Heaven's Time

The heavens declare the glory of God,

the dome of the sky speaks the work of His hands.

Every day it utters speech,

every night it reveals knowledge. 

Psalm 19:1,2

In recent years, I've become somewhat of a moon-watcher.  I've begun taking notice of the cycles of the moon, the waxing and the waning, and the new moons and the full moons, all the while acknowledging that God uses His creation to teach us spiritual truths.  So, when the news of a tetrad of blood moons occurring on God's holy days reached my ears, I was most fascinated, because I'd already been learning in my observations and studies that the moon speaks volumes.....as God's heavenly timepiece! 

Out for my moon watch.

I've come to realize that the moon carries far more significance than what I have previously understood.  I now comprehend that God made the sun and the moon as signs.....for marking time.....so that we can commemorate His special dates.  Leviticus 23 teaches us that Sabbath, which was established from creation to be celebrated on the seventh day of each week, is one of God's special appointed days, and additionally there are seven other divine appointments that are meant to be times of joy and reflection, intimacy and revelation, prophecy and fulfillment of things to come.

The cycles of the moon are heavenly indicators..... calling out the times of the appointed festivals of the LORD.  Although many claim that these days are "Jewish holidays," the Scripture designates them as belonging to the LORD.  The LORD's divine appointments, marked by the lunar calendar, are cyclical times of looking backward and forward, in observance of what the LORD has done and of what He yet will do.  These experiential "dates with God" were created to prepare our hearts and to sanctify our lives in preparation for the coming of our Heavenly Bridegroom.  The divine appointments were instructed by God to be  "a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live."  Doesn't this testify as to how very important these dates are to Him?

God's timepiece for marking sacred times, dates and years.

Our Jewish Messiah and his disciples observed the Father's divine appointments, and so did the early believers in Jesus (Yeshua).  They were members of synagogs and observed the feasts of the LORD right along with the rest of the Jews.  The early "church" (actually a sect of Judaism) included many Gentile believers who knew that they had been grafted in to the commonwealth of Israel.  So here's the big question for us today:  Why are the "Jewish" dates and festivals so foreign to the Christian church and why doesn't the church observe the Biblical holidays?

From the earliest beginnings, the followers of Yeshua the Messiah were faced with many adversities.  Under Roman rule, antisemitism, persecution, martyrdom, imprisonment, torture, harsh laws against Judaism, against Torah and "Jewish holy days", divisions within Judaism leading to expulsion from the synagogs, all led to believers being pushed out to start new congregations.  Believing Gentiles, new to the faith and the Torah instructions, made up many of the new congregations as the gospel message was spread to the nations.  With the passage of time, and distance from the land, language, and culture of Israel, the divisions between Judaism and the new sect called "Christianity" became greater, and misunderstandings have grown over time. 

The great rift in "time-keeping" that we live by today became cemented when the Roman emperor, Constantine, created laws "Christianizing" pagan days of worship.  Along with a tactical purpose of uniting his expansive kingdom under the religion of the Roman Catholic Church, he wanted nothing to do with anything even remotely Jewish.  Ever since, the church has followed in the wake of this divisive decision.  Although it's hard to imagine that the church could find itself so far removed from its roots, we must remember that there is an enemy who is at war with God, the Jewish people and the church, an enemy who seeks to change God's times and laws.  As history has proved, our enemy is a devilish master at diversion and deception.

As I look into the heavens, and see a tetrad of blood moons, and solar eclipses scheduled to occur on God's divine calendar in 2014 - 2015, I see God speaking.....boldly yet silently.....magnificently yet gently.....in an unspoken, universal language.  It's as if God is highlighting in the heavens for all nations to see the glory and divinity of His appointed days. From my vantage point, the evidence is pretty undeniable, the Father still waits, patiently and graciously for his children to meet with Him on His terms.....to experience the beauty and the depths of His divine appointments.  

We as individuals and as a church, have gone our own way.  We have followed the traditions of man for many generations.  Change is not easy.....but we can turn around.  One Reformation was not enough.  We can't turn back the hands of time, but we can return.....to the roots of our faith, to the roots of Christianity, to the Father's calendar.....to meet with the LORD for His divine appointments.

 

"The Significance of the Blood Moons"   

Sunday, May 26, 2013:  Pastor Mark Biltz

 







The series of photos of the moon "turning to blood" are the photos I took on Passover 2014.  The blood moon overhead fascinated me, as I remembered that first Passover night.....when the blood of the innocent lambs on the doorposts protected the firstborns when the Angel of Death PASSed OVER their homes.  Today, we put our trust in the blood of Yeshua, our Passover Lamb, as it is applied to the doorposts of our hearts.











Special thanks to Brendan Algra for your great photo of the partial moon - with craters included (it was the inspiration for me to buy a camera just like his) and to Alethia Lovato for making my pictures move!  I found the u-tube video, "The Significance of the Blood Moons" by Pastor Mark Biltz, very helpful in understanding God's way of marking time.