Ezekiel 34:5–8; 1 Peter 5:8–9; Revelation 12:9–17
The Dragon’s Secret and the Plans of Heaven I–II
DAY 123
THE MYSTERY OF SPRING
THE TEACHER LED me into the Chamber of Vessels and to a room within it in which several platforms had been built into the walls. On one of the platforms were the elements of Passover, on another, sheaves of grain, and on another, a basket with more grain, several fruits, and two loaves of bread.
“Tell me the theme,” he said, “that binds all these things together.”
I wasn’t sure what the basket represented, but the overall theme soon came to me.
“Spring,” I said, “all these are linked to the spring, to the spring holy days.”
“Yes. In the Hebrew calendar, it’s known as the spring cycle, the cluster of holy days joined together in timing and theme. The Hebrew year has two such cycles, the spring cycle that opens the sacred year, and the autumn cycle that closes it. So God has set up the age according to the sacred Hebrew year. What then do you think is revealed by the spring and autumn cycle?”
“That the age has two cycles, one at the beginning and one at the end . . . The two comings of Messiah . . . a spring coming and an autumn coming.”
“Yes,” he said. “And at another time I will share with you of the autumn cycle. But tell me now, what are the themes of the spring cycle?”
“The end of winter, new life, the Passover, the lamb, the sacrifice, leaving the old life, firstfruits, new beginnings, new birth, new harvests . . . springtime.”
“And so it is the spring cycle that holds the mystery of Messiah’s first coming. Messiah’s first coming is all about Passover and the sacrifice, the ending of winter, the leaving of the old, the beginning of new life, birth, new harvests, salvation . . . rebirth . . . and all beginning with the Lamb. And not only is this the mystery of the age, but the mystery of our lives.”
“What do you mean?”
“When you receive Messiah, it is then that the spring cycle begins. He comes into your life and makes everything become spring. He ends the winter of your life. He gives you a new beginning, salvation. He brings you out of the old life. He gives you a new birth, a new harvest . . . springtime. And He never ceases to be the Passover Lamb. Therefore, the spring cycle never ends. Therefore, you must never stop living in it. Never move away from the newness of your salvation. Never leave the springtime. For in the Passover Lamb, it is always springtime. And all that lives within it . . . is forever new.”
The Mission: Live this day in the springtime of salvation. Leave the old. Come back to the new. For in the Passover Lamb it is always springtime.
Song of Solomon 2:10–13; Romans 6:4; Revelation 21:5
Nisan
DAY 124
THE SEVENTH DAY
WE WERE HALFWAY up a mountain, sitting on a ledge. The teacher had set two candles in two candleholders on the rock. And the sun was setting.
“When the sun sets,” he said, “the Sabbath begins . . . the Shabbat, the seventh day, the day of rest, still kept to this day by the observant of His ancient people. Do you know why the Sabbath comes on the seventh day?”
“Because of the creation?”
“Yes,” he replied. “God labored for six days, bringing creation into existence. He finished His labor at the end of the sixth day, then rested on the seventh day. But the creation is fallen and without rest or peace. So the work of God is now to bring forth a new creation, a redemption. And redemption comes through . . . ”
“Messiah.”
“Through His death on the cross. And what is that? It is the laboring of God to again bring forth life, to bring into existence a new creation. God finished His labors on the sixth day. The sixth day is for finishing one’s labors. What about the redemption? So when did Messiah finish His labors?”
“On Friday.”
“And what is Friday?”
“The sixth day.”
“Yes. So Messiah finished His labors on the sixth day as well. And after God finished His labors, the Sabbath came, the seventh day. And what happened after Messiah finished His labor over the new creation?”
“The Sabbath came.”
“The Sabbath came, and that’s why they rushed to take Him down and place His body in the tomb . . . because the sun was setting and the seventh day was nearing . . . As in the beginning, it was time again to rest. On the seventh day of creation, God rested. So now in the new creation, the seventh day came and God rested . . . in the tomb.”
“So He had to finish His labors because the Sabbath was coming.”
“Or,” said the teacher, “He finished his labor so that the Sabbath could come . . . the sign that His work was done . . . that His labors over the new creation were finished. And so the Seventh Day has come . . . a new rest, a new peace, a new blessing, a new completion, for all who enter the new creation through the Sabbath of Messiah.”
The Mission: Leave the sixth day. Leave your struggling, your laboring, and your works. And come to the Sabbath of Messiah. Enter the seventh day.
Genesis 2:2–3; Matthew 11:28; Hebrews 4:4–11
Adon Ha Shabbat
DAY 125
THE TEMPLE LAMBS
IT WAS A moonlit night, bright enough to light up the tent camp in the valley below us. But our attention wasn’t on the camp but on the other side of the valley where a shepherd was tending his flock at night.
“The sacrificial lambs offered up in the Temple, from where did they come?” asked the teacher.
“I would think they were raised in Israel for that purpose,” I replied.
“They were,” he said. “In the writings of the ancient rabbis it is recorded that in the days of the second Temple, the only place where one could shepherd a flock was in the wilderness. But there was one exception—the flocks or lambs that were specifically appointed and destined for the Temple sacrifices, the sacrificial lambs. These needed to be kept in close proximity to the Holy City. There was, in the days of the second Temple, one particular region of Israel, not of the wilderness, but of hills and valleys conducive for sheep and known for its flocks and shepherds. The Scriptures specifically cite it as a place where flocks of sheep were kept in the days of Messiah. And it happened to be in close proximity to Jerusalem where the sacrifices were offered. Thus, it is undoubtedly where the lambs for the Temple sacrifices were raised.”
“What was it called?”
“It was called Bethlehem.”
“Bethlehem!” I repeated. “So that’s why . . . ”
“That’s why Messiah was born in Bethlehem. The Lamb of God was born in the place where the lambs were born. ‘While shepherds watched their flocks by night . . . ’ And not just in the place of the lambs, but in the place of the sacrificial lambs, where the lambs destined to be offered up in the Temple of Jerusalem as sacrifices to God were born.”
“And that’s why the first ones to see Him in this world were the shepherds,” I said, “because when a lamb is born, the shepherds attend its birth.”
“And not just by shepherds,” said the teacher, “but by the shepherds of Bethlehem, the shepherds who attended the birth of the sacrificial lambs. So the Lamb of God was born among the sacrificial lambs for the same reason, to be sacrificed in Jerusalem. The mystery was there from the beginning, from His birth. The entire purpose of His life was to give Himself, to give His life as a gift of sacrificial love for us. His entire life . . . even from the moment of His birth . . . was love.”
The Mission: Messiah’s entire life was a living sacrifice, every moment a gift given, the incarnation of love. Be and do likewise.
Micah 5:2; Luke 2:8–20
The Bethlehem Mysteries
DAY 126
THE MYSTERY HARVESTS
WE WENT TO the city to purchase some goods. On the way we came to an enclave, an agricultural settlement in the desert filled with harvesters.
“It’s their harvest,” said the teacher. “And when they
finish, they’ll celebrate. People have been celebrating harvests from the beginning of history.” He paused. “But then there are the mystery harvests. And the celebrations of the mystery harvests.”
“The mystery harvests?”
“Imagine a people celebrating a harvest that never took place, a harvest they never reaped or sowed, the celebration of a nonexistent harvest. And imagine a people persisting in celebrating these nonexistent harvests year after year for centuries.”
“I can’t imagine it,” I said.
“But it actually happened. It’s one of the strangest phenomena of history.”
“Who would do that?”
“The Jewish people,” he said. “God commanded them to celebrate the harvests of the Promised Land. But in AD 70 the land of Israel was destroyed, and the Jewish people were scattered to the ends of the earth. There were no more harvests, no more grain or fruits to be gathered. But even though they had no more harvests, they kept celebrating them anyway. They celebrated nonexistent barley harvests, gave thanks for nonexistent fruit harvests, and rejoiced over nonexistent vines overflowing with nonexistent grapes. And then something just as strange happened. After two thousand years of celebrating the nonexistent harvests, the nonexistent harvests reappeared on the earth.” He paused a moment before continuing.
“It is crucial,” he said, “that you learn this secret of the kingdom. The children of this world rejoice after seeing their blessings. But the children of the kingdom do the opposite. They celebrate before the blessings. Don’t wait to see your blessings in order to rejoice. Rejoice, and you will see your blessings. Don’t wait for the gift to come in order to give thanks. Give thanks, and the gift will come. Don’t wait until your circumstances are right in order to celebrate. Celebrate anyway, and it will be right. Don’t wait for the victory to be won in order to become victorious. Become victorious, and the victory will be won. Learn the secret of Israel’s mystery harvests. Celebrate the blessings you don’t yet see. Celebrate the harvest you don’t have . . . and you will have a harvest to celebrate.”
The Mission: Live today in the way of the kingdom. Before you see the blessing, rejoice and give thanks for it. Celebrate your mystery harvest.
Deuteronomy 16:15; Jeremiah 31:3–6; Mark 11:24
The Mystery Harvests
DAY 127
THE DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
TIMELESS,” SAID THE teacher. “The sacred tongue is timeless.”
“You mean timeless in that it doesn’t change?” I asked. “Or timeless in that it’s eternal?”
“I mean timeless in that it knows no time.”
“What do you mean?”
“In the original Hebrew of Scripture, that which happens knows no time.”
“But the Bible speaks of time all the time, of days and years.”
“Yes, but the Hebrew language has no absolute tense concerning time.”
“How can a language have no past, present, or future?”
“It has other tenses,” he said, “tenses that are used and understood or taken to mean the past, present, and future. But the truth is these other tenses have no absolute relation to when they occur. In fact, at times, the Scriptures speak of future events as if they’ve already taken place . . . the future past.”
“So what are the tenses?”
“The perfect and the imperfect. The perfect tense speaks of an action that’s finished, thus complete, perfect. The imperfect tense speaks of an action that’s unfinished and thus, incomplete, imperfect. So in Hebrew you only have two choices: to live in the perfect or in the imperfect. If you live always striving to finish that which is unfinished, to complete that which is incomplete, if you live trying to be saved, trying to be loved, to be good enough, worthy, complete . . . then you’re living in the imperfect tense . . . and you’re living in the imperfect. And living in the imperfect tense never works, because that which comes out of incompletion can never be anything other than incomplete.”
“Then how do you live in the perfect tense?”
“To live in the perfect tense you must learn the secret of living from that which is already completed, to do from that which is already done, to triumph from a victory already won.”
“But what is it that is already accomplished, complete, finished, and perfect?”
“The work of God,” he said, “salvation. The completed work of Messiah.”
“‘It is finished,’” I said.
“Yes. For that which is perfect is that which is finished. And salvation is a perfect work . . . in the days of future past.”
The Mission: Live this day in the Hebrew perfect. Do all things from His finished work. Triumph from the victory already won. Live from the completion.
Matthew 5:48; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 3:13–15
The Hebrew Mysteries I–IV
DAY 128
DUNAMAHEE: THE POWER OF I CAN
WE WERE ALL sitting down. The teacher was on a large rock, and several of the students were gathered in a semicircle at his feet.
“In the world are many powers,” he said, “the power of the sun, the power of the wind, the power of rivers, the power of fire, the power of atoms, the power of kings, the power of armies, and the power of man. Each of these powers has conditions and limitations. But what if there was a power beyond all these powers . . . a power with no limitations, the power to do anything?”
No one answered.
“Messiah gave His disciples, and all the disciples who would come after them, including all of you, the Great Commission to proclaim the message of salvation to the world, to teach His Word, to do His will, and to make disciples of all nations. But what did He tell them to do first?”
“To wait in Jerusalem,” said one of the students, “to receive power.”
“Yes,” said the teacher. “And what power was that?”
“The power of the Spirit,” said another.
“That’s correct. And do you know what lies behind the word for the power they were to receive? The word used in the Scriptures is the Greek dunamis. It comes from the root word dunamahee. Dunamahee means to be able. And Messiah gave no condition, no qualifier, no modifier, and no limitation concerning the power to be given. What power is given to you in the Spirit? The power to become able to do that which you could never do before . . . the power to do that which is above your ability to do. Dunamahee means to make possible. So if you live by the Spirit, you will have the power to make possible that which was not possible. And one more thing,” he said. “Dunamahee also means can, as in I can. The power of the Spirit is the power of I can.”
“I can do what?” asked a student.
“It doesn’t say. Again, there’s no qualification on it. You’ve been given the power of I can to do anything, the power to do all things, and the power to do whatever you need to do to fulfill the will and calling of God. There’s no limitation. It’s the power of powers, the power to do whatever it is that you need to do. It’s the power to nullify and overcome every I can’t in your life . . . with the power of the I can of the Almighty.”
The Mission: Live this day in the dunamahee of God. Whatever you have to do in the will of God, claim the power of I can. And in that power, do it.
Zechariah 4:6–9; Luke 24:49; Philippians 4:13
Dunamahee: The Power of I Can
DAY 129
THE PROMISE
HE REMOVED A scroll from one of the shelves in the Chamber of Scrolls, placed it on the wooden table, and unrolled it.
“Thousands of years ago,” said the teacher, “God gave a prophecy to the Jewish people. They would be taken captive from their homeland, scattered to the nations, and driven from one land to the next, to the ends of the earth. And it all came true. For the last two thousand years the Jewish people have been wandering the earth, from nation to nation. But He gave them a promise: At the end of the age He would gather them from the nations and bring them back to the land of Israel. So it is written in the Book of Jeremiah, ‘I will
bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and the one who is in labor together.’ It was an impossibility. In all of human history nothing like this had ever happened before. And few believed it ever could.”
“Even those who read the Bible?”
“Most had convinced themselves that God was finished with the Jewish people. And most Jewish people didn’t think they would ever live to see the prophecies come true. For two thousand years the land of Israel was in the hands of their enemies or in the hands of those who had no intention of giving it back. And the Jewish people were overwhelmingly powerless. But God said it would happen. The promise was inscribed in His Word. And despite all the powers and all the odds against it, after two thousand years of impossibility, in the midst of a secular and cynical age, God fulfilled the prophecy and His promise. He gathered His ancient people back from the ends of the earth and brought them back to their ancient homeland, the blind and the lame, the woman with child, a great multitude . . . as a shepherd gathers his flock.”
He closed the scroll.
“You see,” said the teacher, “between the Word and the world, it was again the Word that was the more real and the more true. And between the promise and the hell that came against it, it was the promise that was the stronger. Never forget that. His Word is true, truer than the world, and His promise is sure, and stronger than all that come against it. And if after two thousand years God remembered His promise to fulfill it, He will also remember His promises to you.”
The Mission: Today, find a promise in the Word of God that applies to you and stand on it, believe it, and live this day in light of it.
The Book of Mysteries Page 19