"And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings..." (Acts 17:26 NKJV)

One’s national identity begins with a foundation of families having similar shared goals and ideals. A society or community is an alliance of families; and on a broader level, is a nation. A nation can only be stable when its ideals, its morals and values, are founded upon an absolute frame of reference. That unchanging frame of reference must be G-d and His unchanging Word for every liberty-loving nation. Without that frame of reference, morals and values are subject to the whims of every individual and the ever-changing flow of social inclinations. 

“And the L-rd spoke to Moses saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:  “The feasts of the L-rd, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.”’” (Leviticus 23:1,2)

The Feasts of the L-rd are not Jewish feasts, but rather they are G-d’s feasts, holy convocations. A holy convocation is defined as a gathering of people for the purpose of a rehearsal. Therefore, G-d’s feasts are actually prophetic rituals that are rehearsed year after year. The annual cycle of the Feasts of the L-rd, beginning with the Sabbath, as outlined in Leviticus 23, enables us to plug into a vast network of heavenly knowledge concerning prophetic events that were pre-ordained by G-d. Each Feast was a Special Sabbath or Feast Day, which pointed to the future fulfillment of a major event in G-d’s plan for the redemption and restoration of all mankind. G-d commanded the Feasts to be celebrated forever. The Hebrew sages taught that every command of G-d has both a natural and a spiritual understanding.

The Dark Time For Israel 

"Judah has gone into captivity, under affliction and hard servitude; she dwells among the nations, she finds no rest; all her persecutors overtake her between the straits." (Lamentations 1:3)

History has shown a pattern of death and destruction that has befallen the Jewish people during the three-week period known as Between the Straits or The Dark Time, the period between Tammuz 17 and Av 9. On the 17th of Tammuz, the walls of both the First and Second Temples were breached and both Temples were destroyed three weeks later on the 9th of Av. The Dark Time falls during the hottest period of the summer when the heat can be compared to the inferno that consumed both former Temples.

This year, the Dark Time falls on Saturday, July 20 to Saturday, August 11, 2019. It's interesting that the current weather in Israel is very, very hot and dry, reminiscent of the time during which both former Temples were destroyed as well as many other tragedies that happened to the Jewish people at that time of year. Today, Israel is facing imminent wars, both from the north (Lebanon and Hezbollah, Syria, Iran) and from the south (Gaza and Hamas), as "a flaming fire, consuming on all sides". Will Israel be 'between the straits" once again?