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Hi everyone, welcome to 2011studies.
This one is part three of the Purim study.
This may conclude it.
I think I am going to go back to the waters of Noah
and the 377 days next.
I wanted to just mention a quick quote from "Countdown."
This is something that has to do with what I am doing right now.
I wanted to present this
because I think it is important that we continue to study God's Word.
"As of this writing,
which is about 700 days away
from the time set forth in this book,
the 153 days from May 21, 2011 to October 21, 2011,
it is important to note that God, through the study of His Word,
will still disclose further information in the coming months.
Updates will be made and continued study will be done.
Continued editing of this book has been done to ensure accurate information."
I wanted to quote that
because this is what we are doing right now
as we are studying the 377 days
of the waters of Noah
and on into the Feast of Tabernacles of 2012.
But, today we are going to be looking at
some of the language mentioned in Esther
and how that relates to...
Well, it relates to the Book of Daniel,
but there are also some tie-ins with the Feast of Tabernacles too,
which I was seeing today.
That is pretty interesting.
I had mentioned in this
somewhere...I hope I can find it here.
I try to do this in front of every study
so that you can follow along somewhat
in the book.
I will get to it.
It is one of those things where I am going to be reading it,
and I will see it and mention it.
There are certain pages in the "Countdown" book
that go over some of this stuff.
But then again, there is new information
that the more I study, the more is coming forth
from God's Word by God giving more information.
This is titled: "Purim Three-Sending Portions One to Another and Giving Gifts to the Poor"
Esther 9:14:
"And the king commanded it so to be done:
and the decree was given at Shushan;
and they hanged Haman's ten sons."
Verse 15: "For the Jews that [were] in Shushan
gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar,
and slew three hundred men at Shushan;
but on their prey they laid not their hand."
Verse 16: "But the other Jews
that were in the king's provinces
gathered themselves together, and stood for their lives,
and had rest from their enemies,
and slew of their foes seventy and five thousand..."
(75,000)
"...but they laid not their hands on the prey,"
I did not really get into that much.
I know it repeats it twice,
so I think it is important.
I will go back to that.
Maybe I will post it on the computer just to conclude this study.
Verse 17: "On the thirteenth day of the month Adar;
and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they,
and made it a day of feasting and gladness."
Verse 18: "But the Jews that [were] at Shushan
assembled together on the thirteenth [day] thereof,
and on the fourteenth thereof;
and on the fifteenth [day] of the same they rested,
and made it a day of feasting and gladness."
By the way, when I mention Purim 2012,
I am speaking in general terms
when it talks about that day
as far as the date itself.
This was obviously more than just a single day celebration.
Even after that day
the letters of peace and truth, I believe,
are what is showing that the Gospel still goes forth until the end of time
until Christ returns
in power and great glory.
Verse 19: "Therefore the Jews of the villages,
that dwelt in the unwalled towns,
made the fourteenth day of the month Adar
[a day of] gladness and feasting, and a good day,
and of sending portions one to another."
That is going to be part of this study too.
The two days of Purim are made a festival.
Verse 20: "And Mordecai wrote these things,
and sent letters unto all the Jews
that [were] in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus,
[both] nigh and far,"
Verse 21: "To stablish [this] among them,
that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar,
and the fifteenth day of the same, yearly,"
Verse 22: "As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies,
and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy,
and from mourning into a good day:
that they should make them days of feasting and joy,
and of sending portions one to another,
and gifts to the poor."
That is our focus today on that study,
on those phrases: "sending portions one to another,"
and "gifts to the poor."
Verse 23: "And the Jews undertook to do as they had begun,
and as Mordecai had written unto them;"
Verse 24: "Because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,
the enemy of all the Jews,
had devised against the Jews to destroy them,
and had cast Pur, that [is], the lot,
to consume them, and to destroy them;"
Now, point one in this is
there are two mentions of the Jews overtaking their enemies.
One was 75,000
and the other was 300.
75,000 breaks down to
2 X 2 X 2 X 3 X 5 X 5 X 5 X 5 X 5.
The 300 breaks down to 2 X 2 X 3 X 5 X 5.
Combined it is 75,300
which is 2 X 2 X 3 X 5 X 5 X 251.
Now, this is point two:
the "good day" and "sending portions one to another."
Now, this is the "good day."
These are some of the verses that deal with the days of good.
This is from the Book of Job.
Job 36:7: "He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous:
but with kings [are they] on the throne;
yea, he doth establish them for ever,
and they are exalted."
Verse 8: "And if [they be] bound in fetters,
[and] be holden in cords of affliction;"
(which basically Jeremiah was)
Verse 9: "Then he showeth them their work,
and their transgressions that they have exceeded."
Verse 10: "He openeth also their ear to discipline,
and commandeth that they return from iniquity."
Verse 11: "If they obey and serve [him],
they shall spend their days in prosperity..."
That word "prosperity" is "good."
"...and their years in pleasures."
That is pleasantness and sweetness.
Now in verse 11: "If they obey and serve [him],
"they shall spend their days in..." (good) "...and their years in..." (pleasantness).
Verse 12: "But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword,
and they shall die without knowledge."
When sending portions one to another and gifts to the poor,
we see a really dramatic relationship to understanding the Word of God.
And "...they shall die without knowledge,"
is another way of saying that.
This is a joyful time also.
This is seen in the Book of Nehemiah
during the Feast of Tabernacles.
So, when we see the phrase: "sending portions one to another,"
and "gifts to the poor,"
it relates to the understanding of God's Word.
It also relates to a very joyful time.
I think the believers are going to experience that.
The more and more we understand from God's Word,
the more and more we realize
that there has to be a reason for joy, this joy and great gladness.
I believe the reason is because God is going to turn things around shortly,
and we are going to understand what God is doing
through the study of His Word.
This is going to create an incredible happiness
for the believers in Christ.
King Nebuchadnezzar declared, after his understanding returned to him,
that God's dominion is the one that goes to the end.
This has a lot to do with the letters of peace and truth,
the message of good and comfortable words going out,
that God is still saving and people are still going to come into the kingdom.
The believers have an active role
in bringing this Gospel,
bringing the good news.
This active role of actually participating in that
is an incredible blessing.
We are going to be doing more and more of that
as we get toward the end
because this Gospel of the kingdom will go forth
as a witness onto all nations, and then the end will come.
Sending portions one to another
is also associated with the Feast of Tabernacles.
Now, this is Nehemiah 8:5:
"And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people;
(for he was above all the people;)
and when he opened it, all the people stood up:"
Verse 6: "And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God.
And all the people answered, Amen, Amen,
with lifting up their hands:
and they bowed their heads,
and worshipped the LORD with [their] faces to the ground."
Verse 7: "Also Jeshua, and Bani,
and Sherebiah, Jamin..."
I am not going to read all these names,
but it goes on and lists a bunch of names.
"...and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law:
and the people [stood] in their place."
Now, this was Ezra's role
as he stood up in front of everybody
to "cause the people to understand the law."
Now, this is all related to the Feast of Tabernacles, by the way.
Verse 8: "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly,
and gave the sense, and caused [them] to understand the reading."
Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites comfort the people.
Verse 9: "And Nehemiah, which [is] the Tirshatha,
and Ezra the priest the scribe,
and the Levites that taught the people,
said unto all the people,
This day [is] holy unto the LORD your God;
mourn not, nor weep.
For all the people wept,
when they heard the words of the law."
Verse 10: "Then he said unto them, Go your way,
eat the fat, and drink the sweet,
and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared:
for [this] day [is] holy unto our LORD:
neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength."
This is very similar language to what is found in the Book of Esther
of sending portions.
Now, eating "the fat" relates to God's blessings.
There are some verses that talk about this
like in Genesis 27:28:
"Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven,
and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:"
This also relates...
There are other verses that speak of God's blessing relating to the fatness of the earth.
"Drink the sweet."
Now, "drink the sweet" relates to God's Word and His commandments.
We see two examples of this.
Exodus 15:25: "And he cried unto the LORD;
and the LORD showed him a tree..."
This is speaking of Moses.
"...[which] when he had cast into the waters,
the waters were made sweet:
there he made for them
a statute and an ordinance, and there he..." (tested them or) "...proved them,"
The "waters were made sweet" relates to the statues and ordinances.
Verse 26: "And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God,
and wilt do that which is right in his sight,
and wilt give ear to his commandments,
and keep all his statutes,
I will put none of these diseases upon thee,
which I have brought upon the Egyptians:
for I [am] the LORD that healeth thee."
Right there you see that the "waters were made sweet"
relates to keeping God's commandments and ordinances.
The Shepherd whose mouth is sweet is bringing God's Word.
This is a Song of Solomon.
Song of Solomon 5:15: "His legs [are as] pillars of marble,
set upon sockets of fine gold:
his countenance [is] as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars."
Verse 16: "His mouth [is] most sweet:
yea, he [is] altogether lovely.
This [is] my beloved, and this [is] my..."
Now, it says here: "this is my friend."
That word "friend" is "shepherd."
"...this [is] my..." (shepherd) "...O daughters of Jerusalem."
The way you can compare that
is because it is the same word that is used
in Psalm 23:1 where it says: "The Lord [is] my shepherd; I shall not want."
It is the same word.
"...This [is] my beloved, and this [is] my friend..."
(my shepherd) "...O daughters of Jerusalem."
So, here you have
the shepherd whose mouth is sweet,
bringing in God's word.
You have the waters turning into sweetness.
That is related also to the keeping of God's commandments and ordinances.
They were commanded
to eat the fat,
which represents God's blessing,
and drink the sweet, which relates to God's Word
and the promises of the work of Christ and what He did as a shepherd.
Now, we are going back to Nehemiah 8
where Nehemiah and Ezra
were speaking to the people.
Nehemiah 8:11: "So the Levites stilled all the people,
saying, Hold your peace,
for the day [is] holy; neither be ye grieved."
Verse 12: "And all the people went their way to eat,
and to drink, and to send portions..."
Now, remember in the Book of Esther; that was the same thing.
They were sending portions one to another and gifts to the poor.
"...and to make great mirth..."
Mirth is rejoicing, great happiness, great joyfulness.
"...because they had understood
the words that were declared unto them."
That is what is causing the great joy.
Now, we are looking at today.
We passed two important dates
that were related to Christ's coming.
Now, we see as they were celebrating actually
the Feast of Tabernacles back then,
that they were understanding God's Word.
This is one good reason why I believe the Feast of Tabernacles
is so related to Christ's coming.
Because, we are going to get to a point
where we are going to understand God's Word
more completely then we have, say in the past year.
A lot of that has to do with the full duration of the flood.
A lot of that has to do with the Book of Esther and Purim.
A lot of it has to do with God continually releasing information
as we continue to study.
If you are not studying, you are not going to know this stuff.
It is just that simple.
Hopefully, some of these studies are helping people
to not only to prepare more and more to proclaim the Gospel
and support ministries that are presenting the Gospel,
but also in your personal lives to be continuing to share the Gospel.
This is the day of salvation.
Nehemiah 12: "And all the people went their way to eat,
and to drink, and to send portions,
and to make great..." (joyfulness, great feasting)
"...because they had understood the words
that were declared unto them."
Verse 13: "And on the second day
were gathered together
the chief of the fathers of all the people,
the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe,
even to understand the words of the law."
Verse 14: "And they found written in the law
which the Lord had commanded by Moses,
that the children of Israel should dwell in booths
in the feast of the seventh month:"
Verse 15: "And that they should publish
and proclaim in all their cities,
and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount,
and fetch olive branches, and pine branches,
and myrtle branches, and palm branches,
and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as [it is] written."
I am going to have to do a study
and break down these certain trees that are mentioned.
I have done this before, but it has been a while.
Verse 16: "So the people went forth, and brought [them],
and made themselves booths,
every one upon the roof of his house,
and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God,
and in the street of the water gate,
and in the street of the gate of Ephraim."
The gate of Ephraim,
remember the name "Ephraim" means "double fruit."
Verse 17: "And all the congregation of them
that were come again out of the captivity
made booths, and sat under the booths:
for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun
unto that day had not the children of Israel done so.
And there was very great gladness."
Verse 18: "Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day,
he read in the book of the law of God.
And they kept the feast seven days;
and on the eighth day [was] a solemn assembly,
according unto the manner."
Now, this celebration of coming out of captivity,
coming out of captivity relates
with everything about fleeing fallen Babylon,
the houses of worship that have fallen
and fleeing to God.
His righteousness is as the mountains.
We flee to God and His Word.
By the way, the solemn assembly I just mentioned,
"on the eighth day [was] a solemn assembly, according unto the manner,"
here is what I was talking about earlier.
It is chapter in 15 of the book "Countdown."
The solemn assembly is mentioned on page 370.
What we covered in prior studies
was "seeking to change times and laws"
or "seeking to change times and decrees."
That is on page 384.
That is what Satan does near the end.
He seeks to change the times and decrees,
which relates to God's established Word.
Also, the decrees that went forth in the Book of Esther
ultimately led to Haman and his ten sons being destroyed.
We saw in the book of Daniel
that they are prolonged for a season and a time.
We touched on that.
Also, his body was given unto the flame.
The word "body" there
meant "hard rain" or "violent rain."
It is more like Satan's dominion is removed,
instead of the destruction on the last day when Christ comes
and consumes Satan with the brightness of His Coming.
So, there is a difference there.
We have to delineate between his kingdom or his dominion being removed
and also Christ destroying him on the very last day.
So, there is a difference.
I mentioned this a little bit,
but let us get into this a little bit more.
The great mirth, the great rejoicing,
is also associated with God turning around the captivity.
This is Jeremiah 33:6:
"Behold, I will bring it health and cure,
and I will cure them,
and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth."
Remember that the letters of peace and truth went out during Purim.
Jeremiah 33:7: "And I will cause the captivity of Judah
and the captivity of Israel to return,
and will build them, as at the first."
Verse 8: "And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity,
whereby they have sinned against me;
and I will pardon all their iniquities,
whereby they have sinned,
and whereby they have transgressed against me."
Verse 9: "And it shall be to me a name of joy,
a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth,
which shall hear all the good that I do unto them:
and they shall fear and tremble
for all the goodness and for all the prosperity
that I procure unto it."
Verse 10: "Thus saith the LORD;
Again there shall be heard in this place,
which ye say [shall be] desolate
without man and without beast,
[even] in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem,
that are desolate, without man,
and without inhabitant, and without beast,"
This is interesting language.
I was seeing that the desolation that Satan brings about
could result in "without inhabitant" and "without man" or "beast."
The thing about that
is this language is almost suggesting a turnaround of that.
But, I have not really fully studied this completely.
There is just no doubt about it.
The abomination that is set up in the houses of worship,
the fallen houses of worship,
will become a desolation.
God's judgment will not linger
any further past than what He has allowed
or will allow.
Jeremiah 33:10: "Thus saith the LORD;
Again there shall be heard in this place,
which ye say [shall be] desolate without man and without beast,
[even] in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem,
that are desolate, without man,
and without inhabitant, and without beast,"
Verse 11: "The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness,
the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride,
the voice of them that shall say,
Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD [is] good;
for his mercy [endureth] for ever:
[and] of them that shall bring the sacrifice
of praise into the house of the LORD.
For I will cause to return the captivity of the land,
as at the first, saith the LORD."
Now, when He is talking about returning the captivity of the land,
I think the proper way of saying that is "I will turn around the captivity of the land."
Those who were enduring during the "great tribulation" period,
God reverses things.
The great mirth (rejoicing) that was found in those other passages we were reading
relates to the voice of joy, the voice of gladness,
the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.
That is the connection there.
Now, gifts to the poor...
This is an interesting commandment
that went into the Book of Esther.
We will see a connection actually with the New Testament
and with what Christ proclaimed
concerning sending portions one to another and gifts to the poor.
Remember too, that the term in the Old Testament of "poor and needy"
relates so much to those who need the Gospel.
God is a God to the fatherless.
He is a God to the poor and needy.
He answers the cry of the poor.
When we see that
and when we see in the Book of Esther the "gifts to the poor,"
I believe that has everything to do with the language used in Esther
and also what we read prior.
This language of eating the fat and drinking the sweet
and sending rejoicing and sending gifts to the poor
and portions one to another,
I honestly believe that all relates to the Gospel of Christ
and the good news of the message of the kingdom,
forgiveness, salvation, all of that.
So, we have to tie this language in to see how...
Gifts to the poor... I think in Matthew and Luke it will really underscore this.
Matthew 11:4: "Jesus answered and said unto them,
Go and show John again those things
which ye do hear and see:
Verse 5: "The blind receive their sight,
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."
Right there is "gifts to the poor."
This has everything that is related to bringing the Gospel.
"...the poor have the gospel preached to them."
Verse 6: "And blessed is [he], whosoever shall not be offended in me."
This is Luke 4:17:
This is it.
This is sort of a short study.
This is another illustration of the poor and the Gospel.
Luke 4:17: "And there was delivered unto him
the book of the prophet Esaias.
And when he had opened the book,
he found the place where it was written,"
Verse 18: "The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me,
because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;
he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty them that are bruised,"
Verse 19: "To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."
Verse 20: "And he closed the book,
and he gave [it] again to the minister,
and sat down.
And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue
were fastened on him."
Verse 21: "And he began to say unto them,
This day is the scripture fulfilled in your ears."
So, you have two examples.
The poor have the Gospel preached unto them,
and Christ saying here in Luke 4:18:
"The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me,
because he hath anointed me
to preach the gospel to the poor..."
There is no better gift; that is for sure.
You are sending gifts to the poor.
The whole representation of that might have been, back then, something different.
But, I think the words used
in Esther
and in the other sections of the Scriptures,
show that this is very spiritual language.
God chooses these words very, very carefully
and His commandments.
This is probably going to be a rap up of Purim.
I am going to continue to study it though
because from last year until this year,
I believe there was a lot more that was learned
regarding this.
I also want to tie this to the letters of peace and truth going forth
in a great way.
We can associate this also with the waters of Noah.
We are into that 7,000 year anniversary.
We are in the cycle of the 377 days.
We are going to look next at the 377 days.
I have already completed one study on that.
But, I am going to continue to study that too.
I hope these studies help.
I really do.
I believe that amidst all the dates that have been set
after October and after May,
people were guessing, guessing, guessing.
Could it be this date? Could it be that date?
We need to stick to God's word and the focus of the feasts.
The solemn assembly,
I believe, has a lot to do with the return of Christ
as the bride and the bridegroom meet up.
My focus in regards to Christ's return
is the Feast of Tabernacles.
I think that in Nehemiah
as they were celebrating the feasts,
the focus there was the great joy and gladness,
because they understood the Words of the book.
They understood God's Word at that point.
That is a great reason for joy and gladness.
Even in the Book of Esther,
the good words went forth, the letters of peace and truth.
That is all related to God's blessing.
It is good to have the good Words in the day ahead.
So, we can be very confident.
We can rest assured that Christ is coming.
We know that.
We can also be very happy
that God has given us strength through the time of "great tribulation."
Then, when these reversals begin to happen,
we are going to really understand a lot more.
God's mercy, His longsuffering, was for the reason for salvation.
This is a great reason to rejoice
and praise God for that, because that is what it is all about.
When you see this world winding up and the clock ticking down,
you have got to praise God.
We are in a great exciting time.
We have the opportunity to bring the Gospel.
I want to encourage everybody to do that at this point,
especially as we approach the Feast of Purim.
We see that the letters of peace and truth will go forth.
This year, 2012, could be highly significant.
So, we are going to continue to study these things.
Hopefully, as we get closer to the Feast of Tabernacles,
we will understand more of God's Word like they did back then in the Book of Nehemiah.
God bless everyone. My name is Marty Cattuzzo.
"Countdown to the Last Day" is the book.
I can still send that out to anybody.
My email address is 2011studies@gmail.com if anybody is interested.
Thank you, talk to you later.