Category: Resource Notes

               It has been said that those who do not understand history are doomed to repeat it.

We at Corporate Prayer Resources have found that history and its cousin archaeology are invaluable resources for the Church to draw on. That is why we have made the book Babylon: A Spiritual Journey Through Time and The Nations available.

Over the past two centuries our knowledge of ancient history has expanded greatly. We can now verify some Biblical events with hard evidence, such as the fallen walls of Jericho. Evidence gathered from outside the Holy Land confirms the historicity of many Bible texts, such as the Assyrian failure to take Jerusalem. Science has now found that all humans have a common mother (Eve), that there was a catastrophic decrease in the human population (Noah’s Flood), and that at one time humans spoke a single language (Tower of Babel). Thus, history teaches us that we can trust in the accuracy of the Bible.

History and the Bible teach us much about God’s dealings with humans. God judged the Egyptians by humiliating their gods, and He struck Assyria at its greatest point of pride, its army. The remains of sacrificed children found in Canaan have shed light on why God decreed the total destruction of the Canaanites. But we also find that God is merciful, as when he gave evil King Ahab a second chance after he repented. God’s ultimate act of mercy, sending us the Christ, echoes down through history as the Kingdom of God expanded throughout the Roman Empire and then throughout the earth.

Our knowledge of the past helps us to focus our prayers by revealing the spiritual roots of the forces acting against the expansion of the Kingdom. Some years back a group of intercessors went to Ephesus to confront the pagan “Queen of Heaven”, failing in their mission because Ephesus is now controlled by the Islamic spirit, not the pagan spirit. Others have mistaken the Freemasons for a pagan institution when in fact they are dominated by the secular spirit. On the other hand, we have seen breakthroughs on prayer journeys where we have understood the history of spiritual bondage in the nations.

Finally, understanding the past is a key to understanding Bible prophecy. For example, Daniel’s prophecy of the “70 7’s” can be traced with historical data to confirm the start of Jesus’ ministry in 26 AD. Many of the prophecies in the book of Revelation can be matched with historical events to help us understand the times we live in. One of those prophecies, The Woman Riding the Beast in Revelation chapter 17, is a picture of the history of the world from Babylon to the Antichrist, and forms the outline of our Babylon book.

So the past is indeed a key to the future, as it confirms the Scriptures, teaches us God’s ways, shows us how to pray for the nations, and illuminates prophecy.

Let us pray that the Lord will help us use the past to help guide our footsteps in the year to come.

And may you have a blessed New Year.

There are many reasons to celebrate Christmas and the advent of Christ. One of the best reasons for us is the celebration of how God kept His promises about sending Christ to Earth:

* God promised Adam and Eve He would be born miraculously to a virgin, (Gen 3:15), and He was.

*God promised Abraham that Christ would be a descendant of his (Gen 12:2), and He was.

* God promised Jacob that Christ would come from the line of his son Judah (Gen 49:10), and He did.

* God promised David that Christ would come from his Line (2 Sa 7:16), and He did.

* God told Micah that Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Mi 5:2), and He was.

* God told Daniel when Jesus would begin His ministry 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (Da 9:25), and He did, in 26 AD.

* God told Isaiah where Christ would begin His ministry, in Galilee (Is 9:1), and He did.

There are over 300 of specific prophecies recorded about Jesus, His ministry, and His resurrection. All have been fulfilled, giving us confidence that God’s promises to us will also be fulfilled.

So as we gather to thank God for the greatest Christmas present of all, Jesus Christ, let us also rest secure in the knowledge that God can be trusted to keep all of His promises.

That trust is the source of our peace which passes understanding.

So have a merry, peaceful Christmas.

            Most Christians don’t know that Christmas was set on December 25, the ancient Roman Winter Solstice date, to displace a Pagan holiday celebrating the birth of a pagan false “Seed of Woman” God. While the Winter Solstice is an important element in the Celestial signs of Christ’s Advent, He could not have been born on December 25.

However, the birth of John the Baptist and the Star of Bethlehem give us the information we need to find the actual time of year when Christ was born. The Bible tells us that John’s father Zechariah was a member of the Priestly order of Abijah, which ministered at the Temple twice a year, eight weeks after the Spring and Fall Feasts. Zechariah was ministering in the Temple, either in late May or late November, when the angel Gabriel announced that he would have a son. John would have been conceived near either the Summer Solstice or the Winter Solstice.

We know from the Bible that John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus, so Jesus would have been conceived on the Winter Solstice or the Sumer Solstice. His Birth would have followed nine months later on either the Fall Equinox or the Spring Equinox. Both of these dates occur near Jewish Feast Times, coming near the Feast of Tabernacles in the Fall and the Feast of Passover in the Spring.

Enter the Star of Bethlehem, which was observed not only by the Wise Men but by the ancient Chinese astronomers as well. The Chinese date the Star of Bethlehem in the Spring of 5 BC and say that it was visible for 70 days. This would have given the Wise Men plenty of time to travel to Israel from any location in the Near East. Some think that the Wise Men took much longer to travel to Israel based on their statement to King Herod that the Celestial signs had begun two years earlier. However, our research indicates that the “Signs in the Sun, Moon, and Stars” leading to Christ’s birth actually began in 7 BC at the same time that the Angel appeared to Zechariah (See the Starbiblesociety.com Blog of 12/17/14 “The Sign of Christ’s Advent”).

The evidence indicates that Christ was born at the time of the Spring Equinox in 5 BC. The actual date we believe to be Passover of 5BC because there was a Lunar Eclipse in the Feet of Virgo as described in Revelation Chapter 12 (See our Blog of 4/9/14 “The Blood Moon Rising”).

So on the Ancient Roman Winter Solstice date of December 25, you’re really celebrating the beginning of the “Signs in the Sun, Moon, and Stars” in 7BC which led to Christ’s birth on Passover of 5 BC.

Merry Christmas!

This week, on December 16, the Hebrew feast of Hanukkah is celebrated. The feast memorializes the dedication of the Temple in 165 BC, after Antiocus IV Epiphanes attempted to stamp out the Hebrew religion. It also celebrates a miracle where a one day supply of Temple oil lasted eight days.  Thus, it is called both the “Feast of Dedication” and the “Feast of Lights”.

With the cleansing of the Temple in 165BC, the Temple and the Nation of Israel were made ready to receive the Messiah. However, it was 160 years later that He was born and 190 years later that He began His ministry. Jesus celebrated the Feast of Dedication and used the occasion to clarify that he was the Messiah while teaching in the Temple (see John 11:22-39).

This week on December 9, we mark a significant date leading to the Second Coming of

Christ. It was 97 years ago on December 9, 1917 that the Turks surrendered Jerusalem to the British. The British mandate ultimately lead to the U.N. vote to form Israel thirty years later in 1947, and the birth of Israel in 1948. Christians all over the world saw the miraculous rebirth of Israel as preparation for the Second Coming of Christ.

Few Christians expected the return of Christ to be delayed so long after the nation of

Israel was made ready. However, if we look back to the formation of Israel in 165 BC, preparatory to the advent of Christ, then a waiting period of 160 or 190 years is not so surprising. At 97 years, if counting began in 1917 instead of 1948, we would only be half way through a 190 year wait.

Let us then pray over the Feast of Dedication and let us then remember how it made the way ready for the Messiah. And let us also pray that Christians do not get discouraged by the delay in His return, for no one knows the day or the hour.

Even so, come Lord Jesus

                In the first year of the Untied States of America under its new Constitution, 225 years ago today on November 26, 1789, the New Nation celebrated its first Thanksgiving.

                President George Washington’s proclamation, with its emphasis on the Constitution and faithfulness to execute its laws, seems especially appropriate this year:

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor . . . .

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the twenty-sixth day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these United States . . . that we then may all unite unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted; for the civil and religious liberty with which we are now blessed. . . .

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations, and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the People, by constantly being a government of wise, just and constitutional laws, discretely and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord, to promote the knowledge and practice for the true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows best.

So let us follow Washington’s admonition to be thankful and prayerful this Thanksgiving.

In 1948, before the establishment of Israel, the 2500 year old Jewish community in Egypt numbered 80,000. Similar communities, numbering about 850,000 in total, were scattered around the Arab world.

After the formation of Israel, many Palestinian Arabs fled from Israel and received worldwide attention as refugees. Their demand to return, and thereby overrun democratic Israel, is a major stumbling block to Middle East peace. And the war the Arabs began in an attempt to destroy Israel in 1948 continues to this day, with almost daily terrorist rocket launches against Jewish civilians.

Little noticed or publicized was the fate of the 850,000 Jews living in Arab countries.

Many were attacked by mobs, burned out, robbed, and forced to flee for their lives. Today it is estimated that only 4300 Jews remain in the Arab countries, and the Jewish refugees are conveniently forgotten by Arabs demanding “justice.”

It was 35 years ago today that Egyptian President Anwar Sadat made his historic peace visit to Israel. The world hoped that peace could be achieved in the Middle East, but Sadat was assassinated for his efforts and by radical Muslims of the infamous Muslim Brotherhood. Since then the Jihadists seem to have only grown stronger, while hope for peace have receeded.

These developments do not surprise us, as we believe that a long period of war between the Arabs and Israel is prophesied in the Bible (see our Special Report “Understanding The Times”). However, as Christians we cannot turn a blind eye towards the suffering of Arabs and Jews, and we must remember that God loves them all.

So pray for the Palestinian and Jewish refugees of the long Middle East war. Pray for healing of their mental, emotional, and physical wounds. Pray that they find the true path of peace through Jesus Christ.

Above all, like the Bible says, pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

                Recent writings about the Shemitah, the Hebrew name for the Years of Release, or Sabbath Years, which occurred every 7 years, have created the impression that the Shemitah Years are times of fearful judgment. We disagree.

During the Shemitah Years, Hebrews were forgiven from all debts and released from slavery. The land was also to lie fallow as the Hebrews lived off of the prior year crops and the “volunteer” produce. After 7 Shemitahs, or 49 years, the first year of the new 7 year Sabbath (the 50^th year) was the Year of Jubilee when slaves were freed, debt was forgiven, and the land was returned to its original owners.

According to Alfred Edersheim’s authoritative book The Temple, the Rabbis held that the first Shemitah Year began 21 years after the Hebrews entered into the land, or 1385 BC. Following through on the math, the last Shemitah Year was 2011 and the next will be 2018. The last Jubilee Year was 1991 and the next will be 2040.

There are a number of significant ancient Shemitah Years which seem to have the common thread of God’s presence in the land. His presence came to Solomon’s Temple in 958 BC and departed it in 586 BC when Solomon’s Temple was destroyed. He came to the Second Temple in 516 BC, miraculously aided its rededication at Hanukkah in 167 BC, and moved on Herod to renovate the Temple in preparation for the coming of the Messiah in 20 BC. Christ came to the Land in 5 BC and returned to Heaven 30 AD. The promised Holy Spirit came to the land, and the believers, in 30 AD, bringing the permanent presence of God indwelling all believers thereafter.

Some have thought that Shemitah Years are flash points for judgment based on the judgment which fell on Jerusalem during the 587-86 Shemitah Year. However, it should be remembered that the 70 years of Sabbaths for the land which followed (See 2 Chr 36:21) represented centuries of increasing apostasy. The cycles of Judgment we see in Israel’s history are the result of denial of God and sin, not a 7 year Shemitah cycle. The same is true in the modern world as the “Business Cycle” is really a cycle of godlessness, sin, and judgment, followed by repentance brought on by the judgment.

Instead, the Shemitah is a time to worship God with our land (or Finances) and receive freedom from financial, personal and other bondage. The Shemitah and the Year of Jubilee were used by Jesus to describe His ministry (See Luke 4:18-19 quoting Is 61:1-2). Shemitah Years remind us of our freedom in Christ and the “Year of the Lord’s Favor”.

As Christians, every year is a year of the Lord’s favor, not just one in seven.

Shemitah Years are times of freedom, release, and God’s favor. They are not times of judgment and fear.