Leviticus 21 Star Chart: Clockwise from when "the (Castor) daughter of any (Pollux) priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her (Pollux) father" (21:9), so "she shall be (solar) burnt with fire" (21:9) is 150° minutes later. The punishment of death was to be by (lunar) stoning first, according to Leviticus 20:2, Leviticus 20:27, and Deuteronomy 22:21. Burning (Leviticus 20:14; 21:9) does not mean death by fire, or burning alive, but, as we may clearly see from Joshua 7:15 and Joshua 7:25, burning the corpse after death. This was also the case in Leviticus 21:9 and Genesis 38:24. Leviticus 23 Star Chart: Clockwise from when "the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying, Speak unto the (Gemini) children of Israel, and (red radius) say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the (Shekinah) Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done" (23:1-3). That is six laps (6 x 360°). But "the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your (red radius) dwellings" is another lap (360°) making 2520°. "These are the feasts of the (Shekinah) Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons. In the fourteenth day of the first month (almost full moon) at even (sun on red radius horizon) is the Lord's (Aries) passover" (with Milky Way horseradish) (23:4-5). That is one lap (360°). "And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of (lunar white matzo) unleavened bread unto the (Shekinah) Lord: seven days ye must eat (lunar white matzos) unleavened bread" (23:6). That is seven laps (7 x 360° = 2520°). "In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation (Ophiuchus, Hercules, Perseus, Cepheus & Gemini): ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by (solar) fire unto the (Shekinah) Lord seven days (7 x 360° = 2520°): in the seventh day is an holy convocation (Ophiuchus, Hercules, Perseus, Cepheus & Gemini): ye shall do no servile work therein" (23:7-8). Leviticus 24 Star Chart: Clockwise from when "thou shalt take fine (lunar) flour, and bake twelve (lunar) cakes thereof: two tenth (lunar) deals shall be in one cake" (24:5) till "thou shalt set them in two (lunar) rows, six on a row (6 x 360°), upon the pure (red radius) table before the (Shekinah) Lord" (24:6) is 2160° or perhaps 36 seconds. "And thou shalt put pure (solar golden) frankincense upon each (lunar) row, that it may be on the (lunar) bread for a memorial, even an offering made by (solar) fire unto the (Shekinah) Lord" (24:7) is (2 x 360°) perhaps 12 more seconds. "Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the (Shekinah) Lord continually, being taken from the (Gemini) children of Israel by an everlasting covenant" (24:8) is 48 seconds per Sabbath of work. "And it shall be (Hercules) Aaron's and his (Gemini) sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the (Shekinah) Lord made by (solar) fire by a perpetual statute" (24:9). Leviticus 25 Star Chart: Israel wandered for 2 years in the desert (1446-1444 B.C.) and then spent 38 years more in Kadesh Barnea (Deut. 2:14) as punishment after the spies brought back an evil report. Caleb was 40 years old in the second year in the desert (Josh. 14:7), and 85 years old in Joshua 14:10-15 when "the land had rest from war." Therefore, Joshua conquered Canaan in 7 years, from 1406-1405 to 1400-1399 B.C., before Israel could fully enter the land of Canaan.
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No (Tonsure) Baldness Upon Head,
Nor Corners of Beard Shaved (Like an Egyptian)
21:1 And the (Shekinah) Lord said unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, Speak unto the (Gemini) priests the sons of (Hercules) Aaron, and (red radius) say unto them, There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people:
2 But for his kin, that is near unto him (Pollux), that is, for his (Castor) mother, and for his (Castor) father, and for his (Castor) son, and for his (Castor) daughter, and for his (Castor) brother..
3 And for his (Castor) sister a virgin, that is nigh unto him, which hath had no husband; for her may he be defiled.
4 But he shall not defile himself, being a (Pollux) chief man among his (Gemini) people, to profane himself.
5 They shall not make (lunar) baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the (red radius) corner of their beard, nor make any (red radius) cuttings in their flesh.
A man who shaves off his beard is like someone saying to God, "You made a mistake. I will correct it."
6 They shall be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the Lord made by (solar) fire, and the (solar golden) bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
7 They shall not take a (Castor) wife that is a whore, or profane (lost her virginity?); neither shall they take a (Castor) woman put away from her husband: for he is holy unto his God.
8 Thou shalt sanctify him therefore; for he offereth the (solar golden) bread of thy God: he shall be holy unto thee: for I the Lord, which sanctify you, am holy.
9 And the (Castor) daughter of any (Pollux) priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her (Pollux) father: she shall be (solar) burnt with fire.
10 And he that is the high priest among his brethren, upon whose head the (solar) (red radius) anointing oil was poured, and that is consecrated to put on the garments, shall not uncover his head, nor (red radius) rend his clothes;
11 Neither shall he go in to any dead body, nor defile himself for his (Castor) father, or for his (Castor) mother;
12 Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the Lord.
13 And he (Pollux) shall take a (Castor) wife in her virginity.
14 A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he (Pollux) shall take a (Castor) virgin of his own (Gemini) people to wife.
15 Neither shall he profane his (lunar white) seed among his people: for I the Lord do sanctify him.
16 And the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying,
17 Speak unto (Hercules) Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the (solar golden) bread of his God.
18 For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man (Big Dog), or a (red radius cane) lame, or he that hath a (Cetus) flat nose, or any thing superfluous,
19 Or a man that is brokenfooted (Cepheus), or brokenhanded (Castor),
20 Or crookbackt (Taurus), or a dwarf (Canis or Ursa Minor), or that hath a blemish in his (lunar) eye, or be scurvy, or (lunar) scabbed, or hath his stones broken (Pollux);
21 No man that hath a blemish of the seed of (Hercules) Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the Lord made by (solar) fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the (solar golden) bread of his God.
22 He shall eat the (solar golden) bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy.
23 Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the (solar golden) altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the Lord do sanctify them.
24 And (Ophiuchus) Moses told it unto (Hercules) Aaron, and to his (Cepheus, Perseus) sons, and unto all the (Gemini) children of Israel.
You Shall Not Offer to the Lord That Which
is Bruised, Crushed, Broken, or Cut
22:1 And the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto (Hercules) Aaron and to his (Gemini) sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the (Perseus, Cepheus) children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they (solar) hallow unto me: I am the (Shekinah) Lord.
3 Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your (lunar) seed among your generations, that goeth unto the (solar) holy things, which the (Perseus, Cepheus) children of Israel hallow unto the Lord, having his (red radius) uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be (Perseus) (red radius) cut off from my presence: I am the (Shekinah) Lord.
4 What man soever of the (lunar) seed of Aaron is a (lunar white) leper, or hath a (red radius) running issue; he shall not eat of the (solar) holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose (lunar white) seed goeth from him;
5 Or whosoever toucheth any (Drago, Scorpio, Serpens) creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath;
6 The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until (sun on red radius horizon) even, and shall not (red radius) eat of the (solar) holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water.
7 And when the sun is down (sun on red radius horizon), he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the (solar) holy things; because it is his food.
8 That which dieth of itself, or is (red radius) torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith; I am the (Shekinah) Lord.
9 They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear (red radius) sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the (Shekinah) Lord do sanctify them.
10 There shall no stranger eat of the (solar) holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the (solar) holy thing.
11 But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his (red radius) house: they shall eat of his (solar) meat.
12 If the priest's (Castor) daughter also be married unto a (Pollux) stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the (solar) holy things.
13 But if the priest's (Castor) daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father's (red radius) house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father's (solar) meat: but there shall be no stranger eat thereof.
14 And if a man eat of the (solar) holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it (20%), and shall give it unto the priest with the (solar) holy thing.
15 And they shall not profane the (solar) holy things of the (Gemini) children of Israel, which they (red radius) offer unto the (Shekinah) Lord;
16 Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their (solar) holy things: for I the (Shekinah) Lord do sanctify them.
17 And the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying,
18 Speak unto (Hercules) Aaron, and to his (Gemini) sons, and unto all the (Cephus, Perseus) children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he be of the (Gemini) house of Israel, or of the (Cepheus, Perseus) strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer unto the Lord for a (solar) burnt offering;
19 Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the (Taurus) beeves, of the (Aries) sheep, or of the (Taurus) goats.
20 But whatsoever hath a (red radius, lunar white) blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.
21 And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in (Taurus) beeves or (Aries) sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.
22 (lunar eyeballs) Blind, or (red radius) broken, or (red radius) maimed, or having a wen (red radius wound), or scurvy, or (lunar or solar) scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the (Shekinah) Lord, nor make an offering by (solar) fire of them upon the altar unto the (Shekinah) Lord.
23 Either a (Taurus) bullock or a (Aries) lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts (hind legs), that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
24 Ye shall not offer unto the Lord that which is (red radius) bruised, or crushed, or (red radius) broken, or (red radius) cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land.
25 Neither from a (Castor) stranger's hand shall ye offer the (solar golden) bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.
26 And the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying,
27 When a (Taurus) bullock, or a (Aries) sheep, or a (Taurus) goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by (solar) fire unto the (Shekinah) Lord.
28 And whether it be (Taurus) cow, or (Aries) ewe, ye shall not (Perseus) (red radius) kill it and her young both in one (sun on red radius horizon) day.
29 And when ye will offer a (solar) sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the (Shekinah) Lord, offer it at your own will.
30 On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall leave none of it until the (sun on red radius horizon) morrow: I am the (Shekinah) Lord.
31 Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the (Shekinah) Lord.
32 Neither shall ye profane my (solar golden) holy name; but I will be hallowed among the (Gemini) children of Israel: I am the (Shekinah) Lord which hallow you,
33 That (red radius) brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the (Shekinah) Lord.
FEASTS of the Lord
23:1 And the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the (Gemini) children of Israel, and (red radius) say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the (Shekinah) Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your (red radius) dwellings.
4 These are the feasts of the (Shekinah) Lord, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month (almost full moon) at even (sun on red radius horizon) is the Lord's (Aries) passover (with Milky Way horseradish).
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of (lunar white matzos) unleavened bread unto the (Shekinah) Lord: seven days ye must eat (lunar white matzos) unleavened bread.
7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no (Perseus) servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by (solar) fire unto the (Shekinah) Lord seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no (Gemini) servile work therein.
9 And the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the (Gemini) children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits (an omer, about 6 pints, of barley flour -- TLV) of your harvest unto the (Hercules) priest:
11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the (Shekinah) Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath (Sunday) the (Hercules) priest shall wave it.
12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb (Aries) without blemish of the first year for a (solar) burnt offering unto the (Shekinah) Lord.
13 And the meat (meal) offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil (two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil -- TLV), an offering made by (solar) fire unto the Lord for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.
14 And ye shall eat neither (solar golden) bread, nor parched corn (solar golden grain), nor (Milky Way) green (lunar) ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath (Sunday), from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering (an omer, about 6 pints, of barley flour -- TLV); seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat (meal) offering unto the (Shekinah) Lord.
17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two (lunar) wave loaves of two tenth deals; they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with (lunar white) leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the (Shekinah) Lord.
18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven (Aries) lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young (Taurus) bullock, and two (Taurus) rams: they shall be for a (solar) burnt offering unto the (Shekinah) Lord, with their meat (meal) offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by (solar) fire, of (red radius) sweet savour unto the (Shekinah) Lord.
19 Then ye shall sacrifice one (Taurus) kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two (Aries) lambs of the first year for a (solar) sacrifice of peace offerings.
20 And the (Hercules) priest shall wave them with the (lunar) bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the (Shekinah) Lord, with the two (Aries) lambs: they shall be holy to the (Shekinah) Lord for the (Hercules) priest.
21 And ye shall (red radius) proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the (lunar) corners of thy (red radius) field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the (Shekinah) Lord your God.
23 And the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the (Gemini) children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the (black lunar crescent) month, shall ye have a sabbath (60°), a memorial of blowing of (lunar & solar bell-end red radius tube) trumpets, an holy convocation.
25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by (solar) fire unto the (Shekinah) Lord.
26 And the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying,
27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls (fast), and offer an offering made by (solar) fire unto the (Shekinah) Lord.
28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the (Shekinah) Lord your God.
29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted (fast) in that same day, he shall be (Perseus) (red radius) cut off from among his (Gemini) people.
30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I (Perseus) (red radius) destroy from among his (Gemini) people.
31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your (red radius) dwellings.
32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls (fast): in the ninth day of the month at (sun on red radius horizon) even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
33 And the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying,
34 Speak unto the (Gemini) children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of (red radius) (Green Milky Way) tabernacles for seven days unto the (Shekinah) Lord.
35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
37 These are the feasts of the (Shekinah) Lord, which ye shall (red radius) proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by (solar) fire unto the (Shekinah) Lord, a (solar) burnt offering, and a meat (meal) offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
38 Beside the sabbaths of the Lord, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the (Shekinah) Lord.
39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the (solar & lunar) fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the (Shekinah) Lord seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
40 And ye shall take you on the first day the (red radius) boughs of goodly trees, (green Milky Way) branches of palm trees, and the (green Milky Way) boughs of thick trees, and (red radius) willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.
41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the (Shekinah) Lord seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42 Ye shall dwell in (red radius) booths seven days; all that are (Gemini) Israelites born shall dwell in (red radius) booths:
43 That your generations may know that I made the (Gemini) children of Israel to dwell in (red radius) booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the (Shekinah) Lord your God.
44 And (Ophiuchus) Moses declared unto the (Gemini) children of Israel the feasts of the (Shekinah) Lord.
The Wavesheaf Ritual -- A Prophecy of Christ
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a SHEAF of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the SHEAF before the Lord, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it" (Lev. 23:9-11) -- SUNDAY.
Moses Was A Prophet
A SHEAF symbolizes a MAN (Gen. 37:76). You will notice that the "WAVE-SHEAF" was to be lifted up and waved toward heaven, as a symbol of something actually being transferred to heaven to be presented and accepted by the One who sits on the throne of the universe. The SHEAF had to be of the "first-fruits" -- the first of the harvest to be reaped. "And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an OFFERING unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings" (verse 14). Why did the SHEAF have to be offered first -- before the rest of the harvest could be eaten? Because it represented Christ: "Christ [is] risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept" (I Cor. 15:20). "Every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming" (verse 23). "Christ ... the first that should rise from the dead"; "that he might be the firstborn among many brethren"; "the firstborn from the dead"; "the first begotten" (Acts 26:23; Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:18; Heb. 1:6). He was CUT DOWN on Wednesday just before sunset (Dan. 9:27) and was resurrected on Saturday just before sunset. The WAVE SHEAF was CUT at the end of the Sabbath day just as our Lord was RAISED up from the tomb near the end of the Sabbath. But it was early the FIRST DAY of the week before Christ was "ACCEPTED FOR YOU" (LEV. 23:11) by the Father. Notice that it was very early the FIRST DAY of the week that Mary Magdalene was NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH him because he had not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17). But later that same day (Matt. 28:1) he had been accepted by the Father -- or offered like a MEAL OFFERING -- because we read in Matthew 28:9 that "they came and HELD HIM by the feet." The ritual was to be repeated each year as the harvest season arrived. It was closely tied in with the annual cycle of holy days which picture God's plan of His spiritual harvest.
"And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the SHEAF of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days [that is, until Pentecost, which means "fiftieth day"] .... [Then] ye shall bring out of your habitations TWO WAVE LOAVES of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the Lord.... And the priest shall wave ... the BREAD of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Lord" (Lev. 23:15- 16,17,20).
Here is a time period -- represented by 50 days - to elapse after the MEAL OFFERING and acceptance of Christ, after which TWO LOAVES with LEAVEN become eligible to also be lifted and waved toward the heavens.
Why Did Thousands of First-Century Jews Recognize Jesus Was Christ?
Christ was a chosen one -- chosen by the Father before the foundation of the world (I Peter 1: 19-20; Eph. 1:4; Rev. 13:8), chosen by the high priest and the leaders of the Jews (John 11:49-52), chosen by the people (Mark 11 :7-10). Out of all the barley which was then beginning to be reaped, not just any SHEAF carelessly grabbed on a Sunday morning could represent Him. Nor could just any SHEAF have represented the perfection that was our Savior. Christ's firstfruit had to be the best.
The Mishnah, a collection of Jewish law and traditions, describes the ceremony of cutting, preparing and waving the WAVE-SHEAF. Since the Mishnah is generally thought to have been put into writing only about A.D. 200, some of the information about events before the destruction of the Temple (A.D. 70) may not always be totally accurate. But the general picture of the WAVE-SHEAF ceremony is borne out by other sources and what we know of the situation at the time. Here is the traditional ceremony as handed down through the Mishnah:
"How was it done? The messengers of the court went out ... and bound the standing grain into sheaves so that it would be easy for cutting" (Menahoth 10,3).
Then the Mishna dramatically describes the cutting loose of the stalks of grain from the ground. Standing in the field, over the chosen and bound SHEAF, sickle in hand and surrounded by others who were there to make sure all was done exactly right, the priest asked: "Is the sun set?" They answered "Yes!" "Shall I reap?" And they answered, "Reap!" He then cut the bound grain.
Having chosen and eventually reaped the SHEAF, the priests went even further to make it a wholly suitable representation of Christ (though probably not themselves fully apprehending just what they were illustrating). What they obviously could not do while the grain was standing, they now did. "They used to PARCH it with FIRE.... They used to BEAT it with reeds and the stems of plants that the grains should NOT be CRUSHED [before the parching]" (Menahoth 10,4).
Surely here is more than a hint of the physical BEATING - scourging - Christ underwent at the hands of the Romans, yet done in the type carefully enough not to crush the grain. Why? Because NOT a bone of Him was to be BROKEN (Ex. 12:46; Num. 9: 12; Ps. 34:20; John 19:36). Then the grain was PARCHED, symbolic of the SCORCHING reception this world gave the Son of God through-out His entire human life, and especially in His final hours.
Then, as if this were not enough, the priests GROUND it to flour. They "put it in a grist-mill and took therefrom a tenth [of an ephah of flour] ·which was SIFTED through thirteen sieves ... they put in OIL, and the FRANKINCENSE thereof" (ibid.). Here again they pictured Christ's trials and testings (SIFTINGS), His Holy Spirit (the OIL), His prayers and the sweet savor to God of His holiness (FRANKINCENSE - Rev. 8:3). This MEAL OFFERING is what Paul referred to when he said, "If the DOUGH offered as first fruits is holy, so is the whole lump" (Rom. 11:16; RSV).
This was Christ's life and death represented by ritual. God didn't specify all these details in the Bible. But He brought it about that this ritual would clearly identify His Son, so that a tremendous witness was borne to the Jews concerning Jesus of Nazareth. The New Testament is in the Old concealed. The Old Testament is in the New revealed.
The Passover Identified Our Lord
When God gave the Israelites a law to kill and eat the Passover on the 14th day of Nisan (Exodus 12), he did not tell them to kill the lamb late in the afternoon and finally get it roasted to eat after the sundown beginning the 15th -- after the Passover day was ended. (Remember that a biblical day begins with a dark half, then concludes with a light half - see Leviticus 23:32; Genesis 1:5, 8, 13). He told them: "In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord's passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread" (Lev. 23:5-6).
The Jews for many centuries have made the eating of the lamb the same as the feast of unleavened bread (how can it be feast of "unleavened bread" when it is the feast of "Iamb"?). Thus they have confused the two festivals, making them one. But it is obvious, from Christ's own "last supper" example, that the original time to slay the lamb was early in the beginning of the 14th -- as Exodus 12:6 puts it, "between the two evenings" -- between sunset and darkness. As God of the Old Testament, Christ foreknew He would change the emblems of the Passover to the bread and wine, and He knew what day and hour He wanted it to occur.
Therefore He told the Israelites to slay the lamb in the evening, put its blood on the doorposts, roast and eat it and stay indoors till morning (Ex. 12:6-8, 22). Why? Because only those firstborn humans who were within such protected houses would be spared at midnight. The Lord would "pass over" that house -- at midnight, still in the first and dark half of the 24-hour -- and that "passing over" was to give that day - the 14th - its name, Passover (verses 12, 23, 29). If the death angel (representing the Lord Himself) had not "passed over" until the night part of the 15th, then that day -- the 15th -- would have been the Passover, and not the 14th. If they had slain and eaten the Passover lamb at the same time of day as the Jews later came to do, their firstborn would not have been spared!
The mistaken Jewish practice actually HELPED TO IDENTIFY our Lord as the true Passover LAMB. The Jews in Jesus' time were killing their LAMBS almost 24 hours late, perhaps about 3 p.m. on the afternoon of Nisan 14. In the later years (before Jerusalem and the second Temple were destroyed by the Romans), because of the sheer multitude of the LAMBS which were brought into the Temple courts for slaughter, the priests had to begin to kill them even as early as noon. This faulty practice actually caused the death of our Lord to COINCIDE with the Jews' slaughter of the Passover LAMBS. The sun became dark at this very time -- about noon -- as Christ was hung on the cross. He expired by about 3 p.m. (Luke 23:44- 46; Mark 15:33-34; Matt. 27:45-46). The time chosen by the Jews actually PICTURED the hour Christ our Passover LAMB did die. For unbelieving Jews, this was a convincing proof. It was a witness. It was enough.
Christians need to understand and keep the Passover ordinance after the example of Jesus at the beginning of. Nisan 14. It pictures forgiveness of sin by the blood of the LAMB so that death will not claim our lives. Christ let Himself be seized at midnight by a mob in Gethsemane so we would not have to die.
The Wavesheaf Identified Our Lord
In the time of Jesus the WAVE-SHEAF was offered on the Sunday during Passover week. This is clear since the priests -- who were mostly Sadducees -- were in charge of the Temple and all the Temple ceremony (Acts 4: 1-6; 5: 17). The timing and symbolism of this ceremony would have been overwhelming to those who knew the events of Jesus' DEATH and RESURRECTION.
The WAVE-SHEAF had been CHOSEN IN ADVANCE, as Christ was. It was TIED in a bundle, symbolizing his CAPTIVITY. It was CUT LOOSE from the ground just at sunset -- just the time at which Christ ROSE from the dead after three days and three nights in the tomb. The cutting of the grain symbolized Christ's actual RESURRECTION. Like the SHEAF now LOOSED from the soil, the RESURRECTED Christ became free from any physical dependence on air, water or sustenance that had TIED Him, as it has TIED all other humans, to this earth out of which we grow. Thus, in the ritual, Christ was SLAIN and RESURRECTED.
Finally the priests waved the FLOUR-OIL-FRANKINCENSE representing their mistreatment of the WAVE-SHEAF toward heaven and the Father. And in like manner as the OFFERING was raised and let down, Christ ascended to heaven to His Father, and returned on that same day (John 20: 17; Matt. 28:9).
The barley and wheat harvest continued from the day of the WAVE-SHEAF till Pentecost. It was a type of the spiritual HARVEST which has been underway in the Church ever since. But no more of it was waved till the fiftieth day. Then TWO WAVE LOAVES made of flour were brought out of the habitations of the people. The priest raised them, waved them toward heaven and lowered them. What of these TWO LOAVES? They represented the many additional firstfruits to be given eternal life from both Old Testament and New Testament periods (James 1:18; Rom. 16:5; Rev . 14:1-4). The LOAVES were baked with LEAVEN, which represented SIN (I Cor. 5:7), for all of us have sinned -- unlike Christ.
RAISING the LOAVES symbolizes
our actual cutting loose from the earth, the end of our dependence on the physical. It symbolizes the RESURRECTION and ASCENTION into the air to meet Christ -- all one event. Some will yet be living at that time and will not be resurrected at all, but "changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye" (I Cor. 15:51-52; I Thess. 4: 13-18). But just as the priest RAISED the LOAVES up and let them DOWN, so shall WE all ASCEND into the clouds -- before later RETURNING to earth with Christ, as His feet stand in that day on the mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4).
The ritual of Leviticus 23, with all its added Mishnaic features, clearly describes and identifies Christ. No wonder that tens of thousands of first-century Jews -- the people who knew the most about Bible prophecies (and the Exodus and about Leviticus 23) -- believed. Too many coincidences had come to pass.
(Lunar) Eye For (Lunar) Eye,
(Lunar) Tooth For (Lunar) Tooth,
(Red Radius) Fracture For (Red Radius) Fracture
24:1 And the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying,
2 Command the (Gemini) children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure (solar golden) oil olive beaten for the (solar and lunar) light, to cause the (solar and lunar) lamps to (solar) burn continually.
3 Without the (red radius) vail of the testimony, in the (red radius) tabernacle of the congregation, shall (Hercules) Aaron order it from the (sun on red radius horizon) evening unto the (sun on red radius horizon) morning before the (Shekinah) Lord continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.
4 He shall order the (solar and lunar) lamps upon the pure (solar golden) candlestick before the (Shekinah) Lord continually.
5 And thou shalt take fine (lunar) flour, and bake twelve (lunar) cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.
6 And thou shalt set them in two (lunar) rows, six on a row, upon the pure (red radius) table before the (Shekinah) Lord.
7 And thou shalt put pure (solar golden) frankincense upon each (lunar) row, that it may be on the (lunar) bread for a memorial, even an offering made by (solar) fire unto the (Shekinah) Lord.
8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the (Shekinah) Lord continually, being taken from the (Gemini) children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.
9 And it shall be (Hercules) Aaron's and his (Gemini) sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the (Shekinah) Lord made by (solar) fire by a perpetual statute.
10 And the (Castor) son of an Israelitish (Pollux) woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the (Gemini) children of Israel: and this (Hercules) son of the Israelitish woman and a (Ophiuchus) man of Israel strove together in the camp;
11 And the Israelitish woman's (Hercules) son (red radius) blasphemed the name of the (Shekinah) Lord, and (red radius) cursed. And they brought him unto (Ophiuchus) Moses: (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)
12 And they put him in (lunar barred window) ward, that the mind of the (Shekinah) Lord might be (lunar eyeballs) shewed them.
13 And the (Shekinah) Lord spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses, saying,
14 Bring forth him that hath (red radius) cursed without the camp; and let all that (red radius) (lunar ears) heard him lay their (lunar) hands upon his (lunar) head, and let all the congregation (lunar) stone him.
15 And thou shalt speak unto the (Gemini) children of Israel, saying, Whosoever (red radius) curseth his (Shekinah) God shall bear his sin.
16 And he that (red radius) blasphemeth the name of the (Shekinah) Lord, he shall surely be put to (lunar) (red radius) death, and all the congregation shall certainly (lunar) stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he (red radius) blasphemeth the name of the (Shekinah) Lord, shall be put to death.
17 And he that (Perseus) (red radius) killeth any man shall surely be put to (lunar) (red radius) death.
18 And he (Perseus) that (red radius) killeth a (Taurus-Aries) beast shall make it good; beast for beast.
19 And if a man cause a (red radius scar) blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it (red radius scar) be done to him;
20 (Red radius) Breach (fracture) for (red radius) breach (fracture), (lunar) eye for (lunar) eye, (lunar) tooth for (lunar) tooth: as he hath caused a (red radius scar) blemish in a man, so shall it (red radius scar) be done to him again.
21 And he (Perseus) that (red radius) killeth a (Aries-Taurus) beast, he shall restore it: and he (Perseus) that (red radius) killeth a man, he shall be (lunar stoned) put to death.
22 Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the (Perseus) stranger, as for one (Castor) of your own country: for I am the (Shekinah) Lord your God.
23 And (Ophiuchus) Moses spake to the (Children) children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and (lunar) stone him with (lunar) stones. And the (Gemini) children of Israel did as the (Shekinah) Lord commanded (Ophiuchus) Moses.
Don't (Ophiuchus) Sow or (Perseus) Reap
or
(Castor) Gather on The Fiftieth Year Jubilee
25:1 And the (Shekinah) Lord (red radius) spake unto (Ophiuchus) Moses in (red radius) mount Sinai, saying,
2 Speak unto the (Gemini) children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the Lord.
3 Six years (6 x 360) thou (Ophiuchus) shalt (solar seed) sow thy field, and six years (6 x 360) thou shalt (Perseus) prune thy (red radius) vineyard, and (Castor) gather in the (lunar) fruit thereof;
4 But in the seventh year (360) shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither (Ophiuchus) sow thy field, nor (Perseus) prune thy (red radius) vineyard.
5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither (Castor) gather the (lunar and solar) grapes of thy (red radius) vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
6 And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee (Hercules), and for thy (Perseus) servant, and for thy (Castor) maid, and for thy (Pollux) hired servant, and for thy (Ophiuchus) stranger that sojourneth with thee.
7 And for thy (Taurus) cattle, and for the (Aries, Cetus, Big Dog, Drago) beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
9 Then shalt thou cause the (red radius tube with solar bell end) trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the (red radius tube with solar bell end) trumpet sound throughout all your land.
On Yom Kippur the Jubilee Trumpet sounds.
According to William Whiston's footnotes to Josephus, "AD 27 was a Sabbatical Year and A.D. 28 was a Jubilee" (Dissertation 5:55). He bases his conclusion on chronological information, not on Luke 4:16-24. Thus we have two independent witnesses saying the same thing.
When Is A Modern Jubilee?
Adding 1960 years (7 x 7 x 40) to 27-28 A.D. gives us 1987-1988 for a modern Jubilee or year one of another cycle. This cycle is then 1993-1994 for the first Sabbatical Year (7th year); 2000-2001 for the second Sabbatical Year (7th year); 2007-2008 for the third Sabbatical Year (7th year); 2014-2015 for the fourth Sabbatical Year (7th year); 2021-2022 for the fifth Sabbatical Year (7th year); 2028-2029 for the sixth Sabbatical Year (7th year); 2035-2036 for the seventh Sabbatical Year (7th year). Then another Jubilee in 2036-2037. Each of these 7-year cycles has a third tithe year and a sixth tithe year which begins and ends on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) (Lev. 25:9). "Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the Day of Atonement" (Lev. 25:9).
10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
11 A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye (Ophiuchus) shall not (solar seed) sow, neither (Perseus) reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor (Castor) gather the (solar or lunar) grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
12 For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
13 In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession.
14 And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's (Castor) hand, ye shall not oppress one another:
15 According to the number of years after the jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the (solar and lunar) fruits he shall sell unto thee:
16 According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the (solar and lunar) fruits doth he sell unto thee.
17 Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the (Shekinah) Lord your God.
18 Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.
19 And the land shall yield her (solar and lunar) fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.
20 And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we (Ophiuchus) shall not sow, nor (Castor) gather in our increase:
21 Then I will (red radius) command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth (solar and lunar) fruit for three years.
22 And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her (solar and lunar) fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.
23 The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.
24 And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.
25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.
26 And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it;
27 Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession.
28 But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee: and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.
29 And if a man sell a (red radius) dwelling house in a (red radius) walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it.
30 And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the (red radius) house that is in the (red radius) walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubilee.
31 But the (red radius) houses of the villages which have no (red radius) wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubilee.
32 Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the (red radius) houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time.
33 And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the (red radius) house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubilee: for the (red radius) houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the (Gemini) children of Israel.
34 But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.
35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
36 Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.
37 Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.
38 I am the (Shekinah) Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.
39 And if thy brother(Castor) that dwelleth by thee (Pollux) be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubilee.
41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his (Gemini) children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his (Gemini) fathers shall he return.
42 For they are my (Gemini) servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as (Gemini) bondmen.
43 Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.
44 Both thy (Ophiuchus, Hercules) bondmen, and thy (Gemini) bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
45 Moreover of the (Gemini) children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.
46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your (Gemini) children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the (Gemini) children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:
48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
49 Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.
50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubilee: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.
51 If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.
52 And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubilee, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.
53 And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy (lunar eyeballs) sight.
54 And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubilee, both he, and his (Gemini) children with him.
55 For unto me the (Gemini) children of Israel are servants; they are my (Gemini) servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the (Shekinah) Lord your God.
Why Allow the Land to Rest?
Cain sought to gain his livlihood by farming methods which DEPLETED THE SOIL. He "was wholly intent upon GETTING and he first contrived to PLOUGH the ground ... God was more delighted with the latter oblation (of Abel), when he was honored with what grew naturally of its own accord, than he was with what was the invention of a covetous man, and gotten by FORCING the ground" (Ant. 1:2:1). "And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive (wanderer) and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth" (Gen. 4:11-12). If Cain and his descendants had been allowed to continue their agricultural EXPLOITATION of the land, the soil would have been DEPLETED long ago. But God put a stop to it.
Every seventh year, the LAND SABBATH will give the land a chance to rest and restore its nutrients: " But in the seventh year there shall be a SABBATH of solemn rest for the LAND, a SABBATH to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard" (Leviticus 25:4). As God said, "The SABBATH of the LAND shall be meat (food) for ... thy CATTLE and for the BEAST that are in thy land" (Lev. 25:6-7). We read that "six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard" (Ex. 23:10-11). The commencement of the SABBATH YEAR is in the fall, on Rosh HaShanah -- the beginning of the agricultural year. But what is the penalty for failure to obey this law? "I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you ... Then shall the LAND enjoy her SABBATHS, as long as it lieth DESOLATE ... even then shall the LAND rest, and enjoy her SABBATHS" (Lev. 26:33-34).
God promises the obedient that He will "satisfy your soul in drought ... and you shall be like an irrigated garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not" (Isa. 58:11). God says, "You shall serve the Eternal your God and I will bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of you. None shall cast her young or be barren in your land" (Lev. 23:35-36).
Again, in 2 Chronicles 6:13-14 God promised us, “When I shut up the heavens that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people [Christians today] who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and HEAL THEIR LAND.” There it is! God’s people must obey God -- and that includes the keeping of the SABBATH YEAR which HEALS THE LAND. He even promises, "I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year; and it shall bring forth produce for three years" (Lev. 25:20-22) -- harvested crops.
In the past when Israel refused to obey the SEVENTH YEAR SABBATH, notice what happened: We have a record of this in 2 Chronicles 36:20-21: “And them that had escaped from the sword carried he (Nebuchadnezzar) away to Babylon; where they were servants of him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: to fulfill the Word of the Eternal by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the LAND had enjoyed her SABBATHS: for as long as she [the LAND] lay desolate she kept SABBATH, to fulfill threescore and ten years.” Every SABBATICAL YEAR unkept meant a year in captivity for Judah! God's corrective measures are sure -- Israel, too, will be desolate and the LAND will soon enjoy her SABBATHS because the people refuse to turn to God and keep His SABBATICAL YEARS. God warned Israel in Leviticus 26:14-25 what would happen if they disobeyed this law. Israel was to receive severe punishments in four progressively worsening stages unless the nation repented.
Some have thought this prophecy applies only to Israel’s first punishment, and isn’t for us today. They quote verse 22: “I will also send WILD BEASTS among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you FEW in number; and your ways (roads) shall be desolate.” Those who are scoffers will say, “That is no concern of ours: there are not enough WILD BEASTS in this nation to do any serious damage.” Don’t you believe it! We are already getting a foretaste of this condition. Peoria, Illinois was recently invaded by MUSKRATS (rabbit-sized marsh dwellers) which were driven by hunger to leave the Illinois River. They came into the city and attacked several people (from Pasadena Independent, news item). Another similar incident, of greater danger and longer duration, is happening on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, at the southwestern corner of Canada. The island’s large COUGAR population is suffering from a shortage of deer and other natural prey. As a result of their hunger, many COUGARS, especially the half-starved females, have gone into the towns, even entering houses, to attack people, watchdogs, and housecats
(Field and Stream magazine, December, 1955, page 46, article, “Crazy Cougars” by Frank Dufresne). Also there are more than 20 million DOGS in the United States. When our national food supply diminished to famine proportions, many of these DOGS may shift for themselves and run in packs, attacking sheep, poultry and cattle. But why allow the land to rest? What is the purpose?
1. By giving the land a rest every seven years, it would help RESTORE vital nutrients to the soil that normally would be depleted. Therefore, don't refrain from planting or growing -- just from harvesting crops. Plant American Sweet Clover just BEFORE the Sabbath Year begins (Tishri 1) and then let it grow "of its own accord" without reaping it. Or plant English White Clover. Mow it regularly on the Sabbatical Year. Leave the mowings on the field. This is "green manure." As a nitrogen-fixing legume it will raise SOIL FERTILITY. Lightly cultivate it to build the soil for the following six years of nutritious food production. Recharge the soil with this physical plant food. Build up large reserves of organic residues both in and on the soil. Take full advantage of the Sabbath Year by letting the land grow the biggest QUANTITY of the best QUALITY plant matter it can produce "of its own accord." When the Bible forbids "sowing," "pruning," "reaping" and "gathering," (Lev. 25:4-5) we believe it is referring to "cash crops". This would exempt clover which enriches the soil. Following a grain harvest, many fields may be almost devoid of voluntary new growth. The farmer will then often need to sow specially balanced pasture mixes that will make organic matter available for years to come. (This should be done at the sowing of the SIXTH year crop.) Dead plant matter is the food for the soil. Tests have shown that it takes SEVEN YEARS for complete organic decomposition in the average climate. The health of man, his animals, and his plants, depends upon a massive population of vigorous EARTHWORMS and micro-organisms. Massive top-cover will keep the soil warm all winter and promote continuous soil-building by EARTHWORMS. "Topping" should be carried out three or four times in each field during the Sabbatical Year. Otherwise extra plant growth will get wildly out of control and produce a massive seeding of less desirable plants. Use a lawn mower or weedeater. This is not the same as "pruning" or "reaping" which are forbidden. The added plant growth is a first-class source of food for EARTHWORMS and micro-organisms. Remember the increased growth ABOVE ground is accompanied by an increase in root growth BELOW ground, and together they add many tons of additional manure to the soil during the year of rest. That tonnage is over and above what GRAZING AMINALS return in WASTES from their own bodies. Farmers think they can't afford to let the land rest one year in seven. The truth is that they can't afford NOT to let it rest. The more a farmer GIVES to his soil, the more it will RETURN to him in abundant crops, health and strength. But the more he TAKES AWAY the fertility of his soil, the more DISEASE he will have and the more his land will turn to DESERT. God put man in the garden "to dress it and to KEEP it" (Gen. 2:15). "KEEP" means "PRESERVE." It is the frequent HARVESTING of GRAIN crops that destroys soil most rapidly. It is therefore no coincidence and no surprise that the most poverty-stricken soils in all modern agriculture are those which are forced to grow "CONTINUOUS" GRAIN crops. This is motivated by "greed" (Rom. 8:20). Return dead plant matter to the soil. The maintenance of livestock is perhaps the most vital key to a balanced agricultural program. Psalm 104:14 says, "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth". Livestock form the foundation of soil fertility by providing MANURE FERTILIZATION. As God said, "The Sabbath of the land shall be meat (food) for ... thy cattle and for the beast that are in thy land" (Lev. 25:6-7). Contrast this with the thousands of farmers today who are specializing in grain and hay production. The Sabbatical Year works against the monoculture of grain since it is compulsory "free-range" grazing. It lowers the stocking rate and encourages a much greater bulk of grass in every pasture. That means healthier stock all producing more meat, milk and wool. Returning plant and animal MANURE to the soil results in improved soil texture and moisture holding ability of the soil. These qualities provide a favorable environment in which earthworms and micro-organisms multiply as they decompose the dead plant matter. "You shall serve the Eternal your God and I will bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of you. None shall cast her young or be barren in your land" (Lev. 23:35-36).
2. Pest control (Leviticus 25:1-24). Farmers are plagued today with insects. Yet God gave a sure-fire remedy to control pests centuries ago. Moses commanded Israel to set aside one year in seven when no crops were raised. Insects winter in the stalks of last year’s harvest, hatch in the spring, and are perpetuated by laying eggs in the new crop. If the crop is denied one year in seven, the pests have nothing to subsist upon, and are thereby controlled. And this promoted soil conservation.
3. Soil conservation (Leviticus 23:22). Not only was the land to lay fallow every seventh year, but God also instructed farmers to leave the gleanings when reaping their fields, and not to reap the corners (sides) of their fields. This served several purposes: 1) Vital soil minerals would be maintained. 2) The hedge row would limit wind erosion. 3) The poor could eat the gleanings. Today, approximately four billion metric tons of soil are lost from U.S. crop lands each year. Much of this soil depletion could be avoided if God’s commands were followed.
4. Avoid being taken into captivity. Let Leviticus 26:34-35 tell us, "Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, AS LONG AS IT LIES DESOLATE, and you be in your enemies' land; then shall the land rest, AND ENJOY HER SABBATHS. As long as it lies desolate it shall rest; BECAUSE IT DID NOT REST IN YOUR SABBATHS, when you dwelt upon it." Every Sabbatical Year unkept meant a year in captivity for Judah, totalling 70 years (2 Chr. 36:20-21). After the Jews returned from captivity under Ezra and Nehemiah, they counted their Sabbath Year from the time they re-occupied the land, not from Creation.
5. Foot-and-Mouth Disease is caused primarily by lack of SOIL FERTILITY. After treating devitalized soil with major and trace elements, a dairy herd increased fertility 75% in three years. Bang's disease dropped from 29% to 20% (Soil Fertility and Animal Health by Dr. Wm. A. Albrecht, p. 167). Trace amounts of copper in the soil let an animal build its antibiotic protection that will prohibit worms from staying in its digestive tract (Albrecht, p. 150). A healthy animal repels both parasites and contageous disease. Poor soil produces poor plants. Poor plants produce poor animals. Poor animals and plants produce poor humans. Deficient soils induce sickness in all three. Unlike cows, humans don't have the built-in INSTINCT to select quality in our diet. Cows do have this natural ability. It's just that men DENY them the chance to exercise it. Cows survive, not because men take care of them, but IN SPITE OF men taking care of them. The further animals are REMOVED from their natural environment, the more husbandry problems increase. Animals that are allowed to instinctively graze and browse in native grasses, weeds and bushes will never become ill. But ranchers have replaced this wide variety with a limited diet making the animal more susceptible to disease. The same is true of humans. Some veterinarians admit that a sick animal, if not too far gone, will usually recover if set free to roam for itself among native plants. Let it forage for itself. Truly healthy animals don't suffer disease. An example in India of grazing organically managed pastures (no drugs and chemical fertilizers) proves the point. "As my small farmyard at Pusa was only separated by a low hedge from one of the large cattle sheds on the Pusa estate, in which outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease OFTEN occurred, I have several times seen my oxen rubbing noses with foot-and-mouth cases. Nothing happened ... NO INFECTION TOOK PLACE" (An Agricultural Testament, by Sir Albert Howard, p. 162). Newman Turner says, "All orthodox treatment is based on the assumption that disease is caused by bacteria; ... In my experience these assumptions have been shown to be wildly wide of the mark. Bacteria which are found to be active in diseased animals are SECONDARY to the unhealthy condition in the animal body, and not themselves the cause. I came to the conclusion that abortion, mastitis, sterility and tuberculosis, as well as most other diseases of cattle, had their real foundation in the toxic condition of the animal body, brought about by UNNATURAL methods of management." (Fertility Farming, pp. 212-213). Dr. Hans Muller in Switzerland supervised 600 men farming organically in 1966 when Switzerland had its worst outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease ever. Not one animal was lost by these men. Certain deficiency diseases in animals and humans can be caused by the loss of certain trace elements. Instead of using manure and natural rock fertilizers containing major, minor and trace elements in proper proportions, men have tried to offset soil depletion by use of water-soluable chemical fertilizers, containing unnatural combinations of major elements which deposit in the soil poisonous residues ranging from washing soda to sulfuric acid (Make Friends With Your Land by Leonard Wickenden, pp. 63, 117). "But it shall come to pass, if you wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.... Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine (cattle), and the flocks of thy sheep" (Deut. 28:15,18). "Neither can men hear the voice of the cattle" (Jer. 9:10). "I will consume man and beast" (Zeph. 1:2-3). Our land has not rested every seventh year as God commanded (Lev. 25:1-4). We have used artificial fertilizers "forcing the growth" (Isa. 17:11; Moffatt). As the quality of the food decreases, the quality of the animals decreases; resistance is lowered, and diseases increase. "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" (1 Cor. 3:17). Peter was able to boast that he had never eaten corrupt food (Acts 10:14).
6. The nineteenth century was an era of spectacular abundance of food due to the agricultural revolution. This revolution consisted of ideas that were related to the "Sabbatical Year" concept. Notice the following: 1. Instead of bare fallow (cultivated land) for a season between cash crops, European farmers planted cover crops such as clover (legumes) that add nitrogen to the soil as well as reducing the impact of wind and water erosion to otherwise bare soil as well as providing fodder to grazing animals that convert it to manure (more nitrogen for soil). But if too many cattle are on our land, they will nibble the grass so short that it will afford no protective covering for the soil. The land will then dry up, the grass will starve, the topsoil will be blown away. That is called overgrazing. 2. European farmers practised contour cultivation which is the farming practice of plowing and/or planting across a slope following its elevation contour lines. These contour lines create a water break which reduces the formation of rills and gullies during times of heavy water run-off; which is a major cause of soil erosion. The water break also allows more time for the water to settle into the soil. In contour plowing, the ruts made by the plow run perpendicular rather than parallel to slopes, generally resulting in furrows that curve around the land and are level. A similar practice is contour bunding where stones are placed around the contours of slopes. Soil erosion prevention practices such as this can drastically decrease negative affects associated with soil erosion such as reduced crop productivity, worsened water quality, lower effective reservoir water levels, flooding, and habitat destruction. 3. Crop rotation is the practice of growing different types of crops in the same area in sequenced seasons. It is done so that the soil of farms is not used for only one set of nutrients. It helps in reducing soil erosion and increases soil fertility and crop yield. Growing the same crop in the same place for many years in a row disproportionately depletes the soil of certain nutrients. With rotation, a crop that leaches the soil of one kind of nutrient is followed during the next growing season by a dissimilar crop that returns that nutrient to the soil or draws a different ratio of nutrients. In addition, crop rotation mitigates the buildup of pathogens and pests that often occurs when one species is continuously cropped, and can also improve soil structure and fertility by increasing biomass from varied root structures.
7. Productive land, not rested properly, does NOT YIELD ITS INCREASE. Crops become smaller and smaller. The farmer thus ACTUALLY LOSES anything he may have gained by farming his land the seventh year, besides being penalized by the labor he expended the seventh year. But what else happens? The land, becoming so poor it will not even support a cover crop, begins to lose top-soil to the wind and water. Erosion takes place. His land becomes worthless. We are witnessing this in vast areas of the United States today! And in other parts of the world. It is due to "greed" (Rom. 8:20). But this is not all! This one person’s unwillingness to obey God’s commandment STARTS AN EVIL CHAIN OF MISERY AND SORROW THAT AFFECTS MANY PEOPLE! For when the soil becomes worn out by overproduction, it is no longer able to put its nutrients for people into its vegetation. People think they are still getting the same food value for their money but are not. The farmer is ROBBING the PEOPLE! The people then develop DEFICIENCY DISEASES. And these LEAD, quite often, TO OTHER DISEASES which are COMMUNICABLE. Plague and famine go hand in hand! What also happens? The FOOD PROCESSOR, having the same human nature that God placed within the farmer, is also greedy. He finds he can separate the really less nutritious part of the cereal and sell it falsely as though it were very nutritious. People are unable to tell the difference. But their bodies can! DISEASE SPREADS more rapidly.