Sunday, September 25, 2022 at 6:00 pm began the Feast of Trumpets which ends at 6:00 pm today—September 27. Why is this significant? God has prescheduled seven feasts or divine appointments with His people operating on a different calendar from the one the world uses. We must pay attention to God’s prophetic calendar and His time schedule. In Genesis 1:14 God declares that He has set in place the sun and the moon for “signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” On our Gregorian calendar we think seasons such as winter, spring, summer, and fall. However, God is referring to the timing on His own prophetic calendar. The days mean holy days, like the new moon and the Sabbath, as well as the Spring Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits and Pentecost and the Fall Feasts of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles. Let’s examine how and why these feasts are important.
The seven festivals of the LORD found in Leviticus 23 were given by God to teach His people the role the Messiah would play in redeeming and restoring creation back to God. They help us understand God’s plan of redemption for the world and our personal relationship to Him. (Romans 15:4) They foreshadow things to come (Col. 2: 16-17, Heb. 10:1, I Cor. 10: 1-6, 11) They are called Holy Convocations which actually means rehearsals or appointed times. As God commanded, the Jews have been observing these Feasts for 1,400 years before Messiah’s birth. What if God set those dates as days He intends to fulfill specific prophecies in Messiah’s first and second coming? These are the exact events in which all Christians (and some Jews) have placed all of our hope, and upon which we completely base our faith. Leviticus 23:2 tells us, “These are My appointed festivals, the appointed festivals of the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.” The designation of LORD in all capital letters in the Old Testament is Jesus—so the feasts all point to Him.
The first three spring festivals, Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits, overlap. They perfectly set the stage and timing for the events of Messiah’s first coming. They present a portrait of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The fourth and final spring feast, Pentecost, is held 50 days following the morning after Passover. Jesus is the Passover Lamb of God: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) Jesus is the Unleavened Bread of Life: “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the word is My flesh.” (John 6: 51) Jesus is the First Fruits: “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” (I Corinthians 15: 20) Between the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets there was an interval of four months during which the Harvest and Vintage were gathered in. This long interval typifies the Present Church Age in which the Holy Spirit is gathering out the elect of the Church, and during which Israel has been scattered among the Nations but now being regathered back into the land of Israel and declared a State on May 14, 1948 in preparation for the fulfillment of prophecy concerning the last days. When the Present Dispensation has run its course, and the “Fulness of the Gentiles” has been gathered in (Rom. 11: 25) along with the remnant according to the election of grace of Israel (Rom. 11: 5) then this Dispensation of Grace will end.
The first of the fall feasts is the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah which starts the Jewish New Year with the blowing of the shofar. This refers directly to the pre-approved day when God Himself will shout the battle cry as He comes to judge the earth and will blow the shofar to gather His troops. This is when the Church is caught out—“The Lord Himself shall descend with the Trump of God” (Read I Thess. 4: 16-17) From this we see that the Feast of Trumpets has a typical relation to the catching out of the church, and the regathering of Israel at the Second Coming of Christ. This has led some to believe that as Jesus was crucified at the time of the Passover, and the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost, that when He comes back the “Rapture” will take place at the Feast of Trumpets. Only time will tell as God only knows the day and the hour.
What is the personal message that we can receive during this Feast of Trumpets? This feast of God is all about new beginnings, a fresh start, repentance, change, transformation, and hope. God is a God of restoration and the Church in America needs a makeover from top to bottom. If we continue on our current religious track, I believe we will bring more and severer judgments of God upon ourselves and nation. This must be a time of great awakening personally, as a Church and as a nation. It is the sounding of the alarm clock to tell the dead it is time to wake up! Hello Church in America! May this day be the beginning of a new and fresh start, a clean slate, a do over from anything in our lives that we feel is wasted or unworthy.
Ten days after the Feast of Trumpets is the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur which is a time of repentance and awe. Repentance is more than feeling sorry which can lead to conviction and remorse. True repentance is constructive resulting in a real change in the way we think, ultimately leading to a change in our actions. As we begin this next ten day journey on God’s prophetic calendar, may it be a time of true repentance. God made a provision on the cross for each believer to get right with God, to repent, to give forgiveness, and to walk in obedience. During this time let us Christians in America use this opportunity to fast and pray and seek God and put everything we do in our lives, in our churches, and in our nation on the altar before God and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit remove everything that does not have its basis in the Word of God. David charged Solomon with these words in I Chronicles 28: 9 concerning His relationship with the LORD: “serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts; if thou seek Him, He will be found of thee.” This is my prayer for each of us as we move toward the Day of Atonement which begins at 6:00 pm October 4th and ends at 6:00 pm October 5th.