Newsletter Nisan II, 5784 by Sherry Lush
This year, Nisan arrives in a world full of war, lawlessness and governmental policies that make no sense. But we should take heart knowing the things we see happening are pointing to the coming of the Messiah. And for this our hearts yearn! Signs in the heavens that only our God can do speaks loudly about the days we are in. Let’s look at some of the ways the Lord is speaking in our time.
Genesis 1:14 'Then God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years;'
Aside from day and night, the Lord listed 'signs' as the next most important reason for lights in the skies. Only the Lord controls those lights, man cannot manipulate the sun, moon and stars. So when He sends signs, we need to pay careful attention.
On April 8th, we saw a sign in the skies with the Great American Eclipse which crossed the US – entering Texas and covering the states in a northeast direction, exiting Canada. This is the third leg of 3 eclipses that have that traversed America in the last 7 years. What is the significance of these three eclipses? The path of each eclipse, when put together, forms the two ancient Hebrew Aleph and Tav. (view the map showing the letters the three eclipses form in the photos on the left) Yeshua called Himself the Alpha and the Omega, which are the Greek names for Aleph and Tav. By using these two letters to refer to Himself, He was saying that He was the Beginning and the End. We should be paying attention as we are in the days of Chevley Mashiach – or the birth pains of the Messiah. The circumstances in the world today point to the need for the Messiah to come and rule and reign on the earth. We are coming to the end (tav) of governments as we know them, because He is coming to rule and reign.
This final of these eclipses over America entered Texas over a tiny town called, Jonah. The Prophet Jonah comes into the picture of this final eclipse. The LORD said to Jonah, 'Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.' But Jonah fled in another direction because Nineveh was in Assyria, a land of terrorists. They had slaughtered many Israeli’s with hideous cruelty. Their methods were to behead, hang Israeli’s naked, rape, torture, and enslave Israeli people. They even skinned Israeli’s alive. They were a violent people – the Hamas of their time. (There are many panels of pictographs of Israeli people being slaughtered by the Assyrians in the British Museum today.) This gives us an idea about why Jonah tried to flee away from Nineveh.
Jonah reached the shore of Assyria another way. 'Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah 1:17. And the fish spit Jonah out on the land of Assyria. And the day Jonah entered the city he delivered an eight word message: 'Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overturned.' Jonah 2:4b
And on the very same day that Jonah gave this message, the Great Assyrian Eclipse occurred! The people took this very seriously; they repented and believed God. And the King of Assyria told everyone, '....let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.' Jonah 3:8 And G-d relented from the disaster He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it. It is said the 'sign of Jonah' was the eclipse that went over that nation on the day Jonah delivered the message to repent or be destroyed.
The Sages taught: When the sun is eclipsed it is a bad omen for the nations, and when there was a lunar eclipse it was a bad omen for Israel. We should pay attention to these signs. The Assyrians knew that the nation whose shadow the eclipse of the sun fell upon, that the clock was ticking for them to repent and walk in the ways of the Lord.
Also noteworthy, the eclipse that occurred on April 8th, passed over 7 cities in America called Nineveh. Could the Lord be speaking?
Read more in the full Nisan 5784 Newsletter download (with images).
Politically, things have been turned on their heads. Biden called for a new election in Israel as he believes the Prime Minister needs to be replaced. What? This is unheard of – No American president has the right to interfere in another nation’s elections, let alone our greatest friend and ally in the Middle East, Israel. He also wants a cease fire before they finish the necessary elimination of Hamas. The day after Biden’s comment, the Francis Scott Key Bridge was hit by a cargo ship and the bridge collapsed. Francis Scott Key wrote our National Anthem. If America is not blessing Israel, America will suffer the consequences of its leadership. God will not be mocked – He is speaking, and He is warning.
Matthew 16:3-4 Yeshua said: 'and in the morning (you say), Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast. You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but not the signs of the times.Hopefully, we are paying attention. On April 3, the Statue of Liberty was hit by lightning! Americans, are we seeing that the Lord is speaking in many ways? Repent and return to the Lord.
Luke 21:28 But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads; because your redemption draws nigh.
As all these events swirl around us, we will continue to Praise our Great G-d and walk in His ways. We want to invite you to join us for Passover Seder.
April 22, Monday night @ 6:30 pm
Harbor Life Church
4417 56th St. NW, Gig Harbor, WA 98335
Please call 253 358 3223, by Monday April 15th to RSVP
