Ship of the West

Moses warned Israel “When you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things YHWH Elohiym has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.” (Deuteronomy 4:19)
What was Moses trying to convey to the Children of Israel? The interaction of the Sun and the Moon were designed by YHWH to signal the approach of the biblical Holy Days. But the nations surrounding Israel also used the Sun and the Moon to signal festivals by the command of their false gods. Their priests not only prepared the people for these festivals, they also predicted and explained the meaning of astronomical phenomena they saw to the people. Unfortunately these men were led by their own corrupt imaginations and the events they predicted often did not come to pass. According to the prophet Ezekiel, Moses’ warning to children of Israel will not be heeded. Ezekiel chapter 8 is a prophecy yet to be fulfilled. This prophecy indicates that the people of Judah will mingle Babylonian aspects of worship into the system that was commanded by the God of Israel. So abhorrent will their actions be to YHWH and to the messengers that reprove their actions, He will fully turn his face and send them to destruction. “Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger.” (Ezekiel 8:17)

What does this prophecy have to do with the Blood moons of 2014? The simple answer is that these astronomical events do not coincide with the biblical Holy Days as are being reported. What? Yes you heard it right! The driver behind this teaching is Mark Biltz, Pastor of the largest messianic congregation in the United States. Back in 2008 when his congregation was much smaller, I heard him give his presentation on the Blood Moon phenomenon at a local church. Based upon His premise, there is a special significance related to the coincidence of a reddish colored moon when it occurs on a biblical Holy day (such as the Passover) which according to Mark’s research will occur twice in 2014. After listening to his presentation, I (like a good Berean) researched his theory to determine whether or not this teaching was true.

About five years later, my wife and I visited Mark’s congregation. After the service we were invited to come to a short introductory session so that visitors could learn more about this religious community. During this session, one of the other visitors brought up the teaching of the blood moons. Mark took the opportunity to expand on the question to bring the visitors up to speed. It was at this time that I raised my hand and mentioned the fact that the “blood moons” do not actually fall on the Biblical Holy days as reported. I asked Mark to comment on this. Mark responded and admitted to us that what I said was true. He explained that the blood moons do not coincide with the biblical Holy Days. However, he correctly pointed out that they do coincide with the festivals as determined by the Jewish Rabbis. Mark went on to state that until the Rabbis change their method to determine the Holy days, he will continue to follow the Rabbinic (not the biblical) Calendar system.

If the Rabbis approach to the determination of Passover is unbiblical, what method do they use instead? The answer to this question is stated in the Britannica online encyclopedia which states “Patriarch Hillel II, in 358/359, published the "secret" of calendar making, which essentially consisted of the use of the Babylonian 19-year cycle with some modifications required by the Jewish ritual.” Here is the very system Moses warned Israel not use; a system prophesied by Ezekiel that would enter into the House of Judah. If you believe in the testimony of Jesus, you ought to take heed to this warning from Matthew 16:11. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees”. You see, the Rabbis of today have not changed their ways since they merged their beliefs with this Babylonian system in the first century. These blood moon teachings are the unintended consequences of adopting rabbinic leaven. (More about this will be covered in part 2)

The picture you see below is the Jewish celebration to the Sun called “Birkat Hachama” taken in “2009” based upon the rabbinic system. Strangely, there is no commandment of YHWH stating that the children of Israel should do such a thing. The Orthodox Jews in this picture are positioned at the western wall facing the east towards the rising sun closely resembles what was shown in the vision to Ezekiel 8:16. How pertinent is the following message to the Sabbath keeping people around the world who are now embracing these man-made doctrines. “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen…Come out of her, my people (Revelation 18:2-4)