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Discussions Torah

The Messianic fingerprint: Decoding the 7 days of creation

"The Messianic fingerprint: Decoding the 7 days of Creation." Adobe Stock image of two hands holding a globe.

The Hebrew text of Genesis 1:1–2:3 can be read with symbolic significance in each of the seven days of creation. For example, the first Hebrew word of the first sentence (Gen. 1:1) could be a prophecy about the Messiah, based on symbols of the letters. Each day of creation has been seen as paralleling 1,000-year “millennial days” of Earth’s history. And that can point to the Messiah’s return and the establishment of the millennial Sabbath in the seventh 1,000 years, like the Sabbath instituted on the seventh day of creation.

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Discussions The Eighth Day

Dwelling with God: Hold firm to your faith

"Lessons from the feasts: Dwelling with God: Hold firm to your faith." Adobe Firefly AI layered-paper-style image showing a city with chaos around it, hinting at the New Jerusalem at the time when forces of the Adversary surround it.

Dwelling with God in the New Jerusalem on the Day of the LORD demands unshakable faith, not just temporary obedience. This study explores one of the lessons from the biblical festival of Shemini Atzeret, the Convocation of the Eighth Day after the start of Sukkot, the feast of Tabernacles. The Messiah’s supreme authority (Hebrews 3-4) grants forgiveness to the repentant, while the unbelieving remain excluded (Revelation 21). Eternal life in God’s presence requires a lifetime of trusting His unseen purposes, not just outward compliance.

The choice is ours — to believe and enter His rest, or harden our hearts like those of our spiritual ancestors in Israel who refused to enter God’s “rest, the Promised Land (Psalm 95; Hebrews 3-4).

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Appointments With God Discussions Tabernacles

The sukkah experience: How humility builds community, interdependence and spiritual growth

"The sukkah experience: How humility builds community, interdependence and spiritual growth." (Leviticus 23, Nehemiah 8, James 4, 1Kings 8)

Why did Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus) initially say He would not go to Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, as recorded in John 7, but then showed up later incognito? This study suggests the answer seems to be in the key element of the celebration itself, living in a temporary dwelling for a week.

Sukkot calls us to humble ourselves, remembering our dependence on God. By dwelling in fragile shelters, we recall Israel’s wilderness wanderings — a time of stripping away self-reliance to learn trust in the divine Provider. This annual celebration challenges us to let go of earthly securities, to live vulnerably before our Maker.

In an age of increasing self-sufficiency, Sukkot’s message rings prophetic: true strength comes not from what we can accumulate, but in recognizing our smallness before the Almighty. By embracing this humility, we open ourselves to receive God’s grace and blessing.

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Apostolic Writings Appointments With God Atonement Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

From guilt to glory: Yom Kippur & the believer’s transformative journey

"From guilt to glory: Yom Kippur and the believer's transformative journey." Adobe Firefly AI palette knife-style image of men and women walking from left to right from gloom to joy.

This study explores יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים Yom Kippurim, the Day of Atonement in the Bible, which stands as a pivotal moment in the redemptive story, bridging the gulf between Heaven and Earth. Rooted in Leviticus 16 and echoed in Hebrews 3–10, this sacred day reveals the Messiah’s eternal work of covering sins, transgressions and iniquities.

From the Passover lamb’s blood on the doorpost to block the LORD’s destroyer to the high priest’s incense-shrouded entrance into the Holy of Holies, the themes of Yom Kippur point to the ultimate sacrifice of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ), the Melchizedek priest who cleanses our consciences from the stain of a life separated from the presence of the Creator (Heb. 9:14).

Confronting the depths of the human heart, as seen in Genesis 4, Psalm 51, Isaiah 1 and Matthew 5, Yom Kippur calls us to a posture of brokenness and contrition, that we might experience the transformative power of forgiveness and restoration.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Prophets and Writings Torah

Transformed from within: The promise of the New Covenant (Deuteronomy 32; Micah 7; Hebrews 9–10)

"Transformed from within: The promise of the New Covenant (Deuteronomy 32; Micah 7: Hebrews 9-10)." Adobe Firefly AI layered-paper-style image of a woman standing on a shore while her suitcase sits at the bottom of the ocean. Micah 7:19b: "You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

Humility before the Almighty is the heart of the swan song of Moshe (Moses), recorded in the Torah reading הַאֲזִינוּ Ha’azinu (“listen,” Deuteronomy 32). We learn that the people of God are not righteous in themselves, but they are made righteous by God’s mercy. In this study, we explore how a parallel passage in Micah 7:18–20 points us toward Heaven’s removal of the stain of our pasts and how Hebrews 9–10 reveals the Messiah’s pivotal role in that freedom, annually memorialized on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).

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Appointments With God Discussions Prophets and Writings Trumpets

Trust the Promise-keeper: How to stand firm as the Earth reels

"Lessons from God's appointments: Trust the Promise-keeper. How to stand firm as the Earth reels." Adobe Firefly AI layered-paper style image for Yom Teruah, showing an Asian man standing in strong stance with his fists raised up while tumultuous waters and swirled skies are around him.

יוֹם תְּרוּעָה Yom Teruah (Day of Blowing [Trumpets], Num. 29:1; Lev. 23:23–25, aka Rosh Hashanah) is an annual Biblical wake-up call to remember our Creator and His eternal purposes. In a world chasing after false idols of self-actualization, we would be wise to heed the voice of the Prophets, who revealed the true path of repentance, lawfulness and love for God and neighbor.

This study explores how as lawlessness increases in the world, the people of the Holy One of Israel must stand firm, not compromising the foundations of the 10 Commandments. The outpouring of God’s Spirit is not for self-promotion, but to transform hearts and restore the land. In the face of coming judgments, we must trust the one true God — the I Am, Who was, is, and is to come — and find our strength in Him alone.

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Discussions Torah

Discernment in a deceptive age: How to sharpen our spiritual senses (Deuteronomy 29–30)

"Discernment in a deceptive age: How to sharpen our spiritual senses (Deuteronomy 29-30)." Adobe Firefly AI generated artwork of two wooden picture frames, the left one showing a man wearing glasses obscured by grey clouds, the right frame showing a woman wearing glasses with one lens seeing a smiley emoji and the other lens seeing an angry face emoji.

The Torah readings of נִצָּבִים Nitzavim and וַיֵּלֶךְ Vayelech (Deuteronomy 29:10–31:30) confront us with a stark choice — life or death. Yet this is no mere intellectual exercise, for the decision before us demands a profound internal transformation via Heaven’s tag-team Comforters, the Word and the Spirit. In this study, we’ll see that these ancient yet ever-more-relevant words speak to the very core of our being, calling us to align our thoughts and desires with the ways of the Almighty. In a world that tempts us with the allure of secret knowledge and the false security of human systems, we are challenged to discern the subtle yet vital distinctions between the paths that lie before us. It is only through the power of God’s Spirit working within us that we can truly choose the way that leads to “abundant life” (John 10:10).