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The Apocalypse of Peter
(Traditional Version)
Translation and Introduction
by M. R. James
The Apocryphal New Testament
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924)
6 And as we
prayed, suddenly there appeared two men standing before the Lord (perhaps add, to the east) upon whom we were not able to
look. 7 For there issued from their countenance a ray as of the sun, and their raiment was shining so as the eye of man never
saw the like: for no mouth is able to declare nor heart to conceive the glory wherewith they were clad and the beauty of their
countenance. 8 Whom when we saw we were astonied, for their bodies were whiter than any snow and redder than any rose. 9 And
the redness of them was mingled with the whiteness, and, in a word, I am not able to declare their beauty. 10 For their hair
was curling and flourishing (flowery), and fell comely about their countenance and their shoulders like a garland woven of
nard and various flowers, or like a rainbow in the air: such was their comeliness.
11 We, then, seeing the beauty
of them were astonied at them, for they appeared suddenly. 12 And I drew near to the Lord and said: Who are these? 13 He saith
to me: These are your (our) righteous brethren whose appearance ye did desire to see. 14 And I said unto him: And where are
all the righteous? or of what sort is the world wherein they are, and possess this glory? 15 And the Lord showed me a very
great region outside this world exceeding bright with light, and the air of that place illuminated with the beams of the sun,
and the earth of itself flowering with blossoms that fade not, and full of spices and plants, fair-flowering and incorruptible,
and bearing blessed fruit. 16 And so great was the blossom that the odour thereof was borne thence even unto us....
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1 John 4:1
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of
God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2 Corinthians 11:4
For if he that cometh preacheth
another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel,
which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
2 Timothy 3:13
But evil men and seducers shall wax
worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
Galatians 1:6
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him
that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Galatians 1:7
Which is not another; but there
be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
2 Peter 2:1
But there were false prophets
also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even
denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
Romans 16:17
Now I beseech
you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
Romans 16:18
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words
and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Revelation 2:2
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy
patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not,
and hast found them liars:
Revelation 2:3
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast
laboured, and hast not fainted
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The Prophetic Significance of the Feasts
What the Jewish people did not seem to realize
is that all of the feasts were also symbolic types. In other words, they were prophetic in nature, each one pointing in a
unique way to some aspect of the life and work of the promised Messiah.
1) Passover - Pointed to the Messiah as
our passover lamb whose blood would be shed for our sins. Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the Passover,
at the same time that the lambs were being slaughtered for the Passover meal that evening.
2) Unleavened Bread
- Pointed to the Messiah's sinless life, making Him the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus' body was in the grave during
the first days of this feast, like a kernel of wheat planted and waiting to burst forth as the bread of life.
3)
First Fruits - Pointed to the Messiah's resurrection as the first fruits of the righteous. Jesus was resurrected on this very
day, which is one of the reasons that Paul refers to him in I Corinthians 15:20 as the "first fruits from the dead."
4) Harvest or Pentecost - (Called Shavuot today.) Pointed to the great harvest of souls, both Jew and Gentile, that
would come into the kingdom of God during the Church Age. The Church was actually established on this day when the Messiah
poured out the Holy Spirit and 3,000 souls responded to Peter's first proclamation of the Gospel.
The long interval
of three months between Harvest and Trumpets pointed to the current Church Age, a period of time that was kept as a mystery
to the Hebrew prophets in Old Testament times.
That leaves us with the three fall feasts which are yet to be fulfilled
in the life and work of the Messiah. Because Jesus literally fulfilled the first four feasts and did so on the actual feast
days, I think it is safe to assume that the last three will also be fulfilled and that their fulfillment will occur on the
actual feast days. We cannot be certain how they will be fulfilled, but my guess is that they most likely have the following
prophetic implications:
5) Trumpets - (Called Rosh Hashana today.) Points to the Rapture when the Messiah will
appear in the heavens as a Bridegroom coming for His bride, the Church. The Rapture is always associated in Scripture with
the blowing of a loud trumpet (I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians 15:52)
6) Atonement - (Called Yom Kippur
today.) Points to the day of the Second Coming of Jesus when He will return to earth. That will be the day of atonement for
the Jewish remnant when they "look upon Him whom they have pierced," repent of their sins, and receive Him as their
Messiah (Zechariah 12:10 and Romans 11:1-6, 25-36).
7) Tabernacles - (Called Sukkot today.) Points to the Lord's
promise that He will once again tabernacle with His people when He returns to reign over all the world from Jerusalem (Micah
4:1-7).
The Week of Millenniums
One final note about the feasts. Six of them the first six are related to
man's sin and struggle to exist. The last feast, Tabernacles, is related to rest. It is the most joyous feast of the year.
It looks to the past in celebration of God's faithfulness in the wilderness. It looks to the present in celebration of the
completion of the hard labor of the agricultural cycle. And it looks to the future in celebration of God's promise to return
to this earth and provide the world with rest in the form of peace, righteousness and justice
The seven feasts
thus parallel what I call the "rhythm of God" that was established during the week of creation namely, six days
of work followed by one day of rest.
This rhythm is repeated over and over in the Scriptures, as illustrated in
the chart below.
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Complete Calender: CLICK - HERE
Lesser Known Highlights of Jewish International Relations In The Common Era (an Abbreviated sampling)
DATE PLACE EVENT
250 C.E. Canhage Expulsion
224 C.E. Italy Forced Conversion
325
C.E. Jerusalem Expulsion
351 C.E Persia Book Burning
357 C.E. Italy Property Confiscation
379 C.E. Milan Synagogue Burning
415 C.E. Alexandria Expulsion
418 C.E. Minorca Forced Conversion
469 C.E. Ipahan Holocaust
489 C.E. Antioch Synagogue Burning
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For The Complete Count - CLICK - HERE
THE HOLY FESTIVALS OF ISRAEL
MOEDIM HA'ELOHIM (G-D'S APPOINTED DAYS)
1009 C.E. Orleans Massacre
1012 C.E. Rouen, Limoges & Rome Massacre
1012 C.E. Mayence
Expulsion
1021 C.E. Rome Jews Burned Alive
1063 C.E. Spain Massacre
1095 C.E. Lorraine
Massacre
1096 C.E. Northern France & Germany 1/3 of Jewish Population Massacred
1096 C.E. Hungary
Massacre
1096 C.E. Ralisbon Massacre
1099 C.E. Jerusalem Jews Burned Alive
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Complete Count: CLICK-HERE
1920 C.E. Munich & Breslau Mob Attacks
1922 C.E. Boston, MA Lawrence Lowell, President of Harvard,
calls for Quota Restrictions on Jewish Admission
1926 C.E. Uzbekistan Pogrom
1928 C.E. Hungary Widespread
Anti-Semitic Riots on University Campuses
1929 C.E. Lemberg (Poland) Mob Attacks
1930 C.E. Berlin
Mob Attack
1933 C.E. Bucharest Mob Attacks
1938-45 C.E. Europe Holocaust
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