ECCE

                                                                                      On the Feast of Trumpets, the shofar, a ram's horn trumpet, is blown one hundred times a day over two days. In the weeks leading up to the feast, the shofar is blown daily. The beginning of the Feast of Trumpets, also known as Rosh Hashanah meaning "The Head of the Year," is announced when the trumpet is blown at the first sighting of the new moon of the month. No one knows the hour when the new moon will be sighted, so a watch is kept in order to spot it. The days leading up to this feast and the Day of Atonement ten days later, are dedicated to examining oneself and repentance. The Feast of Trumpets is the first of the fall feasts, followed by the Day of Atonement and the Feast of T...

                Jesus told a parable of ten virgins, five wise and five foolish, who were expecting the bridegroom to arrive. In the meantime, they all fell asleep. At midnight, they heard the cry "Behold, the bridegroom cometh," and they arose and prepared their lamps to go to meet him. The five foolish virgins found that they did not have enough oil for their lamps, and they asked the five wise virgins to give them oil. The five wise virgins said that the foolish ones must go and purchase oil for themselves. While the foolish virgins went to purchase oil, the bridegroom came, the five wise virgins had gone out to meet him, they had entered into the marriage, and the door was shut. When the five foolish came to that shut door they said, "Lord, Lord, open to us.' But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.' Jesus then said: "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." (Mt. 25:...

                                                                                       Blowing the Shofar Trumpet         Many churches, including ours, were started at the time of the fall Feasts of the LORD even though we may not have been aware of it at the time. The Feasts are not the feasts of men, or even of Israel, but they are Feasts of the LORD. These Feasts hold a prophetic counsel for appointed and set times , which is the meaning of the Hebrew word mo'ed . Jesus fulfilled the spring Feasts with His first appearing, and we believe that He will fulfill the Fall Feasts with His second appearing and reign on the earth.      The prophet Amos wrote this Word from the LORD: "Surely the LORD God will do nothing, but he revealeth his...

       As the LORD appointed Joshua to the leadership of the Israelites after the death of Moses, He gave this instruction to him: "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:8-9). Do we keep the Word of God in our mouths, or have we succumbed to speaking as the world, which is at enmity with God, speaks?      Psalm 19 describes the Word of God as being perfect, sure, wise, right, pure, enlightening, clean, true, righteous, warning, rewarding, and cleansing from secret faults. The Word of God is powerful and able to convert the soul and character of a person. (v. 7-13 ). David concluded his ps...

     The spiritual condition of our hearts, like its physical condition, can make all the difference in our lives. There are medical devices used to examine the physical condition of a human heart, but the Word of God says that the LORD examines the spiritual condition of the heart. The LORD has a heart, and the spiritual condition of a person's heart is open to God's knowledge. Before the judgment of the flood began, the LORD said this about man: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made ( aleph-tav )-man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." (Gen. 6:5-6).        What a condemnation of mankind! It is also important to note that the word "man" in verse 6 above is preceded in the written Hebrew of this verse by the Hebrew letters  aleph and  tav . These letters are the first letter and t...