Date of message: 13 April 2003
Subject: The Feasts of Israel - Its Significance
For Today
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
Last week I posed the question - when will the Iraqi War, or Gulf War
2 as some would call it, end? From the momentum of the war, it seemed
that all the fighting would be over sooner than we think. Saddam Hussein's
regime is no more and the Allied Forces are pursuing him and 54 other
cronies of his and they are down to only two possibilities. They are either
hiding in Tikrit, the birthplace of Saddam Hussein or in Al Qaím
near the Iraqi-Syrian border.
Interesting that the Iraqi army should choose a relatively unknown township
to defend itself unless they have something to hide? Looking at the map
of the Middle-East, one could see that the distance from Al Qaim to Israel
is less than 400 KM, well within the range of their Al-Samooud missiles.
I still believe that Saddam would want to draw little Israel into the
conflict to win some Arabic support (or whatever straw he could grasp
before he sinks) and should that happen, his end would come faster than
he envisaged.
The State of Israel is a small nation in relation to its neighbors and
yet its borders have been the most hotly contested piece of property in
all history. Many of its Arabic neighbors do not recognize its existence
and even if they do, they want the nation to be snuffed out. The proposed
map of Palestine, as it appears on the logo of the Palestine Liberation
Authority (PLA) does not have any Israel on it.
It is no secret that Saddam Hussein rewards any Palestinian suicide bomber;
the family gets USD25,000 for each successful suicide bombing. And recent
suicide bombings of US military checkpoints in Iraq, point to Palestinian
suicide bombers showing solidarity with him. So why does Saddam want to
destroy Israel so badly?
Rumors have it that Saddam once dreamt of being the reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar
who was the ancient king of Babylon (current day Iraq) who conquered Israel
and brought Jewish captives to Baghdad and subjugated the whole nation.
In the eyes of all Iraqis, King Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest king they
ever had and so Saddam Hussein wanted to project to his countrymen that
he was the reincarnated man himself. In fact some researchers took some
drawings of the ancient king and compared them with Saddam and found familiar
features and this encouraged him all the more.
Saddam wanted to destroy Israel and obliterate it from the world map once
and for all. In Gulf War 1, he sent 39 Scud missiles into Israel but none
of them killed anyone. Rather most of them were shot down by Israeli air
defence missiles and US Patriot missiles. A couple fell into Israel but
did not explode because the Lord God protected His own people and 'diffused'
those Scuds.
Gulf War 1 ended very abruptly in third week February 1991, about one
month after the air campaign led by the US Air Force started bombing Iraq
on 19 January. The war ended on the day of the Feast of Purim. Again this
current Gulf War 2 started on the feast day of Purim and it will be ending
shortly in time for the Jewish Feast of Passover which coincides with
our Good Friday celebrations. How can this be possible?
Because Saddam had placed himself so prominently in defiance of the God
of Israel, He has to act. By his deliberate actions against Israel, his
open support for anyone who is acting against Israel, he is declaring
war against the Lord Himself and God will act to protect His own again.
Israel has a very special place in the heart of God Himself. In Genesis
15: 18 - 21, we read that God appeared to Abraham in a vision and cut
a blood covenant with Himself: -
18. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To
your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the
great river, the River Euphrates
19. the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites,
20. the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
21. the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgasites, and the Jebusites."
What God promised Abraham was a rather large piece of real estate. Israel
has not received the fullness of that promise yet but I believe it will
come through eventually. Notice that some of the land promised to Abraham
included parts of Iraq. Maybe that was what drove Saddam mad and hence
his hatred of the Jews.
Israel is still a very special people to God. He calls them His own although
they do not behave as such. Because of the special position they are in,
as direct descendants of Abraham, they are a specially blessed people
and God's love affair with them is not over yet.
I get very excited every time there is a Jewish festival as I expect something
supernatural happening to that nation for their blessing. Sunset Saturday
evening 12 April 2003 marks the start of the Passover week in Israel and
the observance will climax on Friday 18 April itself. Certainly I will
be inclining my ears closely to events unfolding in Israel because of
His outpouring of His grace on this nation.
Over the next few weeks, I want to invite you to join me on a tour of
all the Feasts of Israel as described in Leviticus 23 and trace the fulfillment
of some of these feasts in the life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Seven feasts are mentioned in Leviticus 23 and so far four of them had
been fulfilled by the Lord Himself. The remaining three feasts will be
fulfilled in the future and it is my opinion that we are very near to,
on the very edge of, seeing their coming to pass.
When the Lord comes and takes all the Believers back to Himself, you will
not see us in person any more. You may be having a conversation with a
friend or a loved one and if he or she is a Believer, in an atomic second
that person will disappear right before your very eyes. It will be so
sudden that there will be no time to say your good-byes. But rest assured,
we will not be taken away by aliens or extra-terrestrials as the devil
would like you to believe. No, we are taken home to be with Jesus forever
in heaven.
Will you be on that 'train' when Jesus comes back for His Family? You
can get yourself on board before the 'train' leaves the platform. All
that is needed is for you to believe in Jesus, the One Who had died for
you and taken away your sin and He will come into your heart and give
you eternal life. By believing in Jesus and receiving His Holy Spirit
into our lives, God confers on us the position of sons and daughters in
His Family, special positions reserved for those whom He loves dearly.
(John 1: 12)
The Lord cannot lie. For Him, whatever He speaks come to pass and He had
promised us in the Bible that those who have put their trust in Him will
not be condemned but have passed from death into life (Romans 8: 1).
Pray this simple prayer of faith and invite Him into your heart and immediately
you will experience the peace coming your way.
Our Heavenly Father, thank you that You are sovereign, and in full control
over everything that is happening around us. Right now it may not seem
so but I want to thank you that You love us so much You sent Your only
Beloved Son Jesus into this world to take our place and to die for all
our sins.
Lord Jesus, thank you that You came, You obeyed the Father, You died for
all on the cross, You conquered death and You rose again on the third
day. And now, because of Your death and resurrection, we, who believe
in You as our Lord and Savior, will no longer have to die but we receive
Your eternal life. Thank you for coming into my heart and making my heart
Your home.
Thank you that what You have accomplished for us on the cross has qualified
me to become a child of God the Father. Thank you that I am now eternally
forgiven, greatly blessed, highly favored, deeply loved and completely
protected in the Lord and in Your most precious Name, Yeshua Ha' Meshiah,
I pray. Amen.
If you have prayed that prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family
of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important
that you are not alone facing your personal trials but that you can obtain
good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your own local
Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together? You will
be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father, for
fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith.
It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these
blessings right now and there is more from where they come from.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all
your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24 - 26
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
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