"THE JEWISH NEW YEAR AND THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH"
by David Bay (Cutting Edge)
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
THE
JEWISH NEW YEAR AND THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH
Is
There A Scriptural Connection Between The Two?
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?
SOURCE: Cutting Edge Ministries