The trumpet, throughout history, has been a very popular instrument. Although it’s changed forms multiple times—from animal antlers to heraldic horns to the modern three-valve contraption—every stage of civilization has found an important role for it. That is, until now.
How you do you know when a holiday is coming? For the Fourth of July, it’s when you see Fireworks stores popping up in the beginning of May. For Halloween, it’s when the grocery store converts three aisles to candy sales on the Fifth of July. For Thanksgiving, it’s when everyone is talking about Black Friday. So the signs are there. But when the day comes, do you really feel ready?
Materialists claim that spirit doesn’t exist at all. Dualists believe that both exist, but that the spirit world is wholly separate from and superior to the physical world. God, on the other hand, shows us a third way, by embedding every act of divine redemption in a physical matrix: real people, real times, real places.
Are you a spiritual person? If you’re not sure, ask yourself if you’ve ever said or thought things like this…
This is it! Today Fran and I are headed to Israel! It’s her first time, and my first time in 25 years. I didn’t think it would be this long but it just never worked out to go. But now is the time.
It takes some effort to get our minds around the true form of Yeshua in the book of Revelation. In the first few chapters he appears as a “Son of Man” (that is, a human) with a white robe, a golden sash, bronze feet, and a voice like Niagara Falls. But when this visage disappears, we are led to assume that he will appear next as a lion—the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, to be exact (5:5). But no, his next entrance is far more diminutive: a “Lamb who was slain” limping to the throne of heaven.
The Biblical way to celebrate Passover is with a meal which in Hebrew is called a Seder. This meal is the major event of the year and may last as long as five or six hours (although it doesn’t have to.) In terms of importance, it’s like Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled into one.
Some people label biblical literature as “primitive”. We, however, see it as ancient wisdom. Or better yet, divine revelation, designed to reveal the heart of God in the context of history. And in this instance, God wants humanity to see Yeshua as a Lamb.
Every time the image of a lamb appears in Scripture, it signals a turning point. The tenth plague (Exodus 12) may indeed be the introduction of the lamb motif in Scripture, but it is not the first symbolic use of a sheep. Because, long before the Lamb of Exodus makes its appearance, the Ram of Genesis sets the stage.
People are often astonished to learn what kind of depth lies beneath the Church’s celebration of Passion Week.