In part one of this series, we discussed how we must take a different look at the Fall Feasts. Were the Fall Feast partially fulfilled at the First Coming? Are the Fall Feasts going to be completely fulfilled at the Second coming? Are the Feast of God truly only for the Jews and do not involve the church at all? Do we see Jesus celebrating the Feasts in the New Testament? These are all questions we are going to tackle in this series.
Let's start with Rosh Hashanah -
Leviticus 23:24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
We've written extensively about how Rosh Hashanah is the hidden day and how No Man Knows the Hour or the Day refers to the holiday. Did you know that Rosh Hashanah is the only Feast of the Lord that does not have an explicit reason for celebration? Isn't it interesting to contemplate that it may have had it's first fulfillment at Christ's first coming? What does the Old Testament tell us?
Old Testament Shadow:
For this text, we look at Nehemiah 8:1-9. The people have been regathered from Babylon, they have rebuilt the walls and the Priest Ezra reads the word of God to the people on Rosh Hashanah. We see an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the people and they understand the word of God. Note that Ezra is facing the Water Gate, which represents the Water of Life, the Word of God is read and the people mourn - but the priest tells them not to mourn that this is a Holy Day.
Possible Prophetic fulfillment - could be when the priest read to the regathered Jews, that they have an outpouring of the Holy Spirit and they understand. Zechariah proclaims that one day the children of Israel will look upon the one they have pierced and weep for him as they would weep for the loss of an only son.
First Coming Fulfillment:
Consider Jack Kelley's work on
Jesus' Birthday; by tracking the temple rotations of the priests established by King David and laid out in the Bible, we can surmise when John the Baptist was conceived. By using the Scripture on Elizabeth and Mary's visit we can extrapolate that Christ was born in the fall. (I encourage you to read the link above and then come back to the study.) Chuck Missler has also done this research and corroborate the findings.
Equally compelling, is the work that Rick Larson on the
Star of Bethlehem and the possibility of a celestial sign in the Heavens of what could be the conception (or in corroboration of the above the birth) of Christ on Rosh Hashanah. (For Rick's amazing work, check out his presentation
here.)
Jewish Tradition holds that Adam was created on Rosh Hashanah and the second day of the feast is the original Sabbath. If Jesus as the "Second Adam" (1 Corinthians 2:15) was also born or conceived on Rosh Hashanah is that not adequate fulfillment of the moedim? The birth of Messiah most assuredly qualifies as a miracle and satisfies the prophetic requirements of fulfilled prophecy.
Can you picture it? It's a cool night in Bethlehem, the temple shepherds (read
What is So Special About Bethlehem) are in the fields. A few miles away, the priests are blowing the trumpets for Rosh Hashanah and the sky opens up and we read:
Luke 2:9-11 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour (Messiah!), which is Christ the Lord.
End Times:
Alternatively, for a Second Coming Fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets, look at Matthew 24:30-31 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
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| Sign of the Son of man |
(Many incorrectly teach this is a Rapture Scripture, many even teach a post tribulation Rapture based on the above, my position is firmly pre-tribulation so I won't go down that rabbit hole.) Given the extensive study we've done on the The Feast of Trumpets, the sign of the Son of man in Heaven can EASILY be attributed to Rosh Hashanah.
Who is not to say that each of the Feast Days is not met and marked more than once or twice? The exception of course being Passover, for the sacrifice and the work on the cross is once and for all time.
The Lord is not the author of confusion and I do not wish to muddy the water, but we must not be dogmatic in our beliefs about the fulfillment of the Feasts, nor the timing of them. What this blog is designed to do is simply look at the possibilities and the Scriptures. For me, I feel as if I've gone through a door and found a huge banquet laid before me, God's word, His prophecies, and a new study. Maranantha!
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