Up to this point I have tried to keep my opinions out of the picture and only write as the Holy Spirit has lead and revealed.   I have tried to keep my previously held opinions, bias and beliefs out of the picture.  I took the Word of God and searched out answers within it.  I studied it by prayer, and research.  I searched out meanings from the original Greek, Hebrew, Arabic and English words.  Since the Word of God was revealed to us through God’s chosen people, I searched out Jewish customs and teachings and tried to see things through the eyes of the Hebrew people.  Since the opposing force (antichrist) of last day’s prophecy is Islam, I searched out Islamic history, teachings and practices.  Therefore the interpretations and writings you have read in this book are almost entirely not the things I was taught, and certainly not the things I believed through the first 50 plus years of my life.  What you have read is the result of much prayer, study, and a deep desire to find the truth, which is indeed much more valuable than silver and gold.  The real mysteries of the Word of God such as the Sign of the Son of Man and the detail of the Rapture of His church are only revealed to us through the Holy Spirit, therefore I cannot take credit for what you have read up to this point.  That is why the author’s REAL name is not to be found within or without the covers of this book.

The purpose of this book is to share the light so graciously given, with the hope the reader will not only see some of the errors we made in current day eschatology but also be able to see how and why they were made.  The Bible Prophecy taught for many years in our seminaries and churches is quite distant from the truth; therefore, changes need to be made.

In some ways the church of today is much like the Pharisee’s and Sadducee’s during the time of Christ.  They wholeheartedly believed all their doctrine to be correct and not even the Word of God (Jesus Christ) was going to change their long held beliefs. We make this statement knowing full well that none who have propagated these false teachings have done so intentionally. However, there can be no doubt the consequences of these teachings will have a profound effect on many unsuspecting souls.

For now, the time is upon us, and there is much that so many do not see and understand.  That is not at all to say that I have a perfect grasp or understanding about all this, but thanks be to the Lord for the knowledge I now have concerning the chapters covered in this book.  We publish this book in the hope that those who take the name of Jesus Christ might open their eyes as well as the Word of God and study and learn before it is too late.

Hosea 4:6 (KJV)
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

We published this book because many of those who genuinely are His do not see the danger lurking just around the corner.  They believe all is well, and their Lord will soon Rapture them to meet Him in the air, but they are not aware of the deception and false doctrine regarding when or how it’s going to happen.  They do not see or understand they are the “evil servants” Christ was speaking to in Matthew 24:48-51; the very same evil servants He is going to cut in two and appoint a portion with the hypocrites where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Neither do they understand they belong to the Church of Laodicea, who Christ is going to vomit out of His mouth.  Modern-day Christendom is not aware they will not be entering into His rest (the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ) because they did not know when their Master would return; because they did not know Him as well as they thought they did.  Neither do they realize they are the five foolish virgins of Matthew 25, the ones who did not listen to the Groom when He told them the hour they must be aware of the “Sign of the Son of Man.”  He specifically said, “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.”  He spoke, but they did not listen.  Neither did they understand the Sign of the Son of Man which reveals the month and day and even explains how He will carry out the Rapture of His saints.  We publish this book in hope and prayer that it will open many eyes and that many will understand these things before it is too late.

If Christendom is not aware of these things, there will be a repeat of the errors made by the Jewish nation 2000 years ago during the fulfillment of the Spring Feasts of the Lord.  The Jews were looking for a King that would conquer the Gentiles and return Israel to the prominence she once enjoyed.  They completely misinterpreted the prophets to the point they did not recognize the One who was doing all the miracles and healing their sick.  They missed Him because their religious leaders had given them a false picture of what to look for, which is an exact repeat in the making, but this time it will be Christendom that makes the same mistake

With that being said, I would like to share with you some of the enlightenment I have gained during the writing of this book.  I now realize the errors in many of the beliefs and views I once held.   These are things which you may want to consider if you now see some of the apparent mistakes in current day Bible Prophecy as it is published and taught in our churches today.  There is a reason why our understanding of Bible Prophecy is so far off base, and much of it has to do with our forgetting the base.

The base I speak of is God’s chosen people.  The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  It is now my belief that the average Christian of today has acquired a false perception regarding their place in the family of God and this perception has contributed to the false doctrine that now resides in the church. 

Consider this: in the New Testament there are many instances where Christ was warning the population of the Pharisees and Sadducee’s.  These were the religious leaders of that day He was often correcting.  What is there that would lead one to believe that the condition of the religious elitists would be any different now, just before He returns, than what it was when He walked the Earth 2000 years ago?  If the practices, beliefs and doctrines of the churches today were correct, why would He be returning, and why would the church be in the deteriorating state it finds itself?  Does the saying, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it” ring a bell?

How Far Have We Gone Astray?

The latest statistics show there to be over 41,000 different denominations of the Christian church!  That number has got to shock a lot of people.  Especially since one of the more popular prophecy teachings of our day is that in the last days, the Christian denominations are going to join together, forming an evil one world church that will be led by the evil antichrist.  Not to jump to conclusions, but I’d have to say this prediction didn’t materialize.  One could say that quite the opposite has occurred.  Wouldn’t you agree that someone goofed with this interpretation?  Could it be that maybe they were looking at the wrong religion?

So how did there get to be so many Christian denominations?  Well, it should be apparent that if there are 41,000 “different” denominations, each one of them holds to some different belief than the other 40,999.  In other words, there are at least 40,999 denominations out there that have deviated from the truth.  Each one of these denominations was started by someone that came up with an alternate interpretation of Scripture and used it to start another denomination.  Or possibly a group of church members split off from one denomination to form a new denomination because they held to a different interpretation of some teaching in the Word of God.

I have experienced similar situations in my life.  During my elementary school years, my parents were attending a Presbyterian church.  That church voted to adopt what they called the “Confession of 1967,” and my parents, others, as well as the then pastor,  decided to leave the church.  I was quite young at the time, and I do not remember the problem details, except that it went against what my parents interpreted the Word of God to say.

My parents then began attending a Baptist church where they learned the Presbyterians were not following the Word of God in the way they baptized.  Presbyterians baptize babies long before they can understand the meaning and purpose of baptism.  They also baptize by sprinkling water on the baby’s head instead of immersing the entire body in water.  The Greek word for baptize is baptizo, which means to wet the whole body, including clothing.  The Greek Orthodox Catholic Church uses a Greek Bible, so they understand this, and to this day practice immersion of the entire body, while the rest of the Catholic Church does not.

My parents settled down in the Baptist Church, which many claim has remained the same since the times of the early church.  I do not hold to this belief since the Lord has graciously given me enough light to now understand the REAL meanings of many verses which vary greatly from the way the Baptists interpret them.  Colossians 2:16-17 is a great example, and once you understand what these verses are really saying, you will be in complete disagreement with what an extremely high percentage of current day teachers and preachers teach.  In fact the only ones that would agree would be those that know and honor the actual Sabbath days. 

Just as my parents I found myself attending a Baptist church; that is until I started reading and studying the Word of God on my own on a daily basis.  This led to the simultaneous reading of scripture and various commentaries.  Using this practice I began to see differences in interpretations which led to researching the definitions of the original Greek and Hebrew words. Using this technique I began to find a number of verses said something totally different than what one would interpret them to say when reading them at face value.  This was almost like waking up to a whole new world.  I then began to come across things like the Feasts of the Lord and new moons which lead me back all the way to the very first chapter of Genesis.  It also prompted me to learn more about the Old Testament History of the Israelites and their customs.  The information I was coming across was information never mentioned to me by any of my previous pastors or Sunday school teachers.  Little did I know then the importance of knowing and understanding the Feasts of the Lord.  They are exactly what they say they are, but then again you will never know what they are until you research the words feasts and seasons and discover they have nothing to do with the serving of a lot of food or the time of year it is!  Once you REALLY understand them you know why their importance cannot be overstated.  Once you understand them you realize just how far off the doctrine of almost all Christian denominations is regarding the Rapture of His Saints, the Second Coming of Christ, the 7 year tribulation and the rest of end times prophecy.  But once again, in order to understand this, you have to go back to the Old Testament and the Hebrew people.  

That brings us back to one of the most important preconceptions throughout Christendom which needs to change.  It is the way much of the Christian world views the Hebrew people in relation to the Word of God.  It seems like there is a subtle form of Replacement Theology that has permeated Christendom.  It is not the over the top form as held by Martin Luther who believed all Jews should be slaves because of their rejection of Jesus Christ.  The form that is alive and well today exists because there is a lack of understanding concerning our place in our Lord’s master plan. Time and time again I have heard preachers and teachers mistakenly label Hebrews, Israelites, Jews, and even Gentiles.  Knowing these labels and how they relate to each other is important because once you understand them it should have a significant impact on how you view and interpret the Word of God.  Knowing these relationships will help you better understand the Word of God and improve your relationship with the One who is the Word of God.  This concept is seldom ever considered by the average Christian who reads the Bible through their western or gentile eyes; which in their defense is the only way they have ever known.   This is a large reason why so much of Bible Prophecy is misunderstood by so many that teach and read the Word of God.  It is obvious this has even been overlooked by those that have provided us the newer translations of the Word of God. 

This form of Replacement Theology probably has a lot to do with why a number of churches seldom if ever go back and study the Old Testament.  I attended a church for several years and the number of times an adult Sunday school lesson or the Pastors sermon were out of the Old Testament could be counted on the hand of a person that had two fingers amputated.  Just because our Lord amended the first four Feasts, does not mean you throw out the entire Old Testament as it seems many have done.  In fact, even the dates on which the Old Testament Feasts are celebrated are the exact same days as the New Testament replacements.  Both the Old and New Testaments are still the Word of God and therefore of the greatest importance.  Giving the Old Testament and His chosen people a second grade importance is a very big mistake.  Almost nothing you have read in this book would have been possible without the information one finds in the Old Testament.    

Understanding the importance of the Hebrew people is extremely important when it comes to understanding the Word of God.  Knowing the practices and customs of their culture can make a big difference when it comes to interpreting scripture and knowing how you should apply it to your life.  This is especially true when it comes to uncovering the deeper knowledge; the buried treasure in the Word of God.  You’re now probably wondering: If this is so important, what are some examples that would demonstrate the importance of knowing the history, culture and practices of the people you’re reading about?”

This is a good question and it’s not only important in interpreting scripture, it’s even important in today’s world, now that our liberal leaders have flooded the countries with so many immigrants from different cultures and customs all over the world.  However, it’s especially true if you are traveling to a foreign country.  The world is a big place and you can find yourself looking foolish by visiting a foreign country before learning anything about its culture and customs. 

A good example from my experience would be when my father moved our whole family to Colombia, South America.  The Lord called him to work as a short term assistant for Wycliffe Bible Translators.  While we were there, my father was sent out to one of the Colombian Indian tribes to build a house in the jungle for the missionary that would be translating the Bible into their language.  While he was there, one of the Indians asked my father about his children and if they were tall like him. (Colombian Indians are quite small when compared to Americans.)  My father told them our ages and then demonstrated our height by holding his palm out parallel to the ground at different heights.  When he did this the Indians began to laugh uncontrollably.  My father didn’t understand what was so funny.  The missionary explained to him that when giving the height of an animal the Indians hold their hand out with the palm parallel to the ground.  When giving the height of a person the hand is held out with the palm perpendicular to the ground.  My father was not aware that his hand motions were telling the Indians that his children were all animals.

I have experienced many similar situations because my wife is 100% Filipina.  For this reason I spent many years in the Philippines.  On one of our first shopping excursions in Manila my wife and I were a good distance apart when she found something she wanted me to take a look at.  She called out my name with her voice and when she saw she had my attention she used an arm motion that any American would have interpreted as go away!  Talk about sending mixed messages!  As it turns out the Philippine arm and hand motions for come here and go away are pretty much the opposite of the gestures an American would use.  This is a pretty clear indication of just how important it is to have some cultural information about the place you’re visiting.  Without it you can easily find yourself in situations that leave you confused and bewildered.  You could quite easily end up drawing totally wrong conclusions; which sadly to say is pretty close to what Christendom now possesses when it comes to understanding Bible eschatology.  Many of the things we teach and believe are quite opposite what the Word of God is actually saying because we have not taken the time to get to know the people through whom His Word was made known to us.

However, If Bible eschatology were the only area where our interpretations were so far from the truth, perhaps our Lord would excuse our tunnel vision and choose not to vomit the church of Laodicea out of His mouth.  Unfortunately, this is not the only area we have messed up because we do not take into consideration the family tree of which we are now a part, the tree whose customs and backgrounds we should familiarize ourselves better.

We speak of the Olive tree, which is the symbol of Israel.  Paul states in his letter to the Romans that we, as Christians, are “grafted into” that tree.  If we are to be partakers of the inheritance God promised Abraham, we must be part of that family.  If this is the case, why have we completely discounted and rendered to no avail the Feasts of the Lord?  Why do we consider them to be for Jews only, not realizing the House of Judah are also members of the family to which we belong.  Because of this error, we have ignored the Feasts of the Lord, not realizing they are God’s Master Plan for the world as well as the individual.  Not only have we misinterpreted the events surrounding the Fall Feasts, but we have also made the celebrations of the Spring Feasts say something they do not say.  Then to make things worse, we have taken this misguided interpretation of the uninformed and formed doctrine from it.  This false doctrine has infected almost all of Christendom and is causing nearly all of Christendom to place the traditions of men above the commandments of God.  All of this came into being because we did not give the Words of God in the Old Testament, the same importance as the Words of God we read in the New Testament.  We have not paid close attention to the words He spoke to Israel because we manage to find reasons to think they do not apply to us.  In reality, we can see Christ throughout the Old Testament, and it should also serve as a lesson to prevent us from making the same mistakes that Israel made.

What is this example of a widely accepted false doctrine that came into being because we pay so little attention to the Old Testament and the customs and practices given to His chosen people?  And what does it have to do with the Spring Feasts of the Lord?

Well, hopefully by now, you know that the Spring Feasts of the Lord are all about the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  While many doctrines come from the Spring Feasts of the Lord; not all of them are well-grounded in scripture.  In particular, I’m speaking of the doctrine regarding the Sabbath day.  Please do not take offense at this because the intention is not to offend but to reveal things that our Lord has put right in front of us but have somehow gone ignored.  It is almost a given that 100% of the Sunday preaching ministers and pastors will argue against and not accept what you are about to read because they would be doing their teaching on another day if they did.  So instead of accepting their position or accepting what you are about to read, do the research and decide for yourself!  The truth fears no questions.

Most, but not all of Christendom, recognize Sunday as the first day of the week and honor it as the Lord’s Day.  However, the Jews, as well as the Messianic Jews (Those that believe Christ to be the Messiah) recognize the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath day or Lord’s Day.  The Jews and Messianic Jews honor it because it is the day the Lord blessed and sanctified in Genesis 2:3, and because the 4th commandment is “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it Holy.”  It is also the very first Feast of the Lord given in Leviticus 23, even though it usually is not considered with the others because it is a weekly feast and not a yearly one.

However, Christians honor Sunday as the Lord’s Day because they believe it is the day our Lord arose from the grave and conquered death, which we should both honor and celebrate by making it the Lord’s Day.  So which day is it?  Which doctrine is correct, and how do we determine it?

One has to admit that the Jews and Messianic Jews are on pretty solid ground because you were just given three Scriptures that confirm the Hebrew position.  However, these three portions of Scripture are all in the Old Testament, and much of the New Testament Church believes that Old Testament teaching is just that; old.  They say Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection from the dead on Sunday, the first day of the week, is the most important event in history and thus the day of gathering should be changed to honor the day of the week it took place. 

While the importance they place on the death and resurrection of Christ is correct, on what do they base their belief that his resurrection took place on the first day of the week?  Should not the evidence be very strong and convincing if it is to override what our Lord commanded in the Old Testament?  Shouldn’t this proof be found in the New Testament just as the other side of the argument is found in the Old? 

We know the Sunday Sabbath believers are confident they have enough evidence to support their position, so any evidence used to debunk theirs and convince them otherwise will need to be very strong.  Believe it or not, there is enough information given in the New Testament to know which day it was our Lord victoriously arose from the dead.  We can determine it by using the words our Lord provided; by understanding the Feasts of the Lord; and by applying the Jewish customs and practices of that day.  Our Lord did this in a very cunning way, much like the way He revealed many things in end time’s prophecy.  That in itself gives this evidence credibility the other side of the debate should consider.

First, it should be made clear the segment of time discussed here are the actual non-rehearsal Spring Feasts of the Lord.  These are the real appointed times our Lord fulfilled on the precise days He said He would.  One can verify all these dates and practices in Leviticus 23.  They are the Spring Feasts of the Lord, consisting of the Feast of Passover, (Nissan 14) Feast of Unleavened Bread, (Nissan 15-21) and Feast of Firstfruits. (Celebrated the day after the first 7th day Sabbath following Nissan 15)

In chapter 16 of this book, it was demonstrated to you how our Lord provided us with the itinerary for each of the fifteen days of the soon to be “Fall Feasts of the Lord.”  He provided us with all the information needed so no one can stand before Him and say, “You never told me,” even though almost all of Christendom is not aware of this. Well, He did the very same thing for the Spring Feasts, but few in the European and Western churches have ever searched this out.  It’s another example of just how many instances there are where we never question the things our teachers teach, even when there are distinct contradictions between what they tell us and the words that we read.  The Spring Feasts of the Lord are an excellent example of this.  Everything needed for us to know the truth is there, but it’s far easier to believe what someone tells us than to take the time to research and find out for ourselves.

I am guilty of this laziness myself because I attended a church that held a Good Friday service every year.  It is common teaching throughout Christendom the crucifixion of Jesus Christ took place on Friday at approximately 9 A.M.  It is also commonly taught Christ died around 3 P.M. on Friday.  He was in the grave for three days and rose from the dead very early Sunday morning before it was light.  Did you see anything wrong with what you just read?

I plead guilty to this also because I can remember a time long ago wondering as I listened to a sermon: how is it that the time span from 3 P.M. on Friday to 4 or 5 A.M. on Sunday can be considered to be 3 days?  Friday is a day, Saturday is a day, and Sunday is a day; but from 3 P.M. on Friday to 4 A.M. on Sunday morning is more like 37 hours.  That is just barely half the amount of time He told us He would spend in the heart of the Earth.  This alone should be enough to cause alarm bells to start ringing and cause one to realize there is something more to this.

Matthew 12:40 (KJV)
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

I don’t know how you interpret this, but most people would say three days and three nights is a very robust way of saying 72 hours.  It does not mean three days and two nights or three days and four nights.  It says three days and three nights, with 3 being the number of completeness.  Our Lord says what He means, and He means what He says.  Some scholars argue the people of that time used different criteria and kept time differently than we do today, and that is the reason for the difference.  While it may be true their method of timekeeping was different, I would argue that the very reason why Christ specifically said “three days and three nights” is for the very reason just stated.  The Hebrew day starts at Sundown, which is the time our night begins.   Christ was well aware of this even before He went to the cross.  To eliminate any confusion there might be in the future, our Lord was precise in breaking it up into days and nights. If He would have only said three days, one could argue that the small portion of both Friday and Sunday, combined with the Saturday He was in the tomb, could amount to three days.  But because He includes three nights, it gives the interpretation of time here very little wiggle room. Anyone that sat down and studied this would not be able to account for three nights from Friday night to very early Sunday morning.  In this situation, one can only acknowledge Friday and Saturday night.

I would hope by this point in the book; you would have noticed just how precise our Lord is when it comes to informing us of the things to come.  I know some will read this and be thinking, “What difference does it make?  You are nitpicking and completely missing the point.  It doesn’t matter how long He was in the grave or how long it was before He arose from the dead, or even what day He arose from the dead, it only matters that He did!”

I will concede that His resurrection is of the utmost importance, but I will not admit that the rest does not matter.  First of all, the only reason why most of Christendom honors Sunday as the Sabbath day is based entirely on the claim that Sunday is the day Christ arose from the dead.  There are several verses in the New Testament they have to interpret incorrectly to allow for this error.  By the mistaken interpretation of these verses and making some portions of the Word of God more important than others, we have blinded ourselves too much of the meat and treasures in the Word of God.  We have gone so far as to change the Sabbath that was sanctified by God, to Sunday, which was the day appointed by heathens to worship the Sun.  To justify this, we have misinterpreted other verses to say something they do not say, which in turn keeps us from knowing and understanding the Feasts of the Lord.  While it may seem like splitting hairs to some, the truth is that by getting the Sabbath wrong, we are straying further and further away from the truth.  We have managed to blind ourselves to the Feasts of the Lord to the point that we universally proclaim that nobody can know the day of the Rapture, even though the Feasts of the Lord make the month and day entirely clear.  So when all is said and done, getting the days right is of utmost importance.  If Sunday is not the appointed day to gather, then those who worship on Sunday are guilty of that which Christ warned the Pharisees and scribes about:

Mark 7:8a (KJV)
For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.   

If today’s Christian understood the Feasts of the Lord, there would be no reason to discuss any of this; there would be no Sabbath / Sunday debate.  These Feasts are appointed times which makes them unique and a little easier to prove.  Our Lord thoroughly planned these events and gave us plenty of information regarding them, so what you are about to read is difficult to debate.  That will not stop some from trying, but the proof is authentic no matter how dead set against it your mind is because of the repetitive programming it has received.

The reason why there can even be a debate regarding what day our Lord arose from the dead comes from the many misconceptions Christendom has devised because they don’t understand the Feasts of the Lord.  It comes from the Gentile school of thought that connects Saturday to the Sabbath day.  While it is true that the 7th day even on the Gregorian calendar, is Saturday the 7th day as well as the Sabbath day, it is not the only Sabbath day in the Word of God.  If one were familiar with the Feasts of the Lord, one would know that His Feasts have Sabbath days where no servile work is allowed that are not 7th day or Saturday Sabbaths.  These Sabbath days may occur on any day of the week, and just like the 7th day Sabbaths, there is no servile work allowed on these days.  These Sabbaths have a unique name in the Hebrew tongue as well as in the King James Bible.  They call them High Sabbaths because they were commanded by God to be Sabbaths in addition to the regular Sabbaths.  The lack of knowledge regarding these days is where we make a huge mistake.

Mark 15:42 (KJV)
And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath.

The preparation is the name given to the day before a Sabbath day because there was no buying and selling allowed on Sabbath days.  Most everything that needed doing needed to be done by Friday evening because that’s when the Sabbath would start.  Thus Friday was the time to prepare for the Sabbath.  They also called the day before a High Sabbath “the preparation” because they were treated exactly like the regular 7th day Sabbaths.  Keep in mind there were no fast food joints, convenience stores, supermarkets, or Samsung refrigerators back then, so buying and preparing meals took much longer to plan and prepare, and they had to do these things more often.

The day before the Sabbath in this verse is not speaking of Friday, the day before the Saturday Sabbath.  It is speaking of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is a seven day Feast (appointed time of the Lord) during which time they were only allowed to eat unleavened bread.  The 1st day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is always the day immediately following the Feast of Passover as laid out in the Feasts of the Lord.  That is a fact, and there can be no argument about it.  The 1st and 7th days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread are High Sabbath days in which there is no servile work allowed.  The Bible comes right out and tells us this, but because Christendom pays so little attention to the Feasts of the Lord and because Hebrew practices and traditions are of no real concern, we miss this small detail, which results in a colossal error.  John is the one that reported it, so there can be no mistake about it.

John 19:31 (KJV)
The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

The “High Sabbath” is the REAL reason why Joseph of Arimathaea only had time to buy a linen cloth in which to wrap Christ’s body after taking Him down from the cross.  It is why a tomb close to the crucifixion site was almost a necessity because there was more to do, then there was time to do it.  Everything had to be done before evening when one could see three stars in the sky,  because that is how the start of a Hebrew day was determined, and this is when the Feast of Unleavened Bread would officially begin.  Because all of this happened so quickly and without warning, it gave Joseph of Arimathaea only a few hours to:

  • Find Pontius Pilate and obtain permission to see him
  • Convince him that he should be allowed to take possession of the body.  That probably would have consumed more than just a little bit of time because it was highly irregular for the Roman Authority to release a corpse to anyone other than family, let alone the body of a condemned criminal convicted of high treason.
  • Go to the market place and find a merchant to purchase the linen cloth.
  • Go back to the crucifixion site and take the body down from the cross.
  • Wrap the body in a linen cloth
  • Take it to the tomb.
  • Roll a stone into place and have the tomb sealed.  (This probably required extra help)
  • Joseph needed to finish all this before the start of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,” or be in violation of the law.

Mark 15:46-47 (KJV)
46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. 47 And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid.

The Crucifixion of our Lord happened so fast it caught everyone off guard.  He ate the Passover supper with His disciples the previous evening, and by 9 A.M. the next morning He was on the cross.  When Joseph of Arimathaea took the body down from the cross, the two Mary’s followed him to see where His resting place would be.   They did this so they would know where to bring the spices they needed to buy and prepare to anoint His body according to Jewish customs.  They couldn’t do it the following day because that Thursday, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is a High Sabbath day.  They would have to wait until Friday to both buy and prepare these ointments.  Friday would also be a day of preparation because the Feast of Firstfruits would take place on Sunday, and they could not do any preparation on Saturday the 7th day Sabbath.  Because the preparation of these spices took a great deal of time and because they also needed to prepare for the Feast of Firstfruits, they were not able to go to the tomb on Friday, and the next day was another Sabbath day.  That tells us why they went to the tomb very early on the first day (Sunday) while it was yet dark.  They went as soon as they were able to because they believed that with each passing hour, the body would be decaying further.

While researching many of the more popular Bible translations, it is quite apparent that those doing the translating were not aware of the meaning of a High Sabbath.  A few of them referred to it as a great Sabbath, while others just called it an important Sabbath.  Some of them left it as a High Sabbath, as in the King James, without making any further clarifications.

It’s when you research the many Bible commentaries available today that you really get a feel for just how uninformed Christendom is regarding the Feasts of the Lord.  Most of the commentaries researched completely ignored the phrase “for that Sabbath day was an high day.”  Most of the ones that do not ignore it use it to be undeniable proof that our Lord was indeed crucified on Friday, in the tomb on Saturday, and resurrected early Sunday morning.  Does this not demonstrate a complete misunderstanding of the Feasts of the Lord, which tell us a Sabbath day always follows the Feast of Passover no matter what day of the week it happens to fall on.  It is undeniable proof that it did not happen that way.  If this is not a “can’t see the forest for the trees” scenario, what is?  Just add this to the growing list of things Christendom is unaware of because we only use our Gentile eyes.  We are not willing to look at Scripture through the eyes of those to whom our Lord gave it. It’s much easier just to read or listen to what someone else tells us than it is to ask questions or get out the dictionary to find out what the verse means.

The printing press was invented in 1453, making books and information much more obtainable for the masses.  How is it that we could go hundreds of years with people reading and studying their Bibles, and yet have so few that are aware of the High Sabbaths?  One would think that in that amount of time, this error would have been corrected by now.

While we are on the subject, there is one more question we need to deal with regarding the Sabbaths.  The Church of Laodicea (Church of today) has not even considered this.  All of the Sabbath Days are Feasts of the Lord, as defined by Leviticus 23:2, which means we should include the 7th Day Sabbaths in with the High Sabbaths.  Our Lord commanded the House of Israel as well as the House of Judah to keep these Feasts forever.  If we as Christians are grafted into the Olive tree (House of Israel) as Paul states, why are we not still keeping these Feasts?  Paul’s writings tell us that He kept them, so why aren’t we?  At the risk of sounding ridiculous, when exactly was it that forever ended?  I fear I may have missed it!

Determining the Date of the Resurrection

During the Spring Feasts of the Lord that take place in the month of Nisan there are actually four appointed times.   Three of them are paid little attention by much of Christendom, but they allow us to correctly determine when the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred. The first of these is not recognized as an actual Feast of the Lord, but it is a specific time that was appointed by our Lord.  It gives us a starting point which helps determine how many days we are actually looking at.  It is the time the Israelites were commanded to take in the Passover lamb, and the amount of time they were to hold and examine it before killing and preparing it for the Feast of Passover.

Exodus 12:3 (KJV)  
Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month (Nisan) they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house.

The lamb had to be selected and taken into the house on the 10th of Nisan.  This is the hard starting point of Passover week during which time they were to clean house by removing all leaven (yeast which represents sin) from the home.  They were also to use this time to inspect the lamb.  This gives us the first date which is immovable and cannot be changed.  It is always to be done on the tenth of Nisan.

Exodus 12:6 (KJV)
And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (Feast of Passover)

They were to inspect the lamb for blemishes for four days, after which time they would kill it on the evening of the 14th day.  During this time, the members of the household got to know the lamb, making the relationship between them and the lamb of a more personal nature.

Leviticus 23:6-7 (KJV)
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. 7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

This verse names the High Sabbath day we explained earlier.  It is why Joseph of Arimathaea had so little time to get the body to the tomb and prepare it for burial.  The Israelites were not ever supposed to leave an executed body hang on a tree overnight regardless of the day, as this was one of God’s commandments in the Old Testament.  However, it was especially important this not be done on a day before a Sabbath day because the body then would have to remain for an additional day.  It would not be lawful to take it down on a Sabbath day.  Our Lord informed us that this was a High Sabbath not because this situation would be made worse by it being so, but rather so we could know this did not take place on the 7th day Sabbath.  Because of this, we know our Lord was in the heart of the Earth just before the Feast of Unleavened Bread began.  That means the 72-hour clock at the latest would have started ticking around 6 to 7 P.M. on Nisan 14.  Since the 15th day of the month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, we now have an accounting for Nisan 10-15.  That gives us six days, which are in order and accounted for during the Spring Feast of the Lord.

Believe it or not, we now have enough information to rule out any possibility that He arose from the dead on Sunday.  We can do this in two different ways by using simple logic.  If He died on the 14th of Nisan around 3 P.M., which means by adding 72 hours onto it, He would have arisen from the dead around 3 P.M. on Nisan 17.  Even if you start the clock from the time He was in the tomb, which some might interpret as being in the “heart of the Earth, it will place His resurrection at sometime around 6 to 7 P.M. on Nisan 17.  We can rule out a Sunday resurrection because several verses say the two Mary’s went to the tomb very early on the first day while it was yet dark, and He was not there.  If Nisan 17 were the first day of the week which is our Sunday, then by His own words, He would have still been in the tomb because He would have risen from the dead that day sometime between 3 and 7 P.M.  The two Mary’s were there long before 3 P.M.

If on the other hand, we push the crucifixion day from Wednesday to Friday, then the time of the resurrection would have been somewhere between 3 and 7 P.M. on Monday.  The only way a Sunday resurrection will work is if you place our Lord in the heart of the earth for more than three days and three nights or less than three days and three nights.  For our Lord to have risen from the grave on Sunday, he would have had to have been in the tomb on Thursday evening. That means Friday would have been a Sabbath followed by the 7th day Sabbath, and he still would not have risen until Sunday when there was daylight because from Thursday evening to Sunday before it was light is only three nights and two days.  Besides, if there were two Sabbaths in a row, Mary would have had no time to buy and make the spices for his burial until daylight on Sunday morning.  Because of the time it would have taken to purchase and prepare, there is no way she could have been at the tomb before it was light on Sunday.

Matthew 28:1 (KJV)
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

Luke 24:1 (KJV)
Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.

John 20:1 (KJV)
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

Notice that all of these verses have one common theme.  They arrived at the tomb very early in the morning only to find that He was already gone.  The stone was no longer blocking the entrance. He had already risen from the dead, rolled up the burial cloths, and left the tomb.

If we only take Him at His Word, we know He rose from the dead sometime between 3 and 7 P.M.  Anything less or more would not be three days and three nights.  Jesus himself said, “Are there not twelve hours in a day?”  Using this information, we can calculate backward to determine which day of the week they crucified our Lord.  Since we now know they went to the tomb on Sunday the first day of the week and He was gone, He must have arisen from the dead the day before, which would make it Nisan 17 the Sabbath day.  Counting back 72 hours from the Saturday Sabbath 3 days would take us back to Wednesday, Nissan 14.  There are no other possibilities because our Lord has given us enough information to determine this beyond a shadow of a doubt.  Using this information, we should be able to determine what year the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord took place.  The calculations displayed in the following graph are from the website www.timeanddate.com.  They may also verify them at https://www.hebcal.com/converter/.  Both of these sources use different algorithms to determine the outcomes of the inquiries.  In this case, they both agree on the year and day of the week each Nissan 14 falls on, but on the Gregorian calendar, the date of the Wednesday the Feast of Passover takes place numerically differs by two days. (on the Gregorian calendar) For the year 0030, timeanddate.com shows the Feast of Passover takes place on Wednesday, April 5th, while Hebcal.com shows the Feast of Passover taking place on Wednesday, April 3rd.  

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The Gregorian date is of little consequence as it is the day of the week that really matters in our search.  Nisan 10, the day they take the lamb in, is always Nisan 10, and the Passover is always Nisan 14.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread is always Nisan 15, but the Feast of Firstfruits will vary because it is the Sunday that follows the Sabbath day after the first day (High Sabbath) of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  On the graph above is the calendar layout for the Feast of Passover from 28 A.D. to the year 33 A.D. As you can see, 30 A.D. is the only feasible year in the timeline where the Passover fell on a Wednesday.

We can find a second witness to this in the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9.  In chapter 9 of this book, we demonstrated that if you use the starting year defined by Daniel as -457 B.C. and add 490 years to it, the answer is 33 A.D. which is the date many claim to be the year of Christ’s crucifixion.  Because the Feast of Passover falls on a Friday that year, they use it as proof that He arose from the grave on Sunday.  There are significant problems with this calculation and conclusion because they lack a few details.

  • First, when going from B.C. to A.D., you have to add one year to your calculation because the “0” year was left out when this system of keeping time was adopted.  That changes the answer from 33 A.D. to 34 A.D.  (Which is the year stated in chapter 12 of this book.)
  • Second, 34 is the answer when adding the full 490 + 1 to the year -457 B.C.  However, this prophecy states that the Messiah will cause the sacrifice to stop in the middle of the last week, which is referring to the time of Christ’s crucifixion.  Therefore you must subtract 3½ years from 34 A.D., which places you pretty close to the middle of 30 A.D.  Because the Hebrew year begins in the month of Tishri, the seventh month, which puts us right on target since Nisan 14 is 6½ months earlier. (Depending on what Hebrew year you are in.)

We can find a third witness to the crucifixion of our Lord taking place on a Wednesday in this same portion of scripture.  Those who interpret Daniels’s 70 weeks differently may differ with this, but this interpretation makes complete sense and fits the timeline it predicted.

Daniel 9:27 (KJV)
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

As we mentioned in the chapter regarding Daniels 70 Weeks, this verse is speaking of the week that many people claim is missing, so the last week is somehow placed at the end of time and becomes the last seven years of tribulation.  However, as this verse tells us, this is the week in which they crucified our Lord.  We know this because it states in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.   That can only be speaking of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which caused the sacrifice to stop.  The sacrifice of the Son of God was the sacrifice to end all sacrifices.

It says this took place in the midst of the week, which gives us the precise timing of His crucifixion.  In prophecy this would be speaking of a seven-year week, and in the midst of the week would be referring to the 3½ year mark of His seven-year ministry.  However, the timing of His crucifixion would remain valid even if we are speaking of a literal seven day week.  The first day of the week is Sunday and the last day is Saturday, also called the Sabbath.  “In the midst” means “in the middle,” which would be speaking of Wednesday.

We can break this down even further if we consider the six hours He spent on the cross.  If we use the current 24-hour day beginning at midnight, there are 168 hours in a week.  That would make the 84th hour to be the exact middle of the week, which would be 12 P.M. or high noon on Wednesday.  If He went to the cross at 9 A.M. and died at 3 P.M., you cannot get any more “middle of the week” than that.  The wording of this verse remains true if you assign it a literal or figurative interpretation.

The dates on which each of the events of the Spring Feasts took place are given even further credibility by the parallels we can draw between Jesus Christ the Lamb of God and each of the events which take place during the New Testament Spring Feasts.  Keep in mind the New Covenant Spring Feasts of the Lord took place on the same calendar dates and in the same manner as the original Spring Feasts given in Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23.  Just as Revelation reveals each day of the Fall Feasts of the Lord, so do the first four books of the New Testament that provide us with an accounting of the Spring Feasts of the Lord.

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There is yet another reason revealed in the above chart as to why our Lord did not rise from the dead on a Sunday.  As the chart indicates, Nisan 18 is a separate Feast of the Lord known as the Feast of Firstfruits.  It has a specific purpose and therefore given a specific day.  As was demonstrated earlier, the Feast of Trumpets is a two-day feast that has a dual purpose, one day for each purpose. The first day is the Rapture of His saints and the second day being the Day of the Lord.

The Feast of Firstfruits always falls on a Sunday.  Israel was an agricultural nation, and on this day, a small sample of the crop (barley) was taken from several different fields and combined into a sheaf.  The priest would then take this sheaf and wave it before the Lord.  He waved it to the east, west, north, and south.  The waving of this one sheaf sanctified all the rest of the harvest.  None of the harvests were allowed to be touched until after the priest waved the sheaf before God. That is why our Lord said this to Mary when He first saw her after His resurrection:

John 20:17 (KJV)
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

This verse cannot be speaking about his ascension after 40 days, because He met with His disciples long before then and asked Thomas to touch Him.  That is clear evidence that Christ ascended to the father and returned before anyone was allowed to touch him.  This feast day pictures Christ as the Firstfruits sheaf, and it is thru Him that the rest of the harvest is sanctified.

Once you understand the Feast of the Lord, it will give many verses in the Word of God a new interpretation and new meaning.  It will allow you to know why some things can be and why some cannot be.  It will help you to understand just how far we have strayed from the Word of God in our current day teachings and beliefs.

As we look back through the chapters we have covered, several things should be apparent.  The Word of God centers on Jesus Christ, and our Lord is devoted to His chosen people.  Matthew 15:24 (KJV) “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  The landmass involved is mainly the Promised Land, the land our Lord promised to Abraham and his descendants.  It is also the place where the Holy One of Israel chose to put His name.  The Old Testament was written through and to His chosen people.  It was to serve as a guide for them and from it came much of the Hebrew customs and culture.

Understanding the customs and culture of all those included in the Scriptures will often help shed new light on how you interpret what the Word of God says. An excellent example of this would be asking a Christian of today what a new moon is.  More than likely, they probably don’t even know what it is even though it is mentioned numerous times in both the Old and New Testaments.  A more educated Christian will probably say it’s the beginning of a new monthly moon cycle.  The percentage of those that would tie it to the Feast of Trumpets would be extremely low, but if you were to ask any spiritually minded Jew, he would make this connection.  Once again, I don’t ever recall a single sermon or Sunday school lesson that ever explained or even mentioned the new moon.  There is a world of difference between not knowing what a new moon is; knowing it to be the start of another lunar cycle; and knowing it to be the Feast of Trumpets, the start of a new year on the Hebrew calendar, and the Feast that represents the Rapture of the saints.  Are you able or at least beginning to see how any given verse or portion of Scripture can have so many different interpretations and why there are so many denominations?

To get it right, you must go back to the basics.  Anyone that has spent any time at all in the world of sports knows that in every sport there are simple basics you must get right before you can hope to be successful.  It’s much the same here; to understand the Word of God, you must first get the basics right.  You have probably heard people repeat time and again, “you must get the context right” or “you are taking it out of context.”  Are not we taking a good portion of the Word of God out of context when we do not understand or take into consideration the cultural history and background of those to whom it was given?  Interpreting Scripture without knowing background is like reading a book to the halfway point and believing you know the whole story. Actually, that’s not a very good analogy because you would know much more about a regular book if you read it halfway through than you would know if you tried it with the Word of God.  That is why it’s essential we quit reading the Word of God through our western eyes and begin reading it through the eyes of those to whom it was given.  To research the meaning of key Hebrew words and to learn of the pertinent customs and culture will take a little time and effort, but it will lead to a better understanding of the Word of God and what can be better than that!

Once we have accomplished this, perhaps we could stop acting as though the Olive Tree was grafted into us, and start conducting ourselves like we were grafted into the Olive Tree. (Israel)  Maybe then we would realize the place and importance of God’s chosen people and recognize that we are the ones adopted into the family of God, of which Abraham and his descendants are the principal heirs.  After all, if we are the ones adopted into the family of Abraham, shouldn’t we know something about the family?  In fact, shouldn’t we know a great deal about the family if we are supposed to have a part in it?  One would think so, and yet it seems that many do not grasp even the most elementary knowledge when it comes to who the earliest patriarchs were.

Abraham was a Hebrew; he was not a Jew, but many Christians do not understand this simple fact.  Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, became the first Israelite when God changed his name to Israel.  Jacob’s 12 sons made up the nation of ancient Israel, making them Israelites.  There were no Jews until the birth of Judah.  A Jew is, by definition, an Israelite because he is a descendant of Judah, who was the son of Israel, but not all Israelites are Jews.  It is essential to know the correct designations and understand their history, culture, and religious practices because they are God’s chosen people.  Knowing and understanding their traditions, culture, and history should have a tremendous impact on how you understand the Word of God.  What you have read in this book is proof of how far off course we are in many of our beliefs because we have failed to do this.

One Last Thing to Consider 

Zechariah 8:23 (KJV)
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

The eighth chapter of Zechariah is a prophecy concerning what will take place during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.  In the verses just preceding this, it speaks of the feasts of the 4th, 5th, 7th, and 10th months, and the people of many strong nations coming to see and pray before the Lord.  It says these fasts will be cheerful feasts as in the Feasts of the Lord.  The word used for feasts here is môʿēd meaning these feasts are meeting or gathering times appointed by the Lord, making them Feasts of the Lord.

Why are there ten men?  It is obvious this verse is not speaking of only ten men because immediately after this it states, “shall take hold out of all languages of the nations.”  There are many, many more than ten languages.  Neither is it speaking of exactly ten men from every language.  Just as Mathew 25:1 speaks of ten virgins, Zechariah 8:23 speaks of ten men.  Just as the number ten speaks of testing or trials, which are temporary difficulties you need to overcome, so the same may be interpreted here.  In other words, there is something to be learned and performed here where one will either reap the rewards for learning or suffer the consequences of not.

The verse goes on to say these ten men “Shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew:” There are a few things we need to determine to understand this portion of the verse.  First, we need to connect this with the proper portion of scripture that reveals to us what is special about the skirt of him that is a Jew.  Secondly, we need to know the definition of a skirt, which should help us to understand what it means by taking hold of a skirt of him that is a Jew.  Here is the portion of scripture that should help us connect the skirt of him that is a Jew to the meaning we seek.

To put this scripture in proper context it should be known that this commandment of God came immediately after a man was stoned to death for gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.

Numbers 15:37-41 (KJV)
37 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.

Even though the word “skirt” does not appear in these verses, the Hebrew word “kanaph” does.  The word for “borders” here is translated from “kanaph.” As you learned earlier, the Hebrew word “kanaph” can also be translated “skirt and wing.” According to Webster’s 1913 English Dictionary, a “skirt” is the “border; edge; margin; extreme part of anything.”

Another important word we need to understand here is the Hebrew word for “fringes,” because it is something completely different than what someone reading this through western eyes would understand.  The Hebrew word used here is “ṣîShawlṣit,” and it is better translated to the word “tassel.”

The word for garment here means “covering,” but it does not refer to one’s clothing.  It refers to the covering used by the Israelites in the wilderness after they fled Egypt, which in current-day understanding would refer to a “prayer shawl.”  This shawl came into being because the portable tabernacle Israel built after fleeing Egypt was not large enough to hold the hundreds of thousands of Israelites that left Egypt, so the majority of Israelites would do their singing and worshiping privately by pulling their covering (shawl) over their head.  The Hebrew word for this covering or prayer shawl is “talith.”  Talith comes from two Hebrew words, “Tal” meaning tent, and “Ith” meaning little.

It was on the border (skirt or wing) of these shawls that God commanded them to put these tassels (fringes), which were to be made up of a ribbon of blue.   The border of an official prayer shawl today is made up of 8 threads of white and one thread (ribbon) of blue.  I say “official” because I can’t think of a better word and because many of the shawls today have tassels using many other colors.

The purpose of this fringe or border was to remind the Israelites when they looked upon it to “remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes” and to “be holy unto your God.”   In a figurative sense, this would help to heal Israel because it was a constant reminder to them to remember God and His commandments.  If they remembered to do this it would help them to not repeat past mistakes and keep them in good standing with the Lord.  This also ties in with Malachi 4:4.

Malachi 4:4 (KJV)
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.  

This passage serves the same purpose as the tassels on the prayer shawl but in a more direct and literal manner.

In the previous chapter, The REAL Warning to the Church of Laodicea, we explained that the Church at Colosse was a church whose congregation consisted of both Jews and Gentiles.  In Colossians 2:16 Paul said, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days.”  He said this because the church at Colosse was observing these Feasts of the Lord.  Both Jews and Gentiles were judging the members of this church.  The Jews by other Jews because Jews were not to mix with Gentiles.  The Gentile members judged because it was unthinkable that Gentiles would observe what they considered to be Jewish Feasts.

Very few, if any of the Christian denominations of today honor the Feasts of the Lord.  I say Very few, if any because I only know of one that does, and I am in no way familiar with all of the 41,000 denominations.  What I do know from my experience is the only Feast of the Lord ever discussed was in elementary grade Sunday school.  It was the story of the first Passover, but the true meaning of the Feasts of the Lord was neither talked about nor understood by anyone I am aware of in all my church experience.  The importance of them never really occurred to me until I started studying prophecy and I was questioning a Jewish man about them.  After the third time I referred to them as Jewish Feasts, he lost his cool and sternly told me, “they are not Jewish Feasts; they are Feasts of the Lord.”  His anger, along with the obvious difference between something of the Jews and something of the Lord, made me realize there is a big difference here I needed to research more.

This prophecy of Zechariah 8:23, in a way, is already coming to pass.  It’s called the Hebrew Roots Movement.  This movement advocates the return and adherence to the first-century walk of faith and obedience to the Torah by seeking a better understanding of the culture, history, and practices that led to the breakup of these early churches when the Jewish and Christian communities separated.  I am in no way trying to endorse this because, like any movement, some take things too far.  Torah means law, and if there is one thing the New Testament makes clear it is that we are saved by grace through faith and by the works of the law, no man is justified.

However, just as the last several verses of Zechariah point out, there will be Feasts of the Lord observed during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.  Leviticus 23 states after the Feast of Firstfruits, Feast of Pentecost, and Feast of Atonement that “it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.”  The last several verses in the book of Zechariah explain that during the Millennial Reign of Christ, all the nations that went up against Jerusalem will come and observe the Feast of Tabernacles.  If they do not, those nations not attending will receive no rain.  (Rain can be literal, but in the figurative it is blessings)

Those who are saved have in the figurative sense already completed the Feasts of the Lord, even though the chances are quite high that most of Christendom are not aware of what that means.  There was only one church on the Day of Pentecost, and there will only be one church on the night of the Rapture.

I sincerely pray and hope the things you have read in this book will be of help to you in your understanding of end times Bible prophecy.  Please take the time and do the research.  If there is anything in this world that I am sure of, it is this; there is not much time left to get your house in order.  Those that are telling us we only have 10 to 12 years to solve the global warming problem are not wrong about global warming, but they are wrong about the years.  Even if the interpretations you read in this book were wrong, there is no way our Lord’s return will not occur very soon!

When I say those that have warned us about Global Warming are not wrong, I mean that it could very well be global warming that kills them; and it will be warming that is caused by man.  It will be brought on by the Godless adulterers who have tried to eliminate God from every facet of their lives.  The ones who believe there is no God, and you should not be able to believe in Him either.  The ones who think they know everything when they understand nothing.  Yes, there will be Global Warming, but it will not be the carbon in the atmosphere that causes it.  It will be the Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, as portrayed in Revelation 18.  Isn’t it ironic how even the lost have a sense of what’s coming, even though they don’t understand it?

Revelation 18:1 (KJV)
And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.  

Revelation 22:20b-21 (KJV)
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.  21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

         The Sign of the Son of Man &

The Appointed Time of Christ’s Return

                    CONTENTS

Book Introduction (Read for more info contained in the book)

    1. The REAL 4th Kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream  (Daniel 2)
    2. The REAL King of Babylon  (Isaiah 14)
    3. The REAL Key to Deciphering Time Prophecy
    4. The REAL Secret Prophecy of Daniel 4
    5. The REAL Beast of Revelation 13
    6. The REAL 8th Beast of Revelation 17
    7. The REAL 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse  (Revelation 6)
    8. The REAL First 4 Trumpets of Revelation 8
    9. The REAL 4 Angels of Revelation 9 And the Plague of Islam
    10. The REAL Woman, Dragon and Flood of Revelation 12
    11. The REAL 2 Witnesses of Revelation 11
    12. The REAL 70 Weeks of Daniel 9
    13. The FEASTS OF THE LORD; The Appointed Time of Christ’s Return
    14. The REAL Appointed Year of Our Lords Return as Revealed in Daniel 12
    15. The REAL Sign of the Son of Man; and Signs of the End (Matthew 24)
    16. The REAL Parable of the 10 Virgins (Matthew 25)
    17. The Fall Feast Days as Revealed in the Book of Revelation  (Revelation 6,7,8,11)
    18. The REAL Warning to the Church of Laodicea; the Church of Today  (Revelation 3)
    19. Closing Thoughts & the REAL Day of the Resurrection of Our Lord
    20. Ready You Ain’t, Even if You’re a Saint  Not Part of Book 
    21. Main Page: The Appointed Time of Christ Return