Category: Improvement

Building Mental Strength

Recently during an evening walk, I started thinking about mental strength, discipline, endurance and the reward. Our mind can be the first to give up when our bodies could endure more, therefore having mental control and discipline is what can turn average people into athletes. And we get a reward for the mental strength and discipline by design: it’s the release of endorphins – “those happiness hormones”.

We seek that reward in life, so while I’m on that subject, I’ll share Healthline’s suggestion of 8 natural ways of obtaining endorphins:

  1. Exercise
  2. Laugh
  3. Listen to Music
  4. Get Acupuncture
  5. Eat Dark Chocolate
  6. Have Sex
  7. Dance
  8. Meditate

Mental Strength certainly helps in athletic ability, but it also helps us in every day life situations. A common description for Mental Strength is resilience. When a person has mental strength, they are resilient. Becoming a resilient person is beneficial for all of us. Mental Strength or Mental Toughness is described as:

“The process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of stress.”

The American Psychological Association (2014)

Searching for “how to build mental strength” the results identified many articles and books covering this topic, however the most complete book addressing this was not listed as a reference book. Many people probably wouldn’t even think of reading this book to develop mental strength, yet it has the best examples of mental strength within it and words of wisdom making it an excellent reference book on mental strength. This book is the Bible. After studying the Bible, and hearing various sermons or bible studies from Pastors of churches, I realized how so many of the common topics or reasons people go to therapists are addressed in and solved by the Bible! If the Bible was referenced, we would know the answers, the solutions to so many problems. To illustrate this point, the list below was obtained from various articles about “how to build mental strength” and I added a few links to the Bible’s verses, chapters or books that illustrate and direct people towards these habits. There are many more than what I’ve referenced- they can be found throughout the Bible.

Mental Strength can be obtained by:

In summary, the Bible has excellent examples of mental strength throughout. Paul who wrote the letters to the Thessalonians, Ephesians, Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians and Romans in the Bible exhibits this mental strength in many of his letters and during the time he was imprisoned. Jesus exhibits this in his avoidance of temptation (Mark 1:13) and when Jesus followed through with God’s will: (Luke 22:42). Most of Jesus’ disciples were executed but had such great mental strength that even the threat of death did not keep them from telling people about eternal life. So if you want to improve your mental strength, read the Bible, you will be amazed at how it will change your life. This isn’t “just a book”, this is the “living word” of God. (2 Timothy 3:16)

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The Law of Death, but Jesus Saved Us.

I didn’t publish this on Monday 2/21/22 because I couldn’t decide on a Title and then I reconsidered and thought, maybe this was just something God wanted to say to me, not something to write about? But this morning 2/23/22, the subject showed up in my morning bible read and since I drafted all this Monday (and it’s long) I decided to publish today (Wednesday). This verse stood out to me:

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1

and this one:

“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin” Romans 7:14

(Makes sense why this is not easy to understand!) You may be interested in reading Romans 6, Romans 7 and Romans 8 further. The following is what I originally drafted a couple days ago:

I had another one of those moments where I woke up in the middle of the night (2/20/22) having more clarity about a biblical concept I’ve continually struggled with: sacrifices and death. It’s been hard for me to understand why God allowed and required both (in the Old Testament) and sometimes even assembled people to kill others, when I know God is love. A couple years ago I wrote about “Sacrifice” and looking back on that article, I didn’t fully understood, I had part of the concept, but not all of it. Last night, more became very clear and it literally woke me up. I wrote down everything that came into my thoughts so I wouldn’t forget when morning came. (The evening before this thought, I had a conversation with someone and told them I still struggled with how it was “fair” to allow innocent animals to be killed as a substitute for people’s sins.) I guess I received the answer last night? This is how the thoughts came to me:

God created Life.

God created the Laws.

One of the Laws was explained by Paul: “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The payment or penalty in (God’s) court of Law for sin is death. This is the way for justice to prevail. God’s future kingdom will not have sin present in it. Sin entered the earth/world through Satan. Sin is the separation from God. Satan separated himself from God. Jesus told us that he is the vine and we are the branches, if a branch is disconnected from the vine it shrivels up and is burned. (John 15)

Satan quoted scripture in the Bible; he is familiar with it and uses it in a deceptive, manipulative way. He knows his future, he will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10), his time to affect those on earth is limited by God and he is aware. I think that is why corruption on earth appears to get worse as time goes on- evil now has a sense of urgency to complete it’s goal: to murder.

Sin can’t be in the presence of holiness or death will occur. (Exodus 19:12)

So because of the Law, death must occur for the sin. (Enforcing this law is also distorted scripture by Satan because God is the only one with the authority to judge if someone has sinned; people are not. Jesus made this apparent when he said the one without sin is the only one who could stone the woman caught in adultery. John 8 But if people judge others they will be judged by God in the same way they judged others.) Luke 6:37 Jesus will be the one to judge when Jesus returns.

The Law of death allowed a substitute death, to pay the penalty/wages for sin. Remember death came into the world as a result of Satan’s presence. God doesn’t want the sacrifices (Psalm 50) (Isaiah 1:11) God desires mercy not sacrifice. (Matthew 9:13) (Proverbs 21:3) (1 Samuel 15:22)

The Law of God does not change, unlike man made laws. Matthew 5:17 Therefore the Law requiring death as the penalty for sin will remain- unchanged.

Because of sin, death was in the world; the world became cursed (Genesis 3:17) when sin entered. Satan holds the power of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15) Cain was the first to make an animal offering (killing an animal) which God was not pleased with; Cain also was the first to kill someone, when he killed his brother Abel. (Genesis 4)

Jesus came into the world to become the final sacrifice and make the payment, pay the penalty for mankind’s sin. (Hebrews 2:17) He was the only one who could do that because he was sinless. (Revelation 5)

The punishment by Law for all of us would have been death if Jesus didn’t come. That’s what it means when we hear Jesus came to save us. This is literal, Jesus came to save us from death because every sin is punishable by death. There is no tolerance of any sin. The original sacrifices were not of equal value, so that is why the kept recurring. No sacrifices could save. (Hebrews 10) No one was able to remain sinless because Satan corrupted all. Jesus was obedient and followed the Law. Jesus was able to fulfill the Law. The Law is God’s will. “Not by my will, but Yours” Jesus prayed. (Luke 22:42-43) Jesus paid our debt.

God is being gracious to us in allowing so many years to pass before judgement occurs. (2 Peter 3:9) He wants all his children but there will eventually be a time, where the time runs out and it’s time to face Judgement. It is our decision. We’d have to be ignorant to choose “death.” That’s what Jesus meant when he said: “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6). “Through me” means Jesus was the final sacrifice making it possible for us to be in eternity. Mankind’s works or effort to be good was not successful throughout history. It was failure. We are not capable as God is. We need God’s spirit as humans. Romans 8:11 God’s spirit can’t dwell in someone sinful because sin separates from God. When we willingly give our life to Jesus, we are telling him: I give up. I can’t do it. I need you. When God hears this, he has mercy because He loves us and claims us as his children. Until we make that clear to God, we are not God’s children; we remain children of the devil; slaves to Satan/sin. When we become God’s children (Romans 8:14) we understand what is happening. God wants more people in eternity. He is patient, but there is a cut off point. We are in a race, a race against time.

Jesus is the gate-keeper. (John 10:7)

In some ways it may be easier for the non-religious to be saved than the religious because of all the tradition: the repetition of words can sometimes become meaningless if the words are not put into action. (James 2) If we are not mindful, the words can become so repetitious that they loose the meaning to us.

Our time is limited, we need to take action. God loves us, but some won’t love God back. Just like personal relationships: sometimes we love people who don’t love us back. God knows what that’s like, He experiences it also. Not everyone who is loved, will love back and we just have to let go and let people make their own decisions, that’s what God does.

The fear of death is from the devil/Satan. (Hebrews 2:15) Death is not forever, that’s a lie, it’s not the end. Satan is a liar. (John 8:44) And this is one of the biggest lies. People will be immortal, but not all will reside with God in eternity. There is a physical death (the first one), but it is not permanent, it is only temporary until Judgement Day. The second death is the separation from God/being cast into the “lake of fire” for eternity. That is what should be feared. (Luke 12:5) Satan influences people to live for the moment in this world- not for eternity. But which is longer? Which is more important? The moment or eternity? Our death on earth should not be feared. Proceeding without God should be feared.

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How to Prepare for the “Great Tribulation”

Preparation is what enables us to proceed with confidence into “Great Tribulation”. We probably agree that not being prepared is one of life’s greatest regrets, isn’t it? Have you ever thought: “If I only knew _________ before this happened!” What if we are heading into one of the toughest times of our lives in this world, as time moves forward? Do you believe you are prepared today? Don’t make that mistake of being unprepared again, heading into the toughest times ever experienced in the world, get prepared now.

7 Steps to Prepare:

  1. Seek God for Wisdom (Non-Believer): If you don’t know what to say or how to pray, and you’re not sure what you believe, or if you believe, here is an example of what to say: “Dear God, I do not know You. I’m not even sure You exist at this point in my life, but I want to know the truth. If You exist, please allow me to get to know You, please reveal Yourself to me. Please give me wisdom to know the truth. If You reveal Yourself to me, I will in return take action to get to know You better through reading and studying the Bible and will continue to communicate with You through prayer. Please clarify and help me know the truth about Jesus and the Holy Spirit”
  2. Believe. (Keep studying the Bible and praying and the following will become clear to you.) There is one God (who interacts with people in 3 forms: God as the Father, the Son (Jesus, the Messiah) and the Holy Spirit. This one God in all three forms was present before, and during the creation of the earth (and everything on it) and is eternal. You may ask: Why would God be in three forms if there is one God? (There are specific purposes for each form, as humans, I don’t know that any of us have a complete understanding because as Jesus asked, how can I tell you of the spiritual things when we have so much difficulty understanding things of this world). God was physically present with humans in the beginning of the earth and will be physically present with humans in eternity on a new earth, but sin entered the earth through evil spiritual beings (Satan: the Devil and Fallen Angels: Demons-Evil Spirits) and has been destroying all the good that God created. The evil spiritual beings who separated themselves from God are at war with God and are actively influencing us on earth (even today) in an attempt to separate us from God just like they will be separated from God in eternity. Jesus came to earth (Mary gave birth to him, but he was conceived by God’s Spirit- Jesus was more than a man, or Prophet as some may think). Jesus came to fulfill prophecies, let people know about God’s future kingdom and to save all people who believe. Jesus was killed (by crucifixion) by people because of his teachings, but he rose from the dead after being placed in a tomb, he appeared to thousands of people, even ate with some of them so that people would know there is eternity and believers will understand there will be a new bodily, immortal form after death. He did this to reassure people of his teachings and to reveal God, and most importantly to serve as the required sacrifice (making atonement, purifying believers) so that Believers are able to have eternal life with God. He ascended into the clouds after spending time with people and reassured that he would return in the future. When Jesus left, the Holy Spirit was sent to his followers and continues to be sent to current Believers today. Believers who commit to living in accordance with God’s commands and then ask God for the Holy Spirit are given the Holy Spirit. God’s spirit residing in us is what we need to be raised from the dead like Jesus did. If we don’t have God’s spirit residing in us, we will not be raised to be present with God in eternity. The Holy Spirit works in us to prepare us for God’s future Kingdom. This is what we all need right now: the Holy Spirit residing within us. So how do we get it?
  3. Acknowledge our Sin. Everyone sins. The Bible tells us what sin is, it is not rules we, or anyone else, make up. God gave them to us, don’t let anyone twist the truth of the Bible or tell you it is “old fashioned”, “out of date”, etc. God is NOT old fashioned, out of date, He is current, He is living and aware of what each of us say, do and even think. NOTHING is hidden from God. Read the Bible to find out what sin is. Here are a few places in the Bible to know what separates us from God, defined as “sin”: breaking The 10 Commandments (Exodus 20), The Sermon on the Mount (Jesus’ clarification of the Commandments) Matthew 5, and a list of behaviors that will exclude us from eternity with God. (1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians– both are very short books of the Bible with 3-5 brief chapters, it’s worth reading all of it), (1 Corinthians 6), (Revelation 22 – verses 14 and 15)
  4. Repent. After acknowledging our sin and being sorry for it, we need to continually eliminate sin as it enters our life. It’s important to know that we can ask God for His Holy Spirit to help us with this. “What is impossible for us is possible with God.” (Matthew, Mark and Luke documented Jesus saying this)
  5. Get Baptized. This is a public commitment that we believe, we acknowledge our sin, we want to be forgiven and choose to live a new life. This is the affirmation that we are making the transition from an Unbeliever to a Believer. Jesus directed people to be baptized. Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus also mentioned this spiritual rebirth (being born again, meaning a new life with God’s spirit inside us) when he spoke with Nicodemus John 3:1-3
  6. Live according to God’s commands. Abiding in Jesus (through prayer and reading/studying the Bible) and our actions will keep the Holy Spirit with us and be evident to others by our character and way of living. People will be able to recognize those who have the Holy Spirit residing in them and those who do not. Those who have the Holy Spirit residing in them will have eternal life with God. This is how you can tell if the Holy Spirit is residing within someone, they will exhibit these characteristics:
    • love (love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails.)
    • joy (displaying delight, happiness due to knowing God)
    • peace (tranquility, calmness, restfulness)
    • forbearance (patient and restrained, easygoing, forgiving, understanding)
    • kindness (the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate)
    • goodness (the quality of being morally good or virtuous)
    • faithfulness (the quality of being loyal, dependable, trustworthy; fidelity)
    • gentleness (the quality of being kind, tender, or mild-mannered)
    • self-control (the ability to control oneself, in particular one’s emotions and desires or the expression of them in one’s behavior, especially in difficult situations)

7. Help Others. This is how we LOVE others: by sharing how to prepare for eternal life! Please share this with all the people you love. Don’t leave anyone behind. Jesus said the Greatest Command is to love God with all our hearts, souls and mind and second to that is to love others.

John 14:21

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Jesus

This is how we will be prepared to endure through the trials, troubles and tribulation we have throughout our life on earth. Something valuable is worth the preparation. Eternity/immortal life with God is valuable and worth the preparation. Jesus gave us the map, the directions, the guidance, the warnings, and the help through the Holy Spirit- we have all we need to be prepared. Those who prepare will not be caught by surprise “like a thief in the night” when Jesus returns. We need God’s spirit residing in us. We can receive God’s Spirit when we prepare and we will know we have God’s spirit when our lives begin reflecting the behaviors and characteristics listed in #6 above. Jesus did the hardest, truthfully the impossible for us: he made it possible for us to be in eternity. In fact, if we are living righteously (prepared) when Jesus returns, we may not even experience a physical death! All Believers who are living at that time will rise to meet Jesus! (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

God is so good to us: He gives us life, He provides everything we need, He gives us an escape from eternal death (made possible through Jesus), He gives us His Spirit to help us prepare, and He has an amazing future prepared for those who believe. EVERYTHING good is from God! When we comprehend this, there is so much to be joyful about! Be confident always! Choose to be a Winner in the most important Event (Eternity) of your life! 1 Corinthians 9:23-25 Be strong and courageous because God is with Believers and there is nothing more powerful than God! Ephesians 6:10-18, Romans 8:38-39

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“Coincidence” – or – We are living in the final 7 years?

(This is a link to the podcast on Spotify for this post, if you prefer to listen.)

Wake Up. When the world took notice of the “pandemic” in 2020, it made me wonder: Is there more significance to this? Affecting the entire world, is this a “wake up” call from God? I think it was. It is now 2022 and the “signs” have not ceased, they have increased. Most who study bible prophecy and are honest about what they discover, will tell you, we won’t know for certain when the final 7 years starts, but approximately 3.5 years into the 7 years, we will know (once the man of lawlessness, AntiChrist, is revealed). Until then we will only see signs, Jesus tells us those signs in Matthew 24.

Preparation Time. I’ve been thinking that we might be in the final 7 years and while the timing of it shouldn’t be our focus, the preparation should. I feel a sense of urgency knowing how long it took me to “get my life in order” (meaning with God). It wasn’t overnight! I can see other people that I care about are just like me before my eyes were opened – so that is what concerns me and brings out this sense of urgency. We may not have much time, but others don’t feel that way or see the urgency like I do. I know I can’t do it for anyone, but I care about them. It is exhausting having conversations when you know that someone doesn’t see it, understand it or doesn’t believe it and I can’t force a belief on anyone, all I can do is pray, which I do. If someone believes, they will take action, if they don’t, they will stay the same. The urgency is always present because we are not guaranteed to live “X” number of years, anything could happen at any time. So the urgency is present whether it is 7 years from now, or if God says our time is up unexpectedly. It is a race against time in that regard.

My Question to God. As I mentioned, it’s not enjoyable telling anyone that there may be a short time before Jesus returns, so I prayed (2/12/22) and asked God if we are in the final 7 years and asked what should I be doing right now? As I’ve done before, in prayer, I ask God about something, then open the bible to see what scripture shows up (it is consistently relevant to me). When I asked the question above, this was the page I opened to:

Then I called my sister and told her what happened and said this doesn’t say anything about the final 7 years so I guess I should back off a bit. But she pointed out, you asked 2 questions: one was is it the final 7 years and the second was what you should be doing. She had a point. So I told her I would try again and let her know.

My answer. I prayed again and asked God to show me something that would let me know if we are in the final 7 years. I didn’t want to affect the outcome of what page was opened (i.e. knowing what part of the bible is Old Testament vs New Testament and turning to a certain area of the Bible influencing the outcome) so I placed the bible on the spine of the book and let it open. Well first, the cover opened and it was a blank page, Second the same think happened, then the 3rd time it opened to Ezekiel 38 (about Gog and Magog). When I saw that I called her again and said this is about the time after Jesus returns, so I guess we are not in the final 7 years. And I went about my day, not giving much more thought to it. But then I watched this video and Amir mentions Ezekiel 38 unfolding! That certainly caught my attention: click here for the video but it was too late at night when I watched it, so I decided I would look into that scripture more the next day, which I did, I searched for studies on God and Magog; I watched this and then re-read the scripture, I can see the third opinion: This war likely will be a long war that could begin before the man of lawlessness is revealed and finish at Armaggedon, when Jesus returns. It was certainly an interesting theory, one that I hadn’t heard before and certainly made turning to Ezekiel 38 more relevant regarding the final 7 years. It seemed to be an affirmation to me. I wouldn’t jump to this conclusion if I didn’t have prior questions answered in this way, some that were future events that occurred the way the scripture indicated, and not the way I hoped it would be. Another point, it’s always God’s will, not ours and no matter what we plan, God’s will/His word, will prevail. This is a humbling experience because we realize we ultimately don’t have control of anything. If you haven’t learned that yet, just wait, you will learn that eventually.

What is next? God doesn’t reveal things without His purpose in mind. As I was reading prior chapters in Ezekiel to get a better understanding, I read Ezekiel 33, verse 6: 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’ It made me reflect, I don’t want to be responsible for someone’s demise, if God is showing me this and telling me we are in the final 7 years, I need to communicate this!

All Christians: I think this applies to you right now too: If your eyes are opened to what is going on in the world, use that wisdom to help those who are not yet aware.

Maybe someone will be impacted by what happened to me, maybe by you, or various sources? I know what happened to me a couple days ago, what has happened to me in the past and what time period I believe we are in right now: The End Times. Even if I am wrong, if I misunderstood or let my personal thoughts influence this, the final 7 years doesn’t matter, but preparation does. (Technically there is a benefit to getting right with God sooner than later, you could possibly not die an earthly death, you could ascend to meet Jesus when he returns, but that shouldn’t be the goal, it is just a benefit if a person has prepared prior to Jesus’ return and is living righteously) 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 NOW is the time to prepare, no matter if we are in the final 7 years or if it turns out to be far into the future. Being prepared (spiritually) is the most important thing to do right now. Pray to God, reconcile with God, repair that relationship, ask for His Spirit to guide you daily and give you wisdom and discernment about what is happening right now. If we seek Him, He will reveal Himself in a personal way to each of us. Don’t put this off. What if war happens unexpectedly and somehow you or I am in the area of destruction? Will you be ready? Have you told God you want His presence? Don’t fear what can happen to the body, fear what can happen to your soul. (Matthew 10:28)

God has amazing plans for us in the future, when we become immortal! You don’t want to miss out on this! Revelation 21 and Revelation 22 I can’t wait for this period; I’d like to miss the in between period, but that is not likely!

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12 Questions to answer and find out if you will have eternal life.

Let’s just get to the point. Russia is currently setting up outside Ukraine. China has been threatening Taiwan. Iran is enhancing its nuclear capacity and openly expresses its unacceptance (to put it mildly) of Israel and the United States. The Middle East in general is continuously in some level of conflict.

If you haven’t done this yet, it’s time to make sure your ETERNAL future is in the place of your choosing, because you may not end up where you expect. You need to make a decision and take action now. So here are 12 questions to know where you may end up and find out what you need to do if you don’t get the answer you want:

  1. Do you believe that JESUS is the ONLY way that you can be in eternity with God? (You can’t be “good enough” based on your own actions.) Yes or No?
  2. Are you familiar with the 10 Commandments? Yes or No?
  3. Do you admit that you break God’s commands? Yes or No?
  4. Do you know the following is prohibited by God and those who continually do this (and don’t change these ways) will not enter God’s eternal kingdom? (sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, theft, lying, slander, “magic” such as seances, astrology, mediums, practice of witchcraft, spiritist, interpreting omens, casting spells, anger, getting drunk, sexual perversion, false teachers of religion, false prophets of religion, pride, a person who stirs up conflict in the community, a person who loves and practices any false teaching, hypocrites, taking advantage of other people, practicing homosexuality, slave traders, anyone who speaks against God’s Spirit (the Holy Spirit), being conceited, prioritizing money or wealth) Yes or No?
  5. Have you rebelled against/sinned against God by doing anything in #3 or #4? Yes or No?
  6. Have you asked God for forgiveness and subsequently made an effort to avoid all things listed in #3 or #4? Yes or No?
  7. Have you told God that you want and intend to be obedient to Him by not breaking anything in #3 and #4, even though it is hard to do and you will mess up occasionally, but not regularly? Yes or No?
  8. Do you ask God for forgiveness then change the behavior if, or when, you do anything listed in #3 or #4? Yes or No?
  9. Have you publicly shown your commitment and surrendered to God and without hesitation state your belief in Jesus being the Son of God, the Messiah, who made it possible for you to be in eternity with God by being Baptized? Yes or No?
  10. Have you asked Jesus for God’s spirit (the Holy Spirit) to help you live according to God’s will? Yes or No?
  11. Do you know God personally? Do you have a personal relationship (ie. pray, read the bible, study the bible) with God? Yes or No?
  12. Is the Spirit of God residing in you? Yes or No?

If you honestly answered “Yes” to ALL the questions above, you can know that you will have eternal life with God. If you answered “No” to any of the questions above, then you have work to do if you want eternal life with God.

Here are some (but not all) links to scripture validating the questions above:

  1. John 14:6
  2. 10 Commandments: Exodus 20
  3. We all sin: 1 John 5:17, Romans 3:23, 1John 3:4, John 8:34
  4. Many Verses, Drinking
  5. Mark 21:7, Romans 3:12
  6. Acts 3:19
  7. Matthew 7:21
  8. 1 John 1:9
  9. Get Baptized, Matthew 10:32, Romans 8:2
  10. John 15: 26
  11. Matthew 7:14, Hebrews 8:12
  12. Romans 8:11, 1 John 5:18, 1 Thessalonians 4:8
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Symbolic Prophecy in the Bible

As I was reading and looking up verses in the Bible, I noticed what may be a symbolic representation and prophecy in Leviticus 12: I think this Chapter is about Israel’s salvation and purification through Jesus. This observation happened as I read this following verse:

4 Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over.

Leviticus 12:4

The woman. I didn’t notice the symbolism here before, but last night, instantly a thought come to mind as I read it. The “woman“ is symbolic for Israel just like in Revelation 12! Did you notice something else? Both books reference “the woman“ in Chapter 12 (Leviticus and Revelation)! (That just became clear as I was writing this, but there is more that I saw.) Before I write about the symbolism I observed, I will point out: this is purely my opinion and observation, the Bible leaves much open to interpretation, so I cannot say for certain this is symbolic prophecy, but wait until I show you more discoveries in this chapter, then I’d like to hear your thoughts! Who could have woven together details like this: over thousands of years, by multiple authors assembled into one consistent interwoven book: the Bible? This certainly supports the statement that scripture is from God, God breathed, inspired by the Holy Spirit through the authors contributing to this book, so much consistency and continual discovery happens when we read and studies the Bible!

Thirty-three days. The 33 days is symbolic of Jesus’ age! He started preaching when he was thirty years old and many scholars believe he was approximately 33 years old when he was crucified based on several events. Assuming this was his age, when Jesus was crucified, his crucifixion was the final purification needed to be in God’s presence, eternity; Jesus’ crucifixion was the ransom that was paid for our sin. Remember when God told Moses to keep people away from the Holy Ground or they would die at Mount Sinai when he gave the 10 Commandments? Doesn’t this make more sense now: Israel (the woman) cannot be in God’s presence (sanctuary) until purified (by Jesus)?

After seeing this symbolism, I continued reading to understand more, but the symbolism wasn’t as obvious to me as the first part, however, I did notice some interesting symbolic possibilities:

  • First of all the entire chapter is about purification after child birth: symbolically the purification process for Israel (and all) as a result of Jesus’ birth

Symbolism from the beginning of the Chapter:

12 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Say to the Israelites: ‘A woman who becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son will be ceremonially unclean for seven days, just as she is unclean during her monthly period.

Leviticus 12: 1-2

The symbolism here:

  • Woman = Israel
  • Birth to a son = Jesus (Jesus came from the tribe of Judah, Israel)
  • Ceremonially unclean = the need to be purified
  • seven days = the final seven years (Daniel Prophecy) the time-frame for the end of time, prior to Jesus’ return, those who accept Jesus in Israel will be at the final stage of purification when Jesus returns

The next verse:

3 On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised. 

Leviticus 12:3
  • Circumcision is symbolic of a Covenant with God (Genesis 17) to: “walk before God faithfully and be blameless”
  • Jesus was circumcised and walked faithfully and blamelessly as he fulfilled scripture given by the Prophets, completed God’s will to redeem mankind.
  • Following the final seven days (meaning years), on the 8th day (year) Israel will be seen as “faithful and blameless” in God’s eyes because all are purified through Jesus’ crucifixtion and return, given immortal life

The next verse:

5 If she gives birth to a daughter, for two weeks the woman will be unclean, as during her period. Then she must wait sixty-six days to be purified from her bleeding.

Leviticus 12:5

So the first part (about the son) is Jesus, and the second part about the “daughter” and “two weeks” is:

  • daughter = people of Israel (see why: here)
  • Two weeks or 14 days are significant when it comes to celebrating in the Bible (see references here)- these verses refer to the sacrifice, atonement, relief, Jesus was referred to as the manna from Heaven (John 6:57-59) This points to customs and traditions: the unclean period and purification through the sacrifice; Jesus is the final sacrifice. Notice the scripture says “as during her period”- it’s symbolic.
  • 66 days = so much symbolism here! The number is 6 is symbolically not perfect, 7 is symbolic for perfection in scripture. (click here for more detail about the number 7 in scripture) The number of days for the son was 33, the number of days for the daughter was 66. The number 6 has a connection to humans, the number 3 has a connection to God (see here). Another interesting fact is that Isaiah 66 refers to Judgement and Hope (click here to read it) Within Isaiah 66 it continues to talk about this birth of a son, then daughter and then about delivery! (Jesus delivering all from death through sin!) This is about Jesus’ return and about creation being made new, exactly what Revelation also tells us. (Revelation 21) Another interesting symbolic connection is there are 66 books in the Bible! (link here), The last chapter of the Bible is Revelation 22; so the complete Bible tells the story from creation and ends with Jesus’ return which is the ultimate purification from the symbolic bleeding and the beginning of a new creation.

6 “‘When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering.[a] 7 He shall offer them before the Lord to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood.

“‘These are the regulations for the woman who gives birth to a boy or a girl. 8 But if she cannot afford a lamb, she is to bring two doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. In this way the priest will make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’”

Leviticus 12: 6-8
  • This symbolism and purification process is repeated again as written in Ezekiel 46 at the 3rd Temple.

There is so much symbolism and repetition throughout the Bible, the more we read the more we will observe. This definitely keeps the Bible interesting and helps us remain connected to God through scripture.

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