Yeshua: Whole Burnt Offering and Martyr

Posted on 05/11/2014 by Messyanic

After these things **God tested Abraham** and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Gen 22:1-2 ESV)

This is the first instance of YHVH *testing* man. We learn elsewhere that YHVH tests man to see *what is in his heart* and to see if *he will obey Him*. (Exo 15:23-26, Exo 16:2-5, Exo 20:18-20, Deu 8:1-3, 11-16)

So given what takes place in the following verses of Genesis 22, Abraham appears to pass the test by offering his unique son, whom he loved, as a burnt offering, which is exactly what YHVH told him to do. And Isaac passes the test as well, as he willingly laid his life down. Except, YHVH had mercy on them and spared Isaac by providing a lamb/ram in his stead.

I believe God was testing a man (and his son) to see if he **would obey Him** *even unto death*. Continue reading →

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Sun Gives Signs to Mark

Posted on 04/23/2014 by Messyanic

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs (H226), and for seasons, and for days and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. (Gen 1:14-18 ASV)

To him that made great lights; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever: The sun to rule by day; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever; The moon and stars to rule by night; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever: (Psa 136:7-9 ASV)

In my sundial project this year, which I started late February, I started noticing a pattern when tracking the shadow of the sun from one day to the next. There were arcs of shadow that were flattening over time.

Then, on March 20, 2014 the shadow cast by the sun was a perfectly straight line. I considered this to be a “sign to mark” something…it indicated a change was taking place, a crossing of a threshold. This, in my understanding, was the “marker day” to end winter and begin spring.

IMG_3180  Continue reading →

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When Was the Son of Man Raised from the Dead?

Posted on 04/13/2014 by Messyanic

Christianity teaches that Jesus died on a Friday and was raised on a Sunday, hence the celebration of “Good Friday” and “Easter Sunday”. Many Messianics, however, believe that he was in the grave for three days and three nights, thereby making it impossible for him to have met that Friday to Sunday scenario.

Sadly, I see many Messianics criticizing, even mocking at times, the Christians for their supposed error calling it “fuzzy math”. Admittedly I questioned the math myself when I considered the three days and three nights understanding for a time. But over the course of my Biblical calendar journey I have come to learn that while I don’t agree with the “Friday” to “Sunday” reckoning, I do believe the math adds up.  Continue reading →

Posted in Jesus / Yeshua, Sabbath Day - Shabbath | 3 Comments

The Day After…the Spring Equinox

Posted on 03/21/2014 by Messyanic

This is a follow up to my previous post on what I observed on March 20, 2014.

Today (March 21, 2014), we had another beautiful sunny day, so I was able to start marking the shadows in the morning (using a blue marker).

Right away I could see the tips of the shadows were off from yesterday’s line.

So I continued to mark it without connecting the dots until mid-day.

  Continue reading →

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Path of the Spring Equinox in Central Virginia

Posted on 03/20/2014 by Messyanic

We’ve been tracking the path of the sun for the past three weeks in Central Virginia. I shared my notes on what we used for a sundial a few days ago and the path of the sun for various days leading up to the “equinox”.

For the past few days we have not had any clear sun to go by, but today (3/20/14) it was clear from the moment the sun rose above the horizon. So I began making my marks (black dots in the picture below).

IMG_3173

I expected the line to be straight until mid-day, given what I’ve seen in the past. Then, typically around what I believe to be solar noon the line bends. So, I waited until late in the morning to connect the dots.

IMG_3174  Continue reading →

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Watching the Path of the Sun

Posted on 03/17/2014 by Messyanic

Genesis 1:14-15 tells us that Elohim/God put luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to divide between the day and the night, to give light upon the earth and to serve for signs to mark, for seasons, for days and years.

For the past 2-3 weeks, we’ve been tracking the path of the sun to see what we can learn as it relates to being “for signs to mark, for seasons, for days and years”.

We made a raised, level rectangular metal table with the short ends facing north and south. We attached a screw (about 1-1/4″) on its head near the southern end of the table. I’ve been marking the tip of the shadow throughout various clear sunny days, and connecting the dots for days with enough data to show a path from mid-morning to late afternoon. (We have trees along the eastern and western horizons here, so it’s hard to map the early morning and late evening “hours”.) Continue reading →

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Do Not Kindle A Fire

Posted on 02/28/2014 by Messyanic

I’m often amazed at how many doctrines of men are a result of verses in Scripture ripped from their immediate contexts.  Sadly, so many are unaware that much of what they believe to be true is not supported in Scripture when rightly divided. This is why we need to test everything, studying to show ourselves approved.

matchThere’s a familiar instruction in the Hebraic community to “kindle no fire” on the Sabbath day. The forbiddance of lighting candles and oil lamps, building campfires and heating homes, and cooking or heating food on the Sabbath stem from this particular instruction. However, this instruction is only found one time — in the book of Exodus.

Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, “These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do. Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.” (Exo 35:1-3 ESV)

Is this verse telling us we are not allowed to light a dark place, heat a home, or cook a meal on the Sabbath day or is there something else going on here? Continue reading →

Posted in Sabbath Day - Shabbath, What About? verses | 28 Comments

The Promised Messiah: the Son of David

Posted on 02/11/2014 by Messyanic

We see in the Tanakh (Old Testament) where it is promised that YHVH will raise up a seed after David, which shall be of his bowels, who will build a house for Him. He will be a son to YHVH and His throne will be established for ever.

And it came to pass in that night, that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and say to David my servant, Thus said the Lord, Thou shalt not build me a house for me to dwell in it. For I have not dwelt in a house from the day that I brought up Israel until this day, but I have been in a tabernacle and a tent, in all places through which I have gone with all Israel: did I ever speak to any one tribe of Israel whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why is it that ye have not built me a house of cedar? And now thus shalt thou say to my servant David, Thus saith the Lord Almighty, I took thee from the sheepfold, from following the flocks, to be a ruler over my people Israel: and I was with thee in all places whither thou wentest, and I destroyed all thine enemies from before thee, and I made for thee a name according to the name of the great ones that are upon the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant him, and he shall dwell by himself, and shall no longer be anxious; and the son of iniquity shall no longer afflict him, as at the beginning, and from the days when I appointed judges over my people Israel. Also I have humbled all thine enemies, and I will increase thee, and the Lord will build thee a house. And it shall come to pass when thy days shall be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me a house, and I will set up his throne for ever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son: and my mercy will I not withdraw from him, as I withdrew it from them that were before thee. And I will establish him in my house and in his kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be set up for ever. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so spoke Nathan to David.  Continue reading →

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The Son of David and the Son of God

Posted on 02/11/2014 by Messyanic

It seems that the understanding of the Messiah being both the Son of David and the Son of God is pictured in the Tanakh (Psalm 2, 2 Samuel 7:8-16), but the Jews in Yeshua’s day did not understand how Yeshua could be both.

Jesus (Yeshua) answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus (Yeshua) answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”

The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”

Jesus (Yeshua) answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came–and Scripture cannot be broken– do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God‘? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands. (Joh 10:25-39 ESV)

They considered Yeshua, who they knew to be a man, was making himself God, yet Yeshua never said such a thing. He only claimed to come from the Father and to be “the Son of God”. I believe Yeshua was speaking of a spiritual Father-Son relationship, but they weren’t getting it. Continue reading →

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How Many Days in a Biblical Year?

Posted on 02/10/2014 by Messyanic

Scripture clearly tells us there are 12 months (H2320 “chodesh”) in a Biblical year and infers there are 30 days per Biblical month/chodesh. So does this mean there are 360 days in a Biblical year?

For years I thought that’s what Scripture was telling us. I knew that currently our years consist of 365.24 days, so I figured something must have gone out of whack since the time of Noah, and that it would likely be restored in the time of the end. But then, I came across something in the Book of Enoch.

The Book of Enoch (or 1 Enoch) was written and read prior to Yeshua’s (Jesus’) birth over 2,000 years ago. In fact this text was cited and quoted in the book/letter of Jude and many of the thoughts and ideas expressed in the New Testament seem to come from this book. This suggests to me (and others) that it was commonly read at the time of Yeshua.

It turns out that the Book of Enoch has been preserved through the centuries as a sacred Ethiopian text and is considered by many to be inspired. I was introduced to this book a few years ago, but I did not venture into it much right away. It wasn’t until the fall of 2012 while I was studying the Biblical calendar when I started looking deeper into it.  Continue reading →

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