Apocalyptic Hope
return to: Holy Days

"Between the Troubles"... 21 days... "Bein HaMetzarim"
eve of July 19 / day of July 20, 2008 ...three weeks to August 10, 2008

21 DAYS....from assault, to siege, to the takeover and destruction ( burning)
of the Temple in Jerusalem by foreign forces . Date synchronized in history.

24 hour camera on the Western Wall


"Bein HaMetzarim" literally means "between the dire straits".... Lamentations 1:3

eve of Fast of Ab in history was also when Germany declared war on Russia --- August 1, 1914
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Chronology/timelinewwone.htm
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/timeline_of_world_war_one.htm
http://www.ohr.org.il/yhiy/article.php/1088

WW 2 began on September 1,1939 .. but that was not the Fast of Ab
Other sad events that occurred on the Fast of Ab
http://www.yeshuatyisrael.com/TISHA.htm

Shortly, there will come a man to the Temple area in Jerusalem proclaiming to be Israel's Deliverer.
( sitting upon a newly found Ark of the Covenant ?? ....2 Thessalonians 2:4.)
"I AM come in My Father's Name, and ye receive Me not: if another [the Beast, False-Messiah] shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." John 5:43

One wonders if the Temple Mount Area will again be invaded by foreign armies.
It is something to ponder. Whenever that does occur. Jesus tells His own to "flee to the mountains"....don't even look back.  Matthew 24:15-22


 

All Jewish feasts begin the evening before these following dates.

"The 3 Weeks" begins with a Fast of Tammuz ... 17th of Tammuz)
and ends with a Fast of Ab
Fast of "Shiva Assar" [meaning the number "17" ] B' Tammuz commemorating the beginning of the destruction of Jerusalem.
 
Fast of Tammuz (17th of Tammuz) evening of July 19, day of July 20th 2008
...................commemorates the time when the WALLS of Jerusalem were broached by
...................Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC and the siege of the city began.
...................Please see Jeremiah Chapter 39 and Chapter 52; see also 2 Chronicles 36:15-23

The 17th day of Tammuz, is a day of fasting that marks the beginning of a three-week period of national mourning. 
The Jewish Sages set aside this date to commemorate the beginning of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of both the First and Second Temples, some 2,500 and 2,000 years ago, respectively.
The three-week period of mourning culminates on Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the month of Av, on which the Temples were actually destroyed.
--- Arutz Sheva ...2004

1st of AB --- begins evening of August 2, 2008
begins intense 9 days commemorating the historic FAMINE and desolations

9 days later.....
TISHA B' AV---Fast of AB ....the city of Jerusalem fell, and the TEMPLE destroyed.
begins evening of August 9th; day of Sunday August 10th, 2008

Daniel mourned and fasted for 21 days in Daniel Chapter Ten

The 3 Weeks...."between the troubles"(Bein HaMetzarim)

Prior to it's destruction and burning, the city of Jerusalem was under siege for 21 days. Therefore 3 weeks before the Fast of Ab, the commemoration begins. It begins with the date known as "The Fast of Tammuz", or the 17th of Tammuz.
This initiates the time of sorrowing.
As the siege reached famine proportions, so also the abyss of mourning intensified.
God had told His people in Deuteronomy that there would be consequences if they failed to observe his commands. Deuteronomy 28: 53-- 57; Isaiah 29:3;

The 9 Days
From the 1st of Ab to the 9th of Ab.

Nine days before the destruction of the Temple, the siege had taken its' toll. The famine became maddening. The mood became one of utter anguish over the desolations of Jerusalem . The Book of Lamentations is read at this time---and it is empathized; it is eye-witnessed, as it were. One's soul lays down in the dust alongside the fallen city, as mourning for a departed loved one.
Lamentations KJV www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/Lam/Lam001.html



The Fast of Ab....Tisha B'Av commemorating
The destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem----the complete takeover by Babylon.
PSALM 74 "the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary"; "they have cast fire into Thy sanctuary"
and Lamentations 1:10 "The foreigner entered into her sanctuary"

Actually, the loss of the Temple at Jerusalem IS as the loss of a Loved One.
In Ezekiel Chapter 24 verses 16, 21, and 25, God refers to His Temple as "the desire of their eyes"...
as is one's spouse.
The Solemn Black Fast of AB (second only to Yom Kippur) is a day of fasting, deep mourning and loss.

See Jeremiah 50:28 and Jeremiah 51:11 for end-time application.

The Reason for the First Destruction

The LORD had dwelt in His holy Temple at Jerusalem in the magnificent cloud of His Shekinah Glory and Light.
[see 2 Chronicles Chapter 6 and 2 Chronicles 7:1-3].
But because of Idolatry (misplaced priorities, Jeremiah Ch.2 and Ezekiel Ch. 8) God's Presence left the Temple [Ezekiel Ch. 9 and Ezekiel 10].The abandonment penetrated the heart of the people, but only after the consequences were suffered. [Isaiah 6:9-13]

And just as God's Presence had left His temple, so the people were to leave the land, because of their disobedience. What command in particular had the people disobeyed ? The people had disobeyed the command to give the agricultural land a Sabbatical rest every seventh year. Leviticus 25:4-6 and Leviticus 26:34, 35, 43

Every 7 years the people were to allow the ground to lay fallow. They were not to plant any crops, but were to trust in the Lord and live off the crops from the sixth-year harvest, which always produced abundantly. This way the soil could replenish itself. But some did not trust that there would be enough food for the seventh year. And some people were producing and marketing the seventh year, due to greed. They thought God did not care, or that God did not see, or that somehow or other they could get by with disobedience. That wasn't so back then, and it isn't so today. We always reap what we sow. If we sow to the wind, we shall reap the whirlwind.

The First Destruction of the Temple

For 490 years, the agricultural-Sabbatical year was honored by some in Israel , but not by all within the entire nation. Over the years, more and more people let go of this ordinance, and also the ordinance not to buy and sell or go to market on the Sabbath day. They were to make the Sabbath day holy. It was to be set apart. It was to be different from all the other days of the week. It was a home-day, and not a market-day. It was a day to give honor to the LORD Jehovah-Jireh Who provides for all our needs.

Therefore the Lord took the sum of years in which there was disobedience, and divided that sum by 7.
490 years divided by 7 = 70 years. Thus to compensate for the loss, the people were exiled to Babylon for 70 years, in accordance with the Sabbatical years owed ( 2 Chronicles 36:21).

Today, we too here in America are reaping what we have sowed. We too do not give the ground a Sabbatical rest. All the minerals and nutrients that are supposed to be replenished in the ground have not been replenished.
Our foods lack taste and nutrition. Organic vegetables are prized over mass-marketed produce, but even so, the ordinances of God are not being obeyed. Therefore we too are suffering consequences.
We now have global warming, El Nino, La Nina, or La Mama, but really, it's plain disobedience.
It's disobedience to God.
[Exodus 23:11; Leviticus 25:4; Deuteronomy 15;1; and Deut. 31:10, and Jeremiah 34:14]

How important is it nationally to keep Sabbath with the land? Very important. Without letting the land rest, the populace is exiled, (relocated, evacuated, "disengaged" ) so that the land can lay fallow.
"In 1998 natural disasters created more "refugees" than wars and conflict, as declining soil fertility, drought, flooding and deforestation drove 25 million people from their land" Red Cross Report / FEMA www.fema.gov/nwz99/irc624.htm
[Int. Fed. Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies......World Disasters Report...1999]

Do we keep Sabbath with the land here in America? or anywhere? Do we keep the Sabbath holy ?
(Separating / Consecrating one day a week to the Lord....no merchandising, buying or selling ?.....RESTING..... praying, studying the Word, singing hymns, worship, praise, Psalms, adoration, meditation, an attitude of gratitude and reverence for Almighty God etc. ?)

"Sabbath" is a day of the week that we make holy (different, separate) ; it can be ANY day of the week:
"One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it." Romans 14: 5, 6...also Mark 2:27; 2 Corinthians 3:6

Today it is very obvious that we are living in the last days of this age. Judgements have come ( 9-11 ) and more horrendous judgements are yet to come. What is God's prime message to us at this hour ? It is this :

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God,
and GIVE GLORY to Him; for the hour of His judgement is come:
and WORSHIP Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."
Revelation 14: 6,7

Fearing God, giving Him the Glory---
(the praise, the thanksgiving, the credit in all things and especially for Creation versus evolution)
and worshipping Him in prayer, psalms and obedient righteous lives is living in Sabbath relationship with the Lord.
He is our sabbatical rest, when we make Him our priority in all things.

The Second Temple....also destroyed---on the exact same day in history

This first destruction of the Temple was in 586 B.C. under Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
After 70 years in exile, the Jewish people returned to their homeland and re-established their capitol and religious way of life.
They flourished again under the blessings of God.
However, they---like America---forgot where all their blessings came from. Self-sufficiency replaced trust in God.
Apostasy and religious ritual set in , instead of a vibrant personal heartfelt relationship with God.

President Abraham Lincoln's speech to Americans.....
"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown.
But we have forgotten God.
http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/fast.htm

After the Babylonian exile of 70 years was over, the Jewish people came back into their land and rebuilt a Second Temple. Ezra Chapter 5 and Ezra Chapter 6.
This Second Temple was the actual Temple that Jesus worshipped at, during His 33 years here on earth.
Jesus had come to save us all from the enemy within....self-will. But the people of His day rejected their Messiah because He came as a spiritual Messiah , rather than a political Messiah. They were not interested in righting their relationship with God. They wanted deliverance from the oppression of their world government, Rome.
They wanted "peace and security" more than reconciliation.

Physical and National deliverance would have come, had the spiritual deliverance taken place first. But since Jesus was rejected by His people, there was nothing left for them but a fearful prophecy. Yeshua prophesied before His death that Jerusalem would again be besieged and taken.
[Matthew 23:37-39 and Luke 19:43, 44 and Luke 23:28-31 ]
It was the high priest and the Sanhedrin of this Second Temple (the religious-wrong), along with Roman government, and it was all of us sinners, that condemned Jesus to die Isaiah 53.

70 AD destruction of the Second Temple under Titus

The destruction of this Second Temple was inevitable:

"And Jesus went out, and departed from the Temple: and His disciples came to Him for to show Him the buildings of the temple.
And Jesus said unto them,
'See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Matthew 24:1,2.

" O Jerusalem, Jerusalem....how often I would have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! behold your house is left unto you desolate" Matthew 23:37-39

"For the days shall come upon thee that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."
Luke 19: 43,44

"Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold the days are coming, in the which they shall say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us' and to the hills,'Cover us.'
[ Hosea 10:8 and Rev. 6:16 ]
For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Luke 23:28-31

The Second Destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem was in 70 AD under Titus of Rome.



SOON

Shortly, there will come a man to the Temple area in Jerusalem proclaiming to be their Deliverer.
( sitting upon a newly found Ark of the Covenant ?? ....2 Thessalonians 2:4.)
"I AM come in My Father's Name, and ye receive Me not: if another [the Beast, False-Messiah] shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." John 5:43

One wonders if the Temple Mount Area will again be invaded by foreign armies.
It is something to ponder. Whenever that does occur, Jesus tells His own to "flee to the mountains"....don't even look back. Matthew 24:15-22

AND THEN

The False Messiah, the Beast, will plant "the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain"...Daniel 11:45
The outer court of the Temple Mount will not be measured [Revelation 11:2] for it will be given to the cameras of the world, making the whole globe an outer court of the Jerusalem "holy place" for 42 months
Revelation 13:5

YET

After the Great Tribulation [ 3 and 1/2 years after the abomination of desolation arrives at the Holy Place ] , the Lord will come suddenly to His Temple [Malachi 3:1] and after
45 days (please see Addendum of Apocalyptic Hope...) the TRUE Messiah, Jesus Christ will begin His reign for 1,000 years here upon earth.[Rev. 20:4]. At that time, the Millennial Temple will be built under the authority of the Lord Himself [Zechariah 6:12-15].
It is described for us in Ezekiel Chapters 40--43.Then all the nations will come up once a year on the Feast of Tabernacles to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in Jerusalem.
[Zechariah 14:16 and Zechariah 8:18-23]

Then there will no longer be a Fast of Ab. Instead of fasting and mourning, we will execute
true judgement, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother. There will be no more oppression of the widow, the fatherless, the stranger, nor of the poor.. No one will imagine evil against his brother in his heart [Zechariah 7:5-11]. For then, the fast days will become feast days:

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts; the fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah JOY and GLADNESS, and CHEERFUL FEASTS; therefore love the TRUTH and PEACE." Zechariah 8:19

"And the name of that city from that day shall be,"The LORD is there"...
Jehovah-shammah. Ezekiel 48:35



Jeremiah 3:16
"And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days,
saith the LORD, they shall say no more,
" The ark of the covenant of the LORD ":
neither shall it come to mind:
neither shall they remember it;
neither shall they visit it;
neither shall that be done any more"

Where is the only ark of the covenant ( mercy seat, throne of grace ) that counts ?
Up in Heaven:
Hebrews 4:16 and Chapter 9
Rev. 11:19..."And the temple of God was opened in Heaven,
and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament" (also Rev. 15: 5 )
The Ark now in Heaven pre- existed from before the foundation of the earth...long before Temples were built in Jerusalem.

Articles on the Fast of Tammuz and the Fast of Ab:

Tisha B'Av http://www.aish.com/holidays/tisha_bav_and_the_3_weeks/last/main.asp

Tisha B'Av www.betemunah.org/watchman//tishabav.html

Chuck Missler www.khouse.org/articles/prophetic/19970801-20.html

Virtual Jerusalem
http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/judaism/holidays/

From "Aliyah Meyers" at 5 Doves
After the Ten Commandments were given to Israel on Pentecost, Moses ascended Mt. Sinai and remained there 40 days to receive the Tablets of law. Mose descended from the Mount with the Tables of Law written by the hands of God on the 17th of Tammuz and broke the Tablets in anger because the people worshipped the Golden Calf. For forty days Moses set up his tent beyond the camp of Israel, and the people mourned.

On the 1st of Elul (sixth month), Moses ascended again on to the mountain to receive the Second set of Tablets. During this period the Hebrews fasted daily from sunrise to sunset. On the 40th day they fasted from sunset to sunset. This was Tishri 10. On the morning of the 10th,  Moses came down with the tablets in his hands.  All Israel wept with a loud cry and Moses also wept when he saw their repentance. Then God said, "Your repentance is accepted, and this day will remain the Day of Atonement throughout all generations." -- Tanna Eliyahu Zuta, 4
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/june2003/aliyahm614-9.htm

A Time for Mourning www.betemunah.org/watchman//mourning.html

Fast of Ab www.ohrsomayach.org/special/9av/index.htm

Fast of Ab http://www.adat.org/ad09005.htm

Lamentations www.ou.org/yerushalayim/tishabav/eicha.html

Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled all the Messianic prophecies
http://web.archive.org/web/19990503164626/http://www.yeshuatyisrael.com/moshiach.htm

The month of Tammuz
www.ou.org/chagim/roshchodesh/tammuz/default.htm

The Temple Bais HaMikdosh
G Killian www.betemunah.org/watchman//temple.html
L Dolphin www.templemount.org
Prophecy Central www.bible-prophecy.com/temple.htm#templelinks
Ron Graff www.bible-prophecy.com/temple.htm


The Three Weeks www.613.org/3weeks.html
Aish HaTorah http://www.aish.com/holidays/tisha_bav_and_the_3_weeks/default.asp
The 17th of Tammuz www.ou.org/yerushalayim/17betammuz
Tisha B'Av http://www.ou.org/yerushalayim/tishabav/default.htm

Fast of Ab http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Jewish_Feasts/js001.htm
Index http://philologos.org/bpr/
Feast Days http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Jewish_Feasts/index.htm

Ray Stedman: Therapy of Trouble:
www.pbc.org/dp/stedman/adventure/0225.html

Tisha B'Av www.shamash.org/jrf/tbipa/hol/tishabav.html (links)

Israeli news at www.cybertime.net/~ajgood/5bibi.html

 NEWS: Arutz Sheva http://www.israelnationalnews.com/
Arutz 7 Radio http://IsraelNationalRadio.com



ALSO: THE 15th of Ab...TU B'AV
6 days after the Fast of Ab
Saturday August 16, 2008

Day when the Grape Harvest Begins
This festive day comes six days after Tisha B’Ab, the 9^th of Ab, which culminates a three week period of sadness and repentance. Tu B'Av also comes only two weeks before Elul
( Thursday eve August 24, day of August 25, 2006 .... Elul, which begins a forty day period of repentance.)
Are these 40 days similar to Jonah's 40 days in Ninevah : repent or else judgement ?
"There will no sign be given but the sign of Jonah" ... Luke 11:29, 30; Matthew 12:39 and 16:4.)

Tu B’Ab is a festive time sandwiched between two periods of deep, sorrowful repentance
and grave mental sobriety.
http://www.betemunah.org/watchman//tubav.html

Virtual Jerusalem http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/judaism/holidays/

The Fifteenth of Ab www.ou.org/chagim/roshchodesh/av/tubav.htm

Tu B'Av...40 days before Creation
http://www.shalomctr.org/index.cfm/action/read/section/tuav/article/seas24.html
http://www.shalomctr.org/index.cfm/action/contents/section/seas.html

Wearing White
http://www.zipple.com/holidays/tubav.shtml
http://www.jafi.org.il/education/festivls/av/tubeav.html

Dancing in the Olive Groves / Grape Fields / open fields
A Coming Weather Change .... more Moisture and less Light
Olives begin to fill with oil ..."Olive Day " (see Romans 11 )
From this day onward, the sun's strength decreases and hours of darkness increase, as the rainy season approaches. Thoughout Israel, Tu B'Av is marked primarily by an increase in dew and moisture, which induces the flowering of the white squill and stimulates the olives to begin to fill with oil.
http://www.neot-kedumim.org.il/Feat/Holidays/tubav.html

Stopped Gathering Wood
http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/3weeks/vol1no33.html

Tu B' Av
http://students.brooklyn.cuny.edu/hillel/holidays/tubav-link.html

What's In A Name?

Like Tu b'Shevat, another minor feast day, the tu ("too") in Tu b'Av is taken from the letters that "spell" the day's number - 15. Tu is spelled teth-vav, where teth's gematria is 9 and vav's is 6.
So why not use the "expected" spelling of yod (10) he (5)?

Psalm 68: 4 (Ps. 68:17; Ps.104:3; Is. 66:15; 2 Thess. 1: 7, 8 ; Hab. 3:8 )
Because yod-he spells Yah, one of G-d's names; thus teth and vav are used in their place
in order to keep one from accidentally taking G-d's name in vain.
HOWEVER, note the following.

If the "15" HAD been spelled yod-he, then we would have Yah and Av. But note that Av is spelled aleph-beth, which, if the "hard" beth had been used, would spell Ab, meaning "father"; might Tu b'Av, then, be a "hidden" feast named after Abba - FATHER G-D? .......... from Dave Camp dcamp "at" snet.net

The period beginning after Tisha B'Av and continuing through the month of Elul is the period of the 'shiva d'nechemta,' the 'seven weeks of being comforted,' when we read Haftarot in which the great destiny of the Jewish People is foretold, days of glory and peace. The concluding weeks of the seven week period coincides with the month of Elul, the month of 'Teshuvah,' 'Repentance,' and of closeness to Hashem." - 399
G. Ayer

ELUL begins in two weeks ... August 25, 2006
http://www.contactplus.com/products/webcal/samples2/wc200509.html



Harvest seasons of Israel http://www.wcg.org/lit/law/festivals/harvest.htm
Olive Harvest http://www.imakenews.com/gems/e_article000008711.cfm
http://www.heraldmag.org/01jf_1.htm

Date / Fig Harvest
http://atschool.eduweb.co.uk/sbs777/saccal/calbook/part2-4.html

Story of the date http://www.hadiklaim.com/tech_white_3.htm
?


www.cybertime.net/~ajgood