If we aren't happy being Christ's now, we can't be happy for eternity
Rev. {22:14} Blessed [are] they that do his
commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city.
We talk of being born with rights and yet are we? Seriously. You might shout yes we are, but how many have been born with no rights, right here, right now. You think we don't have slavery but we do in my ways. There are societies and plenty of them that have ranking systems. It'd almost be safe to say all societies have them. You have your elite those that are given better service than others and believe- truly believe that they deserve special treatment. Then we have the lower class who are told they deserve less and for the most part they believe it because they serve the elite in many ways, they stand in awe of the elite and as they stand in awe they contribute to the grand illusion that they are less in some ways than those they worship, those they set on the pedestals. Sure, in America at least- we have our icons- our movie stars, singers, famous politicians and yes they might have talents but do talents take what makes a human being and set them above other human beings integrily? Do they?
Do we have rights? Yes, and each of us individual have the right to choose to follow God or not.
This verse says, blessed are they that do his commandments.... (Why?) That they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city. (The Holy City Heavenly Jeruslem, the tree of life gives us eternal life.)
We have this amazing right but it's conditioned upon following God's will, because His commandments are His will.
We all want the right to eternal life and it can be ours.
I read a passage from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and it struck me so that I want to include it here-
'If individuals live only seventy years, then a state, or a nation, or a civilisation, which may last for a thousand years, is more important than an individual. But if Christianity is true, then the individual is not only more important but incomparably more important, for he is everlasting and the life of a state or civilisation, compared with his, is only a moment.' C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity
How amazing a thought is that? And true. We live our lives now as if they do have an ending, how many of us live our lives as if they are going to be lived forever. You might argue that our eternal life will be MUCH different than this life but think about it. WE the part that makes us who we are will live forever. If we are promised life eternal and are stripped of all we are what good is that? None. If we are unrecognizable to ourselves there is little point, right? So we need to remember that it is best to follow God's will because eternal life in Christ is the only way. If we aren't happy being Christ's now, we can't be happy for eternity in Christ later.
It's a lot to think about, a lot to contemplate and we need to do that thinking right now, not later, later may be too late.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, may we be His with all our hearts and minds now and forever...
Amen.
*******
7/8/10
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
'Unto them that LOOK for him'
Time and again it strikes me how often we forget to 'look' for Christ's second coming. How many days can go be without a thought about Jesus returning to save us? It's easy to forget because we get so caught up in other things- life- as we call it, as if looking for the return of our Savior isn't 'life'. In fact, looking for the return of our Savior is MORE life than any other life we may have.
Think about how often you look forward to things, things that don't have a set date but rather you know are going to come just because of what time of year it is. Think about a visit with family or friends you're expecting. You can even think about scheduled appointments in your future. There is a certain amount of anticipation for the future events, not necessarily good anticipation for some it's more like looking with trepidation for what's going to take place. We look for things all the time because we KNOW they'll happen. We HAVE to look for Christ's return the SAME way. We have to look for it, not just keep it as an afterthought on a back burner in our minds. It needs to be on the front burner of our brains. The more we keep the fact of Christ's second coming on our mind the more it will keep us grounded in reality. The reality being that EVERYTHING here and now is but a moment in eternity. The good times will pass just as assuredly as the bad times, but Christ is forever!
Unto THEM … who???? THEM that LOOK FOR HIM! Christ will appear a second time without sin unto salvation!!! Sin will be a thing of the past! Sin will be overcome! Sinning will be NO MORE! We will have no more sin in us! Christ's righteousness will prevail over us. No more sin! Imagine… just imagine that.
We have to LOOK for Christ. Yes, we know He is and we know what He can do and has done, but we have to keep LOOKING, never stop looking! If we ever stop looking for our Savior's return we will be in danger and we can't afford to be in danger.
Looking for Christ's second coming is a beautiful thing- not a creepy, cultish thing. People would have you believe only fools will go about talking of Jesus' second coming. Well all I have to say is let me be the biggest fool there is then.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, our beautiful Redeemer, in Him, in His righteousness now and forever!
Amen.
7/8/11
Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand
and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
The
Sanctuary.
Psa 77:13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary:
who is so great a God as our God?
God's way is in
the sanctuary. The plan of
salvation was and IS in the sanctuary.
A temple will no longer be needed only when the new earth is instituted-
remember this--
Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to
a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God
Rev 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the
Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and
the Lamb is the light thereof.
Prior to
this…
Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his
vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven,
from the throne, saying, It is done.
There IS a temple
in heaven!
We CANNOT deny
that there exists a temple in HEAVEN, a temple upon which the earthly temple was
figured. A temple that will exist
until the New Jerusalem come from God out of heaven.
So we have to ask
ourselves a few questions. If according to prophecy we've been able to
amazingly, with great accuracy fit prophecy puzzle pieces into history and know
beyond a doubt that this 2300 year prophecy is telling us that in 1844
something happened- something in connection with this verse--
Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand
and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Then we KNOW that
after those 2300 years then the sanctuary shall be cleansed, made righteous,
made just. And we know from our
Bibles that only through atonement was something made righteous. Only by
sacrifice, only by offering, only by our Savior was something made righteous. So
we HAVE to look at all this cleansing, all this atoning more closely. PLEASE take the time to read all this,
even if it takes an hour, or two hours, or half a day to get through it all,
please pray and read. God wants to give us His truths from His word and only by
studying does this happen. We need to be prepared. We need to know what we are
watching and praying for and not in an abstract- oh, I'm watching for Jesus to
return. Jesus wants us to heed
His signs, His warnings, and to listen to His prophets and His prophets have
given us so much to study.
*******
Exactly what is
being cleansed from the sanctuary?
We must look at the earthly sanctuary because God gave to Moses the
example of things in heaven and set them up on earth for His people to use. We have to look to what was given to
Moses.
How was the
sanctuary made right with God? Because that word cleansed up there refers to
making the sanctuary righteous.
Let's take a quick glance at the word used-
tsâdaq
Total KJV
Occurrences: 41
(((And
the following shows the meaning used for that single word in each case
below))))
justified,
12
Job_11:2,
Job_13:18, Job_25:4, Job_32:2, Psa_51:4, Psa_143:2, Isa_43:9, Isa_43:26,
Isa_45:25, Jer_3:11, Eze_16:51-52 (2)
righteous,
10
Gen_38:26,
Job_10:15 (2), Job_15:14, Job_22:3, Job_34:5, Psa_19:7-9 (3), Eze_16:52
justify,
7
Exo_23:7,
Deu_25:1, Job_9:20, Job_27:5, Job_33:32, Isa_5:23, Isa_53:11
just,
3
Job_4:17,
Job_9:2, Job_33:12
justice,
2
2Sa_15:4,
Psa_82:3
justifieth,
2
Pro_17:15,
Isa_50:8
justifying,
2
1Ki_8:32,
2Ch_6:23
cleansed,
1
Dan_8:14
clear,
1
Gen_44:16
righteousness,
1
Dan_12:3
Justify,
righteous, just, clear, cleansed.
For us to be made
right, for us to be just with God we need an atonement to be made, right?
Atonement
Dictionary Def--
Theology . the
doctrine concerning the reconciliation of god and humankind, especially as
accomplished through the life, suffering, and death of Christ.
Pasted
from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atonement>
Our Savior made
an atonement for us so that we may be reconciled to God, so that we made be
righteous through Him. We are never righteous on our own. All our righteousness
are as filthy rags. Before our
Savior came, the sanctuary which served as an example of heavenly things
pointing to our Savior, and it included a once a year special atonement for the
sanctuary and the people. Why do
you suppose this was? Seriously.
People want to
believe it doesn't mean anything, that we should just forget all that stuff
because Jesus did away with it all. And that is true, the earthly sanctuary and
all its services were no longer binding, but the services had a purpose. What exactly did the once a year
atonement for the sanctuary and the people mean?
The following
is...
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur>
Temple
service
The following
summary of the Temple service is based on the traditional Jewish religious
account described in Mishnah tractate Yoma, appearing in contemporary
traditional Jewish prayerbooks for Yom Kippur, and studied as part of a
traditional Jewish Yom Kippur worship service.[15]
While the Temple
in Jerusalem was standing (from Biblical times through 70 C.E.), the Kohen Gadol
(High Priest) was mandated by the Torah to perform a complex set of special
services and sacrifices for Yom Kippur to attain Divine atonement, the word
"kippur" meaning "atone" in Hebrew.
These services
were considered to be the most important parts of Yom Kippur because through
them the Kohen Gadol (((high priest)))) made atonement for all Jews and the
world. During the service, the Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies in the
center of the Temple, the only time of the year that anyone went inside. Doing
so required special purification and preparation, including five immersions in a
mikvah (ritual bath), and four changes of clothing.
Seven days prior
to Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol was sequestered in the Palhedrin chamber in the
Temple, where he reviewed (studied) the service with the sages familiar with
the Temple, and was sprinkled with spring water containing ashes of the Red
Heifer as purification. The Talmud (Tractate Yoma) also reports that he
practiced the incense offering ritual in the Avitnas chamber.
On the day of Yom
Kippur, the Kohen Gadol had to follow a precise order of services, sacrifices,
and purifications:
§ Morning (Tamid)
Offering The Kohen Gadol first performed the
regular daily (Tamid) offering — usually performed by ordinary priests --
in special golden garments, after immersing in a mikvah and washing his hands
and feet.
§ Garment Change
1 The Kohen Gadol immersed in a special mikvah in the Temple courtyard and
changed into special linen garments, and washed his hands and feet twice, once
after removing the golden garments and once before putting on the linen
garments.
§ Bull as
Personal Sin-Offering The Kohen Gadol leaned (performed Semikha) and
made a confession over the bull on behalf of himself and his household,
pronouncing the Tetragrammaton. The people prostrated themselves when
they heard. He then slaughtered the bull as a chatat (sin-offering) and received
its blood in a bowl.
§ Lottery of the
goats At the Eastern (Nikanor) gate, the Kohen Gadol drew lots from a lottery
box over two goats. One was selected “for the Lord,” and one “for Azazel.” The
Kohen Gadol tied a red band around the horns of the goat “for Azazel.”
§ Incense
Preparation The Kohen Gadol ascended the mizbeach (altar) and took a shovel
full of embers with a special shovel. He was brought incense. He filled his
hands and placed it in a vessel. (The Talmud considered this the most
physically difficult part of the service, as the Kohen Gadol had to keep the
shovelful of glowing coals balanced and prevent its contents from dropping,
using his armpit or teeth, while filling his hands with the incense).
§ Incense
Offering Holding the shovel and the vessel, he entered the Kadosh Hakadashim,
the Temple’s Holy of Holies. In the days of the First Temple, he placed the
shovel between the poles of the Ark of the Covenant. In the days of the Second
Temple, he put the shovel where the Ark would have been. He waited until the
chamber filled with smoke and left.
§ Sprinkling
of Bull's Blood in the Holy of Holies The Kohen Gadol took the bowl with
the bull’s blood and entered the Most Holy Place again. He sprinkled the bull’s
blood with his finger eight times, before the Ark in the days of the First
Temple, where it would have been in the days of the Second. The Kohen Gadol then
left the Holy of Holies, putting the bowl on a stand in front of the Parochet
(curtain separating the Holy from the Holy of Holies).
§ Goat
for the Lord as Sin-Offering for Kohanim The Kohen Gadol went to the
eastern end of the Israelite courtyard near the Nikanor Gate, laid his hands
(semikha) on the goat “for the Lord,” and pronounced confession on behalf of the
Kohanim (priests). The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the
Tetragrammaton. He then slaughtered the goat, and received its blood in another
bowl.
§
Sprinkling of Goat’s Blood in the Holy of Holies The Kohen Gadol took the
bowl with the goat’s blood and entered the Kadosh Hakadashim, the Temple’s Holy
of Holies again. He sprinkled the goat’s blood with his finger eight times the
same way he had sprinkled the bull’s blood. The blood was sprinkled before the
Ark in the days of the First Temple, where it would have been in the days of the
Second Temple. The Kohen Gadol then left the Kadosh Hakadashim, putting the bowl
on a stand in front of the Parochet (curtain separating the Holy from the Holy
of Holies).
§ Sprinkling
of blood in the HolyStanding in the Hekhal (Holy), on the other side of
the Parochet from the Holy of Holies, the Kohen Gadol took the
bull's blood from the stand and sprinkled it with his finger eight times
in the direction of the Parochet. He then took the bowl with the goat's
blood and sprinkled it eight times in the same manner, putting it back on
the stand.
§
Smearing of blood on the Golden (Incense) Altar The Kohen Gadol removed
thegoat’s blood from the stand and
mixed it with the bull's blood. Starting at the northeast corner, he then
smeared the mixture of blood on each of the four corners of the Golden (Incense)
altar in the Haichal. He then sprinkled the blood eight times on the altar.
§ Goat for Azazel
The Kohen Gadol left the Haichal and walked to the east side of the Azarah
(Israelite courtyard). Near the Nikanor Gate, he leaned his hands (Semikha) on
the goat “for Azazel” and confessed the sins of the entire people of Israel.
The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. While
he made a general confession, individuals in the crowd at the Temple would
confess privately. The Kohen Gadol then sent the goat off “to the wilderness.”
In practice, to prevent its return to human habitation, the goat was led to a
cliff outside Jerusalem and pushed off its edge.
§ Preparation of
sacrificial animals While the goat “for Azazel” was being led to the cliff, the
Kohen Gadol removed the insides of the bull, and intertwined the bodies of the
bull and goat. Other people took the bodies to the Beit HaDeshen (place of the
ashes). They were burned there after it was confirmed that the goat “for
Azazel” had reached the wilderness.
§ Reading the
Torah After it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazel” had been pushed off the
cliff, the Kohen Gadol passed through the Nikanor Gate into the Ezrat Nashim
(Women’s Courtyard) and read sections of the Torah describing Yom Kippur and
its sacrifices.
§ Garment change
2 The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the mikvah in the
Temple courtyard, and changed into a second set of special golden garments. He
washed his hands and feet both before removing the linen garments and after
putting on the golden ones.
§ Offering
of Rams The Kohen Gadol offered two rams as an olah offering,
slaughtering them on the north side of the mizbeach (outer altar), receiving
their blood in a bowl, carrying the
bowl to the outer altar, and dashing the blood on the northeast and southwest
corners of the Outer Altar. He dismembered the rams and burned the parts
entirely on the outer altar. He then offered the accompanying mincha (grain)
offerings and nesachim (wine-libations).
§ Musaf Offering
The Kohen Gadol then offered the Musaf offering.
§ Burning of
Innards The Kohen Gadol placed the insides of the bull and goat on the outer
altar and burned them entirely.
§ *Garment change
3 The Kohen Gadol removed his golden garments, immersed in the mikvah, and
changed to a new set of linen garments, again washing his hands and feet
twice.
§ Removal of
Incense from the Holy of Holies The Kohen Gadol returned to the Holy of Holies
and removed the bowl of incense and the shovel.
§ Garment Change
4 The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the mikvah, and
changed into a third set of golden garments, again washing his hands and feet
twice.
§ Evening
(Tamid) Offering The Kohen Gadol completed the afternoon portion of the
regular (tamid) daily offering in the special golden garments. He washed his
hands and feet a tenth time.
The Kohen Gadol
wore five sets of garments (three golden and two white linen), immersed in the
mikvah five times, and washed his hands and feet ten times.
Sacrifices included two (daily) lambs,
one bull, two goats, and two rams, with accompanying mincha (meal) offerings,
wine libations, and three incense offerings (the regular two daily and an
additional one for Yom Kippur).
The
Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies three times. The Tetragrammaton was
pronounced three times, once for each confession.[15]
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur>
*******
One has to ask
what the daily sacrifices meant compared to this great day of sacrifices.
'The Temple was
the place where offerings described in the course of the Hebrew Bible were
carried out, including daily morning and afternoon offerings and special
offerings on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Levites recited Psalms at appropriate
moments during the offerings, including the Psalm of the Day, special psalms for
the new month, and other occasions, the Hallel during major Jewish holidays, and
psalms for special sacrifices such as the "Psalm for the Thanksgiving Offering"
(Psalm 100).
As part of the
daily offering, a prayer service was performed in the Temple which was used as
the basis of the traditional Jewish (morning) service recited to this day,
including well-known prayers such as the Shema, and the Priestly Blessing.
'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_in_Jerusalem>
'Korban, Qorban
(In Classical Hebrew), or Qarban (In Sephardic Hebrew (Arabic ?????) and Mizrahi
Hebrew) (Hebrew: ????????
"sacrifice"; plural: korbanot or qorbanoth ???????????),
in Judaism, is the term for a variety of sacrificial offerings described
and commanded in the Torah. '
'Such sacrifices
were offered in a variety of settings by the ancient Israelites, and later by
the Jewish priesthood, the Kohanim, at the Temple in Jerusalem. A Korban was
usually an animal sacrifice, such as a sheep or a bull that underwent shechita
(Jewish ritual slaughter), and was often cooked and eaten by the offerer, with
parts given to the Kohanim and parts burned on the Temple mizbe'ah (altar).
Korbanot could also consist of doves, grain, wine, or incense.
The Torah
narrates that God commanded the Hebrews to offer korbanot on various altars, and
describes the offering of sacrifices in the Tabernacle and in the Temple in
Jerusalem until the First Temple was destroyed and resumed with the Second
Temple until it was destroyed in 70 AD.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korban
A bit more
information on - Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement--
'Jewish people.
Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this
holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending
most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes the annual period
known in Judaism as the High Holy Days (or sometimes "the Days of Awe").
Yom Kippur is the
tenth day of the month of Tishrei. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes
each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh
Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Days of
Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs
done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam
lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and
private petitions and confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur,
one considers oneself absolved by God.
The Yom Kippur
prayer service includes several unique aspects. One is the actual number of
prayer services. Unlike a regular day, which has three prayer services
(Ma'ariv, the evening prayer; Shacharit, the morning prayer; and Mincha, the
afternoon prayer), or a Shabbat or Yom Tov, which have four prayer services
(Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf, the additional prayer; and Mincha), Yom Kippur has
five prayer services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf; Mincha; and Ne'ilah, the
closing prayer). The prayer services also include a public confession of sins
(Vidui) and a unique prayer dedicated to the special Yom Kippur avodah
(service) of the Kohen Gadol in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
As one of the
most culturally significant Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur is observed by many
secular Jews who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews attend
synagogue on Yom Kippur—for many secular Jews the High Holidays are the only
recurring times of the year in which they attend synagogue,[1]—causing synagogue
attendance to soar—and almost four-fifths fast.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur
*******
More texts on the
Day of Atonement--
Lev 23:27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh
month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto
you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto
the LORD.
Lev 23:28 And ye shall do no work in that same
day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD
your God.
Lev 16:16 And he shall make an atonement for the
holy place
Lev 16:17 And there shall be no man in the
tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy
place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his
household, and for all the congregation of Israel
Lev 16:18 And he shall go out unto the altar that
is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of
the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the
altar round about.
Lev 16:19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon
it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the
uncleanness of the children of Israel.
Lev 16:30 For on that day shall the priest make
an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins
before the LORD.
Lev 16:33 And he shall make an atonement for the
holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the
congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the
priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
Lev 16:34 And this shall be an everlasting
statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their
sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.
*******
There is absolutely NO DOUBT that there was significance beyond the daily
sacrifices at the temple connected with the once a year sacrifices to atone for
so much.
We'll pick this
up tomorrow by the grace of God.
By His mercy and if it's His will we will study even more of this and see
if we cannot fit more prophecy puzzle pieces together.
Only by the grace of God may we do this, only by His love, His
righteousness as we pray not to
be led astray, not to be deceived, but rather that we are enlightened and
guided by the Holy Spirit unto all truth in Him!
Amen.
commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city.
We talk of being born with rights and yet are we? Seriously. You might shout yes we are, but how many have been born with no rights, right here, right now. You think we don't have slavery but we do in my ways. There are societies and plenty of them that have ranking systems. It'd almost be safe to say all societies have them. You have your elite those that are given better service than others and believe- truly believe that they deserve special treatment. Then we have the lower class who are told they deserve less and for the most part they believe it because they serve the elite in many ways, they stand in awe of the elite and as they stand in awe they contribute to the grand illusion that they are less in some ways than those they worship, those they set on the pedestals. Sure, in America at least- we have our icons- our movie stars, singers, famous politicians and yes they might have talents but do talents take what makes a human being and set them above other human beings integrily? Do they?
Do we have rights? Yes, and each of us individual have the right to choose to follow God or not.
This verse says, blessed are they that do his commandments.... (Why?) That they may have right to the tree of life and may enter in through the gates into the city. (The Holy City Heavenly Jeruslem, the tree of life gives us eternal life.)
We have this amazing right but it's conditioned upon following God's will, because His commandments are His will.
We all want the right to eternal life and it can be ours.
I read a passage from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis and it struck me so that I want to include it here-
'If individuals live only seventy years, then a state, or a nation, or a civilisation, which may last for a thousand years, is more important than an individual. But if Christianity is true, then the individual is not only more important but incomparably more important, for he is everlasting and the life of a state or civilisation, compared with his, is only a moment.' C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity
How amazing a thought is that? And true. We live our lives now as if they do have an ending, how many of us live our lives as if they are going to be lived forever. You might argue that our eternal life will be MUCH different than this life but think about it. WE the part that makes us who we are will live forever. If we are promised life eternal and are stripped of all we are what good is that? None. If we are unrecognizable to ourselves there is little point, right? So we need to remember that it is best to follow God's will because eternal life in Christ is the only way. If we aren't happy being Christ's now, we can't be happy for eternity in Christ later.
It's a lot to think about, a lot to contemplate and we need to do that thinking right now, not later, later may be too late.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, may we be His with all our hearts and minds now and forever...
Amen.
*******
7/8/10
Heb 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
'Unto them that LOOK for him'
Time and again it strikes me how often we forget to 'look' for Christ's second coming. How many days can go be without a thought about Jesus returning to save us? It's easy to forget because we get so caught up in other things- life- as we call it, as if looking for the return of our Savior isn't 'life'. In fact, looking for the return of our Savior is MORE life than any other life we may have.
Think about how often you look forward to things, things that don't have a set date but rather you know are going to come just because of what time of year it is. Think about a visit with family or friends you're expecting. You can even think about scheduled appointments in your future. There is a certain amount of anticipation for the future events, not necessarily good anticipation for some it's more like looking with trepidation for what's going to take place. We look for things all the time because we KNOW they'll happen. We HAVE to look for Christ's return the SAME way. We have to look for it, not just keep it as an afterthought on a back burner in our minds. It needs to be on the front burner of our brains. The more we keep the fact of Christ's second coming on our mind the more it will keep us grounded in reality. The reality being that EVERYTHING here and now is but a moment in eternity. The good times will pass just as assuredly as the bad times, but Christ is forever!
Unto THEM … who???? THEM that LOOK FOR HIM! Christ will appear a second time without sin unto salvation!!! Sin will be a thing of the past! Sin will be overcome! Sinning will be NO MORE! We will have no more sin in us! Christ's righteousness will prevail over us. No more sin! Imagine… just imagine that.
We have to LOOK for Christ. Yes, we know He is and we know what He can do and has done, but we have to keep LOOKING, never stop looking! If we ever stop looking for our Savior's return we will be in danger and we can't afford to be in danger.
Looking for Christ's second coming is a beautiful thing- not a creepy, cultish thing. People would have you believe only fools will go about talking of Jesus' second coming. Well all I have to say is let me be the biggest fool there is then.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, our beautiful Redeemer, in Him, in His righteousness now and forever!
Amen.
7/8/11
Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand
and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
The
Sanctuary.
Psa 77:13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary:
who is so great a God as our God?
God's way is in
the sanctuary. The plan of
salvation was and IS in the sanctuary.
A temple will no longer be needed only when the new earth is instituted-
remember this--
Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to
a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem,
descending out of heaven from God
Rev 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the
Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and
the Lamb is the light thereof.
Prior to
this…
Rev 16:17 And the seventh angel poured out his
vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven,
from the throne, saying, It is done.
There IS a temple
in heaven!
We CANNOT deny
that there exists a temple in HEAVEN, a temple upon which the earthly temple was
figured. A temple that will exist
until the New Jerusalem come from God out of heaven.
So we have to ask
ourselves a few questions. If according to prophecy we've been able to
amazingly, with great accuracy fit prophecy puzzle pieces into history and know
beyond a doubt that this 2300 year prophecy is telling us that in 1844
something happened- something in connection with this verse--
Dan 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand
and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
Then we KNOW that
after those 2300 years then the sanctuary shall be cleansed, made righteous,
made just. And we know from our
Bibles that only through atonement was something made righteous. Only by
sacrifice, only by offering, only by our Savior was something made righteous. So
we HAVE to look at all this cleansing, all this atoning more closely. PLEASE take the time to read all this,
even if it takes an hour, or two hours, or half a day to get through it all,
please pray and read. God wants to give us His truths from His word and only by
studying does this happen. We need to be prepared. We need to know what we are
watching and praying for and not in an abstract- oh, I'm watching for Jesus to
return. Jesus wants us to heed
His signs, His warnings, and to listen to His prophets and His prophets have
given us so much to study.
*******
Exactly what is
being cleansed from the sanctuary?
We must look at the earthly sanctuary because God gave to Moses the
example of things in heaven and set them up on earth for His people to use. We have to look to what was given to
Moses.
How was the
sanctuary made right with God? Because that word cleansed up there refers to
making the sanctuary righteous.
Let's take a quick glance at the word used-
tsâdaq
Total KJV
Occurrences: 41
(((And
the following shows the meaning used for that single word in each case
below))))
justified,
12
Job_11:2,
Job_13:18, Job_25:4, Job_32:2, Psa_51:4, Psa_143:2, Isa_43:9, Isa_43:26,
Isa_45:25, Jer_3:11, Eze_16:51-52 (2)
righteous,
10
Gen_38:26,
Job_10:15 (2), Job_15:14, Job_22:3, Job_34:5, Psa_19:7-9 (3), Eze_16:52
justify,
7
Exo_23:7,
Deu_25:1, Job_9:20, Job_27:5, Job_33:32, Isa_5:23, Isa_53:11
just,
3
Job_4:17,
Job_9:2, Job_33:12
justice,
2
2Sa_15:4,
Psa_82:3
justifieth,
2
Pro_17:15,
Isa_50:8
justifying,
2
1Ki_8:32,
2Ch_6:23
cleansed,
1
Dan_8:14
clear,
1
Gen_44:16
righteousness,
1
Dan_12:3
Justify,
righteous, just, clear, cleansed.
For us to be made
right, for us to be just with God we need an atonement to be made, right?
Atonement
Dictionary Def--
Theology . the
doctrine concerning the reconciliation of god and humankind, especially as
accomplished through the life, suffering, and death of Christ.
Pasted
from <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/atonement>
Our Savior made
an atonement for us so that we may be reconciled to God, so that we made be
righteous through Him. We are never righteous on our own. All our righteousness
are as filthy rags. Before our
Savior came, the sanctuary which served as an example of heavenly things
pointing to our Savior, and it included a once a year special atonement for the
sanctuary and the people. Why do
you suppose this was? Seriously.
People want to
believe it doesn't mean anything, that we should just forget all that stuff
because Jesus did away with it all. And that is true, the earthly sanctuary and
all its services were no longer binding, but the services had a purpose. What exactly did the once a year
atonement for the sanctuary and the people mean?
The following
is...
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur>
Temple
service
The following
summary of the Temple service is based on the traditional Jewish religious
account described in Mishnah tractate Yoma, appearing in contemporary
traditional Jewish prayerbooks for Yom Kippur, and studied as part of a
traditional Jewish Yom Kippur worship service.[15]
While the Temple
in Jerusalem was standing (from Biblical times through 70 C.E.), the Kohen Gadol
(High Priest) was mandated by the Torah to perform a complex set of special
services and sacrifices for Yom Kippur to attain Divine atonement, the word
"kippur" meaning "atone" in Hebrew.
These services
were considered to be the most important parts of Yom Kippur because through
them the Kohen Gadol (((high priest)))) made atonement for all Jews and the
world. During the service, the Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies in the
center of the Temple, the only time of the year that anyone went inside. Doing
so required special purification and preparation, including five immersions in a
mikvah (ritual bath), and four changes of clothing.
Seven days prior
to Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol was sequestered in the Palhedrin chamber in the
Temple, where he reviewed (studied) the service with the sages familiar with
the Temple, and was sprinkled with spring water containing ashes of the Red
Heifer as purification. The Talmud (Tractate Yoma) also reports that he
practiced the incense offering ritual in the Avitnas chamber.
On the day of Yom
Kippur, the Kohen Gadol had to follow a precise order of services, sacrifices,
and purifications:
§ Morning (Tamid)
Offering The Kohen Gadol first performed the
regular daily (Tamid) offering — usually performed by ordinary priests --
in special golden garments, after immersing in a mikvah and washing his hands
and feet.
§ Garment Change
1 The Kohen Gadol immersed in a special mikvah in the Temple courtyard and
changed into special linen garments, and washed his hands and feet twice, once
after removing the golden garments and once before putting on the linen
garments.
§ Bull as
Personal Sin-Offering The Kohen Gadol leaned (performed Semikha) and
made a confession over the bull on behalf of himself and his household,
pronouncing the Tetragrammaton. The people prostrated themselves when
they heard. He then slaughtered the bull as a chatat (sin-offering) and received
its blood in a bowl.
§ Lottery of the
goats At the Eastern (Nikanor) gate, the Kohen Gadol drew lots from a lottery
box over two goats. One was selected “for the Lord,” and one “for Azazel.” The
Kohen Gadol tied a red band around the horns of the goat “for Azazel.”
§ Incense
Preparation The Kohen Gadol ascended the mizbeach (altar) and took a shovel
full of embers with a special shovel. He was brought incense. He filled his
hands and placed it in a vessel. (The Talmud considered this the most
physically difficult part of the service, as the Kohen Gadol had to keep the
shovelful of glowing coals balanced and prevent its contents from dropping,
using his armpit or teeth, while filling his hands with the incense).
§ Incense
Offering Holding the shovel and the vessel, he entered the Kadosh Hakadashim,
the Temple’s Holy of Holies. In the days of the First Temple, he placed the
shovel between the poles of the Ark of the Covenant. In the days of the Second
Temple, he put the shovel where the Ark would have been. He waited until the
chamber filled with smoke and left.
§ Sprinkling
of Bull's Blood in the Holy of Holies The Kohen Gadol took the bowl with
the bull’s blood and entered the Most Holy Place again. He sprinkled the bull’s
blood with his finger eight times, before the Ark in the days of the First
Temple, where it would have been in the days of the Second. The Kohen Gadol then
left the Holy of Holies, putting the bowl on a stand in front of the Parochet
(curtain separating the Holy from the Holy of Holies).
§ Goat
for the Lord as Sin-Offering for Kohanim The Kohen Gadol went to the
eastern end of the Israelite courtyard near the Nikanor Gate, laid his hands
(semikha) on the goat “for the Lord,” and pronounced confession on behalf of the
Kohanim (priests). The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the
Tetragrammaton. He then slaughtered the goat, and received its blood in another
bowl.
§
Sprinkling of Goat’s Blood in the Holy of Holies The Kohen Gadol took the
bowl with the goat’s blood and entered the Kadosh Hakadashim, the Temple’s Holy
of Holies again. He sprinkled the goat’s blood with his finger eight times the
same way he had sprinkled the bull’s blood. The blood was sprinkled before the
Ark in the days of the First Temple, where it would have been in the days of the
Second Temple. The Kohen Gadol then left the Kadosh Hakadashim, putting the bowl
on a stand in front of the Parochet (curtain separating the Holy from the Holy
of Holies).
§ Sprinkling
of blood in the HolyStanding in the Hekhal (Holy), on the other side of
the Parochet from the Holy of Holies, the Kohen Gadol took the
bull's blood from the stand and sprinkled it with his finger eight times
in the direction of the Parochet. He then took the bowl with the goat's
blood and sprinkled it eight times in the same manner, putting it back on
the stand.
§
Smearing of blood on the Golden (Incense) Altar The Kohen Gadol removed
thegoat’s blood from the stand and
mixed it with the bull's blood. Starting at the northeast corner, he then
smeared the mixture of blood on each of the four corners of the Golden (Incense)
altar in the Haichal. He then sprinkled the blood eight times on the altar.
§ Goat for Azazel
The Kohen Gadol left the Haichal and walked to the east side of the Azarah
(Israelite courtyard). Near the Nikanor Gate, he leaned his hands (Semikha) on
the goat “for Azazel” and confessed the sins of the entire people of Israel.
The people prostrated themselves when he pronounced the Tetragrammaton. While
he made a general confession, individuals in the crowd at the Temple would
confess privately. The Kohen Gadol then sent the goat off “to the wilderness.”
In practice, to prevent its return to human habitation, the goat was led to a
cliff outside Jerusalem and pushed off its edge.
§ Preparation of
sacrificial animals While the goat “for Azazel” was being led to the cliff, the
Kohen Gadol removed the insides of the bull, and intertwined the bodies of the
bull and goat. Other people took the bodies to the Beit HaDeshen (place of the
ashes). They were burned there after it was confirmed that the goat “for
Azazel” had reached the wilderness.
§ Reading the
Torah After it was confirmed that the goat “for Azazel” had been pushed off the
cliff, the Kohen Gadol passed through the Nikanor Gate into the Ezrat Nashim
(Women’s Courtyard) and read sections of the Torah describing Yom Kippur and
its sacrifices.
§ Garment change
2 The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the mikvah in the
Temple courtyard, and changed into a second set of special golden garments. He
washed his hands and feet both before removing the linen garments and after
putting on the golden ones.
§ Offering
of Rams The Kohen Gadol offered two rams as an olah offering,
slaughtering them on the north side of the mizbeach (outer altar), receiving
their blood in a bowl, carrying the
bowl to the outer altar, and dashing the blood on the northeast and southwest
corners of the Outer Altar. He dismembered the rams and burned the parts
entirely on the outer altar. He then offered the accompanying mincha (grain)
offerings and nesachim (wine-libations).
§ Musaf Offering
The Kohen Gadol then offered the Musaf offering.
§ Burning of
Innards The Kohen Gadol placed the insides of the bull and goat on the outer
altar and burned them entirely.
§ *Garment change
3 The Kohen Gadol removed his golden garments, immersed in the mikvah, and
changed to a new set of linen garments, again washing his hands and feet
twice.
§ Removal of
Incense from the Holy of Holies The Kohen Gadol returned to the Holy of Holies
and removed the bowl of incense and the shovel.
§ Garment Change
4 The Kohen Gadol removed his linen garments, immersed in the mikvah, and
changed into a third set of golden garments, again washing his hands and feet
twice.
§ Evening
(Tamid) Offering The Kohen Gadol completed the afternoon portion of the
regular (tamid) daily offering in the special golden garments. He washed his
hands and feet a tenth time.
The Kohen Gadol
wore five sets of garments (three golden and two white linen), immersed in the
mikvah five times, and washed his hands and feet ten times.
Sacrifices included two (daily) lambs,
one bull, two goats, and two rams, with accompanying mincha (meal) offerings,
wine libations, and three incense offerings (the regular two daily and an
additional one for Yom Kippur).
The
Kohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies three times. The Tetragrammaton was
pronounced three times, once for each confession.[15]
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur>
*******
One has to ask
what the daily sacrifices meant compared to this great day of sacrifices.
'The Temple was
the place where offerings described in the course of the Hebrew Bible were
carried out, including daily morning and afternoon offerings and special
offerings on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Levites recited Psalms at appropriate
moments during the offerings, including the Psalm of the Day, special psalms for
the new month, and other occasions, the Hallel during major Jewish holidays, and
psalms for special sacrifices such as the "Psalm for the Thanksgiving Offering"
(Psalm 100).
As part of the
daily offering, a prayer service was performed in the Temple which was used as
the basis of the traditional Jewish (morning) service recited to this day,
including well-known prayers such as the Shema, and the Priestly Blessing.
'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_in_Jerusalem>
'Korban, Qorban
(In Classical Hebrew), or Qarban (In Sephardic Hebrew (Arabic ?????) and Mizrahi
Hebrew) (Hebrew: ????????
"sacrifice"; plural: korbanot or qorbanoth ???????????),
in Judaism, is the term for a variety of sacrificial offerings described
and commanded in the Torah. '
'Such sacrifices
were offered in a variety of settings by the ancient Israelites, and later by
the Jewish priesthood, the Kohanim, at the Temple in Jerusalem. A Korban was
usually an animal sacrifice, such as a sheep or a bull that underwent shechita
(Jewish ritual slaughter), and was often cooked and eaten by the offerer, with
parts given to the Kohanim and parts burned on the Temple mizbe'ah (altar).
Korbanot could also consist of doves, grain, wine, or incense.
The Torah
narrates that God commanded the Hebrews to offer korbanot on various altars, and
describes the offering of sacrifices in the Tabernacle and in the Temple in
Jerusalem until the First Temple was destroyed and resumed with the Second
Temple until it was destroyed in 70 AD.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korban
A bit more
information on - Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement--
'Jewish people.
Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this
holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending
most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes the annual period
known in Judaism as the High Holy Days (or sometimes "the Days of Awe").
Yom Kippur is the
tenth day of the month of Tishrei. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes
each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh
Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Days of
Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs
done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam
lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and
private petitions and confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur,
one considers oneself absolved by God.
The Yom Kippur
prayer service includes several unique aspects. One is the actual number of
prayer services. Unlike a regular day, which has three prayer services
(Ma'ariv, the evening prayer; Shacharit, the morning prayer; and Mincha, the
afternoon prayer), or a Shabbat or Yom Tov, which have four prayer services
(Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf, the additional prayer; and Mincha), Yom Kippur has
five prayer services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf; Mincha; and Ne'ilah, the
closing prayer). The prayer services also include a public confession of sins
(Vidui) and a unique prayer dedicated to the special Yom Kippur avodah
(service) of the Kohen Gadol in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
As one of the
most culturally significant Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur is observed by many
secular Jews who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews attend
synagogue on Yom Kippur—for many secular Jews the High Holidays are the only
recurring times of the year in which they attend synagogue,[1]—causing synagogue
attendance to soar—and almost four-fifths fast.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur
*******
More texts on the
Day of Atonement--
Lev 23:27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh
month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto
you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto
the LORD.
Lev 23:28 And ye shall do no work in that same
day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD
your God.
Lev 16:16 And he shall make an atonement for the
holy place
Lev 16:17 And there shall be no man in the
tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy
place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his
household, and for all the congregation of Israel
Lev 16:18 And he shall go out unto the altar that
is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of
the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the
altar round about.
Lev 16:19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon
it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the
uncleanness of the children of Israel.
Lev 16:30 For on that day shall the priest make
an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins
before the LORD.
Lev 16:33 And he shall make an atonement for the
holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the
congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the
priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
Lev 16:34 And this shall be an everlasting
statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their
sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.
*******
There is absolutely NO DOUBT that there was significance beyond the daily
sacrifices at the temple connected with the once a year sacrifices to atone for
so much.
We'll pick this
up tomorrow by the grace of God.
By His mercy and if it's His will we will study even more of this and see
if we cannot fit more prophecy puzzle pieces together.
Only by the grace of God may we do this, only by His love, His
righteousness as we pray not to
be led astray, not to be deceived, but rather that we are enlightened and
guided by the Holy Spirit unto all truth in Him!
Amen.