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Household of Calhoun

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) - Revealed

Today’s Topic: Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) - Revealed

Scripture: Leviticus 23:24,25

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

Now in our previous message we look at this Feast of Trumpets and what it means to the Jews, but what does it mean also for the saints. We have already established that this is prophetic in nature and at the end of the holiday there is the triumphant long blast of the shofar called the last trump. So what does it all mean? Let’s quickly re-visit this so I can explain. Why is he shofar blown?

1. A Warning of Danger

2. Calling of a Holy Assembly

3. The Arrival of a King

Today I will show you all three of these in scripture because remember God wants to prepare us but we have to be willing to open our soul to the words of the Spirit and hear from Heaven.

A Warning of Danger (Revelation 8:2-Revelation 10)

Now this is a large set of scriptures but if you read and I will leave the reading up to you. Seven angels have seven trumpets. Now six of these trumpets will be blown and if you read it nothing good will happen on the earth during six of these trumpets. So God is telling us in these scriptures that the sounding of the trumpet from heaven will signal some horrific things to come upon the Earth. Now back in Biblical times if Israel was going to be attacked and they saw the enemy off in the distance, the shofar would be blown in a distinct way to let everyone know that danger was around the corner or was in the distance. So the blowing of the shofar, or trumpet was in one way symbolic of the warning of danger.

The Calling of a Holy Assembly (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 24:30,31)

The blowing of the shofar was to gather the people around to get their full attention to what will be said, whether it be from the priest or from God Himself. God called for many holy congregations (assemblies) throughout the feasts of God. It was to call attention to what is about to be done and make all who were there aware and attentive. Now there is another holy assembly that will happen upon the blowing of the trumpet and it is found here in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.” So what does this mean? The Great Holy Assembly of the Saints of God will happen upon the last trump that is blown by the arch angel and the dead in Christ shall rise first then those that are alive and remain will be changed in a twinkling of and eye and will be gathered up to meet the Lord in the air. This is the call to get all of the saints (dead and alive) attention to get ready to meet the Lord in the air. What a powerful concept and picture. Here is another in Matthew 24:30,31:

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

The Arrival of a King (1Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 10:7; Revelation 11:15)

Before a king enters an area there is a page or messenger sent to announce his arrival and the trumpet is blown to get everyone’s attention that the king is about to enter. Now if you look at our scripture in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we see that the Lord will descend from Heaven to Earth after the trump of God is blown. Now the Jews believe that he is coming for the first time, but we know that he is returning and every eye shall see Him. Of course we are talking about the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus the Christ. So the blowing of these trumpets are important to know about because it is the sound and signal that God gives us of either a warning, a holy assembly or the arrival of a king.

Now I am once again throwing this out on the table, what better sign not only to the church, but to the Jews that for the Lord Jesus to return in time upon the blowing of the last trump of the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah). During this feast there is a Holy assembly and a final trumpet blown as a signal of good news and victory. What would be the good news and victory? The Return of the Lord and the saints being harvested up to meet the Lord in the air.

At the Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Feast of Trumpets

Today’s Topic: Feast of Trumpets

Scripture: Leviticus 23:24-25

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

The Feast of Trumpets, according to the Lord happens in the seventh month (Tishri) on the first day (Tishri 1). This feast is celebrated by the blowing of trumpets. But the trumpets the scripture is referring to is called the Shofar. It is a “trumpet” made from a ram’s horn. The Feast of Trumpets in Israel is known as Rosh Hashanah and I introduced you to this holiday in our previous series called the “End of the Age/Return of the Lord”. But what we will do today is talk a little about this holiday and in the next message talk about what it means for the saints.

The word Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year”. Now you may say well is not the first month of the Jewish year Abib (Nisan)? It is but remember in Israel you have two different year running at the same time. You have the Ecclesiastical year starting with the month of Abib (Nisan) but you also have the Civil year that starts with Tishri, which is the seventh month of Ecclesiastical calendar.

Rosh Hashanah is the first of the autumn feasts. Now remember that in autumn is the time that the plentiful and largest harvest is cultivated and Rosh Hashanah starts what the Jews call “The Days of Awe” and the High Holy days. This is a very solemn feast beacuse watchfulness was a main ingredient to this feast because they would look to the skies for the new moon to appear signaling the beginning of the New Year. In addition, the people of Israel considers their sins before God and enters a period of repentance and asking of forgiveness from God those one has harmed and of restitution. In addition for this holiday there was to be a holy convocation (assembly) for the blowing of the Shofar.

I want to take some time and really explain why this is called the Feast of Trumpets and why this Shofar is blown. The blowing of a shofar is very common back in that time. The blowing of the shofar means three things:

1. A Warning of Danger

2. Calling of a Holy Assembly

3. The Arrival of a King

Now the shofar is blown in three different but distinct ways:

1. Teruah: 9 quick blasts in short succession

2. Shevarim: 3 medium wailing sounds

3. Tekiah: One long, straight blast

Now the last climatic blast on the shofar is called the Teki’at Shofar is one long blast and it is the signaling of good news and victory. It is the last blast that is referred to as the last trump.

Now I have told you much about the Jewish customs to this feast and like all of the feasts they are prophetic of something to be revealed. In the next message we will look at Rosh Hashanah (Feast of Trumpets) and what it means for the saints. You do not want to miss this.

At the Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.

Feast of Weeks - Pentecost

Today’s Topic: Feast of Weeks for the Saints (Pentecost)

Scripture: Acts 1 - Acts 2:1-41; Leviticus 23:15-21

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

Now in the last message we looked at the Feast of Weeks and what it meant for the Jews and this is what it means to them in summary:

The Meaning of Shavout (Feast of Weeks) to the Jews

· It was 50 days from the crossing of the Red Sea to Mt. Sinai

· The Commandments were given

· The Law of God (Yahweh) was written in stone

· 3,000 people were slain for false god worship of Apis (Golden Calf)

Now if this is a type and shadow what does the Feast of Weeks mean for the saints? Well we know it also means Pentecost so we know we will be at Acts 2 but let’s bullet point this and when you see it, I know your spirit will jump for joy!

The Meaning of Pentecost (Shavout) to the Saints

· It was 50 days from the resurrection of Christ before the disciples received the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-4)

· The Holy Spirit was given

· The Law of God (Yahweh) was written in our hearts

· 3,000 people were baptized and saved (Acts 2:41)

Do we see this! The Feasts of God are also meant to be prophetic to the timing of the coming of the Messiah and the Return of the Messiah. But what is so significant about this feast for us is that for the Jews they were made a nation on this day, but in Acts 2 this was the birth of the church! Being the church and a Kingdom citizen preserves you and protects you unto the Return of the Messiah. See the Law that was given back then when they celebrated the Feast of Weeks kept the nation and preserved them until the Messiah comes and fulfills the Law. Well the Messiah came and fulfilled the Law but many have not accepted Jesus as the Messiah that came 2,000 years ago so they are still waiting for the arrival of the Messiah and the Law preserves them and keeps them. We as Kingdom citizens when we accepted Jesus and received the Holy Spirit are now preserved eternally and we await the Return of the Messiah. The Birth of the Church happened on the Day of Pentecost. This Feast of Weeks was a prophecy and was it fulfilled? Absolutely yes and we can prove it! Look at Acts 2:1 and read slowly:

Acts 2:1: “And when the day of Pentecost (Shavout) WAS FULLY COME, they were all with one accord in one place.”

The key words are capitalized. Why would it say fully come? Because that day and feast happened annually and once a prophecy has been FULLfilled then it is done. So at the end of the Feast of Weeks the new offering is the birth of the church and restoration of the sons of God. What a powerful revelation! Now the Lord just showed me this when the children of Israel finally got to Mt. Sinai, were not all of them in one place when they were birthed as a nation? That is why the scripture says that they were all with one accord in one place when the Holy Spirit came like a mighty wind. So the 50th day of the Feast of Weeks was the day that Israel became and nation under God’s Law and it now is the day that the Church was born under the Blood of the Lamb and the Law of God was grafted into their hearts.

Now I will give you this ahead and will revisit it in the end. In the age of man we are between the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets. We are between the fourth and fifth feasts of God. If you light the Menorah from left to right at this point, the Feast of Pentecost would be the middle light of the Menorah. So we are past halfway through the age of man. What a powerful thought. This is why even though we are a New Testament creation, the Old Testament is vitally important. God has taken me for the most part out of the New Testament to do this series to show me in the Old Testament the meaning of all of this that He ordained for the children of Israel. It was not just for them to know and understand but also for the church so that we will have knowledge. Our Israeli brothers and sisters have a slight advantage in the sense of celebrating these feasts then when they are saved and come into the Kingdom, they have a slightly better insight into why their fore fathers and family members do these things and celebrate these feasts. And I would like to thank some of my Israeli brothers and sisters for allowing God to use them and post this vital knowledge on the web so that we have the blessing and opportunity to learn not just about their culture but also the origin and reason why we are who we say we are and why we do what we do.

At the Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Feast of Weeks

Today’s Topic: Feast of Weeks

Scripture: Leviticus 23:15-21

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

Now this is the 4th feast God ordained and established for the children of Israel to observe. Now this feast has various names but one in particular that all of us will know. These are the various names:

1. Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22)

2. Feast of Harvest (Exodus 23:16)

3. Pentecost (Hebrew: Shavout)

In Leviticus 23:15 and 16 we see God setting the appointed time for this feast to happen. Now when we read this we see God tells them that from the end of the Feast of Firstfruits shall be seven Sabbaths. Now that means there will be 49 days (7 days times 7 weeks) and even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath (1 day). So this feast will run 50 days. This is not some arbitrary number and you will see this later. But let’s see what is supposed to happen during this feast because it is a type and shadow of what it to happen in the fullness of time.

First, two waves loaves of two tenth deals with fine flour and baked with leaven. Now before I finish this scripture alone (Lev. 23:15) this is the first and only feast that leaven bread is used. Now we have said already that leaven in scripture symbolizes sin. So why would God tell the children of Israel to use leaven bread, which represents sin as a part of the celebration? Now that is a mystery that we will get an answer to. But then God goes on tell them how to prepare the necessary offerings and exactly how to do this in Leviticus 23:18-21. But at the end of these fifty days a new meat offering was to be made unto the Lord.

This feast is vitally important to the Jews but it is also vitally important to the saints. Now just saying the word “Pentecost” already should tell us what this is all about but I want to show you how important this is to the body of Christ and for the Jews. Now I am going to bulletpoint the meaning of this feast to the Jews and in the next message we will look at the Saints and you will see a stark and powerful correlation between the two

The Meaning of Shavout (Feast of Weeks) to the Jews

· It was 50 days from the crossing of the Red Sea to Mt. Sinai

· The Commandments were given

· The Law of God (Yahweh) was written in stone

· 3,000 people were slain for false god worship of Apis (Golden Calf)

If you haven’t figured it out it was 50 days from the crossing of the Red Sea that the children of Israel were brought to Mt. Sinai. Now it is at Mt. Sinai that two things happened: First, it was at Mt. Sinai that Israel rejected the initial offer to come up in the presence of the Lord and be changed into sons. But it is also the time that the children of Israel were made a nation to preserve them until the Messiah came. How do we know that they became a nation at Mt. Sinai? They were given The Law at Mt. Sinai. But in the midst of Moses receiving the laws, God heard singing and told Moses to get down from the mountain because they had built a false god (Apis, the golden calf) and the bottom of the mount to worship. Because of this treacherous act 3,000 of the children of Israel were slain. God was not going to put up with this after all He had done and shown. God gave them the law to keep until the law would be fulfilled by the coming of the Messiah. This kept the enemy, Satan, who accuses the brethren day and night, from killing off mankind and stopping the program of God. So at the end of the fifty days from the crossing at the Red Sea represented a new beginning for the children of Israel as a nation under God’s law.

Once again this is only a type and shadow of the truth that is to come. I do not want to overwhelm you with information so we will look at the saints and the Feast Weeks and how we can celebrate this and what it means for us.

At the Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Feast of the Unleavened Bread

Today’s Topic: Feast of the Unleavened Bread

Scripture: Exodus 12:15-20; Leviticus 23:6; Deuteronomy 16:8;

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was ordained by God to follow the Passover Feast. Let’s look at it scripturally for clarification.

Exodus 12:15

God gives them a timeframe to observe this feast. For seven days the children of Israel were to eat unleavened bread and put all leaven out of the houses from the first day to the seventh day. Now if a person did not observe this, they were cut off from Israel.

Exodus 12:16

On the first day there is to be a holy congregation. A holy congregation is an assembly of the people to hear God. In addition on the seventh day there should also be a holy congregation. Now no work is to be done during this feast. So in other words there is to be no labor and a holy meeting of the people with God on the first and seventh day of the feast.

Exodus 12:17

God informs the children of Israel to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the same day that I have brought your armies out of the Land of Egypt. So, therefore observe this day in your generations forever.

Exodus 12:18

In this verse the day of observance is given. It is to be in the first month (Abib or Nisan) on the fourteenth day in the evening (Nisan 14) and eat the unleavened bread until the one and twentieth day of the month at evening (Nisan 21). So from Nisan 14 to Nisan 21 only unleavened bread is to be eaten. Now you may say well that is eight days but remember they ate unleavened bread on the day of the Passover. Israel celebrates the Feast of Unleavened Bread on Nisan 15 and it runs until Nisan 21 so that it is a separate feast from the Passover.

Exodus 12:19-20

In these verses God warns that for seven days there should be no leaven in the houses of the Israelites. Leaven represented evil or sin. Sin works just like leaven in the sense when you add a little leaven to dough, then the entire lump of dough is affected by the leaven being spread throughout it. Sin works the same way in the body. Just a little sin corrupts the entire body.

Now what does this mean for the saints? What does the Feast of Unleavened Bread mean for us? The Feast of Unleavened Bread is to symbolize that Jesus was the sinless perfect and accepted sacrifice for our sins. Now remember unleavened bread represented purity from sin and leaven represented sin and this is why they were to eat unleavened bread because the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus was without sin. In addition, there was no decomposition of the body of Jesus as his body laid in the grave after the crucifixion. God the Father would not allow the Holy One (His Son Jesus) to see corruption. So the feast also proclaims that Christ physical body would not experience the ravages of death while in the grave because He was sanctified by God the Father.

This feast was fulfilled by Jesus now do we have to celebrate this particular feast? Not in it natural form but we should celebrate the sinless lifestyle Jesus lead in order to free us from an eternal death. In addition we could celebrate by re-committing our lives to the lifestyle Jesus lead.

The next feast we will look at is the Feast of the Firstfruits.

At the Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Feast of the Passover (Pesach)

Today’s Topic: The Feast of the Passover (Pesach) and the Saints of the Most High

Scripture: Exodus 12; John 1:29

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

Now the Feast of the Passover is a type and a shadow of something to be revealed. Now in order to see this we need to break the Passover down and see the various aspects of the Passover and see what it means for us.

God instructed the children of Israel to take a lamb, a male and one without blemish. Now this lamb is a type and shadow of Jesus. Jesus was selected out to be the Lamb of God amongst children of God. John made the declaration in John 1:29 that Jesus is the Lamb of God that will take the sin of the world away.

Now in fourteen days after the lamb was selected the Lamb was to be killed and its flesh eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Then the blood of the Lamb was to be put over the door posts of the house. Now what does this mean for us? The reality of this shadow is the killing of the Lamb is symbolic of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus was shed for the remission of sin. Well how does that tie in? God instructed them to put over the door posts the blood of the Passover lamb. This would put the household UNDER THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB. By Jesus shedding His blood he made atonement for our sins once and for all, for those who believe. For all that believe we are under the blood of Jesus because it was His blood that washed away the sins. Now the unleavened bread is symbolic of purity and usually when you see leaven and unleavened bread it is symbolic of sin and holiness respectively. This is why they ate unleavened bread during this feast. Finally the bitter herbs were eaten to by symbolic of the suffering of Christ.

Now does that mean, if we celebrate Passover that we should kill a lamb, then eat unleavened bread and take the blood of the lamb and put it over our door posts and eat bitter herbs? No of course not. We as the saints celebrate Passover a little different and it is called Communion. This is where we eat unleavened bread and drink wine which is the symbols of the new covenant of the Body of Christ. The bread is represented by the body of Christ which was broken for us and the wine is symbolic of the blood that was shed that is now over the lintels of our soul and the doorpost of our hearts.

Now the reason we do not celebrate Passover is because the Feast of Passover was a prophetic feast that was to be fulfilled later in time and it was fulfilled by Jesus Christ when He died on the Cross and shed His blood. Passover is all about the program of salvation. To the children of Israel who do not believe that Jesus has come already and He was the Messiah 2,000 years ago they continue to celebrate Passover on Nisan 14. Now communion should only be taken by an individual who is saved and already a Kingdom citizen. Now there is question about when do we take Communion? Some denominations say every service and some every quarter but what did Jesus, our Lord and Savior say: Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 11:24-26 and the key set of words, in red writing, is “as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me”. Verse 26 summarizes these scriptures. So it is not more so in frequency as in sincerity. Just because you do it every Sunday or Saturday, if it is done out religious meaning and not sincerity from the heart then you are just eating and drinking. People who participate in communion should always know why they are taking communion.

Now this is not a coincidence that Jesus was crucified on the day of the Passover. So on Nisan 14, the day the lamb should be killed and the blood shed to protect the children of Israel from the plague is the same day that the Lamb of God was killed and shed His blood for the redemption and restoration of mankind to the Father and the Kingdom. Now I know many have asked when is this Nisan? It falls typically in during the months of March and April. The reason for this fluctuation in timing is because the calendar is based on the phases of the moon. For example, each month starts with a new moon, reaching a full moon in the midst of the 28 day cycle. Passover always falls on a full moon, the 1st full moon of spring. The reason they use the moon is because the moon has various phases and the sun is either seen or not seen and it is always whole when you see it. Hebrew days begin at sundown or moonrise.

The next feast we will look at is the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

At the Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Preparation for the Feast of the Passover

Today’s Topic: Preparation for the Feast of the Passover

Scripture: Exodus 12

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

Starting now in order not to lose you date-wise, it would help if you get the introduction to this series so you can see how the dates and months correlate with the stories. This is how God prepared His people for the Lord’s Passover. The first thing God did was set a date for the children of Israel to remember the Passover.

Exodus 12:2 says: “this month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you”. So what is this month? Deuteronomy 16:1 calls the month Abib which means barley or spring. In Hebrew it is called Aviv and in Babylonian the month is called Nisan. You will see all of these names throughout the Bible so just be aware. Now God declares this to be the first month of the year. In Israel there are Ecclesiastical (Religious) years and Civil Year that run at the same time. God said this was the first month of the year. So this month called Abib or Nisan is the first of the Ecclesiastical or religious year. Now God tells the children of Israel on the tenth day (Nisan 10) they were to take a lamb for each house. Now this could not be any lamb because God specifies what the lamb should be like. Exodus 12:5,6 says: “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall keep take it out from the sheep and goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day (Nisan 14) of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. “ Now if you are a Kingdom citizen then you should already know who is symbolic of this lamb God commands the children of Israel to kill. Now God instructs them what to do after killing the lamb.

Exodus 12:7,8 says for Israel to take the blood of the lamb and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat.

Now God continues to give them explicit instructions and if you read and get to Exodus 12:11 we see the Lord telling them to gird your loins, put your shoes on your feet and get your staff in your hand and be ready to eat in haste: it is the Lord’s Passover. Now here is a question and we introduced it in our last series about the end of the age and whether the church will know the day of the return of the Lord? Per scripture and study we concluded that the church will know the day of the return of the Lord. Here is a type and shadow of that event in the sense that God told Israel what to do, when to do it and when to be ready to move and let me show you to clear the picture up.

1. Nisan (Abib) 10 – Take a lamb, male without spot or blemish for each household and keep it up

2. Nisan (Abib) 14 – Kill the Lamb, put the blood over the side posts and the upper door post. Eat the flesh of the lamb with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. Then be prepared to leave Egypt

Now why would God tell Israel to put the blood of the lamb over the door posts? God tells us in Exodus 12:13:

“The blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”

So the blood of the lamb is what tells God not to destroy the firstborn of that household. God then makes the commandment and declaration in Exodus 12:14:

“And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.”

This is called the Feast of the Passover (Pesach). This is the first feast of the religious year for the children of Israel. In the next message we will look at how the Feast of Passover important to the saints.

At the Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.

Monday, May 17, 2010

The Coming of the Passover

Today’s Topic: The Coming of the Passover: The 10th Plague

Scripture: Exodus 11:4-10

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

Before God brings wrath upon anybody, he warns them and tells them to repent. Now after all the warnings, if you do not repent then God follows through on what He has promised. Now God has spoken through Moses to Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go. We have gone through nine plagues and Pharaoh is still stubborn and will not let them go. Satan is just like this, he will hold on and try to prevent you from experiencing Kingdom life as long as he can even though God is ringing down His wrath but Pharaoh, just like Satan will succumb to judgment.

10th Plague: Death of the Firstborn (Exodus 11:4-10)

Now God explains to Moses what this last plague is tells him that afterwards Pharaoh will let the children of Israel go. This is one of the most devastating plagues from the standpoint now death will come in and the lives of the children will be taken and I want us to pay very close attention to this. Because of the sins of the leader and the parents, the lives of the children will now be sacrificed, even in Pharaoh’s family. Now if you know anything about royalty the son of Pharaoh would eventually become Pharaoh just as Ramses did in Moses time. Ramses was the step brother of Moses when Moses lived in the Palace with Pharaoh and his family. But let’s read the scripture of what was to come. Let’s start at verse 4:

“And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh that sitteth on the throne, even the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill and all the firstborn of the beasts”

Can you imagine the horror and devastation that brings upon one family to lose their firstborn? Now picture an entire country including the livestock of that country. God knew that Pharaoh would let the children of Israel go after this devastation. This plague did not harm the children of Israel per Exodus 11:7. But the children of Israel were witnesses to these 10 plagues upon the land of Egypt. They also noticed how they were spared and the Egyptians suffered. This is symbolic of God pouring out his wrath on the beast (The Global Kingdom) but yet still protecting His people and His church in the same land. Now like all plagues I have showed you that the gods of Egypt were targeted for judgment also now I want to prove it in scripture and this should be confirmation for all of us who are affiliated in any way with these false gods. Please pay attention to Exodus 12:12:

“For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all of the firstborn in Egypt, both MAN AND BEAST AND AGAINST ALL THE GODS OF EGYPT WILL I EXECUTE JUDGMENT; I AM THE LORD!

Now when God ends with “I am the Lord” then you can guarantee this will without a certainty happen. Do we not believe for the sins of our fathers the children suffer? God hates false god worship when you have declared He is the Lord and Savior and you are still connected spiritually to a false deity. This is evident in the plagues against Egypt, especially this one.

Now what I love about God is that God prepares His people so that they are ready and will not faint at the sight of what He is going to do. This is why preparation is vital and is always present throughout the Bible. God had to prepare His people for this plague because there had to be a sign, a symbol that these people are mine and everyone else will suffer the wrath of the Lord in this day.

In the next message we will look at how God prepared His people for the Lord’s Passover.

At the Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.

Plagues of Egypt Part 4

Today’s Topic: Journey to the Feasts of Israel: Plagues of Egypt Part 4

Scripture: Exodus 10:12-15; Exodus 10:21-24; Leviticus 18:3

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

8th Plague: Locusts (Exodus 10:12-15)

One thing about God with this plague, He intended to destroy everything so that the people would know and the leadership would know who is behind all of this. In this plague the locusts were summoned to destroy every tree, plant and or herb of the field that was not destroyed by the hail. Now these locust would fill the houses also and destroy whatever plants were in the homes of the Egyptians. Now one thing we are consistently seeing is that the wrath of God did not come upon the children of Israel. Their crops, animals and children were spared from this wrath and this continuously shows that God can protect His people from His wrath, He does not need to take them out first, then pour out His wrath.

9th Plague: Darkness (Exodus 10:21-23)

Now this plague was a specific plague to show the power of God to block out the sun. Blocking out the sun to the Egyptians and even to Pharaoh was absolutely impossible until it actually happened. Why? For the Egyptians, the sun represented light, warmth, and growth. This made sun deities very important to the ancient Egyptians, and it is no coincidence that the sun came to be the ruler of all. The sun god’s name was Ra and he was represented with the body of a human and a falcon for a head. God showed his power over Ra by causing a complete and utter darkness over Egypt which made the land very cold (desert) and inhibited the growth of certain plants. When Pharaoh saw this, I can only imagine what he could have thought that the God of the Hebrews was powerful enough to take down every one of our most prominent gods with one movement of His hand. Now this darkness was over the land for three days. Even thought it was utter darkness in Egypt the Hebrews had light. Once again, God is providing for His children in the midst of pouring his wrath on the unrighteous in the same land.

With all of that said we have covered 9 of the 10 plagues the God poured on Egypt. If you know the rest of the story, you know that we are now at the preparation for the Passover but before we go into this because we will need one to two messages on the Passover, we need to understand that God is patient with us and when God warns us about something we need to take him very seriously. Now I say all of this because there are many ministries and we are one of them that have warned the people of God and the world about giving reference to the gods of Egypt. Now whether you may say it is just a symbol or we do not actually worship them. The fact of the matter is that if you have any dealings with them, God is not happy! He informed the children of Israel that after the doings of the land of Egypt, where you dwelt, SHALL YE NOT DO (Leviticus 18:3). Now we know Egypt also represented the world in the sense of what was going on. There is false god worship, witchcraft, homosexuality, murder (abortion and sacrificing children) and other sinful things. Regardless of what type of organization you are in, if it has anything to do with Egypt and those false gods, I pray you denounce it and rebuke it off of your life. God showed the Egyptians and the Hebrews that these false gods are powerless and he also punished the children of Israel for their own false god worship after the exodus out of Egypt when they made a golden calf (Apis) at the bottom of the mount. I know that means many of the people you may associate with and call yourselves brothers may turn against you but we are all one in Christ. Many of these organizations further subdivide the body of Christ. For example, when I attended Florida A&M University, and this happens at every university but this is where I attended school, I looked around at the various organizations on campus, fraternities and other social organizations and the one thing that I noticed was that if you were not a part of those organizations then it was extremely difficult to talk to the people without the person saying “well my brother or well my sister over here” or they try to get you to join the organization. Now they are not talking about the body of Christ they are talking about their brother or sister in the organization. Now in the last days all of this will be destroyed and if you are in too deep you may take the mark of the beast but the only thing that will stand is the Kingdom of God. Now the importance of that is that, we as Kingdom citizens along with Christ are brothers and sisters and children of God, the Father. This is our family, our organization that we should be proclaiming. Now I am not speaking out to be offensive but the truth must be told and God was very clear about the gods of Egypt when He was pouring out His wrath on them and the civilization of Egypt.

We as the church are the called-out, the saints, the royal priesthood and the world hated Jesus and Jesus said for my name, you shall also be hated. But what stuns me is we try to be accepted by the world when Jesus said the complete opposite. Why is that the case? Jesus was clear when He said I am the Way, the Truth and the Life! If He is the life then all we need is Him. Now I know there are many who will read this and say that I am just talking a bunch of nonsense and I am a radical. They said it about Jesus but yet He still loved them also to die for their sins so that mankind now has the opportunity to come back in fellowship with God and His family. Let’s stop further dividing the body of Christ, let’s get under the blood of the Lamb, denounce the gods of Egypt and get that out of your houses. God wants to be exclusive in your life but if you are attached to things that he hates, do not expect for God to move you to higher heights in Kingdom living. Make him exclusive today in your life before it is too late.

At the Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Wrath of God Part 3

Today’s Topic: Journey to the Feasts of Israel: Plagues of Egypt Part 3
Scripture: Exodus 9:1-7; 8-12

Greetings Kingdom Citizens
We are continuing our look at the plagues of Egypt and their target.

5th Plague: The Cattle of Egypt (Exodus 9:1-7)
Now why would God kill the cattle of Egypt? There are two reasons economic reasons and religious reasons. Now for economic reasons, remember, the economy back then was really gauged by agriculture and you needed cattle to assist you in that endeavor and of course some of the cattle gave milk. So when God killed the cattle, this created a famine but how He killed them was even more devastating. In verse 3 it speaks of the murrain. The murrain is a disease that is contagious among cattle. Now the farming of the land was now extremely difficult. But just like the other 4 plagues God is demonstrating His power over the false gods of Egypt and the target was two false gods. Hathor, who is the goddess of the deserts, is represented as a human body with a cow head. The other false god is Apis. Apis has a bull for a head and is also the god of the deserts. So remember we see the natural side to this but there is also a corresponding spiritual side. Now this particular god, Apis was one that was very familiar with the Israelites because after being delivered from Egypt, remember when Moses went up in the mount and there was singing and dancing at the bottom? Remember they built a golden calf and began to worship it? This golden calf was the false god Apis. Now the cattle of the Hebrews in all of this was not harmed (vs. 6)

6th Plague: Boils (Exodus 9:8-12)
This plague was to target the bodies of men. These boils and if anybody has had one, they know it is very painful and you cannot touch that area. But imagine if it was all over your body. This pestilence attacked all of the Egyptians including the magicians and none of them could find a cure for the pestilence. In turn it showed how powerless the gods of cures in Egypt were. Thoth, the ibis headed god of intelligence and medicinal learning; Apis, Serapis and Imhotep were all the gods targeted by this particular plague and it showed that the gods of Egypt which should protect them and cure them could not.

7th Plague: Fiery Hail (Exodus 9:22-26)
Egypt is typically a sunny land and barely there is no rain. But in this plague there was devastation raining from the sky in the form of fiery hail. Now the various gods of Egypt who should have come and protect the people were:
1. Shu – the wind god
2. Nut – the sky goddess
3. Horus – The hawk-headed sky god of Egypt
Now after this plague in Exodus 9:27, Pharaoh acknowledges the Lord (Yahweh) is righteous and his people are wicked. After seeing this devastation, I would do the exact same. God was single-handedly wiping out Egypt and showing that all of those gods they had could not touch or do anything for them when you have judgment from the Lord, Yahweh.

In the next message we will look at the 8th and 9th plague and see how God continues His judgment on Egypt and please keep in mind. The fate of the people rested in the hands of its leadership, Pharaoh. Can you image what pride and stubbornness by one man did to that nation in that day? Do not think for one minute that God cannot bring judgment today on many of our very own nations for the people we elect in office knowing that they do not fear the Lord, Elohim, Yahweh, Jesus. They do what they are influenced to do and when the nation does not stand for the interests of the Almighty God, the nation suffers, just like Egypt for the sins of the leadership.

At the Father’s Service,
Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.

The Wrath of God Part 2

Today’s Topic: Journey to the Feasts of Israel: The Wrath of God Part 2
Scripture: Exodus 8:1-14

Greetings Kingdom Citizens
Now we are reviewing the 10 plagues upon Egypt and we will continue this revelatory study.

Plague 2: The Frogs (Exodus 8:1-14)
In this plague frogs filled the land to a point there was nowhere to go without encountering massive amounts of frogs. These frogs were in the houses and beds of the Egyptians. What or who is the target here. The Egyptian goddess Hekt, who is depicted with the head and the body of a frog, was considered to be the wife of the “creator of the world”. Now the Egyptians held these frogs that came out of the Nile as sacred and their devotion to them prevented the Egyptians from dealing with them. Now Pharaoh began for the first time to see how bad this could get and in verse 8. As requested the Lord killed the frogs off but it left the dead carcasses in the land and left a horrid stench in the land of the rotting flesh of the frogs. In Revelation 16:13-14 we see this:
“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
So per our past study of the end of the age about the dragon, beast and false prophet we see that there will be these numerous spirits that will go forth and serve the dragon, beast and the false prophet and riddle the land with blasphemies. Nothing is a coincidence; it is just a mystery until God reveals it to us.

Plague 3: The Lice (Exodus 8:16-19)
This particular plague targeted the soil of Egypt. Now this plague was devastating because it interfered with the cleanliness that was supposed to be maintained for their priests to worship the gods. But even more disturbing, these lice found themselves on animals and humans and it would dig into the skin and bury itself. Now when the Egyptian magicians were called to do something about it, they could not (verse 18). The magicians knew they were dealing with something and someone that they have never seen before. They made the statement to Pharaoh in verse 19 “This is the finger of God”. They recognize that God was against them and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened even more against letting the children of Israel go. The particular Egyptian god targeted was Geb, who was the god of the earth who they gave offerings for the bounty of the soil. So God targeted the worship and religious system of Egypt and the god of the earth (soil), Geb.

Plague 4: Swarm of Flies (Scarabs) (Exodus 8:20-32)
Now in the scripture we see swarm of flies. This swarm of flies is really to be a swarm of scarab beetles. Now the importance of the scarab beetle was the king of the Egyptian gods, Amon-Ra had the head of a beetle. Now some of these beetles had the “honor” of being mummified and entombed with the Pharaoh. Now these scarab beetles are vicious and their jaws can saw through wood and they can be more destructive than termites. Can you imagine the chaos and confusion once God unleashed this plague upon Egypt? But here is crazy part, because these scarab beetles were so revered they were not to be interfered with.

We will continue our look at the plagues against Egypt in the next message.

At the Father’s Service,
Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Preparing the Spokesperson

Today’s Topic: A Journey to the Feasts of Israel: Preparing the Spokesperson

Scripture: Exodus 3:7-14

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

Now of course we already, or should know that the children of Israel entered Egypt under their brother Joseph and a Pharaoh that knew Joseph. When a Pharaoh that rose up that did not know Joseph and saw the growth of the Israelites in Egypt, he feared that they would grow so numerous that they would overthrow the Egyptians so Pharaoh charged that every son that is born (of the Jews) should be cast into the river, and every daughter shall be saved. Now we know even in this same river many died, it is this same river that the chosen spokesperson for God was saved, Moses. Now we know Moses murdered an Egyptian and fled into desert. It is here that we want to pick this up and carry it to the Feasts of Israel.

Now at the burning bush where God spoke to Moses, He tells him the He has heard the affliction of His people (Exod. 3:7) and is come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. Now God also informs Moses that He will send him to Pharaoh. Now like most people when God presents them with their destiny and purpose they question it because of the enormity of the task. Now God re-affirms Moses that He is with him in Exodus 3:12. Now we still have a problem and Moses posed the question to God about the children of Israel and what to say because when he says to them “The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you” and they replied “what is his name”? Why is that even the case? Why wouldn’t they know the God of their fathers? The answer is this generation of Israelites was born in Egypt and after being in bondage for over 400 years and seeing the gods of Egypt for so long you tend to forget who the True and Living God is. So in Exodus 3:14 God gives Moses the answer and He tells him to say that “I AM” hath sent me unto you. God understood they would have a problem understanding so He puts it in a way that they may know who Moses is talking about.

Now we will jump all the way to the encounter and meeting between Moses and Pharaoh. Here Moses and Aaron (Exodus 5) instruct Pharaoh to let God’s people go so that they can hold a feast unto God in the wilderness. Now Pharaoh in his pride and stubbornness said “Who is this Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?” Now Pharaoh represents a shadow and type of Satan. Pharaoh then doubled the burdens and work load of the Israelites because of Moses and Aaron. This was a brutal punishment because the Israelites were given certain materials to make bricks but now they had to go find those materials and make the bricks within the same day and the people were beaten and oppressed harshly. Moses goes to God in Exodus 5:22,23 to ask him why has the reversed basically happened and the people are more oppressed and not delivered. Now God has this all under control and now the stage is set for God to show His power that He is the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Now as we venture forth in these next messages we will look at God’s response to Pharaoh and we have all heard of it but what was the wrath of God all about with the various wonders God did. I promise you it will open your eyes to the truth behind this entire story. Now going forth I also want to remind you that Satan tries to counterfeit everything God does. In this story you will see Satan attempt to do such a thing but God is all powerful and there will come a time that all of the counterfeit will be exposed and Satan will no longer be able to deceive others to who the true and Living God is. I pray that you continue to study with us, God’s Appointed Feasts. I know we are starting a ways back but it will be well worth the revelation in the upcoming messages.

At the Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun Jr.