Passover was approaching, and Jesus was headed to Jerusalem, where He would die on the cross (Matt. 26:17-19; 26-30).
He stopped just outside the city at a small town called Bethany.
One of His Disciples asked, “Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the Passover?”
Peter sent James and John to a certain man’s house in Jerusalem, and they prepared the Passover meal (Matt. 26:18).
Evening came, and Jesus arrived with the Disciples.
The one named Judas Iscariot left, and while the Passover meal was in progress, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper.
They finished the Passover meal and Lord’s Supper, sang a hymn, and went to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane.
It is a blessing to know that Jesus left the room singing and rejoicing, not complaining, weeping, or afraid because He was headed to the cross.
It was the Jewish custom to sing the Hallel (Psa. 113-118) and the Great Hallel (Psa. 136) after they finished the Passover meal, so most scholars believe Jesus and His disciples sang these Psalms on the night of the Last Supper.
The word “Hallel” is the first part of the word “Hallelujah,” and it means praise.
“Jah” is short for Yahweh (Jehovah or God).
Hallelujah or Allelujah means “praise the Lord” or “praise God.”
Here are some selected verses from Psa. 118 with my comments.
“Let them now that fear the LORD say, that his mercy endureth for ever” (Vs. 4).
- Let those that respect God say His mercy will never end.
“I called upon the Lord in distress: the LORD answered me” (Vs. 5).
- Jesus was sweating great drops of blood in Gethsemane, He prayed, and God sent angels to strengthen Him.
“The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me” (Vs. 6).
- With God on our side, we cannot be defeated.
“All nations compassed me about: but in the name of the LORD will I destroy them” (Vs. 10).
- The days of those that reject God are numbered.
“The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation” (Vs. 14).
- I sing about God, the source of my strength and salvation.
“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD” (Vs. 17)
- I will not permanently die, but will live again and declare what God has done.
“The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death” (Vs. 18).
- God sent me to the cross, but the cross won’t be the end of me.
“The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner” (Vs. 22).
- God sent His Son to be the main stone in a spiritual house, but the Jews rejected Him, so He has been made the main stone in another spiritual house called the Church.
“This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes” (Vs. 23).
- The death of Jesus was the wonderful work of God.
Hallelujah!
Here are some stories that recently made the news.
One, on Oct. 13, 2022, Yitzchak Weiss, the principal of a music school in Israel, got 600 Jewish men from the Tribe of Levi (descendants of Aaron the priest that served at the Temple in Old Testament Times) to gather on the steps going up to the Temple Mount to rehearse music for a Temple service.
The group practiced a medley from the Hallel (Psa. 113-118), and the event was co-sponsored by the city of Jerusalem.
Levites stopped singing when the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., but Weiss wants Levites to start singing again and be ready to sing, if called upon, during services at the rebuilt Temple.
It is doubtful that they realize the full significance of singing the Hallel, but God can bring good from it.
Jesus is the only permanent sacrifice for sin, but the sooner the Jews rebuild the Temple and restart the worship services, the sooner their blinding will cease, and the sooner all Israel will be saved.
Two, concerning forcing people to take a Mark to buy and sell: in 2021, Florida (Fla.) passed a law banning cruise lines from requiring passengers to be vaccinated to go on a cruise.
The Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings sued, and a U.S. District Judge ruled that Fla.’s law was unconstitutional.
Fla. appealed the U.S. District Judge’s ruling, and on Oct. 6, 2022, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed it.
The Chief Judge of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote, “Without this statute, unvaccinated Floridians risk being turned away from the businesses that make their lives possible — grocery stores, restaurants, fitness gyms, clothing stores, barber shops and hair salons, and even pharmacies.”
In my words, the Judge said if it wasn’t for this law, businesses could refuse to let people buy and sell, and that is unconstitutional discrimination.
Three, concerning the Ten Kings (the division of the world into ten groups of nations before the Antichrist appears): on Oct. 14, 2022, the Independent Sentinel posted an article that said, “George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and John Podesta have all suggested we should unite into a North American Union. . .. A North American Union moves us quickly towards a one-world government under UN governance.”
According to the article, “Matt Gaetz [a congressman from Fla.] reported that Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a North American Union like the EU that would allow free transit across borders with tyrannical Canada and narco-terrorist Mexico.”
Also, on Oct. 14, 2022, Fox News host Tucker Carlson (Tucker Carlson Tonight) interviewed Gaetz about this, and Gaetz said he wrote Blinken about it, but Blinken didn’t respond.
On Oct. 17, 2022, an article posted by The New American said, “since Blinken speaks for the Biden administration, it’s fair to assume this is now unofficial federal policy.”
I have long said that the UN has made the EU the pattern for Ten groups or regions of nations that will produce the Ten Kings.
According to The New American article, Carlson said, “So the European Union has not really worked out well for Europe, and we’ll know the details this winter when people are freezing. So naturally, the Biden administration wants to create something very much like that in North America: an EU [European Union] style government.”
The purpose of groups or regions having an EU-type government is that it will be easier to merge them into a one-world government if they are all structured alike.
Four, concerning the Battle of Gog and Magog: on Oct. 17, 2022, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation (#2 position in Russia), wrote on Telegram, “It seems Israel will supply weapons to the Kyiv regime. A very reckless move. It will destroy all diplomatic relations between our countries.”
Five, concerning the distress of nations with perplexity (Luke 21:25): on Oct. 16, 2022, about 140,000 people marched in Paris, France, to protest rising prices and EU policies that caused them.
On Sept. 3, 2022, more than 100,000 people marched in Prague, Czech., to protest the sanctions against Russia and high energy prices.
World leaders are expecting more large protests in the future over the worsening living conditions (inflation, food and energy shortages, etc.).
Six, concerning world government: on Oct. 16, 2022, it was reported that Pope Francis believes the UN needs to be reformed, and he believes the world needs a new economic system.
According to the Bible, the UN will be reformed and brought under the leadership of Ten Kings, and there will be a new global economic system that the False Prophet and Antichrist will use to institute the Mark of the Beast.
Pope Francis is either one of the most Biblically illiterate popes ever or one of the most evil.
He regularly supports policies that Satan’s Antichrist and False Prophet support.
Seven, concerning a falling away or a departing from the faith in the Church: on Oct. 15, 2022, it was announced that Pope Francis has appointed a non-Catholic, pro-abortion, pro-globalist, self-described atheist to the Pontifical Academy for Life (a group that promotes Catholic teachings on medical issues).
Pope Francis has appointed pro-abortion, pro-gay, pro-globalist people to other positions in the Roman Catholic Church before.
Eight, concerning Biden’s weakening America and Build Back Better goal: on Oct. 18, 2022, the Heritage Foundation released its “2023 Index of U.S. Military Strength,” in which they rated the U.S. military as weak.
According to the Heritage Foundation report, “the military’s ability to fulfill its primary mission is in jeopardy.”
Our Commander in Chief has our military focusing on Climate Change, gay rights, many of our troops are women who are not as strong as men and get sick a lot, recruiters can’t meet their goals, etc.
America is losing respect all over the world.
Finally, are you Rapture Ready?
If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.