While every Bible student understands that God has not and will not change, many have been taught that God’s Law has changed. We cannot have it both ways. Has the Law changed? Has Grace done away with the Law. Isn’t the Law only for the Jews? What does God say about all of this? First, what did Jesus say?
Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
5:18 "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
5:19 "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus kept the Law and clearly stated that the Law would not change until heaven and earth are destroyed by fire at the end. All things will be changed when the new heaven and earth are created, but until then the Law remains valid and is to be obeyed.
Exodus 12:24 "And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.
31:15 'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death.
31:16 'So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.'
31:17 "It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed."
The whole world works and observes a seven day week. Many have tried, led by Satan, to change days and numbers, but to no avail. The days established by God have not changed.
Deuteronomy 5:29 'Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!
God’s commandments are not burdensome or confusing. The Jews established their own oral laws that added significantly to their burdens. That is what religion does around the world. Jesus made that very point.
Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 1:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 11:30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
Psalms 33:8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. 33:9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.
33:10 The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. 33:11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.
The world under the deceptions of Satan is always trying to circumvent God’s Law. They hope to make themselves above God, but they cannot. God’s counsel, wisdom, and Word will not change.
Psalms 105:7 He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth. 05:8 He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations, 105:9 The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac.
We should be eternally thankful that not only does God’s Law not change, but neither does His promises. It is impossible for Him to not keep His promises as it is inherent in His nature and character.
Psalms 119:44 So I will keep Your law continually, Forever and ever. 148:5 Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.
We should have the same attitude and commitment as David.
Psalms 148:6 He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away.
Since His decrees, statutes, commandments, Law, promises, and plans will not change, how should we live?
We will take a short reprieve from the Terrible Day of JEHOVAH to address a problem relating to the absolute failure of the Reformation. You will ask, what is the failure of the Reformation? Didn’t the Reformers transform the world from the Roman Church?
Well in some ways they did, but remember all of these early reformers came out of the Roman Church as prior priests. Martin Luther’s main concerns were begun with indulgences and the Pope’s self-appointed authority to send people to Hell or allow them entry into Heaven. Unfortunately, none of them went far enough into the false doctrines and traditions of the Synagogue of Satan. So let us begin with what the Bible teaches about the immutable nature of JEHOVAH, who has never change, doesn’t now change, and never will change.
Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
1 Samuel 15:29 "Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.
Psalms 33:11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.
Psalms 55:19 God will hear and answer them—Even the one who sits enthroned from of old—Selah. With whom there is no change, And who do not fear God.
Psalms 89:33-35 "But I will not break off My loving kindness from him, Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness. "My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips. "Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David.
Psalms 110:4 The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."
Isaiah 44:6-8 "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.
44:7 'Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place.
44:8 'Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.'"
Who, other than JEHOVAH can declare it from the beginning and it will happen? HE cannot lie or deceive, as it would be an affront to HIS holy character and HE cannot deny HIMSELF.
Isaiah 46:9-11 "Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me,
46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure';
46:11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.
Titus 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, Tit 1:2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,
JEHOVAH does not change, which means all the HE has declared, all that HE has promised, and all that HE commanded will never change or in any way be altered. HIS judgments, warnings, and condemnations will also never go away or be rendered invalid.
More next time.
I made a mistake last time by saying we are now going to study the Feast of Weeks, which is in the spring. We will now study the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles. It is the last of JEHOVAH’S appointed times and prophetically points to the second coming or return of our great High Priest and King.
HE will return to live with us in HIS millennial kingdom. HE will come just as HE left when HE ascended. Will HE find us being obedient to all HE commanded?
Leviticus 23:33 And Jehovah spoke to Moses saying, 23:34 Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to Jehovah.
23:35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no work of labor. 23:36 Seven days you shall offer a fire offering to Jehovah. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you. And you shall offer a fire offering to Jehovah. It is a solemn assembly. And you shall do no work of labor.
All the Feasts except First Fruits is a high, holy day of rest and most often sacrifices. JEHOVAH expects us to rest on HIS holy days. These aren’t Jewish holy days, but HIS holy days. Too often today’s contemporary pastors are woefully ignorant of the Old Testament, and also create worship according to their ideas instead of HIS commands. Now we cannot truly participate in these feasts, as we are not in the Land nor do we need to perform sacrifices anymore. But we can commemorate them and give honor and worship to JEHOVAH.
23:37 These are the feasts of Jehovah which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer a fire offering to Jehovah, a burnt offering and a food offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, everything on its day; 23:38 besides the sabbath of Jehovah, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your free-will offerings which you give to Jehovah.
Bringing gifts to JEHOVAH is still a requirement for us. While we don’t have a Temple to bring our gifts to, we still can give unto JEHOVAH our offerings.
23:39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast to Jehovah seven days. On the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
23:40 And you shall take the fruit of majestic trees for yourselves on the first day, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the valley. And you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God seven days.
This is a time of both corporate worship and also a time of joy and thanksgiving. We should enjoy our fellow brothers and sisters as we together rejoice in HIS goodness and abundant blessings.
23:41 And you shall keep it a feast to Jehovah seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall keep it in the seventh month. 23:42 You shall live in booths seven days. All that are born Israelites shall live in booths, 3:43 so that your generations may know that I made the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Jehovah your God.
Living in booths is a time-honored memorial. It is not a commandment for today, but many today still celebrate it. Again, it is setting time aside from our busy schedules to celebrate, worship, rejoice, give thanks, and come together. None of these are tiresome or burdensome.
23:44 And Moses declared the feasts of Jehovah to the sons of Israel.
These are the Feasts of JEHOVAH and should not be discarded too quickly.
The Day of Atonement is still regarded as the most holy of days on the Jewish calendar. Sadly, they are still deceived and blinded by their traditions of men and doctrines of demons.
Romans 9:1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 9:2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
9:4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.
9:5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
9:6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 9:7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named."
9:8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
This is a very profound reality. We are the true sons of Abraham, not by physical or racial conditions, but by the grace of JEHOVAH. It should humble us and warn us at the same time. The original chosen people have rejected their Messiah. They had all anyone needed to remain faithful to JEHOVAH, but went after other gods, preferred the traditions of men over the very Words of JEHOVAH, and took all the promises for granted by not realizing they were all conditional on their absolute obedience.
Romans 11:25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 11:26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob"; 11:27 "and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins."
11:28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.
They remain as enemies of JEHOVAH, while they still maintain that they are a unique, special, and protected people of the promise to the patriarchs.
Now to the Day of Atonement.
Leviticus 23:26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23:27 "Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD.
23:28 And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.
23:29 For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. 23:30 And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 23:31 You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
23:32 It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.
This seventh month includes all three of the fall feasts, which reminds us that once the end of time approaches, it will come swiftly. This is a high, holy day to JEHOVAH. To be afflicted is to humbly bow down and worship. Repent and remember just how merciful is our great King and High Priest.
It also contains a very severe warning. Cut off refers most often to death, as is revealed in verse 30. JEHOVAH commands absolute, perfect obedience. It is not optional, conditional, nor can it be partially obeyed, as if we can decide the extent of our obedience. Too often, today’s ‘churches’ falsely preach that the Law was nailed to the cross. That is heresy!
The only Law they really don’t care to obey from the Ten Commandments is the Law of the Sabbath. This one holy day, set apart in Genesis 2, was changed by the Church of Rome and Constantine. Who changes times and laws? The antichrist! Daniel 7:25.
That being said, is JEHOVAH asking too much of us to set apart one day a year to humble and prayerfully consider how a holy, righteous, sovereign King considers our sins? Is HE not worthy of our best?
Are we all truly prepared to meet HIM face to face? What would we say? What would HE say?
Next time the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost.
The last of the 7 feasts of JEHOVAH are in the fall and all point to HIS second coming. The feasts are Trumpets, Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement, and Sukkout of Tabernacles. How do they point to Christ? Let us start with Trumpets.
Leviticus 23:23 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23:24 "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. 23:25 You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the LORD."
This is the feast with the least amount of requirements other than a day of solemn rest. The blowing of trumpets is used in many different ways. It can bring people to an assembly, it can be used as a warning or call to war, it can be for the arrival or ordination of the king. Here is calls people to rest but it also will announce the return or our King. Here is one passage that uses a trumpet to announce that JEHOVAH is coming.
Exodus 19:9 And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD,
19:10 the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments 19:11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
19:12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. 19:13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain."
How do you prepare for JEHOVAH coming? What must you do? They had to wash their garments in preparation. Also, they were prohibited from coming near to the mountain of GOD. It carried the death penalty.
Exodus 19:16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
19:17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
19:18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
19:19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
Imagine the noise, the earth trembling, the smoke, the trumpet getting louder, thunder, lightning, and them JEHOVAH descending in fire! Yes, the Feast of Trumpets is to remind us that we must also be ready and HE will be announced with trumpets.
Revelation 8:6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
8:7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
8:8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 8:9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
8:10 The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 8:11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
8:12 The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
8:13 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, "Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!"
Yes, trumpets prepare the world for the return of the King of Kings and LORD of Lords, our great High Priest.
The Feast of Trumpets is to remind us of being ready to greet our KING.
Next time we will study Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement.
The last of the four spring feasts is the Feast of Weeks. How many of you ever heard of this, studied this, or actually celebrated or commemorated this? After going to seminary, I can tell you I never studied it then nor did anyone indicate that I should. I found this information from my weekly Bible study that I lead.
Sadly, the ‘church’ is like the world in this matter. As mentioned in earlier posts, the feasts are one of God’s prophetic ways of highlighting His end times calendar. What is the Feast of Weeks? All seven feasts or appointed days of Jehovah are found in Leviticus 23.
Leviticus 23:15 "You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. 23:16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD.
This is one of the three feasts that all men are required to come to Jerusalem to celebrate.
Deuteronomy 16:16 "Three times a year all your males shall appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty-handed. 16:17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you.
There are three offerings with this feast; a grain/drink offering, a burnt offering, and a peace/wave/first fruits offering,
23:17 You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as first fruits to the LORD.
23:18 And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
23:19 And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. 23:20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.
23:21 And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.
This feast which is another time of thanksgiving for Jehovah providing a bountiful harvest has a rather unique detail, that is to provide gleanings for the poor. Even the poor, who had to work to eat, were to be thankful for Jehovah’s provisions.
23:22 "And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.
So now we have the Feast of Weeks, 7 Sabbaths plus one day, which we know from the Greek as Pentecost, or fifty. That day back some 2000 years ago was the day the LORD sent His HOLY SPIRIT to indwell all true believers, just as HE promised.
John 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Joh 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 14:17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
John 16:4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. "I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 16:5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?'
John 16:6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 16:7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
16:8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 16:10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 16:11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
So the LORD told HIS disciples that it would be better for HIM to leave and for the HOLY SPIRIT to come to indwell them. That is exactly what happened. So the last spring feast inaugurated the transformation of the world.
More later.
First fruits is mentioned in the ‘New’ Testament. We are truly given a more revealing understanding of this feast by reading what has been written about it after Jesus death and resurrection. Paul first introduced this in his letter to the assembly in Corinth.
1 Corinthians 15:20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
Leviticus 23:14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Just as we read last time, Christ is the true first fruits of our redemption and had to present Himself to the Father before the real harvest could begin. This is exactly why God instructed Moses that God must receive His offering before any other harvest could be enjoyed. God always comes first in all things.
15:21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
5:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
15:24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 15:25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Christ precedes us and we follow Him. We who belong to Him and only those who truly belong to Him will be in this great redemptive harvest of both our physical bodies and our eternal souls.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
Jamss 1:18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
Revelation 14:4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, 14:5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.
So now we have a new understanding of how God created these feasts to both give us a prophetic plan of His timeline from Jesus’ first coming to His second coming. All four spring feasts have been fulfilled by Christ, the remaining three fall feasts are coming.
As we continue our study of how Jehovah’s feasts are all pertaining to Jesus, we will look at how they have been fulfilled first in the feast of First Fruits.
Leviticus 23:9 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 23:10 "Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 23:11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted.
On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. This feast was one of thanking God for the first harvest but also giving Him praise before any other harvesting would be allowed.
Leviticus 23:14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
Jesus was our first fruits and until He presented Himself to the Father, the rest of the harvest of the kingdom could not begin. That doesn’t mean no one was saved, but the harvest could not be brought in until the Father accepted Jesus offering.
John 20:15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).
20:17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
Quite clearly Jesus indicates that He cannot be touched by anyone until He presents Himself to the Father. Yet, later HE not only allowed it but invited people to touch and discover for themselves. What was the difference?
Luke 24:36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, "Peace to you!" 24:37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 24:38 And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
24:39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." 24:40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 24:41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?"
Is there any other First Fruits examples to help in our understanding? Yes! When Jesus finally said “It is finished.”, the curtain in the Temple was torn in two. But, what else happened?
Matthew 27:51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
27:52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 27:53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
These saints were raised but did not go into the city until after His resurrection or more specifically, after His first ascension to present Himself to the Father. Then and only then would the harvest truly be manifested. Here right in Jerusalem, the first evidence was revealed in the bodily resurrection of these long dead saints.
More on the next feast next time.
How do all of these feasts of Jehovah pertain to Jesus? God is not a coincidence God but a sovereign God who has given us exact details on everything we need to live a life pleasing to Him. But, has the ‘church’ ever taught this? Let us begin. There are four spring feasts; Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Weeks/Pentecost.
Jesus is our Passover Lamb.
1 Corinthians 5:7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
If you never really contemplated or studied the Passover, which was created in Egypt, then you may not fully understand the significance of Christ as our Passover.
Exodus 12:3-16 Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. 12:4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb.
12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 12:6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.
12:7 "Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 12:8 They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.
12:9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts.
2:10 And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.
12:11 In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover.
This is the LORD’s Passover, not the nations’ Passover or the Jewish Passover, as some would now teach. Aren’t we also called to remember how the LORD redeemed His chosen people and destroyed Egypt, including killing the first born?
12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.
12:13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
12:14 "This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.
Forever is a long time. More on this later.
Exodus 12:15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 12:16 On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.
12:17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever. 12:18 In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 12:19 For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses. If anyone eats what is leavened, that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land. 12:20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread."
1 Corinthians 5:8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
So how does this feast pertain to Jesus? He died for the forgiveness of our sins. If we confess our sins, He will forgive our sins, if and only if we have totally surrendered to Him.
1 John 1:8-10 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1:10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
So this feast to us is not about leaven or yeast but sin. Is it too much of Jehovah to ask of us to contemplate our sin and confess our sin for one week? Do you have no time to think of your sin before a holy God? There are two high holy days in this feast. One at the beginning of the week and the other at the end.
Let us commemorate this feast as Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins.
Next time the other two spring feasts.
How do these feast days relate to and point to our Messiah? Let us look into the first four spring feasts to find these answers. The first is Passover. Who is our Passover Lamb?
1 Corinthians 5:7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.
All of the lambs that were sacrificed for Passover pointed to the only sacrifice for our sins.
Hebrewa 9:11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 9:12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
All of the blood of all of the lambs only pointed to the only eternal sacrifice for sins. The second feast is directly intertwined with the first. Unleavened bread begins on what we would think of the evening of Passover.
But, the Passover lamb was eaten after sundown, which is in God’s calendar, the first day of unleavened bread. It begins with a high holy day or Sabbath. So during this week there could be two Sabbaths each of two weeks, depending on which day the feast started.
How many of heard of this before? Without this understanding of two Sabbaths and a preparation day before them, then the our Messiah’s last meal, death, and resurrection can not be understood in its Biblical context.
John 18:28 Then they *led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.
John 19:31 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
Mak 15:42 When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 15:43 Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent member of the Council, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up courage and went in before Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus.
As you can read from the verses above, the day Jesus appeared before Pilate was the day before the Passover, or the preparation day. Everyone had until sundown to get everything they needed to properly prepare the Passover meal.
Next time we will study the importance of these events.
The feasts of Jehovah are very important in a number of ways. First, they are His feasts, not just the feasts of Moses or the nation of Israel. Secondly, they all point to our Messiah, High Priest, and King. Thirdly, they give us one more important bit of information in regard to the end times and the coming tribulation. Let us begin.
Leviticus 23:1-8 The LORD spoke again to Moses, saying, 23:2 "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD'S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:
As you can clearly understand, these are Jehovah’s appointed times. Times He has declared should be celebrated and commemorated. These feasts carry the same weight at His commandments and the same judgments and penalties for those who forsake them.
23:3 'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings.
Many people mistakenly believe that the Sabbath commandment was nailed to the cross. They add to this heresy when they also proclaim that the Law was similarly nailed to the cross and done away with by Jehovah. They are deceived, as Jehovah does not change nor does His word. Jesus made this very clear early in His ministry.So who or what changed the Sabbath, which was instituted by GOD in Genesis 2.
Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2:2 By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
Quite clearly, the Sabbath is not just for the Jews as the nation of Israel was not present in the Garden.
Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 5:18 "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Jesus did not teach that the Sabbath was done away with, He actually taught on the Sabbath. So who changed it? The Roman Church aka. the Synagogue of Satan changed it as it has changed many times and seasons to accommodate their pagan/demonic practices.
You are all free to look this up for yourselves.
23:4 'These are the appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them.
23:5 'In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD'S Passover.
Passover can be confusing because it is referred to as a day as well as a meal. Adding to this confusion is that the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the very next night. So actually, the Passover meal is eaten on the first day of this feast. Remember that GOD starts each day in the evening not at midnight.
23:6 'Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
23:7 'On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.
23:8 'But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.'"
This is a seven day feast with the first and last days all being High Holy days or Sabbaths. Of course, the search for leaven is in realty a sincere search within everyone’s hearts to expose the sin which lies hidden in the hearts deepest recesses.
Matthew 16:6 And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
Matthew 16:12 Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Luke 12:1 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Is GOD asking too much of us to spend time searching our own hearts for the sin that remains un-conffessed within each of us? When was the last time you gave serious thought and time to your sin?
As we discussed earlier in our study of Joel, Joel is unique because in a very brief book, we can read the entire future of the end times. Here in the end, we will see how that plays out.
Joel 3:17-21 So you shall know that I am Jehovah your God dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be a holy thing, and no aliens shall pass through her any more.
In this new millennial kingdom, Jesus will reign from His holy mountain. Only chosen people will come to Jerusalem to worship Him there, but there will once again be people throughout the world. While at the onset there will only be saints, after generations sin will again rise up and try to overthrow the King of Kings.
3:18 And it shall be, in that day the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
It will be a wonderful land and time to be with the Messiah. There will be abundance in the land and there will be no need for anything, nor will any go hungry, cold, or tired.
3:19 Egypt shall be a ruin, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, from violence done to the sons of Judah, whose innocent blood they poured out in their land.
Interestingly, Egypt and Edom will remain wastelands. Why? To remind everyone that God will and has punished those nations that have rebelled against Him and His chosen people.
3:20 But Judah will dwell forever, and Jerusalem to generation and generation.
3:21 And I will cleanse their blood which I did not cleanse; and Jehovah is dwelling in Zion.
Judah will be forever, both in the millennial kingdom and in the new heavens and earth. Why? Because the Lion of Judah, the King of Kings and our great High Priest will reign forever and ever.
Once again we study Joel. Just in three short chapters, the LORD once again reminds us and warns us of his soon coming outpouring of His holy wrath at the end of time and the beginning of the millennial kingdom.
Joel 3:1-16 For, behold, in those days and in that time, when I will bring again the exiles of Judah and Jerusalem, 3:2 I will also gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will fight with them there for My people and for My inheritance Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and divided My land.
God will cause all who deny Him and worship the Beast (Satan) to challenge Him to war. God will once again call out to all of His chosen people to return to watch the swift and complete destruction of the physical lives of the wicked.\
3:3 And they have cast lots for My people, and have given a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine, so that they might drink.
This sounds a lot like the child abuse, sexual traffic, kidnapping, and sacrificing that is prevalent in the world today.
3:4 Yea, and what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the borders of Philistia? Will you give Me a reward? And if you reward Me, swiftly and speedily I will turn your reward on your own head, 3:5 because you have taken My silver and My gold, and have carried My good treasures into your temples.
Many nations have plundered Israel and God has not forgotten or forgiven them.
3:6 You have also sold the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, that you might remove them far from their border.
3:7 Behold, I am raising them out of the place where you have sold them, and will turn your reward on your own head.
3:8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off; for Jehovah has spoken it.
Your sins will find you out and God may pour out your sins back on your heads.
3:9 Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up.
3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, I am strong. 3
:11 Gather yourselves and come, all you nations, and gather yourselves together all around; cause Your mighty ones to come down there, O Jehovah.
3:12 Let the nations be awakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the nations all around. 3:13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, come down; for the press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.
3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision!
The battle lines are being drawn, the challenge has been sent out, the war will soon be swiftly and completely over. Just in case you have any concerns or fears, the battle will or has been over before it began.
3:15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall gather in their light.
This is a consistent theme and sign of His coming.
3:16 Jehovah shall also roar out of Zion and utter His voice from Jerusalem. And the heavens and the earth shall shake. But Jehovah will be the hope of His people and the strength of the sons of Israel.
There is only one true God. He alone is sovereign. He cannot be thwarted. He cannot be overcome.
As mentioned before, Joel gives a very summary complete overview of the last days. It does not have a tremendous amount of detail, which we find in other books, but gives us insight that is needed. The following are most likely the verses that are known the best from Joel.
Joel 2:28-32 And it shall be afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh. And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams; your young men shall see visions.
This event has yet to happen. Since God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh, then all ungodly, unrighteous flesh will have been removed from the earth, as we read last time.
2:29 And also I will pour out My Spirit on the slaves and on the slave women in those days.
Interesting that there seems to be slaves in the millennial kingdom. But, in reality they are bond-servants to the Lord not slaves as we might understand the term. In reality, all true believers are bond-servants of the King.
2:30 And I will show wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke.2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of Jehovah.
This is one of the most repeated signs in all prophetic passages. God is making sure we don’t miss His signs of His coming. This is not the blood moons which false teachers are always commenting on and writing books about that fit their false theology.
2:32 And it shall be, whoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be saved; for salvation shall be in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as Jehovah has said, and in the remnant whom Jehovah shall call.
Two closing comments on this verse. First, salvation is always being presented. The gospel is always available to the world. Secondly, there will only be a remnant, just as there has only always been a remnant.
Have you called on His name? Have all those you love called on His name? Time is short, no real time to waste.
The entire prophetic timetable is not revealed in Joel, but the main elements are. Joel is the one book that is most often quoted as to the signs of what the Millennial Kingdom will be like. So we will study this and then go back to the other books that discuss the last days.
Joel 2:18-27 Then Jehovah will be jealous for His land and pity His people. 2:19 Yes, Jehovah will answer and say to His people, Behold, I will send you grain, and wine, and oil, and you shall be satisfied with it. And I will no more make you a curse among the nations.
We go quickly from the Terrible Day of the Lord to the time of the Lord’s reign on earth. The great battle at the end of the Tribulation is over and the earth is now no longer under any curse.
2:20 But I will remove the northern army far from you, and will drive him into a barren and deserted land, with his face toward the eastern sea and his rear toward the western sea. And his stench shall come up, and his ill odor shall come up, because he was doing great things.
What is this army? Well there are two great battles, one before the Millennial reign and the other at the end of the Millennial reign.
Revelation 19:17-21 And I saw one angel standing in the sun. And he cried with a great voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid-heaven, Come and gather together to the supper of the great God, 19:18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of commanders, and the flesh of strong ones, and the flesh of horses, and those sitting on them, and the flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.
19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth and their armies, being gathered to make war against Him who sat on the horse, and against His army. 9:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet doing signs before it, (by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast), and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the Lake of Fire burning with brimstone.
19:21 And the rest were slain by the sword of Him who sat on the horse, it proceeding out of His mouth. And all the birds were filled from their flesh.
This carnage will be horrific to witness. Billions of dead people strewn across the land will produce a stench for some time, even with the birds of the air cleaning the bones. Satan and all who were deceived to following him are instantly slain by the Lord. Satan is also imprisoned in chains.
Revelation 20:1-3 And I saw an angel come down from Heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 0:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. 20:3 And he cast him into the abyss and shut him up and set a seal on him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he must be loosed a little time.
So for the next 1000 years, Jesus reigns from His holy city, Jerusalem. It will be a time of peace until Satan is once again allowed to return.
2:21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice. For Jehovah will do great things. 2:22 Do not be afraid, beasts of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness grow green; for the tree bears its fruit, and the fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
2:23 Be glad then, sons of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God. For He has given you the former rain according to righteousness, and He will cause the rain to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain in the first month.
2:24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
The land will produce plenty and the people who survived the Tribulation will have families and the earth once again will be full of people.
2:25 And I will restore to you the years which the swarming locust has eaten, the locust larvae, and the stripping locust, and the cutting locust, My great army which I sent among you.
2:26 And you shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of Jehovah your God, who has dealt with you wonderfully; and My people shall never be ashamed.
2:27 And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am Jehovah your God, and no one else; and My people shall never be ashamed.
While this may seem like the end of the story, there is more to come.
What is coming from the Lord? Joel’s message is one of urgency, yet it was written hundreds of years before Jesus Christ’s ministry on earth. With prophecy we have to deal with many often confusing images, metaphors, and symbols. We also have to discern when the passage talks of things soon coming to pass and those coming when Jesus returns to claim His kingdom on earth. We also have to contend with partial revelation within any one passage.
No one passage completely details the end times and the Day of the Lord. So we now go to Revelation to help us gain greater understanding of Joel and the Day of the Lord.
Revelation 9:1-12 Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. 9:2 He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. 9:3 Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
Where did they come from? From the bottomless pit, where they have been confined since early in the history of the world.
Jude 1:6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
So now, Satan is allowed to release them to torment the world of the ungodly.
9:4 They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 9:5 And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man.
These creatures from the bottomless pit will torment men for five months. Even though they are demonic in nature, God still uses them as His army.
9:6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them.
9:7 The appearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads appeared to be crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.
9:8 They had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.
9:9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle.
9:10 They have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months.
This description is very similar to that in Joel 2. Language is totally inadequate to accurately describe such beasts. Notice both Joel and John use words such as ‘like the’ and then go onto to try and bridge the connection. Still words fail to give us the real picture and horror of these demonic beings.
9:11 They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.
His name means destroyer. This is exactly the type of world Satan has desired since the beginning. Death, pain, destruction are his tools to gain total control.
9:12 The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.
Things will get far worse before they get better.
God has given us His Word that is not silent on His plans for the end of history. No one verse, passage, chapter, or book of the Bible contains all He has told us or what we need to know to prepare. This is not a study for information only, but what are we to do as we see the end coming? We are not to be silent of asleep. We have too often been cautious and timid about offending man, but totally unconcerned about offending God. Joel continues to reveal more about what is coming.
Joel 1:13-20 Gird yourselves with sackcloth And lament, O priests; Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth O ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God.
God is calling out to the spiritual leaders to repent in sackcloth all night long. The world is in a God ordained famine and there is not even enough to bring offerings into the house of God.
1:14 Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD. J:15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
God wants or commands all to join in this national outpouring of repentance, fasting, and confession. Who will begin this call in the U.S.? Too many think this could never be true of us. Are any pastors or shepherds concerned about the times? If they are not, what are they concerned with most?
Joel 1:16 Has not food been cut off before our eyes, Gladness and joy from the house of our God? 1:17 The seeds shrivel under their clods; The storehouses are desolate, The barns are torn down, For the grain is dried up.
There is already comments and concerns about food shortages coming to or in the U.S. Who would orchestrate this and why? Satan would and his servants obey him totally.
1:18 How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle wander aimlessly Because there is no pasture for them; Even the flocks of sheep suffer. 1:19 To You, O LORD, I cry; For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field. 1:20 Even the beasts of the field pant for You; For the water brooks are dried up And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
This would create riots, food shortages, and desperate attempts to survive are just a few things that could follow such a famine.
Joel 2:12-17 "Yet even now," declares the LORD, "Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning; 2:13 And rend your heart and not your garments."
Joel continues in Chapter 2 with the same message, return to God with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Have you ever heard anyone else speaking like this?
Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil. 2:14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God?
God again reminds us that He is slow to anger and has no limits on His lovingkindness. But, His righteous wrath is as holy as His lovingkindness.
2:15 Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
2:16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
2:17 Let the priests, the LORD'S ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, "Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, 'Where is their God?'"
It is time to fast, repent, cry out to God. Blow the trumpet, gather friends, gather family, try and get the pastors involved. It is time for us to declare that God has called us to repent.
As we continue our study of the terrible, awesome Day of the Lord, we will find references and warnings throughout the Bible. One such OT Book is Joel, which is often quoted and even misquoted. We will try and gain a more accurate, biblical understanding in the next few lessons.
Joel 2:1 Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the LORD is coming; Surely it is near, 2:2 A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations.
This is a very serious and terrifying warning. God has been warning the world for thousands of year. The end of His warnings is fast approaching as the warnings are close to turning into reality.
2:3 A fire consumes before them And behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them But a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them.
Fire always figures importantly in His prophecies of the soon coming end of this age. It will also be prevalent at the close of the Millennial Kingdom when the heavens and earth are totally destroyed by fire.
2:4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like war horses, so they run. 2:5 With a noise as of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
Who are these warriors? Are they men, demons, unclean spirits? What ever they are, they are fearsome, deadly, and evil. Who can escape from these beasts?
2:6 Before them the people are in anguish; All faces turn pale.
2:7 They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like soldiers; And they each march in line, Nor do they deviate from their paths.
2:8 They do not crowd each other, They march everyone in his path; When they burst through the defenses, They do not break ranks.
2:9 They rush on the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter through the windows like a thief.
2:10 Before them the earth quakes, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.
Clearly they are supernatural and demonically inspired, directed, and controlled. We will search the Scriptures to see if we can come to understand this better next time.
2:11 The LORD utters His voice before His army; Surely His camp is very great, For strong is he who carries out His word.
The LORD’s army cannot be defeated. The LORD’s army will not be deterred nor frightened. The LORD’s army in actuality does not even enter into the fight or battle. More next time, but first another reminder that God has been warning us clearly and repeatedly.
The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?We just studied this in Matthew 24, but will tie it together with a few verses.
Matthew 24:21 "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 24:22 "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
While many in the U.S. are praying that God will overturn the evil that has been recently exposed throughout our country, few take time to consider that instead of deliverance, we may be receiving God’s righteous judgment upon our land. Too often, many believe and proclaim that since God is sovereign, He will bring our country back from the evil path it is now on. He will overturn evil, bring back peace, and restore our prosperity and freedoms. That is not only not biblical but can lead us to being disappointed in God. What has He promised? What has He done in the past? What has He told us about the future?
First, one more example on being saved in the middle of His divine, holy, righteous outpouring of His wrath.
Genesis 6:1 Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 6:2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose.
6:3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."
6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
This is a very sad account of how Satan once again tried to destroy all that God had created as good. In just 1500 years, all the people on the earth had left Him to do evil. Fallen angels certainly contributed to this worldwide evil.
Could these demonic spiritual beings be once again trying to destroy all that is truly good to rule in a world that is entirely evil?
6:6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
6:7 The LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them."
6:8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
God only found one righteous man in all the world. God’s response was to destroy all of the evil throughout the world. That is also God’s soon coming future plan.
6:11 Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.
6:12 God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.
6:13 Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.
Couldn’t God offer them salvation instead? There is nothing to say that they weren’t offered salvation, as none could say they had never heard of God.
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; 2:5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;
So what has God just revealed to us? Noah was God’s instrument to warn the world, preach to the world, and to build the ark. The ark and his preaching should have convinced and convicted some! But, none came other than his three sons.
Luke 17:26 "And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 17:27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.
1 Peter 3:20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
God gave them adequate warning, sufficient teaching, and godly examples, but to no avail. In effect, no one was interested in listening, as their lives kept them self-satisfied, self-indulged, and self-deceived. The world today looks, sounds, and acts in a very similar self-centered, ungodly fashion.
7:12 The rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.
7:13 On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark, 7:14 they and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, all sorts of birds.
7:15 So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life. 7:16 Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the LORD closed it behind him.
7:17 Then the flood came upon the earth for forty days, and the water increased and lifted up the ark, so that it rose above the earth.
God’s patience, i.e. long suffering, had come to an end. Jehovah personally closed the door of the ark and then the rain came for forty days and forty nights. All perished except those who God protected in the ark. The wrath of God literally was poured out upon the world, yet Noah and his family, plus the animals, were protected.
More next time.
Many in the U.S. teach a very easy and comforting message that is not true. That message is deceiving in that it teaches that the U.S. ‘christian’ will not endure any hardship, persecution, or tribulation i.e. trouble. That is not only unbiblical, it is not even seen in all of history. Actually, the history of the church is full of persecution, hardship, and trouble. The next example of God protecting His people from His wrath can be found in Exodus. As you most likely already know, the Lord brought 10 plagues upon Egypt, which literally destroyed the land. It also clearly made a mockery of all of the many false gods of Egypt, none of which intervened to stop any of them.
Exodus 7:19 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'"
7:20 So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.
7:21 The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.
7:22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
I will not go into this detail for all of the plagues, although we could learn alot about our God, the nature of sin, and the eternal risks of hardening your hearts. But, we can set the pattern and tone with the first plague.
First, the world has all of its own gods and doesn’t seriously consider someone else’s gods as important or necessary.
Second, Satan is not only very clever and very evil, he also can do many ‘miracles’. We know that in the end, his signs and wonders will amaze and entrap many.
Third, miracles rarely produced true belief during the days our Lord was on earth. They also rarely produce fear or obedience to God’s warnings. Just like with Noah.
Exodus 8:22 "But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the LORD, am in the midst of the land.
After the frogs and gnats, the Lord brought flies. But, this time, there would be no trouble or tribulation in Goshen. Even though you would think flies would not or could not be herded or contained, they were.
9:3 …behold, the hand of the LORD will come with a very severe pestilence on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks. 9:4 "But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel."'"
This is now the second time we read of God’s wrath being poured out on Egypt, but right next door God protected them. This was a devastating disease that immediately killed the Egyptian livestock. A blow to their wealth and survival.
9:24 So there was hail, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very severe, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 9:25 The hail struck all that was in the field through all the land of Egypt, both man and beast; the hail also struck every plant of the field and shattered every tree of the field. 9:26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, there was no hail.
Now we read for the third time who God’s wrath poured out upon all of Egypt but not in Goshen. The Israelites could see the hail come down over Egypt, but must have been in awe to be spared such destruction.
10:21 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt." 10:22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days. 10:23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings.
I am sure there are many unbelieving ‘scientists’ who can theorize a host of ‘illogical and natural’ reasons for Goshen being spared or for even Egypt experiencing these disasters. But, who can block out the sun over Egypt but let light shine in Goshen? We know; the God who created the sun, the moon, the stars, and all of this planet we call the world!
12:12 'For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the LORD. 12:13 'The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
12:14 'Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance. 12:15 'Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses; for whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
12:16 'On the first day you shall have a holy assembly, and another holy assembly on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person, that alone may be prepared by you.
12:17 'You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance.
This was a terrible night in Egypt. This was also the first outpouring of God’s wrath that carried a requirement with it for all of Israel. The only way to be saved from this last outpouring of God’s wrath was to kill a lamb without blemish and put its blood on the doorposts and lintels. Obedience saved them from God’s wrath.
So what have we learned about being rescued from God’s wrath?
God can protect you without removing you from earth.
God will provide a way for you to remain safe from His wrath.
God will save us if we obey Him. If we disobey, we will experience His wrath.
More next time.