Dear Doves,

 

   There are two LAST DAYS in the month of Tevet (Teveth), which is month 10 of the Scriptural Year. The first "last day" will be Tevet 3, the concluding day of Hanukkah of the 8 days. We are promised to be raised up on the third day and the last day. Might it be Tevet 3 and the last day of Hanukkah? Day 8 begins at sundown 12-15, 2012, as the Shabbat ends. That evening, the Scriptural Day 1 begins at sunset. What would be significant if The Blessed Hope is the evening of the last evening of Hanukkah for the lighting of all 9 lights on every hanukkiah? The lights burn brightly and then fade away to darkness. Is that not like what will happen for the spiritually dark and trying times ahead for Israel: the Covenant People and the Covenant Land? We know that The Blessed Hope will be the last day of the current Dispensation of the Age of Grace and also the Pentecost outreach for the bringing in of "the fullness of the Gentiles." But might "the last day" be day 8 as it begins or ends for Hanukkah 2012? The period of the shavua of the 70th Week of Daniel will be much about the salvation of the remnant of the House of Israel. Might the launching point be significantly linked to Jewish history and Israel? The victory of the few against the many long ago is especially poignant the last night of Hanukkah with the beauty of all the lights ablaze on many hanukkiahs in Israel and all over the world! Yet, then, the darkness dominates in the cold Winter ahead for Israel.

   The other "last day" in Tevet is far less obvious, on Tevet 10. It will be the last day of the 4 fast days mentioned by the prophet Zechariah 8:19. "The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in early summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah." These are 4 fasts in 3 seasons of the year. First is Tammuz 17, then Av 9, then Yom Kippur, then Tevet 10. The sequence begins at midsummer and concludes at winter. The only major fast, for 24-25 hours is on Yom Kippur. The others are minor fasts from sunrise to sundown. Each is promised to become "festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah." When? When for Tevet 10?

   In 3 of the 4 Gospels, Christ mentions that when the bridegroom is with you, you will not fast. When the bridegroom is taken from you, then you will fast. The implication? When the groom returns to spirit away his bride to go to the wedding canopy, the chuppah, then the fasting is over. There are 10 days from Tevet 1 until Tevet 10 ends. There are 10 days of patiently waiting we read about in The Book of Revelation. Might they be days in Tevet from 1 through 10? Many of us are looking to the remaining days of Hanukkah 2012 and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Lord. If we remain past Hanukkah day 7, then the last day of day 8 bears consideration. If we remain after Tevet 1, then Tevet 3 or Tevet 10 deserves serious consideration. Tevet 10 ending will be the evening of 12-23, it will be 3 days from 12-25, and end "the last day" of  4 days of fasting while it begins "the last day" before Christmas. Would that be a time to surprise many! The Master has promised He will come "at a time few expect." Last minute shopping, baking, decorating, wrapping of presents, resolving final details of gatherings with family and friends are not things one would really associate with eagerly awaiting The Blessed Hope. It will be a stunning event when He does arrive to take home His bride, body, the eternal family. Come quickly, Lord...

 

With Love and Shalom,

Jean