Revelation Chapter 9 – The Abyss
“The fifth angel sounded his shofar; and I saw a star that had fallen out of heaven onto the earth, and he was given the key to the shaft leading down to the Abyss” (Revelation 9:1).
When the fifth messenger blows his shofar, a fallen star is given a key to the shaft leading down to the Abyss. The only ‘star’ to have fallen out of heaven onto the earth is called ‘the morning star.’
“How did you come to fall from the heavens, morning star, son of the dawn? How did you come to be cut to the ground, conqueror of nations?” (Isaiah 14:12).
This ‘star’ wanted to raise its throne above God’s stars, sit on the Mount of Assembly, rise past the tops of the clouds and make itself like the Most High. Instead, this ‘star’ is brought down to Sh’ol, the uttermost depths of the pit. Though there are many ideas as to who or what this ‘star’ is, Yeshua reveals its identity to his disciples:
“Yeshua said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18).
From the time the Adversary fell from heaven, he still had the ability to move around the realms. He enters the heavenly throne room with the ‘sons of God’ and challenges Elohim regarding Job after going ‘to and fro’ on the earth. However, at this time in Revelation, the Adversary will no longer have access to the heavenly realm. He is given the key to the Abyss where many of his cohorts have been “bound with everlasting chains for the Judgment of the Great Day“ (Jude 6). The ‘great day’ has arrived and he is given the key to release his demonic armies.
“He opened the shaft of the Abyss, and there went up smoke from the shaft like the smoke of a huge furnace; the sun was darkened, and the sky too, by the smoke from the shaft. Then out of the smoke onto the earth came locusts, and they were given power like the power scorpions have on earth” (Revelation 9:2-3).
Thick smoke rises from the shaft that is so thick it darkens the sun and the sky. According to the prophet Isaiah, “wickedness burns like fire, it devours briars and thorns; it sets the forest underbrush ablaze, with clouds of smoke whirling upward” (Isaiah 9:17). This is the shaft of great wickedness, the shaft where those spirits ‘under the earth’ will come forth for their last ‘hurrah.’ These will be the final days for the Adversary and his power will be great, so great that he will deceive millions. However, his power will also be restrained.
When studying about the locusts, riders and horses, it is important to remember that the spiritual realm will become a reality in our physical world. Those things that have been unseen and hidden will be revealed in a very specific way (Luke 8:17). How that happens remains to be literally seen. What follows is just my interpretation from what I know of Scripture.
From the smoke comes a swarm of locusts. When green plants are plentiful, locusts begin to breed and gather together into ravenous swarms that can be larger than 450 square miles. The desert locust is found in Africa, the Middle East and Asia and can cover one-fifth of the earth’s’ land surface affecting 1/10 of the world’s population. They devastate crops creating famine that leads to starvation. Just like in the days of Pharaoh, there will be a plague of locusts, but they will be supernatural creatures, an army from the Abyss and they will have a different appetite.
“They were instructed not to harm the grass on the earth, any green plant or any tree, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. The locusts were not allowed to kill them, only to inflict pain on them for five months; and the pain they caused was like the pain of a scorpion sting. In those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them”
These locusts will be instructed not to harm grass or any green plant or tree, but only to inflict pain on those people who do not have the seal of Elohim on their forehead. The Greek word for ‘seal’ is sphragis and means ‘signet ring’. The Greek word for ‘forehead’ is metapon and literally means ‘after the eye.’ Those who have the ‘seal’ are those who are either being ‘watched’ by Elohim or always have the ‘eye’ on Him. In Ezekiel 9:4, a ‘seal’ is put on the heads of those who grieve over the abominations done in the city of Jerusalem. In Hebrew the word for ‘seal’ or ‘mark’ is the tav also the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This ‘mark’ is a sign of being exempt from the judgment of Elohim. It also implies that it is written by the Hand of Elohim, His ‘signet ring’ or ‘signature.’ The powerful stinging spree of these locust-horses is limited to five months. For five months, everyone on earth except the sealed of Elohim will be tortured by this army from the Abyss and its sting.
“Now these locusts looked like horses outfitted for battle. On their heads were what looked like crowns of gold, and their faces were like human faces. They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like those of lions. Their chests were like iron breastplates, and the sound their wings made was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails like those of scorpions, with stings; and in their tails was their power to hurt people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is “Abaddon” and in our language, “Destroyer” (Revelation 9:7-11).
Yochanan describes the locusts as looking like horses prepared for war. They wore golden crowns and had human faces suggesting they are powerful warrior men wielding great authority. Their hair is long and flowing like that of a woman. In 2 Corinthians 13:14, Sha’ul states that a man with long hair degrades himself because long hair is given to a woman for her glory. According to some commentary, in Pliny the Arabians had long hair and historically the Persians had long hair and were known as a ‘shaggy bear.’ Also, there is an Arabic proverb in which the antennae of locusts are compared to girls’ hair. That these warriors look like women must be unusual for Yochanan to find it worth noting as men who went into battle did not generally have long hair.
Rather than devouring green grass, their lion-like teeth tear at human flesh like a carnivorous animal. The prophet Joel says ‘he’ has reduced his vines to waste and fig trees to splinters. This is a reference to Isra’el being the ‘vine’ and the ‘fig tree.’ That these creatures eat flesh would create horrific pain. However, if some flesh-eating plague is injected with their scorpion-like sting, it could be even more horrific. It is worthy to note that the Nephilim in the book of Enoch ate the flesh of humans and drank blood. Are these related? Only time will tell.
“For a mighty and numberless nation has invaded my land. His teeth are lion’s teeth; his fangs are those of a lioness. He has reduced my vines to waste, my fig trees to splinters — he plucked them bare, stripped their bark and left their branches white” (Joel 1:6).
At the time I am writing this, I am in Las Vegas visiting my son. Up until two days ago I had actually never seen a real live scorpion, but one was spotted on the baseboard of his bathroom. I was amazed at how tiny it was and its clear color allowed it to camouflage on the wall.
People fear scorpions because of their venomous bite, however most stings are not lethal to humans. Those that are lethal only cause serious issues where there is limited access to medical treatment. Scorpions are actually part of the spider family. They like to hide in rotting logs and leaves, snack on other insects especially cock roaches, are always looking for something to drink, and love darkness. Scorpions also glow in the dark – in the darkness of the Day of Elohim, these demonic creatures will be ‘lit.’
The power of these locust-warriors is their scorpion-like sting. Their sting doesn’t cause death, but brings tremendous pain that those stung will want to die, but won’t be able to. They will only writhe in pain. Imagine.
I have read commentary that these locusts teach false doctrines and deceive the masses, but that is deception. False doctrines do not cause people to writhe in pain, however a severe sickness could become a plague. Nearly 18 months later, the COVID19 Wuhan virus vaccine brings ‘writhing in pain’ to hundreds of thousands of people. Intense immune disorders such as Guillain Barr disease that attacks the neurological system make adults, children, and even babies shake and quiver for the rest of their lives. There have been fertility and miscarriages with women and blood clots and swollen hearts in young people. So many of the victims say they ‘just want their life back.’ This is impossible because this ‘scorpion sting’ has changed their God-given DNA.
Until recently, I would never thought about these creatures apart from being a demonic presence on earth that exert extraordinary pain over people. With the recent COVID19 pestilence, I am beginning to see the sting as the purpose of the demonic presence. These devil warriors do not carry a sword into battle to control the world, but a sting.
There are many world leaders whose evil intentions come from the ‘pit of hell’ – the Abyss. They believe that in order to maintain global health, there needs to be a universal vaccine – the sting of a needle. As they rush to prepare some sort of vaccine, there will be few, if any real studies and humanity will become guinea pigs. I heard one doctor comment about a vaccine that was created in 1976 that paralyzed nearly everyone who received it. Could it be the demonic warriors that come out of the chasm will swarm around the world to do the bidding of demonically-possessed leaders? A type of possessed police brigade that forces a concoction into people that doesn’t cause them to die, but to be tormented with pain such that they wish they could die? Could this pain be used as torture so they will submit to the world authorities, the beast?
“Adonai will strike all the peoples who made war against Yerushalayim with a plague in which their flesh rots away while they are standing on their feet, their eyes rot away in their sockets, and their tongues rot away in their mouths. When that day comes, there will be among them great panic, sent by Adonai, so that everyone lays hands on his neighbor, who in turn attacks him” (Zechariah 14:12-13).
These demonic warriors have wings and move like swarm of locusts. The Hebrew word for ‘wing’ is kanaph and can also mean ‘the edges of their garments.’ Though Yeshua rises with healing in his kanaph or the ‘edges of his garment,’ these creatures will not. They will cause illness wherever they go. Whether these ‘wings’ are actual wings or they have some sort of flying machine, they will move quickly wherever they want to, take authority, and do serious damage to humanity.
The sound of the warriors’ wings roars like horses with chariots rushing into battle. Could these demonic warriors use drones to seek out those who need to be stung? Not long ago, drones were being flown over western parts of the United States with no one taking responsibility, most especially the U.S. military. Then suddenly, at the outbreak of the Wuhan virus in the U.S., they disappeared. Whatever is happening with these warriors from the Abyss, Elohim allows the sting and the ensuing plague to create a great panic that will cause everyone to attack each other.
The demon warriors have chests like iron. For those who body build, this could me they have ‘abs,’ but it could also mean they have incredible strength. I personally believe their iron chests suggest they have no heart or are hard-hearted. They operate without any compassion because they are not human and cruel.
Now I am in Alaska and I’m reading about the president unveiling a vaccine by the end of the year. There will be several hundred million vials manufactured so that the entire United States population can be vaccinated. He is not only working with the CDC and the NIH. This vaccine for Covid19 may be administered by the army, the military, warriors.
‘Demonic’, along with resembling and having the characteristic of evil, also means ‘fiercely energetic or frenzied.’ The plan for unraveling this several million doses of vaccine is called “Operation Warp Speed.” Even the name suggests a ‘demonic’ side to this ‘operation.’ Putting a vaccine into the hands of warriors who ‘become fiercely frenzied’ with making sure every person in the United States is ‘stung’ could be come a very wild ride for those who refuse to receive the ‘sting.’ The only way to avoid receiving the ‘sting’ is to have the mark of Elohim. In these days of uncertainty, believers should be praying for the revelation of that mark on their foreheads – a completely different mark from the ‘mark of the beast.’ Note: in 2021, this very thing is happening. Those who don’t receive the ‘sting’ are ‘marked’ in the world. There are vaccine passports that will allow those with the ‘sting’ to live a ‘normal’ life while those without will be shut out. Whether or not this ‘sting’ has anything to do with the ‘mark of the beast,’ is an interesting speculation; however, it just may be a testing ground for what is yet to come out of the Abyss! It just may be a ‘test’ of faith in who will stand for Yahweh who is the Healer or who will succumb the wiles of the devil. May each person find strength in Yeshua, the coming King, and in the power of the Spirit of Elohim, the LIVING GOD!
The warrior demons have a king whose name is in Hebrew Abbadon meaning ‘doom’ or the ‘place of destruction’ or ‘realm of the dead.’ In Greek Abbadon is Apollyon who is not a place, but the angel of the bottomless pit, This fallen angel represents spiritual oppression and the desire for self-beauty that is so valued by the world. Some believe Apollyon is the devil himself or his representation in the anti-messiah. The ‘Destroyer’ is the leader over the locust-type warriors who bring forth months of torment and horror like never before in the history of the world.
“Blow the shofar in Tziyon! Sound an alarm on my holy mountain!” Let all living in the land tremble, for the Day of Adonai is coming! It’s upon us! — a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick fog; a great and mighty horde is spreading like blackness over the mountains. There has never been anything like it, nor will there ever be again, not even after the years of many generations. Ahead of them a fire devours, behind them a flame consumes; ahead the land is like Gan-‘Eden, behind them a desert waste. From them there is no escape. They look like horses, and like cavalry they charge. With a rumble like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like crackling flames devouring stubble, like a mighty horde in battle array. At their presence the peoples writhe in anguish, every face is drained of color. Like warriors they charge, they scale the wall like soldiers. Each one keeps to his own course, without getting in the other’s way. They don’t jostle each other, but stay on their own paths; they burst through defenses unharmed, without even breaking rank. They rush into the city, they run along the wall, they climb up into the houses, entering like a thief through the windows. At their advance the earth quakes, and the sky shakes, the sun and moon turn black, and the stars stop shining” (Joel 2:1-10).
“The first woe has passed, but there are still two woes to come” (Revelation 9:12)
“The sixth angel sounded his shofar, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the gold altar before God, saying to the sixth angel, the one with the shofar, “Release the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates!” And they were released. These four angels had been kept ready for this moment, for this day and month and year, to kill a third of mankind; and the number of cavalry soldiers was two hundred million! — I heard the number” (Revelation 9:13-16).
When the sixth messenger blows his shofar, a voice from the four horns of the golden altar speaks. The Altar of Sacrifice in the earthly Tabernacle was made of bronze, not gold, but the purpose of the four horns would be the same: to tie the sacrifice to the altar. With the release of four angels bound at the Euphrates River, one third of mankind was going to be ‘sacrificed.’
These angels have been bound for this moment in time – this specific day, month and year. The Hebrew word is zaman and means ‘fixed time’, not mo’ed for ‘appointed time. Because there are ‘times’ for everything under heaven, this zaman is no different. Some suggest that this ‘time’ is Passover because it is a specific month (first), day (14) and time (midnight). I am going to suggest that if this is a reference to a specific time on Elohim’s calendar, it would not be a spring ‘time,’ but one in the fall.
Yom Teruah is also a specific day: the first day of the seventh month, on the New Moon festival. This Feast of Trumpets is commemorated by blowing the shofar to remember something that has yet to happen. For the ten days between Yom Teruah and the Day of Atonement, the shofar is blown. As these judgments are shofar blasts, I lean toward these ‘ten days of awe’ for the specific month and day.
The ‘ten days of awe’ are also known as the ‘ten days of repentance.’ This is a time not only for individual repentance, but for corporate and national repentance. In the days of these six shofar blasts, there is a time of great testing and still mankind refuses to repent. Though it would not be a specific ‘appointed time,’ the ‘ten days of awe,’ could be the moment.
Though the number 200 million is translated for the number of cavalry soldiers, the actual Greek words are myriads and myriads suggesting the number is too great to count. The same words are used for the number of angels in heaven in Revelation 5:11 – a number too vast to count. These mounted horsemen are sent out to kill 2.5 billion more people as 2.5 billion were already killed by plague, famine and wild animals. With a population of nearly 8 billion, losing 5 billion is a massive number of people who die.
The Hebrew word for ‘bound’ means ‘chained’ or ‘banned.’ These beings who were ‘chained’ are the disobedient, fallen angels referred to in Jude 6:
“And the angels that did not keep within their original authority, but abandoned their proper sphere, he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for the Judgment of the Great Day.”
These demonic beings have been ‘chained’ by the Euphrates River which runs though Babylon. It is from Babylon where the economic, political and religious global system will be centralized. Babylon is specifically modern-day Iraq. In ancient times the area between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers was known as Mesopotamia. Avraham was living in Ur, the city of Sumer in southern Mesopotamia when Elohim called him to leave and go to a ‘land he would be shown.’
In Isaiah 14, there is the account of the ‘fall of the morning star.’ In order to understand the spiritual war that occurred in heaven, a type and shadow of the Adversary is revealed through the King of Babylon. Modern-day Babylon is steeped in a religious system that is always at war with Isra’el. Though it has a similar foundation in Abraham, its lineage follows the descendants of Ishma’el, not Yitz’ak. Its eschatology is the opposite of Biblical eschatology; its ‘deliverer’ is the antithesis of Messiah or anti-messiah.
“Here is how the horses looked in the vision: the riders had breastplates that were fire-red, iris-blue and sulfur-yellow; the horses’ heads were like lions’ heads; and from their mouths issued fire, smoke and sulfur. It was these three plagues that killed a third of mankind — the fire, smoke and sulfur issuing from the horses’ mouths. For the power of the horses was in their mouths — and also in their tails, for their tails were like snakes with heads, and with them they could cause injury” (Revelation 9:17-19)
The multitude of this cavalry will come from the east, not the Far East as some suggest, but the Middle East. They will have the power to kill another 2 billion people. With only 8 billion people and already a loss of 5, this will leave only 1 billion people alive unless some of these events happen simultaneously. While Elohim declares the ‘beginning from the end’ (Isaiah 46:10) and can see multi-levels of events at the same time, Yochanan can only witnesses these spiritual end time events through his limited understanding.
These riders wear breastplates of heavy armor like ‘chainmail’ that are multi-colored of red, purple, and yellow, or in the Greek ‘fire and jacinth, and brimstone.’ Fire not only suggests the color red, but being led by demonic spirits, their chainmail could literally be on fire. The jacinth is a deep blue or purple and was one of the stones in the breastplate of the High Priest representing the Tribe of Gad meaning ‘troops.’ The final color is ‘brimstone’ which is bright, clear yellow like sulfur. Sulfur is used to ignite matches which start fires. It was ‘fire and brimstone’ that rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah as a judgment, now it seems these ‘troops’ have the same power to judge the world.
It is through their horses’ mouths that fire, smoke and sulfur come. With heads like lions and tails like snakes with venomous heads, these ‘troops’ have the power or to ignite fires and kill another third of mankind. When I looked up the Hebrew for ‘power,’ several other meanings appeared, euthanasia and ‘gassing in a killing facility.’ This adds another dimension to the authority given to these horses and their riders.
“The rest of mankind, those who were not killed by these plagues, even then did not turn from what they had made with their own hands — they did not stop worshipping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they turn from their murdering, their involvement with the occult and with drugs, their sexual immorality or their stealing” (Revelation 9:20-21).
Using the Hebrew in this verse, the remaining population not killed by ‘infectious epidemics’ – perhaps only one billion people – ‘were still unwilling to make teshuvah or ‘repent,’ be ‘born again,’ and serve the LORD.’ They will continue to worship ‘demons’ by ‘setting up idols’ made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood. They are reprobate and corrupt. They even continue to ‘murder, kill, assassinate,’ ‘steal,’ ‘whoring and prostitution,’ and ‘practice witchcraft.’
The Greek translation uses ‘sorcery’ for ‘witchcraft.’ This Greek word is pharmakos and means ‘poisoner.’ From pharmakos comes pharmacon and means ‘drug.’ This is from where we get the word pharmacy. A sorcerer literally ‘poisons people with drugs.’ This word also means “to drug people into living by their illusions” – like having supernatural powers to manipulate God into giving them more temporal possessions” (Strongs 5333.). With today’s culture of legalized drugs known as pharmaceuticals, it stands to reason that this practice will continue without ‘repentance’ and a return to Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh as The Healer. These people will live by the illusions given to them by the drugs whether it’s hallucinations or the false sense of security of their physical health. As of 2021 with the injection of the ‘vaccine,’ many people describe hallucinations from receiving the ‘shot in the arm’ along with many other debilitating experiences. This calls for ‘wisdom on the part of God’s holy people.’
Chapter 10 – The Little Scroll
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Yeshua in His Father’s Feasts
Yeshua in His Father’s Feasts is a personal or group in-depth study guide/student manual that reveals the shadows and realities of the Messiah in the prophetic visions in the Feasts of the LORD. It will fill in the holes of your Bible when reading the words ‘Jewish feast’ or ‘the feast of the Jews.’ This study will illuminate often-overlooked phrases and idioms that allude to the ‘appointed times’ of God.
Both the prophet Micah and King Solomon state that without prophetic vision and knowledge, God’s people perish. Studying the Biblical holy days will revive the searching soul and bring insight and understanding into the complete salvation found in Yeshua – his past, present and future work.
This newly revised study guide/student manual includes Scriptures from the Torah, Prophets, Psalms, Gospels and Letters. It includes activities for families and children that will enhance celebrating the Biblical ‘appointed times’ as well as suggestions for digging deeper into traditional and Biblical Jewish customs surrounding Yeshua In His Father’s Feasts.
If you are doing a group study, a leader’s manual for the revised second edition student manual can be purchased that not only has the answers to the questions, but also ideas for spurring discussions.
May be purchased on amazon.com
Reviews:
“This is the best Bible study I have ever done. I can’t seem to put it down and I am learning more and more about my faith everyday. I have been a believer for 60 years and I am learning truths I was never taught in church. I even asked my pastor if he knew all of this and admitted, he did not.” (M. Graves)
“I have been growing in my faith from reading and studying the Feasts in this guide. Thank you for your faithfulness to Yeshua!” (S. Corben)
“Few Christians understand that the context for the Jewish Messiah of the New Testament of their Bibles is the culture and language and history of the nation of Israel. This book helps explain why that culture, language and history is necessary knowledge for understanding the identity of the Messiah and how knowing the Jewish Messiah enlarges the understanding of the Biblical feasts. Good, basic foundational information from which to launch further study. Very enjoyable and eye-opening.” (W. Lopez)
“Loved it. Will keep going back for future Wisdom that truly matters.” (J. Banta)
“I have learned so many things about the Bible that I never saw before. I loved learning about the fall festivals and I became aware of more and more people teaching about these special times. I especially learned that Christmas and Hanukkah are very different holidays. I am grateful to have done this Bible study.” (L. Herbert)
“My eyes are seeing so much more in Scripture, especially the new testament, after doing this study.” (M. Gravenhorst)
When was Jesus born?
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
Most Christians acknowledge that Jesus (Yeshua) was not born on December 25 in the middle of winter. Yet few realize that Yeshua’s birth is outlined in the Bible if they could unravel some of the clues given to them in the gospels and refer back to the Hebrew Scriptures. The account of our ‘reason for the season’ begins in the book of Luke chapter one when Zechariah was in the Temple at Jerusalem burning incense to God. The time of his Temple service is the key to understanding when of the birth of his son, John took place, as well as the birth of Yeshua.
1. Zechariah was a Levite priest in of the lineage of Abijah, a descendant of Aaron (Luke 1:5, Numbers 3:2).
“In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron” (Luke 1:5).
2. All Levitical priests, including Zechariah, were required by God to serve in the Temple during Passover, Pentecost (Shavuot), and Tabernacles as well as two weeks extra per year according to their family lineage (Deuteronomy 16:16).
“Three times a year all your men must appear before YHVH your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot/Pentecost) and the Feast of Tabernacles” (Deuteronomy 16:16).
3. Abjiah was eighth in line for Temple duties. This means that as a descendant of Abijah, Zechariah was eighth in line for his Temple duties (1 Chronicles 24:10).
“With the help of Zadok … David separated them [the descendants of Aaron] into divisions for their appointed order of ministering. … The first lot fell to Jehoiarib … the eighth to Abijah …. This was their appointed order of ministering when they entered the Temple of the LORD according to the regulations prescribed for them …” (Numbers 1:1-19).
4. Zechariah would have served during the week of Passover and Unleavened Bread in the Temple as part of his required Temple service.
The Biblical calendar is not the same as the Julian/Gregorian calendar we use today. Passover is our March/April, Pentecost (Shavuot) near June, Tabernacles or Sukkot September/October. The Scriptures utilize a Biblical calendar with the first month being in spring at the time of Passover (Exodus 12:2).
Zechariah would have served in the spring for Passover/Unleavened Bread. After Passover, he would have returned home until his lineage service began, eight weeks or about 50 days later.
5. Zechariah would have returned to the Temple for his two week duties as part of the lineage of Abijah. This would have fallen in mid-June during the Feast of Weeks, Shavuot (Pentecost).
6. An angel of the LORD appeared to Zechariah during his time in the Temple at the Altar of Incense.
As a descendant of Aaron, he would have ministered in the Most Holy Place. It is at the Altar of Incense that intercessory prayer is made by the priesthood. The angel of the LORD met Zechariah at this specific place and time. He told him he was going to have a son who he was to name John. Because of his unbelief, Zechariah is made mute by the angel until the time of his son’s birth.
“… your prayers have been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John” (Luke 1:13).
7. Zechariah returns home after his Temple service. He and Elizabeth conceive a child. Elizabeth remains in seclusion for five months.
“When his time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion” (Luke 1:23-24).
8. One month later, “when Elizabeth was in her sixth month,” the angel Gabriel visited Mary (Luke 1:26).
Some people question whether this was the sixth month of the year or the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy. With the wording of Elizabeth being in seclusion for five months and then “in the sixth month,” it would seem that the months are contiguous and based on Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Also, the angel tells Mary “Even Elizabeth your relative … is in her fifth month” giving a witness to the timing of the angel’s visit (Luke 1:36).
9. Mary conceives a child by the Holy Spirit and immediately goes to visit Elizabeth.
“At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth” (Luke 1:39).
When Mary greets her cousin, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps. According to the time period given for Elizabeth’s seclusion, this most likely would have been the first contact she had with another woman and maybe even the first time she felt the movement of her child. It is apparent that her unborn son knew the blessing of the Spirit of God on Mary. The meeting of these two pregnant women had such profound significance that Luke recorded it with details. Elizabeth’s baby leaps for joy in the womb recognizing the newly conceived Messiah of Israel.
“As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy” (Luke 1:44).
Six months after Zechariah’s Temple service in mid-June would be about mid-to-late December. The Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah occurs at this time as a memorial to the rededication of the Temple after it was defiled by the Greeks. It is also known as the Festival of Lights because the Temple Menorah was once again lit after its desecration. It was during Hanukkah, the time of dedication, that the Spirit of God came upon Mary and she conceived Immanuel, God with us, the Light of the World.
Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55 not only has prophetic significance about her baby, but is quite the declaration of humble ‘dedication‘ regarding the ‘light of the world.’
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name” (Verses 46-49).
10. Mary stays with Elizabeth for about three months.
“Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son” (Luke 1:56-57).
Mary returns to Nazareth very close to the time Elizabeth would deliver her baby. The timing for the birth of Elizabeth’s baby would be mid-March/April or near Passover.
11. On the eighth day after the baby’s birth, he is circumcised and named.
Continuing with the Biblical timeline, Zechariah’s son would have been born right before Passover. This means that Zechariah would have gone to the Temple for his regular service at Passover and while there, he names his son, John, in the presence of astonished people. This is the first time he has spoken since the angel visited him months before at the Altar of Incense on Shavuot.
“At that moment, his power of speech returned, and his first words were a b’rakhah [blessing] to God” (Luke 1:64).
12. From the information given about the conceptions and pregnancies of Mary and Elizabeth, it can be calculated that John and Jesus (Yeshua) were born six months apart.
Six months after Passover in the spring (March/April) would be the fall (September/October), the time of ‘ingathering’ or the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles also falls approximately nine months after Hanukkah in December.
Because of the Roman census being taken by Caesar Augustus, Bethlehem was bustling with Jews from everywhere in Israel. All native born Israelites, specifically men, were required to live in booths or sukkot for the week of Tabernacles. Women and children who were with their husbands filled all of the inns to capacity.
“Live in booths (sukkot) for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt” (Leviticus 23:42).
Under these crowded conditions, Joseph and Mary are given a temporary dwelling, called a stable in most Bible translations, and Mary gives birth to her son. The baby was placed in a cattle feeding trough (Luke 2:4-7).
“And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger (sukkah) …” (Luke 2:6).
According to the command in Leviticus 23, the Israelites were to live in a sukkah for seven days. Consistent with the rabbinical definition of a temporary dwelling or sukkah, a stable would have been an acceptable substitute. Because of the timing of Yeshua’s birth during the Feast of Tabernacles, many people believe that it was not a literal stable, but a sukkah. The Greek word for ‘manger’ in Luke 2:7 is phatne and can mean ‘cattle stall’ or sukkoth just like what Jacob built for his livestock (Genesis 33:17). The equivalent Hebrew word for ‘manger’ is the singular sukkah.
Using this information along with the established timeline, Yeshua would have been born on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles and would have lived with his parents in the sukkah for the first seven days of his life until he was circumcised and named on the eighth day. Whatever the specific accommodations, Joseph fulfilled God’s requirement to live in a temporary dwelling during Sukkot as did Yeshua who was the firstborn son of God.
13. The angels rejoiced because ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…’ (John 1:14, Luke 2).
The Greek word for ‘dwelling’ in this verse is skenoo and means ‘spread his tent’ among us. As a booth or sukkah is a temporary dwelling like a tent, this verse could read, “The Word became flesh and spread his tent (tabernacle) among us” making a direct allusion to Yeshua being born at the Feast of Tabernacles.
14. On the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests in the Temple would wave large branches of several different trees in the Temple.
These branches were called lulavs and represented the different nations of the world. Hundreds of priests waving large branches from the willow, the palm and the myrtle, would have created an enormous sound like a ‘rushing wind’ as they walked toward the Temple. In Hebrew, the word for God’s Spirit is ruach and means ‘wind.’ As the priests were waving these tree branches, they were unaware of the birth of Yeshua. They had no idea that the salvation of Israel, through the ‘wind’ of God and a humble woman, had come to live in a little baby.
“So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month… celebrate a festival to the LORD for seven days …. On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days” (Leviticus 23:39-41).
15. There were shepherds in the hills outside of Jerusalem (Luke 2:8-15).
“As for you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem” (Micah 4:8).
The shepherds in the hills near Bethlehem, a short distance from Jerusalem, were special shepherds. They camped at the Migdal Eder and raised the sacrificial sheep for the Temple offerings. According to the prophecy in Micah, the Jewish people believed that the Messiah would be revealed at the Migdal Eder, “the tower of the flock.”
At the time of Yeshua’s birth, there was an actual military watchtower above the hills that was used to protect Bethlehem. This tower also was used by the shepherd to guard the Temple sheep from robbers. It was from these sheep that the Passover lambs were chosen. When the angels came announcing the ‘good news’ to all the world, these shepherds would have completely understood the meaning because they were at the exact location for the prophesy of Messiah’s birth to be fulfilled.
16. Eight days later, it was time for the baby’s circumcision and naming (Luke 2:21).
Eight days after a sons’ birth, the father would take the child to be circumcised and named because the mother would still be in her time of purification and could not enter the Temple area. When Yeshua is eight days old, Joseph takes his infant son to Jerusalem to the Temple and names him Yeshua as he was commanded by the angel. Yeshua means ‘salvation.’
“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home with you as your wife; for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means ‘the LORD saves,’] because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21-22).
Rejoicing in the Torah – Simchat Torah
The Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated for seven days. The following day, the eighth day, there is a special celebration called Simchat Torah which means ‘Rejoicing in the Torah.’ As Yeshua was being named by his father, crowds were in the Temple courts dancing, singing, and rejoicing in the Torah. In their midst, without their knowledge, the living Torah had just been named Salvation.
“On the eighth day, when it came time to circumcise him, he was named Yeshua, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived” (Luke 2:21).
17. Mary’s purification completed.
“When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest a year-old lamb … and a young pigeon or dove…. He shall offer them before YHVH … and she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood. …If she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves …” (Leviticus 12:6-8).
Forty days after Yeshua’s birth, Mary’s time of purification was completed. She and Joseph took Yeshua to the Temple for the Redemption of the Firstborn according to the Torah command in Leviticus 12:8. It was at this time, they offered the sacrifice of the doves.
“When the time of her purification according to the Torah of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written) …” (Luke 2:22).
There were two prophets in the Temple who knew and expected the Word to become flesh, salvation of Israel to be revealed. Simeon and Anna, two witnesses to Messiah’s birth, spoke prophecies over Yeshua in the presence of his parents.
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. …There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher” (Luke 2:25,39).
18. At this time, a sign appeared in the heavens (Matthew 2:1-2).
Every kingdom in the known world had astronomers who studied and understood the signs in the heavens. Each culture, but more specifically the Jewish culture, looked to the heavens for the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. Constellations, planets and stars moved to tell God’s story as well as to set His ‘appointed time’s. Other middle eastern cultures studied the Hebrew concepts and understood their connection to the people of Israel.
Astronomers from the east (probably from what is modern day Iraq/Iran) saw this “sign” in the heavens and began their journey toward Jerusalem to bow down and worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The word ‘star’ in this verse is the Hebrew is kokhav and is referred to in Numbers 24:17 along with the scepter from Jacob, all terminology for stars and planets that are ‘signs in the heavens.’
19. The magi or wise men arrived in Bethlehem.
“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him” (Matthew 2:9).
The journey of ‘the wise men,’ (number unknown and probably a lot more than three) took a long time to get to Israel as they were on foot and traveled a great distance of nearly 500 miles. When they finally arrived in Jerusalem, Yeshua was no longer a baby nor living in a sukkah. The Scripture calls Yeshua a child and the wise men came to his home with their gifts. They returned back to Iran/Iraq by a different route because Herod was angry that there was another ‘king’ and sent out an edit for the murder of all baby boys under the age of two in and around Bethlehem (Matthew 2:13-18).
This is how the conception, birth, and life began for Yeshua. According to the information written in the Torah, Prophets, and Gospels, Yeshua was born in the ‘season of our rejoicing’, on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles in a sukkah. The shepherds knew from the angelic hosts that ‘peace on earth and good will toward men’ had come as the ‘lamb of God’ in the town of the Migdal Eder, Bethlehem. While all Israel rejoiced in the Torah given by God, the living Torah, the begotten Son of God was circumcised and named Salvation.
©1997 Tentstake Ministries Publishing, all rights reserved. No copying or reproducing of this article without crediting the author or Tentstake Ministries Publishing. For a hard copy of this article, please purchase Journey with Jeremiah: Nourishment for the Wild Olive.
Covid 19 Vax Injuries
Where there is risk, there needs to be choice! Many virologists and immunologists predicted these issues, but were censored as ‘conspiracy theorists.’
November 2, 2021 panel on vaccine injuries, Washington, DC
Professional Mountain Biker, Kyle, in Idaho
Zechariah 14:12
“Adonai will strike all the peoples who made war against Yerushalayim with a plague in which their flesh rots away while they are standing on their feet, their eyes rot away in their sockets, and their tongues rot away in their mouths.”
What is Graphene Oxide and how important is it to you, your loved ones and even the world?
How is Graphene Oxide like a ‘ticking time bomb?’
Whom Shall I Fear?
Fearing human beings is a snare; but he who trusts in Adonai will be raised high [above danger]” (Proverbs 29:25).
Working as a camp host in the summer in Alaska, I meet people from all walks of life from all over the world. In this year of 2021, discussions arise about the shot, the jab, the experiment, the ‘vaccine.’ Many people have taken the jab, others reject being a guinea pig and part of a human experiment messing with the mRNA of the immune system. Sadly, it is also interesting the number of people who reject the whole idea of the shot, but took it because of this, that or the other thing. In other words, though they believe one thing, they don’t act accordingly.
New York City now requires vaccine passports to do anything public, the first of its kind in the United States, truly the beginning of a great demise of our country and the value of human life in this country. The one unelected official directing the path of humanity in the United States now says that loss of liberty is worth the health of many even though statistics don’t support his version of ‘the truth.’ Citizens in nations like France, Germany and Italy are protesting en masse, burning their vaccine passports because they know firsthand the direction such ‘violation of liberties’ go – into totalitarian government control leading to the mass murder of all those who don’t fit into the coming world order via substances poked into their arms. .
This virus came from Wuhan. Period. It was created by man. Period. So, why do people look to man to solve a biological warfare issue? Do they really believe those who are part of the great web who created this virus really want to fix the problem? Those who believe these people have good intentions really don’t understand the sinful heart of power-hungry men, money-hungry men!
The agnostic ignorant believe that more people have been killed by religious wars than atheist leaders like Napoleon of France (6 million dead), Kim Jon of North Korea (4 million Koreans), Mussolini of Italy (1 million dead from poisoned gas, concentration camps), Mao Zedong of China (murdered 50-67 million), Pol Pot of Cambodia (murdered 2 million), Joseph Stalin of Russia (murdered 60 million), Hitler of Germany (12 million). In the past 200 years alone, atheist leaders have murdered 151 million people, more than all religious wars combined. And now in the United States we have a godless, atheist administration forcing experimental serum on its people through bribery (money) and loss of even more liberties such as buying, selling, and entertainment.
This is why we must choose whom we shall fear. Though it seems ‘right’ to fear those who will kill from a godless, atheistic, heart, it is only through the God of Israel, Elohim, YodHeyVavHey, Yeshua, the Healer who can intervene and bring salvation from this perceived ‘curse of death.’ I am not afraid of the Communist China Virus. If I die from it, I die. But, I won’t ever ask humanity to stop living because I got sick and died.
Even though I can see where the world is heading with vaccine passports and the separation of the ‘goats’ from the sheep, I don’t fear the leaders of this world. They are part of a plan of destruction; not of restoration. They are part of a plan to take over the world even though I know who will one day sit as King in Jerusalem – Yeshua HaMashiach. I fear Yahweh Elohim. I believe He is the only One who can redeem us from the pit that we have allowed ourselves to be dumped into. I believe He is the only One who can save us from the dark tunnel we are heading down. I believe He is the only One who will judge the men who kill the body and mame the weak with righteous justice.
Am I human? Do I worry about buying and selling? Do I grieve over the prospect of never seeing family again? Yes. Yes. And yes. This is the very reason why I raised my children with faith, faith that would allow them to enter the eternal Kingdom, a Kingdom for which they are a light in this world. By entering into that Kingdom through faith they have hope not fear. Yeshua was very clear when he told us who to fear and who not to fear.
“My friends, I tell you: don’t fear those who kill the body but then have nothing more they can do. I will show you whom to fear: fear him who after killing you has authority to throw you into Gei-Hinnom! Yes, I tell you, this is the one to fear!”
Whom do you fear? God or Man? One offers a scam to change your DNA and immune system created by Elohim; the other offers an eternal way of life free from sickeness, disease, and totalitarian rule. You choose. It’s still a choice each of us have that no man can take away until the day:
“That in honor of the name given Yeshua, every knee will bow — in heaven, on earth and under the earth — and every tongue will acknowledge that Yeshua the Messiah is Adonai — to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
©2021 Tentstake Ministries Publishing, all rights reserved. No copying or reproducing of this article without crediting the author or Tentstake Ministries Publishing.
Are You Hesitant?
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft (pharmakia), hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).
In Greek, pharmakia is the word for ‘sorcery’ and from where we get the word ‘pharmacy.’ Sorcerers used drugs to take people into an altered state of mind. The modern-day sorcerer is a pharmacist who sells ‘legal drugs.’ These drugs change our body’s chemical imbalances to even worse imbalances which is evidenced in television commercials where the taking of one drug brings on worse side effects than the original physical issue. There is evidence that more people who take legalized anti-depressants kill themselves than people who do not. Some drugs, like marijuana, once illegal, but have become legal, are now causing serious mental health problems for those that overuse it (due to the lack of THC controls). The increase in sorcery or ‘pharmakia’ is a sign of the end times and last days before the return of King Messiah.
In the book of Leviticus, there is an ordinance regarding sorcerers and ‘spirit-mediums.’ This ordinance speaks about ‘fornicating’ with mediums and sorcerers. ‘Fornicating’ is the sin of spiritual adultery, idolatry with those who are practicing sorcery with legalized drugs.
“The person who turns to spirit-mediums and sorcerers to go fornicating after them – I will set myself against him and cut him off from his people. Therefore consecrate yourselves–you people must be holy, Because I am Adonai your God” (Leviticus 20:6-7).
According to the list of flesh activities in Galatians 5, one who is a sorcerer will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This is not a kingdom one goes to when they die, but the Kingdom of the world to come, the Kingdom of King Messiah, the Kingdom of Elohim Himself. For those who understand the serious reprecussions of ‘legal drugs’ and using them to modify the human body, hesitating with anything ‘shot’ into their body should be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, for the ‘shot’ being promoted by not just pharmacies, but the governments around the world, the no-brainers are proving themselves as non-critical thinkers.
“I thank you because I am awesomely made, wonderfully; your works are wonders — I know this very well” (Psalm 139:14).
According to Scripture, each of us are fearfully and wonderfully made. This means that not only are we intricately made with the amazing eye or the ability to reproduce new humans from two tiny cells, but we also have been given an intricate immune system. This immune system has cells that will take any virus, fight it, kill it, remove it, and then remember it EVEN if it mutates! If that isn’t wonderful, what is? Those who truly put their faith in the God of Isra’el understand two things. One, their bodies produce greater immunity to everything thrown at their bodies on a daily basis than any vaccine can or ever will. Why do you think that every year there is another flu vaccine? Because the flu vaccine does not give a continued immunity to the flu! Someone isn’t an anti-vaxxer when they choose to use their own immune system that was given them by the Creator. It has proven itself superior to vaccines since Adam and Eve. Two, everyone dies. EVERYONE. Period. Death is a fact of life and no government leader or vaccine developer can stop death. Anyone can die from a virus as well as from the effects of the supposed ‘cure.’ Everyone dies from something!
Without going into details about the shot, it isn’t a vaccine. It should not even be called a ‘vaccine.’ It does nothing to ‘vaccinate’ anyone against the virus. All it does is make the person ‘asymptomatic’ while still passing the virus onto others. According to research done at the University of Florida, there was no ‘asymptomatic’ spread of the virus. None. It was purely a talking point to create fear in the masses (which is another subject). Now, however, there will be asymptomatic spread from those who chose to receive the shot to everyone and anyone. Of course, it be blamed on those who didn’t get the shot, but that is not the reality of this shot.
On a more deeper level, this shot does change the RNA of the human body. This technology has never been tried on humans before so everyone who pulls their sleeve up to receive this RNA-crown of slime becomes a test subject. EVERYONE. Yet, this isn’t the most dangerous part of this shot. The most dangerous part is that it is messing with the way God has created our bodies. It is changing the immune system in our bodies that was never meant to be changed. As biological warfare grows (and yes, this virus came from China), those who make billions from these shots will continue to make them, inject them, and take no responsibility for the side effects. As the human body receives more and more of these RNA deceptors in the body, no one knows exactly what will transpire in the future with the health of those who were injected. Those who do know, those who have studied this technology, world-renowned virologists, have been silenced and censored as conspiracy theorists! For reasons known only to those who buy and sell virus patents, ‘they’ don’t want anyone to know the whole truth AND they want this technology in every human on the planet. That should scare everyone, everywhere.
In every vaccine study, there has to be a control group, a group that is not given the test mixture. It is from this control group that virologists learn about the side effects of the drug or vaccine. Usually this is done for years and years before given to the public, but not this time due to ‘Operation Warp Speed.’
I choose to be part of the control group. I will wait to see what the long term effects will be – and some have not been so long term. There have been blood disorders, brain and heart issues, and death. It is being said that auto-immune diseases will also rise. I also know that being part of the control group will put me in the ‘vulnerable’ category: vulnerable to not being able to fly to visit my children, enter businesses, go to sporting events, and soon probably even to enter a grocery store.
The government’s way of dealing with people like me is a type of passport. Do you have your passport? No, you can’t come in here. No, you can’t eat here. No, you can’t live here. No. No. No. It seems that it’s nearing the time once again to wear an armband with a Yellow Star. Though we have cried out ‘Never Again,’ we are watching the foundation being poured for ‘Not Again.’ And, according to Biblical prophecy, the end times will not be history repeating itself; it will be something that has never come upon the world before.
©2021 Tentstake Ministries Publishing, all rights reserved. No copying or reproducing of this article without crediting the author or Tentstake Ministries Publishing.