Dear Doves,
      As we study the letters from The Master to the houses of faith in The Book of Revelation, we learn much. The congregation at Smyrna is warned that some will be thrown into prison for testing. " For ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful onto death, and I will give you the crown of life." Are some believers in prison in China and other places? Does this imply that just after a ten day period for some believers suffering in prison, that the crown of life will be given to them soon thereafter at the Bema Judgment Seat event, a pre 70th Week of Daniel event?
      When in the Scriptural year is a period of ten consecutive days important? First Passover/Unleavened Bread is seven to eight days, The Feast of Tabernacles is seven to eight days, and Hanukkah is eight days. Seven or eight are not ten. Only one ten day period can apply. These are the days from The Feast of Trumpets through the Solemn Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. The ten days in The Book of Revelation may be The Days of Awe! The Feast of Trumpets is part of the process which concludes with Yom Kippur. To see these as isolated events, unconnected to each other, is a serious spiritual mistake. The second completes the first! It may be an important reason why the bride/body of Messiah/Christ is here a bit longer. Abba Father will not disrupt the process with The Blessed Hope, the ten day process/experience must be complete. The Beloved returns for His bride as the groom/husband rather than as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. This is a major theme of the Feast of Trumpets, the arrival of a Great King. He will personify that title later at The Second Coming. There are three references in the Gospels to the groom returning after he is taken away and the concept of fasting before his returning. There is only one day of commanded fasting for The House of Israel, for the afflicting of the soul. Guess what day it is? It is Yom Kippur. It is THE DAY and THE FAST. The other three mentioned by the prophet Zechariah are part of the traditions of men. Not one of them is commanded in the Torah! The Master may have given us invaluable clues as to when the crown of life will be given to those deserving this wedding present among the redeemed. There is a theme that connects many of the letters and The Days of Awe. It is repentance. The Days of Awe may be the ten days as The Ten Days of REPENTANCE. There are no other ten days like them, all year. They are spiritually distinctive and set apart as blessedly special.
      When does the tone change from sorrow to joy after the forty days are complete after Yom Kippur, after the periods since Elul 1 than Tishri1? The ending of The Fast of Yom Kippur means joy begins that evening in preparation for the construction of the succahs and the days beginning at Tishri 15. This Feast of The Lord has many names: The Season of Our Joy, The Feast of Tabernacles, Sukkot, Tents, Booths, The Feast of Harvest, or The Feast of Ingathering. The vision of The Book of Revelation has been shared since 95 A.D. May we hear and heed the wisdom in the seven letters for us, as we experience these awe filled ten days! Come Quickly, Lord...
 
With Love and Shalom,
Jean