Author: bgoodnow74

This post is dedicated to God’s people – The wise who seek truth & understanding.

“A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.” (Proverbs 1:5)

Patterns are repeating.

God’s people inherently keep falling into the same traps of deception. The prophets, Yeshua and the apostles all reiterated the warning: do not let anyone deceive you. Ooops, we did it again! We’ve let society dictate how we live instead of receiving instruction and counsel from God’s Word.
Time after time, the prophets warned the Israelites to keep God’s ways and forsake Gentile (pagan) traditions and doctrines.
Yeshua also warned of the same when he said, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” (Matthew 15:3, Mark 7:9‭, 13)
The enemy’s tricks have remained the same but shape shift over time. Deception is often covered with great marketing schemes which blur, confuse and even bury the roots. Bling, glimmer, lights, sweets and so much fun, it’s harmless, God won’t mind….

There is nothing new under the sun.

It’s ironic that we get so wrapped up in keeping cultural traditions rooted in paganism yet we can’t even keep God’s commanded festivals. We tweak or try to justify them so it seems Christian. We need to find a way to makes it ok in our minds. Isn’t that what the Pharisees did? We’ve been warned not to take away or add to any of God’s commands.
Think about it….we celebrate Yeshua’s (Jesus) birthday, which is not Biblically commanded, yet we DON’T keep the festivals that are Biblically commanded?

Is Yeshua/Jesus really the reason for the season?

Do I believe it’s wrong to celebrate the birth of our savior? Of course not, but if “Yeshua/Jesus” is TRULY “the reason for the season”, then why celebrate it with pagan objects and pagan traditions? Why not just celebrate it without the trees, the elves, the wreaths, the gifts and yes Santa……….
The deception needs to be brought to light. I now understand why the prophets were not liked. Most of the time their message wasn’t fluffy or nicey nice. They were vessels used by God to warn the people because they strayed from His instructions repeatedly and continually.  Many times the people would not listen, they were stiff necked, prideful and arrogant. As a result, we see the consequences. Sometimes they did heed the warning and turned back; in turn we see God’s relentless grace and mercy.
This subject has been laid on my heart by God to warn His people, to help them realize the deception that has been DEEPLY ingrained into our societies, churches and homes over thousands of years….. It is my duty as a fellow believer to sound the alarm, to speak Truth as the watchmen are told to do in Ezekiel 33. It will be a cross road for many.

Once you know the truth, how will you respond? Will you harken to His voice or will you harden your heart? Those are the only two options.

Here are the historical roots and origins of Christmas (Before being repackaged, commercialized & yes, Christianized):

GREENERY & THE CHRISTMAS TREE

It’s all about sun god worship. Long before Christianity adopted this holiday, many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. The plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient people hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness. Everything revolves around the Yule/Yuletide. Just google it and you will see all sorts of items pop up. Even the pagan wheel that the witches use.

The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from the illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes which symbolized triumph of life over death.

The Romans knew that the solstice meant that farms and orchards would soon be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs.

In Northern Europe the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder.

Wreath – symbolizes the wheel of the year; placed on doorways, walls, altars, other places.

Yule Tree (aka Christmas Tree) – symbolizes eternal life force & World Tree; decorated with lights, sun symbols, other symbols

Sprigs, Boughs, & Garlands – symbolizing the continuity of life

MISTLETOE

Norse mythology recounts how the god Balder was killed using a mistletoe arrow by his rival god Hoder while fighting for the female Nanna. Druid rituals use mistletoe to poison their human sacrificial victim.

SANTA CLAUS/ST. NICK/FATHER CHRISTMAS

Prior to Christianization, the Germanic peoples (including the English) celebrated a midwinter event called Yule. With the Christianization of Germanic Europe, numerous traditions were absorbed from Yuletide celebrations into modern Christmas. During this period, supernatural and ghostly occurrences were said to increase in frequency, such as the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky. The leader of the wild hunt is frequently attested as the god Wodan (Norse Odin), bearing (among many names) the names Jólnir, meaning “Yule figure”, and Langbarðr, meaning “long-beard”, in Old Norse.
Wodan’s role during the Yuletide period has been theorized as having influenced concepts of St. Nicholas in a variety of facets, including his long white beard, his gray horse for nightly rides (compare Odin’s horse Sleipnir) or his reindeer in North American tradition. Folklorist Margaret Baker maintains that “the appearance of Santa Claus or Father Christmas, whose day is 25th of December, owes much to Odin, the old blue-hooded, cloaked, white-bearded Giftbringer of the north, who rode the midwinter sky on his eight-footed steed Sleipnir, visiting his people with gifts. Odin, transformed into Father Christmas/Santa Claus, prospered with St Nicholas. BTW – Odin is the father of Thor in your favorite Marvel movie.

CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS

Why do we hang hosiery anyway? It’s a very simple answer, they are tied to the story of Santa.

DECEMBER 25TH

What is so significant about this day? I can tell you this much, it wasn’t when our savior was born.

The first recorded date of the “Christmas holiday” was December 25th, 336 A.D., during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (the founder of the Official Christian church also called the Roman Catholic Church). The church officials more than likely settled on December 25 as they wanted the date to coincide with the existing pagan festivals listed below. This way it became easier to convince Rome’s pagan subjects to accept Christianity as the empire’s official religion.
The Roman Festival of Saturnalia took place between December 17th – 23rd which honored the Roman god Saturn. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice (human) at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying and a carnival atmosphere. To this day, it is still celebrated.
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti means ‘birthday of the unconquered sun’ and was held on December 25th (when the Romans thought the Winter Solstice took place) and was the ‘birthday’ of the Pagan Sun god Mithra. (Still celebrated). In the pagan religion of Mithraism, the holy day was Sunday, hmmmm very interesting! On another note……in 321 A.D. Constantine decrees Sunday as state “day of rest”. Coincidence….I think not.

ELVES

I know everyone loves the elf on the shelf but they are really not who you think they are. They are not cute, cuddly, innocent helpers as portrayed in Rudolf. Google search Krampus and you will see the real elves of Santa! He is the Christmas DEVIL. Krampus gets its name from the old Germanic word Krampen which translates as claw. His origins come from Norse mythology in which he is the son of Hel, goddess of the underworld. WOW, add one more “l” to Hel and what do you get?

Krampus himself historically comes around the night of December 5, tagging along with St. Nicholas/Santa/Odin. He visits houses all night with his saintly pal. While St. Nick is on hand to put candy in the shoes of good kids and birch twigs in the shoes of the bad, Krampus’ particular specialty is punishing naughty children. The Krampus is a hideous looking creature with large horns, a sharp slithery tongue, and dagger-like claws. He rattles his chains to warn children of his approach. His birch sticks and fangs frighten the young into being good. But if the children do not heed his warnings, he finds them, beats them with the rod, stuffs them into his sack and hauls them down to the underworld, where they are tortured or eaten.
Krampus is still very popular as is and still parades around with Santa in Europe every year. YouTube it; viewer discretion is advised as it’s a little unnerving. Did you know Krampus even has his own Hollywood horror film. Still think elves are cute??

I hope after a few examples you are starting to see the patterns of Christmas. Its origins have NOTHING to do with the birth of our Messiah. Its all about paganism and sun god worship. Christmas was banned in Europe & United States for quite some time. I believe this goes to show you how far gone we are from the truth of the matter.

EVERYTHING has a root……

Sometimes you have to dig deep, even thousands of years, to find the true origin. As believers we should always be asking and seeking diligently. We need to be vigilant, not taking anything at face value.

Whatever it is, remember it’s either of God or the deceiver who transforms himself into an angel of light. There’s no in-between. If we don’t test EVERYTHING to God’s sound doctrine we will be deceived.

Hard to swallow? Yes!

Until 5 years ago I celebrated these holidays mindlessly just like everyone else. I did so because I was born into it, I had no idea I had fallen into a ditch. Whether we like it or not, the root of Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day and Halloween are pagan (Babylon) from the very root. The epicenter of pagan worship, which sprouted and branched off into many false gods/religions over thousands of years, stems from Babylon. From the prevalent sun god worship (nimrod, baal) to the goddess of fertility (asherah) you see these characters in most of the religions out there today. It’s no coincidence.

Who was the first person called by God to leave Babylon? Abraham. He became a Hebrew – he crossed over. He left the comfort, the familiarity, the culture and its traditions for God and His ways. I am sure it wasn’t easy by any means but he was faithful to God’s calling and obeyed. Little did he know where he was to go or that he would be chosen for a very special purpose. (Hebrews 11:8-10)

God called his people out of Egypt why? They were entrenched in paganism. They lost sight of their God and His ways. Why did God get so angry at the people for celebrating with the golden calf? Old habits are hard to break especially when you’ve lived among pagan traditions and false idol worship for 400 years. Generation after generation the Israelites grew up celebrating these traditions of men and false idols. In part, this is why they were in the dessert for 40 years and the first generation had to die. They were rebellious and didn’t want to change their ways, they didn’t want to give it up. They wanted to go back to Egypt and the comforts it offered. In many ways modern day Christianity is repeating the same pattern and has assimilated into many of these same type of traditions and comforts.

God pulled them out of Egypt not only to redeem them but to also show them how to love Him, worship Him, to keep His ways, and His festivals/appointed times. To show them how to be set apart, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. If we are indeed His people, are we not called to be the same?

Pulling fruit off a pagan tree and gluing something else on to make it seem different doesn’t change the tree. The root of the tree and its fruit will always be pagan. It is the golden calf all over again.

Bottom line ……….

We can’t Christianize these traditions of man (paganism) and think it will be acceptable to God. If we think we can and continue to do so, then we are part of pagan Christianity. We’ve hardened our hearts like the first generation in the desert.

It’s time to awaken, to lift the veil, to listen to the prophets who said many times to come out of Babylon lest you share in her sins! (Rev 18:5/Isaiah 48:20/Jeremiah 51:6) Many are called but few are chosen (Matt 22:14). Abraham was chosen because he had faith and obeyed.

Be one of the chosen!

The road is narrow. It is hard to go against the flow but this why Jesus/Yeshua says:
“Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:14

Which will you follow, the commandments of God or the traditions of man?

 

When you have kids it seems like nothing is sacred, nothing goes untouched. I love my kids with all my heart but I can’t even go to the bathroom in peace……. and yes even my cat finds me.

Dinner time without phones is another example. It’s a battle.

 

Do we even know what the term sacred means today? If WE don’t, how do we expect are kids to? Your thinking about the sacred cow right now aren’t you? Lol.

If we do understand the meaning of sacred then the question becomes… does it hold any weight or value in our lives?

The definition of sacred means to regard something with reverence. To cherish, to hallow, to consecrate, to protect, to defend.

So what DO we protect and defend with all of our might, fiercely and undeniably?

There are many examples but SPORTS is a big sacred cow. We will shuffle everything around sports whether it be playing or watching a game. In fact I see so many people in our society whose lives revolve around their kid’s sports. It’s non-stop and everything grinds to halt for practices and games. Plans are broken or re-scheduled all to the dedication of this sacred cow.

I love golf and we encourage our kids to pick a sport to play. My son enjoys basketball and my daughters love gymnastics and dance.

I’m deeply inspired by the fact that my daughter will set her mind on something and do it. She didn’t have much experience in cheer or volleyball but guess what, she tried out for both high school teams and made it!! We are so proud of her!

As with all coaches, she is expected to attend every practice, every fund raiser, and every game no matter what the cost! She recently told her coach she couldn’t attend a team event because we had a family wedding to attend. They were merciless and punished her for it. I get consistency and building a team but really? It’s not like she’s missing the event so she can get her nails done.

This is where the two worlds collide and the fight begins, where society doesn’t respect the sacredness of faith and family.

So the question for all of us is: Will we be the ones to draw the line in the sand for what we deem sacred?

My husband and I have grown up in the Christian faith. In the past five years we’ve done a lot of research and digging into the Word. During this time we’ve realized Sabbath has NOT been done away with, that it applies to His people (all of them) and that men (not God) changed it from the seventh day to the first day of the week. With that being said, our family honors and keeps the Sabbath the way God commanded in the Bible. It is the seventh day set apart by God for us. We are to keep it Holy….sacred, set apart. It is a sign between God and His people. Six days we work, we labor, we pursue but on the seventh day we stop. Everything comes to a grinding halt. It is a day of rest as well as a day of washing ourselves completely in His Word. To soak in His presence, to lift His Holy name. It was designed to be a gift not a burden.

So why did God command us to keep Sabbath?

He is omniscient. He saw what society would become, non-stop. Go go go. A place where cities never sleep. It’s never enough. He saw the enemy beating us down, distracting us, trying to break us away from our faith in God and each other. Sabbath was designed so that we would completely detach ourselves from this Babylonian society, from the technology that distracts and desensitizes. Sabbath is a fence, our hedge of protection allowing us to fill our cup.

He wants us to be renewed physically and spiritually. You can’t do that when you are always connected to the world’s hustle and bustle.

He also uses Sabbath to teach us to obey and trust. He will meet our needs.

For us, Sabbath is where everything grinds to a halt. We choose to draw the line in the sand. We’ve made it a point to make sure that almost nothing distracts our attention from the intended purpose of this day. We always need to ask ourselves if we are using this time for our own selfish pursuits. If we are, then it is no longer sacred, set apart, holy.

In a day and age where society doesn’t acknowledge God or His commandments, Sabbath has become a true test of faith. It requires discipline to go against the grain. And yes that means we give up the sacred cow of sports when it conflicts with Sabbath. It’s been a challenge and it will continue to be a battle but we see the beauty, blessing, freedom and strength in keeping the Sabbath holy. It has brought us closer to God and to each other. After five years of keeping Sabbath it has become our refuge in this crazy world. We look forward to our rest and recovery. God and my family are the most important things to me and I will protect my time with both fiercely.

God’s day is holy, let us keep it sacred with all of our heart, soul and might.

It’s time to lift the veil!

 

Seasons usually signify many things in our lives physically and spiritually. Flowers, gardening, golf, camping, going back to school, colors in the landscape changing, sweaters, etc…. I LOVE spring and fall especially. It is exciting to see the first flower pop up in my garden and the green that starts to give my backyard life again. Life starts to come out of its slumber. And same goes for the fall, I love to see the colors of the leaves change all around me and to enjoy my pumpkin whatever! It also means wine is coming!

In the beginning God created the sun, moon and stars not only to divide night and day but to also use them for signs, seasons, days and years. The word seasons in Hebrew is Moed which means appointed time. Later on in Scripture we see God establish specific times/appointments with His people. God’s appointed times are times of gathering to eat, fellowship, praise and worship our almighty God. The most repetitive appointment established is the weekly Sabbath. These VIP appointments with God are times we need to mark out on our calendar each year (using the Biblical calendar not the gregorian). The Biblical feasts are also Sabbath’s, a time set apart. (The seven day feasts start and end on a Sabbath while the one day festivals are a Sabbath. These festival Sabbaths are also know as the High Sabbaths.)

Despite the fall in the garden He wants to draw close to His people and for His people to draw close to Him therefore he set in place times of special festivals and gatherings (aka assemblies, convocations, etc.) . Who doesn’t love a good party? My husband and I love to host gatherings and parties. We love to spend quality time with our close friends and family. A time of good food, amazing wine, laughing, playing games and yes, sometimes dancing. When we have a special celebration I get excited to not only create a wonderful inviting ambiance but to also prepare special dishes that we may not eat normally. Not only is the anticipation and build up exciting but sometimes you don’t want the party to end!

I believe this to be God’s heart, He yearns to be with His beloved. He is excited to see His people show up for their special appointment. He will always be there and on time no less. He wants to bless us so we can in turn bring an acceptable offering to Him. Flowers, balloons, special wine and food, etc. It is a time for us to give thanks and acknowledge the blessings he has bestowed on us. To remember what He has done for us and to really appreciate His mercy that allows us to be counted worthy. It is a time for us to really understand what it means to hallow His name, to stand in awe and reverence of our Almighty God.

These designated times are no accident nor have they been done away with. If you start to really read scripture, you will start to connect the dots to see that our God is a God of patterns and these patterns have so much meaning beyond the physical aspects. These feasts days are also prophetic in nature; they foreshadow Yeshua’s 1st and 2nd coming as well as what’s to come in the millennial reign.

The feast days are split into two separate seasons; the spring feasts and the fall feasts. If you are a farmer or have a small farm you will understand that both seasons are a time of harvesting the crops. The spring feasts foreshadow the 1st coming of Yeshua and the fall feasts foreshadow the 2nd coming of Yeshua.

I will be so bold to say that majority of Christians (I was one of them) don’t know much if anything about the feast days because we have somehow drawn the line in the sand labeling them as the “Jewish” feasts; they are only meant for the “Jews”. Where did this mentality come from? This is very ironic considering the people of Israel were given the task to teach the nations about God’s ways and now we just call them a Jewish thing. It is time to unlearn the lies that have been passed down from generation to generation. We’ve all grown up in certain ways and traditions but does it reflect God’s ways, His truth?

Who’s feasts are they really and who are they for? Were they commanded by God? Do they still apply today and for the future? Let’s see what God’s Word has to say about this topic.

• “And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ” Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are MY feasts.” Lev 23:1,2 (Leviticus 23 goes through all of the feasts)
• “These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.” Lev 23:4
• The feasts of the Lord are also reviewed in Deuteronomy 16.

A few from the New Testament –

• “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.” Luke 2:41
• “After two days it was the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.” Mark 14:1
• “Now the Jews Feast of Tabernacles was at hand……..On the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out…” John 7:2,37
• “Therefore let us keep the feast….” 1 Corinthians 5:8
• “…I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem..” Acts 18:21
• Acts 12:3,4, Acts 20:6

In the future to come –

• “The Lord of hosts will make for all people, A feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees.” Isaiah 25:6
• “And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.” Zechariah 14:16

I think we have a clear picture (through these few pieces of scripture) to see the consistent PATTERNS God is giving us. They are God’s feasts…..For His people…..to be celebrated yesterday, today, tomorrow and in the future to come. The people at the time of Moses kept them, the people at the time of Yeshua kept them, Yeshua kept them, Paul and the apostles kept them, so we should also keep them.

So what are God’s commanded feasts? And what do they represent?

God’s Spring Feasts (Yeshua’s 1st coming):

• Passover – We all know it took place at the time of the exodus from Egypt. Anyone who was covered (doorpost) by the blood of the lamb were saved from the plague of the first born death. Yeshua’s blood covers over us so that we will not perish. “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” Ephesians 5:2 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Ephesians 1:7
• Unleavened Bread – Leaven represents sin and we are to physically and spiritually remove the leaven from our households for seven days. We are to purge the sin from our lives to start anew; “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22‭-24 “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you are unleavened. For indeed Christ our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 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” 1 Corinthians 5:6-8
• Firstfruits – The first of the spring harvest (in its natural state) was to be brought before the priest to be presented to God. “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9, 10. It is also about the resurrection of Yeshua and what is to come in the end days. “For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.” Romans 11:16, “But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…..For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order; Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:20, 22-23, “These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.” Revelation 14:4
• Feast of Weeks – aka Shavuot (Hebrew) aka Pentecost (Greek) – Count the new grain (the Omer) for 7 seven Sabbaths after it was first harvested and brought before God. At the end of the counting on the 50th day there was a Sabbath, a holy convocation, as the new grain is again presented to God but this time in its prepared state. As stated in firstfruits, the new lump is holy to be presented spotless, blameless before God. “When the Day of Pentecost (Shavuot) had fully come they were all with one accord in one place.” Acts 2:1 At that time God poured out His spirit on all flesh. We are to worship Him in Spirit and truth. One day we will be presented to God in our prepared state.

God’s Fall Feasts (Yeshua’s 2nd coming):

• Feast of Trumpets – The trumpets signify so many things throughout the Word. The trumpets consisted not only of physical shofars/kudus made of ram or silver but they also represented voices shouting. The trumpets were used to alert the people, to gather them together for the new moons, feast days and for directing movement of the camps. They were also used to warn, to signal for wars and battles. We see the significance in the time of Moses at Mount Sinai, Joshua, Gideon, the kings, etc. We will also see the significance of the trumpets in the last days. The last trump will sound (warning) and our King will return as a warrior for battle and judgement. “And he said to the people, be ready on the third day….Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God and they stood at the foot of the mountain…..And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him by voice.” Exodus 19:15-19, “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Mathew 24:30-31
• Day of Atonement – It is a day of holy convocation, a day of affliction, a day of solemn rest. The high priest made a sin offering of atonement for the whole of Israel on the altar of incense once a year. “And so you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who has sinned unintentionally or in ignorance. Thus you shall make atonement for the temple.” Ezekiel 45:20 Who came later and was our sin offering atonement? “But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance….And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” Hebrews 9&10. It is also known as the Day of Judgement aka the day of the Lord, and the Great White Throne Judgement.
• Feast of Tabernacles – “You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. An you shall rejoice in your feast….within your gates. Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God..” Deut 16:13-15. Feast of Tabernacles is a time of gathering the fall harvest, the wheat, the fruits and the grapes for wine for a seven day feast with the Lord! This is also a foreshadow of when Yeshua returns to gather his elect for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. “Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!…Come and gather together for the supper of the great God,” Revelation 19:9,17-18, Luke 14:16-24, “Let both grow together until the harvest and at that time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them but gather the wheat into my barn.”, “….Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.” Revelation 14:18-19, “Assemble yourselves and come; Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal which I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, That you may eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, Drink the blood of the princes of the earth, Of rams and lambs, Of goats and bulls, All of them fatlings of Bashan. You shall eat fat till you are full, and drink blood till your drunk, at My sacrificial meal which I am sacrificing for you. You shall be filled at My table..” Ezekiel 39:17-20

As you can see there is so much meaning behind God’s feasts for His people. It wasn’t just something they did in the past, it is perpetual and will continue into the millennial reign. Now you know the real reason for the seasons. I hope this post has started some of you thinking and I hope you will dive deeper into God’s word to learn more about His Feasts as he has commanded us to be there!

It is time to lift the veil and see them for what they truly are.

Ever since I could remember, I was taught we are under the new covenant as the old covenant and God’s laws are made obsolete. I’m on social media and the mindset is still the same.

This seems to be a common belief among believers but is it biblical? Let’s test this belief against God’s scriptures.

Before we get to the answer we need to really understand the purpose of the “old” covenant. First off what is the definition of the word covenant?

In Hebrew it is Berith (strongs h1285):

1. Compact- joined closely together, make close union,
2. Confederacy – alliance between persons, parties
3. Agreement – the state of being in accord

In Greek it is Diatheke (strongs g1242):

1. A solemn agreement between two parties
2. Contract – can be a formal agreement of marriage
3. Testament – will, witness

As we all know when we sign a contract, an agreement or make a pact we are making an oath to keep the terms of the contract or agreement. Within the agreements, there are guidelines, written and in some cases, unwritten rules. This is especially true in the most intimate of contracts, marriage. The rules/terms of the marriage contract are standardized, universal among the body of believers. This is important to remember. If one breaks the terms of a contract there is usually some kind of penalty.

Now that we know the definition, who did God make the first contract, agreement, pact with? This is a trick question…….The first one could of been with Adam and Eve in the garden. Outside the garden we see it was with Noah in Genesis 6:18, then Abram, etc. In fact, there are many agreements aka covenants made by God with man from Genesis to Revelation but let’s focus on the ones mentioned in Jeremiah 31:31-34

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord , when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord . For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Jeremiah 31:31‭-‬33

In the beginning we see God preparing the people to enter into covenant with Him:

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Exodus 19:5‭-‬6

So what was the agreement?

The agreement/covenant was to obey His voice, to keep His instructions, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. Deut 8:6, 10:12, 11:22, 19:9, 30:16
Did they agree to the terms/rules? We see confirmation of the original covenant in Exodus:

“Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.” And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”Exodus 24:7‭-‬8

So what happened to this agreement, this pact? …….Man broke the agreement, he didn’t keep his end of the bargain.

“They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law,” Psalms 78:10
It’s that easy, THEY walked away, THEY disobeyed, THEY forgot, THEY became rebellious. In addition to the Psalms verse, Jeremiah 31 & Hebrews 8 says THEY broke the agreement, the pact. God repeatedly likens the agreement/covenant to a marriage. They were His wife and they committed adultery and He eventually gave them a certificate of divorce – Jer 3:8.

This is why God had to provide another way for man, another agreement. He desires redemption and reconciliation. He so desperately wants to dwell among His people. Holiness can only be in the presence of Holiness. He wants us to be holy as he is holy. He wants us to be His treasured possession, His kingdom of Priests. His mercy and loving kindness are beyond our comprehension.

Just because a marriage contract is broken doesn’t mean the terms of the contract go away. When the contract is broken by one party, they are no longer in good standing. They have disqualified themselves from the agreement.
If one remarries, the same terms and rules apply in the new marriage as were in the first marriage contract.

Just because the old covenant was broken by man doesn’t mean the terms (the law) don’t apply to the new covenant. it’s just the like the example of the marriage agreement.
So why do we think the laws/terms no longer apply in the new covenant? Why did we throw the baby out with the bath water?

“A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” Vladmir Lenin

There is no scripture by the Father nor the Son that indicates the laws/terms are replaced or done away with by the new covenant. People often quote Paul, saying Paul said the laws are done away with.

Let’s think about this argument.

Paul was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6) – a teacher of the law and now he is saying the law is done away with? Really? There a few problems with this argument.

1. If the Father nor the Son say the law is done away with, but Paul does, what does that make Paul? A false teacher promoting false doctrine and therefore should be tossed out.
2. If one says Paul said the law is done away with, then Paul also contradicts himself when he says in Romans 3:31 “Do we nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.”

I believe Paul has been misquoted and misunderstood as Peter says “and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” II Peter 3:15‭-‬16 NKJV

The other common argument circulating is that the laws in the NT are ONLY the laws of Yeshua the Messiah. The new covenant ONLY applies to the laws of Yeshua.

Ok, really put on your thinking caps.

This does not logically make sense when you really look at scripture. Yeshua is then either a liar, a lunatic or Lord. So which is it?
We know that the people were expecting the Messiah, the savior. Why? Because he had been spoken about in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. Luke 24:44, John 1:45

The Messiah cannot be of sin, He cannot transgress the laws of God or he would be disqualified and could not fulfill the prophecies as the Messiah is blameless.
A few other things to note and remember:

1. God does not change – Micah 3:6 So He’s the same yesterday, today and forevermore.
2. Yeshua and the Father are one – unified John 10:30
3. The Words Yeshua spoke were from the Father, they were not his own – John 14:1
4. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. John 15:10

So it is clear that Yeshua is not a liar or a lunatic and God cannot be bi-polar therefore the laws of Yeshua are the SAME laws of the Father which are the SAME laws the Father gave Moses for the original covenant.

We also see patterns of this all throughout the NT. Yeshua and the apostles spoke of the Law of Moses which is God’s Royal Law, here are a few examples:
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, TILL heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by NO means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the LEAST of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17‭-‬19

“Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.” Hebrews 10:28
“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; (Lev 19:18) James 2:8

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep HIS commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep HIS commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” I John 5:2‭-‬3

“For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord , when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord . For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord : I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord ,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” Hebrews 8:7‭-‬11

“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17

Bottom line is this, the laws/terms of the new covenant/agreement are the same terms as were in the old agreement. The Father and the Son do not have separate laws. Yeshua made it clear that the Law and Prophets are still applicable and will be until heaven and earth pass away. After this time we won’t need to teach them anymore as they will be written on our hearts and minds. Will we still keep the laws? Yes! – Isaiah 66, Ezekiel 14

“Blessed are those who DO His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city” Revelation 22:14

I hope this blog has helped you to lift the veil.