Psalms 69-80 Click link for audio stream
The Silent Years

Psalm 69 is a great Messianic psalm. It is another psalm of David, but unique since it appears to deal with the silent years in the life of the Lord Jesus.

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THE FALL FEASTS: SUCCOTH -

"Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD... Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." - Leviticus 23:34, 42-43

The Feast of Tabernacles, or Succoth, begins on the 15th of Tishri and lasts for eight days. This year Succoth will begin on September 27th. The word Succoth (also spelled Sukkot) means "booths", and refers to the temporary dwellings which are built and inhabited during the festival. This feast commemorates the 40 years that the nation of Israel wandered in the desert before entering the Promised Land. The Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths, as it is sometimes called, is a joyous holiday and a time of feasting.

It is fascinating to visit Israel at this time and observe them build their temporary "booths" in the traditional way, leaving deliberate gaps in the branches to view the stars at night, and for the wind to blow through during the day. This is intended to remind them of the wilderness wanderings.

At the end of the eight days, they leave their temporary dwellings to return to their permanent homes. (This is one of the reasons some suspect that this feast, rather than the Feast of Trumpets, is suggestive of the Rapture of the Church.) This day, traditionally, is the day that Solomon dedicated the first Temple.

This feast also involved a daily processional to the Pool of Siloam to fetch water for the Temple. This ceremonial procession is the setting for the events of John 7, where Jesus offers them "living water." This procession involved four types of branches: the willow, the myrtle, the palm, and a citrus (Leviticus 23:40). The willow has no smell and no fruit. The myrtle has smell, but no fruit. The palm has no smell, but bears fruit. The citrus has both smell and bears fruit. This sounds reminiscent of the four soils of the first "kingdom parable" of Matthew 13, doesn't it? The prophetic implications of this climactic feast are many. Most scholars associate it with the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom in Israel. To learn more about the Jewish about this subject, listen to our briefing package titled The Feasts of Israel.

The Torah - the five books of Moses - describes seven feasts on the Hebrew calendar. Three feasts are in the spring, in the month of Nisan: Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of First Fruits. Most Bible scholars believe that the first three feasts are prophetic of the Lord's First Coming. Then fifty days later there is the Feast of Weeks, Shavout, also known as Pentecost. The feast of Pentecost is predictive of the Church. Pentecost is notably the only feast in which leavened bread is ordained. There are three remaining feasts in the fall, in the month of Tishri: the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The fall feasts are prophetic of the Lord's Second Coming.

If you take the time to study the feasts of Israel I think you will be amazed by numerous prophetic parallels you'll uncover. At times the tasks and rituals described in the Old Testament, particularly in the book of Leviticus, may seem laborious or even inapplicable to Christians today. However it is important to remember that every number, every place name, every detail, every jot and tittle found in scripture is there for our learning, our discovery, and our amazement. Truly, our God is an awesome God!

[Editor's Note: This is the final installment of a three part series on the fall feasts of Israel.]

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IS SYRIA SHOPPING FOR NUKES? -

The Middle East conflict just got a little more complicated. It now seems that North Korea is helping Syria to develop nuclear weapons. Facing increasing pressure to shut down its own nuclear program, North Korea has been selling equipment and expertise on the black market to Iran and Syria. Evidence has emerged of North Korean nuclear scientists working in Syria as well as the arrival of shipments of machinery used for uranium enrichment.

This news follows reports of an Israeli air raid against targets deep inside Syria. The mysterious nighttime raid reportedly took place on September 6th, leaving behind what has been described as a "big black hole" in the desert. Although Syria has filed a formal complaint with the United Nations, neither Israel nor Syria has been willing to divulge any details.

While the details of the operation remain classified, a number of different theories regarding the covert strike have made the headlines: Some believe the raid may have been an attack against a Syrian-North Korean nuclear facility. Others have speculated that Israel was targeting a weapons shipment destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon. An Arab newsmagazine reported that Israeli jets "bombed a Syrian-Iranian missile base in northern Syria that was financed by Iran" and that "the base was completely destroyed." Meanwhile, London's The Sunday Times claims that a group of elite Israeli commandos seized North Korean nuclear material from the site before it was bombed.

North Korea's vehement public condemnation of the bombing has further fueled speculation that the rogue nation was somehow involved in the affair. One commentator, writing for The Wall Street Journal, surmised that by taking an unusual interest in the raid "North Korea may have tipped its hand."

A Fragile Peace

These recent events have fueled speculation that a large-scale confrontation between Syria and Israel could be on the near horizon. Syria and Israel are still technically at war, and Syria has yet to officially recognize the Jewish state. Formal peace negotiations between the two nations fell apart in January of 2000 - perhaps the most controversial issue on the table was the occupation of Golan Heights.

Israel captured Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 six-day war. Syria tried to recapture the land during the 1973 Middle East war, but was unsuccessful. Both nations signed an armistice in 1974 and an UN observation force was put into place along the ceasefire line. Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, but that action has not received international recognition.

The Golan Heights are located in southwestern Syria, in an area that carries significant political and strategic significance. It is a plateau that overlooks northern Israel and southern Syria. The heights give Israel an excellent vantage point for monitoring Syrian movements and the topography provides a natural buffer against any military action. The area is also a key source of water. Syria wants a full Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 border. This would give Damascus control of the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, which is Israel's main source of fresh water. There are also more than 30 Jewish settlements on the heights which would have to be dismantled if Israel agreed to give control of the region back to Syria.

Syria is on the US State Department's list of countries that sponsor terrorism because Syria gives "substantial amounts of financial, training, weapons, explosives, political, diplomatic, and organizational aid" to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Syria supports various radical Islamic and Palestinian organizations, many of which are headquartered in Damascus. From their headquarters in Syria these organizations are able to plan and coordinate terrorist attacks against Israel.

Deal or No Deal?

News of Syria's nuclear ambitions and its cooperation with North Korea will undoubtedly complicate the six-party talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. As part of a bargain made in February, North Korea agreed to shut down and seal its nuclear facilities and invite IAEA inspectors back into the country. In exchange, North Korea would be given 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil. The deadline was originally scheduled for April 14th, however the date blew past amidst a squall over North Korea's frozen bank accounts. Then, in July, the US State Department announced that North Korea had shut down one of its five facilities.

Although this latest development is good news, US government officials expressed cautious optimism. While North Korea has shown some willingness to cooperate, intelligence officials warn that the secretive and often unpredictable regime has not yet ceased all of its proliferation activities. Some believe that, in addition to selling nuclear technology to Syria, North Korea is still procuring equipment for its uranium enrichment program.

US diplomats won't be able to rest easy until all of North Korea's nuclear facilities are not only shut down, but permanently dismantled. Experts suspect that North Korea currently possesses between six and eight nuclear weapons. However a report by the Institute for Science and International Security claims that North Korea has enough radioactive material to build as many as 13 bombs.

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ISRAEL: AN ARCHAEOLOGIST'S PARADISE -
 

The Holy Land sits on thousands of years worth of human history. The stories hidden under Israel's soil are not only important to anthropologists and historians, but also to the religious faithful of several religions. On any given day of the year, dozens of archaeological digs are carefully uncovering the physical remnants of ancient civilizations. While any one discovery might have great historical, religious, or political significance, we keep a look out for those discoveries that add insight to the Biblical text. Here are a few of some interesting recent finds:

Ancient Beekeeping

God told Moses in Exodus 3:8 that He would free the Israelites from Egypt and take them into a land "flowing with milk and honey." While many think this refers to honey made from dates and figs, ancient beehives found in northern Israel demonstrate that honeybees were cultivated there 3,000 years ago. The hives, made of straw and unbaked clay, were lined up in orderly rows in what must have been a serious honey production plant in the middle of the thriving city of Rehov. As many as 100 hives might have fit in the room. The hives had a hole in the front through which the bees entered and left, and a door in the back through which bee tenders could collect wax and honey.

Another find next to the beehives - an altar decorated with fertility figures - also speaks volumes about Israel's constant battle against idol-worship and the Canaanite fertility religions. While the Israelites might have taken over the land flowing with milk and honey, they also adopted many of the Canaanites' religious practices (for which they were repeatedly judged).

King Herod's Quarry

After the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites returned and rebuilt the holy Temple in Jerusalem since it had been destroyed in 586 B.C.. Several hundred years later, King Herod (the same King Herod who tried to murder the infant Jesus) renovated and expanded the Second Temple.

Archaeologists have recently discovered a massive quarry, which they believe is the source of the massive stones on the Temple Mount. Coins and pottery found at the site date the quarry to the time of Herod, and the quarry is located just 2 1/2 miles northwest of the Old City. A number of quarries have been found in the area, but this is the first to be considered the source for the construction of the Temple Mount, including the Western Wall. From it were cut beautiful white 5-7 ton stones resembling marble - stones strong enough to support the Temple Mount for thousands of years.

X-Raying The Dead Sea Scrolls

Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are too delicate to unroll and study, which until recently has kept researchers from reading all of their contents. The scrolls contain texts from the Bible as well as information on the way of life of the Essene community that lived in the area from about the Second Century B.C. to the First Century A.D.

Through the use of powerful x-rays and digital technology, however, the secrets of the fragile scrolls may soon be exposed. Because the ink used in the scrolls contained iron, the words can be detected using an x-ray technology that - while about 100 billion times brighter - is similar to the x-ray technology used to detect our bones. By taking x-rays of the parchments from several angles and feeding the information into a computer, the computer can analyze the jumbled material from the x-rays and piece the words together into readable text. The technique has been successfully used to translate some Scottish texts, and scientists hope that soon the technology will be used to reveal the contents of the final Dead Sea Scrolls.

While archaeologists love to put together puzzles from the ancient world using bits of clay and rock and art found in the dust, we know that there is a more reliable way to know the history of the Holy Land. Scribes for thousands of years painstakingly made copies of the history of the land of Israel, and the prophecies and works of the God of Israel. It is that God whose Son lives in our hearts, and continues to make an impact on our lives today because He rose again from the place where he was buried - after just 3 days, and not 3000 years.

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*** Nan's Corner***

Faith in the Night Seasons

God's will is perfect. Why then do we kick so hard against it? When good things happen we praise and glorify Him. When supposedly bad things happen we doubt God and quench His Spirit. Without clarity and understanding of His Will, life becomes a mystery in which we are seeminlgy thrown about by circumstances. God, however, has promised in His Word that His will is not to be a mystery to His own. He promises to reveal to us His wonder-filled life, crated before the foundations of the world. The classroom He often uses to teach us this lesson is called the "night season."

How do we continue to have faith in God when everything in our lives is crumbling apart? What is a "night season" and how can we experience real intimacy with God during a time like this? God knows that the only way we will ever attain imovable intimacy with Him is by depriving us of the "natural light" that we have always relied upon and teaching us to walk in naked and unshakeable faith. Through this book you will receive deeper insights into how much God loves you and wants to have an intimate relationship with you. You will also get a glimpse into your own underlying, and often hidden, self-centered ways while learning an laternate way to deal with them. Faith in the Night Seasons not only relates the personal story of Chuck and Nancy Missler's own night season, but also goes on to explain what we are to do if we find ourselves in similar circumstances.

We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.
Jeremiah 3:25 KJV