The Clarion, Oct. 2025
Welcome
Welcome to October! The farmers are finishing their harvesting and preparing their field for the Winter. Homeowners are also preparing their homes for Winter, making sure the furnaces are ready to run. The windows are all caulked and air tight. It’s a time of preparation because Winter can be long and hard. Even the ants and chipmunks and others prepare all Summer, storing their food and making their homes ready for the Winter. Yeshua tells us that He is preparing a home for us. In John 14:2-3 Yeshua says this, “There are many rooms in My Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back. Then I will take you with Me, so that you can be where I am.” A man says to Yeshua in Luke 14:15b, “It will be a great blessing for anyone to eat a meal in God’s Kingdom!” Yes, a great banquet is being prepared for all those who will come to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Revelation 19:7-8 says this, “Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”
Matthew 22:2-6 tells us this which may very well be referring to the Marriage Supper. “The Kingdom of heaven is like a king who held a wedding feast for his son. And he sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, ‘Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened cattle are all butchered and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!’ But they paid no attention and went their separate ways, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and treated them abusively, and then killed them.” Matthew 22:11-12 continues “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The king threw him out into the darkness and said, ‘For many are called, but few are chosen.”’ Are you preparing yourself?
All Rise For The Judge
We have been looking at how Yeshua judged things when He walked the earth, because it gives us a clue how He will judge in the hereafter.
In Luke 20: 9-18 Yeshua tells His followers this parable. “A man planted a vineyard and leased it to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. At the harvest time he sent a servant to the vine-growers, so that they would give him his share of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he proceeded to send another slave; but they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he proceeded to send a third; but this one too they wounded and threw out. Now the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What am I to do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the vine-growers saw him, they discussed with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ And so they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and put these vine-growers to death, and will give the vineyard to others.” However, when they heard this, they said, ‘May it never happen!’ Yeshua looked at them and said, ‘Then what is this statement that has been written: ‘A stone which the builder rejected, this has become the chief cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
Yeshua knew that His followers were going to have their trials and persecutions. He also knew that He was going to die and they would not have Him much longer. Yeshua is the Chief Cornerstone and Peter has this to say about that.
1 Peter 2: 4-8 says this, “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by people, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Messiah Yeshua. For this is contained in Scripture: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, and the one who believes in Him will not be put to shame.’ This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for unbelievers, ‘a stone which the builders rejected, this stone became the chief cornerstone,’ and, ‘A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense;’ for they stumble because they are disobedient to the Word, and to this they were also appointed.” 1 Peter 1: 13-16 says, “So if we are being built up as a spiritual house then we must be worthy of the house. Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written: ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”
God’s house must be holy. The spiritual house that He is building must also be holy. So what do we need to do to be holy? There are a number of things as we will see. After Yeshua left the wilderness where Satan tried to tempt Him, Yeshua began preaching, saying as Matthew 4:17 tells us, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It all starts with repentance. Today there is a false teaching that says we Christians do not need to repent. Sin separates us from God and yes, even though Yeshua died for our sins only means that now we can be washed clean, but that is only after we repent. Repentance does not mean, saying I am sorry. Repentance is a 180 degree change. We can not say I’m sorry and then continue in our sin. Next 1 John 2: 15-17 tells us this, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.” James 4:4-5 says, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose, ‘He jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us’?”
So we must let go of the world and how do you do that? We must be Born Again. John 3:1-8 tells us this story, “Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Yeshua at night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ Yeshua responded and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?’ Yeshua answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”’ Titus 3:3-7 says, “For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He richly poured out upon us through Messiah Yeshua our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Holiness is a way of life, a life lived only for God. If we are being built up into a spiritual temple then we must be holy. 1 Corinthians 3:10-17 says this, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Messiah Yeshua. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire. Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”
How do you destroy your temple? By living in rebellion, and living by this world’s ways, all of this is sin to God. Deuteronomy 4:5-9 says this, “See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you are to do these things in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him? Or what great nation is there that has statutes and judgments as righteous as this whole Law which I am setting before you today? Only be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.”
God’s Commandments are so holy that they were put in the Ark of the Covenant, which was the most holiest place, under the mercy seat, which represents the Seat of Judgement. We call it the Law of God, because like any earthly judge, He judges according to the law. We too, will be judged by these same laws, for all will stand before God and give an account. Matthew 16:24-26 says, “Then Yeshua said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every person according to His deeds.”’
To be born again one must die. This is how the Judge will judge.
Hebrew corner: When Seven Became One
Last month we looked at the tenth day of the month of Passover and Yom Kippur.
Now we want to look at Shavuot (Pentecost) and Yom Kippur and the number 49.
Leviticus 23: 15-16 tells us this, “You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.” The day after the Sabbath was the Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the day after was the Feast of the First Fruits or as we now call it the Resurrection Day of Yeshua who was the First Fruits. 1 Corinthians 15:20 says, “But the fact is, Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” We call this the counting of the Omer. A sheaf was a bundle of grain but at that time it was barley that was waved before the Lord. This was called the Omer. So we count every day for 49 days to Shavuot( Pentecost) and then at the end a new grain offering was made and this new grain was wheat. The 50th day was and is Shavuot (Pentecost). It is like a Jubilee Anniversary that one has after being married fifty years. It’s a special time, a special celebration, so too with God. God showed up at Mt. Sinai with thunder and lightning, with great wonder. On the day of Pentecost God also came with a great noise of rushing wind and flames of fire. But we once again see that the Fall Feasts follow the Spring Feasts. Leviticus 25:8-12 says, “You are also to count off seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven Sabbaths of years, that is, forty-nine years. You shall then sound a ram’s horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. So you shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor harvest its aftergrowth, nor gather grapes from its untrimmed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its produce from the field.”
49 days are now 49 years but again it speaks of a Jubilee Year. Like the feast of Rosh HaShanah, the ram’s horn is blown and so too, on this special Yom Kippur. You begin to count the Omer after Passover 49 days and here for the jubilee you count 49 years which takes you to Yom Kippur, both having to do with atonement, both having to do with 50, a Jubilee in the Spring and in the Fall, both at the time of Atonement. We see here that at this time property returns to its original owner and no sowing seed in the 50th year, which is all about holiness, it is being set apart from the world. Next month we will continue looking at when seven became one.
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