Yom Teruah Part 2

An excellent study on the idioms of the Feast of Trumpets.  Many people are confused and even more, don’t know our cultural and spiritual roots of the Hebrew culture.  This is the fullness of time God brought forth the Messiah in a Greek-speaking Roman world with a Jewish Messiah.  Read and chew on these idioms.  You will gain great insight into Gods Holy word.

“…on the first day of the [seventh] month, you shall have a sabbath-rest,a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.”
–Leviticus 23:24b

“a memorial of blowing of trumpets” is teruah in the Hebrew:
H8643
תּרוּעה
terû‛âh
ter-oo-aw’
From H7321; clamor, that is, acclamation of joy or a battle cry; especially clangor of trumpets, as an alarum: – alarm, blow (-ing) (of, the) (trumpets), joy, jubile, loud noise, rejoicing, shout (-ing), (high, joyful) sound (-ing).

H7321 is ‘rua‘ which literally means “to shout (for alarm or joy); to sound an alarm; to cry aloud; to make a joyful noise.”

(NOTE:  Amos37 does NOT give any credence to the use of quotes anywhere on the site for sources outside of the bible.  They are left here for the original articles and historical & cultural understanding.)

Fest of Trumpets Idioms

The Feast of Trumpets is much more than just blowing the shofar (Hebrew for trumpet). In f, ct it’s not limited to the blowing of the trumpet, but it is for the voice as well. This is important because as we shout to God with the voice of triumph (Psalm 47:1) there is a Voice that we are to be listening for – The Lord God Almighty’s!

In fact, that is what this Feast, or Day, is all about…hearing HIS Voice!

Yom HaDin: The Day of Judgment

Another name for Rosh HaShanah is Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgment. It was seen that on this day, G-d would sit in court and all men would pass before Him to be judged. Three great books will be opened as each man is weighed in the balance and placed into one of three categories (Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 6b). It has been taught that the school of Shammai says that there will be three classes on the final Day of Judgment, one of the wholly righteous, one of the wholly wicked, and one of the intermediates. The wholly righteous are at once inscribed and sealed for life in the world to come; the wholly wicked are at once inscribed and sealed for perdition (Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 16b-17a).

The righteous are separated and will be with G-d. This is known to Bible believers as the rapture, which in Hebrew, is the natzal. The wicked will face the wrath of G-d during the tribulation period (Yamim Nora’im), known in Hebrew as the Chevlai shel Mashiach, and will never repent. The average person has until Yom Kippur till his fate is sealed forever. In other words, the average person will have until the end of the seven-year tribulation to repent and turn to G-d. The average person on Rosh HaShanah is judged by G-d and is neither written in the book of life or the book of the wicked. His fate is yet to be decided. The average person and the wicked have to go through the “Awesome Days,” the tribulation until they reach Yom Kippur (the end of the tribulation when their fate is sealed forever). Once you are written in the book of the wicked, you can never get out of it (Revelation 17:8). These are people who never, ever, will accept the Messiah Yeshua.

There are 12 months in the year and there are 12 tribes in Israel. Every month of the Jewish year has its representative tribe. The month of Tishrei is the month of the tribe of Dan. This is of symbolic significance, for when Dan was born to Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, Rachel said, “God hath judged me [dannani], and hath also heard my voice…” (Genesis 30:6). Dan and din (as in Yom HaDin, Day of Judgment) are both derived from the same root, symbolizing that Tishrei is the time of Divine judgment and forgiveness. Similarly, every month of the Jewish calendar has its sign of the Zodiac (in Hebrew, Mazal). The sign of the Zodiac for Tishrei is Scales. This is symbolic of the Day of Judgment.

HaMelech: The Coronation of the King

The recognition of G-d as King is vividly pictured in the Jewish view of Adam’s understanding of his Divine Creator being King over all the Universe. It was late on the sixth day since G-d began the Creation of the world, when Adam opened his eyes and saw the beautiful world around him, and he knew at once that G-d created the world, and him too. Adam’s first words were:

“The L-rd is King forever and ever!” and the echo of his voice rang throughout the world. “Now the whole world will know that I am King,” G-d said, and He was very pleased. This is the first Rosh HaShanah! The first New Year. It was the birthday of Man, and the Coronation Day of the King of Kings!

Messianic Understanding of Rosh HaShanah

A theme and term associated with Rosh HaShanah in Hebrew is HaMelech (the King). It was mentioned earlier in this chapter that the shofar blown on Rosh HaShanah is known as the last trump, which Rav Sha’ul (the apostle Paul) mentioned in First Thessalonians 4:16-17. At this time, the believers in the Messiah who are righteous (tzaddikim) according to Yom HaDin (the Day of Judgment) will escape the tribulation (Chevlai shel Mashiach) on earth and will be taken to Heaven in the rapture (natzal) along with the righteous who had died before this time. What happens to the believers in the Messiah when they are taken to Heaven at this time? One of the events that will take place is the coronation of the Messiah Yeshua as King, which will happen in Heaven (Revelation 5). Yeshua, who had come to earth during His first coming to play the role of the suffering Messiah, Messiah ben Joseph (Yosef), will be crowned as King over all the earth in preparation for His coming back to earth to reign as King Messiah (Messiah ben David) during the Messianic age, the Millennium, or in Hebrew eschatology, the Athid Lavo (Revelation 19:16; 20:4).

Daniel 7:9-14 speaks of this in the Tanach.

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit…the judgment was set, and the books were opened. [This is Rosh HaShanah, Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgment. The books are the book of the righteous, the book of the wicked, and the book of remembrance] … I saw… one like the Son of man [this is understood to be the Messiah Yeshua (Matthew 24:30; 26:64)] coming with the clouds of heaven [the clouds are the believers in the Messiah (Hebrews 12:1; Revelation 1:7)]…And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:9-10,13-14).

John (Yochanan) saw this same thing in the Book of Revelation.

After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven [the gates of Heaven are opened on Rosh HaShanah, according to Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 26:2 and Psalm (Tehillim) 118:19-20]: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet [Rosh HaShanah is known as the last trump] talking with me [Rosh HaShanah is known as Yom Teruah, the Day of the Awakening Blast or loud shout(1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)]..And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne [this is HaMelech, the coronation of the Messiah; the coronation ceremony is described in Revelation 5] (Revelation 4:1-2).

The description given here in Revelation matches the account in Daniel 7:9-14.

The Enthronement Ceremony of a King

There are four parts to the enthronement of a Jewish king.

  1. The giving of the decree. Associated with this is a declaration. This can be seen in Psalm (Tehillim) 2:6-7, as it is written, “Yet have I set my king upon My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree….” Next, a rod/scepter is given, which is an emblem of a king. Scriptures that refer to the scepter include Genesis 49:17; Numbers 24:17; Esther 4:11; 5:2; 8:4; Psalm 45:6; and Hebrews 1:8. Scriptures that refer to a rod are in Psalm 2:9; Isaiah 11:1,4; and Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:16. The scepter is an emblem of a king or royal office and a rod refers to the king ruling and reigning righteously in all matters (Isaiah 11:1,4-5). Yeshua is the King Messiah (Isaiah 11:1,4-5; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Zechariah 9:9; Luke 1:32-33; John 1:47-49).
  2. The ceremony of the taking of the throne (Revelation 5). The king sits on the throne and is anointed as king. The word Christ in English comes from the Greek word Christos and in Hebrew is Mashiach, meaning “the anointed one.” Yeshua came as a prophet during His first coming (Deuteronomy 18:15), was resurrected as the priest (John 20:9,17), and is coming back to earth again as King. Kings in Israel were anointed (2 Samuel 5:3-4; 1 Kings 1:39-40, 45-46; 2 Kings 9:1-6).
  3. The acclamation. During the acclamation, all the people shout, “Long live the king!” (1 Kings 1:28-31). Next, all the people clap (Psalm 47:1-2). Psalm 47 is a coronation psalm. Psalm 47:5 is the shout and trumpet of Rosh HaShanah. Verse 6 is the shouting and praising of the king. Verse 8 is the ceremony of the throne. In verse 9, the believers in the Messiah Yeshua are gathered in His presence.
  4. Each of the subjects coming to visit the king after he has taken the throne. In this, they will acknowledge their allegiance to him and receive their commissioning from him as to what their job will be in the kingdom (Isaiah [Yeshayahu] 66:22-23; Zechariah 14:16-17; Matthew 2:2).

Yom HaZikkaron: The Day of Remembrance

Rosh HaShanah is known as Yom HaZikkaron, the Day of Remembrance. Leviticus 23:24 calls the day “a memorial” (zikkaron). Remembrance is a major theme in the Bible. We can see by examining the following Scriptures that G-d remembers us and that we are to remember G-d in all of our ways.

There are two elements of remembrance:

a) G-d remembers us (Genesis 8:1; 9:1, 5-16; 19:29; 30:22; Exodus 2:24-25; 3:1; 6:2,5; 32:1-3,7,11,13-14; Leviticus 26:14,31-33,38-45; Numbers 10:1-2,9; Psalm 105:7-8,42-43; 112:6). In fact, G-d has a book of remembrance (Exodus 32:32-33; Malachi 3:16-18; Revelation 3:5; 20:11-15; 21:1,27).

b) We must remember G-d (Exodus 13:3; 20:8; Deuteronomy 7:17-19; 8:18; 16:3; Numbers 15:37-41).

In Daniel 7:9-10 it is written:

I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him; thousands upon thousands were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; the court sat, and the books were opened (Daniel 7:9-10 NAS).

Since the court was seated and the books were opened, it is understood to be Rosh HaShanah. The books are the book of the righteous, the book of the wicked, and the book of remembrance. The third book that will be opened is the book of remembrance (zikkaron). This is why the common greeting during Rosh HaShanah is, “May you be inscribed in the Book of Life.”

Spiritual Application (Halacha). In Romans 14:10 it is written, “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God [Christ]” (NAS). In Second Corinthians 5:10 it is written, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (NAS). This is also discussed in First Corinthians 3:9-15. The works of the believers in Messiah will be judged by G-d, but not their salvation. This is a judgment of the believers in Yeshua only. All people in this judgment are the believers in Yeshua only. All people in this judgment will be saved. This is not a judgment of your salvation, but a judgment of your rewards based upon your works. On this day, G-d will open the Book of Life and hold a trial (Talmud, Rosh HaShanah 16b). This is known as the Bema Seat judgment.

The Time of Jacob’s Trouble: (The Birthpangs of the Messiah)

The English phrase, birthpangs of the Messiah, or the Hebrew Chevlai shel Mashiach, is a major theme of the Bible. It is commonly known as the seven-year tribulation period. In Matthew (Mattityahu) 24, Yeshua describes the signs of the end. “And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age [Olam Hazeh]?’ “(Matthew 24:3 NAS) Yeshua said that these days are the beginning of sorrows (Matthew [Mattityahu] 24:8. The Greek word translated as sorrows here is odin. This word means “birthpangs.” The birthpangs of the Messiah are also spoken of in Jeremiah (Yermiyahu) 30:4-7, as it is written:

Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah, “For thus says the Lord, ‘I have heard a sound of terror, of dread, and there is no peace. Ask now, and see, if a male can give birth [travail with child?]. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth [odin]? And why have all faces turned pale? Alas! for that day is great, there is none like it, and it is the time of Jacob’s distress [trouble], but he will be saved from it‘ “(Jeremiah 30:4-7 NAS).

The birthpangs are also mentioned in First Thessalonians 5:1-3:

Now as to the times and the epochs [seasons], brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs [odin] upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 NAS).

It can also be seen in Revelation 12:1-2, as it is written:

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars [this is Israel (Genesis [Bereishit] 37:9)]; and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor [odin] and in pain to give birth (Revelation 12:1-2 NAS).

The Scriptures reveal two synonyms: Birthpangs & Jacob’s Trouble

  1. The birthpangs = the time of Jacob’s (Ya’akov’s) trouble.
  2. The time of Jacob’s (Ya’akov’s) trouble = the seven-year tribulation.

This period of time will be Israel’s most trying time ever. This period of time is known as the tribulation. Jacob (Ya’akov) is Israel. There shall be great tribulation in Israel such as never was since there was a nation (Daniel 12:1). It will also be a time when G-d will ultimately judge sin and all the nations on the earth. Through it, the nation of Israel will be physically saved from total destruction by G-d, and will, as a nation, accept Yeshua as the Messiah “…But he shall be saved out of it” (Jeremiah [Yermiyahu] 30:7). In Hosea (Hoshea) 5:15 it is written, “I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face: in their affliction [the Chevlai shel Mashiach /tribulation] they will seek Me early.”

Israel will face the genuine crisis during the time of Jacob’s (Ya’akov’s) trouble. The prophet Zechariah prophesied that two of every three inhabitants of Israel will perish during this time, with a remnant of only one-third of the population being saved (Zechariah 13:8-9). In Isaiah 13:6-8 it is written:

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man ‘s heart will melt [see Luke 21:26]. And they will be terrified, pains and anguish will take hold of them, they will writhe like a woman in labor; they will look at one another in astonishment, their faces aflame (Isaiah 13:6-8 NAS).

Isaiah 13:10 corresponds to Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24; and Revelation 6:12. Other passages that speak of the birthpangs include Genesis (Bereishit) 3:16; 35:16-20; 38:27-28; Isaiah 26:16-21; 54:1; 66:7-9; Jeremiah 4:31; 6:24; 13:21; 22:23; Micah 4:9-10; and John 16:21-22.

Stages to Israel’s birthing the Messiah.

  1. Isaiah 66:7 is a birth before travail. “Before she [Israel] travailed [received the Messiah (Mashiach)], she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child” (Isaiah 66:7). Isaiah 66:7 is a birth before travail. This happened during the first coming of Yeshua, the Messiah. The birthpangs that Israel experienced during Yeshua’s first coming came after Yeshua’s death with the destruction of the temple and the dispersion of the Jewish people out of Israel by the Romans in 70 C.E. (Common Era).
  2. Isaiah 66:8 is a birth after travail. Isaiah 66:8 says, “…as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.” This will happen before Yeshua returns to earth to set foot on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) as Israel experiences the hardest time she has ever experienced since she was a nation (Daniel 12:1) in the period of time known as the birthpangs of the Messiah, the Yamim Nora’im, or the tribulation. The tribulation and the birthpangs of the Messiah are one and the same thing. What we are seeing in these days is the woman (Israel) becoming larger and larger, coming closer and closer to the time when she is about to give birth.

The Opening of the Gates of Heaven

The gates of Heaven are opened on Rosh HaShanah so the righteous nation may enter (Isaiah 26:2; Psalm 118:19-20). Because the gates of Heaven are understood to be open on Rosh HaShanah, this is further evidence that the rapture (natzal) of the believers in the Messiah Yeshua will take place on Rosh HaShanah.

The last installment will be part 3 will wrap it up.

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