TRUMPETS
We are told we are children of the day, and
that we will see that day coming. If we have studied the Word of God, we
may presume that “that” day would be a feast day. Ascension day was not
a feast day, but became a Christian ‘feast” day, being ten days prior to
Pentecost, but if we have studied to find ourselves approved unto the Lord,
He knows we will be closely looking at the feast days.
Unfortunately, I was not among the company
of barley firstfruits, or even the main harvest
of barley winnowed by Boaz. Not to worry, I most assuredly would be among
those “firstfruits” of the wheat – the finest
of the finest. Well, ok, didn’t make the cut there either. So, before
I give up on being a stalk of wheat surrounded by tares awaiting the coming
separation, for now I fancy myself certainly not to be a tare, but a stalk
of wheat at the very least. But where’s the part
where the wheat is stored in the barn, for that surely occurs prior to the
gathering of the fall fruits, but with tabernacles being the culmination
of bringing in all the crops, perhaps this also includes the wheat. Wait
– the Lord said He was the vine and we are the branches, so maybe we are
fruit? And He said He would drink the new wine with us in His Father’s
Kingdom, so perhaps this new wine is of the fall vintage? Am I a pomegranate?
….talk about profiling……….. :---)
I love the brothers who have brought
to our attention the numbering of the three generations of 14,000 days
“Lord, teach us to number our days”…….thank you! A refreshing bit of information
to keep us on the alert for the next possible dating of His coming!
This puts us at the feast of Trumpets (Rosh
Hashanah), which is preceded by a month of daily trumpet (shofar)
blowing, to remind folks to examine themselves before the coming 10 days
of awe, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (Day of Attonement).
2Co
13:5
Examine yourselves, whether ye
be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye
not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Go here to hear the sounds of the shofar at the Jerusalem
Wall:
http://www.aishfiles.com/wallsounds/shofar.mp3
In the book of Revelation, John was in the spirit on
the Lord’s Day (a Sabbath day):
Rev 1:10 |
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard
behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, |
| |
Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the
last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches
which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia,
and unto Laodicea. |
| |
And I turned to see the voice that spake
with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; |
| |
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one
like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot,
and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. |
John heard a trumpet like a “great voice” of a trumpet.
He turns around and sees Jesus amongst the candlesticks (the seven churches).
Thus, He is in the Holy Place,
not the Holy of Holies, for that is where the candlestick was placed.
Here is my question: could this trumpet that John heard be the first trumpet, or first day of the 30-days of trumpet
blowing, the teshuvah period of repentance which
precedes Rosh Hashanah? When John turns he sees the Lord among the candlesticks,
telling John to address letters to the churches, and send them to the churches.
John has not been called up to heaven yet, with the “come up hither”, so
this scene is on the earth, the churches being addressed by the Lord, JUST
PRIOR TO THE RAPTURE. Christ is dressed in the garment of a “judge” (girdle
around the paps, and feet like bronze), so this
is a judgment scene. He is going to judge the churches, and warn them
of the things which they fall behind in observing.
The next thing we see is that the Lord is telling
one church after another (except two of them) to REPENT, or else…………..this
is exactly what the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah are all about –
repenting,
so that one is not taken out of the book of life and put in the bad boys’
book prior to Yom Kippur; hence the days of awe and expectation, leading
up to the freedom from their sinful practices, and being pronounced “clean”
by the high priest at Yom Kippur to enter another year ahead happily.
Ruth was in this way “judged” prior to her marriage to Boaz, for he said
to her on the threshing floor, “thou art a virtuous woman” and told her
he “knew her reputation in the city”. (Ruth 3:10). In the same way, the
Lord says to each church, “I know thy works”. Furthermore, Christ warns
one of the churches that they may lose their place in the book of life,
which certainly sounds like a scene from this feast-day anticipation, or
days of teshuvah (repentance)
by the Jews.
Rev
3:5
He that overcometh,
the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his
name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father,
and before his angels.
Wow. That is exactly what takes place in the 30-day
period leading up to Rosh Hoshanah. The books are opened, and people are judged out
of the books. If one does not repent sincerely in these 30 days, and seek
the Lord’s forgiveness, they are taken out of the book of life.
Luke 21:36
"Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted
worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of Man."
This is called “teshuvah”,
or days of repentance. After Rosh Hashanah, there are 10 days of awe,
or a further call to repentance, albeit during a period of “trouble”.
This pictures the coming “judgment years” after Rosh Hashanah. The gates
(door) to heaven is opened on Rosh Hashanah, so people who have not repented
prior to Rosh Hashanah, still have an opportunity to repent until Yom Kippur,
when the door is closed. Is this the ten days of tribulation mentioned
for the church
of Smyrna?
Are these ten days related to the virgins having oil in their lamps, after
which the door is closed upon the foolish virgins? Are these the ten days
that Rebekah’s family wanted her to remain with them instead of
going immediately to marry Isaac?
Apparently the door to heaven is opened on
the Sabbath day, and also the new moon. Rosh Hashanah is the only feast
day which incorporates a new moon for its timing. And, in the book of
Revelation, after the churches are judged, and warned, the next thing John
hears, is ANOTHER trumpet, which is a voice, and
says “come up hither”. And he sees a DOOR open in heaven. Here we see
not only a door open, but also hear a trumpet. Sounds quite a bit like
the feast of trumpets, and Paul said the “last trump” would sound at the
resurrection / rapture. This would be the “last trump”, because the “first
trumpet” was heard prior, when John heard the voice/trumpet, and turned
to see Christ beginning to judge the churches. So, there is a first trumpet
and a last trumpet, at least before the “come up hither” invitation. All
that happens thereafter, is not for the church,
but for Israel
and those who need to seek Christ as their Messiah.
The church
of Philadelphia
is told that Christ provides an open door, that
no man may shut. But the church
of Laodecia is told
“I stand at the door, and knock”,,,,,they
have to open this door themselves to let Him in ! So, this door is a door
that a man can open, and also shut (shutting the Lord out). The church
of Philadelphia
is also told that they will be kept out of the “hour” of trial about to
come upon the whole earth. It is interesting that an “hour” would be
1 / 24th of a year, so would represent 15 days. From the blast of the
trumpet on Rosh Hashanah, until Yom Kippur (attonement),
is 10 days. And these are days of awe and expectancy, until the high priest
exits the Holy of Holies, bringing the pardon of God for them. Then, after
another 5 days, begins the feast of tabernacles which is a 7-day feast,
followed by an 8th day. So, there is a total of 15 days until
the beginning of the feast of tabernacles, which celebrates God’s abundant
harvest of souls, and these 15 days may represent an allegory of the “hour
of trial”, which the judgment years will surely produce, and which the members
of the church of Philadelphia are given a reprieve from.
Meanwhile, I’m still hoping for a summer appearing
of our Lord!
But, we know that in our waiting, we are given the gift
of patience, as James tells us.
Love to all of you from your sister Arlene