Shalom, shalom, this is Crystal Sharpe and welcome to the Ancient Scrolls program.
Today we are going to continue focusing on the resurrection, if see if we are able to discern, or make an educated guess of which of the earthquakes in Revelation will release the dead. We know it was not Revelation 6, that is where we left off, there were no trumpets sounding to awaken the dead. This is precursor to what is coming. I am going to bring out a little more information from Joel 2 to help fill in Revelation 6 and then we will move on to the seventh seal in Revelation 8 and the earthquake there. Revelation 8 has the imagery associated with the service on Yom Kippur. Too, if we have time we will include Luke 1 where it looks like the imagery found there can be related to Yom Kippur. Sounds like a lot of information.
We are in the Lord’s feast of Yom T’ruah/Rosh HaShanah. It is also called the Day of the Awakening Blast, and it has a couple of themes, one is to awaken those who are complacent, or spiritually asleep to begin the process of repentance; the other is the theme of resurrection, that is, regeneration of the dead. This season is called the End of Days Harvest. The sages teach that during this cycle the doors of the Temple in heaven are opened until Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement to receive the prayers of repentance. I am going to give you a phrase or the prayer the Jews recite from now until Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement: “Inscribe us in the Book of Life.”
This notion of a divine book is from Exodus 32:32. This is after the Hebrews being delivered from Egypt commit idolatry with the Golden Calf. The Levites go through the camp and put to the sword about 3000 offenders. Moses began to intercede for Israel the next day and petitions the LORD to forgive them of this sin. “Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” The LORD replied: “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.”
Revelation 20 has this same idea: And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
Yom Kippur begins on the evening of October the eighth.
I will recite the Shema: Shema O Yisrael, the Lord God the Lord is one
Psalm 24
The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the earth and those who dwell therein.
Let us pray: Most of this prayer is from Daniel 9 while exiles in Babylon
Blessed are You O Lord our God, King of the universe. King over heaven and earth. O, Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. To the LORD our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against You.
Father, We ask for a spirit of repentance to fall on this nation, upon Israel, and the nations. Hear, O LORD, the supplications of Your servants. I pray the hearts of this people will be turned to You and Your commandments. I pray You will remove the callouses off the hearts of this nation and replace them with hearts that are sensitive and pliable in Your hands. Place in our hearts Your desires. In Yeshua’s name.
Last week we had looked at Revelation 6 where there was a greatearthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, [3] when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For thegreat day of his wrath is come(the Day of the Lord); and who shall be able to stand?
In this passage is a description of a great earthquake and a cosmic disturbance of the sun turning black and the full moon the color of blood. This is a result of the earthquake itself and not necessarily just a natural event of say an eclipse.
Joel 2:30-31 and Acts 2:19-20 gives us some extra information that would fill in Revelation 6, and that would be pillars of smoke that will be present as the start of the Day of the Lord nears:
“(30) And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. (31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.”
Acts 2:19
“(19) And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: (20) The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:”
Revelation 6 mimics the description found in Joel 2.
It was five years ago the world took note of full blood moons during the feasts of the Lord at Passover and the feast of Tabernacles, this was in 2014 and 2015. These were indeed significant signs because of their appearing at the Lord’s feasts two years in a row. Though they were signs, they were not fulfilling the passage in Revelation 6 where an earthquake will cause atmospheric disturbances that the world will witness.
The greater possibility from the description that Joel gives us is that the great earthquake is caused from a volcanic eruption that will release ash and other particles in the atmosphere. As the day of the Lord approaches the earth will become more stressed and this great earthquake will be a great indicator that His return is right at the door.
I was reminded of three earthquakes we have had in the last 15 years: Skri Lanka 2004, Chile 2010 and Japan 2011. All of these shortened the earth’s days by microseconds and changed the figure axis.
Japan’s earthquake was a magnitude 9 that caused a tsunami with waves that were reported to be 128 feet high. The effects of the great earthquake were felt around the world, from Norway’s fjords to Antarctica’s ice sheet. These may nothing compared to what is yet future.
okay, I am going to say anything more about Revelation 6 and we are going to look at Revelation 8, the scene there, the angel, the incense, the golden altar, the prayers, the earthquake. We will make some comparisons to Luke 1 and the service there.
When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for what seemed like half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven shofars (Hebrew word for Trumpet). Another angel came and stood at the altar with a gold incense-bowl, and he was given a large quantity of incense to add to the prayers of all God’s people on the gold altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense went up with the prayers of God’s people from the hand of the angel before God. Then the angel took the incense-bowl, filled it with fire from the altar and threw it down onto the earth; and there followed peals of thunder, voices, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
There are several images here that would suggest this is a Yom Kippur service marking the Holiest Day of the year. It is a lengthy service and quite detailed focusing on perfection of the rituals and the prayers involved. I am not going to go over the whole service but address just a few what the passage here is giving us.
The program for the service begins the week before the actual day of Yom Kippur. The priests practice every aspect of the service until they are confident they have mastered it. So, on the day of Yom Kippur, after the preliminaries of the day are accomplished there comes the most solemn part of the service, the time of the incense. This is the event when all the people would gather for prayers.
You see this in Luke 1:10 during the time when John the Baptist’s father, Zachariah, was chosen by lot to perform the offering of the incense on the golden altar on Yom Kippur. All the people were outside, praying, at the time of the incense burning, when there appeared to Zachariah an angel of Adonai standing to the right of the incense altar.
This angel informs Zachariah that his prayers have been heard and his wife would have a son in her old age. The angel continues that the boy would be a joy to them and many would rejoice at his birth. That Yom Kippur service 2000 years ago began the cycle of miracles. The wife of Zachariah, Elizabeth, who was considered barren would have a son. According to Luke, Elizabeth hid herself for five months (verse 23). And the next month, which was the sixth month according to Luke 1:26, this would be around our March/April period, a young virgin would conceive and have a son through the Holy Spirit.
Just thought I would mention that and I am going to give some information on the service of the incense.
The priest chosen for the honoured task of offering the incense inside the Holy Place, with another priest as his helper, would gather fire from the altar of burnt offering in the Priests’ Court along with a vessel of incense and they would then approach the vestibule of the sanctuary.
The two incense priests mount the twelve steps that lead to the Sanctuary building and they enter the Holy Place. At a signal from the Overseer, the priest gently places the incense on the altar, “like sifting grains of flour” and as the Holy Place fills with smoke he prostrates himself then leaves the Sanctuary.
As he is doing this all those outside are waiting in a reverent hush, just as they did when the father of John the Baptist delayed his exit from the Sanctuary.
Luke 1:21
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zachariah; they were surprised at this taking so long in the Temple. But when he came out unable to talk to them, they realized that he had seen a vision in the Temple.
And right at the same place in proceedings, in Chapter 8 of Revelation we see the silence in which the multitudes await the emergence of the incense priest, in this case the angel.
When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for what seemed like half an hour. Another angel came and stood at the altar with a gold incense-bowl, and he was given a large quantity of incense to add to the prayers of all God’s people on the gold altar in front of the throne.
Like the service on earth so is the service in heaven. The great multitude of ordinary worshippers has assembled in the outer court to join in the daily service. As far as the people are concerned, activities are progressing behind the thick wall that prevent them the intimate view of the service going on inside.
At some point they are alerted that the priest is readying everything to go to minister at the golden altar and so everything stops, the music, the singing, everyone is hushed. It takes about 30 minutes for the priests to ready themselves with censors
“Slowly the incensing priest and his assistants ascended the steps to the Holy Place, preceded by the two priests who had formerly dressed the altar and the candlestick, and who now removed the vessels they had left behind, and, worshipping, withdrew. Next, one of the assistants reverently spread the coals on the golden altar; the other arranged the incense; and then the chief officiating priest was left alone within the Holy Place, to await the signal of the president before burning the incense. It was probably while thus expectant that the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias (that is, Zechariah – Luke 1:8-11). As the president gave the word of command, which marked that ‘the time of incense had come,’ ‘the whole multitude of people without’ withdrew from the inner court, and fell down before the Lord, spreading their hands in silent prayer. It is this most solemn period, when throughout the vast Temple buildings deep silence rested on the worshipping multitude, while within the sanctuary itself the priest laid the incense on the golden altar, and the cloud of ‘odours’ (5:8) rose up before the Lord, which serves as the image of heavenly things in this description.”
I am the end of the program
Rico Cortes will sing the Aaronic blessing.
If it is God’s will I will be here next program. Remember to walk by faith and not by sight. Do two things this week: love and forgive. Ask God to cleanse you from all unrighteousness every day. Keep your spiritual garments clean from wrinkles, spots and blemishes. Love God, love your neighbor
Yom Kippur ends with a single, long blast of the shofar. The stirring sound of the shofar at the conclusion of the holiday has many different explanations. One is that the practice recalls the giving of the Torah at Sinai (when the shofar also was blown). Another is that the shofar signals the triumph of the Jewish community over its sins for another year.
