Jesus in the Old Testament 013:
Jesus and the Rosh Hashanah
Thesis: Gentile Protestant Believers, while not at all under the law or bound to its regulations, still benefit from learning about the feasts of Israel, since they are all Christological and help us understand the person and work of Christ in unique ways. The feast of Trumpets, or Rash Hashanah, points to the rapture of the church and helps us understand how this important future event plays into God’s over-arching plan of redemption.
- Nutshell
w/Kids (<5 min).
- Review of
Holidays and their meanings:
- Who can
tell me what Christmas is about?
- Easter?
- Thanksgiving?
- Did you
know that, while all of these holidays honor and celebrate God, none of
them are commanded in the Bible? It’s fine that we observe them, but God
didn’t tell us to do it.
- There are holidays
that God told his people, the Jews, to celebrate. The early Christians celebrated them as
well.
- We aren’t
under the law, so it isn’t wrong if you don’t celebrate them, just like
it isn’t wrong to celebrate Christmas and Easter. As long as you are honoring God,
celebrating or not celebrating a holiday is not something God requires
(Col 2:16).
- We can
learn a lot about God’s plan for the world and what Jesus came to do by
studying the feasts, though.
- The seven
holidays given by God are:
- Trumpets
- Atonement
- Booths
- Passover
- Unleavened
Bread
- First
Fruits
- Pentecost
- We’re going
to look at Trumpets tonight, which has to do with the rapture of the
church.
- What can
you tell me about the rapture?
- We can
learn much more about that event by studying Trumpets. Your parents will help you understand
some of these things after we’re done here.
- Deeper
w/adults
- What we
should do with Jewish Feasts:
- Know all
that we can know about them!
a)
Part of the spoken word of God, recorded in
scripture, and given to us, as is all scripture, “breathed out by God and
profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good
work.” (2Tim 3:16-17)
b)
Part of salvific history
c)
Historical Markers, ceremonial reminders of the
goodness of God in the past.
d)
Prophetic Messianic markers, looking forward (at
that time, and today) to the work of Messiah.
Some have been accomplished, some have not yet.
- Celebrate
them in Spirit, not in letter.
a)
We know that the law is good (Rom 7:12); and that
it will not cease to be the word of God until the cosmos goes away (Matt 5:18)
b)
We are told that at least the feasts of Passover
and Tabernacles will be celebrated in the Messianic Kingdom.
(1)
Ezek 45: 21-26
21“In the first month, on the fourteenth
day of the month, you shall celebrate the Feast of the Passover, and for seven
days unleavened bread shall be eaten. 22On
that day the prince shall provide for himself and all the people of the land a
young bull for a sin offering. 23And
on the seven days of the festival he shall provide as a burnt offering to the
LORD seven young bulls and seven rams without blemish, on each of the seven
days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering. 24And
he shall provide as a grain offering an ephah for each bull, an ephah for each
ram, and a hinj of oil to each ephah. 25In the seventh month, on the
fifteenth day of the month and for the seven days of the feast, he shall make
the same provision for sin offerings, burnt offerings, and grain offerings, and
for the oil.
(2) Zech 14:16-19
“16
Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem
shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep
the Feast of Booths. 17
And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship
the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.18 And if the family of Egypt does
not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there
shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up
to keep the Feast of Booths. 19
This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations
that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.”
c)
There may be others celebrated in the Messianic
Kingdom, Ezek 46:9
9“When the people of the land come before
the LORD at the appointed feasts, he who enters by the north gate to worship
shall go out by the south gate, and he who enters by the south gate shall go
out by the north gate: no one shall return by way of the gate by which he
entered, but each shall go out straight ahead.
d)
We are encouraged in the New Testament to accept
the festivals as part of our faith, as having been fulfilled (or to be
imminently fulfilled) in Christ (from http://doctorwoodhead.com/jewish-festivals-in-the-millennial-kingdom/2/):
1. Passover was fulfilled in the death of Christ the Redeemer but
clearly continues to the Millennium as a ceremony. (I Corinthians 5:7)
2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is being fulfilled in the holy
separate walk of the believer who fellowships with our Savior (I Corinthians
5:6-8; II Corinthians 7:1; Galatians 5:7-9)
3. The Feast of First fruits was fulfilled in the resurrection of
Christ (I Corinthians 15:23)
4. The Feast of Pentecost was fulfilled in the establishment of the
Church at Pentecost fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus (I Corinthians
10:16; 12:12-13)
5. The Feast of Trumpets will be fulfilled in the future regathering
of Israel at the beginning of the Kingdom (Isaiah 18:3, 7; 27:12-13; Ezekiel
37:1-14) AND IN THE RAPTURE
6. The day of Atonement will be fulfilled in its prophetic features in
the final conversion of “all Israel” at the Second Coming Zechariah 12:10-13;
13:1 Romans 11:26)
- However, we
CANNOT celebrate them in the letter, because:
- EVERY
festival requires a sacrifice to be made at the temple (Numbers
28-29).
- Three of
the festivals need to be celebrated at the temple in Jerusalem.
- God,
wanting to make sure that His people knew that the temple services no
longer were valid, destroyed His temple in AD 70, and it no longer
provides this option to His people.
Christ is the only mediator.
- Jesus has
done away with the need for all animal sacrifice (Heb 10)
- We are
strictly warned not to look to the law for purity from sin. Gal 5:2-6:
“2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ
will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts
circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from
Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of
righteousness.6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
- Also, as a
blanket statement, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness,
Romans 10:4
- Also, we
are not to look down on the Christian traditional holidays of Easter and
Christmas, forsaking them in favor of the Jewish festivals, simply
because they are “Biblical” and Christmas and Easter are not.
- As stated
above, any celebration of the Jewish festivals today are NOT strictly
Biblical. They can’t be without a
temple and sacrifices.
- The Jewish
celebrations of these holidays have morphed so much over time adding
tradition and additional practice that they are no more Biblical than
Christmas trees and Easter eggs today.
- The point
is to honor and worship God and His Son, who instilled and fulfilled
these holidays, and be edified by them.
- Rosh Hashanah
(The Jewish New Year, Feast of Trumpets)
- Lev 23:23
- First day
of the 7th month (according to the sacred year).
- Became the
first day of the civil year
- Believed
to be the anniversary of Creation
- A blast on
the trumpet to alert the people that the fall festivals have begun.
- It begins a
10-day window of fasting and mourning over sin (Days of Awe).
- Heights of
legalism and pious observance of the law.
- Required a
day of solemn rest and Sabbath.
- Called to
gather together and worship (but not necessarily at Jerusalem)
- Called to
bring a food offering (this begins the time of fall Harvest.)
- Numbers 29
- The
sacrifices listed
- Normal
daily offering, PLUS the new moon offering, PLUS several additional
sacrifices.
- A
"pleasing aroma," literally meaning "to be made into
smoke."
- Completely
consumed.
- A time of
complete devotion is coming.
- The kind of
trumpet is not specified "A day for blasting"
- The sound
is what is signified. H: Teruwah N. a loud shout, alarm or
blast of a trumpet.
- The verbal
form is Ruwah, which is used in
Job 38:7 regarding creation.
- This is
why the Jews believe that this is the day of creation.
- If so, and
if their calendar is correct in counting years, then Rosh Hashanah this
year (2019) will begin year 5780 since creation.
- Silver
Trumpets of Numbers 10
- To be
blown to call people together for worship
- To send
them out
- To sound
the alarm to prepare them for battle.
- To
proclaim feasts.
- Used for
this holiday until the captivity to Babylon. Then, they were lost.
- Shofar,
Rams' horns
- Pictures
of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac.
- They
believe that the shofar proclaims that God will save the Jews and
restore them to greatness at the last moment when all hope is lost...
and they're right! Matt 24 (vs 31)
- Both
trumpets’ symbolisms are conveyed on the holiday.
- Interruptions
and Rosh Hashanah:
- Trumpets
falls at the end of the harvest season.
It’s a busy time! There
isn’t a lot of time left to get produce in before the rains start.
- Because
it’s start time coincides with the imaging of the crescent moon from the
Temple Mount, nobody knows exactly when it will happen.
- There is a
mandatory two-day rest that starts when the shofar is blown. They literally are to drop their tools
in the field and go home to begin the preparation for the fall holy days
(Matt 24:40).
- Work while
you may, the time of the harvest is now: John 4:31-38.
- There will
come a time when you cannot work: John 9:4
- Once the
trumpet is heard, men over the age of 12 had to be in Jerusalem in 10
days. Pause for a solemn rest,
then begin the preparations immediately.
- The work that remained in the field was
done by women and children (Jews left to finish the work of evangelism
when the church is taken).
- Judgment and
Rosh Hashanah
- Jews
believe that Yahweh holds court starting on Rosh Hashanah and that all
the souls of men are made to stand before him in the heavenly courts on
this day.
- Three
groups:
- The
completely righteous, who are blessed.
- The
completely reprobate, who are reserved for judgment (on Yom Kippur).
- The
“in-between,” who are given time to demonstrate their hearts (by Yom
Kippur).
- Only one
group is “done” on Rosh Hashanah, the righteous enjoy their reward
starting that day. Sound familiar?
- At the
rapture, only the Bride of Christ enters into her eternal reward
immediately. The rest of the world
will go through the tribulation to face the final judgment at the end of
the 7 years.
- In reality,
there are only two groups: the saved and the fallen. Reminiscent of the parable of the sheep
and the goats: Matt 25:31ff
- Trumpets and
the Rapture:
- Jesus has
fulfilled one aspect of Sukkot, the late fall feast, and he has fulfilled
all of the Spring feasts.
- Note: He
fulfilled them all on the actual days.
- Trumpets
is next.
- The rapture
will accomplish several things:
- The “last
trumpet” will be the rapture
1)
Matt 24:31
2)
1Cor 15:51-52
3)
1Thes 4:16-18
- The church
(Bride of Christ) will consummate its marriage to Christ
1)
At the beginning of a wedding feast, a trumpet is
blown before the bridegroom as he comes to take his bride.
2)
During the 7-day wedding feast, the bride and
bridegroom are intimate, the guests rejoice, and those who were not ready mourn
a)
Gen 29:22-28
b)
Judges 14
c)
Mat 25:1-13
d)
Matthew 25
e)
Joel 2:15-16
f)
This 7-day feast represents the 7-year
tribulation period when the church is finally with her bridegroom in true
intimacy, and those outside are tormented.
3)
At the end of the 7-day feast is a marriage
supper, the height of the party. The bride and groom are pronounced one. Rev 19
- On the
feast of trumpets, the East gate of the temple (normally closed) was
opened (Ezek 46)
1)
Rev 3:8
2)
Rev 4:1
3)
Matt 25:10
4)
John 10:7-9
5)
Isa 26:19-21
6)
Luke 13:24
7)
Ps 27:5
- Those who
are raptured are hidden from the wrath of God.
1)
Yom HaKeseh, meaning “The Day of
the Hiding” or “the Hidden Day.” It is the feast that is concealed as to when
it starts.
2)
“Sound the shofar on the New Moon,
in the concealment of the day of our festival” (Psalm 81:3)
3)
We will be hidden from the wrath of God.
a)
Psalm 27:5
b)
Psalm 47
c)
Isa 26:20
d)
Joel 2:1, 32
e)
Zeph 1:14-16; 2:3
- Those not
raptured who should have known better (those cultural Christians, and
especially the Jews) will repent in large numbers, seek the Lord, and be
the tribulation church. This is
also a feature of the feast of trumpets.
1)
Neh 8:1-3
2)
Dan 12:1-2
- I thought
the rapture’s date was unknown?
- The Feast
of Trumpets’ fulfillment in the rapture will happen on this feast, but
which day of the feast and which year is hidden.
- 1Thes
5:1-11 & 2Pet 3:10
1)
The unsaved will be caught off guard. The saints will not.
2)
We are not to be “in the dark” about the rapture.
3)
“Like a thief in the night” phrase was frequently
used of the bridegroom, who would shout gather the guests hurriedly and
unexpectedly for the wedding feast.
- Matt 25:13
1)
The first sight of the first sliver of the
crescent moon over Jerusalem. Don’t know when.
Even now, with Google’s astronomy tools, you don’t know when it will be seen.
2)
This actual phrase was used of the feast. “No man
knows the day or the hour.”
a)
Mishnah explains Deut 16:1, to “observe” the
moon, that we must look for the actual moon to rise, not calculate the moon.
b)
A Calculated Jewish Calendar was created in AD
412 that predicted the start of the months based on astronomical knowledge at
the time, and it is born out by observations to be correct, but that misses the
point that the moons are to be observed.
c)
Calendar celebration of Rosh Hashanah is sundown
Sept 29-31. However, the new moon will
actually rise over Jerusalem (according to Google) 6:58 am on the 29th (11:58
pm on the 27th for us). It has to actually be seen from the temple mount,
though, so a building, a tree, a cloudy night, or some other obstruction will
change the time.
d)
The Lunar observation, therefore, will happen
several hours earlier than the calendar’s commencement of the holiday.
3)
Notice it doesn’t say that you won’t know the
season (ref above).
4)
Also, we are to look at the signs of his coming
and know that it approaches (Matt 24)
- Application:
- God is
purposeful and sovereign. His plan
of redemption has been laid out since the beginning of time (Rev 13:8).
- He has
shared his calendar with us so that we may understand his plan and know
his ways (John 15:15-16).
- God has
shown us how he will work to redeem all things, but the specifics of the
timing are still a mystery to us.
Part of the point of this holiday is that God has the right to
interrupt our work and call us to worship Him.
- Just as the
laborers worked as hard as they could, and even harder as they “saw the
day approaching,” we ought to be about the work of the kingdom with
greater fervency in these last days.
Discussion
Questions:
- What do you
think about the idea that God has a calendar that He uses to manage his
activity in the world? Does that affect the way you see the world?
- Part of the
meaning of trumpets is that God has a right to interrupt your plans and
call you to worship and serve Him.
Does He have that permission in your life?
- Part of the
meaning of trumpets is that God judges the hearts of men. In which of the groups into which the
Jews believed God sorted the hearts of men would you find yourself:
Righteous, Rebellious, or Undecided?
If you are undecided, you never know when God will interrupt your
life with judgment and it will be too late.
- The workers
in the field knew that the holiday was coming and that they would soon
need to put their tools down. They worked harder as the holiday
approached. Are you busy with the
work of the kingdom while we await the rapture?
