The Season of Passover

“Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, in the spring, and Sarah shall have a son."  Genesis 18:14 RSV

Do you have a favorite season?  While all have their redeeming qualities, if I had to pick one for my favorite it would be the spring.  One of my annual habits is to start searching my yard as soon as the snow melts in order to try and find my tulips starting to emerge. I like to call spring the time of new beginnings, because so much happens in so short of a time. I can watch buds appearing on my apple tree, the robins have returned from wherever it is they go in the winter, the ground is turning green, and of course, it’s time to start mowing the lawn again.

As I have studied the Word over the years, I have found that God ordained many events to occur in the spring as well. It is especially interesting to see how many of those events could be identified with the idea of a new beginning. In the passage above, God has visited Abraham and Sarah and told them that Sarah was to have a son. He also tells them that He will return to see them when that happens, and even tells them that it will be in the spring! If you look closely at the Hebrew you will find that in this particular case, the RSV translates it best, because if you take the two words mowed and chay together in the same phrase, you understand spring is identified as the season this event will occur.

mow`ed : 1) appointed place, appointed time, meeting

chay : 1) living, alive, a) green (of vegetation), b) flowing, fresh (of water), c) lively, active (of man), d) reviving (of the springtime)

Since Abraham is told he would become the father of the nation of Israel, the birth of Isaac began the fulfillment of that prophecy and as we see, it began in the spring.

We also find in the book of Exodus that the deliverance of the nation of Israel from bondage in Egypt occurred in the spring. The first three feasts of Israel, Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits all occur in the first month on the Jewish calendar which normally begins around the end of March or the beginning of April on our calendar, and is called Nisan or Abib.

“And Moses said to the people: "Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out of this place. No leavened bread shall be eaten. "On this day you are going out, in the month Abib.”   Exodus 13:3,4 NKJV

Of course, of greater interest to us as believers is the fact that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred at the time of these three feasts as well. If you recall, Jesus celebrated Passover with His disciples, was then arrested, crucified and  rose again on the third day which was the Feast of Firstfruits.

“Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."   Matthew 26:1,2 NKJV

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.”   Matthew 28:1,2 NKJV

If we consider the idea of spring being a time of new beginnings, how important could the fact be that our deliverance from sin by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ occurred in the spring? Is it possible that so many events happening in the spring season are just coincidence? If you still think it may be, why not look at another event that is certainly significant to all believers. Just fifty days after the resurrection, on the Feast of Pentecost, something else rather important happened as well; the giving of the Holy Spirit.

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.”  Acts 2:1,2 NKJV

Do you begin to see what I mean about the spring being the most interesting season? The Bible is full of “new beginning” type events which occur in the spring. As I considered all of this, I had to ask myself the question if it's possible then that the rapture of the church could occur in the spring season? If it did, it would certainly fit in with the idea of a new beginning type event happening the same time as so many others have.  

Now you might wonder why I bring up the subject of the rapture of the Church?  Let’s return to the story of the Exodus for a moment. The thought occurred to me that we are told of deliverance along with a new beginning in the story of the children of Israel and their escape from Egypt. Curiously, however, not only were they delivered out of bondage in the spring, notice if you will when God arranged for them to enter the promised land forty years later.

“And it came to pass, when the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD had come from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet touched the dry land, that the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks as before. Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.”   Joshua 4:18,19 NKJV

Here we are again. Back to the first month, the spring, the time of new beginnings. God delivered the children of Israel into the Promised Land on the tenth day of the first month, and four days later they celebrated Passover.  Is it possible this is also a picture of when the church will enter her “promised land”? Could spring be the season of the rapture? Although I believe our deliverance could occur at any time, considering the fact that so many events have happened in the spring certainly makes me wonder if we as believers should be especially watchful in the spring.  That possibility brings us to this next passage which might be the most compelling argument of all.

“Woe is me!  For I am like those who gather summer fruits, Like those who glean vintage grapes; There is no cluster to eat Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires. The faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net.”           Micah 7:1-2  NKJV

This passage from the prophet Micah describes the period of time we call the tribulation.  Notice he tells us that all the faithful have disappeared from the earth, every man is against each other, and looking for upright faithful people is like looking for the first grapes of the harvest and finding none.  So when does the grape harvest begin in Israel?  The first ripe fruit is gathered at the beginning of summer.  My thought is that if all the faithful are gone at the beginning of summer, they must have disappeared in the spring.

While the western world has already celebrated Easter, in Israel the week of these spring feasts is set to begin this week starting Monday evening with the arrival of Passover.  As always, with so much happening in the world right now I find it difficult if not impossible to not keep looking up at the clouds with anticipation of hearing the trumpet blast and our call to come home.  I also find it comforting to know that so many in the body of Christ are experiencing and feeling these same emotions at the present time and have been willing to share that with me.

As myself and many other believers are looking at the condition of the world around us and asking the question why are we still here, my question to you today is this.  Just how close do you believe the rapture of the Church is on God’s calendar?  If you believe like many others that it could be right around the corner,  the most important question of all is have you  come to this point in your life and not made a decision to accept the free gift of salvation offered to you by our Savior Jesus Christ?  If not, don't you think it would be a good idea to do it now? You can do that by simply praying this prayer and accepting the gift of eternal life God has offered all of us by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen.

Keep watching.

Watching for Signs

“Let us hold fast the confession of [our] hope without wavering, for He who promised [is] faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as [is] the manner of some, but exhorting [one another], and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Hebrews 10:23-25 NKJV

Have you ever taken a road trip with small children and heard those famous words, “are we there yet”? I remember well taking our first vacation with my children driving over a thousand miles to visit my parents and hearing that phrase for most of the trip. So I used that opportunity to teach my daughters how to watch for the road signs to help answer that question, and it didn't take long for them to concentrate on watching for the signs rather than asking me how much farther we had to go.

It's funny though how that experience taught me something about the coming rapture and Jesus' command to watch for the signs of His return. One of the first things my daughters noticed is that there are no signs telling how far it is to San Diego to be found in Washington. The roadsigns did not begin to appear until we got much closer, and then, the closer we got the more often we saw them. By the time we reached Los Angeles you could see a sign almost every fifteen minutes telling us how close we were.

Now with that thought in mind, might I ask you a question? How many signs of Jesus' return have you seen in the last few years and are those signs decreasing or increasing? You see, even those who don't watch are at the point where they are asking what in the world is going on in the world today. The signs of Jesus' return are coming faster and faster almost to the point where it is hard to keep up with them all. Do you think that might mean we are getting close to “arriving” at our eternal destination?

As we turned onto the final street where my parents lived, we would go over the instructions for how they were to act during our visit.  “Be on your best behavior, don't tear the place up, be polite, ask when you want something, remember this is not your house, etc”. We all have done that, yet have you ever thought of what we should do as we approach the rapture of the Church? When I thought of that the passage from Hebrews came to mind and as I read it I was struck by the similarities between what it says and those road trips we would take as a family. So let's look at what this passage says a little closer this morning.

“Hold fast”. Might that translate be patient? It's a long trip but eventually we will get where we are going because our Father has told us so. Many of us have waited a very long time to see the days we are now living in and the closer we get the more impatient we become. Hold fast because the signs are coming so quickly that it can't be much longer before we go.

“Stir up love and good works”. Be on your best behavior? As we approach our final destination, we have the opportunity to share about our faith and give an explanation of what the world is going through. How much more will the world pay attention if we are are seen as a body of believers that are concerned with loving others and doing good works rather than being selfish and self centered.

“Not forsaking the assembling together”. We are family. When one of my daughters misbehaved we didn't leave her by the side of the road and move on. Over the years we have had occasion to hear people tell us how well behaved our girls were, and I must admit that made us feel good about the decisions we made as parents. I believe the most important decision was to attend church regularly so as a family we could meet and form relationships with other believers. Good or bad, what we experienced within the body as we grew as a family helped us form the foundations of our faith which are apparent today. We not only learn from our own experiences, but also the experiences of others.

“Exhorting one another”. We won't learn much if we don't meet together with other believers and also use that time to encourage and lend support to the family we are. The word translated “exhort” in this version is also translated “encourage” and “beseech” in other versions. As I studied this verse I looked to see how this word is used in other passages in the Bible and came to the conclusion that we are being told to “strongly encourage” each other. The word for exhort in the Greek is “parakaleo” and here are a few of those other passages using the same word.

“Holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.”

Titus 1:9 NKJV

“Preach the word! Be ready in season [and] out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”

2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV

“Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;”

1 Thessalonians 4:1 NKJV

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,”

Ephesians 4:1 NKJV

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your reasonable service.”

Romans 12:1 NKJV

One other thing I noticed is that most often this word is also used in the context of our behavior as believers. I think it's important to understand that God is very concerned with how we witness to the world by our actions, and He expects us to strongly encourage others in the body to “love and good works”.

“And so much the more as you see the Day approaching”. Are we there yet? We have all heard that question, and in this case the answer most believers who watch would give is “yes”! We should expect the rapture of the Church at any time, so now more than ever we need to be encouraging each other. Sharing what we see with other believers is a sure way to wake up those who might be slow to see just where we are in our journey home. How soon? I certainly can't say, but I do know this; we are almost there!

That said, whenever the subject of the signs of the rapture come up, there are sure to be those who protest that we can never know when that time has arrived.  So I thought I would share a portion of an article by Jack Kelley which addresses that position as well as any I have ever read.

No One Knows The Day Or The Hour

Now we’ll look at that other popular phrase, “No one knows the day or the hour”.

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man“ (Matt. 24:36-37).

Let’s back up a few verses to make sure we have the proper context here.  After the Great Tribulation ends (Matt. 24:29) there will be various signs in the heavens. The sun and moon will go dark and the stars will fall from the sky. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear and all the nations will mourn.  After that they’ll see Him coming in the clouds with power and great glory (Matt. 24:30).  From both the context and the passage itself it’s clear that the day and hour the Lord was referring to in Matt. 24:36-37 is the 2nd Coming .

A few verses later, the Lord repeated the same thought, again in the context of the 2nd Coming.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Matt. 24:42-44)

The Lord does not come to break into Satan’s domain at the rapture.  He calls us out of it.  And another few verses later.

The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 24:50-51)

There’s no way this can refer to the rapture because the things He described will not be done to unbelievers at the rapture. He’s speaking of the judgments that follow the 2nd Coming.

Then, for the fourth time in 28 verses the Lord said that believers on Earth at the time of the 2nd Coming will not know the day or hour of His return.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matt. 25:13)

This one is in the context of the parable of the 10 bridesmaids.

In previous studies I’ve shown that this parable can’t be about the church. The Church is the Bride, not a bridesmaid, there’s only one bride, not 10, and the banquet follows the wedding, it doesn’t precede it. There’s no way a newly married bride could be excluded from her own wedding banquet by a husband who claims he doesn’t know her. The parable is about tribulation survivors, 5 of whom are saved and enter the Kingdom and 5 who are not and don’t.

What’s The Point?

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing”. (2 Tim. 4:8)

I’ve searched the Scriptures in vain trying to find either of the above phrases used in connection with the Rapture. But I can’t find a single verse that does so.  As I’ve shown they all point to the Second Coming and they are all directed toward Tribulation survivors, not the Church.

What I did find is that the Lord rebuked the religious leaders of His time for not expecting Him.  He criticized the Pharisees for not being able to read the signs of the times (Matt. 16:2-4).  We’re admonished to be aware as well.  For example, the Lord commanded us to understand Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy (Matt. 24:15).  Paul warned us not to let events leading up to the Day of the Lord take us by surprise (1 Thes. 5:4), and as we see above He promised that the Lord would award a crown to those who longed for His appearing.  And why shouldn’t we long for His appearing? After all, the rapture of the Church is one of the most exciting things our Creator has ever done for His followers.  It’s not for nothing that we call it our blessed hope. Therefore, encourage each other with these words.  Selah 09-05-09

https://gracethrufaith.com/end-times-prophecy/no-one-knows-the-day-or-the-hour-2/

The Bible, in my humble opinion, makes it perfectly clear that if we watch for the signs Jesus promised would come, we will know His return is near.  It is my firm belief that these signs are occurring before our very eyes at the present time and our appointment to meet with Jesus in the air could happen at any time.  Those who have made the choice to accept His gift of eternal life will go to be with Him forever for eternity. If you have never made the decision to accept that free gift I encourage you to do so today.  Simply ask God to forgive you of your sin based on your belief that Jesus died to pay the price for your sin, and turn over control of your life to Him.  You can do that right now by praying a prayer just like this one;

"Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen."

Keep watching.

Lift Up Your Eyes

“A Song of Ascents. I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.”     Psalm 121

Considering all that has happened in the past few months, and then focusing on what many are saying might occur in the very near future, it seems appropriate to ask the question just how focused Christians should be on the rapture of the Church.  As you might expect, I am solidly behind the position that our deliverance from this world should be of primary importance as we see the signs of that day all around us, not to mention the fact that Jesus commanded and expects us to watch as well.  I often share the thought that as we watch the world, and this country as well, quickly going down, it’s a pretty good sign we as believers in the rapture of the Church should be looking up.  I make no apologies for being a watcher and in truth, liken myself and others who are, to the lookouts on the Titanic.  Had they seen the iceberg approaching and shouted a warning sooner, more could have been saved.

Everyone has their own particular way of approaching their study of God’s Word, and to be truthful I appreciate learning from others who do things a little different than I do.  Much of the time the topical subjects I chose to study are the result of being led by the Holy Spirit while studying something completely different.  On one occasion, while studying the subject of faithfulness, I somehow ended up in the book of Psalms, particularly chapter 121 which is the second of fifteen chapters called the Songs of Ascents.  Now when I saw the word ascents, my thoughts immediately went to the rapture of the Church and the idea of singing as we go up, and to be truthful, if we examine the reason for these chapters we might see that the idea of singing praises as we go up is not all that farfetched.

In the Hebrew, the word for ascents is ma`alah, which when translated means; what comes up, thoughts, step, stair step, stair steps (of sundial), stories (of heaven), ascent, song of ascent to the three great pilgrim feasts.  Many are familiar with the feasts of Israel, but if not, simply explained there are seven celebrations ordained by God for the nation of Israel to observe every year.  You can find those listed in the Old Testament  book of Leviticus, chapter twenty three.  Of these seven feasts, three were to be celebrated in Jerusalem which required everyone travel there from wherever they lived.

If you are not familiar with the geography of Israel, the city of Jerusalem is basically higher in elevation than the surrounding country, with the temple itself built on Mount Moriah.  This means that to travel there resulted in having to climb, or “ascend” to the city.  These Psalms were songs that the people would sing as they traveled towards Jerusalem, praising God as they walked.  I can just imagine what it must have been like to hear hundreds of thousands of people singing these songs of God’s faithfulness to His people as they approached the city of Jerusalem.

How often do you reflect on God’s faithfulness to us?  Do you ever just sit and consider the statements made in this chapter about how faithful God is to us, and allow that knowledge to lift and encourage you?  It is unfortunate that many of us only think about the faithfulness of God towards us when we are in trouble or hurting, and allow the cares of this world to overshadow our thoughts when things are going well.  How different would our lives be if God had that same attitude towards us rather than the one we as His children are fortunate to enjoy?

As I considered that thought, I had to reflect upon my faithfulness to Him, and question my own commitment to being what God Himself has described as a “good and faithful servant”.  After all, if we look closely at how faithful God is towards us, is it too much to ask that we imitate that example in our faithfulness to Him?  With that in mind, I want to share a few thoughts I had about that question in light of what Jesus had to say about being faithful servants for Him.

“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.”  Matthew 24:45-47  NKJV

“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”                                   Matthew 25:21  NKJV

The Greek word for faithful is pistos, which is translated; of persons who show themselves faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties.  After reading that, I looked for passages that would illustrate those three responsibilities and possibly help us to become the faithful servants God desires us to be.

Transaction of business

“And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”  Luke 2:49  NKJV

“Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.”   Luke 2:46  NKJV

What is the “business” we as believers are in?  If we choose to use Jesus’ example then it becomes apparent our business is actually the Fathers’ business, which, if we understand this passage correctly entails studying the scriptures and doing all that we can to increase our knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Sharing that Gospel with others, especially as we see time running out, is what we are expected to do.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. “                       2 Timothy 2:15  KJV

Execution of commands

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”  John 13:34  NKJV

“Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.”                        1 John 2:8-10  NKJV

What are we as believers commanded to do?  Love one another just as Jesus loves us.  Seems simple enough until you meet someone you don’t especially like.  Yet isn’t that the worlds’ way?  Only love the ones you want and hate the rest?  By choosing to love everyone as the Father does, we demonstrate not only His love in us, we stand out as light in the darkness of this world because we are different from those around us. This in turn allows us the opportunity to share the good news before its too late.

“Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”  Matthew 7:20  NKJV

Discharge of official duties

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.”  Ecclesiastes 12:13-14  NKJV

Have you ever skipped to the back of a book to see how it all ends?  The book of Ecclesiastes is the last thing to be written by Solomon, described to us as the wisest man who ever lived.  As he sat and reflected on his life with all the good and all of the bad, victories and mistakes, he summed it all up in this passage.  The “whole” meaning of life is to “fear God and keep his commandments.”  Why?  Because the day will come when every man will stand before God and give an account of his life and the choices he has made, the most important being whether or not they have accepted God’s gift of eternal life.

The day of our call to go home is fast approaching and many who chose to watch are sounding the alarm. If you are reading this today and have never made the decision to become a believer in God, and accept the gift of eternal life with Him provided by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ, I encourage you to do so right now.  Simply pray a prayer like this one and confess your need of salvation to God and He will welcome you into the body with open arms. 

Jesus I know I am a sinner. I have sinned against you, but I know you loved me enough to send your Son, Jesus Christ to die for my sins and then rise from the dead so that I may live forever with You. Lord forgive me of my sins and come into my life and help me to begin to live for You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

As He has told us;

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:9  NKJV

Keep watching.

Postscript; I would be remiss if I neglected to suggest that this weekend and the coming week should be a period of serious watching in regards to events in the Middle East.  US intelligence sources are warning of retaliation by Iran for the Israeli attack on their embassy in Damascus, and if that should occur it is certain Israel will respond.