The Fifth...
The Seven Festivals of the Messiah by Edward Chumney is our
text. This is Festival five of seven.
Introduction: I start by listing the seven festivals for review.
The first four festivals are Passover, Unleavened Bread, First
Fruits, and Pentecost. They teach us primarily about the first
coming of Messiah and why these events were important part of
God's redemption of man. The last three festivals are Feast of
Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths or
Tabernacles. They give us important information and insight
regarding the Second Coming.
The Fifth festival--Feast of Trumpets A special season known as
Teshuvah, which in Hebrew means "to return or repent" begins on
the first day of the month of Elul and continues 40 days, ending
with Yom Kippur. Thirty days into Teshuvah, on Tishrei 1, comes
Rosh HaShanah. This begins a final ten-day period beginning on
Rosh HaShanah and ending on Yom Kippur. These are known as the
High Holy Days and as the Awesome Days (or days of Awe). The
Sabbath that falls within this ten-day period is called Shabbat
Shuvah, the Sabbath of Return. Five days after Yom Kippur is
Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. Teshuvah begins on Elul 1, and
concludes on Tishrei 10, Yom Kippur. Each morning during the 30
days of the month of Elul, the trumpet (shofar) or ram's horn is
blown to warn the people to repent and return to God.
This season of repentance is for everyone. God's people were to
examine their lives according to scriptures and examine them
regarding the Messiah. This is God's way to warn people before
judgment falls. God warned the people before the flood. He
warned Nineveh before it was ruined. God does not want anyone to
receive the wrath of His judgment. The whole month of Elul is a
month of preparation through personal examination and repentance
for the coming High Holy Days. The shofar is blown after every
morning service. Psalm 27, which begins with "The Lord is my
light and my salvation," is also recited at the end of the
morning and evening liturgy. The message from Elul 1 to Rosh
HaShanah is clear: Repent before Rosh HaShanah. Don't wait until
after Rosh HaShanah, or you will find yourself in the Days of
Awe.
Rosh HaShanah: Names, Themes, and Idioms 1.
Teshuvah--repentance 2. Rosh HaShanah--Head of the Year the
Jewish New Year (civil calendar) 3. Yom Teruah--the Day of the
Awakening Blast/Feast of Trumpets 4. Yom HaDin--the Day of
Judgment 5. HaMelech--the Coronation of the Messiah 6. Yom
HaZikkaron--the Day of Remembrance or memorial 7. The time of
Jacob's trouble--the Birthpangs of the Messiah 8. The opening of
the gates 9. Kiddushin--the wedding ceremony 10. The
resurrection of the dead--the rapture 11. The last trump--shofar
12. Yom Hakeseh--the hidden day.
Messianic Understanding A theme and term associated with Rosh
HaShanah in Hebrew is HaMelech (the King). The Shofar blown on
Rosh HaShanah is known as the last trump which Paul mentioned in
First Thessalonians 4:16-17. At this time, the believers in the
Messiah who are righteous according to Yom HaDin (the Day of
Judgment) will be taken to Heaven in the rapture along with the
righteous who had died before this time. On Rosh HaShanah the
coronation of the Messiah as King will happen in Heaven
(Revelation 5). Jesus who had come to earth during His first
coming to play the role of the suffering Messiah, Messiah ben
Joseph, will be crowned as King over all the earth in
preparation for His coming back to earth to reign as King
Messiah (Messiah ben David) during the Messianic age, the
Millennium, or in Hebrew eschatology, the Athid Lavo (Revelation
19:16; 20:4).
One of the reasons for blowing the shofar is to proclaim the
resurrection of the dead. In addition, the 13th principle of the
Jewish faith is belief in the resurrection of the dead. The
resurrection of the dead will take place on Rosh HaShanah
(Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 16b). In first Corinthians 15:52, the
apostle Paul tells us that the resurrection of the dead will be
"at the last trump." Earlier, in First Corinthians 15:14, he
wrote that without the Messiah rising from the dead, our faith
is in vain.
We cannot go to the Book of Revelation and say that the voice of
the seventh angel (Revelation 11:15) is the last trump. In the
first century, the last trump (shofar) meant a specific day in
the year. In Judaism, there are three trumpets (shofarim) that
have a name. They are the first trump, the last trump, and the
great trump. Each one of these trumpets indicates a specific day
in the Jewish year. The first trump is blown on the Feast of
Shavuot (Pentecost). It proclaimed that God had betrothed
Himself to Israel. The last trump is synonymous with Rosh
HaShanah. The great trumpet is blown on Yom Kippur, which will
herald the return of the Messiah back to earth (Matthew 24:31).
The first and last trump relate to the two horns of the ram,
which according to Jewish tradition, was caught in the thicket
on Mount Moriah when Abraham was ready to slay Isaac and offer
him up as a burnt offering. This ram became the substitute for
Isaac even as Jesus became the substitute for us and provided
life for us through His death. Isaiah 18:3 and First
Thessalonians 4:13-18 speak of the resurrection of the dead.
First Thessalonians chapter 5 continues with the day of the Lord
and the birthpangs of the Messiah. First Thessalonians 4:16-17
says that the dead in Messiah will rise first, and that the
catching away of the believers will immediately follow.
The term Rapture comes from the Greek word Harpazo, which means
"to seize, to catch away, catch up, pluck, pull, take by force"
The Hebrew equivalent is the word Natzal. Psalm 27:5 says the
righteous will be hid in the time of trouble. This Psalm is read
every day during the 40-day period of Teshuvah. Second
Thessalonians 2:1 says, "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together
unto Him." The phrase, "gathering together" comes from the Greek
word episunagoge, which means "an assembly." In Numbers 10:2-3,
the trumpet is blown to assemble the people. The blowing of the
trumpet and the assembling of the people also appear together in
First Thessalonians 4: 16-17 and First Corinthians 15:51-53.