Post by Paddy by Grace on Sept 1, 2008 16:35:02 GMT -7
www.kmph.com/global/story.asp?s=8757630
By: Monty Torres and Kyra Jenkins
The second coming of Jesus Christ has a few names; the rapture and Armageddon.
Those events have captivated Christians and non-Christians for over 2,000 years.
Now a group of Jewish and gentile believers are reaching back to the ancient past for answers to our future.
And what one pastor recently found is stirring debate and excitement all across the country, a timetable when it all could happen.
At the Beth David Messianic Synagogue in Fresno the old ways come to life.
"As I started investigating the scriptures more deeply, I came upon scriptures in Jeremiah that said we needed to get back to the ancient paths...splice...and of course Christianity comes right out of Judaism. So those are the ancient paths," said Pastor Bruce Dowell.
To follow those ancient paths, about 125 members meet every Friday night at St. James Anglican Cathedral Community Hall in Fresno.
They celebrate "Shabbat," the Sabbath at the time and in the manner they say God originally commanded in the bible.
"What the messianic movement is, is Jews and gentiles together worshipping the Messiah of Israel in a Hebraic way with Davidic praise and worship as King David would have done with flags and banners," said Rabbi Harlon Picker, Messianic Rabbi.
These believers in Jesus Christ are part of a fast growing global movement who say it is the ancient ways, the historic, biblical ways that matter most.
Not only because they were given by God himself in the Torah, but because they foreshadow our future.
"It's very interesting, all of what we call the Moe din, or appointed times," said Picker.
"Leviticus 23, I believe is the most important or I should say the most prophetic chapter in the entire word of God. It tells about the 7 festivals that Adonai has proclaimed to his people and of course the Shabbat as well. This is a prophetic timetable of what God is going to do in these end times," said Dowell.
Now using that prophetic timetable and modern science, another messianic pastor says he's found something that could be a sign of things to come soon.
February 20th, 2008, at Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Pastor Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries in Bonney Lake Washington saw something, a total lunar eclipse also called a "blood moon" for its reddish hue.
"I thought 'wow' that looks just like what the Lord was talking about in the last days," said Pastor Mark Biltz with El Shaddai Ministries.
In the book of Joel, Chapter 2, verse 31 it says, "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come."
"So I did a comparison. I went to NASA's website to see if there would be any total solar or lunar eclipses in the next 10 years, said Biltz.
And what he found were four in a row.
"To my surprise, in 2014 NASA has what it calls a Tetrad-4, total lunar eclipses back to back," said Biltz.
And two significant solar eclipses as well. In 2014, on March 20th to 21st, April 15th and October 8th.
And in 2015 on April 4th, September 13, and September 28th. But it wasn't the number of eclipses that caught his attention. It was the dates on the Jewish calendar on which they fell.
"There was a total lunar eclipse on the 1st day of Passover and a total lunar eclipse on the 1st day of tabernacles," said Biltz.
"The feast of trumpets, there's a solar eclipse and there's also a total solar eclipse beginning the religious year," said Biltz.
In the Bible, Revelations 6 verse 12 "...and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood."
These kinds of celestial phenomena are prophetically significant to messianic believers, Biltz says.
"I see with what's going on in the world today with all the turmoil; with earthquakes and famines, hurricanes and floods, I think it's a wake up call to both Jews and Christians that we need to wake up and start looking for the Messiah," said Biltz.
And according to Luke chapter 21 verse 25, "...and there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring."
But we won't have to wait until 2015 to find out if what Pastor Biltz and his messianic colleagues believe is true. We could all know, they say, in as little as two months.
By: Monty Torres and Kyra Jenkins
The second coming of Jesus Christ has a few names; the rapture and Armageddon.
Those events have captivated Christians and non-Christians for over 2,000 years.
Now a group of Jewish and gentile believers are reaching back to the ancient past for answers to our future.
And what one pastor recently found is stirring debate and excitement all across the country, a timetable when it all could happen.
At the Beth David Messianic Synagogue in Fresno the old ways come to life.
"As I started investigating the scriptures more deeply, I came upon scriptures in Jeremiah that said we needed to get back to the ancient paths...splice...and of course Christianity comes right out of Judaism. So those are the ancient paths," said Pastor Bruce Dowell.
To follow those ancient paths, about 125 members meet every Friday night at St. James Anglican Cathedral Community Hall in Fresno.
They celebrate "Shabbat," the Sabbath at the time and in the manner they say God originally commanded in the bible.
"What the messianic movement is, is Jews and gentiles together worshipping the Messiah of Israel in a Hebraic way with Davidic praise and worship as King David would have done with flags and banners," said Rabbi Harlon Picker, Messianic Rabbi.
These believers in Jesus Christ are part of a fast growing global movement who say it is the ancient ways, the historic, biblical ways that matter most.
Not only because they were given by God himself in the Torah, but because they foreshadow our future.
"It's very interesting, all of what we call the Moe din, or appointed times," said Picker.
"Leviticus 23, I believe is the most important or I should say the most prophetic chapter in the entire word of God. It tells about the 7 festivals that Adonai has proclaimed to his people and of course the Shabbat as well. This is a prophetic timetable of what God is going to do in these end times," said Dowell.
Now using that prophetic timetable and modern science, another messianic pastor says he's found something that could be a sign of things to come soon.
February 20th, 2008, at Temple Mount in Jerusalem, Pastor Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries in Bonney Lake Washington saw something, a total lunar eclipse also called a "blood moon" for its reddish hue.
"I thought 'wow' that looks just like what the Lord was talking about in the last days," said Pastor Mark Biltz with El Shaddai Ministries.
In the book of Joel, Chapter 2, verse 31 it says, "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come."
"So I did a comparison. I went to NASA's website to see if there would be any total solar or lunar eclipses in the next 10 years, said Biltz.
And what he found were four in a row.
"To my surprise, in 2014 NASA has what it calls a Tetrad-4, total lunar eclipses back to back," said Biltz.
And two significant solar eclipses as well. In 2014, on March 20th to 21st, April 15th and October 8th.
And in 2015 on April 4th, September 13, and September 28th. But it wasn't the number of eclipses that caught his attention. It was the dates on the Jewish calendar on which they fell.
"There was a total lunar eclipse on the 1st day of Passover and a total lunar eclipse on the 1st day of tabernacles," said Biltz.
"The feast of trumpets, there's a solar eclipse and there's also a total solar eclipse beginning the religious year," said Biltz.
In the Bible, Revelations 6 verse 12 "...and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood."
These kinds of celestial phenomena are prophetically significant to messianic believers, Biltz says.
"I see with what's going on in the world today with all the turmoil; with earthquakes and famines, hurricanes and floods, I think it's a wake up call to both Jews and Christians that we need to wake up and start looking for the Messiah," said Biltz.
And according to Luke chapter 21 verse 25, "...and there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring."
But we won't have to wait until 2015 to find out if what Pastor Biltz and his messianic colleagues believe is true. We could all know, they say, in as little as two months.
