The Times and seasons. The 1517 RefoRmaTion five PillaRs

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1 The Times and seasons A The one who has ears must now listen to what the Spirit is saying to the congregations. Rev. 2:7 s shared in a previous article, the prophetic date 1999 initiated a New Era. Amazingly, that year Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, fell on As we know, the numbers 9.11 represent an emergency/wake-up call. We are reminded that our Father speaks first in the natural then the spiritual. Every Rosh Hashanah, the shofar heralds a wake-up call around the world. On two shofars were blown, one at the Statue of Liberty for the Nation, and one in the Church for His Body. Since 1999 there has been a worldwide growing sense of urgency on a global scale. The Spirit witnesses to this urgency by releasing this present wake-up Call: Complete the Reformation. the Spirit, He unfolded His first mandate to begin bringing His Blueprint to reality, Lk. 1:17 Make ready for The Lord a people prepared for Messiah s Return. MNL s ongoing commitment to walk in humility and repentance, coupled with the Spirit s sovereign timing, has now released this Call and commission: Complete the Reformation. The 1517 RefoRmaTion five PillaRs The Just Shall Live by Faith Hab. 2:4 No one takes this honor upon himself, but only when called by God Heb. 5:4 As each believer, congregation and/or ministry discerns their call, the Spirit equips them to bring forth His purposes to advance the Kingdom. These giftings and callings are sovereignly appointed. We can see that every believer s life and circumstances have been ordered by the Spirit to insure each is enabled to fulfill his/her destiny, Ex. 31:2-5. As we mature in our relationship with our Father, we come to realize our gifts and callings are ordained of Him, that no one takes this honor upon himself. A personal encounter in my childhood made me astutely cognizant of the Savior s imminent return. That encounter shaped, defined, and continues to give witness to His purpose for my life. At His appointed time, the Spirit revealed His call to bring forth Ministries of New Life. Soon I understood it was His ministry to the Body at large. Hence as I receive revelation of the Spirit s assignments, in accordance with His timing, I release that revelation to His Body. Through the Spirit s wisdom and guidance, He articulated His overarching prophetic Blueprint. It was initially defined by Rev. 19:7 The Bride has made herself ready. As we waited on Having heard the Spirit s Call and received the commission to Complete the Reformation, we are led to review the Five Pillars of the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther is generally credited with beginning the Reformation when he nailed his 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany October 31, However, centuries before that, the Spirit had begun to stir and raise up men like Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe and Jan Hus whose zealous devotion to Truth helped break open the way for Martin Luther and succeeding Reformers. Their zeal for Truth and dedication to Scripture resulted in persecution, excommunication as heretics, and imprisonment. Many died ignoble deaths standing against the heresies of the Roman Catholic Church. In the time of Luther there was widespread ignorance, superstition and abuse in religion. The Bible was not available to the common people, and the only church was the Roman Catholic and her sister the Eastern Orthodox. The people were burdened with penances and indulgences designed to help alleviate their sins. An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due to sins. It is not a remission of sins [and] can be granted only to someone whose sins have [already] been forgiven. Lewis W. Spitz, Ph.D., Our Church and Others.

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3 Y SHUA- JESUS THE LIVING TORAH/TANAKH TEAcHES & OBSERVES THE WRITTEN TORAH Think not that I am come to destroy the Torah/Teachings, or the Prophets/Tanakh: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not a jot, not a tittle, will pass from the Torah.. Matt. 5:17-18 F INTROdUcTION or centuries the controversy between the Mosaic Law and New Testament Grace has been a theological battlefield. There are multiple reasons, one of which is translation, another culture, Hebrew versus Greek. We are indebted to Dr. William Morford s exegesis of Law versus Torah in his One New Man Bible, Our Christian translators nearly always translate both Torah and Nomos [Greek] as Law, even though that is not the meaning for either the Hebrew or the Greek. Torah means teaching or instruction, not law. Nomos, the Greek word for Torah, frequently translated LAW, refers to anything that has been established and can mean law, but would more accurately be translated Torah (Teaching) ninety percent of the time in the New Testament. p.1804 We are reminded that Jews wrote the Bible; they spoke to a Jewish audience who knew the Hebrew language, life, and culture. In the Hebrew Jewish Bible, the word TaNaKh (Old Testament) is an acronym formed from the first letters of: Torah/five books of Moses, Nevi im/prophets, Kethuvim/other writings, Psalms, Proverbs, etc. To gain greater insight into Y shua s role in the Torah/Tanakh and set the stage for His teaching in Matt. 5:17-18, we will revisit the Apostle John s three poignant revelations. He illuminates the magnitude of Y shua s call and ministry viewed through a Jewish lens. In the beginning was the Word/Logos, and the Word was with Elohim/God, and the Word was Elohim/God, Jn. 1:1. The Apostle John reveals that the Word/Tanakh IS Yahveh Elohim, that is, the Word and Yahveh Elohim are One and the Same. The Word/Old Testament became flesh and dwelt among us.jn. 1:14. In verse 14, John reveals this amazingly awesome revelation: the spoken and written Word/Old Testament became Man, and dwelt with His people, the Jews. John makes it clear Y shua IS the Word of The Father; He IS the Living Tanakh / Old Testament wrapped in flesh. Tteachings, hrough His words, and actions, Y shua displayed The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came His full and perfect through Y shua Messiah, Jn. 1:17. commitment to Since the creation of Adam, 2,400 years transpired before the Hebrew the Torah. people reached Mt. Sinai. In all of those hundreds of years before the call of Abraham, Yahveh did not find one person worthy of receiving His Torah/Teachings. When He found Abraham, from whom the chosen people descended, 3 Jesus teaching in synagogue - Greg Olsen Yahveh cut a blood Covenant with Him, Gen. 15. At that time, He revealed it would be 400 years before He could give Abraham s descendants the Promised Land. The Covenant also disclosed that the Hebrew people would go through a period of great darkness, Gen. 15:13. After 200 years of slavery the Israelites were delivered out of Egyptian bondage. They arrived at Mt. Sinai 50 days later to experience the first Shavuot/Pentecost. At Mt. Sinai, Yahveh spoke His Word/Torah to Moses who wrote and gave it to the Israelites. Fifteen hundred years after Moses, in the fullness of time, Yahveh sent His Living Word/Torah, Y shua wrapped in Flesh, to the lost sheep of the House of Israel; He walked among them full of Grace and Truth. Y SHUA TEAcHES THE TORAH HE cannot deny HIMSELF Through His words, teachings, and actions, Y shua displayed His full and perfect commitment to the Torah. A broad spectrum of academia has written on Y shua and the Torah, digging deeply into the Hebraic soil of Y shua s ministry. Jewish scholar, Geza Vermes, asks, Did Jesus reject these [Mosaic Laws]? The Synoptic gospels, our primary witnesses, give no support to such a theory. In summing up his view of Y shua in the Gospels, Vermes observes, The only logical inference is that Jesus freely insisted, even in a purely ritual context, on strict adherence to the Torah. The Religion of Jesus The Jew, pp. 11, 18 Jewish believer and scholar, Dr. David Friedman states in They Loved the Torah, Matthew 5:17-19 is a powerful teaching that cannot be ignored by any serious student of the Torah-New Testament relationship. Y shua clearly taught on the time span of the Torah s validity: Don t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish but to complete.

4 Yes, indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah not until everything that must happen has happened. p. 30 Y shua taught that His influence would be one of strengthening, not weakening, the Torah. Dr. Friedman points out, the Greek word used in the text for complete is plerosai. It carries a sense of both fulfilling and establishing the proper meaning of the Torah. Israeli scholar David Bivin in Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus has accurately paraphrased Y shua s words: Never imagine for a moment, Jesus says, that I intend to abrogate the Law [Torah] by misinterpreting it. My intent is not to weaken or negate the Law [Torah], but by properly interpreting God s Written Word I aim to establish it, that is, make it even more lasting. I would never invalidate the Law [Torah] by removing something from it through misinterpretation. Heaven and earth would sooner disappear than something from the Law [Torah]. Not the smallest letter in the alphabet, the yod, nor even its decorative spur, will ever disappear from the Law. p. 155 The foundation Y shua has laid in Matthew 5:17-19 is one that establishes His love for His Father s Word and Ways which the Torah clearly reveals. As John Fischer noted in Jesus and Early Judaism, Matthew 5:17-19 is the crucial passage in understanding Jesus perspective. In it He uses the term fulfill [plerosai] to describe His relationship to the Law [Torah] here it implies to cram full, bring to full expression, show forth the intended meaning. The idea is to give fullness and provide true meaning, as opposed to destroying, overthrowing or abolishing. p. 23 REFLEcTIONS Y SHUA / TANAKH THE WORd OF THE FATHER In recent years, there has been a movement among believers to take another look at the Torah and its place in the lives of those who trust in Jesus/Y shua. In the midst of this awakening, there are also an increasing number of Jewish voices calling believers to examine our anti-torah position in light of Jesus/Y shua s words in Matt. 5: Dr. David Friedman is one of those Jewish voices helping to awaken believers to reconsider their Biblical position on Torah. In his book, They Loved the Torah he sets forth, The Torah occupied a central place in the earthly life of Yeshua the Messiah, as well as the lives of all of His followers, including Sha ul (Paul) of Tarsus. The Apostle Paul was Torah observant, as were all of Y shua s disciples. If Y shua were not Torah observant, the disciples would not have I f Y shua were not a Torah observant teacher, no other Torah teacher would have followed Him or honored Him with the title of Rabbi. 4 followed Him. In Matt. 8:19 we see a Torah teacher approaches Y shua saying, Rabbi, I will follow You wherever You go. If Y shua were not Torah observant, no other Torah teacher would have followed Him or honored Him with the title of Rabbi. Matthew, as well as the other three gospel writers, fully validates Y shua s teaching and observance of Torah. Matt. 24:12 holds a profound insight in relation to the Torah and the End Days. In the passage Y shua was teaching on the signs of the end of the age/acharit hayamim. He states, Because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold. The Complete Jewish Bible brings a thought provoking translation: Many people s love will grow cold because of increased distance from Torah. How gracious of our Father to awaken us to Torah as we see Messiah s Return approaching. The gospels portray Messiah as the Word of the Father, Tanakh. He stated, My teaching is not Mine, but His Who sent Me, Jn. 7:16. For I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father Who sent Me has Himself given Me what to say and what to speak, Jn. 12:49. Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. And the word that you hear is not Mine but the Father s Who sent Me, Jn. 14:24. Article by Marilyn Lake Griffin YAHWEH s Fall Festivals Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a Holyday, or of the New Moon, or of the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come. Col. 2:16-17 T he Fall Festivals or Feast Days have not yet been fulfilled prophetically. Mankind is currently living in the prophetic season of Summer or Pentecost/Shavuot. If the Hebrew calendar is correct, the 6,000th year of earth s history has almost arrived. Many believe we are in the year 5986, leaving only 14 years until the changing of the Sixth prophetic Day to the Seventh. Summer is about to end and Fall soon will come. It will be preceded by the season of Teshuvah or Repentance and will set in motion the long-awaited prophetic events pictured in the Fall Festivals. It will truly be a glorious, awe-filled time. We are living on the precipice of Earth s Final Days! a Feast of trumpets/yom teruah b In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets... Lev. 23:24-25, Nu. 29:1-6 Natural: The Feast of Trumpets recalls the miraculous redemption from the dead of Isaac on Mt. Moriah. Abraham represents our Heavenly Father and Isaac represents His Only Son, willing to offer

5 his life at the Father s request. And of course the ram in the thicket also represents Y shua, the Lamb that the Father Himself provided. When the Last Shofar sounds in synagogues on this day, it is called the Awakening Blast that figuratively raises Isaac from the dead, Gen. 22: Prophetic: This exciting day anticipates several wonderful events: a king crowned, a nation awakened, deeds remembered and rewarded, the fullness of the Gentiles completed and the Church Age closed. This Day, the day of the Awakening Blast, awakens saints who sleep in Messiah for a radical departure a departure from temporal life to eternal life a blast that changes a dishonorable, natural, weak body for a glorious, immortal, powerful one. 1 Cor. 15:51-54, 1 Thess. 4: a DaY of atonement/yom Kippur b On the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of Atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and you shall afflict your souls And you shall do no work in that same day. Lev. 23:27-28 Natural: After the sin of the golden calf Moses descended with the second Tablets and the instructions to build the Tabernacle/Mishkan. Also on this day two goats were offered by the High Priest: the goat of Azazel and The LORD s goat. The LORD s goat was offered as a sin offering and the Azazel goat was sent off into the wilderness bearing the sins of the people. This day is known as the Great Judgment Day or simply The Great Day. Every 50 years a long, loud shofar blast decreed the year of Jubilee on this Great Day. Lev. 16:1-34, Nu. 29:7-11 Prophetic: Yom Kippur pictures both great judgment and great deliverance: judgment of the Evil One and his entire Beast system, Rev. 20:2, and the mighty deliverance of Yahveh s people when the Great Shofar sounds after sunset on the seventh Yom Kippur of the Tribulation announcing Messiah s Second Coming. His feet will touch the Mount of Olives bringing everlasting justice to the Earth. Matt. 24:29-31, Isa. 27:12-13, Zech. 13:4, Rev. 19:20 a Feast of tabernacles/sukkot b In the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast unto The LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath And you shall take on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before The LORD your God You shall dwell in booths seven days that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. Lev. 23:39, 40, 42, 43 5 Natural: When the Children of Israel entered the Promised Land, Yahveh commanded them to keep the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles/Sukkot at the end of their harvest season. During their ingathering, they were to bring in all the produce of the land and rejoice. Grain, grapes, olives, dates, figs, and pomegranates all must be harvested. And the people were mandated to live in sukkot/ booths or temporary dwellings for seven days to commemorate Yahveh s ample provision during their 40 years in the wilderness. It was a time of great abundance and rejoicing. They took palm, willow and other beautiful leafy branches and waved them in worship before the Holy One. Even Gentiles were invited to this happiest of all Feasts. Deut. 16:13-17, Neh. 8:13-18, Ezr. 3:4 Prophetic: Sukkot, the most joyous and bountiful of all the Feasts, will be a time of overflowing abundance: abundant joy, abundant peace, overflowing blessings and increased prosperity. Prophetically, the seven days of this Feast picture the time Our Beloved Savior will sit on His Father s throne ruling for 1,000 years, 1 Chron. 29:23. Then on the eighth day, the Last Great Day, the Son will relinquish all rule to His Father, and Yahveh Himself will descend and dwell on the new heavens and new earth with the redeemed from all ages, 1 Cor. 15:24-25, Rev. 21:1-3. This is a festival to which all nations, as represented by all the harvested fruits and grains, are invited and is in fact known in Hebrew literature as the Feast of Nations, Zech. 14:16. Article by Karen Crawley The hebrew Calendar When the Israelites were in the 7th month (nisan) of their Civil calendar, Yahveh ~The Lord spoke to Moses that nisan would become the first month of a new Sacred calendar. After offering the Passover lamb on nisan 14, the Israelites left Egypt in the 1st month of their Sacred calendar and the 7th month of their Civil calendar. (Year 2448 began at Mt. Sinai) Months spring Festivals 1st - nisan... nisan 14 - passover (Gregorian months: nisan Unleavened Bread March/April) nisan (date varies) - First FrUits (Day after Sabbath after Passover) 2nd - iyar 3rd - sivan (May/June)... Sivan (date varies) 4th - tammuz 5th -av 6th -elul Shavu ot / Pentecost (Day after seven Sabbaths after Passover) Fall Festivals 7th -tishri... tishri 1 - yom teruah Day of the Awakening Blast / Last Shofar = Resurrection of righteous dead & gathering Believers to Messiah (Trumpets) tishri 10 - yom KippUr (Atonement Day) tishri sukkot (Tabernacles) 8th - Cheshvan 9th - Kislev... ChanUKah - Festival of Lights 10th - tevet 11th - shevat 12th - adar

6 Mikrah [Heb. Convocation / Rehearsal ] please join us for This very special gathering! Dr. Michael K. Lake Dr. Michael Lake is the Chancellor and Founder of Biblical Life College and Seminary in Marshfield, MO. He and his wife Mary co-host the Kingdom Intelligence Briefing, a weekly podcast alerting the End Times Remnant of key teachings, prophecies and strategies to overcome the kingdom of darkness. Dr. Lake is host of Biblical Life TV. He is the author of The Shinar Directive and is soon to release its sequel, The Sheeriyth Imperative. Sheeriyth is Hebrew for remnant. Dr. Lake is seen on SkyWatch TV with host Tom Horn and Derek Gilbert and heard on radio talk shows. Teachings Topics will include: Teshuvah Prepares Us For Messiah s Return A Josiah s Reformation in Our Day Necessary Steps to Fulfill Your Destiny The Crucial Error of Mistranslating Torah as Law Does the N.T. Support The Torah Was Fulfilled? Restoring Torah s Biblical Perspective Jesus, the Kingdom, the Commandments John, the Commandments and the Last Days Times: Thursday august pm Friday august 26 9am -3pm / 6-9pm saturday august 27 9am -3pm CosT: $60.00 / person July 15 July 31 Rev. William (Bill) Morford Biblical scholar, Rev. Morford, studied Greek up to six hours daily. Supernatural events led him to study the Hebrew language and customs under Israeli Rabbi Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, grandson of the famous lexicographer Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, known for making Hebrew the national language of Israel. Rev. Morford s knowledge of Greek and Hebrew prepared him to answer the Spirit s call to translate the One New Man Bible published in 2011, helping readers understand the Hebrew roots of their Christian faith, exposing errors and prejudices of previous translations and explaining formerly misunderstood passages which seemed contradictory. $70.00 / person August 1 August 14 $80.00 / person August 15 August 19 $90.00 / person August 20 August 25 (Limited scholarships available of $ $30.00) each registration includes 2016 Convocation -Complete the Reformation folder Graphic handouts, charts and notes One copy of the 2016 Teshuvah Prayer Guide (182 pgs) Coffee breaks & lunch Friday & Saturday Teshuvah prayer guide 2016 Marilyn Lake Griffin Marilyn directs Ministries of New Life. In 1987 the Spirit led her to gather spiritual leaders in the Kansas City metropolitan area for prayer and spiritual renewal that birthed the Citywide Prayer Movement. In 1995, Marilyn gave the CPM to Pastors. Under her leadership MNL has hosted over twenty Citywide Repentance meetings, numerous conferences and prayer gatherings. The 2016 Teshuvah, Complete the Reformation, marks MNL s twelfth 40-day Call to Repentance. Marilyn has written and published ten Teshuvah Prayer Guides distributed annually to more than 4,000 believers. 7 o ur 2016 Teshuvah Prayer Guide theme is in response to the Spirit s call, Complete the Reformation. The 182 illustrative pages, 36 in full color, are His work. May He use the 2016 Prayer Guide to align us with our Father s Ways and make us a people ready for Messiah s coming. Your contribution toward the annual publication of the Teshuvah Prayer Guide is appreciated. To order extra copies for personal or group use, contact MNL.

7 Mikrah [Heb. Convocation / Rehearsal ] please join us for This very special gathering! Dr. Michael K. Lake Dr. Michael Lake is the Chancellor and Founder of Biblical Life College and Seminary in Marshfield, MO. He and his wife Mary co-host the Kingdom Intelligence Briefing, a weekly podcast alerting the End Times Remnant of key teachings, prophecies and strategies to overcome the kingdom of darkness. Dr. Lake is host of Biblical Life TV. He is the author of The Shinar Directive and is soon to release its sequel, The Sheeriyth Imperative. Sheeriyth is Hebrew for remnant. Dr. Lake is seen on SkyWatch TV with host Tom Horn and Derek Gilbert and heard on radio talk shows. Teachings Topics will include: Teshuvah Prepares Us For Messiah s Return A Josiah s Reformation in Our Day Necessary Steps to Fulfill Your Destiny The Crucial Error of Mistranslating Torah as Law Does the N.T. Support The Torah Was Fulfilled? Restoring Torah s Biblical Perspective Jesus, the Kingdom, the Commandments John, the Commandments and the Last Days Times: Thursday august pm Friday august 26 9am -3pm / 6-9pm saturday august 27 9am -3pm CosT: $60.00 / person July 15 July 31 Rev. William (Bill) Morford Biblical scholar, Rev. Morford, studied Greek up to six hours daily. Supernatural events led him to study the Hebrew language and customs under Israeli Rabbi Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, grandson of the famous lexicographer Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, known for making Hebrew the national language of Israel. Rev. Morford s knowledge of Greek and Hebrew prepared him to answer the Spirit s call to translate the One New Man Bible published in 2011, helping readers understand the Hebrew roots of their Christian faith, exposing errors and prejudices of previous translations and explaining formerly misunderstood passages which seemed contradictory. $70.00 / person August 1 August 14 $80.00 / person August 15 August 19 $90.00 / person August 20 August 25 (Limited scholarships available of $ $30.00) each registration includes 2016 Convocation -Complete the Reformation folder Graphic handouts, charts and notes One copy of the 2016 Teshuvah Prayer Guide (182 pgs) Coffee breaks & lunch Friday & Saturday Teshuvah prayer guide 2016 Marilyn Lake Griffin Marilyn directs Ministries of New Life. In 1987 the Spirit led her to gather spiritual leaders in the Kansas City metropolitan area for prayer and spiritual renewal that birthed the Citywide Prayer Movement. In 1995, Marilyn gave the CPM to Pastors. Under her leadership MNL has hosted over twenty Citywide Repentance meetings, numerous conferences and prayer gatherings. The 2016 Teshuvah, Complete the Reformation, marks MNL s twelfth 40-day Call to Repentance. Marilyn has written and published ten Teshuvah Prayer Guides distributed annually to more than 4,000 believers. 7 o ur 2016 Teshuvah Prayer Guide theme is in response to the Spirit s call, Complete the Reformation. The 182 illustrative pages, 36 in full color, are His work. May He use the 2016 Prayer Guide to align us with our Father s Ways and make us a people ready for Messiah s coming. Your contribution toward the annual publication of the Teshuvah Prayer Guide is appreciated. To order extra copies for personal or group use, contact MNL.

8 Thursday August pm Friday August 26 9am -3pm / 6-9pm Saturday August 27 9am -3pm MNL TESHUVAH daily PRAYER ScHEdULE colonial PRESBYTERIAN church (Room location to be announced) Monday Thursday 5:30 7:30 PM Friday..9:30 11:30 AM Sabbath & Sunday 3:00 5:00 PM Please pray about forming a Teshuvah Prayer gathering in your area