Chag sameach Rosh Chodesh kol beit Yisra'el and Mischpachah and a Blessed, Happy New Year [1] to you all on this first day of the month of Aviv, the first day of the biblical calendar! In the Promised Land and elsewhere nearer the equator in the northern hemisphere, I am sure the weather is looking spring-like! Looking outside here earlier today when it was still light you would not have thought it was 'spring' and indeed it is not yet that here in Sweden with sub-zero temperatures at night still and with snow on the ground. As for those of you in the southern hemisphere, I realise it is winter! Nevertheless, we are united with a common mind and heart today: to celebrate the birth of our Saviour [2] and to hear, as we always do at Rosh Chodesh, whatever prophetic message Yahweh may have for us as a community. For those of you who may be here for the first time and not familiar with celebrating the nativity in the spring, you'll find some links at the bottom of the main article on ther website.

Our reading this evening will be from the first chapter of the Gospel according to Luke, beginning at the 26th verse:

"In the sixth month, Elohim (God) sent the malak (angel) Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The malak (angel) went to her and said,

'Greetings, you who are highly favoured! Yahweh is with you.'

"Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the malak (angel) said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with Elohim (God). You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Yah'shua (Jesus). He will be great and will be called the Son of El Elyon (the Most High). Yahweh-Elohim will give Him the throne of his father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end.'

'How will this be,' Mary asked the malak (angel), 'since I am a virgin?'

"The malak (angel) answered, 'The Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) will come upon you, and the power of El Elyon (the Most High) will overshadow you. So the qadosh (holy, set-apart) one to be born will be called the Son of Elohim (God). Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with Elohim (God).'

'I am Yahweh's servant,' Mary answered. 'May it be to me as you have said.' Then the malak (angel) left her.

"At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). In a loud voice she exclaimed: 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Master should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what Yahweh has said to her will be accomplished!'

"And Mary said:

'My soul glorifies Yahweh and my spirit rejoices in Elohim (God) my Saviour, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me - qadosh (holy, set-apart) is His Name. His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.'

"Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home...

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. A malak (angel) of Yahweh appeared to them, and the glory of Yahweh shone around them, and they were terrified. But the malak (angel) said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great simcha (joy) that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Messiah (Christ) the Master (Lord). This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'

"Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the malak (angel), praising Elohim (God) and saying,

'Glory to Elohim (God) in the highest,
and on earth shalom (peace) to men on whom His favour rests.'

When the malakim (angels) had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which Yahweh has told us about.'

"So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising Elohim (God) for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told" (Luke 1:26-56; 2:1-20, NIV).

We praise our Heavenly Father and rejoice in the miracle of the Virgin Birth and Incarnation which made possible the Cross and the Atonement for the salvation of all who will believe. It is an astonishing thing to consider that El Elyon, the Most High God, condescended to become a man like us, assumed our nature, and became a man in the form of Yah'shua (Jesus):

"Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made Himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he Humbled Himself
and became obedient to death -
even death on a cross!" (Phil.2:6-8, NIV).

Let us give thanks in prayer:

Father we thank You for the incarnation.
We thank you for sending and showing us your love.
We thank it's revelation in flesh and blood.
That declaration of who You are;
not in a philosophy so far above us;
not in a law so beyond our attainment;
but in that universal language we all share;
The universal language of human life.

You gave us Your love in a man.
He walked like us.
Breathed our air.
He got dirty.
He ate fish.
He laughed.
He had a mother.
He had friends.
He felt pain and loss.
He was tempted.
He was betrayed.
He was like us in every way;
but for sin.
But He became sin.
So that we might become the righteousness of Elohim (God).
He took on our life and gave us Your life.
He came into the storm of our world and calmed it.
He met the demons and bound them.
He touched the leper and cleansed them.
He gathered the hungry and fed them.
He saw the lost and called them.
He encountered death and trampled it.
He suffered under our sin and He forgave it.
He healed our brokenness at every turn.
Father we thank you for Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). Amen. [3]

To conclude this assembly, I wish to share a prophetic davar (word) with you. And the message I have comes in two parts.

First, a message for Yahweh directly from the pen of the apostle Peter:

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Messiah, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the Name of Messiah, you are blessed, for the Ruach (Spirit) of glory and of Elohim (God) rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise Elohim (God) that you bear that Name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of Elohim (God); and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the Besorah (Gospel) of Elohim (God)? And,

'If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?'

So then, those who suffer according to Elohim's (God's) will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good" (1 Pet.4:12-19, NIV).

Things have changed very suddenly in the world as I am sure those of you following current events know only too well. A vicious persecution of Christians has resumed in China again and President Putin of Russia has suddenly issued draconian anti-Christian laws making it virtually impossible for believers to either witness or worship. Cyrus the Liberator has turned into a tyrant and looking more like a communist every day. It looks as though a prophecy I received on Russia in 1989 is coming to fulfilment:

"...the gentile flame of righteousness shall roar for a while, and lighten everything, but shall be snuffed out as quickly as it rises, as when a fire roars under the blast of the billows and dies down again" (Olive Branch 158:5).

It looks as though Russia is reverting back to the communist Soviet Union, or at least a new corporate, globalist version of it, something I have known was going to happen for some time - you will find a link to this prophecy on the website from 2009, ten years ago [4]. The same communism, though now challenged, is threatening to overwhelm the European Union and is fighting tooth-and-nail for control in the United States and South Africa. It already has control of China, Venezuela, Vietnam, and one or two other countries. The message I have for you in America, Europe and South Africa especially, but also elsewhere, is prepare for tribulation, make sure you are now fully prepared as I have been urging you to be for the last few years, because the time is now pretty much up. For some of you it may be just a matter of days. Be ready to move at a moment's notice if you are not already at the place Yahweh has set aside for you to be in during the hard times ahead. If you're not in the right place, you will need to be armed to save your life. Make sure you have food, water and supplies for a minimum of three months, preferably a year.

The Ruach (Spirit), in the meantime, is already conducting a major cleansing operation in the people of Elohim (God) in all sorts of different ways. He has been at work here! This is good news, even if it is painful. Yahweh is preparing His Remnant for active service. Be on the alert, rejoicing as we are rejoicing this evening. Aviv 1 is really good news! This was not only the approximate time of Messiah's birth but it is also the time of the year when Yahweh wants to awaken us from any spiritual 'winter' slumbers so that we can present ourselves to Him for renewal and equipping. There is, and will be, plenty of good news for Yahweh's people, even in the midst of bad times, which are going to worsen, because He does not leave the faithful in the lurch. Provision and deliverance are at hand.

A final thought from the apostle John:

"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal chayim (life) in him. This is how we know what love is: Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) laid down His life for us" (1 John 3:14-16, NIV).

May the grace of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) go with you in this coming year. May you be alert, brave and daring, going and doing wherever He tells you to go or do. Be of good cheer because He is near! Amen.

Endnotes

[1] Not the pagan 1 January - see New Year's Day - the Day of Janus
[2] As opposed to the pagan Christmas
[3] Adapted from Billy Kangas, Thanksgiving for the Incarnation
[4] See The last race: Vision of the Communist Resurgence