Do You Know the Sign?
I received an interesting email from Worthy News. George Whitten put together an excellent devotional on the letter tav. Enjoy!
Ezekiel 9:4-6 and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark (Tav in Hebrew) on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark (Tav in Hebrew); and begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.
Yesterday, we began identifying the ancient Hebrew alphabet and exploring the potential symbolic meanings of its letters. The last letter, “Tav”, as we saw, strongly resembles a cross. Today, we’re going to look at how “Tav” is spelled in ancient Hebrew. The phonetic spelling of “Tav” is Tav (T)-Vav (V). Now the ancient letter, “Vav” strongly resembled a commonly used tent-peg, and then, later, a common nail. So t he spelling of “Tav” contains a cross and a nail.
The Ancient Word Tav is illustrated to the left, which is also the spelling of the Hebrew Letter Tav translated as mark in Ezekiel 9:4,6. The Vav is the image to the left of the cross which means in Ancient Hebrew a nail or a wooden peg. To the right of the Vav is the image of the cross, which was the way the Hebrew Letter Tav was originally written. If you cannot view the image to the left, please visit Worthy Devotions.
This word in Hebrew is translated, “mark“, in the verses above; so, this ancient Hebrew “mark” that was on the foreheads of righteous men who grieved over abominations in the Lord’s house, was identified by a word containing a cross and a nail. Interesting…since the prophet is told to pass over all those that have that mark, beginning at the Lord’s sanctuary, we have an Old Testament picture of the protection of the Lord’s cross, expressed by ancient Hebrew letters. Perhaps this is just another way in which the Lord has expressed His sovereignty, weaving His revelation into the entire fabric of His Word, revealing the protection of the cross in both the Old and New Testaments.
Another interesting aspect of this verse is the location where the Lord’s judgment begins: the Lord’s sanctuary. 1 Peter 4:17 states that, “it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God.” I understand this to mean that those who are most accountable, who stand, as it were, closest to place where God dwells, will come under His judgment first. For us who believe, this judgment will be purification, possibly through suffering, as Peter suggests. For the wicked, who are increasingly distant from God, His judgment means eternal condemnation.
The Lord is returning for a bride who is prepared to meet Him. She will be pure and spotless, made white by His cross and purified through her submission to His careful preparation. Illustrated by the letter “Tav” in ancient Hebrew, her identifying mark will be that very cross.
Are you prepared as a bride should be for her husband? Your sorrow and weeping over the abominations in our Lord’s world, and even in His body, confirm the mark which is upon you. Wear the sign with honor — glorying in it, and carry your cross faithfully to the end, protected from the eternal judgment which awaits all men at His coming.
A Remnant Is Rising In The Land!
This is a repost from an email I received. I pass it along for those of you who are praying, watching and preparing for the next move of the Lord. This word is from Dr. Robert Stearns the executive director of Eagles’ Wings.
I was in Israel on Yom Kippur, preparing to enter the Holy Days of the Biblical calendar, when I felt the Lord impressing this word on my heart… I pray it is an encouragement to you.
A Remnant is Rising in the Land.
Unseen, unrecognized, they know Whose they are and have died to this present world’s ambitions. They want nothing of a consumer Christianity, where God exists for their earthly pleasure. They have caught a whiff of Heaven’s fragrant food, and just the smell has satisfied them more than the sweetest delicacies of this passing age, and motivates them to remember that they are just passing through.
They will not be bought or sold with position or money. They are remembering why they “got into this” in the first place – for the Lamb. For Jesus Christ’s honor, for the sake of His worthy name. Their backbones are being steeled in the furnace of affliction, and purified of contemporary dross. They are old-school, hard-core Jesus freaks, and they are not apologizing for it. The remnant is not ashamed!
They are blood-bought,and fiercely committed to the Word – the Logos and the Rhema.
Something within them stirs because they know they are here on a kairos assignment. They realize that they may have forgotten that for a moment, been diverted off the path for some years, but like soldiers who remember drills from long ago, they are coming to attention and position and awareness.
They are here on purpose. They are necessary to Heaven’s narrative. They are not bystanders. They are the players on the stage of His-story.
This army is realizing they never should have eaten Babylon’s food in the first place, even if it was served in halls decorated to look like a cheap imitation of Zion. They would rather be pilgrims than settle. They would rather be fools for Christ than wise in the world’s eyes. They would rather be known in Heaven and feared in Hell than recognized on earth.
Whatever happens to them in the world really doesn’t matter. They have locked gazes with the Lamb’s eyes, and locked step with the cadence of Heaven’s march.
His remnant understand that this is the Final Act and there is no turning back now.
They are nowhere to be seen and everywhere to be found. There are very few of them chosen, and a great host of them who will emerge.
It’s going to be very, very intense, for the sword they carry is stained with the blood of their lesser desires and their crucified carnality. They’ve had their battles, faced their own personal Valleys of Decision, and made their choice.
I have Decided. To Follow Jesus. No Turning Back. We have decided. Have you decided?
The background of Jesus’ teaching on end time events surrounds the temple. When Jesus forecasted the imminent destruction of the temple, the disciple’s ears were pricked. They wanted to know more. Most people want to know more about futuristic events. I would assume you are no different. But Jesus, in His wisdom, didn’t tell the disciples what they wanted to hear. He related information they needed to know.
The disciples, like many of us today, were concerned about the wrong things. They wanted to hear information that would be of no real value to them, other than to satisfy their own curiosity. Jesus was more interested in affecting their conduct and character rather than satisfying their curiosity.
Jesus, however, knew that if the disciples looked for signs they would be susceptible to deception. He virtually avoided their question and focused instead on character issues.
In the midst of all these tumultuous end times events Jesus specifically warns the believer about three very real dangers in Luke 21.
Deception (8) – With all the information we have been given about end-time events by Jesus, the apostles, and others… you would think deception would not be an issue. Jesus specifically warned us that there will be an increase in deception and the tremendous potential for people to be deceived. If Jesus says deception will be our number one problem, then most assuredly it will. Unfortunately, the group who will mislead the greatest number of people will be Christians. They are the ones who love making predictions about the date and time of Jesus’ return.
Fear (9) – How many times did Jesus tell His disciples not to be afraid? Evidently fear will run rampant in the end times. It is a mistake to take any one prophecy of Jesus or those in Revelation as infallible proof that the end of the age is immediately at hand. As troubles do intensify and increase, the true believer is told to “look up” for their redemption. They are not encouraged to “look at” troubles, hardships, and difficulties.
Distractions (34-38) – This point is difficult to make because every generation since the time of Christ has been distracted to some degree. But evidently the distractions will be greater as we head toward the end of days. To combat this very issue Jesus told several parables in a row to communicate the need for everyone to be watching, waiting, and ready for His return.
Let me tell you a modern story that mimics Jesus’ parables.
Have you ever heard the story of Jeff and Janell’s first date?
As someone once said, “God may not be early, but He is never late.” Put your wedding clothes back on and be ready!
Are You Expecting a Visitation?
Ever had someone show up unexpectedly? We commonly say things like, “Well, if I had known you were coming, I would have...” The reason we say these types of things is because we were not expecting company.
The Jews of Jesus’ day were expecting a political Messiah, not a spiritual leader. Much like our day, we are looking for a political leader to help solve our economic problems. Therefore, the people of Jesus’ day missed a real visitation from God. They missed out on real deliverance, real salvation, and real peace. How can anyone miss the time of God’s visitation?
Evidently if we hold fast to false expectations of how God moves or should move, we can miss His visitation. Lets face it, none of us knows the Lord as well as we think we do. The result of missing God’s visitation is that real peace is now hidden from our eyes!
As we roll further down the path towards the end of days, it is imperative we get a clear picture of how the Lord moves and how to walk in His ways. Lay aside useless information that doesn’t benefit your walk with God. The good news is we can know the Lord and be a part of His return! Are you ready to meet Him this time around?
Don’t Believe in a Kingdom Far, Far, Away!
What’s your belief about the return of Christ? Everybody believes something. Even before I committed my life to Christ, I believed Christ’s return to be imminent. But that was a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away. Ok, it was 35 years ago.
There is nothing wrong with having expectations. Jesus told everyone to “be ready” and expect His return. His instructions were to live as though His return will be tomorrow, but plan as though it will be a lifetime away.
The parable Jesus employs here in Luke 19 corrects this type of faulty thinking. Evidently many people believed “the Kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.” The Kingdom is going to manifest today, just not in its full manifestation, with Jesus returning to Jerusalem to reign supreme.
Why does Jesus mention this issue? Because we have a tendency to waste the real investment opportunities the Lord has made in us. We believe that in the future God will make us complete, perfect and whole just like Jesus. The truth … God is actually working in our “now”, making us in the image of His Son.
God expects us to be investors like Him. Those who invest wisely are given more investment capital. Those who neglect their opportunities, lose their entire investment. See, if you believe Kingdom work and Kingdom realities are a “future” event you will miss God’s best now. The Kingdom is now and exists within you. The Lord has placed you here to conduct Kingdom business until He returns.
Will you miss the investment opportunity of a lifetime? Don’t believe in a Kingdom far, far, away! Believe in a Kingdom right in your heart. God does.
Your Wedding Clothes Are Coming!
The Lord has told me numerous times in the past two years to “get ready for the wedding!” I have heard this so many times, I believe it to be imminent. The Lord is shaking and waking anyone “who has ears to hear” to look forward to a greater reality that is about to happen. The church, of course, is the bride of Christ. The Father’s call is to ready ourselves now by putting on our wedding clothes.
Remember, the Lord is calling for His Bride to ready herself for the wedding. He wants all believers to be dressed for that day. Your wedding clothes are on their way this very moment. Be ready for them!
One of the things that helps keep true believers alert is the knowledge of the Lord’s return. Jesus spoke on numerous occasions about the need for everyone to be ready and to be watching and waiting for His imminent return. Two thousand years seems to be a long time to wait, but as each day passes we are one day closer.
With this in mind, would you be ready to meet the Lord today? It is easy to “fake believe” that you and the Lord are close. No one knows the actual truth, but Jesus knows! The truth is you can be just as close to the Lord right now as any other point in the past, present or future. We all determine each day how close we desire to be to the Lord and how relevant He is to our lives. I am reminded of a story by Max Lucado that illustrates the point that one day we will all give account of our lives.
It is true, we all eventually “face the music.” We may “fake the music” for a while, but the truth comes out in the end when we have to perform a solo. Be ready for Jesus’ return now, so that whenever He appears, you are prepared.
I had a dream about these verses. My wife and I were dressed in wedding clothes waiting for a wedding ceremony. The Lord has spoken to both of us numerous times to prepare ourselves. This call was not just to simply be ready for the return of the Lord, but for the marriage of the church and Jesus Christ. If you prepare yourself for the later, you will also be ready for His return.
Make sure your personal inward lamp is lit and you are on fire for the Lord. Your heart must always be warm and soft towards Him in every way. In addition, be filled with the Holy Spirit. This assures your lamp will not go out before He returns.
Watch and Wait for the Lord’s return. Know the Lord’s voice and presence now so that when He appears you will not be surprised or caught unaware.
Plan now to be ready so that you will not be ashamed when He appears.