(Much of the following
information is general knowledge, and other commentary came from the books
God's Prophetic Calendar,
by Lehman Strauss. Published by Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune NJ, ©Copyright 1987; and The
Gospel in the Feasts of Israel by Victor Buksbazen, Published by Friends of
Israel Gospel Ministry, Bellmawr NJ, ©Copyright 2004. Used with permission.
Feast overview chart is used with permission from Peter Wise of
Internet Biblical
Resources.)
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein; but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD" (Leviticus 23:23-25).
The Feast of Trumpets,
also known as Rosh Hashanah was instituted by God and given to the nation
of Israel. Together with Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah is part of the high holidays
of Judaism. Both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are referred to as the "Days of
Awe" because the Jewish people believe that it is during this time that an
individual's fate is inscribed on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur for the
coming year. On the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the month
Tishri, opens the civil New Year while
Nisan 1st begins the religious year. Rosh Hashanah means "head" or
"beginning of the year." It is also known as the "Day of Judgment," the
"Day of the Sounding of the Shofar," and the "Day of Remembrance."
On Rosh
Hashanah, the shofar reminds the Jewish people of two things. First, it reminds
them to offer their lives to God. The account of the offering of Isaac plays a
major role on Rosh Hashanah. It is believed that the offering of Isaac occurred
on Rosh Hashanah, and Isaac's willingness to be bound and put to death is seen
as the greatest example for Jewish readiness to be sacrificed for their beliefs.
It is said among the Jews that when God hears the sound of the shofar, He is
moved to leave His seat of judgment and go to His seat of mercy and forgiveness.
Second, it reminds them to have faith in the future coming of the Messiah and
the re-gathering of Israel back to their homeland (Isaiah 27:13). All of these
reminders show why Rosh Hashanah is known as the "Day of Remembrance."
Rosh Hashanah is the only Jewish holiday celebrated on a new moon [the first of the month in the month of Tishri]. Like other major Jewish festivals [except Yom Kippur], this Feast of Trumpets is observed an extra day, even though in Jewish teaching both days are regarded as one long day rather than two separate days. On the first night of the holiday, a piece of hallah [festival bread] is dipped in honey and eaten. This is followed by the dipping of a slice of apple. A blessing is pronounced along with the prayer, "May it be Your will to renew in our behalf a good and sweet year."
The highlight of the holiday is the blowing of the shofar. A shofar can be made from the horn of any animal except a cow, because of its association with the golden calf of Exodus 32. In Temple days, the shofar was made from the horn of a wild goat. Blowing the shofar was looked upon as an act of crying out to God in time of great need. Before the shofar is sounded on Rosh Hashanah, Psalm 47 is recited seven times.
On
the first day of Rosh Hashanah, Orthodox Jews go to the nearest body of water
and empty their pockets into the water. Some people throw in bread crumbs or
stones. This practice is based on Micah 7:18-19 and is said to symbolize the
intent of the worshipers to cast away their sins. This ritual is known as
Tashlich, meaning "you shall cast." In the 14th century, Jewish people were
falsely accused of poisoning the wells of Europe through this ceremony of
Tashlich, and they were subsequently blamed for causing the "Black Death" or
bubonic plague.
On Wednesday, June 7th, 1967, at the height of the Six-Day
War, Israeli forces pushed into Jerusalem and recaptured the Temple Mount. At
the Western Wall, the last vestige of the walls that once surrounded the ancient
Temple, hardened soldiers wept openly in joy. Others gently embraced the rough
stones of the wall. The Chief Army Chaplain, Rabbi Schlomo Goren, then performed
a very significant act. He sounded the shofar. By blowing the shofar, he
symbolically announced to the world Israel's return to the home of their
forefathers. This is the prophetic message of Rosh Hashanah -- the future
return, restoration, or re-gathering of the people of Israel back to the land
God has given to them. In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses delivered his final
charge to the people of Israel. They were told that if they disobeyed God's
commands, the result would be global dispersion. A survey of Israel's history
shows that God has been true to His Word. Today, Jewish people can be found in
almost every country of the world. In spite of their displacement from the land
of promise, God has given the people of Israel His pledge that one day He will
bring them back home.
In Deuteronomy 30:1-6, we find three main elements in this passage:
Israel's repentance
Israel's re-gathering
Israel's revival
The order of end-time events in relationship to the nation of Israel can therefore be outlined this way:
A partial return to the land in unbelief.
Israel's repentance brought about by the Tribulation period and the revelation of Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 4:30; Zechariah 12:10).
The Second Come of Jesus Christ (Zechariah 14:3-4).
The supernatural re-gathering of Israel, accompanied by the sound of the shofar (Matthew 24:31).
The judgment of Israel to purge out those who still refuse to believe in Jesus the Messiah (Ezekiel 20:33-38).
The return of Israel to the land of promise (Ezekiel 36:24).
The cleansing of Israel and the gift of a new heart and a new spirit to all Jewish people.
Israel will receive and enjoy the Kingdom blessings (Ezekiel 36:33-38; Daniel 9:24; Zechariah 14).
(The Feasts of Israel by Bruce Scott, ©Copyright 1997, Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, Inc., Belmawr NJ, pp. 76-84)
Prophetically, Rosh Hashanah marks another stage in God's plan of salvation for Israel first, but then also for all of humanity. Passover was the beginning of redemption wrought through the blood of the Lamb, foreshadowing the Lord Jesus Christ, "the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Pentecost is the birthday of Judaism and signifies also the birth of the Church. Then follows a long period between the solemn Holy Days of Pentecost and New Year's Day, typifying Israel's long period of estrangement from God and its life in exile. Then comes the Feast of Trumpets, presenting a call to repentance and an opportunity to be reconciled with God on the Day of Atonement, which follows ten days after New Year's Day. Then comes the Feast of Tabernacles, a time of harvest, symbolic of the completion of the Church through the final ingathering of those who are to be saved--Jew and Gentile alike--into the Body of Christ (The Gospel in the Feasts of Israel, Buksbazen, p. 34).
Now, let's look at this Feast of Trumpets
[Rosh Hashanah] as it
fits into God's prophetic calendar. Much of the following commentary is from the
late Dr. Lehman Strauss in his book God's Prophetic Calendar, published
by Loizeaux Brothers in Neptune NJ, ©Copyright 1987.
Viewing God's prophetic calendar from where we are today, it is clear that the prophecies in the first four feasts [Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits and Pentecost] have been fulfilled. History bears out the fact that they speak of a work God has already accomplished for the salvation of both Jew and Gentile.
After the details were given regarding the Feast of Pentecost, God added an important postscript. He said to His people Israel: "And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God" (Leviticus 23:22). "The poor and the stranger" are the Gentiles whom Paul called "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise" (Ephesians 2:12). Following the death and resurrection of Christ [Passover and Firstfruits], and the coming of the Holy Spirit [Pentecost], the Church was formed of believing Jews and Gentiles. All of this is history.
The next event on God's prophetic calendar is the Feast of Trumpets. [See Scripture in Leviticus 23:23-25]. This is the first of the final three feasts, all looking ahead to a glorious future. In this present dispensation of the Church we can see on God's calendar the coming events for both the Church and Israel.
The fourth feast [Pentecost] was celebrated in the late spring/early summer of the year. These last three feasts [Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles] were in the fall of the year. From early in the third month till the first day of the seventh month, there was no holy convocation to be observed. Part of the third month and all of the fourth, fifth, and sixth months together constituted a waiting period. This period of time between the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets was the longest period of time between any of the other feasts.
Is there a lesson to be gleaned from the long interval between the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets? There is a matter of special significance we need to see here. The seven feasts, in their primary association, were enjoined upon the children of Israel. When reading Leviticus 23 this fact stands forth, even to the casual reader. "And the Lord spake unto the children of Israel..." (23:1-2, 9-10, 23-24, 33-34). "And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD" (23:44). The Gentile nations had no part in those holy convocations. But as we follow God's prophetic calendar we are presently in the dispensation of the Church. The gospel must go into all of the world, "to every creature" (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8). Any Jew or Gentile can be saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and thereby become a member of the Church.
But God is not now dealing with Israel as a nation. What God is doing today during the interval between Pentecost and Trumpets is not a part of Jewish prophecy nationally. The nation of Israel is in a holding pattern, in God's waiting room, waiting for the sound of the trumpet. There is a bright future for the nation of Israel. However, the waiting period has been a long one, the longest in the history of man. There has been no period in human history, as long as the present one, in which God has not intervened in behalf of the nation Israel. Two thousand years have come and gone, and Israel continues to wait for the sound of the trumpet. Since their rejection of the Messiah, God has remained silent.
God has His reasons for this long interval between the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets. Prophetically, there is nothing in the Bible telling us why God has stretched out this long interval, nor precisely how long it will be. But we do know that ours is the dispensation of grace, not one of judgment. Judgment is coming, to be sure, "But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:8-9).
At the council of the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, speaking of the present Church Age, James reminded them "how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name" (Acts 15:14). But by no means was there an implication that there was no future for Israel. The holy convocation of trumpets in God's calendar looks forward to the next event in the prophetic program. James continued his testimony at the council with the following: "And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up" (Acts 15:15-16). In his reference to the prophets, James doubtless had in mind the prophecy of Amos who wrote: "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old" (Amos 9:11). Micah likewise declared: "In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be removed" (Micah 7:11). The prophets were pointing ahead to an event which God had written into His calendar and which He called the Feast of Trumpets. It is inseparably linked with the Second Coming of Christ. In fact, our Lord's Second Coming is the main truth associated with this fifth feast.
The idea of trumpets originated with God. Today, we have modern means of communications whereby an event taking place in any part of the world can be brought into our living room with sound and sight. Advanced technology has given to the world an audio and visual communication system enabling us to both see and hear what is taking place.
In ancient times, God gave to Israel a communication system. He gave instructions to Moses for the making of the trumpet. The first mention of the trumpet in the Bible is connected with the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai (Exodus 19:13-20). The trumpet was used to assemble the people to work, worship, and warfare (Numbers 10:1-10). Through the communication system of trumpet sounds, God made a profound impression upon Israel. It was a vital link in the relationship between Him and His people. When the watchmen at their posts saw an enemy approaching, they blew trumpets to warn the people. When the hour for worship drew near, they sounded the call with trumpets. It was very important that the trumpeters be accurate in sounding every note, "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" (I Corinthians 14:8).
The Israelites, however, did not obey God in spite of the fact that they received a clear and intelligent communication from Him. As a result, God refused to continue communicating with them. Between the Old and New Testaments there were four silent centuries during which there was no word from God. Then God sent His Son, whom they rejected and crucified. Today, during the Church Age, they are not in the program of God. Israel has been temporarily set aside while God works through the Church. So it is not mere chance that, since Christ came to His own and His own rejected Him, the Temple has been destroyed and the Jewish people have been scattered into many parts of the earth. [See John 1:1-11]
The many pogroms and persecutions against the children of Israel are not by chance or accident. God is sovereign and in control of His world and the people in it. The present rejection of Israel by God is a divinely-executed punitive and corrective measure. God has warned Israel that failure to obey Him would result in hardship for them. Moses wrote: "Because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God...the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other" (Deuteronomy 28:62-64).
While God is punishing Israel for their willful disobedience, He will by no means permit their complete and final destruction. Israel's present rejection is a temporary one. Our God made reference to both Israel's present rejection and prospective restoration when He said: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate, For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matthew 23:37-39). Their rejection is limited "till" Messiah comes again and they shall say: "Blessed is He that cometh." The word till is a time word which places a definite limitation on how long the nation will remain scattered. There are those who believe and teach that there is no political or spiritual future for Israel, but they are wrong.
The apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, followed up our Lord's teaching on Israel's present rejection and prospective restoration when he wrote: "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Romans 11:25). Here Paul uses the time word "until." The present blindness is only "in part," that is, not all Jews are cut off from the possibility of being saved during the present period of God's rejection of the nation. We saw in the Feast of Pentecost how that individual Jews as well as individual Gentiles have the same privilege and possibility of being saved during the Church Age. Nor is the blindness permanent. It is only "until" the times of the Gentiles run their course. As Luke stated: "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24).
And then Paul added: "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins" (Romans 11:26-27). Many who have read this passage have found it difficult to understand. In using the words "all Israel" did Paul mean that every Jew would be saved? When would this salvation occur? What are the requirements for their salvation? What did Paul mean by the word saved?
When Paul said: "All Israel shall be saved," he did not mean that every Jew living when Christ returns to earth after the tribulation will be regenerated or born again. The word saved sometimes means "delivered" and is so used in both Testaments. When the Lord delivered Israel from the bondage of Egypt, "Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD" (Exodus 14:13). After the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea we read: "Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians" (Exodus 14:30). Both the noun salvation and verb saved are used in the sense of deliverance. When Peter walked on the water and began to sink, he cried: "Lord save me" (Matthew 14:30). Then, he was asking the Lord to deliver him, to rescue him from drowning. It is that kind of deliverance Paul had in mind when he said: "All Israel shall be saved." Our Lord predicted that salvation in His Olivet discourse when He said: "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13). All Jews who survive to the end of the Great Tribulation will experience a deliverance. Paul was not saying that all Jews who ever lived will be saved.
When will this deliverance occur? It will occur at the end of the Tribulation. "As it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer" (Romans 11:26). The Deliverer, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ when He comes to earth the second time. Many Jews will perish during the judgments of the Great Tribulation, but a surviving remnant will be saved. [Read Jeremiah chapters 30 & 31].
What are the requirements for the salvation of the remnant? They will accept the Deliverer as their Messiah and Redeemer (Isaiah 53:4-6; Zechariah 12:10), and He "shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" and "shall take away their sins" (Romans 11:26-27). For that remnant in Israel, the deliverance will be both physical and spiritual a well as political. Israel's salvation will be the fulfillment of God's promise which He gave to His prophets (Isaiah 27:9; 59:20-21; Jeremiah 31:31-35). God Himself will accomplish this as the result of the unconditional covenant He made, a covenant based upon His sovereignty alone.
The chronological harmony of the feasts now becomes clearer. When the Church Age [Pentecost] comes to its end, the Feast of Trumpets will begin. According to God's prophetic calendar, the next event that will link Pentecost to Trumpets is the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. His coming will be in two phases:
The pre-tribulation appearing in the air at which time He will remove His Church from the earth.
His post-tribulation appearing on the earth when Israel will be re-gathered, restored permanently to the land, and reborn spiritually.
The next trumpet sound will terminate the present dispensation with the rapture of the Church. "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I Thessalonians 4:16-17). The first trumpet sound from heaven will signal Christ's special relationship with His Church. It is called "the last trump" (I Corinthians 15:51-52), meaning the last trumpet sound of this present dispensation of the Church. The Church's battle against the gates of hell will cease, and all the redeemed in Christ will be with Him forever.
But what is Israel's future? When our Lord predicted the Tribulation to befall the nation, He followed it with the prophecy: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken: And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:29-31). In that day of Israel's awakening, the Jewish remnant of the last days will hear the trumpet sound and respond to it. God will not remain silent forever. His scattered people will be re-gathered.
Our Lord's prophecy in Matthew 24:31 is no new thing to the Jew who has read his Old Testament. The prophet Isaiah wrote: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem" (Isaiah 27:12-13). The prophet Joel wrote of "that day" when God will gather His people together at the sound of the trumpet. [Read Joel 2:15-21.]
The full and final answer to the Feast of Trumpets may not be far removed from the present. What a glorious day for that nation, who has been in the slumber of spiritual death, when they behold their Messiah! They will, with genuine repentance and remorse, receive Him to rule over them.
I am sure that the great heart of God, Who knows precisely when He will send forth the sound of the trumpet, first to gather His Church to Himself, and then to gather His beloved Israel to their land, awaits the completion of His redeeming work through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. What a day when the final triumph will be heralded and the Feast of Trumpets will have come! This will begin the most joyous of all the seasons of the year and of all the holy convocations. Once again we have seen in God's calendar its prophetic implications (God's Prophetic Calendar, Strauss, pp. 81-91). For those who are not saved, time is running out.
"Behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:31).
(The following information is from BiblicalHolidays.com)
The blowing of trumpets is a sign of the return of Christ and memorial of God’s grace to Abraham when He substituted a ram to be sacrificed instead of Isaac (Genesis 22). Isaac is a type of foreshadowing of Christ. Just as Abraham offered his son on the altar, God offered His son on Calvary’s altar. Hebrews 11:17-19 says: “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” Both Isaac’s and Christ’s births were miracles. Both were obedient to the point of sacrifice.
Trumpets were used in giving signals of war. Jesus is the commander of the army of God. The Jewish people were looking for a deliverer who would defeat the Roman army. Jesus came, the first time, to defeat the work of Satan and the sin in men’s hearts. "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:15).
In the same way this feast speaks to the Christian about spiritual warfare. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Jesus is our armor because He defeated Satan. When we put on Christ we will triumph over evil forces (Ephesians 6:11-13).
The Feast of Trumpets can be a very special time for believers in Christ. Our sins are not forgiven just when we “believe.” James 2:19 says: “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” To be forgiven, we must have a repentant heart. We must come in submission to our Heavenly father, asking for forgiveness, knowing that He will forgive us, as a father forgives his child. That forgiveness which we seek has been guaranteed–bought and paid for by Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the tree.
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
It is possible that Rosh Hashanah will be fulfilled when the Messiah comes on
the clouds, the dead in Christ rise to meet the Lord in the air, and those who
are alive are changed in an instant in the blinking of an eye to an eternal,
immortal body. All of those whose names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life have open
and shut cases and are righteous, not by their own deeds, but by the blood of
the Lamb.
An inexpensive booklet with illustrations titled Unlocking Prophecy:
Jesus Fulfills the Seven Feasts of Israel is available. This popular theory
purports that Jesus will fulfill the fall holidays by coming on the Feast of
Trumpets to catch away His Bride, the Church, to celebrate the Marriage Supper of
the Lamb in Heaven, then return to earth seven years later on the Day of
Atonement to establish His Kingdom beginning on the Feast of Tabernacles.
A portion from the booklet Unlocking Prophecy: Jesus Fulfills the Seven
Feasts of Israel:
Rabbis have taught that after being resurrected on the Feast of Trumpets, the righteous would enter the chupah, or wedding canopy to spend seven years while the “day of trouble” [tribulation], the seven years of judgment occurs on earth. By examining an ancient Jewish wedding, we can more clearly see the picture of the union of the Church (the bride) with the Messiah.
When a man in ancient Israel married, he went to the bride’s house with a “bride price” and made a contract (covenant) with the girl’s father. If the father accepted the man and his bride price, the man would pour a glass of wine. If the girl drank it, it would indicate that she accepted the man’s proposal and they were betrothed. The man would go away and prepare a wedding chamber for his bride. When the man’s father deemed that the wedding chamber was ready, usually one to two years later, the man would return to the bride’s house and “steal” her away “like a thief in the night” at an hour when no one would suspect. He would take her to the wedding chamber for seven days. During this time, the groom’s father would hold a party to announce the marriage. At the end of the seventh day, the married couple would emerge from the chamber and partake of the marriage supper.
The ancient Jewish wedding is a picture of Jesus the Bridegroom and His bride, the church. The contract (covenant) was sealed at the Last Supper when Jesus shared the covenant cup with His disciples. "And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many" (Mark 14:24). Jesus, in speaking to the Disciples after the last supper said the same words that any Jewish man would tell his betrothed. "In my father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2, 3). And, of course, Jesus paid the “bride price” with His life. The marriage of the church to Jesus is described in several Bible texts. "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints" (Rev. 19:7-8). Thus, the Jewish wedding ceremony is another beautiful shadow of Christ’s return. For details see Here Comes the Bride by Richard Booker in the resources section of this book.
The forty-day season called Teshuvah (return or repentance) starts thirty days before the Feast of Trumpets, and is a shadow of God’s prophetic plan. The entire ten days from the first day of the Feast of Trumpets through the Day of Atonement are known as the Days of Repentance or Days of Awe. The days between may be a picture of the tribulation. The days between the Feast of the Trumpets and Day of Atonement reflect the seven-year period of Jacob’s Trouble. "Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it" (Jeremiah 30:7). One theory divides the days as follows:
For thirty days the shofar is blown every morning in the
Synagogue to remind the people that the holy days are approaching, in order that
they may prepare themselves. Their preparation consists of confessing their sins
and seeking forgiveness along with a change in life, if needed. The Jews’
earnest prayer is that their names may be written in the Book of Life. This might represent the period before the rapture—calling people to
repentance. One’s name is written in the Book of Life only when he or she has a
repentant heart and comes in submission to our Heavenly Father, asking for
forgiveness through Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Jewish eschatology teaches that on the Day of Atonement after six thousand years are complete, the Day of the Lord will come. On that day the shofar will sound, the righteous will be resurrected and will attend the coronation of the King. According to Jewish eschatology, the gates of heaven are opened on Rosh Hashanah and closed on Yom Kippur. This brings us to the book of Revelation, chapter 3:7-11. Note the two words here that relate to Rosh Hashanah: open door (as the gates of heaven are opened on Rosh Hashanah) and crown (as in a coronation). Daniel 7:9-14 also speaks of the Messiah returning to reign as king: "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit… thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened [The Day of Judgment]. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man [Jesus] came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed."
In Revelation, chapters 8 through 10, the seven trumpets and the “Mystery of God” are revealed at the final blast: "And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets" (Rev.10:5-7).
Remember, whatever theory you believe, you should have joyful expectations (Titus 2:13) and be patiently waiting in obedience (1 Corinthians 1:7, 1 Timothy 6:14). Celebrate Rosh Hashanah by teaching your children about repentance, faith, renewing your heart toward God, and looking forward to the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus the Messiah!
