DISCLAIMER
Following is information regarding the fall feasts of God. Everything presented comes from my study of these feasts and represents my best understanding.
Much of what appears comes from Jewish tradition and must therefore be approached with caution. I am also attempting to find correlations between the events of the feasts and the future events they are understood to depict. Since scripture is not always clear in drawing the lines between these things I am at times dependant upon the discernment the Lord has placed within me and while God is infallible, I am most certainly NOT!
Please consider the following with an open heart, but take these things before the Lord that He might illuminate any error I might inadvertently insert into this study.
I thank you in advance for the investment of your time in the consideration of these things…… Lance
THE FALL FEASTS OF THE LORD
Just as the four spring feasts join together to tell the story of Christ’s first coming, so to do the fall feasts tell the story of Christ’s second coming and its lasting impact on humanity. Each feast forms a ‘chapter’ of the story. Each has a tale of its very own to tell, but the whole story cannot be understood without knowing what rests within all of the ‘chapters’.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE FALL FEASTS
The first of the fall feasts is Rosh HaShanah, also known as the feast of trumpets. Rosh HaShanah tells the story of God’s final call to repentance, His judgment and wrath upon humanity, the resurrection and rapture of His people, the wedding of Christ to His bride and His work to effect reconciliation with a remnant of national Israel.
I understand the future events Rosh HaShanan depicts to span a period of time from before the initiation of the day of the Lord, to a point immediately prior to the reconciliation of God and the remnant of national Israel.
The second feast is Yom Kippur, also known as the day of atonement. This feast focuses on God’s atoning work in the redemption of His children. It brings the work of Jesus on the cross and the shedding of His precious blood to its pinnacle of fulfillment and encompasses God’s reconciliation with both Jew and gentile in the finished work of salvation. It also sees the reconciled remnant of national Israel take their place in the body of believers. This feast is also associated with the physical return of Jesus to the earth near the end of the future tribulation period.
One sobering aspect of Yom Kippur comes from the tradition that this day represents the final opportunity for those in rebellion against God to repent. At the conclusion of this solemn day, the gates of heaven are understood to be closed.
I understand the future events associated with Yom Kippur to span the approximate period of time from the remnant survivors of national Israel accepting Jesus as Messiah until the resurrection of the martyrs seen in Revelation 20:6.
The third fall feast is Sukkot, also known as the feast of tabernacles. This feast depicts the joyous life and blessing found in the Messianic kingdom of Christ.
I understand the future events associated with the feast of tabernacles to extend from the inception of the Messianic kingdom until an undefined future time; quite probably into the depths of eternity itself.
During the remainder of this paper we will focus on some of the truths that might be gleaned from the first of the fall feasts, Rosh HaShanan / Trumpets.
THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS / ROSH HASHANA
Major Themes of the feast:
Rosh HaShana has several stories to tell and each of these takes the form of a ‘theme’ that is part of the overall tapestry of the feast. The major themes of Rosh HaShana are:
● Teshuvah (Repentance)
● Rosh HaShana (New Year, Birthday of creation)
● Yom Teruah (Day of the Awakening Blast / Feast of Trumpets)
● Yom HaDin (the Day of Judgment, the day of the Lord, the days of awe)
● HaMelech (The Coronation of Messiah)
● The time of Jacob’s trouble (the birthpangs of the Messiah)
● The opening of the Gates (of heaven)
● Kiddushin/Nesu’in (The wedding ceremony)
● Natzal (The rapture / resurrection of the dead)
● The last trump (shofar, rams horn trumpet)
● Yom Hakeseh (the hidden day, day of hiding)
We will only consider a few of these, and those only briefly. To do otherwise would require more wisdom and virtual ink than I currently possess… J
Teshuvah / Repentance:
The feast of trumpets officially begins on Tishrei 1 and lasts for 10 days. However, in one respect the feast actually begins 30-days earlier on Elul 1 as this is the beginning of the season of Teshuvah, which means ‘to return or repent’.
During Teshuvah, God is seen to be calling humanity to repentance and His children to return and/or draw near to Him. The season of teshuvah/repentance lasts for 40-days and during this time a trumpet is blown each morning as a call to repentance and a warning of the approaching ‘day of judgment’. Since the month of Elul is only 30 days in length, and the season of Teshuvah is 40-days, we understand that the call to return/repent also extends throughout the entire feast of trumpets. Since the feast is understood to typologically correlate to the day of judgment/day of the Lord, we can readily see the great mercy of God in action as He not only is seen to call people to repent before the great day of His wrath, but even while that wrath is being poured out. Scripture supports this understanding in multiple passages such as.
Rev 9:20a The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands,…. (also Rev 9:21, 16 9 & 11, the repentance of national Israel)
The season of Teshuvah/repentance is meant as a call to all people and on each day, except for the 30th day of Elul, immediately before the start of the feast, a trumpet is blown to warn the people to turn back to God. The call to the non-believer is for repentance, while the call to the believer is to search his/her life, repent of rebellion and draw near to the Lord while there is yet time and hope.
Though the season of repentance as it is enacted in this feast is not clearly shown in scripture, it is consistent with the nature of God who typically seeks to warn people of His impending wrath and judgment (Ezek 18:21-23, 30-32, Zeph 2:1-3, 33:1-7, 2 Pet 3:9).
Yom HaKeseh, The Hidden Day:
Another theme of the feast of trumpets is that of Yom HaKeseh, ‘The hidden day’, or ‘the day of hiding’. This theme is captured in scripture in two ways. First, it is seen to speak of the season of Christ’s return on a ‘hidden day’.
Mat 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Second it speaks of the Lord’s protection / hiding of His children during the time of trouble that is to come.
Ps 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; ….
Zech 14:4-7 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives…. and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle…. You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel;…. In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle…. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.
Isa 26:20-21 Come, my people, enter into your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while Until indignation runs its course. For behold, the LORD is about to come out from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
The theme of ‘the hidden day’ is vividly captured in the feast on the 30th day of the season of Teshuvah. Recall that during the 40-days of Teshuvah a trumpet is blown each day as a warning of the approaching day of judgment/day of the Lord, EXCEPT for the 30th day which immediately precedes the feast. On this day there is SILENCE. Thus, in the typological depiction of the feast we see that immediately before the judgment and wrath of God is poured out upon humanity there is a space of silence, and scripture is faithful to capture this truth as well.
Rev 8:1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
Rosh HaShana, The Head of the Year:
Contained within the season of repentance is Rosh HaShana which is the Jewish New Year of the civil calendar. Jewish tradition claims this was the day the earth was created because the first line of the book of Genesis which states, “in the beginning” can be rearranged in the Hebrew to read, “Aleph b’Tishrei”, or “on the first of Tishrei”.
Is this assertion true? I have no idea, but it is an interesting point of curiosity and makes a wonderful ‘conversation piece’… J
Yom Teruah, The Awakening Blast, Trumpets
Throughout the season of Teshuvah the blast of trumpets is seen as a central feature of the feast. Yet the trumpet blast plays another role in this feast as well. The Hebrew word ‘teruah’ may be translated as a loud ‘blast (as from a trumpet), or shout’.
Ps 89:15 How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound (Teruah)!.... [Parenthis added]
The feast and traditions focus our attention to a specific type of trumpet blast; to the blast of the ‘shofar’, or ram’s horn. The shofar is first seen in connection with God’s revelation of Himself on Mt. Sinai.
Ex 19:16 So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet (shofar) sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. [Parenthis added]
The shofar is blown on many of scripture’s most solemn occasions. For example it is blown to call the people to the ‘shema’ of God and it is blown to announce the time of Jubilee and the freedom from slavery it brought with it (Lev 25:9-10).
According to tradition the shofar was not placed in this position of prominence by accident but to remind the people of God of the faith that is necessary to please Him and enter into His presence. For it is a constant reminder of the faith seen in the actions of Abraham in the ‘sacrifice’ of his son Isaac. Specifically, it is a picture of the faithfulness of God as He provided an alternative sacrifice in the form of a ram, caught by his horns (Gen 22:1-19).
For this reason the ram’s horn (shofar) became the instrument of choice to usher in solemn occasions and to call the people to war. Each of the horns of this ram, the left and the right, came to be equated with one of the feasts of the Lord.
The left horn came to be known as ‘the first trump’ and is equated with the feast of Pentecost. It is also equated with the first coming of Messiah, a truth only captured by those who acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah. The right horn is known as the ‘last trump’ and is equated with the feast of Trumpets. It is also equated with the second coming of Messiah by those who acknowledge Jesus.
It is to the feast of Trumpets and its typological equivalent found in the day of the Lord that Paul was referring to when he wrote the following words regarding the Messiah’s return.
1 Cor 15:51-52 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
In this passage, Paul took the imagery of ‘the last trump’ directly from the Jewish traditions he was so very familiar with. Unfortunately, due to our lack of familiarity with those traditions modern students seek to ascribe all sorts of meanings to what Paul no doubt saw as a straightforward reference that could hardly be misunderstood.
Also, as intimated by Paul, it was a strongly held Jewish tradition that the coming of Messiah and the resurrection of the dead would be heralded by a trumpet blast and/or shout. Perhaps nowhere in scripture is this truth more clearly revealed than the revelatory teaching of Paul found in the following passage.
1 Thes 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
The Time of Jacob’s Trouble, Birthpangs of the Messiah:
The time of Jacob’s trouble is directly mentioned only once in scripture and its imagery leaves little doubt that it is intimately connected to the end-time day of the Lord.
Jer 30:4-7 Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah: "For thus says the LORD, ' I have heard a sound of terror, Of dread, and there is no peace. 'Ask now, and see If a male can give birth. Why do I see every man With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale? 'Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob's distress, But he will be saved from it.
Many other passages utilize this same imagery and expand upon its foundations to help form a vivid picture of the birth pains that precede Messiah’s return to earth and of God’s wrath and judgment during this time.
Isa 13:6-12 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty…. Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor…. See, the day of the LORD is coming--a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger--… The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light…. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir.
1 Thes 5:1-3 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
The death and destruction during that time will be so great that scripture proclaims only one-third of the children of Israel will survive.
Zech 13:8-9 In the whole land," declares the LORD, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.'"
This ‘third’ however, will stand ready to recognize their Messiah, serve their God and join the great throng of the faithful who stand ready to embrace them…..
But the telling of that part of the story must wait until we consider Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.
Thank you for your time and consideration of these things,
Your brother in Christ……. Lance
Primary source material for this study was:
The Seven Festivals Of The Messiah, Edward Chumney, 1994, Treasure House
No comments:
Post a Comment