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Matthew 24:15
So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand) … From Cain to Nebuchadnezzar, everyone who tried to conquer the Jewish, the People of the Covenant, did it forcefully through land and military conquest. In his Jewish Antiquities, Flavius Josephus gives a detailed account of Alexander the Great's visit to Jerusalem and the transpiring events that caused him not to invade and destroy it. Even though Alexander the Great did not conduct a military campaign against Jerusalem, the Hellenic empire is responsible for the historically most successful conquest of the People of God, and that through cultural assimilation. The Western philosophical Greek is as opposite to the Eastern covenantal Jew as day is opposite from night, but is commonly said, 'opposites attract!' When Israel had gotten truly addicted to Hellenism and even had a Greek appointed corrupt Jewish High-Priest, all Antiochus Epiphanes thought he had to do was to send his emissary with a list of reforms to put all of Judaism into his evil hands. He didn't expect the Maccabee revolt. From where I stand, the Maccabees may have won the war and rededicated the Temple, Antiochus Epiphanes may be dead, but the form of Anti-Semitism that he taught is still alive and vibrant. In his great graciousness and compassion Hashem gave us His Messiah. This Jewish, Righteous, and Torah-observant Messiah was high-jacked by Greco-Roman believers who in less than two hundred years displayed Him as a Roman god dressed as a Greek Adonis teaching Greek philosophy. Under a twisted ignorant interpretation of Paul's epistles, this identity theft of our Messiah included the same set of religious reforms initiated by Antiochus Epiphanes which are to stop observing the Sabbath, practicing circumcision, eating according to biblical dietary laws, and studying theology as per the Torah. As a Jewish believer, I find myself in awe that today, my non-Jewish brothers live by the same religious reforms as those pushed by Antiochus Epiphanes and even find myself shunned from their fellowship as one whose, to say the least, theology is overly influenced by Judaism. I wonder what Yeshua would think of the fact that if I want fellowship with non-Jewish believers, I have to live by Antiochus Epiphanes rules. It may be OK for others, but Jewish believers need another Chanukah revolt where with Matthias Maccabee we say "NO" to Antiochus Epiphanes' rules and live our faith in Messiah according to the terms of the covenant Hashem gave to His people. Maybe that Day will be the Day of Messiah. May Hashem give us another Matthias Maccabee who will stand for us and lead us into the cultural battle to defeat Antiochus Epiphanes once and for all! May it be soon Abba, even in our days.
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Ephesians 5:20
… Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Adon, Yeshua HaMashiach. The old saying, 'Be careful what you pray for, you may get it' is true. When the children of Israel complained about their diet in the desert Abba gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them (Psalms 106:15). The lifestyle of the disciple is not generally one of abundance. The Nazarene sect of the early Israeli disciples of the Master were nicknamed, the 'Ebionites', meaning, the 'poor ones' (Galatians 2:10). There is nothing wrong with abundance as it certainly can be a sign of God's blessing, the problem is not abundance, but our attitude towards it, an attitude very well described in the episode of the Children of Israel and the quails (Numbers 11). If there is anything God hates I think it is whining, grumbling and complaining, especially against our own blessings. Here the Children of Israel had experienced the miracles of miracles since coming out of Egypt. From and enslaved people, they were going to be established as a sovereign nation in a country flowing with milk and honey, but all they could think was about a little more variation in their present diet? The problem was not 'Manna' or 'fish' abundance or poverty, the problem was the spirit of entitlement. We are not owed anything by the Almighty, except maybe a good whooping. The attitude that needs to emanate from our spirit is, Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21). The minute we approach life in a spirit of entitlement, we are bound to disappointment, discouragement, and eventual failure. I think this to be the problem behind depression, sadness, and discouragement. We have been mistreated and it's oh so unfair; so we give up and curl up in self-pity licking our wounds. There is something very special about food. We think we are entitled to eat whatever we want in the quantity that we want. Nothing in life works that way. In everything we need to learn the discipline to choose the good and eschew the evil, but when it comes to food, we think we are entitled to whatever suits our palate. As a result, in America we have an epidemic of obesity. The first notion of sin ever taught us was about something to eat. Also a big part of God's requests for His people is concerning their diet. There is old song I sing sometimes: God has not promised skies ever blue, flower strewn pathways all our lives through. God has not promised sun without rain, joy without sadness, peace without pain. But He has promised strength for each day, grace for all trials, light for our way, Rest after labor, help from above, unfailing sympathy, undying love. May we learn that we are not entitled to protection, health, or wealth, only to redemption, and eventual resurrection in the 'World to Come'; May it come soon Abba, even in our days! Act 4:32-35
Now the full number of those who believed … had everything in common. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Our world is plagued with economic instability. The specter of the Great Depression hangs over Presidents and nations. Even though measures have been taken to avoid a repeat, these seem to be nothing more than band-aids trying to keep an inflating balloon from bursting. The world calls a healthy economy one with much movement. Whereas movement is a proof of life, one can still move and go in the wrong direction. A healthy economy should be one where everyone has enough, and more, without the use of oppression and slavery. Any economy based on credit and interest is based on economic oppression which God hates (Leviticus 25:17). Like an old farmer of an Eastern European country told me many years ago, “in our country, we don’t have much, but everybody has some’. On the other hand, a diseased economy is one that shows a polarization of wealth, where a very few have the very most, and the very most have the very least. The Anti-Messiah of the end will provoke such economy that he will use as a form of control of the masses and persecution of those who obey God’s commandments (Revelations 6:5-6; 12 and13). There seem to be two major economic philosophies in the world. On the one side the ultra capitalistic system, and on the other side the ultra communistic way. Both seem to have good points and flaws, and both certainly use oppression, though in different forms. An ideal situation would be a merging of the good points of both, but politics and partisanship keep us from such wisdom. The economic system of the Bible actually provides a good model. It is funny that people don’t want to use it. God teaches us an economy based on capital, but balanced by a social system of tithes and offerings which support both the religious community and the poor. Also, the system is to reboot every seven years with all debts being forgiven Leviticus 25), which creates an automatic re-balancing of wealth where no-one becomes too rich, and no-one becomes too poor. I believe this will be the system used in the World to Come when Messiah rules the earth. At that time, He will force money-lenders to forgive debts every seven years and thereby abolish economic oppression. May it come soon Abba, even in our days! |
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