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This book will give you the Biblical and Historical background for who the United States and British peoples in prophecy! You will learn who we are, where we are, and where we are going! The two most influential and gospel bearing nations are mentioned in prophecy, and this book will show you where!
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My new book – “Blood Moons and the End of the Age” will be out soon!
To pre-order this book, please email: kellymcdonaldhhm@Hotmail.com – you will receive an email link where you can purchase the book when it is available!!
Here is an excerpt from the book concerning the Pope and the appearance of blood moons in the sky.
This is an excerpt from Chapter 10: “The Fullness of Time”
Papal Visits to the White House
We find the blood moon connections continue to appear on important dates as they relate to Papal visits to America. There have been three popes to meet with the President in the Oval Office. The first was Pope John Paul II, the second Pope Benedict XVI, and the last Pope Francis. As we look over these three visits, it is not just the appearance of a blood moon that is fascinating, but the specific dates that the popes were in the United States.
Papal Visit #1 – October 1979
Blood Moon – September 6th, 1979
In October, 1979, Pope John Paul II visited the United States. He met with Jimmy Carter in the oval office on October 6th, 1979. The blood moon that year was on September 6th. Unlike many years, it was a single blood moon, not a blood moon in series. Amazingly enough, the meeting between Carter and John Paul II occurred on the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles!
Papal Visit #2 – April 2008
Blood Moon Series – (March 3, Aug. 28) 2007, February 21st 2008
In April 2008, Pope Benedict XVI visited America. He met with President George W. Bush on April 16th, 2008. The blood moon closest to this event was February 21st, 2008. It was the third in a series of blood moons. The visit occurred within 60 days of the blood moon. He actually arrived in the U.S. on April the 15th. That year on the Hebrew Calendar, April 15th was the 10th of Nissan. This was the day that the Lambs were chosen in the Temple to be sacrificed for Passover. Passover was just a few days later. He actually left the US just as the 1st Day of Unleavened Bread, an Annual Feast day, was ending.
Papal Visit #3 – September 2015
Blood Moon Tetrad: (Apr. 15th, Oct. 8th 2014), (April 3rd, September 28th, 2015)
Pope Francis will arrive in the United States in September 2015. He will meet with Barack Obama on September 23rd and then Congress the following day. He will address the United Nations on the 25th. According to the Vatican, he will leave the US on Sunday the 27th in the evening. There will be a blood moon in the early AM hours of September 28th, 2015. It is the final blood moon in the Tetrad we are currently experiencing. Amazingly enough, September 23rd is the Day of Atonement. This is the day when God makes his final judgment for individuals and nations for the upcoming year. September 27th at sunset starts the 1st Day of Tabernacles, an Annual Feast Day.
When we look at these events, we can see a pattern. We have the Pope’s first visit occurring on the First Day of Tabernacles. This day prophetically represents when Christ will be coroneted as King over the entire world. The Papacy wishes to rule over the entire world, just as Christ will one day do. We have a second Papal Visit, which is on the day that the Lambs are chosen. Revelation 13:11-17 is a prophecy about the False Prophet, which is the Pope. He looks like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon. This connects Passover to the appearing of the False Prophet. People don’t realize this, but Benedict is still alive. We technically have two Popes. His visit was during the Passover Season. He left just as the First Day of Unleavened Bread began. This was the day that the Israelites left Egypt. They also had to have the yeast out of their homes before this time period started. On this day, we can see the Pope leaving America to go back into the land of sin, Rome. The leaven was leaving the US. Most people don’t know this, but Benedict was a Nazi sympathizer. He served in the Hitler youth and the German army. He is not the saint he appears to be.
Lastly, we have Pope Francis’ visit to the US. This is the most interesting of all. He will actually meet with the President on the Feast of Atonement. The Feast of Atonement had many sacrifices, but two goats have very special meaning. According to Leviticus 16, two goats were brought forward on Atonement. Lots were cast and one was chosen as “the Lord’s goat”. It was sacrificed for the sins of the nation. Jesus fulfills this through His death. The second goat is called the “azazel” goat. It represents the satanic force that tempted Israel in the desert for 40 years. The high priest would confess over it all the sins of the people. They would then choose a “fit man” who would chase it out of the camp. They wanted it out of the camp because if it came back into the camp it would bring back the sins of the people. They chased it over a cliff so that it would not come back. Prophetically, it represents when the devil being chained by a chosen angel and put into the Abyss before the Millennium starts (Revelation 20:1-3). However, we find in this Papal visit another prophetic meaning!
The azazel goat was sacrificed because we are not alone in our sin. We do sin and choose to do so, but we are tempted. This means the devil has a guilty party to play in our sinful behavior. He is called the tempter of mankind. The Whore that Rides the Beast in Revelation 17 is the Catholic Church. She has adopted the Babylonian Mystery religion of Nimrod and mixed it with the Bible. The Bible tells us, “With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries….For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries…Your merchants were the world’s important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray. In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s holy people of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.” (Revelation 17:2, 18:3, 23-24) Adultery in a spiritual sense refers to sinning against God. Sin is spiritual adultery. She has hunted down God’s people and killed them from John’s time until now. Just as Satan the devil causes us the sin, this woman was an instrument to cause the entire world to sin. The Bible also tells us, “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again…” (Revelation 18:21b). Just as the azazel goat was chased off of a cliff, so the whore of Babylon and her religion will not be found again.
In Revelation 13:1-4, we learn that the devil gives its authority to the beast power (Roman Empire). In Revelation 13:11-17, we learn about the False Prophet who He exercises the authority of the first beast (Roman Empire). The First beast in Revelation 13 receives its power from the devil and therefore so does the second beast. In fact, at the Lord’s public return two entities are thrown into the Lake of Fire: the beast power, representing the Roman Empire, and the false prophet, which is the Pope (Revelation 19:20). These are the two entities used to deceive the entire world.
Even though the devil is the final prophetic fulfillment of azazel goat, these two entities also serve as fulfillments of the scapegoat because they received their authority from him! Just like the devil, they caused the entire world to sin!
The Pope will leave for America as the First Day of Tabernacles ends. This ties together the first visit by John Paul II on the same Biblical Feast Day. The Pope is going back to Rome to continue his quest to rule the entire world. To rule the entire world, the Pope must make sure the United States and British peoples are destroyed. As mentioned in a previous chapter, this is vital to world dominance, as these two nations have opposed evil (and even the Catholic Church at times). According to Isaiah 47, the Catholic Church will assist in bringing down and putting a yoke on our people.
There are many more revelations just as these!!!!
Acts 15 is a very misunderstood passage. Today, we are going to delve deeper.
“Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’ This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all brothers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.’ The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: ‘Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are’” (Acts 15:1-11).
Some have said that the “yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear” is the law, but this interpretation contradicts what God said about His own Law. Even John, a New Testament writer, attests to the freedom that law provides: God’s commandments are not burdensome. Let’s look at these verses:
Deut. 30:11-14 “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
I John 5:2-3 “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
James 1:25 “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the word, this one will be blessed in what he does”.
So what is the yoke of bondage? The question that the apostles and elders met to consider in Acts 15 was whether or not circumcision was a requirement for Gentiles to be saved. The “yoke” that Peter refers to is the yoke of man made rules. The Pharisees had burdened the people down with man made rules (Matthew 23:4). This caused people to trust in human effort instead of looking to God. Salvation by human effort is impossible. If circumcision was a necessary requirement for salvation, then we could earn our salvation. That would make the sacrifice of Christ of none effect. In Ezekiel 20, God rebukes the Israelites for being disobedient to His laws and commandments, and He said, “I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and laws they could not live by” (verse 35). The laws that were not good and they could not live by were man-made rules. Because they refused to listen to God’s rules which were good for them and easy to live by, they were given over to rules that were bondage.
When the apostles conferred to decide how to handle this question, they decided that “…we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath” (Acts 15:20-21). These four commands are the minimum requirements for Gentiles so that they could attend the Synagogue and learn the law on the Sabbath. Notice that the Apostles even specify what they want Gentile converts to learn (Moses), where they want them to learn it (Synagogue), and when they want them to learn it (Sabbath)! Some have said that these four requirements are the only four things that Gentile believers in Jesus should obey, but this interpretation has problems because lying, stealing, coveting, idol worship, and a host of other sins are not listed either. Paul said thieves, coveters, and drunkards will not enter the Kingdom (I Cor. 6:9-10). When we read it in context, the apostles are establishing a minimum level for Gentiles so that they can attend synagogue and hear the Word of God.
This same command is repeated to believers in Judea in Acts 21:17-26. In this second mentioning of this decision, we learn something very important about the life of Paul, God’s chosen instrument to carry the gospel to the Gentiles. “When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly. The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.’ The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when their days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.” Paul, God’s chosen instrument to carry the gospel to the Gentiles, was questioned by his Jewish friends. Reports came about that claimed he was teaching Gentiles to turn away from the law. Paul is then tested by his fellow brothers: If he participates in the purification vows of the men, then he will show that the reports are not true and that he is obedient to the law (and teaches others to do the same). In the latter half of this passage, Paul partakes in the purification vows of these men in the temple area and shows them that he does not teach against the Law of Moses or break the Law of Moses himself.
You must remember that circumcision was the sign of the covenant. This was why this became a big issue in the early church.
For Gentile converts, the only way to hear the Word of God was to go to a Synagogue and the only day for them to hear the word of God is on the Sabbath. Requiring converts to be circumcised or be completely obedient to Torah before even coming to church might have made new converts think that salvation came by works. In fact, many Gentiles might have been discouraged by this because it takes time to learn God’s ways and walk them out. Realizing this, the apostles made the requirements simple. When Gentiles enter into the synagogues and other places of worship, they can learn with everyone else as long as they follow those four precepts.
God Bless and Shalom!
Preparation and Practice: The Feast of Atonement
The Feast of Atonement is the holiest day of the year. It is called “Shabbat Shabbaton” or the Sabbaths of Sabbaths. IT is a day that we abstain from work and chores to honor the God of Creation, just like the weekly Sabbath. We burn our sin lists close to the Feast of Atonement so that we can go in before the Lord as clean as possible. For more information about preparation coming up to Atonement, please read the prior blog on the Sin List, which was posted a few weeks ago.
Atonement is a total fast. This means there is no eating or drinking on this day. It is an annual Sabbath, so no work is to be done. If you have any medical conditions, please contact your medical provider as to the extent that you are able to fast. The goal is to find out the maximum amount you can fast without harming your health.
As an example, some people with diabetes might have to keep a small flask of orange juice with them to keep their blood sugar from going down. Others who take life-saving medications might have to eat some crackers and drink a small amount of water. Again, the goal is that food/drink is kept to a minimal as needed to prevent health problems or emergencies.
Since it is a total fast, you might want to do a “practice fast” or two leading up to the actual day. A practice fast might be no food with water. Or, you might do a fast with no food or water to see how you hold up. Since fasting is required on Atonement, it is important do to whatever you think it necessary to prepare yourself for that day.
I will say as a matter of practice that a few days before the fast avoid spending a lot of time outside or over-exerting yourself. A few days before, really pace yourself drinking water, as you don’t want to become dehydrated beforehand. Atonement starts at sunset like all other feast days. That day, you want to do as little as possible. Conserve energy and calories. The meal you eat before the fast needs to be salad. Don’t eat either too much or too little. I don’t take vitamins the day the fast begins since they cause me to be thirsty, but other people take a different view on that. You have to know your body. Avoid sweets, soft drinks, and fast food, as they will dehydrate you. Pace yourself on the water. I have done quite a bit of fasting over the years, and this advice is sound and true. It will get you through!
Practicing This Day
Thirty minutes before sunset we take communion. We do this because the high priest had to make a sacrifice for his family before he could make the sacrifice for the nation. We have to get right with God before we can encounter Him.
One other thing we do for Atonement is wear white. We learn from Exodus 28 and Levitcus 16 that the High Priest had white garments that he wore into the most holy place on this day. When you read the book of Revelation, everyone has white on. It is the dress code of Heaven. We believe that Jesus wore white the day that He ascended. This is why Mary thought He was the gardener (John 20:11-17). Gardeners wore white because it was good to wear in hot weather. In John 20, Jesus was preparing to enter into Heaven to offer His own blood on the Ark of the Covenant!
In Leviticus 16, the Bible tells us what the high priest had to do on the feast of Atonement. This gives us a picture and type of what Jesus did in Heaven when He made Atonement for us. Atonement is the day when each of us have a God encounter in Heaven awaiting us. We just have to make some reasonable preparations and expect great things to happen.
One way to keep Atonement is not to have any preaching, but instead focus on prayer and worship. We worship for about 3 1/2 hours during the night portion and then 5 1/2 hours during the day portion of Atonement. We use the most intimate worship music we have. It is not a time of shouting, but a time of slow introspection and admiration of God. Since we can’t eat, drink, or work on the day, what else are you going to do? We start the evening service at sunset and then the day portion of the celebration around 1 pm the next day. Before the day service starts, I usually read the book of Hebrews. It is the book of the Bible that describes what Jesus did when He went to the Heavenly Temple on our behalf. I usually start the worship with thanksgiving for the great blessings of God in my life. I then transition to praying for my family, friends, church, and nation. I then turn my entire admiration and attention to receiving whatever God has for me.
We will worship until sunset. When sunset arrives, start drinking water slowly. When you feel rehydrated, eat up! Start with easy foods like salad before you eat heavier foods like meat.
This service is a great format that you can use in your home.
During the worship service, make sure to bring a notebook because the Lord will speak to you. Also, bring a flashlight. It will be needed to see and take notes. Keep in mind that atonement is the 10th day of the 7th month. It is the last day of the 10 days of Awe. 10 is an important number in the Bible.
Rebekah’s family begged she stay 10 more days before they let her go to marry Isaac (Genesis 24:55). It was 10 days between Nabal’s rejection of David and the Lord striking Him dead (I Samuel 25:38). Every 10 days Nehemiah was abundantly supplied with wine of all kinds (Nehemiah 5:18). There were 10 days from the time the people of Judah asked for a Word from the Lord until Jeremiah actually received one. There were 10 days between Daniel’s request to abstain from the King’s Table from when the king’s men checked on them. There were 10 days before Paul was brought to Agrippa. Jesus ascended to Heaven 10 days before the Feast of Pentecost.
We can see some interesting parallels between all of these ten day accounts. Ten days’ grace means the Lord is allowing us to change our mind for the better. Rebekah could have decided to stay with her family. It is also a transition period in our lives. Daniel and his friends’ appearance actually improved over the ten days. This event started a transition of ascension in the kingdom of Babylon. They were exalted to leadership positions and tremendous opportunities from this point forward. Will we leave our past to embrace our future, as did Rebekah? Rebekah prophetically represents the Bride of Christ marrying Isaac, represents Jesus! We have Ten Days to decide. There were Ten Days that Jeremiah waited to receive the Word from the Lord about the future of the Jewish people
On the Feast of Atonement, the 10th day, the Lord has a Word for you about your upcoming year. He wants to direct you, but He wants to see if we are willing to make the change during the allotted time.
Teshuvah Week #4: Secret Place of the Most High
The first three weeks we got right with God in our spiritual walk, we prayed for others, and we got our natural life cleaned up. The first three weeks follow the pattern established in Haggai 1:1-11.
In Haggai 1:12, we learn that the remnant obeyed the word of the Lord. In verses 13-15, the Lord spoke and said that He would be with them on the 24th day of the sixth month. This is the fourth week of Teshuvah! This shows us that when we obey the Lord during this time of the year, the Lord will be with us on the fourth week and escort us to the Fall Holy Days. One purpose of this entire process is to have a great God encounter during the Fall Holy Days and receive revelation on the work God wants us to do. Another purpose of this process is to prepare ourselves to go to work after the Feast of Tabernacles. In Haggai 2:1-9, the Lord tells the people to be strong and go to work. He does this on the 7th day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Since we have made our goal lists and have received revelation from the Lord about what we are supposed to do, God is expecting us to go to work after the Feast of Tabernacles. He is expecting us to work hard at our job and work hard for His Kingdom and His Spiritual Temple.
The time of Teshuvah is also called the days of the Open Windows of Heaven. It is the time to ask God for things, whether it be for your family to turn to God or for financial prosperity. In Isaiah 55:6 God said, “Seek God when He is at hand; Call upon Him when He is near”. During Teshuvah, you are closing in on the Fall Feast Days. The Lord is at hand and He is near. It is the time when we can call to Him and He will especially hear our prayers. It is the time for us to wake up and return to Him so we can receive His wonderful blessings!
During the Fourth Week, we want to spend time in the secret place of the Most High. Read Psalm 91. The secret place is where we learn the secret things of God. We learn to hear the small, still voice of the Lord.
We are going to have a great Fall Feast Celebration!
In Week 1 of Teshuvah, we repented and spent time in the prayer closet getting right with the Lord. In Week 2, we prayed for those who need it. In Week 3, we are going to transition to your financial house.
So many times as Christians, we let our finances get out of hand. We simply say “well, it’s in God’s hands”. Stewardship of your finances is in your hands.
During the third week, we examine how we have been blessed by the Lord since the previous year’s Feast of Tabernacles. We write down all of our assets and all of our debts on a sheet of paper to determine our net worth. We review how much money we made this past year, and we make goals for the upcoming year.
There is Biblical evidence found in the Torah for doing this. In Numbers 13, Moses sent 12 spies throughout the Promised Land to explore it and bring back a report. The interesting thing is that the 12 spies went out to explore the land at the time of the first ripe grapes. The grapes first ripen in Israel during the summer months and are harvested just before the Fall Feasts. Since the spies were gone for forty days, it is likely that some of their expedition occurred during the days of Teshuvah!
In the same way as the twelve spies, you are to go through the Promised Land of your life and find God’s Kingdom provision. We should be able to identify the blessing of God in our lives and give a good report as to what the Lord has done. While we look at our physical blessings from this past year, we should also look at our spiritual blessings. Did you grow in your walk with Christ? Do you have more Bible understanding this year than last year? Did you fulfill your Kingdom assignments passed down from your Pastor or other church leader? Did you overcome sins in your life? These are all important parts of God’s Kingdom provision in our lives.
We also ask God for the things we need during this third week. We ask for things such as a higher salary, more net worth, and greater spiritual growth. The whole goal of the Christian life is to advance the Kingdom of God. We are not asking for these things just for our own personal edification. We need to ask for more wealth from God to spread His gospel. We also want to make a budget so we can steward God’s blessing. A budget is basically a set standard of how much you are going to spend a month. It is a way to stay disciplined financially so we don’t spend more than what we take in. God won’t bless a mess, so we want to cut our spending on self so there is more to save and invest into the Kingdom.
It takes money to print books, advertise meetings, and duplicate CD’s. We also make goals in the third week to achieve these things because faith without works is dead (James 2:20). The Feast of Tabernacles is the Feast when the Israelites would give God thanks for the harvest He gave them during the past year. One of the purposes for making a physical and spiritual inventory of our lives is so that we can show up before God at the Feast of Tabernacles and give him thanks for the physical and spiritual harvest in our lives this past year!
When we have an inventory of our lives, we can PRAISE specific just as we should PRAY specific before Him!
The Book of Leviticus contains a series of chapters known as the “Holiness Code”. They are chapters that guide our daily living towards God’s standard of holiness. The calling of a Christian is to live a holy life. As Paul wrote, “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (I Thess. 4:7). We are called to be a Holy Kingdom of Priests (1 Peter 2:5-9). The deep revelations of God’s Word are found in these detailed chapters of the Bible. I invite you to read this book, learn to live a Holy Life, and experience the supernatural revelation of His holiness.
You can now order this book by clicking HERE: Christian Holiness
During Week #2 of Teshuvah, you want to spend time in deep prayer and intercession. We should always pray, but this week spend extra time doing so. Make it a focus of your week. During Week #1, we spent time repenting for our sins. We looked deep into our hearts, mind, actions, and even motivations. Now that we are clean, we can press in for others.
Specifically, we want to pray for lost friends and family members. Those of us who are believers now have received God’s mercy. We want to pray for others to receive that mercy as well. Ask God for opportunities to share His Love and Mercy with others. Also, we want to pray for family members who are saved but need a greater revelation of God’s truth or His Spirit. We want people to be fully on fire for God. It’s even a great idea to pray for people in the Body of Christ (either locally or at large) who need these things. There is a great turning away from God’s Word in all kinds of churches. We want people to repent and turn to Him.
We cannot choose for people; they must choose. However, we can pray that they experience everything necessary to receive the grace given.
In Leviticus 16, we learn about the ritual of Atonement. The first thing the high priest had to do was make a sacrifice for his own household. Once this was completed, he could make sacrifices for the nation. Once we get right, we can press in to help others.
Let’s press in and bombard the heavens with deep prayer and intercession! You will be amazed at how God works in this season.
Amen!
Last time, we discussed the three types of tithes discussed in the Bible. I want to focus the rest of this blog on the SECOND Tithe!
Remember from last time that the second tithe was to be saved up and spent on the feast days. I want to talk more about this since the Fall Feasts are upon us!
I typically do my Feast shopping a month or two before a Feast begins. I might buy a new suit or new shoes. I will not wear these items until the Feasts are celebrated. The ladies like dresses and new shoes. This means that they should buy a nice dress or some shoes as they approach the Feast Days. During the Feasts, we eat at the nicest restaurants. Guys love steak. We eat steak several times during the Feast! Maybe you like ice cream; the feast is the time to really get the things that make you happy! If you have to travel a distance to keep the Feasts, use your second tithe on travel expenses! Most of us do not make enough money to properly celebrate these Days on our regular income. Second tithe is a holy income for the Holy Days of Christ! We are supposed to eat the fatty foods and drink sweet drinks during this time (Nehemiah 8:10).
When we have taken care of our needs, we are to send portions to those who have not been able to prepare any (Nehemiah 8:10). I know many who support churches in other nations. In this case, we take up a collection of our second tithe to help them keep the Feast Days. They will live large during this time and have plenty for everyone. They get tremendous evangelism opportunities because of this. Second tithe is a way to properly display God’s Kingdom provision! Everyone will see you celebrating and ask about it. The Feasts also create memories of items you buy with second tithe and events based on God’s way of Life. Every time you look at the clothes you buy for a Feast Day, you will think “Wow, what a great Festival season we celebrated that year!”. We each have memories of special items and events. It places the imprint of God upon your life. Why not have these special memories centered on the Lord’s celebrations?
The Feast Days are the times to wear our best. The guys wear their coat and ties; the ladies wear their nicest dresses. The Feast Days are the times of the greatest outpouring of God’s Spirit. They celebrate the redemption we share in Jesus Christ. We ought to dress the best we can. Some people may not be able to afford a coat and tie; that is quite understandable. As a person celebrates the feasts and keeps their second tithe, they should be able to afford nicer clothing. Brothers and sisters in the church should also help the poorer brethren have some nicer clothing.
In Malachi 3:8, the prophet Malachi receives an interesting revelation about tithes and offerings. “8 Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings….”
Notice that the word for tithes and offerings here is plural. There is more than one tithe and there are three annual festival offerings for Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. These are some general tips on how we should keep the Feast Days. We want to show up before God with a contrite heart and full of joy. When we do these things, we can have a joy-filled Feast in the presence of God. We can truly experience His Glory.
Did you know that there is more than 1 tithe in the Bible????
There are actually THREE! Yes I said Three (3)!
Most people are familiar with the first tithe. These tithes are distinguished by their specified use.
The first tithe is recorded in Leviticus 27:30-33 and Numbers 18:21-24. In ancient Israel, this tithe was given to the Levites for their duties. In the New Covenant, the first tithe is to be used for getting the gospel out. The second tithe is found in Deuteronomy 14:22-27 and Deuteronomy 12. God commanded the Israelites to spend this tithe in the presence of God where the Lord had placed His name. This would have been Jerusalem because the Temple and presence of God was located there at that time. The Body of Christ is His Spiritual Temple. The presence of God is poured out when we gather for these days. This second tithe is to be saved and used at the three Holy Day seasons: Passover and Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and the Fall Feasts. We are commanded to spend this tithe on items that bring us happiness so that we can celebrate the Holy Day with joy. Imagine that! God asks us to save up a tenth of our income so that we can spend it on ourselves! Now, the way of this world (with Christmas especially) is to go into debt to buy someone something they do not even like. People get mad about this kind of giving. The Lord’s way is for us to buy what makes us happy. We can certainly use this money to buy other people items for the Feasts, but we must first buy the things that make us happy.
The third tithe, found in Deuteronomy 14:28-29, was to be collected in the third and sixth year in a seven-year cycle. It was to be used for the widow, orphan, fatherless, and poor. As a matter of practice, many teach that Christians in America should keep the first two tithes. We do not practice the third tithe in America because the federal government of the United States already takes more than 10% a year for federal programs including, but not limited to, social security, welfare, unemployment, food stamps, widows benefits, section eight housing, and so forth. These government programs are aimed toward the same purpose as third tithe. This being the case, Americans technically already pay this third tithe through these programs, and they pay it far more often than the third and sixth year.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithes of mint and anise and cummin, and ye have left aside the weightier matters of the law, judgment and mercy and faith: these ye ought to have done and not have left those aside” (Matthew 23:23, DBT). In Luke 18:12, “I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” The Greek word in this verse for tithing is plural. In the first century, the Jewish people kept these three tithes. Josephus even records this. Thus, Christ affirms in this verse that there is more than one tithe to be observed!
We will finish this post next time!!
Evangelist Kelly McDonald, Jr. 