6 And I heard as it were the
voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the
voice of mighty thunderings, saying, HalleluYah!: for Yahweh Almighty
omnipotent reigneth.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice,
and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his
wife hath made herself ready.
8 And to her was granted that
she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen
is the righteousness of saints.
9 And he saith unto me, Write,
Blessed are they which are
called [invited] unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto
me, These are the true sayings of the Almighty.[1]
The marriage supper of the Lamb will take place in the Kingdom of Heaven
and you would think that everyone wants to be there; however, the
reality is, many folks either don’t believe the marriage supper of the
Lamb will ever actually take place or else they don’t give it enough
thought to take it seriously. In the parable of the wedding banquet, a
king prepares a sumptuous wedding banquet for his son, he “calls” or
invites many of what we would consider the well-to-do, deserving folks,
but gets no response. In fact, some of those who are invited mistreat
and even kill some of the servants who are sent to do the inviting!
Enraged, the king tells his remaining servants to go to the highways and
gather as many as they can find. In the end, everyone at the banquet
has a fantastic repast, while some who later try to sneak in without a
wedding garment are thrown out into “outer darkness, where there shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Yeshua ends His parable by forthrightly stating, “For many are called
[invited], but few are chosen.”[2]
There is a reason the second word "are" in that verse is in italics.
The use of italics was the King James Version translators' device for
letting the reader know that they added the word to the text to provide
clarification. I would agree that clarification is always helpful,
but in this particular case I am persuaded that the translators created
confusion instead of clarification. In understanding
Yeshua's parable message, we are hopefully able to observe that in each
group that was called by the king, the invitees chose not to come to the
wedding supper. It was their choice to not attend. So many were called
or invited, but few choose to accept. It's not that few "are
chosen," but rather few "have chosen." At least that's what
better fits the context of the parable, in my humble opinion. What makes
this parable so interesting to me is that of the original invitees, none of them chose to come. It was what we would consider the
"second-class citizens" who chose to come after the original
"first-class" invitees spurned their invitations. So yes, few choose to
take the road that leads to the marriage supper. June and I want to be
on that road! Who has been called? Have we been called? If I
properly understand Yeshua’s parable, He tells those who have ears to
hear that those who actually end up celebrating at the party are those
whom we would least expect to be there. We could probably discuss and
debate long hours whether or not we have been given the initial,
original invitation to the wedding supper; all I know is, June and I
want to be invited and we want to accept.
What Do New Year's Day
Celebrations Have to Do With Being Called?
Given the fact that we’re all going to have our perceptions of who
accepts and who spurns the invitation to the big wedding banquet that
the Almighty is preparing for His Son, I thought I would use the
occasion of what our world collectively regards as New Year’s Day to
share my personal perception of folks who, quite frankly, are not
interested in accepting the king's invitation. In other words,
they "have not chosen." When you think about it, the day our world
calls "New Year's Day" serves as an easy gauge for determining who is
interested in doing things Yahweh's way ("has chosen") versus those who
really don't give a hoot. I am writing this commentary on January 1,
2016 and the week leading up to this date was abuzz with co-workers
chatting about their New Year’s Eve plans, well wishes for friends and
acquaintances to have a “Happy New Year,” etc., etc. I’m sure most of
my readers know what I’m talking about! On December 30th, one of my
dear co-workers was telling me of what all she had planned for New
Year’s Eve. I’m not sure why she was giving me so many details about
what she was planning on wearing, who would be there, the specific type
of food she was looking forward to eating at the party, all of which was
information that didn’t interest me in the least, but I didn’t want to
insult her by ignoring her words. Keep in mind that this woman knows
full well that June and I observe the weekly Sabbath and that we don’t
celebrate any holidays other than those ordained by the Almighty in His
Word. She and I have worked for the same company for the past four
years, so she pretty much knows where I stand on things, even though I
try to stay “low key” at work. She also knows that I would never
attempt to impose my faith on her, but that's another story for another
time.
As I was saying, on December 30th, my dear co-worker was telling me
about the place where she was going, the food they will serve there and
how exciting it will be. Since I’m not the least bit interested in the
intricate details of what all goes into a New Year’s Eve party, I found
myself tuning her out for the most part. Of course, I want my friend to
be full of joy and I wouldn’t wish her to have a bad time at her New
Year’s Eve celebration, but at the same time, I found myself thinking,
“Why is she telling me all this??!! Doesn’t she know I don’t regard
January 1st as ‘day 1’ of the Creator’s new year?” Just as suddenly, I
realized that I had never actually explained my beliefs about the true
“new year” to her. Knowing her to be a kind soul who would at least let
me offer a general summary of what I believe, I pulled out one of those
“sticky notes” that we all keep in our desks at work and asked her if
she knows any Spanish. I knew she does, but I asked her anyway because
I knew I could use some basic Spanish to make the point I wanted to
make, which would in turn serve to illustrate that mankind has truly
made some rather drastic changes to the calendar over the years. Here’s
a sketch of what I wrote:
|
Siete (#7)
à
September (but it’s the 9th month)
Ocho (#8)
à
October (but it’s the 10th month)
Nueve (#9)
à
November (but it’s the 11th month)
Diez (#10)
à
December (but it’s the 12th month)
|
Can we examine the above and come to the realization that
at some point in time, the month we know as “September” was the
seventh
month of the year, the month of October was the eighth month of the
year, and so on? As I explained the above facts, my friend occasionally
interrupted my mini-presentation with expressions of “Wow!” She seemed
to immediately grasp that somewhere along the way, a change was made to
the original calendar. What was once the seventh month is now regarded
as being the ninth month. The eighth month is now the tenth month.
When you lay it all out, you realize that at some point in time February
must have been the twelfth month and March was the first month. In
fact, the ancient new year would usually begin in late March and include
much of the month we know as April. Although relatively few people out
there know this fact, the information is readily available. In
fact, a children's encyclopedia, The New Book of Knowledge,
published by Grolier Incorporated, wastes no time in informing its
readers that March was originally the first month of the year:
March was originally the 1st month of the year in the
Roman calendar. The Romans named the month after Mars, the god of
war. Later March became the 3rd month.
[3]
So yes, it doesn't take a lot of research ability to validate the
fact that at some point in history, mankind decided to begin a new year
in the winter instead of in the spring. Keep in mind, I just gave
my friend a general overview of one of the changes made in the
now-distant past; I didn’t go into the fact that in ancient times a new
month didn’t begin until a new moon had been sighted (unless it was too
cloudy to see the new moon on the 30th day of the old month). It's sad,
but I've found that many people cannot comprehend the fact that a new
month shouldn't begin until a new moon has been sighted -- and in fact,
that is how Jewish authorities testify the calendar was originally
reckoned. I didn't go into these minute details with my friend
because I didn't sense that I would be able to keep her interested.
All I did was demonstrate that the month we call “December” was once
known as the 10th month of the year instead of the 12th month of
the year, which means there were still two months to go before our
ancestors would shout, “Happy New Year!”
I further explained that when the European nations, one by one, accepted
and adopted the Gregorian calendar, the new year was declared to begin
in the month we know as January. Some people refused to accept this
change because they understood that, according to the Bible, the new
year begins in late March or early April. Of course, we know that many
folks out there have no regard for when the Bible says to begin the
year, so the majority of people accepted the change. Those who
stubbornly clung to the “old ways” became known as “April Fools.”
The World Book Encyclopedia explains the origin of “April Fools’
Day”:
april fools’ day
is the first day of April. In English-speaking
countries, men, women, and children play absurd but harmless jokes on
April Fools’ Day. The victim is called an April Fool. The observance
originated in France after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar.
France was the first nation to adopt the new calendar, introduced in
1564. Up to that time, the New Year celebration began March 21 and
ended April 1. When New Year’s
Day was changed to January 1, some people still celebrated April 1.
These people came to be known as April fools. The custom of
fooling friends and relatives on that day became popular in France, and
spread to other countries. It was widespread in England by the 1600’s.
In France, the victim is called an April fish. In Scotland, he is
called an April gawk.[4]
My friend seemed to gain an appreciation for the fact that in times past
our ancestors began the new year, not in January, but in late
March/early April. To that end, she asked if I could show her where in
the Bible it tells us to begin the new year in March. That is a
terrific question! I explained that there was no such name as “March”
or “April” in Bible times, but that our Creator told Moses and Aaron
when they were to begin the new year and this first month (“moon”) falls
during the same month as Passover, which is in the spring. That verse
is Exodus 12:2:
And
Yahweh spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying,
2
This month shall be unto
you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the
year to you.
3 Speak ye unto all the
congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month
they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house
of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
4 And if the household
be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto
his house take it according to the number of the souls; every
man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
5 Your lamb shall be
without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out
from the sheep, or from the goats:
6 And ye shall keep it
up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole
assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the
evening.
I included the additional verses above just
in case there should be any question about whether or not the timing of
the “beginning of months” coincides with the month of the Passover.
From the above text, it should be clear that our Creator's instruction
is to begin a new year in the spring. When you factor in all of
the above information, the following two sobering truths emerge:
1) The Creator
ordained that the year begins in the spring.
2) Man
ordained that the year begins in the winter.
Whose “ordaining” do you go with? The Creator’s or man’s? June and I
do our best to go with the Creator’s original inspired calendar, so
although we reluctantly date things according to the Gregorian calendar
dates (since very few would know what we’re talking about if we dated
this study Tebeth 19), we officially reckon feast days and other events
that take place during the year according to the Scriptural calendar.
That is why we don’t recognize or attend New Year’s Eve celebrations,
nor do we regard January 1st as “New Year’s Day.” It doesn’t take much
research to know that man in general rejects the Creator’s ordained
calendar. This explains why we are unable to purchase a calendar in any
store that shows the new year beginning in any month other than January
– the month of man’s choosing.
Those who don’t study their Bibles (and that includes a lot of people,
I’m afraid) might find amusement in the fact that those who refused to
begin the new year in January were called “April fools.” Those who
do study their Bibles might be reminded of a place where the Apostle
Paul consoled his Corinthian brethren, who were considered “fools” by
citizens in their local community because of the lifestyle they lived as
they practiced their faith. Here’s what he wrote:
18
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us
which are saved it is the power of the Almighty.
19 For it is written, I will
destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is
the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not the Almighty
made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom
of Yahweh the world by wisdom knew not the Almighty, it pleased Yahweh
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign,
and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Messiah
crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks
foolishness;
24 But unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Messiah the power of Yahweh, and the
wisdom of Yahweh.
25
Because the foolishness of
Yahweh is wiser than men; and the weakness of the Almighty is stronger
than men.
26 For ye see your calling,
brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble, are called:
27 But
Yahweh hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise; and Yahweh hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the
world, and things which are despised, hath the Almighty chosen, yea, and
things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory
in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Messiah
Yeshua, who of Yahweh is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is
written, He that glorieth, let him glory in Yahweh.[5]
Summing up what the Apostle Paul wrote, believing that Yeshua was
crucified and sacrificed in our place, giving us the hope of eternal
life through the atonement produced by His shed blood – this is pure
foolishness to skeptics. Indeed, practicing the faith as presented in
Scripture seems foolish to unbelievers and sometimes even to those who
consider themselves believers, yet teach that the law pertaining to the
reckoning of a year was “done away.” For those who understand the
permanence of Yahweh’s law – and especially for those who understand
that Yahweh wouldn’t in one place tell us when a year begins only to
later choose a different method (without telling us) – for those
believers, continuing to reckon the year in accordance with the only
directive the Creator has ever given is not “foolishness.”
It is simply going by our Heavenly Father’s prescribed method of
reckoning.
There was still one more piece to the puzzle that I chose to share with
my co-worker, and that is the fact that the prophet Daniel prophesied of
a time when a “little horn” would one day arise, a “horn” that would
wear out the saints of the Most High and that this “horn” would think to
change times and laws (Daniel 7:25). I don’t know about you, but if I
knew that my family and I reckon the new year in the spring of each year
and that this “new year” coincides with the timing ordained by the
Creator in His Word, plus if I knew that there is a prophecy about a
futuristic “horn” that would dare think to change “times and laws,” I
would be very, very, very hesitant about declaring that the new year,
going forward, will begin in the winter instead of the spring.
So yes, I shared a basic summary of all the above with my co-worker.
She seemed interested and she even asked questions. She was definitely
engaged. Now please don’t get me wrong: I did not share the above
information with the intent of converting my friend to my way of
thinking. I only wanted her to understand my perspective, giving her a
little insight as to why my family and I do not celebrate New Year’s
Eve, nor do we recognize January 1 as “New Year’s Day.” Nevertheless, I
would be less than honest if I told you I wasn’t hoping that a light
bulb would suddenly spring over her head, causing all the puzzle pieces
to fit together and leading her to exclaim, “Oh, my goodness, I had no
idea what I’ve been doing all these years! I can’t go to that New
Year’s Eve celebration after all, now that I know the truth of its
origin!”
However, that’s not what happened. It turns out that my friend treated
our session like a game of Trivial Pursuit and within moments of
our conversation having ended, she was emphatically wishing other
co-workers a “Happy New Year!” Any truth that I presented, including
the fact that what man has done was prophesied to occur long, long ago,
had no visible or audible effect on my friend. I am reminded of the
famous Winston Churchill quote: “Men occasionally stumble over the
truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing
happened.” The issue of man’s calendar versus the Creator’s calendar
may be the easiest means of proving how far mankind has deviated from
doing things the way our Creator says to do them, yet putting “two and
two together” and determining to abandon “man’s way” and to henceforth
do things “Yahweh’s way” apparently involves a spiritual connection that
many people either don’t have or won’t have. Yahweh knows. In the
meantime, those of us who are bent on living our lives in compliance
with Yahweh’s ways can only remain true to self, determined to allow the
true potter to mold our lives, not men (Isaiah 64:8).
Getting back to my original point about those who are invited to the
Marriage Supper of the Lamb, my brain tells me that if an individual
cannot easily put “two and two” together and (1) understand that mankind
has collectively snubbed the Creator’s instructions about when to begin
a new year and (2) determine to ditch man’s program and get with
Yahweh’s program, then that individual has not chosen to accept the
king's invitation. My brain, then, tells me that my friend at work is
ignoring the invitation, which saddens me, but since I doubt that I’ll
ever comprehend the forces that cause one individual to “put two and
two” together and live his or her life accordingly, whereas another
individual is content to “go with the flow of the status quo,” all I can
do is pray to the Father for guidance, for understanding and for patient
love. After all, for all I know, my friend will be one of those
"second-class citizens" out there on the highways and by-ways of life
who gets the invitation that others spurned. Maybe, given some
time, my friend will understand "Who" the king is and she will then
welcome the invitation.
I think
we need to remember that many of those who were originally called to the
wedding banquet spurn the invitation and I’m pretty sure they are the
ones who later (after it's too late) come to their senses and try to
sneak in. Yes, there is a time when it's "too late" to accept!
If we try sneaking in, we will not have been issued that special
"wedding garment" and we will end up in “outer darkness,” whereas those
who weren’t originally invited are the ones who will be up celebrating.
This should serve as a reminder for those of us currently seeking the
right path to be careful to avoid such things as complacency, arrogance
and a closed mind. How often do we hear of folks who we know
have closed minds charging those with whom they disagree of being the
ones with closed minds? How easy it is for us to fall into the trap of
thinking we’re the ones who have that special connection to the
Almighty while failing in areas where others with true humility
succeed!
The best option is for all of us to be in tune with our Creator’s ways
now and always. Let’s rush to accept that first or even the second
invitation, but let’s not push anyone out of our way to get there! May
we all walk in the faith once delivered to the saints as we humbly make
our way to that banquet. Isn’t exhibiting this behavior part of our
calling?
