Is There A
Scriptural Connection Between The Two?
The
first four annual Jewish feasts foreshadowed the basis for the Christian faith
and the founding of the Church. And with that being the case, what are we to
conclude about the last three feasts?
Next
in chronological order is "Rosh
Hashanah",
the 'Feast of
Trumpets', which
occurs a full three months after Pentecost. And since all the feasts preceding
it lead up to and include the formation of the Church, does it not make sense
that in all probability the time gap represents the Church Age? I am convinced
it does and that Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish name for their celebration of a new
year and during which rabbis around the world blow ceremonial ram’s horn
trumpets called shofars—is a symbol of the Church departing this world. -- http://cuttingedge.org/articles/p287.htm
Back
in late 1987 (or early 1988) churches all over America began receiving a book in
the mail from the World Bible Society located in Nashville, Tennessee.
Written by Edgar C. Whisenant and entitled 88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be
In 1988, they were sent out to try to alert believers that their removal
from this world was imminent. Mr. Whisenant was convinced beyond all doubt that
his deductions were totally in accord with the Scriptures and time was quickly
running out for evangelizing the lost.
Of
course Mr. Whisenant was wrong about the date and wound up looking foolish in
the eyes of the world—as has always been the case in the past when others have
tried to predict precisely when the Rapture of the Church would occur. In fact,
the main theme of the Epistle of Second Thessalonians was that the Apostle Paul
had to correct believers concerning the timing of the Rapture. In chapter two,
verses one and two, he said:
"But
relative to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and our gathering
together to [meet] Him, we beg you, brethren, 2 Not
to allow your minds to be quickly unsettled or disturbed or kept excited or
alarmed, whether it be by some [pretended] revelation of [the] Spirit or by
word or by letter [alleged to be] from us, to the effect that the day of the
Lord has [already] arrived and is here.”
(Emphasis mine).
False
teaching to the effect that the rapture had already taken place had spread among
the believers and of course that greatly agitated them because it appeared they
had been left behind! Also some Bible commentators believe that prior to this,
many of them thought the Second Coming was imminent and became so excited that
they quit work and waited in eager anticipation! These erroneous beliefs and
actions prompted Paul to write to them the second time.
The
book by Edgar Whisenant apparently stirred some interest in the subject of the
Rapture and the publisher later reported that quite a few people made
professions of faith as a result. So even though I read what he had to say at
that time and felt it was an error on his part to try to predict the exact date,
some of the points he made were very interesting. And one that continues to
intrigue me is the prophetic aspect of the Feasts of Israel where the Church is
concerned.
In
Leviticus 23 God gave instructions to the nation of Israel concerning certain
festivals, or feasts, they were to observe throughout the year. And upon close
examination we find it to be obvious that the first four typify the vicarious
sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and the formation of His Church. They are:
Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost.
Passover,
observed on the 14th day of the first month, Nisan, is a symbol of
the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as He shed His precious blood to atone for the
sins of His people.
Unleavened
Bread began on the 15th day and continued for a week. It is a symbol
of the sinless perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ in His life, death, and
burial.
Firstfruits
was observed on the 16th day and is a symbol of His resurrection from
the dead on the third day (1 Cor.15:4 and 20).
Then
exactly fifty days later (the root meaning of the English word “Pentecost”)
during the month of Sivan, the Holy Spirit of God descended upon believers and
the Church was born.
Thus
the first four feasts foreshadowed the basis for the Christian faith and the
founding of the Church. And with that being the case, what are we to conclude
about the last three feasts?
Next
in chronological order is Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets, which occurs
a full three months after Pentecost. And since all the feasts preceding it
lead up to and include the formation of the Church, does it not make sense that
in all probability the time gap represents the Church Age? I am convinced it
does and that Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish name for their celebration of a new
year and during which rabbis around the world blow ceremonial ram’s horn
trumpets called shofars—is a symbol of the Church departing
this world. Please note that the Apostle Paul makes a connection between the use
of a trumpet and the Rapture:
“Take
notice! I tell you a mystery (a secret truth, an event decreed by the hidden
purpose or counsel of God). We shall not all fall asleep [in death], but we
shall all be changed (transformed) 52 In a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye, at the [sound of the] last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound,
and the dead [in Christ] will be raised imperishable (free and immune from
decay), and we shall be changed (transformed)”
(1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).
Some
insist this has to be during the Tribulation Period because of the reference to
the “last trumpet” and therefore the last of the seven “Trumpet
Judgments” in Revelation 11:15. But they apparently do not understand there is
a “last trumpet” intimately associated with the Feast of Trumpets! There are
two types of trumpets used by observant Jews today: one is made of silver and
the other—the shofar—from a ram’s horn. And various types of short
blasts on those trumpets are used during the celebration, but
the last blast signaling the end of the feast is on the shofar trumpet
and distinctively different from the rest in that it is much longer in length.
A parallel is seen in the first
instance in the Old Testament where the word “trumpet” is used. It is found
in Exodus 19:13 (KJV) and refers to God’s long trumpet call (Hebrew yobel—a
trumpet blast and not the trumpet itself) to Israel from Mt. Sinai. (The second
and third instances of the word “trumpet” are found in verses 16 and 19,
where the instrument itself is in view and the Hebrew word is shofar).
So when Israel heard that long call on the trumpet they “came up” to the
mountain!
“…when
the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount”
Exodus 19:13 (KJV).
“And
it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and
lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet
exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled”
Exodus 19:16 (KJV)
“And
mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in
fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole
mount quaked greatly. 19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded
long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
Exodus 19:18-19 (KJV)
Therefore, I believe that sometime
in the future the Church is going to “come up” to meet the Lord in the
air at the conclusion of Rosh Hashanah!
For this premise to be correct,
the last two feasts must also correspond to prophetic events that are yet
future, so let us see if they appear to fall into place.
The
Feast of Trumpets begins on the first day of the seventh month Tishri and
then on the tenth day the Day of Atonement is observed. The last three feasts
all occur during the seventh month and of course the number seven is God’s
number of perfection and completion.
In Lev.23:27 God commanded the
children of Israel to “afflict your souls” on the Day of Atonement. While
six of the feasts were to be joyous occasions, this one was to have a very
somber connotation. So what do you suppose God intended for this to represent? Rabbinic
tradition refers to Rosh Hashanah as a day of judgment and if in fact it ushers
in the Tribulation Period, God’s judgment upon Israel would definitely seem to
be the theme of the period between it and the Day of Atonement. And though the
Bible only mentions one day being set aside for the celebration of Rosh
Hashanah, modern Judaism stretches it out to two days—which leaves a seven
day period between it and the Day of Atonement. Could it be that these seven
days represent the seven years of Tribulation Period, to be followed by
the Day of Atonement—during which the survivors among Israel will mourn for
the One they pierced, their Messiah (Zech.12:10)?
If so, the next feast would
represent the Millennial Reign of Christ and I believe the Feast of Tabernacles
does just that. The most joyous of all the feasts, it was celebrated five
days after the Day of Atonement (the intervening days perhaps representing the
45 day gap between the Battle of Armageddon and the onset of the Millennium
found in Daniel 12:11-12) and depicts Israel living in “booths” or “brush
arbors”—temporary shelters intended to remind Israel of their sojourn in the
wilderness and subsequent deliverance into the Promised Land. While
Canaan served as a type of the Promised Land where Old Testament Israel was
concerned, the full scope of that promise will not be realized until a redeemed
Israel rests under the loving hand of their Shepherd-King, Jesus Christ, during
the Millennium.
Oh, by the way, did I fail to
mention that Rosh Hashanah this year is September 13th?