Sunday, October 29, 2017

Halloween: Should Christians Celebrate It? Witches and the Occult? Ditch Halloween. Update. Martin Luther.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

Halloween: Should Christians Celebrate It?

“Where did Halloween and its dark and demonic themes come from? What is its relationship to All Saints’ Day, and should Christians celebrate Halloween?

Halloween

Should Christians celebrate Halloween?

Halloween, with its dark and demonic themes, seems an unlikely holiday for Christians to celebrate. Yet it has become increasingly popular in America and other countries, marketed as a harmless dress-up night for kids and an excuse to party for adults. Where did Halloween come from?

Origin of Halloween

“The Celtic festival of Samhain is probably the source of the present-day Halloween celebration. The Celts lived more than 2,000 years ago in what is now Great Britain, Ireland, and northern France. Their new year began on November 1. A festival that began the previous evening honored Samhain, the Celtic lord of death. The celebration marked the beginning of the season of cold, darkness, and decay. It naturally became associated with human death. The Celts believed that Samhain allowed the souls of the dead to return to their earthly homes for this evening” (The World Book Encyclopedia, 1990, article “Halloween”).

It seems costumes of animal heads and skins played a part in their celebration, as well as fortune telling using the remains of the animals that were sacrificed. So how did this gory pagan holiday become associated with Christianity?

“Many of the customs of the Celts survived even after the people became Christians. During the 800’s, the church established All Saints’ Day on November 1. … The people made the old pagan customs part of this Christian holy day” (ibid.).

Halloween: A celebration of evil

Contimued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/holy-days-vs-holidays/halloween/

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What Does God Say About Witches and the Occult?

Deuteronomy 18:10-12

““There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you.”

God outlawed witchcraft and other pagan practices that appealed to the evil spirit realm for their power. To God, it was an abomination for His people to seek help from Satan and his demons. Still, the Israelites were enticed by these practices again and again.

This was not just an Old Testament concern. The new converts to Christianity also took the subject of magic seriously (Acts 19:19). The apostle John also warns that those who practice witchcraft must repent or they will end up in the lake of fire—the second death (Revelation 9:21; 21:8).

How did Western, so-called Christian nations get caught up in a holiday like Halloween that dabbles in the darkness of evil spirits, witchcraft and the occult? See our article “Halloween: Should Christians Celebrate It?””  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/what-does-god-say-about-witches-and-the-occult/

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3 Reasons to Ditch Halloween

On Oct. 31, millions will celebrate Halloween. But thousands have taken a stand against this dark holiday. Should you join the movement to ditch Halloween?

3 Reasons to Ditch Halloween

Thousands of Christians around the world voluntarily have made the choice to kick Halloween to the curb. They made that decision because there are serious problems with the celebration of this holiday.

Earlier this month, CNN Money reported that Halloween spending is expected to be down slightly this year from previous years. Americans are still uncertain about the economy, so spending hard-earned money on costumes and candy seems like an unnecessary expense to some.

Despite the expected downturn in Halloween-related spending, the amount that will be spent on Halloween by Americans is still staggering. The National Retail Federation estimates that nearly $7 billion will be spent to celebrate the holiday this year—mainly on costumes, decorations and candy.  (From me:  This is money that could be used better in helping  homeless people and/or animals, or shelters for people or animals.)

What will you go as?

Have you decided what you will be for Halloween this year? Whether the answer is yes or no—Life, Hope & Truth has a suggestion:

Dress like a Christian for Halloween this year.

You may ask, how does someone dress up like a Christian? The answer: by not dressing up like anything at all!

In other words, ditch Halloween completely!”

More at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/change/blog/3-reasons-to-ditch-halloween/

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4 “Christian” Excuses for Keeping Halloween

“Oct. 31, millions of Christians will celebrate Halloween. Why do people who claim Christianity continue to take part in this openly dark holiday?

4 “Christian” Excuses for Keeping Halloween Halloween is coming up; and amazingly, millions of Christians will celebrate this dark holiday—along with their children. People who should be following the teachings and example of Jesus Christ are putting up horrific images in their yards, telling ghost stories, watching horror movies and enveloping their lives in darkness. 

This horror-filled holiday, with its clearly dark origins and practices, should horrify Christians, right? Unfortunately, many are neck-deep in it. According to a 2006 Gallup Poll, only 11 percent of Americans had religious objections to Halloween. A National Retail Federation survey showed that over 157 million Americans  celebrated Halloween in 2015. For a country where around 70 percent of adults identify themselves as Christian, this should be the real horror!

Why do professing Christians celebrate a holiday that is so obviously dark and evil? 

No matter how good you try to make poison look, it is still poison and should not be ingested.

Many Christians have already discovered that Halloween is not something Jesus Christ wants His followers to celebrate. Join us!”

More at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/change/blog/4-christian-excuses-for-keeping-halloween/

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Fighting the Works of the Flesh: Witchcraft

“In the sixth post in this series covering the works of the flesh, we look at what sorcery means today and several strategies for combating it.

Fighting the Works of the Flesh: Witchcraft If you ask most professing Christians if they are involved in witchcraft, sorcery or the occult, the most common answer would likely be “No, of course not!”

The word sorcery in Galatians 5:20 comes from the Greek word pharmakeia, which is derived from a word that means drug (where we get the English word pharmacy). Pharmakeia “means the occult, sorcery, witchcraft, illicit pharmaceuticals, trance, magical incantation with drugs” (Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary, New Testament, 1992).

Sorcery can have many forms. It is commonly associated with the occult, the dead and worship of the earth and elements of nature. These dark ideas seem to be gaining acceptance even in countries with a supposedly Christian majority, such as America. (We will cover the aspect of illicit pharmaceuticals and altered states of consciousness when we get to the work of the flesh listed as drunkenness.)

Even without considering the Wiccan groups springing up all over the Western world, Americans would be naïve not to recognize that their commonly accepted holiday of Halloween celebrates the occult, darkness and black magic. Halloween leads many people, often unwittingly, to involve themselves in the occult and celebration of Satan and demons.

Lies about sorcery

Lie No. 1: “Satan and demons aren’t real. They are just fun fantasies that make for good fiction.” 

Satan has been using this lie for centuries, luring people into the idea that both he and his angels are figments of overactive imaginations. Pretending that there aren’t any dark forces with supernatural powers who want to draw people away from God leads people to think that black magic and the occult are just harmless fantasies.

For example, many professing Christians would flinch in horror at seeing an R-rated movie depicting elements of the occult in all its raw, dark glory. However, those same Christians don’t seem to blink when dressing their child up in a wizard’s outfit and sending him off to celebrate Halloween, a widely accepted holiday that makes no excuse for its blatant theme of darkness and the occult.”  More at:  https://lifehopeandtruth.com/change/blog/fighting-the-works-of-the-flesh-witchcraft/

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Update

Well, that enough about that nasty stuff!   Roy is supposed to be here on Sunday, so we wanted to have things ready for him.  This week Zack and I did some more staining and polyurathane in the kitchen. We were mostly concentrating on the ‘passthru’ between the kitchen and living room as the wires are already there for Roy to install the new light.    We also sanded and painted the shelves that will go in the kitchen cabinets, so that he could cut them to width on the table saw. 

We spent one morning cleaning up the rest of the border of my yard where the subdivision had torn up the fence.  My underground water system for my hedge and row of aloe vera had become exposed, so we had to re-bury that. Now there are little orange flags showing where the underground utilities are in the grass verge on the road all the way from one end of the subdivision to the other. So maybe they are going to put up a new fence.

One afternoon I was at a memorial for the father of my SPCA boss, Kenya.  Chris, my foster mom neighbor and I went together.  There was quite a decent crowd, and quite a few of the foster parents.   Kenya gave a tearjerking eulogy about her Dad.  Never having had the experience of a loving Dad, it was difficult for me to understand the bond that they must have had, but I could see that it was something special.

One afternoon I cooked a lot more yellow squash and zucchini in a crockpot for the church potluck, with some cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas and upland cress.  Then I made a Sweet Potato and Beef Shepherd’s Pie. Those were a great hit.  My next dish turned out to be too sweet for me.  It was Slow-Cooker Apple Crisp.  It was easy to make, but I won’t put so much sugar next time.

The Bible readings were Gen. 6:9-11;32 (with a lot of ‘begatting’ going on), Isa. 54:1-55:5 and Matt. 24:36-46. 

The Teaching was about Martin Luther.  Back in those days, 500 years ago it was illegal for anyone to read the Bible.  Also people had to pay “indulgences” which profited the Popes immensely.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgence .  Martin Luther was so angry about the way the Popes were handling things that he became a monk so that he could have access to a Bible, back then it was probably the Geneva Bible.   And the rest is history.  I wrote about this back in August:

image“A copy of Martin Luther's translation of the Bible into the German language.

October 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s reputed action of nailing his “95 Theses” to the church door in Wittenberg (where he was a professor of theology at Wittenberg University). This document criticized certain practices and doctrines of the Catholic Church and is considered the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Luther claimed that the Roman church under the popes had moved away from the truth of the Bible.

To Luther’s credit, his 95 Theses highlighted many legitimate issues with the Catholic Church of his time. However, if the pope had heeded Luther’s critiques, would that have returned Catholicism to the Christianity of the Bible?

The truth is, Martin Luther and the Reformation he began continued to embrace many prominent nonbiblical doctrines that the church they were protesting had adopted hundreds of years earlier.

One of the most prominent unbiblical doctrines Protestants maintained was regarding Sunday as the Christian day of worship. To learn why the biblical Sabbath isn’t Sunday, read “Was the Sabbath Changed to Sunday?”     From: http://pennys-tuppence.blogspot.com/2017/08/a-labor-day-look-at-gods-sabbath-gift.html .

We had plenty of food, including chicken enchiladas and rice, a chicken and spaghetti dish, and a  store-bought roasted chicken, so my beef dish was a change.  Plus lots of veggies, beans and salads, and some more of my starfruit in jel dessert. (Not Jello brand)  We have some new people so we are getting more variety of dishes.

Today, Sunday, Roy arrived, but couldn’t stay long, as he had his friend with the two broken legs with him.  But we did get that big heavy TV 32” that my daughter brought me, on the corner cabinet in my living room.  I tried to lift half of it, but I knew I couldn’t get it up on the cabinet, so Hans came to the rescue.  Then Roy and I got the 27” into my bedroom, and took the 25” that was in my bedroom and stored it in the hall for now.  As I have said before, I don’t have to have the newest latest things.  Thank goodness that TV’s don’t have to be moved often. 

Yesterday the weather was mild, and then it unexpectedly went below freezing last night. Fortunately it wasn’t cold for very long and my aloe vera didn’t suffer.  Then it turned into a warm 72 deg. day.

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Mark of the Beast. Resisting Satan’s Influence Now. Satan Will Be Bound. Satan’s Future. God’s Body Armor. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

Mark of the Beast

“Will you accept the mark of the beast? Without it, you won’t be able to buy or sell. With it, you’ll suffer the plagues of Revelation. What should you do? 

The mark of the beast

There has been much speculation about the mark of the beast mentioned in Revelation. What do you need to know about this mysterious mark?

It seems that no subject has intrigued and baffled people more than this mysterious mark spoken of in the book of Revelation. Many books have been written and many sermons have been preached about this subject. Scholars and theologians have offered many different ideas about it. Some suggest it is a microchip implanted in one’s forehead or an invisible mark or a visible mark. Some even think it could be one’s credit card or debit card.

But what does the Bible reveal about this puzzling mark?

The key passage reads: “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:16-17).

If one does not have this identifying sign, he or she will not be able to legally transact business. This person will find it difficult to earn a living, to hold a job or to run a business.

What is the beast of Revelation?

John, the one God chose to write down the book of Revelation, saw a vision of the future. Here is what he wrote concerning this beast: “Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority” (Revelation 13:1).

To understand what this beast in the book of Revelation is, we need to begin in Daniel 7:1-8, where we find the imagery of four animals, representing the four great historical empires. These were a lion (Babylon), a bear (Persia), a leopard (Greece) and a fourth beast (Rome).

It is this fourth beast described by Daniel and recorded by John that would have “ten horns” and receive a “deadly wound” before rising again before the end of this age (Daniel 7:7-8; Revelation 13:3). This empire is the “beast” of the book of Revelation. We should note that the human leader of this revived empire is also referred to as “the beast” (Revelation 19:20). The mark of the beast is the mark or identifying sign of this empire.

The book of Revelation explains that the dragon gives the beast its power and authority. This dragon is Satan the devil (Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:2). Satan uses this beast to rule and deceive the world.

A second beast

Let’s now turn our attention to the word “he” in Revelation 13:16. The passage says, “He causes all … to receive a mark.” Who is “he”? Verse 11 says, “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.”

These characteristics indicate a false religious leader who “causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast” (verse 12). This second beast is called the “false prophet” (Revelation 19:20). This mark or sign represents a final revival of the Roman Empire at the time of the end. The religious leader that supports the beast “causes” people to accept it.”

Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/revelation/mark-of-the-beast/

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Resisting Satan’s Influence Now

1 Peter 5:8-9

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

Satan the devil is the enemy of God and of humanity. He is powerful, hateful and deadly. But God does not leave us defenseless. He tells us to resist Satan with faith that the all-powerful Creator God will back us up.

James adds: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7-8). By submitting to God and drawing close to Him, we will have His protection, and Satan won’t be able to destroy us.

But if we wander off from God, like a lone animal straying from the herd, we will be easy prey for Satan, the roaring lion.

Until the time when Satan is locked away, pictured by the Day of Atonement, we must be constantly alert and aware of Satan’s deceptive and alluring tactics. We must use the armor of God to defend against Satan’s attacks.

To learn more about how to fight against sin in your life, read “How to Resist Satan, the Roaring Lion,” “Seven Steps for Overcoming Sin” and “Habitual Sin: How to Overcome.”

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/resisting-satans-influence-now/

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Satan Will Be Bound

Revelation 20:1-3

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

In Revelation 12:9-12 John described Satan being cast down to the earth “having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” In Revelation 20:1-3 we see the end of that “short time.” Satan’s wrath will have brought a deceived humanity to the brink of destruction, to the point of even fighting against Jesus Christ, our Savior, at His return.

But Christ will easily defeat the combined firepower of humanity, and Satan will be no match for Him either. In order to bring a time of peace and utopia to the earth, the deceiver must be locked up. Satan’s deceptive influences will be blocked for a thousand years, making it much easier for humanity to make the right choices without interference and diabolical temptations.

For more about God’s plan to bind Satan, read about the Day of Atonement or watch the video “Atonement: The Root of the Problem.”

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Satan’s Future

Revelation 20:7-8, 10

Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. …

The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

In Revelation 20:1-3 we see that Satan will be bound and kept from deceiving people for 1,000 years. (This is also pictured in the symbolism of the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16:21-22). But he will be released and will again show his deceptive power, even on people who have lived under God’s beautiful Kingdom.

But finally Satan and his demons, as immortal spirit beings, will be locked away forever. The lake of fire will burn up those who are physical and mortal, but it is described as torment for those angelic beings who have permanently chosen the way of evil. Since physical fire cannot hurt spiritual beings, this torment must be mental torment.

For more about Satan’s fate, see “Satan Destroyed? How?

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/satans-future/

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God’s Body Armor

An Amazing Fact: “Kevlar is a synthetic fiber developed in 1965 and was first used commercially in the early 1970s as a substitute for steel racing tires. It has a high tensile strength-to-weight ratio, making it five times stronger than steel. It is used for making a variety of items such as canoes, racing sails, and bicycle tires. It’s most well-known application is in body armor.  

When Stephanie Kwolek first invented poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, the solution was a cloudy substance that was usually thrown away. But she decided to persuade the technician she was working with, Charles Smullen, to test the solution. They were amazed to find the solution did not break like nylon. Her supervisor and lab director realized her discovery was significant because it opened the door to a new field called polymer chemistry.

In body armor, Kevlar fibers actually “catch” a bullet in a multilayer web of woven fabrics. Different layers in the weave perform different tasks. The “engaged fibers” absorb and disperse the energy of the impact, transferring it to other fibers at “crossover points” in the weave of the body armor. Of course, if you don’t wear the vest, it won’t protect you. The Department of Justice estimates that 25 percent of state and local police are not issued body armor. Of the 1,200 officers killed in the line of duty since 1980, more than 30 percent could have been saved by body armor.

The risk of dying from gunfire is 14 times greater for an officer not wearing body armor.
Paul writes, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). The bullets we face are not ballistic missiles from guns. We need body armor that cannot be pierced by Satan because “we wrestle not against flesh and blood” (v. 12). God offers you something stronger than poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide. Take time today to put on the protective gear that will withstand the most powerful fire of the enemy.    

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:13”

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Update:

Another week when not much was done to the mini-house as Roy was working elsewhere.  I don’t know when he will be back. I get so discouraged trying to find competant workers.   Sometimes I think I would like to sell the whole place and go somehwre else that doesn’t need so much work.  Like the sign that I have on my porch:  “So When Do I Get To Retire?” ! 

Zack, my neighbor helped me for a couple of days.  We put up a temporary wire fence between the mini-house and the road.  That is a pie-shaped lot, so the house had to be built at the back of the lot, only 10’ from the busy road.  The back door is so close to people walking by, that it felt vunerable.  A permanent fence cannot be installed until someone, the county maybe, puts the back the poles that hold up the flashing yellow traffic light at the entrance to the subdivision.  Each pole holding up the wires for the traffic light on either side of the road, fell over due to all the rain during Harvey.  They just toppled over like an uprooted tree.  One of the pole’s guy wires is anchored in the minihouse back yard, so my permanent fence can’t be built yet.

Zack also put some urethene on some of the window sills and trim in the mini-house, and then he just disappeared.    I hoped that I was helping him by hiring him as he has no income.  Folks want to get paid, but just don’t want to work for it anymore.   Early on Wednesday I was ready to take him to Conroe for his blood tests, and he didn’t even show up.

On Monday afternoon, my dear daughter Wendy brought me the residue of her yard sale.  One item was a 32” TV.  Right now my largest is 27”, so it will be a nice change,  My TV’s sit in corners on triangular corner cabinets, so it doesn’t matter if they are not the new flat screens.  I like to watch certain shows on TV, but I am not that into it, so spending money on flat screen TV’s is not a priority with  me.  It is a very heavy and awkward TV, so we called Hans to come help us unload it.  We managed to get it on a four-wheel hand-truck and into my living room, and that’s where it has stayed because there hasn’t been anyone here to help put it up on the corner cabinet.

The items in the boxes that Wendy brought were bedspreads, shelves, knick-knacks etc. and other things in a ‘cottage’ theme that she thought I could sell.  Now that Wendy and Richard have a new home at Lake Somerville, she is going with a different decor.  They sold their lakeview place at Lake Palestine, so she wants water themed items now.  She took her pick of my collection of large and small shells from around the world, a bookshelf with oars for legs, beach pictures and sheets with boat and nautical themes. 

Then Wendy and I went thrift-shopping.  I needed a digital bathroom scale for weighing parcels and found one.  She needed a bathroom cabinet and found one.  We also found a really lovely door for the bathroom in the mini-house. 

Once home here, I quickly defrosted and cooked some ground bison,  made a good British ‘Bisto’ gravy, sweet potatoes, Italian beans and yellow squash.  Wendy had never had bison before and loved it.  We had a great afternoon and evening, then it was time for her to go home to her husband and grown-up son in College Station.

One morning was spent defrosting my deep freeze.  This is the worst it has ever been.  The door had somehow become blocked slightly ajar, the freezer defrosted a bit and then everything became frozen in place.  It took two hairdryers on stands, and stack of towels to get it done, then the ensuing laundry!

One day, just out of boredom, even though I have plenty to do, I went to the store to buy some watercress.  It is supposed to be the new kale!  They didn’t have any. 

Then I finally got my foster-cat’s worm medicine down her!  It has taken me three weeks! (not this way  http://www.pawsperouspets.com/humor/catpill.shtml  ha-ha)  I found a canned food that she really liked and emptied the capsule in it.  I had tried that a couple of times before, but she took one lick and then wouldn’t touch it.  (that food was given to stray cats outside, so they should feel better now).  I had tried wrapping her up in a thick bath mat and using my pill-popper, but she spat out the capsule twice.  She is such a timid, formerly abused cat that I didn’t want her to be scared of me, so this worked out best.

Thursday and Friday afternoons I spent in the kitchen making different dishes for the church potluck.  One recipe was for cooking any veggies that are laying around doing nothing.  It was very easy-peasy! Just cut them into chunks and dump them in a crock pot with one tablespoon of liquid for 3 hours on high.  They came out very juicy and tender, but one recommended liquid was sodium-free soy sauce, which is what I used, but they came out looking an awful color brown, so they stayed home.   So for the next batch I used a tablespoon of chicken broth, and they were terrific.  I have some chicken broth powder which cames in handy for making something small like a tablespoon of broth.

For a dessert, the rest of the starfruit was cooked, in apple juice this time, and put in a jello mold with some vegan 100% natural BAKOL Jel gelatin-free dessert.  This is one brand that you can be sure that there is absolutely no pork in it, which I will not eat.  (Lev.11:7)  Most gelatins, including Jello, contain pork.

I tried a recipe for “Crispy Turnips Fries”, but like many reviewers said, it is difficult to get them crispy.  So I put a mixture of cooked Beef, Ground Bison and mushrooms in a Pyrex baking dish, covered that with some of the above cooked veggies, sliced small, and put the turnips fries on top, like a Shepherd’s Pie.  I took a tiny crockpot of gravy to go with it.  I like to keep them separate or the Shepherd’s Pie gets all soupy.  It was the rave of the potluck.  Another favorite dish was made by one of the husbands with layers of long grain rice, beans, ground beef and cheese.   We had several other tasty dishes, so we all had a great meal and an enjoyable time discussing different topics around the table.

The Bible readings were Gen. 1:1-6:8, Isa.42:5-43:10. and John 1:1-14. That scripture includes the debatable translation of John 1:1 where it says in some translations that ‘the Word was God’ and in others it says ‘the Word was a god’, or others say ‘the Word was Divine’.  But I don’t think that anyone disputes that Jesus (Yeshua) was there at the beginning and is God’s (Yahweh’s) Son.  The Teaching was ‘About Trust in Yahweh, and Put On The New Man.’

Can you believe that we are still having to use air conditioning at the end of October.  Hardly any cool days these days.

Sunday, October 15, 2017

Why Should Christians Celebrate the Biblical Festival Called the Eighth Day or the Last Great Day? Jesus Risks His Life to Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:  We celebrated The Last Great Day on Friday.

“Many are also surprised to learn that these feasts of the Bible are prophesied to be celebrated by all nations after Jesus Christ’s second coming to establish the Kingdom of God.”

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Bible stories and pictures for the kids to color:

Jesus and the Feast of Tabernacles

“Jesus once celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles even though people were trying to kill Him. Why was it so important to Him to attend that He went secretly?

Jesus and the Feast of Tabernacles

PDF to print for family reading

As Jesus was growing up, He went to the festivals in Jerusalem with His family (Luke 2:41-42). He continued to obey the command to keep God’s seven festivals every year as an adult.

But as He became more well-known, His enemies got angrier at Him. Some people were confused by Jesus. Some thought He was deceiving people. Some were upset because He pointed out the things they were doing wrong. And others were angry because He broke some of the rules that people had added to God’s law.

The Jewish leaders were jealous of Jesus. The Bible says they hated and feared Him so much they wanted to kill Him!

“My time has not yet come”

In the fall when it was time to go to the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus’ brothers seemed surprised that He wasn’t getting ready to go. Even His brothers didn’t believe that He was a teacher sent by God. So they told Him that He should go and impress people by doing miracles—if He was really able to.

Jesus told them to go without Him. “My time has not yet come,” He said (John 7:6). He knew that the leaders in Judea hated Him and wanted to kill Him. So He said, “I am not yet going up to this feast” (verse 8).

But after His brothers had gone, Jesus did go to Jerusalem for the Feast. But He went secretly, without drawing attention to Himself.”      Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/bible-study/bible-stories/jesus-and-the-feast-of-tabernacles/ 

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On the Eighth Day

Leviticus 23:36

“For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.

Sunset began the Eighth Day (also called the Last Great Day), which is observed every year on the 22nd day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. This is the last holy day of the year and represents the culmination of the plan of God.  Members of the Church of God WWA, and many other churches, are gathered all around the world to observe this last of God’s festivals.

This day pictures the final stage of God’s plan for all of mankind—the future event when God will resurrect the billions of human beings who never had the opportunity to learn and live God’s true way of life. Revelation 20:11-12 pictures this momentous time when billions will be raised to physical life and have an understanding of the Bible opened to them.

This is the realization of one of God’s greatest purposes: God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

To read more about the incredible meaning of this Last Great Day, read our article “The Last Great Day: The Final Harvest.”  below.”

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The Last Great Day: The Final Harvest

After the Millennium, pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles, comes another time of spiritual harvest pictured by the Eighth Day or Last Great Day.

The Last Great Day

The seven-day-long Feast of Tabernacles is associated with the 1,000 years of Jesus Christ’s rule on the earth. So continuing in Revelation 20, we come to the Great White Throne Judgment, which corresponds with the Eighth Day or Last Great Day. Verse 5 points out that “the rest of the dead” wouldn’t be resurrected until after the thousand years, which would make this the second resurrection.

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:11-12).

Another view of the second resurrection

This same resurrection is described in other passages that help us to understand it more fully.

Ezekiel 37 describes a valley full of bones that God resurrects to physical life. In this passage God addresses the children of Israel being resurrected: “Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land” (verses 13-14).

During this time, pictured by the Last Great Day, God raises these Israelites as living, breathing human beings, and He offers them His Holy Spirit, which is the same as offering them the chance for salvation and eternal life. God is completely fair and merciful, so these are people who did not have a chance for salvation in their previous lives in this world.

That is why He opens the Book of Life to them—to give them the chance to be written in it! The other books mentioned in Revelation 20:12 would be the books of the Bible, opened to their understanding for the first time.

But will only descendants of Israel have this chance? No, Jesus Christ makes plain that gentiles from all ages will have their opportunity during this Day of Judgment as well (Matthew 10:15; 11:21-24; 12:41-42). And so God’s stated desire will be fulfilled: “Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4; see also 2 Peter 3:9).

What an amazing, merciful plan of salvation is pictured by this Last Great Day and all seven of God’s festivals! What a wonderful future God has in store for us and everyone who will respond to Him!”    From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/last-great-day/

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Jesus Risks His Life to Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles

John 7:2, 10

“Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. … But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.”

In spite of the threat to His life, Jesus Christ secretly made His way to Jerusalem for the annual Feast of Tabernacles. But in the middle of the Feast, He openly went to the temple and taught the people (John 7:14). The Feast of Tabernacles and His mission were so important, He was willing to face those plotting against Him.

This event is covered in our Bible Story article “Jesus and the Feast of Tabernacles.”

The Feast of Tabernacles remains a meaningful festival today. Learn more about it in the article “The Feast of Tabernacles: A Bountiful Harvest”,  featured in my last week’s post.

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/jesus-risks-his-life-to-celebrate-the-feast-of-tabernacles/

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Why Should Christians Celebrate the Biblical Festival Called the Eighth Day or the Last Great Day?

“The seventh and last Holy Day in God's cycle of harvest festivals has great meaning for Christians today.

A tree with sunlight behind it on top of a hill.Raphael Schaller/Unsplash

Through God's wonderful plan everyone will have an opportunity to know His truth, repent and receive salvation.

The final step in God’s plan of salvation for all mankind is portrayed in a feast day that immediately follows the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:39).

Called the eighth day or the Last Great Day, this festival pictures the Great White Throne Judgment of humankind described in Revelation 20:11-13. During this time all people who have died not knowing God’s plan for them will be resurrected to life to be given an opportunity to have their minds opened and respond to God’s call.

All the dead who have ever lived—including the queen of Sheba, inhabitants of ancient Nineveh and the people of Christ’s own time—will all be resurrected together (Matthew 12:41-42). That resurrection of multiple billions of people back to physical life is detailed in Ezekiel 37:1-14. These are the “rest of the dead” spoken of in Revelation 20:5. Billions of human beings will have the opportunity to repent of their past sins and receive the gift of everlasting life.

For those who choose not to surrender to God and His way of life (and would hence live a miserable existence), a merciful and permanent end to their lives will be met in the Lake of Fire, which will occur at the conclusion of this final judgment period (Revelation 20:11-15). Even though not everyone will choose God’s way of life for eternity, our Creator wants “all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4) and is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Through God’s wonderful plan everyone will have an opportunity to know His truth, repent and receive salvation.”      From: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions-and-answers/why-should-christians-celebrate-the-biblical-festival

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Update.

“Flower”, the cat that I was taking care of for the folks whose house was damaged in the hurricane is now gone, and even though she was a really sweet kitty to people, she hated other cats and would chase and terrify my foster cat, timid little Puddin’.  I had to keep Flower in my bathroom, but anytime she got out of there she would torment Puddin’.   Puddin’ is just getting over that, but she still won’t venture into my bathroom. 

My granddaughter Michele, brought her two dogs over for me to groom.  A Schnauzer and a Sheltie.  The Sheltie is in a “lion cut”.  It was a shame that she couldn’t stay long enough for me to completely finish them. They are pictured on my FB page.  I haven’t groomed a dog for a couple of years but I still have my grooming room and equipment.  Nowadays, the grooming room is used as a mail center, where I pack up packages for selling items on eBay.

Roy came and worked three mornings, and we were finishing the wall between the living room and bedroom in the mini-house.  The attic floor was still raised up where he had started to run the wire down into the wall for an outlet six weeks ago, so we finished that, and screwed the attic floor down again.  We started to put the paneling up on the wall, but I had to take my neighbor to the doctor’s Tuesday, and Roy lost the use of a car.  Then Friday was going to be The Last Great Day, a holy day at the church. So he took a few days off until today, Sunday.   The wall itself was completed today, and just needs to be Kilzed and painted.  Roy does such a good job that the walls look like sheetrock, not paneling.  The doors aren’t hung yet either.  But we are getting there.

Several people came to buy things that were for sale, and then on Wednesday I started cooking, ready for the two Holy Days church potlucks, Friday and Saturday.  I was given some tomatoes and okra, so that meant….GUMBO!  I was very careful when I cut up the okra.  Any that I felt any bit of resistance at my knife’s touch were tossed in with the chicken food.  There is nothing as nasty as woody okra!  I had some cooked Italian Turkey Sausage and some cooked chicken breast for the meat in the gumbo.

For a Brit, my Gumbo came out quite OK, because I used a Cajun recipe. I divided the Gumbo into two, so that we could have the turkey sausage in it on Friday, and then chicken on Saturday, but on Saturday the left overs all got mixed together.   I also made seasoned brown rice, and a Zucchini Pie with starfruit on the top.  The starfruit were cooked in freshly squeezed orange juice to make them softer.  We had plenty of food for the two days.   There were also beef dishes, stew, chicken, lasagne, several veggies, and salad.   There was a big cake celebrating The Last Day. 

The Pastor’s wife often brings the Stouffer’s lasagne, but people just aren’t eating it like they used to.  They seem to prefer the home-cooked dishes that she and others bring.  Just like someone used to bring dougnuts, until they discovered that we just aren’t into that junk food anymore.  They would be left, and then given to the chickens.  I hope the chickens didn’t get high blood pressure from all that junk food!

The Bible readings for The Last Great Day were Deut.14:-16:7, 1 Kings 8:54-66 and Num. 29:1. and the Teaching was about the Eighth Day or Last Great Day of The Feast of The tabernacles being a separate Holy Day.  (Would you look at that word,  EIGHTH, if you were learning English would you know how to spell or pronounce it?)  This is the last of the Holy Days this year, the next ones are in the Spring.

On the Sabbath, the Bible readings were Deut. 29:9–34-12.  We wanted to finish Deuteronomy this week so that we could start Genesis next week.  The Teaching was about ‘Submit to Divine Will.’  

For October, it is very warm, maybe folks are on vacation or something because we didn’t have a big crowd for either of the days.

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

The Feast of Tabernacles: A Bountiful Harvest.

For “Scripture Sunday”. Late again!

This is The Week of The Feast of Tabernacles.

The Feast of Tabernacles: A Bountiful Harvest

“The Feast of Tabernacles, during the fall harvest season, pictures 1,000 years of God’s Kingdom on earth. This will be a bountiful spiritual harvest.

Feast of Tabernacles

With Satan removed (pictured by Atonement) and Jesus Christ reigning as King of Kings (pictured by the Feast of Trumpets), the knowledge of God will spread around the world. Those who were faithful to God will serve with Jesus Christ in teaching and administering His way of life for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4).

Consider some of the prophecies of this time of peace and prosperity that will result from living God’s way of life:

“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’

“For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:2-4).

“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).

These and many other Bible passages paint a beautiful picture of good news about this coming millennial reign of Jesus Christ that will inaugurate the eternal Kingdom of God.

Past and future celebrations of the Feast of Tabernacles

The Feast of Tabernacles was so important to Jesus Christ that He went to Jerusalem to celebrate it even though He knew His life would be in danger (John 7:1-26).

And the Feast of Tabernacles is destined to be a major international festival of the Kingdom of God, celebrated even by nations that resisted it at first (Zechariah 14:16-19).

Since Jesus Christ celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, and since He will force people to honor it in the future, it only makes sense for us to celebrate it today.

Significance of tabernacles

The name “Feast of Tabernacles” comes from the tabernacles or temporary dwellings that God commands His people to stay in during this seven-day festival. These temporary living quarters rehearsed the exodus from Egypt, but also serve as a reminder of the temporary nature of our physical life (Leviticus 23:43; 2 Peter 1:13-15). This helps us realize this physical life is not all there is, which helps us focus on those things that are eternal (2 Peter 3:10-13).

As much as everyone will enjoy the time of peace and prosperity, the real accomplishment of this 1,000 years will be in the people who fully commit themselves to God, repent and seek first His Kingdom and righteousness. We believe a large harvest of future children of God will come from this time in history.

However large this harvest is, it seems it will not be as large as the harvest at the seventh step in God’s plan, pictured by the Eighth Day or Last Great Day.

More articles on the same subject: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/feast-of-tabernacles/ 

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The Millennium: 1,000 Years of Peace

Revelation 20:4

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The book of Revelation contrasts those who worshipped the evil beast and received the mark of the beast (symbolic of compromising with God’s law), with those who worshipped and obeyed God to the death, if necessary, and received the seal of God, the Holy Spirit (Revelation 7:3; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Timothy 2:19).

The faithful followers of Jesus Christ will be resurrected or changed to immortality at Christ’s second coming and will help Him set up the Kingdom of God to rule over the earth (Revelation 5:10). This thousand-year rule has become known as the Millennium, from the Latin word for a thousand years. Although not all people will immediately accept Christ as King of kings, it will quickly grow to be a time of peace and prosperity as people see that following God’s laws brings beneficial results. This utopian time is pictured by the annual Feast of Tabernacles,

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When Was Jesus Born?  Was it really on December 25th?  No, During Feast of Tabernacles.

So, when God came to earth to tabernacle among Men it appears that He timed His arrival in the Bethlehem manger to coincide with the Feast of Tabernacles. That was only appropriate, for the Feast of Tabernacles is the most joyous of all the Jewish feasts. It is, in fact, their feast of thanksgiving.

The Nativity

According to Luke 1:24-26, Mary conceived Jesus in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John the Baptist. This means that Jesus was born 15 months after the angel Gabriel appeared to Elizabeth’s husband, Zacharias, and informed him that his wife would bear a child.

According to Luke 1:5, Zacharias was a priest of the division of Abijah. Luke 1:8 says that Gabriel appeared to Zacharias while he was serving as a priest in the Temple.

We know from the Talmud and other sources that the division of Abijah served as priests during the second half of the fourth month of the Jewish religious calendar — which would have put it in late June (the Jewish religious calendar begins in March with Passover).

Fifteen months later would place the birth of Jesus in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. That would be in the fall of the year, in either late September or early October. His conception, not His birth, would have occurred in December of the previous year.

The seventh month of the Jewish calendar is the month of the Feast of Tabernacles. John 1:14, speaking of Jesus as the Word, says: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” The word “dwelt” that is used here is the Greek word “skenoo” which literally means “to tabernacle”!

So, when God came to earth to tabernacle among Men it appears that He timed His arrival in the Bethlehem manger to coincide with the Feast of Tabernacles. That was only appropriate, for the Feast of Tabernacles is the most joyous of all the Jewish feasts. It is, in fact, their feast of thanksgiving.

The total meaning of that feast will not be fulfilled until the Lord returns again to tabernacle among Men for a thousand years while He reigns over the earth from Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. Isn’t the Word of God marvelous?”  More at: http://christinprophecy.org/articles/when-was-jesus-born/

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Update:

This week my young neighbor helped me with a few jobs around here again, but nothing was done to the mini-house as he doesn’t do plumbing, electrical or carpentry.

Sometimes it was frustrating this week.  If you put your automatic vehicle in any gear but P or N, it won’t start will it?  It just does nothing!  Well my van suddenly did the same thing that it did a while back.  It did nothing even when in P or N, no noise, no nothing!  So Thursday I waited three hours for a wrecker outside Conroe Krogers with my friend Chris.  At 7.00 pm we told the Emergency Road Service to postpone it, and Chris took me home.  I was very upset because the ERS was sending a wrecker out of Houston, 38 miles away when there are 18 wrecker services in Conroe.  The next day we set out early and the wrecker arrived prompty and the van was taken to the place that ‘fixed’ it before.  BUT, now the van started right away.  Now that is crazy.  It seems that whatever locks it up, unlocks it as soon as the van is towed.  This is the second time it has done this.  The mechaninc can’t fix it when it is working right.

Friday morning, while I was in the wrecker showing him the way to the repair shop I got two phone calls.  I had forgotten that I was supposed to be at church in half an hour for our start of the celebration of The Feast of Tabernacles.  I had to go dressed as I was, with no food offering.  Chris was following the wrecker so that she could take me home, but she took me to church instead.  Another lady at church lives on my road, so she brought me home.

The Friday Bible readings were Psa. 105, Lev. 22:26-23:44, about the Feasts, Zech.14:1-21, and the Teaching was about The Seven Feasts of Yahweh which Jesus and the disciples observed, and we should too.  The Feasts are all about Jesus.

Hans, my German neighbor, took me to church on Saturday, the Sabbath, and stayed for the service.  He likes our services.  I didn’t have any food prepared for the church potluck, and as we are not supposed to work on the Sabbath, I grabbed a big container of leftover frozen cooked Beef and Veggies, and a crockpot.  It defrosted nicely in the crockpot during the service.  But our potluck didn’t do too well as the oven started acting up.  The pastor’s wife did what she could with moving the food out of the metal oven pans onto pyrex dishes and reheating them in the microwave.  We all had a good dinner anyway, and fun time talking.

The Bible readings were Deut. 21:10-25:19, and as we had a couple of days this year when we could not have a service we doubled up and Deut. 26:1-29:8 was also read.  Then Isa. 52:1-10.  Again the Teaching was about the Feast. We are reminded that we Christions are grafted in to the Jews in Rom. 9:24,25. 10:12,13, 11:13 & 17-19,  Acts 15:14,  Amos 9:12, and Eph. 1 & 2.

Another phone call was from Roy.  He and his friend were staying clean, and he wanted to work some mornings as he had the use of a car, so I let him start work on the mini-house again on Sunday.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Day of Atonement: A Christian Holy Day. God's Point of View. The Symbolism of the Day of Atonement. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

Day of Atonement: A Christian Holy Day 

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur): At One With God“What does the Day of Atonement (or Yom Kippur in Hebrew) have to do with Christianity?

Isn’t this just an Old Testament festival that was fulfilled by Jesus Christ?

If we take a look at some of the Old Testament entries regarding this Holy Day, we see that that High Priest was to enter the Holy of Holies once a year, and spread the sacrificial blood on the Ark of the Covenant (Leviticus 16).

In Hebrews chapter 9, we are told that Jesus Christ “entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption” (verse 12).

Does the sacrifice of Jesus Christ abolish the Day of Atonement? Rather than being forgiven of our sin based on our own merits, the Day of Atonement reminds us of our absolute dependence on God, not just as creator and sustainer, but also as Redeemer. We celebrate the Day of Atonement in remembrance Christ defeating Satan and overcoming sin an death. Discover how this Christian Holy Day is still relevant for the follower of Jesus Christ today…”  More at: http://www.christianholydays.info/day-of-atonement/

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Day of Atonement: God's Point of View

“To comprehend God’s plan, we must understand God’s point of view, a necessary element to a good story. God sees not only the physical events occurring in the world, but the invisible spiritual forces at work behind the scenes.

When Christ returns, He will remove Satan and his demons from their positions of influence. God will ultimately place the blame for the sins of the world on the head of Satan (symbolized by the Azazel goat sent away on the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16:10). From God’s point of view, man has sinned and is responsible for his sins, but Satan was the originator of sin and the deceiver of all mankind (Genesis 3:1-5; Revelation 12:9) and will face the consequences.

The Day of Atonement foreshadows the binding of Satan and his demons. For 1,000 years Satan will be unable to influence human beings. Revelation 20:1-3 describes his imprisonment shortly after the return of Christ. Satan is the impediment standing in the way of mankind’s being reconciled to God. This is the ultimate fulfillment of the Day of Atonement.”       Excerpt from: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/greatest-story-never-told/

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The Symbolism of the Day of Atonement

Leviticus 16:21-22

Pictures from: https://www.slideshare.net/rxariel/the-day-of-atonement

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“Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.”

The Day of Atonement is a special holy day with great meaning. The rituals described in Leviticus 16 help us understand its meaning in God’s plan. Here are excerpts from our article “The Day of Atonement: Removing the Enemy, Reconciling All to God.”

“The rituals God gave ancient Israel for the Day of Atonement included one involving two goats. The high priest was to present them before God, and God would show which one was ‘for the Lord’ to be sacrificed (representing Jesus Christ) and which was for Azazel (the Hebrew word translated as ‘scapegoat’ in the New King James Version). The goat for Azazel was left alive.

“‘And he that letteth go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water’ (Leviticus 16:21-22, 26, Jewish Publication Society).

The connection between the goat for Azazel and the binding of Satan in Revelation 20 becomes more clear when you note that most scholars believe Azazel is the name of a demon inhabiting the wilderness (Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1, p. 326).”

For more about the symbolism of the Day of Atonement, see “Leviticus 16 and the Day of Atonement.”      From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/the-symbolism-of-the-day-of-atonement/

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Jesus and Yom Kippur

The Tabernacle and the Temple gave a clear picture of how sin separates us from the holiness of God. In Bible times, only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies by passing through the heavy veil that hung from ceiling to floor, creating a barrier between the people and the presence of God.

Once a year on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would enter and offer a blood sacrifice to cover the sins of the people. However, at the very moment when Jesus died on the cross, Matthew 27:51 says, "the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split." (NKJV)

Hebrews chapters 8 and 9 beautifully explain how Jesus Christ became our High Priest and entered heaven (the Holy of Holies), once and for all, not by the blood of sacrificial animals, but by his own precious blood on the cross.

Christ himself was the atoning sacrifice for our sins; thus, he obtained for us eternal redemption. As believers we accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of Yom Kippur, the final atonement for sin.”

From: https://www.thoughtco.com/day-of-atonement-700180

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Update.

Well, that is a lot about this present Holy Day, The Day of Atonement.  It is different from the other Feasts as it is a Fasting Day.

My neighbor needed to earn some extra money so he helped me with some things this week.  So on Monday he trimmed the hedge and weed-eated the yard and made it look tidy.

Then, Blow Me Down! On Tuesday, the Property Owners Assoc. comes along and takes down the subdivision’s fence between my back yard and the busy road behind me.  Now anyone walking along the road can come up to the back doors of either of my houses, as I don’t even have fenced back yards any more.  I do have my hedge between me and the world at this main house though. 

So Wednesday we spent the day cleaning up the mess.  Thursday we sorted out the lumber pile on the side of the mini-house, just in case they came along and tore that fence down, too, as I am on a corner. They had told me years ago when they tore out a lot of the fences around the subdivision, that I could keep mine as long as I maintained it.  I have been painting, buying and replacing boards and keeping it up all this time.  But this new Board of Directors wants all the subdivision’s fences down. 

Now they say that they will pay for my boards and that I can put up my own fence, design approved by them, of course.  That’s fine and dandy, but it has to be on the property line which means my hedge, 100’ trough of aloe vera, and underground watering system would be outside the new fence!  Who knew that they would have some silly sod come up with the idea of tearing the fence down since it has been there since 1984.

Friday, I just took it easy and cooked most of the day.  Then I got tired of my long hair and chopped off about 10 inches.  I feel quite light-headed now !

Finding in my freezer, taking up a lot of space, a big package of ground turkey and the only thing I could think of to make it taste less like ground turkey was Hungarian Goulash.  I bought some red onions and Sweet Hungarian Paprika and made a big pot of it.  Also a pot of spiced cabbage and another of purple new potatoes.  These three dishes were packed in three crockpots and taken for the church potluck.  There was also a chicken, organic chicken nuggets, meat pie, rice, beans, greens, salad, lots of other things, plus pies, cookies, etc.  For The Day of Atonement one is supposed to start fasting at sundown, 7.00 pm here,  so we wanted to make sure everybody had enough to eat and have enough left-overs to take home for when they quit fasting.

The Bible readings were Isa. 56:1-8, 58:13,14 about the Sabbath, then Deut. 16:18-21:9, Isa. 51:12-52:12, 53:12, John 1:19-27.  The Teaching was, of course, about The Day of Atonement.  We all had a great time eating, chatting, and fellowshipping in the dining hall, and some stayed for the evening service and start the fast together.   I didn’t want to be driving home after dark, so I went home.  Another lady from our congregation who lives near me, came over and we watched the Day of Atonement service from The Church Of God, Tyler, TX on my computer.

The church we use on Saturdays belongs to a Sunday church, so we had to have The Day of Atonement service after our Saturday service, as the church buildings would be busy on Sunday.