The Unholy Mixing of Seed

Joseph F. Dumond

Isa 6:9-12 And He said, Go, and tell this people, You hear indeed, but do not understand; and seeing you see, but do not know. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back, and be healed. Then I said, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities are wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land laid waste, a desolation, and until Jehovah has moved men far away, and the desolation in the midst of the land is great.
Published: Oct 20, 2010

News Letter 5846-037
14th day of the 8th month 5846 years after creation
The 8th Month in of the first year of the third Sabbatical Year
The Third Sabbatical Year of the 119th Jubilee Cycle

October 23, 2010

 

Shabbat Shalom Family,

Here are some emails from those who kept the Feast if Jerusalem with us this year. Although they are addressed to me they reflect what the many other speakers, and other tour guides and those who organized did to make this Feast possible and a special and memorable Feast for each and every one of them. And each one had their own special moment. It also reflects each person who was there just being a brother or sister to each of us.

For me some of my most special moments were; Simcha Torah which was very special and watching Joe, Harry, Bonny, Debra and Beau dance with the Torah was a highlight. Seeing the looks on the faces of the brethren as they learned about the Temple Mount and the walls was another. Just seeing the many smiling faces and talking to the brethren until 3 in the morning every night is another. Sitting in the restaurant overlooking the Kotel and just talking and eating such great food was another.

Watching the faces of the brethren as they fell in love with the goat farm. The Goat Farm of all places was just awesome and to see how the brethren reacted to it. And Hearing Kyles thoughts on the last night was awesome. These are some of the moments that I will cherish for years to come. There are many others but I would like you the readers to hear what these people who were there have to say, their cherished moments of this most special Sukkot.

My Brother Joe has written . Know and understand that this fella only started to keep the Sabbath two weeks before he arrived in Jerusalem. He decided to do so after watching the video about the Sabbatical and Jubilee years  and was only part way through The Prophecies of Abraham when he came.

 

Joe,

Sorry I don’t have photos. They are too much for my computer & I’ve been sick
& just getting over it! There, I’m done with the excuses!!!

The most profound experience I had during Sukkot in Israel, was late one night, close to Mid-night we walked to the “Western Wall” to pray. Few people were there and we were able to walk right up to the wall and Pray. As I placed my hands on the wall and leaned my head in to touch my forehead to the wall a tide of emotion washed over me. I felt spirit of Elohim fill me and welcome my prayers. I Have experienced the Rouach Kodesh in the past, but as a new Torah observer, I have not experienced Elohim in this way. It was truly an exciting and memorable moment.

Thanks Joe foe all you did and helped us see during the feast. It was wonderful. Steph & I are already planning for next year. She said that she would stay at the Petra. “It didn’t seem to bad.”
Blessings,

Joe DeLand
USA

Joe wrote me again on Sunday and said this. ” It was a little rough at church this morning, I got told that this wasn’t a “Jewish church”. Do tell!!”

 

Shalom Joseph,
It was a blessing from the Almighty that we were in Jerusalem to keep Sukkot 2010.

Till six months ago when we get to know you more, we have never dreamed of going to Israel. Since I(Harry) was born to a Christian family and Connie asked Yeshua (we only knew Him as Jesus Christ then) to be her Saviour when she was in university, we had been wandering in the ‘wilderness’ for almost 60 years and 33 years respectively! This past trip to Israel represents our ‘entering into the Promised Land’ for the first time, we trust that this is the beginning of much more learning of our Creator. Our eyes were first ‘opened’ when a zealous brethren shared with us why we have to keep the seventh day Sabbath and the Feast Days. Subsequently, as we searched for the truth, we met you and others through all of you and His Words, we are able to unlearn many false doctrines of ‘Christianity without the Torah’.

This trip really opened up our eyes to see and ears to hear, but most of all He had opened up our hearts to feel His presence! By understanding the importance of Torah as well as trying our best to keep the Torah on a continuous basis, our understanding of the whole Scriptures comes alive and are congruent. Now both Old and New Testament make far more sense and reality for us especially being physically in the Land. All the Old Testament names and places are far more than just what are written on the pages of Scriptures! This visit to the Land helps us to pursue our purpose in life-to know, obey YHWH and seek eagerly the truths in front of us. .

There are much more to learn and see, this is only chapter one for us on this journey.

Listening to speakers have given us many new perspectives of what the Scriptures is teaching us. Combined with the ‘air’ of the Land (culture of the Land) helps to bring life to the Scriptures! Now, many words and paragraphs of the Scriptures seem jumping out to greet us. All the teachings and messages from different speakers of different background are good and important and we cannot pick one over another!

Among many things we treasure from this trip is the friendship and fellowship we have made with brothers and sisters during Sukkot 2010. We are inspired to know that YHWH has drawn His children from many corners of the world and am able to understand and see the fulfilment of His promise to re-gather the lost sheep from all nations!

We thank you very much for your dedication in teaching, organizing and being one of our tour guides of this memorable trip!

Harry and Connie Lim,
Ontario, Canada

 

Shalom Joe

I have just got back from my trip to the amazing Land of our forefathers, because after leaving Yerushalayim I was blessed to be able to spend a further 10 days in Ariel where many of the beautiful people that I had met at the hostel were going to start their new lives as scholars of the Hebrew language and new inhabitants of the Land.

This has truly been for me a life changing experience and I am hard pushed to express my emotions. I would like to thank you most sincerely for the major part that you played in making this trip just so meaningful. I did not really even know that there was a formal plan and agenda to this gathering and was blessed out of my socks by the quality of the teachings that we were privileged to sit in on. The informal discussions and debates were just as much appreciated as the formal teachings. The highlights for me were the walks through the Old City and actually being in the garden where our beloved Messiah must have been.

Definitely an unforgettable moment was the walk through Hezekiah’s tunnel and even taking the time to dip down and mikvah in the crystal clear water before walking the length in the eerie light of the leader’s torch.

There were just so many sights, sounds, scenes, places and people that my little brain gets quite overheated just trying to list them all. From Ariel I had the wonderful opportunity to join in a morning of grape harvesting on the Mount of Blessings!
What a blessing that was!

I also had the opportunity to go shopping for gifts, curios and a Menorah to remind me of The LIGHT that shines from this awesome city.

I very naively thought that once I had been to Israel that I could give away my suitcase because I have no desire to travel again, – BUT – Having been once I now know that I have to go again and again and again.

Thank you Joe
Heather Tidbury
South Africa

 

Hi Joe,
I wanted to give you my thoughts again on L’Chaim Ephriam for you to post if you like.

It was a tremendous pleasure to be part of the L’Chaim Ephriam Feast of Succot 2010. I have been with many “Hebrew Root”/Israelite/Ephriamites, etc., groups over the past couple of years and I must say I have not been with a better group of people that exemplify Ephesians 4:1-3 who through LOVE endeavored to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. What a sweet aroma it was as it says in Ephesians 5:1. It impressed me that the body that was present at this Feast were allowed to use the gifts and talents they were given for the body to grow and be edified, Eph. 4:11-16. In 1cor 13:1-3 it says that we can have all knowledge, great teaching, and prophecy, but without love it is nothing. I can attest to the fact that loved flowed from this body of believers and I did not see the evidence of one thinking more highly of them self than another but only serving and accepting one another and those also that were outside of the group. All this was so much so that when we as a group were out in Jerusalem in the various places a dear lady that was hurting and lonely, found a place to be loved and accepted. She was not a believer or searching out her Hebrew roots. But because of the love, acceptance and inclusiveness of the group she heard much about our savior and Hebrew roots. Also, others were able to come that were just there for a feast and tour and found out about the L’chaim Ephraim feast and came to hear teaching about the name and were blessed. Others found that we were here to come along side them, not convert them, to focus on what unites us rather than divides us and let the Father work out the rest. I appreciated this time so much and thank you to all who organized it. May you all be richly blessed for being an example of our Father who draws us with loving kindness, Jeremiah 31:3-6. I believe this time was an example of brothers dwelling in unity together which was truly pleasing to the Father.

Laura Jarvis
Israel

Okay, Joe, I also want to personally let you know that you are a blessing. You have a great love for our heavenly Father and a great love for His people and purposes. You have a wonderful servants heart and I pray many blessings upon you.

Blessings in the name of Yeshua,
Laura Jarvis
(I had to include that part. It is not too often someone says that to me. LOL)

Laura was referring to a Lady who sat with us when we went to the Temple Mount Institute. She just got mixed in with our group. She began to talk with those in our group and liked the things we were saying to her. These are just those people in our group and not any of the leadership. She was invited to come to the Petra and visit. She then joined us on a bus tour and was welcome to take part in whatever we were doing. This was a lady who knew nothing about the Feasts days and was just there in Jerusalem on tour alone and hurting.

One of the things that Amanda insisted on last year and I agree is that because almost all of us were kicked out of some place and have felt the hurt of rejection by other groups, that if we were to do this Feast thing, we would welcome and try to make everyone feel welcome with our group. Most people, who show up, come with different beliefs. And they are welcome. I understand they all can’t be as perfect as me. LOL I gest. So some come to keep the Rabbinic Feast Days, others the Sighted moon and barley Days, and others with some other variation as they understand it to be. But those who are troubling and quarrelsome we do ask to leave. We have not had to do that as yet.

So to make this Christian lady feel welcome was exactly what we would have wanted to do and it was the whole group who did that and not just any one person. For this I am most pleased to hear. So thank you Laura for saying this.

We also had Christians staying on the same floor as the meetings took place and they were always welcome and we had many a talk with them, never trying to convert or persuade. Just being friends with them as well.

Dear Joe!

Again I want to thank you for how much you (and many others) added to our Sukkot. I grew up keeping feast of tabernacles but this was by far the most incredible Sukkot. Not just because it was our first time in the holy land but because of the group of people. It was beautiful to see such a diverse group of people, some (or rather most of us) with some crazy ideas. Yet, despite these differences of background, and beliefs, there was such an overwhelming presence of love and respect and tolerance. It was beautiful to witness the two houses talking and showing respect in the instances when our Jewish brothers came to teach.

Another highlight for me was seeing the true sights. Not some church or monument or shrine built on a spot where 1500 or 500 or 200 years ago that a person claimed (I believe often erroneously) an event from scripture occurred. I wanted to walk where my biblical ancestors walked; pray where my Messiah prayed, and shed tears where so many have. Not at a shrine, or church but in the unadulterated places where they did. That is exactly where you took us and YHWH blessed us in being able to reach those places.

Also a special thank you for everyone who encouraged us and helped us with our two small children (2 and 4); they are already asking when we are going back to Jerusalem.
Teresa and Rob
Alberta Canada

 

Dear Joseph,

Over 25 years ago on my first trip to Israel, it was like Yeshua was standing right there close beside me, with an arm around my shoulder, pointing out all the places that He had lived, walked, and loved and suffered in the Land; it felt just like when I got engaged to marry, my fiancĂ© took me back to his hometown to meet a lot of family and friends, see where he went to school, the burger drive-in, the house where he lived as a teenager… It’s like that when you come to Israel, seeing it all and meeting the in-laws!

It has been many years since I toured Israel by tour bus with a group, so I really enjoyed the two days of touring in Judea and Samaria, seeing the beauteous countryside, eating delicious food, and especially the produce at this time of year is so wonderful, learning so much of the history, seeing the people in the group taking it all in, and meeting the wonderful Israeli’s that are “holding down the fort” for everyone. I was very touched by the Mayor of Shiloh who, even as a young man, knew his purpose and calling to Shiloh, Israel, to raise his family, and what injuries he and his son suffered just for being Jews, targeted for murder.

The facility there in Shiloh for treatment and help for trauma victims is a worthy place to make contributions.

All the itinerary was just great, very personal, enlightening, and touching- even the painful realization, for example, of the Kfar Daniel, Gush Etzion bunker, of what it takes to hold the Land- educating the hearts of us all, and connecting with Israelis in places that not many people get to experience- a life changing trip! practicing for Zech. 14…

To meet the person that I had read about the day before in the paper for being arrested for going up on Har HaBeit and looking like he just might be praying, David Hivri, was another privilege, to meet the real people, real families, that have settled the villages and that are coping with the reality on the ground here in the Land.

The wonderful smell in the neighborhood came from underneath the Samaritan synagogue we visited- a tahina factory!
I bought it hot off the press.

So, start right now: bshanah habaah b’Yirushalyim… next year in Jerusalem!
Make a decision and start preparing for your trip next sukkot… you will never be the same- ruined for the ordinary!
Shalom y’all,
MB~
Israel

 

Shalom Joseph,
Apologize for not getting back to you sooner.

Here’s some of my memorable moments:
1. It starts at home, my dearest wife, Roselle, a nurse, and also makes jewelry used some of her earnings to help me get to Israel during Feast of Sukkoth. There are three Feasts of YHWH that men present themselves to Him, and it is at this time that we could pull enough funds for me to go. She is truly a blessing to me.

2. The Land, when we went to Shomron, Shiloh, there I felt a connection to the Land, and to see where the Mishkan once stood, and to listen to David Rubin speak of some of the trials this community experienced with terrorism, is heart wrenching. Gen 49:22-26 came to my mind,

Gen 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

To witness this community build in the face of “archers,” is truly the work of Yah’s Spirit, and His Scriptures come alive.

3. His Scriptures come alive, every step in Jerusalem, the first morning, when a few of us walked Old City, Western Wall, City of David, Kidron Valley, Temple Mount….all Yah’s scriptures come alive! The mikvah in the
Gihon Springs…priceless!

4. The fellowship and hospitality I witnessed and received when my knee swelled up for unknown reasons…truly amazing…the hospitality of Avraham clearly evident among the community. Blessings and thanks to all.

5. When some of my coworkers asked me about my vacation…I told them it was not a vacation…it is a pilgrimage. Going to the Land, the Land where Yah’s Eye’s are upon, is not the reward, it is a vehicle to fulfill His purpose, at least for me to tell others when you go according to all that Yah commands, blessings come, and that blessing for me is that all of His scriptures come alive as I read through His Word. These scriptures are not just stories, they are real, and are a witness of Him to the rest of the Nations to call upon the name of YHWH.

Blessings always, and if Yah wills next year in Jerusalem,
Marsh, Colorado USA

 

Shalom Joe

There are so many, but the biggest for me was YAH teaching me that I am a Binyamite. That is so humbling to me to know from which tribe I belong. I also thought it was so amazing that so many people who weren’t part of our “group” (as if we were more than just a gathering of like minded believers) ended up finding their way to fellowship with us. Really amazing to watch YAH at work.

Tracey Zimmerman
Missouri

Shalom Joe.

I am Michele Annaccarato from Italy and I am writing this few lines to tell you thank you for the many thing you have done during Succot in Jerusalem like many other people.

In my opinion It has been a wonderful Succot.

Joe have a very good Shabbat!!

Michele

 

Don’t these letters make you want to come to your Father’s house? Are you planning on coming for the next Feast or for Sukkot? You can meet Family and Brethren from around the world who believe as you do. Sort of.

Start putting away some money every week and ask our Father to make a way for you to come. If you don’t like our group then find another. I can tell you of some, but come and stop with all the excuses that you have used in the past. What happens here changes people’s lives, it has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Him blessing you while you are at His House. So make plans right now on coming to Jerusalem and visiting your Father at the Apple of His eye.

Although these emails are addressed and sent to me because I have asked for them so I can share them with you, there are other people who were at the Feast and did a tremendous amount of work before and during the feast in order to make it all come about. Amanda Boyd did much of the leg work along with Frank Mecklenburg in making the housing arrangements and renting of equipment for the presentations. They also booked the Bus company and Bruce Bril who did the tours for us taking us to the not so common places of Israel which we all thoroughly enjoyed like the Piazza stop and the goat farm stop along with Etzion, Arutz Sheva, Shilo, and many other places. All of this takes planning and phone calls and arranging. Frank and Bruce led us and kept us all on schedule or almost on schedule. Please do not neglect how much work Amanda and Frank along with Charlotte and Carolyn did in preparing for this Sukkot in scheduling and planning. These emails are sent to me but the lion’s share of thanks goes to these two for organizing this event. But they will tell you just how many little miracles Yahovah did to make it all come about. It is Yahovah above and beyond anything anyone of us did who opened doors so that we could go to certain places and to have the rooms we wanted on such short notice and that just the right people came. It was Yahovah who protected us in some of those not so safe places we went to and allowed us to go to them. It was Yahovah who moved those people who were here in a way that no man could ever do to affect these people and change their lives so that they will never be the same as they were before they come. Although there were those who worked to arrange these things all the glory goes to Yahovah for allowing each one of us to enjoy this Sukkot together.

 


In The News

Last Shabbat in Oklahoma there was a 5.1 earthquake. If you want to see the list of earthquakes for the month of October go to http://earthquake-report.com/2010/10/15/earthquakes-list-october-15-2010/ Keep in mind what the third curse which Yeshua explained included.

http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Society/world-food-day.php
16th October has been declared as World Food Day which is observed in remembrance of launching of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945.

With an estimated increase of 105 million hungry people in the year 2009, there are now 1.02 billion malnourished individual across the world, viz. almost one sixth of entire human race is suffering from hunger.

Despite the significance of agriculture as the major factor in the economies of many developing countries, this prominent sector is often starved of investment. In particular, foreign aid to agriculture has displayed drastic declines over the past 20 years.

At a time when the news is flooded with global economic crisis, the world needs to be jolted that not everyone is privileged to work in offices and factories. The small farms and rural areas of the world is the worst hit by this crisis and a huge percentage of hungry people live and work there.

Poverty and hunger are interlinked. And recent report from the Food and Agriculture Organization manifests that there are more than 1 billion people around the world who suffer from hunger every day. This report is not only alarming but also disheartening to think that while some of us waste food on the table, a big number of people have not a single chunk of food on their plate.

The flow of food supply is at its minimum level in twenty years, while the number of hungry people is increasing, due to the combined repercussion of high food prices, the global financial crunch and increasingly severe weather fluctuations.

Taiwan News reports 10 million people in Western Africa are suffering malnutrition and starving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsjeRcAyYMw&feature=related
From Paris this week is the following report;
Ten-thousand children won’t participate in any banquet, they won’t have any meal today, Oct. 16, as they are dying from starvation,” said the group’s executive director, François Danel.

It’s estimated between 3.5 million and five million children die each year from malnutrition-related causes.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/10/16/world-food-day.html#ixzz12aHmrfiO

United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said 1,7million Zimbabweans face starvation in the 2010/11 season with close to 133 000 tonnes of food assistance needed. http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2010-08-10-17m-face-starvation-in-zimbabwe

Yeshua said in Mathew 24:7 and in this weeks Torah study of Mark 13.
7 “For nation shall rise against nation, and reign against reign. And there shall be scarcities of food, and deadly diseases, and earthquakes in places. 8 “And all these are the beginning of birth pains.

So the one thing I have not reported on is deadly diseases. Read on then.
http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Plague_breaks_out_in_Chinas_Tibet_999.html
Plague breaks out in China’s Tibet
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Sept 26, 2010

China issued a health alert in its southwestern region of Tibet Sunday after five people were diagnosed with the plague, an often fatal infectious disease.

One of the five has already died from a severe lung infection attributed to the pneumonic plague, while one other patient was in a critical condition, the Tibet health department said in a statement on its website.

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/France_reports_first_dengue_infection_on_mainland_ministry_999.html
France reports first dengue infection on mainland: ministry
by Staff Writers

Paris (AFP) Sept 13, 2010
France reported a first case of dengue fever infection on its mainland Monday, in the southern city of Nice, and is trying to kill mosquitoes which might be carrying the deadly disease in the area.

The health ministry said it could not exclude an epidemic, and authorities have asked residents to take measures such as using mosquito nets and removing places where mosquito larvae can grow.

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Cholera_outbreak_hits_eastern_China_999.html
Cholera outbreak hits eastern China
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Aug 29, 2010

At least 30 people in eastern China have been stricken by cholera in recent weeks, with unsanitary food conditions believed to be behind the outbreak, state press said Sunday.

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Cholera_epidemic_now_threatens_all_of_Nigeria_ministry_999.html
Cholera epidemic now threatens all of Nigeria: ministry
by Staff Writers
Lagos (AFP) Aug 25, 2010

A cholera epidemic that has killed more than 350 people in Nigeria since the start of the year now poses a threat to the entire country, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

“Epidemiological evidence indicates that the entire country is at risk,” the ministry said in a statement.

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Swine_flu_continues_to_spread_in_New_Zealand_10_dead_999.html
Swine flu continues to spread in New Zealand, 10 dead
by Staff Writers
Wellington (AFP) Aug 23, 2010

Swine flu is continuing to spread in New Zealand, health officials said Monday as the death toll rose to 10 and some areas reported more people in hospital than during last year’s pandemic.

“So far this year there have been 10 deaths reported as linked to swine flu,” he said, up from six a week ago.

More than 500 people have been admitted to hospital with lab-confirmed swine flu so far this year with 16 treated in intensive care.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/101022/world/international_us_haiti_cholera
Quake-hit Haiti battles cholera epidemic, 138 dead
October 22, 2010
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the virulent diarrheal disease, which had affected 1,526 people as of late Thursday, would be the first cholera epidemic in a century in the disaster-prone Caribbean nation, already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

In the Prophecies of Abraham I show you just from looking at the charts that for the last 6 Sabbatical cycles how disease epidemics have come for a period of 15 years beginning in the first year of the Third Sabbatical cycle which we are now in. I also show you how even before these 6 Sabbatical cycles, the 8 before that have 6 of them with the plague during this time period of the third Sabbatical cycle up to the 5th one. That is 12 out of 14 times.

So just in the last few months we have reports from around the world of Swine Flu, and Cholera and Dengue Fever and even of the plague, all of them contained for the moment.

We have been telling you that The Prophecies of Abraham as well as the Sabbatical and Jubilee years which I show you in the video tell us that in the third Sabbatical cycle will be pestilence and famines and earthquakes. This cycle will be followed by wars in which the USA will be destroyed. Are you watching and are you repenting from not obeying the Torah? Watch the video and order the book. Prove them wrong if you can; but if you prove them right then you had better begin to obey the Torah.

At the end of this month of October is Halloween. Halloween or Purim which is it? Oh, I know how to tell the difference…one is in the fall and the other in the spring. But neither one is a Holy Day. Neither one is sanctioned by Yahovah and yet both have similar teachings now.

Deuteronomy 4: 2 “Do not add to the Word which I command you, and do not take away from it1, so as to guard the commands of ???? your Elohim which I am commanding you

Deuteronomy 12: 29 “When ???? your Elohim does cut off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 guard yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire about their mighty ones, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their mighty ones? And let me do so too.’1 Footnote: 1See also 18:9, Lev. 18:3, Jer.10:2, Ezek. 11:12 & 20:32, Eph. 4:17, and 1 Peter 4:3 31 “Do not do so to ???? your Elohim, for every abomination which ???? hates they have done to their mighty ones, for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their mighty ones. 32 “All the words I am commanding you, guard to do it – do not add to it nor take away from it.

Proverbs 30:6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

I tell everyone many times so you all should know what I am about to say. If it ain`t in Lev 23 then why in blue tarnations are you keeping it. Only those Holy Days in Leviticus 23 are we to keep and none others. NONE!!! Whether they are Christian or Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist or Hindu. If they are not written down in Lev 23 then why on earth are you bothering to keep them and disobey Yahovah. He is testing us to see if we will obey. First in keeping the Sabbath and then by letting others mislead us into keeping other days. Will you be misled?

https://www.costumes4purim.com/Default.aspx Purim costume store.
Costumes and Carnivals

The most popular way to celebrate Purim is to dress up in costumes. The costumes mark the reversal of fate and the fact that Esther concealed her origins.

Purim Plays, called Purim Shpiels, are also prevalent as a way to increase our joy on the holiday. In Israel, street parades, called Adloyada (which means “until we can’t tell” (the difference between cursing Haman and blessing Mordechai), have become popular on Purim. Carnivals and parties are also common ways to celebrate Purim.

http://judaism.about.com/od/purim/a/purimcustoms.htm
Notice they are calling it a holiday. A holiday comes from what used to be Holy Days. Purim is not a Holy Day. It was added. And we just read where Yahovah says not to add to this Torah, yet they did and many of you have just jumped on board without thinking.

Is the story of Purim wrong? No! The storey of Mordchai and Esther is a great story but when you add to those special days as told to you in Lev 23 then you have added to the Torah what Yahovah did not give you permission to do. And now that they have done so look and see how it is becoming a perverted festival.

http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/holidays/purim.htm
“The Purim feast is unlike any other in the Jewish year. In addition to good food and lots of alcohol, the meal is characterized by its zany raucous atmosphere — trombones blare, silly string flies, and grown men dance together for hours on end. ” {9} One of the most well-known (and beloved) aspects of the Purim festive meal is that each (adult) participant is obliged to become so drunk that he or she cannot distinguish between the phrases, “Cursed be Haman” and “Blessed be Mordecai.” Opinions vary as to exactly how drunk this is, but there is no doubt that the intoxication is intended to be significant. However, one should not become so drunk that he endangers his health or neglects other mitzvot such as ritual washing, praying, or saying the blessing after meals, and it is improper to pray if one is so drunk that he is “unfit to stand before the King.” {10}

To me this sounds like the drunkenness of the Saturnalia. Again I am looking for the directions that we are given in Leviticus 23 where we are told what days to keep holy and what we are to do on them. But I do not see any of them that command us to get so drunk we cannot speak right.

http://www.altiusdirectory.com/Society/purim-customs.html
Purim Costumes – This custom of wearing Purim masks and purim costumes developed in the middle Ages, it appears that influenced by local Mardi gras holidays. Small children take unique interest in this phase of the holiday, and can be seen in the streets wearing their costumes.

http://www.holidays.net/mardigras/story.htm

So the modern Purim is spun from the Mardi Gras of the middle ages. Interesting how things are twisted into this day which can be remembered as a day for Judah but is not a Holy Day nor should be treated as such.

The History of Mardi Gras

Just the name Mardi Gras conjures up images of drunken, bead-wearing revelers dancing through the streets of New Orleans. But how, and when, did this huge mid-winter party get started? Here’s a look at the history of Mardi Gras throughout the ages and across the nations.

Historians tell us that the ancient Romans probably kicked off the Mardi Gras celebrations. Their mid-February festival known as Lupercalia honored the god Lupercus, alternately known as the god of fertility and the god of agriculture and pastoral shepherds. In either case, his party definitely had Mardi Gras-like qualities, including days of feasting and drinking. And a little enjoying the “pleasures of the flesh”, probably, too — in fact, the term Carnival, often synonymous with Mardi Gras, is derived from the Latin expression meaning “farewell to the flesh.”

Like most of the ancient Roman and Greek festivals, Lupercalia was adopted and adapted by the Church as a way of subtly converting the local pagans to Christianity. The carnival-like celebration of Lupercalia thus morphed into a last “fling” before the beginning of the Lenten period. Lent refers to the 40 days of pertinence and purification celebrated between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. During Lent, the religiously faithful refrain from a number of indulgences of the “flesh”, including eating meat.

What began as a Roman-based celebration quickly spread across the European continent. By medieval times, lords were hosting carnivals prior to Lent in honor of the conscription of their new knights. Each region and country celebrated their own traditions, but all were indulgent. In England, for example, pancake feasts were served — a tradition that lasts until today. Shrove Tuesday, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, is widely known in the UK as “Pancake Tuesday” and is celebrated with pancake-eating competition and pancake races.

In France, this period of revelry before Lent was especially raucous. In fact, the term Mardi Gras is a French expression meaning “Fat Tuesday” — likely referring to the indulgent nature of the pre-Lenten celebration. The name may have been more than just allegorical, however. Ancient pagans often marked their fertility ritual by parading a fattened ox through the town before sacrificing it.

It was also the French who brought the celebration to America. Many historians believe the party crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1699, on the ship of a French explorer named Sieur d’Iberville. The Frenchman landed in what is today Louisiana, just south of New Orleans, the heart of America’s modern-day Mardi Gras celebrations. In fact, his landing is believed to have coincided with the French celebration of Mardi Gras, explaining his choice of name for his point of entry: Point du Mardi Gras.

Other historians, however, dispute the d’Iberville connection, contending that it was the early French settlers to Louisiana who introduced Mardi Gras to America. Regardless of the precise origin, Mardi Gras can clearly be attributed to a Franco-influence. By the mid 1820s, Mardi Gras was firmly rooted in the New Orleans culture. Today, the city’s celebrations are considered one of America’s biggest parties, with towns and cities throughout the Gulf Coast Region getting in on the fun.

And now we see where Mardi Gras comes from. The Roman festival of , Lupercalia who was none other than Nimrod a drunk and womanizer and rebelled against the Most High.
Last year I had an article about Halloween that you should review now. It is to be found at;

HALLOWEEN ONE OF THE EIGHT PAGAN SABBATHS & PART OF SUN GOD WORSHIP

Please make sure you read the article above before carrying on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while “some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, whose original spelling was Samuin (pronounced sow-an or sow-in)”.[1] The name is derived from Old Irish and means roughly “summer’s end”.[1] A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and is known as Calan Gaeaf (pronounced KĂĄlan GĂĄi av).

The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the “lighter half” of the year and beginning of the “darker half”, and is sometimes[2] regarded as the “Celtic New Year”.[3]

The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family’s ancestors were honoured and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces.[4][5] Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.[6] Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual. (Sounds much like the rituals of Molech)

Another common practice was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.

The name ‘Halloween’ and many of its present-day traditions derive from the Old English era

The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays dates back to the Middle Ages and includes Christmas wassailing. Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of souling, when poor folk would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2). It originated in Ireland and Britain,[20] although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy.[21] Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of “puling [whimpering or whining] like a beggar at Hallowmas.”[22] The custom of wearing costumes and masks at Halloween goes back to Celtic traditions of attempting to copy the evil spirits or placate them, in Scotland for instance where the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or blackened faces, dressed in white.[23][24]

American historian and author Ruth Edna Kelley of Massachusetts wrote the first book length history of the holiday in the US; The Book of Hallowe’en (1919), and references souling in the chapter “Hallowe’en in America”;

The taste in Hallowe’en festivities now is to study old traditions, and hold a Scotch party, using Burn’s poem Hallowe’en as a guide; or to go a-souling as the English used. In short, no custom that was once honored at Hallowe’en is out of fashion now.
So right here you can see that the dressing up in costumes comes from the middle ages and was done to hide from the evil spirits by dressing up like them. Similar words are used in describing Purim and wassailing which is still done in Newfoundland today. It all goes back to demonic practices.

http://www.eaec.org/bibleanswers/halloween2.htm
The Druids celebrated two special nights of the year: Beltane and Samhain. Beltane took place on May 1 and marked the birth of summer. Samhain occurred on November 1 and signified the death of summer. Samhain, a night celebrating death and hell, was the Druids most important ritual. It was a terrifying night of human sacrifices. And it was the original Halloween.

The Druids believed, during Samhain, the mystic veil separating the dead from the living opened. The Druids taught these roaming spirits loosed on Samhain went searching for a body to possess. The frightened Celts would masquerade as demons, evil spirits and ghosts, hoping to convince the roaming evil spirits, they were another evil spirit, and leave them alone. The Celts also prepared meals as “treats” to appease the evil spirits from “tricks” or malicious acts; hence our custom of “trick or treat.” The Druids performed horrifying human sacrifices and other vile rituals during Samhain. Let there be no doubt—Samhain night was a terrifying “covenant with death, and with hell.” And let there be no doubt – Samhain was the original Halloween night.

The Druids also celebrated the festival of Beltane. The word Beltane (Beltaine, Beltinne, Beltain, Beiltein) literally means the “fires of Bel.” Bel is the same god called Baal, found over 80 times in the King James Bible. The Lord condemns Baal worship probably more than any other false “god.”

. . . then the Druids lit the Baal-Tinne, the holy, goodly fire of Baal. (Wilde, Lady Francesca Speranza. Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland)

The god whom the Druids worshipped was Baal, as the blazing Baal-fires show, and . . . children were offered in sacrifice to Baal. (Hislop, Alexander. The Two Babylons, p. 232)

Now to the ancient tradition of lighting candles for the dead, Also done during All Saints Day or Halloween and Beltaine or Baal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints
All Saints’ Day (in the Roman Catholic Church officially the Solemnity of All Saints and also called All Hallows or Hallowmas[1]), often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November in Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown.

In terms of Western Christian theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven. It is a national holiday in many historically Catholic countries. In the Roman Catholic Church, the next day, All Souls’ Day, specifically commemorates the departed faithful who have not yet been purified and reached heaven.

Christian denominations celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints’ Day and the Feast of All Souls’ Day because of the fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual communion between those in the state of grace who have died and are either being purified in purgatory or are in heaven (the ‘church penitent’ and the ‘church triumphant’, respectively), and the ‘church militant’ who are the living. Those who have died and are with God watch over those still living, and the saints are held to intercede with God on behalf of the living. On their part, the living pray to the saints and remember in intercessory prayers to God all who have died, particularly their deceased relatives and friends.

In Portugal and Spain, offer endas (offerings) are made on this day. In Portugal, children celebrate the PĂŁo-por-Deus tradition. In Spain, the play Don Juan Tenorio is traditionally performed. In Mexico, All Saints coincides with the celebration of “DĂ­a de los Inocentes” (Day of the Innocents), the first day of the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) celebration, honoring deceased children and infants. In Portugal, children go door to door where they receive cakes, nuts and pomegranates.

In Austria, Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal and Spain people bring flowers to the graves of dead relatives.

In Poland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia, Austria, Romania, Moldova, Hungary and Catholic parts of Germany, the tradition is to light candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives.

In the Philippines, this day, called “Undas”, “Todos los Santos” (literally “All Saints”), and sometimes “Araw ng mga Namayapa” (approximately “Day of the deceased”) is observed as All Souls’ Day. This day and the one before and one after it is spent visiting the graves of deceased relatives, where prayers and flowers are offered, candles are lit and the graves themselves are cleaned, repaired and repainted.

This year when we were at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron it was packed with Orthodox Jews who were there praying at each of the Tombs of Abraham Isaac and Jacob as well as Sarah and Rebeccah. They had candles lit all over the place and I was most saddened to see all the Candles lit for the dead.

Later that week I took many of the Brethren to see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. I take them there to see just how idolatrous this place is. Everywhere you look are candles lit for this or that and the dead.

Where does this custom come from that both Jews and Christians and every other religion does by lighting candles for the dead. We learn this from Alexander Hisop.

 

The Two Babylons
Alexander Hislop

Chapter V
Section V
Lamps and Wax-Candles

Another peculiarity of the Papal worship is the use of lamps and wax-candles. If the Madonna and child are set up in a niche, they must have a lamp to burn before them; if mass is to be celebrated, though in broad daylight, there must be wax-candles lighted on the altar; if a grand procession is to be formed, it cannot be thorough and complete without lighted tapers to grace the goodly show. The use of these lamps and tapers comes from the same source as all the rest of the Papal superstition. That which caused the “Heart,” when it became an emblem of the incarnate Son, to be represented as a heart on fire, required also that burning lamps and lighted candles should form part of the worship of that Son; for so, according to the established rites of Zoroaster, was the sun-god worshipped. When every Egyptian on the same night was required to light a lamp before his house in the open air, this was an act of homage to the sun, that had veiled its glory by enshrouding itself in a human form. When the Yezidis of Koordistan, at this day, once a year celebrate their festival of “burning lamps,” that, too, is to the honour of Sheikh Shems, or the Sun. Now, what on these high occasions was done on a grand scale was also done on a smaller scale, in the individual acts of worship to their god, by the lighting of lamps and tapers before the favourite divinity. In Babylon, this practice had been exceedingly prevalent, as we learn from the Apocryphal writer of the Book of Baruch. “They (the Babylonians),” says he, “light up lamps to their gods, and that in greater numbers, too, than they do for themselves, although the gods cannot see one of them, and are senseless as the beams of their houses.” In Pagan Rome, the same practice was observed. Thus we find Licinius, the Pagan Emperor, before joining battle with Constantine, his rival, calling a council of his friends in a thick wood, and there offering sacrifices to his gods, “lighting up wax-tapers” before them, and at the same time, in his speech, giving his gods a hint, that if they did not give him the victory against Constantine, his enemy and theirs, he would be under the necessity of abandoning their worship, and lighting up no more “wax-tapers to their honour.” In the Pagan processions, also, at Rome, the wax-candles largely figured. “At these solemnities,” says Dr. Middleton, referring to Apuleius as his authority, “at these solemnities, the chief magistrate used frequently to assist, in robes of ceremony, attended by the priests in surplices, with wax-candles in their hands, carrying upon a pageant or thensa, the images of their gods, dressed out in their best clothes; these were usually followed by the principal youth of the place, in white linen vestments or surplices, singing hymns in honour of the gods whose festivals they were celebrating, accompanied by crowds of all sorts that were initiated in the same religion, all with flambeaux or wax-candles in their hands.” Now, so thoroughly and exclusively Pagan was this custom of lighting up lamps and candles in daylight, that we find Christian writers, such as Lactantius, in the fourth century, exposing the absurdity of the practice, and deriding the Romans “for lighting up candles to God, as if He lived in the dark.” Had such a custom at that time gained the least footing among Christians, Lactantius could never have ridiculed it as he does, as a practice peculiar to Paganism. But what was unknown to the Christian Church in the beginning of the fourth century, soon thereafter began to creep in, and now forms one of the most marked peculiarities of that community that boasts that it is the “Mother and mistress of all Churches.”

While Rome uses both lamps and wax-candles in her sacred rites, it is evident, however, that she attributes some pre-eminent virtue to the latter above all other lights. Up to the time of the Council of Trent, she thus prayed on Easter Eve, at the blessing of the Easter candles: “Calling upon thee in thy works, this holy Eve of Easter, we offer most humbly unto thy Majesty this sacrifice; namely, a fire not defiled with the fat of flesh, nor polluted with unholy oil or ointment, nor attained with any profane fire; but we offer unto thee with obedience, proceeding from perfect devotion, a fire of wrought WAX and wick, kindled and made to burn in honour of thy name. This so great a MYSTERY therefore, and the marvellous sacrament of this holy eve, must needs be extolled with due and deserved praises.” That there was some occult “Mystery,” as is here declared, couched under the “wax-candles,” in the original system of idolatry, from which Rome derived its ritual, may be well believed, when it is observed with what unanimity nations the most remote have agreed to use wax-candles in their sacred rites. Among the Tungusians, near the Lake Baikal in Siberia, “wax-tapers are placed before the Burchans,” the gods or idols of that country. In the Molucca Islands, wax-tapers are used in the worship of Nito, or Devil, whom these islanders adore. “Twenty or thirty persons having assembled,” says Hurd, “they summon the Nito, by beating a small consecrated drum, whilst two or more of the company light up wax-tapers, and pronounce several mysterious words, which they consider as able to conjure him up.” In the worship of Ceylon, the use of wax-candles is an indispensable requisite. “In Ceylon,” says the same author, “some devotees, who are not priests, erect chapels for themselves, but in each of them they are obliged to have an image of Buddha, and light up tapers or wax-candles before it, and adorn it with flowers.” A practice thus so general must have come from some primeval source, and must have originally had some mystic reason at the bottom of it. The wax-candle was, in fact, a hieroglyphic, like so many other things which we have already seen, and was intended to exhibit the Babylonian god in one of the essential characters of the Great Mediator. The classic reader may remember that one of the gods of primeval antiquity was called Ouranos, * that is, “The Enlightener.”

* For Aor or our, “light,” and an, “to act upon” or produce, the same as our English particle en, “to make.” Ouranos, then, is “The Enlightener.” This Ouranos is, by Sanchuniathon, the Phoenician, called the son of Elioun–i.e., as he himself, or Philo-Byblius, interprets the name, “The Most High.” (SANCH) Ouranos, in the physical sense, is “The Shiner”; and by Hesychius it is made equivalent to Kronos, which also has the same meaning, for Krn, the verb from which it comes, signifies either “to put forth horns,” or “to send forth rays of light”; and, therefore, while the epithet Kronos, or “The Horned One,” had primarily reference to the physical power of Nimrod as a “mighty” king; when that king was deified, and made “Lord of Heaven,” that name, Kronos, was still applied to him in his new character as “The Shiner or Lightgiver.” The distinction made by Hesiod between Ouranos and Kronos, is no argument against the real substantial identity of these divinities originally as Pagan divinities; for Herodotus states that Hesiod had a hand in “inventing a theogony” for the Greeks, which implies that some at least of the details of that theogony must have come from his own fancy; and, on examination, it will be found, when the veil of allegory is removed, that Hesiod’s “Ouranos,” though introduced as one of the Pagan gods, was really at bottom the “God of Heaven,” the living and true God.

In this very character was Nimrod worshipped when he was deified. As the Sun-god he was regarded not only as the illuminator of the material world, but as the enlightener of the souls of men, for he was recognised as the revealer of “goodness and truth.” It is evident, from the Old Testament, not less than the New, that the proper and personal name of our Lord Jesus Christ is, “The Word of God,” as the Revealer of the heart and counsels of the Godhead. Now, to identify the Sun-god with the Great Revealer of the Godhead, while under the name of Mithra, he was exhibited in sculpture as a Lion; that Lion had a Bee represented between his lips (Fig. 42). The bee between the lips of the sun-god was intended to point him out as “the Word”; for Dabar, the expression which signifies in Chaldee a “Bee,” signifies also a “Word”; and the position of that bee in the mouth leaves no doubt as to the idea intended to be conveyed. It was intended to impress the belief that Mithra (who, says Plutarch, was worshipped as Mesites, “The Mediator”), in his character as Ouranos, “The Enlightener,” was no other than that glorious one of whom the Evangelist John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God…In Him was life; and the life was THE LIGHT OF MEN.” The Lord Jesus Christ ever was the revealer of the Godhead, and must have been known to the patriarchs as such; for the same Evangelist says, “No man hath seen God at any time: the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared,” that is, He hath revealed “Him.” Before the Saviour came, the ancient Jews commonly spoke of the Messiah, or the Son of God, under the name of Dabar, or the “Word.” This will appear from a consideration of what is stated in the 3rd chapter of 1st Samuel. In the first verse of that chapter it is said, “The WORD of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision,” that is, in consequence of the sin of Eli, the Lord had not, for a long time, revealed Himself in vision to him, as He did to the prophets. When the Lord had called Samuel, this “vision” of the God of Israel was restored (though not to Eli), for it is said in the last verse (v 21), “And the Lord APPEARED again in Shiloh; for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel by the WORD of the Lord.” Although the Lord spake to Samuel, this language implies more than speech, for it is said, “The LORD appeared”–i.e., was seen. When the Lord revealed Himself, or was seen by Samuel, it is said that it was “by (Dabar) the Word of the Lord.” The “Word of the Lord” to be visible, must have been the personal “Word of God,” that is, Christ. *

* After the Babylonish captivity, as the Chaldee Targums or Paraphrases of the Old Testament show, Christ was commonly called by the title “The Word of the Lord.” In these Targums of later Chaldee, the term for “The Word” is “Mimra”; but this word, though a synonym for that which is used in the Hebrew Scriptures, is never used there. Dabar is the word employed. This is so well recognised that, in the Hebrew translation of John’s Gospel in Bagster’s Polyglott, the first verse runs thus: “In the beginning was the Word (Dabar).”

This had evidently been a primitive name by which He was known; and therefore it is not wonderful that Plato should speak of the second person of his Trinity under the name of the Logos, which is just a translation of “Dabar,” or “the Word.” Now, the light of the wax-candle, as the light from Dabar, “the Bee,” was set up as the substitute of the light of Dabar, “the Word.” Thus the apostates turned away from the “True Light,” and set up a shadow in His stead. That this was really the case is plain; for, says Crabb, speaking of Saturn, “on his altars were placed wax-tapers lighted, because by Saturn men were reduced from the darkness of error to the light of truth.” In Asiatic Greece, the Babylonian god was evidently recognised as the Light-giving “Word,” for there we find the Bee occupying such a position as makes it very clear that it was a symbol of the great Revealer. Thus we find Muller referring to the symbols connected with the worship of the Ephesian Diana: “Her constant symbol is the bee, which is not otherwise attributed to Diana…The chief priest himself was called Essen, or the king-bee.” The character of the chief priest shows the character of the god he represented. The contemplar divinity of Diana, the tower-bearing goddess, was of course the same divinity as invariably accompanied the Babylonian goddess: and this title of the priest shows that the Bee which appeared on her medals was just another symbol for her child, as the “Seed of the Woman,” in his assumed character, as Dabar, “The Word” that enlightened the souls of men. That this is the precise “Mystery” couched under the wax-candles burning on the altars of the Papacy, we have very remarkable evidence from its own formularies; for, in the very same place in which the “Mystery” of the wax-candle is spoken of, thus does Rome refer to the Bee, by which the wax is produced: “Forasmuch as we do marvellously wonder, in considering the first beginning of this substance, to wit, wax-tapers, then must we of necessity greatly extol the original of Bees, for…they gather the flowers with their feet, yet the flowers are not injured thereby; they bring forth no young ones, but deliver their young swarms through their mouths, like as Christ (for a wonderful example) is proceeded from His Father’s MOUTH.” *

* Review of Epistle of DR. GENTIANUS HARVET of Louvaine. This work, which is commonly called The Beehive of the Roman Church, contains the original Latin of the passage translated above. The passage in question is to be found in at least two Roman Missals, which, however, are now very rare–viz., one printed at Vienna in 1506, with which the quotation in the text has been compared and verified; and one printed at Venice in 1522. These dates are antecedent to the establishment of the Reformation; and it appears that this passage was expunged from subsequent editions, as being unfit to stand the searching scrutiny to which everything in regard to religion was subjected in consequence of that great event. The ceremonial of blessing the candles, however, which has no place in the Pontificale Romanum in the Edinburgh Advocates’ Library, is to be found in the Pontificale Romanum, Venice, 1542, and in Pontificale Romanum, Venice, 1572. In the ceremony of blessing the candles, given in the Roman Missal, printed at Paris, 1677, there is great praise of the Bee, strongly resembling the passage quoted in the text. The introduction of such an extraordinary formula into a religious ceremony is of very ancient date, and is distinctly traced to an Italian source; for, in the words of the Popish Bishop Ennodius, who occupied an Italian diocese in the sixth century, we find the counterpart of that under consideration. Thus, in a prayer in regard to the “Easter Candle,” the reason for offering up the wax-candle is expressly declared to be, because that through means of the bees that produce the wax of which it is made, “earth has an image of what is PECULIAR TO HEAVEN,” and that in regard to the very subject of GENERATION; the bees being able, “through the virtue of herbs, to pour forth their young through their MOUTHS with less waste of time than all other creatures do in the ordinary way.” This prayer contains the precise idea of the prayer in the text; and there is only one way of accounting for the origin of such an idea. It must have come from a Chaldean Liturgy.

Here it is evident that Christ is referred to as the “Word of God”; and how could any imagination ever have conceived such a parallel as is contained in this passage, had it not been for the equivoque [wordplay, double meaning] between “Dabar,” “the Bee,” and “Dabar,” “The Word.” In a Popish work already quoted, the Pancarpium Marianum, I find the Lord Jesus expressly called by the name of the Bee. Referring to Mary, under the title of “The Paradise of Delight,” the author thus speaks: “In this Paradise that celestial Bee, that is, the incarnate Wisdom, did feed. Here it found that dropping honeycomb, with which the whole bitterness of the corrupted world has been turned into sweetness.” This blasphemously represents the Lord Jesus as having derived everything necessary to bless the world from His mother! Could this ever have come from the Bible? No. It must have come only from the source where the writer learned to call “the incarnate Wisdom” by the name of the Bee. Now, as the equivoque from which such a name applied to the Lord Jesus springs, is founded only on the Babylonian tongue, it shows whence his theology has come, and it proves also to demonstration that this whole prayer about the blessing of wax-candles must have been drawn from a Babylonian prayer-book. Surely, at every step, the reader must see more and more the exactitude of the Divine name given to the woman on the seven mountains, “Mystery, Babylon the Great”!

Unlike Rabbinic Jews, Karaites do not practice the ritual of lighting candles before Shabbat, because of their interpretation of the Torah verse, “You shall not [burn] (Heb: ba’ar) a fire in any of your dwellings on the day of Shabbat.” In Rabbinic Judaism, the Hebrew word ba’ar is understood in that context to mean “kindle,” which is why Rabbinic Judaism prohibits starting a fire on Shabbat.

However, the second chapter of Tractate Shabbat in the Mishnah as well as the corresponding chapter of the Talmud treat lighting Sabbath candles as a basic religious obligation. The written Torah does not contain the commandment, since it was instituted by Rabbinic decree.

We have written previously about the lighting of candles for Shabbat and how it is wrong and how the blessing that is recited is also a lie because Yahovah never commanded the lighting of the Shabbat candles. See the article in  Bees and the Pagan Lighting of Shabbat Candles

Here is how I closed that article and it applies here to Halloween and Purim and the lighting of candles for the dead and for Shabbat.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_Prayers_and_Blessings
Shabbat
The Jewish Sabbath is known as Shabbat in Hebrew.
Candle lighting blessings before Shabbat
Main article: Shabbat candles
Note: The Shabbat candles are lit at least eighteen minutes before sunset on Friday. In Jewish tradition, a “day” begins with the previous night’s onset. Thus, Shabbat starts Friday evening and ends Saturday night.

???? ??? ?’ ? ?????? ??? ?????, ??? ????? ??????? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ???.?

Transliteration: Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat.

Translation: “Blessed are You, LORD, our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the Shabbat candle[s].”

The Chabad version of the blessing adds the word ???? at the end of the blessing, making “
 the candle of the holy Shabbat,” transliterated, “
 ner shel Shabbat kodesh.”

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbat_candles
Shabbat candles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lighting Shabbat candles (Hebrew: ???? ????) is a rabbinically mandated law in Judaism.[1]Two candles or more are lit on Friday evening, 18 minutes before sundown, to welcome the Sabbath.

Candlelighting is traditionally done by the woman of the household, though in the absence of a woman, it is done by a man. After lighting the candles, the woman waves her hands over them, covers her eyes, and recites a blessing. [2]

Source of the commandment
Most rabbinic authorities hold that the requirement to light the Shabbat candles is of rabbinic origin.[3][4]

According to the rabbis, the lighting Shabbat candles has a dual purpose:
1. To “honor the Shabbat” (???? ???)
2. For Shalom bayit or domestic tranquility (???? ???)
In some households, more than two candles are lit. Some families light an additional candle for each child. Lighting the candles is known as licht bentshen in Yiddish. It is customary for a woman to light the candles, but if there is no woman in the household, a man may light them.

References
1. ^ Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 263:2
2. ^ http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Shabbat2.html
3. ^ Maimonides Hilchot Shabbat 5:1
4. ^ Meiri, Talmud Shabbat 25b
5. ^ Maimonidies Hilchot Shabbat 5:1
6. ^ Meiri, Talmud Shabbat 25b

So what we have now seen is that the so called commandment to light the Shabbat candles does not come from Yahweh but rather it comes from Maimonidies Hilchot Shabbat 5:1 and Meiri, Talmud Shabbat 25b

Having now read where the candle lighting ceremony comes from, that it is of pagan origin and represents the one of primeval antiquity who was called Ouranos, that is, “The Enlightener” and was none other than Nimrod who was worshipped when he was deified as the Sun-god by the lighting of candles in both Egypt and Babylon.

Knowing this will you continue to light candles to bring in the Shabbat when we know there is no such commandment to do so found in any part of the Torah.

From http://tamimah.blogspot.com/2005/11/laws-pertaining-to-lighting-shabbas.htmlTAMIM TIHIYEH

Laws Pertaining to Lighting Shabbas Candles
(From my notes of my halacha presentation in Yeshiva)
I decided to send this out because I feel it is quite relevant for those of us out of our home.

1. Lighting Shabbas candles is a rabbinic enactment.
2. The Shulchan Aruch (263:2) quotes the Rambam (Hilchos Shabbas 5:1) “Every man and every woman are obligated that there be in their home a candle kindled for Shabbas”
3. Three reasons are given:
A. Oneg Shabbas (Pleasure of Shabbas) (Tosafos to Mesechet Shabbas 25b Chova, Rambam Hilchos Shabbas 5:1, Shulchan Aruch 263:2)
B. Kavod Shabbas (Honor of Shabbas) (Rashi to Shabbas 25b Chova, Rambam Hilchos Shabbas 30:5 – for two different resolutions regarding the seeming contradiction in the Rambam, see the Aruch HaShulchan or Rav Yitzchak Twersky ztzt”l in the Torah U-Madda Journal, Volume 8, page 29)
C. Shalom Bayis (Peace at Home) (Rashi to Shabbas 25b Hadlakos Ner BiShabbas explaining a drasha on Lamentations 3:17, Shulchan Aruch 263:3)
4. The Shulchan Aruch (263:3) based on the Gemara in Shabbas 35b says that the primary obligation of lighting Shabbas candles rests on the wife. The Mishnah Breuerah adds that the husband should prepare the candles for lighting.
5. The Shulchan Aruch (263:6) says students who learn (and dorm) outside their home need to light candles in their rooms and make the blessing. The Mishnah Breuerah adds that if you are living in one location but eating somewhere else that night ( i.e. you are having the Friday night meal at another’s house) you should light by your bedside. We typically do not do this however because of possible danger.
6. The Rema in his gloss to the Shulchan Aruch (263:10) says the essence of the mitzvah of lighting Shabbas candles rests on candles kindled on the dining table. The Mishnah Breuerah adds that lichatchila (the proper manner) is that one should eat by the light of the Shabbas candles. Mishnah Breuerah (263:9) says that one may not eat outside in a courtyard (instead of on the table with the candles) unless it will be a great bother to eat inside.
7. The Shulchan Aruch (263:1) says you should prepare and light two candles, one for Zachor (Remember the Shabbas, Exodus 20:8) and one for Shamor (Safeguard the Shabbas, Dueteronomy 5:12). The Rema adds that one may light as many extra candles as desired but one should not light fewer than two candles.
8. The Rema (263:5) writes that in order not to get pleasure from the light of the Shabbas candles before making the blessing, one should light the candles, then cover their eyes, recite the blessing, and then look at the light.
9. The Gemara in Shabbas 23b says to accustom oneself to lighting candles so one merits learning children (literally talmudei chachamim). Rashi (Shabbas 23b talmudei chachamim) explains that the verse says “Ki Ner Mitzvah Torah Ohr” “For the commandment is a candle and the Torah is light” (Proverbs 6:23) and that from the light of the mitzvah of Shabbas and Chanukah candles comes Torah (i.e. learned children). The Mishnah Breuerah (263:1) says that after lighting the candles and making the blessing, one should pray for learned children.
10. The Kitzur Shulcah Aruch (75:6) says that it is customary for women to shower and wear Shabbas clothes before lighting the candles. (Maybe if a man was to light he should do the same. I certainly think that would be proper.)
11. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (75:7) says if one wants to perform malacha (activities forbidden on Shabbas) after lighting the candles, one should specify this before lighting the candles. (This is especially relevant for women because women typically accept Shabbas upon themselves when lighting the candles.) Still, bediavad (after the fact), if one did not make such a specification, even women can still (if required) perform malacha.

I hope this is found to be helpful. Did you notice how many scriptural references there are in the above 11 justifications by the Rabbis.

In all of this there are only three scriptures quoted.

Exodus 20:8 where we are told to remember the Sabbath, Deuteronomy 5:12 where we are told to Observe the Sabbath and in Proverbs 6:23 which is the closest thing I can find to justify the lighting of the candles. It says “ For the commandment is a lamp, And the law is a light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

But NO WHERE, let me repeat this, NO WHERE IN THE TORAH HAVE I FOUND THE COMMANDEMENT TO LGIHT CANDLES FOR SHABBAT! I have in fact found that it was and is a pagan practice used to give honour to Nimrod the enlightener or the imposter, someone who is dead.

Brethren you are free to light candles on Shabbat as you so choose. But each time you light the candles and make the prayer and close your eyes and wave the smoke, I hope you will also recite the following verses.

Mt 15:9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

De 4:2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

De 12:32 Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.

Pr 30:6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

Isa 30:1 “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin;

Mt 6:7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

Le 18:3 According to the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the doings of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you, you shall not do; nor shall you walk in their ordinances.

Le 18:24 ‘Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you.

Le 18:30 Therefore you shall keep My ordinance, so that you do not commit any of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that you do not defile yourselves by them: I am the Lord your God.’ ”

De 12:30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’

De 28:15 “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

De 28:58 “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD,

De 31:27 for I know your rebellion and your stiff neck. If today, while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord, then how much more after my death?

Ps 75:5 Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck.’ ”

Jer 17:23 But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.

Now offer your prayer;
Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat.

“Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the Shabbat candle[s].”

“For we now know that you did not command us to light the candles, but rather Maimonides did, and because of our stiff necks we will continue to do so anyway, because we are not giving praise to Satan and Nimrod the so called enlighteners, but rather we do this to honour you, even though you told us not to do as the heathen do. We will do it anyways, because we know better.”

Halloween is done today by dressing up in costumes as was done in the middle ages to hide the children from the evil spirits. Purim has also taken on this custom. Purim also has the men becoming so drunk they cannot speak right. Again this is another peculiarity of Mardi Gras, drunk and sexual implicit encounters. Halloween also is done to remember the dead. The one they are to remember is Nimrod the Enlightener, and this is done on all Saints Day, by the lighting of candles which represent Saint Nimrod- Saint Nickolas. This lighting of candles was done in Egypt and Babylon and has now been incorporated in the weekly Shabbat which even in the prayer is told to us that this is commanded, yet this too is lie as it was never commanded by Yahovah. Do you still want to continue with the traditions that you keep? Even when they are in opposition to Yahovah?

May Yahweh’s truth shine down on you and you see the false doctrines you have been led to follow whether it is Halloween or All Saints day or Purim or the lighting of candles for the dead in any religion or for Shabbat, do NOT ADD TO TORAH. No matter how sanctimonious you make it sound. It is sin if you do.

 


Triennial Torah Cycle

We now return to our 3 1/2 year Torah studies which you can follow online

 

23/10/2010      Gen 34      1 Sam 25-27      Ps 70      Mark 12:18 – 13:37

Gen 34

This is such a great and huge chapter to discuss. It has some great teachings. When we use thematic analysis we can learn such great teachings that we never ever thought of. This chapter of Genesis is one of those times when we can learn something powerful.

Most of the following is learned from Tony Robinson’s Doctrine of Balaam.

In Revelations 2 to the Assembly of Pergamum Yeshua spoke 14 “But I hold a few matters against you, because you have there those who adhere to the teaching of Bil?am, who taught Balaq to put a stumbling-block before the children of Yisra’?l, to eat food offered to idols, and to commit whoring.

To understand this saying of Revelation we must go back to Gen 34 and Numbers 22.

Jacobs last stop before he goes to Bethel was at Shechem. This is similar to Israel when they were about to cross the Jordon into the Promised Land. Here in Shechem Dinah is raped but just before Israel crossed the Jordon the Moabites and Midianites came to greet Israel and intermarry with them in Numbers 22-23.

In both cases a similar event takes place. Shechem a non Israelite wants to marry Dinah and the Moabites want to marry with the Israelites.

We read in Gen 34:8 But H?amor spoke with them, saying, “My son Shek?em’s being longs for your daughter. Please give her to him for a wife. 9 “And intermarry with us, give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves, 10 and dwell with us, and let the land be before you. Dwell and move about in it, and have possessions in it.”

Then Hamor spoke with the people of Shechem and said 20 And H?amor and Shek?em his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us, so let them dwell in the land and move about in it. And see, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters for us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 “Only on this condition would the men agree to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 “Their herds and their possessions, and all their beasts, should they not be ours? Only let us agree with them, and let them dwell with us.”

Take note of the part where he says ‘to be one people’

Notice what happened at Baal Peor with Israel Numbers 25: 1 And Yisra’?l dwelt in Shittim, and the people began to whore with the daughters of Mo’ab?, 2 and they invited the people to the slaughterings of their mighty ones, and the people ate and bowed down to their mighty ones. 3 Thus Yisra’?l was joined to Ba?al Pe?or, and the displeasure of ???? burned against Yisra’?l.

Notice this verse 14 And the name of the Yisra’?lite who was killed, who was killed with the Mid?yanite woman, was Zimri, son of Salu, a leader of a father’s house among the Shim?onites. 15 And the name of the Mid?yanite woman who was killed was Kozbi the daughter of Tsur. He was head of the people of a father’s house in Mid?yan. 16 And ???? spoke to Mosheh, saying, 17 “Distress the Mid?yanites! And you shall smite them, 18 for they distressed you with their tricks with which they deceived you in the matter of Pe?or and in the matter of Kozbi, the daughter of a leader of Mid?yan, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Pe?or.”

In both cases pagans are trying to intermarry with Israel. Zimri was not just any old Israelite, he was a prince in the tribe of Simeon. And Kozbi was not just a one night stand. She was the daughter of a leader of Midian.

Back in Gen 34 Shechem was also a prince of the country where he reigned. And notice also in verse 7 that it says And the sons of Ya?aqob? came in from the field when they heard it. And the men were grieved and very wroth, because he had done a senseless deed in Yisra’?l by lying with Ya?aqob?’s daughter, which should not be done.

The rape of Dinah was an act against Israel. Jacob is pictured as the nation of Israel and this act is against Israel.

Simeon and Levi then go and kill all the men of Shechem and take the women and children and the livestock as booty. In numbers 31 the Moabite men are also all killed off and the women and children and livestock collected as booty.

Something else for you to consider; in Gen 34:31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a whore?” Notice in Numbers 25: 1 And Yisra’?l dwelt in Shittim, and the people began to whore with the daughters of Mo’ab?

In both cases the intermarriage of Israel with others was considered harlotry and immorality. In both cases there are ulterior motives for why Shechem and also the Moabites wanted to intermarry.

Gen 34: 20 And H?amor and Shek?em his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke with the men of their city, saying, 21 “These men are at peace with us, so let them dwell in the land and move about in it. And see, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters for us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. 22 “Only on this condition would the men agree to dwell with us, to be one people: if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised. 23 “Their herds and their possessions, and all their beasts, should they not be ours? Only let us agree with them, and let them dwell with us.” 24 And all who went out of the gate of his city listened to H?amor and Shek?em his son; every male was circumcised, all who went out of the gate of his city.

Jacob was a rich man and in Numbers Israel had all the possessions of Egypt. Speaking of the woman of Midian Moses says in Numbers 31 again because of the advice of Balaam :16 “Look, they are the ones who caused the children of Yisra’?l, through the word of Bil?am, to trespass against ???? in the matter of Pe?or, and there was a plague among the congregation of ????.

Hamor wanted the herds of Jacob to belong to them and the Moabites and Midianites would become the inheritors of the treasures of Egypt.

Also note that Moses Began to teach the Torah in the plains of Moab after this incident of Baal Peor took place.
Deuteronomy 1: 5 Beyond the Yard?n, in the land of Mo’ab?, Mosheh undertook to declair this Torah, saying
And in Deuteronomy 34: 1 And Mosheh went up from the desert plains of Mo’ab? to Mount Neb?o, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Yerih?o. And ???? showed him all the land of Gil?ad? as far as Dan, 2 and all Naphtali and the land of Ephrayim and Menashsheh, all the land of Yehud?ah as far as the Western Sea, 3 and the Negeb?, and the plain of the Valley of Yerih?o, the city of palm trees, as far as Tso?ar. 4 And ???? said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Ab?raham, to Yitsh?aq, and to Ya?aqob?, saying, ‘To your seed I give it.’ I have let you look at it with your eyes, but you do not pass over there.” 5 And Mosheh the servant of ???? died there in the land of Mo’ab?, according to the mouth of ????.

Right after the incident of Baal Peor Moses began to teach the children of Israel the Torah just before he died and they went over to The Promised Land. And again in Numbers we are told why Moses commanded the destruction of the Midianites and Moabites. It was because they conspired with trickery and deceit.

Numbers 25: 17 “Distress the Mid?yanites! And you shall smite them, 18 for they distressed you with their tricks with which they deceived you in the matter of Pe?or and in the matter of Kozbi, the daughter of a leader of Mid?yan, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Pe?or.”

Balaam could not curse Israel but he gave them advice on how to lead Israel into sin against Yahovah by harlotry and then Moab and Midia conspired on how to do it. This is the same as what Shechem and His father are doing in seeking to take the cattle and sheep of Jacob by marrying Dinah.

Where does Balaam get his advice from?

Number 22: 7 And the elders of Mo’ab? and the elders of Mid?yan left with the fees for divination in their hand, and they came to Bil?am and spoke the words of Balaq to him.

Numbers 24: 1 And when Bil?am saw that it pleased ???? to bless Yisra’?l, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness

It was by divination and the use of charms. Balaam’s source was Satan. Satan’s advice was intermarriage, feasting prostrating to other gods, eating with them and sexual immorality and harlotry.

So where does Hamor’s advice come from?

Well lets first look at Gen 34 again and see how Shechem felt towards Dinah. 1 And Dinah, the daughter of L?’ah, whom she had borne to Ya?aqob?, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 And Shek?em, son of H?amor the H?iwwite, prince of the land, saw her and took her and lay with her, and humbled her. 3 And his being clung to Dinah the daughter of Ya?aqob?, and he loved the girl and spoke kindly to the girl.

Shechem lusted for Dinah. He raped her and clung to her or he lusted after her.
We have another time when something like this happened.

2 Smauel 13: 1 And after this it came to be that Ab?shalom son of Dawid? had a lovely sister, whose name was Tamar, and Amnon son of Dawid? loved her. 2 And Amnon was distressed, even to become sick, because of his sister Tamar – for she was a maiden – and it was hard in the eyes of Amnon to do whatever to her. 3 And Amnon had a friend whose name was Yonad?ab? son of Shim?ah, Dawid?’s brother. Now Yonad?ab? was a very wise man. 4 And he said to him, “Why are you, the sovereign’s son, becoming thinner day after day? Explain it to me.” And Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Ab?shalom’s sister.” 5 And Yonad?ab? said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and make the food before my eyes so that I see it, and eat it from her hand.’ ” 6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. And when the sovereign came to see him, Amnon said to the sovereign, “Please let Tamar my sister come and make a couple of cakes for me before my eyes, so that I eat from her hand.” 7 And Dawid? sent to Tamar, to the house, saying, “Please go to the house of your brother Amnon, and make food for him.” 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, while he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it, and made cakes before his eyes, and baked the cakes. 9 And she took the pan and turned them out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, “Make everyone go away from me.” And they all went out from him. 10 And Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, that I eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to Amnon her brother in the bedroom. 11 And she brought them to him to eat, and he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.” 12 And she answered him, “No, my brother, do not humble me, for it is not done so in Yisra’?l. Do not do this wickedness! 13 “And I, where could I take my shame? And you – you would be like one of the fools in Yisra’?l. And now, please speak to the sovereign, for he would not withhold me from you.” 14 But he would not listen to her voice, and being stronger than she, he humbled her and lay with her. 15 Amnon then hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, “Arise, go!” 16 And she said to him, “No, for this evil of sending me away is worse than the other you have done to me.” But he would not listen to her. 17 And he called his young man serving him, and said, “Now put this one out, away from me, and bolt the door behind her.” 18 And she had on a long coat, for the sovereign’s maiden daughters wore such garments. And his servant put her out and bolted the door behind her.

Amnon lusted to the point of sickness. Yonadab was a very cunning man. Note this. Yonadab is cunning. Who else is known to be cunning? Satan. Gen 3: 1 And the serpent was more crafty (Cunning) than any beast of the field which ???? Elohim had made, and he said to the woman, “Is it true that Elohim has said, ‘Do not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

Both Satan and Yonadab ask a question in order to deceived and were cunning at the deception.
Balaam used satanic advice by divination. Shechem and Hamor are also being led by the spirit of Satan in giving satanic advice.

Shek?em, son of H?amor the H?iwwite is told to us in Genesis 48:22 that Shechem was an Amorite. So Hivi –Hiwwite is an Aramaic word meaning serpentine. It describes the serpent like treacherous manner in which Shechem acted. His character was like Satan.

Tamar said “No, my brother, do not humble me, for it is not done so in Yisra’?l. And this is also what the brothers of Dinah said to Shechem

Genesis 34: 7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob’s daughter; which thing ought not to be done.

Do you see all the connections here?

Balaam gave advice and Hamor gave the same satanic advice.

What is the point in all of this? These two events happened just before Jacob came back to the land and Israel was on the plains of Moab just before they crossed the river Jordan.

Now just before we are about to return home to the Land of our Fathers Satan is going to try to get us to mix our theologies with pagan ones and pollute the Torah with mixed teachings. We need to keep our teachings pure and not mix them with things like Halloween and Christmas and Purim and Chanukah. But we must stay true to Leviticus 23 and not adulterate the Torah by adding to it or intermarrying them like the Catholic religion did with so many pagan teachings.

Do we have another example of the people of Israel returning to the land? Yes when Judah came back after the 70 years of captivity. But not all of them came back and those who did were hindered by the pagans here in the land. So now turn to Ezra.

Remember that Jacob was proposed by Hamor to intermarry and again in the plains of Moab the children of Israel were deceived by the Midianites and Moabites into harlotry by intermarrying with them and the plague destroyed 24,000.

In Ezra 9: 1 And when these matters had been done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Yisra’?l and the priests and the L?wites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, as to their abominations, those of the Kena?anites, the H?ittites, the Perizzites, the Yeb?usites, the Ammonites, the Mo’ab?ites, the Mitsrites, and the Amorites, 2 for they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the set-apart seed is intermingled with the peoples of those lands. And the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.”

Even the leaders were involved in this trespass just as Zimri was a leader of the tribe of Simeon.

We know that Satan is giving the people this advice in order to keep them from becoming or remaining pure just before they enter the land. Just before Judah comes back to the land they are intermarried with the nations about them.

Notice again in 1 Maccabees 1: 11 In those days went there out of Israel wicked men, who persuaded many, saying, Let us go and make a covenant with the heathen that are round about us: for since we departed from them we have had much sorrow. 12 So this device pleased them well. 13Then certain of the people were so forward herein, that they went to the king, who gave them licence to do after the ordinances of the heathen: 14 Whereupon they built a place of exercise at Jerusalem according to the customs of the heathen: 15 And made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook the holy covenant, and joined themselves to the heathen, and were sold to do mischief.

In these days of the Maccabees the people sought to become like the heathen and forsake the Torah. Daniel prophesied of this event.

Even Daniel 11 speaks of this event in verse 30 “For ships from Kittim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart, and shall return in rage against the set-apart covenant, and shall act, and shall return and consider those who forsake the set-apart covenant. 31 “And strong ones shall arise from him and profane the set-apart place, the stronghold, and shall take away that which is continual, and set up the abomination that lays waste1. Footnote: 1See 8:13, 9:27, Mt.24:15. 32 “And by flatteries he shall profane those who do wrong against the covenant, but the people who know their Elohim shall be strong, and shall act. 33 “And those of the people who have insight shall give understanding to many. And they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering, for days. 34 “And when they stumble, they shall be helped, a little help, but many shall join them, by flatteries. 35 “And some of those who have insight shall stumble, to refine them, and to cleanse them, and to make them white, until the time of the end, for it is still for an appointed time.

It is not remaining pure to torah. It is assimilation. It is the mixing of seeds which is the very subject Nehemiah Gordon spoke about during Sukkot in Jerusalem. You can listen to this teaching of his at http://www.beamesderfer.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=190:sukkot-5846&catid=36:calendar&Itemid=79

And this is just before the people return back to the land. The Exodus of Moses from Egypt is an example of us just before our exodus from our captivity. This means we must first go into captivity. Do not mix yourselves with the pagan teachings of the world, do not mix Torah with those things not found in the Torah.

This is why Yeshua warns us of the doctrine of Balaam in revelation 2:14 which was given to Israel to cause them to stumble.
Now while we are here and because this is how I arrived at many of the teachings in The Prophecies of Abraham consider the following.

Pharaoh is made up of two words one is Pha (mouth) and the other is rah (Bad) and they mean Bad and mouth. Pharaoh is bad mouth. And Pharaoh is representative of Satan and Satan is always blaspheming the name of Yahovah or bad mouthing Him.
Moses and Aaron are likened to the two witnesses of revelation and the plagues of Egypt are likened to the plagues of revelation.
We are near that time and we need to get the mixed seed out of our lives.

In Ezekiel 20 we read of the Exodus 4 “Judge them, son of man, judge them! Make known to them the abominations of their fathers. 5 “And you shall say to them, ‘Thus said the Master ????, “On the day when I chose Yisra’?l and lifted My hand in an oath to the seed of the house of Ya?aqob?, and made Myself known to them in the land of Mitsrayim, I lifted My hand in an oath to them, saying, ‘I am ???? your Elohim.’ 6 “On that day I lifted My hand in an oath to them, to bring them out of the land of Mitsrayim into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, the splendour of all lands. 7 “And I said to them, ‘Each one of you, throw away the abominations which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Mitsrayim! I am ???? your Elohim.’ 8 “But they rebelled against Me, and would not obey Me. All of them did not throw away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Mitsrayim. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them to complete My displeasure against them in the midst of the land of Mitsrayim.

After Yahovah reveals His name the people did not repent and cast away the idols that they had mixed in with them. To get rid of the false teachings and wrong attitudes that they had acquired in Egypt, but they would not.

So now look at what will happen to us if we do obey Yahovah. Read now Genesis 35: 1 And Elohim said to Ya?aqob?, “Arise, go up to B?yth ?l and dwell there. And make an altar there to ?l who appeared to you when you fled from the face of ?saw your brother.” 2 And Ya?aqob? said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign mighty ones that are among you, and cleanse yourselves, and change your garments. 3 “And let us arise and go up to B?yth ?l, and let me make there an altar to ?l, who answered me in the day of my distress, and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” 4 So they gave Ya?aqob? all the foreign mighty ones which were in their hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears. And Ya?aqob? hid them under the terebinth tree which was near Shek?em. 5 And they departed, and the fear of Elohim was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Ya?aqob?.

These are the idols Rachel took from Laban. Genesis 31: 19 And when Lab?an had gone to shear his sheep, Rah??l stole the house idols that were her father’s.

We are about to enter the time before the great tribulation when we will be tested severely. If we remove all the idols from our lives which we have grown up on, all the false teachings we still cling to and do only those things we can prove from Torah, Yahovah will guide and protect us through this time as He did Jacob and the people around us will fear because of Yahovah’s protection of us.

 

1 Sam 25-27

In this story of Nabal and Abigail I can understand why and how Nabal would speak so harshly with the young men who appeared on a Feast day looking for a hand out. But what Nabal did not do was to check with his servants to see if what the young men said was true or not. It was when these same servants spoke to Abigail that she made haste to go and make amends for her husband.

Take note in verse 22 that because of the harshness of Nabal David was going to destroy every male that was associated with Nabal. So what seemed like scavengers to Nabal was about to turn out to be a disaster to him, just because he did not check the story. The other point here is that Nabal did not practice what the Feasts were about. Being generous to the strangers and widows and orphans.

Each of us needs to treat all we come in contact with, with respect and hospitality. You do not know if by chance you are not entertaining angels or saints of the Most High.

When Abigail told Nabal what had almost happened his heart turned to stone and ten days later he died. Notice that Yahovah gave him ten days just as he does during the Ten Days of Awe to repent and return to Him. The ten days of Judgement, but Nabal does not and then he dies.

In Chapter 26 David says something I have always thought of in verse 9. Who can strike the anointed of Yahovah and be guiltless. Think on this when you are persecuted. Think on this when you rail against your leaders who rule over you. For it is Yahovah who places each and every ruler over the people and yet the people say such evil things against them whom Yahovah has placed to shepherd them. They are the anointed of Yahovah.

Yes President Obama is the anointed of Yahovah. You may not like his policies but this does not give you the right to speak evil of him. Read again how David treated Saul who sought to kill him. With respect and on a number of occasions Yahovah placed Saul with the hands of David and David did not kill him because David respected the office that Saul held. President Obama of the USA and Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper and the Prime Minister of Britain, David Cameron, and the Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard, and Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, and the President of South Africa Jacob Zuma all hold this anointed office that is given by Yahovah Himself to whom He pleases.

Daniel 4: 17 ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers, And the sentence by the word of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, Gives it to whomever He will, And sets over it the lowest of men.’

1Timothy 2: 1 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all men, 2 for sovereigns and all those who are in authority, in order that we lead a calm and peaceable life in all reverence and seriousness. 3 For this is good and acceptable before Elohim our Saviour, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth

Stop condemning those in authority over you and begin to pray for them for the sake of doing the work of our Father in heaven.

 

Psalm 70

Psalm 70, as mentioned earlier, repeats Psalm 40:13-17 with several minor word changes-these changes perhaps suggesting a different tune. It is interesting that Psalm 70, being taken from Psalm 40, follows Psalm 69, which itself carries imagery over from Psalm 40. Thematically, Psalm 70 appears to be a condensed version of the material in Psalm 69-and it also seems to introduce Psalm 71 (compare 70:1-2; 71:12-13).

The superscription of Psalm 70, like that of Psalm 38, in the NIV says, “A petition.” But the KJV and NKJV give the literal rendering of the words here as “To bring to remembrance.” In the present case, this terminology could reflect this psalm being a reprise of the end of Psalm 40 and a summary of Psalm 69-i.e., a recounting of the need for deliverance.

One point of indirect contact between Psalms 70 and 69 is found in 70:3. This verse, with enemies saying “Aha, Aha!” (also 40:15), finds a counterpart in Psalm 35:21. These enemies, it is said two verses earlier in Psalm 35:19, “hate me without a cause”-a phrase that also appears in Psalm 69:4 (all of these being messianic psalms).

David focuses on God throughout his trial-continually praising Him (70:4) and seeking His help.

 

Mark 12:18 – 13:37

This chapter of Mark 13 is a great chapter. Verse 37 sums it all up though. Watch! Always be watching. Many people do not understand the fact that when Yeshua says here a couple of times you do not know the day or the hour, that this is a Hebraism about the Feast of Trumpets which comes on the first day of the seventh month and is determined by the sighting of the first crescent of the new moon. And no one can know the hour or the day it will be seen at. Not until the very day and hour it is seen.
Before this Yeshua gives us a play by play of events to be looking for. When you compare them to the four horsemen of revelation you can see some similarities.

Let no one deceive you, is referring to the white horse which is religion deception. The white horse goes out to conquer.
Revelation 6:2 NKJ

And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

Yeshua goes out with sword coming from His mouth. That sword is the word of Truth and not a bow. The one with the bow is false religion and it comes looking like Judaism as well as Christianity. So beware of the white horse.

We have not yet arrived at the time when we are hated by all people for His names sake. But we are close. Watch!

 


The 613 Mitzvot

We are also going to continue to study the 613 laws of Torah which we can read at http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm
We are doing 7 laws each week. We shall study laws 220-226. We also have commentary, with editing from me, again from http://theownersmanual.net/The_Owners_Manual_02_The_Law_of_Love.Torah

220. To assemble the people to hear the Torah at the close of the seventh year (Deut. 31:12) (affirmative)

(220) Assemble the people to hear the Torah at the close of the seventh year. “And Moses commanded them, saying: ‘At the end of every seven years, at the appointed time in the year of release, at the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before Yahweh your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and little ones, and the stranger who is within your gates, that they may hear and that they may learn to fear Yahweh your God and carefully observe all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear Yahweh your God as long as you live in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess.” (Deuteronomy 31:10-13) It’s significant that a periodic public reading of the Torah—the whole shootin’ match—was timed to coincide with the forgiveness and freedom wrought by the Law of the Sabbatical Year. And it’s doubly significant that this rehearsal of the Law was to take place at the Feast of Tabernacles. Three separate concepts have been woven together by the command of Yahweh—our release from debt, the Word of God that releases us, and the seventh and final miqra, prophetic of God’s promise to “tabernacle” or camp out among us for a thousand years upon the earth. The closer you look, the more seamlessly flawless the plan of God is shown to be.

But wait: it gets better. Remember back in Mitzvah #216 where we observed that Jubilee? If you’ve been keeping score, you’ve noticed that many of the same things are mandated for both the Sabbatical Year and Jubilee—the release from debt, freedom from servitude, the rest from our labors, and the miraculous provision of our needs by Yahweh (see #226 for the one exception). But with the association of the Sabbatical Year with the Feast of Tabernacles, as we see here, it becomes clear that Yahweh is implying a significant distinction.

In practice, by the time Jubilee rolled around (the year immediately following the seventh Sabbatical Year), there would have been precious little left to restore or forgive. Jubilee should seem like a mere continuation of the same blessed state of affairs. And that is precisely what we find in Yahweh’s prophetic program. After the thousand-year Millennial reign of Christ (beginning with Aviv) the redeemed of God will move—after a few hiccups—directly into eternity. (The hiccups? Yeshua has a few last-minute details to take care of—the last of man’s rebellions, the Great White Throne judgment, and Satan’s final incarceration.) Whereas the Feast of Tabernacles (corresponding to the Sabbatical Year) is prophetic of God dwelling with man during the Millennium, the Day of Atonement speaks of the forgiveness of sin—that which enables us to dwell forever in sweet fellowship with our God in His new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem. Like the scapegoat of old, our transgressions will have been eternally banished. And we shall at last be holy, separated from our sin and separated to our Heavenly Father.

In 2009 at Sukkot in Jerusalem, myself and three other men read the entire Torah at the place where the water gate once stood near the Gihon Spring . We fulfilled the command to read the Torah at Sukkot during the Sabbatical year. Many walked by and wondered what we were doing and some listened for a moment.

221. To count the years of the Jubilee by years and by cycles of seven years (Lev. 25:8) (affirmative).

(221) Count the years of the Jubilee by years and by cycles of seven years. “You shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants.” (Leviticus 25:8-10) Here we see the timeline of Jubilee. Presumably commencing when the children of Israel entered the Land of Promise (verse 2) they were to keep track of time in “septades,” cycles of seven years—six years of regular activity followed by one “Sabbatical” year in which the land was to rest, etc. After seven of these seven-year cycles, an extra Sabbath year, called yobel or Jubilee, would be celebrated. Thus as we reckon time in terms of decades and centuries in our culture, the Hebrews related to the passing of years in terms of septades and Jubilees. The last Jubilee year was 1996 CE.

Yahweh has never forced mankind to believe in Him. He has always arranged things so that trust was an essential element in the formation of a relationship with Him. To do otherwise would abridge our ability to choose to love Him, and that’s what He desires—fellowship with people who have chosen to love Him, who want to be with Him. This explains why He has been somewhat coy in communicating His plan of redemption to us. If he left us no intellectual or emotional wiggle room, we would have no choice but to accept Him. So He used metaphors, pictures, types, symbols, and dress rehearsals to demonstrate His plan: they’re available, even obvious, to honest and diligent seekers after truth, but opaque and mysterious to those who don’t really care. The pattern of sevens we see here is ubiquitous in scripture, from God’s description of creation in Genesis to the bowl judgments of Revelation. The number seven (including sevenfold, sevens, and seventh) occurs over 600 times in scripture, more than any other number. To dismiss the recurrence of the six-plus-one pattern as coincidence is therefore highly presumptive.

But what does it mean? I can’t claim to have all the answers, but it seems obvious and unavoidable to me that Yahweh is telling us (those who will listen) that He has ordained seven thousand years as the time of man upon the earth—that is, seven thousand years will pass from the fall of Adam to the Last Judgment. In other words, His plan of redemption will take seven thousand years to unfold. And the six-one split? For the first six thousand years, God will reveal Himself primarily through the pictures and symbols I mentioned earlier. But during the seventh Millennium, He Himself will dwell on earth among us, reigning as King of kings. Where we used to live by faith, we will then live by sight, for God will dwell among us.

It’s conceivable, of course, that I’ve missed the whole point, that there’s some other explanation. But if I’m right, you should be aware that the seventh millennium is due to begin on Aviv in the year 2045 which is also the Year of Jubilee.

222. To keep the Jubilee year holy by resting and letting the land lie fallow (Lev. 25:10) (affirmative).

(222) Keep the Jubilee year holy by resting and letting the land lie fallow. “…It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord.” (Leviticus 25:10-11) In this respect, as with so many others, Jubilee is just like any Sabbatical year. The point is that Yahweh has provided what’s needful beforehand. It’s up to the child of Israel to recognize the bounty of God during the six normal years, putting a portion of the produce of the land aside for the Sabbath year. It’s up to Yahweh to make sure what was set aside is sufficient for the Israelite’s needs when he can no longer work. Clearly, this is all a picture of God’s plan of salvation. We rely on Yahweh’s Messiah for our redemption; Yahweh makes His sacrifice sufficient for us.

223 Not to cultivate the soil nor do any work on the trees, in the Jubilee Year (Lev. 25:11) (negative).

(223) Do not cultivate the soil nor do any work on the trees, in the Jubilee Year. “That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine.” (Leviticus 25:11) This is basically the negative permutation of the previous mitzvah. The rules apply equally to fields, orchards, groves, and vines: don’t plow, don’t plant, don’t prune, don’t harvest, and don’t gather. When you’ve reached the Sabbatical year (read: the Millennium) or the year of Jubilee (read: the eternal state), it’s too late to cultivate a relationship with Yahweh, or harvest the fruit of the Spirit. You will have already made your choice (during the “normal” years) to trust Him or not.

224 Not to reap the aftermath of the field that grew of itself in the Jubilee Year, in the same way as in other years (Lev. 25:11) (negative).

(224) Do not reap the aftermath of the field that grew of itself in the Jubilee Year, in the same way as in other years. “That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine.” (Leviticus 25:11) If this Jubilee precept sounds like dĂ©jĂ  vu all over again, it’s because we’ve already seen the identical mitzvah when discussing the Sabbatical year (see #214). The point is, Yahweh’s lessons for mankind are practically identical for Jubilee and the Sabbatical year: it’s too late to start trusting God after the big day has arrived. The minor differences we see are due to the fact that during the Millennium, there will still be mortal, earthbound populations—the progeny of the Tribulation believers who somehow made it through to the end alive—in addition to the immortals, those who, whether dead or alive, were gathered together with their Savior. In the eternal state, however, every believer will inhabit his immortal, incorruptible, resurrection body (see I Corinthians 15).

225 Not to gather the fruit of the tree in the Jubilee Year, in the same way as in other years (Lev. 25:11) (negative).

(225) Do not gather the fruit of the tree in the Jubilee Year, in the same way as in other years. “That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine.” (Leviticus 25:11) Yeah, like I said, trees, vines, fields—it’s all the same metaphor. Aren’t you glad Maimonides made a separate and distinct “law” out of this? We might have missed it altogether.

226 To grant redemption to the land in the Jubilee year (Lev. 25:24) (affirmative).

(226) Grant redemption of the land in the Jubilee year. “The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.” (Leviticus 25:23-24) This is the sole functional difference between the Sabbatical year and Jubilee: “leased” land did not revert to its original owners at the end of the Sabbatical year. This only happened at Jubilee. Therefore, it behooves us to determine what the land symbolized. To me, it can mean only one thing in the grand scheme of things: the land symbolized the earth itself—the whole world. It is our inheritance, to be sure, but “ The earth is Yahweh’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” Beyond that, we, through the sin of our father Adam, “sold” the earth to Satan back in the Garden of Eden. Through the law of Jubilee, Yahweh is arranging for us to get it back, to reclaim our inheritance. In case you haven’t noticed, Satan hasn’t been a very responsible tenant for the last six thousand years. And in anticipation of Yeshua’s return, he intends to trash the place even more than he already has.

Now, here’s the scary part. Satan’s time isn’t up when Christ returns to reign in glory. He’ll still have a thousand years left to go before his lease expires. That’s the bad news. The good news is that his lawlessness has finally caught up with him, and he’s going to prison for the duration of his lease. When he gets out, however, he’s going to go right back to his old tricks, deceiving the nations and unifying them in battle against Yeshua and His people—it’s the battle of Magog all over again; with the same results, I might add (see Revelation 20:7-9). Only then will Satan’s “lease” be up, and he will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:10).

The Law of Jubilee teaches us that our spirits won’t be the only thing in creation that God will redeem. He will also buy back the very earth beneath our feet.

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