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How does something become holy?

Two thing are like glue in a society. Common holy days and similar food traditions. Food unite people. It was not uncommon in ancient times that accepting a meal invitation at someones house was a confirmation of a covenant between the two.
In the Biblical ritual laws there were food-sacrifices. By eating they took part in God’s covenant. Christ also placed the symbols of His covenant in food and drinks. «And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.» (Mat 26:26-28)

In the book of Daniel chapter 12 we learn that God will in the end time sanctify a people, or cleanse them. In the book of Revelation the last church is described very far from a sanctified state. They risk being eternally lost. The solution to their falling away is described to let Jesus in their door so they can «sup with him» (Rev.3:20) The meal is symbolic of course and it’s about letting Jesus cleanse and save us. A renewal of His covenant with us. Christ introduced the Lord’s supper at a feast day. Every Biblical feast day was filled with symbols tied to the salvation Christ would provide and His plan to sanctify and deliver His people. Throughout the Bible we are told that He desires to deliver us from our sins and the hold our sins have on our lives.

The word «holy» means to set aside something for a special service. In the Bible the word is used to describe something that has been cleansed in order to be set aside. If it’s not cleansed it cannot be set aside for God’s service, whether it was an item, day or a man. One of God’s set times, the weekly sabbath, was called holy. Two of the reasons it was called holy is revealed. One is that it was set aside from the other days to be specially dedicated to the spiritual bond between God and man. The other reason is it’s divine significance. Anything tied to God’s divinity was to be regarded as holy.
When Moses came close to a burning bush where God was manifesting Himself he is told:
«And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.» (Exo 3:5)
The ground he was standing was considered holy purely because of the presence of the Lord. In the same way God has a presence, an authority in the Sabbath that requires us to sanctify it. The fourth commandment says: «Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates» (Exo 20:8-10)
In Genesis during creation week it says: «And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.» (Gen.2:3) Here we are informed of something important. The day was sanctified by God because of it’s meaning to Him and we are told to keep it holy. It says the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God, which means it is the bond the day has with the Lord that is what makes it holy. So in the same way that Moses was required to take off his shoes when he stood on holy ground, we are asked to consider the sabbath, Gods set time, as holy too.

Separation and Unity
If you want to create a division between two groups of people, regardless the size, the best way to do it is to give them separate food laws, food traditions and holy days. God knows this. So does God’s enemy. God’s holy times was removed or changed in Roman times.They tried to unite the Christian church with the pagan religion. The end consequence was that Christians were lead away from their faithfulness toward God. Rome first tried to break the new christian movement, spite that they were tolerant towards different beliefs in their kingdom. Rome never expressed a need for a group of people to convert to the Roman religion. A good example is the Jews. They respected their religion, it was when they rebelled against the state that they suffered. But Jews never tried to covert pagans. The christian movement was converting many pagans and they refused to take part in the pagan feasts and food offerings. The anger from family, friends and society towards the people now rejecting their tradition lead to what would later become a severe persecution. They were viewed as people who was breaking the unity and the peace of the people. And this lead to them being persecuted. But the Christians increased in both number and power. They could not be destroyed. Rome then changed tactics and tried to unite the religiously divided kingdom into one. Having the nation split in two different cultures only weakened it and it’s unity. So an attempt to unity the empire was made by compromise. It’s a bit like if a city was half Muslim and half christian today and the ruler decided to unify the citizens by making a religion that was half Muslim and half Christian. This is what actually happened in the Roman Empire with Christianity and the pagan roman religion. They were merged.
People would not easily give up on their traditions, their feasts and food, and so they were allowed to keep all of it but it was given a christian meaning and a christian name. Only because they did this compromise did the people slowly unify with the Christian Church. It didn’t always go well. Some pagan temples were destroyed and made into a church. But many of the pagan gods they worshiped was made into saints and so they could continue to pray to them and their images, only in a new setting. The merge of the religions also meant that the Christians had to give up on their God’s requirements. However it was seen as a victory for the church to get in the position they did. And to convert this powerful empire to Christianity and have the state advance their agendas was so tempting that the Christians in power felt it was a sacrifice worth making. And many of the pagan converts preferred to continue their old feasts and traditions and be Christians at the same time.

The same can be said about today, Gods people take part in pagan customs with Christian names that the rest of the world keeps and this make them feel like one with the world. It is the bond that keeps different people together, that keeps society together. Everyone wants to feel they are a part of a bigger society. No one likes being an outcast.
But God’s children are told not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers: «Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?» (2Co 6:14-15)
God’s people know what happens when they don’t take part, they are pushed away by society. Most think that this cannot possibly be God’s will. They avoid persecution and stigmatization by having common feast days and traditions with the world. Many Christians during the Roman empire would rather die before taking part in the heathen customs and they were killed in large numbers. Many Christians today avoid being set aside from society and just go with the flow. They have chosen the opposite of their forefathers.

Why doesn’t God want us to keep the traditions of the world? Because being yoked together with the world hinders our sanctification.

When Israel was in Egypt it had in many ways been corrupted by Egyptian culture. The sabbath was sanctified at creation but God had to teach them all over again how to sanctify it. And this happened before they even came to Sinai and was given the law there. It says that God tested them to see if they would keep the sabbath holy by giving them manna six days a week. So this law pre-existed the law at Sinai. They were tested in the sabbath question before they had entered into the covenant with God at Sinai. We can also see how they were instructed to rest one day on their journey towards the Red Sea. This must have been the sabbath because God had sanctified it and would not have had them carry heavy on their journey on this day according to His own rules set at creation.
God said Israel was an elected priesthood, they were to be sanctified and spiritually separated from the world. «Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.» (Exo 19:5-6)
When God taught them about His holy times, feast days and food-laws He gave them what would create a natural separation between them and other people. It was regarded an insult if they would not eat the food offered by the pagans and it would prevent a union between the two. If God’s people and the pagans didn’t unite God’s people would remain sanctified and cleansed. Their religion were more likely to not be corrupted by compromise.
In the Bible we see two examples on how keeping the food-laws and the feast days was both tied to the term of being «holy»
«For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.» (Lev 11:44-45)

And the sabbath: «Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.» (Eze 20:12)

Again, remember, sanctification is to set something aside, or to separate something for a divine purpose. God’s people were not to be at one with the world in practice.
Now this was misunderstood in the time of Jesus and the Jews would not even enter the house of someone who wasn’t Jewish. And even those pagans that had converted was regarded as unclean. So God gives the apostle Peter a vision where both clean and unclean animals was together. All kinds of animals. Peter refuses to eat of even the clean food just because it was together with the unclean and he was worried it was contaminated by just association. Peter never said he learned to eat unclean food from the vision. He said that what God wanted to teach him was tied to man: «And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.» (Act 10:28) 
So Peter said the vision was about people not food.
The problem we see then and today is that God’s requirement are misunderstood and exaggerated. The Jews exaggerated all of God’s requirements and gave them a wrongful meaning. God never wanted them to be prejudice to pagans or others with other nationality, or to decline their hospitality. God repeatedly told them to be kind to strangers, it was part of the law.
They were to be in the world but not of the world. Their separation was to be spiritual not physical. Or else they would not be a witness to the world. God’s law was to keep their religion clean, not their physical bodies. They could communicate and be together with people in the world, but not take part in their religious practices. Like Jesus said to the Pharisees, it wasn’t what was eaten that made man unclean but what came our of his heart. The command against unclean food had a deeper meaning and purpose and didn’t make a man sinful itself.

In Ezekiel we are told that the rejection of God’s sabbath and holy times is tied to idol worship. We are told that the land became unclean or sacrilegious when they broke these laws. They were to keep Gods times as a means to protect them from the practices of idol worship or the then worldly religion. «Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.» (Eze 22:26)
«..up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God; In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands: Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.» (Eze 20:5-8)

So in the Torah we are told that the first thing God did to spiritually separate them as a people from spiritual Egypt was to re-introduce the sabbath. And in Ezekiel chapter 20 we are told that to violate the sabbath and not break with the Egyptian religion is tied to each other.

What feast days does for a society
Feast days and food is what keeps people unified as a people. Even though people are different, with different interests, personalities and views, they find a feeling of unity and harmony by keeping the same feast days and eating together. By sharing the same traditions. This is often why we see that special feast days always come together with distinct food-traditions. People eat the same food on the chosen time year after year. Every holy-day has it’s own food tradition to separate them from the other holy-days. When residents in a country are preparing for a holiday, differences are often blurred and the people feel a belonging in the society they are in. Strangers that would never talk together wish each other a happy holiday. Being a part of something that everyone else is a part of, traditions, often give people a sense of security. Weather they want to admit it or not, people are herd animals, sheep. When everyone does something similar it gives a feeling of safety. There is no denying that.

This safety and belonging is broken when someone refuses to take part in it. If someone doesn’t want to eat of the food on our table or refuse to keep the same or similar holy-day, people start feeling distant to the other and sometimes also hostility. It was what lead to the first real hard persecution towards Christians by the Roman empire, they were hated because they would not take part in the roman feasts.
It doesn’t matter where you are in the world or what holidays that are kept. Whether it is in Asia, Muslim countries or Christian. The different traditions has the same effect on the country and the people that keep them.
Because holidays and food creates so much unity and safety for different groups it is also the same that makes them vulnerable for deceptive influence.

In Biblical times the hole world had a similar religion. We know the gods under different names in the different states and kingdoms, but a closer study of the religion show they are very similar to each other. The gods was the same, only with different names and each separate community created their own traditions and distinct differences. These differences and traditions today works the same way. They make a natural invisible split between cultures and countries. It is what makes Germans identify as Germans and it is why the French identifies as French. It’s not tied to just land area. Germany and France have in different order had control over some of the same areas. The borders in Europe have been changed many times. We see that it’s not the area itself that inspire people to whom they belong, it’s the culture. So different people can for instance live in Germany and speak the language but still feel unconnected to German society. It makes no difference for the feeling of belonging when immigrants come to Europe if they keep their own identity and culture in the land they now are in. They are often despised and considered foreigners no matter how long they have lived in the country. But those immigrants that come and adopt the new countries traditions, eat what they eat and keep holy the days they keep holy, are considered countrymen no matter what color of skin they have or no matter what country they came from. They are called success stories.
The threat for most people are those that keep eating after their own rules and keep their own feasts.
The Jews was spread throughout Europe for many centuries. Other groups that have suffered the same has in time lost their identify and adopted the traditions of the land they were in. This also happened to Jews who left their identity. Today their descendants don’t even know about their Jewish background. But the Jewish groups that did kept their food-laws and their traditions was preserved no matter what culture or country they lived in. They were despised and displaced, sometimes refused to own property in the land they lived. But the traditions that they kept was the glue or the bond that helped them keep their own identity no matter the inhuman pressure they were under for centuries. Many Muslims keep their feasts and food-requirements, and they too are able to secure their belief system from generation to generation in a non Muslim country.

Christmas has become one of the most influential holidays in the west. And it has spread throughout the entire world by the help of media. The unity of this holiday is stronger then even countries own traditions. For example southern countries that celebrate Christmas make fake snow on their Christmas trees even though snow is not part of their country’s tradition. They once celebrated Christmas before even the north did. The introduction of Santa Claus on the north pole has become part of the tradition. And so the Christmas tradition has changed from it’s beginning south in Europe and gotten a new content. The new content is accepted everywhere. In this way we can get a little glint of the influence common tradition have on those who follow it. A Jew would never introduce Santa to it’s Feast Of Tabernacle celebration, because the two feasts are separated. But those who share the same holiday are open for changes. Borders are not important when there is common celebration. Why does the Greek listen to American 40-50s music at Christmas? Because holidays create a bond between groups of people and this bond gives the sense of safety when adopting new traditions from who ever has the most influence. Holidays and food are among the most important elements in religious practice. This was also the case in Biblical times where all the pagan religions had this as their main unifying religious practice. Feast-days and rituals was the most important factor in pagan worship.

Holy days, weather it’s Gods times or worldly or pagan, functions as a place of gathering. Not necessarily a gathering in a room, but a gathering in practices and thought. It gathers people for instruction. Even if it’s worldly or pagan holidays they all contain instruction. This is why we will see the same stories told over and over again on the specific holiday. Ordinary music is replaced with traditional music, every day food replaced with traditional food. The same stories you heard last year you will hear again. Differences is gathered into a unity for a short time, and we are instructed in an ideology, no matter how silly. It doesn’t matter if the story that is told is about a reindeer with a red nose or if it’s a story with a deeper meaning. It has the same effect. The stories contribute in making different people uniting in a common heritage. And this help to give people the sense of an identity which again keeps the people gathered. And why is it a need to gather people? For the sake of peace. The government who has to enforce authority are depended on people feeling a belonging and responsibility towards each other. If a people don’t feel a belonging in a society, and are not gathered in that way, they won’t subordinate and respect an authority as easily. Those leaders that don’t represent the peoples values are often rejected are rebelled against. An authority needs something that binds people together and give them a sense of identity and unity in order to accept an authority over them. Holy days and food culture is therefore closely tied to loyalty and authority. When Obama wouldn’t single out christian tradition during Christmas it lead to rebellious feelings among the christian people who got together to elect Trump as the next President. Trump promised to unite them under common culture and values and chose to make Jesus the main focus in the white house during Christmas.
The presidents pardon a turkey every thanksgiving, an American feast day. Why a turkey, why eat turkey that day? Again this feast day is not tied to the food they eat, logically it should not make a difference. But food is important to create a sense of belonging and the feeling of being a part of a community. That’s why charitable institutions hand out turkey to the poor at thanksgiving and not some other food. It’s to make them feel like they are part of society.
In the west, Christmas is that time of year were most people feel lonely and depressed. This is because the feeling of being an outsider is enlarged at these times because feast days is tied to the feeling of being part of society.

Israel changes feast days
Israel was one united kingdom under King Solomon. But Solomon’s son behaved so badly that ten of Israels 12 tribes rebelled and refused to be under the King of Judah’s authority. The kingdom was divided in two and the North kingdom got their own king while Solomon’s son continued to rule the tribe of Judah.
But the temple was in Judah and three times a year the law said that the people had to gather there for the feasts. The new king in the northern kingdom feared for his kingdom’s future if this was to continue. That is why he, as part of a plan, created a new feast that was a month after God’s feast. And he asked the people to come to two different places he had chosen, that was closer, to gather and worship there. By introducing a new feast the king succeeded in separating the two groups of people and prevent them to become united under one kingdom again. If the Judean king didn’t represent their traditions they were less likely to want him to rule over them. This again would secure his position and the future separation of the northern kingdom. The moment the north kingdom got their own feasts and traditions with the feast a natural split took place between them and the tribe of Judah. The reason for their gathering as a people was removed. In this story we are told how the king of the North kingdom knew that feast days are power. And in the first verse, were it’s mentioned the three times a year it’s referring to the Lord’s feast days according to the Torah. So the king fear that the feasts will lead them to Jerusalem and that the influence from these gatherings will inspire their loyalty to the king there. «And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.  Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.  And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.» (1Ki 12:26-33)

God lets us know this is one of the main reasons He lets the north kingdom perish. When the North-kingdom no longer was connected to Gods times and laws, and when these divine institutions were no longer considered holy, they were vulnerable for influence from the world. In not long they took part in the rest of the worlds religious practices, while still continuing a halfhearted belief in the God of Israel. The Bible says the sin that king Jeroboam did when he created a new gathering place, new traditions and feasts, was the very reason the kingdom was later destroyed. Jeroboam made his own feast to strengthen his position and gather the people under his leadership. But this separated. them from God’s leadership.
«Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.  Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight. For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.» (2Ki 17:18-23)

ARMAGEDDON/ HAR-MOED
Armageddon is a famous name tied to the Biblical end-time battle.
«Several Bible scholars have concluded that this battle is far from a war of armies, tanks, planes, ships and nuclear weapons, and moreover, the plain of Megiddo has nothing to do with the place named Armageddon. Instead, the word in verse 16 commonly translated as “Armageddon” should be translated from Greek as Har-Magedon, which in Hebrew is shown to mean “the Mount of Gathering” or “Mount of Assembly.” 2
How did they come up with this conclusion? Here are a few. First, the Hebrew word for mountain is har, and magedon is derived from moed, another Hebrew word that means “assembly” or “gathering.” In fact, in Isaiah 14:13“mount of assembly” is Har-moed. Since Megiddo is a plain and there is no mountain there, Har-Magedon could not possibly refer to Megiddo. Second, it is common in Greek and Hebrew literature to name a person, a place or an event according to its significance.» 1

So an area is given a nickname after what takes place there. It happened over and over again in the Bible history. In the Bible there were only one mountain that was chosen for repeated gathering.. It was Jerusalem and the temple mount. Armageddon can therefore speak of a physical war in Jerusalem, which I think it probably is. But The Book of Revelation has throughout the book a double meaning, a physical and a symbolic that are tied together. For instance a beast with symbolical attributes is a real power.
The gathering at the mount only took place at Gods holy feast days. It was the feast days that was the gathering or the assembly. The expression MOED is directly tied to Gods feast days. The word means both holy times or set times and gathering at the same time. This isn’t without reason when we find out what Gods holy times really are. We see the term MOED used during creation:
«And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons (MOED), and for days, and years:» (Gen 1:14)
Again Moed is a word used for both times and gathering. Here it is a gathering in time. Gods gathering and the time cannot be set apart.

We see the expression used again when God teaches Israel to keep His holy days. This time the weekly sabbath is included in the term. «And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts ( MOED ).» (Lev 23:1-2)
The time that then are listed after this word is first the weekly sabbath and then the different feasts throughout the year. The biblical Passover, the biblical Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and then the Feast of Tabernacles.
Gods times is His gathering or assembly. Today its popular to say that we don’t need to go to a church to worship God. God doesn’t live in a building. And this is right. God’s spirit can come to a building, but we are not dependent on going to a building to take part. «But Solomon built him an house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,2» (Act 7:47-48)
Many think that God’s times could only be held in Jerusalem. But when the sanctuary stood in Shiloh they came there to keep the feasts like we see in the story of Samuel. They came where God was, represented by His throne, the Ark of the Covenant. They also kept the feasts by the Jordan river when the Lord was represented there. They also kept the feast in Egypt and also later in Arabia. Gods place of gathering was therefore not first and foremost tied to a physical place, the place changed, but it was always tied to TIME. The time didn’t change, it was the time that was the point of gathering or assembly no matter where they were. God also showed an expectation that they were to keep His appointed time even when they were on a journey far away: «Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the Passover unto the LORD.» (Num 9:10) They were still to assembly, even if they were alone.

Right now God does not dwell over His throne in Jerusalem like He once did, but we know that the Lord is in the sanctuary in heaven. A place God’s people can’t enter except through prayer, as we learn our prayers are represented at the alter of incense in the sanctuary. «And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.» (Rev.8:3-4)
In the Bible horns are a symbol of power. The alter of incense had four horns in each corner and these horns was sprinkled with blood from the sacrifices. In the heavenly sanctuary “with better blood than this”. The power of prayer was therefore in the blood. And it’s through this that Gods people get a symbolic access into the sanctuary in heaven.

So Gods’ presence is now in the sanctuary in heaven and through prayer we come before God’s sanctuary today. God’s place of gathering, according to the Bible, is not in a physical house but in time. And even though we should worship God every day, His place of gathering is His times. This is what is to gather us as a people under the banner of God. This is God’s assembly. The true place of gathering is the time and the people are the church. If we don’t gather with the Lord on the times that He has invited us to we exclude ourselves from God’s community. God said He would sanctify those who kept His sabbaths. To be sanctified is to separate us from sin but also to separate us from anything that influence us to sin. God tells us Himself that his sanctification is tied to His holy times. And don’t confuse this with justification, we are justified through Christ blood. But God tells us His time is a sign of sanctification and it’s interesting considering that many Christians today teaches that it’s a sin to keep Gods times and Sabbath and many who feel called to gather with Him on those days are scared to follow the calling.
Gods times and sabbaths was what identified them as a people gathered under God’s authority. God also explains in the fourth commandment that the Sabbath is a sign of His leadership. Gods times didn’t just make a bond between the Father and the people but it also worked as a bond between Gods’ people uniting them. It gathered them.
When they rejected this bond and rejected Gods sabbaths and took part in the feasts and holy days of the world, they became a part of the ways of the world and united with the world. And God let them go. One place it says that if they had only kept Gods sabbath holy He would have allowed Jerusalem to continue as a kingdom forever. This doesn’t give any meaning unless we understand the significance of Gods times. «And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.» (Jer 17:24-25)

The sabbath blessing was not only offered Judah, but all who wished to come close to the Lord and be part of His gathering: «Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;  even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. The Lord GOD which gathereth the outcasts of Israel saith, Yet will I gather others to him, beside those that are gathered unto him.» (Isa 56:6-8)

So everyone that wanted to keep the sabbath became part of God’s congregation or His assembly.
HAR-MEGIDDO doesn’t just refer to a physical mountain but to the gathering itself. Because MOED first time used in the Bible refers to Gods gathering in appointed time and HAR, a mountain, in Biblical symbolism means a kingdom. We see this for instance in Daniel 2 when God’s kingdom is symbolized as a mountain.

Where is God’s mountain and Sanctuary?
Jesus had a conversation with a Samaritan woman: «Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.» (Joh 4:20-21)
Gods gathering is therefore not always tied to a physical mountain but consistent throughout the Bible it is tied to a gathering in time.

In the book of Daniel we are told how the truth would be trampled upon for a long time, for 2300 prophetic mornings and evenings or 2300 years. It says that the sanctuary has been trodden under foot. In the time of Moses we see how God’s sanctuary is desecrated by Aaron’s two sons when they brought strange fire into the sanctuary. The sanctuary was also desecrated when idol worship was mixed with God’s religious service during the first temple period. The idol worship was strongly connected to pagan feasts. We see that God tells us that His sanctuary is desecrated when His times are ignored. Because Gods times and the sanctuary was tied together. «Thou hast despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths.» (Eze 22:8) If to sanctify something is to set it aside for a holy purpose for God, profane the Sabbath is to not separate this time from the other days. To not set it aside for it’s purpose. We profane the Sabbath by ignoring it.
Not only was the sanctuary and Gods times tied together because God’s people were to gather by the sanctuary at the feast days, but the holy bread inside the sanctuary were to be renewed every sabbath. So the priest replaced the old bread with new ones on the table of Showbread every single sabbath.
In the bible bread is a symbol of how we take part in Christ who was the bread from heaven. In the sanctuary there were twelve bread one for each of Israels twelve tribes. This represented the renewal of Gods word among His people, it represented a renewal of Gods covenant with us. So the sanctuary and Gods times and His weekly sabbath was tied together in a bond. Their meaning was tied together. The sanctuary witnessed of Christ plan of salvation and the feast days witnessed the same in cooperation with the sanctuary. Many think that the old sanctuary service was removed and everything that came with it. But the sanctuary service wasn’t destroyed it was transferred to Christ. The earthly sanctuary service was replaced by a heavenly, the original. The animal blood that was a type of Christ sacrifice was replaced with Christ blood. So we are still saved through blood sacrifice, we still get access to the tabernacle by blood. There is still a sanctuary service. The priestly titles was taken from Aron’s sons and given to Christ whom they belonged to. The sanctuary service was not taken away from the new covenant, it was replaced by the original that the earthly had been mealy a symbol of. The old sanctuary was a symbol of the one true covenant. They pointed to the covenant of Christ after His death. That means that all the symbols that belonged to it, the fulfillment of these symbols, really, actually belonged to the new covenant. And that included the feasts. «Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:  Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.  But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.» (Heb 8:1-6)

Today Christ serve in a sanctuary in heaven, a copy of the one on earth. The one on earth was a representative of Christ mission, the symbols in the sanctuary represents what Christ is doing for us. Only He need not die over and over again like the animal sacrifices, His one death is enough to serve us there. And if the priests served as a shadow of Christ mission and they renewed the bread every sabbath then Christ is doing what this symbolizes every sabbath. He renew his covenant and word with us every sabbath. Now how can we serve Christ and at the same time not show up for this event?

What happened to Gods times?
The book of Daniel tells us that the truth would be suppressed and even forgotten.
«And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.  Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?» (Dan 8:12-14) 

For a long time God’s people stopped gathering at Gods holy times nor were they educated in their meaning. Most didn’t even understand that Christ was in a sanctuary in heaven as priest there, even though the Bible said so. Had the feasts been preserved their faces would have been towards the sanctuary in heaven and the teaching coming from there. Only by understanding the sanctuary service can we understand why Christ has waited before coming back for His people. It tells of His mission both on the cross and all He had to do in preparation before He could come for us.
God tells us why the truth was trampled on and about God’s greatest enemy. Just like Jeroboam, the northern king, another strong leader feared he would loose authority if he wasn’t also king of holy times. In order to gather the Christians and pagans under a united leadership and in order to continue to have the roman people’s trust, God’s times was either changed or removed.
«And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.» (Dan 7:25)
In the beginning Gods congregation was pure, it was Jews that was elected to first spread the gospel with the truth that it contained. Even the apostle sent to share the gospel with the heathen was a jew, Paul. Even though Jesus said that the mountain in Jerusalem was of significance for true worship he did say who had the truth: «Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.  Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.» (Joh 4:21-22)
So even though the mountain would not be the place of gathering in the nearest future, the truth that came from the Jews still had authority. The Samaritan that Jesus spoke to had a similar belief as the Jews, they claimed to worship the same God. They even had the same hope of the coming Messiah. Jesus even revealed herself as their Messiah to her before the Jewish leaders.
The Samaritans was the descendants of the northern kingdom of Israel that fell away and the pagans. They had mixed false teaching into their religious practice and still didn’t represent God’s times and law. So when Jesus tells her that salvation comes from the Jews He said that even though the feud over which mountain to gather at for assembly with God, the Jews was those who had the truth because they had the law and Gods times. And the Messiah. Jesus said about the Pharisees: «Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.» (Mat 23:1-3) Stephen said after Christ death and resurrection: «Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.» (Act 7:53) Jesus did keep the law: «If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.» (Joh 15:10)
If the Jews had kept Gods law the same way that Jesus did their character would have resembled Christ character. But their religious worship was filled with hypocrisy and even though they represented the right teachings they didn’t live it out correctly. When the first Jews became followers of Christ they understood the law correctly and practiced it correctly. The truth, the actions was united with the word.
Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that it’s the Jews who are in the right. Because that is what she argued on by bringing up the two mountains.
The head of the church in Rome needed influence and power in his position and if he was to succeed to become leader over Christ congregation he had to remove that mind-set that the Jewish-christian foundation was the truth. Because it was not that truth he represented. The religious head in Rome started therefore to forbid Christians to sanctify the sabbath as this created a natural bond to Judaism. Instead he commanded the Christians to adopt the old pagan holy day, Sunday, in it’s place. He convinced them by saying Christ rose on that day and changing the day to Christ resurrection day was in God’s honor. The result was that the Christians was gathered with the pagans and their mindset rather gathered with the Jews and their mind-set.
Christ showed a different belief. Rome was the new Samaria, the new North Kingdom, in the sense that they claimed to believe to have the same Messiah and God while they rejected Gods times and laws and introduced new practices and new times and places for gathering. They rejected the authority that God had set, and His chosen representatives, with their own. Jesus clearly show that they are not the ones who lead man to salvation.
When Jesus warned his apostles that Jerusalem would be destroyed we see another interesting detail. Jesus says: «When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:  Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.» (Mat 24:15- 21)

Here we see Christ speak of the army of Rome as the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel. The same power that would later change or evolve and then think to change times and laws. They would physical destroy the temple at the Mount of Gathering as well as the symbolic value. Rome placed their own building where the temple once stood, at the same happened with Gods spiritual truth. They stepped on Gods truth and replaced it with their own. Ironically the triumph arch that depicts Rome plunder the temple in Jerusalem has the Roman pagan emperor mentioned on one side of it and the pope on the other, both with the same titles.
Notice that Jesus says “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.” Why pray that the escape would not happen on the sabbath day? What is wrong with fleeing on that day? They would be tempted or even pressured to desecrate the day in order to save their lives. Jesus told them to pray to not end in such a situation for it would make it harder for them to stay true to God. Here Jesus demonstrate that the sabbath were to be kept holy even 40 years after his death and resurrection. God’s people would still be identified by keeping God’s times as well as the faith in Jesus. Daniel tells us that the Roman empire would divide and change which it did when the kingdom divided, then become christian and the pope later took the old emperors priestly titles and reigned over the christian church. Not having power over all the areas himself his army was replaced with fornication with the kings and queens in the divided kingdom and have them do his bidding. For 1260 years God’s people would be suppressed under this deceptive power. And again we see that one of the reasons for their suppression is tied to Gods times and laws: «And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.» (Dan 7:25)
Do you remember when God said they would get to have their own kings in Jerusalem forever if they only preserved and honored His sabbath? They didn’t and ended up under Babylon. Again we see a leader changing God’s times and laws in order to get to a position were he can suppress them.
And the word «times» used in Daniel is the Armenian word for the same expression as MOED.
To sanctify God’s times is tied to God’s peoples FREEDOM and independence under God’s kingdom. To break Gods times and laws are tied to being suppressed by foreign powers.
If we gather at times appointed by another king it’s his law we are keeping and him we are giving our loyalty, it’s his land we are citizens of. But if we gather at God’s times we openly before angels and men demonstrate that God is our lawgiver and King. Because it is Him that has ordained the gathering. And if He is our King He will also fight for us if someone tries to take our freedom to serve Him away from us.
In the New Testament Christ blood is our only means to salvation, our only hope to be accepted in Christ kingdom after we have sinned. But even though the blood has gone before us into the sanctuary and is the only reason we are invited to God’s gathering, this doesn’t change when God’s gathering is. During the earthly sanctuary there was always animal sacrifices during the feasts, this illustrated that without the blood they had nothing that would give them right to be part of the gathering. The blood and the time of gathering worked together. One, the blood, was our access card to the Lords congregation, the other, Gods times, was the appointed time for his gathering of the congregation. The same is now, but the blood is replaced by what they symbolized that is Christ blood. And the sanctuary is replaced by the heavenly sanctuary. Gods times are now tied to the sanctuary in heaven and not a house on a mountain on earth.
«But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:  I am the LORD your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.» (Eze 20:18-20) 
We just saw how Jesus had an expectation that this sign, the sabbath, were to be sanctified even when they had to escape the Roman army. In this story we can see a double meaning. It was physical Rome that attacked the psychical «mountain of gathering». While it was Rome and continued by Papal Rome that attacked the spiritual mount of gathering by changing times and laws. In both cases God’s people were to flee, weather from a physical army with physical swords or from a spiritual army with false teachings.

We are told that God’s sabbaths are important to make a separation between what is unclean and what is clean or holy. «Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. » (Eze 22:26)

The Biblical definition of a harlot.
A congregation that claim to worship God and sacrifices to Him, but at the same time breaks His times and laws are called a harlot in the Bible.
This is a long chapter in the Bible so I will try and shorten it down a little.
«The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,  Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother:» (Eze 23:1-2) 
«And the names of them were Aholah the elder, and Aholibah her sister: and they were mine, and they bare sons and daughters. Thus were their names; Samaria is Aholah, and Jerusalem Aholibah.  And Aholah played the harlot when she was mine; and she doted on her lovers, on the Assyrians her neighbors, …Neither left she her whoredoms brought from Egypt: for in her youth they lay with her, and they bruised the breasts of her virginity, and poured their whoredom upon her.» (Eze 23:4-8)
«And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.» (Eze 23:17)
«…Therefore, O Aholibah, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will raise up thy lovers against thee, from whom thy mind is alienated, and I will bring them against thee on every side;
The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses.» (Eze 23:22-23)
…. «For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated: And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms.
I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols.
Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou shalt drink of thy sister’s cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much. Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.
Thou shalt even drink it and suck it out, and thou shalt break the sherds thereof, and pluck off thine own breasts: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. The LORD said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations;
That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them.
Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths.» (Eze 23:28-38)
«Then said I unto her that was old in adulteries, Will they now commit whoredoms with her, and she with them?
Yet they went in unto her, as they go in unto a woman that playeth the harlot: so went they in unto Aholah and unto Aholibah, the lewd women. (Eze 23:43-44)   

In the book of Revelation we see a new church, a woman, who has fornicated with Babylon just like we saw in the story we just read where God spoke of the falling away of Israel and Judah. I 1.Peter 5,13 we see that Peter calls Rom Babylon like it often were in those days. The old city of Babylon didn’t exist at that time. «So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.» (Rev 17:3-6)
This woman represent the roman papal church, the largest church denomination in the world. For many centuries they claimed to be rightfully leader over the Christian church at the same time as they mixed idol worship and practices with the truth. They had influenced God’s people to reject Gods times and law and instead keep their own ordained feast and practices. It this way they made themselves guilty in the same sin as Samaria once did when they were called a harlot.
First the corrupted congregation is called a fornicater, meaning she is lying with another man while with her husband. But when she evolve into a deceiver who lure others to fornicate, she becomes a harlot. Although comparing it to the northern kingdom this power were to be much, much worse, and by their influence they would give birth to harlot children. Meaning a lot of unclean churches and congregations would be inspired and influenced by this mother church, even reform churches, to also reject God’s times and law. This harlot would commit fornication with the kings of the earth. This means that this church would have powers and governments recognize them as the one true church leadership. But God tells us i Revelation 18 that she will be judged, not just her but all who take part in her fornication. Everyone who continue the rebellion against Gods leadership, His times and laws.

God will separate and cleanse a people in the end times.
In Daniel 12 we are told that in the last days God has a plan to again separate His people from the rest of the world and from corrupt religious practices. He will cleanse our a people from all the spiritual corruption: «And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.» (Dan 12:9-10)

This is confirmed in the last book of the Bible. At the end times, right before Christ second coming, a message comes from God to His people to separate themselves from Babylon, or from corrupt and worldly religion and then especially the harlot and her harlot daughters.
«And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.» (Rev.18:4-5) 

God’s people have taken part or been contaminated by corrupt religious leadership. God wants to cleanse them and separate them from the rest. One of the first things God did to separate Israel from Egypt and have the judgment falling on the Egyptians, was to institute His feasts among them. Then after leaving He re-introduced the Sabbath and gave them His times and laws. This became a natural division. Rather being gathered with the rest of the world in their feasts and worship they were now separated and made separate by rejecting their appointed times and replacing them with God’s times. The same happened after their captivity in Babylon. They had lost their kingdom partly because they rejected His sabbath. Now the priest Ezra was sent to them to teach them about Gods times and laws all over again. «For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.  For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.» (Ezr 7:9-10)

We see the same in the book of Nehemiah how they re-instituted the Lord’s feast days and how this now are bringing the people together. It’s gathering them.
«And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.  Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.» (Neh.8:13-18)

Actually before they were conquered by Babylon every time a king realized they had fallen away from God, the first thing they did as part of the cleansing of the land was to remove idols and re-institute the feasts. Josiah did it when they found the book of the covenant and it lead to reformation. And it started with re-instituting God’s feasts. The same in the time of Hezekiah, as part of the reformation and cleansing of the land they re-instituted God’s feasts and called on God’s people both in the north kingdom and in the south to gather at the mount of gathering. Not long after they were under siege but God showed Himself powerful and slayed the hole army for the sake of his people. They had chosen God as king and this time He delivered them by a miracle.
Reformation and cleansing is in the Bible always tied to the re-institution of His holy times.
In the time of Solomon the sanctuary service had for a long time been incomplete. The Ark had stood in one place and the rest of the sanctuary furniture stood another place. The law and throne was separated from the rest of the sanctuary. And God’s people went up to the incomplete sanctuary. Not since Shiloh had the sanctuary service been complete. But when Solomon’s temple was finished and everything was put in place, it was dedicated on Gods appointed feast in the seventh month. Solomon actually waited by moving the Ark until this day, and on this day the Lord filled the temple with His Shekinah. Again restoration and God’s feast is here tied together.
The same after the captivity of God’s people in Babylon. When they re-built the temple after it had been desecrated and destroyed, it was finally restored and dedicated on the first month. The first they do is to keep God’s holy feast in the first month.
Remember in Daniel where it said that the sanctuary would be trodden under foot and then restored?
If we follow the pattern, restoring the sanctuary for the people, means also to restore Gods times.
Part of the reformation and cleansing of God’s people has to contain God’s times.

When God separates the people of the world from His people, they are not gathered in a physical place. They are gathered in time, for God’s gathering is tied to His times and laws. And Christ blood is our admission-card to this holy gathering. When Jesus comes back it too will take place at one of God’s appointed times.

What the Devil is up to
It’s not just the book of Daniel where we are told that God’s enemy seek to change God’s times and laws. But also in this scripture many interpret to be about the Devil himself:
«How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.  Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.» (Isa.14:12-15) 
I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation it says, but in the original language it says HAR-MOED. The same that the expression ARMAGEDDON comes from. God’s gathering in time. MOED, gathering tied to time and HAR – mountain. And again remember a mountain is in Daniel 2 a symbol of a kingdom. Gods enemy wants to be king over God’s gathering. Meaning he wants to rule over God’s people. Because God’s times in the Bible is tied together with God’s assembly under a leadership, it’s crucial who’s times we are gather at. The laws that are kept, the times for gathering is tied to loyalty towards one leader or another. Those rules we keep over the other, reveal who our highest Authority is. That is why God said that they should keep the sabbath as a sign that it was He that was their God. But the Devil has the same sign, his worldly feasts are packed with fun, false sense of security and togetherness. And it’s filled with everything man would desire, gifts and good food, good entertainment and good company. And his weekly sabbath-counterfeit is filled with majestic rituals and spiritual manifestation to lure people to come back week after week for his instruction in a corrupt christian practice. With it he keeps people away from Gods times and His authority and the blessing and freedom and protection they would get by being under God’s direct leadership. The devil has placed everything that attract and tempt us in his feasts and people gather under his leadership.

In the bible we are told that it is just this that is the conflict and the challenge for God’s true people.
«And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. …   And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.» (Rev.12: 9 & 17) 
The devil is wroth with those who follow God’s authority and keep His times and laws. He views it as rebellion against him and his world dominion. The sabbath clearly stated that the earth rightfully belong to God, and it’s witness is a thorn in his side as he claim the earth is his because man has chosen obedience to him before God. It’s his teachings they keep, his feasts they gather at, him they obey. Because the world has chosen him as lawgiver he regards it as his dominion. However those faithful to God and God’s laws and sabbath are a consent reproof to his claim.
And this is why he is going to war against them. This minority ruins his plan to get the whole world to disobey and disrespect God’s authority. When the devil gives his power to the next beast, the beast that comes out of the sea, we know who his target group is from the verse before and we know his hatred for them. The devil was about to loose the battle when Christianity grew. Everyone loved Gods son who sacrificed himself to save man. The sin-corrupted pagan gods lost their appeal. People were actually willing to give up the empty hard pagan beliefs. Satan’s only way to take control over the events was to give his deception and power to a seemingly christian authority. This was a defeat, but he would turn the defeat into victory.
It says: «And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?» (Rev 13:4)

This is the beast that we were told were to suppress God’s people for 1260 years that would also change God’s times and laws. We therefore know that it is the Devil that is behind the changing of God’s times in order to gain leadership over Christ followers. When God’s people rejected Gods times and laws, the devil knew they also partly would loose their protection and freedom. Knowing this principle from the history of God’s people, making them reject Gods times and laws were important in order for him to take control over the biggest christian society. It was the only way to get them subjected.
In 2.Thessalonians it explains that God allowed it to happened for one reason: «Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:» (2.Thess.2:9-11) The ones who claim to be followers of Christ was shown both the truth and the lie, and they chose the lie because of all the signs and lying wonders that came with it. The truth, the love for God became secondary. Their want for pleasure and to follow their own ways was bigger. Both versions gave them the promise of eternal salvation through the blood of Christ, yet one separated the gospel from God’s laws. The other unified it with the worldly pleasures. And people chose the lie, the false gospel. The verse is followed up with it’s conclusion: «That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.» (2Th 2:12) The word unrighteousness in Greek literally means to violate the law. So Paul says that they chose to reject God’s law and subject them to another leader who sat himself as judge over God’s people.
What is righteousness and what is unrighteousness according to scripture? «Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.» (Psalm 119:160) «Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, And Your law is truth.» (Psalm 119:142) Why was Christ righteous? Because He kept his fathers law. Remember? If He hadn’t He would have been a sinner and had to have died for His own sin unable to die for ours. «If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.» (John.15:10) Christ righteousness is obedience to God’s law. And the people did not want this righteousness, they had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Reforming away from the deception means to go back to God’s times and laws.
If we are to receive God’s calling to separate from the false influence we have to turn away from the changed times and laws and replace them with God’s times and laws. And the power we are taking about is the same power that is tied to the image of the beast and it’s mark spoken of in Revelation 13.. It says the hole world will follow the influence of the beast: «And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.» (Rev 13:8) 
Don’t you know that the times Rome instituted is what the whole western world follows today? When the day starts, when the year starts, when the feasts starts and their weekly resting day. Most governments close on their weekly counterfeit sabbath. Even in the US. Even Israel who keeps the original Biblical sabbath has take time off on Sunday from the stock market because nothing is happening that day.
Worship in the Bible is always tied to whom we obey. Paul ironically writes to the church in Rome and says: «Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?» (Rom 6:16)

In the old testament we see that God did not accept worship if it contained disobedience. We can’t claim to be followers of a government if we don’t obey it. We see this example when king Saul are making a worship service for God to His honor. God was not happy or honored.
«But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee…» (1Sa 15:21-23)
God rejected Saul’s religious service for His honor because it was mixed with disobedience to God’s leadership. The Lord does not change. Jesus told us the very same thing.
He said: «Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. » (Mat 7:21-23)
Here the word translated iniquity is the same word that was translated to unrighteousness in 2.Thessalonians. A word that literally means breaking the law.
They who claim Christ name but isn’t obedient to His leadership are rejected by Him. Because the two belong together. The Greek word used literally means to be a law breaker. It is has to be about God’s law for countries have all kinds of different laws. All religious congregations have different laws and ordinances. Christ is talking about those who believe they are free to break His law. They who reject His authority.

The whole world worshiping the beast doesn’t mean that the hole world will convert to Roman Christianity. In the story of Samaria and Judah we see that they taught the pagans in their own corrupt religion. In Revelation 18 we see the harlot committing fornication with the kings of the earth. For the verse to be fulfilled only the beast ideology has to be followed in order for the beast to be worshiped in a biblical sense. Committing fornication means exchanging, making deals in order for her to have her main agenda fulfilled. Remember this is first and foremost the Devils battle against God and everyone he uses as a tool. If it’s their religious laws that are made into state laws, whether people admit to it or not, it is the churches authority that is obeyed or paid homage to.

In Revelation 14 we see the conflict reaching it’s climax which again reveals the core of the battle: «Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.» (Rev 14:12)
In this verse we discover four important facts. Saints, patience and the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Saints is a holy people. The saints are those who have been cleansed just like God said He would do to a people in the end time. Cleanse a people. He wanted to separate a people from unclean influence and here we see that God has succeeded. He now has a holy people. And this people is gathered with an identification, and they are identified by both being followers of Christ AND keeping the commandments of God.
This shows us that a part of the calling to God’s people to separate from unclean influence is to turn back to God’s law, and in God’s law is also His times. It says they have to be patient, it means it will be a forceful battle with a lot of temptations. They have to endure it. Just like the sacrilege of the sabbath might be a temptation when God’s people were to save their lives by fleeing Jerusalem, it will be tempting for God’s people to let go of their loyalty to God’s times in order to save their own lives in this world.
No matter what is said by the world, no matter how much they are pressured to unite with the other claimed Christian followers by traditions, feasts, food and religious practice, God’s people have to stand firm and be patient and stay true to the Lord. If the whole world claim it will help world peace and that we can meet halfway on most points, that all will agree to hold all the other God’s laws and all we have to give up is our faithfulness to God’s times, it will be tempting and we will appear unreasonable if we don’t do it. And this is what happened in the past with God’s people. And every time they made this compromise they also lost their freedom in the Lord and was subjected to suppression. Knowing this past deception, God’s people need to sit out the storm and remain faithful.

Eve and God’s end time people
It was the same temptation that lead the whole earth under the suppression of the devil. The devil chose to go undercover as a winged serpent and placed himself in the very tree that symbolized obedience to God to try and convince Eve that he only wished her well. His agenda was only to break God’s command. He convinced her that to go against God’s command wasn’t such a big deal. He promised her that good things would come out of breaking the law, that she would even become as God herself. But it was all lies. In stead of freedom and supremacy they got violence, destruction and suppression. Eve was free in the Garden of Eden, she was free under the rule of the Lord. But after she was suppressed by her own emotions and needs. Women was also suppressed in the world, in a world where the strongest made the rules. Eve was tempted to become as God, but women still live in suppression today because of what she did. Eve is a good example because in the Bible God compares His church or people with a woman. And the temptation Eve faced is the same temptation God’s people have experienced throughout time. The temptation to be Gods themselves in the sense that they makes their own laws and rules and traditions while rejecting God’s authority and law. This is what Eve did when she set aside God’s command in an attempt to become Gods equal. Meaning your own Lord. Even though she thought this would be the result, it was a deception. Instead of rising above Gods law she came under the law, for the law was accusing her. The same will happen to those churches that call themselves by Christ name but have done the same thing, they will be judged and loose their freedom in the Lord.
«… but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?» (James 4;11-12)
The harlot did just this, she wrongfully placed herself as judge or god over God’s people.

Nationalism in Gods kingdom
Does a country feel they are suppressed by their holy days? Isn’t it these times of year that gives them their feeling of belonging, togetherness and isn’t it tied to joy in their lives? This is what God’s times were meant to do. They were to be kept with pride as people felt that their nationality was with Gods kingdom and that their citizenship was there. It was to be tied to joy. I fact God said He wanted his sabbath day to be a day of joy. The Pharisees and scribes in the time of Jesus had ruined this by making it a day of burden. That is why God had to correct their errors in His speech and with His actions.
«And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.  If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.» (Isa.58:12-14)
About one of the Lord’s feast days it says: «And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.» (Lev 23:40)

Gods times was tied to our freedom to worship the Lord. It was to awaken our ties to the Kingdom of God. Instead the many Christians do as the Pharisees and make the times sound like a burden and terrible command, something that we need to be freed from. They follow some of them and others they see no value in. But some do feel the joy of gathering at God’s times and look upon it as a privilege to be a part of God’s assembly in time.

In the end times we see this battle. God’s people who wants to be faithful to God’s authority on one side and the rest of the world on the other. Those who love their king will with joy receive the invitation to gather at a specific time under His rule. They worship and obey Him with pleasure. The rest of the world feel the same loyalty and joy when subjecting under their religious rulers and worldly powers and governments. They are attracted to the ways of the world that offer stimulation of the senses. God’s people will be spread all over the world in the midst of those who follow earthly spiritual leaders and who engage in spiritual superstition. God’s people will not gather physically before Christ second coming, until then the mount of gathering is where it always has been, Gods times. No matter where God’s people are, every sabbath they will be renewed when they gather with the Lord to be blessed by Him.

Not all feel a calling to keep Gods times.
Keeping Gods times outwardly is not enough. Most of God’s commandments was valid no matter what happened. God never wanted anyone to add to sin by committing another act of sin. He never said that if you have committed adultery you might as well kill. God wanted man to do as little sin as possible, He wanted to prevent the increase of evil. If man failed He didn’t want them to continue in sin. He worked to limit the damage. When it comes to the feast days we see another attitude from God. God’s unfaithful people is sometimes told to not keep the feasts. Israel wasn’t allowed to keep them in the wilderness because of the sins against God’s leadership that they committed there. Only after the rebellious generation had died out and they crossed the river Jordan were they called to again keep the feasts. Till then they had kept the feasts from Egypt and during their wandering all the way to Kadesh. But not after Kadesh. We are told the reason why:
«Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.  Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.  So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) (Heb.3:7-11) 
They were not permitted to take part in the feasts because they had a spirit of rebellion.
The moment Israel crossed Jordan they renewed their covenant with God, and chose to be faithful towards His govern. They were again permitted to keep God’s feasts. The weekly sabbath however had to be respected regardless. God continued to let it rain manna only six days a week. God sanctified His sabbath before the people. The sabbath was a witness that it was God who was the Creator and rightfully lawmaker and judge on the earth. This command was valid no matter what. The sabbath was also placed in the ten commandments while the other feasts was written down in a book placed by the side of the Ark of The Covenant. One is a sin unto death, the others are a privilege and invitation.
Lets look at some more scripture that tells us that Gods times is tied to a gathering in time and when God’s people are unfaithful they are told to stay away:
«Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.» (Isa 1:13)
The Lord’s feasts and religious service cannot be mixed with iniquity. The Lord’s feasts are an invitation and privilege for Gods people that wants to take part in God’s sanctification.
«I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.  And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.» (Hos 2:11-12) «I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.» (Amo 5:21-22)

But when God’s people have converted and turned away from their infidelity He calls on them to keep them again:
«Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off. » (Nah 1:15)

When it comes to His feasts He says He will cause them to cease midst them, that He doesn’t want them to be kept if they are not in harmony with His spirit. Because God is blasphemed by it. The feast days are therefore reserved to those who are in a covenant relationship with God and they are a sign of this bond. Those who keep them but have not turned away from their rebellion or sins does God injustice and defile Gods sanctuary when they keep them.
God has in the past hindered people from keeping them. God had said that His sabbaths was a sign that He was the one who sanctified us. If we bring iniquity and Gods times together we ruin this sign. We bring ungodliness into Gods congregation in time.

Those who have not reformed in the heart will often chose away God’s times because they don’t understand why it’s important nor will they be convinced by God’s spirit to keep them for the reasons just mentioned. God allowed the religious leader pretend that he had the power to change times and laws because the church had become corrupt and unclean in many ways, and because the church no longer let God sanctify them. They didn’t represent Him.
Many reject the calling to keep Gods times, they feel God can gather them at any time, and therefore it doesn’t matter. With such a belief we are our own God, our own judge. If God is our King it is His ways we follow, His ordinances we respect. If He invites is to a congregation or gathering in time and we abstain we loose the blessing that would have been given at this time. It could be increased knowledge, increased strength, and increased ability to separate holy from unholy.

Repent ye
From the verses we saw in the Old Testament we can see that many will never feel a calling to keep Gods times and laws because they have already rejected Gods leadership in other ways. They think that Christ blood separated from God’s authority can save. But it was Christ blood the sacrificial animals was a symbol of, and we can see from the verses we just mentioned that God isn’t even interested in His own sacrificial system if it’s placed together with defiance. Even Jesus makes this argument: «Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. » (Mat 5:23-24)
The sacrificial animals pointed to Christ death for our sake. But this was abused in the time of Israel. They sacrificed and sinned and sacrificed and sinned. In the end the sacrifices was an excuse to keep sinning. If they could just sacrifice an animal to become clean again, they were free to follow their lusts. This opened up for calculated and deliberate sin. Many Christians do the same with the blood of Christ. They look on it as a crutch, something that gives them permission to keep sinning with a good conscience. A reassurance that keep them from turning away from their sin or that makes it unnecessarily to obey God. If Jesus says we have to make reconcile with even our brother before pleading with God for forgiveness how much more do we need to be willing to reconcile with God before claiming salvation through the blood of Christ? The gospel includes a calling to turn from our ways.
John the Baptist preached: «In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea» And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.» (Mat 3:1-2)

Jesus preached: «From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.» (Mat 4:17)
Even to four of the churches, God’s own churches, in Revelation. The message is the same.
To Ephesus: «Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent» (Rev 2:5) To the church in Pergamon: «Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.» (Rev 2:16)
To the church in Sardis: «Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent.» (Rev 3:3)
And to the church in Ladiocea: «As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.» (Rev 3:19) 
To the woman caught doing adultery Jesus said: «Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.» (Joh 8:11)
We are called to repent and turn from our ways. Christ blood isn’t to be used as an excuse to sin, but for us to repent and turn from our ways. Christ blood then will cover us and take away our sin so it will accuse us no more. But if we continue in violation and not repeat or change our ways, we step on Christ blood. That is why someone claiming Christ blood, or that they claim His name or even that they believe in honoring Gods commandments and times, is only a sign of outer affiliation. In Revelation it doesn’t speak about those who believe in the validity of God’s commandments, but those who actually keep them. It doesn’t help if we believe something is correct if we reject it with our lives. That is why Jesus said we should know them by their fruits. Not by their words, but by their fruits.

Many Christians will never feel a calling to keep Gods times because God has never invited them to His congregation or gathering in time because they refuse to turn away from their sins. They are still in rebellion against Gods and His law. And there is none entering Gods congregation without the access-card, Christ blood. Many want to be called Christians, be called by Christ name but they want to follow their own ways at the same time. A parable in the old testament fits well with this type of religious practice: «And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.» (Isa 4:1)
Their own clothes can be symbolized by their own righteousness. Remember Christ righteousness was tied to Him being obedient to His Father and respecting His law? Bread can symbolize Gods word. They do not want to eat God’s word, but in stead they keep their own words, rules and regulations.

ARMAGEDDON
The last battle under the sixth plague, right before Christ second coming, we can see the nations gathering against God. First we saw that everyone has fornicated with the harlot, and followed the beast and it’s teachings. Now we see them again.
«And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon » (Rev 16:13-16)

The unclean spirits, the beast and the false prophet. It says the dragon is part of the battle here, and we have already been told that the dragon is wroth with «remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.» and that the beast and false prophet are helping him fight against them. We have seen the battle against God in Daniel 7, with the dragon in Revelation 12 and the fallen star in Isaiah. They are at war with Gods times and laws. They gather in togetherness against God’s times, they are at war with Gods congregation or gathering in time. They are not happy, as it says in Revelation 14,12, that some choose to keep the commandments of God and follow the authority of God and have the faith of Jesus. The whole world have rejected God’s authority in these questions. Only this group remains in rebellion against the agenda of the dragon and his followers. So the dragon make war against them and what they represent. They are the last people who refuse to give up on their loyalty to Gods commandments.
Its unclean spirits that will gather people to make war against God Himself. They gather at a place that in Hebrew is derived from the word HAR-MOED. Same conflict. The law that represents Gods authority and Gods times is His ‘mount of gathering’. This is what they are at war against. You cannot make war with God and at the same time be obedient to Him. Their war is about going against Gods law.
In the ten commandment there isn’t given any reason for us to keep Gods commandments except in the fourth commandments which is the sabbath commandment. There God is, the lawgiver, identified as the Creator of Earth. And with it His area of dominion and His right to judge. In God’s times the seal of God’s authority is placed proclaiming that His law is what is to be respected before any other. It’s this authority that the Devils errand boys refuse to acknowledge. They feel they have the right to be kings on earth while willingly rebelling against Gods law. They place their law above Gods’ law. They feel their laws are better, more practical. Their times and gatherings are more highly elevated then Gods times and gatherings. While they call their own laws important and their own made up feasts and weekly day of rest a law we have to obey, they at the same time say that God’s laws are without meaning and authority. Why then are they forcing man to keep theirs? They can’t stand when their laws are broken but flatter and rejoice when God’s are broken. They have placed their throne above Gods in their mind. They have made themselves equal with God. But God tells us to keep His times because He is the Creator and owner of everything, they have no argument that can even match His. They even go so far as to deny and hinder those who wants to be faithful and follow the calling to come to Gods gathering or congregation in time. When the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place, flee and pray that your flight be not on the sabbath. History may repeat itself. When the abomination that maketh desolate step on Gods holy time, flee and continue to keep His times holy. Pray that you will be able to.
This attack on God’s authority is war against God. They have gathered the world in their own mind-set.

If you get a calling today to keep Gods times or weekly sabbath, it can be that God wants to separate you from Babylon and all the unclean churches and cleanse you and include you in His gathering or congregation in time. Don’t resist. Even though other proclaiming Christ name advice you against it, go to met the Lord on His times. Even though they want to scare you and call it dangerous, even though you are denounced and shut out of their community. Go met the Lord at His feast. Let Him gather you under His foll and leadership. Let Him sanctify you. When you make this decision you will face bitter resistance. You are going from being lead by spiritual leaders in the world to Gods’ leadership. The devil will come after you just like it says in Revelation 12. You are the one he will war against. «And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.» (Rev 12:17) 

Unclean spirits are ready to use every person they can to influence and wear you down in order to break you and make you leave your faithfulness. For your citizenship is in heaven, God is your lawgiver, His are the times you keep, you are no longer recognized in the world. You are now an outcast. You will be called fanatic, someone who will not take part in the togetherness, someone who causes separation in the family or church. You will be called extreme and what worse is. Isn’t it odd that you will be called extreme for keeping the Biblical ordained times, but normal if you keep those ordained by religious leaders who claim the Bible is the foundation of their belief? The double standard is clearly seen.
We know that in the last days God will again separate unto Himself a people. He will sanctify and cleanse a people.
He will divide a family in two, one will be saved the other lost. Our worship is not to be unified with the world if the world is in opposition with God’s authority. We need to be united and one with the Lord.
Nowhere in the Bible are a reformation or a cleansing of His people happened without His laws and times being re-instated.
Today we have the privileged to decide who our king is and where our citizenship is.
«For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.» (Isa 33:22)
When Christ comes He will look for His people. Make sure you have your access card, Christ blood and that you follow the principles of His kingdom. If you are in opposition to His government you will not be accepted even if you claim Christ blood for yourself. For it means you haven’t repented. Rather the cross converting our souls the cross have been used as an excuse to sin and rebel. This is a false gospel.
John explains: «Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.» (1.Jhn 3:4)
«For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?» (Heb.10:26-29)
This isn’t about making an error or failing while wanting to do the right thing, for John have said: «My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.» (1.Jhn 2:1-2) So Paul and John is not in conflict with each other. Paul is talking about if we willingly rebel against Gods govern, if we refuse to accept His authority as a lawmaker, His blood cannot save us. The same message Jesus gave when He spoke of those calling upon His name while continuing in Iniquity.
We are forgiven because we regret breaking Gods law and because we recognize Gods right to judge. When we do this we can come before the Lord in repentance and pray for forgiveness and mercy through the blood of Christ. But if we come before Him without regret and a desire to turn from our ways we step on Christ blood.
«Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,  Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness» (Heb 3:7-8)

God’s law will be shown to the world, and the
world will be asked to chose sides before it’s final hour.
Armageddon described in the Bible has most likely two parallel fulfillment. One symbolic and one physical. Armies will try to make war against God at the old ‘mount of gathering’ Jerusalem. Because this is where God’s throne on earth is The Ark of The Covenant has been found and the tables of the law, along with Christ blood, will be shown to the whole world as a testimony. Man will get one last chance to chose God’s times and value it over the counterfeit. God will let the truth be known.
It’s not unlikely that the devil will make a psychical attack against Gods throne on earth and the law there at the same time as he makes war on God’s people who also carry Gods’ law in their hearts. The devil’s target is wherever Gods law and ‘assembly’ is and where his authority is, whether it’s in a golden chest or it’s inside a human chest (the heart).

by R.T