This three-part work by Dr. Lon A. Wiksell and his son Ryan Wiksell follows a sweeping arc through the events (both real and imagined) of the First-Century Church. Observe Passover with John and James, Pentecost with Priscilla and Aquila, and the Feast of Tabernacles with these and many other dynamic characters.
The Last Seder of James represents a unique blend of historical fiction and educational non-fiction. Taken as a whole, The Last Seder of James provides an insightful perspective on the centrality of the Jewish festival of Passover to the Messianic (Christian) faith tradition.
Days of Fire: The Feast of Tabernacles and the Fall of the Temple represents a unique blend of historical fiction and educational non-fiction. Taken as a whole, the book provides an insightful perspective on the powerful significance of the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (In Hebrew, Sukkot) to the Messianic (Christian) faith.
A Feast of Weeks represents a unique blend of historical fiction and educational non-fiction. Presented as a personal memoir, this second book of the Passover Trilogy provides an insightful perspective on the role of Pentecost (or in Hebrew, Shavu’ot) in the early days of the Messianic faith.
We have arrived at the 50th and final day of Counting the Omer. We have traveled from Egypt and stand at the foot of Mt. Sinai. We have received the Word of God and have entered into a covenant with Him. We started this journey by celebrating Passover and now we conclude by celebrating Shavuot.
Purified garments. Fire. A thunderous sound from heaven. We listened to the Scriptures, and in that moment we knew we were about to be “clothed in power from on high,” but we were terrified to imagine what it might mean.
In order to help his disciples understand what history-altering events were about to take place, he needed to remind them of his three-fold purpose. Although he did so implicitly, it’s not hard to see when we look a little closer. Let’s tackle them one at a time.
Covenants are supposed to be bilateral, and conditional. Two (or more) parties should be responsible to hold up their end, or else the covenant is breached. But God had something very different in mind.
Would the story of Christmas, of Jesus and his birth, be possible without the Maccabees? Perhaps not. Without the Maccabees where would the Jews be?
When I think about Yom Kippur, I think about Pinocchio. What? Why Pinocchio? He’s probably most famous for his nose that gets longer every time he tells a lie. And yes, you could draw a connection to Yom Kippur, as we strive to be transparent about our sins. (They will find us out, after all.) But that’s not the most important thing about him. The most important thing is that Pinocchio was a wooden puppet who wanted to become a real boy.