Day: March 1, 2023

Shalom in the Storm

By Eric Carlson in 03_2023-3 on March 1, 2023

Week after week (I feel like a broken record) our condition as a nation continues to worsen! Unbelievable we go from one crisis to the next without relent. There are numerous warnings telling us to prepare and brace ourselves as drought, famine, hyper-inflation, chaos, and anarchy will worsen. We see biblical examples of this in scripture. Israel, like America had received warnings! The Assyrians as Jonathan Cahn has taught had performed a similar 9/11 type terrorist attack against Israel. Yet Israel refused to be humbled and absolutely refused to see the cause of their tribulation. First, a terrorist attack on Northern Israel.

Isaiah 9:8-13. Adonai sent a word to Ya’akov, and it has fallen on Isra’el. (notice the Lords terminology here regarding a terrorist attack: A word from the Lord was sent to Yaakov. On 9/11 the Lord sent a word to America and it fell on America and its done so numerous times since yet the nation still will not repent.) 9 All the people know it (Ya’du: to know, perceive, discern, recognize, admit, acknowledge, confess), Efrayim and the inhabitants of Shomron. But they say in pride, in the arrogance of their hearts, 10 “The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with cut stone (Gazite stone: walkway to the Flight 93 memorial is lined with large cut stone blocks); the sycamore-fig trees have been chopped down, but we will replace them with cedars.” 11 So ADONAI has raised up Retzin’s foes against him and spurred on his enemies – 12 Aram from the east, P’lishtim from the west; and they devour Isra’el with an open mouth. Even after all this, his anger remains, his upraised hand still threatens. 13 Yet the people do not turn to the one striking them, they don’t seek ADONAI-Tzva’ot.

II Chronicles 36:11-16. Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. 12 He did evil in the sight of Adonai his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke from the mouth of Adonai. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him take an oath by God. He also stiffened his neck and hardened his heart so as not to turn to Adonai, the God of Israel. 14 Furthermore, all the leading kohanim and the people became very unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. They defiled the House of Adonai, which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. 15 Adonai, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through His messengers again and again, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God and despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of Adonai rose against His people, until there was no remedy.

We must walk in Truth. What is truth? Truth is defined as the body of real things, events, and facts, the spiritual reality. The Living God of Israel is truth! God acts truthfully in that He keeps His word. Truth in Hebrew is ’emet {eh’-meth} which means firmness, faithfulness, sureness, reliability, stability, continuance, and trustworthiness. It is truth as spoken, as a testimony, as judgment, as divine instruction, and truth is a body of ethical, divine knowledge. Truth is an unalterable, steadfast trust in the God! God, His word, Yeshua, and Torah are absolute truths.

I Thessalonians 5:1-4. But you have no need to have anything written to you, brothers, about the times and dates when this will happen; 2 because you yourselves well know that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people are saying, “Everything is so peaceful and secure,” then destruction will suddenly come upon them, the way labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there is no way they will escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark (skotos {skot’-os}: Darkness, Blind, metaph: ignorance respecting divine things and human duties with the accompanying ungodliness and immorality, together with their consequent misery in hell), so that the Day should take you by surprise like a thief;

Matthew 24:6-8. You will hear the noise of wars nearby and the news of wars far off; see to it that you don’t become frightened. Such things must happen, but the end is yet to come. 7 For peoples will fight each other, nations will fight each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various parts of the world; 8 all this is but the beginning of the `birth pains.’(odin {o-deen’}: Pain, sorrow, travail, the pain of childbirth, birth pangs, intolerable anguish, in reference to the dire calamities preceding the advent of the Messiah).

Isaiah 54:14-17 In righteousness you will be established for it will not come near you. 15 Any alliance that forms against you will not be my doing; whoever tries to form such an alliance will fall because of you. 16 It is I who created the craftsman who blows on the coals and forges weapons suited to their purpose; I also created the destroyer to work havoc. 17 No weapon made will prevail against you. In court you will refute every accusation. The servants of ADONAI inherit all this; the reward for their righteousness is from me, “says ADONAI.

What a phenomenal promise of God. NO matter what weapon, alliance, or accusation that is formed, made, stated, or issued against you shall prosper or come to pass. That is the reward for righteousness says Adonai! Those who know Adonai, who walk in truth and righteousness before Him! Those who submit, obey, honor, and worship the King of Kings. Job, in the midst of His crisis, on the center of the maelstrom, in the center of His own storm has an epiphany, a realization that pulls him out of the storm.

There is a great difference between hearing about something and experiencing it yourself. I can only speak the word so far, head knowledge is only knowledge. God must become a matter of the heart, your heart must become circumcised, He must be real in your life, a realization of who God is transitioned Job from hearing about God to seeing God, to knowing Him, to observing Him, learn, regard, and observe Him! It was in this condition that God Healed, restored, and set Job free from the storm. Proverbs reveals a profound truth regarding a humble heart from those who repent when God reproves and the result for those who do not,

Proverbs 1:23-33. Repent when I reprove -I will pour out my spirit to you, I will make my words known to you. 24 Because you refused when I called, and no one paid attention when I put out my hand, 25 but instead you neglected my counsel and would not accept my reproof; 26 I, in turn, will laugh at your distress, and mock when terror comes over you 27 yes, when terror overtakes you like a storm and your disaster approaches like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble assail you. 28 Then they will call me, but I won’t answer; they will seek me earnestly, but they won’t find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of ADONAI, 30 they refused my counsel and despised my reproof. 31 So they will bear the consequences of their own way and be overfilled with their own schemes.

The Key is having God’s presence with you in the midst of any storm, any crisis is something you must develop before the storm. There is a difference here of having God with you vs Shalom in the Storm. God has given us two very profound examples of God’s servants having Shalom in the midst of the storm. Storms come in many different ways, Biblically, storms are metaphors for many different situations, crisis, attacks, tsuris from bad medical reports, strained or broken relationships, strife, hard decisions, losing your job, home foreclosure, addictions, bad circumstances, ungodly laws, unjust rulers, wars, rumor of wars, and on and on. I’ve heard the saying many times that if “you have Shalom in the midst of the storm, you’re in God’s will” which is not truth. The first example is Yeshua in a storm.

Mark 4:35-41. That day, when evening had come, Yeshua said to them, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So, leaving the crowd behind, they took him just as he was, in the boat; and there were other boats with him. 37 A furious windstorm arose, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was close to being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern on a cushion, asleep. They woke him and said to him, “Rabbi, doesn’t it matter to you that we’re about to be killed?” 39 He awoke, rebuked (epitimao {ep-ee-tee-mah’-o}: to show honor to, to adjudge, chide, rebuke, reprove, censure severely, to admonish or charge sharply) the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind subsided, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no trust even now?” 41 But they were terrified and asked each other, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the waves obey him?”

In the midst of a storm that is close to sinking the ship Yeshua is sleeping. Yeshua is modeling great trust, great Shalom to a crew that had spent their lives on the water, they had experienced many storms in the past, they were terrified. In a panic they awaken the sleeping Yeshua who rebukes and speaks to the weather while asking the Talmidim and crew why they are afraid, where’s your trust. Yeshua knows, He is established in righteousness as Isaiah 54 states so no weapon, article, vessel, coven, or storm will stand or prosper against Him.

In this knowledge and covenant relationship He is comfortably sleeping in the midst of the storm. In fact, He questions the resolve and trust of the crew. If they really knew who He was why were they in a such a panic and afraid? Maybe like Job they had heard of Him, they had head knowledge, but Yeshua had yet to become a reality in their life. They knew of Him but didn’t know Him! We have another person sleeping on a ship in the midst of a storm but under a completely different set of circumstances,

Jonah 1:1-10. The word of ADONAI came to Yonah the son of Amitai: 2 “Set out for the great city of Ninveh, and proclaim to it that their wickedness has come to my attention.” 3 But Yonah, in order to get away from ADONAI, prepared to escape to Tarshish. He went down to Yafo, found a ship headed for Tarshish, paid the fare and went aboard, intending to travel with them to Tarshish and get away from ADONAI. 4 However, ADONAI let loose over the sea a violent wind, which created such stormy conditions that the ship threatened to break to pieces. 5 The sailors were frightened, and each cried out to his god. They threw the cargo overboard to make the ship easier for them to control. Meanwhile, Yonah had gone down below into the hold, where he lay, fast asleep. 6 The ship’s captain found him and said to him, “What do you mean by sleeping? Get up! Call on your god! Maybe the god will remember us, and we won’t die.” 7 Then they said to each other, “Come, let’s draw lots to find out who is to blame for this calamity.” They drew lots, and Yonah was singled out. 8 They said to him, “Tell us now, why has this calamity come upon us? What work do you do? Where are you from? What is your country? Which is your people?” 9 He answered them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear ADONAI, the God of heaven, who made both the sea and the dry land.” 10 At this the men grew very afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done?” For the men knew he was trying to get away from ADONAI, since he had told them.

We are all familiar with the story Jonah tells he crew the Strom is His fault because He is rebelling against what God told him to do and that they should throw him overboard to stop the storm in verse 12. After trying to save the ship to no avail they finally throw Jonah overboard and immediately the storm ceased. Two storms, two men of God, two dipolar situations and results. What was the difference between Yeshua and Yonah? They were both calmly sleeping in Shalom in the midst of the storm. One was spared the storm the other became the victim of the storm. Yeshua was in complete Shalom and asleep because He was in God’s will, in obedience and righteousness. Jonah was in Shalom outside of God’s will. He knew what he was supposed to be doing but refused Gods commands so the storm became a vehicle of judgment against Him, the storm took him, he had no command over the weather. He was then swallowed by the fish for three days and three nights as Yeshua would be buried and dead for three day and three nights.

When the storm comes, and it is coming, next month, next year, two years or five years from now the storm, the great and terrible day of the Lord is coming! What will the storm mean for you? Where are you in the coming storm? Jonah was fast asleep in Shalom during the storm which was not a sign that he was in God’s will, in fact it was just the opposite. Don’t think you are right with God because you have Shalom in the Storm. When the storm comes will you have authority over it, rebuking it so that it cannot touch you or will the storm be the event of your judgment where you are thrown into it?

Pesach is a Sign of Revival

By Eric Carlson in 03_2023-1 on March 1, 2023

Leviticus 23:4-12. “‘These are the designated times of ADONAI, the holy convocations you are to proclaim at their designated times 5 “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between sundown and complete darkness, comes Pesach for ADONAI. 6 On the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival of matzah; for seven days you are to eat matzah. 7 On the first day you are to have a holy convocation; don’t do any kind of ordinary work. 8 Bring an offering made by fire to ADONAI for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work.'” 9 ADONAI said to Moshe, 10 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘After you enter the land I am giving you and harvest its ripe crops, you are to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the cohen. 11 He is to wave the sheaf before ADONAI, so that you will be accepted; the cohen is to wave it on the day after the Shabbat. 12 On the day that you wave the sheaf, you are to offer a male lamb without defect, in its first year, as a burnt offering for ADONAI.

Luke 22:14-16. When the time came, Yeshua and the emissaries reclined at the table, and he 15 said to them, “I have really wanted so much to celebrate this Seder with you before I die! 16 For I tell you, it is certain that I will not celebrate it again until it is given its full meaning (pleroo {play-ro’-o}: to carry into effect, bring to realization, to perform, to execute, fulfilled, to complete, when saying, promises, prophecies coming to pass, to cause God’s will as made known in Torah to be obeyed as it should be) in the Kingdom of God.”

This literally happened 2,000 years at Pesach! Yeshua’s life and words tells us that not only did He celebrate, honor, and Keep Pesach He looked forward to it! He didn’t view it as a cumbersome burden that he couldn’t eat a Ruben or Pizza! He looked forward to it, He wanted to celebrate Pesach with His Talmidim, His family. We too are looking forward to celebrating next month with our family and the Congregation! Pesach was the last event, the last Feast Day Yeshua celebrated with His Talmidim before He was crucified! The Pesach Seder marked the transition from Adonai’s Glory residing in the Temple system to Yeshua becoming our sacrifice and Adonai’s glory to residing within us! Scripture records Pesach is a celebration of Supernatural transition! Pesach marks a transition, from the previous year to the new year, from Slavery to Freedom, from wandering in the desert to entering into the promise land, from Sin to Salvation in Yeshua, from Death to eternal life! As Yeshua stated in Matthew 5:17-19, these Moedim are not done away with in fact they’re rehearsals for the coming Messianic Reign, a not too distant future transition when the Kingdom of Heaven and this world become one again.

Yeshua is revealing a mystery in verse 16. He will celebrate Pesach with us again when it’s given its full meaning, when its fulfilled, when it’s brought to realization, when the sayings, promises, prophecies come to pass, When God’s will as made known in Torah is obeyed as it should be! Yeshua is talking about the restoration of all things! What Yeshua did on Pesach 2,000 years and what Pesach means prophetically, in the future are one in the same! Yeshua, as our paschal sacrifice wiped away our sins to be known no more, His death bought us eternal life, His death tore down the middle wall of partition, to unify the only two people groups known scripturally: Jew and Gentile.

We are NOT called to denominations, earthly empires, or the domain of dogma, doctrine, or religion! We are not to divide ourselves by color, race, nationality, or any other divisive snare. Yeshua’s death, His sacrifice upon the stake redeemed us from those earthly bondages. Through His sacrifice we’ve been transferred to Adonai’s Kingdom to be priests of the most High God, to Serve Him, keep His Moedim, and submit to His eternal Rulership and Kingship! We must begin to live as the citizens of the Messianic Kingdom as His Cohanim, serving Him, not earthly kings, lords or their domains. Then we will celebrate Pesach and its service with Yeshua in its full meaning and understanding.

Yeshua’s crucifixion upon the stake, upon the cross paid the price for all of us allowing us to be the bride, a single, unified body reconciled unto Adonai! Pesach marks a transition, a shift from the kingdoms of this world with all its religious, dogmatic, racist, Anti-Semitic divisions and separations to a unified, spotless bride for the Groom, Yeshua. This is the fundamental core foundation of all revivals, awakenings, and sovereign moves of the Ruach Elohim. An awakening to the Absolute truth of the Kingdom!

Luke 22:17-20. Then, taking a cup of wine, he made the b’rakhah and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on, I will not drink the `fruit of the vine’ until the Kingdom of God comes.” 19 Also, taking a piece of matzah, he made the b’rakhah, broke it, gave it to them and said, “This is my body, which is being given for you; do this in memory of me.” 20 He did the same with the cup after the meal, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant, ratified by my blood, which is being poured out for you.

Hebrews 9:18-24. This is why the first covenant too was inaugurated with blood. 19 After Moshe had proclaimed every command of the Torah to all the people, he took the blood of the calves with some water and used scarlet wool and hyssop to sprinkle both the scroll itself and all the people; 20 and he said, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has ordained for you.” 21 Likewise, he sprinkled with the blood both the Tent and all the things used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, according to the Torah, almost everything is purified with blood; indeed, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 23 Now this is how the copies of the heavenly things had to be purified, but the heavenly things themselves require better sacrifices than these. 24 For the Messiah has entered a Holiest Place which is not man-made and merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, in order to appear now on our behalf in the very presence of God.

What a profound, supernatural understanding and revelation of these parallel, blood covenant events! According to the Torah, almost everything is purified with blood; indeed, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins! Before Yeshua came your own blood was shed for your sins! For those who refuse or reject Yeshua they will perish for their sins! The only way to escape eternal death is to receive and partake of the Passover Sacrifice! Exodus 12 records that Israel was commanded to take a lamb on the 10th day of Nisan. To keep it for four days to ensure it was without blemish or defect. Yeshua did the same as Adonai’s Lamb! He entered into Jerusalem with the other Passover lambs in a processional 2,000 years ago on the 10th of Nisan as recorded in Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, and John 12. For the first Passover in Egypt Adonai commanded:

Exodus 12:6-10. “‘You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, and then the entire assembly of the community of Isra’el will slaughter it at dusk. 7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the two sides and top of the door-frame at the entrance of the house in which they eat it. 8 That night, they are to eat the meat, roasted in the fire; they are to eat it with matzah and maror. 9 Don’t eat it raw or boiled, but roasted in the fire, with its head, the lower parts of its legs and its inner organs. 10 Let nothing of it remain till morning; if any of it does remain, burn it up completely.

As we read in Hebrews 9 the Blood consecrates, there cannot be a covenant without blood. It was this very reason that God commanded Israel to slaughter the Passover lamb and daub its blood – in full view of all the Egyptians – on their doorways. His purpose was twofold: 1. That we would visibly separate ourselves from the idolatrous and pagan Egyptian views and beliefs. 2. We were to publicly counter the false Egyptian notion that sheep were gods and that slaughtering the lamb would NOT CAUSE OUR DEATH but BRING ISRAEL REDEMPTION and SALVATION.

The blood on the doorposts is a test of trust for the fledgling nation of Israel in Egypt. The blood serves as a sign to the angel of death to Pesach, Passover the house with the blood! After the blood was daubed on the door post we had to eat, to consume, to partake of the lamb! Pesach is the night of choice. If you do not take partake of and eat the lamb, you will be an Egyptian and the first born will perish. Whoever applies the blood of the lamb will be a Child of God. This was a radical act that was counterculture to everything in Egypt just as it is counterculture to everything today in America! With the Lamb of God, Yeshua, we must do the same:

We must partake of the sacrificed lamb (represented by the Matzah just as Yeshua told us) and partake of the blood (as represented by the wine again as Yeshua instructed us) and place it on our hearts as a sign of the covenant! The key here is verse 56 “Whoever eats”! The Mystery revealed is that WHOEVER partakes of the lamb is saved! Just like the mixed crowd who departed slavery in Egypt. Many non-Jews saw the wonders of Adonai’s miraculous plaques against Egypt and followed Adonai’s instructions concerning the lamb and were saved from death! Yeshua does the same! “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I live in him.” This is absolute truth! The Seder Table is one of equality, oneness, and unity regardless of where you came from, regardless of your skin, hair, and eye color! Regardless of your race, nationality, and culture! All who partake of the lamb are one, brothers and sisters, children of Adonai, citizens of the Kingdom of God! Sha’ul profoundly outlines this supernatural understanding in:

Rabbi and Rebbetzin’s Corner March 2023

By Eric Carlson in 03_2023-2 on March 1, 2023

What we are really doing by submitting to and following God’s calendar is alignment, it’s aligning or synchronizing ourselves with God’s calendar and timeline in both our current worlds and in the world to come. This synchronization is the key component to prophecy and eschatology, it defines where God is at in His scripture, according to His timeline! He commands us to safeguard, protect, observe His calendar, to remember the head of the New Year! This divine alignment is for both Jew and Gentile as revealed in Ruth’s (Gentile) relationship to Naomi (Jew):

The Biblical New Year begins at the appearance of the first “new moon” after the Vernal or Spring Equinox. This year, as I mentioned earlier, March 20th is the Spring Equinox. The New Moon this month (Rosh Chodesh) is March 22nd, 2023 at sunset. Equinox is from the Latin word “equi” which means equal. Twice a year the earth is on the same plane as the sun, neither leaning towards or away from the sun. Equinox happens twice a year, Vernal or spring and Autumnal or fall Equinox. Biblically this new moon is called KSH Keseh or the veiled moon, Keseh the root word of Rosh Hashanah. New Year is the moon that separates the years and is mentioned in the Psalms, both the calculation of the new year and the celebration of it:

Psalm 81 is describing a celebration, Music, Drum, Lyre and Lute, and Sounding of the Shofar! This Psalm directly connects the celebration of the New Year to the first month of the year as biblically prescribed in Exodus 12. This Moon also marks the Rosh Chodashim (ראשׁ חֳדָשִׁים), “the head of the months,” Observing Rosh Chodashim is considered the very first commandment given to Israel before the great Exodus from Egypt took place. The Order to Observe Shabbat came in Exodus 16! One can’t keep Shabbat or the Moedim, the Feasts if one doesn’t know when to begin! This month shall be unto you the beginning of months:

Within this same thought process, the month of Nisan is also referred to as Chodesh ha-Yeshua, the “month of salvation”. This can be viewed and understood in both the Physical: Israel was physically delivered from Slavery in Egypt in the month of Nisan and Spiritually; The Salvation for both Israel and the world from the slavery of Sin occurred in the same month through the Messiah who was born on the 1st of Nisan!! Happy Birthday Yeshua!!! Yeshua was also crucified on the stake 14 days from the New Year in the same month of Pesach! What’s revealed in all of this is a heavenly ordained Cycle of Time. A never-ending repetitive circle that can be repetitive but never identical!

Therefore, it’s quite clear to us that God see’s this month, Aviv or Nisan as the Month of redemption or Chodesh HaGeulah in Hebrew. The Babylonian Talmud written in the Babylonian Diaspora or captivity gives a profound Messianic Statement over 400 years before the birth of Yeshua: “In Nisan our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt and in Nisan we will be redeemed.” This can be seen in the Hebrew language itself. The Hebrew word for “year” – shanah – shares the same root as both the word “repeat” Shenen and the word “change” Sheenoo.

The “New Year” and Feast Day Cycle is one of “repetition” in the Hebrew is Mishnah which means to study by repetition. Mishnah has the same root word “shanah. To Mishnah, study, to review the history of Israel as recorded in scripture”. The years Moedim and feast day cycles are an all-inclusive “study and review” of the key historical and prophetic events of the redemptive history of Israel. We repeat and relive these events to bring heavens pattern into our present world and our lives in order to prepare and rehearse for the future! At Pesach a year ago the Spirit Realm radically shifted, now we are entering into another New Year! The year of fulfillment!

May we end the Shemitah year of 5782 with a grateful, thankful heart! Adonai has kept us and sustained us through a difficult year! Let us start the new year of 5783 with trust and shalom! Let us transition into the New Year in alignment with Adonai’s Kingdom, knowing He loves you and wants the best for you. Let’s pray and focus in the New Year upon intimacy with Adonai in Yeshua! Let us move into the New Year with a humble, contrite heart through repentance, transformation, and renewing our minds. Heavenly Father, thank You for making all things new! We trust in You along because we know that Your grace is not exhausted, that Adonai’s compassion has not ended. On the contrary, they are new every morning! How great your faithfulness, nothing ahead in this New Year will take us by surprise. We will trust in You, Adonai, forever, because You are our Rock of Ages.