Category Archives: Current Events

Current trends and social commentary

SEE MUSLIM MOB STONE CHRISTIANS – IN U.S.!

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Here is a link to the story and live video from Worldnet Daily (wnd.com) of Muslims stoning Christian street preachers in Dearborn, Michigan. And you thought this could never happen in the U.S.A.!

http://www.wnd.com/2012/06/muslim-mob-stones-christians-in-u-s/

I personally know the main individual interviewed in this video and have ministered with him. He’s the same man who unfurls the large John 3:16 banners at major football events on live TV. Please pray for Ruben! Pray for all those who are taking a stand against wickedness and who are calling sinners to repent.

When the police should be defending the rights of Christians to have freedom of speech, they are instead siding with those who are attacking the Christian preachers with bottles, rocks and bags of urine. Freedom of speech on a public street isn’t a crime. Violently assaulting people and causing bodily harm in a public venue is a crime, yet the police side with the aggressors and refuse to protect the Christians. I’m reminded of this passage in Isaiah:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isa 5:20)

This is part of the judgment that is coming against America because it has forsaken YHVH Elohim—the God of the Bible—and turned to worshipping the false gods of wood and stone. Moses prophesied this in Deuteronomy 32:15–22,

But Jeshurun [i.e. end-times Israel including America] waxed fat [greed and materialism], and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook Elohim which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils [via false and demonic religions such as Islam], not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten Elohim that formed thee. And when YHVH saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not Elohim; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation [in this case, Islam/Edom]. For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

 

As Moses prophesied long ago, Elohim’s judgment against his people in America is intensifying because of its sins against him!

In America, it’s all out war against the God of the Bible, against the Bible and against those who believe in and follow the Bible. It seems that any religious or philosophical system that demeans the Bible and Bible believers is given a pass, exhaled and venerated, while at the same time, Bible believers are derided, besmirched, litigated against, condemned and persecuted. What will it take to wake Americans up?

What can each of us do in our own lives to stand for truth even if it costs us something? Being salt and light in the midsts of a perverse generation isn’t easy. Some may lose their lives over it. Read Hebrews 11.

 

 

Modern Day Slavery

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Deut 23:15–16 states,

“You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it seems best to him; you shall not oppress him.”

Furthermore, Paul in 1 Timothy 1:10 condemns “men stealers” or “kidnapers,” which in the Greek literally means “slave traders.”

MSNBC has published an informative article about modern-day slavery by Ian Johnston titled “42,000 Modern-Day Slaves Rescued but Millions in Bondage, Trafficking Report Says” (read the article…).

US State Department Graphic
US State Department Graphic showing persons in forced labor in different parts of the world. From Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2012, Page 45.

Come King Yeshua, come quickly!

 

Meeting Your Maker…On Pentecost!

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A Study on Exodus 19—Are You Ready for Pentecost?

On Shavuot or Pentecost, YHVH gave his people Israel the Torah at Mount Sinai. But before they could see his glorious manifest presence, hear his voice, and receive his Word, they had to prepare themselves to meet him. Are you preparing yourself to meet YHVH this coming Sunday—on Pentecost?

An invitation. In this chapter, YHVH invites his people to come near to him, to receive his Torah, and to enter into a spiritual relationship with him. He had just delivered them from their sins, suffering and bondage when he led them out of Egypt (v. 4). He now offered them enticing blessings and status among the nations of the world (v. 6) if, and only if, his people would agree to his terms and conditions (v. 5).

But he would not allow his people to accept his benefits on their terms, but only on his terms. This is where men and religious systems have missed it: they want to accept YHVH on their own terms, not YHVH’s terms. Such is the religion of humanism—that man knows better than YHVH what is good for him, which is the religion the serpent pawned off on the first man and woman at the tree of knowledge. The problem is that accepting YHVH on our terms is called sin, which leads to misery and eventually to eternal death!

There are preconditions to meeting with YHVH and coming into relationship with him—coming to his high and holy mountain, his place of abiding, and his presence. Coming to this place is not without cost. David talks about who can come to the mountain of YHVH in Psalms 15 and 24. Only those who have clean hands and pure heart and who abstain from sin.

YHVH told the children of Israel that they could approach him and become his special people if they would meet certain conditions, and only then would he bless them (v. 5–6).

Even after the people had agreed with his terms (v. 8), after they had accepted him as their Savior when they put the blood of the lamb on the door posts of their homes resulting in the judgments of YHVH passing over them (Exod 12), YHVH’s blessings could come only after they had met certain requirements. Salvation is based on faith and grace alone, but rewards and blessings come based on obedience to the commandments of Elohim (Matt 5:19). To receive YHVH’s blessing, the Israelites had to consecrate themselves to him (vv. 10,14). This involved putting away the filth of the world (symbolized by washing their clothes) along with men’s carnal passions (symbolized by abstaining from sexual relations with their wives, vv. 10, 14–15). Graciously, YHVH gave them two days to accomplish this (v. 10). They had to get ready to meet YHVH (v. 11). One can’t expect simply to waltz into the presence of the Mighty King of the Universe in a casual and haphazardly manner!

YHVH had additional protocols that the people had to follow to come into his presence. Boundary stones were set up at the base of the mountain (v. 12). A death penalty came upon any who crossed those boundaries and came presumptuously into the presence of the Creator of the Universe (vv. 13, 22, 24). Moreover, before they could come into the presence of the Almighty, the fear of YHVH had to be established in the hearts of the people—something that is entirely lacking among most people in our generation including those in the church!

It was then and only then after the Israelites had agreed to meet YHVH’s terms and conditions, after having consecrated themselves for two days prior, and then set up boundary stones at the base of the mountain that the fire and glory of YHVH fell upon the mountain for all the people to see. It was then that YHVH hand delivered to his chosen and consecrated people his precious instructions in righteousness—the Torah.

 

Shavuot — What, Why and When?

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On May 27, 2012, we will be celebrating the biblical feast of Shavuot (aka Pentecost and the Feast of Weeks) as did the ancient Israelites, and the Book of Acts believers, and Paul (Lev 23:15–22, Acts 2:1; 20:16).

What is Shavuot All About?

In the roughly 49 days between Passover (Pesach) and the Feast of Weeks (Chag haShavuot), a momentous spiritual dynamic occurs. This period of time is comprised of forty-nine days or seven days of seven weeks, which is seven times seven—the biblical number for complete or full perfection. Add one day and you arrive at Pentecost. Fifty is the biblical picture of jubilee picturing redemption from the enslavement to this world.

Historically, the children of Israel were redeemed from their sins by the blood of the lamb on the first Passover in Egypt. At this time, YHVH betrothed himself to Israel (Exod 6:7). YHVH then led them out of Egypt into the wilderness, and on Shavuot he married them at Sinai (Exod 24 cp. Ezek 16:8; Jer 2:2; 31:32). At the same time, YHVH gave them his Torah, which was their ketubah or marriage vows.

Shavuot is a picture of the bride of Yeshua the Messiah coming into full maturity spiritually and coming to marriageable age. She has gone from being a spiritual child and slave in Egypt to becoming the fully mature spiritual bride and queen of the King of the universe.

At the time of Yeshua, he betrothed himself to both houses of Israel on Passover. Then, on Pentecost, he then sent his Spirit, the Comforter, as a seal of this covenant. He hasn’t married this bride (that’s you and me) yet — something that occurs at his second coming. In the mean time, he has placed her in a 2000-years-long wilderness to get ready for him — to fall in love with him (to love him by keeping his Torah commands; John 14:15) by receiving his Torah into their hearts.

In the end times, he’s going to bring his bride (the saints) out of the wilderness of Babylon (called the Second Exodus), and they will repent of their Torahless ways. We are now getting ready for this day. Understanding the prophecies of the Bible that speak of these end-time events, and understanding who the principal players are (the two houses of Israel) is the key to insure that we’re ready for our Messiah — that we’ll be wise and not foolish virgins who have our lamps full of oil (the Torah and Spirit of Elohim).

Shavuot, along with Passover (Pesach) and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) are three times each year when YHVH commands his people to gather together to celebrate before him (Exod 23:14–17).

You can fulfill this command and move forward into your spiritual destiny by joining with your fellow redeemed Israelites from the greater Portland, Oregon
 area at Shavuot NW in Canby, Oregon on May 27, 2012.
 

Celebrate Shavuot / Pentecost With Us!

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YOU ARE INVITED!

Memorial Day weekend (May 25–27) this year also happens to be the biblical Feast of Weeks, Shavuot or Pentecost—one of YHVH’s commanded festivals (Lev 23:15–22, Acts 2:1; 20:16). 

You are invited to join us in Canby, Oregon (just south of Portland) for this weekend-long event. For details and registration, go to http://shavuotnw.org/.

 

Conservative Jewish Clergy Ordaining Homosexuals

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I just read this news piece from Ha’aretz News in Israel and wanted to pass it on. This development illustrates the moral and spiritual slide going on in even the most unlikely places.

Israeli Conservative Movement Approves Ordination of Gay Rabbis

’A very important development in Jewish law,’ says President of the Israeli Conservative Movement Rabbinical Assembly.

By Revital Blumenfeld and Yair EttingerTags: Jewish World Jewish Diaspora

Israel’s Masorti (Conservative) Movement decided to approve the ordination of homosexual rabbis, in a dramatic vote on Thursday.

The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, affiliated with the movement, will admit gay and lesbian students for training as spiritual leaders as of the upcoming school year.

gay marriage, gay wedding A Conservative rabbi marries a same-sex couple in the U.S.
Photo by: Courtesy of Gregg Drinkwater / Forward

In doing so the Israeli Conservative Movement is joining the American branch of the movement, whose rabbinical seminaries have been admitting gay students for some years.

The question whether or not to ordain gay and lesbian rabbis has been rattling the Conservative Movement in Israel and the U.S. for the past decade. Unlike the Reform movement that took to the question with ease, deciding firmly on the acceptance of gay rabbis. The Conservative Movement, whose rabbis see themselves bound to Jewish law, has been caught up in heated debate over the subject.

Years of discussion led to two contradictory religious rulings in 2006, one requiring the ordination of gay and lesbian rabbis and another banning any such act. The two rabbinical seminaries affiliated with the movement in the U.S. move the ruling allowing the ordination, while the seminaries in Jerusalem and Buenos Aires adopted the ban on ordination. The issue nearly caused a rift in the movement.

To continue reading this story: http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/israeli-conservative-movement-approves-ordination-of-gay-rabbis-1.425491

 

When Did Easter Originate?

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When Did the Early Christians First Celebrate a Day Commemorating the Resurrection?

In A History of Christianity, vol. 1, Kenneth Scott Latourette states that notice of Easter as a festival occurs in the middle of the second century, but that festivals commemorating the resurrection of Messiah were presumably observed by at least some Christians from much earlier times (p. 137). Philip Schaff also attributes the beginning of the Easter festival to the middle of the second century (History of the Christian Church, Vol. 2, p. 207). He states that the Christian Passover naturally grew out of the Jewish Passover, as “The Lord’s Day” (Sunday) grew out of the Sabbath. “It is based on the view that Christ crucified and risen is the centre of faith. The Jewish Christians would very naturally from the beginning continue to celebrate the legal Passover, but in the light of its fulfillment by the sacrifice of Christ, and would dwell chiefly on the aspect of the crucifixion. The Gentile Christians, for whom the Jewish Passover had no meaning except through reflection on the cross, would chiefly celebrate the Lord’s resurrection as they did on every Sunday of the week.” He notes that the early Christians commemorated the entire period between the death and resurrection of Yeshua with vigils, fasting, special devotions, meetings culminating in a resurrection feast celebrating the whole work of redemption. The feast of the resurrection gradually became the most prominent aspect of the Christian Passover (Easter celebration), but the crucifixion continued to be celebrated on Good Friday” (Ibid., pp. 207–208).

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