Rebuilding God's Church

De!cation
Rebuilding god’s church &
Restoring the truth

What is Dedication?
This is a holy convocation that has dual meanings
1. The rebuilding of God’s church & the restoration of the truth
2. Committing your entire life unto the purpose of serving & obeying
God (see presentation on “This Spiritual House”)
God established 3 great feasts in the law for us to keep every
year throughout our generations including Passover, Pentecost
& Tabernacles
The leaders of Israel called for all of the children of Israel to
celebrate certain feasts & fasts based on events that occurred
during their time, which includes the Day of Dedication
We acknowledge the Day of Dedication because we are also
looking for the rebuilding of God’s Church & the restoration of
the truth
©2011 Household Of Israel Temple Of Jesus Christ. All Rights Reserved

Key Terms
Rebuild: to build something again after it has been destroyed; to
remodel or make extensive changes to
Restore: to return to former condition, place or position
Cornerstone: the ﬁrst stone set in construction of the foundation
and serves as a reference for other stones, thus determining the
position of the entire structure
Foundation: the natural or prepared ground or base on which a
building rests or the beginning of something
Altar: a table or structure where one brings offerings of
thanksgiving unto the Lord; it is often the place where
communion (Lord’s supper) is blessed and consecrated

2 Historical Events
There are 2 major historical events that we
reference in the bible when celebrating the Day
of Dedication
The time when Israel dedicated the foundation
of the new temple under the Medes & Persian
empire
The time when Israel dedicated the altar of God
under the Greek empire
Both of these events showcase the rebuilding of
God’s church and restoration of his truth

Dedication
of the
Foundation

History Reveals....
During the reign of the Medes &
Persians, Cyrus the Great was
commanded by God to rebuild the temple
in Jerusalem (Ezra 1: 1-4)
By this time, the ﬁrst temple of God that
King Solomon built had long been
destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylon
Many of the children of Israel returned to
Jerusalem to begin the rebuilding & were
provided with bountiful resources
including silver, gold, precious vessels &
animals
Cyrus the Great

Dedication of the Foundation
Israel built the altar ﬁrst and began making
sacriﬁces during the 7th month on the Day of
Trumpets (Ezra 3: 1-3)
The foundation was not laid until the second year
on the 24th day of the ninth month (Ezra 3: 8-10
& Ezra 3: 11-13)
They celebrated the laying of the foundation with
praising and giving thanks to God
Some people shouted with joy while others wept
remembering the temple that Solomon built

The Cornerstone & Foundation
The cornerstone & foundation are critical to
the integrity of a building’s structure
The angles and lines of an entire building is
determined by the cornerstone; therefore it
needs to be placed ﬁrst with great precision
When laying a foundation, a builder needs
to ﬁrst dig deep to a stable rock level
They then lay the foundation with great
stones
If the cornerstone or foundation are not
constructed properly, the whole building is
off

Spiritual Relevance
Christ is our chief cornerstone &
foundation
The laws of God are also represented
by the foundation
The physical structure of a church is
not nearly as important as a church’s
doctrine, which can be likened to its
spiritual structure
Christ is also a builder and is
responsible for constructing a church’s
spiritual structure (or doctrine)

Spiritual Relevance
Just as a physical building’s lines &
angles are measured by the
cornerstone, Christ measures his
churches with precision, ensuring that
they measure up to his holy standards
He lays the foundation of his churches
by giving its members the laws of God,
which includes the 10 commandments
& testimonies of Jesus Christ
When a church’s doctrine is built upon
the laws of God, this will ensure that
the integrity of the church’s spiritual
structure is not compromised with the
pagan beliefs of this world

Spiritual Relevance
NOT EVERY CHURCH in this world is
considered a church of God
Why?.....many religious systems in this
world have developed ideologies that do
NOT advocate the keeping of God’s
laws, replacing them with their own
man-made traditions such as...
Worshipping on Sunday as opposed to
Sabbath
Celebrating Easter instead of Passover

Dedication
of the Altar

History Reveals....
Under the Greek empire, there was a
very wicked king by the name of
Antiochus IV Epiphanies
(I Maccabees 1: 10)
A proclamation was sent out to his
entire kingdom stating that all people
should be “one people”
He wanted all nations to abandon their
beliefs & to follow his law & religion
Many of the Israelites but NOT ALL
consented to the religion of Antiochus
(I Maccabees 1: 41 -43)
Antiochus IV
Epiphanes

History Reveals....
The Greek King banned the Israelites from offering
sacrifices in the sanctuary as well as following the
sabbaths & feasts
Instead, they were commanded to set up altars to Greek
gods in the holy sanctuary as well as sacrifice swine’s flesh
(“abomination of the desolation) & other unclean beasts
Any person who failed to obey the law of Antiochus would
be put to death (I Maccabees 1: 44 -50)
Many of God’s people were killed because they refused to
eat swine’s flesh & worship idols

Dedication of the Altar
On the 25th day of the ninth month
Chisleu, which corresponds loosely
to December 25th, King Antiochus
commanded that the “abomination
of desolation,” be sacriﬁced on the
altar of God (I Maccabees 1: 54 -64)
The idol they were sacriﬁcing to
was said to be Zeus, the chief of all
greek gods Apollos

Dedication of the Altar
Seeing all the abominable things that Antiochus & his
people had done to Israel & the temple, the family of the
Maccabees decided to fight back by defeating their enemies,
purifying the temple and building a new altar (I Maccabees
1: 41-42 & I Maccabees 4: 36-51)
On the 25th day of the ninth month, the new altar was
dedicated to God, which was exactly three years after the
“abomination of desolation” was sacrificed on the altar
The people of Israel celebrated this great victory with days
of dedication, songs, prayers and sacrificial offerings
The days of dedication were to be kept yearly in the same
manner of the Feast of Tabernacles (I Maccabees 4: 52-59)

Spiritual Relevance
On slide 3, we deﬁned the ALTAR as.....
1. God’s table where one brings offerings of
thanksgiving & the place where the
communion of Christ (bread & grape
juice) is blessed and consecrated
The altar spiritually represents the church
It is in the church that we bring bring forth
offerings of thanksgiving in the form of
songs, prayers, testimonies & tithes as well
as feast on the word of God, which is
represented by the communion

Swine’s Flesh & Idols
Swine’s flesh (pig) was considered to be unclean and was
not supposed to be used as a sacrificial offering
We also know that God strictly forbids the worshipping
of any idols
During the rule of the Greeks, Antiochus not only
wanted all people to worship idols but to have them
placed in the temple of God
Antiochus also commanded that swine’s flesh be offered
upon the altar of God
What Antiochus did was an abomination because the
temple & altar are very holy

A Refrain in Time
What Antiochus did during the Greek empire serves as a
refrain for what is happening today
His actions represent the following......
Every church that proclaims the name of Christ but
does NOT obey his laws entirely
Instead, they attempt to intermingle their own
ideologies & man-made traditions (i.e. Swine’s ﬂesh &
idols) with the truth, forming their own belief system
When a church does this their offerings and belief
system is deemed unclean in the eyes of the Lord

Bringing it All Together
The Day of Dedication, as with
all holy convocations, is
prophetic of our salvation and
the 2nd coming of Christ
To reiterate, the theme of
Dedication is centered around
the REBUILDING of God’s
church & the RESTORING of
the truth

Rebuilding
Remember that rebuild means to build something again
after it has been destroyed; to remodel or make extensive
changes to
When we say rebuild God’s “church” this not only depicts a
physical structure but also a body of people
God’s children are currently scattered throughout the world
& are corrupted by sin
In the last days, he will begin to open the eyes of the blind
saints & gather them together in churches or booths
He will “lay the foundation” in the hearts of all his children
by teaching us the laws God; thus, remodeling us on a
spiritual level with his word

Restore
Again, restore is to return to former condition, place or position
The law & word was established from the beginning and should be
at the forefront of our lives; however, this is not the case
The saints lost the truth because it has been trodden down and
intermingled with lies for several thousand years
During the last days, the everlasting gospel will be preached
throughout the world
When this gospel is preached, the Holy Spirit will be sent out, & his
people will be able to distinguish between clean doctrine vs unclean
doctrine & holy vs unholy
Once more, God’s truth will rise above all the lies & be returned to
the saints that lost it & he will remove his name from the churches
that misrepresented him

How Do We Celebrate this Day?
Because the foundation was laid on the 24th day of Chisleu
(November or December), during the time of the Medes & Persian,
we celebrate the Day of Dedication on the Sabbath closest to that
date
Because this is a holy Sabbath we refrain from any common or
recreational activities
We decorate our church in white to represent the purity of God’s
truth and gold to represent the eternal life we hope to gain
Our holy ceremonies includes songs of praise, prayer ceremony,
hand washing & communion as well as testimonies

Special Thanks
This presentation was based on classes written
by Evelyn C. Pointer including....
“The Dedication”
“The Dedication of the Foundation
“The Dedication of the Altar”

Questions?
For questions regarding this
presentation please contact us via email
at info@householdoﬁsrael.org or by
phone at 219.949.9308

Rebuilding God's Church

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