Hope you enjoy this as much as I do…………..Dan
Sweet Home Jerusalem
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Sweet Home Jerusalem
Wednesday, March 9th, 2011What’s in the name Jerusalem?
Saturday, July 28th, 2007
Yordan River
Jerusalem
By: Dan’El Fraley
Have you ever wondered where the capital of the world, Jerusalem, got its name? We have been told it means peace, but where did it originate? When I first started my research into this question, I referred back to Genesis where Abram visited Melchizedek after he rescues Lot (14:18). Who was this King of Salem that greets Abram with “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth..”? All this just drops into the pages of the Bible out of the blue, but what a mystery opening we are confronted with. King of Salem means “King of peace” and Melchizedek means “King of righteousness”, and if you go up to Hebrews 7:1,2 He is referred to as a “priest of God Most High”. Salem, the land of peace where Jerusalemand the surrounding area is today, has no peace, yet the three major religions go there to seek it. They all look for the King of peace to return there. Before I get off on a tangent about who the Messiah or this King of peace is, I need to get back to the name Jerusalem. We see that where the latter part of the name “salem” comes from, but where does the first part “Jeru” come from? Would you believe it comes from Gods name?
Yahweh Yireh
Years later, after Abrams name had been changed to Abraham and he has been given his promised child. He comes back to the land of peace where he once met Melchizedek to give a burnt offering to the God Most High. The Jews call this the “Akedah”, or the “binding of Isaac”. Here in Genesis 22:13-14, Abraham has his son tied down to the alter to sacrifice him as an obedient act to the God Most High. And God says ” Do not lay a hand on the boy, Do not do anything to him for now I know you have faith in Me, for you have not with-held from me your son, your only son given you after the covenant of circumsizion.” (God referred to Isaac as Abraham’s only son because he did not recognise Sarah’s need to help Him fulfill His promise to them by offering her hand maiden Hagar.) Abraham looks up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham calls this place “The Lord Will Provide” (Yahweh Yireh). Yireh, is a Hebrew word that derives from the root word “raah” which means “to see” and yireh in this case means “provide”. God sees and provides, what a teaching here! God sees the future as well as the past and present and He is able to anticipate and provide for what is needed if we will only trust Him. In English it is interesting that “provide” comes from two Latin words that mean “to see beforehand.” Going on to the reason for this article, the “Jeru” in Jerusalemis “sees and provides”. So now you know the rest of the story and that Jerusalem means “God, sees and provides peace”.
Who do you believe this coming provider will be, this “King of Peace”, “King of Righteousness” and “High Priest”? I place my faith on the “Lamb of God” who shed His blood for the atonement of my sins, Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah! God made flesh, coming from an infinite realm to a finite realm to redeem us……………Amain
IS THE gOD OF ISLAM THE SAME AS THE GOD OF THE JEWS AND THE CHRISTIANS?
Wednesday, January 24th, 2007I first wrote this article January 24, 2007, but it is relevant for now, so I am bringing it to the front page so it will be viable again.
Islam, Judaism and Christianity are all monotheistic religions. In other words, they believe in one God. But, do those who follow Islam believe in the same God as the Jews and Christians? At this critical time in our nation we see on television, in newspapers and magazines that Islam is depicted as a ” religion of peace. “ We do not desire to be critical of another religion. However, we do believe the question is worth examining to see if there is a difference.
Jesus said in John 14:6, ” I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. “
Islam is an Arabic word which means ” submission ” or ” surrender. “ Within the context of Islam, it means submission or surrender to Allah; the name of the god of the Muslims.
Muslims are the people of Islam. The word ” Muslim ” means ” one who submits. ”
In pure Islamic nations under Islamic (Shari’a) law there is no democracy, no free will and no freedom of expression, which is totally contrary to the freedom we have in Christ. When a nation is ruled by Islamic Law, freedom to preach the gospel is not allowed because Muslims are not permitted to change their religion. The rejection of Islam for any other faith, either by action or word of mouth, is considered a rejection of Allah and Muhammad (founder of Islam), thus making it an act of apostasy. Under Shari’a law, changing your religion from Islam to Christianity is punishable by death. This is practiced in many Muslim nations such as several North African countries; Afghanistan, Pakistan and Malaysia, and many Middle Eastern countries.
The stated purpose of the system is to achieve world domination. According to a July 4, 1998 newspaper article of an Islamic gathering in Freemont, Ca., Omar M. Ahmad, Chairman of the Board of the Council on American-Islamic relations (known as CAIR), urged Muslims not to shirk their duty of sharing the Islamic faith to those who are on the ‘wrong side’. He said, ” Islam is not in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. ”
Islam is a totally different religion from Christianity and Judiasm and the god of Islam is not the God of the Christians and the Jews. However, we must see the Muslim people through the heart of God, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
John 3:16 ” For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ”
ISA Publications material used~ Weirton, WV. 26062 USA
Shavuot/Pentecost
Tuesday, October 10th, 2006By Dan’El Fraley
This festival is the only festival out of the seven feasts of Yah/God that Christians celebrate. We celebrate it because of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit/Ruach Ha’Kadosh in Acts 2. It is the birthday of the “Church”, and was a new Covenant given us by the Savior Yahushua/Jesus. In actuality it is a renewal of the first covenant given to the Israelites from Mt Sinai. It was a marriage contract between Yah/God and His chosen group that the Messiah would someday come from. The Prophet Hosea was sent by Father Yah/God to show that Israel was being unfaithful to the marriage Covenant. (Study Hosea, it is a good and informative read.)
The Jews celebrate this feast of Shavuot for the giving of this first Covenant and the giving of the Law/Torah. Shavuot is a Hebrew word for seven weeks (The Sabbath of Weeks). It concludes the daily counting of the “omer” barley offering at the Temple. The count is for seven weeks beginning on the second day of Passover. It is the 50th day after this that is Shavuot/Pentecost. The Shavuot holiday traditions observed today symbolize both the agricultural and the religious aspects of the festival. Homes are decorated with flowers to remember the blossoms of the Land of Israel. In the synagogue the Book of Ruth is read to describe the grain harvest in ancient times. Cheese cakes, honey cakes and other dairy foods are eaten to remember Israel as it was described as a “land flowing with milk and honey.” Honey and milk are also symbols of Torah and learning. The sages describe the study of the Word as being sweet as honey. Many Jewish families, before discussing Torah at home will place a drop of honey on each child’s tongue so the children will always associate the learning of the Torah as sweet.
Shavuot is an appointed time (in Hebrew, Moed) by Father Yah/God, for us to meet with Him. If we had a doctors appointment would we miss that appointed time? Christians count 50 days from Ishtar/Easter which comes from a pagan influence in the early Roman church. (I will do an article on the worship of Ishtar later.) There are many references in the Bible about the windows of Heaven and the doors of Heaven being opened. The Jews say that the seven feasts of Yah/God are times when the windows of Heaven are opened and that God gives extra attention to our petitions at these times. Are we as Christians missing out on special blessings because we stick to a pagan solstice as our set times? The Holy Spirit/Ruach Ha’Kadosh was poured out on this day at the Temple Mount and will pour out on every other Pentecost/Shavuot if we earnestly desire it. If you are looking for a special indwelling of the Spirit, this would be a good day to ask! We do not need the Ark of Covenant anymore, we have Yah/Elohim living in our hearts. The maker of the Heavens and Earth, and His Personality (Torah) grows in our being as we practice obeying His Commandments. (1 John 2:3-6)
As we join Israel celebrating this feast, we separate ourselves from the world and become “One New Man” set apart for the Messiah and His coming Kingship. Accepting the Covenant by immersion (”tavelah” in Hebrew), we become Israel and His bride; we agree to obey our Husband, wearing His ring as a sign (the Sabbath) and He CIRCUMCISES our hearts with the Covenant, allowing us to love the Torah, the Ten Commandments. What happened on Mt. Sinai, happens to us personally, in our hearts He and His word lives and love abounds, which is the evidence of our obedience.
