But if the watchman |
The shofar sounding is modified from www.elshaddaiministries.us |
The annual religious celebration
The blowing of the shofar at the wailing wall on the new moon of Tishrei, in celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets.
The very
next feast
due to be
fulfilled.Daniel 9:27;
the epic future event!
Image from Dave Wilkerson's book.
In the fall of the year and on the first day of the Tishrei moon trumpets are blown to announce the holy day of Rosh Hashanah. Among Biblical Christians it is also known as the Feast of Trumpets. Its ultimate New Covenant fulfillment will be spellbinding beyond words. The celebration will erupt into holy history. And it will be a blockbuster. The celebration is destined to become a "memorial of blowing of trumpets" because of the many faithful saints who will die sounding the alarm in an awesome epic future Rosh Hashanah that is yet to come. This 5th feast was instituted by Moses at Sinai approximately 3,500 years ago. This holy day marks the first day of the Hebrew (civil) new year. 'Rosh Hashanah" means 'head of the year'. The Feast of Trumpets is the first of the three, yet to be fulfilled, Fall Feasts of Israel. These Fall Feasts relate to Kingdom issues rather than High Priestly matters that we saw Messiah fulfill in the spring feasts on His first coming 2,000 years ago. "Ten days of awe" in the annual holy days then lead on to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the most solemn day of the year. On this awesome day all accounts between YHVH-God and His covenant people are settled. And it is on this day that the jubilee year is announced. Trumpets are also blown during special times of national crisis to call God's people to gather themselves together in a solemn assembly before YHVH-God. Trumpets are sounded during battle during times of warfare and they also announce the coming of a king.
On a future Rosh Hoshanah, on the new moon of Tishrei, the shofars will begin to sound on a day like no other. The ultimate epic future Feast of Trumpets will be erupting into holy history. This will be an awesome day of mixed celebration and alarm. All of God's covenant people will be 'called out' to solemn assembly. They will be "called out" into YHVH-God's new and updated 'ekklesia', His new 'congregation', His new 'church' of the 70th Week". What will have happened? We now have very strong evidence that this future Rosh Hashanah will be the terminus of the "Roadmap to Peace". It will be the day when Israel signs the seven year peace covenant of Daniel 9:27. Israel will agree to divide and sell the Holy Land for a promise of "peace and safety". The prophet Daniel prophesied that this epic 7 year peace treaty will be confirmed by, and with, a false messiah. - Dan.9:27, So did Jesus Christ, Yeshua Hamashiach. - John 5:43 Seven momentous years later comes the final awesome Day of Atonement. The trumpets of Jubilee will herald the opening of the Day of the Lord. The very next day the angels of wrath will begin to gather the wicked as tares. (Mat.13:30) At some unknown time in those ensuing 5 days before the Feast of Tabernacles opens up, the last trumpet will sound and all of God's Elect, (singular), will be gathered. This climactic future event, the Resurrection-Rapture, will see the glorification of all the saints from both sides of Calvary.
INTRODUCTION
TO THE 7 FEASTS
OF ISRAELTHE SPRING FEASTS 1. THE PASSOVER 2. THE FEAST OF
UNLEAVENED
BREAD3. THE FEAST OF
FIRSTFRUITSTHE SUMMER FEAST 4. THE FEAST OF
PENTECOSTTHE FALL FEASTS OF ISRAEL 5. THE FEAST OF
TRUMPETS6. THE DAY OF
ATONEMENT7. THE FEAST OF
TABERNACLESROSH HASHANAH, OR
THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS
#5 OF THE SEVEN FEASTS
OF ISRAEL AS INSTITUTED
BY GOD THROUGH MOSES HIS
SERVANT AT MOUNT SINAI.LEVITICUS 23Thus Rosh Hashanah or the Feast of Trumpets began. Moses instituted this feast as the fifth of seven feasts. God introduced the Seven Feasts of Israel as the children of Israel were encamped at Mount Sinai. There, at that pivotal place, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob made covenant with a nation of two million souls. They had just left Egypt behind in an extraordinary exodus attended by many miracles. They had all passed through the waters of the Red Sea in a national baptism of sorts to emerge safely on the other side.
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
24 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying:
'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month,
you shall have a sabbath-rest,
a memorial of blowing of trumpets,
a holy convocation.
25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you
shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.'"This was a wonderful moment in holy history. There, at the foot of the Mount Sinai, God brought His Law to the nation of Israel. This was not just a matter of cold legalism. YHVH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was revealing Himself to His covenant people. He was drawing them into a relationship that would show them the wonders of His essential character. God was introducing His covenant people to Himself. The Torah was not meant to be just a legalistic system of "religion". Nor was "the Law" to be just lofty ideals written on stone tablets for government. The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that YHVH-God was leading His people on into a New Covenant. The Torah was destined to be written on human hearts. (Jer.31:31)
Right from the very beginning Torah was meant to bring God's people Israel into a very personal relationship with God. The true foundation of the nation was at the grassroots right down at the personal and family level. That was what God was doing at Sinai. And His grand Plan for the people He loved, and indeed for the whole world, was laid out in the Seven Feasts of Israel.
In the springtime feasts God was showing the people of Israel His character for mercy and for salvation. At Passover He was the showing them a picture of the ultimate promised Sacrifice Lamb. The blood of atonement would bring them salvation and deliverance.
In the fulness of time and on one extraordinary Passover nearly 2,000 years ago Messiah came. He arrived through the eastern gate and on up into the Holy City to fulfill His priestly role. On this tenth day of Nisan, four days before Passover, on Palm Sunday, Messiah came as the Suffering Servant.
Jesus/Yeshua fulfilled all of those first three feasts during the springtime of that epic year. He fulfilled the first of them in His sacrificial death on Passover. He was buried and in the grave on Unleavened Bread. And His Resurrection from the dead came thre days later on the Feast of Firstfruits.
The summer of that year saw the fourth feast fulfilled as well. Fifty days after Firstfruits on the Feast of Pentecost of that year the Holy Spirit fell on the 120 in the upper room. It was the 6th/7th of Sivan. This was the very day God brought down the law from Mount Sinai. On that day Israel corporately as a nation agreed to follow YHVH-God and to be established as a nation in the land of Canaan.
So Pentecost was the birthday of Israel. Now on that same day of the Hebrew calendar the Feast of Pentecost "had fully come". On that epic day the feast took on an expanded meaning and significance in the New Covenant. In the summer of the crucifixion year the birthday of Israel, the Feast of Pentecost, also became the birthday of the Church.
So four of the seven feasts of Israel have already erupted into holy history.
They have been fulfilled in the New Covenant.2,000 Biblical years have passed by.
Three of the seven feasts are still out there awaiting fulfillment.
And these three Fall Feasts will bring us into the Apocalypse.AN OVERVIEW OF THE SEVEN JEWISH FEASTS
OR SEVEN "APPOINTED TIMES".The YouTube video here contains a short 8 minute video.
It is a brief overview of the Seven Jewish Feasts or Seven "Appointed Times".
Should you have trouble streaming the video from the YouTube box above
you may go directly to YouTube and see the video by clicking the image below.
The Seven Feasts of Israel
Be sure to also see this article on the Hebrew Calendar.
And click HERE to see the YouTube Video on Biblical Time.
Here below is an overview of the seven feasts as they have unfolded so far.
1. Passover Fulfilled! (By Jesus/Yeshua at His crucifixion
on Nisan 14 in the spring of 32 A.D.)2. Feast of Unleavened Bread Fulfilled! (By Jesus/Yeshua in His burial in the tomb
on Nisan 15 in the spring of 32 A.D.)3. Feast of Firstfruits Fulfilled! (By Jesus/Yeshua at His Resurrection
on Nisan 17 in the spring of 32 A.D.)4. Feast of Pentecost Fulfilled! (By the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost
on Sivan 7 in the summer of 32 A.D.)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
.
.
.
. (A gap of 2000 years or so has allowed the Light of Israel to
. go forth into the nations for the Gentiles to be evangelized).
.
.
.
- - - - - - - - - - - - WE ARE HERE - - - - - - - - - - - - -
.Now here come the three Fall Feasts of Israel.
They will erupt into holy history in spectacular fashion.
And the first of the three is probably just up ahead.
Indeed the very next feast coming up for fulfillment will be,5. Rosh Hashanah Unfulfilled ....(as of yet).
Something BIG is going to happen
on the first day of the Tishrei moon,
on some future Rosh Hashanah,
in the autumn season of some future year.#6. The Day of Atonement Unfulfilled ....(as of yet).
This is the awesome Day of Reckoning, Day of Accounting, Day of Atonement. It is the final Day of this present evil age before Messiah Comes to set things right. On the very next Day the Day of the Lord opens up and God's wrath is poured out specifically and personally upon the heads of the wicked and the grim reapers, the angels of wrath will pluck up the wicked as tares for the fires. Mat.13:30 Then Messiah will gather His own, the ones who belong to Him.
The seventh and final feast is
7. The Feast of Tabernacles Unfulfilled ....(as of yet).
The fulfillment of this feast will see the establishment
of the long awaited glorious 1000 year long Millennium of Messiah.......................................................... .........................................................
All these are the Seven Jewish Feasts or Seven "Appointed Times".
A MAJOR DISCOVERY CONCERNING THE UPCOMING FALL FEASTS OF ISRAEL,
As we put the various Biblical pieces together it seems that the New Covenant fulfillment of Rosh Hashanah, (the Feast of Trumpets), will be the occasion of the confirming of the 7 year 'Covenant with Many' which involves Israel and the G7 nations of Western Christendom. This prophecy of a seven year sovereignty give-away was spoken to the prophet Daniel by the Angel Gabriel. It is written down very clearly in Holy Scripture. See Dan. 9:27.
ROSH HASHANAH AND THE DAY OF ATONEMENT ARE FEAST #5 AND #6.
THEY MARK OUT THE BEGINNING AND THE TERMINUS OF
THE EPIC FUTURE 70TH WEEK OF DANIEL.
THEY STAKE OUT THE FINAL SEVEN YEARS OF THIS AGE.This is sad to have to report, ..... and few dare to mention it.
But God's covenant people, yes, from both houses of Israel, will take the compromising way of Gomer to its ultimate conclusion. They will make a strong covenant with a pretender.
He will turn out to be the prophesied false messiah. (John 5:43)
This is how Jacob, all of God's covenant people, end up in the time of 'Jacob's Trouble'.Seven years after this epic future Daniel 9:27 event,
and 30 days beyond the end of the 1260days + 1260days
or 30 days beyond the 70th Week (or 70th "seven") of Daniel;That is 1260 days + 1290 days = 2550 days later,
we arrive at a very auspicious date on the hebrew calendar.
We arrive right on the 10th day of the Tishrei moon.Oh yes, it is Appointed Time #6.
It is the final wrap-up Day of Atonement or 'Day of Reckoning'.So when the Tishrei to Tishrei time span over seven years
is 86 moons in the Metonic Cycle, (and not 87 moons),
we notice something extraordinary.Those 2550 days contained in the final seven years of this age bridge with utmost precision the next two yet to be fulfilled of the three Fall Feasts of Israel. Those are Rosh Hashanah, (the Feast of Trumpets) and that final climactic Day of Atonement, (or Day of Reckoning)!
It is a perfect fit!
Click on the image above to go to another chart of the 70th Week of Daniel.
The author noticed this precise chronological match-up in 2003.
See this article on the Fall Feasts of Israel.So Tishri 1 to Tishrie 10, seven years later = 2550 days.
Remember also that 1260 + 1290 = 2550 days.Therefore,
Day #1 = the Rosh Hashanah.
Day #2550 = the Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement seven years later.Check this out for yourself using this Hebrew calendar converter.
You can find this converter at www.hebcal.com You can also track the new moons of Tishrei using lunar data. Tables for the phases of the moon for the coming years are available here at the U.S. Naval Observatory.We are looking here at a perfect match! It seems that some future Tishrei 1 Jewish New Year will be the starting gun for the 70th Week of Daniel and the final seven years of this age. An epic future Jewish New Year will see the confirming of the seven year treaty of Dan.9:27. This will be the final terminus of the much talked about "Roadmap to Peace".
Seven years later, on Tishrei 10, the history of this present evil age will be all wrapped up. Holy history will then see the emergence of a stupendous day of awe.
It will be the final blow-out Day of Atonement/Yom Kippur.
This final Yom Kippur will be the last day of the year, last day of the Jubilee Cycle built into the 70 Weeks of Daniel and the last day of this present evil age, the last day for us to get our accounts straightened out with YHVH, the God of Israel. It will be the final chance for men, women, and older children to be saved. (Joel 2:28-32)
This future climactic 'Day of Reckoning' will cap off our present history.
It will be the very last day of this present evil humanistic era.The following day will see the opening of the 'Day of the Lord'.
Judgment Day will have arrived.
The angels of wrath, the grim reapers, will be overhead.
They will be hovering over the wicked and plucking them off their beloved earth like vultures swooping down on their prey. Unrepentant Edomite hunters and hustlers, those people who have sneered at the holy things of God, will be shaking their fist at heaven even as they are carried off as tares to the fires. They will be carried off kicking and screaming by the angels of wrath. Because the grim reapers of legend and tattoo will have suddenly become very real as God comes to wrap up this present dark age.After the tares have been gathered, (Mat:13:30)
God will turn His attention to His own.
All of His Elect will be gathered at the Resurrection-Rapture.ROSH HASHANAH, THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS.
In the process of a study of the Hebrew Feasts the author made a rather startling discovery. As we can see laid out in the diagram below the next two upcoming Feasts just happen to mark out with total precision the beginning and the ending of that awesome future 7 year timespan, the 70th week of Daniel along with the 30 day extension of the latter half of the 70th Week from 1260 days to 1290 days as mentioned by Gabriel to Daniel in Dan.12:11. These 2550 days make up the final 7 years of this age. The number of days in the timespan is 2550 days. And the number of days spanning Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur when they are seven yeasr apart and 86 moons, (not 87 moons), in the metonic cycle is also 2550 days. This is quite a large number. And the two timespans match up perfectly to the day.
DAY ONE OF A TIME PERIOD OF 2550 DAYS.
THIS TIME PERIOD EMBRACES THE 70TH WEEK OF DANIEL, PLUS 30 DAYS.
So is this likely to be just a coincidence?
Probably not.Here below is a diagram showing how the 70th week of Daniel is staked out perfectly by the two upcoming Fall Feasts of Israel, those being Rosh Hashanah, (the Feast of Trumpets), and Yom Kippur, (the Day of Atonement).
Click on the image above to go to another chart of the 70th Week of Daniel.This perfect match applies to those seven year Tishrei to Tishrei time spans that see 86 lunar cycles (and not 87 moons). The number of moons between the Tishreie moons seven years apart varies depending on where the seven years lie in the 19 year Metonic Cycle. See this article on the Metonic Cycle.
Rosh Hashanah, which comes on the Jewish New Year, is a clean slate right now. It has not yet been fulfilled. God's covenant people should be keeping a close watch on international events especially as the fall of the year approaches. If an epic global 7 year peace covenant is signed on Rosh Hashanah that will be the sign. If you, dear reader, are a true watchman, then you will know what to do. (See Ezek. 33:1-10)
ROSH HASHANAH BEGINS THE CIVIL YEAR
Rosh Hashanah is the first day of the Hebrew year on the civil calendar. On this day God's people stop work. It is a holiday, or a 'holy day'. And it is called Rosh Hashanah, meaning in Hebrew, 'head of the year'.
AND RELATES TO POLITICAL OR KINGDOM ISSUES.The fact that this celebration marks the beginning of the civil year for Israel is an important point. The religious calendar begins six months before in the springtime in the first month, the month of Nisan, (or Abib). From this we can surmise that Rosh Hashanah, (and all the fall feasts), relate to civil, political, or royal kingdom issues. This would seem to suggest that these three autumn feasts pertain to certain pivotal events connected to the birthpangs and the birthing of the coming Kingdom of God as it manifests in world history.
INTRODUCTION TO ROSH HASHANAH
So as we see, the autumn season of harvest brings in the 5th, 6th, and 7th feasts. These are the Fall Feasts of Israel. And Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is the very next feast due to unfold. As we can see, the Feast of Trumpets is up next.
AND TO THE FALL FEASTS OF ISRAEL.
Do the Judeo-Christian people know its meaning? Do they know what future earthshaking event Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets will signal? This will be our focus now as we go on into our journey of discovery.What is God showing us in the fall feasts? The spring feasts in their New Covenant fulfillment revealed Messiah in His priestly role. We saw Him as the Sacrifice Lamb and the Suffering Servant. But the fall feasts will be different. Messiah will be dealing with His covenant people in His political or Kingdom role. His Second Coming will bring in both a global ministry and a global rule. Because the coming Messiah is not just returning to His national people Israel. The prophet Isaiah stated that the Light of Israel would go out to the heathen, the goyim, the gentiles. See Isaiah 49:6. At the Second Coming the Holy One of Israel will be returning to take up a global worldwide rulership as King of kings and Lord of lords.
So whereas the Spring Feasts saw Messiah come into this cosmos in His priestly role the Fall Feasts will see Him re-enter world history in a very political way in the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Fall Feasts celebrate God's righteous rule upon this earth as returns as the real and literal future Messiah. This is the future glory Friderich Handel presented in His magnificent musical presentation "Messiah".
On a certain future fall season the nation and Congregation of Israel and all mankind will arrive at a day of great import. The coming of God's Kingdom on earth will be announced with the blowing of trumpets. This will herald the epic fulfillment Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets. What will have happened? That will be our focus as we move on in this study.
This epic future Feast of Trumpets will unfold as a day in world history that will be awesome beyond words. Because the 70th Week of Daniel will have just begun. God will resume those vital covenant dealings with His called out Congregation during this final seven year time period. He Himself has determined that this time will be set aside for some heart to heart dealings with all His covenant Judeo-Christian people down here, even as they are compromised and messed up as Gomer in the earthly politics of men. The nations will be raging, just as was prophesied in King David's song. (See Psalm 2) And why? Because the Apocalypse will be revealing Messiah before men and the the Kingdom of God will be erupting into world history. Many antagonists, angelic and human, will not like this one bit. In fact Bible prophecy tells us that the rebels and the goyim will be raging against the coming of messiah. They will be in an uproar. See the song King David wrote about this in Psalm 2.
Despite the platitudes of state clergymen the Kingdom of God has not yet fully come.
Messiah has certainly come to His throne in men's hearts this is true.
But He is also destined to come to this earth as well.
Messiah will minister and rule for a literal thousand years. (See Rev.20)Messiah will come again. Only on this occasion He will not be the Suffering Servant. He will be the returning Conquering King. Israel and the nations will see Messiah in His Kingdom role. His judgment and wrath will be poured out on the wicked. Jerusalem will see His wonderful deliverance at Armageddon. And His covenant people in exile will experience His magnificent deliverance at Bozrah. Then after His second coming Christ/Messiah will establish that long awaited glorious Millennium of Messiah.
So why are the coming fulfilments of the Fall Feasts so awesome? Because they open the final epic end time drama. Many people in the nations, the heathen, hate and despise Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach, our Jewish Messiah. And they dread His coming rule as King of Kings. In fact they rage against Him. King David wrote a song about this. And he told of the terrible shock these rebels will have. (Psalm 2) These people who dread the coming Son of David actually despise the Throne of David and the righteous rule of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the root cause of all anti-Semitism. In its true essence it is not a racial thing at all.
Unfortunately we still see anti-Semitism in the Church.
WHAT GOD IS DOING IN THE FALL FEASTS
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not like other gods. He is real. And He can be known in a personal way. He comes to indwell those who open their hearts and lives to Him and those who exercise faith, and put their trust in Him. The Fall Feasts were set to showcase the Messiah of Israel, not only in the realms of religion and personal faith but also as he comes to re-enter world history as King of Kings.The Holy One of Israel is the "God who is there". He is the eternally existent God who was, is, and is to come. Messiah has already come down into our cosmos once. The terminus of the first 69 weeks of Daniel's 70 Weeks of years showcased the first coming of Messiah. On that day, Palm Sunday, we saw Messiah come in His priestly religious role. That event marked the terminus of the 69 weeks. One week, or one "seven" of years remains.
Quite clearly our Messiah has not finished His work on this planet and in our cosmos. The terminus of the future 70th Week of Daniel, the final 7 years of this age will see Him come again, this time in His Kingdom, or political role. Even now He is in the process of drawing out a covenant people to Himself, not only from national Israel but from all the nations. His chosen "called out people", His "ekklesia", is the global "Congregation of Israel", which includes the true Church. They are destined to be regathered at the end of this age as a single Elect or Chosen people, drawn out from scattered Israel and from the nations. His Elect, (singular), will be gathered from both sides of Calvary, from the ancient patriarchs to the very last Tribulation Saint. The Holy One of Israel is a gracious God. And He has one single grand all encompassing salvation plan. His covenant people, drawn from Israel and from the nations are all destined to become unified under Messiah as "a royal priesthood and a holy nation". (1Pet.2:9)
Our God is not dead. Nor is He a do-nothing God. He is at work. And He has a grand Plan. The final seven years of this age will see Him deal with His people on blood covenant matters their religious leaders have omitted to tell them of. And so He will call forth His witnesses, Then He will return to judge the world, restore Israel, establish His Kingdom. He will go on to restore the ecosystems of His creation and so bring His divine agenda to completion. The Seven Feasts are waypoints that mark out the thresholds in this grand plan. They were destined to showcase the acts of Messiah, not only to Israel but to the nations. Jesus/Yeshua is not only our personal Savior but also our coming international Messiah. His covenant people are not passive in all this as they have been told. As the Body of Christ they are in vital union with Messiah and active agents in the end time drama. These annual celebrations lay out YHVH-God's agenda for redemption, sanctification, and then finally, the glorification of all His remnant Elect at the Resurrection-Rapture at the last day.
So YHVH/God is not silent, unknowing, uncaring, or absent from the scene. The Day of the Lord, or Day of Christ, (see Eph.2), will surely open up on the day after that final epic Day of Atonement. Indeed most of the Book of Revelation is a heavenly court case in which YHVH-God presides. God is not dead. Rumors of His death, spoken of by certain high churchmen, are quite incorrect. These clerics who say such things do not know and love the God of the Holy Scriptures. They are hired men of the state and the marketplace, many of them quite lost and deceived. Dark religious spirits have been feeding them disinformation for them to pass on to the poor spiritually undernourished sheep of God's pasture. The Holy One of Israel will not tolerate this forever. He is alive and well. And in the Scriptures He has made available to us information that is true and correct. It is the revealed Word of God. At the close of this age Messiah will be delivering this living Word personally by His own earthly Presence in His resurrected body. And at His Second Coming His holy agenda will be brought to a magnificent climax.
TRUMPETS, ATONEMENT, AND TABERNACLES.
As we have seen, feats #5, #6, and #7 are yet future. They are still mysteries. They have not yet come into their New Covenant manifestation. But they will. In some future fall season we shall see them.
THE THREE FALL FEASTS OF ISRAEL ARE UP NEXT.The Fall Feasts are becoming the subject of much study and discussion right now. Many Christian believers in the Western Church are finally beginning to realise that the "Holy One of Israel" is in control of world events. He is the sovereign overseer of history. And He is not silent. Nor is He absent, unknowing, uncaring, or dead. He is very much alive! And he has an agenda. In fact, His Plan is unfolding. And it is right on schedule!
So the Fall Feasts are up next. They have not come to their New Covenant fulfilment yet. But knowing YHVH-God, we can be sure of this. When they erupt into holy history in some future fall season of the year these Fall Feasts will be every bit as spectacular as the four events that preceded them.
The fifth feast, Rosh Hashanah or the Feast of Trumpets is up next. And the sixth holy day, (it is actually a fast), will follow, probably seven years later, (as we shall see). In fact this final Day of Atonement will almost certainly be the last day of this age. It will mark the last day to repent. This final wrap-up Yom Kippur will be the awesome climactic Day of Reckoning.
Afterwards, Messiah will come. He will judge the wicked, and then deliver and glorify His Elect. He will then return to judge the nations at the sheep-goat judgement. After that, at the Feast of Tabernacles, He will establish His Millennial Kingdom . So three epic end time events will be marked by the Fall Feasts of Israel. And they are up ahead in our future.
THE FALL FEASTS OF ISRAEL ARE OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE.
Bible students of a Berean disposition are now at work as they begin to realize the importance of the Fall Feasts of Israel. Recent times have seen Messianic/Christian believers in Yeshua make some exciting discoveries. It seems clear that the next two feasts will mark out the beginning day and the ending day of the final seven years of the age. This will be outlined further down in this article. The 70th Week of Daniel is a time of trial and travail of the woman, (God's covenant people), and also a time of glory. God will be resuming His determined dealings with ALLHis covenant people. This is the end time drama. Then after the Great Tribulation and at the end of this seven year period God will regather all of His Elect. (See Mat.24:31 & Dan.12:7) God's covenant people will come together at the final big party, the the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. They will be glorified together, from both sides of Calvary, from both houses of Israel, from Judea, and from out at Bozrah at the ends of the earth. The saints will be gathered and brought into the glory. Jesus said that they would be gathered together as a single Elect. (Mat.24:29-31) Because YHVH/God Almighty is at work here. At the Resurrection-Rapture He will wrap up the history of this present evil age. Because He fully intends to regather and restore His people from Israel, the Church and out in the nations at the ends of the earth. He is bringing ALL of His people home!
THEY LAY OUT GOD'S END-TIME AGENDA.So the pilgrimage of God's covenant people is far from over. The saints of YHVH-God are headed for a magnificent party, even a Marriage Feast at the conclusion of their journey. The Seven Feasts of Israel are key waypoints to ward that final glorious climax. God has blazed a trail for us. With the Seven Feasts or Seven Appointed Times He has marked the map for the pilgrims and marked them in seven places. These waypoints and our understanding of them will be very helpful to us as we journey on in our passage into the glory.
Every one of the seven feasts will eventually be recognized as an earthly historically well recognized time and a valuable informative travel marker for God's Elect. The feasts mark out the major events of past holy history and future holy history. The Seven Feasts will go on to be celebrated in the Millennium to come; - and forever.
ROSH HASHANAH OR 'HEAD OF THE YEAR'
Rosh Hashanah is the first of the three Fall Feasts of Israel. It is the next feast due to be fulfilled. It It is celebrated on the first day, the new moon, of Tishrei. This is the only one of the seven feasts that opens up on a new moon, a dark and moonless night. Why is this? Is this significant? Is this a portent of something ominous for this 5th feast? Will there be some sinister goings on when Rosh Hashanah erupts into holy history? Is there something hanging over God's Judeo-Christian people on some future dark night as that awesome future moon of Tishrei is about to appear?
IS THE ANNUAL HEBREW CELEBRATION
WILL A FUTURE JEWISH NEW YEAR BE WITNESS TO SOME SINISTER EVENT?
WILL THERE BE AN OCCASION FOR THE TRUMPETS TO SOUND IN ALARM?In times past the new moon was typically the time of the month when Israel got up to mischief. They would go up to the high places on these moonless nights. There, under cover of darkness, they would break the covenant they had made with YHVH-God. They would commit great evil. They would worship idols in the groves on the high places. And they would engage in acts of sexual immorality.
Rosh Hashanah is the only feast to be celebrated on a new moon. Could it be that some sinister event of great importance is destined to unfold in the gloom of some future new moon of Tishrei? Will some momentous skullduggery occur on this night that will be a cause for general alarm around the world among God's covenant people?
And will this event call for the blowing of trumpets?The first day of any given Hebrew month is the new moon. This is the time when the first thin crescent of the new moon can just be made out with the naked eye. This is well demonstated in this article which features a photograph from an Islamic website. It shows a new moon just 25 hours old. It is barely able to be seen. At that time of the month the moon is just a barely discernable crescent seen at dawn and at dusk in the direction of the rising or setting sun.
ROSH HASHANAH, FIRST OF THE FALL FEASTS OF ISRAEL.
The next feast due for fulfillment is the Rosh Hashanah. It is celebrated on the new moon of Tishrei as the Feast of Trumpets, the "head of the year", or the Jewish new year. It will be maked by a blowing of trumpets. The watchmen of Israel will be sounding the alarm. (Ezek. 33:1-6) All of God's covenant people, Jewish or non-Jewish, from both houses of Israel will be called to solemn assembly.
THIS IS THE NEXT BIG EVENT ON GOD"S AGENDA.This will be an awesome day in the history of Israel and Christendom. Some big event will happen on some future new moon of Tishrei. As we shall demonstrate further down in this article, this will almost certainly be the signing of the momentous seven year Middle East peace covenant of Daniel 9:27. Daniel indicates that the deal will be brokered by and with a certain "prince". God's people will be entering into a seven year protection covenant. They will make a seven year treaty with someone who promises to bring them, (and the world), the peace they so fervently desire.
Moses said that this would happen. He said that God's covenant people would depart from the faith and get themselves into a world of trouble and tribulation. He told them this quite clearly in the Song of Moses. And He told the pophet Isaiah much the same in Isaiah 6.
And Yeshua/Jesus Himself said that this would happen. He said that His covenant people would enter into another covenant with someone who ominously will come not in the Father's name but "in his own name". This is the "prince" of Daniel 9:27. He will be a global megadealer and peacemaker. The nefarious seven year covenant he brokers will in fact bring in a limited peace, for a time. But the man will turn out to be a false messiah. (John 5:43)
This will be a wicked business. Instead of crying out to God and seeking His face on the matter, His Judeo-Christian people will enter into a deal with a Luciferian selfist. And that's not all. A Harlot will emerge, riding a beast with ten horns.
Dear saints, this will be some serious skullduggery. Is this why Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets is the only feast to come on the dark and moonless night?
BLOW THE TRUMPET IN ZION!
The prophet Joel saw the scenario well.
SOUND THE ALARM ON MY HOLY MOUNTAIN!
And he saw the response.
He heard God say,JOEL 2When the trumpets sound on that epic future Jewish New Year an awful thing will have just happened. Like Esau, God's people will have signed away their birthright and their blessing. And now they are in for some serious trouble! Under the covering of this harlotry they may think that they are safe. But they are not. They are now under a selfist ruler and a harlot church system. In fact they are just three and a half years away from the Great Tribulation.
1. "Blow the trumpet in Zion,
Sound the alarm on my holy mountain,
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble.
15. Set apart a fast; Call a solemn assembly.
Gather the people. Sanctify the congregation.
......Let the priests weep between the porch and the altar."For the faithful Elect the situation is clearly untenable. The nefarious deal will call for congregational and national repentance. The trumpets will be blowing. All of God's covenant people, those in Israel and those abroad among the nations will be "called out" to assemble themselves before God. This will be an awesome and stupendous day. It will be day like no other.
ROSH HASHANAH, THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS.
Thus we begin the 70th Week of Daniel. In spite of the protestations and denials by Preterists and Dominionists this seven year period has to happen. And the set times have been written down and set and determined by the hand of God. This seven years, (like the seven years of famine in Egypt at the time of the patriarchs), will be the time of God has determined for some heart to heart dealings with His covenant people.
AND THE BEGINNING OF THE FINAL SEVEN YEARS OF THIS AGE.YHVH-God is being very gracious here. His people will be given a clear picture of what is real and what is phony. God's people will be given time to change their minds and change their heart attitude. Above all, they will be given a fresh opportunity to invite Hshem into their heats and to come to love God. The true remnant Church will dump their low grade semi-pagan religion. The "deals with God" they purchased cheaply at the religious bazaars will have to be renegotiated at a higher more legitimate level. And the "free ticket to heaven" will be traded in for a more personal covenant with God which is one of total commitment unto death. Those who go on to embrace the "final witness" will go on to discover the joy of walking with YHVH-God. They will enter into the true and faithful blood covenant relationship with Hashem to which they have been called.
And what about the Jewish brethen and the people of present day Israel?
By the time the 70th week of Daniel is over something wonderful will have happened.
The nation as a whole will have come to recognize and know their Messiah! (Zech. 12:10-13:1)THE SPRING FEASTS RELATE TO RELIGIOUS HIGH PRIESTLY MATTERS.
THE FALL FEASTS RELATE TO POLITICAL KINGDOM ISSUES.
THESE ALSO RELATE TO THE DUAL OFFICES OF MELCHIZEDEK.
AND TO THE TWO STICKS OF EZEKIEL 37.Our coming Messiah is in the Order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek as King of Salem or 'peace' was also Priest of God most High. So our Messiah has dual offices or authorities as He comes to rule on earth. He is to be both King of Kings and High Priest. He rules in the priestly or religious authority. He also rules in the royal or kingdom authority. His future Kingdom on earth is to be ruled from the Throne of David of the Jewish House of Judah. These two authorities were also showcased by Ezekiel and his demonstration of the two sticks. (Ezek.37)
The two sticks become one. See Ezek37
Image from Batya Wootten's book.So as our coming Messiah is therefore both priest and king. This is a very important point. His future Millennial dominion embraces both the realms of politics and also the realm of religion. Messiah will head up both Church and state as it were. This is a key prophecy for us to understand.
Messiah's First coming fulfilled the spring feasts.
The three of them celebrate His priestly ministry.
Passover celebrate His sacrifice and atoning blood shed at Calvary.
Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits celebrates His burial and resurrection at the Garden Tomb.Messiah's Second coming Fall Feasts.
They will celebrate the coming of His kingdom rule with the Millennium of Messiah.This issue of the dual offices of the Order of Melchizedek is very important. It is a key to our understanding of the feasts in their spring and fall groupings. The kingdom and priestly offices of Messiah also helps us understand the basis for the the eventual reconciliation of both houses of Israel and the gathering of all the covenant people of God. God will seek out His people. He will call them from out of the Church and from the goyim. He will also call them from out of the Jewish nation. The New Covenant is even now going out to connect with people from all across the world. The Light of Israel will bring salvation to the ends of the earth. (Isa.49:6)
This long awaited and magnificent reconciliation of both houses of Israel has been prophesied in many places by the Old Testament prophets. It will surely come to pass in crucible of the end-time. The believing portion of national Israel and the believing portion of the Church will come into confluence. A single glorious Elect will be showcased before men and before a heavenly audience which includes the watching angels. This will bring to pass that prophesied "royal priesthood and holy nation". Moses and the Apostle Peter both spoke about this. - Exod. 19:6 & 1Pet. 2:9
God has a set agenda for holy history. It has been written out plainly for us in the Holy Scriptures. Our Messiah came 2,000 years ago as the prophesied Suffering Servant. At that time He was manifest in His priestly role as both our High Priest and also our promised Sacrifice Lamb. In His priestly role, we saw Him fulfill the first three feasts, which are the spring feasts. Now we await the fulfilment of the Fall Feasts.
In the Fall Feasts we shall be seeing Messiah emerge in His Royal Kingdom role. It will be the politics of Messiah that will be seen this time. He will come as the Conquering King, even a King of Kings. God's determined dealing with His covenant people will resume in earnest. And this final seven year period, the final "week" of Daniel's 70th Week will begin. From what we have seen it appears quite likely that the 70th Week will be announced with the blowing of Trumpets.
ROSH HASHANAH, (THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS), IN WORLD POLITICS.
When Messiah comes next time it will be quite different from his former coming. We shall see Him emerge in His royal or kingdom role. He will assume rulership on this earth as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, ruling from the Jewish tribe, and the Throne of David. At His second coming our Lord Jesus will assume His royal office on this earth as King of Kings. All anti-Semitism constitutes an essential deep down entrenched rebellion against this coming rule.
THE TRUMPETS ANNOUNCE THE SOON COMING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH.Messiah has two offices. He has a priestly office and a royal Kingdom office. The Christian Church is familiar with His priestly role. That joining of God with man is what the Gospel is all about. But Christians are not familiar and in many cases they are not comfortable with the idea of His coming kingdom role. "Human rule is quite satisfactory thank tou very much!"
Of course that is their present opinion. "We can work it out." or so they say. But when a nuke goes off close to home in times to come their opinions will probably change.
Ezekiel saw two offices for Messiah. They were exemplified by the two sticks that became one in his hand. (Ezek.37:15-28) Messiah comes into human hearts and into this world in the dual authorities of
the Order of Melchizedek. - Ps.110:4. THE BLOWING OF TRUMPETS TO ANNOUNCE THE COMING OF MESSIAH.
Does everyone want Messiah to come to rule and minister as Messiah? Unfortunately there are many in this world, many in national Israel, and many in the Church who have not yet welcomed Messiah into their heart. They do not know Him. What they imagine` in their hearts is that He will be a tyrant ruler. This rebellion against the Throne of David is the essential root cause of all Antisemitism. This hidden hatred fomented by the principalities and powers, the angelic rulers of this present darkness, is aimed squarely at Israel's Messiah or Christ. It is the spirit of Antichrist as viewed from the kingdom perspective of the royal tribe of Judah. Even now it is becoming quite clear that the politics of this world is centered around a little fledgling country in the Middle East which arose in 1948 after a desolation going back to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
AND THE HEATHEN ARE RAGING AGAINST HIS COMING.Why do the nations hate Israel and the Jews? It is because they do not really know Him. And their lesser angels who currently rule over the nations are hostile to the coming Messiah. These ruling angelic powers are currently ruling the planet, controlling the hierarchies of human government and religion from up in the second heaven. They know that the return of Messiah will be their undoing. The angelic rulers will be cast down even as the stars fall in the meteor showers of the last days of this age. The returning Messiah will bring their shady rulership to an end even as the stars fall at the 6th seal. - Rev. 6 Of course the principalities and powers, the angelic rulers in the second heaven know that this has been prophesied to happen. Their resistance against the God of Israel is futile. But they rage against it anyway.
These dark rulers have their own agenda in the coming showdown of the Apocalypse. They want to deceive and delude the masses. They want to drag the nations and all the peoples and races they possibly can down with them. They invite debauched and depraved men to come and join them in their doomed rebellion against the returning Messiah. They know His Second coming will terminate their rule. They are pretty disturbed about this. (See Psalm 2) Many humanistic, selfist, and Luciferian men share the same sentiments as the dark angels that pull their strings.
Do the antisemitic ultra nationalists, racists, and skinheads know about this epic contest of the ages? Unfortunately the answer is no. Most of them haven't a clue as to who is pulling their strings. They think that they themselves are in control of their lives. They imagine that they are the captain of their fate and the master of their own destiny. But they are dead wrong. They are in complete ignorance of these spiritual matters. Because they reject the Word of God which would have enlightened them. They are totally unaware that in rejecting the peaceful rule of Messiah in their heart they have unwittingly become pawns of their own evil angels. Their cynical masters are hidden spirits of wickedness. These angels of deception are not the ones to listen to. They are doomed! They will be cast out of their heavenly places at the coming 6th seal judgement. They will be brought low at the end of this age. At that time the Day of the Lord will open up. The sun will turn to darkness, the moon to blood, and the stars will fall. It will be then that these hideous evil angels of destruction will be brought down. -Psalm 78:49 These will be the angels of wrath that will be seen on earth in the Apocalypse. They will gather the wicked as tares at the last day. (Mat.13:30)
The angels of wrath will come to gather the men that belong to them. These are the deluded men and women and young people they have duped. The grapes of wrath will be gathered in this horrific and wretched harvest. Terrified people will be plucked up as weeds by angels of wrath in a day of unimaginable horror. (Mat.13:30) These are the evil angels of destruction spoken of in Psalm 78:49. Jesus Himself told us quite clearly that the wicked will be gathered up as tares/weeds at the end of this age. They will be bundled up and carried off to be burned in the fires of Hell. (Mat.13:40-42)
These awesome events of the end-time will surely come to pass at the end of the 70th Week of Daniel. World history for this age will come to its tumultuous climax. The 5th seal witness of the saints will be followed by the 6th seal appearance of the sign of the Son of Man in the heavens. - Mat.24:30
All this history will come to pass in the coming Great Tribulation. God is gracious. This period of time will give all who hear the call a chance to change their minds about their Messiah. Because ready or not, He is coming! Of course many hardened rebels will continue to rage against Him right up to the very end. John in vision saw men at the end of the age blaspheming God and shaking their fist at heaven. - Rev.16:9 But then many will come into the merciful flows of God right up to the very end of the age. - Joel 2:28-32 This will include the entire Jewish nation. - Zech.12:10
The Fall Feasts of Israel will be different from the feasts we have seen so far. They will bring in the fulfilment of God's kingdom agenda, even the 'Gospel of the Kingdom'. Jesus spoke of this quite often. The Kingdom is the place of His rule. He rules first in the hearts of men, and then upon the earth in His Messianic Kingdom.
14. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations,
and then the end will come. -Mat.24:14THE MEANING AND PURPOSE OF BLOWING OF TRUMPETS IN SCRIPTURE
If we do a word study of 'trumpets' or 'blowing of trumpets' throughout the Bible we come to a clear and straightforward conclusion. Apart from the annual and ceremonial events the occasions when trumpets were blown are pivotal momemts in the history of God's people. Typically the blowing of trumpests marked the emergence of some crisis in the history of the nation of Israel. So wrapped up in this act of blowing of trumpets is the idea of watchfulness and, (when necessary), the sounding of an alarm.
AND THE VITAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WATCHMAN TO WARN GOD'S
COVENANT PEOPLE IN A TIME OF APPROACHING CRISIS."Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others,There is also a vital element of information warfare involved here. In blowing the trumpet the watchman is announcing to the people under his care,
but let us watch and be sober-minded." (I Thessalonians 5:6)"Look, pay attention!! Here, I am bringing you some vital information concerning an imminent and present danger. Come, let us gather together as an assembled corporate body of people. And let us deal with this crisis before our God."This is how a faithful watchman operates. In doing this he may well be putting his own life in jeopardy. The first order of business for an invader is to take out the sentries. Those are just the facts of life for a watchman.A VITAL AND ESSENTIAL WORK;
The work of a watchman over the covenant people of the God of Israel is critically important. If the people are forewarned and if they respond and bring themselves into readiness then a timely warning can turn a potential disaster into a victory. We are in a spiritual war and increasingly so as the Day approaches. Our enemy certainly knows a lot of what is going on. And he knows that the day of his judgement is approaching. The True Church is advancing and expanding by leaps and bounds over in the Third World. Our enemy is actively responding to these developing realities. How about us back here in the comfort zones of the West as we sit in our padded pews? Do we know what's going on? And when the big event occurs will the trumpets of warning sound in the streets and marketplaces? Will God's people be warned?
THAT OF THE WATCHMAN OVER GOD'S COVENANT PEOPLE.The day will come when the Church, as Sleeping Beauty, will need to wake up and smell the coffee. This is the faithful information warfare of the watchman, who usually suffers or dies when he sounds the alarm. But his sounding the alarm is essential. God's people must be aroused to assembly. And in that awesome future Jewish New Year the people will gather together before God in the synogogues and churches and in our homes and in the places of our conversation. This call to assembly is essential for our being properly briefed concerning the situation and for our readiness in God. The right information must get to the right people at the right time. God's covenant people must be warned when that critical moment arrives.
Here then is the bottom line.
If God's covenant people are warned then many will be saved.
If they are not warned then many will be lost and go on to perdition.Our religious leaders have an awesome responsibility here. We are told that God holds His ministers responsible for the proper and timely warning of His people. When the enemy is sighted by the watchmen on the wall they have a sacred responsibility. The people need to be warned. When an enemy threatens to attack or maneuvers against their city or camp then the watchman is expected to blow the trumpet and sound the alarm.
Being a sentry is and always has been a dangerous and formidible task. An approaching army usually furtively sends out their scouts first. Their first action is to silently 'take out' the sentries. They will try to silence those watchmen if they can.
So here is the awful truth. A minister of God is called to be a watchman over God's people, even as a shepherd to the flock of God's pasture. When the enemy is approaching and he sees this then the watchman can do one of two things. He may be a faithful watchman and sound the alarm. Or he may, as the Holy Scriptures say, remain "silent".
An unfaithful watchman may pretend not to see the approaching peril. Fear of the consequences for himself he may "be silent" and not raise an alarm. To save his skin a sentry may simply withdraw from his post without sounding the warning. He may not want to draw attention to himself lest he bring his life into jeopardy. The cowardly unfaithful watchman may remain silent and just melt away into the shadows. He has saved his skin. But how can he live with himself after that? And what does he say to His God when he faces him at the Bema Judgment Seat of Messiah?
The consequences of watchmen being, as the scriptures say, "blind dogs" are awful beyond words to tell. If the watchman does not blow the trumpet and sound the alarm then this puts his whole company at risk. This amounts to high treason against the nation and Congregation/Church of the God of Israel. In many armies, even today, a sentry who is found asleep or fails to raise the alarm is court martialed. In modern times such sentries who have been asleep or not raised the alarm have often been shot.
In the spiritual arena there are also serious consequences for an unfaithful watchman or an unfaithful shepherd over God's flock. Ezekiel had this spelled out for him very clearly. God said that as a prophet he, Ezekiel, had been made a watchman over the House of Israel. He was told that if he saw the enemy coming and he failed to blow the trumpet and sound the alarm then there would be some dreadful consequences for him personally. God said that He would actually require the blood of the people at the watchman's hand.
This is an awful thing. Ministers over the judeo-Christian people today are wise to heed this warning. It is clearly laid out for them in God's Holy Word. It is their responsibility to warn the Church or the Synogogue of things that are threatening. Even if those things are in the early stages and just beginning to happen God's people need a "heads up". Ministers of God are charged by YHVH-God Himself to inform God's covenant people of what is coming. And they are charged by the God of Israel to help prepare the Congregation/Synagogue/Church of God for their essential role of witness in the coming trials. Here is our scripture from Ezekiel.
EZEKIEL 33
Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: 'When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, 3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.' Ezek.33:2-6The sounding of the trumpet is an alarm, calling the people of God to 'wake up' and 'pay attention'. But that is not all. The trumpets also summon the covenant people to assemble themselves before God. Indeed this positive response to God's call to assembly is what actually defines them and makes them the 'called out', the 'ekklesia'/'church', or the 'Congregation' of God.
As the Bible clearly shows, the blowing of trumpets is a call of alarm and a summons to assembly. It is a "calling out", and the Greek word "ekklesia" from which we get the word church or congregation or assembly comes mean "called out assembly" or "called out congregation". This "calling out of a congregation of people" comes at the behest of the Holy One of Israel in response to a crisis in the camp of His covenant people. When the faithful watchman sounds the shofar of alarm the covenant people of God are 'called out' to assemble themselves before God. They are to come before Him with a listening ear in solemn response to this crisis. As they gather together they are given the facts and told just what the problem is. Then there is a call to repentance and the Congregation of Messiah are shown what can and must be done about all this.
Christian ministers and rabbis are all in the loop here. They are called to be God's ministers and His leading witnesses on earth before the covenant Congregation and nation of God. As His covenant partners churchmen and rabbis are the responsible ones here. As His witnesses they are responsible for warning and sharing relevant information to the greater Assembly of God. These people are the 'called out congregation', the 'ekklesia', the 'church in the wilderness' of which Moses spoke about back at Sinai. See Acts 7:38.
Whenever the trumpets are blown the Judeo-Christian people are being 'called out' before their God to make a judgment on some matter and to be given direction regarding the way forward. This will involve repentance and a turning around to a new direction and a new pathway even a "highway of holiness" leading upward. On this new and Living Way they find a new anointing, and a new vision. True saints will not be upset and angry that God has interrupted their routing human activities and is upsetting the status quo to call them out and to warn them. They will be thankful that God has led them into this vital corrective action. They will appreciate Him calling them to assembly and to this conference on the matter. They are in a crisis yes. But they also realize that they have arrived at a new threshold. The Pilgrim pathway beckons and they are being called up higher. Surely new vistas must be just up ahead! With joy and a sense of adventure and excitement they will make a positive response to God's call. Then they will worship their God and set a new course for their families as the continue on the pilgrimage toward the Holy City.
The saints of God are people under discipline. That is what the word "disciple" means. For them the judgments of God are not grievous. Even in chastening a new opportunity is being offered to them. Their God is not being unkind. Not at all. He loves His people. In this crisis He has their best interests at heart. He has them by the hand. And He is leading them out of spiritual danger. He is showing them the Way ahead, It is a gateway onto the Paradise Road. The 'highway of holiness' leads upward; Towards the gates of splendour; And into glories yet unseen.
THE BLOWING OF TRUMPETS HERALDS THOSE TIMES OF NATIONAL CRISIS, A CALL
In the days of ancient Israel, as with Gideon for example, the blowing of the trumpet was a call to assemble together in a time of crisis. It was also a call to national repentance. The subsequent revival, worship and re-alignment with the plans and purposes of God led to a declaration of war on the encroaching evil and subsequent victory.
TO ASSEMBLY AND REPENTANCE, AND THEN THE SUBSEQUENT REVIVAL AND VICTORY.JUDGES 6Here is another example of the trumpets being blown, this time in warfare. This scripture gives us valuable details as to just how the endtime victory will be achieved.
34. But the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon;
then he blew the trumpet, and the Abiezrites gathered behind him.
35. And he sent messengers throughout all Manasseh,
who also gathered behind him. He also sent messengers to Asher,
Zebulun, and Naphtali; and they came up to meet them. - Judges 6:34-35JUDGES 7Here we have a select group of men. They are a 'sold out' or 'broken vessel' company. But when their empty vessels of clay, (symbolic of our bodies of flesh), are broken the inner Light shines forth in the darkness. Then they blow the trumpets and cry out in a declaration of victory. The enemy scatters in total confusion, turning their swords upon each other as they flee.
19. So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands.
20. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers--they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing--and they cried, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!"
21. And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled.
22. When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath.This is a magnificent story. It is a type or a pattern of things to come. It lays out the spiritual principles which will see the true church and the remnant of Israel come into their ultimate triumph. At that time a single refined and totally committed elect company will be bringing forth the final witness before men and angels. - Heb.12:1 With total abandonment of concerns for their own lives they will let their light shine forth even from the brokenness of their very own bodies. They will take up the trumpet to announce the coming Kingdom of God on this earth. The call will go out to all of God's people to respond in the same manner. The days of their decisive faithful witness will have come. It will be in this final climactic action that the witnessing saints will bring this church age to a close.
And then Messiah will return.Dear saints, we should be fully informed and persuaded concerning these awesome realities. And we should be fully committed to follow this course of action in witness to our Lord Jesus should that time come in our lifetime. Because this is precisely the manner in which God will bring this age to its appointed victorious conclusion.
It is not in our own power to bring this witness. We can't do it.
He is the One who enables and empowers us to do this.
And He is the One who will lead us on into the glory.
So..... All that being understood.
Who would want to miss out on this grand adventure in God?The following scriptures from the book of Revelation show us the final victory.
This will occur as the seventh trumpet, the last trumpet, is blown.Rev. 10:7
"but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets."Rev. 11:15
"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!'"Rev. 16:17
"Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, "It is done!"DANIEL 9:27 AND A COVENANT WITH A CERTAIN 'prince' WHO IS
If we go looking for the next big prophesied event due for fulfilment we don't have to look very far. As we saw in our study of the The 70 Weeks of Daniel 69 weeks have alredy been fulfilled. One 'week' or 'seven' of years remains to unfold into holy history. The next major event on God's timetable is the signing of the 7 year covenant spoken of by Daniel in Dan.9:27. This big blowout event sets the clock ticking into the 70th week of Daniel, the final seven years of this age. The signing of this unprecedented sovereignty sharing megadeal involving Israel and the G7 nations will be an epic event. God's people will have entered into covenant with a false messiah!
DESTINED TO BE REVEALED LATER AS THE FALSE MESSIAH OR ANTICHRIST.
The Bible indicates that this will be the opening crisis of the end-time. Might we therefore expect that it will be heralded by the blowing of trumpets?
Image from the TV series "Beauty and the Beast". For God's people in that incredible future day the blowing of the trumpets might well be a call to corporate international repentance both in Israel and in the church. It will be a sounding of alarm, a call to worship and a summons to assembly. And what would be the nature of this crisis? If Israel, and possibly a large part of the established church are involved with the 7 years covenant with a global peacemaker then quite clearly they will be into some mischief and up to no good. Jesus Himself told us quite clearly that this indeed would happen.
"I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me;This is a dreadful and ominous warning from our Lord Jesus Christ. We would do well to mark His words well. And pay attention. The trumpets will most certainly be sounded in response to this outrage. They would be blowing in response to the great apostasy of Daniel 9:27.
if another comes in his own name, him you will receive".
- John 5:43If this is truly the case and the Feast of Trumpets instituted by Moses and installed on the 1st of Tishrei in the calendar of the ages is indeed to be fulfilled with the alarm that goes up when the 7 year covenant of Dan.9:27 is signed by Israel then surely there is some prophetic Bible passage bearing witness to this.
Is there such a scripture?The prophecy of Joel chapter 2 may well be one.
I shall leave it up to the reader to decide.JOEL CHAPTER 2
1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand: 2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations. 3 A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them. 4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run. 5 With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array....................
10 The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. 11 The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?12 "Now, therefore," says the Lord, "Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning." 13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. 14 Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him-- A grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; 16 Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room. 17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, "Spare Your people, O Lord, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' "
This is an awesome scripture. Obviously something of major importance has happened here. The scripture above clearly states that this particular blowing of trumpets here in Joel 2 is in the context of the close approach of the Day of the Lord. The prophecy is time linked into the late 70th week with the mention of the cosmic signs of the sun and moon turning to darkness. Further on in Joel chapter 2 we see the encirclement of Jerusalem by the nations (plural). This too is a clear reference to the late 70th week mustering of armies towards Jerusalem in the Valley of Megiddo, or Armageddon.
If God's covenant people are prophesied to make a deal with the forces of darkness then there will be consequences for them. All of the people of Israel and Christendom as well will then be in real trouble. The people who know their God will realize this. The ignorant ones who have compromised themselves and signed the 7 year covenant with the global peacemaker will not. Hence the sounding of the alarm and the epic blowing of trumpets. All of God's people will need to assemble when this awesome and historic day opens.
So when this great coming crisis opens up on some future Feast of Trumpets then how shall God's people respond? They will respond in precisely the same way thay have responded in times past. As in the crises of times past there must be a judgment. There will be a new and holy calling and a new separation unto God. It will be a new gathering, a new ekklesia, a new assembly of God. Once more the call will go out.
"Who is on the Lord's side?!
Let him come and stand by Me!" - Exodus 32:26How shall we answer?
Pray God that each one of us will respond to the call,
both in Word and in deed, on that coming awesome day.
OUR RESPONSE AS THE TRUMPETS BEGIN TO SOUND,
When the trumpets sound in that future time the saints will respond. But the response and action called for in that cataclysmic future time will not be a call to war. The response will be on a higher plane than we have ever seen before in the nation of Israel or in the nations of Christendom. In that day the call will go out for God's covenant people to return to the eternal covenant with YHVH-God and to seek His face. The saints will enter into a campaign of holy and positive witness. The sword and the gun will have no part to play in the victory that will come out of all this. (See Dan. 7 and Dan 12, and Rev.13) The saints will be taking up the 'Sword of the Spirit' which is the Word of God. True saints will operate in the realm of spiritual warfare rather than earthly military warfare. And even in a day of thick darkness they will 'rise and shine'. - Isa.60
AND THE TAKING UP OF THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. <THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL.
Our Apostle Paul brings us a similar warning about taking up the sword in a time that clearly calls for gracious witness. He says,"The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God,As Christian believers today our first order of business before God in a time of crisis is to respond to Him in holiness and with a clear conscience. We are to respond in faith before God rather than responding in fear before the circumstances. For us the blowing of the trumpet is a call to assemble before God Almighty.
for the pulling down of strongholds". - 2Cor.10:4
He is the One who will give us our instructions in that day.
No one else qualifies.Dear saints, we must understand something of church-state politic here. To see the whole church to break the habit of 17 centuries will be highly unlikely. Since 325 A.D. and the Council of Nicea the established Christian church has sought out and taken the protection offered by the sword of earthly secular princes. But when that big crisis up ahead erupts into history it will be different. It will be an unthinkable compromise for God's elect to sign onto that Dan.9:27 deal. Others may do it to then be drawn down the garden path on into deeper harlotry. But we cannot do this.
Thus begins the first 3.5 years of the endtime drama. The persecutions during those early years, will not come from the Antichrist. As we have seen before in post-Nicean church history the persecution will come from inside the church. Yes, it will continue the pattern of the centuries past. The persecutions that are unleashed upon uncompromised Christians comes from compromised Christians. Pagans are not our problem. It is compromised fellow Christians of the harlot church who stoop down and bring the grief to the saints. This is an old repeated pattern. And John saw the harlot riding a beast with ten horns. He also said that that these ecclesiastical persecutions which saw tens of millions die during the Reformation will happen again. (Rev.17:6).
This is sad, but true. Christian history gives an abundance of evidence of this. Church persecution will be a feature of the first half of the 7 years. These are the three and a half years before the 'abomination of desolation'. The peacemaking antichrist will undergo a character change to become the 666 Beast Right there in the middle of those 7 years the Antichrist will be revealed. -Dan.9:27b
AWESOME TIMES ARE UP AHEAD. OUR GOD IS NOT SILENT.
In all of this our God will be taking an active role in world history. On that future epic Rosh Hashanah he Holy One of Israel will be 'calling His people out' one last time. We are called to bring forth the witness of Messiah and to walk in holiness. The trumpets will be calling us to assembly and to attention. In that coming day the trumpets will be summoning us to lay down all the covenants we have made with this world and to fully and totally embrace Christ's Kingdom. When the Daniel 9:27 covenant is confirmed and that awesome future time in holy history unfolds we simply cannot enter into this 7 year covenant. We cannot sit down at table and covenant with the New World Order and the political or religious princes of this world. Certainly not when we know just how that covenant will be broken by the other party 3.5 years later. The prophet daniel tells us what will happen ahead of time. (Dan.9:27b) At the midpoint of those seven years he will stop the daily sacrifices and commit the 'abomination that makes desolate. The peacemaker will no longer be Mr. Niceguy. The restrainer will be taken out of the way. (2Thes 2:6) The bottomless pit will open, and the world leader will be possessed by the Beast demon coming up put of of the Abyss. (Rev.17:11) And so at the midpoint of the seven years the world leader will undergo a character change to be revealed as the 666 Beast Antichrist. (Rev. 13)
THE GOD OF ISRAEL CALLS HIS PEOPLE BACK TO THE COVENANTTHE TRUMPETS OF ROSH HASHANAH
As we have seen, that epic future Rosh Hashanah, or Feast of Trumpets, will come into its New Covenant fulfillment. The people of God will be summoned to sacred assembly. They will be called by the God of Israel to attend to some covenant business of extreme importance. The burning issues which necessitate this sacred assembly of God's 'ekklesia' or 'called out congregation' will be of an intensely spiritual nature. This also involves our ultimate political allegiances. God is calling people into holiness, and into His Kingdom. Quite clearly many of the kings and rulers do not like this one bit. (See King David's song in Psalm 2). But they will have to get over it. Because Messiah is coming! And they will be swept aside.
ANNOUNCE THE SOON COMING OF MESSIAH!The trumpets of Rosh Hashanah initiate the end time drama. The shofars sound to proclaim the coming of a new king, even the coming Messiah. He is the prophesied future King of Kings. The principalities and powers pull the strings of high government officials. They know what this announcement means for them. It means their doom. So they do not like this announcing of the Kingdom of Messiah one bit. Is this is why we have not yet heard the 'rest of the story' of this Feast of Trumpets? Is this just too sensitive to teach from a pulpit set up right next to a national flag? Since the Council of Nicea the church has been deeply involved and compromised with the secular princes and powers of this world. The event which triggers the Feast of Trumpets and the summons the Jewish nation and the Christian church to holy assembly will be a momentous event. It will be a earthshattering upheaval of the whole church-state accord which we have lived under for the past 1700 years.
What will happen to the church on this awesome day of decision? We might well expect to see the church split up again into those same three factions that are seen in every crisis in church history. The three church factions will be
1. A continuing compromised harlot church described by John as the 'Whore of Babylon'. She is destined for destruction. -Rev.17 & 18
2. A warring raging nationalistic church allying with patriots and 'freedom fighters' in the nations. This movement will be crushed. (Dan. 7:21&25, Dan.12:7, Rev.13:7-9)
3. A separated and holy witnessing pilgrim church, some of its members dying in the witness, and often seen migrating or exiled to places afar. (Rev.12:6)
The Fall Feasts will see the unfolding of the final histories of this age. This world and the Christian church as we know it today will be changed forever. It will never be the same. This is why Biblical information on the coming epic Rosh Hashanah, Feast of Trumpets, has been 'cloaked' by the ecclesiastical powers. The real story has been hidden. It has been hidden for good political and ecclesiastical reasons. Why is this so?
The church and Christendom generally is carnal, divided, and unruly. It is inclined to take up the sword when threatened. It is wont to go crusading when facing a spiritual challenge. It also has a very poor record of grace and patience under trial.
But as we approach the endtime drama the faithful and devoted Christian believers will be there in an ever increasing covering glory. And in the days when the 5th seal is opened they will go up onto the stage of human history. They will be going up to witness before kings and princes. (Mark 13:9) So the saints have good reason to be in the know about what is going on. There is an information war going on. The saints deserve to know God's truth. They need to have a full understanding of what their purpose will be in all this. It seems that in these spellbinding future times they will be the ones who will be on the stage of holy history. They will bring in the epic 'final witness' before the Ancient of Days, before the courts of heaven, and before this world. Then the Word will be given. And Messiah will return.
THE SECOND COMING OF MESSIAH.
We serve a God of wonder. The word 'wonder' in Hebrew means "SURPRISE!". The God of heaven has come to earth as a baby in a manger. He has indeed come down Jacobs ladder. He has come right on into this poor corrupted sin-sick world. And He personally ministered to His people and among mankind for three and a half years. But that was just the beginning of His surprises. More surprises are coming as we enter into the final seven year period of this age with the Feast of Trumpets. And we shall see those seven years, (1260 days + 1290 days) terminate right on time with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This is the high drama up ahead in the Fall Feasts.So what is all the drama about in the fall feasts?
And why is this world not ready to receive the Prince of Peace?Well this is where the plot thickens. It seems that here on earth there are many that would stand in the way of the coming Messiah. There are a myriad of pagan trolls at the gate, both governmental and religious. They make it their business to guard the passes between heaven and earth. This is the spirit of gnosticism. These dark angelic powers rule by fear, guilt, and by the casting of their own spells and taboos. They seek out and find a myriad of human stooges to do their bidding. They cast their gnostic fog of false religion over the Word of God. They try to keep the Bible muddled and confusing to understand. And they try to cloak the truth of God's redemption plan we see outlined in the Holy Scriptures. Dark spirits in government and in religion pull the strings of men. This is how they get them to do their bidding.
Of course this is a plot by angelic rulers of darkness. They are blocking agents, fear mongers, trolls. They seek to prevent God's Word from coming down to men. And they seek to impede men from coming to know Hashem in a personal way. Religious legalists do this in many ways. One way is by making faith in God a meritocracy which they then control. Faith in God, which should be a delight is thereby turned into an onerous religious burden. So men turn away from God altogether. Many think that walking with Him is impossible or that God is too far away. This is a lie. But it is just one aspect of the twisted nature of false religion. This tissue of lies about an unknowable Hashem is all part of the information war being carried out against God's Holy Word. That spiritual war for the hearts and minds of men goes on in the angelic realm of the lower heavens and also here on earth among men.
Men may not like it. But the trumpets will announce a coming changing of the guard. Messiah is coming. The Day of the Lord will see Him make short work of all His enemies, both angelic and human. By His Holy Word He is will be sweeping them aside as He comes. Even as the Suffering Servant He still comes into the hearts of His covenant people. And He is supplanting the rulers of darkness in the live of men. But that is just the beginning. He will complete the process at the final epic conclusion of the Fall Feasts of Israel. His beloved saints will bring in the end time witness at the 5th seal. And at the 6th seal Messiah will return to trample the wicked and take names. As the Day of the Lord opens up the wicked will experience His judgment and wrath. The tares will be harvested first by the grim reapers, the angels of wrath. Then He will glorify His saints at the Resurrection-Rapture. Lucifer, the great Deceiver will be cast into the Abyss for a thousand years. (Rev. 20:1-3)
This will be the best thing for the earth and for its people. The world system will no longer be in the hands of evil humanistic Luciferian men. Their 666 economic system will be swept aside as Messiah comes. Because the age to come will be the Millennium of Messiah. He is surely coming back to this cosmos. He will minister in mercy and rule in righteousness according to both offices of the Order of Melchizedek. (Ps.110)
Humanistic men never did like the idea of Messiah. They have put a religious smokescreen over His future coming and seek to deny His coming rule. They have crafted their man-made plans for a world without God. They do not know that they have become the playthings of their own dark angels. The principalities and powers of this world stand against the coming Messiah. And these hideous entities are the ones pulling their strings. But God prevails. He has has broken through the powers of darkness, defeating them totally and utterly at Calvary. And He has not finished yet. As "the Breaker" He will break through and rescue His covenant people at the Bozrah Deliverance. (Mic.2:12-13)
The princes of darkness cannot stop Hashem's agenda. They are all "small potatoes". They have already been defeated at the cross. Now, on the altar of men's hearts, His Kingdom, the place of His rule, is being established. But God's agenda still awaits the unfolding of epic future events. Messiah will come to set things right here on earth as well. That is what the upcoming, yet to be fulfilled, Fall Feasts of Israel are all about. And the first one, Feast #5, announces God's agenda for the wrap-up of this age. It is, of course, Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets.
Man and man's religion is humanistic and materialistic. Much of man's religion sets out to "vaporise" the prophecies of Messiah's Second Coming. Kings and merchants, (and their hired churchmen) refuse to face the reality of the cosmic Christ. They, (or rather the kings that they are beholden to), dread the coming of Messiah's future Kingdom. So they say that the Apocalyptic scriptures are just matters of religious reverie. God's written Word is merely a Sunday diversion be enjoyed on padded pews underneath the stained glass windows of the cathedral. They also say that all Christ's work on earth is finished. "It was all finished at the cross", they say. The tickets to heaven are for sale in the lobby. And that is all there is to Christianity.
But is this true?In the matter of redemption Messiah's work certainly has been finished. But God has further plans that will again involve His entry into human history. For churchmen under the stipend of kings and merchants this may be an embarrassing and inconvenient truth. And the rulers and merchants they are beholden to never did like the message. But Bible prophecy is the true and faithful Word of God. And it is sitting there waiting for us to read and receive. And since good men, such as John Hus and William Tyndale have died bringing God's Word to us should we not hold the Bible and its end time message dear to us?
Christians are fond of saying that God has finished His work. Now it is just a matter of us taking His blessings and pursuing our own personal happiness. It is true that in the spirit realm Christ has come into human hearts. He has defeated the powers of darkness there. That war has been won, if we have truly submitted ourselves to His ministry and rule. The Way between heaven and earth now stands open before us. Yes, this is all well and good.
But there is more to God's agenda than personal evangelism and personal sanctification. Our personal salvation is just the beginning. There is an end time drama in the wider arena of world history. The Ancient of Days has called for His court to sit during the end time drama. And so these prophesied events will surely happen, and right on schedule. The awesome events of the end time drama will unfold precisely as prophesied.
Western Christians have been having a real problem coming to grips with all this. But the climactic blood covenant witness of Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach must be seen before men and angels. This epic 5th seal witness will be seen before the sign of the Son of Man is seen in the heavens at the cosmic disturbances of the 6th seal. (Rev.6) And the fullness of the Gentiles must be brought in before the partial blindness of Israel is healed.
There is another reason for the end time drama we see showcased in the Feast of Trumpets and the Fall Feasts. Many Christian believers are only half committed. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach loves His people and wants the very best for them. They are not going to do well with one foot in the New Jerusalem and the other in Mystery Babylon. Jesus still stands at the doorway of our hearts. And He is knocking. He is even standing at the door of a lukewarm Laodicean Church. Here in the west wayward Gomer, Israel and the western church, still continues to go off with her secular political lovers. As in the Song of Solomon the would-be bride is behind closed doors. This is not her ultimate destiny. And so her Shepherd Lover is knocking at the door. He wants her to come out to be with Him.
Gomer should not have left her true Husband and gone off with her earthly lovers. Her her earthly political protectors do not love her. They just use her. They want to bring her to a death just as sad as the Lady of Shalott.
The resurrected Christ has defeated the forces of darkness! The gnostic barriers between heaven and earth are broken. They have been breached by Messiah as He comes down Jacob's Ladder. Our Messiah, is now the bridge over troubled waters. He reaches out to His covenant people in unconditional Agape love. He is calling them to come home.
So what is the true bridal response here? God's covenant people will surely bring the bridal witness to their Bridegroom. Even in the midst of the end time drama they will be kept by the power of God, preserved from the evil ways of this world, and saved from the wrath to come.
God is not our co-pilot. He is sovereign, not us. We are not "little gods". Nor do we "write our own ticket with God" as modern churchmen have told us we could. God is not mocked. Nor will He keep His wrath for ever. In the fullness of time He will act. Even now He is in the process of restoring Israel spiritually and gathering all His people. In the Millennial Age to come He will come in the new spiritual body we saw after His resurrection. He will glorify His people. He will judge the nations and separate the sheep from the goats. And He will also restore the cosmos, even the ruined ecosystems of this planet to the praise of men. He is a God of action. And He makes all things new.
The Fall Feasts were part of God's grand Plan of the ages. They were set forth not only as annual religious celebrations. But they were destined to unfold into holy history as memorials and remembrances of epic world events of great and everlasting importance. Each of the Seven Feasts Hashem has set forth at Sinai pointed to a mystery to be made known at a future time. They pointed to a coming event of great wonder that God's covenant people had not yet been seen.
God wants us to attend or celebrate the feasts. He is pretty serious about His annual parties. And He has not changed His mind about their great importance. Every year since Sinai those seven feasts have been celebrated in the religious rituals and traditions. They are part of the Jewish culture. They are celebrated in the present Judaic religion of the Levitical priesthood. But when the Fall Feasts erupt into holy history in future times they are destined to go far beyond that. Because when Messiah comes He will serve in two offices and roles. When He returns to earth again He will head up both the High Priestly office and the Kingdom offices of the Order of Melchizedek. (Psalm 110:4 & Heb.5-7)
RELIGIOUS SMOKESCREENS HIDE THE REAL STORY OF THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS.
If what we have said about the coming Feast of Trumpets is correct and is truly the case then why have we not heard of it before? And what sort of religious smokescreens have been put up to obscure the real story of Rosh Hashanah?
THE BLOWING OF THE SHOFARS ON SOME AWESOME FUTURE JEWISH NEW YEAR
WILL HERALD THE SOON AND SURE COMING OF MESSIAH.For most of the older denominations this is a moot point. Since they believe all the covenants with Israel have been transcended and swallowed up in the church these studies of the seven feasts of Israel do not even come up on their ecclesiastical radar screens. The Jewish Feasts to them and to their members are completely irrelevant. They consider the feasts to be quaint relics of a past glory of an ancient Israel that is gone forever and never to be seen again. This is called "replacement theology". And it has brought us and our Jewish brethren untold grief.
Bible reading evangelicals know better than that. They know that God still has plans and purposes for the Jewish people and for the entire nation of Israel. They also know that the church has been "grafted in" to the olive tree of Israel. (Romans 11) They also realise that the Promised Sacrifice Lamb which the Old Testament saints believed God would provide is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Redeemer of Israel. So for the sharp Bible reading evangelical the Feasts of Israel are indeed relevant and exceedingly important. The upcoming unfulfilled Fall Feasts of Israel cry out for an explanation. Only the evangelicals have tackled the subject. So just what have we been told so far? Unfortunately precious little.
In the 'cover story' that evangelicals have been given the Feast of Trumpets does in fact have a connection to Daniel 9:27. But it is loose and understated. The signing of the 7 year covenant with the worldly prince is overshadowed by what is, (to them), a much bigger story. They say that the Feast of Trumpets will be fulfilled by the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.
This sounds very comforting and comfortable.
But is this scripturally founded?The Bible certainly does speak of the 'last trumpet'. And yes this "last trumpet" is indeed associated with the Resurrection-Rapture. (1Cor.15:52 & Mat.24:29). But there is no Biblical evidence that this 'last trumpet' or its associated rapture is what the Feast of Trumpets is all about. The attachment of the Feast of Trumpets to an early special express exclusive church rapture, (while it may be appealing to many), is without any direct scriptural foundation. Nevertheless because it is so appealing it is received meekly without too many raised eyebrows.
People want to believe in a rapture at the beginning of the 70th Week. And everybody else is believing it. So it becomes the 'truth' of the group or "groupspeak". Peer pressure and loyalty to Bible teachers who are excellent in every other way keeps the 'trumpets = pre-tribulation rapture' doctrine in place. It has become church "lore". And so like many church traditions it is believed by the church masses even in the absence of compelling scriptural evidence for it.
As we have seen in the other articles on this website, there is no scriptural basis for the prevailing doctrine of an isolated rapture in an early pre-tribulational time slot seven years short of the end of this age. The doctrine has, however, become extremely popular with the sort of Christian crowds we see gathering in today's western church. The church in the rich nations today is becoming increasingly carnal and operating predominantly in the lukewarm spirit of the church at Laodicea. - Rev.3:14-22 This is to our shame. We should have shown more Berean style diligence and been more careful in our handling of the scriptures. And we should have had the courage to question Bible teachers when the shaky pre-trib doctrine was first taught. Unfortunately we are so busy in today's society that diligent Holy Spirit led personal Bible study has become uncommon.
RESPONDING IN HOLINESS AND GRACE TO THE EVENTS
Beloved of God, the event that initiates the blowing of trumpets to issue in the 70th week will be a trial. It will be a test for every person who has a covenant connection with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The worldly powers of politics and religion will be calling us to covenant with them nationally and internationally in way a way that we have never done before. We must not respond politically to any of this. Nor should we enlist in their their crusades or join any insurrections. Jesus in the Olivet Discourse said that all these things must happen. For God's covenant people to involve themselves with this historic church compromise or to wage war with the sword of Roman iron using the arm of flesh will run counter to our true calling. Instead we are called to understand that this time must come. We are called to witness in it. We are called to respond in faith rather than in fear using the spiritual weapons our Apostle Paul laid out for us in Ephesians 6:10-18. Chief among them is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.
WHICH WILL HERALD THE OPENING OF THE 70TH WEEK.THE CRUCIBLE OF THE END-TIME IS A REFINING. IT BRINGS THE
In all this we need have no fear. The victory is ours. The coming epic Feast of Trumpets on Rosh Hashanah of some future year will set in motion events that will see both the fullness of the gentiles brought in and the national salvation of Israel. (Zechariah 12:7-13:1) We have not seen these climactic breakthoughs before this time because we have not yet been summoned in a corporate and global way to the 'high calling' in Christ. There have been regional revivals this is true. But generally the Holy Spirit has dealt with us at a local and personal level. Church history has not yet seen the high degree of corporate worldwide church responsiveness that this coming trial will call into existence. But in that hour of decision the true saints will answer the call. The level of devotion and witness this world will see among the saints as they come into that hour of trial will be magnificent beyond words. And our God will not be standing back doing nothing. He will respond and move by His Holy Spirit in an unprecedented way. Hosea saw the endtime revival and spoke specifically about it. (Hosea 6:2). As with Abraham at the beginning of the covenant four millennia ago this breakthrough will not be our own doing. - Gen.15:17 Like Abraham, we may be overcome with the burden of the covenant. We may collapse in a heap and be unable to rise to the occasion. But since the Abrahamic covenant is an unconditional covenant God Himself, our covenant Partner will be carrying us, even as a Bridegroom carries His bride across the threshold. There will be one set of footprints in the sand. Because He will be carrying us. We are His witnesses. And He is a great God. Let us not forget that. He bore all our sorrows at the cross. All that is required of us is that we show up and be there. Our eyes will be upon Him as our Covenant Partner. He is the One who will uphold us and empower us for witness in this covenant. We don't do it. He does. It is not our 'works'. It is His indwelling divine enabling empowering grace. Many ordinary saints have gone before us and been caught up in extraordinary times. But we have an extraordinary God. And He will carry us through. He will be our shield and defender even as He has been for all the saints that have gone before us. Now they are looking to us to finish the final leg of the race for them. They are cheering us on! (Heb.12:1)
SAINTS INTO THE FINAL AND CLIMACTIC WITNESS. THIS IN TURN WILL
LEAD TO THE FINAL GLORIOUS DELIVERANCE AND VICTORY AT THE END.Let us make no mistake here. The victory is the Lord's. He is there waiting for us to walk out and take our positions of witness with for Him with joy. He has won the victory for us at Calvary. All that awaits now is for the end time saints to take their responsibility seriously. We have a vital and essential role of witness in the end-time. But Christ is our head. And we are his body. And so He will lead us and tell us what to say. In His passion, death and resurrection He defeated Satan. He triumphed over and all the forces of darkness and that included the last enemy, death.
Now is the time for us to repent of our waywardness. When we seek God's face and align ourselves with Him we come into His program. We set a new course with Him into the future. As we go forward we find ourselves on the train to glory. On the passage we find ourselves entering into a serendipity. In the midst of the adventure we find ourselves strengthened from within. It is only in Him that we become overcomers It is in the witness and power of the Gospel that we prevail against the forces of darkness. The Bible tells us so. Our Apostle John actually saw the final victory of the saints.
'They overcame him,(Satan), by the blood of the Lamb,Beloved of God, this is how we win.
And by the word of their testimony,
And they loved not their lives unto the death.' - Rev.12:11Yes the trumpets will sound as this age comes to its appointed climax. The elect of God will most certainly be up front and center for this one. This will be the moment in which the endtime drama will begin in earnest. When the trumpets begin to sound the saints will go up onstage. There, before the watching world, they will bring their witness to Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach. This is our calling as servants of the Most High God. The New Covenant is the Eternal Covenant by which men come to faith and fellowship in God. It is a blood covenant commitment. We are not passive in this anymore than a bride is passive in a wedding ceremony. It is not our works. We love Him! It is in the power of His Love, which is wrapped up in that covenant, that ordinary saints do the extraordinary. The Love of God draws us on into witness. And thus we shall fulfil our calling in the witness of the New Covenant.
The testimony of the lives of the end-time saints and their message concerning the unfolding of Bible prophecy will signal the next and final event of this age. The unfolding of the 5th seal will make way for the opening of the 6th seal. The trumpets will go on to announce the Rapture of the Church which will come seven years later.
As we can readily see from scripture, the effect of the unfolding of the Feast of Trumpets into human history will be astounding beyond words. For the church, for Israel, and for the world at large this future Feast of Trumpets which opens up the 70th week of Daniel will be the most momentous Rosh Hoshahah in all of holy history. It will be nothing short of mind-boggling.
The Day of Atonement will be our next study as we move on through the feasts and towards our glorious future destiny in Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach.
Grace and peace to all who love His appearing.