ROSH HASHANAH PART 2
ROSH HASHANAH PART 2
We have
begun our study of the feast days of the Lord by starting with the fall feasts
for 2 reasons:
1.
We will be in the fall season when our class
begins and so we will follow along with the actual times of the fall feasts.
2.
The fall feasts are the feasts that we most
urgently need to understand at this time in earth’s history. The Spring Feasts
were fulfilled precisely by Yeshua at His first coming and He synthesized them
into one feast we now call Communion, or the Lord’s Supper. Hopefully we will
study the Spring Feasts in the spring. The reason being that much that applies
to our salvation has been left out along the way. Many Christians no longer die
in His death and rise up in the power of His resurrection to live by His Spirit.
Much of today’s church is guided by the flesh both personally and corporately.
Therefore the church has become weak and sick. See 1 Cor. 11:26-32
It is
hard not to jump into Passover, because there is so much there that is vital to
our readiness for the Fall Feasts which are now upon us. We believe in Jesus,
yet we do not really die to self and we often do not live by His Spirit.
Instead we live lives according to our own will and then tag Jesus onto our
lives on Saturday or Sunday for a few precious hours.
So the Fall Feasts for this year 2018 are as follows:
Feast of Trumpets/AKA Yom Teruah/Rosh Hashanah …Sundown
September 10 to sundown sept 11
Followed by 10 days of awe, ending with the Day of Atonement
10 days later.
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)… Sundown Sept 19 to sundown
Sept 20
Feast of Tabernacles from sundown Sept. 24 to sundown
October 1
Festival of Hanukkah Sundown Dec. 2 to sundown Dec. 10
In our
part one on Rosh Hashanah, I mentioned being shaken by my in depth study of the
tabernacle and the Feast Days. In its minute and exhaustless details, I saw the
absolute holiness of God and our complete and total need of our Messiah. It
shakes me up because I don’t think that a fraction of us as Christians have
even begun to enter into the fullness of what is pictured here. We often take
the Spring Feasts too lightly and therefore we are not ready for the Fall
Feasts which include judgment and the kingship of Yeshua, the harvest and the
catching away of the church.
The
stated purpose for Rosh Hashanah is preparation for the coming Messiah.
Therefore it is a day of blowing the shofars signaling alarm, a warning of
judgment, the coronation of the King, the Marriage of the Messiah, (to the wise
virgins) and the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. It is a day of remembrance in which
the foolish did not remember, but the wise did. It is a hidden day as described
in Isa. 26:20, 21 where God’s people are told to enter into their chambers,
shut their doors and hide themselves for a moment until the indignation is
over, because the Lord is coming to punish the inhabitants of the world for
their iniquity.
In
Psalms 27:5 David wrote, “In the time of trouble, (God) will hide me in His
pavilion; in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me. And in Zephaniah 2
he warns the meek of the earth to seek the Lord so they may be hid in the day
of His anger. V. 1-4
At this
point we can’t say for sure who goes where. Our traditional belief is that the
Jews flee to the mountains when the antichrist commits the Abomination of
Desolation in the temple as stated in Mt. 24:14-22. Also many believe that the church
will be raptured either at the beginning of the Tribulation, or maybe at the mid-
point around the time that the antichrist exposes himself by claiming to be God
in the newly rebuilt temple. There are many and varied beliefs concerning this
period of time called the Tribulation and we as Christians should hope for the best
and prepare for the worst. IN any case we must be found in Christ with our
lamps filled with oil.
No, we
don’t know the day or the hour of our Lord’s return but Paul said that we are
to know and understand the times and seasons and here he is specifically
referring to the appointed times or Moeds of the Lord. Paul told the
Thessalonians, “Of the times and seasons, brothers, you have no need that I
write to you.” Why? It is because they already knew the appointed times. So
Paul went on to say that they know that Messiah will come as a thief in the
night. But then he went on to add: “But you, brothers are not in darkness that
that day should overtake you as a thief.” 1Thess. 5:1, 2, 4.
In other words, if we as Christians are
studying the prophecies of the Bible concerning the times and we have studied
last day events in the light of the Fall Feasts, the Day of the Lord will not
come upon us like a thief. Yeshua will fulfill His Fall Feasts just as
accurately as He fulfilled the Spring Feasts and Rosh Hashanah is the feast in
which no one knows the day or the hour. But the whole point of the feasts of
Israel as well as the tabernacle is that of coming into maturity as sons and
daughters of God.
So let
us remember the uncertainty factor of the New Moon and we must also bear in
mind that on this planet there are 24 times zones. Which time zone will Yeshua
set His watch by? I would guess Israel’s time zone, but that is just a guess.
With
prophetic signs happening around us every day, we should at the very least be
preparing our hearts for our Lord’s return. We grow callus to the signs around
us. We are sometimes shocked for a few days and then we go back to sleep so let
me mention a few of the signs that are happening on a daily basis:
1.
Our sun is in a solar minimum cycle right now,
so that earth’s magnetosphere is weakened.
2.
This allows for a major influx of cosmic
radiation that is heating up our planet’s core.
3.
This in turn is causing an unprecedented uptick
in volcanoes and earthquakes
4.
We are seeing massive changes in our weather
cycles, wherein storms, floods, heat waves, and such are pushing well beyond
normal. The elite would like for us to think that this is caused by our SUVs,
but this is a phenomenon that is affecting all of the planets in our Solar
system.
5.
We are seeing the rise of pandemic type diseases
that threaten the human population.
6.
We are seeing massive die-offs of fish, birds
and animals around the world, measured in thousands, hundreds of thousands and
even tons of deaths in our oceans. The Pacific Ocean is dying and the lack of
fish is allowing the Jellyfish population to take over. All of these deaths
result in the starvation of the various sea creatures and animals that feed
upon the fish and it will soon result in the end of food for humans.
7.
Radical weather patterns are causing food and
water shortages worldwide.
8.
Because of all of these problems the nations are
gearing up for war to fight over remaining resources.
9.
But on the political/religious side of things,
Satan is now marshalling his forces to create the global government of the
Beast spoken of in many places and Revelation chapter 13 in particular. This
push for global control is behind the divisions, hatreds and violence between
those who want global governance and those who know Bible prophecy enough to
understand that a global world government apart from Christ will be a disaster
of epic proportions. Every freedom that God has given us will be taken away until
no one will be able to buy or sell unless they have the Mark of the Beast.
10.
Whether we like Donald Trump or we don’t, God
has placed him in office to provide us with a brief window of time to repent
and to prepare for the great harvest which I believe will come during very dark
and violent times. Times of ease have never brought people to their knees and
so we see Joel’s warning, the sounding of the Trumpet that heralds the Day of
the Lord.
11.
But notice what Joel says in Joel 2:30, 31: He
says that the sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood BEFORE
the great and awesome day of the Lord.
12.
I believe that the blood moons of 2014 and 2015 on
Jewish Feast days during the last few years are the signal that Joel was talking
about. There are other blood moons and total solar eclipses that occur during
the tribulation but the ones we experienced in 2014-15 are said to come
immediately before the great and awesome day of the Lord and judging by
conditions, natural, political and spiritual in the world, we are now entering
that time.
13.
Joel goes on to say in 3:1, 2 “For behold in
those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and
Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of
Jehoshaphat, then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My
people and My inheritance Israel whom they have scattered among the nations and
they have divided My land.
So
look at this if you will: Has not God
brought the Jews back into their own land from the nations where they have been
scattered? Has He not prospered them? And are not the nations now poised to
take a spoil, to take over Israel? Are they not in the process of dividing the
land? We need to study the book of Joel more than we do for it is all about the
last days… and speaking of last days, Israel is now 70 years old and God deals
with 70 year cycles a lot and we should have our ears open and our eyes upon
the eastern sky.
This
year of 2018, is a significant year for it is the 70th year since
Israel’s rebirth, and fifty years since 1967 and the recapturing of Jerusalem.
It is the 120th Jubilee since Christ and there are a whole lot of
other significant numbers that have come up in 2017, 18.
If
I were to name this season that we are now in I would call it the season of our
maturity. It is time for God’s Remnant people to come into maturity for the
harvest. This means entering into the
fullness of what Yeshua provided for us. It means entering into a Galatians
2:20 life in which our flesh is dead but our spirit is alive with the fullness
of the life of Christ.
Ephesians
4:11-14 tells us why Jesus has equipped the church with apostles, prophets,
evangelists, pastors and teachers. It is for the equipping of the saints for
the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ until we all
attain to the unity of the faith and of knowledge of the Son of God, to a
mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of
Christ.” This is huge my friends, this is huge.
This
means that in Christ we must come into the fullness of the Sanctuary, body,
soul and spirit. For as Paul says in 1 Thess. 5:23, 24: “Now may the God of
peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit, soul and body be
preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is He who calls you and He also will bring it to pass.”
It
is Christ in us the hope of glory. We can’t do one shred of it by the works of
the flesh. However, this does not say that we are to become lazy and careless,
just letting Jesus do it for us. This is the way of false grace. For Jesus
calls us not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the
renewing of our minds. We are being called to live in the Spirit so that the
fruit of the Spirit will become evident in our lives.
The
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness,
gentleness, faithfulness and temperance, which is self-control. Our bodies are
temples of the Holy Spirit and so whatever we do with these bodies of ours, we
must do all to the glory of God.
I
want to say something really tough here and it is a hard thing to say, but many
of the Christians who believe in miraculous divine healing are the same ones
who are basically the unhealthiest people on the planet. They trust God for
healing, but they don’t trust God for His instructions for divine health. Such
things as healthful living and self- control and moderation as well as a
balance of exercise and eating foods as close to the way God made them as is
possible in this day and age would go a long ways in restoring health to the
church. (See 1 Thess. 5:23, 24)
We
have grown sloppy in regards to grace as well as in regards to self-discipline
which after all is one of the fruits of the Spirit. We pander to the flesh,
forever giving it what it wants when in fact the flesh is supposed to be dead
and our spirit alive. We trust God to give us victory over smoking and
drinking, but then we simply exchange our addictions for an addiction to junk
food and gluttony. Is there really any difference? If it makes us unhealthy
then we are not doing that which brings glory to God.
I’m
sure some might think I have gone to meddling here, but in truth, God’s people
should be the healthiest, happiest, most well-adjusted, most loving, patient,
kind and compassionate people on the planet. The Holy Spirit has been given to
us for that purpose. We should be known for our love… for our helping others,
for feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. We should be known for restoring
sight to the blind and for doing all of the works that Jesus did… and why are
we falling short? (See 1 Cor. 11:23-30)
It
is because we have not fully entered into the crucified life of Christ in order
that we may be empowered by His Spirit to do the works of Christ in the world.
We are satisfied with being half in and half out. We look at the Gospel
thinking that maybe someday revival will happen, but we don’t fully seek it
now. We have reserved most of our lives for ourselves.
Last
night (July 1, 2018) at our church a Chinese missionary and his wife (The Yuns)
spoke. Both of them are living dynamos of energy and Holy Spirit power. They
travel all over the world, going into the most dangerous places, into Buddhist,
Hindu and Muslim strongholds raising up churches, healing the sick, casting out
demons, raising the dead, operating in
the Holy Spirit. They have been cast into prison multiple times and their lives
are always in danger. But they go where no one else wants to go.
When
that Tsunami hit Indonesia a few years back, they, along with the large group
from the Church of God led the efforts to restore and rescue and to heal the
wounds caused by 250,000 deaths. Many Muslims were disheartened saying that
their god Allah was not able to save them and so they were ripe to hear the
Gospel. So when the Yuns came to Indonesia there were about 30,000 Christians
and today there are over 400,000 Christians in just these few years.
I
marveled at the Yun’s faith and their passion for souls. Bonnie and I sowed
into their ministry because in 4 days they are headed back to China. A seven
year ban has been lifted and so they are headed back to rise up new home churches
and to meet with and encourage the underground churches scattered all over the
country. No one knows for sure but there may be as many as 400 million
Christians meeting in homes in China. Evangelist Yun said that persecution is a
blessing in disguise. It scatters Christians who in turn start up new home
churches and so the Gospel is spread like wildfire.
What
will it take in America for us to have such a fire in our bellies? What will it
take for us to let go of the flesh and to live fully by the Spirit as the Yuns
do? Personally I believe that it will take persecution in America before we
will be dislodged from our lethargy and fleshly living.
In
closing this chapter I would say that Rosh Hashanah and the blowing of the
Shofars is not a signal for us to sit back and to wait for the rapture. It is
rather a time to prepare for battle, to learn how to properly wear the full
armor of God (Eph. 6) and to effectively use the weapons of our warfare. (2Cor.
10:3-5) It signals a time to put away the flesh and to come into spiritual
maturity. (Romans 8 and Galatians 2:20) We need to learn how to pray effectual
fervent prayers. (James 5:16) We need to receive Christ’s burden for the lost.
(Mt. 18:11) We need to learn to operate in the kind of faith that pleases God.
(Hebrews 11:6)
In
short we need a miraculous revival of the Holy Spirit and fire with which Jesus
wants to baptize us anew. And we need to stop using the gifts of the Spirit as
party favors and to use them for the purposes that God gave them to us… power
to witness and to do the works of Christ in the world. We need to pray towards
that end.
Rosh
Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets starts off the ten days of awe leading up to
the most solemn Feast of the year… Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement.) It is a day
of judgment in which the books are opened and it is determined who is in the
book of life and who is not. Therefore we must examine our lives before God. If
we rightly judge ourselves then we will not come into judgment. (See 1 Cor.
11:31)
Paul
makes it very clear that we are not to judge one another concerning food or
drink or Sabbaths or the like. Each of us stands or falls before God who alone
is our judge. But we have seen that we need to judge ourselves rightly
according to the Word. IF we do not judge ourselves, then we will be judged by the
Lord.
God
has written His warning across the sky with signs in the sun, moon and stars. He
has caused them to fall out His appointed feast days just to let us know that we
are about to come into the
final season of the Fall Feasts and these 3 feasts speak of maturity and coming
into judgment and a time of harvest that I believe will take place during hard
times. On the first day of Pentecost Peter quoted Joel concerning blood and
fire and columns of smoke as well as the moon turning to blood and the sun
failing to give light. None of those things happened on that first Day of Pentecost,
but I believe they will indeed happen during the final harvest and the outpouring
of God’s Holy Spirit upon all flesh.
Let
us now come into spiritual, mental and Physical maturity so that we will be
ready for whatever may come next.
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