Good Morning Folks,
Today I will forgo current photos from the Land. (That changed, eh!) The internet is just flooded with them. Yes, photos from some of the best amateur photographers in the world in my opinion. Why you might ask?
Because they capture the moment in creation in the Land and share them with us with no guile or anything like that. Pure excitement and pride in their Land.
That in turn is a blessing to anyone who is “afar of” from the Land. That is because here at the end of the age we have the technology to tune into it. If someone says it’s the month of Abib, we can go to the privacy of our home and see for ourselves being good Bereans, if that in fact is true. That was foretold by Daniel about the end of this age. The ability to acquire knowledge has geometrically increased with the internet and our ease of access to it. But it takes focus and effort on our part.
We have been showing brethren how to do that for many, many years; as well as walking the entirety of the Land, over and over again; yes, from north to south to establish what we know to be the early fields from year to year based on meteorological conditions. Each region and each field have a pattern to it. I personally have become intimate with many locations just like a good farmer does with his agricultural ground. Once you understand the pattern of a specific field you know what it will do under specific circumstances. Thus, it is easy to forecast what it will do as to harvest time.
You farmers and vegetable gardeners out there know exactly what I am talking about.
So, let’s do a history lesson review for those who have no clue about what has transpired over the “decades” to get to this point. Do not be dismayed by comments like “Barley Wars” for they are a false narrative of what has and is transpiring around the Abib Calendar. This is a “Spiritual War” against powers in high places who have many minions running around doing their bidding.
The Abib Calendar is a watershed understanding here at the end of the age. It is a test of obedience to what Father and Christ place in front of us to make a righteous decision. Our eyes have been opened and not closed to it. We have access to the Land to witness the decision our Elohim is making and have made every yearly cycle. Knowledge and understanding are the two legs that support wisdom. So, we here at abibofgod.com have made the effort over the decades to put lots of evidences of what is taking place in the Land throughout the grain growing season up on the sites for anyone to have and evaluate for themselves. If you can use it that’s fine, and if you can’t, that is fine also.
The start of the trips to the Land.
Back in 2000 or 2001, I received an email from Nehemia Gordon. He wanted to know where I gained my understandings of the Calendar from. Steve Bruns was posting it to a site he had set up for us. By the way back then the Bruns and Hastings were on the same page as Linda and I in understanding the fundamentals of the true Biblical Calendar. I think the Hoecks were as well but I did not know them personally back then. Steve and Linda did. I informed Nehemia it was through the Bible and from experience in agriculture and my understanding of who was the Lamb and the First of the Firstfruits of barley. That email led to a good friendship for a few years. Actually until 2004.
My first trip to Israel was in 2002. Nehemia had invite me to participate in a group inspection for the barley. I accepted eagerly for I could now fill in any missing parts from what I already knew from afar and confirm what we also knew to be true. To emphasis that point here I clearly stated it would be a normal year when others were saying no intercalated. It was a normal 12 month year as the inspections confirmed.
The first 2 years there were more Sabbath keeping and Christians than Karaites. That is just a simple fact and can be verified in our historical reports, which by the way are not altered. You can see how we have grown in favor and acceptance and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ over the years. No vanity in any of this, just simply following the Lamb wherever He goes.
By 2004 I was by myself conducting inspections. No other Sabbath keeping Christians came back that year. Nehemia called me and asked if I could join them one day to have some people ride with me for, he did not have enough vehicles. No problem, I did so. That became a memorable day as I will elaborate on at the end of this brief history lesson.
The first 3 years inspecting together we were all in agreement as to the start of the Month of Abib. That does not mean there was not an effort from some to make a different declaration. Let me leave it at that unless it surfaces from one of them in the future and then I will give all the details. Unnecessary for now.
The next milestone was 2005.
The complete separation between myself and Nehemia took place in 2005. That is the year he broke all the rules we had in place for barley inspections. You can read about them back then so I won’t go into a lot of detail. That year Rick and Angie, and I were the only ones from our faith conducting inspections in the Land. We intercalated the year while Nehemia declared a normal year based on dead barley found in Ein Mabu’a. That was a modern-day tragedy. But just a start to his declarations which were based on criteria not to be found in the Bible.
Take a look at the attached pictures of the location he declared as an acceptable wavesheaf offering “field” that could be harvested. Forget the planting. Can’t make it up category.
We were attacked by him and just about every Sabbath keeping Christian that year who were involved in the Abib Calendar at that time. Our credibility was bashed across the Calendar landscape. Only a few of us kept it correctly that year.
His alternate declarations continued on up through 2016 which I will get to.
In 2007? Brian Hoeck contacted me. He and Ken and their families and some friends had been around since the beginning of our trips to Israel, but had not participated in the journeys there.
He was at odds with Nehemia over his assertion that the Month of Abib could not start unless there was a location in the aviv stage of growth by the last day of the 12th
month. They had searched the Bible for evidence of it but could not fine it anywhere from cover to cover. What they did find was the opposite of that. There needed to be a First of the Firstfruits qualified location by Wavesheaf Day. No doubt that was an epiphany to them. We had always operated with that understanding even when we used the internet to assist our decision making process of the stages of growth the barley was in, in the Land back in the 90’s.
Brian H, made his first trip with us to conduct inspections in 2008.
Let me be very clear here about this foundational rule about declaring the Month of Abib. To me and many other old timers, Jesus the Christ is not only the Lamb of Fathers Household but also the First of the Firstfruit Wavesheaf Offering of it as well. That is what opens the door for us Gentiles to be included into the count. He took the beatings on our behalf and was accepted by Father on our behalf. Native Israelite's did not need to be accepted for they already were included through the efforts of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. That understanding and truth of scripture and the second function of our Savior during the first month of the year is the key to keeping and recognizing the Month of Abib.
I and Linda had concluded, that if the lamb for Passover needed to be separated on the 10th of the first month for Passover and not the last day of the 12th why would the Wavesheaf of the First of the Firstfruits not have a similar designation. We used the first day of the week falling during Unleavened Bread as our day for it. Over time we shortened that timeline until Passover the start of the 14th of Abib and now to the 10th day for the reasons we have stated often.
The years that led up to 2016 were once again filled with controversy about our decisions to start the year differently from the Hebrew scholar Nehemia is a devout follower of Karaite Judaism. But now more and more people were having their eyes opened to his errors. This was another year in which we differed as well. I do think it was just Linda and I doing inspections with Gisela accompanying us on the Negev portion of them. Gisela lives in Israel. Not sure if Becca was there for a day or two that year, but she was the following 2 years.
Anyway, we caught a lot of flak for starting a normal 12 month year. Nehemia intercalated using his anti-Christ logic that the year could not start without an aviv location which is Biblically out of season. You see, that takes our Savior out of the equation to fulfill His role as the Wavesheaf. Very diabolical and clever from the father of all lies and deceit.
By that time Nehemia had accrued a very big following consisting of a great number of Messianic’s and Names (Sacred and otherwise) groups. His big mistake outside of a wrong proclamation to intercalate was going out on our Wavesheaf Day that year and make a video of what the fields looked like in the Land in the area we had chosen as an area that would be ready before Wavesheaf Day to fulfill the command for it in setting the first Month of the Biblical Year. Everywhere you looked on the video the fields were golden in color.
He acknowledged it, but said they were not at the end of the 12th month sticking to his anti-Christ doctrine. That sent many of his followers into a tizzy. They challenged him on his declaration after having missed the real Passover of the Lamb of Fathers House hold. Many then understood they may have also kept other years out of season based on this development and our decisions made differently in those years.
A firestorm ensued and Nehemia threw in the towel. He walked away from conducting inspections as well as new moon sightings leaving his followers of such in the dust. He had another means of extracting cash from people now for he had turned to writing books for sale. Lots of Christians were scooping them up.
I have included a second cluster of photos you can see in our historical records that were used at the end of the 12th Biblical Month. Yet he still convinced others to keep the year out of season.
The next year Devorah picked up what Nehemia had left. She was now the face of the new moon and barley reports.
That brings us to 2017.
Becca accompanied Linda and I that year for a number of days. We introduced her to a lot of the Land which she had never seen even though she resided there. We took a lot of time showing her the process we used for inspecting and the related locations and criteria used for making a determination. She was also present in 2018 as well, but her participation was cut short by me.
By 2019 she was inspecting without us any longer.
Here you have a brief account which brings us up to today. Devorah, Becca, and a few Karaites who went their own way, back years earlier are still at it to some extent. Never met Yoel for he came along after the separation. I do not believe he is a Karaite though. But not sure and it does not matter for he is a devout follower of Judaism.
There are only a few of us fighting in the forefront to keep the integrity of the Abib Calendar in place today in this field of spiritual warfare. There should be more and may in time if it does not run out.
With all of the experiences gained in the Land inspecting, and with our ability to accurately decide the start of the year from afar before we entered the Land, we are now posting those understandings for all to see. We are making every effort to educate others to that process. Of course, it is always being contested by those who look to make a monetary profit from the Calendar. That will always be the case until our Lord returns as the Mighty El.
They are making every effort in most years to change times and season, to separate people from the truth once delivered and in fact from their money as well.
For those of you who are deluded enough to think all the Calendar chiefs running around are one big family, you need to step back and shake of the dust of delusion. This is a spiritual war! It is not a casual thing. There is bloodshed in war, every war. And in that there are “innocents” hurt and killed. Go back and read the commands given to Native Israel about the articles of war. We are engaged in the spiritual reality of that in these days of minions encircling the Abib Calendar. More Christians need to pull out their spiritual swords and wield them to protect the babes until they can walk on their own two feet.
Now onto a subject that has been coming up of late once again.
I first me Devorah in 2002. She was the work horse behind everything that took place for Nehemia’s inspection tours. She could not always be with us for she worked a job with lots of hours. She introduced me to my first falafel, a life changing moment for sure. During a day in 2004 while carrying a bunch of folks through a back field I bottomed out the rental car. That in turn pushed the oil drain plug up into the aluminum engine block and yes, there was a big pool of oil on the ground and the engine was dead. This was down near Ofakim in the Negev.
Devorah stuck with me while everyone else left. This was around mid-morning on a Friday. We waited for a tow truck to come from Ofakim. It took a long time being everyone’s day off and the Sabbath coming on.
We got towed to a shop in Ofakim who were not too receptive to our plight. Devorah asked me what she had to tell them to get this fixed. I told her we needed to get the engine block repaired with the drain plug welded back in place and be on our way prior to sunset. Well, she got into a knock down drag out with the owner and mechanic. It was an effort I will not forget. They were in each other’s face and she was not going to back down. Of course, it was all in Hebrew so I listened and understood what was being said by the emotions displayed.
She won!
Listen to this you guys who understand what happened based on working on vehicles. They stripped all the accessories on the engine and unbolted it from the mounts, pulled it out and sent in over to a shop that did aluminum welding to fix the bolt and hole on the bottom of the block. They had it back in about 2 hours and then the mechanics put it all back in the car with everything hooked up 2 hours before sunset.
Then they tried to extract too much cash for the job and Devorah pretty much attacked them. They came to an agreement and she asked me if x amount would work. I laughed and told her great job Devorah. I paid with the card and off we went laughing about the hole event. It turned out to be around 190 dollars US.
Devorah understands what drives me, and I what drives her.
I hear once again I am an antisemite in my comments towards her. Wow are those folks in error on many fronts. They are “John-come-lately’s” and opportunists representing one of the “grifters” people of stupor in all of this. By the way the people of stupor are to be found in Judaism and little “c” Christianity. Both have had their spiritual eyes closed to the truth. Devorah knows I have respect for her as an accomplished person. She also knows I have no respect for her religion. That was made obvious through hours upon hours of biblical discussions only being allowed to use First Covenant scriptures the first 2 years of our inspections together. Imagine that once again. No problem for me or others to prove our truths with just one leg. That in fact was a shock to Nehemia, never met Christians who understood “their scriptures” like we did.
Having respect for a person and not for their religion are completely separate issues, but some have no ability of character to separate them. Unfortunate, but it is a sign of the times and leads to a bad situation. By the way, you folks who use antisemitism should be in fact using anti-Jew. I am a Semite, a descendant of Shem. Back in the circa 1879 Wilhelm Marr instilled and misappropriating the term and its actual meaning and intent. It is now the norm to replace anti-Jew. Imagine that.
I am not anti-Jew; I am anti-Judaism, just like Christ was and is. Take a read of Matthew 23 and wake up on that truth. Judaism is just another name for the commands and traditions of the Mishna and Talmud. A simple read of Mark 7 is abundantly clear on that. As are many, many more scriptures from Him.
I also use names like He did. Remember: vipers, serpents, fools, hypocrites, liars, etc. With that said I hear there are people upset at me using Biblical terms such as “people of stupor.” Are you kidding! Do you think this is patsy cake time? Are you full of more understanding than Paul? We are talking about the heart and soul of the Body of Christ here, not some little lord Jesus philosophy.
Paul instructs me in such things and in case you have forgotten he was a Jew and once renowned for his grasp of Judaism.
Romans 11:7-10 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks. But the elect (of the First Covenant) have obtained it (waiting in the grave for their reward), and the rest were blinded. Just as it is written: Elohim has given them a spirit of stupor,eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear to this very day. And David says: let their table become a snare and a trap,a stumbling block and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.
Who do you think he is talking about here? Eyes so that they cannot see pertaining to what is to be done to please our Elohim. Their table is a snare to one who professes to be a follower of Christ. They are antichrist, or do you think otherwise? They are not ashamed of that. At the time there were no little “c” Christians around but there are today and the same thing applies to them. No bigotry there, eh!
Paul is giving an account of what our Elohim have done to Jews. This applies to their religion. It does not apply to things outside of that. I do not hate Jews; I despise their false religion. The same goes for Muslims. I do not hate Muslims; I despise their false religion. I do not hate little “c” Christians, I hate their religion. Unfortunately, many can’t separate those things. I can.
How about this in verse 28
Concerning the gospel enemies for your sake, but concerning the election beloved for the sake of the fathers.
Do you get that? They are enemies of the Gospel because of their religion not because they are Jewish. We are not to let them instruct us in Biblical things. In fact, John picks up from here and gives a lot of instruction about not doing that. BUT, they are not to be hated for that, because they have been given a spirit of stupor. Thus, no religious relationship. Everything else is fine as I see and understand it.
Thus, I have the name “people of stupor” for them and it applies to lots of dumbed down Christians as well. That is 100 percent scriptural. So, take your complaining to Father and Christ, not me.
Unfortunately, many have accepted teachers in Judaism to instruct them in Calendar doctrines. That is a no, no according to scripture. I can list many references to it but you all have read them over and over if you read your Bible.
In the many years that have passed since the inspections started in the Land, we have had to contend with every possible type of money grabbing scum you can image who saw the Abib Calendar as a means of enriching themselves. Some of you know the history of how often these false witnesses would ingratiate themselves as being authorities of the Calendar and servants of the body only to change times and seasons. Be mindful wolves don’t always come in sheep’s clothing, but that of teddy bears, clowns, etc.
Nothing has changed in that regard. There are still people doing the same thing. Thus, I address them accordingly. I did then and I do now. They too are enemies of the gospel.
There are far too many Sabbath keeping people who are trying to keep the Abib Calendar, who allow these fakes and frauds into their lives who think the Abib Calendar is a means of gain; monetarily and for a following.
Why do you subject your calling to a hireling?
I will wrap up with that. Keep your focus on the Lamb and on our First of the Firstfruit Wavesheaf of Fathers household and believe what the Bible says.
Our peace we give to you.