Who Do You Say He Is?

Mt 16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
Mt 16:14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
Mt 16:15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Mt 16:16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Mt 16:17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
Mt 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.


I had a "heavy revy" a couple of weeks ago about these verses and a belief I had for a long time was corrected as a result. But first, let's figure out the who, what & where's and then I'll explain to you what I learned. We read in verse 13, they are in the region known as Caesarea Philippi which is a very "Roman" and a very pagan city, which is just a nice way of saying that they didn't adhere to the Jewish belief or lifestyle and was very worldly. What the verse doesn't say is exactly where they are. Jesus took them to the temple (no not THAT temple), this is a temple dedicated to Caesar Augustus that was created by Herod the baby killer, who also built a temple for Zeus and and for the Greek god Pan.


Ok, so why is this photo of an old temple important? Here is why not only the temple is important but who is was dedicated to. His full name was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus and he was the first Roman Emperor and his reign was from 31 B.C. to 14 A.D. Now Augustus Caesar was considered the following, The Son of God and God, worthy of our worship, savior of our world, and he came to bring - peace, order, man's rights, paradise on earth. He is like you and me - god as man and man as god. He is the high priest and the king, he is the long expected one. Simply put he was looked upon as the Messiah Man which is the philosophy that one man can lead the world to peace and prosperity. In one place we have an example of "Hellenism" or a worldview that says my truth is my truth and your truth is your truth (relativism) and a worldview that focuses on ME and my needs and my pleasure. Ok so now who he was, let's go back to the verses and see why this is important. Who do they say HE is? The true SAVIOR of the world and not Augustus. What else? Jesus says HE is going to build HIS church on this rock of paganism not on Peter like some people have been taught (my heavy revy). HE is standing in this temple and telling HIS disciples that THIS is where HE is building HIS church HIS assembly and HE will lead us as we go against the gates of hell itself!

Calming The Storm

Mark 4:35-41

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

I was reading a column last week by Dr. George O. Wood who is the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God church, and he was discussing this scripture and raised some good points. In our culture today, after a long day we can’t wait to get home and relax and rest. Or if you are an evangelist, you look forward to getting back to your hotel room and rest, especially if you have to deal with a lot of people every day. While they did have “Inns” in those days, we know there wasn’t one anywhere near where Jesus was teaching. So in this case they did the next best thing and that was to get in the boat and travel to their next destination. They were all tired and also they were very protective of Jesus. Now as Dr. Wood points out, they traded one stressful situation for another. Now here is the rest of the story (as Paul Harvey would say). We tend to think of the disciples as big strong men and not fearful or anything right? Wrong, you have all these guys in the boat with Jesus, and they were headed to the other side of Galilee where no religious Jew had ever gone before, that’s nightmare #1. And the reason it is a nightmare is because these guys aren’t used to traveling by boat. And the place they were going to was not only considered “ritually unclean”, it would be considered X-rated by today’s standards. Nightmare #2 comes where the storm hits and is blowing the boat around. Can you imagine the frustration the disciples must be feeling when all this is happening, and I'm sure they were wondering where Jesus was. It says in verse 38 that He was asleep in the stern and not worried about a thing. Finally we read that they woke him up and HE then commanded the storm to be silent. We read about that and we think “whoa, that is so cool”. But in verse 41 it says the disciples were terrified! Why? Because until that moment most people believed that is was the god “Baal” that controlled the weather and Baal is considered the life giver and was supposed to provide people what they needed. As a result of what they saw, they realized right then and there that Jesus was more powerful than “Baal”!


Thanks as always for Rabbi Ferret who without him I wouldn’t be doing this, and Dr. George O. Wood for the basis of this, and for those that would like to read the article, the link is posted below.

http://pe.ag.org/Wood/4971_Mark.cfm

Which Would You Rather Have?

I live in Minnesota and it's state motto is "Land of 10,000 Lakes". So one could say that we have an abundance of water in our state. However in Israel, they aren't so fortunate as there aren't many lakes or streams for them to get water from. On top of that it only rains for approx 3 months out of the year. Back in biblical times, people stored their water in what was known as a cistern. A cistern is a pit that is dug out of a rock and is plastered to prevent leakage. Now the photo below shows you what a 'cistern" looks like and to me it doesn't look much better than the basement of an old house I used to own.



Much like our houses of today where gutters drain the water off the roof during the rainy season, their houses had gutters also but these were used to channel the water into the cistern for storage. Now they had a lot of problems with this system, the cisterns had to be kept cleaned and plastered and they had to keep the stagnant water from getting diseases. The water itself was dirty as it flowed off the roofs or streets in to the cistern. It was also not very dependable as sometimes it might not rain during the season or the cistern might leak and all the water would seep out. The other problem they had was the water was considered "ritually impure" and was not used for religious ceremonies.


Running water, especially spring water, was different. It stayed fresh and clean. And most springs were dependable, providing water year round. This constant fresh source of water was called "living water," probably portraying its life-giving qualities as well as its constant freshness. God provides (and is described as) "living water". Living water is cleansing, The ritual bath of Jesus' day, "the mikveh" used before coming into the presence of God at the Temple or to the synagogue worship service?contained flowing water, or living water. John the Baptist's choice of the Jordan River for his symbolic cleansing likely was based on the need for fresh, moving water to symbolize cleansing. Near the shores of the Dead Sea, deep in the Judean Wilderness, fresh water gushes out of the desert floor creating an oasis called En Gedi. It was here that David hid from Saul and it is likely one of the places of inspiration for the king-poet, David. The water that brings forth life at En Gedi is a picture of how God meets his children's thirst in the desert.



Jesus described himself as living water (John 4:13-14, 7:37-38), and the people of his day understood the meaning. Only God could provide living water. It would not fail to satisfy any thirst. But it was the connection between living water and the feast of Sukkot that gave Jesus' image of living water the clearest meaning. He chose that feast day to reveal that he was living water. So my question for you is, which would you rather have?


Thanks to John Ferret for the photos and for Ray Vanderlann whose articles on Living Water and En Geddi were used for parts of this

Feast of Tabernacles - Sukkot

The Feast of Tabernacles is the culmination of all the appointed times. It is to the other festivals what the Sabbath is to the other six days of the week. It is a prophetic picture of the coming kingdom. It foreshadows the great celebration when the entire world will live in peace and brotherhood under the reign and rule of the righteous Messiah King. sukkot: Camping Out with God

Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, "On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the LORD." (Leviticus 16:34)

Five days after the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles begins. It is seven days long. The first day is a special Sabbath. The Hebrew name of the festival is sukkot (סוכות, pronounced "sue coat"), a word that means "shelters, stables or huts." The same word is often translated into English as "tabernacles" or "booths." The name is derived from the commandment for all Jews to dwell in temporary shelters for the seven days of the festival as a reminder of the post-exodus years when Israel lived in huts and booths, following God in the wilderness:

You shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths. (Leviticus 23:42)

The temporary shelter is referred to as a sukkah (סוכה), which is the singular form of the plural word sukkot. A traditional sukkah must have at least two and a half walls made from virtually any material. The walls don't have to be solid. They could be plywood, canvas, latticework or just about anything. One wall can be part of a permanent structure. For example, the wall of a garage would work. The rest of the booth has to be temporary and disassembled after the festival.

The sukkah booth can be any size, so long as it is large enough for the family to eat and sleep in. The roof of the sukkah is supposed to be covered with some sort of foliage or vegetation that grows from the ground: tree branches, cornstalks, bamboo reeds, sticks or even lumber. The roof material has to provide adequate shade yet be sparse enough so rain can get in and stars can be seen through it. The sukkah should leave a person vulnerable to the elements.

The process of building and living in a sukkah is a great adventure for children. It's like building a fort and camping out in the backyard. People commonly decorate their sukkot. It's fun for the kids, often more fun than decorating a Christmas tree. Families hang harvest decorations and handmade artwork from the walls.

During the course of the seven days of sukkot, it is appropriate to eat one's meals in the sukkah, and if the climate permits, to sleep at night inside the sukkah. Hosting guests in the sukkah for special holiday meals is a big part of the festival. It's a great time of fellowship.

Check out these photos for some examples of a sukaah.

http://www.sukkot.com/gallery.htm

The sukkot is a time of joy and celebration, a time to celebrate the harvest and revel in God's goodness. The festival of sukkot comes at harvest time. The joyous mood of sukkot is a dramatic shift from the solemn and austere tone of the high holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The celebration of sukkot is so joyous that Jewish liturgy often refers to it as "the season of our rejoicing." The commandment to move outside of one's comfortable zone and live in a booth is meant to remind us that God is our provider, sustainer and protector. On the cycle of sanctification, sukkot is an annual opportunity to revel in God's goodness and take delight in our redemption.

Thanks to the folks at FFOZ for this article.

Battle of The Gods - 10 Plagues - Mal 3:6

I did a Google search to see what the definition of plagues were and this is what I got.

• a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has ...
• any epidemic disease with a high death rate
• infestation: a swarm of insects that attack plants; "a plague of grasshoppers"
• blight: cause to suffer a blight; "Too much rain may blight the garden with mold"
• any large scale calamity (especially when thought to be sent by God)

I think you get the picture and it's not pretty! Well here is what the Late Paul Harvey would call, The Rest of The Story.

We know that the Pharaoh would not let God's people go and as a result paid a hefty price for his cold heart. So starting in Exodus 7: 19-25 we read about the start of the plagues that GOD had released on the Egyptians. But when digging deeper we learn the meaning behind these plagues. The Egyptians had many gods that they worshiped and each plague correlates with a particular god. The following is a list of the plagues (and verses where they can be found) and also the names of the Gods that the plague went against.

Plague	Bible Verse	Egyptian God
Water to Blood	Exodus 7:19-25	Hapi
Frogs	Exodus 7:19-25	Heqet
Gnats	Exodus 8:16	Kephi
Flies	Exodus 8:20-32	Atum
Diseases of Cattle	Exodus 9:1-7	Hathor
Boils	Exodus 9:8-17	Im-Hotep
Hail	Exodus 9:18-35	Nut
Locusts	Exodus 10:1-20	Seth
Darkness	Exodus 10:1-20	Amon-Ra
Death of Firstborn	Exodus 11 & 12:36	Horus/Pharoah

Now if you read in Joshua 2:10-11 and Joshua 3, you will read all about the crossing of the Jordan. For those folks from the land of Caanan, they worshiped the god of storms and rain who was called "BAAL". Baal won his dominance by defeating the other deities, including the god of the sea, the god of storms (also of rain, thunder & lightning), and the god of death. Baal's victory over death was thought to be repeated each year when he returned from the land of death (underworld), bringing rain to renew the earth's fertility. Rahab and the people were terrified since the GOD of Israel controls the water and the flood Baal was defeated.



Thanks to the following people for their help with this posting. Rabbi John Ferret who without him I wouldn't even be doing this. Dave and Deena Peterson for their support and Bonnie Calhoun for her most wondrous help with HTML.

Why Celebrate The Holidays?

Why Celebrate the Biblical Holidays

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. (Eccl. 3:1).

How much would you know about the Pilgrims without the celebration of Thanksgiving? Think about it. Would you remember Plymouth Rock, the Indians, the Mayflower? God gave us instructions to learn about His Story (History) through fun celebrations!

Paul wrote to the Gentile believers in Colossians 2:16-17 that the holidays are a shadow of things to come. Each of the spring holidays is a picture of Christ's first coming. Jesus was sacrificed for our sins on Passover, buried on Unleavened Bread, and arose on Firstfruits. The fall holidays are a picture of His second coming and the beginning of the Messianic reign.

Blueprints

The Festivals of God are blueprints for the plan of God. When you look at a set of blueprints for a house that is to be built, it is difficult to visualize what the house will look like when it is finished. It is hard to imagine all the details as a whole. But if you look at the blueprints for a house you are familiar with, perhaps the house you live in, then you can relate those plans to your own experience. You can fully visualize the whole of its completion, and the blueprints will help you see where the foundation is laid, where the pipes and cables run, and how the structure supports itself. It is the same with the Holidays of God. When we look at the spring festivals, we can look back at the first century and see how the prophetic elements of those festivals were fulfilled. We can see how the plan of God was carried out in perfection.

Each of the biblical holidays teaches us about our wonderful relationship with God. His whole redemption story is portrayed for us in these festivals. Passover pictures salvation or deliverance from Egypt (flesh or sin). Unleavened Bread shows us that God saved us in order that we may be holy and set apart for Him by putting off the old sin nature. Firstfruits teaches us the purpose of salvation: fruitfulness in the Kingdom of God (John 15:1-5) and putting on the new man, the nature of God (Eph. 4:24). The Feast of Weeks instructs us further concerning the kind of fruit we must bear spiritual fruit (Gal. 5:22-23) through the power of the Holy Spirit

Thanks to biblicalholidays.com for this article.

Pentecost or Shavuot

There are many names for the Feast of Weeks. It is identified in the Old Testament as the Feast of Weeks (Ex. 34:22) and the Feast of Harvest (Ex. 23:16). This feast is referred to as Latter Firstfruits. The Hebrew name is Shavuot (pronounced sha-voo-ote). The Greek name Pentecost is only found in the New Testament (Acts 2:1).

Pentecost is a major festival and has a dual significance: historical and agricultural, just as Passover and Tabernacles. Unlike Passover and Tabernacles, it is observed for only two days (only one in the Reform Movement). Pentecost marks the end of the barley harvest and beginning of the wheat harvest. Counting the days from the second day of Passover to Pentecost is called the “Counting of the Omer”. The cutting of the omer of the new barley marked the beginning of the counting period; on the fiftieth day, Pentecost is observed. Pentecost is a Greek word meaning fiftieth.

Pentecost is considered the closing festival of the Passover season (Ex. 34:22; Lev. 23:15; Deut. 16:9-10). This day is further referred to as “latter firstfruits” of the spring harvest. The “early firstfruits” (barley) were waved before the Lord during the Feast of Firstfruits (see Passover chapter) and the “latter firstfruits” (wheat) were offered unto the Lord during the Feast of Weeks. It is also referred to as the Day of the Congregation (Deuteronomy 18:16). Another name is Atserret, meaning stop or cease or conclusion of seven weeks of counting.

Pentecost is the only festival for which no specific date is given in the Bible. Rather, the people were instructed to count seven weeks “...from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf [omer] of the wave offering (Lev. 23:15). This holiday occurs in the months of May or June on the American calendar. It is the successful conclusion of the first wheat-growing season and the anniversary celebration of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.

It is a celebration to reawaken and strengthen personal relationships with God by rededication to the observance and study of the Torah — the most precious heritage. When Yahweh revealed Himself on Mount Sinai, His people heard His voice proclaiming the Ten Commandments. Then the Israelites pledged their allegiance to Yahweh by saying, “…All that the Lord has hath said will we do and be obedient” (Exod. 24:7).

Passover freed God’s people physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavuot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality. The Torah contains the Five Book of Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings.

Thanks to biblicalholidays.com for this article