Thursday, May 22, 2008
Bush doesn't make policy or write the speeches
Of course the speech totally countered USA policy in Middle East so good job. Only caution: he didn't write the speech. He may believe most of what he said, he may even be moved by it: it's possible. He delivered a speech. When he goes to Croatia or, Berlin, he delivers different speeches that will differ and even contradict. Remember: he doesn't make policy or write the speeches.
Professor Eugene Narrett
www.israelendtimes.com
What Does the Feast of Unleavened Bread Mean for Christians?
What Does the Feast of Unleavened Bread Mean for Christians?
Central to our understanding of the biblical Feast of Unleavened Bread is the realization that the resurrected Jesus Christ lives His life in every individual Christian.
by Vince Szymkowiak
Growing numbers of Christians around the world are discovering and celebrating the biblical festivals outlined in Leviticus 23. By looking at the symbolism associated with these days, they are coming to view them in light of the life and mission of Jesus Christ.
After all, Jesus Christ Himself commenced the acting out of the plan of salvation by becoming our sacrificial Passover lamb. As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 5:7, "For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (compare Isaiah 53:7-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19). Furthermore, Jesus started His Church on another of these festivals, the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 2). He must have considered them important.
During the spring of the year (March-April in the northern hemisphere), immediately after Passover and before the Feast of Pentecost, falls another biblical feast—the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6-8; Exodus 12:17-18). Here we'll take a brief look at the greatest event to have ever taken place during this feast—and what it means for Christians today.
The greatest among several great events
Some might say that the Exodus from the slavery of Egypt, which also took place immediately after Passover during the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Numbers 33:3), was the greatest event to have ever happened during this spring festival.
Others might view the crossing of the Red Sea, which is traditionally assigned to the last day of Unleavened Bread, as another of the great festival events. This crossing signified that Israel was, at long last, finally free from Egyptian domination. Freedom was then a reality. Later, after Israel entered the Promised Land, the miraculous conquest of Jericho took place over the seven days of this same feast.
Other great Unleavened Bread events involved rededicating of the people of God to their Creator. Two examples are recorded in 2 Chronicles. Chapters 29 through 31 describe the religious reform led by King Hezekiah, and chapters 34 and 35 tell of another reform through King Josiah. These chapters reveal the tremendous excitement and joy God's people felt as they recommitted themselves to Him (see 30:21-23 and 35:17-18).
But one other event that took place during the Days of Unleavened Bread is much greater in its ultimate impact than any of these wonderful events. That event is the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
When was Jesus Christ resurrected?
We know that Jesus was crucified on the day before a Sabbath, as John 19:31 tells us. While most people assume that the Sabbath mentioned here was the regular weekly Sabbath day (observed Friday sunset to Saturday sunset), John plainly tells us that this particular Sabbath "was a high day" — a term used for the seven annual Holy Days that were part of God's festivals.
A careful reading of the Gospels shows that this "high day" was the first day of Unleavened Bread, which was a Holy Day (Leviticus 23:2, 6-7) that could fall on any day of the week.
Jesus remained in the grave for three days and three nights just as He had promised (Matthew 12:40). It is impossible to reconcile Jesus' statement in Matthew 12 with the idea of a Friday afternoon crucifixion followed by a Sunday morning resurrection. (See "Jesus Wasn't Crucified on Friday—or Resurrected on Sunday!".)
Three days and three nights from the time of His entombment, just before the beginning of the first Holy Day of Unleavened Bread, brings us to the sunset at the end of the weekly Sabbath, still during the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, as the time when Jesus was resurrected.
In actuality there was no Sunday morning resurrection. But on that Sunday word spread quickly that the tomb was empty and that He had appeared first to Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18) and then to other followers.
The greatest event in human history
Now, if we were followers of Jesus in Jerusalem at the time of His crucifixion and then were told that He had been resurrected, what would be the topic of our conversation for the rest of the spring festival? What would be in your thoughts? Undoubtedly we would all be thinking about the greatest event to have ever taken place in the history of humanity, the very statement of the angel: "He is risen!" (Matthew 28:6-7).
These Days of Unleavened Bread marked a turning point in the way the spring festival was to be celebrated down through the ages. Yes, Christians would still recall the Exodus, the coming out of Egypt , as a type of redemption from sin and release from the bondage of Satan. There would still be an emphasis on eating unleavened bread as a physical reminder that we are to become spiritually unleavened by removing sin from our lives.
But at the very center of it all—at the very core of the celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread was the all-encompassing truth that Jesus was raised from the dead during the spring festival!
Jesus repeatedly emphasized the importance of His own resurrection. During the last supper, He told the disciples that He would soon be betrayed, but He also told them that He would live again: "Because I live, you will live also" (John 14:19). He had just promised them that Christians would not be left as orphans (verse 18)—that is, spiritually unprotected and totally vulnerable to the power of Satan.
He stated that both the Father and He would live in the hearts and minds of Christians by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (verses 20-26). Since the resurrected Jesus Christ now lives in us, we are given the strength to conquer our sins. This new life, now made possible by the living Christ, empowers us to overcome "the sin which so easily ensnares us" (Hebrews 12:1).
Symbolism of Unleavened Bread
Part of God's instruction for the Days of Unleavened Bread is to put leavened bread products out of our homes (Exodus 12:15-16). The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 5:8, encouraged the mostly gentile church there to "keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness [lingering sinful attitudes], but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth"—a clear reference to the Feast of Unleavened Bread (emphasis added).
Paul recognized that the unleavened bread of this Feast is symbolic of sincerity and truth, which should be hallmarks of the life of every Christian. He also understood that leaven during this time symbolized sin, and this Feast pictures our need to make every effort to eliminate it completely from our lives.
The truly great story about the Days of Unleavened Bread is the story of the resurrected Christ living His life in those of us who have truly repented of living in sin and have received the Holy Spirit! This empowers us to overcome sins in a way that previously was simply not possible.
Yes, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a festival that helps us to focus on replacing sin with righteousness. But the only real way to put sin out of our lives is to put Jesus Christ into our lives! We are promised that we can truly put sin out of our lives because Jesus Christ lives within us (compare Galatians 2:20; Romans 7:23–8:4).
What it takes to overcome sin
Paul tells us in Romans 13:12 that we are to "put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light" (New International Version). He then lists the "deeds of darkness" as sins such as revelry, drunkenness, lewdness, lust, strife and envy. Then in verse 14 he shows the way to conquer such sins: by being clothed "with the Lord Jesus Christ" (NIV).
In our struggles against sin, not only during the Days of Unleavened Bread but throughout the entirety of our lives, we can choose to fight on our own strength or we can surrender our will to God and rely on the power of the risen Christ who lives His life in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. With this kind of power working against our sins, the very "power of His resurrection" (Philippians 3:10), we can say with Paul, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (4:13).
We can struggle all alone, or we can rely on the power of the only One who never once sinned, Jesus Christ. He tells each of us as sinners, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). He encourages us to place our yokes and burdens on His powerful shoulders to find spiritual rest, saying, "My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (verses 29-30).
He promises that His faithful followers will never perish, nor will anyone be able to take them from His hand, because it is He who gives eternal life (John 10:27-28). We follow His instructions by coming to Him so that we may have life (John 5:40).
Jesus Christ lives again in us
Yes, Paul reminded Christians to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). Yet he was in no way preaching a works-based salvation, for in verse 13 he explains that "it is God who works in you both to will [that is, to have the desire to overcome] and to do [to act on that desire] for His good pleasure."
Embedded in the meaning of the Days of Unleavened Bread is the belief that central to our overcoming sins is the realization that the resurrected Jesus Christ lives His life in each one of us.
Indeed, as Paul also said, "If Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!" (1 Corinthians 15:17). And he further stated: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20, King James Version).
It is the resurrection of Christ, and His living again in Christians to empower them to remove the leaven of sin from their lives, that gives these spring festivals—the Passover, the Festival of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost—such a deep and lasting meaning. Isn't it time you looked more deeply into the meaning of these biblical festivals and what they teach us about the life and mission of Jesus Christ? GN
Recommended Reading
The Bible reveals seven annual festivals, several of which are mentioned in this article. The Gospels, the book of Acts and Paul's epistles show that Jesus Christ, His apostles and the early Church observed them. What about you? How much do you know about these Holy Days of God and what they teach us about His plan? Request or download your free copy of the eye-opening booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.
Israpundit articles
Kingdom, US sign nuke energy pact
To J Street and Obama, "if the shoe fits, wear it."
Bush Rejects 'Negotiating With Killers' - Except Fatah
$3 billion canal between the Red and Dead Seas ready to go
Algae is the source for alternative energy
Bush in Saudi Arabia for Nuclear Deal
Talking to Iran and Syria will achieve nothing but humiliation.
What's behind the "appeasement" kefluffel?
Iran in American gun sights.
Proselytizing is no small matter
Keep the Immigrants, Deport the Multiculturalists
Throwing stones at John Hagee
President Bush Addresses Members of the Knesset and Obama is 'outraged'? C'mon.
It’s Time to Reconsider a Federal Arrangement
ZOA: Israel must respond aggressively to the rocket attacks.
Michelle Obama's Militant Racism Revealed
Obama: it IS About Race (and Gender, and Religion)
Ted Belman
+1 416 256 7597
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Can man go against the will of God?
| how is it possible for man to go against the will of God? If God wants something to happen, don't you think that it is within his power to MAKE IT HAPPEN? |
Matthew 26:39
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
| So, how is it that if it is against the will of God, how could Obama possibly win? |
Deuteronomy 17
15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.
That doesn't mean God will prevent us from doing it, just like He doesn't prevent us from a host of other sins. His Word speaks of examples of leaders He didn't approve of but permitted.
Hosea 8:4
They set up kings, but not by Me; They made princes, but I did not acknowledge them
Is that clearer? And just because I didn't answer immediately, delay is not denial. After all, I am only human and on a "billion" other forums...

Va. Abortion Law Overturned Again
Va. Abortion Law Overturned Again
A federal appeals court in Richmond again declared Virginia's abortion law unconstitutional yesterday, saying it is more restrictive than the federal ban on late-term abortion that the U.S. Supreme Court approved last year.-
By Robert Barnes
*************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).
Hitler Will Judge Us!
It used to be a country’s worst enemies who ripped up their pregnant women—now we’ve turned on ourselves. Don't abort our future: Think twice, choose life, let love grow.
Death to the American, British and Jewish Peoples?
The German-Jesuit EU will conquer the British-Israelites and Jews because God will use them to punish us for our idolatry and immorality. Such defeat, deportation and occupation will last 3 1/2 years and then Yeshua will return and reign and save us from our sins and our enemies.
British-Israelites and Jews in Grave Danger
Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall warns that due to our idolatry and immorality, our nations are prophesied to fall and fall hard if we don't turn from our ways and remember our Hebrew roots and biblical responsibilities (Malachi 4:4).
www.DavidBenAriel.org
Pravda and the Jews
I've been active on Pravda, the Russian forum that is filled with demonic anti-Semites and anti-Zionists, as well as on LibertyForum and elsewhere (as I'm an e-vangelist covering the vast internet fields and forum villages) and it helps me to realize how Christ has His Work cut out for Him when He returns to clean up this political and spiritual mess we've made of God's good Earth!
The Worldwide Church of God (when Herbert W. Armstrong was the pastor general) used to teach that the reason Gog and Magog would go against Jerusalem and fight against Christ's return, is because they're atheistic communists.
Now, I see and better understand it's also because they're Orthodox Catholics, violently opposed to the biblical Jesus Christ and Christianity, thoroughly indoctrinated by Satan in their hatred of Jews and anything remotely "Jewish" - biblical - just like too many Roman Catholics and Protestants!
They'll fight to the death to defend their traditional error, and even when Christ returns and reigns, and they'll then know better, they'll still fight against God rather than admit error, because they hate the truth and Jews that much!
Christ will have to knock heads and nations, and even destroy some men and nations, truly ruling with a rod of iron, forcing proud and stubborn folks to keep the "Jewish" festivals in the "Jewish" city of Jerusalem, and pray and learn about Jacob's God -- not Esau or Ishmael's god -- at the "Jewish" Temple.
"A man (or nation) convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still." Some men and nations would rather die than repent. That's how serious the bitter poison of anti-Semitism is, because their brutal hatred blinds them to the fact that Jesus is a Jew, salvation is of the Jews, the converted Jews will lead in the world tomorrow, instructing the other tribes about Torah (Zechariah 8:23), having the advantage of God's Word coupled with the Holy Spirit (the Jews repent and welcome Messiah to Jerusalem and anticipate His arrival, heralded by the Two Witnesses who'll announce the coming of Israel's King -- Matthew 23:39).
The passionate anti-Semites/anti-Zionists would do well to note Jesus' words of life and forgiveness: "FATHER, FORGIVE THEM, for they know not what they do...". Who are puny men to continue a blood libel against every Jew for the actions of a relative few who were fulfilling prophecy so we could have a Savior?
Luke 24:25-26
"O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"
God cannot be killed. Yeshua (Jesus' name in Hebrew) was the Son of MAN, huMAN, but born again by a resurrection from the dead, and restored to the divine glory He shared with God as the I AM before He divested Himself of His divinity to become a huMAN and live among His own flesh and blood people, the Jews (John 1:14, John 8:58, John 17:5).
Jesus GAVE His life and purposely chose not to call for divine deliverance, angelic help and spiritual reinforcements (Matthew 26:52-56), so He could die - as prophesied - for the Jew first, then the Gentile.
Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
John 10:15
As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
John 10:17
"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."
As far as the betrayal of Yeshua, it was by His own people - the Jews - but Jesus' crucifixion was by the Gentiles, even as all mankind, Jews, Israelites and Gentiles, are sinners and in need of repentance. Like the Jew, King David, prophesied of the guilt of all mankind, individuals, political and religious leaders:
Acts 4:25-27
‘ Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the LORD and against His Christ.’
27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together.
The crucified and now RESURRECTED Christ, spoke to those who cried out for His crucifixion and said to let His blood to be upon them, that they were fulfilling prophecy, saying neither they nor their leaders truly understood the great significance of what was happening, and which is why Jesus refused help from men or God, and said it had all now served it's DIVINE PURPOSE, according to PLAN -- the Passover Lamb of God was slain and resurrected (Acts 2:22-24) -- and that now it was necessary to repent and be saved and have CHRIST'S BLOOD UPON THEM - to COVER THEIR SINS!
Some of those very people, some of those who were in that crowd stirred up by the religious leaders to cry out for Jesus' death, were now being offered life, and some of them repented and were baptized and CHRIST'S BLOOD WAS UPON THEM FOR LIFE, saving them from eternal death (Acts 2:36-41).
Jesus, through Peter, had compassion and forgiveness for His accusers, for those who were accomplices to His murder! (Acts 3:13-21). How moving. Like Joseph, "resurrected" from the otherwise sure death in the pit, RECEIVED AND FORGAVE HIS BRETHREN! Joseph's sell out and betrayal by his insanely jealous brethren, all worked out in the end. It was all part of the plan. God knows what He's doing. Jesus will soon return to His own in Jerusalem and be welcomed with outstretched arms. The Two Witnesses will have prepared Judah to receive their King - the King of the Jews!
JESUS IS ALIVE! The founder and leader of Christianity has not been stopped or forever silenced: HE IS RISEN! (The Sabbath-keeping Church of God celebrates this glorious fact with Passover commemorating His death and the Days of Unleavened Bread revealing His resurrection, just like the early commandment-keeping Church of God). So the anti-Semites need to accept and reflect Jesus' forgiveness for His own people, and quit using Him as an excuse to murderously hate Jews whether they're "White supremacists" or Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant!
Additional reading:
Synagogue of Satan?
Did Jesus Call Jews the Children of the Devil?
The Pharisees
Why the Jews are Judah
Khazars by Yair Davidiy of Brit-Am Israel
A Jewish Homeland




