Are You Looking for a Sign?

Are You Looking for a Sign?

By Kellen Davison for IsraeliNewsLive.org

 The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. But He replied to them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ “And in the morning, ‘There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? Matthew 16

This week everyone is talking about the solar eclipse which won’t happen in that way for 100,000 years and supposedly never happened that way before. People are wondering what it means for the world and then wondering what the lunar eclipse means in a couple weeks. I think the One that in the very beginning said the sun, moon and stars were for signs may indeed be sending a sign and a reminder so we can discern the times.

This week there are two supposed types of “new” seasons and times that different people observe, but only one is Biblically to be recognized by God’s people and both are tied to the signs God put in place.

Now the LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. “Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household.  Exodus 12

This month is Nisan and it occurred the day after this year’s solar eclipse.  This day is tied to Passover which this year has a lunar eclipse. As many who are following these things know, this year’s feast is unique because of this. So that covers the one our King expects us to note.

The second “time” that was noted this week was highlighted by someone that is choosing to side more with Israel’s enemies than with Israel these days, the President of the United States. In an address to Iran he said that he wished them a happy Nowruz, and that he and his wife celebrated Nowruz at the White House.  https://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2015/03/19/president-obama-s-nowruz-message-iranian-people-english

Nowruz is an ancient Persian holiday observing the Equinox. Before I share more about the origins of this holiday, it is worth noting that the President spurned Netanyahu on Purim, which connects both of these peoples again.

Nowruz recognizes the “new” season the earth is entering, a sort of rebirth. It is based in the religion of Zoroastrianism which to some has its roots in Mithraism which happened to be the religion of Rome before adopting Roman Catholicism. We’ll deal with that connection shortly. So what are some of the items done to celebrate Nowruz that the President of the U.S. may have partook? Well there are feasts, bonfires and presents. Yet there is one particular celebration ritual that has stood the test of time which connects some of the other “new” birth celebrations at this time of year except the one the Holy One said to observe. That ritual is the dying of eggs.  It is worth noting they also sprinkle people with water to symbolize creation.

Eggs and new birth, hmm, what is another celebration in the Spring that has to do with the same concepts? Ishtar! You know the one with the chocolate golden calves; I mean bunnies in the grocery stores.

Here is a quick refresher on that in case you are unaware. According to Babylonian legend after Nimrod became the “sun god”, his son Tammuz was killed by a wild boar (a type of pig/ham) in his 40^th year.  That then started a 40 day ritual of weeping for Tammuz. Another part of this ceremony was worshipping the Queen of Heaven, Semaramis, who was reborn according to legend in a giant egg, then turned a bird into an egg laying rabbit.  The pagans of the day would then sacrifice infants and die eggs in their blood to complete the ritual. There are more details to this disgusting idolatry that you can look up, but it is important to show the connection between Nowruz egg dying, and Babylonian egg dying and everything supposedly symbolizing “new” birth.

God’s people got in trouble for partaking in this as noted in Ezekiel 8:

He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.

Connected to this ceremony was further worship of Nimrod/Tammuz as the sun god:

Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

One of the things that jumped out to me in Ezekiel chapter 8 as God is showing Ezekiel things He hates is the people’s attitude which God captures:

Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.

In the darkness, Israel thought its King didn’t see the abominations that they were doing and that he had left the earth. Unfortunately in Christianity, after Jesus left the earth His people started “redeeming” elements of these rituals (Lent, Easter, dying eggs, eating an Easter ham) when trying to say those rituals are connected to “new” birth given through the Passover Lamb of God. So we have Israel saying God didn’t care because He left the earth and they can worship Him as they see fit, and then Christianity is saying the same thing.  But what is God’s opinion of people worshipping Him however they please instead of how He said to worship Him?

You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. “You shall not act like this toward the LORD your God. “But you shall seek the LORD at the place which the LORD your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. Deuteronomy 12

Thus says the LORD, “Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them; For the customs of the peoples are delusion. Jeremiah 10

Let’s highlight a couple things from these two passages. God says His people are not to learn the way of the pagan, also translated as gentiles or nations. He said this in two places which to reference another Biblical passage often used, a word needs to be established by two or three witnesses. Even God follows the same rules, but He repeated this message over and over to His people. God said His people are to destroy those places and to worship Him as He shows them and to not go after the delusion of their customs. We are also not to fear the signs of the heavens.

To further prove this point here are a couple other verses to consider.

“You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me. Exodus 20

So we have in Exodus, the God of Israel saying not to worship idols and connecting it towards hatred of Him for those that knowingly participate in those things. Did Israel listen? Well 12 chapters later you have this:

Aharon said to them, “Have your wives, sons and daughters strip off their gold earrings; and bring them to me.”  The people stripped off their gold earrings and brought them to Aharon.  He received what they gave him, melted it down, and made it into the shape of a calf. They said, “Isra’el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt! Exodus 32

So, one of the elders of Israel listened to the people’s grumbling who just came out of pagan Egypt and made them a golden image of a calf to worship, showing hatred to God who just gave them real “new” birth through the Passover Lamb.  Whether you want to say Israel thought they were worshipping God sincerely as best as they thought or desired to do so, He already commanded, not suggested, them not to make images to worship.

So in Exodus, Deuteronomy, Ezekiel and Jeremiah we see the God of Israel, the God of Heaven and Earth saying do not worship Him in that way, it is not how you show your love and gratitude to Him.  So why is the supposedly Christian president of the largest Christian nation celebrating a feast tied to this? Why are Christians saying it is ok to celebrate Easter instead of Passover when that was never commanded by God in His Word? Is it because man thinks God doesn’t see or care because He has forsaken the earth like in Ezekiel 8?

Before I forget, we mentioned Mithraism as part of this pagan “new” birth system. Mithraism was just another form of worshipping the “sun god” Mithra who was born on December 25^th. There are some historical sources that indicate that Mithraism, once the religion of the Roman empire, mingled with some of the faith about Jesus to form Roman Catholicism. Here’s an interesting History channel documentary on that – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN5n06jI6r0.

So it would appear that the U.S. President and the vicar (substitute) of Christ in Rome are celebrating the same holidays not holy days that the God of Israel commands.  Perhaps it isn’t a coincidence that both men are aligning against Israel in favor of “peace and safety”.

For those that say that Jesus or Paul changed the Heavenly Father’s character or instructions on how we are to love Him, let us see what Paul said about Passover:

Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Corinthians 5

So Paul wasn’t rebellious follower of God or in hatred toward the first half of the Bible, and God hadn’t changed His ways of celebrating Him. For God did say regarding Passover:

This will be a day for you to remember and celebrate as a festival to Adonai; from generation to generation you are to celebrate it by a perpetual regulation. Exodus 12

Yeshua didn’t contradict the Abba of Israel when He said:

And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. Luke 22

So you have the Father, Yeshua and Paul saying to remember the real “new” birth by observing Passover which is connected to Nisan 1, not Nowruz which is connected to the “angel of light” from the Garden of Eden and its people.

For those that say it doesn’t apply to Christians and they can do whatever they want. Tell me is your god, the God of Israel, and does He have one wife or two wives, one book or two books, one character or two characters? Here is a scripture that might help those in the “church” that say they are separate and can do whatever they want when it comes to worshipping the God of Israel. Steven before he was stoned made an interesting word choice and connection for Moses and Israel:

This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. Acts 7

The interesting word is “congregation” referring to Israel. Well for those who love Greek, the word there is ekklesia which is the same word people today refer to as “church”. So to paraphrase using that Greek definition, Moses was in the wilderness with the church of Israel, God’s people when the One gave them the Torah.

To close, Israel was using God’s temple to participate in these ceremonies and God called them abominations. For those that have Yeshua and the Ruach Ha Kodesh in them, we know we are His temple, so there should be no abominations in our vessels. There should be remembrance and recognizing the signs God set in place from the beginning which appear to be manifesting more in the physical and spiritual realm as we get closer to His return.

Perhaps this might add more light to why Yeshua said this, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” Matthew 16

That sign of Jonah was also connected to Passover, with Yeshua the Passover Lamb being in the grave three days and nights, not one and a half or two days. And adultery per my earlier articles spiritually has to do with not following and remembering God’s ways, feasts and instructions.

It is worth noting that Nimrod, “the sun god” has permeated nearly every culture on earth, because at one time he was the ruler of the earth, until the God who sees intervened.  God’s people will always be confronted with two choices; we can choose the real “new” birth or the counterfeit serpent, Nimrod “new” birth system. God’s people need to know that God has not forsaken the earth and He still sees like He did in the Garden of Eden. Let us remember what El Roi, one of God’s names means – God who sees me (Genesis 16:13).