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The Zadok-Enoch Calendar Is “Proved” ONLY From Non-Biblical Sources

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There Is a New “Biblical” Calendar in Town

For those of us returning to the pro-Torah, Hebraic roots of our Christian faith, the Sabbath and biblical feasts are fundamental our faith—they outline the Creator’s plan of redemption for sinful man. Recovering these lost biblical truth treasures, that the early church fathers quickly abandoned after the death of the last apostles, is vital to our spiritual growth and development. To keep YHVH’s feast as the Bible instructs, we need to know how and when to celebrate them. The when part necessitates a calendar, but which one? Hopefully the study below will help the reader to navigate these troubled waters.

When I came into the Torah faith more than six decades ago, we knew of only one biblical calendar—the Hillel 2 or rabbinic calendar from ca. AD 360. Then forty years later, a second calendar appeared on the scene—the abib (green in the ear) barley, visible new moon calendar, which was much closer to biblical truth than the previous one. Now, in the last 25 years, numerous other calendars have spontaneously combusted all claiming to be the “true biblical calendar” dividing the body of believers into numerous factions opposed to each other. Many of these calendars rely on extra-Bible sources to substantiate their validity. This is a problem for those of us who look to the Bible as the final word on how to obey YHVH. The latest calendar to emerge center stage is Enoch-Zadok calendar. Is this finally, the truth once and for all delivered and we need to look no further, or is this another sleight of hand on the part of Bible peddlers who have something to sell or a following to build?

How to Examine New Information

I went into the study of the Zadok calendar open-minded. What could I learn? Honestly, I knew very little about the so-called Zadok priesthood, the Qumran community, the Essenes and my understanding of the teachings of the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) was rudimentary at best. When examining new information, we must be careful to guard against bias confirmation—that is, looking only to information that confirms our preconceived notions or our deeply held beliefs. Maintaining objectivity and keeping an open mind is essential if one is searching for truth. We must let the facts speak for themselves (in hermeneutics referred to as exegesis) as opposed to reading into the facts our own interpretations and biases (eisegesis). I have been a truth seeker all of my life. Were I not so, I would still be in the church I was born into—12 churches ago! Thus I dove into a study of the Zadok calendar.

Does the Bible or Do Non-biblical Sources Determine Truth?

A big question each person has to ask themselves when determining spiritual truth is whether they are going to rely primarily on the Bible or on non-biblical, secular sources. No one is averse to conducting research using reputable, secular or extra-biblical sources for background information that supports the Bible. However, there is a problem when we look to extra-biblical sources as our primary source of truth, and then reach back into the Bible and cherry pick verses therefrom to “confirm” what the secular sources are saying. This is exactly what mainstream Christianity has been doing for the better part of 2,000 years does when denying the more pro-Torah, Hebraic truths of the Scriptures. We have inherited many lies, and in our search for Truth, many of us have exited the mainstream church system. This chicanery started with the early church fathers in their efforts to disprove the seventh day Sabbath, the biblical feasts, the biblical dietary laws and YHVH’s Torah-law in general. Let’s not repeat their mistakes and end up with a tangled web of truth and error, good and evil where the word of Elohim is made of none effect by men’s traditions and philosophical theologies as Yeshua warned us against (Mark 7:9–13).

With these words of caution ringing in our spirits, let’s now move on to examining the pro-Zadok calendar arguments and see if they line up with sola Scriptura, or are they merely another example of men’s philosophical theologies.

Addressing Pro-Zadok Calendar Arguments—Answered and Refuted

The Enoch-Zadok Calendar Explained

The Enoch calendar is based on a 364-day year (not 3651/4 days) and is first mentioned in the ancient pseudepigraphal Book of First Enoch. This calendar purportedly originated with Enoch, the great grandfather of Noah. This is in spite of the fact First Enoch was written in the third or second century BC, some 2,000 years after the time of the biblical Enoch, who died prior to Noah’s flood. This calendar is appealing to a growing number of pro-Torah Christians who are digging into the Hebraic roots of their faith and endeavoring to keep YHVH’s sabbaths, including the weekly Sabbath and biblical feasts, in accordance with the Creator’s Torah-instructions. Since the Enoch calendar purports to be of ancient derivation, some people assume that it may well be the Bible’s original calendar, hence, the one we should use today to determine when to celebrate the feasts.

 But how did we get from Enoch until today? And is there a biblical basis for the Enoch calendar? These are excellent questions that will be discussed and hopefully answered below. In the mean time, let’s give an overview of a few of the claims that the advocates of this calendar make.

The claim is made that, since the Enoch calendar supposedly dates to the time of Enoch, it must be the calendar that Moses and the Israelites used back in the Book of Exodus. Whereas the Levitical priests were the keepers and teachers of YHVH’s Torah-law, it is correctly assumed that they would have known when to observe the biblical feasts and thus should have the final say in this matter. At the end of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, YHVH made an everlasting covenant with Phinehas (or Pinchas), the grandson of Aaron the high priest (the brother of Moses), that to his descendants would be given the priesthood forever (Num 25:12–13), and with that charge came, presumably, the knowledge of the correct biblical calendar. 

Moving forward several hundred years to the time of King David, Zadok, a descendent of Phinehas, was the high priest whose progeny carried the mantle of the covenantal promise YHVH made to Phinehas along with again, presumably, the knowledge of the true biblical calendar. 

We hear nothing more about Zadok or his descendants until Ezekiel mentions the descendants of Zadok in regards to his famous but enigmatic temple prophecy (Ezekiel chapters 40–48). In this prophecy, YHVH makes the sons of Zadok the officiants in the temple because of their faithfulness to him and his commandments (Ezek 40:46; 43:19ff; 44:15f; 48:11), and it is their role to interpret the Torah-law in matters of controversy including calendrical issues (q.v., Deut 17:8–11). Because Ezekiel states that the Zadokites had been faithful to YHVH’s law, they were given this glorious charge. However, there is much debate among Bible scholars concerning whether Ezekiel’s temple is literal or allegorical. Moreover, was it fulfilled in the building of the Second Temple, or is it an allegory referring to Yeshua and the church, or is it a literal temple yet to be built? The prevailing view is that this is a millennial temple—called the Fourth Temple—that is yet to be built. One thing is certain. The Second Temple that was built in the fifth century BC and was destroyed in AD 70 never fit the description of Ezekiel’s temple, and thus Ezekiel’s prophecy concerning the sons of Zadok is for a future time. 

Despite the fact that Ezekiel’s temple is yet to be built, and the Zadokite priesthood as officiants in that temple is for a future era, the proponents of the Zadok calendar still cite Ezekiel 44:15 and 23–24 as proof for their calendar. Ezekiel states that the sons of Zadok will teach YHVH’s people the difference between the holy and unholy, between the unclean and the clean. They will also act as judges in controversies regarding YHVH’s appointed times and Sabbaths (q.v., Deut 17:8–11). This, the claim is made, was fulfilled by the Zadokite priests of the monastery at Khirbet Qumran on the shores of the Dead Sea in Israel beginning in the late second century BC and lasting for about 175 years afterwards. After that, the inhabitants of Qumran disappear from the pages of history until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947.

Additionally, not letting facts and historical realities stand in their way, the proponents of the Enoch calendar, now referred to as “the Enoch-Zadok calendar” (or simply “the Zadok calendar”), have somehow parlayed the faithful priests mentioned in Ezekiel’s future temple prophecy into the priests living at the time of the Maccabees in the second century BC. This is where the Dead Sea Scrolls (or DSS) and the Qumran community enter the picture. The DSS were discovered in 1947. The original group of DSS scholars from that era who, based on the evidence available to them at that time, firmly believed that a group of righteous priests had been excommunicated, if you will, from the Jerusalem temple when a group of supposedly illegitimate Maccabean priests took charge thereof in the second century BC. The legitimate (Zadokite) priests fled Jerusalem and established a monastery at Qumran near where the DSS were discovered. It is believed that they were largely the writers of the DSS of which the Book of 1 Enoch is a part of this larger corpus. Since the The Book of Enoch promotes the Enoch calendar, and since, it is believed, that these scrolls dictated the lifestyle practices and theology of the Qumran sectaries, and since, it is assumed, these priests were the literal, biological descendants of Zadok and Phinehas the high priests, and since YHVH said through Ezekiel that the sons of Zadok had been faithful to guard and obey his laws, it is assumed that the Zadok calendar is the true biblical calendar for us to follow today in order accurately keep YHVH’s feasts. Hopefully you followed that line of reasoning, since it is essential to understanding the pro-Zadok calendar argument. 

There is more, but this is the essence of the pro-Zadok calendar argument. The proponents rely solely on extra-biblical books including those of the DSS to prove the validity of the Zadok calendar. Then, almost as an after thought, they reach back into the Bible, which contains not even the slightest allusion to the Zadok calendar, and attempt to “prove” their point by twisting Scriptures, a technique that the anti-Torah and “the law is nailed to the cross” and “done away with” mainstream Christian church has mastered over the centuries to the detriment of Bible truth resulting in the deception of myriads of people who now longer believe in the validity of YHVH’s Torah-law. Old habits die hard!

In what follows, we will critically analyze several of the key elements undergirding the Zadok calendar theory to see if these square with the empirical evidence, and then we will leave it up to you to decide where the truth lies.

One more word of warning. My comments and notes below are mind-numbing in detail and neither intended for the faint of heart of for those looking for a quick overview of this subject. This is a deep dive and is angled for only the most knowledgable and detail-oriented Bible students. Please do not feel bad if this material is difficult to wrap your mind around. Most of my other writings and video presentations on the Zadok calendar, are much less detailed, more digestible, yet still cover the main points. If you get bogged down in what follows, I humbly invite you to check out some of my other material. Or better yet, skip to the end of this article for section entitled “Summary and Conclusion”, which is a short summary and of the following study and my conclusions.

Onward…!

What Proponents of the Zadok Are Saying and My Responses

In what follows, we will critically analyze several of the key elements undergirding the Zadok calendar theory to see if these square with the Bible, and then it will be up to you to decide where the truth lies or whether lies are being peddled for truth. The following are my personal responses and notes after watching several video presentations by several pro-Zadok calendar teachers.

The Bible versus this, that and the next thing.
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To Torah Obedient Believers: Do You Really Walk in Love?

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It’s time that we all ask ourselves an important question: Do we really walk in compassionate love toward others or judgmentalism because others aren’t as righteous as we think that they should be? Ask yourself this: Are you drawn more to a loving person or a legalistic, Pharasaical person? What kind of person was Yeshua? If we want to become like Yeshua, who was Torah-obedient, how is it that so many of us have forgotten the love part? This tough message will cause you to rethink how you view yourself and others, so that we can all be more like Yeshua the Messiah.

This and other videos by Nathan are available as podcasts on Spotify and Apple podcast under “Hoshana Rabbah.”

If this message has been a blessing to you, please consider showing your appreciation by making a donation to Hoshana Rabbah at https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=Y…. Thank you!

 

Sacrificial Love—The Highest Level of Spirituality

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This is a serious message for serious Bible believers who are serious about going all the way to become like Yeshua the Messiah.

If you’re looking for ear tickling messages that promote winds of doctrines and that titillate your intellectual curiosity, then this channel and this message is not for you. However, if you are serious about being a disciple of Yeshua (Jesus) and going deeper in the basic meat and potatoes, life-changing, radical and world-transforming message of the gospel of Yeshua the Messiah, then you are in the right place!

We need MORE ROCK SOLID Bible truth, and our goal on this channel is to give it to you one bite of solid meat at a time.

What we do not need is more idolatry of men and their doctrines, traditions and humanistic ideas that DO NOT bring us higher in Yeshua, but only give our carnal religious spirit a transitory “dopamine” fix, while failing to produce any real and lasting spiritual fruits that bring little or not glory to YHVH Elohim, and fail to expand his kingdom a soul at a time. Selah!

This and other videos by Nathan are available as podcasts on Spotify and Apple podcast under “Hoshana Rabbah.”

If this message has been a blessing to you, please consider showing your appreciation by making a donation to Hoshana Rabbah at https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=Y…. Thank you!

https://rumble.com/v6bmdsv-sacrificial-lovethe-highest-spirituality.html?e9s=src_v1_ucp

 

Cathedrals, Churches and Chapels—What Does YHVH Think About Them?

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Ever since the founding of the ancient nation of Israel in the time of Moses, to which the Christian church can trace its spiritual and biblical roots, the people of God (YHVH Elohim) have been constructing magnificent buildings in which to worship their Creator. We now refer these buildings as churches. This is not a bad thing for a number of reasons, the least of which goes back to YHVH’s original plan. Did he not “plant” the first humans in a paradise called the Garden of Eden where they could walk and talk with him in an idyllic setting? How is a church different than this, except it has walls and a roof, which is a propitious concept especially when it is cold and raining outside!

What is more, and few Christians realize this, one of the first things that YHVH instructed the children of Israel to do after exodusing Egypt was to build the Tabernacle of Moses—a portable church building where they could gather, praise and worship him, and learn about his ways in a multi-dimensional and sensorial, experiential way. Not only that, YHVH told them that he would dwell among his people in this glorified tent. 

And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it. (Exod 25:8–9)

This tabernacle took a year to build and employed highly skilled craftsman and artisans who used copious amounts of precious metals, exotic woods and specially died animal skins and colorful tapestries in its construction. The Book of Exodus contains chapter after chapter of detailed instructions that YHVH gave to Moses pertaining to this construction project.

A few hundred years later after coming into the Promised Land, YHVH instructed his people to construct him a more permanent house in which he might dwell among his people. By then, after hundreds of years, the Tabernacle of Moses tent had worn out, and a more solid and permanent structure was needed for the nation, which had greatly expanded in population and territory. This building was called Solomon’s Temple. It contained 100,000 talents of gold and one million talents of silver (1 Chron 22:14). If a talent is equivalent to 75 pounds, then that is 750,000 pounds or 3750 tons of gold or 46,875 ounces of gold. If gold is $2,500 an ounce that comes to more than $30 billion that went into the temple! That was only the value of the gold. Add one million talents of silver at $30 per ounce and that is another $5 billion. This does not include the bronze, wood, stones or other construction materials or the cost of labor to build the temple. The world has never seen any building like this before or since. YHVH Elohim is worthy of the very best!

To this day, YHVH’s people—both Jews and Christians—have been constructing amazing houses of worship. No cost has been spared, the construction efforts have been monumental, amazing methods and machinery invented, engineering feats accomplished, the world’s top artists, craftsmen and musicians enlisted and, at times, construction has continued for decades, hundreds of years and even up to one thousand years as is the case with the Chester Cathedral in England. To this day, in Barcelona, Spain, the Basílica de la Sagrada Familia, is still being constructed having been started in 1882. When completed it will be one of the largest churches on earth boasting the world’s tallest tower at 565.9 feet tall. Presently, it is Spain’s top tourist attraction with 4,707,367 visiting it in 2023 including yours truly. Monumental and costly efforts to build houses of worship for the God of the Bible go on to this very day.

Pisa Cathedral and the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.

As a frequent world traveler, I’ve had the privilege of visiting Catholic and Protestant basilicas, cathedrals, churches and chapels on five continents in nearly 40 countries over the past forty five years. As a Bible expert who also has a broad knowledge of Western religious and cultural history, and is an academically trained artist, these monumental edifices, constructed at great effort and expense ostensibly for the “glory of God,” have captured my fascination. Their extravagant beauty, the artistry and craftsmanship that went in to their construction before the age of modern machinery is beyond impressive. When one steps into a Gothic cathedral, for example, it boggles one’s mid and leaves spell-bound starring upward.  And I’m obviously not the only one who is perennially impressed. The great Christian churches, basilicas, cathedrals down to the lowliest chapel and village church all over Europe in nearly every city are often the top tourist attractions, even to this day in our agnostic, secular humanistic, rabidly materialistic world and even anti-Christian culture. Why this fascination with things religious? Suffice it to say, perhaps despite a secular society’s efforts to eviscerate the God of the Bible from the hearts and minds of Westerners, there is still a God-shaped hole in people’s hearts. Beyond that, this a discussion for another day. What I will discuss here is, more importantly, what does Elohim think of these architectural endeavors of men to reach him? Are these a sort of man-made ladder trying to reach the gates of heaven?

Sacré-Coeur in Paris

My ventures into cathedrals and churches over the past forty-five years be they Romanesque, Medieval Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, neo-Gothic, Art Nouveau or modernist, have occurred all over the British Isles, the European continent, Africa, Central and South America and the North American continent from Alaska to Quebec and southward. The more notable houses of worship in which my feet have echoed include Notre Dame Cathedral (before and after the great fire of 2019) and Sacré-Coeur both in Paris, St. Paul’s and Westminster Abbey in London, and the Lausanne Cathedral in Switzerland. In Italy, I have marvelled at San Marcos in Venice, the Duomo di Firenze in Florence, the Cathedral and famous Leaning Tower of Pisa and, of course, St. Peter’s in Rome), and ornate churches Palarmo in Sicily. And I cannot forget massive Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain and the nineteenth century French church in Carthage, Tunsia in Africa. And then there are the churches in Mexico, South America and New York City and elsewhere around the U.S. that I have visited. When in Israel, I viewed many ancient churches and synagogues that go back for nearly 2,000 years. I have viewed some of the largest church buildings in world including Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome which can hold 60,000 worshipers as well as the smallest Catholic church in the world on the tiny island of Guernsey in the English Channel which measures only eight feet by 16 feet in size. I Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia whose tallest tower, when  completed, will reach 565 feet into the heavens making it the tallest church in the world, a church that doubled as a Medieval fortress in the mountains of northern Spain, Europe’s most famous Gothic cathedral, the last church that the ill-fated Titanic saw, the abbey where 1,000 years of British monarchs have been crowned, the church that was the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and a church in Pisa that took 400 years to construct and another in England that has been a construction project for a thousand years. Typically, when visiting most of these churches, I have merely been a curious tourist taking in the sights, learning the history and marveling at the artistry and labor that went into building them. But now in my mid-60s and having reaching a more philosophical stage in my life with a aerial view of life that only age and time can provide, I am now seeing these churches from a little different perspective—from, I think and hope, a more heavenly, kinder, even loving heart of YHVH Elohim one.

A church in Palermo, Sicily

My first trip to Europe was in 1980 where I spent a year studying in Switzerland. During spring break, I ventured into Italy where I spent several days in Rome. By this time, I had visited many cathedrals including Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s in London,  Notre Dame in Paris, and St. Mark’s in Venice, but nothing prepared me for St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Upon arriving in Rome, I fought my way on foot while braving the terrifying melee of cars to cross countless interminably wide and often crosswalkless boulevards to finally reach St. Peters Square in the Vatican, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church. I nonchalantly meandered into St. Peter’s Basilica and was immediately overwhelmed. My jaw needed a crutch as it dropped to the exquisite marble flooring and my eyes remained transfixed looking upward. I was unable to move not unlike one of the numerous marble statues that adorn the place. After what seemed like an eternity, I collected my overwhelmed senses and sat down on a simple wooden, nondescript chairs (in stark contrast to the wealth and opulence that surrounds them) set out for worshippers, where I remained motionless and almost spell-bound drinking in the awesomeness of the place. My emotional response struck me as strange, since neither I nor my family are Catholic, and, quite frankly, I, at best, had been apathetic toward that church, and even harbored a certain level of antipathy toward Roman Catholicism. After 45 minutes of just sitting there, I remember thinking, “I can’t take all of the immensity and opulence of this place in at one sitting,” and suffering from cognitive and emotional overloading, I resolved to come back the next day to absorb the rest of it. And I did.  The majesty, immenseness and artistry of it all was too much to fathom on my first visit. I have been marvelling over the beauty and majesty of church buildings ever since.

Notre Dame in Paris
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Jacob’s Struggle—Wrestling With Yeshua & Conquering Our Sin Nature to Receive Our Promised Reward

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Nearly everyone knows the Old Testament story of Jacob wrestling with the “angel,” but there is more to this biblical tale—much more! In this video, we learn how the prophet Jeremiah and the ancient Jewish sages viewed “Jacob’s Struggle” as relating to end time events just prior to the second coming of the Messiah. Perhaps, and even more importantly, we will also discover how Jacob’ struggle—his dark night of the soul—is a spiritual picture of what each Christian must go through to come into a deeper, more mature walk with Yeshua the Messiah and to discover their true and ultimate identity and destiny.

This and other videos by Nathan are available as podcasts on Spotify and Apple podcast under “Hoshana Rabbah.”

If this message has been a blessing to you, please consider showing your appreciation by making a donation to Hoshana Rabbah at https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=YCJXxwIs9WC97bc29kBAHtSF7IzMXXKfpWZYifh1QeReOYLLTGrU0jNzOwv8oSPl6xicUH6u7FHzwapN. Thank you!

 

Genesis 32:1–32, “Jacob’s Trouble” Explained

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Jacob’s Trouble, His Dark Night of the Soul In End Times Bible Prophecy and YOU!

You have probably heard the saying that the night is the darkest just before the dawn. Metaphorically speaking, when circumstances conspire against you and the outcome looks the bleakest, that is often when the rays of hope begin to shine through the darkest darkness and the outcome suddenly reveals itself. A way forward unexpectedly manifests itself out of the obscure gloom of apparent defeat and hopelessness. People of faith can more easily relate to such a scenario. This was exactly the place in which the patriarch Jacob found himself when returning to the land of Canaan—the future Promised Land. He had reached the pinnacles of success in his earthly endeavors, and now circumstances beyond his control in front of and behind him were conspiring to take everything away including his very life This is not only the story of his life, but each of us has likely found ourselves in similar spots as well. Deliverance and victory often emerge out of the darkest and bleakest periods of life. This is a test of our faith that if we are to progress to the next level in our spiritual growth, we must pass.

Genesis 32 is the story of Jacob’s return to Canaan after having been exiled from his homeland for 20 years. His exile occurred after he obtained his divinely promised birthright through shrewd if not unscrupulous means from his brother Esau resulting in his having to flee Canaan for fear of his life due to his brothers desire lust for vengeance. Jacob took refuge in the region of Babylonia at his Uncle Laban’s home, where he married Laban’s two daughters, Leah and Rachel. After twenty years working for the greedy and treacherous Laban, Jacob had to flee Babylon with is father-in-law in angry pursuit. As if that were not enough, while Jacob and his family are returning to Canaan, they encounter Jacob’s brother Esau who, still angry after two decades after being cheated out of his inheritance, along with his small army, not only stood in Jacob’s way from entering the land of his promised inheritance, but also wanted to kill Jacob. 

This account of Jacob’s personal, spiritual struggles also has prophetic, end times implications relating to the regathering out of exile of the twelve tribes of Israel (the Jews and the Christians) and their return to the Promised Land in Israel under Yeshua our Messiah at his second coming. The Scriptures refer to this time period as “Jacob’s Trouble” (see Jer 30:7).

Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. (Jer 30:7)

The ancient Jewish sages believe that the encounter between Jacob and Esau (no doubt informed by Jeremiah’s prophecy) is prophetic in nature and will happen again in the end times, but this time on a much larger scale, and also involving the numerous descendants of Israel (or Jacob) and Esau (or Edom). That is to say, the Israelites of the end times will be attempting to return to their ancestral homeland, while the modern descendants of Esau (the forces of Antichrist as represented by the antichrist religion of Islam and their Elohim-hating allies) will be blocking their way. As we proceed in this study, we will see whether this prophecy is beginning to come to pass in these last days.

Not only this and by way of historical context, the Jewish sages speak of two major redemptions in Israel’s long history. The first redemption occurred when YHVH delivered the oppressed and enslaved children of Israel out of Egypt at the exodus. History will then repeat itself in what the Jewish sages refer to as “the second or final redemption,” which will occur at the end of this present era when the Messiah will regather and lead his exiled and scattered Israelite people back to the Promised Land in fulfillment of numerous biblical prophecies. 

Rolling the time line backwards a little in the present story of Jacob, not only had Laban chased his son-in-law out of the area of Babylon, but Jacob was also being blocked from entering Canaan by his murderous brother Esau (or Edom). This is reminiscent of Pharaoh pursuing the Israelites as they were exodusing Egypt only to find their escape route blocked by the Red Sea. Pharaoh was the first Edom, if you will, or Edom is the second Pharaoh. In both instances, YHVH’s people were or will be forced to rely totally on him for deliverance from their enemies who were both in front of and behind them.

Initially, Jacob deals with his crisis in a typically human way—by scheming and conniving “to save his own skin,” so to speak, instead of having faith in YHVH “to work things out.” He figured that by bribing his angry and bloodthirsty brother with wave after wave of gifts, he might appease and assuage his Esau’s desire for murderous revenge (Gen 32:13–20).

Yet Jacob’s bifurcated response to this present danger by resorting to both appeasement and prayer was not acceptable to YHVH, who wanted Jacob to be a man of unmitigated faith, that is, to solely trust in him. Or as Job put it, though you slay me, yet will I trust you (Job 13:15).To bring Jacob to this point, a part of Jacob had to die: his prideful self-reliance and his inclination toward extricating himself from difficult situations through his own cunning ingenuity. This innate tendency of his, not unlike our own, was based on fear of death, and not on faith in YHVH. The Bible tells us that where there is fear, there is no love (1 John 4:18), and that YHVH has not given his people a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7). For Jacob to mature spiritually, YHVH wanted him to leave the fear and faithless aspect of his human nature on the east side of the Jordan where Babylon (a spiritual metaphor for the old carnal and sinful man and the ungodly ways of this world) was located. In its place, a faith-filled man who would totally trust YHVH in all things had to rise up; Jacob could no longer trust in his soul man (i.e., his mind, will and emotions) to determine his actions; rather, he had to rely on the Spirit of Elohim to lead him as it informed his inner man or personal spirit, which would, in turn, lead his soul forward in the walk of faith. Only a man of faith, who is mighty in the Spirit, will be worthy to enter the Promised Land. The children of Israel learned this lesson the hard way too. The carcasses of older generation that lacked faith in and obedience to YHVH littered the wilderness en route to the Promised Land. 

For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it…Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience…(Heb 4:2, 6)

Like Jacob’s descendants later learned, he too had to discover that his old man, who lacked faith, had to die just before entering the Promised Land. But this was a difficult process. This is because Jacob had to come to grips with his own limitations and overcome the ugly side of his innate human nature that was directed by his mind, will and emotions and not by the Spirit of Elohim. This internal battle between the soul and the spirit occurred during a “dark-night-of-the-soul-encounter” when Jacob wrestled all night with the Messenger of Elohim (Gen 32:22–32). 

The result was that in this struggle Jacob became permanently lame in his hip (Gen 32:32). He became physically injured, but more importantly, he became humbled in his heart. His soul man (i.e., his mind, will and emotions) became subservient to his spirit man (under the leading of the Spirit of Elohim). Out of his wrestling match, he gained a new identity, a new heart and a new name. Jacob the “heal catcher” became Israel “the prince of El [God]” or “the prevailer with El.” By wrestling with and overcoming his own soulish or carnal limitations, that is, his own pride, self-reliance on his mind to figure things out instead of trusting Elohim by walking in the faith and in the Spirit, he became a broken and changed man. By trusting in YHVH, he became a vessel that the Creator could use to further his plan of redemption as promised to Abraham, the father of our faith, for it was through Jacob that the birth of birth the nation of Israel was to occur.

Through events leading up to Jacob’s dark night of the soul, he learned a vital spiritual lesson: His human attempts at appeasing Esau gained him nothing except a slimmer net worth via the loss of material possessions. On the other hand, his wrestling with and surrendering to the Messenger of Elohim—who was, in reality, the preincarnate Yeshua—gained him and his descendants not only a nation and the Promised Land, but ultimately the whole world, through Yeshua the Messiah, and a place in YHVH’s eternal kingdom.

Interestingly and as part of a larger picture that would latter play out prophetically in the Bible’s pages, as a gambit to save his own skin from his vengeful brother, Jacob divided his family into two camps in the hopes that if Esau killed one group, the other would survive and vice versa. This was another one of his schemes that failed to work, but which has tremendous end-time prophetic implications. Genesis 32:2 records that Jacob called the name of the place where he split his family into two camps Mahanaim, which is a Hebrew word meaning “two camps” and is the plural of the root word machanah meaning “encampment, camp, camp of armed host, army camp, company or body of people.”This spot is near the River Jabok, which is a tributary to the Jordan River and is located on the east side of that river in the modern country of Jordan.During the time of the nation of ancient Israel, it was located in the Gilead region on either the border between Gad and Reuben or Gad and Ephraim. The Song of Solomon makes reference to mahanaim in chapter 6:13 where we read,

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Secular Humanism (Pt 1)—Exploring the Root Causes of America’s Current Civil War

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Post Election Analysis

The once United States of America has just emerged from a presidential election where we are anything but united. We are united in name only, but, in reality, it is now the Divided States of America. How did we get here and who are the main players in this giant kabuki theatrical act? What is the source and origin of this division where the two sides are squared off against each other in pitched formation with muskets and cannon perpetually ready to fire?  Who is to blame? Even though the more traditionalist, conservative and patriotic side has won the current battle, the culture war still rages on. What can we learn from this and where do we go from here?

America may not be in a literal or hot civil war where one side is firing muskets and cannons at each other, but, to be sure we are in a cold, cultural and spiritual civil war. The one side that calls itself democratic is using every possible means—after all, don’t you that the ends justify the means—to destroy its opponents. Their weapons du jour? Censure free speech and attack one’s opponents in every possible with shoot to kill orders. This involves viciously attacking their enemies politically and judicially, the use of lawfare to destroy one’s reputation and finances, Stalinist-like show trials where one imprison one’s opponents for little or no reason, the destruction of the businesses and economic opportunities of one’s enemies, the use the governmental security and intelligence agencies to spy on and persecute one’s opponents, the use the media to vilify one’s opponents through unverified accusations and by stating lies as facts and by accusing one’s opponent of what one is guilty of oneself (in psychological terms called projectionism). Other means employed to vilify one’s enemies included ad hominem or character assassination tactics. Names were used such as deplorables, garbage, stupid, fascist, Nazis, Hittlers, white supremicists, racists, misogynists and much more. A generation ago, who would have remotely guessed that the terms “American” or “patriot” would become pejorative bywords in America itself? 

The America haters even attacked the populace through so-called pandemics. What could have been more telling than the imposition of face masks to symbolically and suggestively gagged the public thus curtailing the freedom to speak out against such anti-U.S. Constitution tyranny? If that was not enough, many more constitutionally guaranteed civil liberties were either abridged or outright suspended such as the right to gather, to speak freely, to move about freely, and to publish freely one’s opinions. Generally speaking, the right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness including the freedom of operate one’s business and occupational pursuits in order to support oneself and one’s family were limited or made illegal. Since when are illegal mandates suddenly legal? Another Amerika has emerged out of the confusion and dystopic disorder. Can we come out of this? Only time will tell. 

Currently the New America is not America anymore. Gone are the days when the two political parties were both overtly patriotic and loved their country, and even though they may have had different visions of how to make America better, they still respected each other enough to agree to disagree without being disagreeable. They worked things out through respectful discourse leading to compromise. Now for the leftist, so-called progressive side, it is my way or the highway. If you disagree with me, you are scum and deserve to die figuratively if not literally. If they fail to get their way, the are the first either to murder you with their words, destroy your reputation and business, declare you to be an enemy of the state, label as mentally ill, imprison you on trumped up charges, or even try to assassinate you. Does the former Soviet Union, communist China or Castro’s Cuba ring anyone’s bell? To this point, more and more people who fled those tyrannical, totalitarian regimes for freedom in America are now sounding the alarm that the land of the free and the home of the brave is heading in the same direction as these failed experiments in secular humanistic idealism that promised a utopia for the masses but instead delivered a hell on earth dystopia, which is why they fled those countries often at great personal risk for America. Do we humans never learn from the lessons of history? 

Thankfully, a majority of Americans resoundingly said, “NO!” to the demonic agendas of the “progressive leftists” by voting out the current regime. Enough Americans searched their soul and realized that something was amiss with the status quo, normative narrative. There is a glimmer of hope for us. So what will we do now with what heaven has given us? 

Now that the U.S. presidential election is history, and Providence has mercifully given America another reprieve from the severe judgments that we deserve for largely turning away from the Almighty Creator Elohim, it is time to reflect on a few things. In this epic battle, who is the real enemy? Is it the “progressive, leftist Democratic Party” and their acolytes, or is it something greater and way beyond that? As always and as truth seekers, we must attempt to dig deeply into the soil from which movements ideologies spring up to discover the real source and origin of such things. The noxious weed above the ground is merely the surface manifestations of its roots that go deep. Nature and common sense teaches us that first there is a seed, then the roots, then a sprout, then the plant and then more seeds and the cycle repeats itself again and again down through the cyclical course of human history. History repeats itself again and again. There is nothing new under the sun. The world is a giant and ongoing theatrical play. The story line and plot are always the same; only the actors and costumes change.

So what are the roots of the current spiritual, sociological and cultural hell on earth in which we currently find ourselves? To find a solution to a problem, one must identify the causes. There is never a political or economic solution to a spiritual problem.

Secular Humanism: The Devil’s Original Lie and the Religion of the New World Order

We are presently watching unfolding before us an epic and cosmic struggle between the forces of evil and good. The world system or cosmos of the devil is pitted against the unalterable and immutable plans, purposes and Word of the sovereign Creator of the universe, YHVH Elohim. Ultimately, it boils down to the epic and perennial battle between the spirit of antichrist versus YHVH-Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ).

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