ECCE

Simchat Torah is the eighth day celebration of the Torah that comes at the end of the seven day Feast of Tabernacles. It celebrates the end of the readings of Moses, and the renewed cycle of Torah readings, starting back at the beginning with Genesis. It is considered a day of "new beginnings". Before we begin, however, we must take a moment to first pray for Jerusalem and Israel as they have come under attack, as the Word commands, "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem...". This present outbreak of war comes fifty years to the day when Israel was last at war with her neighbors. This is a deadly sibling rivalry over the covenant made by God regarding the land, and the people of His inheritance. However, God also promised to bless all of the seed of Abraham. Other nations, like Persia/Iran, and even Russia, interfere in this situation for their own agendas. Soteriology , as mentioned in the title of today's message, is the study of beliefs and doctrines concerning ...

We are currently in the Feast of Tabernacles, which lasts seven days. The eighth day which follows the feast is Simchat Torah , which means "Rejoice in the Torah". During the Feast of Tabernacles, God's people dwell in booths made out of four kinds of tree branches of palm (spine/backbone of a man), myrtle (eyes of a man), and willow (lips of a man). They also include a fruit called a citron (the heart of a man). These things are also gathered into a bunch called the Lulav, and waved before the Lord, some say in four directions, and some say in six directions towards the north, south, east and west, and towards heaven above, and earth beneath. Some say that the four elements represent the four-lettered name of "LORD", or as represented in Hebrew: Y-H-W-H ( yod, heh, vaw, heh ). One should consider that the pictographic meaning of these four Hebrew letters is "Behold the hand, Behold the nail", which points us to Jesus. The LORD commanded His people to...