“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.”

Mathew 24:34

Early on in my journey to let others know what the Bible says about the Last Days prophesied in both the Old and New Testament, one of the very first articles I wrote was about the coming Rapture of the Church (The Rapture – God’s Promise). The key take away was my assertion, that even though many will always say that “…no man knows the hour nor the day” when the Rapture will occur, the fact remains if you closely examine the ancient Greek that the Bible was written in,  it actually says we CAN know it if we study it. With so many people today asserting the Rapture will occur shortly, I wanted to pass along a post by a Jewish author, Jerry Goldman in Jerusalem, speaking about Rosh Hashanah, aka the Feast of Trumpets. This is the day Jews celebrate the creation of the universe. When you take in consideration the similarities between the “Feast of Trumpets and the Rapture”, I believe you may be surprised at yet another possibility.

In just a few days, Jews will celebrate Rosh Hashanah or what is also known as the “Feast of Trumpets”. This year it begins on Friday, September 18th at sundown in Israel and ends on Saturday, September 19th at sundown. In the Jewish calendar, this is Tishiri 1, 5781. It is critical you know the differences and similarities between these two dates. More on that in a moment though. Lately I have read and heard from a number of Bible prophecy authors about the possibility that Rosh Hashanah and the Rapture will both occur at the same time. Perhaps you may remember an article I wrote (Which Trumpet will soon Blast?) where I attempted to explain this often cited possibility. As a Christian, please read his post below which describes Rose Hashanah, reprinted with his permission, and then we will address how the Rapture of the Believers may well fit into this Jewish holiday.

“This report is for those who would like to observe God’s Holidays. This has absolutely nothing to do with the Law; this has everything to do with the Holidays God has given us to be observed. It is not complete, and if I tried to make it complete it would be more than most would want to read. So I do hope it wets your appetite.

The Hebrew word Rosh means “head” or “Beginning” Ha means “the” and Shannah means “year”. It’s only used once in the Tenach (Old Testament) Ezekiel 40:1 says, “in the beginning of the year” in the Hebrew it says Rosh Ha Shannah. The more common Biblical name is “Feast of Trumpets.” Lev.23:23-25 “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, In the seventh month in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.”

Rosh Ha Shannah is considered the Jewish New Year, but it comes on the seventh month on the first day. In the Jewish world it is considered the birthday of the world. If you count from the first day of Elul (the 6^th month) until the 1^st day of Tishri (7^th month) which is Rosh Ha Shannah, you will have counted 30 days. Known as the 30 days of preparation ending with Yom Teruah, Yom in Hebrew is “day” Teruah means “Trumpets” so it’s the day of sounding the trumpets, or known today as Rosh Ha Shannah.

If I haven’t lost you yet, you are doing well, don’t let this get too complicated, because it will come to you in time. Now lets go on…. Rosh Ha Shanah is the Spiritual New Year, not the regular new year, for it would come on the first day of Nisan, the first month on the Jewish calendar. Much like the 6 days of creation, the 7^th day is the Sabbath. The same is true with the first 6 months and the 7^th month being a Sabbath, and the 1^st day of the 7^th month is Rosh Ha Shannah, the spiritual New Year. Recognized in Israel and the Jewish world as the New Year.

Rosh Ha Shannah is the beginning of the ten days called High Holy Days or “Days of Awe” They are also called the Days of Repentance, Days of Admitting, Days of Returning. These ten days end with the Day of Atonement, “Yom Kippur”

It’s interesting living in Israel during these ten days of repentance, everyone you know will most likely call you and make sure everything is all right with you and them. They will ask you to forgive them for anything they may have done during the year that may have offended you. There seems to be more nice people in Israel during these ten days.

Traditional Jewish Observance

 In the Synagogue the Shofar (Trumpet) is blown daily to be sure that everyone knows that the time of Judgement is near. Most of the orthodox will take a water immersion called in Hebrew (tevilah mikveh) better known to you as baptism. It means that one has cleansed his ways. Or been separated unto a Priestly Ministry. This is what John the Baptist was calling the Jews to do, but with a Messianic meaning.

Because of the meaning of repentance this day takes on a somber character, but with a hint of hope of God’s forgiveness there is room for a festive meal. It is the custom to serve a fish cooked with its head placed in front of the father. It shows that he has been ordained by God to be the head of the family.

It is also a time to test the first fruits of the new harvest. Find a fruit that gets ripe in your region and do not eat any until this meal. Make it an occasion for the family, they will enjoy it much more than if they have eaten it earlier. Make the meal even more interesting by blowing a shofar, or trumpet, you don’t have to be a professional to do this. In the Synagogue there are four different notes blown, tekia (blast) shevarim (broken notes), teruah (alarm) and tekia gedolah (the big blast). In Biblical times the Shofar was blown to Hail the King, on this day it’s said that all Israel is said to be before the King in anticipation of personal judgement.

It’s customary for slices of apple to be dipped into honey, this is in hope that the coming new year will be a sweet one. After dipping the apple in honey, the Father says a special prayer.

Instead of the regular twisted loaves of bread, the challah, for this meal you have round bread, symbolic of our desire for a full and round year. If you bake your own bread, save a little dough and form a small ladder on the top of the loaf. Showing that your prayers are for God Who sets on high, that when we pray we are not just talking to each other, but to God through the Person of Yeshua our Messiah.

When the meal is over and the grace has been said, (the Jewish way and biblical way is to say grace after you’ve eaten) then read the story of Abraham and Isaac Gen. 22:1-14. Talk about God’s provision of a ram to be sacrificed in Isaac’s place. A living picture of what was to come in His greater gift to us “Yeshua” Jesus.

TASHLICH

“Thou shalt cast unto the sea”

Tashlich, on the afternoon of Rosh Ha Shannah it is traditional to go to a river or a body of water. This Hebrew word Tashlich means “thou shalt cast unto the sea”. Bring your kids to the lake, river, sea, or any body of water. Make sure they wear cloths with plenty of pockets, and fill them with pebbles or small stones. Throw the rocks into the water each time designate each rock with a sin. Each time asking God to forgive you of that sin in your life. Micah 7:19 and thou shalt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. And see how far you can throw each stone Ps. 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

It almost always happens that a child will find a very pretty stone that they want to keep, and it will give you a wonderful opportunity to talk about the sins we seem to like, but must cast off as well. It is a great family experience. For the child it opens the door for the Holy Spirit to do a work. Much like when you introduce another to Yeshua and open the door for the Holy Spirit (Rauch Ha Kodesh) to do a work in their life.

There are many special foods for this day, and I could go on and on, but I will close this article with this. The Holidays that God has given us are real and pure, not pagan like so many celebrated in the Church today, like Christmas, Easter, Good Friday etc. Try this one, you will love it, your kids will be brought closer to God because you did.”

Shalom, Jerry Goldman

Reposted with Permission – The Golden Report

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMP (capitals mine): for the TRUMPET WILL SOUND (capitals mine), and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (the Rapture).”

Corinthians 15:51-52

To bring Jewish tradition together with the Christian belief in the Rapture, you have a unique event here. Yom Teruah is the ancient Biblical  name for Rosh Hashanah and is a holy, day but the Jews are NOT told why it is a holy day. They are instead simply told to not work, to observe it and to repent of their wickedness. Nevertheless, the name Yom Teruah does provide us a clue as to its purpose. Teruah literally means “to make a loud noise”. This word can describe the noise made by a trumpet but it also describes the noise made by a large gathering of people shouting in unison. We know the Rapture will be the Last Trump (of the Feast of Trumpets?) and it will sound loud enough for all Believers to hear it!

Is God telling the Jews at the Christian Rapture to not work and to repent of their wickedness? Is He telling them at the Last Trumpet of the Feast of Trumpets the Rapture of Believers just occurred and they must now get their lives in order to be saved? Did God ask them to recognize this day as a holy day but on purpose not tell them why? Honestly, I don’t know but it sure makes sense from a Christian/Jewish perspective.

Now, I do not believe in date setting per what the Bible has warned us about but we also have been told to watch for the times and seasons. Most Christians would have to admit with the convergence of events and intensity of what was prophesied, we are living in the Last Days. I also believe when we are with the Lord and our understanding has been increased we may very well look back on Rosh Hashanah and say “I should have seen that coming.” We do know sometime after the Rapture the Jewish people and unbelievers will have to go through the Tribulation, the worst 7 years in recorded history. Could it be the beginning of their new year at the last trump that it might be the time when the Church is removed so God’s Plan for His people can be fulfilled as prophesied? Are you ready?

Ultimately, since we must all be ready at a moment’s notice for the Rapture to occur, which it could at any time, it is comforting to know God has instructed us that we are in the light and not of darkness. We have the time today if the Rapture has not yet occurred to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and ask Him to forgive our sins. If we do this and go forward telling others what we have learned about eternal Salvation we will have a special Blessing waiting for us in Heaven. How can we do that? Simply do what Jesus told us to do and that is to “…therefore comfort one another with these words.” His Words are comforting and we owe it to our friends and family to encourage them to seek out Jesus and ask for forgiveness of their sins.

I don’t know about you, but I anxiously await the blowing of THE trumpet, whenever it will sound! May God Bless you!