Jewish Feasts: (5) Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah

• Note: Again, as in every week, I need to give special acknowledgment to Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, whose notes / article on the Feasts of Israel I used in this presentation


Leviticus 23:22 (RSV)
22 “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very border, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God.”


• Looking in your bibles, where does this statement take place and how long is the period of time?
• It takes place between the first Festival season and the Second Festival season
• It is approximately four months in length
• It is also a picture of life between the festivals. Normal life would continue between the festivals. The passage has nothing to do with either festivals. It is a distinct pause between the festivals, made more so by the mention
• So what is the meaning? If the first set of festivals are fulfilled by the first coming. And the second set of festivals are fulfilled by the second coming, what is the pause?


John 4:35–38 (RSV)
35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. 36 He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”


• So Jesus statement here is not just some off-handed comment about seasons. A Jew would have immediately recognized the relationship to the OT verse. So what is happening here and what is the context?
• Story of the woman at the well
• The disciples went to get some food
• Jesus begins a discussion with the Samaritan woman
• As the disciples are returning, the crowd is coming to the well
• The harvest are people coming to Jesus Christ to believe in him, and not just Jews
• This is the church age and the church mission. It is bringing in the harvest prior to the second coming


Leviticus 23:23–25 (RSV)
23 And the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the people of Israel, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no laborious work; and you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.”


• These are the three primary verses describing the Feast of Trumpets. The offerings are described in Num 29:1-6. It is also mentioned in Neh 8:1-12 where Ezra read the Law of Moses before the people during the Feast of Trumpets
• Names for the Feast (5)
• First name is Yom Truah, means "the day of the blowing of the trumpets." Modern Judaism teaches that it is a call to Jews to remember their sins on this day
• Second name is the "Memorial of Triumph" or the "Shouting of the Joy." The name is based on Job 38:7
Job 38:4–7 (RSV) 4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
• There is a Jewish tradition that the world was created on the Feast of Trumpets
• That would also seem to argue against a literal view of days (but that is another discussion)
• Third name is the "Day of Remembrance." Jewish theology teaches Jews to remember their sins before the next holy festival, which is Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement
• Fourth name is the "Day of Judgment." A Jewish tradition teaches that on that on this day all Jews pass in judgment to see if their sins will be forgiven or not
• One could see how the rapture could be an eye opening experience for Jews who have heard the gospel, have a loved one or Friend who has disappeared, and begin to wonder what is happening
• Fifth name is the most common today, Rosh Hashanah, which means "the head of the year." Technically, the Jewish calendar has two New Years. The religious New Year begins in the spring with the Feast of Passover. The civil year begins in the fall with the Feast of Trumpets. It also gets this name based on the Jewish tradition that it was on this day that God created the heavens and the earth
• Biblical Practice
1. It is a one-day festival only
2. It was a day on which there was no labor, similar to a Sabbath
3. It was celebrated by the blowing of trumpets
4. The trumpet is not a long silver trumpet like religious pictures often show. The trumpet is the horn of a ram called the shofar. By Jewish law, any horn of a kosher animal is permitted (except for bulls), but the ram's horn has been preferred because of its symbolic link with Isaac in Gen 22
1. Remember Isaac, Abraham's firstborn, was to be sacrificed in a test of obedience and faith
2. God stopped Abraham, and God provided a ram, whose horns were caught in a thicket. Later God would provide his firstborn son as a substitutionary atonement for our sins.
• Jewish Observance
• The blowing of the Shofar
• Trumpet is blown in the synagogue. Three reasons
• Call to remembrance and repentance (call to Jews to return to Judaism because on this day they will pass in judgment)
• Reminder of Israel's covenant-relationship with God
• Third reason is to confuse Satan on the day he accuses Israel (Zech 3:1)
• Meaning of the blowing of the Shofar
• First, it is a symbol of the regathering of Israel (Isa 27:12-13)
• Second, it is a symbol of the resurrection of the dead, for a trumpet will sound when the dead are raised
• Third, three books are opened in Heaven
• The Book of Righteousness. The righteous have their name inscribed and are therefore in the book of life and will survive another year
• The Book of the Wicked. The names of wicked are inscribed, also known as the Book of the Dead. These are people who are completely wicked and will die within the year
• The Book of the In-Between. Since most Jews are neither totally righteous nor totally wicked, they are in this book. They have ten days between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement to repent. Since no one can know what book they are in, the Jews teach that you should assume your name is in this book and repent during these ten days
• The Trumpet Blasts. There a total of one hundred blasts divided into four types
• First type is tekiah, a long, single blast, straight, plain, smooth, continuous note, symbolizing the expression of joy and contentment
• Second type is the shevarim, three short blasts, a combination of three broken notes
• Third type is the truah, which are extremely short blasts consisting of nine staccato notes, symbolizing trepidation and sorrow
• The first three types are intermixed back and forth until a total of ninety-nine blasts are sounded
• Fourth type is the tekiah gedolah, which means "the great tekiah," "the great blast," and "the last trump." This is a long, single, sustained note that concludes the blowing of the trumpets, the one hundredth trumpet blast
• The Tashlich Ceremony
• Based on Micah 7:19 where Micah prophesied that the day will come when God will cast the sins of Israel into the depths of the sea
• Done in the afternoon by a body of water (lake, river, ocean beach).
• Jewish people empty their pockets into the water symbolizing the Micah passage
• The Legends of the Feast of Trumpets
• Day the world was created
• Day that Adam fell
• Day that Cain was born with a twin sister, and Abel was born with a twin sister
• Day that Cain killed Abel
• Day the flood waters dried up
• Day that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were born and all subsequently died
• Day that Sarah, Rebecca, and Hannah all gave birth
• Day that Elisha blessed the woman of Shumen with a child
• Day the sacrifices were resumed after the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity
• Special Foods
• Eat bread dipped in honey to symbolize the hope of a new year
• A hot dish known as "honey carrots" is eater
• Some type of head meat. Could be a ram's head or a fish head. Fruits for the occasion include apples, grapes, and pomegranates
• Messianic Significance (2)
• The Regathering of Israel
• The regathering of Israel is signaled by the blowing of a trumpet in Isa 27:13. One significance of the Feast is that Israel will become a state before the Great Tribulation
• The Rapture of the Church
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (RSV)
13 But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; 17 then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
• We see that on that day, Jesus gives a shout, then the archangel will repeat the shout, and then a trumpet will be blown, setting in motion the events of the rapture
1 Corinthians 15:51–57 (RSV)
51 Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Actually, the entire passage 15:15-58 deals with death and resurrection
• Since Revelation had not been written, the only "last trumpet" that would have made sense is the Feast of Trumpets' last trumpet, the great tekiah, also called the last trump
• The rapture precedes the tribulation in a pre-tribulation view. These verses and the very nature of the feasts argue for a pre-trib view


APPLICATION:
1. Obviously this argues for a pre-tribulation view of scripture, but that is not an application, so …
1. Christians have always suffered and been persecuted in history. In no way is a pre-tribulation point of view arguing against the reality of suffering and persecution in this age. We should expect hard times, we are not immune. The passages do argue against suffering and persecution because of God's wrath on mankind during the tribulation, BUT only that
2. In day-to-day living, while a pre-trib offers hope (because it will be a terrible time), it is not necessary to believe for salvation. And it is not worth arguing about because it does nothing for our character. Therefore avoid arguments with those who disagree. Be gentle and kind with other believers, it is not important
2. We are living in the "four months" or the "church age" right now. Our focus needs to be on the harvest.
1. Put up a flag or make it clear to others in speech that you believe the Christian message
2. Share your faith in phrases -- it doesn't have to be a 20 minute gospel presentation. Wait for the questions to go into details
3. Don't confuse politics and faith. And don't allow others to confuse politics and faith on the basis of your life