Monday, December 12, 2011

FOUR REASONS WHY GOD IS SHAKING AMERICA AND THE WORLD

Joel C. Rosenberg

Thousands of years ago, through the Hebrew Prophet Haggai, God told us what He was going to do; that He was going to shake us. “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations…. I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations.’” (Haggai 2:6-7, 21-22)
 
That’s what Bible prophecy is; an intercept from the mind of the all-knowing, all-seeing God of the universe… a weather report from the future… a storm warning from the future; not so that we will be afraid, but so that we will be awake and ready and faithful and walking close to Jesus when the storms come.
  • Do you remember where you were on September 11th, 2001?
  • Do you remember how you felt when you saw the Pentagon burning, the smoldering wreckage in Pennsylvania, the two towers imploding?
  • Not since Pearl Harbor had so many Americans been killed in a single attack – more than 3,000 that day.
 None of us will ever forget that day; nor should we.

God didn’t cause 9/11 to happen… fanatics devoted to the false teachings of Radical Islam caused 9/11 to happen… but the True and Living God; the God of the Bible; let it happen to shake America… to get our attention… to wake us up.

I want to ask you some questions as we reflect on 9/11, as we reflect on the state of our union, and the state of the Church, both here and around the world:


On this anniversary of 9/11, are you morally and spiritually better off ten years ago? Is your family? Is your church? 

Now is an appropriate time to take a spiritual audit; to assess how you’re doing morally and spiritually, how your family is doing, how your congregation is doing. Ten years ago, God shook us; the question is: Were we listening?

In the Book of Hebrews we read: “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” Hebrews 12:25-26)

Our Lord Jesus the Messiah; sitting with His disciples on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem; also warned in Matthew 24 that we would be shaken in the last days, those days leading up to Jesus’ return. “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the power of the heavens will be shaken,” 

Jesus said. And then, when men least expect it, Jesus said, “the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:29-30)

America was shaken on 9/11. Today, God is shaking us again.
  • Nine of the ten costliest; most expensive hurricanes in American history have happened since 9/11. The worst was Hurricane Katrina which nearly wiped out an American city and ended up costing $108 billion.[i]
  • Hurricane Irene will likely rank in the top five and has made 2011 the worst year in American history for natural disasters, with ten separate catastrophes costing $1 billion or more.[ii]
  • This year, we’ve seen the worst outbreak of tornadoes in nearly half a century.[iii]
  • The worst fires in the history of Texas; amidst the worst drought in the history of the state.[iv]
  • The biggest earthquake on the East Coast since 1875.[v]
  • The biggest earthquake in Colorado since 1882.
At the same time, our economy is being shaken to its core.
  • 42,000 American factories have shut down since 9/11.[vi]
  • Fourteen million Americans have lost their jobs just in the past few years.
  • Millions of families have lost their homes.
  • Washington is running up the national credit card to jump start our economy, but it’s not working.
  • Our federal debt is now more than $14 trillion; that’s trillion with a “t.” It’s hard to imagine so much money. But put it this way: if we were to pay one dollar per second every hour of every day of every month to pay down our national debt, it would take us more than 32,000 years just to pay off $1 trillion; but we have more than $14 trillion of debt.[vii]
  • No wonder nearly eight-in-ten say America is on the “wrong track.”[viii]
  • No wonder nearly half of all Americans fear we’re heading for another Great Depression.[ix]
People are beginning to wonder if we can turn this thing around, or whether we’re heading towards an economic collapse, an economic implosion. Sometimes, it feels like we’re out on the middle of a frozen lake and suddenly we begin to hear the ice cracking under our feet. We haven’t plunged down into the icy waters yet, but we’re not sure where to step, or whether we can get back to the safety of the shore. 
That’s the economy.

But what of the state of our culture?
  • Since 1973, more than 53 million abortions. More than 53 million children murdered, and there is no end in sight.[x]
  • Pornography revenues today exceed the revenues of ABC, CBS and NBC; combined.[xi]
  • Today the pornography industry is larger than the revenues of Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink; combined.[xii]
Where are the Christians? What difference are we making? The answer is painful too hear. Too many people who say they are Christians are asleep, or distracted, or intoxicated by the world. Like the old country and western song, “Looking for love in all the wrong places,” too many people who say they are Christians have been looking love and meaning and purpose outside of Christ and His love.
George Barna, the Christian pollster and researcher, has just released a fascinating but sobering book entitled, Futurecast, Which I commend to your attention. In it, he devotes consider time to analyzing the state of Christianity in America today, and it is revealing:
  • 85 percent of Americans identify themselves as Christians.[xiii]
  • “84 percent consider it a holy or sacred book” and “the typical American household owns four Bibles” [xiv]
  • Yet only 56 percent believe that “the Bible is accurate and without error.”[xv]
Clearly, there’s a disconnect between who we say we are, and what we say we believe, and how we’re living. Barna offers many examples. Let me share just two.
  • First, there is no statistical difference between the percentage of non-Christians who get divorced (33 percent) and the percentage of “born-again Christians” who get divorced (32 percent).[xvi]
  • Second, only half of all born again Christians say they even try to share the Gospel with even one unsaved person one time – one time – a year.[xvii]
How is this possible? How can we be salt and light to the lost world around us if we are no different than that lost world? How can possibly hope for a spiritual revival or a Third Great Awakening in this land if we are barely all sharing our faith in Jesus Christ with one person a year? Jesus said in Luke 6:46, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” This is an important question for us to-day.

Yet God isn’t merely shaking America — the Lord said through the prophet Haggai, “I will shake all the nations.”
  • Japan is suffering what her Prime Minister calls the worst disaster since World War II; a devastating earthquake, the resulting tsunami, and multiple nuclear meltdowns all at once.[xviii]
  • Australians have faced devastating flooding this year; one headline read: “Australia Faces Biblical Floods”[xix]
  • God is shaking the Arab world through revolutions and uprisings. The prophet Haggai said, “I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations.” And sure enough we have see rulers and regimes overthrown and destroyed in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya; and more may be coming.
  • Russia is suffering the worst drought in 100 years.[xx]
  • China is currently suffering its worst drought in 200 years.[xxi]
  • The earthquake in Christchurch last year was the worst in the history of New Zealand and left 1/3 of the city’s buildings facing demolition.[xxii]
  • Last year, God shook Haiti; the deadliest earthquake in nearly 500 years, and the second deadliest in all of human history.[xxiii]
The question is: Why is God shaking us?

The Bible teaches us that at this stage in history, God is shaking us not to punish us — though judgment will come.
There are, however, four reasons, I believe.


First, God is shaking us because He loves us and He wants us to repent – What is repentance? Some people think of it as a very heavy religious word. But my wife, Lynn, and I have tried to teach our four sons what repentance means in a very simple way. Our youngest is Noah, and so I’ll bring Noah over to my side and say, “Noah, start running away from me, out of the family room, through the kitchen and to the dinning room. Ready? Go!” So Noah starts running. Then suddenly I say, “Stop, Noah!” And he stops. And I say, “Repent, Noah.” And he turns around. And I say, “Come back to daddy!” And he comes running to me and jumps up in my arms and I hug him and kiss him. That’s repentance. God is telling to stop, because we’re running in the opposite direction, away from Him. He tells us to repent – to turn around – and to come running back to Him so that He can forgive us and dust us off and restore us. And that’s why He shakes us. He is trying to get us to let go of anything and everything we are holding; every form of ideology, or philosophy, or religious beliefs, or political beliefs, or material possessions; whatever we’re holding onto that we think will give us hope and peace and security other than Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son.

Second, God is shaking us because He wants us to realize there is no One else who can satisfy us or give us true peace and security except Jesus Christ – no other water that will quench our spiritual and emotional thirst except His living water, and He wants us to discover Him and draw near to Him and drink the water only Jesus Christ gives us.

Third, God is shaking us because He has a mission for His Church, a mission for each follower of His – good works that He prepared before the world began that we should walk in them – and He doesn’t want us to miss the blessing of serving Him and seeing Him bear fruit through our lives of obedience.

I’ve had the opportunity to travel into Iraq four times in recent years. Last year, we were invited to bring a team of pastors and staff from The Joshua Fund to do a pastors conference in northern Iraq, near the province of Ninevah. We have a son named Jonah, and he really wanted to go with me so he could see Ninevah. Lynn and I weren’t so sure about that, but we prayed, and felt God’s peace, so Jonah came with me. But as we were flying in, a big storm came up and prevented our flight from landing in northern Iraq. We were diverted back to Amman, Jordan. There, I texted Lynn and told her what happened and said Jonah and I were disappointed and weren’t sure what was going to happen next. She texted back to say, “Don’t worry. This would be the first time in history that a Jonah wanted to go to Ninevah and God prevented him from going. But I think God is going to actually let you and Jonah get to Ninevah after all.” And she was right.

Now, in the Bible, the Lord gave the Hebrew prophet Jonah a mission; to take a warning of judgment and the urgency of repentance to the people of Ninevah in modern day northern Iraq, but Jonah refused to listen to the word of the Lord, and tried to run away from the Lord by boarding a ship that was heading for Tarshish, which is modern day southern Spain.

What happened? God began to shake Jonah’s world. We pick up the story in Jonah 1:4-6. “The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. So the captain approached him and said, ‘How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.’”

Jonah; a man of God, a prophet of God, a teacher of God’s Word; was on the run from God, and asleep to His voice.

How convicting is this: that a pagan ship captain had to shake a teacher of God’s word, and wake him up, and beg him to pray for his salvation?

What about you? What mission has God given you? Are you obeying, or are you on the run from the Lord and asleep to His voice?

There is a fourth reason; the Lord is shaking us because Jesus Christ is coming back soon, and the time to get right with the Lord is running out.

How do we know Christ is coming back? Because He said so.
Revelation 22:12 – Jesus said, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.”
John 14:1-6 – Jesus said, ‘Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.’ Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”


When is Jesus coming back? We don’t know exactly, because He didn’t tell us. “But of that day and hour no one knows,” Christ said, “not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36)

But our Lord Jesus did give us signs to watch for that would tell us when His return was near.

In Matthew 24, and Luke 21, and Mark 13, and throughout the Scriptures we find lists of signs:
  • wars and rumors of wars
  • uprisings and revolutions
  • earthquakes
  • natural disasters
  • lawlessness
  • false prophets
  • false teachers
  • false messiahs
  • the rise of evil in our cultures previously unimaginable
  • persecution of the believers
  • betrayal
  • apostasy
  • …..to name just a few.
Jesus said we will experience “birth pangs.” Are we not experiencing all these today?

But you say, Joel, when in history have we not had wars and revolutions and earthquakes and apostasy? What makes this period of time different from all others?

The answer is Israel. Bible prophecy makes it crystal clear that in the last days before the Second Coming, the world would witness the miraculous, prophetic rebirth of the State of Israel, Jews coming back to the Holy Land after centuries of exile, Jews rebuilding the ancient ruins, Israel becoming the epicenter of international attention, and growing international hostility and isolation; and we have seen all this happen in our lifetime.

The prophetic rebirth of Israel on May 14, 1948; together with the reunification of Jerusalem under Jewish control in June 1967; is what Bible scholars call the “super sign,” the definitive sign that we are truly in what the Bible calls the “last day” before the return of Christ.

Throughout the Old Testament, Israel is symbolized as a “fig tree.” Jesus told us the “parable from the fig tree” in Matthew 24. Jesus said, “Now learn the parable from the fig tree; when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” (Matthew 24:32-33)
  • We are seeing the signs that will precede Christ’s return.
  • We are experiencing the birth pangs that will come before Christ’s return.
  • We are being shaken, as prophecy warned, because Jesus wants to wake us up.
We don’t know the day or the hour, but Jesus said we would know the season, and we should be living as though His hand is on the door, ready to come back.

Matthew 24:42: “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.”
Matthew 24:43: Be “on the alert.”
Matthew 24:44: “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”

Are you ready to see Jesus face to face? Have you given your life to Jesus Christ? Are you absolutely sure that if you were to die to-day that you meet Christ at the resurrection? To-day, you can be certain.
Maybe you are already believer; maybe you have given your life to the Lord… but in your heart you know you’re not walking faithfully with Him… you’re drifting… or far away… to-day, God is calling you back to Him… He’s calling you to repent, turn around, come running back into His arms, asking for His forgiveness; for a fresh start, for a righteous and willing spirit. And the Scriptures tell us, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

But to start, we need to wake up.

The Hebrew Prophet Joel wrote: “Wake up and weep, you drunkards!” Why? “For the Day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near.” (Joel 1:5, 2:1)

The Lord Jesus said in the Book of Revelation to the Church in Sardis: “I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.” (Revelation 3:1-3)

Is that you to-day? Is that your family? Is that your church?  Perhaps you have a reputation that you’re spiritually alive; but maybe that’s not how Jesus sees you. Maybe He sees you as dead inside. Maybe you’re not obeying Him. Maybe you’re not worshipping Him; not really; not with your heart. Maybe you’re not sharing the gospel with family or friends. Maybe you’re not making any disciples. Maybe you’ve never made a single disciple. Maybe you don’t know what it means to make a disciple, even though Jesus commanded, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”

Where are you tonight? Are you awake, or asleep? Are you running with Jesus, or are you running from Him, and from the mission He has for your life; like Jonah?

Ten years ago, Americans got a wake up call. The 9/11 attacks stunned us, and they drove us back to church by the millions. But did it last? George Barna’s research shows that “after the 9/11 attacks, religious activity surged, but within two months, virtually every spiritual indicator available suggested that things were back to pre-attack levels.”[xxiv] In other words, the wake up call came and people jumped out of bed; but before long, they went back to sleep, back to business as usual.

But look at the list of signs that the Bible says we will see in the last days. Then look at what is happening in our world. Wouldn’t you say the list is being checked off, one by one? I would. Which is why I would this: if you consider yourself a follower of Jesus Christ and you’re planning any major sins in your life right now, can I urge you to postpone those plans, or better yet, cancel them outright. This is not a good time to be goofing around. This is not a good time to be doing something, watching something, listening to something, reading something, spending time with someone or something for which you would be ashamed when Jesus comes back.

The Apostle John put it this way: “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.” (1 John 2:28)

Let’s be clear: the Bible tells us that these shakings are going to continue, and get worse, like birth pangs, increasing in frequency and intensity; contraction and release, contraction and release. Our Father is trying to wake us up before it is too late. Our Lord Jesus Christ is giving us time…..

  • to rekindle our first love with Him
  • to embrace Him
  • to eat of the Bread of Life
  • to drink of the living water
  • to follow Him no matter what the journey
  • to serve Him no matter how high the cost
  • to discover His mercies afresh every morning
  • to discover that when the world is being shaken, you don’t have to be; not in your heart, not in your soul; because your hope and trust is fully in Him.
Hebrews 12:28: When we give our lives to Christ, the Scriptures say we will “receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken”

The Psalmist wrote: “I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 16:8)

And, “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22).

Where are you to-day? Are you ready to meet Jesus face to face?


[i] Eric Blake, et al, “The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Tropical Cyclones From 1851 to 2010,” NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS NHC-6, National Weather Service/National Hurricane Center, August 2011, p. 9, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/nws-nhc-6.pdf
[ii] “2011 Record Year For Weather Disasters,” UPI, August 19, 2011, http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/08/19/2011-record-year-for-weather-disasters/UPI-57581313783153/
[iii] Marty Roney and Carolyn Pesce, “Dozens of Tornadoes Kill At Least 297 People In South,” USA Today, April 29, 2011, http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/2011-04-28-deadly-tornado-south_n.htm?loc=interstitialskip.
[iv] See “Worst Fires On Record Ravage Texas,” Voice of America, http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Worst-Fires-on-Record-Ravage-Texas-129366213.html; see also, “Worst Drought In Texas History Ravages Crops, Livestock,” PBS NewsHour, August 31, 2011, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/july-dec11/texasdrought_08-31.html,
[v] Katharine Q. Seeyle, “Above All, Eastern Quake Rattles Nerves,” New York Times, August 23, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us/24quake.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all.
[vi] Richard McCormack, “The Plight of American Manufacturing,” American Prospect, December 29, 2009, http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_plight_of_american_manufacturing.
[vii] 1 trillion seconds is 31,688 years; see http://www.defeatthedebt.com/understanding-the-national-debt/millions-billions-trillions/
[viii] A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken in August 2011 found 73 percent of Americans believing the country was on the “wrong track.” See Steve Holland, “Most Americans say U.S. on wrong track: poll,” Reuters, August 10, 2011.
[ix] Specifically, some 48 percent of Americans believe a Great Depression is coming, CNN poll released June 8, 2011.
[x] National Right To Life fact sheet, January 27, 2011, http://www.nrlc.org/Factsheets/FS03_AbortionInTheUS.pdf.
[xi] Jerry Ropelato, “Internet Pornography Statistics,” Internet Filter Software Reviews, http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics-pg2.html.
[xii] Ibid.
[xiii] George Barna, Futurecast (Carol Stream, IL: Barna/Tyndale House Publishers, 2011), p. 124.
[xiv] Barna, p. 132-134.
[xv] Barna, p. 132-134.
[xvi] Barna, p. 35.
[xvii] Barna, p. 172.
[xviii] “Japan Quake Worst Crisis Since WWII, Says PM,” BBC, March 13, 2011.
[xix] Nick Meo, “Australia Faces Biblical Floods,” U.K. Telegraph, January 1, 2011, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/8235159/Australia-faces-biblical-floods.html.
[xx] “Russia Struck By Worst Drought In 100 Years,” Voice of Russia, July 18, 2010, http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/07/18/12667465.html.
[xxi] “East China wheat basket braces for worst drought in 200 years,” Xinhua news service, February 8, 2011.
[xxii] “Christchurch earthquake leaves third of city buildings facing demolition: New Zealand’s PM says quake is country’s worst-ever disaster as death toll climbs to 145 and much of business district in ruins,” The (U.K.) Guardian, February 26, 2011.
[xxiii] The deadliest quake in all of human history occurred in 1556 A.D. in China. See “Earthquakes With 50,000 Or More Deaths,” U.S. Geological Survey, http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/most_destructive.php, accessed September 2, 2011.

The Seven Holy Feasts of Yahweh

by Iris Jumper
 

The seven feasts listed in Leviticus chapter 23 were part of the Law given to Moses by God to the children of Israel in the Sinai desert after he freed them from their Egyptian bondage. (“And the LORD spoke unto Moses saying, Speak unto the children of Israel and say unto them concerning the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations even these are my feasts” - Leviticus 23:1-2).

“Feasts” (moadim) meant appointed times and places. A “Holy Convocation” (miqra) meant a time of rehearsal. Israel was instructed to celebrate seven yearly festivals beginning in the spring of the year and continuing through the fall. The feasts were both historic and prophetic. They were to remind God’s people of the great and magnificent works He had done for them and to show a future picture of whom the Messiah would be and the part he would play in
redeeming and restoring mankind and the earth back to God.
 

The spring feasts were:
 

Passover (Leviticus 23:4-5; 1 Corinthians 5:7)
Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6-8; 1Corinthians 5:7-8)
First Fruits (Leviticus 23:9-14; 1 Corinthians 15:20-23)
Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15-21; Acts 2:1-4)
 

The first Passover occurred in Egypt after the Pharaoh’s final refusal to release God’s people. God told Moses that all the firstborn of Egypt would die, both man and beast, but Israel would be saved. On the 10th day of the month, each family was to select a male lamb of the first year without blemish. It was to be kept to the 14th day when the whole
congregation of Israel was to kill it and eat it at a set time of that day. The lamb’s blood was to be painted on the side posts and upper door posts of each family’s house. That night, as the plague of death covered Egypt, it passed over every house that was covered by the lamb’s blood. The next day, Israel was free to go, and they fled quickly with their dough for baking bread on their shoulders before they had
time to add the leaven.



Passover, as well as all the spring festivals, was prophetic for the first coming of the Messiah. He entered into Jerusalem on the 10th day of the same month (Nissan) that the Passover lamb was being selected by the priests. He was crucified at the exact day and hour that the Passover lamb was slain. The next day during the Feast of Unleavened bread, he was buried, and his sinless body was received by God as a holy and complete sacrifice. Three days later at the Feast of First Fruits, a faithful and loving God raised His Son, our Lord and savior, from the dead. This event provided a promise of salvation, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life to all who believed in the sacrifice of Jesus and his resurrection.

Fifty days after First fruits at the Feast of Pentecost (the anniversary of when the Law was first given to Moses), God poured out His Holy Spirit, and all those present heard the wonderful works of God spoken in their own language. Jesus Christ has fulfilled the spring feasts by his first coming and likewise will fulfill the fall feasts when he returns a
second time.


Autumn feasts were:
 

• Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24-25;
1Thessalonians 4:16-17)
• Feast of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27; Romans 5:10
and 11)
• Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:41-43; Hebrews
9:11; Revelation 21:3)


Trumpets were used frequently by the nation of Israel (Numbers 10:1-3). Trumpets called an assembly together, announced the beginning of a month, or mobilized an army. The trumpets used during these occasions were usually made of silver. On the Feast of Trumpets, God instructed Moses to use only a trumpet made from a ram’s horn (shofar). **This was done to remind Israel that God had provided a ram's horn as a substitute so that Abraham did not have to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22:10-13). When the ram’s horn was blown, unlike the more musical silver trumpets, it made a loud piercing blast that symbolized an alarm. It is a ram’s horn (shofar) that will be blown on that great and glorious day when our Lord returns, and at that appointed time some day in the future, he will fulfill the Feast of Trumpets. “Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in a twinkling of the eye, at the last trump for the trumpet [shofar] shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1Corinthians 15:51-52).

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump [shofar] of God: and the dead in Christ will rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1Thessalonians 4:16-17).

All of the fall feasts took place within a fifteen day time span starting on the 1st day of the seventh month, (Tishri) (Sept- Oct). Ten days after Feast of Trumpets was the Feast of Atonement. Jesus returning with his saints to judge and cleanse the earth would fulfill this feast (Zechariah 12:10; Revelation 1:7). After that time, the Scriptures say Jesus will establish his millennial Kingdom, and God's tabernacle will be on earth again and will once more dwell with His people for a thousand years. This would be the fulfillment of the last of the seven feasts − Tabernacles (Revelations 20-1-6; Revelations 21:3). We can give glory to God who carefully planned and orchestrated the timing and sequence of each of these seven feasts and chose to reveal to us His plan for Jesus Christ, our redemption and salvation, and our future together with Him and our Lord in eternity.

Surely the LORD GOD will do nothing, but he
revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets
(Amos 3:7).

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Messianic Prophecies


Below is a list of major Messianic prophecies. We have not listed the rabbinical (anti-missionary) arguments of these Messianic prophecies nor our refutations, as this is the ongoing work undertaken by our editorial team to complete our Bible. 


List of top twenty major Messianic prophecies


  1. Isaiah 52:13-53:12
  2. Isaiah 49:1-7
  3. Isaiah 42:1-9
  4. Isaiah 50:4-10
  5. Psalm 118:22-23
  6. Psalm 22:1-31
  7. Psalm 16:7-11
  8. Psalm 110:1-6
  9. Micah 5:2
  10. Isaiah 7:14
  11. Isaiah 9:6-7
  12. Psalm 2:1-12
  13. Isaiah 11:1-10
  14. Daniel 9:24-27
  15. Malachi 3:1-6
  16. Genesis 49:10
  17. Zechariah 9:9
  18. Zechariah 12:10-13:1
  19. Daniel 7:13-14
  20. Jeremiah 31:31-34

Description: The Suffering and Exaltation of the Messiah
Prophecy:
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
13 See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14
Just as there were many who were appalled at him-
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man
and his form marred beyond human likeness-
15
so will he sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Isaiah 53 1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4
Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
9
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10
Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11
After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many, and made
intercession for the transgressors.

Fulfillment: 1 Peter 2:22-25; Romans 5:6-8; Philippians 2:6-11


Description: The Servant's Mission and Calling
Prophecy:
Isaiah 42:1-9
1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2
He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4
he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope."
5
This is what God the LORD says-
he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6
"I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7
to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
8
"I am the LORD ; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to another
or my praise to idols.
9
See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you."

Fulfillment: Matthew 12:9-21


Description: Israel's Redeemer and a Light to the Nations
Prophecy:
Isaiah 49:1-7
1 Listen to me, you islands;
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born the LORD called me;
from my birth he has made mention of my name.
2
He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
and concealed me in his quiver.
3
He said to me, "You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor."
4
But I said, "I have labored to no purpose;
I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.
Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand,
and my reward is with my God."
5
And now the LORD says-
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD
and my God has been my strength-
6
he says: "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth."
7
This is what the LORD says-
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel-
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
"Kings will see you and rise up,
princes will see and bow down,
because of the LORD, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."

Fulfillment: Luke 4:16-20; Romans 11:25-26


Description: The Servant's Obedience
Prophecy:
Isaiah 50:4-10
4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
5
The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears,
and I have not been rebellious;
I have not drawn back.
6
I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
7
Because the Sovereign LORD helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
8
He who vindicates me is near.
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9
It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me.
Who is he that will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment;
the moths will eat them up.
10
Who among you fears the LORD
and obeys the word of his servant?
Let him who walks in the dark,
who has no light,
trust in the name of the LORD
and rely on his God.

Fulfillment: Matthew 26:67; 27:27-31


Description: The Rejected Cornerstone, Chosen by God
Prophecy:
Psalm 118:22-23
22 The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
23
the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.

Fulfillment: Matthew 21:33-44


Description: Delivered Out of the Jaws of Death
Prophecy:
Psalm 22:1-31
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
2
O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
3
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
4
In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5
They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6
But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7
All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8
"He trusts in the LORD ;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."
9
Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.
10
From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12
Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13
Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14
I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.
15
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16
Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
17
I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
18
They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.
19
But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20
Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21
Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22
I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
23
You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24
For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.
26
The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him-
may your hearts live forever!
27
All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28
for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29
All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him-
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31
They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn-
for he has done it.

Fulfillment: Mark 15:16-37; 16:1-7


Description: Risen from the Grave
Prophecy:
Psalm 16:7-11
7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
8
I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
9
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
10
because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
11
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Fulfillment: Acts 2:22-33


Description: Exalted to God's Right Hand
Prophecy:
Psalm 110:1-6
1 The LORD says to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet."
2
The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion;
you will rule in the midst of your enemies.
3
Your troops will be willing
on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy majesty,
from the womb of the dawn
you will receive the dew of your youth.
4
The LORD has sworn
and will not change his mind:
"You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek."
5
The Lord is at your right hand;
he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
6
He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.

Fulfillment: Matthew 22:41-46; Acts 2:34-36; Acts 7:56; Hebrews 7:11-22


Description: A Promised Ruler From Bethlehem
Prophecy:
Micah 5:2
2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times."

Fulfillment: Luke 2:1-7; Matthew 2:1-6


Description: The Sign of Immanuel
Prophecy:
Isaiah 7:14
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The young maiden (virgin) will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Fulfillment: Matthew 1:18-23


Description: To Us a Child Is Born
Prophecy:
Isaiah 9:6-7
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7
Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this.

Fulfillment: Luke 1:31-33; Romans 1:1-4; John 1:1-4; Colossians 2:9


Description: God's Anointed Ruler and Son
Prophecy:
Psalm 2:1-12
1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2
The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.
3
"Let us break their chains," they say,
"and throw off their fetters."
4
The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5
Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6
"I have installed my King
on Zion, my holy hill."
7
I will proclaim the decree of the LORD :
He said to me, "You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.
8
Ask of me,
and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession.
9
You will rule them with an iron scepter;
you will dash them to pieces like pottery."
10
Therefore, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
11
Serve the LORD with fear
and rejoice with trembling.
12
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry
and you be destroyed in your way,
for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Fulfillment: Matthew 3:17; Revelation 19:11-16


Description: The Branch From Jesse
Prophecy:
Isaiah 11:1-10
1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -
3
and he will delight in the fear of the LORD .
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
4
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
5
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
6
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
7
The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8
The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
9
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.
10
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner
for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his
place of rest will be glorious.

Fulfillment: Romans 15:12; Revelation 21:1-7


Description: The Seventy "Sevens"
Prophecy:
Daniel 9:24-27
24 "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people
and your holy city to finish transgression, to put
an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in
everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy
and to anoint the most holy.
25
"Know and understand
this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there
will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be
rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
26
After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut
off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will
come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will
come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and
desolations have been decreed.
27
He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.'
In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice
and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up
an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that
is decreed is poured out on him.

Fulfillment: Hebrews 7:27; 9:24-28


Description: The Divine Visitation to the Temple
Prophecy:
Malachi 3:1-6
1 "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the
way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking
will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant,
whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.
But who can endure the day of his coming?
Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a
refiner's fire or a launderer's soap.
3
He will sit as a refiner
and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine
them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men
who will bring offerings in righteousness,
4
and the offerings
of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD,
as in days gone by, as in former years.
5
"So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick
to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those
who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows
and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear
me," says the LORD Almighty.
6
"I the LORD do not change.
So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Fulfillment: Matthew 21:10-13


Description: The World Ruler from Judah
Prophecy:
Genesis 49:10
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs
and the obedience of the nations is his.

Fulfillment: Revelation 5:5-14


Description: The Coming of Zion's King
Prophecy:
Zechariah 9:9
9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Fulfillment: Matthew 21:1-11


Description: Mourning for the One They Pierced
Prophecy:
Zechariah 12:10-13:1
10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look
on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him
as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as
one grieves for a firstborn son.
11
On that day the weeping in
Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon
in the plain of Megiddo.
12
The land will mourn, each clan by
itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house
f David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and
their wives,
13
the clan of the house of Levi and their wives,
the clan of Shimei and their wives,
14
and all the rest of the
clans and their wives.

Zechariah 13: 1 "On that day a fountain
will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.

Fulfillment: John 19:31-37; Revelation 1:7


Description: The Exalted Son of Man
Prophecy:
Daniel 7:13-14
13 "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was
one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.
He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.
14
He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples,
nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion
is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom
is one that will never be destroyed.

Fulfillment: Matthew 24:26-30; Mark 14:60-62


Description: The New Covenant
Prophecy:
Jeremiah 31:31-34
31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.
32
It will not be like the covenant
I made with their forefathers
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,"
declares the LORD .
33
"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time," declares the LORD .
"I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34
No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,"
declares the LORD .
"For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."

Fulfillment: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Hebrews 8:7-13