The biblical Passover starts at sunset Monday, the 29th of March.
The Passover Memorial
When did God decree that Jesus could declare "it is finished" and die on the stake? Why at the very same time that THE JEWS were sacrificing their Passover lambs at the Temple! The Jews had always killed the Passover lambs during the final hours of the 14th. It was towards the end of the 14th, not at the beginning of the 14th, that the Passover lambs were killed.
Passover and Pentecost Differences Settled!
The correct dates to observe God's holy days should not be a Church of God issue, having been settled by God thousands of years ago and preserved throughout the ages by faithful Jews.
The Oracles of God
God's empowered the Jews - despite themselves - to preserve His Word. They are the only people on Earth that God has blessed and ordained to fulfill such a calling! God will not retract His Word or renege on this gift and responsibility that He's graciously bestowed upon Judah.
The Pharisees
Who isn't aware of the sins of the Pharisees? Especially the Accuser of the Brethren? But does that mean the truths they teach, even if they don't live them, are no longer true?
http://www.davidbenariel.org/
Showing posts with label jews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jews. Show all posts
Monday, March 1, 2010
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Barry Chamish is Right!
http://jewsribsinbearjaw.wordpress.com/2009/07/11/jewish-sabbateans-rule-the-world-for-satan/
If you support Barry Chamish why were you directing people to an anti-Chamish website?
The comment by “david ben ariel” pretending to be me and speaking against Barry Chamish shows how low the losers can go (and how desperate they are) who can’t refute what Barry Chamish says, as my many articles with references to Barry Chamish and his revealing articles proves. They fear the light Barry Chamish brings, disturbing their darkness, whether it’s insanely jealous folks like Steven Plaut or other treacherous juveniles in the pay of their Bolshevik masters.
Avishai Raviv, Eyal, and Yitzhak Rabin
Shimon Peres Came to Power Over Rabin’s Dead Body
Vatican Linked to the Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
Re: Steven Plaut’s hateful rant against David Ben-Ariel
If you support Barry Chamish why were you directing people to an anti-Chamish website?
The comment by “david ben ariel” pretending to be me and speaking against Barry Chamish shows how low the losers can go (and how desperate they are) who can’t refute what Barry Chamish says, as my many articles with references to Barry Chamish and his revealing articles proves. They fear the light Barry Chamish brings, disturbing their darkness, whether it’s insanely jealous folks like Steven Plaut or other treacherous juveniles in the pay of their Bolshevik masters.
Avishai Raviv, Eyal, and Yitzhak Rabin
Shimon Peres Came to Power Over Rabin’s Dead Body
Vatican Linked to the Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
Re: Steven Plaut’s hateful rant against David Ben-Ariel
Friday, March 13, 2009
God’s Sacred Calendar (Part One)
God’s Sacred Calendar (Part One)
Did God inspire and preserve His sacred calendar through the Jews, or is the Hebrew calendar merely the work of carnal men?
By Stephen Flurry and Mark Nash
Confusion persists today over when the sacred year should begin. Can we rely on the accuracy of the Hebrew calendar? Is it God-inspired, or merely the work of carnal men?
The argument to reject the Hebrew calendar is not new! Herbert W. Armstrong faced the same argument over 65 years ago! At that time, there was a man claiming the Passover fell on a different day, other than the 14th of Nisan, according to the Hebrew calendar. Mr. Armstrong answered this man’s argument in a Good News letter in 1940: “Unless God has preserved His sacred calendar through the Jews, then we do not know how to figure Passover or any of the holy days this year. For there is no authority for any other way. There is no Bible authority whatsoever for figuring the first day of the first month from the new moon nearest the spring equinox.”
Carefully read that last sentence again, because there are those who argue along this line: Just find the new moon nearest the spring equinox and calculate from there. (The spring equinox is when the time of the day and the night are equal in length—March 20 or 21 on the Roman calendar.) It is true that God says keep His holy days in season (Numbers 9:2-3). In other words, His spring festivals should be kept in the spring and the autumn festivals in autumn. And that is exactly what the Hebrew calendar ensures—that these days will be kept in their proper season. But nowhere does God tell us to find the new moon closest to the spring equinox and begin counting for yourself. God did not leave that responsibility to us—He left that to the Jews!
Notice! Mr. Armstrong continued in his letter, “God did not commit His oracles or the preservation of His times, to profane history …. They have been preserved by the Jews. After thorough study of the Bible, of the Hebrew calendar, of history and every angle—after going into the matter with all the Eugene brethren and other brethren who have made a special study of this question, we have unanimously agreed that the Hebrew calendar has been preserved correct by the Jews.”
Let us consider further. How did Mr. Armstrong reach his conclusions? You will see that they are indeed biblically based.
Oracles Committed to Jews
Paul is very clear in Romans 3:1-2: “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews are entrusted with the oracles of God” (Revised Standard Version). The Greek word for oracles in verse 2 simply means the divine revelation or utterance of God.
The oracles do not refer to Old Testament Scripture only. Notice what was written about the Hebrew calendar in the April 1981 Good News: “But what were the oracles committed in a public way to the Jews? The Hebrew Bible only? By no means! The Hebrew calendar also! For without the calendar, it would be impossible to fulfill correctly what is written in the Hebrew Bible about hallowed annual times. And not only the Bible and calendar, but the week also. These three—Bible, calendar and week—are all part of the oracles committed to the Jews for all mankind” (emphasis ours throughout).
But how can we rely on the Jewish people? The martyr Stephen said in Acts 7:39 that his Jewish ancestors rejected the teachings of Moses. And we all know the Jews eventually rejected the Messiah. How can we rely on people who have rejected God? Paul answers this very question in verse 3 of Romans 3: “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?” (rsv).
Good question! What if these people, to whom the oracles of God were committed, sinned and rebelled against God? Does that mean God would no longer preserve His oracles through them? “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar …” (verse 4). God continued to preserve His oracles through them. “He simply pruned off those who refused to preserve His revelation for men. That is one reason the 10 tribes of Israel were cut off and sent into exile” (ibid.).
Here is where the argument breaks down for those who say the Hebrew calendar is not of God. They will readily admit that the Jews, even though they have rejected God’s revelation, have preserved an accurate and precise reading of the Hebrew Bible; but they reject the preservation of the Hebrew calendar on the basis that it has been preserved by rebellious men! As Paul wrote, let God be true! Do you believe God? Did He preserve His inspired Word, the Hebrew Bible, even if through carnal men? Most would say, of course. Then did He preserve His calendar, organized according to 19-year time cycles, so that we might keep His holy days in their appointed seasons? God’s Word says yes!
Concerning the preservation of the Hebrew calendar, the Good News wrote, “By faith we know we have copies, providentially preserved, of the original Word of God. By faith we know that the leadership in the Jewish courts did preserve the rules of the calendar God committed to them—even though they themselves have not wanted to follow those rules at all times. It is all a question of government—whether God is capable of ruling. Whether God can intervene in the affairs of His people to correct their errors—no men are perfect. And that is a matter of faith” (ibid.).
Let us now take a closer look at God’s sacred calendar as it has been preserved by the Jews.
God’s System of Time
God did not leave the seasons, days and years to chance or to the devices of men. On the fourth day of creation, He established a system, visible to man, for the purpose of regulating our calendar. He aligned the sun and moon in conjunction with the universe to function as a great time clock. God also created a system of annual and weekly sabbaths that demonstrate His great plan for mankind. By understanding His calendar and the meaning of the annual sabbath days, we can have a better understanding of our Creator’s plan for man.
Genesis 1:14 tells us God created signs for days, seasons and years. We know that a 24-hour day begins and ends at sunset. We must be able to mark the day and the week to understand how they are signs of creation and prophecy. To keep the Sabbath day holy, as required by the Fourth Commandment, we must know when the day begins and ends. In fact, just to count the seven days of a week and locate the Sabbath day, we need the sign of the day.
As the sun marks the day, it also marks the year. God’s plan for 6,000 years of human rule on this Earth and 1,000 years of Christ’s rulership (Revelation 20:4), known as the Millennium, requires us to be able to count years. One year is one orbit of the Earth around the sun. One solar year is 365 days and 6 hours. The Roman calendar, used by Western civilization today, is based only on this solar cycle, adding an extra day every fourth year to account for the extra six hours added yearly.
According to God’s calendar, however, months are determined by the moon—called lunar months. There are 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes in one lunar month. That is how long it takes for the moon to orbit the Earth. Twelve of these lunar months add up to 354.36 days—10.89 days short of one solar year (365 days, 6 hours). Following the lunar cycle only (as the Muslims do) would move the calendar forward more than 32 days every three years. April 1 would be where February 28 was three years earlier.
If the year had 13 months, there would be 383.86 days in a year, or 18.64 days more than a solar year. In this case, in just two years, the calendar would move back more than 37 days. April 1 would occur where June 6 was two years earlier.
With a 12-month year, Passover would be in the spring one year, the next year it would be in late winter, then move to early winter, and so on around the calendar. With 13 months per year, the movement would be in the other direction—and faster.
It is the Hebrew calendar which combines the lunar months and solar years to be completely synchronized—enabling God’s people to observe His holy days (as determined by the moon) in their proper seasons (as determined by the sun). In this way, God’s calendar is luni-solar, which is consistent with Genesis 1:14. God appointed both the sun and moon “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.”
God has instructed us to observe His holy days on specific days of the month, while at the same time, during appointed seasons in the year (Leviticus 23:4). The Hebrew calendar accomplishes this through a 19-year time cycle made up of 12 common years (with 12 months) and 7 leap years (with 13 months). The 19-year cycle is significant because that is how the lunar months and the solar years relate. For every 19 solar years, the moon revolves around the Earth 235 times. “This remarkable astronomical relationship,” according to John Kossey, author of The Hebrew Calendar: A Mathematical Introduction, “makes it possible to combine common years and leap years together within a fundamental pattern that repeats itself every 19 years.”
The Calendar Preserved
The fact that God has a sacred calendar which keeps track of time should be undisputed. Again, Genesis 1:14 says the sun and moon are for seasons, days and years.
The Jewish historian Josephus has an interesting account concerning the descendants of Adam’s son Seth. He wrote, “Now this Seth … became a virtuous man; and as he was himself of an excellent character, so did he leave children behind him who imitated his virtues. … They also were the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order. And that their inventions might not be lost before they were sufficiently known … they made two pillars; the one of brick, the other of stone: They inscribed their discoveries on them both” (Antiquities of the Jews, I, II, 3).
It appears as though God’s revelation concerning the heavenly bodies, including the times and seasons, began with the earliest generations.
But can we find evidence of an actual calendar in Scripture? Actually, we find plenty! Most are not aware of these facts.
In Exodus 20:9-10, God plainly refers to a seven-day week. In fact, you can find a much earlier account of the seven-day week in Genesis 1 and 2.
But what about the division of months? What about the Hebrew calendar? Does God refer to it in Scripture? Yes He does! Most of the time, the writers of the Old Testament seemed content to just speak of the number of the months (first, second, etc.). But when the actual name of the month is referred to, God inspired them to refer to the months on the Hebrew calendar—not the Egyptian, or any other calendar for that matter.
In Exodus 12:2, God begins giving instructions concerning the Passover by saying, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” Notice the significance of this verse. God gave them a calendar! He told the Israelites which month was to be the first month. In Exodus 13:4, this month is called Abib, meaning an ear of corn. As the name of the first month reveals, the months were to be organized according to the annual harvest seasons. Anciently, in Palestine, barley ripened first. At that time, the green ears of the winter wheat began to show. All of God’s annual holy days are patterned after the two annual harvests in Palestine—spring and fall. That is why God appointed these days to be kept in season (Leviticus 23:4).
Baker’s Bible Dictionary refers to Abib as the first month “of the Jewish ecclesiastical year.” And so, early on in the Bible, we find evidence of the Hebrew calendar. Abib is mentioned five more times in the Old Testament.
In 1 Kings 6:1, there is a reference to the second month, Zif. Likewise, you can find names for the seventh and eighth months in Scripture (Ethanim in 1 Kings 8:2; Bul in 1 Kings 6:38).
When the Jews went into Babylonian captivity, they adopted different names for their months. Yet, is that where the Hebrew calendar ends in history? Does it disappear from Scripture? Not at all! God’s calendar was preserved. Notice Esther 3:7: “In the first month, that is, the month Nisan ….” The name Abib was changed to Nisan after the Jews went into captivity. Same calendar, same month, different name. In verse 13, you will see that the 12th month is referred to as Adar.
If you compare these names with any modern Jewish calendar, you will see that they are the same! 1 Chronicles 27:1-15 even refers to a 12-month year. Yet we know there had to be a 13th month added from time to time in order to keep God’s holy days in season. The 12th month, as we saw from Esther 3:13, is called Adar. Find a modern Hebrew calendar and you will see that, during a leap year, the 13th month is called Adar II.
Numerous other months named during the Babylonian captivity are mentioned in Scripture. In Esther 8:9, you will find the name for the third month on the Hebrew calendar, Sivan. Elul, the sixth month, is found in Nehemiah 6:15. The ninth month, Chisleu, is also mentioned (Nehemiah 1:1; Zechariah 7:1), along with the 10th month, Tebeth (Esther 2:16), and the 11th month, Sebat (Zechariah 1:7). These Hebrew calendar names are used repeatedly throughout the Bible.
So we find plenty of evidence of an actual calendar in the Bible. And in 1 Chronicles 12:32, we find evidence of the fact that God revealed it and preserved it through men: “And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.”
According to the Targum (a sixth-century B.C. paraphrase of the Old Testament), “the sons of Issachar … had understanding to know the times, and were skilled in fixing the beginnings of years, the commencement of months, and the intercalation of months and years … that they might show Israel what to do; and their teachers were two hundred chiefs of the Sanhedrin.”
The fact that God preserved His calendar through men, just as He did Old Testament Scripture, should not surprise us. For as the Good News wrote, “[W]ithout the calendar, it would be impossible to fulfill correctly what is written in the Hebrew Bible about hallowed annual times.”
The Jews may have gone into captivity, but the calendar was preserved. Bible history proves it. And Paul confirmed it in Romans 3:1-2.
(To be continued.) •
God's Sacred Calendar (Part Two)
************
It is true God has preserved His sacred calendar and holy days, and the correct dates to observe them, through THE JEWS. Yet the PCG and others continue in the proud and stubborn, idolatrous traditions of men and reject the correct Jewish dates for Passover and Pentecost, condemning themselves. Would to God folks would repent and let the truth set them free!
Passover and Pentecost Differences Settled!
The correct dates to observe God's holy days should not be a Church of God issue, having been settled by God thousands of years ago and preserved throughout the ages by faithful Jews.
The Oracles of God
God's empowered the Jews - despite themselves - to preserve His Word. They are the only people on Earth that God has blessed and ordained to fulfill such a calling! God will not retract His Word or renege on this gift and responsibility that He's graciously bestowed upon Judah.
The Pharisees
Who isn't aware of the sins of the Pharisees? Especially the Accuser of the Brethren? But does that mean the truths they teach, even if they don't live them, are no longer true?
The Passover Memorial
When did God decree that Jesus could declare "it is finished" and die on the stake? Why at the very same time that THE JEWS were sacrificing their Passover lambs at the Temple! The Jews had always killed the Passover lambs during the final hours of the 14th. It was towards the end of the 14th, not at the beginning of the 14th, that the Passover lambs were killed.
Raymond McNair Rejects God's government
Did Herbert Armstrong Ever Observe Pentecost on Sivan 6?
Fuzzy Thinking Christians
Jew hatred in the Church of God
Did God inspire and preserve His sacred calendar through the Jews, or is the Hebrew calendar merely the work of carnal men?
By Stephen Flurry and Mark Nash
Confusion persists today over when the sacred year should begin. Can we rely on the accuracy of the Hebrew calendar? Is it God-inspired, or merely the work of carnal men?
The argument to reject the Hebrew calendar is not new! Herbert W. Armstrong faced the same argument over 65 years ago! At that time, there was a man claiming the Passover fell on a different day, other than the 14th of Nisan, according to the Hebrew calendar. Mr. Armstrong answered this man’s argument in a Good News letter in 1940: “Unless God has preserved His sacred calendar through the Jews, then we do not know how to figure Passover or any of the holy days this year. For there is no authority for any other way. There is no Bible authority whatsoever for figuring the first day of the first month from the new moon nearest the spring equinox.”
Carefully read that last sentence again, because there are those who argue along this line: Just find the new moon nearest the spring equinox and calculate from there. (The spring equinox is when the time of the day and the night are equal in length—March 20 or 21 on the Roman calendar.) It is true that God says keep His holy days in season (Numbers 9:2-3). In other words, His spring festivals should be kept in the spring and the autumn festivals in autumn. And that is exactly what the Hebrew calendar ensures—that these days will be kept in their proper season. But nowhere does God tell us to find the new moon closest to the spring equinox and begin counting for yourself. God did not leave that responsibility to us—He left that to the Jews!
Notice! Mr. Armstrong continued in his letter, “God did not commit His oracles or the preservation of His times, to profane history …. They have been preserved by the Jews. After thorough study of the Bible, of the Hebrew calendar, of history and every angle—after going into the matter with all the Eugene brethren and other brethren who have made a special study of this question, we have unanimously agreed that the Hebrew calendar has been preserved correct by the Jews.”
Let us consider further. How did Mr. Armstrong reach his conclusions? You will see that they are indeed biblically based.
Oracles Committed to Jews
Paul is very clear in Romans 3:1-2: “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews are entrusted with the oracles of God” (Revised Standard Version). The Greek word for oracles in verse 2 simply means the divine revelation or utterance of God.
The oracles do not refer to Old Testament Scripture only. Notice what was written about the Hebrew calendar in the April 1981 Good News: “But what were the oracles committed in a public way to the Jews? The Hebrew Bible only? By no means! The Hebrew calendar also! For without the calendar, it would be impossible to fulfill correctly what is written in the Hebrew Bible about hallowed annual times. And not only the Bible and calendar, but the week also. These three—Bible, calendar and week—are all part of the oracles committed to the Jews for all mankind” (emphasis ours throughout).
But how can we rely on the Jewish people? The martyr Stephen said in Acts 7:39 that his Jewish ancestors rejected the teachings of Moses. And we all know the Jews eventually rejected the Messiah. How can we rely on people who have rejected God? Paul answers this very question in verse 3 of Romans 3: “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?” (rsv).
Good question! What if these people, to whom the oracles of God were committed, sinned and rebelled against God? Does that mean God would no longer preserve His oracles through them? “God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar …” (verse 4). God continued to preserve His oracles through them. “He simply pruned off those who refused to preserve His revelation for men. That is one reason the 10 tribes of Israel were cut off and sent into exile” (ibid.).
Here is where the argument breaks down for those who say the Hebrew calendar is not of God. They will readily admit that the Jews, even though they have rejected God’s revelation, have preserved an accurate and precise reading of the Hebrew Bible; but they reject the preservation of the Hebrew calendar on the basis that it has been preserved by rebellious men! As Paul wrote, let God be true! Do you believe God? Did He preserve His inspired Word, the Hebrew Bible, even if through carnal men? Most would say, of course. Then did He preserve His calendar, organized according to 19-year time cycles, so that we might keep His holy days in their appointed seasons? God’s Word says yes!
Concerning the preservation of the Hebrew calendar, the Good News wrote, “By faith we know we have copies, providentially preserved, of the original Word of God. By faith we know that the leadership in the Jewish courts did preserve the rules of the calendar God committed to them—even though they themselves have not wanted to follow those rules at all times. It is all a question of government—whether God is capable of ruling. Whether God can intervene in the affairs of His people to correct their errors—no men are perfect. And that is a matter of faith” (ibid.).
Let us now take a closer look at God’s sacred calendar as it has been preserved by the Jews.
God’s System of Time
God did not leave the seasons, days and years to chance or to the devices of men. On the fourth day of creation, He established a system, visible to man, for the purpose of regulating our calendar. He aligned the sun and moon in conjunction with the universe to function as a great time clock. God also created a system of annual and weekly sabbaths that demonstrate His great plan for mankind. By understanding His calendar and the meaning of the annual sabbath days, we can have a better understanding of our Creator’s plan for man.
Genesis 1:14 tells us God created signs for days, seasons and years. We know that a 24-hour day begins and ends at sunset. We must be able to mark the day and the week to understand how they are signs of creation and prophecy. To keep the Sabbath day holy, as required by the Fourth Commandment, we must know when the day begins and ends. In fact, just to count the seven days of a week and locate the Sabbath day, we need the sign of the day.
As the sun marks the day, it also marks the year. God’s plan for 6,000 years of human rule on this Earth and 1,000 years of Christ’s rulership (Revelation 20:4), known as the Millennium, requires us to be able to count years. One year is one orbit of the Earth around the sun. One solar year is 365 days and 6 hours. The Roman calendar, used by Western civilization today, is based only on this solar cycle, adding an extra day every fourth year to account for the extra six hours added yearly.
According to God’s calendar, however, months are determined by the moon—called lunar months. There are 29 days, 12 hours and 44 minutes in one lunar month. That is how long it takes for the moon to orbit the Earth. Twelve of these lunar months add up to 354.36 days—10.89 days short of one solar year (365 days, 6 hours). Following the lunar cycle only (as the Muslims do) would move the calendar forward more than 32 days every three years. April 1 would be where February 28 was three years earlier.
If the year had 13 months, there would be 383.86 days in a year, or 18.64 days more than a solar year. In this case, in just two years, the calendar would move back more than 37 days. April 1 would occur where June 6 was two years earlier.
With a 12-month year, Passover would be in the spring one year, the next year it would be in late winter, then move to early winter, and so on around the calendar. With 13 months per year, the movement would be in the other direction—and faster.
It is the Hebrew calendar which combines the lunar months and solar years to be completely synchronized—enabling God’s people to observe His holy days (as determined by the moon) in their proper seasons (as determined by the sun). In this way, God’s calendar is luni-solar, which is consistent with Genesis 1:14. God appointed both the sun and moon “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.”
God has instructed us to observe His holy days on specific days of the month, while at the same time, during appointed seasons in the year (Leviticus 23:4). The Hebrew calendar accomplishes this through a 19-year time cycle made up of 12 common years (with 12 months) and 7 leap years (with 13 months). The 19-year cycle is significant because that is how the lunar months and the solar years relate. For every 19 solar years, the moon revolves around the Earth 235 times. “This remarkable astronomical relationship,” according to John Kossey, author of The Hebrew Calendar: A Mathematical Introduction, “makes it possible to combine common years and leap years together within a fundamental pattern that repeats itself every 19 years.”
The Calendar Preserved
The fact that God has a sacred calendar which keeps track of time should be undisputed. Again, Genesis 1:14 says the sun and moon are for seasons, days and years.
The Jewish historian Josephus has an interesting account concerning the descendants of Adam’s son Seth. He wrote, “Now this Seth … became a virtuous man; and as he was himself of an excellent character, so did he leave children behind him who imitated his virtues. … They also were the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order. And that their inventions might not be lost before they were sufficiently known … they made two pillars; the one of brick, the other of stone: They inscribed their discoveries on them both” (Antiquities of the Jews, I, II, 3).
It appears as though God’s revelation concerning the heavenly bodies, including the times and seasons, began with the earliest generations.
But can we find evidence of an actual calendar in Scripture? Actually, we find plenty! Most are not aware of these facts.
In Exodus 20:9-10, God plainly refers to a seven-day week. In fact, you can find a much earlier account of the seven-day week in Genesis 1 and 2.
But what about the division of months? What about the Hebrew calendar? Does God refer to it in Scripture? Yes He does! Most of the time, the writers of the Old Testament seemed content to just speak of the number of the months (first, second, etc.). But when the actual name of the month is referred to, God inspired them to refer to the months on the Hebrew calendar—not the Egyptian, or any other calendar for that matter.
In Exodus 12:2, God begins giving instructions concerning the Passover by saying, “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” Notice the significance of this verse. God gave them a calendar! He told the Israelites which month was to be the first month. In Exodus 13:4, this month is called Abib, meaning an ear of corn. As the name of the first month reveals, the months were to be organized according to the annual harvest seasons. Anciently, in Palestine, barley ripened first. At that time, the green ears of the winter wheat began to show. All of God’s annual holy days are patterned after the two annual harvests in Palestine—spring and fall. That is why God appointed these days to be kept in season (Leviticus 23:4).
Baker’s Bible Dictionary refers to Abib as the first month “of the Jewish ecclesiastical year.” And so, early on in the Bible, we find evidence of the Hebrew calendar. Abib is mentioned five more times in the Old Testament.
In 1 Kings 6:1, there is a reference to the second month, Zif. Likewise, you can find names for the seventh and eighth months in Scripture (Ethanim in 1 Kings 8:2; Bul in 1 Kings 6:38).
When the Jews went into Babylonian captivity, they adopted different names for their months. Yet, is that where the Hebrew calendar ends in history? Does it disappear from Scripture? Not at all! God’s calendar was preserved. Notice Esther 3:7: “In the first month, that is, the month Nisan ….” The name Abib was changed to Nisan after the Jews went into captivity. Same calendar, same month, different name. In verse 13, you will see that the 12th month is referred to as Adar.
If you compare these names with any modern Jewish calendar, you will see that they are the same! 1 Chronicles 27:1-15 even refers to a 12-month year. Yet we know there had to be a 13th month added from time to time in order to keep God’s holy days in season. The 12th month, as we saw from Esther 3:13, is called Adar. Find a modern Hebrew calendar and you will see that, during a leap year, the 13th month is called Adar II.
Numerous other months named during the Babylonian captivity are mentioned in Scripture. In Esther 8:9, you will find the name for the third month on the Hebrew calendar, Sivan. Elul, the sixth month, is found in Nehemiah 6:15. The ninth month, Chisleu, is also mentioned (Nehemiah 1:1; Zechariah 7:1), along with the 10th month, Tebeth (Esther 2:16), and the 11th month, Sebat (Zechariah 1:7). These Hebrew calendar names are used repeatedly throughout the Bible.
So we find plenty of evidence of an actual calendar in the Bible. And in 1 Chronicles 12:32, we find evidence of the fact that God revealed it and preserved it through men: “And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.”
According to the Targum (a sixth-century B.C. paraphrase of the Old Testament), “the sons of Issachar … had understanding to know the times, and were skilled in fixing the beginnings of years, the commencement of months, and the intercalation of months and years … that they might show Israel what to do; and their teachers were two hundred chiefs of the Sanhedrin.”
The fact that God preserved His calendar through men, just as He did Old Testament Scripture, should not surprise us. For as the Good News wrote, “[W]ithout the calendar, it would be impossible to fulfill correctly what is written in the Hebrew Bible about hallowed annual times.”
The Jews may have gone into captivity, but the calendar was preserved. Bible history proves it. And Paul confirmed it in Romans 3:1-2.
(To be continued.) •
God's Sacred Calendar (Part Two)
************
It is true God has preserved His sacred calendar and holy days, and the correct dates to observe them, through THE JEWS. Yet the PCG and others continue in the proud and stubborn, idolatrous traditions of men and reject the correct Jewish dates for Passover and Pentecost, condemning themselves. Would to God folks would repent and let the truth set them free!
Passover and Pentecost Differences Settled!
The correct dates to observe God's holy days should not be a Church of God issue, having been settled by God thousands of years ago and preserved throughout the ages by faithful Jews.
The Oracles of God
God's empowered the Jews - despite themselves - to preserve His Word. They are the only people on Earth that God has blessed and ordained to fulfill such a calling! God will not retract His Word or renege on this gift and responsibility that He's graciously bestowed upon Judah.
The Pharisees
Who isn't aware of the sins of the Pharisees? Especially the Accuser of the Brethren? But does that mean the truths they teach, even if they don't live them, are no longer true?
The Passover Memorial
When did God decree that Jesus could declare "it is finished" and die on the stake? Why at the very same time that THE JEWS were sacrificing their Passover lambs at the Temple! The Jews had always killed the Passover lambs during the final hours of the 14th. It was towards the end of the 14th, not at the beginning of the 14th, that the Passover lambs were killed.
Raymond McNair Rejects God's government
Did Herbert Armstrong Ever Observe Pentecost on Sivan 6?
Fuzzy Thinking Christians
Jew hatred in the Church of God
Friday, February 27, 2009
Survivors
Re: A Survivor Excoriates Herman Rosenblat's Sidekick/...
Miriam Weiss: Holocaust Survivor and Kibbutz Mother
On that precious list of "Righteous Gentiles" (rare individuals who assisted Jews during the Holocaust) is the great name of Jan Bulski who risked his life and family in Poland to save my "kibbutz mother" -- Miriam Weiss -- who I met and was "adopted" by at Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan near Haifa in Northern Israel while a volunteer there from October 1982 to February 1983.
www.davidbenariel.org
Miriam Weiss: Holocaust Survivor and Kibbutz Mother
On that precious list of "Righteous Gentiles" (rare individuals who assisted Jews during the Holocaust) is the great name of Jan Bulski who risked his life and family in Poland to save my "kibbutz mother" -- Miriam Weiss -- who I met and was "adopted" by at Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan near Haifa in Northern Israel while a volunteer there from October 1982 to February 1983.
www.davidbenariel.org
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Joseph's Tomb
New Film for Rebuilding Joseph's Tomb to Premiere in Big Apple
by Gil Ronen
(IsraelNN.com) The Samaria (Shomron) Regional Council is stepping up its effort to rebuild the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem, which was desecrated by Arabs in the year 2000, and is about to begin screenings of an original film about the recent rebuilding of the tomb.
Americans for a Safe Israel will be sponsoring the premiere screening of the film Wednesday, January 21st at 7:30 p.m. at the Edmond J. Safra Synagogue (11 E. 63rd St. between 5th and Madison, NYC). David HaIvri of the Shomron Liaison Office will present the film.
A preview of the film can be viewed here:
On October 1, 2000, Arabs attacked an IDF force that had been stationed in the tomb and killed one soldier. They then ransacked the tomb and desecrated it. Since then, Jews have not been able to enter the tomb in daylight hours. The IDF has allowed a series of nighttime visits by Jews in the past year. It claims that daytime visits constitute a security risk.
For information on additional screenings in the US contact info@yeshuv.org.
************
Joseph isn't Jewish! Joseph is the son of Rachel, the forefather of the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic peoples. Leah is the mother of the Jewish people, although Rachel is also the mother of Benjamin (Joseph's beloved brother) and some from the tribe of Benjamin went with Judah when the northern Ten Tribes went apostate and suffered defeat and deportation by the Assyrians (as Judah later fell to the Babylonians, failing to learn from history).
Christian Zionists (like Orde Wingate) recognize that God has blessed our Jewish brethren to serve as His custodians of the Promised Land of Israel, to be the first to return to Zion, to clear the way as pioneers and hold the land in trust for all Twelve Tribes of Israel, and so many of them do (even though hampered by Hellenists and persecuted by UNJews).
Today Israel is the Jewish homeland and our British Israelite nations should encourage our Jewish brethren to refuse to surrender an inch to our sworn enemies, to liberate those biblical territories still suffering under Arab occupation, and tend to the Holy Land of Israel with tender loving care, especially the Temple Mount.
by Gil Ronen
(IsraelNN.com) The Samaria (Shomron) Regional Council is stepping up its effort to rebuild the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem, which was desecrated by Arabs in the year 2000, and is about to begin screenings of an original film about the recent rebuilding of the tomb.
Americans for a Safe Israel will be sponsoring the premiere screening of the film Wednesday, January 21st at 7:30 p.m. at the Edmond J. Safra Synagogue (11 E. 63rd St. between 5th and Madison, NYC). David HaIvri of the Shomron Liaison Office will present the film.
A preview of the film can be viewed here:
On October 1, 2000, Arabs attacked an IDF force that had been stationed in the tomb and killed one soldier. They then ransacked the tomb and desecrated it. Since then, Jews have not been able to enter the tomb in daylight hours. The IDF has allowed a series of nighttime visits by Jews in the past year. It claims that daytime visits constitute a security risk.
For information on additional screenings in the US contact info@yeshuv.org.
************
Joseph isn't Jewish! Joseph is the son of Rachel, the forefather of the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic peoples. Leah is the mother of the Jewish people, although Rachel is also the mother of Benjamin (Joseph's beloved brother) and some from the tribe of Benjamin went with Judah when the northern Ten Tribes went apostate and suffered defeat and deportation by the Assyrians (as Judah later fell to the Babylonians, failing to learn from history).
Christian Zionists (like Orde Wingate) recognize that God has blessed our Jewish brethren to serve as His custodians of the Promised Land of Israel, to be the first to return to Zion, to clear the way as pioneers and hold the land in trust for all Twelve Tribes of Israel, and so many of them do (even though hampered by Hellenists and persecuted by UNJews).
Today Israel is the Jewish homeland and our British Israelite nations should encourage our Jewish brethren to refuse to surrender an inch to our sworn enemies, to liberate those biblical territories still suffering under Arab occupation, and tend to the Holy Land of Israel with tender loving care, especially the Temple Mount.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Jerusalem Under Siege!
Tevet 10 is the fast day the Jews mourn King Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem that led to its desolation: the destruction of the Temple and the deportation of the Jews. (I was actually born on Tevet 10 - January 10, 1960).
By the grace of God, there's a FULL PAGE AD in the Jewish Voice and Opinion (this month of Tevet) warning its Jewish audience that a German-led Europe will wage a New Crusade to enforce the Vatican's version of peace - that Babylon has begun its new siege against Jerusalem:
THE GERMAN JESUIT JACKBOOT WILL STOMP JERUSALEM!
The FULL PAGE AD (on page 17) proceeds to direct them to Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall where my beliefs are on public record.
Download the January 2009 issue PDF here!
The Jewish Voice and Opinion speaks out forcefully and unashamedly for the unique concerns of what we have termed "classical Judaism." As a politically conservative Jewish publication, we take as our mission to present news and feature articles not generally available elsewhere in the Jewish or secular media.
Now in its 23th year, The Jewish Voice and Opinion has been influential in religious and political circles throughout the United States, Israel, and elsewhere. It is often quoted and reprinted. It has been admired, feared, often debated, but never ignored.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Wrong celebrations vs. right days...
Re: Merry Christmas?
I totally agree, it's funny that most Christians try to follow Christ and celebrate the wrong celebrations and the Jews celebrate the right days and don't follow Christ as they should. I think we should celebrate the feast days, Passover and such. The Bible doesn't say anything about celebrating his birth, but his resurrection, which we don't even do that right, that's all pagan too, the word Easter is Latin for Ishtar, the goddess of heaven. Even the day of the 25th is pagan in nature being the pagan day of worship of the birth of the sun god being the shortest day. Let me know what you think.
Jon,
Kenton, Ohio
Jon, I agree!
The Plain Truth About Easter
There is no Santa and Christ was NEVER in Christmas!
Jews to Receive Jesus as Israel's King!
I totally agree, it's funny that most Christians try to follow Christ and celebrate the wrong celebrations and the Jews celebrate the right days and don't follow Christ as they should. I think we should celebrate the feast days, Passover and such. The Bible doesn't say anything about celebrating his birth, but his resurrection, which we don't even do that right, that's all pagan too, the word Easter is Latin for Ishtar, the goddess of heaven. Even the day of the 25th is pagan in nature being the pagan day of worship of the birth of the sun god being the shortest day. Let me know what you think.
Jon,
Kenton, Ohio
Jon, I agree!
The Plain Truth About Easter
There is no Santa and Christ was NEVER in Christmas!
Jews to Receive Jesus as Israel's King!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Beyond Babylon: Hard Labor of Love
Beyond Babylon: Hard Labor of Love
Re: "Doggerel #89: "I'm Going to Show You... In My Book..."
Beyond Babylon decries the idolatry and immorality, physically and spiritually, of the British-Israelites and Jews - and yes, British-Israelites includes Aussies and Kiwis too! - and compares it to a form of spiritual AIDS, our countries' weakened immune system, our defenses down, inviting attack. (As an aside, I have AIDS now)./
Before Publish America published Beyond Babylon, my friend Carl Brown (fellow Bible believer) and I did everything ourselves from my typing and writing, copying the pages at Kinkos, cutting them, ordering nice covers and then putting it all together, time consuming and expensive, a hard labor of love, which, including postage, brought it to around $6-$7 per book to mail (if I remember correctly and more when mailed overseas), which we did freely to many, as funds were available and donations offered (thank you, to those who blessed us with financial and prayerful assistance), making the most of what we had, doing our best to get the Word out, trusting if we're faithful with the little we had, in God's good time He would increasingly bless us with more and helpers, co-workers.
Before that I simply printed out and mailed out the pages of Beyond Babylon, then someone suggested making it available online when I didn't have a clue about the Internet, but found out quickly and spent around $150 a month using AOL, Prodigy, CompuServe and others, always moving forward, expanding my horizons, reaching out in every way possible, slowly but surely, but never giving up.
Publish America was the first to say yes to BB. Of course I would prefer some big name publisher, with great royalties and advance payment, great publicity and such, but God usually doesn't work that way, does He? After all His Son was born in a barn, in a manger, not the Marriott or Hilton or Sheraton, and Herbert W. Armstrong taught that what God does always starts small and seemingly insignificant.
Re: "Doggerel #89: "I'm Going to Show You... In My Book..."
Beyond Babylon decries the idolatry and immorality, physically and spiritually, of the British-Israelites and Jews - and yes, British-Israelites includes Aussies and Kiwis too! - and compares it to a form of spiritual AIDS, our countries' weakened immune system, our defenses down, inviting attack. (As an aside, I have AIDS now)./
Before Publish America published Beyond Babylon, my friend Carl Brown (fellow Bible believer) and I did everything ourselves from my typing and writing, copying the pages at Kinkos, cutting them, ordering nice covers and then putting it all together, time consuming and expensive, a hard labor of love, which, including postage, brought it to around $6-$7 per book to mail (if I remember correctly and more when mailed overseas), which we did freely to many, as funds were available and donations offered (thank you, to those who blessed us with financial and prayerful assistance), making the most of what we had, doing our best to get the Word out, trusting if we're faithful with the little we had, in God's good time He would increasingly bless us with more and helpers, co-workers.
Before that I simply printed out and mailed out the pages of Beyond Babylon, then someone suggested making it available online when I didn't have a clue about the Internet, but found out quickly and spent around $150 a month using AOL, Prodigy, CompuServe and others, always moving forward, expanding my horizons, reaching out in every way possible, slowly but surely, but never giving up.
Publish America was the first to say yes to BB. Of course I would prefer some big name publisher, with great royalties and advance payment, great publicity and such, but God usually doesn't work that way, does He? After all His Son was born in a barn, in a manger, not the Marriott or Hilton or Sheraton, and Herbert W. Armstrong taught that what God does always starts small and seemingly insignificant.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Israel (Judah)
Lying Visions of Peace
The lying peace process exposes how Jews refuse to accept Israel as a Jewish state, and how Jews are willing to sacrifice each other and sell out the Land and People of Israel if the price is right: both political and religious leaders are guilty of these sins that stink to High Heaven.
Jews to Receive Jesus as Israel's King!
Is there strong indication in the Bible that Israel will have a change of heart and accept Yeshua because of the preaching of two prophets in Jerusalem, the Two Witnesses announced in Zechariah 4 and Revelation 11?
Peace Now: Arabs and Jews Must Go Their Separate Ways
Genesis 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants [through Isaac] I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates: 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
THEY MUST GO
It is imperative that there begins, today, a campaign among world Jewry to explain the full extent of the Arab hatred and danger. The complete truth must be told to the masses of good Jews both to justify the need to remove the Arabs and to expose the dangers of the liberal Establishment bloc.
Thoughts on Meir Kahane...
The idea that Jew-hatred was the problem of the Jew-hater and that it was the job of the Jew to "educate" the Jew-hater not to manifest that hatred - expressed in the following Talmudic dictum "he who raises his hand to bless you, bless him first; he who raises his hand to kill you, kill him first" - was truly liberating for me, who had always been taught that "good Jewish boys don't fight".
Israel's Chief Rabbi Invites Foreign Occupation
Doesn't Yonah Metzger know he should be promoting the Third Temple, a biblical House of Prayer for All Peoples interested in learning about the God of Jacob, learning Torah and repenting of idolatrous traditions - not for arriving to teach foreign ideas or bring strange ways to the Holy Land in the perverse spirit of Babylon.
God is with the Jews!
Zechariah 8:23
"Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'In those days ten men [representatives of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel?] from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'"
Israel's Betrayal of the Jews
Let Jews and Israelis examine Israel's betrayal of the Jews before it's too late and Jerusalem suffers under EU occupation.
Christians Reject "Palestine" for the Promised Land of Israel
Satan inspired the Romans to mock God and dishonor our Father by attempting to erase Israel's name off the map! "They have said, 'Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more'" (Psalms 83:4).
Still at Large!
The Jerusalem Post, Jan. 8, 1996, had a front page story about how the GSS sought my deportation for alleged involvement in a "plot to blow up the Al-Aksa mosque."
Megillat Bush - The Bush Scroll
The Jewish Nation's Response to President George W. Bush on the Eve of His Visit to the Holy Land
Kadima Wins, Israel Loses!
Ehud Olmert fails to recognize or believe that God -- yes, there really is a great extraterrestrial, supernatural Being of Higher Intelligence -- "planted the dream of greater Israel" in the hearts of Jews and Israelites, not "we" -- secular swine and humanist dogs.
Shimon Peres Has No Clothes: Where's the Peace?
Israel has no peace partners, and every one of the Arab groups' charters or covenants call for Israel's destruction. Fatah, Hamas, the PLO -- they're all one and the same except for patience and procedures.
Miriam Weiss: Holocaust Survivor and Kibbutz Mother
On that precious list of "Righteous Gentiles" (rare individuals who assisted Jews during the Holocaust) is the great name of Jan Bulski who risked his life and family in Poland to save my "kibbutz mother" -- Miriam Weiss -- who I met and was "adopted" by at Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan near Haifa in Northern Israel while a volunteer there from October 1982 to February 1983.
Ariel Sharon: Return to the Temple Mount!
As you are very much aware, Lubavitcher rabbis presented to the Court of High Heaven a petition against you, signed, sealed and delivered. You have incensed the Great G-d in the Highest Heaven and His servants with your stench of betrayal, despising your biblical birthright and inheritance and expressing a willingness to transfer Jews for a g-dless peace that will only invite bloody German-Jesuit EU intervention and disaster
Ariel Sharon: From Zionist to Traitor
General Sharon could have enforced peace through strength, securing Israel a hard-earned victory, rather than rewarding terrorism and undermining Israeli security, breaching Jerusalem's sovereignty, permitting Roman wolves in sheep's clothing, "peacekeepers," to pollute the Holy Land of Israel.
Shimon Peres Came to Power Over Rabin's Dead Body
I met Yitzhak Rabin in the Israeli Parliament in 1982 during Hanukkah. I was able to talk with him briefly and mention I was associated with Ambassador College in Pasadena, California.
Shimon Peres Charged with the Murder of Yitzhak Rabin?
We, the undersigned, leaders of major Jewish groups and organizations, hereby sorrowfully acknowledge our lack of leadership in pursuit of justice for slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Christian Zionists, Jews, and Israel
I am a Bible-believer, a Christian-Zionist (one who believes the Prophets foretold the restoration of Jews first of all 12 Tribes of Israel to the Promised Land of Israel before the end of this world as we know it). I am not a Protestant or a "Jew for Jesus" and certainly not a member of the Roman Catholic Cult. I am a baptized member of the Sabbath-keeping Church of God...
Abortion: Blood of Innocents (Jeremiah 7:31)
The cult of Choice is the worst symptom evident in society of the Hellenist disease. It sacrifices children upon the hedonistic altars of convenience and irresponsibility in an immoral and idolatrous way. It disguises itself as progressive and enlightened, but it is actually a dark throwback to the pagan rituals performed in the Valley of Hinnom: the holocaust of children that the prophet Jeremiah condemned (Jeremiah 7:31).
Don't Expel Jews From Gaza!
Read and weep for the Israeli Jews of Gush Katif/Gaza, on whose behalf I wrote this article in July 2005 before their illegal expulsion by the bribed Ariel Sharon and criminal company working for foreign interests. Many of them remain homeless, depressed and basically abandoned by their lying government -- their former homes history, stripped bare and destroyed by marauding Arab enemies who are now fighting among themselves, one terrorist group (Hamas) against another terrorist group (Fatah).
EU to Conquer Anglo-Saxons and Jews
I've come to the sad conclusion, the grievous understanding, that Israel's leaders have often sold out their land and people to foreign interests, bloating their personal bank accounts at Israel's expense, and that the pressure was often an excuse for them to do what they had already agreed upon: continue the lying peace process of phased destruction, dismantle the Jewish Homeland, dismember their Mother piece by piece and pervert the Promised Land of Israel into an accursed "Palestine" (Ps. 83:4).
Israel's Only Way Out: Follow Kahane!
Israel must make concessions, Israel must do this, Israel must do that, while the Arabs continue to get away with mass murder and terrorism (while promising peace and feigning ignorance), aided and abetted by the international community...
A Jewish Homeland
Did God condemn the Jews to wander until Messiah comes but blessed every other tribe of Israel with a national inheritance?Does that make sense? Is God fair? Is Israel so much holier than Judah? Or could it be, as Herbert W. Armstrong taught in The United States and Britain in Prophecy, that Israel's punishment was to last for 2,520 years (Lev. 26:21)?
Avishai Raviv, Eyal, and Yitzhak Rabin
Avishai Raviv was an Israeli government agent provocateur (whose code name was "Champagne" for the bubbles of incitement he created to tarnish the right-wing Israelis) who goaded Yigal Amir to assassinate Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (although this is hotly disputed by investigative reporters like Barry Chamish)...
Why Israel Will Survive a Nuclear Holocaust
How can we rest assured Israel (the American, British and Jewish peoples) will survive? Especially since the imminent nuclear genocide attempted against us by the German-EU will be the most brutal in Earth's history.
Mount Zion Under Siege: Who Will Be King of the Mountain?
The Vatican has its evil eye on Jerusalem! What better place to start their siege against the Holy City than Mt. Zion? Watch for them to fortify their position and launch an all-out attack to undermine Israeli sovereignty, enlisting Jewish traitors and the international community.
Vatican Linked to the Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin?
The dark powers of the European Union, under evil influence of the very real German-Jesuit cabal, are intent on ripping out the heart of Israel and sacrificing Israeli sovereignty to their wannabe divine emperor about to take the world by storm, pimped by the sorcerer-pope.
The Secret Nazis Covet the Temple Mount
"Even before the end of this war, I revealed to you the plans for a NAZI UNDERGROUND MOVEMENT, to go underground as a SECRET organization the very moment they lost the war - to lay low...then come forth when least expected, RESTORE GERMANY TO POWER, and go on to finally accomplish their aims in a WORLD WAR III" - The Plain Truth, Sept. 1948.
Mount Zion Coveted by Rome
Germany has never given up its dream of reviving the Holy Roman Empire. At the height of that empire, their greatest king, Frederick the Great, marched into Jerusalem and became the city's king. Jerusalem was once part of the Holy Roman Empire and the dream is that it will be again. In this empire, the delineation of powers was strict. The pope was the spiritual leader, but the political leader was whoever ruled Germany. This dream led straight to World War I.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Israel's Lost Generation
Israel’s Lost Generation
October 13, 2008 From theTrumpet.com
It seems the days of the young, vibrant sabra in Israel, dedicated to working for retention of the rich Jewish heritage, are a thing of the past.
Ron Fraser
Jerusalem—During the period between Israel’s fight for survival against Arab incursion in 1948 and the battling nation’s hour of glory in the Six Day War of 1967, the tough, tanned, hardworking youth of the Jewish nation became a source of legend. This was the generation that became known as the sabras, named after the cactus that thrives in the Judean hills.
Pioneering the kibbutzim, laboring to recover the land from swamp and desert, the work-hard, play-hard, fight-hard young generation of mid-20th-century Israel formed a vital link between the constant threat of annihilation and survival as this tiny embattled country fought for its very existence against the surrounding enemy and even the very elements themselves.
The sabras were either the children of the refugee camps that followed in the wake of World War ii, or the children of migrant parents who fled their former lands of persecution to found a new, modern nation on the ancient foundations of the old. They were celebrated in the massively popular bestseller of the time, Leon Uris’s Exodus.
In this, my first visit to Israel, my eyes and ears have been geared to sounding out the youth in the city of Jerusalem. I had wanted to confirm that which research had already indicated was a growing phenomenon within Israeli society, that the legend of the sabras is no more, at least in terms of Israel’s current generation of youth.
Sadly, my observations have to date confirmed the worst.
On more than one occasion, inquiring of the bright, attractive waitresses who have served us in local restaurants, I have been shocked at the degree of contempt they show for the ways of their forefathers. Young men and women who by day dress in khaki and tote automatic weapons as part of the Israel Defense Forces (idf), by night seemingly throw off any thought of vigilance against their enemy and party on into the wee hours of the morning. Their religion, once a glue that bound the Jewish culture together, is now a compromise between the worship of celebrity and pop culture and some little degree, if any, of condescension to the ways of their parents and grandparents. This is a youth gone soft, just wanting the ongoing war with the Palestinian enemy to go away so they can get on with the good life.
The contrast with the children of their prime enemy is stark.
“We have all seen the pictures of children dressed as suicide bombers,” wrote Lance Fairchok in American Thinker earlier this year, “the toddlers holding Kalashnikovs, the grade school students happily reciting poems glorifying genocide. The masked gunmen strutting for the cameras are teenagers, the fighters who launch rockets are in their early 20s. Whole generations have come of age without education, indoctrinated in an ideology of Islamic fanaticism and blind hatred, kept destitute and embittered, the most efficient way to breed terrorists. With the help of Syria and Iran, funding from Islamic nations and charities, and aid from the ever-gullible West, the perpetual ‘refugees’ never build schools and hospitals, but arsenals that become ever more sophisticated” (July 22).
These are Hezbollah’s children—trained from birth to be sacrificial lambs with a fanatical anti-Jew, anti-West mindset, brainwashed to destroy the enemy at all costs. The glory dream of too many is to blow themselves sky high, taking as many Jews with them as they can.
Fairchok continued, “There can never be peace when the children of Hezbollah and Hamas and Muslim children all over the world learn: ‘The hour of resurrection will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews, and kill them. And the Jews will hide behind the rock and tree, and the rock and tree will say: Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, this is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!’ (The Hadith of the Prophet, Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 177).”
The stark difference between the grandchildren of the Israeli sabras and the children of Islamist terrorists is extreme. It bespeaks the gulf that exists between a generation grown tired of war, becoming soft on the legacy of Western decadence, victims of the duplicity of Anglo-Saxon diplomacy, and on the other a generation of religious fanatics bent on the destruction of an entire people, the nation of Israel, at all costs.
“Train up a child in the way that he should go,” declares the ancient proverb, “and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). The sabras, children of a generation that suffered so greatly under constant persecution and the threat of the Holocaust, simply forgot this profound teaching from the very Scriptures that they declared were an integral part of their national heritage. The sad result is to see their legacy dying a rapid death within a generation rapidly divorcing itself from the history that once kindled a burning desire for national survival within the Jewish nation.
There can be but one result when such a glaring dichotomy exists between the youth of one nation fanatically brainwashed to destroy any vestige of Jewish existence and the youth of a nation gone soft on the idea of its own self-preservation at all costs. As Fairchok opines,
Caught in the moral relativism that is the scourge of the West, we no longer see the evil that confronts us; we obfuscate, we negotiate, we posture and we pander and we pretend. Forever losing ground, innocent lives and our vital moral strength, evil is rewarded and the whirlwind howls at our door. Yet Israel compromises with those who wish only to murder her children, those who will murder them in the years to come.
If the current scenario was allowed to play itself out, the tiny embattled nation of Israel would soon be no more. Thank God that the very Being whom the Jewish peoples deny, the living Messiah, will soon return to put down all war, all insurrection, all terror, all youthful sacrifice on the altar of war!
This week I climbed to the top of the Mount of Olives with a small party of others who hold the grandest of prophetic visions in mind. It is the vision of which the Prophet Zechariah spoke, of the Messiah coming literally to this Earth, of the mount cleaving in two, of the destruction of the armies assembled to resist the power of their very own Creator, and of the establishment of the government of peace by the very King of peace, in the city of peace, Jerusalem!
****************
The same pioneer spirit is gone in the United States too, with the inspired drive of Manifest Destiny depleted by materialism and hedonism, idolatry and immorality.
Both Jews and Joes (British Israelites) are wandering in the wilderness, adrift, the living dead. Only national repentance can restore us to life, meaning and purpose (2 Chron. 7:14, Dan. 9:11) or the German-Jesuit Europe will be used to bring us to our knees and restore us to our senses. Why doesn't Ron Fraser (or another PCG writer) visit the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City and write an article about Manifest Destiny?
As mentioned within From Toledo to Jerusalem -
You could say I have a God-given love for the Jews and the nation of Israel (Isaiah 62:6-7). That sacred bond has been strengthened over the years by the fact that I've been blessed to have lived all over Israel, getting to know its land and people quite well.
Apart from 5 months at Ramat Yohanan (where I met my "kibbutz mother," Miriam Weiss) I've also stayed at Sdot Yam on the Mediterranean, next to Caesarea, the site of my first ulpan (intensive Hebrew course), and where Israel's heroine, Hannah Senesh, was from - as well as mentioned in Exodus by Leon Uris; Regavim, near Zichron Yaakov, where I continued my Hebrew lessons amid its rolling green hills; Reshafim, near Bet She'an, with Mt. Gilboa practically in our backyard, and Jordan's mountains in lovely view out front; Adamit, on Lebanon's border, high up on a mountain, from where on clear days you can see all the way to Haifa's Mt. Carmel; Shoval, a rose in the Negev desert, just north of Be'er Sheva; Dan, way up in the northernmost part of Israel, in between Syria and Lebanon, next to the majestic snow-covered Mt. Hermon, where I was living when "Operation Desert Storm" blew in; and Ha'On, with its campground and ostrich farm on the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee, across from Tiberias; and last but not least, my beloved Jerusalem, next to my favorite spot on earth: the Temple Mount.
October 13, 2008 From theTrumpet.com
It seems the days of the young, vibrant sabra in Israel, dedicated to working for retention of the rich Jewish heritage, are a thing of the past.
Ron Fraser
Jerusalem—During the period between Israel’s fight for survival against Arab incursion in 1948 and the battling nation’s hour of glory in the Six Day War of 1967, the tough, tanned, hardworking youth of the Jewish nation became a source of legend. This was the generation that became known as the sabras, named after the cactus that thrives in the Judean hills.
Pioneering the kibbutzim, laboring to recover the land from swamp and desert, the work-hard, play-hard, fight-hard young generation of mid-20th-century Israel formed a vital link between the constant threat of annihilation and survival as this tiny embattled country fought for its very existence against the surrounding enemy and even the very elements themselves.
The sabras were either the children of the refugee camps that followed in the wake of World War ii, or the children of migrant parents who fled their former lands of persecution to found a new, modern nation on the ancient foundations of the old. They were celebrated in the massively popular bestseller of the time, Leon Uris’s Exodus.
In this, my first visit to Israel, my eyes and ears have been geared to sounding out the youth in the city of Jerusalem. I had wanted to confirm that which research had already indicated was a growing phenomenon within Israeli society, that the legend of the sabras is no more, at least in terms of Israel’s current generation of youth.
Sadly, my observations have to date confirmed the worst.
On more than one occasion, inquiring of the bright, attractive waitresses who have served us in local restaurants, I have been shocked at the degree of contempt they show for the ways of their forefathers. Young men and women who by day dress in khaki and tote automatic weapons as part of the Israel Defense Forces (idf), by night seemingly throw off any thought of vigilance against their enemy and party on into the wee hours of the morning. Their religion, once a glue that bound the Jewish culture together, is now a compromise between the worship of celebrity and pop culture and some little degree, if any, of condescension to the ways of their parents and grandparents. This is a youth gone soft, just wanting the ongoing war with the Palestinian enemy to go away so they can get on with the good life.
The contrast with the children of their prime enemy is stark.
“We have all seen the pictures of children dressed as suicide bombers,” wrote Lance Fairchok in American Thinker earlier this year, “the toddlers holding Kalashnikovs, the grade school students happily reciting poems glorifying genocide. The masked gunmen strutting for the cameras are teenagers, the fighters who launch rockets are in their early 20s. Whole generations have come of age without education, indoctrinated in an ideology of Islamic fanaticism and blind hatred, kept destitute and embittered, the most efficient way to breed terrorists. With the help of Syria and Iran, funding from Islamic nations and charities, and aid from the ever-gullible West, the perpetual ‘refugees’ never build schools and hospitals, but arsenals that become ever more sophisticated” (July 22).
These are Hezbollah’s children—trained from birth to be sacrificial lambs with a fanatical anti-Jew, anti-West mindset, brainwashed to destroy the enemy at all costs. The glory dream of too many is to blow themselves sky high, taking as many Jews with them as they can.
Fairchok continued, “There can never be peace when the children of Hezbollah and Hamas and Muslim children all over the world learn: ‘The hour of resurrection will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews, and kill them. And the Jews will hide behind the rock and tree, and the rock and tree will say: Oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, this is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!’ (The Hadith of the Prophet, Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 177).”
The stark difference between the grandchildren of the Israeli sabras and the children of Islamist terrorists is extreme. It bespeaks the gulf that exists between a generation grown tired of war, becoming soft on the legacy of Western decadence, victims of the duplicity of Anglo-Saxon diplomacy, and on the other a generation of religious fanatics bent on the destruction of an entire people, the nation of Israel, at all costs.
“Train up a child in the way that he should go,” declares the ancient proverb, “and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). The sabras, children of a generation that suffered so greatly under constant persecution and the threat of the Holocaust, simply forgot this profound teaching from the very Scriptures that they declared were an integral part of their national heritage. The sad result is to see their legacy dying a rapid death within a generation rapidly divorcing itself from the history that once kindled a burning desire for national survival within the Jewish nation.
There can be but one result when such a glaring dichotomy exists between the youth of one nation fanatically brainwashed to destroy any vestige of Jewish existence and the youth of a nation gone soft on the idea of its own self-preservation at all costs. As Fairchok opines,
Caught in the moral relativism that is the scourge of the West, we no longer see the evil that confronts us; we obfuscate, we negotiate, we posture and we pander and we pretend. Forever losing ground, innocent lives and our vital moral strength, evil is rewarded and the whirlwind howls at our door. Yet Israel compromises with those who wish only to murder her children, those who will murder them in the years to come.
If the current scenario was allowed to play itself out, the tiny embattled nation of Israel would soon be no more. Thank God that the very Being whom the Jewish peoples deny, the living Messiah, will soon return to put down all war, all insurrection, all terror, all youthful sacrifice on the altar of war!
This week I climbed to the top of the Mount of Olives with a small party of others who hold the grandest of prophetic visions in mind. It is the vision of which the Prophet Zechariah spoke, of the Messiah coming literally to this Earth, of the mount cleaving in two, of the destruction of the armies assembled to resist the power of their very own Creator, and of the establishment of the government of peace by the very King of peace, in the city of peace, Jerusalem!
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The same pioneer spirit is gone in the United States too, with the inspired drive of Manifest Destiny depleted by materialism and hedonism, idolatry and immorality.
Both Jews and Joes (British Israelites) are wandering in the wilderness, adrift, the living dead. Only national repentance can restore us to life, meaning and purpose (2 Chron. 7:14, Dan. 9:11) or the German-Jesuit Europe will be used to bring us to our knees and restore us to our senses. Why doesn't Ron Fraser (or another PCG writer) visit the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City and write an article about Manifest Destiny?
As mentioned within From Toledo to Jerusalem -
You could say I have a God-given love for the Jews and the nation of Israel (Isaiah 62:6-7). That sacred bond has been strengthened over the years by the fact that I've been blessed to have lived all over Israel, getting to know its land and people quite well.
Apart from 5 months at Ramat Yohanan (where I met my "kibbutz mother," Miriam Weiss) I've also stayed at Sdot Yam on the Mediterranean, next to Caesarea, the site of my first ulpan (intensive Hebrew course), and where Israel's heroine, Hannah Senesh, was from - as well as mentioned in Exodus by Leon Uris; Regavim, near Zichron Yaakov, where I continued my Hebrew lessons amid its rolling green hills; Reshafim, near Bet She'an, with Mt. Gilboa practically in our backyard, and Jordan's mountains in lovely view out front; Adamit, on Lebanon's border, high up on a mountain, from where on clear days you can see all the way to Haifa's Mt. Carmel; Shoval, a rose in the Negev desert, just north of Be'er Sheva; Dan, way up in the northernmost part of Israel, in between Syria and Lebanon, next to the majestic snow-covered Mt. Hermon, where I was living when "Operation Desert Storm" blew in; and Ha'On, with its campground and ostrich farm on the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee, across from Tiberias; and last but not least, my beloved Jerusalem, next to my favorite spot on earth: the Temple Mount.
Monday, May 14, 2007
A Jewish Homeland
Did God condemn the Jews to wander until Messiah comes but blessed every other tribe of Israel with a national inheritance? Does that make sense? Is God fair? Is Israel so much holier than Judah? Or could it be, as Herbert W. Armstrong taught in The United States and Britain in Prophecy, that Israel's punishment was to last for 2,520 years (Lev. 26:21)?
After that time, around A.D. 1800, because of Abraham's obedience, God decreed that He would bestow His blessings. Did that 2,520 years of punishment apply only to the Northern Kingdom of Israel? Does God have a double standard? Once God removed the Kingdom of Judah wasn't it His responsibility to restore it at the appointed time?
Did the Anglo-Saxon and European peoples take these prophecies into their own hands? Were they able to create their countries with no divine mandate, signs and miracles, or prophetic leadership?
For those who have eyes to see, the biblical countries came into being by divine mandate since only God determines the rise and fall of nations. Many of our founding fathers were inspired of God, in spite of themselves, to accomplish our Manifest Destiny. God's overall plan is greater than any single man.
God stirred up Theodore Herzl to inspire the Jewish people with the biblical idea of having a Jewish State again. He wrote and spoke about it extensively, planting the seed of holy imagination in Judah's mind.
Later, during the British Mandate, the British began to "look favorably" upon the establishment of an independent Jewish Homeland, watering that holy seed. The Balfour Declaration was part of a divine mandate to restore Judah to "Palestine" (a satanic word the Romans used in an evil attempt to erase our father Israel's name off the map - Ps. 83:4).
God utilized political Zionism for His purposes, just as He utilized America's rebellion against the English throne. On the surface, neither were so special or righteous, but both were instrumental in fulfilling prophecy.
As for the treatment of the former inhabitants of the lands that God decreed for His people, whether Arabs or Indians, I'm sure the Canaanites would offer scathing condemnation but others would see God's purpose being worked out, however imperfectly to limited human vision. God addresses any injustices in His own way and time (2 Sam. 21:1-14), but dismisses those charges that exaggerate or exploit them to deny our basic biblical right to the lands He has chosen for us (Acts 17:26).
As the Greeks are representative of all Gentiles, so the Jews are representative of all Israel. It is to Israel, specifically to the Jews, that God has committed the "oracles of God" (Rom. 3:2). The oracles of God includes the DIVINE COVENANTS AND PROMISES (Rom. 9:4-5). The Jews hold, in trust, the biblical land deed/covenant to the Holy Land for all Twelve Tribes.
GOD MADE A LAND-COVENANT WITH ISRAEL (Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 15:18; 17:8; 26:3; 28:13; 35:12). Not once did God promise the Holy Land to the "Palestinians" so Bible-believers must reject their illegitimate claims. Those who attempt to justify foreign occupation of our land or terrible treatment of our people because of our sins are condemning themselves before God (Isa. 47:6; Jer. 50:7; Zech. 1:15).
There are many Scriptures that speak of a REPRESENTATIVE AMOUNT OF JEWS living in Israel before the return of the King Messiah, Yeshua. Shamefully, God's ministers, and consequently the Church of God, have often been blind to what God is doing in Israel today. We've failed to see the wonders that God has wrought, the types that foretell of greater things to come.
We've been ignorant of the biblical principle of duality and have nit-picked the prophecies demanding all or nothing. With that limited vision we would've argued with Peter on Pentecost/Shavuot about Joel's prophecy being fulfilled. However, it certainly was - in part (Acts 2:16-21).
Consider the following:
God promised to "save Zion, and build the cities of Judah" (Ps. 69:35). (He doesn't refer to them as "Palestinian" cities) God has faithfully done that by rewarding Jewish efforts (Annuit Coeptus) and respecting their blood, sweat and tears (Isa. 61:4; Ps. 102:13-14). God has used the Jews to make the desert blossom as the rose and protected them during this conversion process, just as Moses requested (Deut. 33:7).
I praise God for having blessed me, from Toledo to Jerusalem, to have lived in eight kibbutzim (collective-farms) throughout Israel that have helped to fulfill these pioneer prophecies, including during Operation Desert Storm.
God clearly prophesied through Zechariah chapters 12-14 that the Jews would again be living in their ancient capital of Jerusalem, with their own rulers, and that the "United Nations" would oppose them and ultimately be defeated.
Zechariah also shows the long-awaited recognition of Yeshua by the Jews as God's Son and Judah's Firstborn and the heartfelt repentance of the political (House of David) and religious (House of Levi) establishment. In fact, Yeshua said that the Jews in Jerusalem wouldn't see Him again until they had this necessary change of heart (Matt. 23:39).
Zechariah also reveals that the Jews would again be a formidable military power in the Middle East with God working in and through and for them. Many Israelis know that God has been their true General and performed many miracles on their behalf. I've heard Gershon Salomon, chairman of the Temple Mount Faithful, recount his miraculous experience of divine protection on the Golan Heights many times.
It's important to note that God has inspired the holy prophets to write about real flesh and blood Jews living in Israel - not Jewish imposters.
Why? Because those suffering from the sickness of anti-Semitism are out to spread doubt and confusion about Israel's Jewish identity. They publish slanderous hate literature attempting to poison minds against the Jews by promoting quack racial theories and Nazi propaganda.
It's nothing less than Satan's desperate efforts to deny that God has the power to fulfill prophecy. Bible-believers reject their bitter lies knowing God's Word is true.
Zechariah also agrees with the New Testament prophecies that reveal Jerusalem as a thriving Jewish city that will suffer under a harsh Gentile occupation just before the Messiah arrives in time (Rev. 11:2; Zech. 14:2).
Yeshua will liberate Jerusalem and secure it as His headquarters. Jerusalem, the site of David's Throne, will be the seat of God's government. Yeshua, like the prophet Daniel, foresaw that Jewish-Christians would be living and working in a Jewish State. They'll witness the historic restoration of animal sacrifices and their abrupt cessation by an evil European force, quickly followed by the "abomination of desolation" that triggers World War III (Matt. 24:15-16; Dan. 12:11).
Meanwhile, the Church of God (or select individuals if the Church continues to shirk its responsibility) must ANNOUNCE TO THE CITIES OF JUDAH (the prophecy doesn't refer to them as "Palestinian" cities or "Israeli-occupied") that Messiah's about to appear!
We're to boldly offer Judah the hope and comfort that a TRUE PEACE is coming and to get ready for it (Isa. 40:1-3). We're to help prepare Israel for the shock of a GLORIFIED YESHUA REVEALED AT LAST (vs. 5) and lead them to expect an audience with a DIVINE KING whose ROYAL RADIANCE will illuminate every nation.
We must identify Yeshua as the "Son of Man" from Heaven that Daniel previewed (Dan. 7:13-14), and stress that Zechariah gave an "eyewitness account" of this same DIVINE SAVIOR descending from Heaven to reign as LORD from Jerusalem over the whole earth (Zech. 14:3-4, 9, 16).
Remember this is no small task, and is quite controversial, since the Jews are still looking forward to a human leader to save them from all their troubles.
The Two Witnesses will be the most influential in reaching the cities of Judah from Jerusalem (Isa. 40:9; 52:7-8), effectively knowing their mindset and culture (unlike so many others), but the Church of God should still do what we can now.
These exciting Scriptures clearly prove (they're not assumptions) that with God nothing is impossible: the Jews would again be living in an independent Israel, resurrected from the dust of history just prior to Messiah's coming, with Jerusalem as their capital, complete with an effective fighting force, having been restored to their ancient cities and energetically transforming the land from barren desert to productive fields - all with God's blessing (Ezek. 37:1-14).
These Scriptures glorify God as faithful and we should praise Him that His Word is good and true. Amen.
David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer in Ohio and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.
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