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MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2016

JOHN THE BAPTIST

Scripture tells us that John the Baptist came “in the spirit and power of Elijah”. (Luke 1:17)

Like Elijah, he wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. (2 Kings 1:8; Mark 1:6)

Unlike Elijah, whose ancestry is unknown, and is introduced to us simply as “Elijah the Tishbite” (1 Kings 17:1), the Bible tells us a lot more about John:

1. His parents were Levites (Luke 1:5)

2. His father Zechariah was a priest who served in the temple in Jerusalem (Luke 1:8-9)

3. His birth was supernatural, as his parents were old (Luke 1:7, 18)

4. He was born approximately 6 months earlier than Jesus, thus making him half a year older. Since Jesus was born on Sukkot (John 1:14), John would have been born on or about Passover. (Luke 1:26)

This makes a lot of sense, since Elijah is remembered every Passover, when a special cup of wine is poured out for him, and a special place at the Jewish table is designated for him, as he is expected to “visit” Israelites on that Feast.

5. He was named by God. (Luke 1:13)

6. He was foretold in Scripture as the forerunner of the Messiah. (Isaiah 40:3; Mark 1:1-5; Luke 3:1-6; John 1:23)

7. He was filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15)

So much so that, sensing the forthcoming birth of the Messiah of whom he’d be forerunner, HE LEAPT WITH JOY IN HIS MOTHER’S WOMB at the sound of Mary’s greeting (Luke 1:41,44)

8. He was and is “great in the sight of God” (Luke 1:15).

In fact, Jesus praised John saying that “among those born of women NONE is greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11).

9. Like most true prophets of God, he was a little weird: a loner, who lived in the dessert, and lived off the land, his diet consisting of locusts (insects resembling grasshoppers) and wild honey (Mark 1:6; Luke 7:33).

10. We know FROM SCRIPTURE that he baptized IN THE DESERT, near the Jordan River. (Matthew 3:1; Mark 1:4-5)

While there’s nothing wrong with being baptized there per se, this makes Yardenit, the spot on the Jordan IN LUSH NORTHERN ISRAEL, by the Sea of Galilee, where Christian tourists are typically baptized – supposedly “where John baptized Jesus” – A TOTAL FABRICATION and UNBIBLICAL LIE.

11. Jesus went to John to be baptized. (Matthew 3:13)

12. John’s mother Elizabeth was a relative of Jesus’ mother Mary, probably her cousin. Thus Jesus and John were flesh relatives. (Luke 1:36)

13. According to tradition, John was born in the village of Ein Karem, about 5 miles west of Jerusalem. Though as an adult he ministered in the Negev (desert), he may have been born there, and/or lived in Ein Karem at some point. There’s no conclusive evidence in Scripture, or accredited history, to substantiate that. (Luke 1:80)

14. John’s ministry began in the spring of 30 A.D., during the 15^th year of Tiberius’s reign. (Luke 3:1-2)

15. It ended at the hands of wicked Herod Antipas, shortly after Jesus began His public ministry. (Mark 6:14-29)

16. According to the Gospels’ chronology, his death took place shortly before Passover, after approximately two years of incarceration (Mark 6:24; Matthew 14:8)

17. According to historian Josephus, John’s execution took place at the appropriately named Machaerus (from machaira meaning “sword”), a fortified hilltop palace (similar in some ways to Masada) in what is modern Jordan, on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, Chapter 5.2)

John’s ministry was brief, but extremely important.

Humanly speaking, he could have let his immense popularity go to his head. Instead, he HONESTLY admitted that he wasn’t the Messiah. (John 1:20)

He plainly said that the Messiah would appear AFTER him, would be GREATER than him, and that “he wasn’t worthy” to untie His sandals (Matthew 3:11; John 1:26):

That he only baptized with water to move sinners to repentance, but that the Messiah would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (Matthew 3:11)

Had he been one of the many hirelings polluting the airwaves today, he would have felt that Jesus was “competing” with him, and would have been jealous of Jesus’ increasing fame and popularity -- especially when some of John’s disciples decided TO FOLLOW JESUS. (John 1:35-37)

Instead, John humbly said “He MUST INCREASE and I must decrease”. (John 3:30)

On behalf (hopefully) of all truly Messianic Jews and Israelites, and all true Christians:

THANK YOU, John the Baptist!

He was filled with the Spirit of God, knew the Voice of God, knew WHEN TO MAKE A BIG SPLASH (no pun intended) and WHEN TO VANISH INTO THE SHADOWS AND LET JESUS HAVE THE SPOTLIGHT.

What a great, obedient servant of the Most High God!

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2016

JOHN THE BAPTIST & THE ESSENES

Leave it to the prophecy traffickers to keep inventing feeble theories in order to SELL MORE WORTHLESS BOOKS to DUMB Christians.

The latest crap to hit the Kristian marketplace suggests that John the Baptist was a member of the Essenes, and that they held the belief that each verse in the Torah counts for one year of Israel's history.

Presently, there are 5,845 verses in the Torah (the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible).

We are (supposedly, if you believe the rabbis) in year 5777 in the rabbinic calendar.

If that theory is EVEN REMOTELY accurate, that would mean we're some 68 years away from THE END OF Israel's history.

There's a huge problem with that ABSURD IDEA - which should be instantly apparent to anyone with even the slightest grasp of prophecy: Israel's history DOES NOT END with the Rapture or the Second Coming.

Again: Israel's history DOES NOT END with either the Rapture or the Second Coming.

Israel's history will CONTINUE for AT LEAST 1,007 years after the Second Coming of Messiah Jesus (Revelation 19:11; 20:1-4).

And it began some 1,500 years BEFORE He was born.

But the problems with this stupid theory, DO NOT END THERE.

By the time the Essenes came along, the Torah - and all the other books of the Tanach - had been translated into Greek, in what we know today as the Septuagint.

Problem is, THE ORIGINAL Torah, as it was given to Moses by God, DID NOT CONTAIN "verses", but was all ONE LONG, CONTINUOUS, as we would call it today, "run on" text.

It was divided into "verses" many centuries later, at the SOLE DISCRETION of the translators.

Verse divisions, therefore, were not in the original text, and are SUBJECT TO HUMAN ERROR.

Ooops! There goes that theory down the drain...

One final point: It's long been held by many scholars that John the Baptist was an Essene.

The basis for such belief is John's ascetic lifestyle, plus the fact he preached in the desert (Negev) and that he baptized in the Jordan, both of which are near the Qumran caves, where the Essene community dwelt and stored what we now know as the "Dead Sea Scrolls".

That is A THEORY, which may or may not be correct. We DO NOT KNOW for sure.

John may have been a member of that religious sect, or he may have been AN INDEPENDENT prophet, who just happened to live under similar conditions.

However, and for the sake of argument, EVEN IF we could prove WITH TOTAL CERTAINTY that John was a member of the Essene community, THAT DOES NOT MAKE the Essenes infallible on doctrinal issues, and does not mean all their teachings and traditions were/are accurate.

John the Baptist was foretold in the Old Testament (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 4:5-6), the Essenes were not.

John the Baptist was sent by God, the Essenes were not (John 1:6).

John the Baptist, was called by God from his mother's womb (Luke 1:12-17). The Essenes were not.

John the Baptist was a prophet of God, the Essenes were not (Matthew 11:9).

John the Baptist came in the "spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), the Essenes did not.

And John the Baptist was ENDORSED BY JESUS who said there is "none greater" than John among humans (Matthew 11:9-11), the Essenes were not.

These facts SET JOHN THE BAPTIST APART from all of them.

Therefore, EVEN IF we could ascertain that John belonged to the Essenes, that DOES NOT MAKE the ESSENES CORRECT ABOUT EVERYTHING anymore than Moses belonging to the Israelite community MADE ISRAELITES RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING.

There's this unfortunate fad among Evangelicals to accept EVERYTHING "Hebraic" as sacrosanct.

I mingled with Messianic Jews before most Christians KNEW about Messianic Judaism.

I will match my love for Israel against anyone's.

However, I have never fallen for that ASTONISHINGLY STUPID religious gimmick for one simple reason:

Most Jews ARE DEAD WRONG about the identity of their own Messiah.

If they ARE WRONG about THE MOST IMPORTANT DOCTRINE OF ALL, WHY ON EARTH WOULD WE CONSIDER THEM "INERRANT" ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE?

 

 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2016

DEAD SEA SCROLLS

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 981 texts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran caves, about a mile west of the Dead Sea.

Most of these texts are on display at the Shrine of the Book Museum in Jerusalem.

The texts are of great historical, religious, and linguistic significance because they include the earliest known surviving manuscripts of works included in the Hebrew Bible’s canon, along with deuterocanonical and extra-biblical manuscripts which represent the diversity of religious thought in Judaism during the Second Temple era.

They are written mostly in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, mostly on parchment, although some are written on papyrus, and there’s even a famous copper scroll.

Most scholars attribute them to the Essenes, a rather secluded, ascetic Jewish community that lived in the Dead Sea area during the Second Temple era.

According to Josephus, the Essenes were displeased with the religious establishment dominated by the High Priest, chief priests and Sanhedrin.

Some scholars believe that John the Baptist was a member of this sect. John's ministry certainly took place in that general area (Matthew 3:1)

Coins found on the site were minted anywhere from 135 BC to 73 A.D.

The manuscripts have been dated between 408 BC and 308 A.D.

Most remarkable, perhaps, is that they prove the integrity of the biblical text, meticulously preserved by dedicated scribes through the centuries:

Their Bible (Tanach, Old Testament) – dating as far back as the 5^th century B.C. – reads exactly like yours and mine does today.

About 40% of the manuscripts are copies of books from the Hebrew Bible, 30% are deuterocanonical texts from the Second Temple Period like the Book of Enoch, and Jubilees, and the other 30% are documents that shed light on the rules and beliefs of that particular group within greater Judaism.

A mysterious figure known as the Teacher of Righteousness is mentioned often in the writings of the Essenes.

Some have speculated that this was a shrouded reference to Jesus. Others claim that it referred to His half-brother, James the Just.

The fact is NO ONE KNOWS for sure as the Teacher of Righteousness is not clearly identified.

There’s also frequent mention of “the leader of the community”, and evidence that they were familiar with New Testament Scripture.

They mention the “Son of God”, a “suffering Messiah” who would be put to death (obviously a reference to Daniel 9:25-27), and one could certainly see a lot about Jesus in the writings, however, I’m not aware of any one manuscript that clearly identifies Jesus with either of the aforementioned two titles.

Their tremendous historical, religious and linguistic value aside, we DON’T NEED the Dead Sea Scrolls to make a case for Jesus being the Messiah.

We can even forego the New Testament.

Paul (Acts 17:2-3; 11-12), and even Jesus Himself (Luke 24:27), could do just fine, with the Old Testament.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2016

THE DEAD SEA

The Dead Sea in southern Israel is one of the world’s most unique and interesting places.

Although it’s called “sea” it’s actually a mineral-rich lake.

So rich and dense, in fact, that you can neither swim nor sink. You can only float.

Its mineral composition consists mainly of sulfur and bromide ions, calcium chloride 14.4%, potassium chloride 4.4%, magnesium chloride 50.8% and sodium chloride (common salt).

The Dead Sea sits right next to the Negev desert and its climate and minerals are supposed to provide certain health benefits mostly to those who suffer from psoriasis and respiratory problems.

It’s at the southeastern tip of the Dead Sea that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah once existed.

The main reason for its abundance of minerals is that God destroyed those cities by raining brimstone (sulfur), and perhaps other substances, from the heavens (Genesis 19:24-25).

It is THE LOWEST point on the earth (therefore the closest, at least geographically, to hell), some 1,400 feet below sea level.

It’s approximately 10 times saltier than the ocean.

NOTHING LIVES in the Dead Sea, hence its name.

There are many caves surrounding the Dead Sea. The area was once a place of refuge for King David, as he fled Saul’s jealousy and wrath (1 Samuel 24:1).

It’s described in Genesis 14:10 as having many asphalt pits.

Another unusual feature of the Dead Sea is, indeed, its on-going discharge of asphalt (bitumen), usually in the form of small, black pebbles and of its world famous oily, black mud that tourists usually apply to their skin.

This sticky, highly viscous substance was used in biblical times (before cement was invented) to construct the infamous Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:3).

Ezekiel 47:1-12 states that, during the Millennium, the Gihon Spring within the fourth temple (symbolic of the Holy Spirit within each believer, John 7:38-39) will BECOME (once again) A RIVER that will run down the Kidron and Jordan Valley into the Dead Sea and heal its waters.

God’s Word promises that, where nothing lives at the present time, there will be a huge multitude of fish.

Moreover on both sides of the now “dead” sea, there will be all sorts of fruit laden trees and lush greenery, with healing properties for all manner of disease, making it very much ALIVE, an oasis in the middle of the Negev, and a LIFE-GIVING HEALING CENTER during the millennial era.

Is your heart like the Dead Sea? a dead sea?

…A lifeless, barren desert full of marshlands?

Do you feel like you’re just floating around, but unable to swim and reach the shore?

Caught in many of this world’s muddy, sinful quagmires?

Closer to hell than to Jesus who IS heaven?

There’s a remedy for it:

Receive Jesus into your heart as God and Savior:

Invite Him to penetrate THE DEEPEST recesses of your being.

He will put His OWN HOLY Spirit within you.

Just like the Gihon will one day FLUSH OUT all the death-producing chemicals from the Dead Sea, so will God’s Holy Spirit, THE RIVER OF LIFE, FLUSH OUT every sin and impurity from your heart.

He will give you a NEW heart.

His Living Water will totally satisfy your thirst (John 4:10-14) and make your dead heart COME TO LIFE…

ETERNAL Life…

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2016

BODY OF MOSES

In Jude 1:9 we have the following narrative:

"Yet Michael the archangel, WHEN CONTENDING WITH THE DEVIL AS HE DISPUTED ABOUT THE BODY OF Moses, DID NOT BOLDLY BRING AGAINST HIM A RAILING ACCUSATION, but said, The Lord rebuke you".

Much has been made of this cryptic passage.

WHAT did satan want with Moses' body?

WHY would he dispute with Michael about it?

Some, like Origen, claim that Jude was quoting from an extant extra-biblical text called The Assumption of Moses.

That's possible, but we'll never know for sure, since only a portion of the manuscript has survived.

Some have suggested that satan wanted Moses' physical body so he could possess it.

Possession comes BY INVITATION:

Someone has opened the door wide to satan and demons, OUT OF THEIR OWN FREE WILL.

That WAS NOT THE CASE with Moses, who was/is a prophet of God.

Others say that satan wanted to disclose the location where God had buried Moses' body to turn it into a shrine and bring Israelites into idolatrous worship of Moses (Deuteronomy 34:5-6).

That's a bunch of baloney. Moses had given them a Law that EXPRESSLY FORBIDS such worship under penalty of both physical and spiritual death (Exodus 20:3).

And, besides, even though Jews DON'T KNOW - or for that matter, NO ONE ELSE KNOWS - the precise location where Moses was buried, SOME OF THEM WORSHIP Moses ANYWAY -- although they won't openly admit it.

Daniel 12:1 says Michael is "THE GREAT PRINCE WHICH STANDS FOR THE CHILDREN OF YOUR PEOPLE".

In context "your people" (He was talking to Daniel) are the Israelites and Jews.

1 Corinthians 10:2 says, regarding the Israelites:

"THEY WERE ALL BAPTIZED INTO Moses in the cloud and in the sea."

Thus natural Israelites BECAME "THE BODY OF Moses".

Same way we Christians are ALL baptized by one Spirit into Christ and thus become "the Body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).

Thus Michael and satan were contending over Israel (the body of Moses), WHICH SATAN -- NO DOUBT-- WANTED TO ACCUSE and DESTROY.

By doing so, he would have made it impossible for the Messiah to appear, since God had promised He would be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whose name God later changed to "Israel" (Genesis 35:10-12; Numbers 24:17-19; Matthew 1:2).

Had satan succeeded, there would be NO REDEMPTION for Israelites, OR ANYONE ELSE.

We have a similar incident in Zechariah 3:1-2 where satan is standing before THE ANGEL OF the Lord (Michael) TO ACCUSE Joshua the high priest.

There, the Lord (through Michael) also says to satan "the LORD, WHO HAS CHOSEN JERUSALEM, REBUKE YOU!"

Both these incidents took place BEFORE JESUS APPEARED, WENT TO CALVARY, DEFEATED SATAN, ROSE FROM THE DEAD and ascended to heaven.

Some use these passages to say that ALL we can do with regards to satan is to "rebuke him" in Jesus' Name.

We can definitely do that, but we are to live, act, and speak in Jesus' Authority (Matthew 28:18-19;1 Peter 4:11).

And Jesus COMMANDED satan, and satan HAD TO obey (Matthew 4:10-11).

And Jude was SPECIFICALLY REFERRING TO THE UNGODLY who speak disrespectfully of authorities, NOT to Christians (Jude 1:4; 5-14).

While we DO NOT engage in so-called "SPIRITUAL WARFARE" (NEWSFLASH to many Pentecostals: JESUS ALREADY WON the war and DEFEATED SATAN - DECISIVELY - ONCE AND FOR ALL), the New Testament says we STAND against satan (Ephesians 6:10-13), we RESIST satan (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9), and WE SPEAK to him when necessary IN JESUS' AUTHORITY and we COMMAND him from the inner Christ, in Jesus’ Name and AS Jesus (Luke 10:19; Acts 1:8; 16:16-18).

The Word assures us that when the Church GOES UP satan and his angels COME DOWN (Revelation 12:5).

At that time, Michael won't be quite so "polite" and will do A LOT MORE than saying "the Lord rebuke you":

He will LITERALLY AND FORCIBLY kick satan and his angels' behinds out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-9).

Since God is God, and His Word ALWAYS HAPPENS, there's a time for Him to pronounce judgment against satan and a time to simply say "the Lord rebuke you".

There is A SPECIFIC TIME designated for God to judge satan, first by EVICTING HIM and his angels from heaven, casting them down to the earth, and BANISHING THEM from the heavenly realm forever (Revelation 12:7-9)

Secondly, by LOCKING HIM IN THE ABYSS FOR 1,000 YEARS during the Millennium (Revelation 20:1-3).

And, FINALLY, by SENTENCING HIM TO THE LAKE OF FIRE FOR ALL ETERNITY (Revelation 20:10).

Until that happens, it should be very comforting to Jews and Christians to know that GOD HAS REBUKED the creep both in regards to the Body of Moses (natural Israel) and the Body of Christ (spiritual Israel), a/k/a THE CHURCH.

In other words, He is IN COVENANT with us, and has us COVERED.

Glory to Jesus for all eternity! Amen and amen.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016

SIGN OF THE RAPTURE?

If the Rapture took place next year (2017), whoever gets elected as the next President of the United States on November 8 would only be in office for about 70 days when the tribulation begins.*

*There are 66 days from January 20, 2017 (Tevet 22) to March 27 (29 Adar, 5777).

There’s that number 70 again!

Of course, that’s a BIG “if”.

If Jesus DOESN’T appear next spring, then we’d be stuck with that individual for AT LEAST ONE YEAR, perhaps 4 more.

I’ve resisted the temptation to say this for the past 6 months, but I can’t help wonder if the name of the Republican nominee (and hopefully our 45^th President, Donald J. Trump) IS SOME SORT OF SIGN from God, OR JUST ONE HECK OF A “COINCIDENCE”.

It’s undeniable from both, the written Word of Prophecy and from the unrest going on all around us, that we are living in “the time of the end”.

And the Church is transformed from mortal to immortal (when Jesus appears) at “the last TRUMP” (1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 John 3:2)

I’m not a mathematician, but WHAT ARE THE ODDS that, AT THIS PARTICULAR TIME, a multi-billionaire businessman with no political experience and NO NEED WHATSOEVER to get involved in the political process, decides to toss his hat in the ring – goes against 16 other candidates, gets the nomination, IS RISING IN POPULARITY AND SUPPORT EACH DAY DESPITE BEING HORRENDOUSLY SAVAGED by the liberal media (personally, I think some of those polls are skewed) and is well within striking distance of the magical 270 electoral votes needed to become the next President?

What are the odds that his last name JUST HAPPENS TO BE “Trump”?

He could very well be our LAST President.

Sure, I could be imagining things…

IT MAY BE WISHFUL THINKING on my part.

Whether you like or dislike him, what Mr. Trump has done is UNPRECEDENTED in American history, and, I’m pretty sure, in WORLD history.

However, there IS PRECEDENT for this sort of symbolism in Scripture.

In Hosea 1:4-9 we read:

“Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call him Jezreel, BECAUSE I WILL SOON PUNISH THE HOUSE OF Jehu for the massacre at Jezreel, and I WILL PUT AN END TO THE KINGDOM OF Israel.

In that day I will break Israel’s bow in the Valley of Jezreel.” (Hosea 1:4-5)

Sure enough, in the 8^th century B.C., shortly after the birth of Jezreel, Israel was defeated in the valley that still bears his name.

The Valley of Jezreel is also known as the Valley of Megiddo and it’s where Armageddon will take place.

The 10 tribes are “lost” to Israel, and to the world, to this very day.

“Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to Hosea, “Call her Lo-Ruhamah (which means “not loved”), FOR I WILL NO LONGER SHOW LOVE TO ISRAEL, that I should at all forgive them.

Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the Lord their God, will save them.” (Hosea 1:6-7)

“After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah Gomer had another son: Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), FOR YOU ARE NOT MY PEOPLE, AND I AM NOT YOUR God.” (Hosea 1:8-9)

‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, WHO ARE MEN SYMBOLIC OF THINGS TO COME: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. (Zechariah 3:8)

That servant was “Jesus of Nazareth” whose Name means “Jesus/Joshua (same Hebrew name) THE BRANCH”.

Then there’s John the Baptist:

“But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, AND YOU WILL CALL HIM JOHN…

He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:13-17)

The name John (Yochanan) means “God IS GRACIOUS”. God’s Grace was manifested 6 MONTHS LATER in the Person of Jesus of Nazareth. (John 1:17)

Jesus Himself was A SIGN, by His Virgin Birth, of THE SUPERNATURAL NEW BIRTH that would take those who receive Him from outer darkness INTO His Kingdom where He becomes Immanuel God is ‘WITH US” (Matthew 1:28; John 1:12; 3:5; Colossians 1:13)

"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14)

His Name “Yehoshua” (in Hebrew) or Yeshua (in Aramaic) means “God IS Salvation”:

“…she will give birth to a son, and you shall call His Name Jesus, because HE WILL SAVE HIS PEOPLE from their sins." ... (Matthew 1:21)