In 2009, Hollywood put out a couple of movies that addressed the idea of the world coming to a climactic end. One of them was Knowing and the other was 2012. Both had incredible special effects of devastating fires, floods, and earthquakes. Hollywood loves to put out “disaster” movies because the audiences eat them up. However, these “disaster” movies are moving into a new realm. Many people believe the end of the world as we know it is coming soon and Hollywood is playing to that expectation. Biblical themes and ancients myths play into the storylines and key off of the audiences’ prior knowledge.
If you have ever invited your good friends over for a Friday evening candle-lit dinner, blessed the name of the Lord with a cup of wine, and thanked Him for daily bread, and then were kicked out of church on Sunday morning and rejected by your good friends… you might be Messianic.
Many Messianic brethren have experienced the joy of coming to the Messiah and the Torah only to face blanket rejection by family and friends. Many new Messianics are bewildered by those who urged them to seek the Lord and then have turned completely against them when they have done exactly that!
The September issue of YAVOH addressed the issue of the prophesied great altar currently being planned for construction in Jerusalem. The Temple Institute dispatched a team in August to the Dead Sea to gather the necessary unhewn stones to build an altar six meters by six meters and standing four meters high.
Tisha B’av, or the 9th of Av, took place in early August and is also referred to as “the fast of the fifth month.” Let’s examine what happened last month. A group of religious Jews from the Temple Institute went to the Dead Sea area and began carefully gathering natural stones; that is, stones that only God made that have never been chiseled or worked by man. They did this on the 9th of Av and they were rejoicing! They were gathering stones for the great altar they want to construct when they rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. You have to go back more than 2,000 years to be a part of what happened.
All nations and government bodies who seek to defend themselves engage in some kind of threat assessment process. By assessing threats, a nation plans its military expenditures and strategic placements. Depending on the direction of the threat a threat axis will be set. Judgments will be made on how frequent the threat might present itself and how much of an impact that threat will be if it occurs. Threat analysis is relatively simple and answers a series of questions. What is the threat? What direction will the threat come from? How frequent or often will the threat present itself? And finally, what is the threat impact?
Yeshua of Nazareth spoke of difficult times coming in the future. He warned His disciples that they would be hated because of their testimony of Him.
And brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all on account of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. But whenever they persecute you in this city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you shall not finish going through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man comes.
There are 21 great judgments in the book of Revelation, beginning with the opening of seven seals that are wrapped around a scroll. Within the first four seal judgments are four horsemen judgments. The horses come in four separate colors: white, red, black, and ashen (or gray). If these were the only judgments given in the book, they would be sufficient to cause alarm. Instead, they are only the beginning of the judgments.
According to the Creation account, God established the sun and the moon with the Earth to solve some timekeeping problems. From observing the sun, moon, and stars we earthlings understand the years, months, and seasons. Simply said, the sun sets the measure of years. Each time the Earth orbits around the sun we say it is one year. The moon sets the measure of months. Each time the moon orbits the Earth we refer to it as a month. The stars of the night sky mark the seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter. The constellations of the night sky and their placement relative to the horizon give evidence of the Earth’s tilt giving more sunlight to the northern or southern hemisphere.
When God formed His relationship with our father Abraham He set in place the foundations for His relationship with all of mankind. Abraham was the “friend of God” and he communicated with God personally. God could simply say “Abraham,” and he answered. God also set principles in place enabling potentially anyone to have the same kind of relationship.
When God promised Abram a son and many descendants, Abram was an old man. Abram’s wife, Sarai, was also an old woman. Both were beyond the age of bearing children. It was an exciting yet improbable promise; but at the same time, if it was going to happen, then God would have to do it. Abram could do nothing about it. Therefore, Abram was able to “rest” in that fact and let God do what God had promised.
There is a story told of a father who only had one son left in his family. The father had been successful in his business and had acquired much wealth. He was also very devout and loved the Lord. His son, on the other hand, rejected the faith of his father and wanted only to go and live his own life. He also wanted some of his father’s wealth, but his father had refused, fearing that he would depart from him completely.
