Line Upon Line

Pentecost is the Feast of First Fruits. It is also called Pentecost because in the Greek, it represents a count of fifty. The Israelites were to count seven Sabbaths starting with the Sabbath bracketed within the Days of Unleavened Bread which follow the Passover's seventh Sabbaths. The day after the Sabbath is the wave sheaf offering. It becomes seven Sabbaths plus one day. This becomes forty nine plus one which is fifty.

The most prominent trigger event of the end of the age and the second coming and millennial reign of Christ is the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem. You cannot, in the end times, have a Temple if the nation of Israel does not exist before the second coming. One of the most miraculous events of modern history is the rebirth of Israel

Paul writes to one of the most significant congregations in his ministry, and to some, seems to contradict Jesus and himself. We will explore and clarify this worldly misunderstanding. Paul writes to them :

Why should true believers not panic? God is with us! The very first thing Jesus tells his disciples regarding the end times is to not be troubled.

The war in Europe has possibly introduced our relatively peaceful world to both possibly expanding war and future food shortages.

Jesus was frequently criticized by the religious leaders for his association with sinners. They searched high and low looking for opportunities to condemn Him and his disciples. Christ confronted their hypocrisy with a phrase that has become famous.

Tonight we will have a best of episode.

God has strong emotions and he loved the strong emotions for him that He found in young David. Probably as God had decided that King Saul had lost his humility and became unfit as God searched Israel for his replacement He heard David's praises.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ after only three days in the grave represents the ultimate spiritual and physical victory in all human history.

Understanding this issue will help us better comprehend our present world. Believers can have a better view of the world's oppression of the truth as we investigate what actually happened to the Son of God. Further, the impact on Jesus because of his betrayal, will be seen for what it really was-a secretive totally evil event.

Our love for Christ will vary with our understanding of the meaning of Days of Unleavened Bread and the New Covenant Passover. John the Baptist, one of the greatest prophets of all time, said that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the Lamb of God.

GOD HAS A LOFTY PURPOSE IN REGARDS TO LISTENING TO US IN PRAYER

How much influence does a person have with God? It surely depends on our perceiving the way God thinks and feels about things and mankind.

Those with the most prayerful power are those that accept and further develop the special calling given by the Messiah in the New Covenant era. If one finds himself hearing and understanding God's calling he is very fortunate. Such persons have a calling to be in the first resurrection, the best resurrection.

Judah had entered a period of great moral decay. They had become paganized and antagonistic to God's true prophets and his word. Crime and corruption were rampant so God had withdrawn his protection. They were being devoured by the world power of their day, Babylon. Yet, God protected true believers and the moral individuals remaining.

When Jesus came on the scene what was the position of the Sabbath in the minds and hearts of worshipers of the true God? The Sabbath was the sign of the creator God and of their covenant relationship with God. It marked, which God they worshiped. See Ex 31:13-17, Deut. 5:12-15 and Ezekiel 20:12. All Jews were fully aware of their tragic history regarding the cruel exile.

We will assume that most people who share such experiences are sincere. That being said, does the Bible give us any incite into this issue?

This would especially seem to be true regarding things like war and empires. God's word clearly supports this concept. Ever wonder why there is so much violence and evil in the pages of history?

Three instances are mentioned regarding the change of the Sabbath. Let us look at these verses in depth all regarding the the first event, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament as well as the Old describe God's coming down to be God in the flesh to mankind. God in his immense love had planned to send his Son, one of the members of the God family, to save us. The Apostle Paul, author of most of the New Testament, clearly reveals that Jesus is the God of ancient Israel.

Job's trial was so frustrating because he could not really know what was taking place. He and his three friends faced unknowable spiritual forces.

God is developing new members of his family. Therefore we need to be more like God, full of unselfish love. We must repent of our selfish, sinful ways and learn to resist them and thereby build truly loving character. This has always been the number one goal. Note what is said in the Old Testament.

Jeroboam was given the northern ten tribes of Israel. God promised him that his dynasty could be lasting like that of King David if only he would obey. However he feared the unified religion of the true God built around the Temple in Jerusalem. Therefore he made two enormous blunders. First he altered the Holy Days and built them around pagan representations of God.

Israel, including the northern ten tribes known as Israel as well as the southern division of Israel are mentioned and warned in end of the age prophesy. Both groups of people exist at the end times. God was so displeased with Solomon that he divided Israel into two houses.

One part of Biblical wisdom is often misquoted and twisted by the secular world is regarding economic issues and prosperity. Sometimes they misapply the Bible to help support socialism(communism).