Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 9/30 thru 10/6/12

Aside

Leviticus 2–8; 2 Chronicles 33–36; Acts 1–10; Matthew 28; and Mark 1–6

Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages.

Please note:
This will be the final week for this Bible Reading Schedule as we are beginning a new reading schedule that follows the Torah Portion readings, beginning with Parashat B’reisheet (Genesis 1:1–6:8). In order to be in sync with the parashiyot readings, we will end this one early.

There are 4 sections of scripture to read each day. One each from the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and from the Testimony of Yeshua. Each week, the Torah reading will follow the traditional one-year reading cycle as well as the haftarah. By reading all the scriptures on this schedule each day, you will have read all scriptures from Genesis to Revelation by the end of next Sukkot (2013)!

The new Bible Reading Schedule can be found on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links.”

If you have general comments or questions on the weekly Scripture readings not addressed in a blog post, here’s a place for you to post those. Just use the “leave a reply” link below.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 9/30 through 10/6/2012

 

Beware of Vultures

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Matthew 24:28, Wherever the carcass is. (Gr. carcass literally, “dead body”) Since eagles feed on live prey, not carrion, some Bible commentators take the reference to eagles to mean any scavenger bird such as a vulture, which can resemble vultures.

In Yeshua’s Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:3–9), the birds that came and gathered up the seed that was sown by the wayside metaphorical represent the wicked one (Satan) who steals away the good seed (verse 19). One possible meaning of this enigmatic saying of Yeshua is that as vultures hover over a dead body hoping for a meal, so demonic spirits will hover over the body of Yeshua (i.e. the spiritual body of believers—the congregation of the saints) just before his return waiting to pick off those who are spiritually weak or dead.

The righteous being picked off by the birds of prey hardly seems like an apt metaphor for the resurrection of the righteous, since in the same chapter we learn that the angels will gather in the elect (verse 31), and, as we have already noted, elsewhere Yeshua uses the birds of prey to represent the wicked one (elsewhere called “the prince of the power of the air,” Eph 2:2).

Furthermore, Yeshua gives this illustration just after discussing the trials and spiritual delusion of the great tribulation period prior to his second coming when many people will come under the spiritual deception of false prophets and false messiahs (verses 15–27).

 

A Vision for Sukkot in 2012

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The following is Hoshana Rabbah Biblical Discipleship Resource’s vision for its Sukkot celebration it sponsors each year in Oregon. This year is our tenth anniversary. Read and be inspired…

A Prophetic Vision

Imagine it. Babylon the Great is fallen, forsaken and abandoned. Good at long last has triumphed over evil. The saints celebrate their victory over their captive demonic oppressors. Eden of the distant past is recalled while the heaven on earth of the New Jerusalem is just over the next horizon. The Creator of the universe—the King of kings—makes his abode in Jerusalem. The Bridegroom Prince of Peace kisses his princess. They live happily ever after. This is the storybook ending to 6000 years of hell on earth!

These flash images—downloaded from heaven and archived in the prophecies Ancient Holy Scriptures—are about to begin leaping off the pages of your Bible. This is the Feast of Tabernacles (or Sukkot)—a week-long biblical festival and a foretaste of the age to come (to learn more about this biblical feast, go to http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/sukkot.pdf).

At Sukkot Northwest 2012 in LaPine, Oregon, we will not only fulfill the biblical (Torah) commands to gather together and to joyfully celebrate Sukkot, but, at the same time, come prepared to experience a foretaste of the Millennium where the saints of the Most High shows their love for their Heavenly Bridegroom and for each other by gathering at the place where YHVH has chosen to place his name (Deut 16:13–15; 12:5–7,17–21; 14:23). Yes, in his Word, YHVH commands his people to celebrate Sukkot each year—forever (Lev 23:1–2, 34-41; Deut 16:13–17). Though Sukkot is a commanded assembly (Lev 23:34–36; Deut 16:13–15), it’s more like a doting father ordering his children to indulge themselves in the best and most exciting, other-worldly vacation of their lives! How can anyone refuse such an invitation?

Knowing our Heritage Prepares Us to Receive Our Inheritance

At Sukkot Northwest 2012, we, as redeemed Israelites, will rejoice in our biblical heritage as we memorialize the wanderings of our ancestors in the wilderness en route to the Promised Land. Continue reading →

 

Spanking Illegal in Delaware??

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SPANK A KID, GET HARD TIME in Delaware

State adopts definition that ‘pain’ is ‘physical injury’

http://www.wnd.com/2012/09/spank-a-kid-get-hard-time/?cat_orig=faith

More and more, our society is setting itself in opposition to the Word of Elohim. Pray that YHVH will protect us from the godless rebels who rule over us, and that He will spare his saints from the severe judgments that will come against those societies which eschew his instructions in righteousness.

Proverbs 22:15,

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

Proverbs 23:13–14,

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.

Proverbs 29:15,

The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

 

 

Are You Ready for Yom Kippur?

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What is the spiritual significance of the biblical holiday of Yom Kippur? How does it relate to the life of the redeemed believer? What is its significance with regards to end-times Bible prophecy as it relates to the second coming of Yeshua? How do you celebrate Yom Kippur? To help to prepare you to celebrate this important appointed time (moed), read Natan’s article on the subject at http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/yom_kippur.pdf

On the biblical calendar Yeshua and his disciples used, Yom Kippur occurs this year on Thursday, Sept. 27. The rabbinic Jews will celebrate Yom Kippur on Wednesday, Sept. 26 (in accordance with the Hillel 2 calendar from ca. 360 AD; for more information on this subject, go to http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/new_moons.pdf).

 

The Bible on Divorce (and Remarriage)—A Sticky Wicket!

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Matthew 19:8, Put away your wives. Most churches allow for divorce, but some do not permit remarriage under any circumstances. This is may seem like an extreme position, those who teach this can make a strong case that this is the Bible’s position.

Some churches teach that divorce and remarriage is acceptable in some instances, but not in others. This is where it gets sticky and depends on the interpretations of many clear as well as some unclear biblical passages. The truth is that each marriage and divorce case is unique. Each situation needs to be evaluated case by case based on biblical guidelines. My thoughts (below) on the subject of divorce and remarriage are only general in nature.

Some churches take the approach that all sins can be forgiven except the sin of divorce and remarriage. This would mean that divorce and remarriage is the unpardonable sin for which the blood of Yeshua is ineffective. This is a biblically untenable position.

The Scriptures say that YHVH hates divorce (Mal 2:16). Why? Because he had to divorce his own (spiritual) wife, Israel, because of her adultery against him (e.g., Jer 3:8). But he’s going to remarry her again, but this time it will be to redeemed Israel, which is a new, spiritually regenerated bride. Furthermore, Yeshua died to pay the price for Israel’s capital sin of adultery. On our website (http://www.hoshanarabbah.org/pdfs/divorce.pdf), I have a teaching about the prophetic implications of divorce where I discuss this issue.

The Torah allows for divorce and remarriage following certain protocols (Deut 24:1–4). Yeshua acknowledges this in the Gospels and accepts this fact due to of the hardness of people’s hearts (Mark 10:4–5).

The issue of divorce and remarriage becomes sticky, since in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 no one knows the exact meaning of the word “fornication.” Even the Jews of Yeshua’s time debated about its meaning, and the two Pharisaical schools of the day defined pornea (Greek) or ervah (Hebrew, see Deut 24:1, uncleanness) differently. Continue reading →

 

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 9/23 through 9/29/12

Aside

Exodus 35–40; Leviticus 1; 2 Chronicles 19–32; and Matthew 21–27

Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages. See  Bible Reading Schedule.

If you have general comments or questions on the weekly Scripture readings not addressed in a blog post, here’s a place for you to post those. Just use the “leave a reply” link below.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 9/23 through 9/29/2012