When is Passover? The 13th or 14th or 15th.

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: Feb 14, 2013

News Letter 5848-051
3rd day of the 12th month?5848 years after the creation of Adam
The 12th Month in the Third year of the third Sabbatical Cycle
The Third Sabbatical Cycle of the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Earthquakes Famines, and Pestilences
This is also the end of the Forty Seventh week of this the Third Tithe Year for the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow?Deuteronomy 26:12

 

February 16, 2013

Shabbat Shalom To The Royal Family of Israel,

The New Moon of the 12th month has been seen in Israel on Monday evening making Tuesday the 1st day of the 12th Month.

#579 New Moon Report – February 2013 – the Twelfth Biblical Month has begun!??Rosh Chodesh Sameach!!??

The new moon was sighted in Israel by Yoel Halevi 5:26pm (Israel time) from kfar Eldad and by Deb Burnet from Jerusalem at 5:45pm (Israel time) This begins the twelfth Biblical month!??The Aviv search will be carried out in the Land of Israel by Nehemia Gordon and searchers on March 11th and 12th!! Will it be the 13th month or will it be the head of the year!

 


In The Mail

 

I thank you all for your encouragement and love letters you have sent this week. They are always appreciated. Let me share some with you.

Dear Joe

It’s so good to get and read your news letters as we need to home in to the reality of what’s going on in the world out there. Yes you tell us how it is, and know one wants to hear it. You are a bit like Ezekiel speaking to many of the ignorant house of Israel. Jo, it’s not an easy job and you will not get any thanks for it, but Father knows you are doing His work and that these things need to be SAID.

We are preparing for Stephen’s website and hope that it will be ready sometime in the middle of this year. It’s so important to get it right, simply done but to the glory of the God of Israel. As far as Stephen’s latest book is concerned once that gets printed, and I have to say it has nothing to do with us, well Stephen is not going to be the most popular man around either.

You are a ditch digger, which is dirty work, I would say that many of us are being used to tell Israelites who are being called out at this time by YHVH the Holy One to return to their Hebrew roots and stand firm against the tide of Evil which is coming.

Dear Joseph we remember you well, your wonderful teaching tours, and we will continue to pray for you to make large hole’s in the dam that the enemy has created to cover the Truth.

Baruch Ha Shem and many blessings to you from Virginia and family
United Kingdom

 

Brother Joseph:

Isn’t this interesting, The old tough guy is just as sensitive and unsure of himself as all the rest of us. I don’t see where Yah promises you will see the fruit of your efforts, we are just supposed to plant seeds. I have been hawking The Word, to include the Jubilee cycles for years. I have bought your book and given them away. I testify to whom ever will listen (they do have to ask first) and do you think I can find even one person to meet with? At least one that really wants to discover the Hebraic understanding and then keep Torah? Not yet. My family thinks I am over the side and blowing up bubbles. Friends tolerate me and come over just to argue once in a while. They hear my Shofar every Shabbat, but nobody asks about it. I am not responsible for their response to the Word. Whether or not they come to desire a relationship with their Creator is not my responsibility. I only throw out seeds. Hardly a week goes by that I don’t get an opportunity to throw seeds, but never is there a follow up. I get to wonder once in a while, but then last week I called a man who had information about a legal matter, During our conversation, he recalled our discussion of the Sabbatical cycles and how “interesting” it was. He had fairly good memory of what we talked about, but that was it —- interesting. I really like a teaching Bill Cloud has put out recently, about staying in your place and fulfilling your purpose. He suggests that we are all where Yah wants us to be and we all know what our purpose is. So stay put and be about your Fathers business. I suggest to you, that perhaps you have no idea how many hear what you say, not that everbody agrees with everything you say, but it encourages those of us who are also trying to accomplish our purposes. Just like you, except you have a much larger platform from which to encourage and teach.

I encourage you Joseph. Keep on Keepin on. Walk the walk, talk the talk and prove you are faithful with these small things so that when our Master Yahshua Ha Mashiach comes He can say “Well done my good and faithful servant” you have proven trustworthy (as He is trustworthy) and your reward in the Kingdom will be that you are His and you will live with Him forever (Olam). I quite often have to tell myself, Quit your belly achin and fulfill you purpose. The Father is watching and is giving you everything you need to do what He wants you to do. Don’t forget, this is His grand work not yours. When the spirit calls, just open your mouth or sharpen your pencil, tune up your computer and let the Ruach do what it does in the moment.

Grandpa Jim USA

I sincerely thank Jim for this. It is much appreciated.

Joseph.

I’m just having to say this week’s an last week’s teaching really was excellent. Thank you for all you do. Be extremely blessed. Sister Tina
United Kingdom

 

Hi Grandpa Joseph:
Or better yet, may Yehovah bless you Excellency with abundant health and prosperity. And may those who read your compelling and spiritually enlightening newsletter be moved to take action, not just simply read the words

On that note, if some of your readers don’t appreciate what you are writing – the dreadful things that lie ahead – maybe they should read it for themselves in the Bible (old and renewed testaments). Would they then keep the Almighty’s teaching and instructions, His Sabbath, His feasts, Shmita land rests, Jubilees, dietary laws, repent and change their ways …….. if they read it themselves?

I finally figured out Susan Earl actually wrote her first instalment (which I just read) in your last newsletter. Duh! Information and lots of it, with Biblical references – great!

It’s winter, we’re working on soil improvement. We’re adding nutrients using vegetable/fruit, kitchen waste poured into a sealed, five-gallon container, with water, allowing it to decompose for a month. This will be mixed in the soil, with rotting straw. It’s also applied as a folier spray to plants. The heirloom seeds we ordered from the Seed Savers Exchange catalogue Internet site: tomatoes, beans, squash, melon, zzucchini, collards and two varieties of non-GMO corn. (Their catalogue has the history of many of the seeds they sell – fascinating reading). Most will be grown in the 10′ x 20′ greenhouse we built here on the cool Oregon coast. I’ll keep you posted if you like.

Do not get discouraged your Excellency, for…. “If the trumpet give an uncertain sound who will arm himself for battle?”

Peter USA

 

Shalom Joseph!

Wow, I had to stop and email you after reading about the Yeshiva. I would be very willing to be part of this as a student. I have no clue how much this should cost, but I am sure that if it is the right thing, YHWH will provide. I do not even have a home group to study with right now and am out here alone. I cannot find a group to study with that puts Yeshua and the Father first and foremost above their own pet doctrines. So, I study on my own. I would love a Yeshiva and perhaps Abba would open some doors to share with others. That’s something else I have trouble with… Whenever I try to pass along a “word” or something I’ve discovered like your revelation on tracking the Sabbatical Years and Jubilees, people think I am nuts! Same old story, 50 X 120 is 6,000. I still try to plant the seeds.

Regarding cannibalism… People who cannot perceive this are just not dealing with reality. I just started studying the book of Enoch which is one of the two, possibly three books that I am finding some credible teaching out of the Apocrypha. Enoch speaks of the hybrid nephillim cannibalism and there was also cannibalism in Canaan after the flood with the fallen people of Noah’s grandson. The Jews resorted to cannibalism during the Roman siege in 70 A.D. Americans have the Donner’s Pass saga. Cannibalism is real. It is going on now and will be in our face in the future.

Speaking of the Apocryphal books, I see some truths in some of them like the Macabbees telling us about the terrible reign of Antiochus Epiphanes, but most of them are full of flaws; even the Macabbees has contradictions, so we have to be very discerning when studying them. I understand why they were not canonized considering their flaws. In addition to Enoch, I am taking a liking to Jasher and Jubilees. We’ll see. I do believe that the Father is revealing some things about the beginning that have been hidden for such a time as this that we can find in these books. “As it was in the beginning….”

Lastly, let me say to you Mr. Dumond, the blessings of YHWH are on you and I know you get overwhelmed sometimes, but what you are doing glorifies the Father and that’s all that matters. He will take care of you as long as you remain faithful and walk with Yeshua in His Torah. All He wants from us is love and obedience. You are a watchman on the wall. We need you! If I can do anything to help, just hollar.

May YHWH strengthen you and bless you all the days of your life.

Shalom, shalom,

B, Illinois

 


 

With the New Moon being sighted this week we are now in the Month of Adar, the 12th month and just weeks away from Passover. Purim is not found in Lev 23 and none of the Kings of Israel or Judah kept it and I am not going to waste my time talking about it nor the Valentines day that some still want to keep Nor Lent or Pancake Tuesday.

Those who do this are mixing the seeds of the truth of Torah with man-made traditions. If it is not found in Lev 23 then do not keep it. Lev 23 and the Torah tells us how to keep Passover, they do not tell us how we are to keep Purim nor do they tell us how to keep Valentines nor do they tell us how to keep Shrove Tuesday nor do they mention Lent yet everyone wants to keep one or more of these days that cannot be found in Lev 23. And yet those things found in Lev 23 most will not keep.

You will notice at this link that Purim is considered a Holy Day. http://www.when-is.com/purim-2013.asp

Purim in 2013 will start on Sunday, the 24th of February and will continue for 2 days until Monday, the 25th of February.
Note that in the Jewish calendar, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so observing Jews will celebrate Purim on the sunset of Saturday, the 23rd of February.

Now many of you still are subscribing to the Daniel Time Lie. Opps I mean the Daniel timeline. That false teaching that tells you that Yehshua will come in the year 2017, the next and last Jubilee year, which is also a lie. 2017 is not a Jubilee year nor will Yehshua come at this time.

But the theory goes, that many if not most of the Messianic teachers put out, that all of these end time events begin with the Feast of Purim. It is on this day that they must set up and begin to have an altar of some sort and make a sacrifice on it. It is then stopped and 2300 days later the Messiah comes 2017. I have had heated arguments with leaders who promote this “theory” based upon false information. They also tie in to their teaching on this theory that Chanukah is also involved. And yet both of these false feasts are not mentioned in Lev 23, which lays out the WHOLE PLAN of Salvation of Yehovah. The Whole Plan and it does not include Purim or Chanukah. Why do messianic’s insist on adding these false holi days to everything they do.

You would think that with such an important event about to take place the Temple Mount would be pact with people saying they are waiting to see this happen and to be eye witnesses. So where are the throngs of those who adhere to the Daniel time lie, I mean timeline. There should be thousands upon thousands flocking to Jerusalem to see the first sacrifice on the Temple Mount. Do they not believe in what they are saying? Some teachers protect themselves by saying, “this is just our proposal of events, to watch and see.” I would that they would learn the Instructions of Yehovah for His Jubilees and Sabbatical years. They are a protection against false hopes and false timelines.

In another false time lie put out by another respectable ministry they are saying that at Purim the Church is to be fleeing into the Wilderness. Have they bought their plane tickets? No! So why are they not packing and getting ready? Why have they not sold their homes if they know they are about to flee? How are they going to flee? Who is chasing them? Many questions about this but no answers. Why? Because it is a false teaching and pure speculation. Do not get caught up in it. Do not! Those who say the church should flee at Purim are sitting on their couches counting the tithes you have sent them and will continue to send them in spite of the false teaching they are putting out there.

And in all of this where are the two witnesses? They are to be killed and this is what starts the last 3 œ years. So where are they? Are they going to be those leaders who are telling you about the Daniel Timeline? Or those telling you to flee at Purim?

These are your most popular Messianic groups. Go and check the charts they have at their sites on Daniels Timeline. Do it today before they take them down. They will remove them after Purim when they see they are wrong. So do it now and download them so you have a copy.

I do not post these links here to belittle anyone, to embarrass anyone, or to exalt myself. I do this because I want you all to know, take note, and because I care for the sheep of my Fathers House. I do not do this against people, the brethren, or these communities of people. I do this against false teaching and false teaching alone, that hurts the assembly and body of Messiah and His Image to the World. As His Body, we should do our utmost at all times to be a Light of Truth as He is. We have been warning you of this false teachings for years now. And it is now coming down to the wire.

There are many groups of people watching this like at this site of Christians
http://www.christianforums.com/t7661375/ who will be justified in ignoring the Torah once these things are proven false. It could will be the great falling away many speak about. And it is just like Harold Camping and the Mayan 2012 false teachings. Please do not set your hopes and plans on this Daniel timeline lie.

According to them, not me but these leaders then, the last 3 Âœ years of Daniel’s 70 weeks begins Feb 23, 2013. Watch and listen to the corrections they will have to make as this timeline comes and goes without fulfillment. Watch and make note.

We have been telling you and still do that this teaching is a lie and a false teaching. We have explained it many times in other articles. We have also said that this could be the great deception that Satan uses. Satan who has deceived the whole world and if possible even the elect. So have you been deceived? Are you about to be deceived?

We expect Israel to be at war at some point that will lead to her being rescued and preserved by a United Nations Peace Keeping Force in 2013. This is based on the Prophecies of Abraham in which the King of North comes down and invades the cities of Sodom and also Salem. Now called Jerusalem. Peace Peace when there is no peace.

Many will use this to begin the counting of the 3 œ years. So we watch. But this is not the end, 2017 is not the end, there are many more prophecies that need to be completed. Get the Prophecies of Abraham and learn what those prophecies are and who is going to be acting them out.

Those men who are teaching this are trying to teach you what they have come to understand just the same as I am. But they have refused to look and some do not want to take the time to look at the truth of the matter. They have many other good teachings, but this is not one of them.

And then on top of this the Pope goes and quits. Well I’ll be danged. Here is another prophecy coming from the catholic Saint, no less. And we all know that we should pay close attention to catholic saints when they speak.

http://www.pakalertpress.com/2013/02/12/petrus-romanus-900-year-old-prophecy-says-next-pope-will-oversee-end-of-days/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pakalert+%28Pak+Alert+Press%29

In 1139 A.D. the Catholic Saint Malachy was said to have experienced visions during a trip to Rome. He subsequently put these visions to paper and penned a document containing 112 short phrases purporting to describe all future popes that would head the Catholic Church. Though not a part of official Catholic dogma or church teachings, this Prophecy of the Popes is well known by Vatican officials and church scholars because it has been remarkably accurate about naming the last 111 heads of one of the world’s oldest and most widespread religions.

According to researchers, theologians and evangelical scholars, the phrases Malachy scribed in his writings offer up the “nature, name, destiny or coat of arms” of every pope in succession and culminate with the naming of the 112th pope.

This morning, Pope Benedict XVI announced he would be retiring. Jokingly referred to as “God’s Rottweiler” in some circles, the German born 111th Pontiff as described in Malachy’s prophecy is called the Gloria Olivae, or ”glory of the olive,” which some supporters of the prophecy suggest is a reference to the Benedictine Order of monks from whom Benedict got his namesake. The monks are also known as the Olivetans, and are represented by an olive branch, leaving many to believe that Saint Malachy was, once again, right.

Now, according to prophecy, the 112th Pope will step up to head the Church, and he will be named Petrus Romanus, or Peter the Roman.

Whether you’re Catholic, Christian or not a religious person at all, the fact that a 900 year old prophecy is coming to a close is intriguing. And one way or the other, whether its predictions turn out to be true or not, the prophecy concludes with the next Pope.

Eerily, the prophecy describes the Catholic Church’s last Pontiff as overseeing a new era, and one that will be met with great difficulty and destruction:
“In extreme persecution the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman
”
“Who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the terrible or fearsome judge will judge his people.

 


 

The End.”
Prophecy of the Popes – Attributed to St. Malachy circa 1139 A.D.

Within the Book of Revelation, also known as The Apocalypse of John, are references to the destruction of the City of Seven Hills (Rome) and to the many trials that will be faced by mankind ahead of the final judgement – the rapture, the rise of the anti-christ, seven years of tribulations, and the end of days.

Suffice it to say, if the prophecy is accurate, then the world will soon be engulfed in a battle between good and evil.

The idea by some Catholics that the next pope on St. Malachy’s list heralds the beginning of “great apostasy” followed by “great tribulation” sets the stage for the imminent unfolding of apocalyptic events, something many non-Catholics agree with. This will give rise to the false prophet, who according to the book of Revelation leads the world’s religious communities into embracing a political leader known as Antichrist.

Throughout history, many Catholic priests—some deceased now—have been surprisingly outspoken on what they have seen as this inevitable danger rising from within the ranks of Catholicism as a result of secret satanic “Illuminati-Masonic” influences. These priests claim secret knowledge of an multinational power elite and occult hierarchy operating behind supranatural and global political machinations. Among this secret society are sinister false Catholic infiltrators who understand that, as the Roman Catholic Church represents one-sixth of the world’s population and over half of all Christians, it is indispensable for controlling future global elements in matters of church and state and the fulfillment of a diabolical plan called “Alta Vendita,” which assumes control of the papacy and helps the False Prophet deceive the world’s faithful (including Catholics) into worshipping Antichrist.

As stated by Dr. Michael Lake on the front cover of this unprecedented report, Catholic and evangelical scholars have dreaded this moment for centuries. Unfortunately – as you will discover in the next 90 days – time for avoiding Peter the Roman just ran out.

The prophecy begins in 1143 with the election of Pope Celestine II, who is described in Latin as “Ex ca?tro Tiberis,” or “From a castle of the Tiber.” Celestine II was born in central Italy in a city that sits on the banks of the Tiber river.

Pope John Paul II is referred to as “De labore folis,” or “from the labour of the sun,” and is the only pope to have been born on the day of an eclipse and entombed on one as well.

There are scores of similar parallels between prophecy and pope, adding all the more credence to its legitimacy.

In its last prediction, though the prophecy refers to Petrus Romanus as the shepherd that will pasture his sheep, it may not necessarily mean the Pope will be on the side of the people, or even God. According to Thomas Horn, the author of Petrus Romanus: The Final Pope Is Here, the last pope is not the anti-christ, but he may well be the false prophet who ushers him in – a chilling thought for the billions of Catholics and Christians around the world:
The important fact is this. The very next Pope, following Pope Benedict the XVI who, according to a lot of news coming out of Rome right now – his days are numbered. He’s getting older, he’s getting feeble, he may retire



The next Pope is the final one on a 900 year old prophecy.
So, imagine how historical this moment is with regard to end times bible prophecy.
By the way, the prophecy tells us that he will be the false prophet of biblical fame who will help give rise to the anti-christ.

Via: Prophecy in the News?Related: Author Thomas Horn with George Noory on Coast to Coast AM discusses the Prophecy

A Look at the St. Malachy Prophecy:
Whether coincidence, self fulfilling through the machinations of man, or otherworldly, Malachy’s writings have certainly held the attention of the highest levels at the Vatican for centuries, and perhaps even influenced its decisions.

Now, with Benedict the XVI stepping down, we enter its final phase, and we’ll soon learn how accurate it really is.

So Brethren what are we to make of this? Are we to sit here and shutter, that we are near the end? If the Altar is built and a sacrifice made on Purim are you going to panic knowing or thinking you know we are in the last 3 œ years.
WE ARE NOT!!!

Whether the next pope is Peter the Roman or not, whether he is the last pope or there are three more is totally irrelevant. Whether there is an altar or not on purim. What matters is Yehovah’s time schedule. And it alone.

We have read before where Yehovah sent a Lying spirit to deceive Ahaz. Yehovah sent a lying spirit. Yes you read that right.

It is Yehovah who has said over and over that the Sabbath was a test to see if those who love Him will OBEY Him. The Sabbath is the weekly Sabbath and the Annual Holy Days and they do not include Purim or Chanukah. So if your end time events and prophecies include these then know you have a lying spirit talking to you. And do not listen to them.

We have told you repeatedly that if possible in the last days Satan would deceive even the very elect. Does this include you? It could, if you are given to conspiracy teachings and the Illuminati and Jesuit lies that are out there and if you are given to believe Catholic Saints who do not and will not keep the Sabbath or Holy Days nor the Sabbatical years.

And many of you forget all about the Sabbatical years and what they show you repeatedly. They have since the creation of Adam shown us over and over that war comes in the 4th Sabbatical cycle.

As it was in the days of Noah and as it was in the day of Sodom both point precisely to the 6 Sabbatical cycle as does the Holy Days and the Day of Atonement to exactly when Satan will be locked away. To the very day. The Day of Atonement in 2033 is the precise day that Satan will be locked away.

So brethren you need to see these things as part of the deception that is going on right now. As described in the Prophecies of Abraham.

2017 is not the Jubilee year as the Daniel timeline false teaching claims. And there for the 3 Âœ year before that is nothing except a deception and lying spirit. Do not get caught up in it. With the prophecy about the Pope coming at this precise time, plays right into Satan’s deception. The lying spirits.

But do get ready spiritually for the persecution that is to begin. And then after 2017 the sword comes to North America.

I may be the only one saying these things. I will stand on Yehovah’s Sabbath and Yehovah’s Holy Days and them alone and Yehovah’s Sabbatical and Jubilee cycles. Not on some man made timeline or some unholy days that man has added nor some prophecies of a catholic saint that was not very saintly nor ever kept the Sabbath let alone any Holy Days.

No I will stand on Yehovah’s Timeline and no one else’s. Will you?

Now for this weeks teaching.

Passover is found in Lev 23. We do not need to mix it with other false teachings. You do not keep Holy what is not holy.

Last year I learned just how entrenched many of you are in the keeping of Passover on the wrong day. So this year I want to get the jump on this and give you time to think this out and be obedient to Yehovah and Keep Passover at the right time. Not according to me but according to both the Torah and those who also kept it with Yehshua.

Many of you like me came from the World Wide Church of God groups. And we kept Passover with the church service and foot washing at the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th. We then held on the next night at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th what was called The Night to be much remembered. And then the 1st Day of Unleavened Bread a High Holy Day followed this.

The Churches of God kept the events at the right time using the Hebrew calendar, but called the events the wrong names. And this has led some who have come out of them to wrong conclusions. Many coming in to this Hebraic way of life from the other churches and learning about Passover for the first time are eager to keep them but get caught up in the misleading teachings that they discover and do not pray and think about it before they jump.

So let us go through this series of events and learn and do as we are told to do. Let us keep Passover as Yehovah told us and also as Yehshua also kept it because they are not two different events. They are the exact same.

The very first thing we must do in preparing for this night is to know that the Barley is ripe in the land of Israel. Why you may ask?

The barley was needed in order to keep the wave offering on the first day after the weekly Sabbath during the days of Unleavened Bread. To understand the rich meaning of this teaching will be explained in the weeks to come. This is one part of Lev 23 that many just skip over and do not pay attention to. It tells us when to keep this offering and that when we do so we are then to begin our counting to the next wave offering which is also important.

Lev 23:9 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 10 Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap the harvest of it, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah to be received for you. On the next day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And you shall offer that day when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering to Jehovah. 13 And its food offering shall be two-tenths part of fine flour mixed with oil, a fire offering to Jehovah for a sweet savor. And the drink offering of it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. 14 And you shall eat neither bread, nor parched grain, nor green ears, until the same day, until you have brought an offering to your God. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 15 And you shall count to you from the next day after the sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete.

So we must have Barley. You are not to eat anything from the land until you have made this offering. And that first fruits crop was the barley. Are you aware that the barley to be waved and blessed was equal to the amount of manna that was portioned to each individual as they wandered during those 40 years in the wilderness? This was an additional reminder that the Mighty One of Israel brought the Hebrews out of Egypt and would bless them.

Lev 6:14 And this is the law of the food offering. The sons of Aaron shall offer it before Jehovah before the altar. 15 And he shall take from it his handful of the flour of the food offering, and of the oil of it, and all the frankincense which is on the food offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a sweet savor, the memorial of it, to Jehovah. 16 And the rest of it Aaron and his sons shall eat. It shall be eaten with unleavened bread in the holy place. They shall eat it in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. 17 It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire. It is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering is.

If you remember last week we talked about the daily offering and how it was our prayers at 9 AM and 3 PM. And our prayers were symbolized by the Frankincense that went up unto Yehovah. The Barley wave sheaf offering was done on the Sunday morning at 9AM, the time of the daily offering. The Barley was marked off before the weekly Sabbath that would fall during the Days of Unleavened Bread, or if the 1st High day was on a Sunday then they would mark the Barley the Friday before with cords to identify which sections had been choosen as the best barley to harvest.

Then after the Sabbath, after the weekly Sabbath and the sun had set they would go out and cut the barley Saturday night and get it prepared for the wave offering Sunday morning.

http://www.templeinstitute.org/the_omer_offering.htm

On the 16th day of Nisan, the barley to be used in the Omer offering was harvested in a grand public event. Residents of the villages surrounding Jerusalem would all come out to take part in the joyous occasion. After completing the harvest, the kohanim, (priests), would bring baskets filled with barley to the eastern side iof the inner Temple courtyard. There, the newly ripened grain was beaten, roasted, and sifted in thirteen seives. A handful of the flour was burned on the altar, and the rest was eaten by the kohanim. Torah states that the first grain offering must consist of fresh barley kernels rosted in a perforated pan, and then ground into a coarse meal. “You must place olive oil and frankincense on it…” (Leviticus 2:15) Next, the kohen must “wave the Omer before G-d.” (Leviticus 23:11) This was done in front of the northeast corner of the altar, the kohen facing westward. The final step of the Omer offering involved the kohen scooping out a handful of flour from the meal mixture and placing in on the fire atop the altar. This was followed by the bringing of a single male sheep as a burnt offering. From this point on, grain from the new harvest could be eaten. After waving the Omer at the northeast corner of the altar, the kohen presented the first grain offering before the southwest corner of the altar. This was standard procedure for nearly all meal-offerings.

So to begin this study we share this article with you about the Barley. Know and understand as you read this that Yehshua is being represented by the barley.

Biblical Leap Years

The Biblical year begins with the first New Moon after the barley in Israel reaches the stage in its ripeness called Abib. The period between one year and the next is either 12 or 13 lunar months. Because of this, it is important to check the state of the Barley crops at the end of the 12th month. If the barley is Abib at this time, then the following New Moon is Hodesh Ha-Aviv (“New Moon of the Abib”). If the barley is still immature, we must wait another month and then check the barley again at the end of the 13th month.

By convention, a 12-month year is referred to as a Regular Year while a 13th month year is referred to as a Leap Year. This should not be confused with Leap Years in the Gregorian (Christian) Calendar, which involve the “intercalation” (addition) of a single day (Feb. 29). In contrast, the Biblical Leap Year involves the intercalation of an entire lunar month (“Thirteenth Month”, also called “Adar Bet”). In general, it can only be determined whether a year is a Leap Year a few days before the end of the 12th Month.

Where is Abib Mentioned in the Hebrew Bible?

The story of the Exodus relates “This day you are going out in the the month of the Abib.” (Ex 13,4).
To commemorate that we left Egypt in the month of the Abib, we are instructed to bring the Passover sacrifice and celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Hag HaMatzot) at this time of year. In Dt 16,1 we are commanded:

“Keep the month of the Abib and make the Passover (sacrifice) to YHWH your God at night, because in the month of the Abib YHWH your God took you out of Egypt”. [click here to hear the verse in Hebrew!]

Similarly, we are commanded in Ex 23,15:

“You will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days you will eat unleavened bread, as I have commanded you, at the time of the month of the Abib, because in it you went out of Egypt.”

The same is commanded in Ex 34,18:

“You will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days you will eat unleavened bread, as have I commanded you, at the time of the month of the Abib, because in the month of the Abib you went out of Egypt.”

What is Abib?

Abib indicates a stage in the development of the barley crops. This is clear from Ex 9,31-32 which describes the devastation caused by the plague of hail:
“And the flax and the barley were smitten, because the barley was Abib and the flax was Giv’ol. And the wheat and the spelt were not smitten because they were dark (Afilot).”

The above passage relates that the barley crops were destroyed by the hail while the wheat and spelt were not damaged. To understand the reason for this we must look at how grain develops. When grains are early in their development they are flexible and have a dark green color. As they become ripe they take on a light yellowish hue and become more brittle. The reason that the barley was destroyed and the wheat was not is that the barley had reached the stage in its development called Abib and as a result had become brittle enough to be damaged by the hail. In contrast, the wheat and spelt were still early enough in their development, at a stage when they were flexible and not susceptible to being damaged by hail. The description of the wheat and spelt as “dark” (Afilot) indicates that they were still in the stage when they were deep green and had not yet begun to lighten into the light yellowish hue which characterizes ripe grains. In contrast, the barley had reached the stage of Abib at which time it was no longer “dark” and at this point it probably had begun to develop golden streaks.

Parched Abib

We know from several passages that barley which is in the state of Abib has not completely ripened, but has ripened enough so that its seeds can be eaten parched in fire. Parched barley was a commonly eaten food in ancient Israel and is mentioned in numerous passages in the Hebrew Bible as either “Abib parched (Kalui) in fire” (Lev 2,14) or in the abbreviated form “parched (Kalui/ Kali)” (Lev 23,14; Jos 5,11; 1Sam 17,17; 1Sam 25,18; 2Sam 17,28; Ruth 2,14).

While still early in its development, barley has not yet produced large enough and firm enough seeds to produce food through parching. This early in its development, when the “head” has just come out of the shaft, the seeds are not substantial enough to produce any food. At a later stage, the seeds have grown in size and have filled with liquid. At this point the seeds will shrivel up when parched and will only produce empty skins. Over time the liquid is replaced with dry material and when enough dry material has amassed the seeds will be able to yield “barley parched in fire”.
Abib and the Harvest

The month of the Abib is the month which commences after the barley has reached the stage of Abib. 2-3 weeks after the beginning of the month the barley has moved beyond the stage of Abib and is ready to be brought as the “wave-sheaf offering” (Hanafat HaOmer). The “wave-sheaf offering” is a sacrifice brought from the first stalks cut in the harvest and is brought on the Sunday which falls out during Passover (Hag HaMatzot). This is described in Lev 23,10-11:

“When you come to the land which I give you, and harvest its harvest, you will bring the sheaf of the beginning of your harvest to the priest. And he will wave the sheaf before YHWH so you will be accepted; on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest will wave it.”

From this it is clear that the barley, which was Abib at the beginning of the month, has become harvest-ready 15-21 days later (i.e by the Sunday during Passover). Therefore, the month of the Abib can not begin unless the barley has reached a stage where it will be harvest-ready 2-3 weeks later.
That the barley must be harvest-ready 2-3 weeks into the month of the Abib is also clear from Dt 16,9 which states:
“From when the sickle commences on the standing grain you will begin to count seven weeks.”

From Lev 23,15 we know that the seven weeks between Passover (Hag Hamatzot) and Pentecost (Shavuot) begin on the day when the wave-sheaf offering is brought (i.e. the Sunday which falls out during Passover):

“And you shall count from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the sheaf of waving; they will be seven complete Sabbaths.”

Therefore, the “sickle commences on the standing grain” on the Sunday during Passover, i.e. 2-3 weeks after the beginning of the month of the Abib. If the barley is not developed enough so that it will be ready for the sickle 2-3 weeks later, then the month of the Abib can not begin and we must wait till the following month.

It should be noted that not all the barley ripens in the Land of Israel at the same time. The wave-sheaf offering is a national sacrifice brought from the first fields to become harvest-ready. However, the first-fruit offerings brought by individual farmers can vary in ripeness anywhere from “Abib parched in fire” to fully ripe grain which may be brought “crushed” or “coarsely ground”. This is what is meant in Lev 2,14:

“And when you bring a first-fruit offering to YHWH; you shall bring your first-fruit offering as Abib parched in fire or crushed Carmel” (Carmel is grain which has hardened beyond Abib to the point where it can be “crushed” or “coarsely ground”).

 

All of the above passages have been translated directly from the Hebrew and it is worth noting that the King James translators seem to have only understood the various Hebrew agricultural terms very poorly. In Lev 2,14 they translated Carmel as “full ears” and “Abib” as “green ears” whereas in Lev 23,14 they translated Carmel as “green ears”!

In summation, barley which is in the state of Abib has 3 characteristics:

1. It is brittle enough to be destroyed by hail and has begun to lighten in color (it is not “dark”).?
2. The seeds have produced enough dry material so it can be eaten parched.?
3. It has developed enough so that it will be harvest-ready 2-3 weeks later.

Once we know the Barley is going to be ripe for Passover and the wave Sheaf Offering on the Sunday during the Days of Unleavened Bread, then we wait for the New Sighted moon to be seen to begin the New Year.

Exodus 12:2 This month shall be to you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year to you.

The New Year begins with this first month in which Passover is held. It is not in the seventh month known as Rosh Hashanah. No the first month of the year is when Passover is and this first month is called the 1st Month.

We are then told that we are to take a lamb on the 10th day of this 1st month.

Exo 12:3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth of this month they shall take to them each man a lamb for a father’s house, a lamb for a house.

And we are also told that it can be a lamb or a goat but had to be a male of a year.

Exo 12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You shall take from the sheep or from the goats.

This then ties Passover in with Atonement when the tow goats are brought before Yehovah. One represents Satan and is taken by a strong man into the wilderness. You can see this same thing shown to us in Revelation.

Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from Heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. 3 And he cast him into the abyss and shut him up and set a seal on him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he must be loosed a little time.

Lev 16:7 And he shall take the two he-goats and present them before Jehovah at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots on the two he-goats; one lot for Jehovah and the other lot for a complete removal. 9 And Aaron shall bring the goat on which Jehovah’s lot fell, and offer it for a sin offering.10 But the goat on which the lot fell to be the complete removal shall be presented alive before Jehovah, to make an atonement with him, to let him go for a complete removal into the wilderness.

At Passover your sins have been paid for by our redeemer. The price of sin cost our maker His own life in our stead. But the blotting out of those sins and placing them on the guilty party of Satan does not take place until the Day of Atonement in the fall. This is also very important to keep in mind as we keep the Holy Days during the year.

So now we come to Exodus 12

Exo 12:6 And you shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month. And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

And this is where some begin to get confused.

Each day begins at Sunset and then ends at the following sunset. So each day as we are told in genesis is the Night and the day, the evening and the morning to make one complete 24 hour day. The evening comes first.

We are to keep our lamb until the 14th day and shall kill it in the evening. When is that?

I am not going to get into this long debate with you. You can search that up at a reputable site.

Instead I want to have you reason this out. I know you can do it. All you have to do is think just a little.

We know and we are told Yehshua is our Passover Lamb.

1Co 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For also Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast; not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Here we also see Paul is telling those who follow him that we ARE TO KEEP PASSOVER. And that Yehshua was our Passover lamb and just as the lamb was sacrificed so was Yehshua.

You also know and need to understand that Each Holy day has special events that are precise in the things Yehovah is going to do on those days. At the exact same time. So the ceremonies are important to understand for those events that will come in the future on these appointments with Yehovah. His Holy Days.

Exo 12:7 And they shall take some of the blood and strike on the two side posts and upon the upper door post of the houses in which they shall eat it.

Yehshua is our Passover lamb and it is by His blood that those of us who repent and return from not keeping the Torah to now keeping and obeying the Torah are forgiven.

It is only after the lamb is killed that the blood from the lamb can be put on the doorposts and lintel. This is done as the 14th is ending and as the 15th is about to begin at Sunset.

Now the next point is important so pay attention.

Exo 12:8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted with fire, and unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat of it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire, its head with its legs, and with its inward parts. 10 And you shall not let any of it remain until the morning. And that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And you shall eat of it this way, with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in a hurry. It is Jehovah’s passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. I am Jehovah.

The 14th Day is the preparation day. It is not Holy it is just a preparation day the same as Friday is the preparation day for the weekly Sabbath.

We cook the lamb on the 14th as the 15th is about to begin and we get rid of the rest of the leaven that may still be in the house. We can only cook the lamb after it is killed at 3 PM on the 14th day which leaves us about 3 hours to get it ready for the Passover meal at the beginning of the 15th day after sunset. And we are to eat it with unleavened Bread. And you are to eat unleavened Bread for 7 days and the first day is the High Holy Day when you eat the Passover lamb.

On that evening of the 15th once the sun has set we eat the Passover Lamb with our families. We eat it with our shoes on and our coats and we are ready to flee. This is exactly what Israel was going to do the next morning of the 15th still. Part of the same day.

It was this 15th during the nighttime that the Death Angel Passed Over the Israelites, hence this is where we get the name Passover. Because the Angel Passed over on the night of the 15th the First Holy Day those homes with blood smeared on the doorposts.

This eating with our shoes and coats on is in preparation of a future time when we will have to flee once again at Passover. This will be according to the Prophecies of Abraham in the year 2030 when we are all brought back to the Land of Israel. It will be when the abomination is set up and we are told to flee. It will be at this same time that the two witnesses will be killed and then the martyrdom of those who will be keeping the Passover at the wrong time. Again this is the 1260 and 1290 days of Daniel. There will still be a controversy over which calendar to keep. The Sighted moon or the Hebrew one. You must chose and if you chose wrong you will be killed.

We are to keep this memorial of this day forever. The Memorial Day is the 15th the day of the Passover event. The first day of Unleavened Bread. The first Holy Day.

Exo 12:13 And the blood shall be a sign to you upon the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And the plague shall not be upon you for a destruction when I smite in the land of Egypt. 14 And this day shall be a memorial to you. And you shall keep it as a feast to Jehovah throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by a law forever.

Now we read something back in Leviticus. So let us now address this as some will use it to confuse you.

Lev 23:5 In the fourteenth day of the first month, between the evenings, is Jehovah’s Passover, 6 and on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Jehovah. You must eat unleavened bread seven days.

First of all Passover is applied to the whole of these events, all 8 days. The actual day that Passover took place on, as we have just shown you took place on the 15th. The 14th is the preparation day and is not holy.

Lev 23:7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no work of labor, 8 but you shall offer a fire offering to Jehovah seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall do no work of labor.

Even the last day of Unleavened Bread is included in being called the season of Passover.

Now start to think.

Exo 12:15 You shall eat unleavened bread seven days; even the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.

Lev 23:6 and on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Jehovah. You must eat unleavened bread seven days.

You are commanded to eat Unleavened bread for 7 days. Not 8 or 9 but seven. If you start eating Unleavened Bread on the 14th what do you do when you get to the last Day of Unleavened Bread. That would be 8 days not 7.

From the 15th day, which is Passover and the first Holy Day until the 7th Day of Unleavened Bread which is another Holy day are 7 days. You are to eat Unleavened Bread during this time and no yeast is to be found in your homes or in your office space where you work or your vehicles. This is where we get the idea of spring-cleaning. Our Ancestors did it for the preparation of Passover and we still do it now but have no clue why. Now you know why.

And as we have just read we are to eat the Passover Lamb with unleavened Bread and the only way to do that and eat Unleavened Bread for 7 days is to have the Passover lamb on the 15th.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread is for 7 days and you eat unleavened Bread for seven days. Yes this means you must go and get or make some unleavened bread. No donuts, no bread with yeast. Clean them out of your house and put them in the garbage. Do not give them to the neighbor, do not put them in the garage and expect to bring them back in to your home after the 7th day of Unleavened Bread. That is like putting sin out of your life and stopping this sin and then in 7 days going back to it once again. Put it out of your life once and for all.

So now those who begin to eat unleavened bread on the 14th and call it Passover are in fact breaking the commandment by eating Unleavened bread for 8 days. You must eat this bread on each of the 7 days of unleavened Bread. If you include the 14th then you have now made this an 8 day event which it is not. It is in remembrance of this time when we fled Egypt and arrived at the Red Sea. A time of 7 days.

You know the word remember in Exodus 20 concerning the Sabbath of which Passover is part of this 4th commandment; this word remember is the word H2142
zĂąkar
zaw-kar’
A primitive root; properly to mark (so as to be recognized), that is, to remember; by implication to mention; also (as denominative from H2145) to be male: – X burn [incense], X earnestly, be male, (make) mention (of), be mindful, recount, record (-er), remember, make to be remembered, bring (call, come, keep, put) to (in) remembrance, X still, think on, X well.

It is similar in meaning to Yehovah marking us in the palm of His hand. The Sabbath is the mark that is placed in our minds and on our hands. This is Yehovah’s Mark on us. Satans mark is any other day or holy day not found in Lev 23. Which is why I admonished you not to keep those days at the beginning of this article.

H2710
chĂąqaq
khaw-kak’
A primitive root; properly to hack, that is, engrave (Jdg_5:14, to be a scribe simply); by implication to enact (laws being cut in stone or metal tablets in primitive times) or (generally) prescribe: – appoint, decree, governor, grave, lawgiver, note, pourtray, print, set.

Now let us look at the events in Yehshua’s last day, which we will begin on the 13th in the afternoon.

Here is a good chronology of the Last Supper. Notice it is the Last Supper not the Passover meal.

Joh 13:1 And before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come when He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And when supper had ended, the Devil now having put into the heart of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon to betray Him,

Here we have the clear testimony from the Apostle John who placed his head on the breast of Yehshua and asked who it was that was to betray him. This supper was clearly before the Passover.

Joh 13:18 I do not speak of you all; I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.” 19 From now I tell you before it comes, so that when it happens you may believe that I AM. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, He who receives whomever I send receives Me. And he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 21 When Jesus had said this, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, Truly, truly, I say to you that one of you shall betray Me. 22 Then the disciples looked upon one another, wondering of whom He spoke. 23 But there was one of His disciples leaning upon Jesus’ bosom, the one whom Jesus loved. 24 Simon Peter therefore signaled to him to ask whom it might be of whom He spoke. 25 And lying on Jesus’ breast, he said to him, Lord, who is it? 26 Jesus answered, It is he to whom I shall give the morsel when I have dipped it. And dipping the morsel, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27 And after the morsel, then Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him, What you do, do quickly. 28 But no one reclining knew for what reason He spoke this to him. 29 For some thought, because Judas had the moneybag, that Jesus had said to him, Buy what we have need of for the feast; or that he should give something to the poor. 30 He then, having received the morsel, went out immediately. And it was night.

And again it is refered to in John 21.

Joh 21:20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following (the one who also leaned on His breast at supper, and said, Lord, who is he who betrays You?)

A number of things to consider her. First of all if you have eaten Matzo Bread, Unleavened Bread you cannot sop it in a sauce. But leavened Bread you can. Yehshua was taking the last of the bread and dabbing it to collect the other pieces on the table to give to Judas who represented sin as does leaven in this case.

Judas then leaves. He had made a deal to betray Yehshua for 30 pieces of silver.

Mat 26:14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests. 15 And he said to them, What will you give me, and I will betray Him to you? And they appointed to him thirty pieces of silver.

Were the High Priest and Judas doing business on a Holy Day? No because this was before the Passover. And the handing over of Yehshua would have completed the business and it too was done before the Passover and yet it was done after the Last Supper.

But if this was the Passover which was kept on the first High Holy Day then why was Yehshua sending Judas out to purchase supplies on a Holy Day. Everything would be closed.

It is after Supper that Yehshua then washes the feet of the Apostles. Again this is the end of the 13th day and the beginning of the 14th at night. The day of the Preparation for the High Holy Day of the 15th.

Joh 13:2 And when supper had ended, the Devil now having put into the heart of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon to betray Him, 3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and went to God, 4 He rose up from supper and laid aside His garments. And He took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, Lord, do You wash my feet? 7 Jesus answered and said to him, You do not know what I do now, but you shall know hereafter. 8 Peter said to Him, You shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me. 9 Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and head. 10 Jesus said to him, He who is bathed has no need except to wash his feet, but is clean every whit. And you are clean, but not all. 11 For He knew who would betray Him. Therefore He said, You are not all clean. 12 So after He had washed their feet and had taken His garments and had reclined again, He said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? 13 You call Me the Teacher, and Lord, and you say well, for I AM. 14 If then I, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, A servant is not greater than his master, neither is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

It was during the super that Yehshua gave the bread to the Apostles and then the wine.

Mat 26:25 And answering, the one betraying Him, Judas, said, Master, Not am I the one? He said to him, You said it. 26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is My body. 27 And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink all of it. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom. 30 And singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Today we break the bread and drink the wine and wash each others feet as a memorial of this last supper. It is not the Passover meal. It is Yehshua’s Last Supper with His apostles.

When I was with the Churches of God, this night was very somber. It had the feeling of being at a funeral. Everyone was quiet and reading their bible and not talking. It was a very serious night, not to be taken lightly. Some women wept as they read the events of the beating and the death of Yehshua. We are remembering that on this night we as men on this earth betrayed our Messiah, and had him sent to His death. Each and everyone one of is guilty of causing this. He had to die because we would not keep the covenant which we agreed to with Abraham and again at Sinai. Yehshua died instead of us. The covenant required that we die for breaking it. But He took our place.

So I encourage you all when you gather on this night to make a somber evening and not one for talking about other things or for joking around. Treat this night with the seriousness of what it represents. The beginning of the events that led to the death of our messiah.

We then read in John about the Priests not going into the Praetorium. If they did then they would become defiled. The Praetorium is today known as the Dome of the Rock. This is also the Place of the pavement spoken of in John. Yes the Dome of the rock is not the place where the Temple once stood. It was the place where Pilot had his headquarters.

Joh 18:28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the praetorium. And it was early. And they did not go into the praetorium, that they should not be defiled, and that they might eat the Passover.

So they have had supper and then went over to the Mount of Offence across from Temple on the other side of the Kidron.

Yehshua is arrested and then beaten that night of the 14th and then early in the morning He is taken to the Praetorium. But the Passover (Passover is a word used to cover the whole of this Feast. The Actual Passover Event took place on the 15th) had not yet happened because the Priest did not want to defile themselves and that would have meant they could not do the duties on Passover which was still yet to come.

So it is still early on the day part of the 14th . Passover has not yet happened.

For those who still hold to the 13th being the Passover meal the next scripture in Johns Chronology is very damning.

Joh 19:13 Then when Pilate heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat at a place called the Pavement (but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha). 14 And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, Behold your king! 15 But they cried out, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

So here is Yehshua at the Dome of the Rock, which is then called the Pavement. And it is the 6th hour of the day. This day began at Sunset so the 6th hour would be about Midnight. This is still speaking of the 14th which is the Preparation day for Passover, and the time of the Passover takes place on the 15th.

Now we come to the actual death of Yehshua.

We are told that He was crucified about the 3rd hour of the day. This 3rd hour begins with sunrise about 6 AM so the3rdhour is 9 AM. If you remember in last weeks News Letter I told you about praying at 9 AM and then again at 3 PM the same time as the daily sacrifices were done and the same time Daniel and others prayed.
Mar 15:25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.

Yehshua then dies at 3 in the afternoon, or the 9th hour.

Mar 15:33 And it being the sixth hour, darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? (which being translated is, My God, My God, why did You forsake Me?) 35 And hearing, some of those standing by said, Behold, he calls Elijah. 36 And one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But they said, Let alone, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down. 37 And letting out a loud voice, Jesus expired. 38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood across from him, saw that He cried out so, and expired, he said, Truly this man was Son of God.

Again when we come to the testimony of John we see that they wanted the two thiefs killed so that they would not be hanging on a tree over night. This is a command of the Torah that no one was to be left on a tree over night or else they would all be accursed.

Deu 21:22 And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and if he is put to death and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree. But you shall surely bury him that day (for he that is hanged is accursed of God), so that your land may not be defiled, which Jehovah your God gives you for an inheritance.

It is interesting to also note that there is no punishment to hang anyone on a tree yet we have this command not to leave them there.

Again in John we are told they wanted them dead because it was a High Sabbath that was coming. It was the 1st day of Unleavened Bread. A High Sabbath. Not the weekly Sabbath that most Christians assume it is.

Joh 19:30 Then when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, It is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up the spirit. 31 Then the Jews, because it was Preparation, begged Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the sabbath. For that sabbath was a high day. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a lance, and instantly there came out blood and water.

We next read of Joseph of Arimathea who was the great Uncle to Yehshua and also a member of the Sanhedrin and also was a NOBLE DECURIO for the Roman government and as such had a great deal of weight, but once he claimed the body of Yehshua would become the target of the Pharisees. And as we have shown you before in past Newsletters, he was attacked by Paul and put in a boat with no ores along with many others and sent into the Mediterranean Sea.

Mar 15:42 And it, becoming evening already, since it was the Preparation, that is, the day before sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, an honorable counsellor, who also waited for the kingdom of God, came and went in boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 And Pilate wondered if He were already dead. And calling the centurion, he asked him whether He had died already. 45 And when he knew it from the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 And he bought a linen cloth, and took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen, and laid Him in a tomb which was cut out of a rock, and rolled a stone to the door of the tomb. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid.

Joh 19:31 Then the Jews, because it was Preparation, begged Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the sabbath. For that sabbath was a high day. 32 Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who was crucified with Him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a lance, and instantly there came out blood and water. 35 And he who saw bore record, and his record is true. And he knows that he speaks true, so that you might believe. 36 For these things were done so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look upon Him whom they pierced.” 38 And after these things, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus (but secretly for fear of the Jews) begged of Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave permission. Then he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus also came, who at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus and wound it with linens with the spices, as is the custom of the Jews to bury. 41 And in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one yet had been placed. 42 There, then, because of the Preparation of the Jews, because the tomb was near, they laid Jesus.

So now picture this. It is 3 PM Yehshua has now died. And the 1st Day of Unleavened Bread also known as the Passover is coming at Sunset in about 3 hours. Joseph has to leave the Mount of Offence and cross the bridge back towards the Temple over the Gihon Spring and then go up to where the Dome of the Rock now is which was called the Praetorium and seek Pilots permission to have the body of Yehshua. He could do this because he was his uncle a blood relative of Yehshua. He could do this because he held such a high position in the Roman government. It is about a 20 minute walk one way. By the time he comes back with the Centurion who had to check that Yehshua was dead would be the better part of an hour. So we are now at 4 PM. The soldier stabs Yehshua and blood and water come out which John also witnessed. And they now have to take down the body and wrap it in a cloth and then carry him about a hundred yards or less to the tomb that belonged to Joseph of Arimathea. This would be now some time after 5 and the Sabbath and Passover would begin at Sunset which would have been about 6 PM.

So now with all these facts before us can you still deny that the meal Yehshua kept was just His last Supper and not the Passover.

Yes I am quite aware of what it says in Mathew.

Mat 26:17 And on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, Where do You desire that we prepare for You to eat the Passover?

This verse is obviously not correct. If it was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread then the Passover would have already passed having been eaten the night before.

Something is amiss here. Oh oh, am I saying that the bible is wrong here. Yes I am.
We have just proven it to you.

But they will quote to you what Paul says.

2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

The word for scriptures here is G1124
graph?
graf-ay’
From G1125; a document, that is, holy Writ (or its contents or a statement in it): – scripture.

This word is referring to the Scriptures that Paul and Timothy had. The Torah and the Prophets and the Psalms. Nothing more and nothing less. Yehshua Himself tells us what they are in Luke. The Torah, the Prophets and the Psalms.

Luk 24:44 And He said to them, These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms about Me.

The writings of Mathew were not part of the Scriptures nor any of the News testament. If the News testament does not agree with the Torah of the old Testament then the New is wrong.

So the Last Supper along with the breaking of the Bread and drinking of the wine and the foot washing are done at the beginning of the 14th as the 13th ends. The Passover meal is then held after the Passover Lamb is killed which Yehshua typified and died at the exact same time the Passover Lambs would have been killed at 3 PM on the 14th day. The lamb is then roasted and the blood smeared over the doors post. After Sunset that day as the 15th Day then begins the Passover is eaten and it is on this night that the first born in Egypt were killed and also what we are to remember. Yehovah paid for our redemption then with the first born of Egypt. He later paid again with the Life of Yehshua.
The 15th then is also the 1st day of Unleavened bread and we are to eat unleavened Bread for 7 days from the 1st day to the 7th day of Unleavened bread and on each day of this Feast.

 


Triennial Torah Cycle

We continue this weekend with our regular Triennial Torah reading

Deut 5      Zephaniah 1-3       Gal 1-2

 

The Decalogue Repeated (Deuteronomy 4:44-5:33)

Moses repeats the Ten Commandments to the younger generation. Comparing this chapter with Exodus 20, we see that God inspires Moses here to give an additional reason for keeping the Sabbath—”remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day” (5:15). So the Sabbath not only reminds us that God is our Creator, but it also points to Him as our Redeemer—the One who delivers us from spiritual Egypt, i.e., the dominion of Satan, society and our own sinful nature. The Sabbath day, then, signifies freedom and reminds us that we should share this freedom with everyone who is within our care and under our control (verse 14). Of course, heads of households must exercise great wisdom in this area when it comes to wives and houseguests who do not share the same beliefs.

The Fifth and Tenth Commandments also have wordings slightly different from those in Exodus 20. Notice the words “as the Lord your God has commanded you” in the Fourth and Fifth Commandments. These are not ten suggestions, and it’s interesting that God emphasized this concerning these two commandments when He inspired Moses to restate the Ten.

The fifth commandment is stated very positively, adding not only the same blessing for obedience promised in Exodus 20—”that your days may be long…in the land”—but also the words “that it may be well with you.” Obedience to this commandment is essential to maintain healthy families, which are one of the foundations of a stable society. The lack of proper esteem and respect for parents is one of the reasons that families in Western nations are in sad shape. World magazine recently reported, “A respected seminary professor [suggested] that the very concept of fatherhood may ‘now be passe’ for a high proportion of young people” (May 25, 2002).

In the Tenth Commandment, “wife” and “house” are in opposite order in the two versions, and Deuteronomy adds “his field.” The reason for that addition may be that no Israelite had a field of his own for 40 years after the Exodus, but now they were about to gain fields in the Promised Land. Realizing the Tenth Commandment prohibits coveting, it is interesting to consider Colossians 3:5, which tells us that covetousness is idolatry. Thus, the Tenth Commandment links right back up with the First Commandment. In this way, the Ten Commandments make a complete circuit.

“Face to face” in verse 4 does not mean the Israelites actually saw the face of God (see verses 5, 22-23; 4:12, 15). Even Moses did not see His glorious face. The expression implies close proximity—being confronted with God’s obvious presence—and God’s speaking to them on a level they could understand.

People accuse God of hiding from them, but in verses 23-27 we see man’s proclivity to hide—or at least keep his distance—from God. Of course, God mercifully understands (verse 28), and He expresses His longing for the time when they would have “a heart in them” to properly fear and obey Him (verse 29). A heart can be spiritually converted only when God gives the gift of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:5-10; Deuteronomy 29:4).

Zephaniah

Introduction to Zephaniah—the Days of Josiah (Zephaniah 1)

The prophet Zephaniah prophesied during the days of King Josiah. We have no knowledge of his background except for what is given in verse 1 regarding his lineage. He was a fourth-generation descendant of Hezekiah. Most sources believe this refers to Hezekiah the king, which would make him a cousin of Josiah, though others correctly maintain that we can’t know for sure. In favor, however, is the fact that his lineage is traced back four generations. Commentator Charles Feinberg remarks, “No other prophet has his pedigree carried back so far” (The Minor Prophets, 1990, p. 221). Thus, the Hezekiah mentioned would seem to be someone of distinction.

Zephaniah’s theme is the Day of the Lord, the time of God’s intervention and punishment on the nations. “He uses the expression more than any other prophet of the Old Testament” (p. 221).

Zephaniah prophesied for a few years, beginning some say in the same year as Jeremiah, who began to prophesy in 627 or 626 B.C. Others place Zephaniah at a later date. Because there is no hint of Josiah’s reformation in his writings, most scholars believe Zephaniah prophesied before the reforms began, though some believe the reformation was already underway. The words of the prophet in 1:2-6 do seem to indicate that he prophesied prior to any significant repentance by the nation of Judah—though this could be because the prophecy was meant primarily for the end time, the time of the Day of the Lord.

Indeed, Zephaniah’s utterances have dual application. The Day of the Lord was a warning to seventh-century-B.C. Judah that God would punish them when their sins came to a climax—but, more directly, the words of the prophet mainly allude to the coming great Day of the Lord that is in the future. The language of 1:15 is identical to the description of the Day of the Lord as described in Joel 2:2: “A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” The prophet Ezekiel will later use language similar to Zephaniah 1:18, describing the time of the end when a man will deem his wealth (silver and gold) as totally worthless because it provides no shield against the terrible wrath of God (Ezekiel 7:19).

The message of doom apparently brought Judah to a degree of repentance, along with the warnings of Jeremiah and the leadership of King Josiah. Their great reform is described in 2 Kings 22:3-23:25. The repentance was short-lived though, lasting only through the lifetime of Josiah. After this, the people of Judah fell back into grievous sin, and the warnings of the prophets came to pass in some measure through the horrendous invasion by the Babylonians.

 

Idolatry Then and Now (Zephaniah 1)

God states that He will “utterly consume all things from the face of the land” (verse 2), including the “stumbling blocks” (verse 3)—”figurative of idols” (NKJV margin). A large reason for God’s anger is Baal worship (verse 4) and because the people “swear by Milcom” (verse 5), an Ammonite god known elsewhere as Molech (see “Milcom,” Smith’s Bible Dictionary). The worship of Milcom or Molech was reprehensible to God. It included gruesome acts of infant sacrifice (2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 32:35).

Of course, this did fit the situation in the wake of the evil reigns of Manasseh and Amon over Judah. Yet Zephaniah’s prophecy, it must be remembered, is primarily for the end time, as it concerns the coming Day of the Lord. How, then, does the prophecy apply in these last days? Notice that God is going to stretch out His hand “against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (verse 4). Jerusalem today is a city of Jews, Muslims and various Christian denominations. Can these groups be labeled as idolatrous? Indeed, they can. As surprising as it may seem, many of their doctrines and practices are derived from paganism.

Judaism was eventually corrupted by Babylonian and Greek religion. Mainstream Christianity adopted many of the same concepts and, to gain preeminence over the Roman Empire, embraced still more and more from paganism. Islam arose out of a blend of Jewish and false Christian concepts and Arab mythology. Notice that the people are guilty of syncretism—worshiping God but with pagan concepts and practices, which is viewed by God as their worshiping false deities (compare verse 5).

Consider that Molech is “probably to be equated with
the Roman god Saturn or Mithra” (Jan Knappert, Encyclopaedia of Middle Eastern Mythology and Religion, 1993, p. 206, “Molech”). Mithra has been identified with Baal, the sun god. His birthday was celebrated in ancient times on December 25. The modern holiday of Christmas derives from this ancient celebration and the Roman Saturnalia—in honor of Saturn, essentially the same god—which immediately preceded it. (To learn more, download or request our free booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Keep?)

In verse 4, the phrase “idolatrous priests” is left untranslated in the King James Version. It is the Hebrew chemarim. “The Hebrew root means ‘black’ (from the black garments which they wore or the marks which they branded on their foreheads)” (Jamieson, Fausset & Brown’s Commentary, note on verse 4). As we will soon read, Josiah removed the chemarim of his day (see 2 Kings 23:5). Yet it is interesting to consider that such “black-robed priests” could designate various groups today—from Catholic priests to Greek Orthodox presbyters to orthodox Jewish rabbis to many Muslim imams. This may be the “foreign apparel” of verse 8—in that case denoting gentile religious garb—although the subject of verse 8 could also be people who exploit others to become wealthy, enabling them to purchase exotic foreign clothing.

In Zephaniah 1:9, God says He will punish “all those who leap over the threshold.” The Nelson Study Bible says this “may refer to a pagan practice like one mentioned in 1 Samuel 5:5. The priests of Dagon would not step on the doorway of the temple to Dagon because the hands and the head of Dagon had fallen there.” Are there modern participants of Dagonism? Surprisingly, a case can be made that “the two-horned mitre, which the Pope wears, when he sits on the high altar at Rome and receives the adoration of the Cardinals, is the very mitre worn by Dagon, the fish-god of the Philistines and Babylonians” (Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, 1916, 1959, p. 215).

The “Fish Gate” of verse 10 “received its name from the fish market which was near it. Through it passed those who used to bring fish from the lake of Tiberias and Jordan” (JFB Commentary, note on verse 10). Perhaps this is actually a figurative reference here to those by whom the fish-god Dagon, alluded to in the previous verse, has come into Jerusalem. In the same context we are told of punishment to befall the “merchant people”—”lit[erally], the ‘Canaanite people’: irony: all the merchant people of Jerusalem are very Canaanites in greed for gain and in idolatries” (note on verse 11).

Yet for all this, far too many sit complacently, believing “the Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil” (verse 12)—meaning He won’t do anything. The apostle Peter referred to such people as “scoffers
in the last days” who say, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Peter 3:3-4). Yet, as the book of Zephaniah makes clear, the scoffers are sorely mistaken. Those sacrificing to false gods (participating in false worship) will themselves become a sacrifice of God if they fail to repent (verses 7-8; compare Isaiah 34:6; Revelation 19:21), slain for the sake of all mankind.

 

The Meek of the Earth Hidden (Zephaniah 2-3)

In verses 1-3 of chapter 2, Zephaniah addresses an “undesirable nation,” calling them the “meek of the earth.” The latter expression would seem to denote the Church of God—particularly when we view the prophecy in context as dealing mainly with the end time. Moreover, these people are described as those who have upheld God’s justice or righteous judgment, thus walking by His laws—again pointing to true Christians. The Church is described as a spiritual nation in the New Testament (1 Peter 2:9-10). And it is certainly undesirable in the eyes of the world—as God’s people are, as Christ was, despised, hated and persecuted by the world (see John 15:18-20).

If these Christians will gather together (Zephaniah 2:1; compare Hebrews 10:25), seek God in prayer and study of His Word (see Zephaniah 2:3), and seek righteousness (obedience) and humility (same verse), they have an opportunity to be hidden and protected during the time of God’s punishment—in line with other prophecies that describe God’s faithful people being sheltered in a place of refuge in the end time (compare Revelation 12:14). Interestingly, Zephaniah’s name means “The Eternal Hides” or “Hidden of the Eternal”—which may have factored into the wording of Zephaniah 2:3.

Verses 4-5 foretell divine retribution to come on the people living in the land of the Philistines, here synonymous with Canaan—which, in an end-time setting, would appear to indicate the modern Palestinian people. The Jews, returning from captivity, will be given the former Philistine seacoast, including the Gaza Strip, which is now occupied by the Palestinians (verses 6-7). In verses 8-10, ruin is prophesied to come upon Moab and Ammon, which are areas of modern Jordan, still the homeland of these ancient peoples. And this is said to be because of their pride and because they will have reproached God’s people and threatened their borders. It is not clear whether the reproached and threatened people of God here are the physical Israelites or the spiritual people of God referred to in verses 1-3. If the latter, the whole passage would seem to be parallel with Isaiah 16, where Moab is apparently punished for refusing to hide God’s outcasts (see highlights for Isaiah 16).

Verse 11 again shows the passage to be primarily an end-time prophecy, as people from all the shores of the nations will come to worship God after He utterly wipes out idolatry.

The chapter culminates with judgment against Assyria and its capital city Nineveh (verses 13-15). Babylon and other forces conquered ancient Assyria and laid waste to her proud capital in 612 B.C. No doubt this prophecy did in part refer to that ancient overthrow—as it was yet a few years away when Zephaniah wrote. But realize again that this is mainly a prophecy of the end of this age. Nineveh is directly parallel here with end-time Babylon, speaking the same words and suffering the same penalty (verse 15; compare Isaiah 47:10-11). So it is likely that the prophecy is primarily aimed at Assyria of the last days—a German-dominated European superpower also known as Babylon (see highlights for Isaiah 10)—and its future seat of power. The prophet Nahum, as we will later see, prophesied against Nineveh around this time too. And in his prophecy there is also a very close parallel between Assyria and end-time Babylon.

Zephaniah 3 begins with an indictment against Jerusalem, probably representative of the Jewish nation as a whole—and perhaps even of all Israel in the end time, since Jerusalem was the ancient capital of all 12 tribes. Four specific charges are brought against the people. Verses 3-4 indict four classes of leaders for their corruption, and God promises He will bring them to justice. The priests not only don’t teach the laws of God, “they have done violence to the law”—they despise and ridicule God’s law as being a yoke, burden and curse that has been “done away with” or “annulled.” God warns that He has judged other nations and His nation should expect no less. Yet sadly, the people continue to rebel (verse 7). In Zephaniah’s day, there was a measure of repentance at the time of Josiah’s reforms. And in the future, all Israel will at last repent, as we see later in this chapter.

Verse 8 describes the return of Jesus Christ to fight the nations gathered against Him (compare Revelation 19:19). An interesting feature about Zephaniah 3:8 is that, according to Charles Feinberg, it is the only verse in the Old Testament that contains all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

The chapter then progresses forward into the wonderful, peaceful reign of Christ over all nations—that is, over all those who are left after the cataclysmic wars of the end time. Verse 9 describes God providing a “pure language” for the peoples of the earth, much better suited for praising and serving God. Today’s languages are filled with pagan references and other ungodly elements. That won’t be so in the language of the future. The tone of the book from this point on is quite positive, as conditions that will exist on earth under the rule of the Kingdom of God are described. Verse 15 prophesies, “The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst.”

Feinberg states that the “appointed assembly” of verse 18 refers to the “feasts of the Lord” (p. 235). This parallels Zechariah 14:16, which tells us that the Feast of Tabernacles will be observed at that time. The chapter ends with the wonderful truth that, though God will bring national punishment on the Israelites, He will still regather those who are left to at last be the model nation Israel was intended to be (verses 19-20). They will then be, as verse 12 shows, the meek and humble people of God.

Galatians 1

Paul’s letter to the assemblies in Galatia. What is it about? Paul opens with this comment: “I marvel that you are so readily turning away from Him who called you in the favor of Messiah, to a different ‘Good News,’ v.6. So this is the subject of the letter.
He points out that some, who have come to the assembly or are part of the assembly, are perverting the Good News of Messiah.

Some men have come to them now, with a “different path” unto righteousness rather than what Paul has taught them: Salvation through Faith. He stresses the point to them, that this message of Good News and salvation through Messiah is not a teaching of man, but Elohim. These people who are coming to them now preaching a different message and calling it the good news, bring their message from men.

v. 12 “For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but through a revelations of Yeshua Messiah.” In the next couple of verses Paul purposefully presents the contrast of who he was prior to this revelation, in the religion and tradition of his fathers of Judaism and of the Pharisees. Also, Paul stresses how when he received the revelation of Yeshua Messiah and the Good News he did not immediately go and consult men or councils of men
 but instead went to the desert (Mt Sinai in Arabia) for three years. Upon his return to Damascus and then Jerusalem, he sought out Peter – a true disciple and witness of Yeshua from the beginning to learn from him. He also points out that as he began his ministry for the Good News throughout, he was only known by those people as “the one who used to persecute us, now teaches us of Messiah” and how they marveled and Praised Elohim for the transformation. He presents all these things to provide “proof” of a “true” transformation of spirit and deed within him. He petitions them of this such that they know, he is not a deceiver.

Galations 2

He has been preaching and teaching this same message to all the peoples, the Gentiles throughout Asia Minor of the Good News, salvation through faith and after fourteen years appeared again in Jerusalem to also report to the Apostles what he was teaching and preaching to the gentiles to make sure he was doing rightly and in agreement with them. He makes a point to the fact that his Aramean friend Titus was not even compelled to be circumcised, v 3. Why would he mention circumcision here? For the same reason of the letter that was mentioned in chapter 1: there were men coming to them preaching and teaching “another Gospel and another “way” unto salvation.”

He professes that even in Jerusalem in the private meeting with the Apostles concerning his teachings to the Gentiles, some of these same types of men sneaked in to hear all that was said between them. Paul stood his ground with them also and would not yield concerning the matters of which they incessantly desire to demand of the new coverts. And when the meeting was done, the men left in agreement, with approval and handshakes all around: that Paul and Barnabas would go to the uncircumcised preaching the Good News and Peter, John, and James would continue in preaching the Good News to the circumcised and that each man had the approval of being in the will of Elohim in this manner.

Again, Paul is testifying of his position of who he is
 and then who these men are who are now coming to the assemblies behind him and attempting to persuade them of another path, another way, and another Good News.

Basically here, Paul is speaking about peer pressure in simple terms. There is a clique of religious elites who desire to impose upon the new converts and believers
 their same old traditions and ways in order to enslave all these new people coming to belief. This way was not based upon the Power of Messiah’s resurrection, but based upon old man-made traditions, chains of does and don’ts, rules and regulations – and they were telling the new converts that they must abide by all these man made rules in order to be saved and part of the assembly.

Paul tells the story of even how James, Peter, and Barnabas fell to the peer pressure and fell into hypocrisy concerning these matters. Where they once were eating and communing with the Gentiles fine in faith, but when the Pharisees from Jerusalem came they began behaving differently and as they used to when the Gentiles were seen as ‘unclean’

Peter, James, and John were eating and drinking amongst gentile converts while among them even though they of course were still Judean but when the Judeans came to visit, they began not only behaving again as Judeans according to their religious traditions but also began requiring the gentiles to behave as Judeans. Paul points out how hypocritical this is, and how it brings the work of Messiah to nothing.

For if the Judeans had all they needed for deliverance unto eternal life in the Torah, then what need of Yeshua Messiah at all? And why then preach and teach a “Good News” if all is as it ever was previously? He makes the analogy of rebuilding the same house that was just torn down. Evidently also, according to this letter and its contents, the Galatian assemblies were believing them and doing according to the wishes of the traditional Pharisees.

Galatians 3

“Oh senseless Galatians! Who has put you under a spell, not to obey the truth – before whose eyes Yeshua Messiah was clearly portrayed among you as impaled?” v.1.
Then Paul asks them the most meaningful question: Did you come to faith by hearing the Good News of Messiah preached? Or did you come to faith through the Torah? And through whom and which way did you receive the Spirit, the Set apart Spirit of Elohim?

Abraham believed Elohim and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness. Paul writes to them concerning being under a curse in relation to depending upon the Torah for righteousness and for salvation. Why? Is the Torah itself a curse? No! But if you are depending upon your keeping of the Torah for salvation and to be declared right
 this is a curse because even in the Torah itself it is written in Deut. 27:26 “cursed is he who does not establish the Words of this Torah.” But no man is made righteous by Torah before Elohim is evident, for it is written, “the righteous will live by faith.” Habakkik 2:4.

Whoever will do the things written in the Torah shall live and have life in it. There is also a curse for not doing, or failing to do those things that are written in the Torah. There are blessings and there are curses and the choice for these are each persons to make. But salvation is obtained through belief in Messiah
 eternal life.

Sharing some insight from www.hebroots.org concerning the Letter to the Galatians and the terminology used by Paul:

 

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND THE “Works of the Law”

http://www.triumphpro.com/dead_sea_scrolls___works_of_the_law.htm

Millions of people have wondered what the expression, “works of the law” means as used by the apostle Paul. What are they?
Are “works of law” the Ten Commandments? Are they the “Law of Moses”? Or something else? Paul said “a man is not justified by the works of the law,” and that “by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Gal.2:16). What did he mean? What is the Christian’s relationship to “works of the law”?
William F Dankenbring

In the book of Galatians, the apostle Paul makes it plain that a true Christian is not “justified” by “works of the law,” or made righteous in God’s sight by them. Paul declared, “He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the WORKS OF THE LAW, or by the hearing of faith?” (Gal.3:5).

Paul went on, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the CURSE: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Gal.3:10). What are these “works of the law”?
In his translation, Ferrar Fenton refers to them as “rituals of the law.” Most Christians, Protestants and others, think they refer to the “deeds” of the law of Moses — the entire Law of God given to Israel at Mount Sinai — including the Ten Commandments, statutes, judgments, and Temple rituals and ceremonies of the Law.

 

But is this assumption true?

The title of an obscure Dead Sea Scroll is MMT, which stands for Miqsat Ma’ase Ha-Torah. This phrase was originally translated “Some of the Precepts of the Torah,” by Dead Sea Scholars Strugnell and Qimron. However, the word miqsat does not just mean “some.” The same word is used in Genesis 47:2 where Joseph presents five of his brothers before Pharaoh — where the word could be translated as most important, select, or choice brothers.

More importantly, however, is the rest of the phrase — ma-ase ha-Torah. Strugnell and Qimron translated this as “precepts of Torah.” However, the most common GREEK word for ma-ase is ergon — which in the New Testament is usually translated “works.” The Hebrew word Torah is usually translated as nomos, which in the New Testament is generally translated “law.” Thus the expression ma-ase ha-Torah then simply means “works of the law.” This would be a very excellent translation. The Septuagint version of the Old Testament leaves no doubt — it translated the Hebrew expression ma-ase ha-Torah by the Greek ergon nomou. This Greek expression is commonly translated in the New Testament as “works of the law.” This expression is found in Romans 3:20,28, and Galatians 2:16, and 3:2,5, and 10.

Interestingly, when the British Bible Society translated the New Testament into modern Hebrew in 1976, when the text of the MMT Dead Sea Scroll was known only to a few scholars, they translated the Greek ergon nomou (works of the law) as ma-ase ha-Torah.

Says Martin Abegg, author of an article entitled “Paul, ‘Works of the Law’ and MMT,” in the November-December 1994 Biblical Archaeological Review,

“In short, ma-ase ha-torah is equivalent to what we know in English from Paul’s letters as ‘works of the law.’ This Dead Sea scroll and Paul use the very same phrase. The connection is emphasized by the fact that this phrase appears nowhere in rabbinic literature of the first and second centuries A.D. — only in Paul and in MMT.
“The works of the law that the Qumran text refers to are obviously typified by the 20 or so religious precepts (halakkah) detailed in the body of the text. For the first time we can really understand what Paul is writing about. Here is a document detailing works of the law” (p.53, BAR, 11-12/94 issue).

Finally, then we can put to rest the question, just what are the “works of the law” that Paul wrote about! Finally, an argument which has raged for centuries, and still rages today, can be settled by clear evidence from the first century!
Let’s take a look at this mysterious document MMT, and see what it is all about.
THE DEAD SEA SCROLL MMT
The MMT scroll records the remains of nearly two dozen legal issues. Perhaps another dozen issues perished. The scroll calls attention to the subject of boundaries between what was to be considered pure and impure. The phrase rohorat haquodesh, “purity of the holy,” sums up the contents of the scroll and its purpose. Says Abegg, this means, “Do not allow the holy to be profaned by what is impure.” The issues discussed, says Abegg, were:

“The issues include bringing Gentile corn into the Temple, the presentation of Gentile offerings, and the cooking of sacrificial meat in unfit (impure) vessels. Other rulings concern cleansing of lepers, admitting the blind and the deaf into the Temple; and permitting intermarriage with Ammonite and Moabite converts, long forbidden to enter the congregation of Israel (Deuteronomy 23:3).

Other issues involve the transmission of impurity by a flow of water (musaq), the intermixture of wool and linen (sha-atnez) and perhaps the climax of the discussion: the intermarriage of priests with the common people.

“Most of the rulings espoused by the author of MMT are based directly upon Biblical law (for example, the prohibition against plowing with unlike animals in Deuteronomy 22:10). A few others are interpretations or amplifications of Mosaic prescriptions (for example, bans on Gentile offerings and dogs in the Temple). The list clearly reflects a conservative reaction against a relaxation of Torah precepts” (ibid., p.53-54).

Notice! These “rulings” or “works of the law” included “INTERPRETATIONS OR AMPLIFICATIONS OF MOSAIC PRESCRIPTIONS.”
The Qumran sect spurned the “rabbinic extensions called Talmud, which effectively built a fence around the Torah, successive layers of which have become codified in the rabbinic works of the Mishnah and the two Talmuds. The Qumranites were the ‘Bible only’ group of their day” (page 54).
Notice again! The “RABBINIC EXTENSIONS” reflected in the Talmud, that corpus of Jewish religious and rabbinic literature accumulated over the centuries, known as the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, was spurned by the writers of the MMT Dead Sea Scroll. They developed their own interpretations, expansions, and halakkah. But both came under the over-all description of “works of the law” — and included various rabbinic interpretations, amplifications, and extensions of the Law of Moses to Jewish life during the first century.
The expression miqsat ma-ase ha-torah — “pertinent works of the law” — nowhere appears in rabbinic literature. However, clearly the Qumranites, like the apostle Paul, were against these rabbinic “works of the law,” though from a different point of view. They were espousing their own version of the “works of the law.”

Paul, very clearly, condemns in no uncertain terms these “works of the law” in both Romans and Galatians!
Writes Abegg:

“Looking at Galatians and Romans in the light of MMT, it seems clear that Paul, using the same terminology, is rebutting the theology of documents such as MMT. I do not mean to suggest that Paul knew of MMT or of the zealous members of the Qumran community, but simply that Paul was reacting to the kind of theology espoused by MMT, perhaps even by some Christian converts who were committed to the kind of thinking reflecting in MMT.”

What does this all mean? Clearly, even in Paul’s day, the Jewish scribes and Pharisees were building “fences” around the law of God, and making it int a burden — a “yoke of bondage” (Gal.5:1). Paul warned of “false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into BONDAGE” (Gal.2:4). He warned the Galatians that we are not justified before God by “works of law” (Gal.2:16).

Paul was upset, disturbed, about the reports he had received concerning them. He wrote, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” (Gal.3:1). He asked them, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal.3:2-3).
Paul urged the Galatians not to become entangled in the “works of the law” — the deeds and decisions and rulings of rabbinic Judaism or its offshoots. He wrote, “Stand fast therefore in the LIBERTY wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Gal.5:1).

 

Writes Martin Abegg in Biblical Archaeology Review:

“Some scholars have suggested that Paul misunderstood the Jewish teaching of his day or, at the very least, that he created a straw man to bolster his own teaching regarding faith versus law. In the past, this view was supported by the fact that the phrase ‘works of the law’ nowhere appears in the foundational books of rabbinic Judaism. MMT, however, provides the ‘smoking gun’ for which students have been searching for generations, not from the pages of rabbinic literature, but from the sectarian teachings of Qumran. MMT demonstrates that Paul was not jousting with windmills, but was indeed squared off in a dramatic duel — not with mainstream Judaism but with a sectarian theology — that ultimately defined Christianity. If I have understood rightly, the importance of MMT for New Testament research is nothing short of revolutionary” (ibid., p.55).

Clearly, in Romans and Galatians Paul taught against “legalism” and the teaching that one could be saved and achieve salvation through the Law of Moses — which was the Jewish teaching of the time. Rabbinic Judaism still teaches today that obedience to the LAW is the way to salvation — that the Torah is the key to eternal life. Yet they reject the Messiah, and the atoning work of the Messiah, as of no consequence and unnecessary for salvation.

They have seriously missed the boat. Paul makes that issue crystal clear in Romans and Galatians. Clearly, there can be no salvation, and no eternal life, apart from Jesus Christ our Lord! And in following Christ, we should not become burdened by or under the bondage of “the works of the law” of rabbinic halakkah and traditions, rulings, precepts, and extensions of the Torah, as it is in the Scriptures.

On the other hand, we also need to be careful not to come under the “bondage” to the “oral law” or “halakkah” of various Christian-professing churches, who create their own rules, regulations, prescriptions, and dogmas — traditions of “men” which Jesus clearly rejected — which violate the written Word and Law of God. It is interesting that those churches which seem to object the strongest against the Jewish “oral law” themselves create their own “oral law,” although they do not call it that.
Historically, even the Sadducees, who rejected the “oral law” preserved by the Pharisees, found it necessary to create their own “halakkah” and “oral tradition,” in order to expound the Scriptures. However, any “tradition” or “church custom” which contradicts the Word of God — Torah, or divine Revelation of the Scriptures — must itself be rejected and avoided.

The bottom line, therefore, is that Christ Himself has the last word — He is the “second Moses,” the Prophet like unto Moses, who had FINAL AUTHORITY to “interpret” the Mosaic Law — and provide a new “halakkah” of true interpretation and obedience (see Matthew 5-7). He came to “fill full” the Law, and make it complete (Matt.5:17-19).

To really understand God’s Law, therefore, and its application to Christians, and the New Covenant, we need to search the Scriptures, and the words of Christ. We need to avoid all the “works of the law,” or man-made religious taboos and constraints, which men have added from time to time, for one reason or another, to the Scriptures, leading into a yoke of heavy-handed?authoritarian bondage and spiritual slavery.

The “works of the law” that Christ and Paul condemned were the human additions to God’s Law which made it a system of bondage and misery. Neither of them were condemning the keeping of God’s commandments or referring to obedience to God’s Law as “works of the law” — not at all!
Let’s thank God for this precious truth and revelation — and for the beauty of His Torah Law and Revelation!

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