The Spring Feasts, 1.Passover--Nisan 14; 2.Unleavened Bread--Nisan 15; 3.First Fruits--Nisan 17; and 4.Pentecost--Sivan 6, all recorded in Leviticus 23 and observed/rehersed by Israel for hundreds of years, were amazingly and precisely fulfilled by Yeshua/Jesus to the very day, and in one Feast, Passover, to the very hour! In Yeshua, the Lord has redeemed us--has brought us back to Himself. But the story does not end there! But before we move on to the Fall Feasts of Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles, lets take a brief look at what is known as the "summer gap."
In between the Spring Feasts and the Fall Feasts there is a fairly significant period of time. That period or season is of course summer. In the context of the feasts cycle, the "summer gap" as it is called, symbolizes the span of 2000 years that began at the day of Shavu'ot/Pentecost right up to the present time. This time period also called the "summer harvest" represents the growth of the Lord's Church and the salvation or redemption of those who have accectped the Gospel. The question that needs to be answered is this: What next? What comes after the summer gap or harvest? What is the next big thing on God's calendar and when will it occur?
To answer the above questions, lets start with a couple of events that I believe are signs that "summer" is almost over. First is the rebirth of God's chosen people, Israel, on May 14, 1948. As I have said before, it is a fact that no nation that has been without a homeland for more than 40 years has survived as a nation. But Israel survived for 2000 years without a homeland! That is a miracle of God and a sign that things are changing. Secondly was the retaking of Jerusalem by the Jews for the first time since 70AD. That too was a miracle having been accomplished against all odds! The point here is this: by the rebirth of Israel and the retaking of Jerusalem God has laid the foundation for the next three "Jewish Feasts" to be fulfilled. I believe that they will be fulfilled in this generation! And the very next Feast to be fulfilled is the Feast of Trumpets. Therefore, our subject today will be to take a deeper look into this amazing event to be fulfilled by Yeshua.
The Feast of Trumpets occured in the Hebrew seventh month of Tishri(our September or October). Between this Feast and the Day of Atonment, there are ten days that are called the "High Holy Days," or the "Days of Awe." The Sabbath that falls within this ten day period is called "Shabbat Shuv'ah" or "The Sabbath of Return." It is important to know this because several themes associated with the Messiah's second coming are associated with the fall feasts, beginning with the Feast of Trumpets. In this article I will deal with three of those themes.
The first theme associated with the Feast of Trumpets is "the sounding of the Shofar or trumpet" which also is connected to the rapture of the Church and the second return of Yeshua/Jesus. On this feast day, there were 100 blasts made with the shofar or trumpet. The last blast that was made was known as "the last trump." Consequently, in I Corinthians 15:52 when Paul is speaking of the rapture of the Church and the second return of the Lord, he describes it as happening "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at THE LAST TRUMP; for the TRUMPET/SHOFAR will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." In the Torah, this feast is referred to as "Yom Teruah," or "the day of the sounding of the shofar," which can be translated as "an awakening blast." Also, Teruah can be translated as "shout." Not surprisingly then we read these words from the Apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 4:16-17, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a SHOUT, with the voice of the archangel and the TRUMP of God; and the dead in Christ will rise first; then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so will we ever be with the Lord." The Last Trump, the Awakening Blast, and the Shout are all part of the Feast of Trumpets and consequently speak to us of the rapture and second return of Yeshua on this feast! But lets keep building on this theme.
The second theme of the Feast of Trumpets is the "wedding of the Messiah with His Church." The Jews considered marriage to be the ideal model depicting the relationship between God and Israel. This theme is found throughout the Old Testament(see particularly the book of Hosea). Consequently, the Jewish wedding ceremony was understood by early Christians to be a picture of the joining of Christ with His Church. That is made clear in Ephesians 5:25-27 where Paul compares the marriage relationship with that of Yeshua and His Church. Also in a parable speaking of the Lord's second return, the Jewish wedding is spoken of by Yeshua(Matthew 25:6,10). In the Jewish culture it was customary that after a bride-to-be had accepted the groom's proposal, the bridegroom would depart and return to his father's house to prepare the bridal chamber. It was understood to be the man's duty to go away to be with his father, build a house, and prepare for the eventual wedding. However, before he departed, he would make the following statement to the bride: I go to prepare a place for you, I will return again unto you. If those words sound familiar, they are the words that Yeshua spoke to His disciples in John 14:1-3 just before going back to His Father's house in heaven! The point here is that the rapture and return of the Lord is connected with the Jewish wedding. And here is where things are going to really get theologically interesting!
In Matthew 24:36 Yeshua said of His second return, "But of that day and hour knows no man, not not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." According to Jewish tradition, the timing of the wedding was contingent upon the Father's approval of the groom's preparation of the bridal chamber. So when someone asked when the wedding would be held, the groom would customarily answer, "only my father knows." Why is that important to know? Considering that other scriptures make it clear that the Jewish wedding is symbolically linked to the rapture and resurrection of the righteous, it is also clear that it is linked to the Feast of Trumpets as we have seen above. Therefore, when Yeshua said "no one knows the day or the hour. . . but my father only," He was actually telling us that His second return would definitely be on the Feast of Trumpets! I will enforce this truth with my last point.
The third theme of the Feast of Trumpets is that it was known as "Yom HaKeseh" or "The Hidden Day." The term "Keseh" is derived from the Hebrew root word "Kacah" which means "to conceal, hide or cover." Part of the reason why the Feast of Trumpets is considered mysterious or "hidden," is due to the fact there was a fair amount of uncertainty with regard to observing the feast on the correct calendar day. The Feast of Trumpets fell on "Rosh Chodesh," or the "New Moon." And because this feast hinged on the sighting of a tiny sliver of the new moon, even in Jerusalem it would be difficult to let everyone know when it had begun, not to mention all of Israel. Therefore, to solve this problem, a two day Feast of Trumpets was practiced. In the Rabbinic view, these two days are regarded as "Yoma Arikhta" or "one long day." For this reason when speaking of the Feast of Trumpets, the Jews would typically say, "of that day or hour no one knows." So then what we have here is another clear reference to Yeshua's words in Matthew 24:36 ". . .of that day and hour knows no man. . ." refering to the Lord's return. When you take this reference along with the previous mentioned Jewish wedding reference of "only my father knows, what you have is a stunning revelation and confirmation that Yeshua will, without a doubt, return on the Feast of Trumpets.
For the people who quote Matthew 24:36 as the reason why they are not interested in prophecy, they simply are not rightly dividing the Word of God. Yet for those who are watching, these words of Yeshua could not be more clear: He is telling us that He is coming on the Feast of Trumpets. And He will fulfill this feast to the very day just like He did Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost. What a great God we serve!What an incredible Hope we have! Dear Friend, the God who has so precisely and powerfully revealed and fulfilled the feasts, and will fulfill what remains, has a great plan for your life! Put your trust in Him and in His strong Word. (Please take a moment to read and meditate on Jeremiah 29:11).
I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, the Kingdom of God is at hand.
Shalom
In between the Spring Feasts and the Fall Feasts there is a fairly significant period of time. That period or season is of course summer. In the context of the feasts cycle, the "summer gap" as it is called, symbolizes the span of 2000 years that began at the day of Shavu'ot/Pentecost right up to the present time. This time period also called the "summer harvest" represents the growth of the Lord's Church and the salvation or redemption of those who have accectped the Gospel. The question that needs to be answered is this: What next? What comes after the summer gap or harvest? What is the next big thing on God's calendar and when will it occur?
To answer the above questions, lets start with a couple of events that I believe are signs that "summer" is almost over. First is the rebirth of God's chosen people, Israel, on May 14, 1948. As I have said before, it is a fact that no nation that has been without a homeland for more than 40 years has survived as a nation. But Israel survived for 2000 years without a homeland! That is a miracle of God and a sign that things are changing. Secondly was the retaking of Jerusalem by the Jews for the first time since 70AD. That too was a miracle having been accomplished against all odds! The point here is this: by the rebirth of Israel and the retaking of Jerusalem God has laid the foundation for the next three "Jewish Feasts" to be fulfilled. I believe that they will be fulfilled in this generation! And the very next Feast to be fulfilled is the Feast of Trumpets. Therefore, our subject today will be to take a deeper look into this amazing event to be fulfilled by Yeshua.
The Feast of Trumpets occured in the Hebrew seventh month of Tishri(our September or October). Between this Feast and the Day of Atonment, there are ten days that are called the "High Holy Days," or the "Days of Awe." The Sabbath that falls within this ten day period is called "Shabbat Shuv'ah" or "The Sabbath of Return." It is important to know this because several themes associated with the Messiah's second coming are associated with the fall feasts, beginning with the Feast of Trumpets. In this article I will deal with three of those themes.
The first theme associated with the Feast of Trumpets is "the sounding of the Shofar or trumpet" which also is connected to the rapture of the Church and the second return of Yeshua/Jesus. On this feast day, there were 100 blasts made with the shofar or trumpet. The last blast that was made was known as "the last trump." Consequently, in I Corinthians 15:52 when Paul is speaking of the rapture of the Church and the second return of the Lord, he describes it as happening "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at THE LAST TRUMP; for the TRUMPET/SHOFAR will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." In the Torah, this feast is referred to as "Yom Teruah," or "the day of the sounding of the shofar," which can be translated as "an awakening blast." Also, Teruah can be translated as "shout." Not surprisingly then we read these words from the Apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 4:16-17, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a SHOUT, with the voice of the archangel and the TRUMP of God; and the dead in Christ will rise first; then we which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so will we ever be with the Lord." The Last Trump, the Awakening Blast, and the Shout are all part of the Feast of Trumpets and consequently speak to us of the rapture and second return of Yeshua on this feast! But lets keep building on this theme.
The second theme of the Feast of Trumpets is the "wedding of the Messiah with His Church." The Jews considered marriage to be the ideal model depicting the relationship between God and Israel. This theme is found throughout the Old Testament(see particularly the book of Hosea). Consequently, the Jewish wedding ceremony was understood by early Christians to be a picture of the joining of Christ with His Church. That is made clear in Ephesians 5:25-27 where Paul compares the marriage relationship with that of Yeshua and His Church. Also in a parable speaking of the Lord's second return, the Jewish wedding is spoken of by Yeshua(Matthew 25:6,10). In the Jewish culture it was customary that after a bride-to-be had accepted the groom's proposal, the bridegroom would depart and return to his father's house to prepare the bridal chamber. It was understood to be the man's duty to go away to be with his father, build a house, and prepare for the eventual wedding. However, before he departed, he would make the following statement to the bride: I go to prepare a place for you, I will return again unto you. If those words sound familiar, they are the words that Yeshua spoke to His disciples in John 14:1-3 just before going back to His Father's house in heaven! The point here is that the rapture and return of the Lord is connected with the Jewish wedding. And here is where things are going to really get theologically interesting!
In Matthew 24:36 Yeshua said of His second return, "But of that day and hour knows no man, not not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." According to Jewish tradition, the timing of the wedding was contingent upon the Father's approval of the groom's preparation of the bridal chamber. So when someone asked when the wedding would be held, the groom would customarily answer, "only my father knows." Why is that important to know? Considering that other scriptures make it clear that the Jewish wedding is symbolically linked to the rapture and resurrection of the righteous, it is also clear that it is linked to the Feast of Trumpets as we have seen above. Therefore, when Yeshua said "no one knows the day or the hour. . . but my father only," He was actually telling us that His second return would definitely be on the Feast of Trumpets! I will enforce this truth with my last point.
The third theme of the Feast of Trumpets is that it was known as "Yom HaKeseh" or "The Hidden Day." The term "Keseh" is derived from the Hebrew root word "Kacah" which means "to conceal, hide or cover." Part of the reason why the Feast of Trumpets is considered mysterious or "hidden," is due to the fact there was a fair amount of uncertainty with regard to observing the feast on the correct calendar day. The Feast of Trumpets fell on "Rosh Chodesh," or the "New Moon." And because this feast hinged on the sighting of a tiny sliver of the new moon, even in Jerusalem it would be difficult to let everyone know when it had begun, not to mention all of Israel. Therefore, to solve this problem, a two day Feast of Trumpets was practiced. In the Rabbinic view, these two days are regarded as "Yoma Arikhta" or "one long day." For this reason when speaking of the Feast of Trumpets, the Jews would typically say, "of that day or hour no one knows." So then what we have here is another clear reference to Yeshua's words in Matthew 24:36 ". . .of that day and hour knows no man. . ." refering to the Lord's return. When you take this reference along with the previous mentioned Jewish wedding reference of "only my father knows, what you have is a stunning revelation and confirmation that Yeshua will, without a doubt, return on the Feast of Trumpets.
For the people who quote Matthew 24:36 as the reason why they are not interested in prophecy, they simply are not rightly dividing the Word of God. Yet for those who are watching, these words of Yeshua could not be more clear: He is telling us that He is coming on the Feast of Trumpets. And He will fulfill this feast to the very day just like He did Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Pentecost. What a great God we serve!What an incredible Hope we have! Dear Friend, the God who has so precisely and powerfully revealed and fulfilled the feasts, and will fulfill what remains, has a great plan for your life! Put your trust in Him and in His strong Word. (Please take a moment to read and meditate on Jeremiah 29:11).
I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, the Kingdom of God is at hand.
Shalom
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