The Day of Dedication 2011

De!cation Rebuilding god’s church & Restoring the truth

What is Dedication?

This is a holy convocation that has dual meanings 1. The rebuilding of God’s church & the restoration of the truth 2. Committing your entire life unto the purpose of serving & obeying God (see presentation on “This Spiritual House”)

God established 3 great feasts in the law for us to keep every year throughout our generations including Passover, Pentecost & Tabernacles The leaders of Israel called for all of the children of Israel to celebrate certain feasts & fasts based on events that occurred during their time, which includes the Day of Dedication We acknowledge the Day of Dedication because we are also looking for the rebuilding of God’s Church & the restoration of the truth ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Key Terms Rebuild: to build something again after it has been destroyed; to remodel or make extensive changes to Restore: to return to former condition, place or position Cornerstone: the first stone set in construction of the foundation and serves as a reference for other stones, thus determining the position of the entire structure Foundation: the natural or prepared ground or base on which a building rests or the beginning of something Altar: a table or structure where one brings offerings of

thanksgiving unto the Lord; it is often the place where communion (Lord’s supper) is blessed and consecrated Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

2 Historical Events There are 2 major historical events that we reference in the bible when celebrating the Day of Dedication The time when Israel dedicated the foundation of the new temple under the Medes & Persian empire The time when Israel dedicated the altar of God under the Greek empire Both of these events showcase the rebuilding of God’s church and restoration of his truth Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Dedication of the Foundation Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

History Reveals....

During the reign of the Medes & Persians, Cyrus the Great was commanded by God to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1: 1-4) By this time, the first temple of God that King Solomon built had long been destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon Many of the children of Israel returned to Jerusalem to begin the rebuilding & were provided with bountiful resources including silver, gold, precious vessels & animals Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Cyrus the Great

Dedication of the Foundation Israel built the altar first and began making sacrifices during the 7th month on the Day of Trumpets (Ezra 3: 1-3) The foundation was not laid until the second year on the 24th day of the ninth month (Ezra 3: 8-10 & Ezra 3: 11-13) They celebrated the laying of the foundation with praising and giving thanks to God Some people shouted with joy while others wept remembering the temple that Solomon built Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

The Cornerstone & Foundation The cornerstone & foundation are critical to the integrity of a building’s structure The angles and lines of an entire building is determined by the cornerstone; therefore it needs to be placed first with great precision When laying a foundation, a builder needs to first dig deep to a stable rock level They then lay the foundation with great stones If the cornerstone or foundation are not constructed properly, the whole building is off Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Spiritual Relevance Christ is our chief cornerstone & foundation The laws of God are also represented by the foundation The physical structure of a church is not nearly as important as a church’s doctrine, which can be likened to its spiritual structure Christ is also a builder and is responsible for constructing a church’s spiritual structure (or doctrine) ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Spiritual Relevance Just as a physical building’s lines & angles are measured by the cornerstone, Christ measures his churches with precision, ensuring that they measure up to his holy standards He lays the foundation of his churches by giving its members the laws of God, which includes the 10 commandments & testimonies of Jesus Christ When a church’s doctrine is built upon the laws of God, this will ensure that the integrity of the church’s spiritual structure is not compromised with the pagan beliefs of this world ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Spiritual Relevance NOT EVERY CHURCH in this world is considered a church of God Why?.....many religious systems in this world have developed ideologies that do NOT advocate the keeping of God’s laws, replacing them with their own man-made traditions such as...

Worshipping on Sunday as opposed to Sabbath Celebrating Easter instead of Passover Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Dedication of the Altar Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

History Reveals....

Under the Greek empire, there was a very wicked king by the name of Antiochus IV Epiphanies (I Maccabees 1: 10) A proclamation was sent out to his entire kingdom stating that all people should be “one people” He wanted all nations to abandon their beliefs & to follow his law & religion Many of the Israelites but NOT ALL consented to the religion of Antiochus (I Maccabees 1: 41 -43) ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

History Reveals....

The Greek King banned the Israelites from offering sacrifices in the sanctuary as well as following the sabbaths & feasts Instead, they were commanded to set up altars to Greek gods in the holy sanctuary as well as sacrifice swine’s flesh (“abomination of the desolation) & other unclean beasts Any person who failed to obey the law of Antiochus would be put to death (I Maccabees 1: 44 -50) Many of God’s people were killed because they refused to eat swine’s flesh & worship idols ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Dedication of the Altar On the 25th day of the ninth month Chisleu, which corresponds loosely to December 25th, King Antiochus commanded that the “abomination of desolation,” be sacrificed on the altar of God (I Maccabees 1: 54 -64) This was a great feast day of the Greeks who made sacrificed to their gods and celebrated the rebirth of the sun god, Apollos

©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Apollos

Dedication of the Altar Seeing all the abominable things that Antiochus & his people had done to Israel & the temple, the family of the Maccabees decided to fight back by defeating their enemies, purifying the temple and building a new altar (I Maccabees 1: 41-42 & I Maccabees 4: 36-51) On the 25th day of the ninth month, the new altar was dedicated to God, which was exactly three years after the “abomination of desolation” was sacrificed on the altar The people of Israel celebrated this great victory with days of dedication, songs, prayers and sacrificial offerings The days of dedication were to be kept yearly in the same manner of the Feast of Tabernacles (I Maccabees 4: 52-59) ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Spiritual Relevance On slide 3, we defined the ALTAR as.....

1. God’s table where one brings offerings of thanksgiving & the place where the communion of Christ (bread & grape juice) is blessed and consecrated The altar spiritually represents the church It is in the church that we bring bring forth offerings of thanksgiving in the form of songs, prayers, testimonies & tithes as well as feast on the word of God, which is represented by the communion Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Swine’s Flesh & Idols Swine’s flesh (pig) was considered to be unclean and was not supposed to be used as a sacrificial offering We also know that God strictly forbids the worshipping of any idols During the rule of the Greeks, Antiochus not only wanted all people to worship idols but to have them placed in the temple of God Antiochus also commanded that swine’s flesh be offered upon the altar of God What Antiochus did was an abomination because the temple & altar are very holy ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

A Refrain in Time What Antiochus did during the Greek empire serves as a refrain for what is happening today His actions represent the following......

Every church that proclaims the name of Christ but does NOT obey his laws entirely Instead, they attempt to intermingle their own ideologies & man-made traditions (i.e. Swine’s flesh & idols) with the truth, forming their own belief system When a church does this their offerings and belief system is deemed unclean in the eyes of the Lord Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Bringing it All Together The Day of Dedication, as with all holy convocations, is prophetic of our salvation and the 2nd coming of Christ To reiterate, the theme of Dedication is centered around the REBUILDING of God’s church & the RESTORING of the truth

©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Rebuilding Remember that rebuild means to build something again after it has been destroyed; to remodel or make extensive changes to When we say rebuild God’s “church” this not only depicts a physical structure but also a body of people God’s children are currently scattered throughout the world & are corrupted by sin In the last days, he will begin to open the eyes of the blind saints & gather them together in churches or booths He will “lay the foundation” in the hearts of all his children by teaching us the laws God; thus, remodeling us on a spiritual level with his word ©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Restore Again, restore is to return to former condition, place or position The law & word was established from the beginning and should be at the forefront of our lives; however, this is not the case The saints lost the truth because it has been trodden down and intermingled with lies for several thousand years During the last days, the everlasting gospel will be preached throughout the world When this gospel is preached, the Holy Spirit will be sent out, & his people will be able to distinguish between clean doctrine vs unclean doctrine & holy vs unholy Once more, God’s truth will rise above all the lies & be returned to the saints that lost it & he will remove his name from the churches that misrepresented him Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

How Do We Celebrate this Day? Because the foundation was laid on the 24th day of Chisleu (December), during the time of the Medes & Persian, we celebrate the Day of Dedication on the Sabbath closest to that date This year, December 24th happens to be a Sabbath; therefore, we will acknowledge the Day of Dedication then Because this is a holy Sabbath we refrain from any common or recreational activities We decorate our church in white to represent the purity of God’s truth and gold to represent the eternal life we hope to gain Our holy ceremonies includes songs of praise, prayer ceremony, hand washing & communion as well as testimonies

Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Special Thanks This presentation was based on classes written

by Evelyn C. Pointer including....

“The Dedication” “The Dedication of the Foundation “The Dedication of the Altar”

©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Questions?

For questions regarding this presentation please contact us via email at info@householdofisrael.org or by phone at 219.949.9308

Š2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved