The 2nd October marked the beginning of the Jewish New Year and the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, until the 4th October, 2024. Rosh Hashanah symbolises and celebrates the birth of the universe and the creation of Adam and Eve. As the Jewish calendar is different from the western calendar, the 2nd of October 2024 marks the Jewish Year 5785. In the Jewish Calendar or in Judaism, numbers have spiritual significance and help to interpret times and seasons. In the Old Testament, there is mention of the sons of Issachar who could interpret the times and seasons. “of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command” ‭‭(I Chronicles‬ ‭12‬:‭32‬). Solomon also spoke of the importance of moving in correct times and seasons and understanding a time to plant and a time to reap, for example. 

The sons of Issachar were possibly the first meteorologist who could predict weather patterns such as rain, storms or droughts. Another dimension of it could be that they had the spiritual capacity, to interpret what God was about to do in the earth. The Wise Men in the New Testament also seem to point to the practice of studying the stars to know the time of Jesus’s birth. In our modern times this is known as astronomy, which can sometimes be confused with astrology. While astronomy is a natural scientific study of the stars and the solar system, astrology seeks to predict events on earth using spirit guides and mediums and ventures into occult practices. Going back to the Jewish New Year 5785, I want to attempt to explain some of the biblical meaning behind the numbers in this Hebrew year. 

Biblical numerology is the use of numbers in the bible to try to provide the meanings and context of particular seasons and years. The number 5 represents grace, goodness and favour. The number 7 means perfection, completion, rest and fullness. The number 8 represents new beginnings, resurrection & renewal. In the case of 5785, where the 5 appears twice, this means a double portion of grace, goodness and favour. You may ask what is the significant of the Jewish year and people who live in other parts of the world. I believe that God created the Jewish numerical system to convey the meanings and observations of special occasions, such as feasts and to commemorate significant happenings in Jewish history. The numbers also reflect the significance of things to come in the future, related to aspects of bible prophecy, concerning the end times. 

For this time, we can sense a shift in the realm of the spirit which signals a move of God or a new dispensation. I believe that the church is gathering momentum for the end time harvest and the advancement of God’s kingdom. We are in a season, where God is doing a new thing and he wants us to forget the former things. “Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert” ‭‭(Isaiah‬ ‭43‬:‭19‬). In Matthew 12, John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus to ask if he was the Coming One, or if there was another one to come. Jesus’s response was for them to convey to John of the things which they saw and heard. “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭5‬).

Before his ascension, Jesus gave his commission to the church to go into the world and preach the gospel. He also named the signs that would follow believers; casting out demons, speaking in tongues, picking up serpents and if we drink anything deadly, it will not harm us, we will lay hands on the sick and they will recover (Mark 16:17-18).

A.P.-Y. – Anneta Pinto-Young

In the book of Leviticus, Moses spoke to the congregation of Isreal concerning moral and ceremonial laws. The congregation were warned against worshiping idols or making gods for themselves. Moses discussed additional laws, including God’s instructions against murder, hatred and injustice. They were also warned against mediums and familiar spirits. They were told not to seek after them or to be defiled by them. A diviner, medium or a spiritist is someone who speaks with the dead through the use of familiar spirits. Their purpose of communicating with the dead is to transfer messages to those who are alive. A familiar spirit is a demonic entity which is used by mediums, including witches, psychics and other persons who practice occultism. Familiar spirits are also described as spirit guides who are under the control of their master satan. The sole purpose of familiar spirits, are to advance the kingdom of satan and they also seek to mimic the kingdom of God. 

As they are of the kingdom of satan, who is the father of lies, they also distort the truth and speak lies to lead people away into deception and eventual death. Other persons who use familiar spirits to operate are necromancers (persons who communicate with the dead), white witches, black witches, tarot card readers, soothsayers, reiki healers, palm readers, voodoo priests and priestesses, sanatoria high priests or priestesses, obeah men or obeah women and any form of healer or spiritualist, who use or call upon spirits other than Jesus Christ. God warned Isreal through Moses about staying away from the detestable practices, of the other nations who they come into contact with. “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer” ‭‭(Deuteronomy‬ ‭18‬:‭10‬). He further warned them against those who cast spells and who conjure up the dead. 

Many people are misguided into thinking, that their loved ones can communicate with them after they die. “If the clouds are full of rain, They empty themselves upon the earth; And if a tree falls to the south or the north, In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie” ‭‭(Ecclesiastes‬ ‭11‬:‭3‬). In this verse, Solomon was indicating, that the condition of a person when they die, will be the same until the judgment. In other words, a dead person is asleep until the Lord returns and they have no power to communicate with the living. The devil who is crafty and deceptive knows that people are deeply sentimental. As such, a demon who shape shifts into the likeness of a dead relative, can easily be received by someone as being good. The devil will look for any way to gain entry into the lives of people, in order to destroy them. The fact that a spiritist or medium knows personal information about someone, is no indication that they are of God or that their power comes from Him. The devil and his demons have power and communicate information about people to medium and spiritist. 

The most sinister part of all of this is that there are mediums or spirit guides, who have infiltrated the church and are posing as prophets. It takes discernment to decipher between a prophet or prophetess and a diviner. Prophets point people towards God, they increase spiritual awareness and conviction and stir the hearts of people to follow God. Fortune telling, calling out other ministers, predicting elections and spreading division in the body of Christ are sure sign that someone is more interested in proving their relevance, than they are in establishing the kingdom of God. Nathan was sent by God to confront David of sin, but did so privately. This led David into repentance and God restored his faith (2 Samuel 12). There are a few instances when God will allow public rebuke, when people have hardened their hearts and God needs to expose them in order to preserve the church. A so called ‘prophet’ whose platform is mainly used, to point out error in other ministers, is often a diviner who is being used by familiar spirits, to spread division and confusion in the body of Christ. 

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” ‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬).

A.P.-Y. – Anneta Pinto-Young

The ARC Logos Podcast went live on YouTube and Spotify on the 17th September 2024. Click on the links below to watch, share, comment and subscribe.

https://youtu.be/-MTcxM-uWMc?si=AgHKUWzMM5x9AoFD

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/arc-logos/episodes/Episode-1–Part-1—ARC-Logos—Our-Career-Journeys-e2obo0f

You can also catch snippets and learn more about our wellbeing podcast on all social media handles.

Blessings

Anneta Pinto-Young – A.P.-Y.

Hey family. I know that my posting on here has been a bit sporadic of late. I have been a little bit busy with creating a Podcast which launches on the 17th September 2024.

The Trailer is on YouTube and can be viewed in the link below.

https://youtu.be/3Q5bGpVTvEw?si=PTKzxR99vyyJKPtM

I worked on this jointly with Cherelle Wilson-Morrison and Rose Tebere. Together we are A-Anneta, R-Rose and C-Cherelle. ARC is a play on Noah’s ark and logos is the word of God.

It’s not purely a religious podcast, although we are Christian woman and can’t leave God out of any conversation. The podcast focuses on wellbeing and our careers as social work supervisors, trainers, speakers and certified coaches.

Anneta Pinto-Young – A.P.-Y.

I write a monthly blog for Crossmap, which has a voice over of the devotional piece.

https://blogs.crossmap.com/stories/called-to-worship-idtAEwX73fyLaJMd-wlgh

In Matthew 6, Jesus taught his disciples about the cure for anxiety. He taught them not to worry about food, clothes or drink. He said that life is worth more than food and the body more than clothes to wear. Earlier in Matthew 4:4, when the devil tempted Jesus to turn stone into bread, he quoted a scripture from Deuteronomy 8:3, about not living by bread alone. In the text, Moses was speaking to the children of Isreal and reminded them of all that God had done for them. He was saying that God humbled them by letting them go hungry, to teach them that they should not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. He also reminded them that during the forty years in the wilderness, their clothes didn’t wear out, neither did their feet become swollen. God preserved them in the wilderness and promised to take them into a place of abundance. Moses cautioned them not to forget about God, once they started to prosper and think that their own power made them wealthy.

“You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deuteronomy 8:18). Jesus was quoting from Moses’s teachings to encourage his disciples against worrying. He reminded them of how God takes care of the birds, who don’t toil and dresses the flowers who don’t labour. He spoke of the futility of worry, which did not solve anything or add anything of value. Jesus mentioned that God also cares about even the grass which has a short life span. That means that we don’t have a reason to worry, since God already knows what we need before we need it. The opposite of worry is seeking after the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Once we seek him, then all of our needs will be met.

Seeking God, his kingdom and righteousness requires a hunger and passion for God. In Jeremiah 29, he wrote a letter to the captives in Babylon, about God’s instructions to his people. They were to build houses and live in and pray for the welfare of the city where they were living. Jeremiah also told the people that after seventy years, God would restore them. The people would cry out to God and pray to him and he would hear them. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). God promised that as they sought after him, they would find him and not only find him, but he would restore their wealth and gather them back from the nations where he had scattered them. Before the captivity, God knew that the people’s hearts were far away from him and their desires were after their wealth and idols.

Captivity was a time when the people were hungry and desperate for God, because they desired to be rescued. Nevertheless, there was a set time for their deliverance, because God knew how long it would take before their hearts were turned back towards him. It’s sad how Isreal’s backsliding happened when they had wealth and prosperity and they hungered for God when they were in distress. God is after our hearts and a pure desire to be close to him and to know him. We were created for a purpose, to establish the kingdom of God. Whatever we do on earth is fleeting and only what we do for God will have significance in eternity. The work that we do for God, to win the lost and dying and to further the gospel, is of significance to God. Many people come to God with many words and actions, but their hearts are far away from him. God’s word is a promise, that when we seek him, he will meet our needs.

A.P.-Y.

David wrote in Psalm 105 about the wondrous works of God. The judgements and miracles he did for Isreal who are the offspring of Abraham. God remembers his covenant to Abraham and his chosen offspring, for a thousand generations. He swore this covenant to Isaac and confirmed his statute to Jacob. “saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance”” (Psalm 105:11). Even when they were few in number and travelled between different nations, God did not allow anyone to oppress them. He rebuked kings on their behalf and told them not to touch his anointed ones, or do any harm to his prophets. We saw an example of this with Abraham, when he and Sarah visited Gerar and he told them that Sarah was his sister. King Abimelech sent for Sarah, perhaps to keep among his concubines as she was beautiful.

“But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife”” (Genesis 20:3). Abimelech had not yet approached Sarah, so he asked God if he would kill an innocent man. Abimelech reasoned with God that he was innocent, because both Abraham and Sarah told him that they were brother and sister. God responded to Abimelech that he knew that he had done this out of innocence and said that he had kept him from touching Sarah, in order not to sin against him. He instructed Abimelech to return Sarah to Abraham, who was a prophet and would pray for him so he would not die. He was warned that if he did not return Sarah that he would die, along with everyone who was around him. When Ambimelech told his men about the encounter with God, they were afraid. He then called Abraham and asked him why he had tricked him, into thinking that Sarah was his sister.

“Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife’” (Genesis 20:11). It turns out that Abraham was afraid. He also explained that Sarah was in fact his half sister, so they agreed that they would always tell people this. Abimelech not only returned Sarah to Abraham, but he also gave him oxen to work the land and gave him male and female servants. He also gave him permission to live and work in whatever part of the land that he chose. He gave Abraham a thousand pieces of silver, as a sign of his innocence and as a means of vindication for the wrong which he had done. Abraham then prayed for Abimelech and he healed him, his wife and all the female servants so they could bear children. God had closed the wombs of all the women in the house of Abimelech, because he took Sarah from Abraham.

In this story in Genesis, God was not playing about Abraham, his chosen or about his wife Sarah. This was based on the covenant which God made with Abraham and his offspring. As the righteousness of God, we are grafted into the family of God and are part of the Abrahamic covenant. We are off limits to the agents of darkness, as we are the anointed children of God. A special demarcation was made about the prophets, because of the role which they play in revealing the heart and mind of God. Prophets were and continue to be messengers of God, who have faced a lot of persecution historically and in modern times. Prophets sometimes have to deliver messages that are hard for people to hear, especially when people’s hearts are hardened by sin. God does not take kindly to anyone who tries to oppress his children, and especially when they cause harm to his prophets.

A.P.-Y.

Isaac inherited his father’s promise of abundance and blessing. He settled in Gerar where Abimelec was King and Isaac found favour and prospered in the land. “and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy” (Genesis 26:13). The Philistines became envious of Isaac because of how he prospered. Abimelec told Isaac to go away from among his people because Isaac seemed mightier than they.

Isaac moved away and dug wells to sustain his family and livestock. Each time Isaac dug a well, the men of Gerar would quarrel with Isaac’s labourers and say that the well belonged to them. Isaac did not fight back but would move away to another place and dug another well. It finally came to a point when Isaac dug a well where the men did not contend with him. At this point Isaac concluded that God had made room for him to prosper and be fruitful.

Eventually Abimelec made an oath with Isaac which stated that they would no longer contend with each other. Abimelec said to Isaac, “We see plainly that the Lord has been with you” (Genesis 26:28).

There are seasons when we have experienced what felt like many delays and setbacks. The enemy cannot contend with us continually and I believe that in this season, God has made room for us to be fruitful and prosperous. The favour of God will be so evident and abundant in our lives that people who were once against us will want to endorse us.

“When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him” (Proverbs 16:7).

A.P.-Y.