Tag: feasts

R. C. Sproul, Jr., is only partly right…

Recently, a friend forwarded a short article to me by highly respected Reformed Christian theologian, R. C. Sproul, Jr.  Having been raised in a Reformed Presbyterian home and having spent more than ten years as an ordained and seminary trained pastor in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, there was a time when I very much respected Sproul’s voice as a leading thinker and opinion sharer.  Today, I am much more careful in holding, particularly, the ‘giants’ against the Word of God before accepting what they say.

Because the article is so short, I will copy it in its entirety before sharing my thoughts on the title and subject.  My hope is that we all learn a bit about critical reading/thinking and recognizing error when we see it, no matter the source.

Should We as Christians Celebrate the Jewish Feasts of the Old Testament?

from Jan 11, 2014 Category: Articles

Without question the most vexing challenge faced by the early church was understanding how believing Jews and believing Gentiles ought to relate to one another. The theme gets major play in Galatians, Hebrews, Acts, and is even the root of the issue that led to Paul’s stern and public rebuke of Peter. That so much time and attention was paid to this issue might incline us to believe it was settled. Or it just may prove how deep runs the temptation to botch this up.

Let’s start here—we have peace with God by trusting in the finished work of Christ alone. Add anything to that and you have fallen into a false gospel. You do not have peace with God by trusting in Christ and by being circumcised, or by trusting in Christ and keeping the Feast Continue reading “R. C. Sproul, Jr., is only partly right…”

Puzzling Theology

I love jigsaw puzzles.  There is something both compelling and satisfying in assembling the pieces of a puzzle and watching a picture slowly emerge.

IMG_20151116_053153691A few days ago a co-worker brought a puzzle to work and many in the office helped assemble the 1000 piece seaside scene over the course of a week.  While the social dynamic of passersby stopping to add a piece or two was interesting, I pondered the unspoken pattern which was naturally followed by all of the participants.  First the corners and border were put in place, then major obvious parts of the image before the less clear and detailed pieces were assembled.

I’ve put puzzles together with many groups and the largely unspoken pattern is almost always followed.   Start with the most obvious and work toward the less clear. Continue reading “Puzzling Theology”

Blood Moon Update… Counting down!

Well, for several years there has been a buzz, largely generated on the research of Mark 4e1b_e96dBiltz concerning the upcoming Blood Moon tetrad.  We have written several times about this upcoming sign in the heavens and now wait, with baited breath, to the see the first of the four, weather permitting!

Here are several links that will refresh the background information…

Blood Moons… Signs in the Heavens!

More on the Upcoming Blood Moons!  (Two Videos)

Interestingly, and maybe uniquely, these four lunar eclipses occur ON Feast Days as can be seen in the graphic above.  (Click for larger size.)

A graphic depicting where this first eclipse will be visible Continue reading “Blood Moon Update… Counting down!”

R U N the 1%?

If Jesus came into your church, would you recognize Him?  While my guess is completely subjective, I would guess that fewer than 1% would recognize the Messiah, King of Israel, if He walked into your church building.

No, He likely won’t come dressed as a homeless guy, though we should receive the homeless with love and concern.

He won’t be in a long robe and probably won’t have longish hair.  He will have a beard.

In fact, 99% of the images and ideas we have of Him are wrong based on simple reading of Scripture.

You won’t know based on a ‘gut feeling.’  Your emotions will fail you EVERY time.

You MUST be able to tell based on facts that are verifiable.  Scars?  May or may not work…

How then will you KNOW without a shadow of a doubt who He is and that He is the REAL deal?

Scripture tells us exactly Continue reading “R U N the 1%?”

Whose Calendar are We Celebrating?

Does Scripture have to say anything about the Creator’s thoughts on time and seasons? When does HE think the year begins?

We could spend a good bit of time digging out the details, but a simple reading of Scripture would demonstrate that tonight is NOT HIS plan…

14 Then God said, “Let there be [a]lights in the [b]expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; 15 and let them be for [c]lights in the [d]expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.  Genesis 1:14-15

Later, our Father tells us exactly how to ‘read’/understand what season and what month are the beginning of a year… Continue reading “Whose Calendar are We Celebrating?”

“Which is the attitude of maturity?”

I have recently been involved in another “HRM” ‘drive-by shooting.’  But, it is not the first “love” Messianics have received from that blog.

So, pondering some of the comments and wondering about the general lack of desire to really dig in and understand why Messianic/Hebraic studies are growing by leaps and bounds, and what that reveals about lacking elements in Christendom, I continued reading J. K. McKee’s terrific scholarly work, The New Testament Validates Torah: Does the New Testament Really Do Away with the Law?

In an extended quote, McKee so eloquently defines exactly what the crux of the differences are between Christian and Judaic perspectives on the Torah: (pgs 65-66) Continue reading ““Which is the attitude of maturity?””

Thus says Yahweh, …

Thus says Yahweh, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
“I am Yahweh your God, who teaches you what is best for you,
Who leads you in the way you should go.
“If only you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”

Isaiah 48:17-18

Why do people spend so much time doing theological gymnastics in order to find reasons why His commandments aren’t really for them?  In the next three weeks, modern Christendom will miss the most blessed days of the year because of willful disobedience!

If you will not pay attention to His commandments, you will not find peace and righteousness….  Ouch!!

Ready for the Fall Feasts?  The ones He hasn’t fulfilled yet?  The ones that tell of His coming and judgment?

Paths of Righteousness

Here’s a quick thought that I heard while watching Matthew Nolan and Jim Staley teach on Melchizedek.  (Terrific teaching, by the way.)

He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3)

“Paths of righteousness…”   I have always thought of this ‘path’ as leading to a destination, like a trail through the wood, or along a mountainside.  Maybe there is a little more…

The Hebrew word for ‘paths’ used here is H4570
מעגּלה  /  מעגּל
ma‛gâl  /  ma‛gâlâh
BDB Definition:
1) entrenchment, track
1a) circumvallation, entrenchment
1b) track
Part of Speech: noun masculine

The ‘paths’ spoken of here are ‘cycles.’  He leads us in ‘cycles’ of righteousness.  The annual calendar of Yahweh, the feast cycle, is one of the ‘paths’ whereby He works in us righteousness though His appointed times, His moedim.

Fascinating.  Marinate.

Shalom!