to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.
who made the great lights— His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.
to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, His love endures forever.
and brought Israel out from among them, His love endures forever.
with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.
to him who divided the Red Sea asunder, His love endures forever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever.
to him who led his people through the desert, His love endures forever.
who struck down great kings, His love endures forever.
and killed mighty kings— His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites, His love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan— His love endures forever.
and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever.
an inheritance to his servant Israel; His love endures forever.
to the One who remembered us in our low estate, His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies, His love endures forever.
and who gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

In my younger days I was a runner, and even ran a couple of marathons, 26.25 mile endurance runs. After the last one I developed a sharp pain in my right knee and went to a podiatrist who specialized in sports related injuries for a diagnosis. He pointed out a slight deformity in my right lower leg that caused my right foot to point out at a more pronounced angle than my left one and prescribed a pair of orthotics. These are specially formed inserts I wear in my shoes to correct for this difference. He said the problem only presented itself because of the stress of running and suggested that I try brisk walks instead. I took his advice about walking and wore the orthotics. Sure enough, the pain went away and for 20 years I thought nothing more about it.

Then, about 4 years ago my knees started hurting again. Not nearly as bad as before, but noticeably. I thought it was just a sign of aging, so I increased my daily dose of a natural supplement that helps restore deteriorating joints, and asked the Lord to heal me. As long as I took it easy and took the supplement the pain stayed away. But recently it’s been getting worse again and I began to consider another trip to the podiatrist, throwing in more prayers on those mornings when my knees really hurt. Moving into a single story house helped, since I could hardly get down the stairs in the mornings. But taking long walks became a problem and even standing on my feet to deliver an hour long Bible Study caused real pain the next morning.

Out of the blue my wife became convinced that I should try a pair of shoes she had heard about, before doing anything else. I did, but they didn’t help. Then she insisted on a different model of the same brand, one that had something called negative heel technology. Since the first pair hadn’t helped I was really hesitant but finally agreed. Meanwhile I hobbled around waiting for them to arrive in the mail.

On the day they arrived, I put them on. The instructions said to only wear them for a little while because my feet would need time to get used to them. So I wore them around the house for a few hours before going to bed.

The next morning I awoke to pain free knees. No stiffness or soreness at all. I went around telling everyone how great these shoes are. The only problem is that they’re dress shoes, and Sunday is the only time I have occasion to wear dress shoes. Not wanting to go back to the orthotics, I tried wearing slippers and sandals and other shoes I haven’t been able to wear for years. No pain, and it’s been three weeks now.

Believing that wearing those special shoes for a few hours one night took all the pain away forever was one thing. But there’s no way that it can explain why I can suddenly wear any old shoes or even no shoes and still be pain free. I’m convinced that the Lord answered my prayer for healing and getting those shoes was like Elisha’s servant telling Namaan the Syrian to wash in the Jordan seven times to cure his leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-19). Or like Jesus rubbing mud on the blind man’s eyes and telling him to go wash it off. (John 9:1-7). They were just something for those being healed, in this case me, to do to supplement our weak faith, to make us think we were really contributing to the process.

Just like Naaman was skeptical about washing in the Jordan and only did it to accommodate his servants, I only agreed to try the shoes to accommodate my wife’s suggestion. Naaman didn’t think there was anything special about the Jordan’s waters and I didn’t think a new pair of shoes would do any good for me. Turns out we were both right. It was just something for us to do as an act of faith.

The Lord has healed countless numbers of us over the course of human history and He continues to do so to this day. The fact that we don’t give Him the glory anymore, crediting instead the methods He uses, is irrelevant. But I’ll bet that there are thousands of you out there with a story similar to mine. Now you have an explanation. And from now on when something like this happens to you, give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

If the priests working in the Temple needed reminding to praise the Lord, how much more do we? Some of us spend a half hour or so on Sunday mornings praising the Lord and that’s it.

Yet the Lord blesses us all day every day. Shouldn’t our praise in some way approximate His blessing? And so what if you’re in a bad place right now? He’s gotten you out of bad places before and will do so again. Besides, you’ll soon be in Heaven with Jesus where you’ll be blessed forever. Praising the Lord is just the thing you need.  Praise The Lord!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:4-7)

Since you can only think one thought at a time, the time you spend praising the Lord is time you won’t be able to spend feeling bad about your situation. The Lord knows the trouble you’re in and He knows how He’s going to get you out of it. If you start praising Him now, who knows, He might deliver you sooner. So make a “contrary to feelings” choice. Put your favorite praise CD in the player or turn to your Christian radio station and start praising Him. I guarantee you’ll soon feel much better. Praise the Lord!

And if you’re in a great place, you shouldn’t need reminding. You should already be praising Him. It wasn’t your brilliance that got you here, but His blessing. There are plenty of brilliant folks in the world who never get anywhere. Look at the path you’ve taken to get where you are and pick out the unexplained coincidences. Those are where God got involved and decided to remain anonymous. Praise the Lord!

Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. May the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.

A. There are two reasons to pray for things the Bible tells us are going to happen anyway.  One is that the Lord has commanded us to do it, so by praying we’re being obedient.

The other is that there are rewards for doing so.  For example, praying for the Lord’s return helps us earn a crown (2 Tim. 4:8).  Praying for the Peace of Jerusalem brings us a sense of security.  (Psalm122:6)  And remember, if you’re praying for things the Bible says will happen, you’re not delaying anything, but you could be accelerating them.

(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.

A. Yes it makes sense to pray for the Rapture to come sooner, especially since it’s not scheduled for a particular date.  By doing so you’re acknowledging where your true citizenship is and asking to come home. And God has said in several places that our prayers can change things.  Speeding up the timing of the Rapture would mean bringing people into the Kingdom faster, something He also wants.

How do we compare our Christian duty with modern medical psychotherapy structures?  Didn’t Jesus heal minds?  Why would God put a man in this condition?  My friend says he wants to be healed, and he has confessed Christ.  Please help me understand.

A. God does not make people sick, whether physically or mentally.  After all He died so we could be healed (Isaiah 53:4-5).  All physical and mental disorders are caused by the presence of sin in the world.  Ultimately Satan is responsible for your friend’s condition.

I don’t see anything wrong with pursuing whatever kind of help you can get, as long as you remember that it’s the Lord who heals us whether through prayer or the medical profession.  My advice is to pray as if only prayer can help and also seek medical assistance as the Lord leads you.  A  study of James 5:13-16 can help you get the Lord’s perspective.

This psalm is a prayer for deliverance from false accusers. It recounts the words of a man of peace being twisted to create an unfavorable impression in the minds of others. He’s surrounded by enemies, and no matter what he says, all they want is war.

I usually try to find some uplifting thought in the Psalm of the week, but with this one it’s pretty hard to miss its singular significance. Meshech is a son of Japeth whose descendants are variously known as Russia or Turkey among scholars. Kedar was the 2nd son of Ishmael, from whom Mohammed descended.

Together they represent every nation that exists near Israel today. Their voices regularly accuse Israel falsely in the courts of public opinion, and the more Israel sacrifices to achieve peace, the more bellicose they become. Retaliation brings calls for war, as does retreat. Words of warning and words of conciliation are equally offensive. Response or non-response, action or inaction, it’s all the same to them.

Israel is not without error, and is not currently walking with God as a nation. But no nation has ever done more to accommodate its neighbors in an effort to achieve peace while maintaining its own security. The only thing left is to disappear, something they’ve rightly refused to do.

Will the US give most of its southwest to Mexico because of a claim by some that it was wrongly acquired? Will Turkey give the Kurds their ancestral homeland back due to the fact that France illegally gave it to the Turks as a bribe to keep them from taking Germany’s side in WW2? Will Syria finally retreat from illegally occupied Lebanon? Will Iran keep its hands off Iraq and let the Iraqis determine their own future? Will the world community step in to try and force any of this to happen like they regularly do with Israel?

In the name of peace Israel has offered to carve a “homeland” out of its meager allotment for a historically non-existent people with no claim to it. Much of this is called “occupied territory” but it was originally given to Israel in 1948 and then illegally captured by Jordanian forces who held it until Israel took it back by force in 1967.

And what’s the other side’s response to this offer? “It’s not enough!” It’s never enough. Israel has every right to say, “Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. I am a man of peace; but when I speak, they are for war.”

A. You’re referring to James 1:6-8.  The phrase double minded means you have to believe that God can and wants to answer your prayer.  Jesus said, “Everything is possible for those who believe.” (Mark 9:23).

I’ve found that the enemy will sometimes try to plant seeds of doubt in my mind when I’m asking God for something.  When that happens, I respond by saying, “It’s not for me to say what God will or won’t do, so I’m leaving this in His hands to do His will in my life.”  When I say that the doubts go away,  peace returns and God is free to answer as He chooses.

A. Don’t blame God for the pain in the world.  Blame Satan.  There was no pain before Adam and Eve sinned.  Nor will there be any in the New Jerusalem after the Rapture.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev. 21:4)

Pain is a consequence of sin and as long as there’s sin in the world there’ll be pain.  In the mean time Jesus took up our sickness and carried our pain when He went to the cross.  Because of the punishment He took we can be healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)  That means we can pray for healing from sickness and pain.

A. God confirms things through the testimony of 2 independent witnesses.  It’s an application of Deut. 19:15, and it means that 2 people who have no way of knowing that you have prayed about something have come to you independently of each other with the same answer. It’s like having 2 witnesses in a court of law.  Since God is not arbitrary and cannot lie, if two witnesses don’t agree that tells you there has been no confirmation.  One or both are mistaken.