From the Desk of Jeff King

The mark of God

Ten years ago the LORD revealed to Alisa and I the significance of the Biblical feasts, which were dress rehearsals for the first and second coming of Messiah Yeshua. We also learned that the Christian holidays we once regarded as sacred and honoring to God were in fact counterfeits and offensive to Him.

That introduction launched my study into the Hebraic roots of Christianity, the most enriching and amazing journey of my life. Reading Scripture has become a hunt for buried treasure; I do my digging with Hebrew and Greek Bible software as well as other resources. I rejoice every time the Holy Spirit leads me to a nugget, but I am always humbled by this reality: the more I know, the less I know. God's Word is too vast and deep. Who can know it? Paul writes in Ephesians 3:8 that the riches of Maschiach (Christ) are unsearchable.

In spite of my limitations, God has used the Biblical feasts to build a foundation of understanding. In recent weeks that area of study yielded some fresh insights. The Hebrew word for "feasts," mow'ed, can describe a sign or signal. As Passover approached in late April, I felt the LORD was signaling His church to rally around this Old Testament festival. I didn't know why fully until I heard a teaching by Peter and Christie Michas of Messengers of Messiah, a Hebraic Roots ministry in Southern California. I reviewed the Scriptures they presented and agreed with their conclusion: Passover is linked to the sign or mark of God and our eternal security in Him. Here is what I gleaned from the Michas teaching and my own study:

Passover is the most significant Biblical feast because it points to God's finished work of redemption, the death and resurrection of His Son. Those who honor God's calendar, specifically Passover, receive the sign of God (Exodus 13:9), which we believe is the tav, the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet. In Rev. 22:13 Yeshua identifies Himself the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. In Hebrew it is translated Aleph and Tav.

In the ancient Hebrew alphabet, which is a pictographic script (see chart), the tav resembles two crossed sticks or a cross. It represents a mark, sign or signature. One of the most significant uses of the tav is found in columns of the Great Isaiah Scroll, one of the original seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in 1947. Eleven ancient tav symbols appear in margins next to Messianic passages.

The tav also is used in Ezekiel 9:4 to mark Jews who reject idolatry. The seal appears on their forehead, protecting them from God's wrath. In Ezekiel 8, God exposes the abominations that have incited His anger, which include an image of jealousy (scholars identify it as the fertility goddess Astarte, also known as Ishtar or Easter) and Tammuz worship. Tammuz was a sun god and counterfeit savior born on Dec. 25. Those two abominations flourish in the church today. Astarte (Easter) and Tammuz (Christmas) were assimilated into Christianity in the fourth century.

Similarly, the beast in Rev. 13:16 causes people to receive a mark on the forehead or right hand, but it is not a barcode, tattoo or implanted chip as many Christians are taught in the church. The mark we receive reflects the belief system we take into our heart and mind, symbolically the forehead and hand. It is unseen by man.

Revelation 13:18 asks those with understanding to calculate the number of the beast. The Greek word for "calculate," psephizo, means to count or vote with pebbles. The ancient Greeks voted by dropping pebbles into urns. In a court of justice a white pebble represented acquittal and a black stone condemnation. Psephizo also is used in Luke 14:28 when Yeshua asks would-be disciples to "count" the cost before following Him. The Greek noun psephos, a derivative of psephizo, is rendered "stone" in Rev. 2:17. Here the Lord says He will give a white stone to those who overcome the beast system. The mark we receive is determined by how we vote with our stone. Our vote reflects what is in our heart and mind.

Peter Michas believes the Greek letter chi, which looks like an "X," represents the mark of the beast. The chi and the Hebrew letter tav look almost identical, suggesting that Satan has counterfeited God's mark. The "X" is an ancient symbol linked to sun worship. Tammuz, whom the Greeks called Bacchus, was depicted with chi symbols, or crosses, on his headband. When people violate God's calendar by observing Christmas and Easter they invite the beast's mark. They choose the black stone.

Choosing the white stone requires us to heed Exodus 13:3-9, a passage included in the cube-shaped boxes that Jewish males wear on their forehead and left arm in morning prayer: "Remember this day (Passover) in which you went out of Eygpt, out of the house of bondage . . . . It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the LORD's law (Torah) may be in your mouth; for with a strong hand the LORD has brought you out of Egypt." The Hebrew word for "sign," 'owth, can mean a mark, beacon or signal. The word "remember" in Hebrew, zakar, represents a mark that can be recognized. It is used in the infinitive form, meaning the subject should be remembered constantly. Why remember Passover? Not only did God's strong hand free the Israelites from slavery, it delivered us from the bondage of sin through the Passover sacrifice of His Son.

God grants that pardon freely when we place our trust in Yeshua alone, turn from sin and serve Him obediently. To maintain a healthy relationship with Him it is critical that we mature in our faith (1 Pet. 2:2), divide the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) and worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). God will reveal the truth, including the significance of His calendar, to all who seek it earnestly. But with this knowledge comes accountability. When we are exposed to the truth we must choose between the white and black stone, and Yeshua asks us to count the cost. God will mark us accordingly.