SHEKINAH GLORY - NYOBS 59.02

Shekinah Glory

Is the GLORY CLOUD real or just smoke and mirrors to get new church members?

First Word

·         Shekinah Glory is an extra-biblical expression or to say it another way; it’s not in the Bible, however the references to “His Glory” is evident.  – WHAT IS THE SHEKINAH GLORY?

·         The Hebrew Word transliteration means “inhabit”, “dwelling” or “settling”. Literally it means “He caused to dwell” signifying His Devine visitation; the PRESENCE of God on earth with His cosmic glory.

·         The Chaldee word means “resting-place”. – It was used by the Jews to designate the visible symbol of God's presence in the Tabernacle, and later on His presence in Solomon's temple.

·         Shekinah is often described as His GLORY and His PRESENCE as being synonymous, but sometimes observed in DIFFERENT FORMS, particularly that as seen in His creations.

·         Note: All forms of the Shekinah Glory are a VEIL; we cannot see Him as He really is.

Exodus 34:9 – Let your presence travel with us
9 And he said, “O Lord, if it is true that I have found favor with you, then please travel with us. Yes, this is a stubborn and rebellious people, but please forgive our iniquity and our sins. Claim us as your own special possession.”(NLT)

Psalm 19:1-4 God displays His Presence in a thousand ways
¹ The heavens declare THE GLORY OF GOD; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
² Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.
³ There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.
⁴ Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, (NKJV)

Ezekiel 1:28 – Shekina Glory - Like a rainbow – Fell face down
²⁸ Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of THE GLORY OF THE LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking. (NIV2011)

OLD TESTAMENT PRESENCE

Presence face to face

·         Moses is on the mountain talking with God and he asked God to show him His GLORY.  God said No, that no man could look directly at His face and live, but he would allow him to see the back of HIS PRESENCE as He passed by.

·         The Bible does not tell us what Moses actually saw, but it made his face glow.

·         Since Moses spoke face to face with God, HE WAS A DEAD MAN, but not in the physical sense of death, but in the sense that Moses had died to himself. – Moses had allowed God to change him; scripture says he was the humblest man on earth. (an example for us)

Exodus 33:18-23 – Show me your Shekinah Glory

18 And he said, "Please, show me Your glory." (NKJV)
19 The LORD replied, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you.

20 But you may not look directly at my face, for NO ONE MAY SEE ME AND LIVE.”
21 The LORD continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock.
22 As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
23 Then I will remove my hand and let you see me from behind. But my face will not be seen.”

(NLT)

Exodus 33:11 – Moses spoke face to face with Jehovah
¹¹ And Jehovah spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaks unto his friend.

(ASV)

Numbers 12:3 – Moses most humble man on earth
³ Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.

(NKJV)

Exodus 34:34-35 – Face glowed with the Shekinah Glory of God
34 But whenever he went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he would remove THE VEIL until he came out again. Then he would give the people whatever instructions the LORD had given him,
35 and the people of Israel would see the RADIANT GLOW of his face. So he would put THE VEIL over his face until he returned to speak with the LORD. (NLT) 

Presence in Fire

·         The first time we are aware of the Shekinah Glory of God is when Moses is attracted to a bush on the mountain that is on fire and is not consumed and he turned aside to go see it.

·         God told him to not come near, that His 'Shekinah ‘presence made the ground Holy and Moses hid his face from God.

·         The Shekinah Glory of the cloud as witnessed by Moses and Aaron most likely contained fire. The Glory of God is like a devouring FIRE; the observed cloud only veils His presence.

Exodus 3:2-6 – The Shekinah Glory appeared as fire
² And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of FIRE out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
³ And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
⁴ When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
⁵ Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
⁶ And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (ESV)

Leviticus 9:23 – The Glory of the Lord with Fire
²³ And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the GLORY OF THE LORD appeared to all the people.
²⁴ And FIRE came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. (ESV)

Exodus 24:15-17 – Like a devouring Fire
¹⁵ Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
¹⁶ The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
¹⁷ Now the appearance of the GLORY OF THE LORD was like a devouring FIRE on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. (ESV)

Presence in a Cloud

·         Often the scripture indicates the people saw the presence of God without mentioning a cloud or fire, but the evidence of many other scriptures would lead you to conclude that when they saw the Glory of the Lord, they were talking about a Cloud, perhaps with fire.

·         The Cloud was literally there to hide the Glory of God which no man can see and live.

Numbers 14:10 – The Glory of the Lord appeared
¹⁰ Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the GLORY OF THE LORD APPEARED at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. (ESV)

Numbers 16:19 – All in the congregation saw the Glory Cloud
¹⁹ Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the GLORY OF THE LORD APPEARED to all the congregation. (ESV)

Numbers 16:42 – The Glory of the Lord - Cloud
⁴² And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the CLOUD covered it, and the GLORY OF THE LORD APPEARED. (ESV)

Presence in a Cloud Pillar

·         When Israel was led out of Egypt, the Lord went before them "in a pillar of a cloud." Which was the symbol of his presence among His people.

·         At night the cloud was lit up with fire from the inside; during the day the fire was still there, but unseen because of the sun.

Exodus 14:19-20 – Pillar of Cloud lit up the night
¹⁹ Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the PILLAR OF CLOUD moved from before them and stood behind them,
²⁰ coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it LIT up the night without one coming near the other all night. (ESV)

NEW TESTAMENT PRESENCE

Presence as Light

·         The Glory of the Lord shown forth as a LIGHT to the Shepherds at the birth of Jesus

Luke 2:9 – The Glory of the Lord shown forth
⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the GLORY OF THE LORD shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. (ESV)

Presence through Prophecy

·         The Presence of the Shekinah Glory is associated with the transforming spirit of God with the evidence of prophecy coming forth through His people; "For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.

·         Prophecy must be understood before we can go any further – Prophecy to us means to “foretell” of things in the future – The Greek word is Propheteuo” which means “to magnify God”-“To speak of Divine things”, it means the “forth telling” of the bold message of the Gospel.

·         Prophecy has nothing to do with foretelling the future, but of witnessing to the grace of Jesus Christ and magnifying His name.  So when you read about being filled with the Spirit and “prophesizing” they are praising God’s name and His attributes. 

·         Paul wanted everyone to prophesy, to praise the virtues of God’s Son. – To eagerly seek the gift of praising God; prophesizing. – NYOBS 08.02 – SPEAKING IN TONGUES

·         Tongues are a SIGN to the pagan, the unbeliever; a “convicting experience”.

·         Prophecy; praising God is a SIGN to the Believer of the “in filling” of the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:21-  God’s Glory is linked to Prophecy
²¹ For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

(ESV)

1 Samuel 10:5-6 – The Spirit of the Lord - Prophesy
⁵ After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying.
⁶ Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

(ESV)

1 Cor 14:22 – Prophecy is for the believer.

22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.

NIV

1 Cor 14:1 – Desire the gift of prophecy

1 Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy

NIV

1 Cor 14:39 – Be eager to prophesy

39 Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy,

NIV

TODAY’S PRESENCE

The Glory Cloud

·         I feel I must also speak to the “Glory Cloud” that has appeared in churches all over the world which is believed to be the physical manifestation of the PRESENCE of God.  Because of the way I am wired, I want to believe when things of the supernatural occur, especially that of God.

·         The Glory Cloud is described as a phenomenon of a glittering swarm of gold-like particles floating down on the person and then vanishing.  Some report an oil residue that returns on the skin after it is wiped off; other report feathers falling. -  It has been reported that a cloud in one church was so thick you could barely see the congregation. 

·         There is a video on YouTube of a fleeting cloud as it appeared inside Bethel Church.

·         During this phenomenon there is praise, worship, singing, shouting and dancing going on which is the OPPOSITE of the OT occurrence when the “Presence” of God was so overwhelming no one could even approach and they fell to their knees.  When the Prophet Isaiah saw the Presence of God, he said ‘WOE is ME”.

·         The justification or explanation of this phenomenon comes from four verses in the OT that are used to legitimize this phenomenon – I list them here for you to peruse. .

_* Ezekiel 10:4-5 – The Glory Cloud filled the house
⁴ And the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD.
⁵ And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks. (ESV)

_* 2 Chronicles 5:14 – Could not minister because of the Glory Cloud
¹⁴ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (ESV)

_* 1 Kings 8:11 – Could not stand because of the Glory Cloud
¹¹ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. (ESV)

_* Exodus 40:35 - Could not enter because of the Glory Cloud
³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. (ESV)

Ezekiel 44:4 – Fell on his face before the Glory of the Lord
⁴ then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, THE GLORY OF THE LORD filled the temple of the LORD. And I FELL ON MY FACE.

(ESV)

Isaiah 6:5 – Isaiah saw The Glory of God said – “Woe Is Me”
⁵ Then I said: WOE IS ME for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, ⌊and⌋ because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.

(HCSB)

Walmart Glory Cloud

·         I saw a cloud hovering above the lights in the local Wal-Mart store and reported it to an employee thinking it might be smoke.  They thanked me and continued to work and I wondered if I was the only one that saw it… I witnessed this three times.

·         Since the Cloud was above the open meat cooler section it was probable the interaction of the cool air meeting the warm air just above the lights.  - Anyway I don’t get to see the cloud in my home; maybe it’s because I am just more holy when I am out grocery shopping.

New Covenant Glory Cloud

·         The supernatural is available to the Believer, but it’s not automatic, nor is it a method or a formula, nor is it a procedure and it cannot be commanded to appear on Friday at 10:30 pm

·         The Glory Cloud, nor its concepts of God’s Presence on earth, appears anywhere in the NT under which the Christian now abides. – There are NO EXAMPLES.

·         Scripture says the time is coming when people will NOT endure sound teaching, but will have itching ears for pastors that teach to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

·         God will test the Believer; not for Himself, but for us to understand where we are in our own knowledge of the teachings of God. – We are to spend time in His Word, digesting precepts, concepts, commandments and embracing His warnings.

·         Those that reject the truth and refuse sound doctrine will receive a strong delusion from God giving them what they want; perhaps a Glory Cloud. – It’s in the Book -

2 Timothy 4:3-4 – Itching ears for teachings of myths
³ For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having ITCHING EARS they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away
⁴ from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (ESV)

Matthew 24:24-25 – Preachers perform great signs and wonders
²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to LEAD ASTRAY, if possible, even the elect.
²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand. (ESV)

Deuteronomy 13:1-4 – Preacher gives you a wonder; do not listen
¹ If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder,
² and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’
³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your GOD IS TESTING YOU, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
⁴ You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. (ESV)

1 John 4:1 – Test the signs and phenomenon with scripture
¹ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but TEST THE SPIRITS to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (ESV)

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 – Un-Believer will get a strong delusion

⁹ The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,
¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
¹¹ Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,
¹² in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (ESV)

Presence Spiritual

·         God’s presence can also be spiritual; Jesus speaks of giving the "GLORY" that God gave to Him to the people.

John 17:22 – God’s presence can be in spiritual form
²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, (ESV)

Presence Veiled

·         The teachings of the New Testament lead the Believer to understand that the PRESENCE of God is the Holy Spirit as He abides in the Believer, but He is VEILED; His Presence is observed only though our actions.

·         God is present when two or three are gathered in His name, but remains veiled. – When we get to Heaven, the VEIL will be lifted and we will see God; His Son Jesus the Christ and the Holy Spirit; the Trinity - all three in their Shekinah Glory and we will have a glorified body.

Matthew 18:20 – His presence is among two or three
²⁰ For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (ESV)

Colossians 2:9 – The Shekinah Glory dwells in Jesus
⁹ For in him the whole FULLNESS OF DEITY dwells bodily,(ESV)

1 John 3:2 – In Heaven we will see Him in His Shekinah Glory
² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (ESV)

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – You Carry the Presence of God within
¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
²⁰ for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (ESV)

Presence Intermediary

·         Today we want someone else to tell us about God; we don’t have the desire to enter into God’s presence for ourselves, we want an intermediary.

·         God sent us an intermediary, His Son Jesus Christ.  We don’t need a Glory Cloud to come into His Presence, we can boldly come without fear before His throne of Grace.

Exodus 20:18-19 – Let the Preacher do the talking to us
¹⁸ Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off
¹⁹ and said to Moses, “YOU SPEAK TO US, and WE WILL LISTEN; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” (ESV)

1 Timothy 2:5 – There is just one mediator – Jesus Christ
⁵ For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (ESV)

Hebrews 4:15-16 – We can come boldly to His Throne of Grace
¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (NKJV)

Last Thoughts

·         Because of the abuse of the gifts, especially tongues and the so called healings we see on TV; the waves of the Holy Spirit knocking people down; the jerking movements and outburst of laughter and the barking like an dog, all seem somewhat contrived; therefore there is a tendency to just ignore and dismiss everything that smacks of the spiritual or supernatural as just foolishness accompanied with smoke and mirrors.

·         The Bible doesn’t say to ignore the “wonder”, but to test every spirit.  Spend time in His Word and see for yourself what God has to say about these signs or wonders. – If you are seeking a sign, Jesus has already given you one.  He said to read what happened to Jonah and you will have your sign. - It’s in the Book -

·         The Cloud is not the Shekinah Glory of God; but is a veil that hides God’s Glory.

·         The Glory of the Lord will remain veiled until we are transformed into His image, then with unveiled faces we will see Him as He is.  If you are a Believer, you WILL see God’s Shekinah Glory. – The Choices you make today have eternal consequences. – Life is Choice Driven.

Acts 5:12 – Signs and Wonders were done regularly
¹² Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. (ESV)

1 John 4:1 – Test the signs and phenomenon with scripture
¹ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but TEST THE SPIRITS to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (ESV)

2 Corinthians 3:18 – We will be transformed and see His Glory
¹⁸  But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror THE GLORY OF THE LORD, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

(NKJV)

John 11:40 - If you believed you will see the glory of God
⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see THE GLORY OF GOD?” (ESV)

Matthew 16:4 – An evil generation seeks for a sign
⁴ An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except THE SIGN OF JONAH.” So he left them and departed. (ESV)

Matthew 12:40 – Sign; Jesus raised from the dead after 3 days
⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (NIV2011)

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical

information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders

and see further that I otherwise ever could have.

                                                                                                                                     

Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias

Apocrypha - Goodspeed

Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White

Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row

Bible Study Tools - Crosswalk

English Standard Version Bible – ESV

Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein

Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s

Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale

Kwanzaa – www.GotQuestions.org

Kwanzaa – Renew America – Warner Todd Huston

King James Version Bible – KJV

Man who invented Kwanzaa; The – Weirdrepublic.com – Thomas clough

Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest

Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan

New International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas - Tenney

New International Version Bible – NIV

Shekinah Glory - www.GotQuestions.org

Temple Institute; The

Temple Mount & Land of Israel Faithful Movement

Temple Mount Location - Dr. Asher Kaufman

Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee

Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner

Wikipedia -

Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; The – Tenney

KWANZAA - NYOBS 58.27

KWANZAA

Should a Christian celebrate Kwanzaa?

The Good, The Bad, the Ugly

First Word

·         My interest in Kwanzaa was elevated when a friend asked the question; “Should a Christian observe Kwanzaa”? – Since it occurred around Christmas, I began to study the subject to see if it was in the Bible in some form or fashion. – I Googled the official Kwanzaa website and began my assimilation of glowing principles and practices.

·         I found other websites that were just downright hateful citing very little documentation which I quickly dismissed.  - But the more I searched, the GOOD was trashed with the BAD and the UGLY raised its head. – The Bible says; “In the mouth of Two or Three witnesses is a thing established, so I sought out more documentation on the Internet and found more than a dozen commentaries on this subject. ( Internet search; Ron N. Everett)

·         Some News articles refer to Kwanzaa as more than a celebration, but as a FAITH.

·         Many African Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa do so in addition to observing Christmas.

·         I present my findings here and ask that with serious considerations you prayerfully decide whether or not you as a Christian should observe Kwanzaa.

Deuteronomy 19:15 – Two or Three Witnesses
¹⁵ One witness cannot establish any wrongdoing or sin against a person, whatever that person has done. A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

(HCSB)

The Creator

·         The Creator of Kwanzaa is Dr. Maulana Karenga who is a professor and chair of Africana Studies at California State University, Long Beach.  He holds two Ph.D.'s; his first is in political science with focus on the theory and practice of nationalism and his second in social ethics with a focus on the classical African ethics of ancient Egypt.

·         Google search reveals that Ron McKinley Everett was born July 14, 1941, the 14^th child of a Baptist Minister on a poultry farm in Parsonsburg Maryland; he was not African nor spoke Swahili.   He was also known as Ron Ndabezitha Everett and Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga. -  

·         Maulana in Swahili, is a lofty title meaning “MASTER TEACHER”.

·         Ndabezitha in ZULU means “YOUR MAJESTY”.

·         Karenga in Swahili means “KEEPER OF TRADITIONS”.

Kwanzaa Early Years

·         During the early years starting in 1966, Kwanzaa was meant to be an "oppositional alternative" to Christmas. - A rule of Kwanzaa stated that one "should not mix the Kwanzaa holiday or its symbols, values and practice with any other culture."

·         Washing Post Interview – Karenga said “People think Kwanzaa is African, but it’s not.  I came up with it because Black people in this country wouldn’t celebrate it if they knew it was American.  Also I put it around Christmas because I knew that’s when a lot of bloods would be partying”. 

·         Kwanzaa was altered in 1997 so that practicing Christians would not be alienated, stating that Kwanzaa was “A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture”, and “Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday."

·         “The Quotable Karenga” was then name of his book containing his seven black principals.

·         The Sevenfold path of Blackness became the Bible of the Black Nationalist civil rights movement. -  1) Think Black -- 2) Talk Black -- 3) Act Black -- 4) Create Black –- 5) Buy Black -- 6) Vote Black –- 7) Live Black

THE GOOD

The Celebration

·         Dr. Karenga said Kwanzaa was "the best of African thought and practice in constant exchange with the world."- Kwanzaa reflects on what most experts say is missing from our homes: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. - www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org

·         Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966-67 to "reaffirm and restore our rootedness in African culture”. – It was created to be the first specifically African-American Holiday.

·         It is celebrated just after Christmas on December 26^th through January 1^st honoring and celebrating African American heritage and culture and culminates in a feast with gift giving.  Its length of seven days; its core focus and its foundation are all rooted in its concern with values. -  NYOBS 47.15 - HANUKKAH & YOM KIPPUR FESTIVALS AND FEASTS

·         Homes are decorated with fruits, colorful objects of African art, and cloths especially the wearing of the Kaftans (long robe or tunic) by women. – The ceremony includes drums, libations, reading the African Pledge & the Principals of Blackness, candle lighting and a feast.

·         The Name Kwanzaa derives its name from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “First Fruits of the Harvest”. -  The name is very similar to the Feast of Harvest mentioned in scripture where the FIRST FRUITS are brought into the storehouse of the Lord.

·         The seven candle candelabra symbolizes the seven principals of Kwanzaa and is ruminant of the seven candle Menorah of the Jews.

Ø  The three Pan-African colors on the flag are copied from Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association, the most powerful 1920’s.Black Nationalist movement.

Ø  Red: the blood that unites all people of Black African ancestry, and shed for liberation; 

Ø  Black: Black people whose existence as a nation, though not a nation-state, is affirmed by the existence of the flag; and power.

Ø  Green: the abundant natural wealth of Africa.

Exodus 34:22 – Feast of Weeks – First Fruits

²² You shall observe the Feast of Weeks, the FIRST FRUITS of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year’s end. (ESV)

Seven Principals

·         The celebration focus is on their black identity, cultural heritage and values of Africa.

·         While many of these principals are traditional African principals, some seem more related to the Black Nationalist Movement and perhaps even supremacist ideology meaning that a particular age, race, species, ethnic group, religion, gender, social class, belief system, or culture is SUPERIOR to other. – Any ideology that goes against the Bible’s teaching that all races are of equal value, must be prayerfully re-considered.

·         Nguzo Saba SEVEN principals of Kwanzaa as listed in their official website.  They are expressed in Swahili, the co-opted language of the Black Nationalist movement of the 1960’s.  - Each principal is represented by a physical symbol, one for each day of Kwanzaa.

1.     Umoja (Unity) - To strive for and maintain unity in the family community, nation and race.  This principal teaches the oneness of our people, the common ground of our humanity, the interrelatedness of life and the indispensability of family and community in our righteous togetherness in love, work and struggle.

2.     Kujichagulia (Self-determination) – To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves. - This principle reaffirms our right and everyone’s right to control our destiny and daily lives, and build the good communities, societies and future we conceive, aspire to and struggle to bring into being.

3.     Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) - To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.  This principal teaches us that we come into being, thrive and flourish in needed and principled relationships. And it teaches us that it is together that we must conceive and construct the good communities, societies and world we all want and deserve.

4.     Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) – To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together. - This principle teaches the value and practice of shared work and shared wealth, the right of people to their own resources and the ethical imperative of a just and equitable sharing of the good of the world.

5.     Nia (Purpose) – To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. - This principle reminds us of the ancient ethical teaching in the Odu Ifa that we and all humans are divinely chosen to bring good in the world and that this is the fundamental mission and meaning, i.e., purpose, of human life. Thus, we are to embrace the collective vocation of building and developing our people, increasing our capacity to do good and being rightfully and actively concerned with the well-being of the world and all in it.

6.     Kuumba (Creativity) – To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. This principal urges us to practice the ethical teachings of The Husia that put forth the concept of serudj ta, the moral obligation to heal, repair and transform the world making it more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

7.     Imani (Faith) – To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. – This principal teaches us to hold tightly and firmly to the faith of our ancestors who taught us to respect each person, people and culture as a unique and equally valid and valuable way of being human in the world.

Romans 2:10-11 – All the races are equal to God
¹⁰ But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: (Gentile is everybody else)
¹¹ For there is no respect of persons with God. (KJV)

Celebration Symbols

·         The Celebration includes

1.     Mkeka – A mat on which other symbols are placed:

2.     Kinara – The seven candle holder

3.     Mishumaa Saba - Seven candles.

4.     Mazao - Crops 

5.     Muhindi - Corn

6.     Kikombe cha Umoja - Unity cup for giving “shukrani” (thanks) to African Ancestors.

7.     Zawadi – Gifts

·         Nguzo  - Supplemental Saba poster

·         Bendera  - Supplemental black, red, and green flag, and African books and artworks.

·         There are also seven symbols that go with each principal that I am unable to reproduce.

THE BAD

Karenga’s Gang – Early Years

·         In 1958 Karenga relocated to Los Angeles and studied at the Los Angeles Community College and by the 60’s he presented himself as a “Cultural Nationalist” with a following of a number of students.  He became the first African-American president of the student body.

·         Through Malcom X an American Muslim minister, he would come to embrace Black Nationalism and Black supremacy advocating separation of black and white Americans.  Karenga authored a number of books, one of which is “Black Studies”; a Black/African textbook now in its 3^rd edition.

·         He changed his name to Maulana Karenga and became a major Civil Rights figure in the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s. – By 1965 His followers became a gang called US, the “United Slaves”, a cultural Black Nationalist group which remain active today.  US referred to; “US” verses “THEM” – US would challenge the Black Panther Party and their candidate for the domination of the Afro-American Studies Center at UCLA.

THE UGLY

Rape, Assault, Torture

·         January 17, 1969 the two gangs had a shootout and two Black Panthers were killed.

·         Karenga in his paranoia, thought there were plots to kill him, so he took two of his follower’s hostage.  The Los Angeles Times reported on 5/14/71 that Debora Jones and Gail Davis two of his female followers were threatened at gun point, made to disrobe, sexually assaulted, whipped with an electrical cord, beaten with a karate baton, tortured with a soldering iron on their mouth with their big toe clamped down in a vise with detergent forced down their throats. – Karenga thought the two were trying to kill him with “crystals” in his food.

·         In 1971 Karenga spent three years in the California Penal System convicted of the crime of felonious assault and false imprisonment. – He was released from prison in 1975 with newly adopted views on MARXISM and restructured US; the United Slaves Organization.  Within four years after taking some courses he received a teaching position at UCLA.

·         An up and coming young 16 year old came on the scene praising Kwanzaa because it accomplished a much desired “de-whitizing” of the Christmas Season.  He would later be known as the Reverend AL SHARPTON. –-- Kwanzaa is now a tax funded classroom event.

·         You now have the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. --- Prayerfully consider your part in Kwanzaa.

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further that I otherwise ever could have.

                                                                                                                                     

Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias

Apocrypha - Goodspeed

Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White

Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row

Bible Study Tools - Crosswalk

English Standard Version Bible – ESV

Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein

Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s

Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale

Kwanzaa – www.GotQuestions.org

Kwanzaa – Renew America – Warner Todd Huston

King James Version Bible – KJV

Man who invented Kwanzaa; The – Weirdrepublic.com – Thomas clough

Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest

Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan

New International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas - Tenney

New International Version Bible – NIV

Temple Institute; The

Temple Mount & Land of Israel Faithful Movement

Temple Mount Location - Dr. Asher Kaufman

Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee

Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner

Wikipedia -

Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; The – Tenney