Today is August 22, 2015 and a new year is almost upon us. What? A new year? But we are four months away from New Year's Day and we still have Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas to go through!
As we take a look around the world, the term New Year has various meanings. In the United States a new school year typically begins in August or September. For many corporate entities a new fiscal year begins a 52 week period that could correspond to any date on the calendar. The next Chinese New Year begins on February 8, 2016, the Islamic New Year on October 15, 2015, and the Jewish New Year on September 14, 2015 of the Gregorian calendar. Wow, did you have any idea there were that many calendars in use at all times? According to a website known as webexhibits.org/calendars, there are currently 40 calendars in use around the world.
Why so many calendars? Well, some are lunar calendars and others solar. A new school year calendar has been shaped and reshaped over the years and varies between states. Fiscal years for corporations and governments are based on a 52 week period that best suits their needs, usually corresponding to seasonal operations. Retailers for instance begin their fiscal year on February 1 and close out on January 31st due to the holidays, while the company I work for has a fiscal year of July 1 - June 30.
Just throwing out a thought here, but what would happen if everyone in the world used the same calendar? hmmmm.... Let me take this one step further and ask what calendar would it be? What if God had a calendar which He set up before the foundations of the world were created? Would that be the calendar to get your vote? If so, what if it were vastly different than the calendar you currently use?
The fact is, God DID create a calendar and He has given it to us in His Word! The picture at the top of this post is an example of God's calendar for this month, August 2015. If you focus in on it you will see there are dates you have probably never thought or known about before now. It also contains Bible readings which are the same year after year after year and have been for thousands of years.
Now, let's take this another step further. What if all Jews AND Christians were to begin observing, (strictly observing), this calendar and ALSO reading the same scripture on the same day every year? What would and could happen in this world? Could we possibly usher in the return of the Messiah?
God DOES have a day planner and today, August 22, 2015 is day 8 of a 40 day period of repentance. Day 31 of that period falls on September 14, 2015 which is the 1st day of the Jewish month Tishrei - New Years Day! It is known as Rosh Hashanah which also begins the Feast of Trumpets. According to Jewish tradition it is the day Abraham bound Isaac for a sacrifice as well as the beginning of "The Days of Awe."
The 30 Days of Repentence leading up to New Year's Day is a time of introspection, because a super holy event is coming very soon. These 30 days are to be spent searching out every nook and cranny of our life to find everything unholy and rid it from us. God's court session will begin on Rosh Hashanah and those who have not "settled out of court" during the previous 30 days will now stand before Him to plead their case for nine days. At the close of the 9th day, all testimonies will conclude and court is adjourned. God then deliberates on the testimonies and on the 10th day, Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), He will close the Book of Life. If your name is written therein you will live for another year. If not......
Oh, did you think the Book of Life had something to do with eternity??? Well, in a sense it does. We are all eternal beings. Eternity does not begin with death, it begins with life. The moment you are conceived eternity begins for you. The question remains though as to what kind of eternity you will experience both while on earth and thereafter.
"But what about salvation? I thought that ensured eternal life!" Well, do you remember my closing question from the previous post? I asked what the Kingdom of Heaven meant. The Kingdom of Heaven is a term for the reign of God. "Well, doesn't God reign in Heaven?" God reigns wherever He chooses to reign, but He desires to reign in His people. God cannot dwell where there is unholiness. Although the Book of Life most likely has a dual meaning, one for this life and one for the life to come, it is essential for those of us who have accepted Christ to turn inward during those 30 days. We MUST find any unholiness which has crept into us and purge it. We cannot be a reflection of His light from within if our window is dirty.
The understanding of time in Hebraic thought is that time is cyclical rather than linear. It repeats itself over and over and over, each time becoming clearer and clearer and clearer with greater depth. In this respect we, as Christians, should be living in the times. We should understand fully the meaning of God's calendar.
The Gospel of Matthew can help give us a better understanding of this concept. I am going to quote from a Hebrew to English translation. Matthew 3:1-2, "And in those days Yohanan the Immerser came proclaiming in the wilderness of Yehuda, and saying, 'Repent, for the reign of the heavens has come near!'"
So what exactly was John the Baptist proclaiming? Most translations will say, the Kingdom of Heaven. He was not only proclaiming the 1st appearance of the Messiah, but also ushering in the 40 days of repentance. If you continue to Matthew 3:13 - 4:3 you will find that Yeshua, (Jesus), comes to be immersed as he begins his ministry - bringing a way for God to dwell in His people individually.
Taking the verses I have given you from Matthew we can "know" the dates of this story. What does the scripture say? Matthew 4:1-2, "Then Yeshua was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tried by the devil. And after having fasted forty days and forty nights, He was hungry and the trier (Satan) came to Him."
Jesus went into the wilderness to go through 40 days of introspection, 40 days and nights, the days of repentance. Satan did his absolute best to cause Him to stumble, but to no avail. Those days of repentance are not only to throw out the things that make us unholy, but also in order to bring us closer to God. Jesus knew his mission was to be grueling and beyond anything a human had ever experienced; therefore it was absolutely necessary for him to be in total connection to God.
That last day in the wilderness was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the Holiest day of the year. His fate was sealed. The book was closed and nothing could change that decision.
Now is YOUR time of introspection. Now is the time to seal your name in the book. For the next 32 days, every day, read Psalm 39, 40, 51 and 27 in that order. Prior to reading these ask God to reveal any and all sin within your life that is creating a disconnect between you and Him.
So back to my question. If ALL of God's people would get on the same page (calendar), what could happen? If ALL of God's people would take the next 32 days to purge the unholiness from our lives and become "one" with God, then on the last day to fast from both food and water and any physical pleasure......could we see the Messiah's return with the final, single blast of the shofar (trumpet) at sunset on Yom Kippur, - the Day of Atonement (At-onement) as we all shout, "Next year in Jerusalem!"? (Leviticus 16:30)
May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year my friend, Shalom!
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