What does it mean in the bible when it says to be no part of the world?

The closer we get to the end of this system the clearer it will be who is a part of the world and who is not.

Those trying to be no part of the world would listen to Jesus words because they came from his father. Even when the majority of those calling themselves Christian, prefer to be part of the world by having Jesus as their god and keeping to human traditions, they who want not to be part of the world accept the words of Jesus and his God and keep away of all those heathen traditions.
Those lovers of the Only One True God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah, would also love in the same way as Jesus loved and have faith in Jesus and follow his teachings.

Lee's Stuff

Written by Lee Stevenson, sorry I am a lousy editor.

Jesus mentioned being no part of the world. How can we be not part of the world when we live in the world and we are required to share bible truths with others? If we are no part of the world the bible warns we will be hated. So we should keep in mind does the world love us or does it hate us and exactly what does Jesus mean when he says the world. The closer we get to the end of this system the more we need to be careful and be not part of the world. Those who are part of the world will be destroyed. Certainly we would not want to be destroyed. We have to remember Jesus own people persecuted and killed him because he was telling them what they needed to hear and not…

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Redeeming Our World

Man, created in the image of God, received the world to use it for the best and not the worst. The man had to take care of it, but has proven to make a mess of it.

All problems that come over man are created by man himself, him polluting his own living quarters and not respecting that what he has received in loan from His Creator, the God of heaven and earth.

Mother Earth cries for distress and signals that it is high time to do something to get better. Each individual has to take his or her own responsibility.

Let us not wait but take this pandemic to make a turnover and start to find a more respectful way of living for each living being.

Wouldn’t it be great if, along with learning from this world crisis how to take better care of ourselves, we also learned how to take better care of our world? {Earth Day Lockdown}

Mitch Teemley

“Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and watch over it.” ~Genesis 2:15

As we return, post-lockdown, to the world around us, so does the pollution we create. If it is true, as some have said, that we ourselves are the disease (and there is truth in that), it’s also true that we hold the cure. But it seems those who focus habitually on what’s wrong with the world take little action to make things right with it, whether the world without or the world within, our souls. Yes, by all means, let us remove the toxins from the garden. But then let us go on to re-plant the garden.

“Every creature is better alive than dead, men and moose and pine trees, and he who understands it aright will rather preserve its life than destroy it.” ~Henry David…

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God’s name on Seder Night

On the most important ‘festival’ of the year we should use those free days to remember how the Most High, the Elohim HaShem Jehovah, was close to His people and liberated them from the slavery of man, but should remember also how He provides for salvation of the curse of death and gives the Grace of salvation for all those who want to come to Him as His children.

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To remember

Seder night drink four cups of wine + relate to elements on the Seder plate = central components of Seder night = represent four-letter Name of God, YHVH

Pharaoh cognizant of God acting through nature in the name of ELOKIM

God makes himself known to Children of Israel through the Name YHVH=> four expressions of redemption occur.

YHVH appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, + to Jacob with [the name] El Shaddai [Almighty God] > YHVH did not become known to them

established covenant with them

YHVH will take you out + will save you + will redeem you + will take you to Me as a people + will be a God to you + will bring you to the land I raised My hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, + I will give it to you as a heritage (Exodus 6: 2-8)

meaning Name of God = compassion, forgiveness, + mercy.

Connecting with the name of God, HaShem helps us

1. put our trust in God
2. forgive ourselves and others
3. trust that HaShem will release us from bondage of our inner Pharoah, as indeed He does.

say on Seder night,

In every generation > person needs to feel > taken out of Egypt = taken out of slavery

Yedidah Cohen's talks on Rabbi Ashlag's Kabbalah

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As we move through Seder night, we drink the four cups of wine and we relate to the elements on the Seder plate, we are not usually cognizant of the fact that both these central components of Seder night, actually represent the four-letter Name of God, YHVH

Pharaoh said, “Who is YHVH that I should listen to His voice? “

Actually, Pharaoh was cognizant of God acting through nature in the name of ELOKIM because that is how he acknowledged God to Joseph.   And even if we are talking about a different Pharaoh, one who did not know Joseph, nevertheless he would have heard of the story. But YHVH was unknown to Pharoah.

 It is when God makes himself known to the Children of Israel through the Name YHVH that the four expressions of redemption occur.

2. God spoke to Moses, and He said to him, “I…

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Letter to the Romans, chapter 3

 

 

“1  Then what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the profit of circumcision? 2 Much in every way! Because first of all, they were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3 For what if some were without faith? Will their lack of faith nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 May it never be! Yes, let God be found true, but every man a liar. As it is written, “That you might be justified in your words, and might prevail when you come into judgment.” 5 But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what will we say? Is God unrighteous who inflicts wrath? I speak like men do. 6 May it never be! For then how will God judge the world? 7 For if the truth of God through my lie abounded to his glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? 8 Why not (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), “Let us do evil, that good may come?” Those who say so are justly condemned. 9 What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin.
10 As it is written, “There is no one righteous; no, not one. 11 There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, there is not even one.” 13 Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit.” “The poison of vipers is under their lips”; 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood. 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways.
17 The way of peace, they have not known.” 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

19  Now we know that whatever things the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be closed, and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God. 20 Because by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For through the law comes the knowledge of sin. 21 But now apart from the law, a righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified by the Law and the Prophets; 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all those who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God set forth to be an atoning sacrifice, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness, because in God’s forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26 to demonstrate his righteousness at this present time, so that he would be just, and the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.

27 Where then is the boasting? It is excluded. By what manner of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is not he the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith, and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then nullify the law through faith? May it never be! No, we establish the law.” (Romans 3:1-31 NHEB)

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Abraham Sacrificing Isaac – Laurent de La Hyre (1606–1656)

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Preceding articles

Luther’s misunderstanding

January 27, 417, Pope Innocent I condemning Pelagius about Faith and Works

Our life depending on faith

Romans 4 and the Sacraments

Is Justification a process?

Continue reading: Letter to the Romans, chapter 4

+++

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Romans 4 and the Sacraments

In our series looking at “Faith and works” yesterday (January 28) we looked at the letter from Paul to the Romans, chapters 3 and  4. the 4th chapter often being referred to to support the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Luther’s work

In our previous posting we saw how the German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation Martin Luther gave enough food for the Antitrinitarians. He is one of the most to go against their idea we still have to do works to be able to enter the Kingdom of God.

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It is thanks to his marvellous work of translating of the Bible into the vernacular (instead of Latin) that so many more people could read and find out what was really written in the Holy Scriptures, which had a tremendous impact on the church and West European culture.

From 1510 to 1520, Luther lectured on the Psalms, the books of Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians. As he studied these portions of the Bible, he came to view the use of terms such as penance and righteousness by the Catholic Church in new ways. He became convinced that the church was corrupt in its ways and had lost sight of what he saw as several of the central truths of Christianity.

The most important for Luther was the doctrine of justification – God’s act of declaring a sinner righteous – by faith alone through God’s grace. He taught that salvation or redemption is a gift of God’s grace, attainable only through faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

Looking at Paul’s teachings

The blog “Washed, sanctified and justified” also looks at Paul’s teachings in the knowledge that lots of protestants refer to Romans 3:26-28 as their conclusion that a man is justified by faith. Some will say

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from works. {Analysis of St. Paul’s Teachings on Justification and Faith}

Many Christians forget to notice “of the law” which indicates something more and something different than just the “Blood of Christ” or “the Blood of the Lamb“.  The Jewish scholar knew very much the importance of “The Law” or the “Torah” in God’s Plan. And these words are very important to the idea that the apostle Paul is expressing. In the previous articles we have seen that the apostle is speaking of works of the law because that is what he was speaking of in the last chapter.

He didn’t suddenly change subjects. However, he has omitted the words of the law at this point. {Analysis of St. Paul’s Teachings on Justification and Faith}

Some Catholics may say the Jews did not have ‘Sacraments’, but they had a Covenant and arrangements (or sarcaments in the wider interpretation), also having their own religious signs or symbols and practices as forms of worship.

Paul was very well aware how men of God were justified in the past. Abram (Abraham), born way before God made the covenant with the Israelites, had come in the faith. When he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went. Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. (Genesis 12:1-4; Hebrews 11:8; Romans 4:3) He also had not forgotten, like today many Christians do, that Abraham became the father of many, justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar. (James 2:20-22)

Covenants given to man

The Abrahamic Covnenant may have been interchanged with the Messianic or New Covenant this did not make done with The Law. Too many people forget the terms of the New Covenant.

De Maria in “Romans 4 and the Sacraments” looks further at the misunderstanding of Faith without works.

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We remember from it:

Romans 4 = a dissertation on justification by the Sacraments.

1. Abraham = our father, according to the flesh
2. if Abraham > justified by works = he hath whereof to glory > not before God.
3. if Abraham justified himself = more power to him => it is not of God.
4. Abraham believed God => counted unto him for righteousness.

=>  that means.

1. him that works = reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt > obey God’s voice + keep His covenant => a peculiar treasure unto God above all people
2. to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly > faith is counted for righteousness.
3. Abraham was => did not work for debt
4. Abraham did work for faith

He also looks at David, one of the circumcised =>  covenant of reconciliation

• No one can deny David did many works <= all he did was believe in God’s mercy

reconciliation not only offered to Israelites (Abraham not an Israelite + not even circumcised yet) ===> God saw his faith at work => reckoned in uncircumcision to receive sign of circumcision=  seal of the righteousness of the faith

=> = prophecy which showed that even gentiles would be justified by faith.

=> We, like Abraham, believe and are imputed righteousness, in the Sacraments of Jesus Christ.

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St. Paul contrasting Old Testament with New Testament.

• Old Testament = the Law.
• New Testament = the Faith.

no ministry of reconciliation in Old Testament. ~~~ David’s reconciliation exception = foreshadowing of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

=> Just as it is imputed to the Catholic, who believing the promises of God, approaches the font of grace and submits to the Sacraments, calling on His name.

+

Preceding articles

Luther’s misunderstanding

January 27, 417, Pope Innocent I condemning Pelagius about Faith and Works

Our life depending on faith

+++

 

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CatholicBibleTalk

 Romans 4 is frequently used to support the doctrine of justification by faith alone. But it is actually a dissertation on justification by the Sacraments.  Let’s go through it.

King James Version (KJV)

1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?Abraham is our father, according to the flesh. The Apostle asks, “what has he found”?

2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

Now, he asks, “did Abraham justify himself?” If he did, then more power to him, but it is not of God.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Now, he quotes Gen 15:6, Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

and he begins to explain what that means.

4 Now to him that…

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Almighty God above all other gods greater than all gods

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 RWebster)

“And when Abram was ninety and nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, I [am] the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. {perfect: or, upright, or, sincere}” (Genesis 17:1 RWebster)

“2 And God spoke to Moses, and said to him, I [am] the LORD: {the LORD: or, JEHOVAH} 3 And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, by [the name of] God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.” (Exodus 6:2-3 RWebster)

“Who [is] like thee, O LORD, among the gods? who [is] like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful [in] praises, doing wonders? {gods: or, mighty ones?}” (Exodus 15:11 RWebster)

“Now I know that the LORD [is] greater than all gods: for in the thing in which they dealt proudly [he was] above them.” (Exodus 18:11 RWebster)

“And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” (Exodus 33:20 RWebster)

“4 ¶ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God [is] one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently to thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. {teach: Heb. whet, or, sharpen} 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thy eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 RWebster)

“Because I will proclaim the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness to our God.” (Deuteronomy 32:3 RWebster)

“Thine, O LORD, [is] the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all [that is] in the heaven and on the earth [is thine]; thine [is] the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.” (1 Chronicles 29:11 RWebster)

“And the house which I build [is] great: for great [is] our God above all gods.” (2 Chronicles 2:5 RWebster)

“Behold, God [is] great, and we know [him] not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.” (Job 36:26 RWebster)

“Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalms 46:10 RWebster)

“«A Song [and] Psalm for the sons of Korah.» Great [is] the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, [in] the mountain of his holiness. {for: or, of}” (Psalms 48:1 RWebster)

“Thy righteousness also, O God, [is] very high, who hast done great things: O God, who [is] like thee!” (Psalms 71:19 RWebster)

“Blessed [be] the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.” (Psalms 72:18 RWebster)

“That [men] may know that thou, whose name alone [is] JEHOVAH, [art] the most high over all the earth.” (Psalms 83:18 RWebster)

“Among the gods [there is] none like thee, O Lord; neither [are there any works] like thy works.” (Psalms 86:8 RWebster)

“For who in the heaven can be compared to the LORD? [who] among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD?” (Psalms 89:6 RWebster)

“O LORD, how great are thy works! [and] thy thoughts are very deep.” (Psalms 92:5 RWebster)

“3 For the LORD [is] a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand [are] the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills [is] his also. {In…: Heb. In whose} {the strength…: or, the heights of the hills are his} 5 The sea [is] his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry [land]. {The sea…: Heb. Whose the sea is} 6 O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. 7 ¶ For he [is] our God; and we [are] the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, [and] as [in] the day of temptation in the wilderness: {provocation: Heb. contention} 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.” (Psalms 95:3-9 RWebster)

“For thou, LORD, [art] high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.” (Psalms 97:9 RWebster)

“He sent redemption to his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend [is] his name.” (Psalms 111:9 RWebster)

“For I know that the LORD [is] great, and [that] our Lord [is] above all gods.” (Psalms 135:5 RWebster)

“Great [is] the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness [is] unsearchable. {and his…: Heb. and of his greatness there is no search}” (Psalms 145:3 RWebster)

“But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. {God…: or, the holy God: Heb. the God the holy}” (Isaiah 5:16 RWebster)

“And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory. {one…: Heb. this cried to this} {the whole…: Heb. his glory is the fulness of the whole earth}” (Isaiah 6:3 RWebster)

“Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread.” (Isaiah 8:13 RWebster)

“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare him to?” (Isaiah 40:18 RWebster)

“I, [even] I, [am] the LORD; and besides me [there is] no saviour.” (Isaiah 43:11 RWebster)

“Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared [it]? ye [are] even my witnesses. Is there a God besides me? verily, [there is] no God; I know not [any]. {God; I: Heb. rock, etc}” (Isaiah 44:8 RWebster)

“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name [is] Holy; I dwell in the high and holy [place], with him also [that is] of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15 RWebster)

“Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise [men] of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, [there is] none like thee. {to…: or, it liketh thee}” (Jeremiah 10:7 RWebster)

“I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries in which ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. {sweet…: Heb. savour of rest}” (Ezekiel 20:41 RWebster)

“And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. {their: or, your}” (Ezekiel 36:23 RWebster)

“Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I [am] the LORD.” (Ezekiel 38:23 RWebster)

“The king answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth [it is], that your God [is] the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.” (Daniel 2:47 RWebster)

“And it shall come to pass, [that] whoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” (Joel 2:32 RWebster)

“For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent. {language: Heb. lip} {consent: Heb. shoulder}” (Zephaniah 3:9 RWebster)

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9 RWebster)

“And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one, [that is], God.” (Mark 10:18 RWebster)

“For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy [is] his name.” (Luke 1:49 RWebster)

“God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24 RWebster)

“1  These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:1-3 RWebster)

“I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest to me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word.” (John 17:6 RWebster)

“25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared to them thy name, and will declare [it]: that the love which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:25-26 RWebster)

“And it shall come to pass, [that] whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21 RWebster)

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: {so…: or, that they may be}” (Romans 1:20 RWebster)

“For whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 RWebster)

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [are] his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33 RWebster)

“4  Therefore as concerning the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol [is] nothing in the world, and that [there is] no other God but one. 5 For though there are that are called gods, whether in heaven or upon earth, (as there are gods many, and lords many,) 6 Yet to us [there is but] one God, the Father, from whom [are] all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [are] all things, and we by him. {in: or, for}” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6 RWebster)

“According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.” (1 Timothy 1:11 RWebster)

“For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (1 Timothy 2:5 RWebster)

“For Christ hath not entered into the holy places made with hands, [which are] the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:” (Hebrews 9:24 RWebster)

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16 RWebster)

“And the four living beings had each of them six wings about [him]; and [they were] full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. {rest…: Gr. have no rest}” (Revelation 4:8 RWebster)

“Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.” (Revelation 11:17 RWebster)

“And I heard another from the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy judgments.” (Revelation 16:7 RWebster)

“Thy righteousness, O God, is very high, thou that doest great things: O God, who is like unto thee?” (Psalms 71:19 TRC)

“Blessed be the LORD God, even the God of Israel, which only doth wonderous things.” (Psalms 72:18 TRC)

“That they may know, that thou art alone, that thy name is the LORD, and that thou onely art the most highest {|hyest|} over all the earth.” (Psalms 83:18 TRC)

“Among the Gods {goddes} there is none like unto thee O Lord, there is not one that can do as thou doest.” (Psalms 86:8 TRC)

“For who is he among the clouds, that may be compared unto the LORD? Yea what is he among the gods, {goddes} that is like unto the LORD?” (Psalms 89:6 TRC)

“O LORD, how glorious are thy works, thy thoughts are very deep.” (Psalms 92:5 TRC)

“3 For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. {goddes} 4 In his hand are all the corners of the earth, and the strength of the hills is his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands prepared the dry land. 6 O come, let us worship and bow down ourselves: Let us kneel before the LORD our maker. 7  For he is our God: and {|<as for us>|} we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hands. 8 Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as when ye provoked in the time of temptation in the wilderness. 9 Where your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works.” (Psalms 95:3-9 TRC)

“For thou LORD art the most highest {|hyest|} over all the earth, thou art exalted far above all gods.” (Psalms 97:9 TRC)

“He sent redemption unto his people, he hath commanded his covenant for ever, holy and reverent is his name.” (Psalms 111:9 TRC)

“For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord {|LORDE|} is above all gods. {goddes}” (Psalms 135:5 TRC)

“Great is the LORD, and marvelous worthy to be praised, there is no end to his greatness.” (Psalms 145:3 TRC)

“But the LORD of Hosts, that holy God: shall be exalted and untouched, when he shall declare his equity and righteousness after this manner:” (Isaiah 5:16 TRC)

“They cried also each one to other on this manner: holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Hosts. The whole world is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3 TRC)

“but sanctify the LORD of Hosts, let him be your fear and dread.” (Isaiah 8:13 TRC)

“To whom then will ye liken God? or what similitude will ye set up unto him?” (Isaiah 40:18 TRC)

“I am only the LORD, and without me is there no Saviour.” (Isaiah 43:11 TRC)

“yea and that without any fear or stop. {stoppe} For have not I ever told you hitherto, and warned you? Ye can bear me record yourselves. Is there any God except me? or any maker, that I should not know him?” (Isaiah 44:8 TRC)

“For thus sayeth the high {|hie|} and excellent, even he that dwelleth in everlastingness, whose name is the holy one: I dwell high above and in the sanctuary, and with him also, that is of a contrite and humble spirit: that I may heal a troubled mind, and a contrite heart.” (Isaiah 57:15 TRC)

“Who would not fear thee? Or what King of the Gentiles would not obey thee? For among all the wise men of the Gentiles, and in all their kingdoms, there is none that may be likened unto thee.” (Jeremiah 10:7 TRC)

“I will accept your sweet savour, when I bring you from the nations, and gather you together out of the lands, wherein ye be scattered: that I may be hallowed in you before the Heathen.” (Ezekiel 20:41 TRC)

“Therefore, I will hallow my great name again, which among the Gentiles is evil spoken of: for ye yourselves have dishonoured it among them. And the Gentiles shall know, that I am the LORD, when I am honoured in you before their eyes, sayeth the Lord GOD. {|LORDE God|} {that the heathen may know that I am the LORD (saith the Lorde Iehouah) when I am sanctified upon you in their sight.}” (Ezekiel 36:23 TRC)

“Thus will I be magnified, honoured, and known among the Heathen: that they may be sure, how that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 38:23 TRC)

“The king answered Daniel, and said: Yea of a truth your God is a God above all gods, and Lord {|LORDE|} above all kings, and an opener of secrets: seeing thou canst discover this mystery.” (Daniel 2:47 TRC)

“And the time shall come: that whosoever calleth upon the name of the LORD, shall be saved. For upon the mount Sion and at Jerusalem, there shall be a salvation, like as the LORD hath promised: yea and among the other remnant, whom the LORD shall call.” (Joel 2:32 TRC)

“And then will I cleanse the lips of the people, that they may every each one call upon the name of the LORD, and serve him with one shoulder.” (Zephaniah 3:9 TRC)

“After this manner therefore pray ye. O our father, which art in heaven hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9 TRC)

“Jesus said to him: why callest thou me good? there is no man good but one, which is God.” (Mark 10:18 TRC)

“For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and blessed {holy} is his name.” (Luke 1:49 TRC)

“God is a spirit, and they that worship him, must honour {worship} him, in spirit and verity. {trouth, or real fidelity of truth}” (John 4:24 TRC)

“1  These words spake Jesus and lift {lifted} up his eyes to heaven, and said: father the hour is come glorify thy son that thy son may glorify thee. 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 This is life eternal {|everlasting|} that they might know thee that only very God: {|that thou onely art the true God|} and whom thou hast sent Jesus Christ.” (John 17:1-3 TRC)

“I have declared thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy sayings. {|word|}” (John 17:6 TRC)

“25 O righteous father the very world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, be in them, and that I be in them.” (John 17:25-26 TRC)

“And the time shall come {it shall be} that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21 TRC)

“For {So that} his invisible things (that is to say, his eternal power and godhead) are understood and seen, by the works from the creation of the world. So that they are without excuse,” (Romans 1:20 TRC)

“For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be safe. {|saved|}” (Romans 10:13 TRC)

“O the deepness of the abundant wisdom and knowledge off God: how incomprehensible {unsearchable} are his judgements, and his ways unsearchable. {past finding out.}” (Romans 11:33 TRC)

“4  To speak of meat dedicated unto idols, we are sure that there is none idol {|So are we sure now concerning the meats offered unto Idols, that an Idol is nothing|} in the world: and that there is none other God but one. 5 And though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many and lords many) 6 but {yet} unto us is there {but} one God, which is the father, of whom are all things, and we in him: and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6 TRC)

“according to the glorious gospel of the holy God, {the gospell of the glory of the blessed God} which gospel {gospell} is committed unto me.” (1 Timothy 1:11 TRC)

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, which is {|men, namely|} the man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5 TRC)

“For Christ is not entered into the holy places, that are made with hands, which are but similitudes of true things: but is entered into very heaven, for to appear now in the sight {|before the face|} of God for us.” (Hebrews 9:24 TRC)

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth {abideth} in love dwelleth {abideth} in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16 TRC)

“And the four beasts had each one of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within. And they had no rest day neither night saying: Holy, holy, holy, Lord {|is the LORDE|} God almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” (Revelation 4:8 TRC)

“saying: we give thee thanks Lord God omnipotent: {allmighty:} which art and wast, and art to come, for thou hast received thy great might, and hast reigned.” (Revelation 11:17 TRC)

“And I heard another out of the altar say: even so Lord God almighty, true and righteous are thy judgements.” (Revelation 16:7 TRC)

 

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Preceding:

Bible, helmet of salvation, God’s Words put in the mouth of prophets for perfecting, to reprove and correct

De Almachtige God der goden, groter dan en hoog verheven boven alle goden

Der Allmächtige Gott der Götter, größer und mächtiger als alle Götter

Dieu Puissant, Dieu unique des dieux plus grand que tous les dieux

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1. El-Shaddai God Almighty Who no-one may see and live
2. No man see the Almighty God and live
3. The Almighty Lord God of gods King above all gods
4. Jehovah God Almighty greater than all gods

Psalms in Aramaic (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Related articles

• Bible Daily Devotional – 1 Chronicles 29 – It all comes from God
• 1 Samuel 23-24; 1 Chronicles 6; Psalm 54; Acts 16
• “It’s a God Thing”
• The Proper Order
• Easton’s Bible Dictionary – Jerusalem
• Let Go of the Wheel
• Saturday, 23 May 2015 : 7th Week of Easter (Psalm)
• 05/19/2015 Scripture

Days of Nisan, Pesach, Pasach, Pascha and Easter

End of Winter, new beginning

When Winter let us see its last breath 1st Nisan brings a New Year.
At the appearance of the first “new moon” of Spring, that is, when the waxing crescent of the moon is first sighted we come to celebrate the Biblical New Years Day.

After the dark months we look forward to a time of more light. We are also confronted with what happened many thousand years ago. There was an event in history which was going to influence the coarse of history up to today. In Egypt a people felt restricted and threatened by how they where treated. Nisan brings the start of their big journey. It is the start of the month of the Exodus from Egypt and the beginning of Jewish national history. It is also the first month used for counting the festivals (mo’edim) of the Hebrew Calendar and for reckoning the years of reign of the Kings of Israel.

Head of the months

Israel’s Escape from Egypt, illustration from a Bible card published 1907 by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rosh Chodashim (ראשׁ חֳדָשִׁים), “the head of the months,” and its observance is considered the very first commandment given to Israel before the great Exodus from Egypt took place. For the world now got days they should remember for ever.

“This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” (Exodus 12:2 ASV)

“3 And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Jehovah brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. 4 This day ye go forth in the month Abib.” (Exodus 13:3-4 ASV)

“The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep: seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it thou camest out from Egypt); and none shall appear before me empty:” (Exodus 23:15 ASV)

“The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt.” (Exodus 34:18 ASV)

“Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto Jehovah thy God; for in the month of Abib Jehovah thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.” (Deuteronomy 16:1 ASV)

Commemorating miracles the Creator performed

Creation in itself is already something special about many people may have many theories. Still people are not sure how everything came into existence. They still continue to have many debates about how the world came into existence. By wondering and concentrating on the theories of man they do not see the first miracle nor the other miracles God did in this universe which still hides a lot for our small eyes.

The Ramban (Nachmanides) wrote:

“By counting every month from Nisan, we constantly commemorate the miracle that God performed when He took us out of slavery.”

Month for the Redeemed

Since the redemption from Egypt took place during the month of Nisan you also could call it

“the month of the redemption.” [Chodesh HaGeulah (חדֶשׁ הַגְּאֻלָּה)]

The Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Rosh Hashanah 11a) states:

“In Nisan our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt and in Nisan we will be redeemed.”

Not only for Jews it is an important month; Also for Christians it should be the most important month of the year. It should be a period where we remember how the Divine Creator has chosen Him a people, Israel, the Jews. But also because it is the month of the New Creation. The God of gods not only in that month took care that His own people got liberated from the slavery in Egypt. Many years later God also took care that all people got liberated from a bigger and worse slavery, namely the slavery of sin. Therefore not only for the Jews, also for Christians and Muslims, but also for those who do not (yet) believe in the True God, Nisan is also Chodesh ha-Yeshuah (חדֶשׁ הַיְשׁוּעָה), the “month of the salvation,” both in terms of the physical deliverance from Egypt, but more profoundly in terms of the spiritual salvation given at Zion/Moriah through the Messiah.  The Month of Jeshua has brought a change for the whole world, Jews and gentiles or to believers and non-believers or non-religious.

When you take Nisan to come from nissim (נִסִּים, “miracles”) or from the word nitzan (נִצָּן, “bud”) we got presented the greatest miracles in humankind.

Coming into new life

When the flowers are come on the earth; the time of cutting the vines is come, and the voice of the dove is sounding in our land, when the fruit-trees put out their green fruit and the vines with their young fruit give a good smell, we should get up and go into the world bringing the Good News of Salvation. (Song of Solomon 2:12-13) We should be thankful that the Creator not only redeemed His own people but also gave a solution for the sin of us all.

The 1st of Nisan is counted as the new year for the purpose of counting the reign of kings of Israel (in Exodus 12:2, the word lakhem (לָכֶם), “to you,” can be rearranged to form the word melekh (מֶלֶךְ), “a king.”). For instance, if a king ascended the throne just a week before the new moon of Nisan, that week would be reckoned as a year in the chronicles of Israel’s kings.

Last king and High-priest assigned to the throne

On the 14th of Nisan, about 1985 years ago a new and the last king for God was put next to the throne of God. A Jewish man from the lineage of king David was chosen to become the major High Priest in the Temple of God and to be the mediator between God and man, sitting at the right hand of God.

“55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55-56 ASV)

Jesus from Nazareth was the man God called “his only begotten beloved son“. He was the chosen one, the one God had already spoken of in the Garden of Eden. As such God His Word, His promise made in the Garden of Eden, had become flesh in 4BCE. When this son of man who was also called son of David and son of God, became 12 years of age he went already in the temple to talk about his heavenly Father. When he was thirty he got baptised by John the Baptist, after which God declared in front of many at the river Jordan, that the man standing there in the water was ‘his beloved son“.

“16 And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway from the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; 17 and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17 ASV)

For those who would have doubted God repeated His saying:

“33 And it came to pass, as they were parting from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah: not knowing what he said. 34 And while he said these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my Son, my chosen: hear ye him. 36 And when the voice came, Jesus was found alone. And they held their peace, and told no man in those days any of the things which they had seen.” (Luke 9:33-36 ASV)

After the man had died God provided a Comforter, Who gave Jesus his disciples the courage to go out in the world and to tell about the miracles that man had done and of what importance that man was and did works in the name of his Father, the Holy Righteous One God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah.

Day of breaking the bread

Bread to be broken as a symbol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the 14th of Nisan they had seen that man taking bread and wine, presenting them as if it was his own body, saying it was given to them and the world for their sins, and the action of that coming together and “Breaking of the Bread” they had to repeat until he would come back.

According to Jewish tradition the month of Nisan is also assigned to the royal tribe of Judah (יְהוּדָה), in whose merit both the Holy Temple was built and from whom the Messiah Jeshua (Jesus Christ) would descend. When we look at the name Judah (יְהוּדָה) we can see that it includes the Name YHVH or YHWH (יהוה) {Jehovha} with the insertion of the letter Dalet (ד), suggesting that Judah would be the “door” or “gate” into the presence of God. This Only One God had kept His promise made in the Garden of Eden. His Word had become flesh. (John 1:1) The man of flesh, blood and bones had only done the Will of his Father (and not his own will) and was killed for it and for being an nuisance for the leaders at that time.  They could not bear it that this man dared to say he was doing all this miracles in the name of his heavenly Father. If he would told the people he was doing it himself they would perhaps not have bothered so much, but now he called to God for what he did. That was considered blasphemy and therefore he had to be killed.

A preparation for salvation by the full ransom

After Jesus had let his disciples prepare for 15 Nisan, the Passover he on the 14th of Nisan enjoyed his last supper on the 14th of Nisan and asked his disciples to remember that day. All followers of Christ therefore should remember that special day when Jesus installed the New Covenant. The same day he was taken prisoner and impaled to find his death. He was put in a grave and according to the Holy Scriptures was three day under the dead, being in sheol or gehenna (the hell) or what we commonly call the grave. {Those who call the hell a place of torture should wonder why Jesus had to be in it for three days.}

The Door to find and to open

Jeshua or Jesus Christ was from the tribe of Judah and had spoken many times of his Father and about his role in this world-system.  He also knew we all have to live in this world, but warned us not to be of this world and to look at him to get to know his Father and to see the light leading up to the gate of the Kingdom of God. Many times Jesus described himself as ha-sha’ar (הַשַּׁעַר) “the gate”(John 10:9). The arrangement of the tribes placed Judah directly in front of the door into the Mishkan (Numery 2:3).

Celebrations and the Day after

“Christ risen from His tomb”, fresco ; cathedral of Spoleto, Italy; (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

These days when so many have celebrations being it for Passover or being it called Easter, they should see the first New Year which marks the month of the redemption of the Jewish people see the redemption Jeshua brought when he was sacrificed upon the wooden stake at Moriah to redeem us from our sins. The second marks the month of Israels’ corporate salvation that will be fulfilled in the End of Days.  Oddly enough for most Christians, “New Years Day” should be really celebrated in the spring, certainly not in “January.

After three days in the grave, something incredible happened. It goes beyond any human conception. Though we should grasp a clear understanding of the event. Because of the Passover celebration the loved ones of Christ had no time to properly prepare the body for burial with spices and ointments according to Jewish customs. No work could be done on the Holy Sabbath of Sabbaths, so that task had to wait until the day after.

When in the morning, Mary Magdalene and several other women went to the tomb with the spices they had prepared and arrived at the sealed tomb, guarded by Roman soldiers, so that nobody could do something with the body of that rebel Jesus, they found the tomb had been opened and nobody around the tomb. When they went in, they did not find Jesus’ body, and they wondered what had happened.

Suddenly, two angels in dazzling white clothes were there. The women were terrified, but the angels said to them,

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you that He would be turned over to sinful men, be crucified, and rise again on the third day!”

The women ran back to tell Jesus’ apostles what they had seen. Peter and one other apostle went to the tomb to see for themselves. They looked in and saw the linen cloths that Jesus’ body had been wrapped in but nothing else. Then they went home, amazed and confused.

Not stolen, not mislaid

The Risen Christ, the one who showed his wounds to proof he was not a ghost or spirit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You can imagine how terrified they must have been. Who had stolen the body of their most beloved rabbi (master teacher)?

When Peter and the other apostle went home, Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb crying. Suddenly she saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognize him at first. Jesus said to her:

“Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

Mary thought He must be the gardener and said:

“Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where, and I will take him!”

Can you imagine what would have gone through this lady when Jesus said, “Mary!” and she then recognized him and exclaimed, “Master!”?

All the disciples like Mary Magdalene knew Jesus was the son of God, who had done everything for his Father and who had spoken of the possibility of people going to the reign of his Father, him being there. But Jesus affirmed her that he was not yet by his Father in heaven. It is not by dying that something would go up into heaven or hell. Like every human being, plant or animal, Jesus died and we will die. Normally once death, all thinking and handling will be finished. We shall not be able to do anything any more. Mary Magdalene was aware of the dead not being able to do anything, but now she got to see Jesus. Also others, later, got to see Jesus. To them he also proofed he was not a ghost or a spirit, like his Father is a Spirit. He was a man of flesh and blood who showed his wounds to proof that it was him they were seeing know, after he had died. Incomprehensible!

Not yet in heaven, Still to ascend

Jesus said:

“Don’t hold on to me, because I have not yet returned to the Father. But go to my disciples and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'”

Then Mary Magdalene went and said to the disciples

“I have seen the lord!”

and she told them everything that had happened.

Many could not believe what had happened. Several got to see Christ Jesus, and saw that he was really risen. They could see and believe.
We can not see that Jesus is rise. For us it is more difficult to believe, because there are no witnesses alive any more. We have to go on the books, the stories told. Most of all we have to go on our faith were we believe what has been told in the Old Books of the Old Testament, where the promises of God are told to all who want to know. In those books are also the signs given to recognise the promised Messiah. Putting everything together, we should have no doubt who the Messiah is and what God has done with him and for us.

Tool to get out of the slavery of sin and its curse, the death

Having the month where God helped His chosen people to get out of slavery by man, we also have the month where God gave mankind a tool to get out of the slavery of sin and its curse, the death. As such this is the Month of Hope and the Month of Salvation.

Instead of being wondering which presents or gifts we should buy for Easter, we should use Easter time to remember the Exodus form Egypt , the Last Supper, Jesus installing the New Covenant, Jesus being impaled for the sins of the world, and Jesus taken out of the dead by his heavenly Father. A resurrection bringing us hope, because in it, we can see what shall be able to happen to us in the future, after Jesus has returned.

All more the reason to look out for the return of Christ and to put our hopes in that man who was the beloved son of God. We should trust in him and his Father and follow his teachings, being thankful for the restored relationship between God and man.

Dominion of sin and Death has been conquered

In Christ Jesus, Jeshua, death has been conquered. He paid the ransom by giving his body to his Father. If Jesus is God, because God can not die and is an eternal Spirit. Than Jesus could not be taken out of the dead and his body raised to be the body showing wounds. Without dying there could be no he resurrection. And if there is no resurrection, then we have no hope.

Christ Resurrected (Photo credit: Waiting For The Word)

If Jesus wasn’t raised, if the tomb was not empty or when Jesus his body would have been stolen out of the grave, than there would be nothing to hold on to accept Jesus was risen. Several people saw Jesus after he had died. They were convinced they had really seen him.  Many were willing to die for what had happened, because they were convinced “death now could be reversed”. Now they could believe sin shall not have dominion over them nor us who believe, because from that day onwards we have come under grace. (Romans 6:14)
In case Jesus’ death didn’t pay our penalty for sin, then we “are still in our sins.” And when Jesus was not taken out of death by his Father, meaning that there did not took place a resurrection, then all those who have died before us … no matter what they did …shall have had nothing in their hope.

Isaiah promised that the dead would live (Isaiah 26:19) and Job knew that there would come a moment that he should not hide any more in Sheol. Abraham Isaac and Jesus believed in a God of the dead but also in the God of the living.

“31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not [the God] of the dead, but of the living.” (Matthew 22:31-32 ASV)

The one man who did all the time the will of his Father told the people about the hope they could have when he would be gone. If he would not be taken out of the dead, what reason would there be to believe what he said?

“39 And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:39-40 ASV)

“22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ’s, at his coming.” (1 Corinthians 15:22-23 ASV)

We should know that a great quality is been given to the life of man that cannot be matched by any other soul.

“And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ASV)

“3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures; 5 and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; 6 then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; 7 then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to the [child] untimely born, he appeared to me also.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ASV)

“20  But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 21 For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-21 ASV)

By Jesus Christ assurance given

Through Jesus Christ we now have the assurance that we may fall asleep (die), but there shall come a moment, after he returned, that we shall be taken out of the graves and shall come to see what it means to receive the gift of God which is eternal life.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 ASV)

“It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” (Hebrews 9:23 ASV)

“And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing [unto him]; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that seek after him.” (Hebrews 11:6 ASV)

In the resurrection of Christ Jesus our faith in him is of incredible value. Let us therefore recognise who that man was and is and follow his teachings and worship his Father, the Only One True God, Who gives life.

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Please find also to read:

1. God’s promises
2. Belief of the things that God has promised
3. Israel God’s people
4. Tu B’Shvat, the holiday of the trees
5. Passover and Liberation Theology
6. Commemorating the escape from slavery
7. Being sure of their deliverance
8. Deliverance and establishement of a theocracy
9. Do not be afraid. Good news because a Saviour has been born
10. Bringing Good News into the world
11. God’s salvation
12. Waiting for God’s Salvation
13. Ember and light the ransomed of Jehovah
14. Jesus Messiah
15. Jesus Christ, Jeshua, Messiah, Jahushua
16. Seeing Jesus
17. Jesus begotten Son of God #4 Promised Prophet and Saviour
18. Jesus begotten Son of God #10 Coming down spirit or flesh seed of Eve
19. Jesus begotten Son of God #5 Apsotle, High Priest and King
20. Jesus begotten Son of God #14 Beloved Preminent Son and Mediator originating in Mary
21. Jesus begotten Son of God #18 Believing in inhuman or human person
22. Anointing of Christ as Prophetic Rehearsal of the Burial rites
23. Day of remembrance coming near
24. 14 Nisan a day to remember #1 Inception
25. 14 Nisan a day to remember #2 Time of Jesus
26. 14 Nisan a day to remember #3 Before the Passover-feast
27. 14 Nisan a day to remember #4 A Lamb slain
28. 14 Nisan a day to remember #5 The Day to celebrate
29. 14-15 Nisan and Easter
30. Around the feast of Unleavened Bread
31. Shabbat Pesach service reading 1/2
32. The son of David and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread
33. A Jewish Theocracy
34. Observance of a day to Remember
35. Around the feast of Unleavened Bread
36. Observance of a day to Remember
37. Pesach and solidarity 
38. A Holy week in remembrance of the Blood of life
39. Seven days of Passover
40. On the first day for matzah
41. Servant for the truth of God
42. The Anointed One and the first day of No Fermentation
43. How is it that Christ pleased God so perfectly?
44. Wishing to do the will of God
45. For the Will of Him who is greater than Jesus
46. Self inflicted misery #3 A man given to suffer for us
47. The Seed Of The Woman Bruised
48. The redemption of man by Christ Jesus
49. Imprisonment and execution of Jesus Christ
50. Death of Christ on the day of preparation
51. A Messiah to die
52. Swedish theologian finds historical proof Jesus did not die on a cross
53. Impaled until death overtook him
54. Why 20 Nations Are Defending the Crucifix in Europe
55. Jesus three days in hell
56. Christ having glory
57. Salvation, trust and action in Jesus #3 as a Christian
58. Your Sins Are Forgiven
59. A Great Gift commemorated
60. High Holidays not only for Israel
61. Festival of Freedom and persecutions
62. After the Sabbath after Passover, the resurrection of Jesus Christ
63. Proclaiming shalom, bringing good news of good things, announcing salvation
64. Jesus is risen
65. Risen With Him
66. Easter: Origins in a pagan Christ
67. Eostre, Easter, White god, chocolate eggs, Easter bunnies and metaphorical resurrection
68. Peter Cottontail and a Bunny laying Eastereggs
69. Altered to fit a Trinity or Ishtar the fertility goddess
70. Who Celebrates Easter as Religious Holiday

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Other interesting articles:

1. Welcome to Easter 2014
2. Walk with Jesus: Matthew 27 He who overcame
3. Gethsemane
4. Yeshua thanks his father through prayer
5. Pesach
6. Good Friday or Passover?
7. What’s Good about Good Friday?
8. When Was Jesus Crucified?
9. Jesus Died
10. “Christ Is Our Passover Lamb” / The Message of the High Sabbath beginning the eve of March 25, 2013
11. Ransom for allom
12. Holy Trifecta: Good Friday, Passover, Resurrection Sunday
13. Thoughts About Easter
14. It Did Not End In the Grave
15. Tree of Jesus Life, the Risen Christ, (a)
16. On Easter and The Resurrection of Jesus
17. Easter Questions and Answers
18. What Happened on Easter?
19. The Truth About Easter
20. The Easter Story of the Resurrection
21. Jesus is alive, the tomb is empty.
22. The Empty Tomb
23. He is Risen! What Christians Believe About Easter, and Why
24. The Significance of the Resurrection – Jesus Arose Where He Died
25. The Glory of Easter Part 1 + The Glory of Easter Part 2
26. “The Resurrection”
27. The Resurrection of Jesus X 4
28. Even Resurrection Pauses For Sabbath Rest
29. The Power of His Resurrection
30. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
31. The Resurrection is Believable
32. He is not here, He is risen, just as He said
33. When Nothing Meant All
34. Pass Over Now
35. Does Christianity Have Pagan Roots? (Part 1) How Did “Easter” Originate? | god from the machine
36. Does Christianity Have Pagan Roots? (Part 2) The Pagan Myth Myth… No, I’m Not Stuttering

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Related articles

• Today is the beginning of the biblical new year (biblethingsinbibleways.wordpress.com)
  Happy New Year!!!! Biblically speaking of course.
  Even though January 1st is celebrated as the beginning of the year over the world, as Christians, we need to consider that the Biblical New Year is far more important to us, than a day that was picked by the Romans.
  +
  The month of Abib/Aviv does not coincide with a month in the standard western calendar in any way. This means that the 1st day of the Biblical Year could fall on any day in the season of March/April. The biblical calendar is not one which is set in paper, but which is set in the heavens. When our Creator made the Sun, Moon & Stars, He proclaimed “let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years”.
• Understanding Passover (wqad.com)
  Passover, also called Pesach, is the Jewish festival celebrating the exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery in 1200s B.C.The word Passover comes from the idea that God passed over the houses of the Israelites, who had marked their doorposts to signify that they were children of God.
• Feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread (Deut 16:1-16:8) (efinne1540.wordpress.com)
  Abib is often called Nisan and usually refers to our April. Here the Passover is to be celebrated at ‘the place that Yahweh will choose as a dwelling for his name.’ It will not be in the towns that Yahweh is giving to them. The 7 day unleavened bread feast is called the ‘bread of affliction.’ No leftover meat may be eaten the next day. Sunset was the time of the meal because you left Egypt at sunset. There was to be a solemn assembly on the 7^th day with no work done.
• Chag Pesach Kasher v’Sameach : חַג כָשֵׁר וְשָׂמֵחַ (jewsdownunder.wordpress.com)
  The journey initiated during Pesach, that of a nation of slaves racing towards freedom, reaches its climax with the festival of Shavuot, without a rendezvous with God at Mt. Sinai. Here the Jews’ new-found freedom finds its purpose.The agricultural significance of Pesach is that it marks the start of the early harvest period in the land of Israel. The harvesting of the barley grain was marked by a special offering of the Omer commencing on the second day of Pesachand continuing for forty-nine days, concluding at Shavuot.
• Rosh Chodesh Nisan (glehrer.wordpress.com)
  We learned that Dayenu in hebrew means “enough” and when we sing the song Dayenu at the end of our seder it is because we are thanking God for our freedom, shabbat, the torah, and the miracles he performed to get us out of Egypt when we were slaves. The story taught us about getting ready for the seder, and just when you think you’ve done enough to prepare for Pesach, there is usually at least one more thing you can do to make your seder even more special.
• Nisan: The Month of Redemption; Adar: a leap year, i.e., to add an extra month, Such a year that has 13 (lunar) months is called a “pregnant year” (שנה מעוברת), indicating a state of being from which a new reality, specifically, the next month – the mont (guapotg.wordpress.com)
  In the Torah, the month of Nisan is referred to as “the month of spring.” From the verse, “Guard the month of spring and make Pesach for HaShem your G-d,” the sages learn of the mitzvah to make a leap year, i.e., to add an extra month (a second month of Adar) when necessary, to ensure that the holiday of Pesach always falls in the season of spring.
• Passover Guide for the Perplexed, 2014 (algemeiner.com)
  The Passover legacy constitutes the foundation of Judaism, and is therefore included in most Jewish blessings (“in memory of the Exodus”). Passover symbolizes the rejuvenation of nature and mankind, spiritually and physically, individually and collectively/nationally.  Passover stipulates that human rejuvenation – just like the rejuvenation of nature – must be driven by memory/history/roots.
• The Evolution Of Passover – Past To Present (jewishengagement.wordpress.com)
  The first Passover’s preparation and celebration is described in Exodus 12:1-28. In a nutshell, the Israelites were commanded to take an unblemished lamb, watch over it and then slaughter it on the 14^th day of Nisan marking the doorposts and lintels of their homes with its blood. They were instructed to roast it over a fire in its entirety and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They were to eat hurriedly with their clothes on, sandals on their feet and staff in their hands within the confines of their homes.
• Being Filled (mymorningmeditations.com)
  We celebrated Easter this year with our community of Christian and Jewish interfaith families. Our minister started off by pointing out that Easter is not in the Bible, and that our holiday traditions make reference to ancient goddesses, and the fertility rites of spring. She then gathered the children together and talked to them about the Buddhist metaphor of a cup of tea representing the comforting memories of life after the tea bag (or body) is gone. She’s not your typical minister.Next, our rabbi gave an adult sermon about the themes of intimacy, transcendence and unity in the story of the resurrection of Jesus. Somehow, the idea of life beyond death, of renewal and regeneration, seemed completely universal to me as he spoke. As a Jew, I do not feel I need to believe in a messiah or a personal savior in order to celebrate these Easter messages. Our rabbi spent his career at Georgetown, knows his gospels, and has been called a “closet Catholic” by Catholic friends. And yet, he’s an erudite, dedicated and deeply spiritual Jew. He’s not your typical rabbi.
• The April 15th Blood Moon Eclipse Coincides with The Exact Date & Hours of The Crucifixion (banoosh.com)
  When it mentions here that darkness covers the land, is that a reference to a Solar Eclipse that occurred at the exact hour of the Crucifixion?

Commemorating the escape from slavery

In this day and age many like to play god, and often think they are able to do so. Lots of people do want to be in the ‘beams’ shining bright. They want to be in the centre of the ‘spotlight’ and love the attention. But at one point the attention becomes too much. Lots of people then loose control over their emotions.

twitter y macworld (Photo credit: juque)

To cope with all those little agonies today people have found Twitter as their outrage machine, where this medium will make its little idols, through its perpetual series of distractions, puffery and self-indulgence.

Twitter allows us to be like Gods, worshipped by our followers with retweets and personal messages. And then we do battle with other Gods. {Twitter, Outrage, and Jesus}

Lots of people think they do not need to seek healing, for we have these weapons in 140 characters.

If there is the hope of winning, we will continue to place hashtags. {Twitter, Outrage, and Jesus}

A 13th century book illustration produced in Baghdad by al-Wasiti showing a slave-market in the town of Zabid in Yemen. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the mean time they all have become enslaved by their little technological attributes like smartphones, tablets, i-pads, laptops and all sorts of brands computers, televisions and so much more.
They also have become the new slaves of this age, having to work with more than one in the household to survive. And the bosses do know they need that work to survive and use it to their advantage, not to pay to much, but just enough to keep the workers quiet.

What would be the difference with the slaves from old times?

The coming week millions of believers in the Divine Creator shall celebrate an historic moment when the People of God were liberated from slavery. First they were liberated from the oppression of the Egyptians. A later liberation was even to become more important for all those who still had to be born. It would be the liberation of something which catches us all. In the past and in the future it was and is something which has conquered the people always. But now there would have come an end to it. But people shall have to make choices to be part of the winners. It would not be a game of poker, or an other game of cards, gambling or trying your luck on the lottery game. It would become a matter of choosing the right way to go in your life at your own responsibility.

Jews and several Christians shall be celebrating next Monday and Tuesday the incredible offer the Divine Creator gave to the world. Many probably would wonder why they will tell again old stories to their children, for the so ‘many-est’ time in their life.
Even in far away countries where it all happened, parents shall remind their children of that special occasion, we all should remember.

Also at the Youth Group at Hillside Church they may get Corbin’s grandmother, Ruth Dudlay, coming to tell them stories about the Underground Railway with special Underground Railway quilts, actual slave irons, and other historical relics from the time of slavery in a place close to them, North America. They shall hear those old stories because they are important to know their past but also to know their future.

Those stories can be told in many ways, but they should not only give entertainment. They should get us to think about certain matters, perhaps hidden behind the words of that story. Stories are also told in many ways to help us remember them.

The coming week many people in the world shall look at the liberation from slavery remembered in the ritual of the Passover feast. The coming weekend and following days many shall take time to remember and to recall those old stories. We also should take up those ancient books like the Bible and read about those important moments in history of humankind.

By reading and studying those old stories we can get to understand more about our human way of living and get to see who we are. Where we came from and where we are headed.

It is significant that the ancient stories of the Israelite slavery were cherished by the North American African slaves. Because of these ancient stories, slaves over 3,000 years later had hope that like the Israelite slaves they would be liberated by God! It was reading the stories in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus that caused William Wilberforce to petition the British Empire (and its colonies of Canada) to abolish slavery. {Why tell old stories?}

The story of Exodus describes an enslaved oppressed people rising up from captivity and escaping through the desert to return to their nomadic ancestors burial lands in Canaan. If you believe this story, the Exodus is one of the most significant moments of history without parallel. Slavery has been a part of human civilization for time untold and continues to be practiced today. Throughout history many slave revolts have occurred, however they usually end with all of the revolting being killed (for instance Spartacus and his slave rebellion against Rome). That the tribe of Hebrew slaves were able to leave Egypt, the most powerful empire in the world, and survive wandering through the desert is a powerful story that has inspired many oppressed peoples throughout history. {Why tell old stories?}

Friday-night, this coming Sabbath, the Haftorah read shall refer to a day in the future which will be “great” – the day of the re-establishment of God’s Kingdom on this earth, as described in Malachi 3-4.

Mal 4:5-6 NHEBYSE  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of YHWH comes.  (6)  He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

The world should know that before the Day of Jehovah God, shall be there the world shall have receive the opportunity to choose for better things. We shall not be able to escape therefore the third World War, which shall be coming and be terrible, but we shall either be gone before or when still alive, shall be able to cope with it because we shall be prepared.

In the above verse the prophet speaks of the day of redemption in the future. Passover, which represents the day of redemption of antiquity, serves as the model for the future redemption of the children of Israel.

This Shabbat in Egypt was different from all other previous Shabbatot. This time, man joined God in His holy day. Ironically, the mode of observance was not “resting” as we think of it in the context of today’s Shabbat. Historically, the Shabbat before Pesach was the day when the children of Israel were commanded to take to themselves a lamb, a symbolic action that stood in opposition to the lamb-worshiping Egyptians. {Weekly Torah Commentary — Acharei Mot April 11, 2014}

The Sages note that by taking the lamb the Jews observed Shabbat in Egypt as never before. This was their first Shabbat as a people, a moment of passage in the national sense: They had reached the age of majority, became adult (“gedolim”), with responsibilities. This was Shabbat “HaGadol”. The most basic teaching of Shabbat is the acknowledgement that God created the world in six days. By taking the lamb the Jews rejected idolatry and accepted God. This was not merely an action which took place on the tenth of Nissan. This was a watershed of Jewish history. Now the Jews joined God in a Shabbat.  {Weekly Torah Commentary — Acharei Mot April 11, 2014}

All those who believe in the Creator God could better sometimes listen to those who are still in the old tradition of Hebrew teachings. then they should know and understand that it is perhaps because people always went in against the wishes of the Most High, that the better things did not yet come up to them. we should remember that God was very clear on which days had to be celebrated and to which Laws we should keep. But how many thought they could bring better laws into the world than the Maker His Laws? How many did not think they could make a better world than the world the Maker of the Universe had in His mind?

Our sages teach us that if all of Israel fully observe just two Shabbatot the Messiah would appear. {Weekly Torah Commentary — Acharei Mot April 11, 2014}

Interestingly, according to the mainstream Jewish approach the world was created in Nissan, which means that the Shabbat which takes place around the 10th of the month was the second Shabbat in the history of the world. Had those two Shabbatot been kept properly the world would have been redeemed back then. {Weekly Torah Commentary — Acharei Mot April 11, 2014}

In particular, the two Shabbatot which must be observed are Shabbat Hagadol and Shabbt Shuva. Each of these Shabbatot have a special power to them: One falls between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, it is a Shabbat which teaches man how to return to God. The other Shabbat is the first Shabbat observed in Egypt, the one we are about to celebrate. It is a Shabbat which contains within it the secret of redemption. {Weekly Torah Commentary — Acharei Mot April 11, 2014}

If man could master these two Shabbatot, the Messiah would quickly arrive. Would that it would be this year. {Weekly Torah Commentary — Acharei Mot April 11, 2014}

Observing the Sabbath-closing havdalah ritual in 14th-century Spain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

These days we should come to prepare to celebrate the Festival of our Redemption, past and future. We should take some time to examine our relationships and make sure that we have no ‘unfinished business’ in that area. Now has come the time that we should consider which relation we would like to have with others around us. In case we have something done wrong we should come to the point that we ourselves take courage to go up to that person and admit we were wrong. These coming days we should look at all those old stories where we have seen that even people of God could do something wrong but ask forgiveness, and that it was given to them. We are also in need to ask forgiveness for some offence or have to forgive others for their offences against us. Now has come the time to our doorstep that we do have to do it from the heart. If we need to forgive someone else, likewise let’s forgive freely as God forgives us.

Now is also the time we do have to remember that Nazarene Jew who had no fault but was killed. He was willing to give his body as a lamb for God, as a payment for the sins of all people in this world.

Next Monday night we should come together and be feeling united with many people all over the world. We should also let others know that all over the world people will be looking forward to this gathering. We could always invite others too to gather with us to celebrate Passover – the holiday that commemorates the Jewish people’s escape from slavery in Egypt. And Christians can look for some extra dimension to that feast. We should not mourn for the death of Jeshua (Jesus Christ), but should be pleased that he on the night before he was given over to the Romans, took his closest friends with him in an upper room in Jerusalem to present them with symbols, which were a sign of the New Covenant, our new connection with Jehovah God, the Father of Christ Jesus, Who is also our Father and Who is welcoming us all again, if we are willing to come up to Him.

The world should get to know the meaning of these special days and has to come to understand the meaning of the symbols of Passover which all point to the ministry, death and resurrection of that humble Nazarene man Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our Passover lamb.

On the 14th day of the month of Nissan Jesus was crucified, or sacrificed. On the very same afternoon that the Passover lambs were being killed as a sacrifice, Jesus – the Lamb of God- was being sacrificed for all of us. Just like the blood on the doorposts of the Hebrews caused God’s judgement to pass over them, so the blood of Christ causes God’s judgement to pass over us. Christ provided atonement, as well as redemption for us upon the wooden stake. To receive this forgiveness of our sins we must put our faith in this Nazarene man, who is the Christos or Christ, the Messiah for which many may be still waiting. But he has already come, has fulfilled the wish of his Father and sealed the New Covenant with his own blood.

For seven or eight days (depending on where you live), families and friends come together for festive seder meals packed with ritual foods and a few dietary restrictions (for instance, no leavened grains). We all could feel united with them and show the outer-world the connection those people from all sorts of tribes, cultures or countries may share with each other. they all are united under the blessings of the One and Only True God.

It is under His Wings that we shall be able to come closer to each other and will be able find peace in unity.

Festive Seder table with wine, matza and Seder plate. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We look forward to be able to find many at the meetings held on Monday night. On the 14th of April 2014, it shall also be from sundown the moment to remember what Jesus has done. Therefore a “Memorial Meal” shall bring many Christians together all over the world, keeping “Christian communion”. Also known by many as “the Lord’s supper” we shall gather to pray and remember all the difficulties this world received, but also all the goodness which has come over it. We shall read the old stories of the exodus and of the last days of Christ Jesus. Together we shall celebrate our Passover remembrance of the body and blood of Christ. His body being broken for us and his blood being shed upon the wooden stake for our salvation. The Passover lambs had to be without blemish in order to be sacrificed for sin. Christ was the only man without blemish (sin) so he became our Passover lamb. Christ is the second Adam, the man of flesh and blood and bones. He could be tempted and sin, like any other man, but he did not. He was the only person who managed to keep to the Laws of his Father, the Only One God, Whose Name he made known and asked us to be made known all over the world. Being without fault he was the perfect offer humankind give to its Maker. Giving his life for many he succeeded to become the only one who could purchase our salvation and become the mediator between God and man. In him we can trust, like we can trust his Father, our heavenly Father, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah God.

Let us wish each other:

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Pesach Sameach!!! (A blessed Passover)

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Additional literature:

1. 1 -15 Nisan
2. Day of remembrance coming near
3. Another way looking at a language #4 Ancient times
4. Self inflicted misery #5 A prophet without a hedge around him
5. The Advent of the saviour to Roman oppression
6. Seven days of Passover
7. On the first day for matzah
8. A Great Gift commemorated
9. Jesus memorial
10. Observance of a day to Remember
11. A new exodus and offering of a Lamb
12. In what way were sacrifices “shadows”?
13. What does ‘atonement’ mean?
14. Why did Jesus say he wouldn’t drink wine again until the kingdom when he ate and drank other things? (Mark 14:25)
15. Children ate the OT passover so why not NT bread and wine?
16. Deliverance and establishement of a theocracy
17. 14 Nisan a day to remember #1 Inception
18. 14 Nisan a day to remember #2 Time of Jesus
19. 14 Nisan a day to remember #3 Before the Passover-feast
20. 14 Nisan a day to remember #4 A Lamb slain
21. 14 Nisan a day to remember #5 The Day to celebrate
22. Around the feast of Unleavened Bread
23. High Holidays not only for Israel
24. Festival of Freedom and persecutions
25. 14-15 Nisan and Easter
26. The Song of The Lamb #7 Revelation 15
27. Servant of his Father
28. For the Will of Him who is greater than Jesus
29. A Messiah to die
30. Anointing of Christ as Prophetic Rehearsal of the Burial rites
31. Death of Christ on the day of preparation
32. How many souls did the death of Jesus pay for?
33. Swedish theologian finds historical proof Jesus did not die on a cross
34. Why 20 Nations Are Defending the Crucifix in Europe
35. Impaled until death overtook him
36. Misleading Pictures
37. A time for everything
38. 2013 Lifestyle, religiously and spiritualy
39. Fixing our attention
40. Control your destiny or somebody else will
41. Allowed to heal
42. A secret to be revealed
43. Your Sins Are Forgiven
44. Slave for people and God
45. Liberation in Christ
46. Not bounded by labels but liberated in Christ
47. Holidays, holy days and traditions
48. A Holy week in remembrance of the Blood of life
49. Peter Cottontail and a Bunny laying Eastereggs
50. Bread and Wine
51. Around the feast of Unleavened Bread
52. The son of David and the first day of the feast of unleavened bread
53. Deliverance and establishment of a theocracy
54. Focus on outward appearances
55. Fraternal week-end at Easter in Paris

Related articles

• How religion has been used to promote slavery (religion.blogs.cnn.com)
  what did the founders of the three great Western religions do? Did they have slaves and did they condemn the practice? Or were they, at least on this issue, squarely men of their times?
• The people asked for a king: Selling ourselves (spiritharvestblog.com)
  God did not create man to dominate other men. Humans were created as sovereign beings with direct access to his and her Creator. We were created to be sovereign leaders of ourselves, partners in marriage, examples of right living to our children and upright representatives in our communities. We were created to live with the knowledge and understanding that God is our King, our Lord, our True Sovereign Leader. He occupies a throne no man can usurp.

  Until we attempted to take the throne for ourselves, or alternatively, put someone else upon the throne to rule us. No man can usurp our authority, but we can certainly surrender it.

• God’s Law; Your slaves (soipost.wordpress.com)
  The social laws of the Pentateuch were not designed for the modern world,
  They were clearly designed for a different kind of world, a mainly agricultural society.
  But since they were published in the name of the Biblical God, they can still throw light on his nature and intentions.
  Which gives us a new reason for reading this collection even if the laws themselves have been superseded.
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  Some scholars try to reconcile Leviticus with the other laws by suggesting that “Hebrew” was a wider social or ethnic category than “Israelite”.
  But since the word “brother” is also used to describe Hebrews, it is probably better to see the injunctions of Leviticus as representing an ideal which wasn’t always attained.
  +
  What can these laws tell us about the God who endorses them?

  They deal with the state of slavery as something which exists, but their purpose is to regulate the treatment of slaves and impose restraints on the power that is exercised over them.
  This God is apparently unwilling to allow slave-owners the kind of absolute control which would have been available to them in most other slave-holding societies of the time.
  The owner cannot hold one of his own people in slavery for longer than a limited period.
  There are laws to prevent the treatment of slaves from descending into brutality, and laws to rein in the exploitation of female slaves.
  Since most of the Israelite slaves would have been debt-slaves, all this can be seen as one aspect of care for the poor.
  It points to the same concern for the weak and vulnerable that can be seen in many other Israelite laws.

  In fact the general tenor of these laws is unfriendly to the very existence of slavery, at least among the brethren.

• Passover Primer (boiseweekly.com)
  Passover, a Jewish holiday celebrated for seven or eight days (depending on the branch of Judaism) that starts on the full moon in April, is a great opportunity to sink your teeth into Jewish history and culinary traditions. Why? Because each item consumed during the Passover seder–a ritual feast that’s hosted on the first night of Passover, this year Monday, April 14–is filled with thousands of years of meaning.
  +
  In addition to matzah, the Passover seder features six symbolic items displayed on a special seder plate. While some of these foods are eaten during the reading of the Haggadah–a guide outlining the order of the seder and explaining the significance of the meal–others are there for ceremonial purposes.
  +
  “What better way to entice people to really think about something than food?” said Lifshitz. “Food is intergenerational dialogue, which is what the Passover seder is about; it’s about a discussion.”
• Christ our Passover Lamb (daysofdaniel.wordpress.com)
  The week of Passover or Pesach will begin at sunset Monday, April 14, and ends at nightfall Tuesday, April 22. The Passover is a Hebrew commemoration of when the death angel passed over the homes of the Israelites that placed blood on their doorposts. The Lord struck the firstborn of Egypt dead in response to Pharaohs decree but spared the firstborn of the Israelites who marked their homes with blood. The Hebrews were instructed by the Lord to eat the Passover meal, as well as to celebrate this holy week throughout their generations. It is also known as the week of unleavened bread, because the Hebrews were instructed to eat bread made without leaven (yeast).
  +
  All of the events that occurred at that time, as well as the symbols of Passover all point to the ministry, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our Passover lamb.
• One man’s mission to end modern slavery (jewishjournal.com)
  Cohen, a Los Angeles native with a dude-esque Southern California surfer dialect, has been a full-time investigator since 2000, identifying victims of human trafficking — often, young girls in the global sex trade — and gathering the evidence and money required to free them.
  +
  When discussing more recent experiences, he didn’t revel in the details of his operations. And he shied away from discussing any of his recent stings in the United States.

  He wanted, rather, to discuss Judaism, the Torah, Passover, and why he meditates and prays immediately before his operations, most of which begin with a simple interview of a trafficking victim. Cohen poses as a customer who wants the girl’s services, meets her at a hotel and simply speaks to her, gains her trust, and, usually after a few meetings, gets her and others on the record, providing evidence that the authorities demand

• Shabbat HaGadol (layacrust.wordpress.com)
  The Shabbat right before Pesach is called Shabbat HaGadol- The Great Sabbath. One interpretation is that “Moshiach”- the Messiah- will come on Passover, so this is the  Great Shabbat, the one before that great redemption.

  Another idea is that the days leading up to the Exodus from Egypt were days of unusual and overwhelming preparation for the Israelites. Those preparations  not only affected sacrifices and food but defined faith and self identification. That concept holds true today. Those who choose to prepare for Pesach and change their diet and behaviours for an entire week are declaring their faith in the God of Israel and defining themselves as Jews.

• Scripture Oppression in the Bible Part 1 (human2o.wordpress.com)
  As we interpret the bible in “Modern” times, many questions arise. Why has the world’s highest selling book,”the holy bible”, been used to justify oppression, of a specific group of people? Fear, political, and economic power, are the three main reasons to oppress people. Society uses fear to condemn, what is not understood, by controlling through opression keeping one subordinate. The majority, or the group in power uses scripture to maintain status, and build their retention of power. Humans sometimes use fear as a scapegoat for lack of their acountabilities. The word scapegoat originates from biblical days of atonement. Priests performed a ritual, in which the sins of people were symbolically placed on goats. The goats were then driven into the wilderness, along with the sins, and impurities of the people (Paul J Harpers Bible Dictionary). Its funny to see that people believed a goat running into wilderness, took accountability for their wrong actions, giving them instant forgiveness, with no apology, or correction.
  In less than 300 years, in the United States alone, there are four major examples of how scripture has been used to oppress particular social groups. Oppression of African Americans, and Jews, through slavery are seen throughout the bible. Oppression of women, and now LGBTQ(Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) have all been supported by scripture in the bible.
  There are over 500 translations of the bible. Every translation changes ” the words of god”, as they are mass produced over time. If a person is not smart enough, by reading the “holy bible” , they will follow the “will of god”, and become a slave.
• Slaves In Egypt? (brianrushwriter.wordpress.com)
  The religion of ancient Israel was not anything that properly deserved to be called Judaism. It was a tribal cult in which the Hebrew God, Adonai or JHVH, was one deity among many in the world, not a universal deity as the Jewish God is today. This God was easy for them to abandon, as the diatribes of the prophets in the Bible show that they frequently did. Moreover, this God was not something to be worshiped in spirit wherever one found oneself; rather, he had a location, and that location was Palestine, especially Jerusalem, more especially the Temple. How can we worship the God of our fathers in a foreign land? the captive Hebrews cried.
• Passover: Touching Liberation (jewishjournal.com)
  

  As we were developing the cover story for this year’s Passover issue —“Are we e-slaves?”— I couldn’t help thinking about a little girl in Israel, Amit, who suffers from a neurodevelopmental disorder called Rett syndrome.

  According to academic literature, Rett syndrome is characterized by “normal early growth and development followed by a slowing of development, loss of purposeful use of the hands, distinctive hand movements, slowed brain and head growth, problems with walking, seizures and intellectual disability.”

• Happy Passover! (jewishvoice.wordpress.com)
  History repeats itself . . .
  First there were the Israelites in Bible times, who were saved from sudden slaughter when they obeyed God by putting blood on the lintels and doorposts of their home. The Angel of Death passed over, and the Hebrew children lived to tell their great story of God’s faithfulness.
  Happy Passover! (jewishvoice.wordpress.com)
  we as people of faith can celebrate being saved from certain death when we apply the blood of Yeshua our Messiah to our lives and repent of those sins that kept us in our own personal bondage.To help you celebrate this wonderful occasion, we have put together some Passover resources so that you can be educated and inspired by the beauty of this holy feast.
• Tears of the Anointed (beautyfromchaos.wordpress.com)
  Yudah hated the Romans. None of us were particularly happy about their presence, but we put up with them and by and large they didn’t bother us too much. Yudah wanted an armed uprising, and thought that Yeshua was the way to achieve it; he wouldn’t let it go, however many times Yeshua patiently explained to him that that wasn’t what his teaching was about.
• The Unanticipated Passover Seder (ghostriverstudios.wordpress.com)
  If there are aspects of the Passover seder from which all people can learn, how much more so is this true for believers in Messiah? After all, our Master Yeshua chose the wine and the matzah of a Passover Seder to represent his body and blood.
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  The Unanticipated Passover Seder
  I cannot be considered as one of the members of humanity who marched out of Egypt and left behind my slavery, and certainly I cannot project myself into the masses who stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and personally received the Torah from Hashem, as does every person who is Jewish.
• The Unanticipated Passover Seder (mymorningmeditations.com)
  our Master Yeshua chose the wine and the matzah of a Passover Seder to represent his body and blood. More than just learning about and celebrating the concept of freedom from oppression and exile, for disciples of Messiah, the seder celebrates Yeshua’s atoning death and resurrection while remaining firmly grounded and centered on God’s deliverance of the Jewish people from Egypt.
• PesachI imagine that the death of Jesus was still sad in heaven even though they knew the whole plan. Suffering is sorrowful. I don’t really know what was happening while Jesus was dead so I won’t try to guess here.
• “Christ Is Our Passover Lamb” / The Message of the High Sabbath beginning the eve of March 25, 2013 (owprince.wordpress.com)
  Remarkably, the celebration of Easter, one of the most holy of Christian holidays, cannot be found anywhere in the Bible. In 1949 the Encyclopedia Britannica in its article on Easter stated the following regarding this day: “There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic fathers.”
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  If you find the word Easter in your Bible, it’s actually a mistranslation that is noted in your Bible’s margin. Most recent translations of the Bible make the correction. The correct translations use the word Passoverinstead of Easter.
• Jesus Christ, Our Passover (fredswolfe.wordpress.com)
  Jesus was dead in the grave with no consciousness for 3 full days and 3 full nights = 72 hours. There is no way in Hell to fit 3 full days and 3 full nights between Sunset Friday and Sunrise Sunday. Therefore, there is no such thing as Good Friday! Jesus Christ, our Passover Lamb,was sacrificed for us and was buried on a Wednesday around sunset beginning the 1st night (Thursday). At dawn Thursday began the first day. At sunset Thurs. began the 2nd night of Friday, then Friday day; thenFri at sunset began the 3rd night, Saturday; then Saturday at sunset completed the 3 days and 3 nights. Sunset Sat. began Sunday night:Jn 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.KJV
• Passover: A Time To Remember (jacksonandrew.com)
  I am thankful that today, we can celebrate this feast without the sacrifice of a life for our sins, as Christ, our Passover Lamb, has once and for all, become the substitute… and with Him, God is well pleased. Don’t forget to remember or you are doomed to return to what once enslaved you.
• G-dfearers Participation In Shabbat, And Pesach According To Toby Janicki (paradoxparables.justparadox.com)
  Gentile believers have been brought near to the commonwealth of Israel. Although this does not make Gentile Christians into Jews, they share in the spiritual heritage of the nation of Israel.
• This Week’s Torah Portion – VAYIKRA (And He Called)(terri0729.wordpress.com)
  God made Nisan the first month of the year because it was the month in which
  the Jewish people were freed from slavery in Egypt.
  So too, may we remember our freedom from the slavery of sin and death through
  Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah.
• The High Holy Days for Atonement – 2012 A.D. (moshebarabraham2013.wordpress.com)
  As we prepare for The High Holy Days of Midian, Israel, and Ishmael, we seek Atonement through Fasting and Prayer as handed down to us from our Ancestors under The Covenant of Abraham (COA), Ibrahiym.
• The LORD Jesus Christ- Our Passover (zionsgate.wordpress.com)
  Pesach (PAY-sahk) means to ‘pass over’.  The Passover meal, seder (SAY der), celebrates this historic event.
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  The LORD’s supper is a remembrance of his sacrifice as the perfect Passover Lamb and the fulfillment of the new covenant between GOD and man (Luke 22:20; 1st Corinthians 5:7; Ephesians 2:11-13).  Prophecy of this sacrifice is found in Psalm 22.  The Hebrew prophet Isaiah also spoke of the sufferings and sacrifice of the Messiah, and how that sacrifice would be the ultimate atonement for the sins of GOD’s people (Isaiah 53).
• The Mystery of the Passover Wine Revealed: The Yayin HaMeshumar….Yeshua said, “I shall give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has never occurred to the mind of man. (Gospel of Thomas 17) (guapotg.wordpress.com)
  The phrase “wine that has been kept” in the Hebrew is Yayin HaMeshumar “wine of keeping”. The tradition of the Yayin HaMeshumar runs deep in traditional Judaism. It is the wine that will be served at the Messianic Feast when the Messiah re-establishes the Kingdom of Israel on earth.
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  Not only is the Yayin HaMeshumar the blood of the Messiah, but it is more. It is the “mystery” of which the blood of Messiah is only part:
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  next time you partake of the cup of redemption in the Passover sader, realize that this cup is symbolic of the Yayin HeMeshumar, the wine that has been kept from the six days in the beginning, the blood of the lamb slain from the foundation which has been hidden and separated and prepared for those who love him.
• Passover and the Feast of Unleaven Bread (ourcommunityatfbcdc.wordpress.com)
  The Passover meal is eaten on the first day. God commanded that Israel keep this feast perpetually.
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  God offers us redemption through the atoning action of Jesus Christ, God’s son who came to the earth, and suffered and died for the sins of the world. He became the Paschal lamb. Under this judgment of sin and ultimate eternal death, God freely offers to all who will believe and accept His provision for us, forgiveness of our sins and life eternal.
• The Passover Type and Its Anti-type (compasschurchamman.wordpress.com)
  The Old Testament (Exodus 34:18, 25) distinguishes the festivals by using the terms “Feast of Unleavened Bread” and “Passover Feast”. The New Testament (Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:1; Luke 22:1) refers to both of these as “the Passover” and the “Feast of the Unleavened Bread. These festivals were held in immediate sequence. Passover was celebrated at twilight of the 14th day of the month (Exodus 12:6) and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for the seven days following, namely, the 15th to the 21st (Exodus 12:15; Leviticus 23:5f.; Numbers 28:16ff; 2 Chronicles 35:1, 17).
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  The timing of Jesus’ death in the Passover season and the conviction that his death was the atoning death of “blood poured out for many” (Mark 14:24) assisted linking his atoning death to the Passover sacrifice. As the Israelite was delivered from the bondage of Egypt through the blood of the Passover lamb, so the Christian is saved from sin through the sacrifice of Christ; but Paul further adds that continual victory over the sins of the world means a continual observing of the Feast of Redemption.
• Exodus, The Red Sea, and New Testament Baptism (thelifechurchofdesplaines.wordpress.com)
• Echoing Passover in This Worship (tbolto.wordpress.com)
  The word “Seder” simply means “Order.” Everything is done in a careful order in keeping with God’s instructions in the Old Testament or Torah, as it is known by Jewish people, and with traditions that have been added to keep alive the memory of the original Passover people.
• The Crossing of the Red Sea- A Picture of the Process of Salvation…..Just as the Egyptians followed the Hebrews into the Red Sea but the Hebrews alone emerged alive, when we enter into the death burial and resurrection of Messiah as symbolized by water im (guapotg.wordpress.com)
  When someone asks “are you saved”? the natural question is “saved from what?” “Saved” is a verb that begs for a direct object. Yet many who ask you “are you saved” cannot actually tell you what they mean.