Month 2:14, Week 2:6 (Sheshi/Kippur), Year:Day 5939:043 AM
2Exodus 1/40
Gregorian Calendar: Monday 12 May 2014
Late Pesach 2014
The Great Second Opportunity
Continued from Part 2 (Late Pesach Series)
Introdution
Chag Pesach Sameach kol beit Yisra'el - a blessed Second or Late Passover for those of you who were unable to obey the mitzvot (commandment) last month. Have a wonderful Haggadah experience! What a blessing and a privilege Yahweh has given to His people in granting this second chance to give thanks for the Paschal Sacrifice at Calvary!
An Obligatory Feast
For not only is the observance of this moed (appointment) obligatory for Torah-obedient believers in Messiah but it is one of the three Pilgrim Festivals, which means that families had to send representatives up to Jerusalem during the Old Covenant Theocracy and, when Yah'shua (Jesus) returns, will be obliged to again during the Millennium. It's not an option because it is the worship that Yahweh expects at His appointed place.
Using the Moed Tithe Correctly
While we are in diaspora (dispersion) we are therefore to gather with other fellow believers to celebrate the moed. This is the reason why Yahweh commands a third of the tithe must be saved both so that family representatives or families as a whole can provide food for the festivals was well as to finance journeys to attend the Pilgrim Feasts of Pesach (Passover), Shavu'ot (Weeks) and Sukkot (Tabernacles).
The Believer's Lifestyle Defined by the Moedim
These and the other festivals of Israel define the lifestyle and pattern of living of true believers. They are given so that we mark time correctly and in accordance with the luni-solar Creation Calendar. This is an essential and integral part of the way of life of the Redeemed in Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) since every festival points to Him and is ultimately about Him.
The Whole Passover Season Repeated
The whole week, including the week of Chag haMatzah (Unleavened Bread) which begins tomorrow, along with Yom haBikkurim (Firstfruits) which is two days hence, is to be observed temporally and spiritually by the late-comers. Those of us who did observe it on time do not, of course, observe the three chaggim (feasts) physically through there is the option to join in spiritually if we so wish to do. Since I absolutely believe there are several important prophetic messages hidden up in the Later Passover, partaking of this spiritually is, for me, important as I know it is for many of you too.
The Only Duplicate Festival
The thing I love about the Late Pesach is the message that Yahweh gives us another year to figure, and work, out sin in our lives. It's not an excuse to postpone sin indefinitely, of course, which would send the wrong message that grace is cheap, but it does tell us that those who are serious about getting right with Him and are truly wrestling and trying to overcome in emunah (faith) are blessed. No other festival is duplicated like this and that is itself a second important message to us precisely about not exploiting grace, though historically this is precisely what has happened in the man-made festival of Hanukkah.
The Fake Duplicate of Hanukkah
Originally intended as a late Sukkot by those who meant well, it evolved into a separate festival of its own without any sort of heavenly mandate. It incorporates myths and lies that those who invented the festival, and their descendants who perpetuate it, have attributed to Elohim (God), that not only breaks sacred tavnith (pattern) by its existence in the calendar but blasphemes the Most High by telling us that he has commanded us to do something which he has not. We are not given the freedom to invent our own personal and national religious festivals. Thus Hanukkah and Purim are the festivals not of true Israel but of the Edomite counterfeit.
The Passing of a Respected Politician
I was up late last night thinking about these and other things and all the wrong turns we take in our life. I was thinking a lot about politics, the playground of the élite and of the ambitious, and how good people get sucked up into its game as they try to do good, only to be spat out by the sysstem. This year Tony Wedgewood-Ben, one of the few British left-wing politicians I respect and admire because of his honesty, commitment to democracy, and passion for the poor, passed away. I listened to the eulogy of a socialist politian whom I loathed growing up who was colloquially known as the 'Beast of Bolsover' and for the first time I saw the real man and not the cariacature of him invented by the right. It reminded me of that saying that were we to be able to see all the trials and tribulations of each and every man and woman that it would be enough to disarm all our hostilities toward them. We so easily forget that we don't see the whole picture even if we think we do. We don't. We live by emunah (faith) even with the people we think we know which is why we are commanded by the Master to think not only the best of people but to regard them as better than ourselves (Phil.2:3).
Siezing the Second Chance
I stayed up late last night also because I wanted to seize the opportunity of a second chance this year to make a new beginning before getting stuck into what is going to be a critical year. I knew that though this new year had begun well that it was not all I had wanted it to be and I still wanted it to be completely right and not have to wait another year because I might still have been out of tune with Yahweh's cycle. So I made a decision to go down an even narrower path in my pursuit of Yahweh.
Vision of the Burning Light
Crawling into bed around 2.30 a.m. I meditated and wrote a bit and turned off my light. I lay there for a second but before I made the decision to finally drift off into sleep a vision opened up before me. Phyically in the vision I was a few feet away from where I was lying down at the main entrance to our home and standing on the balcony only I was able to see right through the small roof over the balcony supported on either side by two pillars. I saw the inky black sky and sensed something was above me. I pushed my neck right back, as far back as it would go, and there directly above my head was a bright light. It was many orders of magnitude brighter than the brightest star or planet, and though smaller than the moon - perhaps half its size - it was also far, far brighter the moon too. I knew it was not a star or a planet and I knew that it was purposefully directly above me and the house. I knew it was the promise of the Sukkot anointing and that because of my decision it was able to come closer and that it would continue to draw closer until it was upon us so long as we stayed true.
Conclusion
This is the tiqvah (hope) of Late Pesach. I needed - and still need - it this year and am grateful for it. Though I shall not be eating roast lamb or unleavened bread as those of you who are celebrating it for the first time this year will, I shall be - and already am - partking of its spirit. May we all be blessed, whether as late celebrants or just those joining in in spirit as I am, to resolve to do right and draw closer to Yahweh through Yah'shua our Messiah. Amen.
Continued in Part 2 (Late Pesach Season 2014)
Endnotes
[1] Nearly all Jews and Messianics make the mistake of counting only 50 days from Yom haBikkurim (Firstfruit) to Shavu'ot (Weeks) and in consequence celebrate Shavu'ot (misnamed Pentecost) 1˝ or more months too early, turning the Shavu'ot into a fourth spring festival when it is a summer one. For an in-depth study, see The Omer Count: Does It Disprove the Luni-Solar Calendar? and the articles referenced at the end
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