This opening shot reveals two very important principles to begin our quest to find out how to keep the holy days. The first, repeated twice in one verse, is that these festivals are God's feasts, not Israel's, not the church's. He is their Source, He set the times, He gave them meaning, and He is their ultimate Object. We could say they are all about Him—and His plan and our part in it with Him. Our observance of these days is to focus on Him and His teaching, and with that comes wonderful spiritual and physical benefits. The second principle appears in the command to "proclaim [them] to be holy convocations." These divinely appointed times are set apart for calling together. In today's language, a primary purpose of the feasts of God is to bring God's people together, not just for fellowship, but also for instruction and most importantly, to honor and worship God Himself. These holy times, then, contain a vitally important corporate aspect, producing unity in purpose, doctrine, and relationships within the Body of Christ. The next verse, Leviticus 23:3, presents a third important principle: "Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings." Along with the weekly Sabbath, the seven annual holy days—the first and last days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Hag Hamatzot), Pentecost (Shavuot, also called the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Harvest), the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur, also called the Fast), the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth), and the eighth day (often called the Last Great Day)—are also Sabbaths. Like Sabbaths, they are holy convocations, as can be seen in the ensuing instructions. In most cases, the wording is that the holy day "is a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it" (see Leviticus 23:7-8, 21, 24-25, 35-36). This means that we are not to attend to our normal, weekday work—the kinds of activities that we do on the other six days of the week. This includes not only our paying jobs, but also the ordinary work that we would do around the house, on our cars, in our yards, at the local community center, etc. In the instructions for keeping the Feast of Unleavened Bread, though, God stipulates, "No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you" (Exodus 12:16). Feasting is part of the holy day experience. God wants us to eat and drink of the abundance that He has bestowed upon us in thanksgiving and joy on His appointed times, so He allows us to prepare food on the holy days. Even so, it is still better to prepare as much of the food beforehand, as on a weekly Sabbath, to get the most from the feasts. Richard T. Ritenbaugh Related Topics: "The Fast" | Annual Sabbaths | Day of Atonement | Day of Pentecost | Feast of Firstfruits | Feast of Harvest | Feast of Ingathering | Feast of Trumpets | Feast of Unleavened Bread | Feast of Weeks | God's Divinely Appointed Times | God's Festivals | God's Holy Days | Holy Convocation | Last Great Day | Last Great Day of the Feast | Pentecost | Rosh Hashanah | Yom Kippur | Yom Teruah |
Too few understand the true and wonderful meaning of the first day of the seventh month. The date on our calendar is not as important as the day itself. It occurs on the first autumnal new moon, which in most years marks the holy day called by the Jews Rosh Hashanah. This Hebrew phrase, however, obscures the significance of the day, as it simply means "the beginning of the year" - and the Jews keep it primarily as a New Years' celebration. The Bible calls it "a memorial of blowing of trumpets" (Leviticus 23:24), and thus we call it simply the "Feast of Trumpets." The Bible actually explains very little about this particular day. Some of the other holy days have long passages devoted to their significance, but the Feast of Trumpets receives only three verses in Leviticus 23 and hardly much more anywhere else (see Numbers 29:1). We can only conclude that God feels that calling it a "memorial of blowing of trumpets" is enough for us to begin to understand. Numbers 10:1-10 provides a slew of details about how the Israelites used trumpets in the wilderness as well as in the Promised Land. They blew trumpets to call the people together and to signal them to advance or halt in their journey. The trumpet blast called men to war or sounded the alarm of danger facing the people. Finally, God instructs them to blow the trumpets "in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months" (verse 10). Then He adds, "They shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the LORD your God." A memorial is something remembered, so what were the Israelites to remember and how was the blare of trumpets involved? Perhaps the most notable event linking God and the blowing of trumpets occurred at Mount Sinai when "the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. . . . Then the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai" (Exodus 19:16, 20). Shortly thereafter, He gave them the Ten Commandments and what has become known as the Old Covenant. These events not only marked God as almighty but also as their Lawgiver and Ruler. In a word, He was their Sovereign. We can conclude that the blast of trumpets was to be a continual reminder to them that God, their covenanted Lord, was supreme over everything. He ordered their marches, telling them to go and to stop. He called them to assemble. He sent them to war. He gave them blessings to bring them joy. He appointed their feasts. He even provided them with a calendar and the know-how to make it work! The sound of the trumpet, whenever they heard it, was to bring to their minds that God orders everything; He is in charge. Generally, then, the Feast of Trumpets is a day to remember that God is sovereign, that He is King. But God's holy days are also forward-looking or anticipatory. The Passover looks forward to Christ's redemptive sacrifice, Unleavened Bread foreshadows the Christian's flight from the bondage of sin and walk toward the Kingdom of God, and Pentecost prefigures God's gift of the Holy Spirit and the founding of the New Testament church. What does Trumpets anticipate? What is the next big event in God's Plan - one whose theme revolves around His sovereignty? The apostle Paul writes, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise . . ." (I Thessalonians 4:16). Jesus Himself says:
Finally, the seventh trumpet proclaims the beginning of the reign of Christ: "Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!'" (Revelation 11:15). Now we can understand the significance of the Feast of Trumpets a little better. Once a year at this time, we remember that God is in complete control, and in a little while, His Son will return to take up power as King of kings and Lord of lords. Sounds like an excellent reason for a celebration! Richard T. Ritenbaugh Related Topics: | Accepting God's Sovereignty | Blowing of Trumpets | Feast of Trumpets | God's Sovereignty | Mount Sinai | Rosh Hashanah | Second Coming of Christ | Seventh Trumpet | Trumpets as Sound of Alarm | Yom Teruah |
As much as Solomon tried to make his kingdom, the nation of Israel, great and wonderful, he had to leave it to his son—and he could see that his son, Rehoboam, was nowhere close to his level of genius. But we know the story: Solomon himself did not turn out to be very benevolent, as he overworked and overtaxed his own people to complete his massive building projects. His ironic complaint ends up being just a conceit of one who felt he was a great, benevolent leader. Surely, many of us have said, "If I were the President, I would [insert your grandiose plan here]!" Have we not been converted and have the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16)? Do we not know the kind of government and changes this world really needs? Yet, even if we knew all the right policies to enact and enforce, and we did our job perfectly, we would ultimately be failures because we will die. We have only to look at the history of the kings of Israel and Judah to realize that good kings were followed by bad kings, and the people ultimately suffered for it. Even the most godly and benevolent policies and institutions fail because they cannot be perpetuated beyond a generation or perhaps two. These reasons are why the only answer to humanity's problems is the return of Jesus Christ to set up His Kingdom and rule with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15). Only our Creator knows what humans really need, as well as how and when to give it to them. And being immortal, He will never have to relinquish His throne to an inferior heir. His will be the ultimate benevolent dictatorship. Once He has established His government on the earth and instituted His righteous, just, and equitable policies over Israel, they will begin to bring peace and prosperity to all who follow them. Others will see the joy that His way of life provides to His people, and they will seek His governance over them. His rule will spread over all the earth in perpetuity. In fact, I Corinthians 15:25 tells us, "For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet." The church of God observes the Feast of Trumpets, the holy day the Jews call Rosh Hashanah. We believe that God's holy days, described and commanded in Leviticus 23, reveal to us God's plan of salvation for all humanity. The Feast of Trumpets is the fourth of the seven annual holy days, sitting in the central position of God's plan, and the great event that it symbolizes is the wonderful return of Jesus Christ to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. On this holy day, we look forward to the time of God's direct intervention into the affairs of humanity, to bring divine order and peace to a chaotic, war-torn, immoral, and deceived world. While some may scorn this as an impossible Utopian vision, we merely point to the pages of the Bible and Christ's promise, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:3). We would like nothing better than to live under the benevolent rule of our King, and thus we pray, "Your kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10). Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a holy convocation proclaimed with blowing of trumpets." Leviticus 23:24"But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the malak (angels) of heaven, but my Father only." Matthew 24:36-37, Mark 13:32"...well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, '...in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' You leave the commandment of YaHoVeH and hold to the tradition of men... thus making void the Word of YaHoVeH by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do." Mark 7:6-13Many spend time each year celebrating the Feast of Rosh haShanah without realizing IT IS NOT A SCRIPTURAL FEAST!! Most are not aware that Rosh haShanah DOES NOT EXIST IN SCRIPTURE! It has been hijacked by the rabbinical religion of Judaism and changed from the scriptural Yom Teruah to accommodate their own agenda. In the same regard, YaHoVeH never declared the determination of the beginning of the month to be the sighting of the crescent moon. Many say it is found in scripture, but it is not. What they are parroting is the man-made tradition of the religion of Judaism. It is only decreed that certain days of the month were to be observed, and some observances are at the "middle" of the month, (i.e., centered on the full moon - the "sign" of the middle of the month); therefore, it becomes very important to determine when the month should begin so the proper day of the full moon can be observed in the middle of the month! Even the patriarchs were smart enough to determine when the new month began and the sighting of the first crescent was nothing more than a celebratory confirmation that it had happened (See Maimonides, "Sanctification of the New Moon"). An actual lunar month is never exactly 29 or 30 days. It floats! So you will find a new moon always occurs sometime during the period between the last day of the month and the first day of the next month - whether the current month is 29 or 30 days or somewhere in between. To argue that the month cannot begin until a crescent is sighted, is to elevate the importance of the moon to an idol or a god instead of simply looking at the moon as a sign for the season (Genesis 1:14 - click on highlighted words to view content). Seeking only the new crescent leads people to revere the crescent above His instructions which YaHoVeH said do not do." Yom Teruah also goes by the name, "day that no man knows." While each of the other feasts listed in scripture can be known in advance because they all fall after the sighting of a new moon, the lone exception is Yom Teruah because this is the only feast that is determined by the actual sighting of the new moon - so "no man" can calculate the exact day when this feast day will begin. Thus, when we read Yeshua declaring that He would come at a time that "no man knows" above, how many of us understand that to be a Hebrew idiom referencing the events surrounding "Yom Teruah"? An idiom is an expression that does not make sense in any other language than the one being spoken. An idiom in English would be "It is raining cats and dogs outside!". This is a very confusing expression to someone not familiar with the culture associated with the English language. Such is the case with this Hebrew idiom Yeshua used for this Feast. Yom Teruah typology is found throughout the words of Yeshua haMashiach (the Hebrew Messiah of Israel).In ancient Israel, the man-made religion of Judaism asserted that there would be "two witnesses" who would stand on the walls of Jerusalem and "watch" for the first sliver (crescent) of the new moon. Having "two witnesses" is derived from Deuteronomy 19:15 which says that everything will be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 2:5-6). When the new moon appeared in the sky then these "two witnesses" would sound the shophar (ram's horn trumpet) and all the people in the city would immediately drop what they were doing and they would begin to move towards the temple for the celebration of "The Day of an Awakening Blast" or in Hebrew, "Yom Teruw'ah." Since this feast was a convocation (not a Shabbat, but to be treated as a Shabbat), the doors to the city were only open for a short period of time after sundown (the beginning of the Hebrew "day") - so, since the temple was located within the city, anyone failing to make it to the temple before the "doors were shut" were left out of the feast because once they were shut, no one could get in (unless they humbled themselves). Because this feast began at sundown, oil lamps had to be full so that they could find their way in the dark towards the temple. In Matthew 25, we find our Messiah telling us a parable about ten virgins. Only five of these virgins were wise and had their oil lamps filled when the bridegroom came. But the other five foolish virgins had not prepared themselves by filling their lamps with oil. When the "Day That No Man Knows" had arrived, the two witnesses sounded the "trumpet" and the five wise virgins were ready to go into the feast - but the foolish virgins had no oil in their lamps, so they could not see their way around in the dark. The foolish virgins went to buy oil for their lamps causing them to be too late for the feast. When the temple doors were shut, the five foolish virgins were left out. Many of these inhabitants would also be working in the fields or grinding at the mill (Matthew 24:40-42). so that when they heard the sound of the shophar they knew that their work was finished. Our Messiah was also speaking in the language of Yom Teruah typology when he said that we must "work while it is yet day, for the night comes when no man can work" (John 9:4). Those who were working in the fields had to hasten toward the temple before the doors were shut. The person who was alert and listening for the sound of the shophar was "taken" by the sound of the trumpet; this was his signal to make haste towards the temple. But the person not alert and not watching would not hear the sound of the trumpet and they would be "left" in the field or still grinding at the mill - unaware the day had come.While the man-made religion of Christianity has attempted to re-define it as the "Feast of Trumpets," one of the unique things about Yom Teruah is that the Torah does not say what the purpose of this holy day is. The Torah gives at least one reason for all the other holy days and two reasons for some but, in contrast to all these Torah festivals, Yom Teruah has no clear purpose other than that we are commended to rest on this day. Nevertheless, the name of Yom Teruah provides a clue as to its purpose. teruah literally means to make a loud noise. This word can describe the noise made by a trumpet but it also describes the noise made by a large gathering of people shouting in unison as seen in Joshua 6:5. In this verse the word "shout" appears twice, once as the verb form of teruah and a second time as the noun form of teruah. Although this verse mentions the sound of the shofar (ram’s horn); in fact, in this verse, the two instances of teruah do not refer to the shofar but, rather, refers to the shouting of the Israelites which was followed by the fall of the walls of Jericho. In Leviticus 23:24, Yom Teruah is also referred to as Zichron Teruah. The word Zichron is seen translated as "memorial" in most English versions, but this Hebrew word also means to "mention", often in reference to speaking the name of YeHoVeH (i.e., Exodus 3:15). The day of Zichron Teruah, the "Mentioning Shout", may refer to a day of gathering in public prayer in which the crowd of the faithful shouts the name of YeHoVeH in unison - thus, a time of gathering within the temple to praise His Name.
In Judaism Yom Teruah has come to be popularly known as Rosh haShanah because the Hebrew word Rosh means 'head' or 'beginning', ha means 'the' and Shanah means 'year' - thus, "the beginning of the year". However, scripture clearly gives the distinction of the beginning of the physical year to the same month that Pesach (Passover) is celebrated. Scripturally, the New Year begins on the 1st of Nisan (Leviticus 23:5) while Yom Teruah is celebrated on the 1st of the seventh month (Leviticus 23:24). Consequently, Rosh haShanah has effectively replaced Yom Teruah to become the traditionally celebrated Hebrew "New Year" in an appeasement to other world cultures and thereby negating the Words of YaHoVeH - just as Yeshua said the tradition of men would do in the passage at the opening of this article. On the 1st day of the Seventh month (Tishrei) the Torah commands us to observe the holy day of Yom Teruah (Leviticus 23:24, Numbers 29:1-6). As mentioned earlier, one of the unique things about Yom Teruah is that the Torah does not say what the purpose of this holy day is - making it easier for the rabbis to write into it whatever they need to fit their tradition. But as we have seen, scripturally, Yom Teruah has nothing in common with the beginning of a physical "new year" (CLICK HERE to find out how, when and why the name and significance of Yom Teruah was changed to Rosh haShanah).While Yom Teruah is considered a feast day in scripture, it is NOT considered a High Holy Day by YaHoVeH. In the traditional, orthodox religion of Judaism, however, Rosh haShanah has become such! Even though Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur are two very important holidays in the Hebrew calendar, modern Judaism attributes far more importance to both of them than is actually warranted, justifiable or even defensible. Modern Orthodox Judaism considers Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur (and the days between them) to be "THE" High Holy Days whereas this is not YaHoVeH's opinion - for He has NOT declared either Yom Teruah or Yom Kippur a High Holy Day. The three High Holy Days established by YaHoVeH are: Leviticus 23: 23 – 25 – Instructions for celebrating Yom Teruah. Numbers 10: 1 – 10 – Trumpets were created for calling the children of Israel to battle and for sounding on feast days. Numbers 29: 1 – 6 – Instructions for offerings on this day. Jeremiah 31 – Yom Teruah is a day of remembrance. Nehemiah 8: 1 – 12 – Ezra instructs the Hebrews on the Torah and their celebration of Yom Teruah. Ezra 3: 6 – 7 – Ezra and the Hebrews offer sacrifices for Yom Teruah. Psalms 47: 5 – Yehovah will sound a Teruah/a blast with a shofar. Psalms 98: 6 – Shout joyfully before the Lord with trumpets. Psalms 100 – A song of praise to Yehovah for His provision for us. On the first day of the seventh month we are told to observe a “Day of Shouting” (Lev 23:23-251; Num 29:1-62) on which work is forbidden. This holiday is widely known today by established Judaism as Rosh Hashannah. However, the Bible never calls it Rosh Hashanah, but instead variously calls it Yom Teruah (“Day of Shouting”) and Zicharon Teruah (“Remembrance Shouting”). Rabbis in Babylon renamed the holiday Rosh Hashannah (“New Year”), claiming it as the Jewish New Year. It is an odd claim, since the Bible refers to this holiday as the beginning of the seventh month. The actual beginning of the year, according to our Father, is the month of Abib, in the spring, as defined in Ex 12:2, which states, “This month will be for you the beginning of months; it is first of the months of the year.” What’s the Purpose? There are scriptures that make reference to shouting or crying out loud and/or sounding a trumpet (or shofar – ram’s horn) to call the people of God to repentance, such as Is 58:1.
This is not for the purpose of condemnation, or making people feel bad (as the spirit of worthlessness does) but for the purpose of repentance and healing.
The festival of Yom Teruah is to awaken sin-sleepy Israel to see their desperate need and cry out for deliverance from their spiritual enemies. Yom Kippur is about “soul-searching” to make sure we are living a life pleasing to God, and are not being hypocrites. It is actually a ten-day period, starting with the blowing of trumpets at Yom Teruah to alert us that it is the time of year to cry out and seek God. We ask Him to show us our hurtful ways so we can repent and be cleansed from them. Yahshua the Messiah didn’t give His life as a sacrifice so we could just be forgiven, but so that we could be cleansed and saved from our sins! It is one thing to be forgiven (and yes, we need forgiveness) but it does no good to us or Him if we are forgiven over and over again for the same thing our whole lives and are never saved from its power over us.   You will hear trumpets sounding all day long on Yom Teruah if you come by to visit any of our communities on that day. Wake Up!Yom Teruah alerts us to quit just “fiddling around” with your life and get down to business… are you really about our Father’s business? Or your own business? We need to wake up as to what motivates us, and our wrong ways, and how we’ve gone off, and how we haven’t pleased our Father like we wanted to. So we have this chance every year, this special time to “wake up” on the trumpet day. Someone shouts, or blows a trumpet and wakes us up and we say, “What? Why? What’s going on?” It is to wake us up spiritually.
There is an eternity in the mind of our Creator — an eternity of life and peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government, or of peace. So everything that doesn’t make for peace has to be judged and put away in order for that eternity to play out. Whatever is not love, whatever is not joy, whatever is not of peace, whatever is not kindness… (all the fruit of the spirit Gal 5:223).
In Rev 21:4-54, it says there is going to come a day when there will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more death! No more Satan! “The former things have passed away.” Everything that is evil will be done away with; it will be finished. There will come a time when all mankind is going to be raised from the dead to stand before their Creator, and the books are going to be opened — the clear record that is written in every man’s conscience — on what he did and why he did it. Then the “why” is going to come out. Like it or not, the answer is in the book. But, it is in the heart of our Creator that He could speak now to His highest creation, and there could be a conversation now about the “why.” We can get all that worked out beforehand, before all that is left is regret — even eternal regret.
1. Teshuvah (repentance) 2. Rosh HaShanah (Head of the Year, Birthday of the World) 3. Yom Teruah (the Day of the Awakening Blast - Feast of Trumpets) 4. Yom HaDin (the Day of Judgment) 5. HaMelech (the Coronation of the Messiah) 6. Yom HaZikkaron (the Day of Remembrance or memorial) 7. The time of Jacob's trouble (the birthpangs of the Messiah) 8. The opening of the gates 9. Kiddushin/Nesu'in (the wedding ceremony) 10. The resurrection of the dead (Rapture/Natzal) 11. The last trump (shofar) 12. Yom Hakesch (the hidden day) Teshuvah is a special season, which in Hebrew means "to return or repent", and it begins on the first day of the month of Elul and continues for 40 days, ending with Yom Kippur. Thirty days into Teshuvah, on Tishrei 1, comes Rosh HaShanah( Yom Teruah). This begins a final ten-day period beginning on Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. These are known as the High Holy Days and as the Awesome Days. The sabbath that falls within this ten-day period is called Shabbat Shuvah, the Sabbath of Return. Five days after Yom Kippur is Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. Teshuvah begins on Elul 1 (our month of August/September), and concludes on Tishrei 10, Yom Kippur. Each morning during the 30 days of the month of Elul, the trumpet or ram's horn is blown to warn the people to repent and return to God. Teshuvah (repentance) speaks to all people. Those who believe in the Messiah are called to examine their lives and see where they have departed from God. It is a call to examine the Scriptures and the evidence that the Messiah was who He said He was. God has always had a heart to warn people before He proclaims judgment. He does not want anyone to receive the wrath of His judgment -(Ezekiel 18:21-23; Zephaniah 2:1-3; 33:1-7; 2nd Peter 3:9). I have noted several times in previous posts that the theme of "Deliverance" precedes "Judgment" nearly 200 times in the Bible. The whole month of Elul is a 30-day process of preparation through personal examination and repentance for the coming High Holy Days. The shofar is blown after each morning service. Psalm 27, which begins with "The Lord is my light and my salvation," is also recited at the end of the morning and evening liturgy. The message from Elul 1 to Rosh HaShanah is clear: Repent before Rosh HaShanah. Don't wait until after Rosh HaShanah, or you will find yourself in the Days of Awe. There are many idioms or phrases that help us identify the days in the season of Teshuvah (repentance). Just as unfamiliar foreigners might be confused when they hear Americans call Thanksgiving Day "Turkey Day" or "Pilgrims' Day", non-Jewish believers in Christ Jesus can be confused by the different terms for the major Feasts of the Lord. Rosh HaShanah marks the Jewish New Year on the Civil Calendar( as there is also a Religious Calendar,which starts in the month of Nissan) and is a part of the season of repentance. Rosh means "chief or head" and "shanah" means "year". Rosh HaShanah is the head of the year on the Hebrew civil calendar, and is also known as the birthday of the world since the world was created on this day. Jewish tradition believes that Adam was created on this day. How did they decide that this was the day of the year the world was created? Because the first words of the book of Genesis, "In the beginning", when changed around, reads, "Aleph b'Tishrei, or "on the first day of Tishrei". Therefore, Rosh HaShanah is known as the birthday of the world, for tradition tells us that the world was created then. Note: There are four new years in the Jewish calendar. Nisan 1 is the New Year's Day of kings (the date for determining how many years a king has ruled) and for months (Nisan is the first month). Elul 1 is the new year for the tithing of animals. Shevat 15 is the new year for the trees, and Tishrei 1 is the new year of years. It also marks the anniversary of the creation of the world. Rosh HaShanah is observed for two days. It comes on the first and second days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei (usually in September/October), which is the first month of the Biblical civil calendar. The month of Tishrei is the seventh month in the Biblical religious calendar. This may seem strange that Rosh HaShanah, the New Year, is on the first and second day of Tishrei, the seventh month on the Biblical religious calendar. The reason that Rosh HaShanah, is the seventh month in the Biblical religious calendar is that God made the month of Nisan the first month of the year in remembrance of Israel's divine liberation from Egypt -(Exodus 12:2; 13:4). However, according to tradition, the world was created on Tishrei 1, or more exactly, Adam and Eve were created on the first day of Tishrei and it is from Tishrei that the annual cycle began. Hence, Rosh HaShanah is celebrated at this time. Unlike other festivals that are celebrated in the Diaspora (the dispersion, referring to Jew who live outside the Holy Land of Israel). Rosh HaShanah is celebrated for two days because of uncertainty about observing the festivals on the correct calendar day. Rosh HaShanah is the only holiday celebrated for two days in Israel. As with all other festivals, the uncertainty was involved in a calendar that depended on when the new moon was determined, designing the beginning of each month by the rabbinical court in Jerusalem in ancient times. The problem of Rosh HaShanah is heightened by the fact that it falls on Rosh Chodesh, the new moon itself. Therefore, even in Jerusalem, it would have been difficult to let everyone know in time that the New Year had begun. To solve this problem, a two-day Rosh HaShanah was practiced even in Israel. Creating a two-day Rosh HaShanah was also intended to strengthen observance of each day; in the rabbinic view, and the two days are regarded as a one-long-day. In Psalm 98:6 it is written, "With trumpets and sound of the horn shout joyfully before the King, the Lord". The blessing we receive from God when we understand the meaning of Rosh HaShanah and the blowing of the trumpet (shofar) is found in Psalm 89:15, as it is written, "How blessed are the people who know the joyful..." Rosh HaShanah is referred to in the Torah as Yom Teruah, the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar (or the Day of the Awakening Blast). On Yom Teruah, the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar, it is imperative for every person to hear the shofar. The mitvah (or Biblical commandment found in John 14:15 is to hear the shofar being blown, not actually blow it yourself, hence the blessing, "to hear the sound of the shofar." Teruah means "an awakening blast". A theme associated with Rosh HaShanah is the theme "to awake". Teruah is also translated as "shout". The book of Isaiah, chapter 12, puts the shouting in the context of the thousand-year reign of Messiah. The Messianic era and shout is mentioned in Isaiah 42:11; 44:23; Jeremiah 31:7; and Zephaniah 3:14. The first coming of Jesus Christ is associated with a shout in Zechariah 9:9. The ultimate shout is the Rapture in First Thessalonians 4:16-17. Whether it is by the blast of a shofar or by the force of a supernatural shout, God's goal is to awaken us! For this reason it is written, "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ's will shine on you." -(Ephesians 5:14). The book of Ephesians has many references to Rosh HaShanah and the High Holy Days. For example, in Ephesians 4:30, being sealed unto the day of redemption refers to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. God gave this festival to teach us that we will be judged on Rosh HaShanah and will be sealed unto the closing of the gates on Yom Kippur. Isaiah 26:19 speaks of the resurrection. The word "awake" is associated with the resurrection, as it is written, "Your dead will live; their corpse will rise. You will lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits" -(Isaiah 26:19). The theme of awakening from sleep is used throughout the Bible. It is found in John 11:11; Romans 13:11; Daniel 12:1-2; and Psalm 78:65. In Isaiah 51:9 it is written, "Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord, awake as in the days of old, the generations of long age..." The arm of the Lord is used as a term for the Messiah in Isaiah 53:1. The word "arm" is the Hebrew word "zeroah". During the Passover, a shankbone, known as the "zeroah", is put on the plate. So "awake" is a term or idiom for Rosh HaShanah. In Isaiah 51:9 quoted earlier, the awakening is associated with the coming of the Messiah. The "shofar" is the physical instrument that God instructed us to hear ("shema") the sound of the shofar teaching us to awake from spiritual slumber -(1 Corinthians 14:46). In the days of old, the shofar was used on very solemn occasions. We first find the shofar mentioned in connection with the revelation on Mount Sinai when the voice of the shofar was exceedingly strong and all the people who were there in the camp trembled -(Exodus19:16). Thus, the shofar we hear on Rosh HaShanah ought to also serve as a battle cry to wage war against our inner enemy - our evil inclinations and passions as well as the devil, Ha Satan, himself. The shofar was also sounded on the Jubilee Year, heralding the freedom from slavery as recorded in Leviticus 25:9-10. Spiritually this refers to freedom from the slavery of sin, the desires of this world, and serving the devil -(Romans 6:12-13; James 4:4). Another reason for sounding the shofar is that Rosh HaShanah is the celebration of the birth of creation and when God began to rule over the world on this day. When a king begins to reign, he is heralded with trumpets. That is why Psalm 47 precedes the blowing of the shofar; it is a call to nations: " ... Sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the King of all the earth..." -(Psalm 47:6-7). It also precedes because of the reference to the shofar in the previous verse Psalm 47:5, as it is written, "God has ascended with a shout, the Lord, with the sound of a trumpet". In Jewish tradition, many reasons have been offered for the sounding of the shofar: The ram's horn is identified with the ram that became the substitute sacrifice for Isaac in Genesis 22:1-19. The giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai was accompanied by the sounding of the shofar in Exodus 19:19. The proclamation of the Jubilee was heralded by the blast of the shofar in Leviticus 25:9-11; and the commencement of the Messianic age is to be announced by the sound of the great shofar noted in Isaiah 27:13. The book 'Gates of Repentance' cites Maimonide's call to awaken from spiritual slumber. When the rabbis saw the phrase "Awake, O Israel", they would immediately identify those verses with something concerning Rosh HaShanah. The blowing of the shofar took place at the Temple on Rosh HaShanah, which is confirmed by Nehemiah 8:1-3. The shofar was also blown at the Temple to begin the Sabbath each week. There are two types of trumpets used in the Bible: 1. The silver trumpet 2. The shofar, or ram's horn On the Sabbath, there was within the Temple a sign on the wall that said, "To the house of the blowing of the trumpet." Each Sabbath, two men with silver trumpets and a man with a shofar made three trumpet blasts twice during the day. On Rosh HaShanah, it is different. The shofar is the primary trumpet. On Rosh HaShanah, a shofar delivers the first blast, a silver trumpet, the second, and then a shofar, the third blast. The silver trumpets and the gathering at the Temple are specified in the book of Numbers, chapter 10. According to Leviticus 23:24 and Numbers 29:1, Rosh HaShanah is the day of the blowing of the trumpets. According to the Mishna, the trumpet used for this purpose is the ram's horn, not trumpets made of metal as recorded in Numbers 10. The shofar or ram's horn, has always held a prominent role in the history of God's people in the Bible: 1. The Torah was given to Israel with the sound of the shofar in Exodus 19:19. 2. Israel conquered in the battle of Jericho with the blast of the shofar in Joshua 6:20. 3. Israel will be advised of the advent of the Messiah with the sound of the shofar in Zechariah 9:14,16. 4. The shofar will be blown at the time of the ingathering of the exiles of Israel to their place in Isaiah 27:13. 5. The shofar was blown to signal the assembly of the Israelites during war in Judges 3:27; 2nd Samuel 20:1. 6. The watchman who stood upon Jerusalem's walls blew the shofar in Ezekiel 33:3-6. 7. The shofar was blown at the start of the Jubilee year in Leviticus 25:9. 8. The shofar is a reminder that God is sovereign in Psalm 47:5. 9. The ram's horn, the shofar, is a reminder of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac and God's provision of a ram as a substitute in Genesis 22:13. 10. The shofar was blown to announce the beginning of festivals in Numbers 10:10. 11. The blowing of the shofar is a signal for the call to repentance in Isaiah 58:1. 12. The blowing of the shofar ushers in the day of the Lord in Joel 2:1. 13. The blowing of the shofar is sounded at the Rapture of the believers and the resurrection of the dead in 1st Thessalonians 4:16. 14. John was taken up to Heaven in the book of Revelation by the sound of the shofar in Revelation 4:1. 15. Seven shofarim are sounded when God judges the earth during the Tribulation in Revelation 8-9. 16. The shofar was used for the coronation of kings - 1st Kings 1:34,39. 17. The shofar was blown to celebrate the new moon on Rosh HaShanah in Psalm 81:1-3. Another name for Rosh HaShanah is Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgment. It was on this day,God would sit in court and all men would pass before Him to be judged. Three great books will be opened as each man is weighed in the balance and placed into one of three categories according to rabbinical sources. It has been taught that the school of Shammai says that there will be three classes on the final Day of Judgment, one of the wholly righteous, one of the wholly wicked, and one of the intermediates. The wholly righteous are at once inscribed and sealed for life in the world to come. The wholly wicked are at once inscribed and sealed for perdition. The righteous are separated and will be with God. This is known to Bible believers as the Rapture, which in Hebrew, is the "Natazal". The wicked will face the wrath of God during the Tribulation period, known in Hebrew as the "Chevlai shel Mashiach", and will never repent. The average person has until Yom Kippur till his fate is sealed forever. In other words, the average person will have until the end of the seven-year Tribulation to repent and turn to God. The average person on Rosh HaShanah is judged by God and is neither written in the book of life or the book of the wicked. His fate is yet to be decided. The average person and the wicked have to go through the "Awesome Days", the Tribulation, until they reachYom Kippur (the end of the Tribulation when their fate is sealed forever). Once you are written in the book of the wicked, you can never get out of it -(Revelation 17:8). These are people who never, ever, will accept the Messiah Christ Jesus. There are 12 months to the year and there are 12 tribes in Israel. Every month of the Jewish year has its representative tribe. The month of Tishrei is the month of the tribe of Dan. This is of symbolic significance, for when Dan was born to Bilhah, Rachel's maid, Rachel said, "God hath judged me, and hath also heard my voice..." -(Genesis 30:6). Dan and din (as in Yom HaDin, Day of Judgment) are both derived from the same root word, symbolizing that Tishrei is the time of Divine Judgment and Forgiveness. Similarly, every month of the Jewish calendar has its own sign of the Zodiac (in Hebrew "Mazal"). The sign of the Zodiac for Tishrei is the "Scales" of justice. This is symbolic of Judgment. Just a brief note here on the Zodiac. It was the original Gospel in the Stars, however, it was later perverted to the Satanic practice of Astrology. This has been documented heavily and a subject of another time. The recognition of God as King is vividly pictured in the Jewish view of Adam's under-standing of his Divine Creator being King over all the Universe. It was late on the sixth day since God began the Creation of the world, when Adam opened his eyes and saw the beautiful world around him, and he knew at once that God created the world, and him too. Adam's first words were: "The Lord is King forever and ever!" and the echo of his voice rang throughout the world. "Now the whole world will know that I am King," God said and He was very pleased. This is the first Rosh HaShanah! The first New Year. It was the birthday of Man, and the Coronation Day of the King of Kings!" -(Ancient Hebrew sage comment) A theme and term associated with Rosh HaShanah in Hebrew is HaMelech (the King). It was mentioned earlier in 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17 and is known as the last trump, which the Apostle Paul mentioned in 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17. At this time, the believers in the Messiah who are righteous according to Yom HaDin (the Day of Judgment) will escape the Tribulation (Chevlai sle Mashiach) on earth and will be taken to Heaven in the Rapture ("Natzal") along with the righteous who had died before this time. What happens to the believers in the Messiah when they are taken to Heaven at this time? One of the events that will take place is the Coronation of the Messiah as King, which will happen in Heaven -(Revelation 5). Christ Jesus who had come to Earth during His first coming to play the role of the suffering Messiah (the Lamb of God)(Messiah ben Joseph), will be crowned as King over all the Earth in preparation for His coming back to Earth to reign as King Messiah (the Lion of Judah)(Messiah ben David) during the Messianic age, the Millennium as stated in Revelation 19:16; 20:4. Daniel 7:9-14 saw this and John the Apostle saw this same thing in the book of Revelation. The Enthronement Ceremony of a King is part of the Rosh HaShanah motif. There are four parts to the enthronement of a Jewish king. 1. The giving of the decree. Associated with this is a declaration. This can be seen in Psalm 2:6-7, as it is written, "You have I set my king upon My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree..." Next, a rod/scepter is given, which is an emblem of a king. Scriptures that refer to the scepter include Genesis 49:17; Numbers 24:17; Esther 4:11; 5:2; 8:4; Psalm 45:6; and Hebrews 1:8. Scriptures that refer to a rod are found in Psalms 2:9; Isaiah 11:1,4; and Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:16. The scepter is an emblem of a king or royal office and a rod refers to the king ruling and reigning righteously in all manner -(Isaiah 11:1,4-5). Christ Jesus is the King Messiah -(Isaiah 11:1,4-5; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Zechariah 9:9; Luke 1:32-33; John 1:47-49). 2. The ceremony of the taking of the throne. This is found in Revelation 5. The king sits on the throne and is anointed as king. The word "Christ" in English comes from the Greek word "Christos" and in Hebrew it is Mashiach", meaning "the anointed one". Jesus came as a prophet during His first coming -(Deuteronomy 18:15), was resurrected as the priest -(John 20:9,17), and is coming back again as King. Kings in Israel were anointed -(2nd Samuel 5:3-4; 1st Kings 1:39-40, 45-46; 2nd Kings 9:1-6). 3. The acclamation. During the acclamation, all the people shout, "Long live the king!" - (1st Kings 1:28-310). Next, all the people clap -(Psalm 47:1-2; Psalm 47 is a coronation Psalm). Psalm 47:5 is the shout and trumpet of Rosh HaShanah. Verse 6 is the shouting and praising of the king. Verse 8 is the ceremony of the throne. In verse 9, the believers in the Messiah Christ Jesus are all gathered in His presence. 4. Each of the subjects coming to visit the king after he has taken the throne. In this, they will acknowledge their allegiance to Him and receive their commissioning from Him as to what their job will be in the kingdom -(Isaiah 66:22-23; Zechariah 14:16-17; Matthew 2:2). Rosh HaShanah is also known as Yom HaZikkaron, the Day of Remembrance. Leviticus 23:24 calls the day "a memorial". Remembrance is a major theme in the Bible. We can see by examining the following Scriptures that God remembers us and we are to remember God in all of our ways. There are two elements of remembrance: 1. God remembers us - (Genesis 8:1; 9:1,4-16; 19:29;30:22; Ezodus 2:24-25; 3:1; 6:2,5; 32:1-3,7,11,13-14; Leviticus 26:14,31-33,38-45; Numbers 10:1-2,9; Psalm 105:7-8,42-43;112:6). In fact, God has a book of remembrance -(Exodus 32:32-33; Malachi 3:16-18; Revelation 3:5; 20:11-15; 21:1,27). 2. We must remember God - (Exodus 13:3; 20:28; Deuteronomy 7:17-19; 8:18; 16:3; Numbers 15:37-41). Since the court was seated and the books were opened, it is understood to be Rosh HaShanah. The books are the book of the righteous, the book of the wicked, and the book of remembrance. The third book that will be opened is the book of remembrance (zikkaron). This is why the common greeting during Rosh HaShanah is, "May you be inscribed in the Book of Life". The Spiritual application is significant. In Romans 14:10 it is written, "But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God". In 2nd Corinthians 5:10 it is written, "Fore we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." This is also discussed in 1st Corinthians 3:9-15. The words of the believers in Messiah will be judged by God, but not their salvation. This is a judgment of the believers in Jesus only. All people in this judgment are the believers in Jesus only. All people in this judgment will be saved. This is not the judgment of your salvation, but a judgment of your rewards based upon your works. On this day, God will open the Book of Life and hold a trial. This is known as the Bema judgment. The English phrase, "birthpangs of the Messiah, or the Hebrew "Chevlai she Mashiach", is a major theme of the Bible. It is commonly known as the seven-year Tribulation period. In Matthew 24, Jesus Christ described the signs of the end. "And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age ["Olam Haeh"]?" In Matthew 24:3, Jesus said that these days are the beginnings of sorrows. -(Matthew 24:8). The Greek word translated as sorrows here is "odin". This word means "birthpangs". The birthpangs of the Messiah are also spoken of in Jeremiah 30:4-7. They are also mentioned in 1st Thessalonians 5:1-3, and again in Revelation 12:1-2. The Scriptures reveal two interchangeable synonyms 1. The birthpangs = the time of Jacob's trouble. 2. The time of Jacob's trouble = the "Seven"-year Tribulation. This period of time will be Israel's most trying time ever. This period of time is known as the Tribulation. Jacob is Israel. There shall be great tribulation in Israel such as never was since there was a nation. -(Daniel 12:1). It will also be a time when God will ultimately judge sin and all the nations of the Earth. Through it, the nation of Israel will be physically saved from total destruction by God, and will, as a nation, accept Christ Jesus as the Messiah - "...But he will be saved out of it" -(Jeremiah 30:7. In Hosea 5:15 it is written, "I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face: in their affliction [the Chevali shel Mashiach] they will seek Me early." Israel will face genuine crisis during the time of Jacob's trouble. The prophet Zechariah prophesied that two out of every three inhabitants of Israel will perish during this time, with a remnant of only one-third of the population being saved -(Zechariah 13:8-9). In Isaiah 13:6-8, it tells just how bad it will become. Isaiah 13:10 corresponds to Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24; and Revelation 6:12. Other passages that speak of the birthpangs include Genesis 3:16; 35:16-20; 38:27-28; Isaiah 26:16-21; 54:1; 66:7-9; Jeremiah 4:31; 6:24; 13:21; 22:23; Micah 4:9-10; and John 16:21-22. There are several stages to Israel's birthing the Messiah. 1. Isaiah 66:7 is a birth before travail. "Before she [Israel] travailed [received the Messiah], she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a male child" -(Isaiah 66:7). Isaiah 66:7 is a birth "before" travail. This happened during the first coming of Christ Jesus, the Messiah. The birthpangs that Israel experienced during Jesus Christ's first coming came after Jesus Christ's death with the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of the Jewish people out of Israel by the Romans in 70 AD, scattered throughout the world. 2. Isaiah 66:8 is a birth after travail. Isaiah 66:8 says, "...as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children." This will happen before Christ Jesus returns to earth to set foot on the Mount of Olive -(Zechariah 14:4), as Israel experiences the hardest time she has ever experienced since she was a nation -(Daniel 12:1), in the period of time known as the birthpangs of the Messiah, or theTribulation. The Tribulation and the birthpangs of the Messiah are one and the same thing. What we are seeing in these days is the woman [Israel] becoming larger and larger,coming closer and closer in the time when she is about to give birth. The Gate of Heaven are opened on Rosh HaShanah so the righteous nation may enter -(Isaiah 26:2; Psalm 118:19-20. Because of the gates of Heaven are understood to be open on Rosh HaShanah, this is further evidence that the Rapture ("Natzal") of the believers in the Messiah Christ Jesus, will take place on Rosh HaShanah. The Wedding of the Messiah, has been covered in the series of posts on "The Theme of The Bride" and so there is no need to duplicate them here. To fully grasp the big picture, I recommend that everyone watch the "Feasts of the Lord" DVD set by Mark Biltz. The Seven Feasts of Leviticus 23 provides the Christian believer a level of confidence in the Bible that traditional Christian churches fail to offer the student of the Bible. One of the reasons for blowing the shofar is to proclaim the resurrection of the dead. In addition, the thirteenth principle of the Jewish faith is belief in the resurrection of the dead. The resurrection of the dead will take place on Rosh HaShanah. In 1st Corinthians 15:52, the Apostle Paul tells us that the resurrection of the dead will be at "the last trump." Earlier in 1st Corinthians 15:14, he wrote that without the Messiah rising from the dead, our faith is in vain. We cannot go to the book of Revelation and say that the voice of the seventh angel -(Revelation 11:15) is the last trump. In the first century AD, the last trump (shofar) meant a specific day in the year. In Judaism, there are three trumpets that have a name. There are the first trump, the last trump, and the great trump. Each one of these trumpets indicates a specific day in the Jewish year. The first is blown on the Feast of Pentecost -(Exodus 19:19). It may surprise you, but Jews celebrated Pentecost 1,500 years before Christians did. It proclaimed that God hath betrothed Himself to Israel. The last trump is synonymous with Rosh HaShanah, according to several Jewish authors. The Great trump is blown on Yom Kippur, which will herald the return of the Messiah Christ Jesus back to Earth -(Matthew 24:31). The first and last trump relate to the two horns of the ram, which according to Jewish tradition, was caught in the thicket on Mount Moriah when Abraham was ready to slay Isaac and offer him up as a burnt offering. This ram became the substitute for us and provided life for the Jews through His death. In Pirket Avot (the sayings of the fathers), Rabbi Eliezer tells that the left horn (first trump) was blown on Mount Sinai, and its right horn (the last trump) will be blown to heard the coming of the Messiah. Isaiah 18:3 and 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18 speak of the resurrection of the dead. 1st Thessalonians 5 continues the day of the Lord and the birthpangs of the Messiah. The festivals will, beyond a shadow of doubt, tell you that the resurrection of the dead precedes the time of Jacob's trouble (also known as the Tribulation). 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17 says that the dead in Messiah Christ Jesus will rise first, and that the catching away of the believers will immediately follow. The Hebrew equivalent of the Rapture is the word "Natzal". Isaiah 26:2-3, 19:11-20 and 57:1-2 all speak clearly of the resurrection of the dead, the taking of believers, and the hiding of the believers from the indignation or Tribulation. Daniel 12:1-2 also speaks of the resurrection of the dead, the Tribulation, and the salvation of Israel through the Tribulation. Zephaniah 1:14-18 and 2:2-3 tells about the terrible times during the day of the Lord, the birthpangs of the Messiah, and issues a decree to repent and turn to God before that day to be hid from that time. Psalm 27:5 says the righteous will be hid in the time of trouble. This Psalm is read every day during the 40-day period of Teshuvah. 2nd Thessalonians 2:1 says, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together with Him." The phrase, "gathering together" comes from the Greek word "episunagoge", which means "an assembly." In Numbers 10:2-3, the trumpet is blown to assemble the people. The blowing of the trumpet and the assembling of the people also appear together in 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1st Corinthians 15:51-53. To clarify a point here, many Jews during Jesus Christ time did not believe in a resurrection. That belief began somewhere around the time of the Babylonian captivity. Prior to the deportation to Babylon, virtually all of Judaism believed in life after physical death. Throughout the Diaspora, over the past nineteen hundred years, any belief in life after death has declined, with the exception of certain Jewish groups. Our last point about Yom HaKeseh, or the "Hidden Day", is found in Psalms 27:5, where it is written, "For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock." This is yet another name for Rosh HaShanah - Yom HaKeseh, "The Day of the HIding" or "The Hidden Day." The term "keseh" or "keceh" is derived from the Hebrew root "kacah", which means to "conceal or hide". Every day during the month of Elul,a trumpet is blown to warn the people to turn back to God, except for the thirtieth day of Elul, the day preceding Rosh HaShanah. On that day the trumpet is not blown, and is therefore silent. This is because much about Rosh HaShanah is indicated in Scripture: "Sound the shofar on the New Moon, in concealment of the day of our festival" -(Psalm 81:3). Satan, the accuser, is not to be given any notice about the arrival of Rosh HaShanah, the Day of Judgment. Rosh HaShanah is called Yom HaKeseh, or the Day of the Hiding , because it was hidden from Satan and to confuse him. -(1st Corinthians 14:33). Because it is the Day for Judgment, it is symbolically hidden from Satan. Satan did not know and understand the plan of the cross [tree], -(1st Corinthians 2:7-8). This was hidden from him as well. Believers never said when the day of Rosh HaShanah was; they simply said, "Of that day and hour no one knows, only the Father." One of the reasons most often given, to disclaim that the resurrection of the dead and the catching away of the believers is on Rosh HaShanah is the statement given by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24:36, as it is written, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only." Because Rosh HaShanah was understood to be the hidden day, this statement by Jesus Christ is actually an idiom for Rosh HaShanah. Thus, it should be given as proof that He was speaking of Rosh HaShanah because Rosh HaShanah is the only day in the whole year that was referred to as the hidden day or the day that no man knew. On the afternoon of Rosh Hashanah, many congregations will gather at a body of water for the Tashlich service, a practice derived from Micah 7:19: He will again have compassion on us; To simulate this, participants throw pebbles or pieces of bread into the water representing our repentance and God’s forgiveness of sin. I wrote about my own experience with this here. Messianic ApplicationThe first day of the seventh month or its observance are never mentioned in the New Testament. In fact, there are no specific dates of any kind ever mentioned in the New Testament. However, Yeshua may have made an allusion to Yom Teruah in his Olivet Discourse. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Believers in Messiah Yeshua understand that the Spring Feasts (Passover, Unleavened Bread and Shavuot) had their prophetic fulfillment in Yeshua nearly 2000 years ago. We anticipate the prophetic fulfillment of the Fall Feasts (Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret) at Yeshua’s second coming. These begin with the sounding of the “awakening blast” on Yom Teruah. Batya Wootten, in her book Israel’s Feasts and Their Fullness, makes a strong case for blowing two silver trumpets rather than a shofar on Yom Teruah. The LORD spoke further to Moses, saying, “Make yourself two trumpets of silver, of hammered work you shall make them; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for having the camps set out. “When both are blown, all the congregation shall gather themselves to you at the doorway of the tent of meeting. “Yet if only one is blown, then the leaders, the heads of the divisions of Israel, shall assemble before you. “But when you blow an alarm, the camps that are pitched on the east side shall set out. “When you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are pitched on the south side shall set out; an alarm is to be blown for them to set out. “When convening the assembly, however, you shall blow without sounding an alarm. “The priestly sons of Aaron, moreover, shall blow the trumpets; and this shall be for you a perpetual statute throughout your generations. “When you go to war in your land against the adversary who attacks you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, that you may be remembered before the LORD your God, and be saved from your enemies. “Also in the day of your gladness and in your appointed feasts, and on the first days of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be as a reminder of you before your God. I am the LORD your God.” Wootten finds that this relates specifically to the reunification of the two houses of Israel in the end times, a prophetic fulfillment of this first of the Fall Feasts that begins the traditional High Holy Days. She observes: Could it be that, thinking it is the time when the “trump” is sounded and Believers are “raptured” is leading us to miss the true meaning of this feast? Could it instead be that it foreshadows the Father’s reunited people of Israel beginning to call out and declare truth to all Israel? Is it a time that marks the beginning of a work that has yet to be done? To answer, let us listen with the ears of the spirit to a brief outline of this feast: The Father told Israel to make two trumpets of silver hammered work. Priests were to blow them. Their united sound would be used to summon all Israel. They were used to have their camps set out, and to be sounded when going to war – that we might be remembered before our God, and by Him, be saved from our enemies. The two silver trumpets of Numbers 10 were used to: gather the whole assembly (v.2), move the camp (v.5), prepare for and be remembered in war (v.9), celebrate New Moons and all Feasts (v.10). The “awakening blast” is a call to repentance, initiating the Ten Days of Awe leading to Yom Kippur. Batya Wootten suggests specific prayer focuses for each of these ten days, and with her permission they are reproduced here. BlessingsThese are taken from the Messianic Siddur for Shabbat. Shehecheyanu – Traditional Festival BlessingBaruch atah Adonai Eloheinu, melech ha-olam Blessed are you, Oh Lord our God, king of the universe Blessing for Hearing the ShofarBaruch atah Adonai Eloheinu, melech ha-olam, asher Blessed are you, Oh Lord our God, king of the universe, who has This blessing is followed by the sounding of the shofar. Daniel Perek, author of the Messianic Siddur for Shabbat, describes it this way: The congregation rises. Each of the thirty (30) calls is announced and then blown. The congregation contemplates the sound of the Shofar. The Tekiah is a long, single blast, to awaken those who sleep. The Shevarim are three (3) short blasts, crying out for relief from distress. The Teruah is a series of nine (9) blasts, sounding the alarm, to call the congregation to assemble, and to battle. The Tekiah HaG’dolah is the final blast. TEKIAH! SHEVARIM! TERUAH! TEKIAH! TEKIAH! SHEVARIM! TEKIAH! TEKIAH! TERUAH! TEKIAH! |
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