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One of the greatest lessons of Scripture is that God is “going on”. In other words; Revelation is progressive. Now this doesn’t mean EXTRA revelation beyond Scripture. No. It simply means that God increases our spiritual understand and insight progressively throughout Scripture.

We shouldn’t expect to find in earlier texts something that is revealed more fully later on. For example we don’t find Noah circumcising his sons. And we don’t find Abraham keeping the Sabbath day.

We naturally expect that more revelation (Truth) can be found in the New Testament that in the Old. But do we take this to its logical conclusion?

Even in the New Testament there are some revelations that are more urgent and important than others.

There is a greater emphasis on revelation in the Epistles than in the Gospels, and there are greater things in Paul’s later epistles than in some of his earlier ones. Progression.

Hence our studying of Ephesians, Colossians and Philippians is very helpful.

The great lesson of Ephesians is that “the Father is concerned with us IN His son”. The phrase “in Christ” or “with Christ” appears 14 times in Ephesians.

We are identified with Christ. See Colossians 1:27b “Christ in you, the hope of glory”.

Note these parallels of Christ and us.

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Note how often the word “together” appears with the phrase “in Christ”.

• Crucified together with Christ
• Died together with Christ
• Buried together with Christ
• Raised together with Christ
• Seated together with Christ
• Manifest together with Christ

But there’s ONE right in the middle that’s vitally important tp grasp. “Made alive together”. (Eph. 2:5 and Col. 2:13)

“…when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”

“When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions…”

Why is this so important?

Abraham believed, but he believed in “ the One who gives life to the dead.” (Rms. 4:17)

Paul said “I am crucified with Christ” … “but I am alive in Christ who lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)

Crucified, Dead, Buried, Raised, and Seated, all point to one final great event:

Our revealed glory (Col. 3:4)

“When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”

Eph 2:7 tells us that this event is beyond our understanding.

“…so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Note the word “surpassing”. It means “exceeding, to transcend”. What a thought!

Our day-to-day “resurrection living” is to give us a glimpse of that great transformation that awaits us.

We (the mature perfected Body of Christ) will “show forth” (=exhibit) what GRACE really is!

Amen. Come Lord Jesus.

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Peter McArthur

www.issachar.org.au

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.The Disaster Resulting from Confusing Divine Truth


“The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet” (Acts 2:34-35).

“Jesus standing on the right hand of God…” “The Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56).

“If Christ is in you”; “…his Spirit that dwells in you” (Romans 8:10-11).


It is a matter that should be clearly understood by all Christians that to confuse the truths of God is very often to nullify their value in the life of a believer, and worse than that, to bring about a condition which is a positive contradiction of what is fundamental to true Christianity. With great seriousness then we seek to discriminate between the different essential aspects of the truth, and the above passages represent one of the instances of immense importance. Although there are three quotations given, there are only two really separate matters signified. The first two are but two sides of one thing, but while those two and the third constitute a full Christian life, and are essential to such spiritual fullness, they are two distinctly different things which must on no account be allowed to overlap.

In the first two Christ is represented as in heaven at God’s right hand, but in two postures ‘sitting’ and ‘standing’. There is no contradiction here. We must remember that we are in the presence of language which is figurative. In His “sitting” – “made to sit” (Ephesians 1:20): “Sit thou” (Acts 2:34) – there is the Divine attestation that His work was complete and perfect, and that as Son of Man He had won and inherited the place of absolute honour and glory. “We see Jesus…crowned with glory and honour” (Hebrews 2:9). The right hand is first the place of honour. It is of great significance that the new dispensation commencing with Pentecost begins with Christ sitting at God’s right hand. All begins with a work completed! The seventh day the day of rest – becomes the first day. The colours of the rainbow end where they began. It is the law of the octave, the eighth is as the first and marks a new beginning. Our Christian life begins at the point where the work is already completed in our Representative Son of Man. There is nothing to add to it, either in need or possibility. Immediately we try to contribute something to it we in effect, for ourselves, nullify it all, and God stands back. We shall come back to that again presently.

With regard to the second posture of Christ as in heaven – “standing on the right hand of God” – this is seen when the Church is in the conflict, or when things are needing to be done for her, not in the sense of her justification, but for her defence and support in adversity. Thank God, there is One in the glory standing up for us, and He will see to it that the enemy overreaches himself, as in Stephen’s case. Much could be said about that, but it is not our subject just now.

We pass straight to the third position of Christ:

Any mental difficulty as to two so widely separated locations of Christ at the same time is got over by the further words “By his Spirit that dwells in you”. Christ and the Holy Spirit are one.

Here we cross over to another phase of things entirely, and the only link between the two is that the second is the outworking of the first.

“Christ in you” is unto our being “conformed to the image of his (God’s) Son” (Romans 8:29). It is to work in us that which has been perfected by Him. It is the whole realm of our being made Christ-like; having all the faculties and features of Christ, which are resident in the new life received at new birth, brought to maturity. Every spiritual and Christly virtue has to be brought to full growth; love, meekness, goodness, gentleness, intelligence, etc.; so that we are not just theoretical and doctrinaire Christians, but real ones, spiritually responsible and accountable, with the root of the matter within. This, however, necessitates much discipline; what is called ‘chastening’. This discipline, which employs many forms of adversity and trial, has the effect of bringing to light what we really are in ourselves, and it is an ugly picture. Our own features do not improve as we go on. We know ever more what poor, wretched, and deplorable men we are, and – but for the grace of God – hopeless. But something is being done deep down which will show itself in due time to the glory of God.

But here is the point of our peril. Let no child of God whose heart is toward the Lord, who has not deliberately and willfully and knowingly resisted the Holy Ghost, ever for a single moment confuse ‘chastening’ and its accompaniments of self-discovery with judgment. You do this at the peril of the joy of your salvation. If a child of God who loves the Lord and wants nothing more than to be well-pleasing unto Him should think that he is under the judgment and condemnation of God because he is finding out how evil his own heart is, that thought carries with it the suggestion that Christ did not die for our sins; that the wrath of God was not exhausted on Him and by Him when He was made sin for us. It goes back behind a completed work and Christ’s sitting at God’s right hand, and contradicts and denies the very bed-rock of our salvation – justification by faith. Satan is again given the place of power so far as such an one is concerned by such a thought. No, a thousand times No!

Although I may discover unimagined depths of iniquity in my own heart, if I have put faith in Jesus Christ as the bearer away of my sin and myself, His perfections are placed to my account and God sees me in Him. This will never, never become to me an occasion for living complacently on the ground of what I am in myself. Without working through all the reasons for and the nature of Christian growth, with all the values in service which issue from it, let me keep on this emphasis. There are so many dear children of God who have so confused the two things mentioned as to be in an altogether negative condition.

They are paralyzed by their sense of sinfulness. They have seen the need for a subjective application of the Cross of Christ, and have recognized that when Christ died, they died in Him; but the realization that the work is not yet completed in them has resulted in their living in a world of death, and knowing little or nothing of the fact which cannot really be separated from union in death with Christ, that is, union in resurrection and exaltation.

If such an one should read this, may I say to you that if you are unhappy, worried, depressed, or negative, uncertain, lacking in absolute assurance, and therefore limited in your usefulness to the Lord, you have entirely misunderstood and misapprehended the truth of union with Christ. You are really a contradiction to what you claim to believe. It would be better that you put back your subjective truth until you have got fully and firmly established in the glorious facts of what Christ sitting at God’s right hand really means for you. Nevertheless, it is possible to be moving triumphantly and strongly in the path of a deep inward work of the Spirit, while knowing utter dependence and weakness.

Let me appeal to you again that you do not let these two things become confused. If you come upon fresh realizations of your own worthlessness, say, Yes, that belongs to the realm of God’s work in me, and He will deal with that, but it makes no difference whatever to my acceptance in the Beloved so long as I do not condone my wrong, excuse it, and accept it. Remember, dear friend, that God demands the first ground, the ground of our settled faith in the finished and perfected work of Christ, in order to make any beginning inside of us. It would be fatal for Him to touch the inside had He not got that objective faith. We must be careful that we do not upset God’s order and bring ourselves on to false ground. This can only result in destroyed testimony and much gratification to Satan at the Lord’s expense in us.


…..T. Austin-Sparks

…..First published in “A Witness and A Testimony” magazine,

…..Jul-Aug 1965, Vol 43-4

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The greatest treasure we have is the GOSPEL of Jesus Christ.

It’s the power of God unto salvation (Rms 1:16)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Because it’s so powerful we have a so-called “natural urge” to SHARE it and TEACH it = “making disciples” (Mtt 28:19-20)

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Jesus gave us this commission = “Go to the nations”

Paul did only this (Acts 28:30-31)

And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered.

To teach the GOOD NEWS is to teach about Jesus.

It is the Gospel of the Kingdom - not of The Church, or of The Last Days, or the Five Fold Ministry, etc.

It’s the BASIS of our entire ministry.

In the End Times it’s going to be marked by awesome preaching of the Gospel (Mtt 24:14)

This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The very core of the Gospel is found in Col. 1:13 (through the Cross).

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son…

Also vs. 20

…and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

The Gospel is to be our ONLY message – all else hinges on its faithful proclamation.

So our hearts need to be centred on it.

We need to be CLEAR and CERTAIN in our vision of the Gospel (re-visit Truth if necessary).

The greatest way to do this is to LIVE OUT the Gospel message:

• Show ourselves as transformed people
• Let the Word convict us, and act on it quickly
• Allow our minds to be transformed by renewing
• Set God at centre, not ourselves

The Father’s purpose is for us to be like Jesus.

This is done through believing the gospel. By repenting and consecrating ourselves wholly to it. (Col. 1:21-23)

And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach – if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul was made a minister.

Our Father’s will and purpose will be FULLY DONE, that means TOTALLY COMPLETED.

The Gospel introduces us to a TRANSFORMATION that is meant to prepare us to fulfil the Father’s purpose. (2 Tim. 1:9)

…who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity…

Any change, any transition, any renewal, any revival must have this at its core = the Father’s purpose is a PLANNED event by Him!

The Father wants to TRANSFORM us — and so He requires us to be willing partners in this.

It’s the Gospel OF JESUS that is the foundation of all our truth.

• Jesus must flow through our ministry
• We mess it up /  so GRACE has been provided to help us (2 Tim 1:9)

…who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity…

Grace only works when we use it to build what Father wants done – it doesn’t work for anything else!

We weary ourselves if we try to build that which Grace is not given for.

The Father will reveal His glory to those who do this (2 Thess 2:13-14)

But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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….May these truths excite and inspire us.

….Peter McArthur

….www.issachar.org.au

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The following three articles help us understand how to view “times and seasons” according to ancient Hebraic thought. Often when we come to the prophetic there can be a tendency to use modern time lines and understandings. In doing so we can unwittingly undo many of the truths that lay within the original Biblical text, leading us to false prophetic assumptions.

So I present these articles to you for some deeper insight. A bit academic here and there I admit – but this shouldn’t deter us.

Blessed reading,

Peter McArthur

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JEWISH TIME
by Rabbi Maurice Lamm

Jews keep time in a unique way from the rest of the world. Discover why the calendar begins with Creation, the month with the new moon, and the day with sunset.

The major ideas of the Jewish religion, even though they are intangible, are made accessible by being embedded in time. They are celebrated on specific days in a yearly cycle of feast and fast and anchored in space – by palpable substances such as a hut or matzah or candles.

“Anything that can be done at anytime by anybody will be done at no time by nobody.” Judaism preserves the exalted principles and the cataclysmic events of its history through a structured, well-defined, and specifically timed system of practices that it requires of its adherents.

The religious calendar has therefore been referred to as “the catechism of the Jew.”

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THE YEARS

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Ancient peoples started to count their calendar years anew with the reign of each new monarch. When Christianity rose to dominance in the western world, it began to date history from the birth of its own “king,” later according to the Gregorian calendar. Hence, history was divided into BC and AD, before the advent of the king’s birth and in the “year of the lord.” Judaism could not consent to divide history along these lines; it did not divide universal history even to make a fulcrum of Abraham’s or Moses’ birth. Therefore, the Jewish religious calendar was never oriented in this manner.

For many centuries, the Jews counted the years from one event – the formative event of its existence as a people – the Exodus from Egypt. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, that cataclysmic event for a while replaced the use of the Exodus as the inaugural date.

But the sense of the Jew in this regard, which came to expression only after centuries, was that even an event of such magnitude was not critical enough to draw a line through time and to re-start counting world history.

Only one occurrence could serve as a beginning for history: the beginning of history. Judaism determined to count the years of the calendar on a universal scale – from the creation of the universe. But exactly how old is the earth?

Even scientists with their most advanced and exacting instrumentation are sure of only one answer: there can be no precision in this matter. The only method for the Sages was to count the years according to the literal account of creation in the Bible itself.

Hence, what the Hebrew date 5751 implies is 5,751 years of God’s sovereignty over the world according to the counting in Torah, and that is its timeless significance.

But this presented a problem: Jews everywhere were a minority and, while they could count time according to their view, they were living in an alien world where the overwhelming majority differed in this common legal practice. Jews, who resided over the face of the earth, could not ignore the way the world keeps time, the basis of a human being’s daily life. While Judaism is not “of” this world – in the sense that it strives ideally to transcend this world – it is very much “in” this world, and therefore, the Jewish community needed to accommodate its secular calendar to global usage.

As a result, it had to live its secular life according to “the nations” and to divide global history according to the exact dates of the Gregorian calendar. But it could not accommodate itself according to the Christo-centric terms of the historical divide – BC and AD – and referred to them instead as BCE, before the Common Era, and CE, the Common Era.

In Jewish terms then, we are living in 2000 CE; the ancient Temple was destroyed in 70 CE; the Maccabees rebelled in 165 BCE.

The Jewish religious calendar, however, makes no recognition of this secular device, retains its universal format, and continues to count its years on a universal scale – from the beginning of creation.

Jews celebrate the religious New Year, Rosh Hashanah, on the day the Torah considers the day of creation, according to its literal reckoning, the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, which usually falls in late September.

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THE MONTHS

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Jews count the months by the moon; western civilization patterns its calendar after the sun. That presents a dilemma. The moon travels more slowly than the sun – by approximately 48 minutes a day. At the beginning of the lunar month, she sets in the west shortly after sunset, and each day 40 to 45 minutes later. She continues to lag further and further behind the sun (each lunar month being 29-1/2 days) until, at the end of 12 months, the year of the moon is 11 days shorter than the year of the sun, every three years losing a full month of time.

This introduces a special predicament for the religious calendar: Passover needs to be celebrated at the vernal equinox – springtime and harvest are its natural hallmarks, the resuscitation of nature coinciding with the redemption of the people. But, if the lunar calendar loses a month every three years, Passover would move further each year and fall successively in every season of the year. That is exactly what happens to the Muslim festival of Ramadan.

The teachers of the Talmud made the adjustment by adding seven leap months (called “Second Adar”) in the course of each 19 year cycle, and thereby ingeniously devised a perpetual calendar that would keep the holidays in the approximate season for which they were originally conceived.

The first day of the lunar month, called Rosh Chodesh, was originally proclaimed by the central court in Jerusalem after the new moon was visually sighted. After the destruction of Jerusalem, Rosh Chodesh was calculated by the astronomical calendar and it determined on which days the holidays fell.

The Torah designates certain days of the month as beginning the holidays. As people cannot manage 29 1/2 day months, some months are 29 and some are 30 days. The 30 day months have two days of Rosh Chodesh, those of 29 days have one day.

In a replaying of the ancient tradition of the court’s proclamation of the New Moon, on the Sabbath prior to Rosh Chodesh the new month’s arrival is now proclaimed during the synagogue service, replete with an announcement of the split second that Rosh Chodesh begins. Jews celebrate Rosh Chodesh primarily by prayers added to the service.

A marvellous Jewish tradition records that Rosh Chodesh, the renewal of the monthly cycle, celebrates womanhood. It is not only a toast to women and a reminder of gratitude due them, but is actually declared a holiday on which women should not work.

This monthly tribute was initiated as a special reward because at Mt. Sinai, unlike the men, women refused to contribute their jewellery to the fashioning of a golden calf — the starkest demonstration by the recently freed slaves of their lack of faith in God and His servant, Moses.

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THE WEEKS

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Jews count the week from Sabbath to Sabbath. The Sabbath is the crown of the week; the crown of Jewish Holy Days; the crown of the Jewish spirit; the crown of the Jewish imagination.

The Sabbath is a Queen. It is a foretaste of the very world-to-come. The Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, is the one day holier than the weekly Sabbath and its extraordinary sanctity gained it the appellation “Sabbath of Sabbaths.”

“More than the Jews have kept the Sabbath,” a great writer once said, “The Sabbath has kept the Jews.”

It is so rooted in the human condition that no matter how many societies have tried to uproot it, they could not. Some have simply moved the day: Christians to Sunday, Muslims to Friday. The Sabbath stamps its mark on the individual, on the nation, on the week.

All weekdays lead to the Sabbath. In fact, the days do not have names, only numbers, and these numbers all look to number seven, anticipating the arrival of the seventh day, the Sabbath, Shabbat.

The days from Sunday to Friday are viewed, psychologically as well as physically, as steps leading up to the Shabbat, the “palace in time.” New clothes are worn first on the Shabbat; special foods are prepared for it; important guests are invited to join the family for it; meaningful discussions are delayed until the Shabbat.

Friday, because it of its proximity to the Shabbat virtually loses its own identity; it is simply Erev Shabbat, the threshold of the Shabbat, on which even the most important scholars help in the kitchen.

Following the analogy of weekdays as steps leading up to the holy day, at the close of the Shabbat, Jews experience a precipitous drop of excitement – the Shabbat departs, and life on the lowest rung of the first day of the week has to begin the climb again.

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THE DAYS

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The Jewish day does not begin and end at midnight as does the secular calendar day. Midnight is not a distinguishable astronomic event. In the era before the modern clock, a specific hour of the night could not be precisely known, whereas an hour of the day was easily determined by sighting the location of the sun. Thus, the day had to begin by precise, simple and universally recognized standards. This meant that the day had to be reckoned either from the beginning of night or the beginning of day.

In Jewish time, the day begins with the onset of night (the appearance of the stars) followed by the morning (which technically begins with the appearance of the North Star). According to some Jewish teachers, night and morning begin with sunset and sunrise respectively. For that is how the Torah describes it: “And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

For this reason, the Sabbath begins on Friday night and ends with the appearance of the stars on Saturday night. The same is true for the major holidays such as Passover, Sukkot, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the fast day of Tisha B’Av, and Hanukkah and Purim.

Beginning the day with the night is, in a sense, a metaphor of life itself. Life begins in the darkness of the womb, then bursts into the brightness of the light and eventually settles into the darkness of the grave, which, in turn, is followed by a new dawn in the world-to-come.

Life consists of light and dark: “And there was evening and there was morning.” What we make of time is what counts.

Author Biography:
Rabbi Maurice Lamm is professor at Yeshiva University’s Rabbinical Seminary, and lectures nationally to both Jewish and Christian audiences.

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HEBREW TIME

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The basis of the Hebrew measurement of time was the day and the lunar month, as with the Semites generally. The division of the day into hours was late, probably not common until after the exile, although the sun-dial of Ahaz (2 Kings 20:9; Isaiah 38:8) would scent to indicate some division of the day into periods of some sort, as we know the night was divided, The word used for “hour” is Aramaic she`a’ (sha`ta’), and does not occur in the Old Testament until the Book of Daniel (4:33; 5:5), and even there it stands for an indefinite period for which “time” would answer as well.

1. The Day

The term “day” (yom) was in use from the earliest times, as is indicated in the story of the Creation (Genesis 1). It there doubtless denotes an indefinite period, but is marked off by “evening and morning” in accordance with what we know was the method of reckoning the day of 24 hours, i.e. from sunset to sunset.

2. Night

The night was divided, during pre-exilic times, into three divisions called watches (‘ashmurah, ‘ashmoreth), making periods of varying length, as the night was longer or shorter (Judges 7:19). This division is referred to in various passages of the Old Testament, but nowhere with indication of definite limits (see Psalms 90:4; 119:148; Jeremiah 51:12; Habakkuk 2:1).

In the New Testament we find the Roman division of, etc.). But the use of the word in the indefinite sense, as in the expressions: “day of the Lord,” “in that day,” “the day of judgment,” etc., is far more frequent (see DAY). Other more or less indefinite periods of the day and night are: dawn, dawning of the day, morning, evening, noonday, midnight, cock-crowing or crowing of the cock, break of day, etc.

3. Week

The weekly division of time, or the seven-day period, was in use very early and must have been known to the Hebrews before the Mosaic Law, since it was in use in Babylonia before the days of Abraham and is indicated In the story of the Creation. The Hebrew shabhua`, used in the Old Testament for “week,” is derived from shebha`, the word for “seven.” As the seventh day was a day of rest, or Sabbath (Hebrew shabbath), this word came to be used for “week,” as appears in the New Testament sabbaton, sabbata), indicating the period from Sabbath to Sabbath (Matthew 28:1). The same usage is implied in the Old Testament (Leviticus 23:15; 25:8). The days of the week were indicated by the numerals, first, second, etc., save the seventh, which was the Sabbath. In New Testament times Friday was called the day of preparation (paraskeue) for the Sabbath (Luke 23:54).

4. Month

The monthly division of time was determined, of course, by the phases of the moon, the appearance of the new moon being the beginning of the month, chodhesh. Another term for month was yerach yerach, meaning “moon,” which was older and derived from the Phoenician usage, but which persisted to late times, since it is found in the Aramaic inscriptions of the 3rd century AD in Syria. The names of the months were Babylonian and of late origin among the Hebrews, probably coming into use during and after the Captivity. But they had other names, of earlier use, derived from the Phoenicians, four of which have survived in “Abib,” “Ziv,” “Ethanim” and “Bul.”

5. Year

The Hebrew year (shanah) was composed of 12 or 13 months, the latter being the year when an intercalary month was added to make the lunar correspond with the solar year. As the difference between the two was from ten to eleven days, this required the addition of a month once in about three years, or seven in nineteen years. This month was added at the vernal equinox and was called after the month next preceding, we-’adhar, or the “second Adar.” We do not know when this arrangement was first adopted, but it was current after the Captivity. There were two years in use, the civil and the ritual, or sacred year. The former began in the autumn, as would appear from Exodus 23:16; 34:22, where it is stated that the “feast of ingathering” should be at the end of the year, and the Sabbatic year began in the 7th month of the calendar or sacred year, which would correspond to September-October (Leviticus 25:9). Josephus says (Ant., I, iii, 3) that Moses designated Nican (March-April) as the 1st month of the festivals, i.e. of the sacred year, but preserved the original order of the months for ordinary affairs, evidently referring to the civil year. This usage corresponds to that of the Turkish Empire, where the sacred year is lunar and begins at different seasons, but the financial and political year begins in March O.S. The beginning of the year was called ro’sh ha-shanah, and was determined by the priests, as was the beginning of the month. Originally this was done by observation of the moon, but, later, calculation was employed in connection with it, until finally a system based on accurate calculation was adopted, which was not until the 4th century AD. New-Year was regarded as a festival.

6. Seasons

The return of the seasons was designated by summer and winter, or seed-time and harvest; for they were practically the same. There is, in Palestine, a wet season, extending from October to March or April, and a dry season comprising the remainder of the year. The first is the winter (choreph), and this is the seed-time (zera`), especially the first part of it called yoreh, or the time of the early rain; the second is the summer (qayits, “fruit-harvest,” or qatsir, “harvest”).

Seed-time begins as soon as the early rains have fallen in sufficient quantity to moisten the earth for ploughing, and the harvest begins in some parts, as in the lower Jordan region, near the Dead Sea, about April, but on the high lands a month or two later. The fruit harvest comes in summer proper and continues until the rainy season. “The time when kings go out to war” (2 Samuel 11:1; 1 Kings 20:22) probably refers to the end of the rainy season in Nican.

7. No Era

We have no mention in the Old Testament of any era for time reckoning, and we do not find any such usage until the time of the Maccabees. There are occasional references to certain events which might have served for eras had they been generally adopted. Such was the Exodus in the account of the building of the temple (1 Kings 6:1) and the Captivity (Ezekiel 33:21; 40:1) and the Earthquake (Amos 1:1). Dates were usually fixed by the regnal years of the kings, and of the Persian kings after the Captivity. When Simon the Maccabee became independent of the Seleucid kings in 143-142 or 139-138 BC, he seems to have established an era of his own, if we may attribute to him a series of coins dated by the years “of the independence of Israel” (see 1 Maccabees 13:41 and 15:6 and 10). The Jews doubtless were familiar with the Seleucid era, which began in 312 BC, and with some of the local eras of the Phoenician cities, but we have no evidence that they made use of them. The era of the Creation was not adopted by them until after the time of Christ. This was fixed at 3,830 years before the destruction of the later temple, or 3760 BC.

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COMPUTING THE SACRED BIBLICAL CALENDAR

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The familiar Western calendar is the Gregorian calendar, an adjusted Julian calendar promulgated by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, and adopted in Britain and America in 1752. It is essentially a solar calendar, in which one rotation of the Earth around the Sun is one year. There are 12 months in the year, but they have little to do with the rotation of the Moon around the Earth. Gregorian years are 365 or 366 days long. Months are 30 or 31 days, except February, which is 28 days or 29 days in a leap year.

The Biblical calendar is based on both the rotation of the Moon around the Earth and of the Earth around the Sun. In principle, a month starts when a new moon is observed and lasts till the next new moon occurs. Therefore, months are 29 or 30 days long. Years are 12 or 13 months long and approximately align with the Sun.

In Bible times, when two witnesses saw the new moon, then a new month was declared to start at the next sunset. If they saw it too close to sunset for the New Moon rites to be prepared, then the new month was declared to start at sunset on the following day. The decision as to whether there were to be 12 or 13 months in the year depended on the state of the harvest and whether enough lambs had been born for the sacrifices of the Passover observance. It was this calendar that Jesus followed in the New Testament.

Christian-instigated persecution of Jews forced the Jewish authorities to switch to a computed, rather than observed calendar. This computed calendar matched as closely as possible the decision-making process that had been used previously. It is this computed calendar that is now followed by the vast majority of those who wish to observe the Biblical Holy Days.

Suggestions have been made that the computations should be changed, or that observation should again be used. It is clear that adjustments need to be made to the computed calendar in order to keep it synchronized with the sun and moon. But there is no consensus as to how this should be done, and, in the modern world, this needs to be done years in advance. Returning to observation is idyllic, but totally impractical. The modern world requires plans for religious observances to be made months, or even years, in advance. Only a computed calendar permits this. It is clear that just as “the Sabbath was made for man”, so also “the Calendar was made for man.” It is a tool to help us worship God. And an essential feature of a tool is that it must be useful and practical.

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Blessings as you study the Word,

Peter McArthur … www.issachar.org.au

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Some guidance on how to discern whether a teaching, person or movement is Biblically sound in doctrine

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Here are five recognized basic doctrines of orthodox Christianity with which to gauge if a teaching, person or movement is doctrinally orthodox, aberrant or heretical. Persons or movements with minor deviations from these doctrines would be defined as “aberrant” doctrinally. But any major deviations from these five doctrines always constitute a teaching, person or movement as heretical.

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1. The Trinity : God must be One, yet Three persons. Each “person” of the Trinity possessing all the attributes of Deity and personality.

1. When the Holy Spirit is treated as an “it” or a substance, then both the Deity and personality is denied.
2. When God is made to be “on call” by man’s invocation then He is compromised and God is blasphemed.
3. Many of the manifestations found in today’s so-called “revivals” simply lower man to beastly or sub-human levels (e.g. the animal sounds of Toronto). The Holy Spirit’s actions always raise man to the character of Christ. So to call these manifestations the work of the Spirit is a (but not “the”) blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

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2. The Person of Jesus Christ : Jesus is 100% God and 100% man for all eternity.

1. “More Lord more” – This kind of talk makes Jesus treated like a substance to be used, instead of a person of the Trinity to be worshipped.
2. Many of the supposed visions of Jesus (which often contradict one another) redefine the scriptural picture of Him; adding to, instead of enlightening us about Him.
3. Take for example Kenneth Copeland with his denigration of Jesus’ death, and believing Jesus to be a brother of Satan.

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3. The Second Coming : Jesus Christ is coming bodily to earth to rule and judge.

1. Dominion theology spiritualizes the Second Coming – to them Jesus returns “in the church” rather than “for the church.” He can only come when “the church” has made earth ready to receive Him.
2. Much modern revival theology often denies the “great apostasy” that must take place before Jesus’ return. To them the apostacy is in fact those who resist their new teaching.
3. The church’s calling is to preach the gospel and disciple believers, not take over structures of the world system as Dominion theology/Kingdom Now/ Restoration Theology/etc teaches. In this way it is similar to Islam in its desire to take over society in all its facets.

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4. Salvation : It is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

1. The Toronto type of gospel is “repent and come to Jesus” often without mentioning the complete abhorrence of sin, deep cleansing repentance, or the sufficiency of the cross.
2. Anything that denies the full indwelling of the Spirit at conversion ultimately denies the biblical definition of salvation. While their indeed may be further ministry of the Holy Spirit, the biblical orthodox teaching is that He abides within us immediately at the New Birth.
3. The need for a type of “impartation” found in some teachings is a denial of the gospel by grace. It tends to focus on the one doing the imparting, and not on the Lord Himself.

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5. The Scriptures : It is entirely inerrant and sufficient for all Christian life.

1. “Empty your mind, don’t think, just enjoy the Presence” assumes that something outside of scripture must enter the mind or body; it is very similar to an occultic technique. Passivity is a real danger in some so-called “moves of God”.
2. It is taught that “new revelation and fresh teaching” is needed for the modern church. This “new thing” denies the sufficiency of the “faith once for all delivered to the saints”. By implication it is adding to scripture. Gradually the new revelation displaces orthodox teaching. To deny the fresh teaching is seen as resisting the Holy Spirit.
3. Signs and wonders are then regarded as necessary to prove the gospel as effective and true.
4. Any emphasis on experience over doctrine is backwards; putting the cart before the horse. Truth becomes determined by experience, not by scripture.
5. Witchcraft-like techniques are often used for direction instead of scripture and wise biblical counsel. Especially so in submitting to controlling leaders / apostles, etc.

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…..May we learn and discern well!

…..Peter McArthur

.….www.issachar.org.au

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The following article resonates with me deeply, and it echos what I have shared about in my teaching “Teachers of Revelation and Truth Re-visited“. One of the major reasons we see a failure to mature in our lives is because we simply do not engage with the revealed Truth given in Scripture.

It is so very important (VITAL even!) that we act on received truth, we appropriate it deeply within, we learn to treasure it and cherish it’s ability to transform within. The Lord does not want to change us, but to transform us! Truth is given for this very reason, and it is the Spirit of Truth that will lead us.

Please take time to slowly read – and digest – the following article,

In Him,

Peter McArthur

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Article by Lambert Dolphin

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Lately I’ve noticed some major disconnects between various churches in their relationships with one another, and especially some major disparities between those who are “inside” a local church, and “outsiders.” (The latter are people who lack a close affiliation with a local church, but who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ).

It is not unusual to see churches who openly publish a sound statement of their beliefs, a doctrinal statement that was probably originally put in place after careful thought and prayer. But in attending that particular church does one hear fresh iterations of what the Bible calls “sound doctrine?” Are the people of that congregation living according to what they say they believe? Or has their lampstand been removed? (See The Church That Lost its First Love, by Ray Stedman, http://raystedman.org/revelation/4190.html).

What is even worse, in my opinion, is a church which has a sound statement of beliefs but there is a pastor on staff who is clearly a false teacher and probably not even a Christian at all. The elders of churches like that seem to be oblivious to the situation which a discerning outside visitor soon detects. A friend of mine calls this latter situation a “flashing red danger light” for that entire church. He worries that no one seems to notice what he sees as a glaring and potentially fatal defect in that church. This same friend, a godly and discerning man, went on to point out several “yellow warning lights” he saw in other supposedly sound churches he had visited in his travels. The full-orbed truth was no longer being presented or was so watered down that lives are no longer being transformed.

I don’t live in the Bible belt where there is a church on every corner! Church attendance in the San Francisco Bay Area is only a few percent. But even among the professing Christian churches of this area it is difficult to recommend more than a few because of the compromises noted above.

The local church is central to the New Testament. Home churches and cell groups can not provide the breadth of fellowship, oversight, sound teaching and worship the God intended for the local church. Christians are a great cross-cultural family of young and old, single and married, new Christians and the spiritually mature with a whole range of spiritual gifts operating in their midst. I for one am committed to local churches, though I see the great value in home fellowships and cell groups. And, I’m dismayed when a church claims to be featuring “expository teaching,” but their teaching style turns out to be light years from the standards I grew up with (see http://raystedman.org/expository/).

Some of the disconnects in professing Christendom appear to be the result of many older established Christians not acting on the truth they have been given–and thereby finding that the truth they once knew now alludes them. Their power is gone, but they may not know it! Actually in a society where the Christian gospel has been propagated and taught for more than 200 years one would expect to find a full spectrum of “Christians” from very godly to full-blown apostates. Who can believe that our nation’s 60 million professing Christians are all walking with the Lord? Is it not more likely that there exists only a relatively small remnant of true believers in our land? This would mean that our spiritual history as “the church” could be parallel to Israel’s slow downhill slide away from God, as chronicled in detail in the Old Testament. As admonitions to us, First Corinthians Chapter 10 comes to mind, and also Romans 15:4, “For whatever things were written in former times were written for our instruction, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”

Ray Stedman discusses how and why God removes truth from an unresponsive community in a classic series of messages entitled Behind History, (http://raystedman.org/behind/). In the opening message of the series, Ray notes that there came a certain point in the ministry of Jesus in Israel when the nation as a whole was no longer responding to the truth God had asked them to respond to. So Jesus began to take away truth from that people!

Ray says,

“There is a puzzling new development here in the ministry and teaching of Jesus which we ought to note. This was a most remarkable day in our Lord’s life. The record of this day begins back in Chapter 12 with Verse 15 where Matthew tells us of Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue. He began by quoting a most unusual passage from Isaiah, a prophecy that the message of God would go out to the Gentiles. Our Lord seldom said anything about the Gentiles early in his ministry. He came to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24), he said. But now he quotes this passage from Isaiah:

“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not wrangle or cry aloud, nor will any one hear his voice in the streets; he will not break a bruised reed ?or quench a smoldering wick, till he brings justice to victory; and in his name will the Gentiles hope.” (Matthew 12:18-21)

And on that strange note he went on to say some very solemn words to Israel. We’ll just skip through them quickly: He warned them about the possibility of committing the unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. He warned them, “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or else make the tree bad, and its fruit bad: for the tree is known by its fruit.” That is, “Come out into the open and quit being hypocritical!” And then in response to the insistence of the Pharisees he said to this great crowd of Jews in the synagogue that he would give them the sign for which they were continually clamoring. Jesus said,

“...no sign shall be given…except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:39b-40)

In other words, the resurrection is to be the sign to Israel that God is behind the whole enterprise of sending Jesus and that he is indeed their promised Messiah. Then he went on to warn them about the danger of being reinhabited by demons after they had once been cleansed, and then to speak of the priority of spiritual relationships over natural ones. At the close of Chapter 12, Matthew says,

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50)

And with those unusual words, Matthew says, that same day Jesus went out and sat beside the sea and then began to teach the crowds these parables. That bit of background is necessary in order to understand that something strange is happening here in these parables. Some corner has been turned. Jesus is unfolding truth that he had never unfolded before. Furthermore he does it in a way that he has never used before. You may not realize that this is the very first time, as far as we can tell by comparing the record of the Gospels, that Jesus ever spoke in parables. You might think that he used parables all through his ministry. He often did employ metaphors and similes and he was constantly referring to pictures drawn from life around him. But this is the first time that he ever spoke in stories which have a spiritual message hidden in them. So the disciples are struck by this. Matthew records their reaction in Verse 10:

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, ? and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears,? and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (Matthew 13:10-17)

That is undoubtedly one of the most important and revealing paragraphs in all of the Bible. In it is what we might well call “the key to history,” the great principle upon which God acts to determine human events. That is what Jesus is setting before us in this series of parables. It is all based upon this great principle which he declares in the midst of this paragraph. You can never understand what is happening in current events nor in the whole scope of history unless you understand this principle. It is not only the principle by which God judges nations and determines the course of international events, but it is the principle by which he governs what happens to individuals as well…

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” (Matthew 13:10-11 )

I am sure that it was curiosity which prompted these disciples to come. They had never heard our Lord talk this way before, and they could not understand it. It is clear that they did not understand the meaning of the stories. Jesus had to explain some of them to them. And neither did they understand why he used this approach. So, puzzled and curious, they came to him and said, “Why are you doing this?”

His answer must have pleased them greatly because he said to them, “Well, to you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” The word translated secrets means, literally, “mysteries.” In Scripture a mystery is a truth which cannot be known by the normal exercise of human wisdom and knowledge. It is a truth about life which, if we are to know it, God must tell us about it, because it could never be discovered by the exercise of human intelligence. That is why these secrets, these mysteries, about the kingdom of heaven, and therefore about life, will never be found in science or literature or history or any other discipline of human knowledge or investigation. They are simply not there. And yet they are essential to the understanding of life. They must be disclosed to us by God.

This is why man’s wisdom is never enough. We can discover many things about life and, by our technology, we can invent a lot of useful implements and gadgets but we will never, never satisfy human life on those terms. We must know more; and only God can tell us. That is why these mysteries are of great importance.

The gospel itself is one of these mysteries. Its great secret, Paul says, is “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” (Colossians 1:27). And Paul announced in several of his letters that it was given to the apostles to unfold these great mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But the unfolding began with Jesus.

These disciples must have been pleased as punch when Jesus said to them, “To you it has been given to know, but not to them” That made them feel like a special “in” group. They felt like the privileged few and that is a great feeling, is it not? We all like that wonderful feeling when somebody gathers us in close and says, “Come here, I want to tell you something. Don’t tell anyone else. It is for you to know, and not for them.” What a delicious morsel to chew on that is! We are instantly all ears.

The reason for this is that we suspect it only underscores what we have long believed about ourselves — that we are superior people with a special ability which others do not have, and that, therefore, we have the right to know things which are hidden from others. And you can imagine the pride of these disciples inflating itself as the Lord says, “To you it has been given, but not to them.” But our Lord pricks that balloon of pride instantly. He goes on to tell them the basis upon which they were chosen and not someone else. It is simply this:

“For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 13:12)

That is a basic, fundamental law of life. That is the great principle upon which God operates to govern human lives and human history. “To him who has will more be given … but from him who has not, even what he has [or, as Luke says, 'even what he thinks he has'] will be taken away.” Now, what does that mean? It is so fundamental that it applies to everything in life, to every realm of existence. It is true on the physical level. You have muscles in your body. Suppose you deliberately refuse to use one? You will find that soon it will begin to weaken and atrophy, and that what you have is taken away. All you need do to render your arm paralyzed is simply to tie it up and not use it for a few months. Soon you will find you have lost the ability to use it. Life is built this way.

Reduced to its simplest statement, the principle means this:

Truth must be acted upon in order to be retained

Truth rejected or unused is lost. God is constantly confronting men with truth about everything, at every level of life. Man is so constructed that he is made to act upon truth. But if he doesn’t he loses the truth which has already been given to him. That is a very vital and important principle in understanding human life. That is the basis upon which God determines advance or regression either in individuals or in nations.

This is a fantastically important statement that Jesus makes here! It explains, for example, why the disciples were called. When the Lord saw them — simple fishermen, tax collectors, etc. — he saw in the heart of each one a willingness to act on truth. When they saw the truth, and knew it to be truth, they acted on it. The proof of that is the way they responded when he called them. The moment he said to them, “Come, follow me,” they rose, and followed him. They acted on truth. He had perceived that in them. That is why to them it was given to know the secrets while to others it was hidden. Their willingness to act on the truth they knew qualified them for more truth…a willingness to act on truth, not to say that it applies to someone else, not procrastinate, but to begin immediately to act upon it, to risk, to lose, if necessary, in order to step out on truth that is learned. That, he says, is the secret of advance and growth in Christian life.

I can see this being demonstrated in a thousand different ways in this congregation. One of the wonderfully encouraging aspects of life today is the tremendous spiritual growth we are seeing in young people who are coming to Christ out of the despair and emptiness of existential rationalism. These young men and women are hearing truth and when they hear it they act on it. That is the reason why some of them are advancing to maturity with such leaps and bounds that they are putting to shame many who have been Christians for years. They are ready to act on what they know. That explains their rapid progress in the gospel.

The truths to which they are responding have been there in the Scriptures for centuries. They have been taught in churches in every section of the land; but, for some reason, very few seem to want to take them seriously, to obey them. To the degree this congregation is experiencing the blessing of God, it is because we have been simple enough to believe and obey what God has said. Try it, and you will see immediately that to those who have more will be given, and they shall have in abundance.

But the contrary is also true. If you don’t obey truth, it is taken away from you. This great principle is visible in international affairs: Why, for instance, has Great Britain lost its empire and been reduced to a second rate power in our day after being the leading nation of the world for many decades? The answer is that the English people knew truth which they failed to act on. They did not incorporate into their economic and national life the truth which they admitted widely as a people. They were false to principles they knew to be true, and, as a result, their scepter of power has been removed and they have sunk into relative obscurity. There is no other explanation for it. You can talk about economics, about politics, and other such things, but those are merely the processes by which this principle is worked out.

Why did the Roman Empire fall before the barbarian hordes after it had been queen of the world for centuries? The answer is that, when its paganism was confronted with the truth of the cross of Christ, it rejected that truth and fought back with fire and sword and wild beasts and cruel tortures. And the empire crumbled from within. All the wisdom of the Senate and all the experience garnered in centuries of world dominion was unable to hold that empire together.

Why are the Russian people now deprived of the right to worship, and of freedom of speech and of the press, and forbidden to travel abroad or even to read of other cultures? Because, when the truth of the gospel was widespread in Russia, as once it was, it was canonized and ritualized and evacuated of its content until it became a hollow shell of pretense and religious hypocrisy. When that happened the nation was rendered ripe for revolution.

What do you think is happening in the United States today? This nation is facing exactly that same possibility. The open rejection of the truth about Jesus Christ on the part of the American people, truth which they have known and seen, and the hollow pretense of obeying it when they really do not believe it, is dimming the light in this land and removing the barriers to savagery and violence — and the barbarians are at the doors again. And evangelicals can be as guilty as anyone else in this respect.

This is the great principle upon which God determines history. It is illustrated in Israel, as Jesus goes on to show. He says,

“This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:13)

And then he quotes Isaiah, saying that 725 years previously Isaiah had predicted that this would be the case, that when this people heard and saw the truth they would not understand it nor receive it:

“With them indeed is fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive.’” (Matthew 13:14)

What does Jesus mean? Well, the fact that he spoke in parables was the beginning of the process of taking away the truth from a people who would not receive it. They had it, but they did not act on it. Jesus spoke very plainly to them at the beginning. They knew he spoke the truth — they even said so: “Never man spake like this man. Where has this man received this wisdom? Why is it that he teaches us not as the scribes and Pharisees but with authority?” (John 7:46 KJV). They watched him and listened to his matchless words. Crowds were greatly attracted to him, and followed wherever he went.

But only a relative handful did anything about it. And so the time came when he began to veil the truth. That is what a parable is — a veiled, hidden truth. By it truth is being removed, taken away. Jesus says, “This is why I am speaking to them in parables — because they will not see. They have the truth set before them and they will not act. They will not understand, just as Isaiah said.” Then he quotes Isaiah further:

“For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed…” (Matthew 13:15a)

Do you notice who did this? Do not read it as though God dulled this people’s heart and stopped their ears and closed their eyes. They did it. Their eyes they have closed, their heart they have made to grow dull, their ears have stopped up. Why? Well, as Isaiah said,

“…lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, ? and turn for me to heal them.” (Matthew 13:15b)

In other words, they understood what he was after and they sensed deep inside that he could do what he said he would do. He could heal this nation, heal its hurt, its sickness and weakness, its darkness and slavery. But the amazing thing is that these people did not want what God wanted to give them. They didn’t want to be healed. They sensed that, in the coming of Jesus, God was reaching out to them to restore them, to make them whole. And in the terrible perversity of their hearts they didn’t want it. They preferred their own evil, weakness, and folly, because to be healed meant to confess and to acknowledge that they were wrong. Their pride had to be humbled and they weren’t ready to pay that price.

This is the terrible judgment that our Lord brings down upon history. He said, “light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light“ (John 3:19 ). That is the condemnation.

“And because of that,” he says, “I am going to speak to them in parables. I will still tell them the truth, because I am truth. I cannot speak anything else but truth. But they will not hear it nor understand it. Only those who are prepared to act upon what they hear will understand it.” — That is the great lesson which forms the background of these parables.

But then, in contrast, Jesus said to his disciples, “How happy you are, how privileged you are.”

“Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” (Matthew 13:16)

That is, “You are ready to act, and thank God for that. And what a blessing this will bring to you, because you can get more truth!” They were twice blessed, he said, because:

“Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” (Matthew 13:17)

He is thinking back across the whole range of the Old Testament, thinking of Isaiah and Jeremiah, and Daniel and Elijah, and Elisha and Samuel, and David and Moses, and all the others. He is saying, “The Spirit of God, speaking through them, showed them that there would be a revelation of truth the like of which man had never seen before. It would be in the coming of a person who would speak and perform the ultimate unfolding of truth. Nothing that the mind of man in its present capacity could ever grasp would be omitted in that unfolding.” And, he says, “You are those people. How happy you are! How carefully you ought to listen to this because this is the final, ultimate revelation of truth the way God sees it, the hidden answer to all the problems and confusion of life. You are so fortunate because you are seeing what men have longed to see for centuries.”

We stand with those disciples today. These words are addressed to us because we can see what they saw. We can hear what they heard, and, like them, we are truly blessed. We have set before us the unfolding of the secrets of life. If we don’t hear it, if we don’t grasp it, if we don’t heed it, we have only ourselves to blame. God has given to us not only the life that comes from Jesus Christ, but also the promise that he will unfold to us all the understanding we need to meet any difficult problem or circumstance of life and to see it as God sees it — if we but give ourselves to the study and understanding of his Word. As Paul says, “In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,” (Colossians 2:2-3).

As you look around at life today it is very obvious that something is terribly lacking in the understanding of men. We have vast technological ability and can construct all kinds of useful machines, and we can improve the physical standard of our lives, but something is still terribly lacking. We do not know how to enable people to live in harmony with one another. We do not know how to remove the frictions, the hostilities, the guilt of man. We do not know how to heal his hurt. And yet those secrets are given to us — but only to those prepared to act upon them. That is the key.

That is why it is so terribly important that when God teaches you something, you do not delay acting on it. Do not just put it up on your wall and say, “I learned a great truth today. It blessed my heart. There it is: You can read it for yourself.” — No! Act on it!

This means that when you read in the Scriptures that the Lord says to Christians, “Practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13) without grudging, you should go home, open your door, and invite somebody in, and use your home without grudging, without partiality, for the benefit of those who are in need. This means that when the Lord says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32), if you have a grudge in your heart against somebody and you have been holding it against them, and you are resentful and have been trying to hurt them, or you have excluded them or turned your back on them, then go and deal with that situation, heal that relationship. Act upon the truth, or you are committing yourself to blindness and to finding that the truth which would have delivered you will be taken away so that all you will have left is but the hollow shell of words, with no content whatever…”

I hope this lengthy quotation will prompt many to read the rest of the series of messages in Ray Stedman’s Behind History series. I see these teachings as very relevant for us today.

I have been studying the book of the Revelation for the past couple of months. Of special interest has been the words of Jesus to seven representative churches (Chapters 2-3). In these letters we have the last recorded actual words of Jesus, yet they are widely neglected today. Again Ray Stedman has been very helpful (see God’s Final Word, http://raystedman.org/revelation/). Ray points out that all of these seven letters are relevant to all Christians in every generation. But as history has moved closer and closer to the end of the age, the general character of the church has become more and more Laodicean. (The Church at the End of the Age, http://ldolphin.org/church.html).

The times in which we live and times of great stress and increasing deception. Each and every one of us followers of Christ needs to continue daily to build his or her personal walk with Jesus, to work on his or her full knowledge of the Bible, and to develop close fellowship in a local church. In some cases this can mean seeking out the remnant of solid Christians in a church where the majority may no longer be on track or aware of what is going on around them. If we in our day fail to act on the truth God shows us, we’ll lose what we already have and in the end be worse off than before we started! We dare not adjust our lifestyles downward to the level of the professing “majority”–we must each determine to be an “overcomer.”

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…..May these words be eaten!

…..Grace to you in Jesus the Head of the Body,

..…Peter McArthur..…www.issachar.org.au

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^{An in-depth look from Scripture and history showing why the nativity of Jesus Christ could not have been on December 25th.}

Introduction

Please read this first and don’t skip it!

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The following articles highlight some of the lesser-known truths about the Christmas season. You may already know that “Christmas” is pagan in origin, so the first article will probably simply fill in some historical data for you.

However the article on December 25th being the conception of Jesus rather than His birth may be new to you. It’s also very exciting and encouraging. The detailed information on pages 11-13 are from “The Companion Bible” Appendix 179.

Whether you agree with the insights contained in it is entirely up to you of course. However, it will show that Christmas as celebrated on December 25th, while pagan in origin, can actually be a time of rejoicing for Christians because it was on this day that Mary was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit!

If that is so, then Christians can celebrate December 25th after all, and not shy away from it just because Satan has abused that day! Remember that Satan will always try to imitate the Lord God whenever he can, and thereby shift focus from God onto himself.

As we look at the background of all this we shall also see an amazing truth, namely, December 25th was the Day of Christ’s conception and Incarnation, but not his birth. So while we might see historically that “Christmas” has pagan origins, there is nevertheless something wonderful and important about December 25th.

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Peter McArthur

The Issachar Ministry

Australia

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CHRISTMAS

Some historical facts we need to know about “Christmas”

by J. Preston Eby

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“Jesus was not born on December 25th”! The first time I ever made this statement to anyone I was viewed with a combination of doubt, incredulity, hostility and outright pity. Christ was not born on Christmas! How could anyone say such a thing!

In late December of each year, thousands of tourists flock into the small town of Bethlehem in the Judean Hills south of Jerusalem to participate in annual Christmas celebrations there. Some make the six mile journey from Jerusalem on foot. Upon arrival, they crowd with silent awe into the paved expanse of Manger Square in front of the revered Church of the Nativity, built over the traditional sight of Jesus’ birth. Inevitably, some of these tourists arrive in Israel unprepared. They have not thoroughly studied their guidebooks.

As they step off their plane, they receive a real shock! For November through to early March is “winter” in Israel. The weather gets cold, especially at night. Often it rains — or even snows! Yet many arrive in Israel carrying luggage bulging with summer clothing, reasoning that it is always hot and arid in the Middle East.

So they hurriedly purchase coats and sweaters in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem for their pilgrimage down to Bethlehem. Nevertheless, most of those who stand in Manger Square on December 25th each year (prepared and unprepared alike) fail to perceive the message being proclaimed by the very weather around them!

All who study this subject know that Jesus was not born in December because it is very cold in Israel in the winter time. Jesus was not even born in the winter season! When the Christ-child was born “there were in the same country shepherds ABIDING in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:8). This never could have occurred in Israel in the month of December. Men, women, and children could not travel by mule or on foot in mid-winter to the city of their birth to be taxed (Luke 2:3).

Joseph would not have taken Mary, great with child, on such a long journey in the winter time (Luke 2:5). The shepherds always brought their flocks from the mountain sides and fields and corralled them not later than October 15th, to protect them from the cold rainy season that followed that date.

The scriptures show plainly in the Song of Solomon 2:11 and Ezra 10:9 and 13 that winter was a cold rainy season not permitting people to be exposed out-of-doors for any long period of time.

It was the custom of that time for the Jews to send their sheep out to the fields in early spring and bring them home at the beginning of the first winter rain which began in mid-October. Adam Clarke in his commentary writes on this:

• “During the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. As…the first rain began early in the month of Marchesvan, which is our October and November, we find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole summer.”

And as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than very late September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground, the nativity in December should be given up.

Any encyclopaedia, or other authority, will tell you that Christ was not born on December 25th. Even the Catholic Encyclopaedia frankly states this fact. Hardly any of the early scholars really believed that Christ was born on December 25th.

In fact, there were all types of guesses by the men of the fourth and fifth centuries, and almost everyone disagreed with the others. See Smith’s Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, Vol. 1, page 358. But the people just couldn’t give up celebrating the season.

While the scriptures nowhere reveal the exact date of Jesus’ birth, they do indicate the season of the year. Jesus was born in the autumn. According to Luke 1:2-26, Mary conceived Jesus in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist. This means that Jesus was born fifteen months after the angel Gabriel appeared to Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah. According to Luke 1:5, Zechariah was a priest of the order of Abijah. Luke 1:8 states that Gabriel appeared to Zechariah while he was serving as a priest.

The order of Abijah served as priests during the second had of the fourth month only. Fifteen months later would place the birth of Jesus in the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. THAT would BE IN AUTUMN of THE YEAR, IN EITHER LATE SEPTEMBER or EARLY October!

One fact is startlingly clear: Christ was not born on December 25th. Those who do not yet know this, or do not wish to know it, are either too firmly dedicated to tradition, no matter how pagan, or are too lazy to bother with simple research.

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Christmas is a pagan festival in origin

Many have supposed Christmas to be one of the chief of the Christian holidays. Without asking questions, many have blindly assumed that its observance must be either commanded or at least condoned or accepted by God! They have supposed Jesus was born on December 25th. They have supposed they exchange gifts because the wise men presented gifts to the Christ-child. They have supposed that the evergreen Christmas tree represented the spiritual eternal life of Christ.

But let’s quit supposing and look into history for the facts!

It’s not to Jerusalem or to Bethlehem, neither to Hebrew nor Christian scriptures we go to for the true story of Christmas. Rather we must look away to Babylon, to the land of Shinar, to learn just when Christmas was started, by whom and why. Abundant evidence exists which proves Christmas as celebrated on December 25th is utterly pagan in origin; as pagan as belief in Dagon, Vishnu, Baal, Isis or Osiris.

In his well-documented book, Babylon MYSTERY Religion, Ralph Woodrow says,

• Instead of this day (Dec. 25th) being the time of our Saviour’s birth, it was the very day and season on which the pagans for centuries had celebrated the birth of the Sun-god! December 25th was the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol — one of the names of the sun-god. In pagan days, this birth of the sun-god was especially popular among that branch of the “mysteries” known as Mithraism. The largest pagan religious cult which fostered the celebration of December 25th as a holiday throughout the Roman and Greek worlds was the pagan sun worship — Mithraism.
• This winter festival was called THE NATIVITY — the nativity of the SUN.’ And not only was Mithra, the sun-god of Mithraism, said to be born at this time of the year, but Osiris, Horus, Hercules, Bacchus, Adonis, Jupiter, Tammuz, and other sun-gods were also supposedly born at what is today called the ‘Christmas’ season — the winter solstice!
• Says a noted writer: ‘The winter solstice was the time at which all the sun-gods from Osiris to Jupiter and Mithra had celebrated their birthdays, the celebration being adorned with the pine tree of Adonis, the holly of Saturn, and the mistletoe…tapers represented the kindling of the newborn sun-god’s fire.’
• Now the fact that the various sun gods that were worshipped in different countries were all believed to have been born at the same season (in the old fables), would seem to indicate that they were but different forms (under different names) of the original son of THE SUN-god, TAMMUZ, of Babylon, THE LAND From WHICH SUN-worship originally SPREAD. In Babylon, the birthday of Tammuz was celebrated at the time of the winter solstice with great feasts, revelry, and drunkenness — the same way many celebrate today!
• The ancient celebration spread and became so much an established custom that in pagan Rome and Greece, in the days of the Teutonic barbarians, in the remote times of ancient Egyptian civilization, in the infancy of the race, the period of the winter solstice was ever a period of rejoicing and festivity.
• When this mid-winter festival came to Rome, it was known as the Saturnalia — Saturn being but another name of Nimrod or Tammuz as “the hidden god”. A study into this shows how far apostate Church leaders went in their effort to merge Christianity and paganism into one apostate religion — even to placing the birth of Christ on a date to harmonize with the pagan birthday celebration of the SUN-god ”

End of quote

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Historical records in encyclopaedias, which are available in any city library, and are noted for their authenticity and reliability, give us these facts that Christmas is of heathen origin. It is traced back to sun worshippers and observed among the pagan nations. All these pagan festivals originated in heathendom.

The word “Christmas” means “Mass of Christ” or, as it later became shortened, “Christ-Mass”, and finally “Christmas”. It came to us as a Roman Catholic Mass. But where did they get it? Since it has come to us through the Roman Church, and has no authority but that of the Roman Catholic Church, let us examine the Catholic Encyclopaedia, published by that denomination. Under the caption “Christmas” you will find:

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• “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church…the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt. ” “Pagan customs centering around the January calendar gravitated to Christmas.”

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In the Encyclopaedia Americana, the 1969 edition, states:

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• “CHRISTMAS. The name derives from the old English Chrites Maesse, or Christ’s Mass, and the present spelling probably came into use about the sixteenth century. All Christian churches except the Armenian church observe the birth of Christ on December 25th. This date was not set in the West until about the middle of the fourth century and in the East until about a century later.
• The reason for establishing December 25th as Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days began to lengthen, to celebrate the “rebirth of the sun”.
• Northern European tribes celebrated their chief festival of Yule at the winter solstice to celebrate the rebirth of the sun (god) as a giver of light and warmth. The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of the sun) also took place at this time, and some Christian customs are thought to be rooted in this ancient pagan celebration.
• It is held by some scholars that the birth of Christ as ‘Light of the World’ was made analogous to the rebirth of the sun in order to make Christianity more meaningful to pagan converts. Many early Christians decried the gaiety and festive spirit introduced into the Christmas celebration as a pagan survival, particularly of the Roman Saturnalia.”

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With Voyager satellites sending back astounding pictures of the planet Saturn, with its impressive rings of debris and its many moons, the planet Saturn has been much in the news of late. One of the greatest festivals of the pagan calendar was that of Saturn, originally celebrated near the end of December. The festival began, anciently, on the 19th, and extended for seven days, which would include the 25th and 26th of December.

All classes of ancient Romans exchanged gifts during this celebration of the solstice of the sun, one of the more common forms of gifts being that of a clay doll. The dolls were especially given to children, and it was believed they represented the original sacrifices of human beings to the “infernal god”. There was a tradition that human sacrifices were once offered to Saturn, and Greeks and Romans gave the name of “Cronus” and “Saturn” to a cruel Phoenician baal to whom children were sacrificed at Carthage!

The Saturnalia was finally instituted by Romulus, the founder of Rome, under the name of “Brumalia,” which meant “winter solstice”. A solemn custom of kindling fires has prevailed in parts of Europe, with the “Yule log” a prominent feature, just as fireside dinners and the exchanging of gifts are still prominent features of modern American celebrations of “Christmas”.

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The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1964 edition, says about Christmas:

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• “CHRISTMAS, on Dec. 25th is the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, is the most popular commemoration of the Church year. Its observance as the birthday of the Saviour is attended with secular customs often drawn from pagan sources; indeed, both Christmas and Epiphany, which falls twelve days later on January 6th are transformed pagan celebrations of the winter solstice, and so closely linked that their origins cannot be discussed separately.
• December 25th in Rome — this was the date of a pagan festival in Rome, chosen in AD 274 by the Emperor Aurelian as the birthday of the unconquered sun, which at the winter solstice begins again to show an increase of light. At some point before AD 336 the Church at Rome established the commemoration of the birthday of Christ…on this same date.”

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Concerning the origin of traditional Christmas customs, the Encyclopaedia Americana further says:

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• “The English adapted many older folk festivals to their Christmas. In the Middle Ages, English Christmases were times of great hilarity and good cheer, and vast banquets and pageantry celebrated the occasion. It was in this period that the idea of the Lord of Misrule reached its greatest expression.

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A common person or a servant of a great lord was chosen to rule with absolute authority during the Christmas season, and often his ‘rule’ resulted in uncontrolled frivolity. This tradition may have originated during the Saturnalia, when slaves became equals of their masters. Burning the Yule log was adapted to English custom from the ancient Scandinavian practice of kindling huge bonfires in honour of the winter solstice.

The idea of using evergreens at Christmas time also came to England from pre-Christian European beliefs. Celtic and Teutonic tribes honoured these plants at their winter solstice festivals as symbols of eternal life, and the Druids ascribed magical properties to the mistletoe in particular. The evergreen holly was worshipped as a promise of the sun’s return. Some scholars hold that the evergreen tree, a symbol of life to the pagans, became a symbol of the Saviour and thus an integral part of the celebration of His birth.”

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The Encyclopaedia Britannica records:

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• “The traditional customs connected with Christmas have been derived from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ and the pagan agricultural and solar observance at mid-winter. In the Roman world the Saturnalia was a time of merry making and exchange of presents…the fact that Christmas was celebrated on the birthday of the unconquered sun (god) gave the season a solar background.
• To these solstice observances were added the Germanic-Celtic Yule rites when the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul, Britain, and central Europe. Yuletide brought its own tradition of feasting and mortuary customs…special food and good fellowship, the Yule log and Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees, gifts and greetings; all commemorated different aspects of the festive season. Evergreens, as symbols of survival, have a long association with Christmas festivities, probably dating from the eighth century when St. Boniface completed the Christianization of Germany and dedicated the fir tree to the Holy Child to replace the sacred oak of Odin.”

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Now let us see! Among the ancient pagans the mistletoe was used at this festival of the winter solstice because it was considered sacred to the SUN, because of its supposed miraculous healing power. The pagan custom of kissing under the mistletoe was an early step in the night of revelry and drunken debauchery — celebrating the death of the “old sun” and the birth of the New at the winter solstice. Holly berries were also considered sacred to the sun-god. The Yule log is in reality the “Sun log”.

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In his book Answers to Questions Frederick J. Haskins writes:

• “The use of Christmas wreaths is believed by authorities to be traceable to the pagan customs of decorating buildings and places of worship at the feast which took place at the same time as Christmas. The Christmas tree is from Egypt, and its origin dates from a period long anterior to the Christian Era.”

And so, when we examine the facts, we are astonished to learn that the practice of observing Christmas is not, after all, a true Christian practice, but a basically a pagan custom in origin.

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So much for the historical information about the origins of Christmas. Let’s now take a look at how December 25th has some amazing truths related to it, not as the BIRTH of Jesus Christ but as the day on which He was CONCEIVED in the womb by the Holy Spirit.

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PARALLEL DATINGS

1. Parallel Datings of the times of our Lord

2. “The Begetting” and The Nativity

3. The Course of Abijah

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The actual list of detailed dates can be found either in the Companion Bible by E.W. Bullinger appendix 179 or, because they are so detailed and would take up unnecessary space here, can be downloaded free from one of the following websites for verification:

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www.therain.org/appendixes/app179.html

www.biblestudysite.com/cbapwnd.htm

www.goodnewsministry.com/appendix.htm

www.angelfire.com/nv/TheOliveBranch/list/html

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• It thus appears without the shadow of a doubt that the day assigned to the Birth of the Lord, namely December 25th, was the day on which He was “begotten of the Holy Ghost”, that is to say, by pneuma hagion = divine power (Matthew 1:18, 20 marg.), and His birth took place on the 15th of Ethanim, September 29, in the year following, thus making beautifully clear the meaning of John 1:14, “The Word became flesh” (Matthew 1:18,20) on 1st Tebeth or December 25th (5 BC), “and tabernacled (Greek eskenosen) with us”, on 15th of Ethanim or September 29th (4 BC).

• The 15th of Ethanim (or Tisri) was the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Circumcision therefore took place on the eighth day of the Feast = 22nd Ethanim = October 6th-7th (Leviticus 23:33-43). So that these two momentous events fall into their proper place and order, and the real reason is made clear why the 25th of December is associated with our Lord, and was set apart by the Apostolic Church to commemorate the stupendous event of the “Word becoming flesh” – and not, as we have for so long been led to suppose, the commemoration of a pagan festival.

• An overwhelmingly strong argument in favour of the correctness of this view lies in the fact that the date of “the Festival of Michael and All Angels” has been from very early times the 29th day of September, on Gentile (Western) reckoning.

• But “the Church” even then had lost sight of the reason why this date rather than any other in the Calendar should be so indissolubly associated with the great Angelic Festival.

• The following expresses the almost universal knowledge or rather want of knowledge of “Christendom” on the subject: “We pass on now to consider, in the third place, the commemoration of September 29th, the festival of Michaelmas, par excellence. It does not appear at all certain what was the original special idea of the commemoration of this day” (Smith Dictionary of Chr. Antiqq. (1893), volume ii, page 1177 (3) ).

• A reference, however, to the Table and statements above (go to Appendix 179 or to the website www.therain.org/appendixes/app179.html) make the “original special idea” why the Festival of “Michael and All Angels” is held on September 29th abundantly clear. Our Lord was born on that day, the first day of the “Feast of Tabernacle” (Leviticus 23:39). This was on the fifteenth day of the seventh Jewish month called Tisri, or Ethanim (Appendix 51. 5), corresponding to our September 29th (of the year 4 BC).

• The “Begetting” (gennesis) Day of the Lord was announced by the angel Gabriel. See notes on Daniel 8:16, and Luke 1:19.

• The “Birth” Day, by “(the) Angel of the Lord”, unnamed in either Matthew and Luke. That this Angelic Being was “Michael the Archangel” (Jude verse 9), and “Mika’el hassar haggadol-”Michael the Great Prince” – of Daniel 12:1, seems clear for the following reason: If, “when again (yet future) He bringeth the First-begotten into the world, He saith, Let all the angels of God worship Him” (Hebrews 1:6; quoting Psalm 97:6)-then this must include the great archangel Michael himself. By parity of reasoning, on the First “bringing” into the world of the only begotten Son, the Archangel must have been present. And the tremendous announcement to the shepherds, that the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) was on earth in the person  of  the Babe of Bethlehem, must therefore have been made by the same head of the heavenly host (Luke 2:9-14). In mundane affairs, announcement of supremest importance (of Kings, etc.) are invariably conveyed through the most exalted personage in the realm. The point need not be laboured.

• .The fact of the Birth of our Lord having been revealed to the shepherds by the Archangel Michael on the 15th of Tisri (or Ethtanim), corresponding to September 29th 4 BC (the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles surely must have been known to believers in the Apostolic Age).  But “the mystery of iniquity” which was “already working” in Paul’s day (2 Thessalonians 2:7) quickly enshrouded this and the other great fact of the Jewish month Tebeth (corresponding to December 25th 5 BC) as well as other connected with His sojourn on earth, in a rising mist of obscurity in which they have ever since been lost.

• The earliest allusion to December 25th (modern reckoning) as the date for the Nativity is found in the Stromata of Clement of Alexandria, about the beginning of the third century AD.

• That “Christmas” was a pagan festival long before the time of our Lord is beyond doubt. In Egypt Horus (or Harpocrates), the son of Isis (Queen of Heaven), was born about the time of the winter solstice. By the time of the early part of the fourth century AD, the real reason for observing Christmas as the date for the miraculous “begetting” of Matthew 1:18 and “the Word becoming flesh” of John 1:14 had been lost sight of. The policy of Constantine, and his Edict of Milan, by establishing universal freedom of religion furthered this. When many of the followers of the old pagan systems-the vast majority of the empire, it must be remembered- adopted the Christian religion as a cult, which Constantine had made fashionable, and the “Church” became the Church of the Roman Empire, they brought in with them, among a number of other things emanating from Egypt and Babylon, the various Festival Days of the old “religious”. Thus “Christmas Day,” the birthday of the Egyptian Horus (Osiris), became gradually substituted for the real Natalis Domini of our blessed Saviour, viz: September 29th, or Michaelmas Day sometimes called The Feast of St Michael and All Angels.

• If however, we realize that the centre of gravity, so to speak, of what we call the Incarnation is the Incarnation itself – the wondrous fact of the Divine “begetting”,when “the Word became flesh” (see Matthew 1:18 and John 1:14) – and that this is to be associated with December 25th instead of March (as for 1,600 years Christendom has been led to believe) then “Christmas” will be seen in quite another light, and many who have hitherto been troubled with scruples concerning the day being, as they have been taught, the anniversary of a Pagan festival, will be enabled to worship on that Day without alloy of doubt, as the time when the stupendous miracle which is the foundation stone of the Christian faith, came to pass.

• The “Annunciation” by the angel Gabriel marked the genesis of Matthew 1:18 and the first words of John 1:14.

• The announcement to the shepherds by the archangel Michael marked the Birth of our Lord.  John 1:14 is read as though “the Word became flesh (Revised Version), and dwelt among us”, were one and the same thing where – as they are two clauses.

• The paragraph should read thus: “And the Word became flesh; (Greek ho logos sarx egeneto.) And tabernacled with (or among) us.” (Greek kai eskenosen en hemin).

• The word tabernacled here (preserved in Revised Version marg.) receives beautiful significance from the knowledge that “the Lord of Glory” was “found in fashion as a man” , and thus tabernacling in human flesh. And in turn it shows in equally beautiful significance that our Lord was born on the first day of the great Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, viz: the 15th of Tisri, corresponding to September 29th 4 BC (in the modern reckoning).
• The circumcision of our Lord took place therefore on the eighth day, the last day of the Feast, the “Great Day of the Feast” of John 7:37 (“Tabernacles” had eight days. The Feast of Unleavened Bread had seven days, and Pentecost one day . See Leviticus 23).

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The main arguments against the Nativity having taken place in December may

be set forth very simply:

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1. The extreme improbability, amounting almost to impossibility, that Mary, under such circumstances, could have undertaken a journey of about 70 miles (as the crow flies), through a hill district averaging some 3,000 feet above sea – level, in the depth of winter:

2. Shepherds and their flocks would not be found “abiding” (Greek agrauleo) in the open fields at night in December (Tebeth), for the paramount reason that there would be no pasturage at that time. It was the custom then (as now) to withdraw the flocks during the month Marchesvan (October-November) from the open districts and house them for the winter.

3. The Roman authorities in imposing such a “census taking” for the hated and unpopular “foreign” tax would not have enforced the imperial decree (Luke 2:1) at the most inconvenient and inclement season of the year, by compelling the people to enrol themselves at their respective “cities” in December. In such a case they would naturally choose the “line” of least resistance”, and select a time of year that would cause least friction, and interference with the habits and pursuits of the Jewish people. This would be in the autumn, when the agricultural round of the year was complete, and the people generally more or less at liberty to take advantage, as we know many did, of the opportunity of “going up” to Jerusalem for the “Feast of Tabernacles” (compare John 7:8-10), the crowning Feast of the Jewish year.

4. To take advantage of such a time would be to the Romans the simplest and most natural policy, whereas to attempt to enforce the Edict of Registration for the purposes of Imperial taxation in the depth of winter – when travelling for such a purpose would have been deeply resented, and perhaps have brought about a revolt,-would never have been attempted by such an astute ruler as Augustus.

5. With regard to the other two “Quarter Days” (June 24th and March 25th) these are both associated with the miraculous (Luke 1:7) “conception” and the birth of the Forerunner, as December 25th and September 29th are with our Lord’s miraculous “Begetting” and Birth; and are therefore connected with “the Course of Abijah.”

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The Course of Abijah

see Luke 1:5

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• This was the eighth of the priestly courses of ministration in the Temple (1 Chronicles 24:10), and occurred, as did the others, twice in the year.

• The “Courses” were changed every week, beginning each with a Sabbath. The reckoning commenced on the 22nd day of Tisri or Ethanim (see Appendix 51.5). This was the eighth and last day of the Feast of Tabernacles = the “Great Day of the Feast“ (John 7:37), and was a Sabbath (Leviticus 23:39).

• The first course fell by lot to Jehoiarib, and the eighth to Abiah or Abijah (1 Chronicles 24:10).
• Bearing in mind that all the courses served together at the three Great Feasts, the dates for the two yearly “ministrations“ of Abijah will be seen to fall as follows:
• The first  ministration was from 12th to 18th Chisleu = December 6th to 12th.
• The second ministration was from 12th to 18th Sivan = June 13th to 19th.
• The announcement therefore to Zacharias in the Temple as to the conception of John the Baptist took place between 12th and 18th Sivan (June 13th to 19th), in the year 5 BC. After finishing his “ministration“, the aged priest “departed to his own house“ (Luke 1:23), which was in a city in “the hill country“ of Judah (verse 39).
• The day following the end of the “Course of Abijah“ being a Sabbath (Sivan 19th), he would not be able to leave Jerusalem before the 20th.
• The thirty miles journey would probably occupy, for an old man, a couple of days at least. He would therefore arrive at his house on the 21st or 22nd. This leaves ample time for the miraculous “conception“ of Elizabeth to take place on or about 23rd of Sivan – which would correspond to June 23rd -24th of that year. The fact of the conception and its date would necessarily be known at the time and afterwards, and hence the 23rd Sivan would henceforth be associated with the conception of John Baptist as the 1st Tebeth would be with that of our Lord.
• But the same influences that speedily obscured and presently obliterated the real dates of our Lord’s “Begetting“ and Birth, were also at work with regard to those of the Forerunner, and with the same results. As soon as the true Birth day of Christ had been shifted from its proper date, viz: the 15th of Tisri (September 29th), and a Festival Day from the pagan calendars substituted for it (viz: December 25th), then everything else had to be altered too.
• Hence “Lady Day“ in association with March 25th (new style) became necessarily connected with the Annunciation. And June 24th made its appearance, as it still is in our Calendar, as the date of “the Nativity of John the Baptist“, instead of, as it really is, the date of his miraculous conception.
• The Four “Quarter Days“ may therefore be set forth thus: first in the chronological order of the events with which they are associated, viz: (see the table below).

or, placing the two sets together naturally

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SOME NOTES

According to some, Augustus died August 19th AD 14. Therefore if Tiberius’ co-regency was for two years before Augustus’ death his first year was 765 AUC = 12 AD. His fifteenth year consequently was AUC 779 = 26 AD = 4030 AM and AC 30, for our Lord was thirty years of age when He began His Ministry (Luke 3:23). Clement of Alexandria gives the years of Augustus’ reign as being 43-46, according to different reckonings in his day.

According to Clement of Alexandria (compare AD 190-220) “Our Lord was born in the twenty-eighth year when first the census was ordered to be taken in the reign of Augustus” (Stromata, Book i, see Clark’s edition i. pages 444 – 445). If that is correct, and it is true that a Census was taken every fourteen years, then the next would fall in AD 10, and the succeeding one would have been due AD 24. His statements are, however, very vague, and he mentions several dates claimed by others as correct.

It is true that the Lebanon shepherds are in the habit of keeping their flocks alive during the winter months, by cutting down branches of trees in the forests in that district, to feed the sheep on the leaves and twigs, when in autumn the pastures are dried up, and in winter, when snow covers the ground (compare Land and Book, page 204), but there is no evidence that the Bethlehem district was afforested in the manner.

Reckoning of course from Ethanim or Tisri – the First month of the civil year. The sacred year was six months later, and began on 1st Nisan.

The conception of John Baptist was, in view of Luke 1:7, as miraculous as that of Isaac; but it is not necessary to insist upon the complete period of forty sevens in the case of Elizabeth. Therefore the birth of the Forerunner may have been three or four days short of the full two hundred and eighty days, – as indicated in the above table.

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Insight into the numbers associated with the “begetting” of the Messiah

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The connection to the Feast of Tabernacles

by Peter McArthur

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There’s much to consider when looking at how the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) is related to the miraculous conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb. First, based on the detailed evidence given by E.W. Bullinger and others (that Jesus Christ was born on September 29th in the year 4 BC, it being the first day of the Feast)  then the symbolic meaning is astounding.

The common thread that runs through all Scripture is that God has chosen to dwell with man. Notice these particular instances;

• He met regularly with Adam and Eve in the garden;
• He inhabited the Tabernacle of Moses;
• He was present in David’s Tabernacle tent;
• He tabernacled in Solomon’s Temple;
• He dwelt in human form through Jesus;
• and finally His spirit dwells in all who believe on Him.

He dwells, He inhabits, He tabernacles. It’s all quite plain!

To top it all off, the Feast of Tabernacles is the major Feast of the Lord in Scripture, and the only open to all people, not just the Jews. So it’s not just the Jews the Messiah came for (although He did go to the house of Israel first), but for all humanity – hence one of the meanings of the Feast of Tabernacles.

In John’s wonderful gospel he writes these profound words as if he’s letting us in on the symbolic importance of the Feast and Christ’s connection to it. John writes:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”

The Greek word “dwelt” here is actually “tabernacled” (Strongs G4637). It means “to encamp, to occupy, to abide”. What better day for the Messiah to come than the day of Tabernacles!

Just as Jesus died on the cross at the precise moment the lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple, and just as the Holy Spirit descended at the moment the priests in the Temple blew their trumpets and waved their palm branches, so too isn’t it likely that the Messiah tabernacled with man on the exact day that God had pre-ordained hundreds of years before?

The precise timing of the Lord is a feature of nearly all His dealings with man. So too it’s most likely that the Messiah indwelt Mary by the Holy Spirit during the Feast that symbolically stood for that very reason.

There’s so much more to draw out of this wonderful connection between the Messiah’s conception and the Feast of Tabernacles, so just a couple to whet your appetite for further study.

• Jesus was born in a stable, a booth, a tabernacle.
• Jesus was most likely transfigured during this Feast (see Peter’s strange comment in Matthew 17:4).
• Jesus probably baptised during this Feast (note the connection between the two common phrases spoken by God, “This is my beloved son” here at His baptism and also on the mount of Transfiguration).
• During the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus stands to declare where He came from (John 7:28-29) in a most forthright manner putting His messianic calling right on the line and proclaiming the Holy Spirit (vs. 37-39).

While it’s not one hundred percent confirmable that these texts prove the conception of Jesus on that Feast day, it’s most probable given how biblical typology operates. God is not an ad hoc God who catches up with events. No, He is in charge of them and coordinates times and seasons as signs.

The Lord God has a purpose and a plan, and timing is one of His enduring characteristics. All His symbols found in the Old Testament are signs pointing to extraordinary events and people that would come to fulfil His purposes. This is why we should have some understanding of Biblical Typology and symbolism.

For instance the number of bulls that God commanded to be sacrificed at the Feast of Tabernacles, 70 all told, is the Biblical number standing for the nations of the world. Hence God was saying that all nations are included in His great plan and purpose. For that very reason the Messiah tabernacled with man.

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Chronology of the Messiah’s birth

Based on Luke 1:5-20

The following chart will give us an overview of the chronology of the events leading up to Christ’s birth. Note that the designated months are in our modern western calendar for the sake of clarity.

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What others say

The Feast of Tabernacles and Jesus

As we have seen, the birth of our Lord can be reasonably shown to have occurred in the autumn of the year on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is a joyful feast. Jewish believers would build a tabernacle or booth known as a “sukkah” out of green tree branches. They would eat their meals and sleep in this sukkah for eight days.

There are some very interesting connections in Scripture with Jesus and aspects of the Feast of Tabernacles.

John 1:14 says: And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. [literal translation of the Greek].

Look at what Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi has to say concerning this verse:

• To introduce the nature and mission of Christ, John in his Gospel employs the metaphor of the “booth” of the Feast of Tabernacles. He explains that Christ, the Word who was with God in the beginning (John 1:1), manifested Himself in this world in a most tangible way, by pitching His tent in our midst: “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, as of the only Son from the Father” (John 1:14).

• The Greek verb skenoo used by John means “to pitch tent, encamp, tabernacle, dwell in a tent.” The allusion is clearly to the Feast of Tabernacles when the people dwelt in temporary booths. In his article “The Feast of Tents: Jesus’ Self-Revelation,” published in Worship (1960), David Stanley notes that this passage sets the stage for the later self-revelation of Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7 and 8. Stanley writes: “The most basic clue to the mystery pervading this entire narrative [John 7 and 8] is provided by the symbolic action that gives this feast its name: the ceremonial erection of little bowers, made with branches of trees, in which every Jew was expected to live during the festival. These shelters were commemorative of the forty years’ wandering in the desert when Israel had lived as a nomad in such intimate union with her God. For John this dwelling in tents is a primordial symbol of the Incarnation: ‘Thus the Word became a mortal man: he pitched his tent in the midst of us’ (John 1:14). It is this insight which presides over the composition of John’s narrative which we are considering [John chpts 7-8]. All that happened, all that Jesus said on this occasion has some reference to the Incarnation.

• Look at what it says in seeking to describe the Messiah’s first coming to His people – John chose the imagery of the Feast of Booths since the feast celebrates the dwelling of God among His people. This raises an interesting question on whether or not John intended to link the birth of Jesus with the Feast of Tabernacles.

[from: God’s Festivals in Scripture and History Part 2: The Fall Festivals, page 241.]

And from his book called The Seven Festivals of the Messiah by Eddie Chumney we read this:

• As we have stated earlier in this chapter, the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) is called “the season of our joy” and “the feast of the nations.” With this in mind, in Luke 2:10 it is written, “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings [basar in Hebrew; otherwise known as the gospel] of great joy [Sukkot is called the 'season of our joy'], which shall be to all people [Sukkot is called 'the feast of the nations'].” So, we can see from this that the terminology the angel used to announce the birth of Yeshua (Jesus) were themes and messages associated with the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles).

Light was also a prominent feature of the Feast of Tabernacles. At the end of the first day of the Feast, the Temple was gloriously illuminated. According to the Mishnah (Succah 5:2), gigantic candelabras stood within the Court of the Women in the temple. Each of the four golden candelabras is said to have been about 75 feet tall. Each candelabra had four branches, and at the top of every branch there was a large bowl. Four young men bearing 10 gallon pitchers of oil would climb ladders to fill the four golden bowls on each candelabra. And then the oil in those bowls was ignited. Picture sixteen beautiful blazes leaping toward the sky from these golden lamps. There was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not illuminated by this light (Succah 5:3).

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The Birth of Yeshua during Sukkot

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The Scriptures seem to indicate to us that Yeshua was born during the festival season of Sukkot (Tabernacles). In fact, I believe that He was born on the Feast of Sukkot (which is Tishrei 15 on the biblical calendar, and is analogous to our September/October). With this in mind, let’s look for some evidence of this in the Bible.

In Luke 1:5, Zachariah (Z’karyah) is a priest (Cohen) of the division of Abijah (Avijah). What does this mean? Israel was divided into 24 districts at the time of Yeshua. Each of these districts sent two representatives to officiate at the temple during the weeks of the year. In First Chronicles (Divery Hayamim) 24, the first division of the priests would serve in the first week of the year, which would be both in the month of Nisan and the month of Tishrei since both months begin the new year. As we saw earlier in this book, Nisan is the first month in the religious calendar set up by G-d in Exodus (Shemot) 12:2 and Tishrei is the first month of the year according to the civil calendar.

During the third week in the month of Nisan, the priests from all 24 districts would come to the temple to help during the week of Passover (Pesach). This would also be the case for the festival of Pentecost (Shavuot) and for the festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles) when all males were required to go to Jerusalem (Yerushalayim) as specified by G-d in Deuteronomy (Devarim) 16:16. In First Chronicles 24:10, we see that abijah was the eighth division or course of priests. The course of abijah would minister during the tenth week of the year. Remember, the weeks of Passover and Shavuot would not be counted because all the priests were required to go to Jerusalem then. In Luke 1:9-10, we see that Zacharias is burning incense. This is done in the room of the temple known as the Holy Place. As the incense (which represents the prayers of G-d’s people [Psalm (Tehillim) 141:2; Revelation 8:3-4]) is being burned by the priests in the temple, 18 special prayers are prayed. These 18 prayers would be prayed every day in the temple. One of these prayers is that Elijah (Eliyahu) would come. This is important because it was understood by the people, as G-d established, that Elijah (Eliyahu) would precede the coming of the Messiah as stated in Malachi 4:5.

These 18 special prayers would be prayed twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. In Luke 1:11-13, the angel appeared on the right side of the altar and told Zacharias that his prayer was heard and John (Yochanan) the Immerser (Baptist) would be born. John (Yochanan) the Immerser (Baptist) was not literally Elijah (Eliyahu), but was of the spirit of power of Elijah (Luke 1:17).

Allowing two weeks for the laws of separation that G-d commanded in Leviticus (Vayikra) 12:5; 15:19,24-25 after going back to the house (Luke 1:23) and then going forward nine months (Sivan [tenth week] + 2 weeks + 9 months) puts the birth of John (Yochanan) during the festival of Passover (Pesach). This is an extremely important point because during the service for Passover, which is called the Passover Seder, the people are instructed by G-d to go to the door during one part of the service and look for Elijah (Eliyahu) while the Passover meal is eaten. The cup is called the cup of Elijah. The understanding of Elijah preceding the coming of the Messiah was the basis for the question in Matthew (Mattityahu) 17:10-13.

In Luke 1:26 during the sixth month of Elisabeth’s (Elisheva) pregnancy, the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary (Miryam). This should have been around the twenty-fifth of Kislev, otherwise known as Chanukah. During the time of the first century, Chanukah was known as the second Sukkot. During the time of Chanukah, all of the Sukkot prayers are prayed once again. Mary’s (Miryam) dialogue with the angel Gabriel is found in the Sukkot liturgy today. If you calculate from the twenty-fifth of Kislev and add eight days for the festival of Chanukah plus nine months for Mary’s (Miryam) pregnancy, this will bring you around the time of the festival of Sukkot, or Tishrei 15. On Tishrei 22, known as Shemini Atzeret or the eighth day, Yeshua was circumcised (Luke 2:22-23; Leviticus [Vayikra] 12:1-3).

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Other evidences of Yeshua’s Birth during Sukkot

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As we have stated earlier in this chapter, the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) is called “the season of our joy” and “the feast of the nations.” With this in mind, in Luke 2:10 it is written, “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings [basar in Hebrew; otherwise known as the gospel] of great joy [Sukkot is called the 'season of our joy'], which shall be to all people [Sukkot is called 'the feast of the nations'].” So, we can see from this that the terminology the angel used to announce the birth of Yeshua were themes and messages associated with the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles).

In Luke 2:12, the babe (Yeshua) was wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The swaddling clothes were also used as wicks to light the 16 vats of oil within the court of the women during the festival of Sukkot. So, swaddling clothes are associated with the festival of Sukkot.

Notice also in Luke 2:12 that the baby Yeshua was laid in a manger. The word manger is the Greek word phatn’e. It is the same word translated as “stall” in Luke 13:15. By seeing how the word is used in Luke 13:15, we can see that the Greek word phatn’e means a place for hitching cattle. The Hebrew word for stall is marbek, which can be found in Amos 6:4 and Malachi 4:2. In Genesis (Bereishit) 33:17 it is written that Jacob journeyed to Sukkoth and made booths (the word booth in this passage is the Hebrew word sukkah; the plural is sukkot) for his cattle. So we can see from these passages how the word booth (sukkah or sukkot) was used by Jacob (Ya’akov) for his cattle in Genesis 33:17, and how the Greek word for manger or “stall,” phatn’e, was also used to refer to hitching cattle in Luke 13:15. Phatn’e is the same word translated as “manger” in Luke 2:12, where Yeshua was laid at the time of His birth.

During the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles), G-d required that all male Jews come to Jerusalem (Yerushalayim) (Deuteronomy [Devarim] 16:16). For this reason, the city would be overcrowded with people and would explain why Mary (Miryam) and Joseph (Yosef) could not find lodging in and around Jerusalem (Yerushalayim) (Luke 2:7). Bethlehem, the place where Yeshua was born, is only about four miles from Jerusalem.

The last evidence I will give for the birth of Yeshua during Sukkot according to the Scriptures is in Matthew (Mattityahu) 2:1. There we see that wise men come from the East to visit Yeshua. The land of the East is Babylon, where the largest Jewish population was at the time of the birth of Yeshua. These Jews were descendants from the captivity when King Nebuchadnezzar defeated Israel and took the Jews to Babylon to serve him. Babylon is referred to as the land of the East in Genesis (Bereishit) 29:1 and Judges (Shoftim) 6:3. The wise men in Matthew (Mattityahu) 2:1 were rabbis. The rabbis, also called sages, are known in Hebrew as chakamim, which means wise men. The word in Matthew (Mattityahu) 2:1 in Greek is magos, which is translated into English as “Magi.” Magos in Greek is the Hebrew word ravmag. Ravmag comes from the Hebrew word rav, which means “rabbi.” It should also be noted that the Greek word magos can also mean scientist, counsellor, scholar, or teacher. The rabbis were scholars or teachers of the Jewish law. Yeshua was referred to as “Rabbi,” or “Teacher” in John (Yochanan) 1:38,47,49; 3:2. So, we can see that the wise men were Jewish rabbis coming from Babylon to witness the birth of Yeshua.

A question we can ask ourselves is, “What made the rabbis make the journey from Babylon to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Yeshua?” The answer is given in Matthew (Mattityahu) 2:2, as it is written, “…we have seen His star in the east….”

One of the requirements during the time of Sukkot was to build an outside temporary shelter and live in it during this festival season. This shelter is called a booth, or sukkah. The sukkah had to be built with an opening in the roof so the people could see the stars in heaven. This is another reason for why the rabbis would be looking for, and thus seeing, the star in the sky when it appeared. In addition, there was a prophecy in Numbers (Bamidbar), as it is written, “…a star shall come forth from Jacob…” (Numbers [Bamidbar] 24:17 NAS). King Herod inquired about where the Messiah would be born in Matthew (Mattityahu) 2:4. He was told in Bethlehem (Matthew [Mattityahu] 2:5-6), based upon the prophecy in Micah 5:2. In Matthew 2:10 it is written, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” Once again, remember that Sukkot is called “the season of our joy.” In Matthew 2:2, the rabbis saw the star from the East. Salvation was seen by the Jewish people as coming from the East. Yeshua descended from the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5). The tribe of Judah was positioned on the east side of the tabernacle of Moses (Moshe) in the wilderness. Finally, in Luke 2:32, Yeshua is called a light to the Gentiles. Once again, Sukkot is called “the festival of lights” and “the festival of all nations.”

Therefore, by studying and understanding the festival of Sukkot and the themes and messages that G-d desired to be conveyed during this festival, enables us to read the Bible in a new light; it enables us to understand that Yeshua was born during the season of Sukkot and that He is the Star we are all called to see with our (spiritual) eyes!

From an article at http://www.hebroots.org/chap9.html

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…..Be a Berean!

…..Peter McArthur…..www.issachar.org.au

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A teaching by Peter McArthur

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In Jewish understanding, “Wisdom” is personified in the Torah (the “Law” given to Moses). However, in New Testament understanding, “Wisdom” is personified in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wisdom is both individual (personal) and corporate (accountable). It is a distinct End-Time characteristic that needs to be sought after, for in the days that lay ahead, wisdom and its companion, discernment, will be greatly needed.

So let’s look at how we can lay hold of such a beautiful gift. We start with what the Spirit reveals through the letter of James (Jacob).

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James 3:13-18

13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good life that his works are done in humility born of wisdom.

14 But if you have bitter jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, stop boasting and lying against the truth.

15 That kind of wisdom does not come from above. No, it is worldly, self-centred, and demonic.

16 For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil.

17 However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, willing to yield, full of compassion and good fruits, and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.

18 And a harvest of righteousness is grown from the seed of peace planted by peacemakers.

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Verse 13: Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good life that his works are done in humility born of wisdom.

• Many want to be seen as wise, but few actually are.

• So how do we show (lit. “prove”) that Christ clothes us as new creatures? James tells us in chapter 3:1-12 it is to do with our tongue!

• A wise man who has understanding can bridle his tongue; he has learnt how to contain his words, and order his thoughts. We should note that the soul cannot control the tongue, but the soul that is controlled by the Holy Spirit can!

• This is a distinct but very important difference. Many believers try to control their thoughts and tongues merely by using the power of the soul and mind. This will always lead to religiosity and works.

• We are called on to “show” forth wisdom, not merely “profess” it.

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Verse 14: But if you have bitter jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, stop boasting and lying against the truth.

• “Bitter jealousy” (or “envy”) comes from words that mean “piercing zeal”. Bitter literally means sharp piercing (G4089). Jealousy (or envy) has the literal meaning of heat, zeal, indignation (G2205).

• There is a zeal that is corrupt or bad. The “zeal” of Hitler or of a terrorist, for example. Compare this to what we might call “good” zeal. Jesus showed this “good zeal” when He overturned the tables of the sellers in the Temple precincts (John 2:17 / compare Psalm 69:9) – “Zeal for Your house has eaten me up”.

• “Bad zeal” is actually bitter because it pierces and cuts the heart of the hearer. Goodness knows what it does to the doer!

• “Jealousy” or as some versions translate it, “envy”, is self-devotion because it seeks to exalt itself above others. There is fierceness in this kind of behaviour, and it will often try to punish those it’s envious of. It is born out of rivalry and competition; always contentious, accusing and vitriolic – such things end in boasting. Envy will always attempt to justify and defend itself, even if it means lying!

• 2 Peter 2:19 gives us a very salutatory lesson in what such behaviour leads to – DOMINATION by what we allow to control us.  “Promising freedom, they themselves are slaves to depravity, for a person is a slave to whatever conquers him”. What an insight; we come into bondage to that very thing that has overcome us inwardly. Yet those who do such things hardly ever realise this great calamity that has occurred within them. No wonder God hates sin – look what it does!

• To “lie against the truth” is a horrible phrase that makes my spirit recoil. It’s a strikingly accusative statement that no true follower of Jesus would ever want directed against them. It actually makes me shudder. But that’s what the Word says jealousy, envy and bitterness are allied to – lies!

• And not just any type of lying, but lying against the very Truth of God and all He encompasses. Lying is bad enough, but to set oneself deliberately against God’s Truth and to align with it is extremely dangerous. It’s also futile because it leads nowhere!

• “Boasting” in one’s own wisdom / ministry / calling / etc is literally “to play false”. How often we hear ministries in the Body of Christ boast about themselves. It isn’t always obvious, but nevertheless if you have ears to hear, you can pick it up. Picture the person who in giving a testimony prefaces it with “This morning when I got up at 4.00 am to have my daily 3 hour prayer time with the Lord, He showed me….”

• Why not simply say “During my prayer time today the Lord….”?

• When we brag or boast, even though we might try to spiritualize it, then the inward applause or admiration of the people is our only reward we’ll ever get. Jesus said; “Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow a trumpet before you like the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they will be praised by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward” (Matt 6:2).

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Verse 15: That kind of wisdom does not come from above. No, it is earthly, self-centred, and demonic.

• Clearly there is a “wisdom” that seems wise (like Islam, Evolution, Philosophy, etc) but which breeds contention and fear. It has no standard by which to judge itself, except itself!

• Such “wisdom” seems skilful, shrewd and even logical – but is in fact talk disproved by life! James 1:22 says, “Keep on being doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves”.

• The wisdom that does not come from above, no matter how fine-sounding it is, no matter how appealing to the mind, no matter how much finance is behind it to publish and disseminate it – all this is empty and in the end goes nowhere. It may seem to satisfy the mind, the soul and the sensual, but it is NOT from above and so is a lie.

• James tells us that such “wisdom” is three-fold in nature. Earthly, Self-centred, and Demonic. Strong words indeed. Let’s unpack these a little.

Earthly = this kind of human wisdom is limited, has no knowledge of Holy Spirit revelation or truth, and originates in the mind of man (being seeded by demonic thought). It is based on worldly man-inspired thoughts, and therefore only has THIS earthly life in view. By nature it’s directly opposed to that wisdom coming from the Father of lights (James 1:17).

Self-centred (sensual or natural) = it actually means “animal-like” or “animal-souled” meaning it is not born of God, so does not have the Spirit of God. This simply means that there is a “wisdom” that is self-gratifying and has as its main objective the satisfaction of animal-like passions (1 Cor. 2:14 – “a natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to know them, because they are spiritually discerned”. Such “wisdom” only wants to feed the soul, and brings a corruption.

Demonic = this is a disturbing word that means to exhibit a so-called wisdom such as demons exhibit. It is a partaking of a true demonic work. It has the idea of not only being inspired by demons, but also continuing in their work through their on-going influence upon the mind. It is “from hell” and not “from above”. Nothing could be plainer here. Serves the interest of Satan’s kingdom only.

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Verse 16: For wherever jealousy and rivalry exist, there is disorder and every kind of evil.

• Where jealousy (envy) and rivalry (self-seeking) exist there will also be Confusion and every Evil Thing.

Confusion = a disorder and instability. The root word actually means “tumultuous anarchy”. James 1:8 shows the consequence of this in an individual.

Every evil thing = such things start out as trivial, then move onto things that are “cheap” with the result being “against God”, hence evil.

• Both of these are part and parcel of the Jezebelic pattern. Note that James does not refer to these as “fruit” as he does with true wisdom (see vs. 18), but as “works” of the flesh (Gal. 5:19).

• Godly wisdom will always bring about a reconciling peace between God and man, whilst ungodly wisdom can only ever produce confusion – and that in abundance.

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Verse 17: However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, and without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.

• “The wisdom that comes from above” is a joyous phrase. We are Born-Again from above, Jesus came from above, we will ascend to above, and we are to look to the things that are above.

• Here is the great declaration that true wisdom always comes from the Lord above. God is its only author; it is never a mixture of God and Man. It is pure because it comes from one source only.

• Such wisdom can be noticed in any true believer by the following 3 characteristics:

“Pure Peaceable” – “Willing to yield”

“Pure” here has the connotation that such heavenly-born wisdom is pure because it comes first in all essential and true things. All else is secondary to the purity and perfection of Wisdom. How we need this. Do you hunger for it? It is indeed pure because this is the first effect it has on our mind!

“Peaceable” isn’t so much internal peace of mind, but more the peace that is evident between persons the believer associates with. The man of wisdom will instinctively promote peace between people. It literally means to be a “lover of peace”.

“Willingness to yield” here refers to the wise saint being the kind of person who approachable, one who always yields to the Truth when it is presented. It has the sense that such a wise peaceable person is never over-bearing or obstinate.

• Out of these pure characteristics the following fruit will blossom; mercy, no partiality, and no hypocrisy.

“Mercy” = it means to be disposed towards compassion. It is a practical and active thing being considered here, not simply a doctrine or ideal.

“No partiality” = most probably refers to the wise one making no distinction between people, and treating them all alike. It of course also means that a wise man will not be swayed by self-interest, preservation or reward.

“No hypocrisy” = the word literally means “without wax” and alludes to the ancient practice of unscrupulous potters disguising cracked pottery with wax, that when dried, looked as if there was no blemish. However when put up to the light, or in the sun, the wax would readily show up as a defect. For us in context of this teaching it means that we are not to pretend to be more than we are.

Note that all these relate to our conduct towards other people.

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Verse 18: And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for the ones making peace.

• Just as earthly “wisdom” (so called!) has certain results, so too does godly wisdom. They are: Fruit and Peace.

• “Fruit” = remember the Biblical principle that “you reap what you sow”. We can only impart to others what we’re truly ministering in (no second-hand revelation). If you’re into some secret sin, then no matter what you preach, teach or say the sin (or its consequences) will come to the fore at some time, exposing the sin in you, or worse – affecting those to whom you minister. I have noticed that those who are in literal adultery will eventually bring forth spiritual adultery in the form of wrong teaching. The reverse is also true: teach wrong doctrine (spiritual adultery) and it won’t be long before you’re also into physical adultery.

• “Peace” = nearly always in Scripture peace refers to the reconciliation between God and Man. It can have the same meaning in relation to other people, but in the New Testament is usually confined to that peace between God and Man brought (and bought!) about solely through the saving work of Jesus.

So we come to the end of this short study – but because wisdom is wise, there is no end to studying it – and living it! Blessed are those who have such godly characteristics in their hearts and who sow it, so that in due season others might reap.

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If we would be truly “wise” then we should SHOW it, not in vanity, self-righteousness or pride, but by being wise ones. We also have the duty to ACT in a peaceable manner to others as Righteous Ones. (Proverbs 2:2-6)

“If you attend to wisdom, you shall extend your heart to understanding.

For if you cry for discernment, lifting up your voice for understanding;

if you seek her as silver, and search for her as hidden treasures,

then you shall understand the fear of the LORD and find knowledge of God.

For the LORD gives wisdom; out of His mouth are knowledge and understanding.”

And this beautiful text (2: 10-11)

“When wisdom enters into your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion shall keep you, and understanding shall watch over you”

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…..Peter McArthur…..www.issachar.org.au

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A teaching by Peter McArthur.

We are told in the Word that the reason John the Baptiser came was to reveal the Messiah Jesus to the nation of Israel.

“On the morrow, John sees Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold! The Lamb of God, taking away the sin of the world! This is He about whom I said, After me comes a Man who has been before me, for He was preceding me. And I did not know Him; but that He be revealed to Israel, for this reason I came baptizing in water.” John 1:29-31

It’s interesting to note how the ministry of the Lord Jesus is a re-run of John’s ministry in the early stages. For instance, John’s first message was “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand” (Mtt 3:2).

Some of Jesus’ earliest recorded words of His ministry were identical (Mtt 4:17 ). Then we have John coming out of the desert (Mk 1:4 ), and Jesus going into the desert (Mk 1:12 ). There is an identification and link here, and just as John’s purpose was to reveal, so too we can expect that Jesus of course would do much revealing.

In mainstream church teaching THE reason that Jesus came is given as “to save us” – or variations on the same theme (deliver us, free us, forgive us, restore us to the Father, etc.) All are valid, but simply don’t do justice to the wide breadth of WHY HE CAME.

In fact by talking about “why He came” may give us the wrong end of the stick. The scriptural focus is more on the idea that Jesus was sent! There’s a world of difference. When we speak of why Jesus came we are seeing it from an earthly perspective: He came to us. But when we speak of Jesus being sent we are then talking about it from a heavenly perspective. He was sent from the Father’s presence as part of the Father’s purpose. Can you see the important difference?

One is an earthly perspective; the other a heavenly view point. One is man’s perspective, the other is the Father’s. It’s this latter one that is the most common in Scripture. Look at these verses about Jesus being sent.

Mtt 10: 40 “The one who receives you receives me, and the one who receives me receives the one who sent me.”

Mk 9: 37 “Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Lk 4: 43 “I have to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God in the other cities also, for that is what I was sent to do.”

Lk 9: 48 “Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”

Jhn 5: 36-38 “But I have a greater testimony than John’s, for the works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his appearance,  nor do you have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe in the one whom he sent.“

Jhn 6: 29, 39 and 57  “Jesus answered them, This is the work of God: to believe in the one whom he has sent.” “And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything that he has given me, but should raise it to life on the last day.” “Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will also live because of me. ”

Jhn 7: 28-29 “At this point Jesus, still teaching in the temple, shouted, “So you know me and know where I have come from? I have not come on my own accord. But the one who sent me is true, and he is the one you do not know.  I know him because I have come from him and he sent me.”

Jhn 8: 18 “I am testifying about myself, and the Father who sent me is testifying about me.”

Jhn 14: 24 “The one who does not love me does not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine, but comes from the Father who sent me.”

Gal 4: 4 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”

1 Jhn 4: 9 “This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him.”

1 Jhn 4: 14 “We have seen for ourselves and can testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world.”

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So now let’s look at the 16 Biblical reasons the Word gives for “why Jesus was SENT”.

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1. To save His people from sin

“And she will bear a son and you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” Mtt 1:21

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2. To proclaim

“And He said to them, Let us go into the neighbouring towns that I may proclaim there also. For it was for this I came forth.” Mk 1:38

“But He said to them, It is right for Me to proclaim the gospel, the kingdom of God, to the other cities, because for this I was sent.” Luk 4:43

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3. To save the lost

“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” Mtt 18:1

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4. To stop us from perishing, and to have everlasting life

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone believing into Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jhn 3:16

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5. To give us life abundantly

“The thief does not come except that he may steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly.” Jhn 10:1

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6. To be light

“I have come a light to the world, that everyone who believes into Me may not remain in the darkness.” Jhn 12:46

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7. Not to judge but to save the world

“And if anyone hears My Words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come that I might judge the world, but that I might save the world.” Jhn 12:47

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8. To deliver us

“…who gave Himself for our sins, so that He might deliver us out of the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father…” Gal 1:4

“…and to await His Son from Heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, the One delivering us from the coming wrath.” 1 Thess 1:10

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9. To redeem and purify

“…who gave Himself on our behalf, that He might redeem us from all lawlessness and purify a special people for Himself, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:14

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10. To confirm promises

“And I say, Jesus Christ has become a minister of circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises of the fathers.” Rms 15:8

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11. To save sinners

“Faithful is the Word and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” 1 Tim 1:1

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12. To take away the sin (literally in the Greek)

“And you know that that One was revealed that He might take away our sins (THE sin), and sin is not in Him.” 1 Jhn 3:5

“He has been manifested for putting away of sin through the sacrifice of Himself.” Heb 9:26

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13. To destroy the devil’s work

“The one practicing sin is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning. For this reason the Son of God was revealed, that He might demolish the works of the devil.” 1 Jhn 3:8

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14. To give understanding

“And we know that the Son of God has come, and He has given to us an understanding that we may know the true One…” 1 Jhn 5:20

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15. To abolish death

“But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who has abolished death…” 2 Tim 1:10

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16. To be the propitiation

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation relating to our sins.” 1 Jhn 4:10

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All these texts provide a broad and expansive number of reasons “why Jesus was sent”.

It would do us well to declare and teach ALL these truths when we evangelize or witness to others.

The simple statement of saying to the unsaved that “Jesus came to save us”, or similar words, is not at all totally biblical, nor helpful.

Let us be more accurate, and more biblical in what we declare to be the reason/s for the revealing of the Messiah to mankind.

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Peter McArthur The Issachar Ministry, Australia www.issachar.org.au

A teaching by Peter McArthur

Some scriptural insights about ‘holding fast’ in expectant hope

PLEASE NOTE: The following teachings are given in outline only; I could’ve easily expanded on what the text says and given examples of everyday usage for you to reflect upon. However, I am increasingly finding it of more benefit to the reader if YOU do the thinking through, rather than me provide a ‘ready-made’ insight. Therefore I ask you to read through what follows, to consider it deeply, and then make you own application. This in fact is a more Biblical approach. Let’s begin.

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During times of trial and testing we can find ourselves in a place of confinement and stress. When we turn to the Word to find some comfort, surprisingly we’re often told to simply “Wait on God”. In order to fully appreciate what this COMMAND is about (because that’s what it really is!) it will help to dig deeper into the fuller meaning of what “waiting” on God truly means.

So first, let’s consider this wonderful text that is so encouraging (Psalm 27:14). Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he will strengthen thy heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

It is this profound word “wait” that we will look at in some depth.

IN SUMMARY

All these insights tell us that “waiting” on God is not an idle thing, or being passive, or wishing that something might happen. Rather it is an expectant hopeful thing – something quite ACTIVE.   Note these factors:

• we are to adhere to God by “twisting” ourselves to Him like a vine around a pole;

• by renouncing self-help we are to “gather” ourselves to God and direct our prayer expectantly to Him;

• we are to stop complaining to God and in an attitude of quiet submissive trust, present ourselves to Him waiting for Him to act;

• from His very own power God will strengthen us to hold onto Him through any situation in life;

• we are to keep alive in our memory,  and hold fast in confidence to the truths about God – He is who He says He is!

• it is vital that we get a grip on eternal truths and hold firm to them until we die, or Jesus comes!

Come Lord Jesus!

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…..Peter McArthur…..www.issachar.org.au

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