The Preparation Day is Always the 6th Day

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We find from the Scriptures that the Preparation Day is always the 6th day of the week.  It was set aside by Yahweh for his people to prepare for the weekly Sabbath.

Exodus 16

4Then said Yahweh unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

5And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.

 

Mark 15:42
And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath,

 

Luke 23:54
And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.

 

Josephus confirms that the Preparation Day was the 6th day of the week before the weekly Sabbath.

Josephus wrote the Jews were “not obliged to go before any judge on the Sabbath-day, nor on the day of the preparation to it, after the ninth hour (3:00 PM).” (Ant. XVI 6:2)

Jos. Ant. 16:6:2. “Caesar Augustus, high priest and tribune of the people, ordains thus: Since the nation of the Jews hath been found grateful to the Roman people, not only at this time, but in time past also, and chiefly Hyrcanus the high priest, under my father (7) Caesar the emperor, it seemed good to me and my counselors, according to the sentence and oath of the people of Rome, that the Jews have liberty to make use of their own customs, according to the law of their forefathers, as they made use of them under Hyrcanus the high priest of the Almighty God; and that their sacred money be not touched, but be sent to Jerusalem, and that it be committed to the care of the receivers at Jerusalem; and that they be not obliged to go before any judge on the sabbath day, nor on the day of the preparation to it, after the ninth hour.

Paraskeue is the Greek word for Preparation.  Paraskeue was the Greek equivalent of the Aramaic of “arubta-eve,” or Friday. The days of the week before the Sabbath in Aramaic were First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Arubta; there was no “Sixth” day. Therefore, Arubta, and by inference paraskeue, must refer only to Friday!

Hellenistic Jews used the term prosabbaton, or Sabbath-eve to designate Friday (Judith 8:6; 2 Macc. 8:26). Mark recorded, “it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,” (Mark 15:42) or paraskeue, the day of prosabbaton. Therefore, paraskeue was technically Friday!

Yahshua was crucified when “it was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. . . . And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” (Luke 23:54, 56) The Sabbath “according to the commandment” was decreed in the Ten Commandments: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of Yahweh Elohim.” (Exod. 20:8-10; also Deut. 5:12-14) That Sabbath was also the commanded weekly Sabbath. The Sabbath according to the Commandment was specifically tied to the seventh day.

 

May Yahweh bless you in your understanding.

Brought to you by Yahweh is Truth.

New Year’s Eve and Janus Worship

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“The afternoon before New Year’s Eve is unusually calm, then, about 11 o’clock, starts a steady stream of elevated violence; stab wounds or gunshot wounds, teenagers injured in automobile accidents, and battered wives. Alcohol is nearly always a factor.”

Considering the above, it is hardly surprising that some people refer to the first day of the year as international hangover day. A European news agency says that “New Year is for the lay hedonist*,” adding that it is “one more round in the eternal battle of man pitched against alcohol.”

Granted, not everyone celebrates the New Year by drinking heavily and committing acts of violence. In fact, many have fond memories of the occasion. “As children, we could hardly wait for New Year’s Eve,” some may say. “There were always lots of games, food, and drink. At midnight we would embrace, kiss, and wish one another ‘Happy New Year!’”

Similarly, many today feel that they share in New Year’s festivities without going overboard. Still, believers do well to examine the origin and significance of this popular celebration. Do New Year’s festivities conflict with Scripture’s teachings?

Facts From the Past
As some of you may know, New Year’s festivities are not new. Ancient inscriptions indicate that they were held in Babylon as early as the third millennium B.C.E. The celebration, which was observed in mid-March, was crucial. “At that time the god Marduk decided the destiny of the country for the coming year,” says The World Book Encyclopedia. The Babylonian new year celebration lasted 11 days and included sacrifices, processions, and fertility rites.

For a time, the Romans too began their year in the month of March. But in 46 B.C.E., Emperor Julius Caesar decreed that it should begin on the first of January. That day was already dedicated to Janus, the god of beginnings, and now it would also mark the first day of the Roman year. The date changed, but the carnival atmosphere persisted. On the first of January, people “gave themselves up to riotous excess,” says McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopedia, “and various kinds of heathen superstition.”

Even today, superstitious rituals play a part in New Year’s festivities. For example, in some areas of South America, many welcome the New Year while standing on their right foot. Others sound horns and set off firecrackers. According to a Czech custom, New Year’s Eve is a time for eating lentil soup, while a Slovak tradition has people placing money or fish scales under the tablecloth. Such rituals, designed to ward off ill fortune and guarantee prosperity, merely perpetuate the ancient belief that the turn of the year is a time for deciding destinies.

The Scripture’s View
The Scriptures admonish believers to “walk decently, not in revelries and drunken bouts.” (Romans 13:12-14; Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Peter 4:3) Paul’s reference to “revelries and drunken bouts” may have included those that took place during New Year’s festivities, since these were popular in Rome during the first century. Since New Year’s festivities are often characterized by the very excesses that the Scriptures condemn, believers do not participate in them. This does not mean that believers are killjoys. On the contrary, they know that the Scriptures repeatedly tell worshipers of the true Creator to rejoice—and that for a number of reasons. (Deuteronomy 26:10, 11; Psalm 32:11; Proverbs 5:15-19; Ecclesiastes 3:22; 11:9) The Scriptures also acknowledge that food and drink often accompany rejoicing.—Psalm 104:15; Ecclesiastes 9:7a.

As we have seen, however, New Year’s celebrations are rooted in pagan customs. False worship is unclean and detestable in the eyes of Yahweh, and believers reject practices that have such origins. (Deuteronomy 18:9-12; Ezekiel 22:3, 4) The apostle Paul wrote: “What fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Messiah and Belial?” For good reason, Paul added: “Quit touching the unclean thing.”—2 Corinthians 6:14-17a.

Believers also realize that taking part in superstitious rituals does not guarantee happiness and prosperity—especially since participating in such festivities can result in Yahweh’s disfavor. (Ecclesiastes 9:11; Isaiah 65:11, 12) Furthermore, the Scriptures admonish believers to be moderate and self-controlled in their conduct. (1 Timothy 3:2, 11) Clearly, it would be improper for one who professes to follow Messiah’s teachings to be part of a celebration that is characterized by riotous excess.

As eye-catching and appealing to the senses as New Year’s festivities may be, the Scriptures tell us to “quit touching the unclean thing” and to “cleanse ourselves of every defilement of flesh and spirit.” To those who comply, Yahweh extends the heartwarming guarantee: “I will take you in. . . . I shall be a father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me.” (2 Corinthians 6:17b–7:1) Indeed, He promises eternal blessings and prosperity to those who are loyal to Him.—Psalm 37:18, 28; Revelation 21:3, 4, 7.

 

*hedonist:  a person whose life is devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification

 

May Yahweh bless your understanding.

Brought to you by Yahweh is Truth.

 

Fathers Homeschool Your Children

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The Scriptures are plain that believers should homeschool their children.

Proverbs 22:6  Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
We are told to train our children and not hire others to indoctrinate them with the ways of the world.

Proverbs 1:8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.
Fathers and mothers are to instruct their children.
Proverbs 4:1 Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
Children are to be instructed by their father so that they may know understanding.
Proverbs 13:1 A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.
Fathers are to instruct their children and children are to hear their father’s instruction.
Proverbs 15:5 A fool despises his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.
Children should not despise their father’s instruction, but be willing to learn with a happy heart.
If we do not instruct our children, then they can grow up to be fools especially with a public “education.”

FYI:  Public Education is one of Karl Marx’s 10 Planks of Communism.

Deuteronomy 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
We are told to teach our children every day, especially in the torah.
Deuteronomy 11:19 And ye shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Again, we are responsible for teaching our children, especially in Yahweh’s torah.

If you are new to homeschooling or just need some direction, then here it is.
The best curriculum is ACE- Accelerated Christian Education.  Their website is:  http://www.aceministries.com/

1.  It stresses righteous character first and foremost.

2.  It has been around for more than 40 years.

3.  Most all missionaries use this curriculum.

4.  It is very affordable.($150-$300/per year depending if you buy the answer keys)

5.  It is self-paced so you don’t have to spend half of your day teaching every concept.

6.  It takes your student only about 2 hours per day to finish.

7.  The scriptures are woven in each lesson.

8.  Students finishing ACE grow up to be doctors, lawyers, missionaries, dentists, veterinarians, business owners, etc.

9.  We have literally bought almost every curriculum to compare before coming to this decision.
May Yahweh Bless Your Home School!

Brought to you by Yahweh is Truth.

Dinosaurs and the Scriptures

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The word dinosaur was invented in 1841 and simply means terrible lizard.  Before that time, these creatures were known as dragons.  The average dinosaur was about the size of a sheep.  Some of them were the size of chickens.  Some of them got to be gigantic.  These creatures are just different kinds of reptiles.  Reptiles never stop growing for the entirety of their life.  The older they get, the bigger they get.  The largest dinosaur is only the size of a basketball at birth.  Noah took young vibrant reptiles on the ark and not the senior citizens.

People before the flood lived to be an average of about 900 years old.  The reptiles also enjoyed longer lives as well, so were able to grow to be enormous.  In fact, the oldest living animals today are reptiles.  Some turtles live to be 200 today which is about twice that of a man.  At this rate the same turtle could have lived to be 1656 years until the flood destroyed them.  They would have been about 40 feet in diameter. There have been 100’s of dinosaur fossils discovered and each one is given a distinct name as if it were an entirely different kind of dinosaur.  If one studies all the different dinosaur fossils discovered, then he will find that there are only about 50 different kinds of dinosaurs, so only about 100 dinosaurs were taken aboard the ark.  100 dinosaurs each about the size of a sheep would be no problem for Noah to care for.  Small young dinosaurs take up less room, eat less food, and would be better fit for both the journey and for having offspring after the flood.  Yahweh probably had all the animals go into hibernation during the year on the ark which would make things even easier. The majority of dinosaurs were destroyed during the flood especially the gigantic ones.  After the flood dinosaurs began to multiply again, but they no longer lived as long as before the flood.  The average life-span of people (and by extension reptiles) right after the flood was reduced by half from 900 to 450 years.  So dinosaurs living at this time would have grown to be only half the size of dinosaurs before the flood. About 100 years after the flood the lifespans were again reduced by half from 450 down to 225 years.  This was probably due to the ice age.  So again the dinosaurs would be even smaller to about 25% the size of the ones before the flood. As the dinosaurs multiplied upon the earth they slowly became a menace to the people and so dragon/dinosaur hunters such as Nimrod were necessary to keep the dragon/dinosaur populations down.  Hence, there are hundreds of dragon/dinosaur legends still extant until this day all around the world. Although the gigantic ones were wiped out at the flood there remained dinosaurs for thousands of years even in the 21st century there are a few still roaming the earth in some of the remotest parts of the earth.

A lot of the lizards and other reptiles that are found everywhere on the earth used to live 10 times longer than they do now and would have been 10 times larger as well. When the Americas were first being discovered by Europeans there were reports of pterosaurs, 100 foot anacondas, 50 foot alligators, and others.  Sea monsters were reported regularly up until the mid-1800’s with the invention of loud engines which give ample warning for any such creatures to swim away before being spotted.  A plesiosaur was caught by Japanese fishermen in the 1970’s off the coast of New Zealand. The Ica and Nazca tribes of Ancient Peru lived side by side with a half dozen different kinds of dinosaurs.  They recorded what they saw in very great detail on over 10,000 Ica stones, textiles, totems and Nazca lines in the desert.  Also, tribes in Mexico recorded the same kinds of dinosaurs living side by side with men on their own stone carvings.  Cave drawings around the world record dinsaurs with man.  The ancient Babylonians raised dinosaurs as pets and for entertainment.  The apocrypha records how the prophet Daniel killed one.  Marco polo spent many decades in China and Mongolia and recorded how the Chinese Emperor raised dinosaurs to pull his chariots.  There is overwhelming evidence of dinosaurs living with man all throughout history. Today, we still have great turtles that live to be 200 years old.  The Komodo dragons still live today, but only get to be 10 feet long which is only a small fraction of what they would have been before and right after the flood of Noah.  Giant snakes and lizards are still reported today in the Congo of Africa and in the Amazon of South America.  If one applies himself to diligent study, then one will find ample evidence of dinosaurs before the flood, after the flood, and still a small remnant even today.

The Scriptures record that sea dinosaurs and flying dinosaurs were created on day 5.  All the land dinosaurs were made on day 6.  Noah took two of each kind of dinosaur on the ark for preservation.  After the flood, Job recorded the two largest kinds of dinosaurs called behemoth and leviathan.  Behemoth was of the sauropod kind of dinosaur which were the largest of land animals ever created.  Leviathan was some kind of aquatic dinosaur.  Many sea captains and Vikings reported these sea monsters over the past few centuries.  There are many books, videos, and websites on this subject to further your study.

May Yahweh bless you in your understanding.

Brought to you by Yahweh is Truth.