It’s a Brand New Day by Ray Haynes
Rosh Hashanah starts the New Biblical Year 5779 on Sunday, September 9th at nightfall. Appropriately called The Feast of Trumpets, it gives us an opportunity each year to remember and celebrate several amazing events that all occurred or will occur on the first day of the Biblical New Year. It was the 6th Day of Creation when God made Adam and Eve. Nearly 4,000 years later, Jesus came to earth to redeem mankind (as the second Adam) on the same calendar date. Yes, it’s the Real Christmas!
In the future, this Holy Day will initiate God’s judgment and reward for mankind: It’s the Beginning of the Tribulation, the Rapture and Second Coming, the Restoration of Israel, the Wedding of the Church to our Bridegroom Jesus, and the Coronation of Jesus as King. The Feast of Trumpets kicks off the Ten Days of Awe to remind us to repent and humble ourselves in His presence. It’s a day when the prophetic calendar flips to usher in a new season. It’s Isaiah’s call for God’s witnesses to “Lift up your voice like a trumpet…” to bring in a harvest of souls.
God created yearly Feasts to prepare His people for His first coming. When Jesus came as Messiah, He fulfilled the Spring Feasts, not only to the day but to the very hour. He died as the Passover Lamb on the Feast of Passover at the time of the evening sacrifice. He was in the grave on the Feast of Unleavened Bread and rose on the Feast of First Fruits. And it was on the very day of the Feast of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit was poured out.
Jesus promised He would return again and described the Fall Feasts as the dress rehearsals for His second coming. We have been given Divine Appointments, but the Feasts that explain them were mostly lost to the church. We are told that “the Day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them…” Who is stolen away in this parable? The Bride of Christ; The Church that is alive and on fire for Him; those who are serving, loving and wise. Who gets left? The dead, lukewarm, evil, foolish church in darkness.
The Ten Days of Awe, beginning with Rosh Hashanah, are the only Feast Days that occur in the Dark of a New Moon, so there is a sense of foreboding. These days will one day be the Seven-Year Tribulation. When Jesus judges the Earth, the picture is vivid and horrific: Four Horses of war, murder, famine, and death. Not only does the earth quake, but the heavens quake with the sun, moon, and stars going dark.
“And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” Revelation 6
Trumpets will announce Plagues of Destruction and Bowls of Judgment. We are told of Jesus, “He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God…and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, [for 184 miles].” Revelation 19
Thankfully, just as The Feast of Tabernacles follows the Days of Awe, so will the Devil be defeated and all God’s enemies completely defeated and judged, culminating in the Millennium, Final Judgment, and the New Heavens and Earth. We are invited to celebrate The Feast of Trumpets every year to make sure we are ready.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you.” Isaiah 60:1-2
One day when the trumpet sounds, the darkness will descend, and it will be our time to shine. Why the yearly trumpet blast? So we will continue to ask ourselves: “Are we still virgins – does He alone have our heart – do we have sufficient oil?”
Matthew 25 warns us: “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”
“But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’”
Oil causes the lamps to light up; it’s the presence of the Holy Spirit illuminating the Word of God. Is it guiding our paths – our decisions and dreams? What is the extra oil about? I believe it represents humility; they saw their condition rightly. They knew they would run down and burn out. The oil in our lamps lights up the lamp for all to see – it’s our witness. The oil reserved in the jar is not for sharing – it’s for us. It’s not selfish – it’s humility. The older I get the more burned out I get – the harder my heart gets – and the stiffer my neck gets – this oil is for me. Just because you see me shining my light doesn’t mean I’m ok. It’s a wise man or woman who sees themselves rightly.
When the world gets dark and people become cruel, we don’t want to get offended – we need to have extra oil. Are our lives overloaded, causing us to foolishly neglect our intimacy with God? Are we disregarding our oil reserves? All ten lights required more oil – that’s a prophetic warning from Jesus, just like He warned Peter right before he betrayed Him. We must prepare for our failure; it’s no good to try to fake it or complain. No one can spend time with the Holy Spirit for us – no one else can pray in our tongue; that language is set apart for us in the darkest of times.
Proverbs 1 tells us, “Wisdom calls aloud in the street…Because I have called and you refused…I also will laugh at your calamity…Then they will call on Me, but I will not answer; they will seek Me diligently, but they will not find Me…Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to Me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.”
As we transition from the Biblical year of 5778 to 5779, there is much to discover in the numbers and letters of the Hebrew language that can help us see prophetically what is coming. The Hebrew letter/number nine is called tet. It means good, beneficial, and hidden good. The pictograph looks like a coiled snake, a basket, a knot, or someone surrounded. Tet was first used in the phrase, “And God saw the light, that it was good (tov); and God divided the light from the darkness.”
So, tet has a duality or paradox about it. It reveals both good and evil (the light was good, but God separated the light from darkness). The Hebrew words for pure and impure (clean and unclean) both begin with the letter tet. The word tov (good), is like the pain of childbirth. No one believes the pain is good, but they believe it is beneficial because through that pain they received a new life.
Since nine has to do with the time of pregnancy and birth, we can expect birth pangs to be in the year ahead. Since every birth is a miracle, we can expect miracles to also be present. We are made of dirt and we reap what we sow. We plant in us, others plant in us, God plants in us, and demons and the devil plant in us. We can be too quick to “share” truth. If God shares truth with us, it’s first to set us free; to use as a light to identify our faults. It’s our extra oil. We need to be wise about our own condition this year.
Rosh Hashanah and the Fall Feasts are full of prophetic significance and fascinating details about events of the past, present, and future. It’s the Birthday of Jesus in The Manger that historically welcomed every Passover lamb! By studying the prophetic scriptures about the shepherd priests of Bethlehem who raised Passover lambs, tracking the history of the Magi, and discovering all the significance God placed in the stars and constellations since creation, it can help us better understand how those ancient verses became reality in Bethlehem.
Want to learn more? Join me for Rosh Hashanah teaching:
The Church @ War Hill on Wednesday, September 5th at 7:00 PM
I’ll join Rise & Stein Monday, September 10th, from 7:00-11:00 AM
