A Spiritual Rededication*

Today will begin the Feast of Dedication, also known as Hanukkah, commemorating the cleansing of the temple of God from the defilement of heathen occupiers, and the miraculous provision of oil for the Lamp of God in the temple. The candles of the menorah are lit to celebrate this miracle. Most Christians do not understand the meaning of this feast, and do not celebrate it. However, Jesus did observe this feast, as we will see: "And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believe not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand...If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him." (Jn. 10:23-38, excerpt). Jesus brought this saving revelation to them on the Feast of Dedication, in the Temple of God, but for these words, they sought to stone Jesus for blasphemy. They missed the significance of the connection between what Jesus said, and the fulfillment of the Feast of Dedication that they were observing. The Law is not to be followed in the flesh, but in the Spirit. The prophets wrote about the work of spiritual rededication that God would bring to His people: "Therefore say, Thus saith the LORD God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. (This was fulfilled in 1947.) And they shall come thither, ad they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." (Ezek. 11:17-20). To walk in the statutes of God as He intended man to do, requires a new heart and spirit. The LORD also said to Ezekiel that for those who continued to walk in their detestable things and abominations instead, "...I will recompense their way upon their own heads..." (v. 21). The apostle Paul, who was thoroughly trained in the Law of Moses, also brought the same understanding between the carnal and spiritual: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." (1 Cor. 3:1, 16-17). We are the holy, Spirit-filled temple of God, not to be defiled. Our being the temple of the Holy Spirit does not preclude the building of an actual physical third temple in Jerusalem, of which the prophets wrote. Preparation for that planned third temple is being carried out now in Israel. Again, however, Paul wrote about the price paid by Christ for the presence of the Holy Spirit in the body of the believer: "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Giving us an understanding of what Ezekiel wrote above, Paul taught that by the Holy Spirit, we are a living epistle, or letter, rather than the stone tablets of Law: "...ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves...but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." (2 Cor. 3:3-6). The Flesh profits nothing, but the Spirit brings inner life and grace to the eternal, unchangeable statutes of God. This is only made possible through Christ: "...be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Cor. 5:20-21). Although through the sacrifice of Christ we have received the grace gift of the righteousness of God, that grace does not justify continued sin. Jesus taught that the two great principles of the Law still apply: Loving God, which is reflected in the first five of the Ten Commandments, and loving our neighbor, which is reflected in the second five Commandments. Paul wrote that, because of this, we are not to commune or join ourselves with unrighteousness, darkness, or idolatry. He wrote of rededication: "...ye are the temple of the living God...as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them,; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Cor. 6:14-18, 7:1). The Book of Hebrews pointed out that the repeated sacrifices that had to be made yearly under the law, was but a shadow of the true and eternal sacrifice found in the blood of Christ offered for our sins. Of God's provision for sin, Paul wrote: "He taketh away the first (yearly offerings), that he may establish the second. By which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all...For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us...'This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days', saith the Lord, 'I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And that their sins and iniquities will I remember no more'. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin." (Heb. 10:9-18). There is only one way now that has been made available by God to cleanse us of sin, as the spiritual temple of the Holy Spirit of God: the one-time sacrifice fulfilled by His Son for us. Because of this cleansing sacrifice, Paul wrote: "By a new and living way, which he (Jesus) hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh...Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our hope without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;). (v. 19-23). The prophet Haggai wrote to the people of God during a time that he described as the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, regarding the temple of the LORD. The time mentioned lines up with today's date on our calendar. The promise of the LORD to His people, represented by the governmental leader, the spiritual leader and the rest of the people, is: "...be strong all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts....my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts." (Hag. 2:4-7). During this Feast of Dedication, the LORD desires to fill His house, His living temple, which we are, with His glory. Let us rededicate ourselves this season, having our lamps lit, and our hearts sprinkled with the cleansing sacrifice of Jesus. If you would like to read more details regarding the original cleansing and rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem, you can read the account in the Apocrypha, in 1 Maccabees 4:36-46. *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 12/18/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.

Memorial Day-The Concept of Memorials in the Bible

 

Memorial Day is a day designated for the honor and remembrance of those in the military who gave their lives in service for us. The day was first known in history as "Decoration Day", when the graves of soldiers lost in the Civil War were decorated. The first known occurrence of this practice was as it was performed by slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, but it was also subsequently practiced in other states as well. In 1966, this day was officially declared by the President as Memorial Day, to honor fallen soldiers throughout America. In doing this, there was an official recognition of the connection of a memorial, or remembrance, and a sacrifice made. This concept of an eternal remembrance is founded in the Bible. It is a principle of God first mentioned in association even with His very name.
Moses, when first called by God, asked God what His name was, that he should tell the children of Israel:
"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me to you....this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."  Ex. 3:14-15 (see also Ps. 135:13)
We have said that a memorial is connected to sacrifice, so how does the name of God indicate a sacrifice? The Hebrew representation for the name "I AM THAT I AM" is YHWH, represented by the pictographic letters yod, heh, vaw, heh. Each individual letter in the Hebrew "alphabet" also represents a concept. The letters of the name of God revealed to Moses here represent, "Behold the hand, Behold the nail." The sacrifice of Christ was embedded into the name and character of God, and that name serves as a memorial to Israel, and before God.
Sacrifice and memorial are mentioned in the account of Passover. As the lamb, whose blood would cover and preserve the Israelite household from death, was selected, it was examined for any blemishes. Only a spotless lamb could be used, according to the instructions given to Moses by the LORD. After fourteen days of being examined for imperfection, the lamb was to be killed by the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel (Ex. 12:1-6).
"And they shall take of the blood and strike (given, bestowed) it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it...and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever."  Ex. 12:7, 13-14
Again, the sacrifice in this instance prophetically refers us to Jesus, the "Lamb of God" slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8), who was also revealed to all by John the Baptist who declared, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."  (Jn. 1:29, 36).
Later, after fleeing Egypt, Moses and the Israelites were attacked by the Amalekites at Rephidim ("rest, support") on their journey to the Promised Land (Ex. 17:8-16). Joshua leading the army, finally secured the victory under the supported raised hands of Moses. The LORD commanded that this battle be kept as a memorial:
"...write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.. And Moses built an altar (meaning "sacrifice"), and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi."  Ex. 17:14-15
It was a place of physical sacrifice in battle by the Israelites, and a place of spiritual sacrifice at the altar of the One who is raised up on a pole as a sign for all to see, named "The LORD our Banner". The LORD commanded a memorial out of this event, so Joshua and the people would remember it always.
The New Testament tells of a Roman Centurion, named Cornelius, who was devout and feared God with all his house. He continually gave alms (charitable giving) to the people, and prayed always (Acts 10:1-3). An angel appeared to him in a vision one day, saying to him:
"Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God." Acts 10:4
Cornelius, as a soldier, must have been acquainted with sacrifice in battle, but it was his spiritual sacrifice, both in prayer and in possessions, that created a memorial before God. Out of this memorial came the salvation of his whole household, and the opening of the Gospel message to the Gentiles, in addition to Israel.
The LORD commands that we keep His word, and these memorials, not only for our benefit, but for the benefit of our children, and future generations:
"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children...And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes."  Deut. 6:7-8
Our children, like never before, have suffered the consequences of a people who have failed to remember, and have failed to teach their children, the life-changing memorials created out of the sacrifices of not only brave soldiers and citizens, but more importantly the sacrifices of God, on our behalf. Let us remember, and let us teach our children, and let each of our lives come up as a memorial before God.

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God bless you.