From the Desk of Jeff King

The mark of God

When God introduced His feast days in the Old Testament, He wasn't scheduling a potluck. The Hebrew word for "feast," mow'ed, means sign or signal. What was God signaling the ancient Israelites? The first and second coming of Messiah. God's appointed times were dress rehearsals for those future events.

Passover is the spring feast that commemorates the death and resurrection of Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth, our Passover Lamb. Two years ago in March, as Christians around the world were preparing to observe Easter, I picked up a different signal: God was calling His church to rally around Passover, which fell in late April in 2008.

I also felt a sense of urgency but didn't know why. Then I heard a teaching by Peter and Christie Michas of Messengers of Messiah, a Hebraic Roots ministry in Southern California. I took notes and searched the Scriptures myself. And I agree with their conclusion: Passover is linked to the sign or mark of God and our eternal security in Him. Here's why:

Passover is the most significant Biblical feast because it points to God's finished work of redemption. God tells Moses in Exodus 13:9 that Passover "shall be a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes." What kind of sign or mark would God give those who keep Passover? We believe it is the seal introduced in Ezekiel 9:4. Here, God places a seal on the forehead of Jews who shun idolatry. The Hebrew text identifies the mark as a "tav," the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet.

In the ancient Hebrew pictographic script (see chart), the tav resembles two crossed sticks or a cross. 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 tav symbols appear in margins next to Messianic passages. In Revelation 22:13 Yeshua calls Himself the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. In Hebrew it is translated Aleph and Tav.

Jews who were sealed with a "tav" in Ezekiel 9 were protected from God's wrath. Ezekiel 8 exposes the offenses that incited God's anger, including veneration of the sun god Tammuz and an image of jealousy, which scholars identity as the fertility goddess Astarte (also known as Ishtar or Easter). Tammuz was a counterfeit savior born on Dec. 25. Those same abominations flourish in the church today. Tammuz (Christmas) and Astarte (Easter) were assimilated into Christianity in the fourth century. If Christ is our Passover, as the apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:7, why does the church smear His name and reputation with an idol every spring?

The Bible also speaks of another sign. Revelation 13:16 says followers of the beast will receive a mark on the forehead or right hand. But it is not a barcode, tattoo or implanted chip as many Christians today believe. 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. Yeshua says in Revelation 2:17 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.

Does that mean God will condemn every Christian who observes Christmas and Easter? No. God knows those who love Him. I believe He extends grace to the believer who participates out of ignorance. But if a Christian learns about the pagan roots of Easter and Christmas and continues to willfully participate, that is dangerous ground spiritually. It is adultery in God's eyes.

If we choose the white stone we need to heed Exodus 13:3, a Passover command included in the cube-shaped boxes that Jewish males wear on their forehead and left arm in morning prayer: "Remember this day in which you went out of Eygpt, out of the house of bondage." 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 true seekers. 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.

Addendum – In preparation for the first Passover in Egypt, God tells Moses in Exodus 12:13 that the blood of sacrificial lambs "shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are." The Hebrew word for "sign," ot (pronounced "oat"), is spelled with the Hebrew letters aleph, vav and tav (modern Hebrew letters displayed). The vav is dropped and inferred only in the pronunciation. That leaves the aleph and tav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In Greek it is translated alpha and omega. Yeshua identifies Himself as the Alpha and Omega in Rev. 22:13. The sign points to the shed blood of Yeshua, our Passover Lamb.