
This carving or engraving could be done with wood or metal.
This is telling us that we are not to take upon ourselves anything that is fashioned to take on the representation which is a likeness or physical manifestation of anything in the heavens above or the earth below or in the sea.
This commandment is instructing the Jews to have no other gods before God Jehovah. They are not even to make that is the Hebrew word pasal which is an engraving or carving and it is not to be made for your own personal possession.
Obviously people recognized that a coin made of metal had an image engraved upon it however if that image was in the likeness of someone who was considered a god, then for a Jewish person to have or even carry with them such a coin meant they were violating the 2nd commandment.
What did Messiah say? He asked the Pharisee if he had a coin.
Yeshua/Jesus asked the Pharisee to show Him a coin, he took out and showed Him a coin with Caesar’s image or likeness on it.
When asked whose picture was on the coin. He said Caesars. Then Yeshua/Jesus said: Render unto Caesar that which is Caesars and to God that which is God’s.
As noted the first century, coins are called the Tribute coin and it has engraved on it the picture or image of Caesar Augustus Tiberius and the inscription
“Caesar Augustus Tiberius, Son of the Divine Augustus.”
This was blasphemous to a Jew as it was claiming that Caesar Augustus Tiberius was a god and also by carrying this coin with him the Pharisee was in violation of the 2nd commandment.
Messiah cleverly used their own Oral Tradition and their own twist on the Torah to trap them instead; and in his enthusiasm to trap Yeshua/Jesus, by having such a coin, he was admitting to a form of idolatry.
Apparently, their teaching pointed out that to ‘carry such a coin’ meant he worshipped that specific god. The Jews interpret this to mean that you cannot even possess an image of anything that declares himself or herself to be a god.
It is possible that this Pharisee could not read the Latin words, because it says on the coin:
Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus?!
So, by having and carrying that coin he was declaring in other words, that he worshipped a Roman god which was Roman money.
At the same time Yeshua/Jesus put the correct understanding onto the 2nd commandment when He said, Render unto Caesar that which is Caesars, it was not a simple reference to paying taxes with Roman currency, it was speaking of worship.
Even if this Pharisee had Roman coins, it may have been because he had business deals with the Romans. The more likely point was that Messiah knew what was in his heart and that his god was money. He broke the second commandment, meaning his god was money not our Heavenly Father.
Was Yeshua/Jesus showing them that while they were accusing Him of breaking the Tradition of the Fathers, which was the Oral law, they were breaking the 2nd commandment by having such a coin. Messiah came to fulfill the law by pointing out the things added by men which were not from His Father and to teach people how to live correctly by the given Torah.
In the next verse of Matthew 22:21-22: They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. (22) When they had heard [these words], they marveled, and left him, and went their way.
Matthew 22:22 tells us that everyone marveled and then left Him alone. What made them marvel about that statement?
Wasn’t He falling into the Pharisee trap, saying it was right to pay taxes?
In the Greek text the word marvel is ethaumasan. This is where we get the English word enthusiasm. It means to be astonished, amazed, surprised or stunned.
The word is damar in Aramaic which means to admire. It is in a form that means: so they were filled with admiration. So, it was the Pharisee who fell into Messiah’s trap.
The word render is yahav
which means:
to allow which would be..
Allow Caesar to have that which is his
and God to have that which is his.
Allow Yahav
יהב
Yod Hei Beth
Exodus 20:3-4: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4. Thou shalt not make (for your possession) unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth:
Not all Roman coins bore such a subscription Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus. declaring the person pictured to be divine or a god.
What may have caused them to marvel was not just how Jesus/Yeshua knew the Pharisee would pull out that specific coin and not a temple coin, that is amazing enough. But was it the fact that He caught the Pharisee breaking the first commandment that really astounded the people?
In the Aramaic Yeshua/Jesus was telling the Pharisee something in the meaning of: Allow Caesar to be Caesar thinking he is a god. But allow God to be God and bear all the glory as the God of the Universe. You are carrying Caesar’s image thereby giving him the glory of considering himself a god? Then you turn around and accuse me of breaking man’s law when you are in direct violation of the very first commandment?
Yeshua/Jesus never answered the question and He didn’t have to because He took away the Pharisees right to even ask.
Simply put, by asking such a question when he was in personal violation of Torah teaching and the 1st commandment meant he was being a hypocrite…which is precisely what Messiah had called them.
We are to give to our Heavenly Father that which He has asked of us, and to do so willingly and to love Him first with ALL our heart, mind and strength…. He gave everything for us and the price was far beyond any coins with graven images on …. We can never repay the debt He paid for us in His own Blood
but….
we can give Him ALL that we are, and ALL that we have; and allow Him to make us into the person we are called to be and to serve Him while we still can…Our Father’s promise is to provide our needs and we should not limit His way of provision… a fish may swim to us or a bird may fly over with just what we need and just at the right time…
Shalom shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
It’s all about Life and Relationship,
NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART 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.
A Hebrew Hour is defined as 1/12 of the time between sunset and sunrise,
or 1/12 of the time between sunrise and sunset.
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 sixth and seventh 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 sixth and seventh Hebrew Day Hours. An easy way to measure Day Hours is by using an equiangular sundial marked with 12 divisions.
The only Scriptural reference to there being
12 Hebrew Hours in a Hebrew Day
is found in John 11:9
where יהושעthe Messiah asked a famous question,
“Are there not 12 hours in a day?”
The diagram below is a working timepiece where the sun’s position indicates the current Hebrew Hour at Jerusalem. One Hebrew Hour ends and another begins when the center of the sun crosses an hour line.
In the Creation Calendar, Hebrew Hours begin at sunrise and sunset.
Remembering Yeshua/Jesus was present at creation!
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: Col 1:16
A Hebrew Hour occurring between sunset and sunrise is called a Hebrew Night Hour.
A Hebrew Hour occurring between sunrise and sunset is called a Hebrew Day Hour.
Sunset occurs and the First Watchbegins exactly at the beginning of the first Hebrew Night Hour.
TheSecond Watchbegins 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 sunriseat the end of thetwelfth Hebrew Night Hour.
Sunriseis always exactly at the beginning of the first Hebrew Day Hour.
Mid-dayoccurs exactly at the end of the sixth Hebrew Day Hour.
Sunsetoccurs 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.
In Acts 3:1 Peter and John went up together into the temple at
John 13:1, “When Jesus knew that His hour was come, that He should depart out of this world unto the Father,”
John 16:32, “Behold the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered,”
John 17:1, “Father, the hour is come: glorify Thy Son.”—ἵνα δοξασθῇ, that—should be glorified) with the Father:
John 17:5, “And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was,” and in the sight of every creature.
A brief explanation of this reference helps us to understand and appreciate why these times of the HOURS were included.
Devout Jews, living in Jerusalem, went to the temple to pray.
Morning Prayers were from sunup to about 11a.m. any time between sunrise and the first half or third of the day; the earlier the better.
According to Jewish time this is the 3rd hour. Meaning it is the third hour from sunrise sometimes written as the third hour of the day; according to Roman time this is the 9th hour. Roman time for each day began at 12 midnight. This has continued into our western time today.
From halfway through the daylight hours – around 1:00ish to about an hour before sunset. So named for the flour offering that accompanied sacrifices at the Temple in Jerusalem,
Evening prayers
מַעֲרִיב Maariv or arvit עַרְבִית
are recited after dark from sunset to before midnight.
Also spelled Maariv,
plural Maaribim, or Maarivim,
Hebrew meaning: of the evening Maʿariv,
who brings on twilight/ bringing on night
Halachic midnight is the halfway point between sundown and sunrise. This can be before or after – especially during DST – 12 a.m.
The hours and times can be confusing when read in the scriptures unless we understand that our time has been changed from what was originally followed. Some charts below…
and this was also covered in detail in previous post.
Crucifixion was an execution designed by the Romans to kill, torture, and humiliate its victims. Some people suffered for days on a cross before dying. Messiah was on the cross for about six hours before He gave up HIs Spirit.
The Romans started each day’s hours at midnight. Using the Roman system of time, John tells us that Yeshua/Jesus’ trial began about the sixth hour, 6 a.m. (John 19:14).
Matthew, Mark, and Luke use the Jewish system of time, beginning each day at 6 a.m. Mark tells us Messiah was crucified at the third hour, 9 a.m. (Mark 15:24–25).
Matthew tells us the day turned to darkness from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, noon to 3 p.m. (Matthew 27:45).
A Roman soldier confirmed His death by pushing a spear into His side, and He was taken off the cross (John 19:34–38).
The Torah, the Prophets and the Writings do not number specific Hebrew Hours. Only the Messianic Scriptures number specific Hebrew Hours inMatthew, Mark, Luke and Acts.
Thethird hour of the day is referred to in Matthew 20:3-4, Mark 15:25 and Acts 2:15.
The third hour of the nightis referred to inActs 23:23-24.
The sixth hour of the dayis referred to in Matthew 20:5, 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44 and Acts 10:9.
The ninth hour of the day is referred to in Matthew 20:5, 27:45, 27:46, Mark 15:33, 15:34, Luke 23:44, Acts 3:1, Acts 10:3 and Acts 10:30-31.
The eleventh hour of the day is referred to in Matthew 20:6 and Matthew 20:9.
All the detailed prophetic fulfillment was so very significant to the children of Israel and unless we understand their WAYs we miss so much of His WAYs! We have taken our western Christianity at doctrinal face value without its true origins and think that is all we need to know.
Again, it is good to be reminded this Bible is originally a Hebrew book, with a Hebraic mindset, about a God of the Hebrews/children of Israel. We gentiles/heathen, are the ones grafted in to Messiah not the other way around. If we ignore that fact, it leads us to leave out the true foundations and depart from the heritage and of what we say we believe about a Jewish Messiah!
Devout Jews, living at Jerusalem, went to the temple to pray (Luke 18:10Acts 3:1).
Sages tell us that the custom of praying three times a day was originally introduced by the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel.
Abraham introduced prayer in the morning,
Isaac—in the afternoon, and
Jacob/Israel added one at night.
The regular hours of prayer, as we may glean fromPsalm 55:17 and Daniel 6:10, were three in number.
The first coincided with the morning sacrifice, at the 3rd hour of the morning, at 9 AM therefore (Acts 2:15).
The second was at the 6th hour, or at noon, and may have coincided with the thanksgiving for the chief meal of the day, a religious custom apparently universally observed (Matthew 15:36Acts 27:35).
The 3rd hour of prayer coincided with the evening sacrifice, at the ninth hour (Acts 3:1; Acts 10:30).
The Hebrew verb for prayer— hitpallel התפלל—is in fact the reflexive form of palal פלל, to judge.
Thus, to pray, conveys the notion of judging oneself:
ultimately, the purpose of prayer—tefilah תפלה—
is to transform ourselves.
It is not God that changes through our prayer,
rather it is man himself who is changed.
During the first 1000 years approx., since the time of Moses, there was no set order of prayer. Each individual was duty-bound to pray to God every day, but the form of prayer and how many times a day to pray was left to the individual; by Yeshua/Jesus’ time it had become more clearly defined and more of an institution.
In the HOUR we can find our life or lose it.
This is why He came…
For This I Have Come Into the World
John 18:37
For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. John 14:13-15
Like our Messiah, who told us to follow Him, not only are we to take up our cross; which is the means of our execution – our means/method of crucifying the fleshly carnal life.…..
and not only are we to die to self through the process…
we are to be willing to drink the cup that He drank.
Are you willing …yes…. then you will …He told His disciples.
If they had known what it would mean would they still have been so quick to accept the cup?
Matt 20:22 Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”ESVJesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking.
Christianity is not for wimps.
We too are called to walk with Him to Calvary’s hill, to
take up our crosses,
to drink the cup of suffering,
to be conformed to His image.
As disciples, our attitude should not be to ask that times of sorrow and difficulty be prevented or even stopped but that our Heavenly Father protect us and strengthen us in order that we remain true to Him; and to that which He has created and afore determined we should become.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath beforehand ordained, that we should walk in them. & Ephesians 1:11
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.Romans 15:4 & Romans 8:30.
Our prayers should be that, in spite of all the refining fires and sorrowful challenges we experience; that our faith does not fail us, that we accept our position and realize our purpose in the midst of it all.
This one thing we should look at carefully and not misread the statement He made in these verses; knowing that
He knew
He understood and
He accepted His purpose.
He willingly faced and received Himself by this acceptance, and because of it, in the midst of this incomparable fire of sorrow and ordained purpose….
He was saved NOT
FROM the HOUR but
OUT of the HOUR
and His Father glorified His Name.
This question was rather rhetorical as He says
what shall I say save Me from this HOUR?
And follows it immediately, answering Himself…
But for this purpose I came to this HOUR
When the HOUR has come for us He will not save us
from it
but
OUT of it.
As with
Noah and his family
as in the days of …
He did not save them
from
the flood but
OUT of it
the flood still came but
in the ark they were saved
and lifted out and above it.
Then Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him entered the ark to escape the flood waters. Gen. 7:7
and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
2Peter 2:5
Genesis 6:18 But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark–you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.
Messiah Yeshua/Jesus – the ark of our covenant
lifts us up
OUT of our HOURS
of trouble and testing; just as He was lifted up out of the world both by resurrection spiritually and lifted physically – ascension.
This is the promise for us.
He faced His HOUR and in doing so received/faced Himself in the fires of sorrow in that HOUR.
Many question, and many preach and teach that there ought to be no sorrow – that trials and difficulties are not from a loving Heavenly Father God.
However…He chastens those He loves ..
and there is sorrow, and like the one we say we follow; we are to accept and receive ourselves in these fiery trials.
1 Pet 4:12-14 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13
It is foolish to try and evade and refuse to deal with sorrow because it’s one of the bigger facts of life, so it’s a waste of breath to say it should not be part of our experiences.
Sin, sorrow and suffering are very real and they exist; and we are not in a position to say our Heavenly Father makes mistakes in allowing these things to happen to us.
The work of sorrow in our lives removes a great deal of an individuals shallowness, however it does not always make that individual better. Times of suffering will either help us to face ourselves, or it will destroy us. It is a yielding and a letting go; a total submission and laying down of ones life, in favor of the offered cup and the HOUR of death.
An individual cannot find or receive self through perceived success, that which is calculated by worldly standards.
Why?
So that one will lose their head in pride and self achievement/ aggrandizement by the worlds terms. We cannot receive/face ourselves through the monotonous drudgery of day to day living. Why?
Because that un-dead/un-crucified flesh will give in to griping, complaining, and murmuring.
In the fires of sorrow is the only place we will find ourselves. Wondering why it is this way is immaterial because His ways are past finding out.
We should rather accept in faith and trust in His Word and His Way, which has been written for us historically in all the human experiences recorded. We can always recognize these believers, those who have been through the fires of sorrow and received themselves… we too must receive unto ourselves the HOUR of our laying down our life, to take it up again in Him, just as Yeshua/Jesus did.
Because of this, the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it up again. John 10:17.
When our Heavenly Father has us on our knees, it is there that He can change us.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” James 1:2-3.
God must test our faith in order to reveal our faith.
We may look knocked down to men yet be exactly where our Father can use us.
“We are persecuted by others, but God has not forsaken us. We may be knocked down, but not out”. 2 Cor. 4:9.
We must empty out our own desires, that we would be filled with His. When we stay right with the Lord and allow Him to change us through our circumstances, then He can bring us forth as the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.
The closer you get to God, the more you realize how He uses your suffering for His purposes. It is a demonic notion born out of the flesh of man, carnal and worldly to think and believe that God will only make us rich and comfortable in this life.
We must get the fleshly thoughts cast out of our mind, thinking that we could serve God better in our comfort than in our suffering. Let Him use our circumstances to teach us how to serve His children. The more we want to serve Him, the harder His lessons are going to be. So we must be willing to count the cost.
1 Pet 4:12-14 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13
First we must be broken, so that He can reshape us into something new. In the midst of God shaping us, we usually pray that our difficulties would be removed or we be saved from them instead of praying that they would change us; and as we are changed, then He saves us out of them.
That which appears to be destroying us, is actually where God is recreating us into the very thing that He can use. We must forget the notion that our Father will make our lives easy and remember that He knows what He is doing.
By allowing Him to break us, He reforms us into bread worth eating. By allowing Him to place us in that winepress; the process of crushing us into wine is never easy.
However we can’t have the bread until it has been broken and we can’t have the wine without first crushing the grape.
If you want to reach the broken, be the broken. “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite [crushed] spirit” (Psalm 34:18).It is when we are broken that the Lord can form us into something new.
Consider that the reason He has broken your heart, is that He then might flow through it onto others.“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart — These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17).
Until we are broken and have yielded ourselves to our Father, are we not just another zealous soul working opposite to the Kingdom of God. Remember Paul …persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. …being more exceedingly zealous… (Galatians 1:13-14). Then his Messiah Yeshua/Jesus broke him.
Sometimes we have to have our feet knocked out from under us and to hit rock bottom in order to get our footing.
Those who have died to self, allow the fire to burn away the carnal shallowness … those who have truly laid down their life.
Losing it during the hour of fire and testing, to find it in Him; taking it up again and yoking that life to His, in permanent submission to the perfect will of our Father.
These are those we recognize as ones we can go to in our moments of trial and trouble and find they have plenty of time for us. A listening ear and an encouraging word from our Heavenly Fathers storehouse of treasures. Ones who make you feel you are the most important person of that HOUR.
This gift of time is often overlooked as we are so busy and we never seem to have enough of it to do all we want to do. By submitting to the life He has for us, in laying down our own, we will find we have all the time we need for Him to accomplish through us His perfect will plan and purpose. One who has not been through the fires of sorrow is more often than not prone to be dismissive, contemptuous of others and their trials; having no respect for and no time for others, turning away with many excuses and reasons for their actions.
If we are willing, and if we will receive/recognize/accept ourselves in the hour of sorrow: accepting our position and realizing our true purpose in light of His calling in the midst of this HOUR of fire…
He will save us
out of it…
NOT from it;
and through it, He will make us instruments /vessels of nourishment for other people – sheep feeders and lambs fodder and then like Peter, He can feed His flock through us,
Yeshua/Jesus states Peter’s task in three words,
“Feed my sheep” (John 21:17)
We should not try to avoid this HOUR
or be saved FROM it
because for this purpose
we also came to this HOUR
and He is faithful and will save us OUT of it.
This is how we become as our Lord and Savior was…
broken bread and poured wine,
that His life be shared and given out
for whosoever will receive Him.
God calls us today..
be broken bread and poured out wine.
Bread must be broken to be consumed and shared,
and grapes must be crushed and poured out to make wine.
If we object to the fingers He chooses to use to crush us…
then He can never make us into wine!
It is He who chooses the people
and the circumstances to crush us,
and it is up to us to allow Him.
How long will it be before we finally get it into our understanding, that we are here to willingly submit to His will, so that He may work through us what He wants?
Just as our savior did and then said follow me…
“Although he was a son, [Jesus] learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect,
he became the source of eternal salvation
to all who obey him,
being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrew 5:8
We are to do likewise and once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.
Is our glass still empty?
Meanwhile let’s continue
to stay alert and ready,
be in prayer and in His Word
for in an hour we think not
He is coming.
Shalom shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
You are loved and appreciated and prayed for daily.
… and…
it’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART 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.
From sameach; blithesomeness or glee, (religious or festival) exceeding (-ly), gladness, joy (-fulness), mirth, pleasure, rejoice delight (1), exceeding joy (1), extremely* (1), festival (1), gladness (34), happiness (1), joy (38), mirth (1), pleasure (6), rejoice (1), rejoiced (1), rejoicing (6).
At that moment …
He was filled with JOY – שִׂמְחָה
שִׂמְתָה שָׂשׂן
Transliteration: sim•cha, sa•son
Simcha, Joy, is one of the most used words in the Scriptures; it appears over 400 times, together with its synonym, sa•son. Interestingly, the English word ‘sassy’ came from sa•son.
Both words together form a beautiful expression that is said in every Jewish wedding, as weddings themselves and other events such as a child birth are called by the general name ‘sim•cha’.(The word is spelled both with and without an h at the end.)
This expression, used by the prophet, Jeremiah, says:
‘kol sa•son ve•kol sim•cha, kol cha•tan ve•kol ka•la’.
“The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride” Jeremiah 33:11
We can also see this as prophetic concerning Messiah returning for His Bride/Challah/.
From the references to joy, the first time it is mentioned in the Brit Chadashah/New Testament it is noted with the birth of Jesus, Yeshua:
“When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy”
Matthew 2:10
We may be most familiar with joy being listed among the fruit of the spirit which are qualities noted in Galatians 5:22-23.
The second fruit of the Spirit is joy, ‘sim•cha.
Sim•cha is connected to the name of an important Jewish Holiday – Sim•chat To•rah – the Rejoicing of the Torah.
This holiday is celebrated on She•mi•ni A•tze•ret, which is the first day following the seventh day of Sukkot also called
Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles.
The holiday commemorates the completion of reading portions of the Torah during the year; there are 52; each portion is read each week of the year all over the world.
This custom is biblical because it was first done by Ezra the Scribe.
Luke 10:21-25
when we hold someone dear and love them in truth we want to know what makes them happy ….happiness is an emotion of the soul and often does not outlast the occasion or reason for its declared feeling. We are in a flesh body but we are spirit first and foremost; and we must learn to NOT be led by our feelings but by His Spirit of Holiness within us, guiding and leading our spirit not our flesh.
The scripture does not say Yeshua/Jesus was happy,
it says
He was filled with joy. Luke 10:21
The scripture says in
Nehemiah 8:10This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the lord is our strength.
Nehemiah 8:10, Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!
We may assume that our strength comes from the joy our Heavenly Father gives to us.
Have we ever thought to ask, where does that joy really come from?
The word joy that is used in Nehemiah is the word chadoth which is really the word for pleasure.
The pleasure of God is our strength.
But what does that mean?
Psalms 105 may give us an answer.
He called down famine on the land, broke off all their food supply, 17 but sent a man ahead of them — Yosef, who was sold as a slave. 18 They shackled his feet with chains, and they bound him in irons; 19 until the time when his word proved true, God’s utterance kept testing him. 20 The king sent and had him released, the ruler of peoples set him free; 21 he made him lord of his household, in charge of all he owned, 22 correcting his officers as he saw fit and teaching his counselors wisdom.
This Psalm vs. 16-22 holds a very interesting reference to Joseph. Most scholars agree that this reference means; that until the time came for Joseph to fulfill his purpose or mission in life, which was to become a prime minister of Egypt and thus bring his family into safety from a famine; he first had to go through various trials to be tested by Adonai. This testing/trial proves faithfulness and obedience, vs.19.
Joseph learned to be joyful in every situation because
thejoy of the Lord was his strength.
His pleasure is our strength …a verse in Philippians also helps us understand:
For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure. Phil. 2:13. Amp. and again in Rev. 4:11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Here is confirmation of two things that believers in Messiah understand to be true; and that is,
we are all created for a specific purpose in life
and
that our Heavenly Father puts us through times of trial/testing or as it’s often referred to as spiritual boot camp.
This is for the purpose of developing our
obedience and faithfulness
and to bring us to the place where we fulfill the mission /calling He has placed on our lives.
These verses are important for us.
Why?
Because it gives us a scriptural basis, revealing that we are not put on this earth haphazardly, or by chance or mistake; rather that our Heavenly Father has placed us here at this specific time to fulfill a specific role.
It also gives us an understanding of the reason why we all go through trials in life; that it is to provide a training ground which helps prepare us to fulfill the role chosen for us in His plan.
Concerning
the joy of the Lord is your strength;
it’s not the joy you feel,
but the joy our Heavenly Father has in us
and reveals it to you through devar.
The Hebrew word
devar:
Strong’s Hebrew: 1697.
דָּבָר dabar/devar – speech, word.
Davar or dabar means word and it also means thing.
This fact reflects a deep facet of a Jewish world view.
Words are the creative energy of the world. God spoke, and through words brought the universe into being.
It directly correlates to Yeshua for it is the Hebrew equivalent to “Logos” found in John chapter 1.
In Hebrew John 1: 1 reads,
“Bereishit hayah hadavar. V’davar haya et haElohim, vElohim hayah hadavar.”
In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Yeshua is Hadavar Elohim, “The Word of God.”
The Fifth book of the Bible, Deuteronomy is called “Davarim” (Words) in Hebrew. It was written at the end of 40 years of the Children of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness.
There is something interesting to be seen here.
The Hebrew word for “wilderness” is Midvar. Davar is the root word for Midvar. Notice that the last three consonants of Midvar are the same as the three consonants of Davar.
Davar is spoken by Moses (a type of Yeshua) at the end of the 40 years of testing in the wilderness. After Moses’ death, Yehoshua (Joshua, another type of Yeshua) leads the children of Israel to the Promised Land (yet another picture of Yeshua).
Yeshua at the end of the 40 days of testing in the Midvar (wilderness) is confronted by Satan. Three times Satan tries to tempt Yeshua. Yeshua responds only one way. He uses Hadavar Elohim (the Word of God).
Which book does Yeshua quote from all three times?
Davarim.
Interesting Note:
Davar HaChaim (The Living Word)
is in the Midvar using the Hadavar Elohim,
specifically the book of Davarim to defeat the adversary!!
We all know that as God, Jesus/Yeshua could have just simply performed a miracle and thrown Satan out of the desert, but He didn’t. So why did He
The Living Word
Davar HaChaim
use the Word of God to defeat the adversary?
because He is our example.
Jesus/Yeshua,
the Living Word/Davar HaChaim
had to show that Satan/adversary can be defeated by the
Hadavar Elohim/the Word of God
and in the power of His Spirit of Holiness/Ruach HaKodesh. Had Messiah done something to the adversary/devil that only God can do, He would not have been much of an example for us, as that option would not have be available to us.
The word/devar that is
spoken from the heart of God.
Devar represents a
word of power
and could also be
a word of prophecy or inspiration.
Devar – DBR – is spelled with a
Daleth
which is a doorway
to the
Beth (b and/or v)
or the heart
of the Resh or Spirit of God.
So Devar is:
a doorway to the heart of God.
It’s the heart of God that gives us strength!
When we enter His heart, we find it is
filled with JOY over us and our faithfulness
and when we see the JOY of the Lord…
that becomes our strength to overcome!
So Yeshua/Jesus was filled with strength also ..
this joy is a spiritual force that helps us in our halak/walk;
this too is to be our joy – our strength!
For Yeshua/Jesus too, the joy that filled Him, came by way of His Fathers’ Spirit of Holiness/Ruach HaKodesh; as He saw what JOY was in His Fathers’ Heart as His will and plan was being fulfilled.
21 At that moment he was filled with joy by the Ruach HaKodeshand said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank you because you concealed these things from the sophisticated and educated, yet revealed them to ordinary people. Yes, Father, I thank you that it pleased you to do this.
22 “My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
He continued to speak
23 Then, turning to the talmidim, he said, privately, “How blessed are the eyes that see what you are seeing! 24 Indeed, I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you are seeing but did not see them, and to hear the things you are hearing but did not hear them.”
Just before that moment He had told His talmidim/disciples in
verse 20, don’t be glad that the spirits submit to you be glad that your names have been recorded in heaven.
His Joy/Simchah/chedvah, was at the declaration of His Fathers will being literally fulfilled!
He and His disciples and anyone at that time who saw what was happening were seeing what the prophets had desired to see!
“Blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it; and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Matthew 13:16-17).
In other words, to experience something that marvelous, was that which many wise and holy people had longed to experience but couldn’t …this should make us aware that we are truly blessed, and should cause us to be very thankful.
In 1 Peter 1:10-12. he is encouraging us to express a more grateful attitude and respect for our salvation because the old testament prophets and the angels of heaven longed to see what we have now experienced through the gospel of Messiah.
This salvation referred to in vers. 5 & 9, reveals that 10 The prophets, who prophesied about this gift of deliverance that was meant for you, pondered and inquired diligently about it. 11 They were trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of the Messiah in them was referring in predicting the Messiah’s sufferings and the glorious things to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that their service when they spoke about these things was not for their own benefit, but for yours. And these same things have now been proclaimed to you by those who communicated the Good News to you through the Ruach HaKodesh sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things!
If this is true then the days we are living in should also fill us with that same JOY!!?…
again this JOY is not an emotion or a feeling from our soul based on a carnal based reaction to our physical body’s 5 senses. It is rather a definitive condition of our spirit based on truth and rooted in His devar/Word; both the written and Word made flesh in Messiah.
It was the fulfilling of His Fathers will that filled Yeshua/Jesus with Joy/simcha/chedvah.
As we see prophecy being fulfilled at an almost alarming pace, we too should be filled with His joy/simcha/chedvah;
as His and our Heavenly Fathers will is being literally fulfilled today!
The hour is at hand!
Matt 26:45 behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners
He also said in Luke 22:53
When the authorities come to take Jesus/Yeshua away, He tells them in verse 53
this is your hour — when darkness reigns.
It could be translated as
this the hour of the authority of darkness.
The physical darkness is a representation of something deeper that happens.
Then Jesus/Yeshua said to the chief priests, temple officers, and elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against an outlaw? 53
And we all face those because, there is a power in darkness. It’s the power of uncertainty, and anxiety and fear. However He tells us to fear not
WHY?
Because…
He has overcome the world and all things are in the Fathers hand. He is in control whatever our 5 physical senses try to tell us…
Knowing what His Word says regarding these things we experience in our flesh, will dispel ALL fears; and when we resist them in the name of Jesus/Yeshua; and keep ourselves under His protective, redeeming blood, by being obedient to what He has told us to do and be… then…. no weapon formed against us can prosper.
Yeshua/Jesus called the adversary, the prince of this world, who indeed did offer Him all the kingdoms of the world. Messiah did not choose the easy way but chose instead to complete His Fathers’ plan for His life
because this is why He came.
Likewise we must fulfill that for which we are here.
There are times that the darkness seems to be winning but it’s only for a designated hour!
The hour is at hand for us …as the end of the age presses in and
all things must be fulfilled Luke 24:44
That day and that hour Luke 21 36
We are called to set a watch in the night time.
This is both physical night and times/days of spiritual darkness. When Yeshua/Jesus said,
the hour has come…
darkness had its designated but short reign.
This manifested presence, although dark, was still the will of His Father however, it was restricted within the boundaries and restraints of our Fathers’ perfect plan of the ages.
Even the wicked in Prov. 16:4
Adonai made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of disaster.
and
Isaiah 45:7 I form light, I create darkness; I make well-being, I create woe; I, Adonai, do all these things.
Are we distracted by lifes’ events?
Are we pressured by conforming to the ever increasing dates for activities and celebrations on mens’ calendars?
Should we not be more concerned with our Heavenly Fathers’ timeline and calendar?
What is the word watch for?
It is to rise and pray..
WHY?
So that the hour does not come on us unaware
and
that we do not fall into temptation.
The time is short –
Final salvation, days of His glory, are nearer to us now, than when we first believed – It is continually advancing, flying forward upon the swiftest wings of time.
“And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” Romans 13:11.
Even so, the events that Yeshua/Jesus mentions in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 lead to the end of this worlds age; and because of this, we know that
the hour is at hand
and our final salvation is indeed
nearer to us than when we first believed.
Yeshua/Jesus went on to say,
No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. Mark 13:32-33.
The storm is gathering fast and He calls us to discern the events that are currently forming in the affairs of men. We are to be observant of their warning, that disaster and and holocaust are in the making and shaping up to be released.
Doom and gloom you say??
NO!
Rather it is prophetic declaration of the Words of our Lord and Savior; and it let’s us know He is soon returning!
It’s a season for every believer to rejoice and be joy filled
and for those looking for Him who are the redeemed bride,
they will say what
Is. 25:9 says…
this is the Lord for whom we have waited.
On that day they will say, “See! This is our God! We waited for him to save us. This is Adonai ; we put our hope in him. We are full of JOY so glad he saved us!”
We are a chosen generation…
chosen to see the culmination of the ages
Yeshua/Jesus said in Matthew 24:21
21 For there will be trouble then worse than there has ever been from the beginning of the world until now, and there will be nothing like it again![b]22 Indeed, if the length of this time had not been limited, no one would survive; but for the sake of those who have been chosen, its length will be limited.
this will be a time like no other and never will be again…
James 5:7 7 So, brothers, be patient until the Lord returns. See how the farmer waits for the precious “fruit of the earth” — he is patient over it until it receives the fall and spring rains.[a]
He waits only for the precious fruit of the earth, until the times of the gentiles (the last 2000+years) be fulfilled Luke 21:24.
He waits for our Heavenly Fathers’ timing…
Matthew 24:36 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
We must be ready, we must be in the company of the wise virgins. The call has already gone forth, so we must be listening more and more to Him than to what the world around us is saying.
Keep our focus on Him and things above.
We must learn to
be still before Him,
as chaotic disturbances scream for our attention.
Be obedient when He speaks and raise the standard of our personal discipline and dedication to a higher level….NOW…
He has called us to come up higher… Did we move yet?
Or are these just words that we give mental assent to, agreeing and acknowledging, but with no action or response!
Once His face was set like flint towards Yerushalayim/Jerusalem for the hour had come…
It’s time to set our faces towards His will for us!
Setting our face to go to Jerusalem means letting go of home, a sense of security, and a place in society. If we set our face to go to Jerusalem, then we have put ourselves on a path of change and transformation according to His Will plan and purpose for us.
Darkness and all its works have an allocated time for all prophecy to be fulfilled. Again remember…
The LORD has made everything for His purpose–even the wicked for the day of disaster. Proverbs 16:4
If there was no bad, we would not comprehend what good is. Our Heavenly Father has created a perfectly balanced universe, beyond our finite minds can understand. He is infinite.
The day of reckoning and judgment is in His hand. These things Yeshua/Jesus said must take place. Read Matt. 24:34 & Luke 1:20.
He will lift up His voice as the sound of a trumpet.
Isaiah 58:1 and Heb. 12:9 Rev. 3:20.
Those with ears to hear will recognize the clear tone of His call.
As we prepare ourselves, being more with Him, allowing His Ruach/Spirit to fill us to a greater capacity; this will keep us from the influences and deceiving elements of the prince of this world, and all his wiles. We must become like our Lord and when the devil comes be able to say…
he finds nothing in me!
for the prince of the world cometh: and he hath nothing in me.
John 14:30
Hold fast to the profession of your faith. Hebrews 10:23
to that which is good
But examine all things; hold fast to what is good. 1 Thess.5:21
and godly
Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Rev.3:11.
and
occupy till He comes. Luke 19:13.
1 Tim. 5:21; 2 Tim. 1:13. Titus 1:9; Heb 4:14, 10:31; Rev. 2:13; Ps. 11:6; Is. 62:1; Jer. 6:11; Acts 3:11; Rom. 14:4; 1Cor. 14:30.
Hold Fast in Hebrew is:
tamak:
to grasp, support, attain
Original Word: תָּמַךְ Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration:tamak Phonetic Spelling: (taw-mak’) Definition: to grasp, support, attain
NAS: to me, Let your heart hold fastmy words/dabar;
Let us holdfast the confession of our hope without wavering, for
He who promised is faithful….Hebrews 10:23
For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does, Psalm 33:4.
So that we may stand and be found worthy to escape all these things coming upon the earth and to stand before the son of man Luke 21:36,having finished our race. 2Tim. 4:7.
Watch for the signals, the signs of His coming. We will see the sky change and things appear in unfamiliar ways. The veil is torn and dimensions are merging. Read Matt 24:32 , Mark 13:28 and Luke 21:30 and Revelation among other prophets it will give clear details of the events unfolding before our eyes.
The time has come
the hour is upon us
summer is nigh..
lets not cry with those in Jeremiah 8:20
“The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.”
Not only are we to prepare ourselves, we are to warn others, help and encourage them.
Jude 1:23 says save others snatching them out of the fire.
Ephesians 5:14 So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
The alarm has sounded in the spirit – no time for apathy or pressing the snooze button... There has never been a time in all His Story that is more crucial than now ..
Stay alert and be ready –
the hour has come and soon and very soon
we are going to see the King –
the one who we have waited for.
Hold fast to that which you have.. Hold and do not let go… whatever we see ….whatever we are told.. do not waver in your faith and trust in Him leaning not to our own understanding. Do not be swayed by science, proof or so called facts and evidence presented by anyone or anything other than the Word of our Heavenly Father and His Messiah. His spirit/ruach leads us to all truth and our very salvation depends on our faith in Him and His promise; which are always yes and amen. He is the author and finisher of the faith within us, (Heb. 12:2); and He will bring all things to completion, Phil 1:6. Stand and having done all stand, Eph.6:13. He is right there with us….always.
What filled Yeshua/Jesus with JOY?
At that moment …
His joy was at the declaration of His Fathers’ will being literally fulfilled…
let’s be a moment of joy to both our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach..
Look up with that same joy family, our redemption draws ever closer.
Shalom shalom mishpachah/family
and cheverim/friends!
You are loved and appreciated and prayed for daily.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read the posts. If they have been a blessing and if you haven’t already, please sign up for free email notification, like, share and subscribe, it all helps to freely spread the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth and reaches others with His Truths.
Meanwhile let’s continue to stay alert and ready, be in prayer and in His Word for in an hour we think not He is coming… and…
it’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
NOT SURE?
YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART 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.
When we read this account in Scripture we don’t hear the tone of voice that expresses what Messiah was saying to Philip. Maybe this question was neither a rebuke nor was it said with surprise. Could it have been an encouragement to Philip for him to draw closer?
A talmid of Yeshua/Jesus’ day would give up their entire life in order to be with their teacher. The talmid/disciple didn’t only seek to know what the teacher knew, as is usually the case today. For them it was not enough just to know what the rabbi said, but the ultimate goal of any talmid was to become like the rabbi and do what the rabbi did.
תלמידם talmidim (Plural)
While Yeshua/Jesus was still with them, and before the subsequent Shavuot following His Resurrection;
the talmidim/students/disciples knew Yeshua/Jesus as the One who gave them power and authority to drive out unclean spirits/demons heal the sick and to initiate teshuvah/ repentance and revival by preaching the good news of the kingdom.
As recorded inLuke 9:1 Matt. 10:1 Mark 6:7,8.
And calling His twelve disciples to Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and sickness.
They had a close relationship with Him but as John 15:15 suggests there was a much closer one to come…
I have called you friends. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
True lasting friendship is rare in this life because it means identifying with another in thought, heart and spirit. Our life experience has been designed to enable us to enter into the closest of relationships with Yeshua/Jesus.
We easily receive the blessings He imparts and know His Word but the most important question is..
Do we really KNOW Him?
It is this that He was questioning Philip about?
We can be with someone and not really know them. All relationships have different levels depending on their type of interaction. Family members, work colleagues, general acquaintances and friends etc., are all different.
Yeshua/Jesus was concerned with them
knowing Him
and in knowing Him they would also
know His Father
the One Who sent Him.
He said in
John 16:7 Its to your advantage that I go away.
He left the relationship that He had established with them in order to lead them to
an even closer one.
We too are to take the time to become more and more acquainted with Him.
In Philippians 3:10, Paul said, “For my determined purpose is that I may… progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly” (AMP).
The key to becoming acquainted with the Father is by becoming acquainted to His Messiah through the Scriptures/the written Word of God/YaHoVeH. To spend time quietly in His presence allowing Him to speak to us.
Again the key is to have Yeshua/Jesus with us personally, even though we might not see Him, therein lies a blessing and we will also become more acquainted with His Spirit of Holiness/RuachHaKodesh day-by-day.
Yeshua/Jesus told Thomas,
Because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed. John 20:29.
We need that same revelation Thomas had, that of Who He is.
The more we are intimate in our relationship with Him, then the bearing of fruit in our lives increases; and fruit bearing is always shown to be a visible sign and result of such a relationship.
John 15:1-4.
The results of this close one on one relationship are that the disciple/talmid is never alone or feels lonely, and never lacks in understanding or compassion. We are content to be in His company alone and to not always be seeking others to pour out our hearts to, but to do so to Him.
The talmid who has such a relationship with Messiah never draws attention to self but will show the evidence in a life where Yeshua/Jesus is fully in control. Not one where the natural abilities push to get things done, just to get them completed in their perceived time and way; but allow the Father to complete all things in His time.
This is the outcome of allowing Yeshua/Jesus to satisfy every area of life/chaim to its fullness. The picture resulting from such a life is that of the strong, calm balance that He gives to those who are close with Him.
So the question is ..
Who is Yeshua/Jesus to each of us…?
Could He ask us the same question He asked Philip?
Have we been with Him so long
and yet we have not
known
Him?
Who Is Yeshua/Jesus/Messiah to each of us…?
Who do weKNOWHim personally as?
What will be our answer?
It’s more than Mark 8:27
We can only present Him to others out of personal experience. We can point to scripture as the written witness but aren’t we called to be a witness unto Him?
We can only describe someone to the depth that we know them personally or, it simply amounts to hearsay.
The most obvious way we know Him is as Savior but what of any other aspect of relationship?
For example: the scripture says He is our
Healer
Yehoveh Rophekha… יהוה רוקה
Jehovah rophe Yahweh rofe’ekha The LORD who heals you
Jehovah rophe is one way to write this name of God.
In the original, it is actually
Yahweh rofe’ekha,
the LORD who heals you
YHWH-Rophe. (Rapha, Rophecha, Roph’ekha)
YHWH Heals / YHWH Who Heals.
Pronounced: Yä-wá'(or Yod-Há-Väv-Há’) Roh-fee’,
Is He our Healer?
Has He healed us?
Have we personally experienced His healing touch and felt His power surge through our bodies?
We need to literally experience the following for Him to BE an absolute reality in those areas in our lives.
Another example is that, if we believe in healing and that He can heal and we may have even seen it in others lives, but is He our Healer? There is a difference and it would follow that once an individual has experienced a certain aspect, it becomes not only a reality rather than just a belief; but also boosts the faith of that individual in a very personal and real way.
We can have mental assent about something and agree that it is true, but is that enough?
Is it not therefore more accurate to say:
We have to be saved for Him to be our savior – מוֹשִׁיעַ.
The best term in Hebrew is: Moshiaa — מושיע.
The word Jesus in English is originally Hebrew
YehoShuaa — יהושוע.
It has a meaning of: the one.
One who gives freedom from distress and the ability to pursue one’s way.
The word
מושיה moshiah
can be used in the sense of an action as in
Deuteronomy 28:29
where it is translated as:
save
but literally means:
causing to be delivered
So the following would also seem to be true:
You have to be redeemed
for Him to be your redeemer.
You have to be His servant
for Him to be your Master לִשְׁלוֹט.
You have to become His Child
for Him to be your Father av אָב.
You have to be Delivered
for Him to be your Deliverer משלוח yasha.
You have to be His subject
for Him to be your King melek מלך
You have to be an indentured slave
for Him to be your Lord גְבִיר.
You have to be sanctified/holy
for Him to be your Sanctifier.
You have to be a worshipper
for Him to be your God.
You have to be His follower
for Him to be your Leader
You have to be His student
for Him to be your Teacher Rabbi רַב
You have to be His family
for Him to be your brother.
You have to be His disciple talmid
for Him to be your Rabbi.
You have to be obedient
for Him to be your guide and director of your steps.
You have to be filled with peace
for Him to be your Sar shalom.
Prince of peace sar shalom סאר שלום
You have to be restored
for Him to be your restorer.
The list is extensive.. but the meaning is clear…
Some people only know Him as a concept or an image of an old man figure sitting in the heavens with a long white beard and a big stick waiting to punish us. Such images have marred and distorted the picture of Our Heavenly Father, and this makes Him seem unapproachable.
When Yeshua/Jesus said
if you have seen me you have seen the Father
He is referring to both the visible works He did and the presentation of spiritual characteristics that reflected His Father. We must refrain from assigning our human characteristics, standards and elements to Him, for He is so far above anything we can think or imagine; and we should take care not diminish who He is by making Him like us or bringing Him down to our human level.
Ask Him by His Ruach within us, to order our day and control our thoughts; for the mind controlled by the Ruach/spirit is life and peace/shalom.
To receive this peace/shalom, we must change our position of a grasping controlling self-reliant individual, to one of openness and trust/faith. There is no limit to His presence and peace/shalom. We can never exhaust His provision concerning what is available to those who seek His face. The most persistent choice we have multiple times every day is are we going to choose to trust Him or to worry! We must train ourselves to choose to trust Him no matter what. He is the ever present help in trouble..
shammah שַׁמָּה
In Psalm 46:1-2
we are to
Trust Him
though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea!
A very pertinent and timely scripture referring to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, liquefaction of land masses and extreme weather events, such as we are experiencing lately.
In these days we need more than ever before to
KNOW Him and the power
of His resurrection
and to have that
unshakeable and deep rooted
shalom & trust
in the midst of the storm.
Please don’t leave this page before you are certain that you
KNOW Him at least as Savior
then begin the wonderful journey to
know Him and the power of His resurrection
which makes all aspects of a relationship with Him possible. The kingdom of the heavens is within you that’s why He is as close as your breath.
Keep your eyes on Yeshua/Jesus, He truly is the author and finisher of our faith and He will bring all things to completion in His way and timing.
Our focus and goal should not be blessings, peace or joy but just Him, simply for Who He Is…
There is limitless expense in Knowing Messiah Yeshua…so
KNOW and be KNOWN
Philip. 3:10
We are called in Prov. 3:5 to
We are called to
and lean not to our own understanding
To love Him is the 1st commandment.
Our faith is in the measure of our trust in Him.
Who is Yeshua/Jesus to you?
Who is Yehoveh/God the Father to you?
Who is His Spirit of Holiness to you?
Do we know Him as Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Redeemer, Sanctifier, Teacher, Lord, King, Messiah, Shepherd, Great I am/Anochi, and all those on the extensive list?
We can only know Him in the capacity of the experience we have known Him manifest in our lives in these positions. If He has saved us then we know it beyond any doubt that we know Him and He is our savior and the same is true for any one in the list.
Emmanuel – God with us..
is He with us or have we walked off in another direction?
Have we gone off somewhere on our own WAY? Have we just put Him in a box to be taken out on certain days of the week and for annual celebrations?
Today if we were asked by Messiah the same question He asked Philip what would be our answer?
He is speaking to each one of us right now..
Yes ..you!
Lets ask ourselves, what is the type of relationship that we want to know Him as next. He is our Heavenly Father and we are on our Way home; the more we know of Him the greater the desire in us to be with Him and the less the world has a pull on our lives…
Lets’ keep looking unto Yeshua/Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…if we will let Him!
Shalom shalom
‘Mishpachah’
‘Family/Tribe’
משפחה
Mish-pa-KHa,
friends, visitors and every reader…
Please don’t leave this page before making certain you are His
and are truly born from above.
Know of a certainty that Jesus/Yeshua is
your Redeemer, Savior, Lord
and soon returning King
and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
You are greatly loved, prayed for daily and precious in His sight.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.
NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..
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 all 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.
What is the purpose of the hour?
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