BIBLICAL ASTRONOMY – HOW THE ANCIENTS MARKED TIME AND A PROPHETIC GENERATION

As we have studied the calendar and how the sun, moon, and stars are, and have been used, to determine the seasons by ancient civilizations, our understanding of seasons, signs, days, and years has been greatly enhanced. We begin to understand things in the Biblical account that heretofore have been unclear to our understanding. In these calculations the Biblical scholars use meaningful Biblical numbers.

Using Biblical numbers can reveal prophetic understanding of events which happened in the Bible, how ancient civilizations developed their calendars, and Yahweh’s timing in current events. Here are some interesting observations which may help us understand the times in which we live (1 Chronicles 12.32).

An example of this is in Genesis 7.11-12 and 8.3-4:                                                 

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of the heavens were opened.  And there was rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights.

And the waters turned back and forth upon the earth, and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

Noah entered the ark on the 17^th day of the second month and the ark rested in the seventh month on the 17^th day. This indicated a 360 day calendar which is different than the calendar used after Yahweh established the Passover in Exodus 12.1-2 as the beginning of the year.

The calendar Yahweh institutes in Ex 12.1-2 will now conform to the sighting of the first sliver of the new moon. In this calendar months can be either 29 or 30 days. Obviously Noah was following a calendar in which all months were 30 days long.

Those who study Biblical Astronomy in depth like Andrew Gabriel Roth have a deep understanding of how ancient civilizations observed days and months. Many ancient civilizations, according to scholars like Roth, observed a 30 say month and after 6 years would add an additional month of 30 days to balance out the seasons.

Since the moon cycles around the earth in 29.522 days over a six year period this means that after 6 years 30 days need to be accounted for in order for the seasons to not drift.

360 X 6 = 2,160 days + 30 = 2,190 days. Then 2190 days divided by 6 = 365 days/year.

To adjust for the missing .022 days each month the formula is: 2190 days X 6 = 13,140 days in 36 years. An individual generation in the Bible is 40 years. Instead of waiting another 6 years for the adjustment we wait four years and complete the “generation of time”.

360 days X 4 = 1470 days (between years 37 through 40).

13,140 + 1470 = 14,610 days in 40 years. Finally 14,610 divided by 40 = 365.25 days/year. Beyond this the numbers become more complicated to get the exact number of days in a year. It takes a 100,000 year cycle to perfectly balance!

Now we can begin to understand that no man knows the day or hour of the Masters’ return!

A generation is 40, 70, and 100 in the Bible

A generation in the Bible is normally 40 years. However, a generation is 100 years is understood by virtue of the fact that Abraham had his promised child when he was exactly 100 years old (Gen. 21:5); it is evident, therefore, that the age of a man when his first child is born is the raw definition of a generation.

To summarize: A generation in the bible is primarily the age of a man when his first male child is born; but secondarily, the age of a man at his death. The bible then rounds the exact span of years in a "generation" to be 40 and 100 years as the primary usage, but on occasion, "70 years". And 70 is the average of 40 and 100, which allow the three timeframes to work in numeric harmony to produce the numeric symmetry found throughout the bible. The usage of the 100-year generation predominates in the bible prior to the time of Moses when men lived longer, but 40 years after Moses. Meaning of a 'Generation' in the Bible (bible-codes.org)

I look at the 100 year number as a combination of two Jubilee years which are 50 years. Very few will live to be 100 years old. An individual, however, could live through two Jubilee years during which he would be able to see his children and grandchildren grow to adulthood. Many world events have occurred in 50 year periods of time.

Israeli Independence: The United Nations approved a plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state in 1947, but the Arabs rejected it. In May 1948, Israel was officially declared an independent state with David Ben-Gurion, the head of the Jewish Agency, as the prime minister.

In World War 1 British General Allenby captured the city of Jerusalem in December 1917. Fifty years later in 1967 during the 6 Day War the Israeli’s took control of the city of Jerusalem for the first time in 2000 years. On December 6, 2017 President Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and stated that the American embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. 

These three events occurred in 50 year intervals. The same Biblical number of a Jubilee year. It is possible an individual could live for a 100 years from 1917 to 2017 and have seen all these events happen. This is why I believe a “prophetic Biblical generation” is 100 years.

An individual generation of 40 years would be the amount of time a person would be expected to have completed their family with children. Those children would then have completed their family after 40 years. The original parents would then have lived to see their grandchildren grow into adults with the 100 year time frame.

Here is a Biblical reference which witnesses to the 100 year prophetic generation: Then he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them four hundred years…Gen 15.13

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

The fourth generation.—Heb., dôr. (See Note on Genesis 6:9.) As the four generations are identical with the four centuries of Genesis 15:13, we have here an undesigned testimony to the long duration of human life. So Abram was 100 years old when Isaac was born, and Isaac was 60 at the birth of his children, and Jacob 64 years of age at his marriage. But the word dôr had probably come down from a remote antiquity, and, like the Latin word seculum, signified a century.

Calendar Mathematics from: Wheel of Stars by Andrew Gabriel Roth

THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL IN THE MAZZAROTH

The Hebrew way of study: PaRDeS, an acronym formed from the first letters of the four levels of Torah interpretation, means 'orchard' in Hebrew. (The English word Paradise (PaRaDiSe) is derived from the same Persian root).

Peshat: often inaccurately translated as literal, it comes from the root which means simple, although peshat is sometimes anything but simple! Peshat correctly means the intended, explicit meaning.

Remez: alluded meaning (reading between the lines). Remez in modern Hebrew means hint. Traditionally, remez referred to methods such as gezera shava (equivalent language implying equivalent meaning) and gematria (word-number values)

Derash: Homiletical or interpretative meaning. The word 'midrash' is from the same root. The drash is an interpretation that is not explicit in the text.

Sod: (lit. secret). The mystical or esoteric meaning.

Joseph and his brothers in the Mazzaroth: Joseph had 2 dreams: one about physical matters (binding sheaves), and one about spiritual matters (the sun, moon, and stars, which are heavenly bodies). Nevertheless, both dreams shared exactly the same message. Both had to do with harvest. Sheaves are harvested in spring and fall. The sun, moon, and stars, are the heavenly signs signaling the planting and harvest seasons.

The sun (Jacob), the moon (Rachel) and the stars (brothers of handmaids) represent the tribes of Israel. In the Mazzaroth there are twelve constellations which are signs for seasons, days, and years. The sun, moon, and stars, move through the 12 constellations during the year. This is how time is kept in the stars in order to ensure the Feasts of the Lord occur at their “appointed times”. Each of the twelve constellations contain 3 lesser Constellations for a total of 36 + 12 = 48.

The number 48 relates to the 24 courses of priestly service which King David Established in 1 Chronicles 24. Each course of priests served two one week periods of service in the Temple during the year—equaling 48 weeks. During the Feasts of the Lord all the priests served at the same time. This covered the full 52 weeks of a solar year.

In the heavenly tabernacle we see 24 elders worshipping at the throne. As in heaven so on earth! Yahweh is speaking to us in the stars.

The Mazzaroth contains the family of God in the stars and the story told by the constellations is the birth, ministry, and redemption of our Messiah. It is the Gospel Story in the Stars—His-story.

These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a coat of many colors. Gen 37.1-3

Joseph is a lad of seventeen not yet mature. He is keeping watch on his brother’s activities with the flocks and reporting back to their father. The term evil report in Hebrew means: mischief, wicked in ethical quality, wretchedness, or wrong.

They must have been carousing rather than tending the flocks. Maybe they were spending too much time in the cities nearby carousing? The Bible doesn’t tell us what they were doing, but Joseph was ratting them out.

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren; and they hated him yet the more.  And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about and made obeisance to my sheaf.  And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? Or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words. Gen 37.5-8

Sheaves are bound together at harvest time. There is a spring harvest and a fall harvest in Israel. Joseph’s dreams were about harvests. In the spring the sheaves of barley are harvested and presented as a wave offering on the day of first fruits during Unleavened Bread/Passover. The fall harvest is focused on harvesting of trees and grape vines. The fall is the season of the return of the Master of the vineyard.

And he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brethren, saying, Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his father and to his brethren; and his father reprehended him and said unto him, what is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?  And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the word. Gen 37.9-11

This dream was more powerful than the first dream. It dealt with the heavenly bodies, sun, moon, and stars. It represented the entire family of Jacob, Rachel, the hand maidens, and all twelve sons. This is why I believe it connects to the Mazzaroth Story of the Stars. The sun representing Jacob, the moon Rachel, and the stars the 12 tribes. We see this in the Mazzaroth Story of the stars which includes the sun and moon.

Psalm 19.1-7 tells us of the sun moving through the constellations: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows the work of his hands. One day provides a word for the next day, and one night declares wisdom unto the next night. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoices as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heavens, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

We see the sun annually moving through the 12 constellations which are representative of the tribes of Israel. Any tribe or nation can look up to the heavens and see this story of redemption spelled out in the stars. It doesn’t matter what language they speak. The story in the stars can be understood by all. Their voice is heard everywhere.

The sun is the Father, our bridegroom running His race in the tabernacle that has been set in the heavens. He is a strong man rejoicing in the coming marriage to his bride. Together they will create a family. Elohim will create a family in His image during the coming Millennial Kingdom of God on earth for a thousand years!

Nothing can be hid from the father…His heat is like a consuming fire. This is His-story in the heavens for all the earth to see His glory!

Now let’s take this one step further. As we have seen in Genesis 1.14-19 the sun, moon, and stars are for signs, seasons, days, and years. The four seasons revolve around the Vernal (Spring) Equinox, the Autumnal Equinox, the Summer Solstice, and the Winter Solstice.

They are the signs. The word sign in Hebrew means “a signal”. The signs point to the four seasons. The seasons consist of days which make a year. The Witness of the Stars in the heavens shows the world the plan of Elohim—the way of salvation. No tribe or nation has an excuse not to “hear” this story.

All of this points to the end of the age and the second appearance of Yeshua. Joseph’s first dream was a spring dream about barley harvest (sheaves). Yeshua physically fulfilled the spring feast of Passover and Unleavened Bread which includes the spring harvest of Shauvot which we call Pentecost.

Yeshua has yet to fulfill the fall harvest which is what Joseph’s second dream was about. In Luke 21.11 and 25 Yeshua said there would be signs in the heavens, sun, moon, and stars when He returns. These signs will be a “signal” in the heavens for us. I believe the Master is giving us a hint concerning the season of His return.

In Matthew 16.3 Yeshua told the people that they could not discern the signs of the times! He is telling us the season in which he will return. No man knows the day, hour, or time, but we can know the signs and season of His return.

Look up into the heavens and you will see. The Master said to, “to look up to the heavens.” He will be returning in fulfillment of the Fall Feasts of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles. WE will know because he is tipping us off as to when the season of his return will be.

BIBLICAL ASTRONOMY – HOW THE STARS KEEP TIME

As we look at how the stars keep time let’s keep in mind that Abraham, Moses, and the Magi were surely educated on the movement of the sun through the Mazzaroth (Constellations). Abraham was called out of Chaldea and they were known as great astronomers. He would have had an education in astronomy. Moses was trained as an Egyptian prince and their civilization was well versed in the heavens. The Magi, too, were most likely from Persia and they too were known for watching the heavens.

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for seasons and for days and years. They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night—as well as the stars. God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, to rule the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.  Evening came and then morning: the fourth day. Genesis 1.14-19

Most of us never consider the role of the stars in bringing about the seasons. Yahweh uses the constellations themselves to mark off seasons as we see in the verses above.

In the early beginnings of mankind and civilizations the moon would not have been the only way to mark the months as there had to be another method of counting the days to make a full 365.2422 day year that would adjust the 360 day year system which would have been losing days.

Consider the calendar of ancient Egypt, which Moses would have been familiar with. The Egyptians kept 12 months of 30 days each, and then the remaining 5.2422 days were considered “between the years”. They also tracked the rising of Sirius or the Dog Star to synchronize their sacred year, which ran on a different schedule than the civil year, much like the Jewish calendar does today.

The use of constellations, along with the solar cycle, coordinating the rising and setting of the sun with a given star or group of stars would have been how Adam, Noah, and Abraham would have based their planting and harvest seasons. Yahweh had given them the way in the passage from Genesis above.

Their 360 day system would have never allowed seeding and harvest seasons to too far out of line before making an adjustment at the end of 6 years. The stars and constellations would be their way of double checking.

They would, for example, look for the sun to rise in Aries to know spring had begun. Even if they officially counted their months in 30 day increments, they would seed and plant according to the stars. Below is the Constellation Clock and its months. We are not studying astrology. We are only using the familiar names of the Constellations for understanding.

ARIES: March 21-April 20 – The Vernal Equinox             

Taurus: April 21-May 20; Gemini: May 21-June 20; Cancer: June 21-July 20; Leo: July 21-August 20; Virgo Aug 21-Sept 20

LIBRA: September 21-November 20 – The Autumnal Equinox

Scorpio: October 21-November 20; Sagittarius: Nov 21-Dec 20; Capricorn: Dec 21-Jan 20; Aquarius: Jan 21-Feb 20: Pisces: Feb 21-March 20

Aries and Libra are highlighted because they are the star months which begin at precisely the times of the vernal and autumnal Equinoxes. Both ancient Jewish historians Josephus and Philo mention this fact and tie the Feasts of Passover and Tabernacles not only to the full moons but to the full moons immediately after their respective equinoxes.

What this means is that while Passover cannot start prior to the Vernal Equinox, its positon in relation to that event will determine the Feast of Tabernacles timing, which can be either before or after the Autumnal Equinox. As a result, the constellations, full moon, and sun all had a role in setting these great feasts in ancient Israel!

The ancient Israelites would have seen the equinox has to do with two special stars what are directly opposite one another along the ecliptic. This is an imaginary straight line across the visible sky with each of these “border stars”—Aldebaran and Antares—forming the dots that connect the line.

One cannot see the stars “behind” the sun due to the sun’s brightness. Aldebaran and the Pleiades are the last notable signs visible just before the Vernal Equinox. The Pleiades, being an open cluster of faint stars, disappears in the glow of sunset first: then you start looking for Aldebaran. When, after sunset, just as the stars start becoming visible it becomes difficult to spot Aldebaran, you know the Vernal Equinox is near or has happened.

The same type of thing occurs during the Autumnal Equinox with the sun and Antares on the other side of our imaginary line across the visible sky.

All the ancient nations around Israel could make these same observations very easily—and some of those nations held Israel captive for long periods of time. There is no reason to suggest that ancient Israel, or Babylon, where Abraham was from, did not understand this and practice it for agricultural purposes. Missing the window of time to plant would have had dire consequences for any of these nations.

The priests and Sanhedrin of ancient Israel understood these astronomical movements following YHVH’s instructions to use the sun, moon, and stars for signs, seasons, days, and years. The writings of ancient Jewish historians Josephus and Philo attest to this. Many scholars believe both men were priests and understood things about the calendar which have been lost through the millenniums.

Philo’s insight is that the day of the Exodus was at the time of the Vernal Equinox, adjusted for the Hebrew day ending at sunset. He saw this as the reason Moses could have adapted a stellar month schedule, than to pass on to the priests that followed that this was the star sign that would return each year to remind the Israelites of their freedom from Egyptian bondage (Philo, on Moses 2:222).

Josephus says that the seven lamps of the Menorah signified the 7 known planets of the time and that the 12 loaves of bread upon the table signified the 12 tribes of the Zodiac. He also writes that the 12 stones on the breast plate of the High Priest signified the 12 months of the year. The blue mitre he said was signifying heaven, because YHVH had inscribed His name on it.

Interesting…twelve tribes, twelve month is the year, twelve the number of YHVH’s government.

These writings are the reason many scholars believe both Joseph and Philo knew things about the priesthood and tabernacle that have been lost to time.

BIBLICAL ASTRONOMY – IN THE BEGINNING…DARKNESS

Through the study of Biblical Astronomy we begin to understand the majesty and awesome power of YHVH. This, in turn, will embed a healthy fear of YHVH within us.

We continue with our study of Wheel of Stars by Andrew Gabriel Roth

He reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light. Job 12.22

He laid out the horizon on the surface of the waters at the boundary between light and darkness. The pillars that hold up the sky tremble, astounded at his rebuke. Job 26.10-11

Many think of darkness as a bad thing when studying scripture, and often it is, but darkness clearly has a place within the righteousness of YHVH as well. Genesis 1 tells us that the day begins in darkness. In fact, darkness is the natural state of things prior to YHVH performing His creative act in Genesis 1.3

Now, extend this idea into the realm of science. Most scientists now adhere to the “Big Bang” as how our Universe began. This is what the “light” may be—a flash of light which began creation from nothing: By faith we understand that the ^[a]worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Hebrews 11.3. The light may have been the Shekinah of Yahweh.

Physics tell us that both time and space began in this moment. Remember: Our Elohim is beyond time and space and, therefore, He is before time and space!

Isaiah chapter 45 tells us that YHVH hides His secrets in darkness. Darkness is like an artist’s canvass from which light and life were born: Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deep darkness? Have you comprehended the extent of the earth? Tell me, if you know all this. Job 38.17-18

Darkness only becomes “evil” when it attempts to re-assert itself outside of Yahweh’s plan and seeks to supplant the life and light that Yahweh created for His purposes…I form the light and create the darkness: I make peace and create evil:* I the Lord do all these things. Isaiah 45.7

* Evil here is from Hebrew word ra, meaning: adversity, affliction, or calamity. It would better be rendered “and create adversity.” Yahweh does not create evil, only the possibility of evil through giving us free will. Satan began without sin and fell from grace through his rebellion (Ezekiel 28.16). Disobedience to Yahweh automatically creates conflict which can lead to evil.

Once light comes there is no going back to pure darkness. Now every day will be reckoned, not from “night to night” but from “evening to evening” as in “and there was evening and there was morning, day one.” Everything is within its place and time under YHVH’s command! Note: Evening is a mixing of light and shadows.

“Where is the way to the dwelling place of light? And darkness, where is its dwelling place, that you may take it to its territory, That you may know the paths to its home? Job 38.19-20

The word evening in Hebrew is erev, which means a time when light and shadows mix. Now, since the very beginning, darkness has to deal with the reality that there is, and will always be, a light somewhere in the Universe!

Darkness may dominate the landscape in its season, but it will never be as it was before time. The light has forever limited darkness from its former total dominion, which according to Isaiah 45.7, YHVH created for His express purposes. (Sometimes darkness is also sent as a warning of His wrath (Joel 2.31).

Let’s consider darkness in its Set-Apart and Yahweh-intended form: Darkness is an integral mechanism with light used to mark the seasons and to divide the day and night. The Hebrew day, which is solar, begins and ends in darkness; so darkness is the “bookend” of time itself. Note: In the beginning the Spirit brooded in darkness.

The Hebrew year actually begins in darkness. The last month of the Hebrew/Biblical year, Adar, means “to darken”. This is why each month also begins in darkness, sometime between the conjunction of the New Moon and the appearance of the crescent sliver. The “appearing crescent” is a backwards looking marker to the actual time the month began (New Moon) as opposed to heralding the beginning of the new month (sliver).

Since the darkness is allowed as a controlling mechanism for the stars, it must also be the case that the moon sets the Hebrew month.

He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns deep darkness into dawn and who darkens day into night,
who summons the water of the sea and pours it out over the surface of the earth—Yahweh is his name. Amos 5.8

He commands the sun not to shine and seals off the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. He makes the stars: the Bear (Aldebaran, Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky. Who does great and unsearchable things, does wonders without number. Job 9.7-10

As I have been studying Biblical Astronomy in Wheel of Stars I have begun to understand the awesome majesty and Eternalness of Yahweh. We have a tendency to forget His great power. We have lost that healthy fear of Yahweh in our lives.

The Apostle Paul said we should work out our own salvation with fear and trembling…Philippians 2.12 This is sage advice!

PRACTICING THE PRESENCE OF GOD

I’d like to share some personal experiences in practicing the Presence of God which I learned while attending Pinecrest Bible Training Center in 1978. In the previous post “Waiting on the Lord” March 4^, 2021 I posted an article by Wade Taylor who was the founder of the school which was located near Dolgeville, NY near the Adirondack Mountains.

The school had formerly been a sanatorium for people recovering from Tuberculosis in the 1920’s. It was a Spartan type of place with used furniture and basic living quarters for the students. It was somewhat isolated in the woods and was a great place to wait on and seek the Lord and His Word.

Mr. Taylor was a tall quiet and rather shy person who had the presence of God about him. He always encouraged our small student body to seek the Lord and wait on Him. He trusted and believed for God’s blessing and provision for the school which operated on a tight budget based on God’s provision.

An example would be the time the oil truck arrived to fill the tank with payment due upon delivery and there was no money to pay. As the tank was being filled a check arrived for the school which would cover the check that was being written for the oil. Stuff like that happened all the time.

Mr. Taylor’s motto was that we should walk in the spirit and follow the leading of the spirit. We were to worship the Lord throughout the days of our lives. Sometimes as we would be changing classes at the sound of the bell worship and singing would break out in the hallways as we went to our next classroom.

Many times the worship would continue in the classroom and ripple through the school area. The entire school in each classroom would become a worship service with words of exhortation from students and teachers. It was really something to experience!

A few times mini revivals emanated from the mess hall, as we called our dining area. The kitchen staff would start to sing and bang on pots and pans and we’d be marching around singing and worshipping the Lord…it was real! We referred to these times as “the pots and pans revival” and when it happened it was spontaneous…they were not planned.

Winter was brutal up there. It snowed and snowed. In fact the buildings of the small school were connected by a tunnel in order to not have to go outside in freezing weather.

In the evenings we as students had to have a “night watch” from 6 PM until 6 AM each evening. These were three hour Biblical watches. I usually ended up with the later watches from 12 Midnight to 3 AM or 3 AM to 6 AM. Great times to meditate and wait on the Lord.

Each hour on the hour the night watchman had to go outside and walk around the school to make sure all was well.

Now, the chow in the mess hall was a real starchy diet. Everyone joked about it. Mac and Cheese was a staple. It was rough. One day in the late fall I had the 3 AM to 6 AM watch. I was disparate for some fruit. As I waited on the Lord I asked several times for some apples…”Please, Father, can you get me an apple or two,” I prayed.

At ten minutes to 6 AM I walked through the tunnel and began my circle of the school buildings. As I came around to the entrance of the school not a soul was to be found. Everyone was asleep and I was heading back to bed to catch an hour or two before class.

As I walked up to the entrance doors there on the right side of the steps were two shiny apples! I was stunned. I looked around and there was nobody. I waited a few seconds and looked around again. Total quiet, nobody. Hallelujah! Two apples just for me! I ate one and gave the other to a fruit starved friend! My simple request had been fulfilled!

Finally the most wonderful thing which happened to me was the actual presence of the Lord Himself. I don’t even remember exactly how it started but one day I felt His presence in a quiet powerful way as I was going through my day. It was a quiet sense of joy and refreshing.

It continued the next day and then the next day. Soon, as I remember, some others were sensing this and asked if they could hang out with me. Sure. We’d go somewhere and sit and bask in the presence.

One day a fellow who was a Pastor from New York City visited and heard about this and asked if he could hang out with me for the day. Sure…we went to a coffee shop for coffee and just sat there in bliss. We both were just enjoying His being with us. The fellow didn’t want to leave.

This lasted for about three weeks. I remember driving home from the school and the presence was so strong I couldn’t drive so I asked the other person with me to drive as I opened the window, leaned back, and received from the well.

After I got home it ended. I’ve never had such an experience since. I don’t get dreams and vision or any of those kinds of things even to this day—but that was quite the experience!

Yes, Pinecrest was some kind of place. We all learned about the Word there and how to wait and practice the presence of God. “The Lord is in His Holy Temple, keep silence before Him.”

The school is no longer there but the experience and things we all learned while there will always be with us! We were transformed and learned to hear in the spirit as we waited on and with Him!

BIBLICAL ASTRONOMY – AS IN HEAVEN SO ON EARTH – THE NUMBER 50 AND MORE

Continuing with notes from “Wheel of Stars” by Andrew Gabriel Roth.

In order to establish an ancient Scriptural mindset we need to understand and embrace the idea of the heavens ruling over the earth. This is a common refrain throughout the Bible. It is also the patterns of heaven being repeated on the earth below; “As in heaven, so on earth.”

¶Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum: We have such a high priest who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices; therefore, it is also necessary that this one have something to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not even be a priest, being present still the other priests that offer gifts according to the law, (who serve as an example and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed unto thee in the mount)…Hebrews 8.1-5

¶Ye, therefore, are to pray like this: Our Father who art in the heavens, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matt 6.9-10

Note that heavens come first, and Yeshua told us to watch the heavens for signs of our salvation coming to earth: Then there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws near. Luke 21.25-28

NUMBERS HAVE MEANING

We need to allow the Bible to interpret itself and teach us! In scripture there is no such thing as a meaningless detail. This is for certain! Let’s follow this idea with the number 50: If a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof; one homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. Leviticus 27.14

So what? The 50 shekels for land is part of the valuation for the Jubilee which is a set interval from heaven of 50 years. This is not coincidence. Here is another set of 50 in construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness: And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the border in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain in the coupling of the second. Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the border of the curtain that is in the second coupling; that the loops may take hold one of another. And thou shalt make fifty hooks of gold and couple the curtains together with the hooks; and it shall be one tabernacle. Exodus 26.4-6

The word for “tabernacle” in Hebrew also means “to dwell” and the Israelites dwelt 50 days when counting the omer between Passover and Pentecost. Wherever people dwell they need to eat. We saw 50 shekels is the fixed price of a homer of barley from which bread is baked. Now we will find bread/barley and 50 again: And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed; send them away that they may go into the country round about and into the villages and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat. He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said unto him, Shall we go and buy bread for two hundred denarius and give them to eat? He said unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they said, Five, and two fishes. And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties. Mark 6.35-40

The men sat in groups of 50’s and 100’s. Fifty divides perfectly into 100. 50 x100 = 5000. This is no coincidence. We began with a heavenly pattern of 50 years for a Jubilee, then go to the earthly pattern of the land involved in the Jubilee having a value of 50 shekels. Two Jubilees = 100 years.

Then we see the tabernacle having 50 holes for loops and hooks, one for each day of counting the omer. We see in Mark 6 where people are fed bread in groups of 50 and 100 equaling 5000 people being fed.

The point is these patterns are countless throughout the scriptures. They are not just coincidence. It points to a Master Architectural design. It majestically and elegantly repeats over and over throughout scripture.  It all has meaning that is hidden in plain sight.

We have twelve constellations in the heavenly story in the stars known by the Greeks as Zodiac. See this chart that explains the Witness of the Stars to the Gospel story of Yeshua. https://nebula.wsimg.com/e85e386438ff74405d24afaf55c86984?AccessKeyId=D40106E1331C24ABD7C3&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

We are not into Astrology...we are into Heavenly Astronomy. It is the Witness of the Stars as in Ps 19. In Hebrew the constellations are the “Mazzaroth.”

12 Tribes, 12 Apostles, 12 Major constellations in the Heavenly Star witness to Yeshua’s birth, ministry, and death. In the book of Revelation we see 24 elders before the throne of the Eternal worshipping Him.

In 1 Chronicles 24 King David establishes 24 Courses of Priestly service for the Temple Solomon is going to build. 12 x 2=24 each course served for one week in rotation twice a year. During the Feasts of the Lord (Lev 23) they all served. This covered the yearly Biblical calendar service in the Temple. As in Heaven so on earth.

Using the information in 1 Chronicle 24 and these courses of service we are able to determine Yeshua’s birth as Zechariah served in the 8th course in Luke 1:5. Ahh, once again the calendar has the hidden information!

BIBLICAL ASTRONOMY AND THE HEBREW/BIBLICAL CALENDAR

The Hebrew/Biblical Calendar consists of four interrelated distinct functions. Why should we care? With an understanding of the functions of the Hebrew/Biblical Calendar we are able to unlock many Biblical mysteries. With this knowledge we can determine the true time of Yeshua’s birth and crucifixion. It will also unlock many end time mysteries and the meaning of the Biblical numbering system contained throughout scripture.

1. Prophetic – This is YHVH’s encoded calendar of the deepest mysteries of time and space. It suggests the possible range and season of Messiah’s return. Much is being revealed in our present day.

2. Solar Pre-Metonic – This was the way the solar and lunar years were inter-calculated from before Moses time when the moon was not required to synch the Feasts of the Lord which had not been given yet. This calendar ran from Tishri to Tishri (the seventh Hebrew month-autumn to autumn) and was used by Adam, Noah, and Abraham, among others.

3. Equinox Pre-Metonic/Moedic – This is the calendar which is used for timing the spring and fall festivals of YHVH for Israel. It was given to Moses in Exodus 12.1-2. It changed the beginning of the year from the month of Tishri to the spring month of Aviv. Now Aviv would be the first month (Passover) of the year and Tishri the seventh.

4. Priestly – The Priestly Calendar, like the Moedic (appointed time), is synched to the month of the first Passover, Aviv. The Moedic calendar is a lunar-solar calendar, while the Priestly is purely solar and will return to the exact solar date of the Vernal (Spring) Equinox cycle but in much longer time cycles.

The Priestly calendar is made up of “courses” of 24 family groups or divisions of priests that each take turn serving in the Tabernacle or Temple for a week. Each group serves two one week courses during a year. During the Feasts of the Lord they all work. These courses of service cover the entire Hebrew/Biblical Temple yearly service. It was instituted by King David in the book of 1 Chronicles 24.

Note: Meton was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, geometer, and engineer who lived in Athens in the 5th century BC. He is best known for calculations involving the eponymous 19-year Metonic cycle which he introduced in 432 BC into the lunisolar Attic calendar. The Metonic incorporates knowledge that 19 solar years and 235 lunar months are very nearly of the same duration. This is the mathematical method used to add a leap month into the modern Rabbinical Jewish calendar 7 times in 19 years to balance the seasons.

Each calendar type above has a guiding principle followed by applications to bring that principle about. Here is how each one works:

1. Prophetic – Beginning point: Creation of Adam. Ending point: Messiah’s return, but in theory this calendar can go on forever. Balancing Mechanism: 360 day year, 12 months of 30 days each with a 30 day leap month added as needed to ensure the seasons and feast do not shift from their appointed season. Purpose: To point to the eternal nature of YHVH and the redemption of His Son, Yeshua the Messiah.

2. Solar Pre-Metonic – Beginning point: Creation of Adam. Ending point: The time of the Exodus 12.1 just prior to the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt. Balancing Mechanism: 360 day year, 12 months: 30 days each with leap months added as needed. Purpose: To allow ancient man to keep the proper solar year for planting and harvesting of crops.

3. Equinox Pre-Metonic/Moedic – Beginning point: The start of the first month of Passover which is Aviv 1. Ending Point: Messiah’s return or some unknown time afterwards-but not prior to the end of this age. Balancing Mechanism: Signs, Seasons, Days, and Years with Vernal and Autumnal Equinoxes synched to Passover and Sukkot feasts, and months starting from one New Moon to the next. The count for a week is an absolute hard count from YHVH’s first day of creation before the sun and moon were made. The year is forever expressed as 365.2422 days for man’s use and 360 for YHVH’s. Purpose: To allow us to keep the eternal Feasts of the Lord (Leviticus 23).

4. Priestly – Beginning point: The start of the first month of the first Passover. Ending Point: Unknown. Balancing Mechanism: The eternal cycles of the Constellation Clock (a separate study). Purpose: Largely unknown at this present time. Seems to assist us in reconciling some of the more difficult Biblical chronological puzzles. It’s a gift from YHVH.

For those who wish to learn more the source of this study is: Wheel of Stars by Andrew Gabriel Roth