1,101 lambs sacrificed a year did not accomplish what One Lamb Sacrificed once and for all did.

Numbers Chapter 29: Three More Yearly Offerings – Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacle

Numbers 29:1-40

Day 86. Companies struggling with high absenteeism as a result of Covid-19 lockdown privileges; and labor lawyers are getting richer by the minute. Meanwhile, the world has gone crazy now trying to remove statues of famous historical people, and the change the names of things if they were named after those who supported slavery. In Seattle six city blocks have been taken over by the domestic terrorist group called Antifa and the city is allowing it.  In Toronto, there is pressure to change the name of historical Dundas Street, a main downtown artery, because it was named after a Scottish politician who supported Wilberforce but delayed the abolition of slavery by 15 years. You can read about it here Henry Dundas. Lord have mercy on us because we have lost our way. Meanwhile, I press on with our study of Numbers looking for gems. Read on.

The Passage

Verses 1-6 describe the day of blowing trumpets accompanied by a number of sacrifices to be observed on the first day of the seventh month (Tishrei). [See first note under Thoughts section below.]

Verses 7-11 describe the offerings of Atonement to be made on the 10^th day of the seventh month (Tishrei).

Verses 12-40 describe the offerings associated with the Tabernacle starting on the 15^th day of the 7^th month (Tishrei) and continuing with various requirements for eight days.

Needless to say, the seventh month was to be a very busy month for the Israelites. And Moses passed all of this on to the new generation of Israelites.

Thoughts on the Passage

Before we go any further, I want to draw something to your attention. There is a big difference between the Jewish calendar of the Old Testament times and the Jewish calendar of today. See O.T. Jewish Calendar. Here is a comparison of the Biblical calendar with the more modern Hebrew Civil calendar.

Month Number*		Hebrew month	Length	Gregorian
Ecclesiastical/ Biblical	Civil
1	7	Nisan	30	Mar-Apr
2	8	Iyar	29	Apr-May
3	9	Sivan	30	May-Jun
4	10	Tammuz	29	Jun-Jul
5	11	Av	30	Jul-Aug
6	12	Elul	29	Aug-Sep
7	1	Tishrei	30	Sep-Oct
8	2	Cheshvan (or Marcheshvan)	29/30	Oct-Nov
9	3	Kislev	30/29	Nov-Dec
10	4	Tevet	29	Dec-Jan
11	5	Shevat	30	Jan-Feb
12	6	Adar	29	Feb-Mar
Total			353, 354 or 355
* – For the distinction between numbering systems, see § New year below.

Notice, the first month in the Biblical calendar is Nisan, and thus Numbers 27:16 says the Passover is observed during Nisan. But for the modern Hebrew, that is the 7^th month and Tishrei is their first month (7^th on the old biblical calendar).  Okay, now that we got that straight, let’s move on.

The number ‘7’ is a symbolic spiritual number in the Bible and thus it makes sense that many of these key annual special days fall in that month.

So, the Day of Trumpets takes place in the month of Tishrei (biblical 7^th month) on the first day.

Then on the tenth day of Tishrei there is a holy convocation which involves offerings with respect to atonement. So, the month starts with a Day of Trumpets and then the next ten days are for purposes of introspection and repentance, culminating in the Day of Atonement (on the 10^th day of the month). This was not a happy feast by any means.

And the five days later, the day days of the Feast of the Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Ingathering, or more commonly, the Festival of Shelters, or Booths, begins. That goes on for eight days. David Guzik says that this feast, was indeed, “a happy memorial of God's faithfulness to Israel during the Exodus. The sacrifice of so many animals was a demonstration of the richness of God's provision to them through the years in the wilderness.”

It is important to note for all of these days, no laborious work is to be done. That’s a lot of holidays. Some workers and all unions would be happy with these arrangements. But for the Israelites, each one of these holidays had a purpose.

Verse 39 tells us that all the associated sacrifices and offerings were to be presented to the Lord “at your appointed times” and were in addition to their pledged or promissory offerings, and their freewill offerings. Corporate celebrations and offerings do not replace individual offerings and worship and adoration of our God.

Here is a site from the government of Israel that lays out the various holidays we need to be aware: Jewish Holidays Today.

What sticks out for the believer here in this chapter is the number of “lambs” that were being sacrificed. Here are the verses that tell us about the lambs being sacrificed and the number of lambs each time shown in brackets: in verse 2 [7], 8 [7], 13 [14], 17 [14], 20 [14], 23 [14], 26 [14], 29 [14], 32 [14], and 36 [7]. That is a total of 119 lambs.

Robert Jamieson talks about the total number of animals being sacrificed in a year as follows:

From the statements made in this and the preceding chapter, it appears that the yearly offerings made to the altar at the public expense, without taking into account a vast number of the voluntary vow and trespass offerings were calculated at the following amount:--goats, fifteen; kids, twenty-one; rams, seventy-two; bullocks, one hundred thirty-two; lambs, 1,101; sum-total of animals sacrificed at public cost, 1,241. This, of course, is exclusive of the prodigious addition of lambs slain at the Passover, which in later times, according to JOSEPHUS, amounted in a single year to the immense number of 255,600.

No matter which numbers you would like to take, that’s a lot of animals, and especially a lot of lambs.  So why so many lambs? David Guzik answers as follows:

The most prominent animal of sacrifice was the lamb. This is an obvious prophetic reference to Jesus, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)

What does all this mean for you and me? First, I think we need to be aware of would God’s chosen people were asked to do by God Himself in the Old Testament. Second, we need to realize that all these sacrifices were replaced once and for all, by the single sacrifice of Christ on the cross when He died for the sins of mankind. Third, even though we do not have to make these kinds of animal and grain sacrifices today as believers, I believe we have to live a life of “sacrifice” for our Lord. What that means, for each one of us, is between God and each of us. But that requirement for sacrificial living as evidence of our thanksgiving and in appreciation of our salvation and blessings, cannot be ignored. Would you agree?

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

AntiChrist to Lawlessness to End Times

Decoding the Antichrist and the End TimesWhat the Bible Says and What the Future Holds

Author: Mark Biltz

Publisher: Frontline, Charisma Media/House Book Group, Lake Mary, Florida, 2019

Author Pastor Mark Biltz, founder of El Shaddai Ministries in Washington State is a well-known and popular commentator on the Feasts of the Lord and has produced a series of DVDs on the Feasts that have gone around the world. He knows his subject and does not claim to be anything he is not.

Biltz’s contention is that there is no extra bonus prize for being first to identify the real “Antichrist” or when exactly the “end times” will arrive. If fact, if you focus on that you may well miss the Antichrist. Instead, he contends we need to learn to recognize spiritual patterns within history and look for the reoccurrence of events in those patterns, perhaps updated to account for our ‘progress’.  If we know the patterns, we’ll know what to look for and we won’t be fooled into either missing the Antichrist or being taken in by his message.

His book is broken down into two main parts. The first explores theories, myths, and misconceptions. It provides us with a historical perspective of the title’s two topics. This is where he introduces us to various Hebrew word mistranslations – some very intentional at the time, and this has sent us down the wrong path. One good example is where the translators translated the same Hebrew word as ‘church’ in some cases and ‘assembly’ in other places.  There was method to their madness – and not for good. Then Part One goes on to give us, using very thorough descriptions, the Jewish, Islamic, and Christian views of the End Times. While covering the Jewish view, Biltz provides a perspective on, among other things, who exactly will rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. While describing the Islamic view, he provides an account of the Muslim perspective on Gog and Magog, and much more.

He introduces us to, and explains well, the history, rationale, danger, and consequences of Replacement Theology (the idea that God has given up on the Jews as His chosen people and replaced them with Christians). And he certainly does not let the Greek Philosophers get away scot free with respect to their influences on these views.  This part of the book is then rounded out with a review of various Antichrist theories.  What is amazing is the similarity as well as the differences between the views, and Biltz does a good job of explaining what gives rise to both. Students of scriptural documents and ideologies will find this most interesting.

In the second part of his book, entitled ‘Scriptural Keys to the Truth’, Biltz introduces us to Solomon – the king we recognize mainly as the wisest person that ever lived. But the author uncovers Solomon’s dark side presenting him (and with good reason given the evidence he offers) as a ‘type’ of the Lawless One. This section was most enlightening, even to a long-time reader of Scripture like me.  Did you know, for example, that Solomon was acting as an arms dealer to Israel’s enemies?

From there, he goes on to cover Israel’s Glory Days, focusing on what those times teach us. With that we transition into the importance of the Judaic calendar vs. the Roman one. He describes the various feasts that God wanted us to celebrate and when they were to be celebrated. Biltz also has a sense of humor and points out in one place in the book that our failure to observe the right calendar and allowing certain variations in the dates from year to year, causes us to celebrate Christ’s death before His birth.

He zooms in on two very special celebrations – Hanukkah and Purim. Biltz explains the two historically and then relates Hanukkah to the Messiah (using Matthew 24) and Purim to the End Times. A broader perspective of the Feasts is then presented, using the Book of Revelation as the source. He discovers, as will his readers, that the Feasts of the Lord are directly tied to the last book of the Bible and thus to the unfolding of end times events.

The whole point being we would do well to look for the pattern in the timing of the Feasts and how they would apply in the End Times.

One learns much from the book and many questions are raised which challenge the reader. For example, is it possible that the Antichrist may be AI (Artificial Intelligence)? Could there be two Messiahs as the Jews believe? Will two different Jesus figures arrive at the end times – the real Jesus and the fake Jesus, as the Muslims believe? Do the Jews believe the Messiah they are awaiting will be divine?

Biltz maintains we need to be studying the modus operandi of the Antichrist more than we need to figure out who it is or will be? He warns us that the deception of the Antichrist will be very appealing because of the amount of truth he will embed in the lies.

Based on his belief that the answer to when the End Times will occur, Biltz identifies a series of events that we need to look out for and that is worth the price of the book itself. Early in his introduction he does give us an indication that he believes we are likely living in the last third of this present age.  I’ll let you discover how he arrives at that for yourselves – and it is most interesting and convincing, at least to me.

However, he makes it clear throughout the book, that his views are merely his beliefs based on his research and study. We can make up our own minds.

This is a book that I very highly recommend. It is informative no matter what your faith is or isn’t.  It makes you think.  And then you start to look for the signs of the pattern of events that will bring it all to fruition.

Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, February 2, 2019, www.accordconsulting.com

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PRESENTS: JERUSALEM

When Laura Steen of the Toronto office of Allied Integrated Marketing offered me an opportunity to attend the Canadian advance media screening of Jerusalem, at the Ontario Science Centre, I readily accepted.  Jerusalem is big in our life – my wife has gone twice, I once with http://fifthgospelencounters.com/.  In many respects, the trip galvanized my love for the city.  I regret not having done a similar trip many years earlier.  However, better late than never.

I knew the film, as advertised to the press, was not going to be about Jerusalem’s pivotal role in my Christian faith.  I could not expect that of the key players that made it possible – very capable people like Director, Producer, and Writer Daniel Ferguson who has done excellent work on previous IMAX movies (yes, the film is delivered to us courtesy of four different cameras – an IMAX 15-perf 65mm; a Sony F65; a RED Epic; and a Nikon D800E); Producer George Duffield; Executive Producer Jake Eberts (who has 65 Oscar nominations, 27 of which he won; films include Gandhi, The Killing Fields, Driving Miss Daisy, Dances with Wolves, A River Runs Through It, and more); National Geographic; local film Patrons Mohammad & Najla Zaibak and Mark & Suzanne Cohon; and of course, the very public Ontario Science Centre.  No, this film was clearly going to challenge my ‘ownership’ perspective of this much-coveted part of the world that at one time was seen and acted as the centre of the known world, being well-situated geographically where Africa, Asia, and Europe meet.

The city is presented through the eyes, thoughts, lives, and hopes of three very real lovers of Jerusalem with strong ties to their beloved place of residence as well as their respective faiths – Christian, Jewish, and Muslim.

Through these brilliant and forthright young women, the film aims to change the way people think about Jerusalem.  It certainly does that.  It is evident, as one of the ladies said in the press conference after the screening, “the beautiful ancient wall around the Old City of Jerusalem is not the only wall in the place; while that one needs to remain, the social walls inside need to be torn down.”  The reference was to the fact that all three of the residents felt their people lived alone in the city, not knowing much about their neighbors who held two other religious and cultural perspectives.  But although the need was recognized as to what had to change, all agreed this was not “yet the time”.

Ferguson also wanted the viewer to feel he/she had actually been to Jerusalem.  He wanted to achieve that in a unique way, trying to capture over 5,000 years of history in 45 minutes by putting the camera into very special places and giving us glimpses of Jerusalem most of us would never see on our own or in groups.  Getting permission for some of those shots – low aerials over the city, underground tunnels and tombs, and even the now closed to non-Muslims Dome of the Rock – took years to obtain.  But it was indeed worth the wait.

 

It took me very little time to declare the film a success from a cinematic perspective.  It took me much longer to determine just how I felt about its purpose.  I noted a couple of things in the script.  When an American archaeologist shares some of the events that took place on the famous “rock” over which the Islamic Dome of the Rock now stands, she was very careful to state that “here Abraham was tested when he was asked to sacrifice his son” with no mention the son’s name.  For the Christian and Jew it was Isaac; for many Muslims it was Ishmael.  (You can read more on this at: http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/sacrifice.htm.)  I also noticed that even where all three religions were in agreement on a historical event that had significant religious, and often Christian implications such as the aspects of Christ’s existence and ministry, the script, otherwise handled excellently by all, including narrator Benedict Cumberbatch (you’ll remember him from his portrayal of Stephen Hawking, as well as the movie War Horse, The Hobbit Trilogy, Sherlock, and Star Trek into Darkness) often simply introduced it by saying “it is believed” or something similar.  The film could have benefitted both in its credibility as being capable of handling a religious topic – for as much as Jerusalem is a physical place, there is global agreement that it has spiritual significance – and in its purpose of trying to help us see it differently by not taking the “politically correct” or “scientific defense” of such facts.

In the Gospels, Jesus asks one of His close disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”  That’s a question that everyone ultimately answers, even by totally refusing to answer it or ignoring it.  As I watched Jerusalem I wondered how many might be facilitated in their attempt to provide an answer if they first considered the question, “What then is Jerusalem?”  The film goes a long way to answer that comprehensively.

Jerusalem opens March 7^th at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto (http://www.ontariosciencecentre.ca/imax/film/40/), but hopefully will be seen elsewhere in Canada soon.  It has already opened in other countries.  See it.  Go there.  Better late; never is not an option.

 

-- Ken B. Godevenos, Toronto.   February 26, 2014

___________________________________________________________________

[Are you looking for a speaker at your church, your club, school, or organization? Ken is available to preach, teach, challenge, and/or motivate. Please contact us.]

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Latest FBI Hate Crime Report. Bottom line: Islamophobia is a Myth.

This department of the federal government says hate crimes that are "anti-Jewish" outweigh hates crimes that are "anti-Muslim" 4.8/1. Tell me again, "just who is Islamophobic?" Not Americans. The Obama administration (excluding the FBI) just want us to think Americans are -- it serves they purposes and failure to deal with radical terrorist Islam very well.

Read the key aspects of the report on the FBI's own site.

FBI — Incidents and Offenses

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Netanyahu OK with 1967 Borders As Basis For Talks Providing . . .

More moves by Natanyahu, coupled with a recent decision to require a dismantling of an Israeli settlement that shouldn't be where it is, are indicating a willingness to negotiate. But there are conditions still: first that the Palestinians withdraw their request to the United Nations to declare them a state and secondly, that they accept Israel as a Jewish State. Watch this unfold in the next month.

Benjamin Netanyahu signals new Palestinian state talks - Middle East, World - The Independent

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American Jewish Support for B.O. Lowest It Has Been This Year

Wondering what the latest thinking of the American Jewish voter is these days.  And there's a difference between those that go to synagogue regularly and those that don't.  Interesting.  Take a look.  But does B.O. care?  Take a look.

Gallup Poll shows Jewish su... JPost - Jewish World - Jewish News

 

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Israel's Prime Minister Can't Make It any Simpler or Clearer

Which part of "Jewish State" don't the Palestinians understand?  Here's the details on the clarity and simplicity of the major requirement for peace in the Middle East.   The ball is in Abbas's court.  But does he really want to play?  The plot thickens. 

Netanyahu to Abbas: Accept Israel as Jewish state - it's a basic demand for peace - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

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You Think Religion & State Should Be Separate. Fine. What About Religion and Major League Sports?

Okay, I didn't see this coming, but obviously it is. Take a look at this recent USA Today night. The Oakland A's baseball franchise wants to get more fans out and the Jewish community approached them with an idea to do so. As a result, they're having a Jewish Heritage night. Take a look.

But the Muslims say that's not kosher. They must either cancel it or give them a night as well. Okay, so the Muslims ask for a night and one of two things happens. Either they get one -- and we'll see who shows up. Or they don't get one -- and the Muslims sue. Let me save you the trouble and the wait -- if that happens and providing all else is equal, the Muslims will win. And then no one will have a special religious theme night. Ball game over.

Take a look.

Finding their religion: Oakland A's plan first Jewish Heritage night - Game On!: Covering the Latest Sports News

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'If Blacks Can Live Anywhere in the U.S., Jews Can Live Anywhere In Jerusalem' Jew Tells Obama

An incredible two minute video clip on the fact that only outsiders believe there is an "East Jerusalem" and that no U.S. president will tell Jews where they can and can't live. Fascinating part of an interview.

'How can a US President tell a Jew where to live?'

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A Most Interesting Jewish/Muslim Humankind Contribution Comparison

I came across this article researched and provided by a friend of mine. It's very bold, very factual and the facts, if you're interested in them, speak for themselves. What they mean however is up to you to decide.

One thing you may want to consider and think about is this: Might these kinds of facts actually provide the answer to the question why Islamists want to eliminate the Jews from the face of the earth? Does utter jealousy play a part in this whole thing? There's a good chance, but you decide.

Nobel Prizes ...Jewish &. Muslim Contributions to Humankind - Google Docs

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You Think Your Mixed Marriage Relations Can Be Tough

A most interesting perspective of mixed Jewish-Palestinian relationships among young people in Israel. Maybe peace begins in marriage.

'Don't take our girls ...' - Features - Al Jazeera English

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