A. God knew every sin of your life before you committed any of them, and took them all to the cross where He paid for them. (Col. 2:13-15)  Nothing you can do will surprise Him.  As soon as you confess, you will be forgiven and the sin will be forgotten because the penalty has already been paid. (1 John 1:9)

A. Peter had asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?  Up to seven times?” (Matt. 18:21)  I think Peter thought he was being quite generous in suggesting that he forgive someone one seven times. When the Lord responded, “Not seven times but seventy times seven times”,  He was saying in effect, “Peter you’re not even close.”  I don’t believe there’s any special significance to the number, and maybe it wasn’t even intend to be specific.  I think the Lord could just as easily have said, “So many times you’ll lose track.”

I have been to funerals where the “preacher, pastor, minister or who ever” states as fact that Old/young “johnny” is/has gone to be with GOD when in all my cases they, the “johnies” have never been to Church in their lives except for an occassional, “hatch, match, and the odd dispatch” occasions.  I seems to me that the people who are supposed to know what the Bible states, don’t know and therefore preach heresies.

A. In the New Testament two passages tell us that the spirits of believers go to be with the Lord at the time of death.  They are 2 Cor. 5:6-8 and Phil. 1:22-24.  Furthermore, whether or not one is a believer is not determined by church attendance.  It’s determined by having accepted the death of the Lord as payment for one’s sins.

Out of regard for the bereaved family and friends, most pastors will give the deceased the benefit of the doubt and say he or she has gone to be with the Lord. This seems preferable to the alternative.  And truth be told, no one knows for sure what may have transpired between the deceased and the Lord in the last moments of life. If he or she made peace with the Lord with his or her dying breath it would be sufficient for salvation.

A. The passage to which I was referring is Matt. 5:21-22.  It reads,

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.

That means being angry with a brother is as bad as murdering him.

Ephesians 4:26 says “In your anger do not sin.” Connect it to the previous verse and you’ll see it means don’t let an angry thought turn into a falsehood against a brother.  It also says that letting the sun go down on your anger gives the devil a foothold.  That means we should resolves our differences with each other each day before going to bed, so the enemy can’t use them to attack us.

As for righteous anger, that’s the kind Jesus displayed in cleansing the Temple, but remember, He’s God and we’re not.

We all get angry.  What the Lord wants us to see is that when we do it’s a sin, and we should immediately ask Him to forgive us for it, whether we feel we’re justified or not. .

A. There is no verse that specifically promises protection through the Blood of Jesus. This is the closest one.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

From this and other verses we can infer that as believers we have a certain amount of protection from the evil that abounds in this world.

A. One of the complaints the Jewish leadership lodged against Jesus is that by forgiving the sins of others He was claiming to be God.  Mark 2:1-12 shows how by healing a paralytic Jesus demonstrated His authority to forgive sins. He also said that His miraculous work was done through the power of the Holy Spirit and that we would have the same kind of power (John 14:12).

In John 20:22-23 Jesus first invested the disciples with the power of the Holy Spirit, and immediately conveyed the ability to either forgive sins or not. This simply means that they were being empowered to bring people into the Church. Any time we “bring someone to the Lord”  by saying the sinner’s prayer with them, we are exercising the same power.

This is not an issue of confessing to a priest and doing whatever penance He determines to receive forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 says we can confess our sins directly to the Lord and are immediately forgiven without prejudice.  No third party is necessary to accomplish this.

(At sunset on Sept. 18, 2009 Israel began year 5770 on the Hebrew Calendar. As I often do with articles that commemorate annual events, I have updated this study on the Fall Feasts and added new information for your review. As you can see, I’m also posting it a day early to coincide with the start of Rosh Hashanah.)

The fall is arguably the most important time of the year in Judaism. Three of Israel’s holiest days are celebrated then, and all in the space of 15 days. They are Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, followed 10 days later by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and 5 days after that the week long Feast of Tabernacles. On our calendar they usually fall (no pun intended) some time between mid September and early October due to the differences between the Jewish (lunar) calendar and the western (solar) one.

Each of these holy days has both historical and prophetic significance, the prophetic fulfillment to occur on the day itself. Therefore Christians study them for glimpses into the future as well as to gain a better understanding of Jewish culture.

Happy New Year

Gentiles are sometimes confused in their studies of these holy days by the fact that the Lord changed the Jewish calendar at the time of the Exodus (Exodus 12:2). What had been the 7th month was thereafter to be the first, moving the beginning of the year to the spring, 10 days before Passover.

But because of the harvest, the Jews retained their original calendar as well, so now they have a religious year which begins in the spring and a civil year beginning in the fall. Therefore the Jewish New Year has always been celebrated in the fall and remains so today. This feast is known by two names, Yom Teruah, which means day of blowing but is called the Feast of Trumpets, and Rosh Hashanah, which means “head of the year”.

Rosh Hashanah is a time of new beginnings. According to some Jewish traditions, the creation was completed on Rosh Hashanah, and therefore Adam was born on that day as well.  Many students of prophecy place the birth of the Messiah on Rosh Hashanah, giving the day it’s historical fulfillment, and believe that the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week and 7 years later the Lord’s Second Coming will also occur on Rosh Hashanah, fufilling it’s prophetic significance.

Others think that the Rapture of the Church will happen on Rosh Hashanah, but I’m convinced that the Rapture is a number specific event rather than a date specific one, meaning the Church will be raptured when “the full number of gentiles has come in” making the day and hour unknown to us in advance, except that it will precede Israel’s re-awakening (Romans 11:25) and Daniel’s 70th week. (Acts 15:15-16)

I’m also convinced that Paul’s reference to the Rapture happening at “The Last Trump” (1 Cor. 15:52) should not be used to connect it to the Feast of Trumpets.  He spoke of the same event In 1 Thes. 4:16 saying it would be accompanied by the trumpet call of God.  Some scholars say there are two trumpets of God that recall the two horns of the ram caught in the thicket as Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac. They call the Trumpet of Exodus 19:13 the left one, or First Trump, and say that God will call the Israelites back to the Land in the End Times by blowing the right one, or Last Trump.  If, as I suspect, this will occur in conjunction with the Battle of Ezekiel 38, then my belief that the Rapture will take place before Ezekiel’s battle would be confirmed.

Religious Jews believe that in Heaven, books recording the deeds of mankind are opened on Rosh Hashanah for an annual review of man’s behavior. To this end, they spend the previous month in a sincere effort to right all the wrongs they may have committed during the year just ending.

When the books are opened, the names of those whose life has been exemplary in every respect are entered into the book for another year of life, while those who have demonstrated no redeeming qualities at all are scheduled for death. Since normal bell curve distribution would indicate that very few fit at either extreme, the majority are given 10 days until Yom Kippur to “get right with God.” These 10 days are called the Days of Awe where each man’s destiny hangs in the balance as he goes about asking forgiveness from friends and neighbors for sins he’s committed in the year just past. A common greeting among Jews during the Days of Awe is, “May your name be written in the Book.”

On the first afternoon of Rosh Hashanah (it’s a two day celebration) Orthodox Jews go to a running brook or stream where fish swim and throw pebbles or crumbs they’ve gathered into the water, symbolizing God’s casting away of their sins. While doing so, they recite Micah 7:18-20. “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago.”

This is one of the most eloquent descriptions of God’s grace to be found anywhere in Scripture. It reminds God of His promise to be merciful to them in the coming judgment of Yom Kippur.

The fish’s dependence on water symbolizes their dependence on God. The fact that fish can’t close their eyes reminds them to be thorough because God sees everything. This ceremony is called Tashlich, Hebrew for “You will cast”, a reference to hurling their iniquities into the sea in  Micah 7:19.

Judgment Time

Ten days later, on Yom Kippur, judgment is rendered, the books are closed and everyone’s fate is sealed for another year.

Yom Kippur was the only day of the year when it was permissible to speak the Name of God. Yes God does have a name, but it’s not Jehovah or Yahweh. These names were created out of the four letters that Hebrew scribes used to represent God’s name in the Old Testament. Wherever the word LORD appears all in caps, you’ll find the Hebrew letters JHVH, (or YHWH) in the Hebrew text. Theologians call these four letters the tetragrammaton, which is Greek for “four letters”.  So, in effect these four letters are God’s initials, standing for His real name.

Since Hebrew has no vowels, early English language translators added an E, an O, and an A, (vowels they took from from Elohim, a form of the Hebrew word meaning God and Adonai, Hebrew for Lord) to JHVH and created the name Jehovah. We used to think that was God’s name. And in Hebrew the four letters are pronounced yod, hay, wah, hay, which probably gave rise to the “Yahweh” we use today. Neither one is really His name.

It was forbidden for Jews to speak God’s actual name except for once a year on Yom Kippur when it was spoken 10 times. After the Temple was destroyed, the Yom Kippur ceremony gradually changed until the name of God ceased to be used and was subsequently lost.

So no one alive today knows God’s name, and it probably hasn’t been spoken on Earth for about 1700 years. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Philippians 2:9-11 says that Jesus, or if you prefer the Hebrew, Yeshua is now the name above all names.

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Back to Yom Kippur.   During a great and awe inspiring ceremony at the Temple, two goats were brought before the High Priest. One was a goat “for the Lord” to be presented as a peace offering as commanded in Lev. 16:7-10. The other was called “the scapegoat” because all the sins of the nation were symbolically placed upon its head, and then it was led outside the city to be killed. The goat had done nothing to deserve this but was chosen to demonstrate the fact that only the shedding of innocent blood could atone for the sins of the people. The death of the two goats symbolically set aside the sins of the nation, made their peace offering acceptable and gave them peace with their Creator. The people spoke the Name of God in heartfelt thanks.

Here are a couple of interesting tidbits from Jewish tradition.  When the goats were brought before the High Priest, their respective roles in the ceremony were determined by lot. Two golden lots were placed in a golden bowl and as he placed his hand upon the head of each goat, the High Priest reached into the bowl and pulled out one of the lots. Before the cross, the goat that was to be presented to the Lord as a peace offering always turned out to be on the right hand of the High Priest. After the cross it never was.

While the scapegoat was symbolically receiving the sins of the people upon its head a scarlet ribbon was tied from one of its horns to the door of the temple. When the time came for the goat to be taken into the wilderness the ribbon was cut, leaving some on its horn and some on the door. At a predetermined location outside the city, the goat was pushed off a cliff and fell to its death. In all the years before the cross, at the moment of the scapegoat’s death, the remnant of ribbon on the temple door turned from red to white symbolizing the passage from Isaiah 1:18, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” After the cross this never happened again. The One Who now sits at the right hand of the Father and Who had fulfilled the dual role that the two goats only symbolized had come and forever taken away the sins of all who would choose to accept Him.  (Source: The Fall Feasts Of Israel.  Authors Mitch and Zhava Glaser, Publisher Moody Press.)

The Law Is Only A Shadow …

In Christendom a view holds that the Lord Jesus began His ministry on Yom Kippur announcing in effect that the judgment that was due mankind would be borne by Him (Luke 4:16-21) and that man no longer need live in fear of judgment nor have to endure the 10 Days of Awe every year.

It’s easy to see the Lord in the role of our scapegoat, whose shed blood purchased our pardon forever (Hebrews 10:11-14) but He was also our peace offering. “He is our peace, Who has broken down every wall.” (Ephe 2:14)

In the prophetic sense, Tribulation survivors from the nations will receive their fulfillment of the Yom Kippur judgment in the days immediately following the Lord’s return. This is described to us in the Sheep and Goat judgment (Matt 25:31-46) where Gentiles who’ve cast their sins at the foot of the cross during the Great Tribulation will be granted life in the Kingdom, and those who haven’t will be sent away for death. Their willingness to help believing Jews during the Great Tribulation will be evidence of their faith.  In Matt. 19:28 the Lord told His disciples that the judgment of Jews who survive would take place then, too.

For those of all ages who reject the Lord’s vicarious atonement, the prophetic fulfillment of Yom Kippur will come at the end of the Millennium in the so-called Great White Throne judgment, when all the unsaved dead are brought back to life to be judged according to their works. (Rev. 20:11-15).

Happy Thanksgiving

The Feast of Tabernacles comes five days after Yom Kippur. It was a harvest celebration and is the inspiration for the American Thanksgiving Day. It began as a seven-day feast, later expanded to eight, when all the tithes the Israelites had set aside during the year were brought to Jerusalem for a joyous time of national celebration and thanksgiving for the Lord’s bountiful provision. The aroma of delicious foods cooking over open fires permeated the whole city. For seven days where ever you went there was an air of joy and festivity as the people remembered their Provider and gave thanks. (Deut. 14:22-26).

Historically the Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the time of God’s dwelling with the Israelites in the wilderness. Its prophetic fulfillment comes in the Millennium when the Lord will once again dwell among His people; with the Church in the New Jerusalem (Rev 21) and Israel in Jehovah Shammah, the new name of the Holy City in the Promised Land. (Isaiah 62:2 & Ezekiel 48:35)

Somewhere along the way a water libation ceremony was added to the Feast of Tabernacles. Each morning a procession of priests would descend the steps from the Temple to the Pool of Siloam and dip a silver pitcher into the water.  Carrying the water back to the altar, they would pour it into the ground that had been exposed by the removal of a paving block near the altar, while offering prayers for rain. The purpose of this daily ceremony was to remind God to bring the fall rains needed to prepare the ground for planting. In Israel it doesn’t rain during the summer and the ground gets very hard. Gentle rains are needed to soften the ground so it can be prepared for the fall planting.

On the last day of the feast the High Priest himself would officiate and on this day instead of a silver pitcher one of pure gold would be used. The High Priest would be dressed in all his finest and attended by a huge contingent of similarly attired priests, blowing trumpets, singing psalms, and waving palm branches. When it was first described to me, I was struck by its beauty and pageantry. I’ve since read that extra balconies were set up around the Court of the Priests so more people could observe it.

One year just as the High Priest was about to pour the water into the ground, a loud voice interrupted the ceremony shouting, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 7:37-38) It was Jesus and He was referring to the Holy Spirit, who believers would soon receive. This caused many to believe that He was indeed Israel’s Messiah. (We’re not told what the High Priest’s reaction was, but it couldn’t have been pleasant.)

Let’s Get Spiritual

Following the thought that events that were external and physical in the Old Testament are often internal and spiritual in the New, there is a sense in which these holy days also reflect the life of the believer.

As Jesus came to live in the world at His birth (Rosh Hashanah), so He comes to live in our hearts at our new birth. As He required the shedding of innocent blood to reconcile Himself with Israel (Yom Kippur) so He shed His own Blood to reconcile Himself with us. As He dwelt with the Israelites in the wilderness of Midian (Tabernacles), so He dwells with us in the wilderness of Earth. “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age,” He promised. (Matt 28:20) Even so, Come Lord Jesus. (Rev. 22:20) You can almost hear the Footsteps of the Messiah.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

The fact of God’s forgiveness is as old as the Bible. I’m convinced that if Adam had just confessed when God asked him what he’d done the world would be a far different place today. Same with Cain. In all the Old Testament’s writing about God’s wrath and His judgments, it’s easy to overlook the fact that all He ever asked us to do is to confess our sins. He gave us the Law, not to make us behave, but to show us that we’re sinners. (Romans 3:20)

To me the bottom line in defining our relationship with God comes from Micah 6:8. He has shown you O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. He could have said, “Do the right thing by one another, be merciful in your treatment of others, and recognize that you’re a sinner in need of forgiveness.”

In the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14) the Lord didn’t commend the efforts of the Pharisee, who in all likelihood devoted every waking moment to keeping God’s law, but the humility of the tax collector, who knew he couldn’t do it.

One of the things that most frustrates God in His dealings with us is our stubborn refusal to admit that we’re sinners. We clean ourselves up on the outside, we make a good impression on those around us, sometimes even fool ourselves into thinking that we’re better than we are. But in our hearts we’re sinners in need of forgiveness. Every one of us.

When we come to the Lord in sincerity, even our most outrageous sins are always forgiven. And this isn’t some New Testament advantage, enabled by the cross. It’s always been true. Take David’s sin with Bathsheba. He took another man’s wife and then had the man killed so he could marry her. He went into the Holy of Holies expecting to be punished, knowing he deserved it. He had recently seen a man die for touching the Ark so he put his hand on it, ready to be struck down. Instead he was forgiven, because his heart was humble.

If God kept a record of our behavior, none of us could stand. We would have all pushed the relationship too far by our ongoing sinfulness. But His mercies are new every morning. Each day is a new beginning. No matter how many times we’ve done it before, if we sincerely confess our sins he is just and faithful to forgive and will purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9) for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.

The bible says that we are to confess our sins one-by-one and ask for forgiveness-and God will forgive us.  I also understand from the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” that in both cases we ask God to forgive us.  If someone has done wrong to me -why should I forgive them if they don’t ask forgiveness from me-when I have to ask God to forgive me of MY sins.

And if I fail to ask forgiveness for an overlooked sin, will I still be permitted to enter eternity with Christ.

A. I don’t believe the Bible really says “one-by-one” but we are commanded to seek forgiveness for the sins of others (1 John 5:16) as well as our own (1 john 1:9).  Asking the Lord to forgive others is obeying the commandment to “love one another as I have loved you”  (John 13:34) and it shows we’re grateful that He forgave us (which He didn’t have to do, after all).  But just as importantly it helps us to forgive them, which speeds the healing process. That uncomfortable feeling between two people who have unresolved issues is detrimental to both our physical health and our spiritual walk. If the other person doesn’t want to get past it, that’s their problem.

The Lord understands your motives in asking for His forgiveness.  He’s not looking for a loophole he can use to deprive you of your salvation.  Remember, He gave His life so you could have it.   When you say, “forgive me of all my sins”  He’s knows you mean all of them.  But if you want to be really sure, use the prayer David wrote in Psalm 19:12-13:

Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults  Keep your servant also from willful sins;  may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.

A. The reality is just the opposite of your view.  If it was possible for us to stop sinning, we could save ourselves and Jesus wouldn’t have needed to die for us.  Colossians 2:13-15 says that He forgave all of our sins, and Hebrews 10:14 says that by His one sacrifice He has made us perfect forever.  His death is not limited.  On the contrary, it’s limitless.

It’s important to remember that Jesus began his sermon on sinning in Matt. 5 by saying that unless our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees we couldn’t enter the kingdom of Heaven.  Then He explained what being righteous really means, angry thoughts are as bad as murder, lustful thoughts are as bad as adultery, etc.  He summarized it in verse 48 by saying in effect that we have to be as perfect as God is to make it on our own.

This was not a command to be perfect but an explanation of God’s standards.  His purpose was to convince His listeners that they could never meet the standard, and that’s why they needed a savior.  Then He went on to tell us not to worry about the things of this world but to seek His righteousness (Matt. 6:33), that we’re not to judge others but focus on our own problems, (Matt. 7:1-5), that whoever asks for salvation will receive it (Matt. 7:7-8), and so on.    His death guarantees that you’ll be saved forever.

1 Peter 1:16 is another verse that has to be viewed in context. The word “therefore” that begins the paragraph in which verse 16 is contained is a signal that our efforts to be holy are meant to be a response to something.  And sure enough when you go to the beginning of the passage (1 Peter 1: 3-5) you find it’s because you’ve already been given an inheritance that can never perish spoil or fade.  Living a holy life, to the extent any of us can, is the way we express our gratitude for having been saved.  But nowhere in the passage does it say that we can be sin free.

So it’s God’s righteousness, imputed to us by faith, that saves us, not ours.  In gratitude for this we strive to live lives pleasing to Him.  But everyone of us continues to sin in one way or another on a daily basis.   Some of us have a tendency to think that our sins aren’t as bad as someone else’s, but to God it’s all the same.  That’s why we need a Savior.