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I created a new study called The True Gospel Story Decoded, which shows how Messiah is fulfilling His Father’s seven Holy Feast Days to redeem the set-apart saints. Here’s a link to the PDF of the study.
Messiah proclaimed that even the very elect could be deceived.
“For false messiahs and false prophets shall arise, and they shall show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones” Matthew 24:24
Here are Messiah’s sobering words to people who thought that they were His:
“Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’ “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:22-23
The enemy has caused Christians to assign the falling away of 2 Thessalonians 2 to the end times, but the apostasy that the Apostle Paul was referring to was fulfilled in the 4th century, and it still affects Christians today.
There is no sugar-coating to this message. It is a direct message to the end times church, because there’s not much time left, for darkness is on the horizon.
I pray that you will take the message seriously, and pray to the Spirit for discernment, for the end is near, and we all need to make sure that we have nothing to do with the teachings of the Babylonian harlot church of Rome.
For Messiah warned His church in Revelation 18:4: Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
The ‘her’ that Messiah is referring to is the harlot Roman Catholic Church, which was clearly described in Revelation 17.
“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.“
The cardinals and bishops wear scarlet and purple.
The apostate church is decked with gold, precious stones, and pearls; which we can clearly see in how the Pope and St. Peter’s Basilica are adorned.
The apostate church uses a golden cup in their Eucharist ceremony, that is full of abominations of false god worship.
She pretends to be part of the true church, but her practices and symbols show that her worship is based on the Babylonian Mystery Religion; thus the name, Mystery, Babylon the Great.
The Harlot Roman Catholic Church study provides more proof.
You may be thinking that this doesn’t apply to you because you are a Protestant, not a Catholic; but this page will show you that much of what Protestants believe is based on teachings from Rome, not Scripture.
Protestant Churches are the daughters of the harlot, as many of their teachings came from Rome, not Scripture.
Today the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church and Protestant Churches, express their faith in what is called The Nicene Creed, which means that they are following the teaching of Rome, not Scripture.
At the first council at Nicaea in 325 A.D, Roman Emperor Constantine began to create the Roman religion of ‘Christianity’, based on their pagan worship rituals, that ultimately are based on the Babylonian Mystery religion.
Below is a brief explanation of the changes that Emperor Constantine and the Bishops of Rome made, which oppose the Scriptures.
They serve to steal glory and honor away from the Father, and they cause the followers of the Messiah to be out of covenant with Him.
You will see how today’s Christian churches are still following these changes today, and so they are steeped in the Babylonian religion without knowing it.
Let me set the stage first, so that you can understand why Satan caused Emperor Constantine to create a religion that is contrary to the Scriptures. Then you will see how this all affects Christians even today.
Satan used the pagan Roman Empire to try to wipe out the Early Church, killing 10 million saints; but Messiah’s church grew even faster.
The Roman Empire was declining as a result of civil wars, financial strain, famine and pestilence; so Satan changed his strategy to seek to destroy Messiah’s saints from within.
Satan caused Roman Emperor Constantine to act as a hero, ending the persecutions against the saints; and then had him create the Roman religion of Christianity, based on the Roman’s worship of the pagan gods.
Constantine then forced the saints to either compromise, apostatize, from their Scriptural beliefs; or be killed; and many fell away from the true faith, to be exalted in Rome.
Constantine created the pagan based holiday of Easter, which is based on the fertility goddess, Ishtar.
This is why fertility symbols such as rabbits and eggs are part of it. The 40 days of lent symbolized the life of Tammuz the Babylonians sun god, who died at age 40. He was killed by a wild boar, which is why ham is a traditional food on Easter, to remember Tammuz.
I’m sure that your observance of Easter doesn’t include worship any pagan gods; but the Scriptures warn us:
“Do not do so to YHUH your Elohim, for every abomination which YHUH hates they have done to their mighty ones” Deuteronomy 12:31
Scripture proclaims that Messiah died on the Feast of Passover, He was in the grave on the Feast of Unleavened Bread (symbolizing His sinlessness), and He rose again on the Feast of First Fruits. Those Holy Feast Days are what the saints should be observing, not Easter.
Let’s be clear about something. These are not just Jewish feasts. These are the Father’s Holy Feast Days, which Messiah is still in the process of fulfilling, to redeem His set-apart people. He is not done, as He has not fulfilled the three fall Feast Days yet, which represent His return for His bride.
Constantine created the pagan based holiday of Christmas, which is based on the birth of the pagan Babylonian sun god Tammuz.
Saturnalia is a pagan holiday that was celebrated on 12/25, way before Messiah was born. Constantine integrated Saturnalia into his new holiday called Christmas, to appease the Romans, and to draw all religions under the authority of Rome.
12/25 is the absolute worst day of the year to select to celebrate Messiah’s birth. Messiah was conceived on Hanukkah (in early December), as He is the light of the world. Nine months later He was born on the Feast of Tabernacles, as He came to dwell among us.
The fall Feast Days represent Messiah’s return (Feast of Trumpets), His judgment (Feast of Atonement) and His marriage to His bride (Feast of Tabernacles).
I understand that Christians are not worshiping pagan gods on Christmas, but the bigger point that I would make is about what they are not doing.
They are not observing their Father’s seven Holy Feast Days, which Messiah is fulfilling for their redemption. Every follower of Messiah should know and celebrate these Feast Days, for they give the proper context of His return.
Emperor Constantine wrote “… it appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands with enormous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness of soul. … Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Saviour a different way.” (Eusebius’ Life of Constantine, Book 3 chapter 18)
In other words, he condemned the Holy Feast Days by saying that they were ‘Jewish.’ What he didn’t say is that the Messiah, from the tribe of Judah, is the one who is fulfilling the Feast Days.
Christians do the same thing today, they delegate them as Jewish feasts, and say that they are to be dismissed. But that stance is contrary to Scripture.
The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians to keep the feast of Unleavened Bread. “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:7-8
Constantine revered Sunday, the ‘Lord’s Day’.
Prior to Constantine’s changes, the first day of the Roman Calendar was Saturday; but he changed it to SUNday as he was a Sun worshiper.
Let me be clear about a misconception. There was no such thing as Saturday or Sunday during Messiah’s ministry, so Messiah was not crucified on Friday and He did not rise on Sunday; because there was no such thing.
Messiah died on the Holy Feast Day of Passover and He rose on the Feast of First Fruits, as he is the first to rise again.
So the early church did not meet on Sunday, because there was no such thing. They met on the first day of the Scriptural week, not the Roman calendar week.
The Roman calendar at the time had 8-days per week, and the days were named after the first 8 letters of their alphabet.
It wasn’t until later in the first century, they some Romans started observing a 7-day week, but the first day of that calendar was Saturday, not Sunday.
The point that I’m making is that the enemy has caused Christians to revere Sunday, but there is no Scriptural justification for it being the Lord’s Day.
And there is no Scriptural justification for a Saturday Sabbath either, as there is no way to align the 7th day Sabbath of Scripture with Saturday of the Roman calendar. And do we really think that Satan would allow that to happen anyway? Surely not, for he is a great deceiver!
Constantine removed the saints from observing the Sabbath.
The Father instituted the Sabbath observance as an everlasting covenant between Him and His people. Everlasting means that it does not end.
“And you, speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, Yahuah, am setting you apart.” Exodus 31:13
“And I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, to know that I am Yahuah who sets them apart. ‘And set apart My Sabbaths, and they shall be a sign between Me and you, to know that I am Yahuah your Elohim.’ Ezekiel 20:12,20
Every believer who has a covenant relationship with the Father through the Son, is an Israelite. His everlasting Sabbath covenant has always been with the true Israelites, the one’s who believed by faith.
Satan hates this covenant, so he caused Emperor Constantine to forbid the practice, and forced people to worship on SUNday.
It is for our benefit as much as the Father’s. It causes us to be still for a day, to escape the influences and stress of this world. It gets people to spend time reading Scripture, in prayers, with family, with like-minded people, etc.
Most Christians mistakenly believe that Messiah did away with the law.
But the opposite is true. The Mosaic law was for babes, who could only stomach milk. But Messiah gave His followers meat, He wrote the law on their hearts and minds, and He gave them the Spirit to empower them to fulfill it.
Lest you think that I am saying that we can earn salvation by works, I am not. What I am saying is that works are the proof of our faith. If we really believe what we claim to believe, then we will have good works, which prove our faith. Faith without works is dead, it is no faith at all.
Messiah took keeping the law to the next level:
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire” Matthew 5:21-22
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” Mat 5:27-28
The written record of our transgressions, which testify against us, which condemn us; was nailed to the cross of Calvary.
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” Colossians 2:13
The moral law of the Torah, the commandments to observe the Holy Feast Days and 7th Day Sabbath, were not nailed to the cross and eliminated, as so many people teach.
The ceremonial law was fulfilled by our Messiah, who is fulfilling the Holy Feast Days in exacting detail, so we don’t have to observe the ceremonial part of the law, meaning we don’t have to sacrifice a lamb on Passover anymore.
Following His commands is not a burden, when we love Him.
“By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and guard His commands. For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and His commands are not heavy.” 1 John 5:2-3
Protestant Churches teach false futuristic prophecy explanations.
Satan used the Popes of Rome to kill the saints during the Dark Ages. When Catholic monk Martin Luther was led to read the Scriptures, he found that the Roman Church was an apostate church, the harlot church of Revelation 17.
And he and all of the Protestant Reformers testified that the Popes of Rome are the Son of Perdition of 2 Thessalonians 2, and the antichrist beast of Revelation 13.
To counter this the Popes empowered the Jesuits of Rome, to counter the Reformation and bring the Protestants back under the authority of Rome.
They did this by force, through the Inquisition, where they tortured and killed the saints who would not renounce their beliefs.
And they did it by creating false Bible prophecy explanations, that assigned the fulfillment of Revelation to the end times, and said that the antichrist is one-man in the end. They did this to deflect blame away from the Popes of Rome.
The saints did not believe their explanations, and their deceptions didn’t take hold under a few hundred years ago.
Sadly, today their futuristic explanations deceive most Christians, as they don’t understand that the office of the papacy, the Popes of Rome, fulfill prophecy as the antichrist, the enemy of Messiah and His church.
The saints should be protesting against the Popes and Jesuits of Rome, as they are the enemy of Messiah and His saints, and they mislead 1.2 Billion Catholics with a false salvation message.
They should be fighting against the enemy of Messiah and His Church, and witnessing to Catholics who have been misled.
The sad part is that most Christians don’t even know who the antichrist of Scripture is, and they have no clue that most of Revelation has been fulfilled during the last 1,900 years. And that is because they are believing the deceptions which originated from the Jesuits of Rome.
The enemy causes Christians to condemn people who are teaching these truths.
Believers today are so far removed from Scriptural truth, that when someone proclaims any of the Scriptural truths listed above, they are deemed as a heretic!
Sadly, some Hebrew Roots Movement people are legalistic Pharisees; but many of the truths that they share are Scriptural.
Christians have failed in their mission to shine as a light unto this world. The salt of their witness is rendered worthless. And I believe that American Christians are about to be judged.
Roman Emperor Constantine was given a vision that proclaimed, “In this sign, conquer!” and conquer he has. His creation of the Roman religion of Christianity has caused many saints to stumble.
Christians are a stumbling block to Jews coming to faith in Messiah.
The beliefs of Christians are a big reason why Jews don’t come to faith in Messiah. They know nothing of Easter and Christmas, as they are pagan and not Scriptural.
But the Jews certainly know the Holy Feast Days, because the Father declared them. And when we show them that the Messiah is fulfilling the Holy Feast Days in exact detail, then Jews can see that He is their Messiah.
They can’t comprehend that Messiah would do away with the Torah, the law; as Christians proclaim.
So they reject the pagan concepts that are associated with Christianity, and they remain lost.
Why would a follower of Messiah not want to know about the Father’s seven divine appointments, which Messiah is fulfilling to redeem us?
Why would a follower of Messiah not want to know about the fall Feast Day which represents the harvest and Messiah’s return for His bride?
You may think that your religious beliefs are just fine as they are, but this is what Messiah had to say about the end times church.
Because you say, “I am rich, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:17
In Revelation 3:19-21, Messiah chastises the end-times church, proclaiming that they’re lukewarm, wretched, miserable, naked, poor, and blind. Then He gives us the promise:
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
The word ‘overcomes’ in Greek is nikao. It means to conquer, to overcome, to prevail, to get the victory.
Ever since I began my studies of Revelation, and read that passage, I’ve felt that the name Nikao defined my ministry, for my calling is to teach the fulfillment of prophecy, and to expose the deceptions of the enemy. That is how we conquer the enemy and get the victory!
So when I created a Facebook profile for ministry, I used the name Nikao, because I don’t make Facebook about me. I don’t post selfies, I don’t make posts about my life. I focus on overcoming the enemy, by teaching prophecy fulfillment. When I started posting YouTube videos, I used that name.
It’s the name that I resonate with more than my given name, especially since I don’t have children, so my real name won’t be passed on. But I don’t want to mislead anyone about who I am. I hope that my work brings honor to my father and mother, who blessed me so much by teaching me about our beloved Messiah.
I pray to our Heavenly Father in the power of Messiah’s name that He will give you eye salve to see the truth.
David Nikao Wilcoxson
First Study: The Harlot Roman Catholic Church
I’m committed to full-time ministry and have been working part-time in the health and wellness industry to pay my bills; and to pay the ministry costs of website hosting, domain names, email distribution services, podcasting hosting, etc.
But the health crisis of the last two years has significantly reduced my income. If I get a different job, it will pull me away from my assignment, which is to write studies and books, and make video
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I pray that our Heavenly Father blesses you and keeps you. May He make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you!
David Nikao Wilcoxson
Just found your website, via one of your comments on a YouTube. Great stuff! Totally agree about the pronunciation of the Father’s Name, YHVH, but have an issue with the Savior’s. In Matthew 1:21, the angel tells Yosef that he is to name the child ______ BECAUSE “he shall save” his people from their sin. Well, “He shall save” is Strong’s H3442 Y’shua, spelled Yod shin vav ayin (not YOD HEY shin vav ayin), which we pronounce Yeshua. Yacov Rambsel discovered the message “Yshua shmi” (my name is Y’shua” ENCODED in Isaiah 53, the “Suffering Servant” chapter, along with a lot of other names. Details here:
tinyurl.com/ELS-Codes-SignatureOfGod
Shalom aleichem!
Bob & Suzanne
Thank you for your comment Bob! I’ve been reading the Aramaic New Testament, and it uses the name Y’shua, short for Y’hoshua; which lines with H3091 Y@howshuwa` yeh-ho-shoo’-ah or Yhowshua {yeh-ho-shoo’-ah}; from 3068 and 3467; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua), the Jewish leader:—Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua.
There is so much deception, and so much to learn!
Shalom!
David
You do not need to pay U.S. District of Columbia Federal Income Taxes. What you need to do is rescind your agreement to be taxed as a citizen of the Washington, D.C..
http://www.weissparis.com/july4.html
However, there is also a do it your self Letter of Revocation that you can do on your own efforts.
I just found your site and I’m thrilled to find someone who has found their way out of all the deception of today’s lukewarm church.
The Roman Catholic church is without doubt the Whore of Babylon and God is calling “come out of her,” but in today’s world the Pope is trying to unite all religions including the Christian church a one world religion. So, wouldn’t all religions in a sense be grafted into the Whore of Babylon with the exception of the remnant – the Christians who chose to work out their salvation, endure to the end and obey Christ’s commands?
Thank you for your comment Bob! Praise our Father that He was drawn us out of the Roman Babylonian teachings! Sadly, Protestants, Orthodox and other Christian denominations, are still following the teachings of Rome, as so are still in Babylon 🙁 Keep teaching the truth brother!
Thanks so much bro for your enlightenment
Brothers in Jahwe
When we are asked to come out of her it literally means out of all false doctrine churhes. Sadly there are so many Jisrealites(white people) who don’t want to hear when they are told that they are actually descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But would rather cling to false preachings. But alas, it will only be the spirit of truth that can convince and once received teach a person in all truth.
Hi,
What about:
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Hi Alan 🙂 Paul was writing to gentile believers, who did not have the many traditions and rules of the Jews; so he was proclaiming to them that they should not let the Pharisaical Jews judge them with their many rules; about how to observe the holy days, the new moon day or the sabbath day.
Messiah pointed out the same thing when He healed people on the Sabbath. He honored the sabbath, but not all of the Pharisaical Jews rules.
If you go to Israel today, the Jews would scoff at your observance of the holy days, the new moon day or the sabbath day; because you’re not Jewish and you’re not doing it the Jewish way.
So contrary to what people teach about that verse, it actually supports the fact that gentile believers should observe the holy days, the new moon day and the sabbath day.
Thank you for your response.
To me this seems to disagree:
Kol 2:20 KJV Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
Gal 4:8-11 KJV 8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. 9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? 10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. 11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Rom 14:1-6 KJV 1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. 3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. 4 Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. 5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Alan, the Galatians were converts from heathenism to Judaism, and from Judaism to Christianity. Messiah had berated the Jews for their many rules regarding the observance of Torah. No doubt the Jews in Galatia were influencing the new converts, to bring them back under living by their law.
When we observe Passover, should we return to the previous way of observing them and sacrifice a lamb? Surely not! But I choose to set the day of Passover apart, to remember what Messiah did on that day, as He shed His blood as the Passover Lamb to atone for my sins. I observe communion on Passover, as Messiah commanded us to do, in remembrance of Him.
Do you see the difference? Returning to the ceremonial law and sacrificing a lamb on Passover, is to return to the beggarly elements. But to set the day aside to praise our Messiah for His one-time sacrifice for our salvation, will surely not be despised.
Colossians 2:20 is saying the same thing. Even though Messiah died as the Passover Lamb, that did not stop the Jews from sacrificing Lambs on Passover. But believers don’t need to observe Passover, and other Holy Days, as was commanded in the ceremonial law.
The irony of Romans 14:5 is that you’re telling me that I’m wrong about observing the Holy Feast Days and Sabbaths; but the text clearly says “Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.”
My question is, why would any follower of Messiah not set aside the Holy Feast Day of Passover, on which He died for their sins, to pay the price for their salvation? Is it really legalism to praise your Messiah on that day? Is it legalism to partake in communion, as He commanded, to remember what He did on Passover?
The Holy Feast Days are being fulfilled by Messiah to redeem His set-apart ones. HE IS NOT DONE FULFILLING THEM!
He fulfilled the spring Feast of Passover as the one-time sacrifice. He fulfilled the spring Feast of Unleavened Bread, as He was sinless. He fulfilled the spring Feast of First Fruits when He rose again. He fulfilled the summer feast of Pentecost when He poured out the Spirit.
He has not fulfilled the three fall Feast Days yet.
The fall Feast of Trumpets represents His return for His bride. Should we not take time on this day to praise Messiah, for He will come to gather us to Him, on this day?
10 days later is the Feast of Atonement, on which judgment is made.
5 days after that is the Feast of Tabernacles, on which Messiah will marry His bride. Should we not take time on this day to praise Messiah, for it represents us being together with Him forever?
So how can you declare that all of the feast days were done away with, when He has not fulfilled them yet?
Thanks , you explain it very well….
We all need to take more time when dealing the writing of Paul. The most complected & controversial book ever written. If we study them with a humble heart follow the guidance of Ruach HaKodesh it will become clear that Paul preach a LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE. He doesn’t preach LAWLESSNESS as the majority taught. Remember, Paul is the champion of Phariseesism but Yah rise him to allies with gentile.
There were three levels of sabbath rests in the law. The sabbath day, the sabbath year, and the Jubilee. These give us three levels of entering into rest in the manner that God intended for us.
The first level of rest, as practiced in daily life, is to rest one day in seven. Our bodies need such rest. The second level is a sabbath year, a land rest which few people have put into practice–especially in the context of our Babylonian culture which makes it nearly impossible to follow this law. Thirdly, there is the Jubilee, something that has never been put into practice as a nation.
When we view these three levels in terms of our personal relationship with God and our spiritual growth, we can see them in terms of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. As we grow, we experience a greater rest, or sabbath.
Spiritual maturity can thus be measured according to our ability to rest in God, regardless of the circumstances in life. When we are justified by faith, we experience Passover and enter into the first level of rest in God. We can rest in Him, knowing that our sins are covered. We no longer need to struggle with guilt and condemnation. We know that righteousness has been imputed to us by faith, and that God views us as perfect, calling what is not as though it were (Rom. 4:17).
When we proceed into the experience of Pentecost, receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit, we enter into rest on the second level, which is sanctification. It is here that we begin to learn to hear His voice in order that the law might be written on our hearts. We thus begin to be truly led by the Spirit and receive on-the-job training that will bring us to maturity and prepare us for that final Tabernacles rest.
The Jubilee is the preparation day for the feast of Tabernacles. This final feast brings us into the manifestation of the sons of God and the glorification of the body. It is only through this feast that we can fully enter into God’s Rest. This is what Israel refused in Numbers 13 and 14, for God had reserved that experience for a time after the Cross.
Even so, we are now at the end of the Pentecostal Age, and those who have prepared their hearts and have come into spiritual maturity are eligible to become the manifested sons of God at this historic window of opportunity.
The Passover Age began with Israel’s departure from Egypt at Passover. The Israelite “church in the wilderness” had enough faith to leave Egypt, and hence they were justified by faith in the blood of the Passover lamb. However, they failed to proceed beyond Passover, because they rejected Pentecost in refusing to hear the voice of God (Ex. 20:18-21). Without the benefit of Pentecost, they were certain to have insufficient faith to enter Canaan at their appointed time. And so they refused to blow the trumpet of the Jubilee when the 12 spies gave their report. Thus, they were denied entry into Canaan at Tabernacles.
The potential existed in Israel to have a very short Passover Age, followed by a very short Pentecostal Age before entering the Promised Land at Tabernacles. It was God’s will that they have this short time to achieve full spiritual maturity–but it was the plan of God that they fail in order to extend these ages to much longer time periods.
And so, Israel entered Canaan 38 years later at the time of Passover, showing that they had remained stuck in that first level of entering their sabbath-rest. Theirs was a Passover-level Kingdom, and this lasted until the 1480th Passover when Jesus died on the cross.
Jesus’ death on the cross ended the historic Passover Age. His resurrection and presentation to the Father on the third hour of the day of the wave-sheaf offering began a seven-week countdown toward Pentecost. In each of those days, the people customarily counted out the grains of an omer of barley.
The Hebrew word omer is spelled ayin-mem-resh. The ayin means an eye, and it signifies seeing or watching. The mem means water. The resh means a head. Thus, when they counted the omer, they prophesied that during these seven weeks they were watching for water on the head. In other words, it was a countdown toward the outpouring of the Holy Spirit being poured out as rain.
Pentecost occurred seven weeks after the wave-sheaf offering. Hence, it was known in the Old Testament as the Feast of Weeks (Ex. 34:22), seven weeks to be exact. Lev. 23:15, 16 says,
(15) You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. (16) You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.
They were to count seven Sabbaths, using as their reference point the day of the wave-sheaf offering. That day, of course, was “the day after the Sabbath.” In other words, this prophesied of a change in the Sabbath, based upon a new reference point. The seven weeks, dating from the day after the original Sabbath, established a Sunday Sabbath that was associated with the Age of Pentecost, as distinct from the previous Age of Passover.
The first Sabbath was, of course, patterned after God’s creation rest, but with Israel it began with the Second Passover (Ex. 16:1). Hence, even as Israel was able to enter into a Passover-level rest, they were given a Passover Sabbath to commemorate their level of relationship with God.
This ended when the church was able to move forward into Pentecost, experiencing a new level of relationship with God hitherto unknown. Whereas Israel had floundered at Horeb by refusing to hear His voice, the disciples in the upper room were willing to draw near to God as Moses had instructed (Deut. 5:5).
Meanwhile, Jesus had visited with the disciples on the eighth day Sabbaths since His resurrection. John 20:19 tells us that He met with the disciples “on that day, the first day of the week” just hours after His resurrection. The next Sunday he met with them again, for John 20:26 says, “and after eight days again … Jesus came.” The Hebrews usually spoke in terms of inclusive time, so it was eight days inclusively–the following Sunday–when Jesus met them again.
Jesus’ third appearance in John 21:14 is not dated, but it is clear that Jesus did not appear to the disciples daily, but rather weekly. In each case, he ate with the disciples. For what purpose? He was establishing a precedent, whereby He would fellowship with the disciples on the new Sabbath that was prophesied by the Feast of Weeks. By fellowshipping and eating with the disciples weekly, dating from His resurrection, He was setting forth the pattern of communion in the church each Sunday.
And so, when studying the early church writings, we see that they attributed their Sunday fellowship and communion to the fact that Jesus had been raised from the dead on Sunday, which, by the common vernacular of the day, was also called The Lord’s Day (Rev. 1:10). While the Romans had a different “Lord” in mind when they named the day as such, the disciples applied it to Jesus Christ, their Lord.
The law, then, prophesies of the change of Sabbath from a commemoration of Passover to a commemoration of Christ’s resurrection and Pentecost. While Passover remembers Christ’s death on the cross, the wave-sheaf offering remembers His resurrection. Hence, the commemoration shifts from death to life and subsequently to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
Matthew 12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.