We Are a Kind of Firstfruits?
We have entered into the fourth week of the Feast of Weeks which begins and ends with a firstfruits harvest. Why are there two harvests with the same name, one at the beginning and one at the end of the Feast of Weeks? What do they represent? Is there more God wants us to understand about ourselves and His great plan of salvation through these feasts? You will be amazed to learn about the role of the saints as firstfruits. In Lev 23:9, God instructed His people Israel to observe the Feast of the Firstfruits. He said to Moses in verse ...
Take Heed
The story of Job is a very inspiring, yet frightening one. I used to ask myself, how is it that a man could be so faithful? But also, why did God allow this to happen to him? In the story of Job, God orders a hedge be put around Job’s life. We see this in Job 2:6: And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. (Job 2:6 KJV) [emphasis mine] The word save is the Hebrew word shamar, which means to guard, protect, or to hedge about (Strong's Concordance). A hedge serves many purposes – but the most obvious one ...
Will Christ Return in 2012?
The Bible is clear about how this present world will come to an end. God has laid down in his word specific prophetic events that must be fulfilled, prior to the second coming of Christ to establish His Kingdom on this earth and to bring an end to this world’s man-made, Satan-directed system of rulership. Among the events to precede the coming of Christ are the revival of the Roman Empire (the Beast of Revelation 13:1-2 and Daniel 7:7; 23-24); the Abomination of Desolation (Matt 24:15), and the Great tribulation (Matt 24:21). It is impossible for all these events to occur in ...
Why Does God Want Us to Observe the Holy Days?
A few years back, my family decided to take a trip and visit my brother in the United States, who had just moved to a new location to a different city in the state of Pennsylvania. I asked for the address and used Google Maps to get the directions, printed them with exact step-by-step directions, and was ready to hit the road the next day. After 8 hours of driving we had reached our destination. We found the street, but couldn’t find the house number. Thank God we ended up in the same city we wanted to go, but somehow ...
Taking Spiritual Advantage of the Economic Recession
Without a doubt, the world economic recession over the last two years has taken a serious toll on the lives of individuals, families and society. While we welcome the news that the recession is now behind us, this news is more of an economist’s perspective than the real life experiences of ordinary individuals who are still without jobs, and who are living on reduced incomes and facing accumulated bills among many other issues. The people of God are not immune to the effects of economic recession and very often our physical hardships negatively impact our faith in ways that trigger ...
Qualifying to Rule with Christ
As we draw near to the Feast of Pentecost, we are reminded that God calls us into His Church to become rulers with Christ in His kingdom (Rev 5:10; 20:6). The scriptures warn us, however, that not everyone who is called will qualify for rulership in God’s Kingdom (Matt 20:16). Why is this? God’s requires that we first learn to rule ourselves before He gives us rulership over others! He says in Luke 6:10 “whoever is faithful in the least will also be faithful in much” This means, God uses the little things we do to ...
Should the Sabbath & Holy Days Be Kept? (pt. II)
Q: I would like to ask your help in explaining something I am having trouble understanding. I know that you depend heavily on Leviticus 23 to prove that people should observe the holy days that are listed there. Several verses say that “it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations.” But it also says that God told Moses to “speak unto the children of Israel” about these things. It seems like these days and festivals were intended only for the Hebrew people in ancient times. There is no indication that other people were ever meant to observe them. ...
Should the Sabbath & Holy Days Be Kept?
Q: The Sabbath is not mentioned in any of the lists of evils or lists of virtues in the New Testament. Doesn’t this suggest that the Fourth Commandment is no longer in force? A: It is a mistake to view the New Testament as a “systematic theology” or “statement of beliefs” or “creed” compiled by the apostles for the purpose of providing church members with an exposition on all the laws, commandments, and doctrines of the New Covenant. The church already had access to the Old Testament, and believed it to be “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction ...
