More of the Same.

 More of the Same.

 

RE-reading in Tom Bradford’s Torah Lessons: The countless Believers from every people group on earth are dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. The white robes mean absolute ritual purity. The palm branches relate most likely to Psalm 118, which itself relates to Sukkot.....the Feast of Tabernacles. The pertinent verses from Psalm 118 are: CJB Psalm 118:24-2924 This is the day ADONAI has made, a day for us to rejoice and be glad. 25 Please, ADONAI! Save us! Please, ADONAI! Rescue us! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of ADONAI. We bless you from the house of ADONAI. 27 ADONAI is God, and he gives us light. Join in the pilgrim festival with branches all the way to the horns of the altar. 28 You are my God, and I thank you. You are my God; I exalt you. 29 Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever. It is my opinion that the Messianic prophetic nature of the Feast of Sukkot is what is being played out here in John's vision as palm branches are placed at the altar in the Temple and they are central to Sukkot ritual. That is, the 7 named Biblical Feasts in the Torah are, without doubt, prophetic of the redemptive works of Messiah. The first 4 of these prophetic biblical feasts have already been fulfilled. Pesach, Passover, was the day when Yeshua paid the price for our sins through His blood spilled upon the cross. Matza, Unleavened Bread, was the day when Yeshua's sinless body was placed into the rocky tomb. Bikkurim, First Fruits, was the day when Yeshua arose from the dead. And Shavuot, Pentecost, was the day when the Holy Spirit came to indwell men. Three of the feasts remain to be fulfilled: Yom Teruah, The Feast of Trumpets; Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; and the final one, Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. So, unless other evidence is made available to me, I can find no other explanation for the scene that we find with the palm branches in Revelation 7:9 than it is the moment of the prophesied fulfillment of The Feast of Tabernacles.

 

The 6th seal of Revelation chapter 6 speaks of a great earthquake, the moon turning blood red and the sun growing dark, with stars falling from Heaven and other celestial phenomena that is not only frightening to all humanity but also devastating to planet Earth. This is the beginning of God's wrath. And if we go by the Biblical principle that we've seen since early in Genesis, then it is not imaginable that the Lord would pour out this wrath upon those who are innocent in His sight (Believers) along with those who are guilty in His sight (non-Believers). Therefore the Rapture of Believers must have occurred not later than the opening of the 6th seal. I realize that most very influential Bible academics would disagree with me and I humbly accept that. Might I be wrong? Yes. That said, obviously since I am teaching you otherwise, I am convinced in my conscience that my rough timeline more faithfully follows Revelation as it is written as well as basing some of my interpretation on difficult passages in the context of God's never changing patterns; God-patterns that we learn about only from the Torah and the remainder of the Old Testament. So, the Rapture of Believers occurs (possibly fulfilling Yom Teruah, the biblical Feast of Trumpets), then Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is fulfilled in some way that is not yet entirely clear (it may have something to do with the opening of the 5th seal that is neither directly inciting tribulation nor raining down wrath ), and then Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, appears to be fulfilled in chapter 7.

None of this might make sense to a “normal” Christian who has not had the OT instilled within their study, but not only the Jews have had these scriptures to hand. Some of us learned the hard way in hours of sermons and discussions with our ministers. For those hours, this old woman is thankful and hopeful that some of these things will come to memory among my children.

 

Reading in “God Is with You Everyday” by Max Lucado this morning and found the article “Finding the Right Path.” Basically, it said that one should “Find something you like to do, and do it so well that people pay you to do it. That’s not just good advice; it’s a godly design.” Now that is surely true for folks who can play instruments, sing, paint, and do all sorts of incredible things—and yes, that probably includes some sports. But some of us are just as common as carrots and peas. The old woman just enjoys most of life and what God has given us to enjoy—critters, flowers, plants, the wind, the sunshine, and any good view of Texas. Oh, and humor! Love that my chickens call me by name, “Ma!” No one probably cares that these silly hens talk to me, but it makes my life more special when sitting out there exchanging views with them. So, maybe joy is my talent whenever it gets right down to it. And that is given freely by God and only passed along to others who don’t mind the rest of the story.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.