In today's teaching we look at how Jesus fulfills the holiday Day of Atonement as the scapegoat who takes away the sins of the world. 

Additionally, there is an interesting comment in the Jewish writings - the Talmud - about something which took place "forty years before the destruction of the Temple" in Jerusalem - around 30 AD.  

Free: Our Daily Bread, Discovery Series (download PDF): "The Holiday's of God: Spring Feasts"

​Free: Our Daily Bread Discovery Series (download PDF): "The Holiday's of God: Fall Feasts"

Books: 

"The Feasts of the Lord" - Howard & Rosenthal

In this teaching we are reviewing the Biblical holiday system that God established in Leviticus 23. Often referred to as God's Appointed Feasts.

We are going to take a closer look at an aspect of the 4th holiday - Feast of Weeks.  In Hebrew the holiday is called Shavuot which is the Hebrew word for 'weeks.' God says in Leviticus 23:

"you are to count off seven full ​weeks" Lev. 23:15

The very next sentence then says:

"You shall count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath" Lev. 23:26

"Fifty days" in Greek is Pentecost. 

Many Christians believe that Pentecost is only a Christian holiday because we find the Greek translation in Acts 2. Not true. The holiday was started with Moses and continues on till today in Jewish synagogues around the world under the Hebrew name Shavuot.

The Jewish custom is to celebrate God delivering his Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai on Shavuot. 

Today's teaching will compare Moses and God's Torah with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. 

Free: Our Daily Bread, Discovery Series (download PDF): "The Holiday's of God: Spring Feasts"

​Free: Our Daily Bread Discovery Series (download PDF): "The Holiday's of God: Fall Feasts"

Books: 

"God's Day Timer" - Mark Blitz

"God's Appointed Times" - Rabbi Barney Kasden

"The Feasts of the Lord" - Howard & Rosenthal

​

In this final video on the idea of Covenant, we'll look at the use of covenant language in an ancient Near East marriage proposal. 

Throughout Israel's history, they have viewed the events at Mount Sinai after the Exodus from Egypt as a "wedding" between them and God. God, of course, is the Bridegroom and Israel is the Bride. The metaphor for the covenant relationship established between the people and God is that of a marriage. 

This symbolism is carried throughout the Hebrew bible and right through the New Testament as the early Jewish disciples are describing the new covenant relationship between their community and Jesus as the Messiah. Hence, in the Book of Revelation, John describes the church community as the 'bride of Christ.' 

Additionally, as we will see in this video, Jesus uses the cultural language for a marriage proposal during the final Passover meal with his disciples. This language comes from the Mount Sinai covenant story in Exodus (Ex. 24:8). Jesus uses the metaphor of a marriage proposal and the Bridegroom going back to the 'father's house' to prepare a new room for his bride. The disciples would understand that one day, when all was prepared, the bridegroom would return to get them and the marriage would be complete.  

When you engage in the sacrament of communion and raise the cup of wine to your lips, you are, in cultural language, saying to Jesus, "I do." And once you commit to that relationship, you must remain faithful. 

In this lesson we look at symbolism used during the covenant with Noah and then some issues surrounding covenant language. 

After God destroys the earth with a flood he makes a covenant of peace with Noah which he says "I will not destroy the earth again with a flood." Then, God memorializes this covenant with a sign which will remind people for all time of his promise. In this video we take a closer look at the symbolism from the view point of the ancient Near East culture. 

Finally, we look at the language Jesus used during his final Passover meal with his disciples. Jesus inserts language used in Exodus as the people are ratifying the covenant with God. Using the imagery of covenant ratification we can look deeper into the sacrament of communion to see that we too, are once again, ratifying the covenant to say "We will obey!!"  

In this teaching we take a closer look at the covenant ratification ceremony between God and Abraham. 

The story is told in Genesis 15 and is full of symbolism. 

For many Christians - since we do not understand the symbolism of the story - we miss the deep meaning of the ceremony. 

​Covenants are woven into the fabric of the ancient Near Eastern culture where the Biblical stories take place.

The Bible as a whole is structured around covenants and covenant mediators: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus. 

Covenants are a legal mechanism to create a relationship where one did not exist previously. God then uses the cultural concept of covenant to communicate his relationship with his people.

Given the prominence of covenants in the scripture, it is quite helpful for Christians to understand the basics.

​The concept of a covenant will help you to deepen your understanding of the Bible.

For further study on this subject an excellent starting point is the book
​​The Epic of Eden by Dr. Sandra L. Richter. This book is very accessible to non-scholars and provides a solid foundation of the structure of the text. 

God establishes a system of seven holidays - appointed feasts - which are all outlined in Leviticus 23. 

Understanding the depths of these holidays - and how Jesus fulfills them - is a goldmine for Christians. 

With the Passover holiday approaching, we decided to do a review of all of the holidays, and how the writers of the New Testament weave them into the biblical text. 

See the files below help with the information: 

If you are not familiar with God's Holidays - which we review in this video - a great resource is from RBC Ministries: Discovery Series which are linked here:

The Holidays of God: Spring Feasts which cover Passover, Unleavened Bread, and the Festival of Weeks

The Holidays of God: Fall Feasts which covers the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), Day of Atonement, and the Festival of Tabernacles. ​

This video is part 2 of a two part series. 

This is a continuation of our first video about the "Renewal of Time" and how human beings long to have time renewed.  (see the post below)

In the creation narrative of Genesis 1 - 3 - we find a series of seven symbols.

These seven symbols are then repeated throughout the biblical text at major points of transition - or renewal. 

We can follow this pattern from the creation, to Noah, to the Exodus, to Joshua, and finally all the way up to Jesus. 

This pattern also seems to play out in our lives as we are continually renewed along our path of spiritual growth.

There is a built in desire in human beings to renew time or to use a biblical term, to redeem time.

This idea is found in the rituals of all of the cultures surrounding Israel in the Ancient Near East as well as in the rituals of Israel (see Man and Temple, Patai below).

We also find this idea woven into the biblical text. 

In this first video we look at the biblical holiday - Festival of Trumpets - as well as the Gospel of John to illustrate this idea. 

In part 2 - we'll look at a series of symbols from the creation narrative in Genesis 1-3 which are then repeated throughout the biblical text at major point of renewal - right up to and including Jesus.

Some resources to dig deeper into this topic:

Man and Temple: In Ancient Jewish Myth and Ritual by Raphael Patai

Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History by Mercea Eliade 

Finally..

Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship by N.T. Wright

A Jewish-Christian putting their faith on display by carving an anchor-cross into the menorah etched into this marble column. The column was found in the ancient city of Laodicia. The menorah reflects a traditional Jewish depiction with the candelabra flanked by a shofar (upper right) and a lulav (palm frond) (lower right). 

The owner of the marble marble column - to a shop? or house? - put their faith on display for the world to see. How much more should we do the same today.  

What makes this particular Menorah-Cross so special is that the flames of the candelabra are still burning bright!