Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Arise My Love, My Fair One, and Come Away;


What do Noah, Moses and Peter have in common? They each were vehicles for ushering in God's new economies.

God's covenant with Noah, symbolized by the rainbow, promised that God would never again destroy the earth by water.

God's covenant with Moses, symbolized by the Torah, promised that God's laws would be written on the hearts of his people.

God's covenant with Peter, symbolized by the tongues of fire, promised that we would achieve salvation by grace.

Three different events for three different economies separated by hundreds of years - yet - THEY ALL OCCURRED ON EXACTLY THE SAME DAY.

That day is called Pentecost by Christians and Shavuot by Jews. It is the Feast of the First Fruits. It is also called the Feast of Weeks because it is seven weeks (49 days) from Passover, and the Festival of Reaping because the first of the new wheat is harvested on this day.

Shavuot is also called the Festival of the Matchmaker. Homes and temples are decorated with a canopy of greenery and flowers hung over a large banquet as for a wedding. During the festivities, The Book of Ruth is read recounting Ruth's desire to become a member of the Jewish community. The reading is ended with Ruth's genealogy stating that David is Ruth's great-grandson.

God's next economy will remove the Holy Spirit from the world. This economy will be symbolized by the Rapture. Will his next economy occur on the same day as the previous economies? This year Shavuot will begin at sundown on May 22nd, and will end at sundown on May 23rd.

"For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 RSV

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