Prepare Ye the Way: The Jewish High Holidays/Feast of Trumpets
How would you like to be in a service where a trumpet is blasted 100 times? Well, this is what happens at the Feast of Trumpets.
Welcome to this year’s article about the Jewish High Holy Days. This year, I will be focusing on the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah, יוֹם תְּרוּעָה) “shout, blow, alarm, or blast” (Strong’s #8643). which is its biblical designation; and in the secular sense, it is called Rosh Ha Shanah – the Head of the Year, or the Jewish New Year.
The High Holy Days comprise:
- the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Ha Shanah/Jewish New Year),
- Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and
- Sukkot, which commemorates the sheltering of the children of Israel in the wilderness.
You may wish to read my previous articles here:
- 2020 – High Holy Days/overview
- 2021 – The Jewish High Holidays/One New Man focus
- 2022 – The Jewish High Holidays/Yom Kippur focus
Each year, I like to look at a different aspect of the High Holy Days, because there is so much to take in. This year, I am drawn to examine the Feast of Trumpets.
As a New Testament believer, I thoroughly know, believe, and enjoy the freedom that Yeshua has given me. I also know that these occasions are the “feasts of the Lord” (Leviticus 23:2).
Paul says in Colossians 2:17 (ISV): These are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Messiah.
The feasts are the Lord’s time clock, and as we observe them, we learn what He is saying and doing. Today, we want to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us through this appointed time.
The Feast of Trumpets, 2023
This year, the Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Ha Shanah commences at sunset on Friday, September 15, and ends at nightfall on Sunday, September 17. Note that the Jewish calendar is lunar/solar and differs from our Gregorian calendar.
It begins on the first day (at the new moon) of the seventh month (Tishrei), and Tishrei is considered a sabbatical month. Its name comes from the command to blow trumpets.
“Speak to the children of Yisra’el, saying,
‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month,
shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
You shall do no regular work; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'”
~ Leviticus 23:24-25 (HNV)
Also, please refer to the instructions in Numbers 29:1-6.
The Meaning of the Feast of Trumpets
- Some believe that this feast represents the rapture of the Church. Yeshua will come for His bride, and there will be a wedding feast. The rapture is accompanied by the blowing of a loud trumpet (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and 1 Corinthians 15:52).
- In Jewish thought, the feast of trumpets is related to the wedding of the Messiah.
A Day of Remembrance, for on this day, Jews commemorate the creation of the universe, and the Jewish nation recalls its responsibilities as God’s chosen people.
This is a self-explanatory chart that helps us to understand the seven feasts. The Spring Feasts (northern hemisphere) were fulfilled at Yeshua’s first coming, whereas the Autumn/Fall feasts (northern hemisphere) are not yet fulfilled.
How the Feast of Trumpets is celebrated
In the month of Elul, which precedes the Feast of Trumpets, the shofar is blasted daily except for Shabbat and except in Jerusalem. This blasting of the shofar is a call to repentance. It is a blast that is supposed to awaken.
The new month of Tishrei commences with the Feast of Trumpets, and it is the beginning of a ten-day period where people repent before the Lord. According to Jewish tradition, they believe that the names of the righteous are written in the Book of Life or the Book of Death. Most will not have their names written in either book, but they enter the ten days of awe, a time of repentance, until Yom Kippur, when the names are written in either the Book of Life or in the Book of Death. Then, the books are sealed.
It is also called Rosh Ha Shanah, which means “Head of the Year”, because it marks the beginning of the Jewish civil calendar. During this celebration, no kind of work was to be performed, but burnt offerings and a sin offering were to be brought before the Lord.
Other observances:
- Torah Readings
- Sounding of the Shofar
- Candle lighting, and kiddush is said over the wine (kiddush is a blessing over the wine before a meal)
- Dipping apples or challah bread in honey before a meal. They often say “Shanah tova u metuka” — שָׁנָה טוֹבָה וּמְתוּקָה – a good and sweet year.
- Round challah loaves at this time instead of oblong to represent the kingship of the Lord. (His crown)
- Tashlikh – a ceremony where some symbolically cast their sins into a river or stream.
The sounding of the shofar is twofold. Leviticus 23:24 talks of a trumpet (teruah תְּרוּעָה); however, a ram’s horn was blown on the time of the new moon (Psalm 81:3). Jewish tradition teaches us that both the trumpets (silver temple trumpets חצוצרות) and the ram’s horn (shofar שׁוֹפָר) were used at this feast.
The sounding of the ram’s horn is heard at least one hundred times in a typical Rosh Ha Shanah service. The ram’s horn is significant as this instrument reminds us of Abraham and Isaac, and how the Lord provided a ram for the sacrifice.
The Feast of Trumpets heralded:
- the end of the agricultural and festival year
- Yom Kippur then falls on the tenth day of this month, and
- Sukkot begins on the fifteenth day.
On the first day of Tishrei, the blowing of the trumpets heralded a solemn time of preparation for the Day of Atonement; this preparation time was called “Ten Days of Repentance” or the “Days of Awe.” The trumpet sound called the people to a time of preparation and repentance.
Yom Teruah (the Feast of Trumpets), together with the other feasts, were a picture of the life and ministry of Yeshua. The prophets warned the people about the coming day of Judgement, the Day of the Lord.
Blow you the shofar in Tziyon,
And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of the LORD comes,
For it is close at hand.
~ Joel 2:1 (HNV)
The trumpet blasts continue from the Old Testament to the New Testament, as in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Even the Book of Revelation talks of the judgements being signalled by a trumpet blast. At the last trump, the Lord Himself is calling us to Heaven and releasing a warning of what is to come.
Reflections
And so, we move from the month of Elul in which we find ourselves at present, and into the Feast of Trumpets, 15th-17th September. The shofars have already been blasting daily during Elul, calling people to prepare for the High Holy Days and Yom Kippur.
As I meditate on these scriptures, it is as if the Lord’s books are being opened, and we will begin to see the Lord move in a sovereign way, bringing forth His purposes. The Lord, by His Spirit, is releasing His breath, His spirit through the blowing and bringing divine adjustments. I have seen the Lord move in this way previously, and it is awesome to behold.
This season that is being heralded by the blowing of the shofar and the blowing of the trumpets is releasing something new on earth that is coming from Heaven. His ways are above our ways, and we will be amazed, I believe, as we see the Lord unfold His NEW on the planet.
John Parsons shares that when the Great King appears, great judgement also occurs.
These unfulfilled feasts speak of the Great Day of the Lord, the coming of the Messiah to rule the earth, the national turning of the Jewish people and the establishment of the Messiah’s throne in Jerusalem to rule over the earth.
Right now, we are viewing the feasts as a dress rehearsal of the real thing that is yet to come; however, through these times, the Lord is giving us ample opportunity to be prepared.
The Holy Spirit spoke a word to me: “Announce” – that through the symbolism of the Feast of Trumpets and the High Holy Days, He is making an announcement.
In a recent vision, the Lord showed me a tunnel, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove was flying through the tunnel towards me. There were other details in the vision, but I feel that the main message is that the Holy Spirit is coming to us in a new way.
One more confirmation was a beautiful vision that one of my fellow intercessors received in a recent prayer meeting, which depicted angels lining up and blowing trumpets. Truly, the Lord is preparing us for His special announcement.
When the Holy Spirit blows like it says in John, things happen — there are results. In this season, we will see the results of the Spirit’s blowing.
The ruach (wind, Spirit) blows where it wishes, and the sound of it you hear, but you do not have da’as of where it comes from and where it goes [KOHELET 11:5]; so it is with everyone having been born of the Ruach Hakodesh. [YECHEZKEL 37:9, John 3:8 (OJB)].
When I look at World War II and what Hitler was trying to achieve, I believe that the enemy was trying to bring forth his agenda too early. However, the Lord showed me Ezekiel recently, which talks about no more delay.
“Therefore say to them,
‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
None of My words will be delayed any longer;
whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign LORD.’”
~ Ezekiel 12:29 (NIV)
We are stepping into something that the Lord has prepared from eternity. He has been preparing us for this hour. We have “come to the kingdom for such a time as this.”
You and I are living in a day where we are seeing the prophecies of God’s word coming to pass before our very own eyes.
If the Lord is announcing something, we need to hear Him.
If we hear, we need to do something about it. It is His desire and our desire to be His Bride without spot or wrinkle.
Are we ready?
Repentance prepares the way for God to move in our lives.
___
Image: Bigstock
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Today’s article “Prepare Ye the Way: The Jewish High Holidays/Feast of Trumpets” by Nel Farnik explores the significance of the Jewish Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Ha Shanah) in relation to Christian beliefs. While the article draws a number of parallels between the Jewish feasts and the New Testament prophecies, it is important to critique this perspective, keeping in mind that Christianity and Judaism are distinct religions. Using Scriptural references, we can examine the ways in which Christianity has moved beyond the ceremonial laws, viewing Christ as the ultimate sacrifice.
1. Ceremonial Laws and Christ as the Final Sacrifice:
– The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews, stresses that the ceremonial laws, sacrifices, and rituals were but a shadow of the good things to come and not the realities themselves (Hebrews 10:1).
– Jesus, through His sacrifice on the cross, is regarded as the final and complete sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 9:26). This means that the need for animal sacrifices, as were customary during the Jewish feasts, was made redundant.
– Paul clarifies in Colossians 2:16-17, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”
2. Parallels to the Holy Spirit and Jewish Customs:
– The article refers to the blowing of the shofar as symbolic of the Holy Spirit’s movement. While the sound of the shofar does hold significance in the Old Testament, particularly as a call to repentance, the New Testament introduces the Holy Spirit in a different context.
– At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles like tongues of fire, accompanied by the sound of a mighty wind, marking the birth of the Church (Acts 2:1-4). The New Testament does not draw parallels between the Holy Spirit and the customs of the Jewish feasts.
3. Jesus and the Feasts:
– The article rightly mentions Colossians 2:17 to show that feasts were a shadow of things to come, and the reality belongs to Christ. But, it’s crucial to emphasize that Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Law (Matthew 5:17), meaning believers are not bound by the old ceremonial laws.
4. The New Covenant:
– Through Christ’s death and resurrection, a new covenant was established between God and humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 8:8-12). This covenant transcends the rituals, ceremonies, and feasts of the Old Testament, focusing instead on the salvation offered through faith in Jesus.
In conclusion, while there are parallels and prophetic insights in the Jewish feasts and ceremonies that can be seen in light of the New Testament, it is vital to understand the distinctiveness of Christianity’s teachings regarding Christ’s sacrifice and the new covenant. The work of Christ on the cross offers a new way of relating to God that goes beyond ceremonial laws and rituals.
Thanks Nel ..Holy Spirit is going to come inn a new way …I believe
Thanks Nel for sharing about these holidays as everything in the Bible is God inspired and there is still so much to learn from the Old Testament that we should not ignore.
It’s like throwing out the baby with the bath water … and we don’t want to do that at all.
It is also interesting to note that there are a number of impactful Christian events right here in Australia during this time and there are no coincidences as far as I am concerned.