Israel's Holy Days, Part 3

Israel’s Holy Days

Part 3, The Day of Trumpets—“The Year of Recompense”

Chapter 20, Part 3 Preview: (Back to Part 1 ). The apostles never said that the Holy Days were dusty archives of events long forgotten! Rather, they are prophetic signs of “things to come”! The modern Israelite nations have almost entirely lost the knowledge of not only their Biblical heritage but also the truth that we were to have an “everlasting covenant” with God. This chapter explains, via the Holy Days, why it is that only the Israelite nations will suffer the prophesied “Great Tribulation”. The penalty for not keeping our covenant will be inflicted upon Modern Israel by the hands “of the peoples” whom we were supposed to set an example for! (Deuteronomy 4:5-10) The other nations suffer afterward:

The Day of “the Lord” [Yehovah] is foreshadowed annually on the Day of Trumpets:

Here are some highlights of the coming Day of Yehovah:

Isaiah 13:6-12 Wail; for the day of “the Lord” [Yehovah] is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore all hands will be feeble, and everyone’s heart will melt .... 9 Behold, the day of [Yehovah] comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy its sinners out of it. 10 For the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. 11 I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will humble the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make people more rare than fine gold, even a person than the pure gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place in the wrath of [Yehovah] of Armies, and in the day of His fierce anger.

Zechariah 12:1-3 An oracle. The word of [Yehovah] concerning Israel. [Yehovah], who stretches out the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him says: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples, and on Judah also will it be in the siege against Jerusalem. 3 It will happen in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it will be severely wounded, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against it. WEB

Here is what will happen to all of the traditional religious leaders of our people who survive the Day of the Lord:

Zechariah 13:2-5 It will come to pass in that day, says [Yehovah] of Armies, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they will be remembered no more. I will also cause the prophets and the spirit of impurity to pass out of the land. 3 It will happen that, when anyone still prophesies, then his father and his mother who bore him will tell him, ‘You must die, because you speak lies in the name of [Yehovah]; and his father and his mother who bore him will stab him when he prophesies. 4 It will happen in that day, that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision, when he prophesies; neither will they wear a hairy mantle [or any other religious garb] to deceive: 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondservant from my youth. WEB

The Day of Yehovah involves the whole world—EXCEPT for most of Israel:

Zechariah 14:1-5 Behold, a day of [Yehovah] comes, when your spoil will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city will be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go out into captivity, and the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then [Yehovah] will go out and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. 4 His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in two, from east to west, making a very great valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 You shall flee by the valley of My mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azel; yes, you shall flee, just like you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. [Yehovah] my God will come, and all the ‘holy ones’ [or Saints (off site)] with you. WEB

The Day of Trumpets represents a triumphant return of both www.everlastingkingdom.info/article/120/The Lord and His Christ to return to claim Their earth (Acts 4:26, Revelation 11:15, 12:10). But for what purpose? When we look at the trumpet scriptures of Bible prophecy we see an unmistakable connection between the Day of the Lord and the use of trumpets to declare war! This day commemorates the Day of the Lord, which lasts a full year (Isaiah 34:8)! The Day of the Lord is referred to in nearly thirty prophecies. At the very same time that Israel is coming out of the Great Tribulation the rest of the world is entering the Day of the Lord! It is the final year of the sixth millennia—the Jubilee year. It is also “Judgment Day”!

Isaiah 34:8 For it is the Day of the LORD’S vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion. NKJV (Also see 61:2 and 63:4)

Unlike Unleavened Bread and Pentecost, Trumpets has virtually no explanation whatsoever in Exodus and Leviticus. All we are specifically told about Trumpets is that it is a Holy “memorial of blowing of trumpets”, and when to celebrate it. The only way to determine why it is celebrated is by understanding its placement in the end time sequence of events, especially as revealed in the book of Revelation, as well as reading the prophecies associated with the sounding of trumpets.

The following ten passages all use the word “trumpet”. In every one of these particular examples the Hebrew word is Strong’s 07782, showphar (sho-far’), which is specifically a horn or ram’s horn. The first two references tie trumpets to the first time that Israel was formally introduced to their God, following their Egyptian captivity.

Exodus 19:16-19 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.

Exodus 20:18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.

Psalms 81:3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. KJV

The following passages deal with the end of this age when the Day of the Lord is about to begin. At this time “The great trumpet”, or showphar, will signal the end of Israel’s captivity—when they will be introduced to their God. See for yourself:

Isaiah 27:12-13 And it shall come to pass in that day that the LORD will thresh, from the channel of the River to the Brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel. 13 So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; they will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 4:19-20 O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. 20 Destruction upon destruction is cried, for the whole land is plundered. Suddenly my tents are plundered, and my curtains in a moment.

Before the next captivity, God will send watchmen, with a message of war and a message of repentance.

Ezekiel 33:5-6 ‘He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. 6 ‘But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’

Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD is coming, for it is at hand ....

Joel 2:15-20 Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; 16 gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, and the bride from her dressing room. 17 Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar; let them say, ‘Spare Your people, O LORD, and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples: Where is their God? 18 Then the LORD will be zealous for His land, and pity His people. 19 The LORD will answer and say to His people, ‘Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.’ 20 But I will remove far from you the northern army, and will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, with his face toward the eastern sea and his back toward the western sea; his stench will come up, and his foul odor will rise, because he has done monstrous things.

Israel will not be driven into the sea!

Zephaniah 1: 14-17 The great day of the LORD is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. 17 ‘I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse.’

Zechariah 9: 14-15 Then the LORD will be seen over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, and go with whirlwinds from the south. 15 The LORD of hosts will defend them ....

This next two references to trumpet blasts concern the time when God’s truths begin to spread out beyond Israel:

Isaiah 18:3 All inhabitants of the world and dwellers on the earth: When he lifts up a banner on the mountains, you see it; and when he blows a trumpet, you hear it.

Revelation 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded [his trumpet: as in Revelation 9: 14]: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and ‘He’ [They] shall reign forever and ever! WEB

I believe that all of these trumpet blasts have to do with the “hidden” meaning of the Day of Trumpets.

Leviticus 23:24 Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpet, a holy convocation.

While technically the usage of the word “trumpets” in the above reference has a somewhat broader meaning than showphar, and can refer to shouting, the use of a wind instrument has always been an excellent means of sounding an alarm, as in Numbers 31:6. Even a siren is just an “automated trumpet”.

This expanded use of the word, which includes the showphar, would fall right in line with the trumpet like voices in the following references: 1 Timothy 4:16, Hebrews 12:19, Revelation 1:10, 4:1, 8:13

The Karaite Korner (a non rabbinic Jewish website) interpretation of “the Day of trumpets”, is interesting. Quotations from Nehemiah’s web site are provided below. However, because he rejects “the Revelation of Yeshua (Jesus, off site) the Messiah” his understanding is limited. Because the Jews actually shout prayers, they, grasping to add meaning to the day, believe that the symbolic meaning of the day is actually fulfilled by shouting out prayers!

“Yom Teruah is a holiday on the 1st day of the Seventh month (Tishrei). The Rabbis wrongly call it New Years (Rosh Hashannah) when really it is a Day of Shouting (Teruah) in prayer to God. On the 1st day of the Seventh month (Tishrei) the Torah commands us to observe a “Day of Shouting” (Lev 23:23-25; Nu 29,1-6) on which work is forbidden. This holiday is widely known today by the Rabbinic misnomer “Rosh Hashannah”. The Bible never calls this holiday Rosh Hashanah but instead variously calls it Yom Teruah (Day of Shouting) and Zicharon Teruah (Remembrance Shouting). The Rabbis renamed the holiday Rosh Hashana (New Years) claiming that the Jewish year actually begins in Tishrei. The absurdity of this claim is immediately apparent since the Bible refers to this holiday as falling out in the Seventh month (Tishrei is a later name never used in the Torah). How could New Years fall out in the Seventh month?”

“Undoubtedly the Rabbis felt a need to associate Yom Teruah with New Years because they felt uncomfortable that the Bible does not give us a reason for celebrating this holiday as it does for all of the other Biblical holidays (such as the Exodus for Hag Hamatzot and Harvest for Shavuot). However, the true nature of Yom Teru’ah can be adduced from its name. In the Bible “Teruah” means to make a loud noise either by blowing a horn (e.g. Shofar Lev 25:9; Silver Trumpets Nu 10:5-6) or by shouting in prayer (Ps 100:1). The purpose of Yom Teru’ah then was probably to shout to YHWH in prayer similar to the idea commonly expressed in the Psalms such as “Shout unto God with a singing voice!” (Ps 47,2) which uses the same verbal root as “Teruah”. The Rabbis claim that this noise making can only be done with a Shofar (ram’s horn). There is no Biblical evidence for this assertion and on the contrary as has been shown the word “Teruah” can indicate various methods of noise making from shouting in prayer to blowing on the Silver Trumpets (Nu 10) all of which the Bible describes as acts of worshiping YHWH (see also Psalm 150).”

“No man knows the day or the hour”

Exactly what is it that “no one knows the day and the hour” of? There certainly are a lot of clues!

If Yeshua already told us that all of these things happen “immediately after the [tribulation] of those days”, and we know that the Tribulation lasts 1260 days, then what is this “no one knows of that day and hour” business all about? After listing all of these specific and unmistakable signs did Yeshua then decide to confuse the issue? Actually, He was adding the final detail! But first let’s read the account:

Matthew 24:29-36 But immediately after the [tribulation-KJV] of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; 30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 He will send out His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. 32 “Now from the fig tree learn this parable. When its branch has now become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that the summer is near. 33 Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all these things are accomplished. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 36 But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. WEB

While todays typical Bible reader has no idea about a surprise feast day, Yeshua’s audience was fully aware of the one Holy Day that comes every year but never with advance notice. In fact “no one knows of that day and hour” of the new moon of the seventh month, within a day or an hour (or both), unless the crescent is actually seen—then the “trumpet” is sounded signaling that the Feast of Trumpets has begun:

Psalm 81:3 Blow up the trumpet in thenew moon, in the time ‘appointed’ [literally: covered, concealed, hidden], on our solemn feast day. KJV

Rather than obscuring the timing of His return, Yeshua was actually indicating that He will be returning on the first day of the seventh month—following these events—when the crescent moon would normally be making its somewhat of a “surprise” appearance. However with all of the cosmic disturbances “the moon will not give its light” anyway. The Father and the Son will be the two witnesses necessary to proclaim that new moon!

Some of us actually rely on a true observance of the New Moon, from Jerusalem, to determine when the seventh month begins which also signals the Feast of Trumpets. (I get an email from the Karaite Korner.) Modern Jewish calculations do not consistently coincide with visible new moons, calculations are “approximate new moons” —actual new moons must be witnessed! My friend Rick remarked that the Day of Trumpets came as a “thief in the night” for us in 2004. Even with modern computer forecasts, we can be surprised when the sighting of the New Moon does not come “as expected”. Cloud cover often delays the sighting of the new moon—adding a day to the sixth month. Was it an oversight on God’s part that the Feast of Trumpets comes as a bit of a surprise each year? I think of it as a live rehearsal!

1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 For you yourselves know well that the Day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. 3 For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape. 4 But you, brothers, arent in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief.

If you are overtaken by the Day of the Lord as if by a thief in the night, it is because you will have been asleep!

The Lord’s Day

The book of Revelation goes into great detail describing the events that are accompanied by trumpet blasts.

Revelation 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.

From Revelation 1:10 we can see that the trumpet like sound of the holy Messengers, in the Greek scriptures, are also trumpeting voices!

Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud VOICE, as of a trumpet ... [No, this is not a reference to Sunday!]

The entire Book of Revelation is about the Day of the Lord. There is only one reference to “Lord’s Day” in scripture, but there are over thirty other places describing things similar to what John described in Revelation that are described by the term “Day of the Lord”.

The Day of Trumpets is associated with a battle cry. Historically, battle cries have usually been accompanied by the sounding of trumpets. The next great event, in the saga of end time prophecy, following the Second Exodus, is the Day of the Lord. The nations of Israel will have been in captivity for most of the 1260 day period. Yet at the sounding of this triumphant trumpeting “voice”, Israel’s woes will end and the woes of her enemies will suddenly begin as the Lord and His Christ return!

The Day of Trumpets memorializes, in advance, the Day of the Lord and God’s conquest of the Earth!

Revelation 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard [i.e. Revelation 1:10] was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.’

This again, is a reference to the trumpeting voices that will be heard “on the Lord’s Day”, concerning “things which must take place after this.”

This culmination of the Trumpet plagues is described in the most glorious of terms. This is when our “Lord AND of His Christ” “reign forever!”

[As a side note, the word ‘He’ above is not in the Greek. The context indicates that “They” shall reign. Certainly if “we shall reign” (Revelation 20:5), both of “Them” are qualified as well.

I believe that actual trumpets will sound, preceding some astounding voices, as was the case just before Israel was given the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 19:18-19 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.

Exodus 20:18 Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.

The voices of God and His angels can be quite frightening. That is why Israel, in the wilderness, asked to listen to Moses instead of God directly. (Exodus 20:19)

2 Samuel 22:14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice.

Exodus 19:16 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.

Job 37:5 God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. [Also Job 27:2-5]

The “Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10) is the climactic conclusion of “this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4). Once the seventh angel sounds, God’s absence will no longer be a mystery. False religions and Atheism will be history:

Revelation 10:7 ... but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

In fact from that point in time and onward, there will be precious little knowledge withheld from humanity:

Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

The following quotation describes the entire “first coming” mission as described in Luke 4:17-19. Of course Yeshua was actually declaring, to anyone familiar with Isaiah, that He would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-2.

Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 to proclaim ‘the acceptable year’ [the Jubilee] of the LORD.

The fact that He abruptly quit reading the second verse mid way thru was an indication that the later portion would be fulfilled later. He did not fulfill: “And the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn ...” and all of the other “millennial” prophecies expressed in the rest of the chapter which pertain to the “second coming”. Yet the former things were fulfilled, within His human ministry including the proclamation of the Jubilee year in Luke 4:19.

These later prophecies of Isaiah 61 will be fulfilled in the next Jubilee year. Yeshua will personally proclaim liberty to the captive nations of Israel as the scales are falling from their blinded eyes in the next “acceptable year of the Lord”.

You may want to continue reading Isaiah 61 to get more of the context concerning the next “acceptable year”.

“The Day of the LORD’S Vengeance”

Isaiah 61:2-3 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 3 to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes ....

Here are a couple of the many other references concerning the Day of the Lord:

Jeremiah 46:10 For this is the Day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Himself on His adversaries. The sword shall devour; it shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood; for the Lord GOD of hosts has a sacrifice in the North Country by the river Euphrates.

We associate the number seven with God and good things, and even such things as the seven last plagues. I believe that the Day of the Lord will occupy exactly one year; it will follow the last Sabbatical seven year cycle of this age. Daniel 9:26-27 indicates that most of the last Sabbatical cycle belongs to an evil “prince”, one whose “abominations ... makes desolate”. Even in this, Satan’s last hurrah, God is in control—regulating the Beasts coming and going within an exact time frame.

In this passage we see the Redeemer, our “Savior”, the “Angel of His Presence” contemplating the coming time of vengeance:

Isaiah 63:4-9 For the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the YEAR OF MY REDEEMED has come. [Various forms of the word “redeemed” are found 14 times in the Jubilee chapter: Leviticus 25] 5 I looked, but there was no one to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; and My own fury, it sustained Me. 6 I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, made them drunk in My fury, and brought down their strength to the earth. 7 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, according to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses. 8 For He said, ‘Surely they are My people, children who will not lie.’ So He became their Savior. In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the ‘Angel’ [Messenger] of His Presence [the Messiah] saved them; in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them all the days of old.

Following Satan’s allotted time, he is cut short of finishing his destruction of Israel. God will avenge the enemies of Israel for a full year.

There is yet another aspect of the coming Day of the Lord that I am quite interested in participating in. A trumpet blast will also signify the resurrection of “those who are Christ’s at His coming”! We will not miss out on this splendid occasion! The “firstfruits” aspect of “His coming” alludes to a Pentecost “resurrection of the dead”. But further into the “Resurrection chapter” it says that the resurrection will take place “at the last trumpet” which would be after the whole “shootin match”. If this translation is correct then we would not be resurrected until after members of “the seven Churches”, (actually “Assemblies”) had already been protected from the Great Tribulation within a place of safety called < href="www.everlastingkingdom.info/article/38/">New Jerusalem! However there is another way to look at this situation that resolves the seeming contradiction. The word “trumpet” (Strong’s 4536 salpigx sal’-pinx) is identical to the plural rendering “trumpets” in Revelation 8:2 and 8:6, and these references are referring to the exact same final seven trumpets. I believe that Paul was making the Assembly aware that the timing of the Resurrection is to be in the general time frame of all of the last Trumpets, rather than the last Trumpet specifically. There were to be many other wars and trumpet blasts between the first century and now. The details of the very last Trumpets (including the number of them) were not revealed until John’s vision of Revelation chapters 8, 9 and 11; the last Bible book to be written. These plagues, along with the simultaneous bowl plagues and the seven seals, constitute the Day of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:12-52 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty .... 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death .... 35 But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come’ .... 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, ‘at’ [Greek: in, by, with etc.] the last trumpet[s]. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

The phrase that Paul used about death being swallowed up is a direct reference to Isaiah’s statement about “a feast” during which God will swallow up death!

[While this is not a reference to the Day of Trumpets that is not actually one of the three annual pilgrimage Feasts, (See www.everlastingkingdom.info/article/29/Three Times A Year!) it is nevertheless well associated with the plan of God, as illustrated by all seven Holy Days. The distinction between a Feast Day and a Holy Day are quite easily separated in Hebrew, but not in the English translations as explained in www.everlastingkingdom.info/article/29/Three Times A Year!]

Isaiah 25:6-9 And in this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. 7 And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken. 9 And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.’

Once we are resurrected there will be no more death for us. This is not to say that humans will no longer be born, marry, have children, and die. Ezekiel chapters 40-48 all describe the time period extending into the Everlasting Kingdom. Few dare to admit this, preferring to view these nine chapters as historic!

The following circumstances are to be a part of the coming millennium:

Ezekiel 44:9, 25 Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel ... 25 They shall not defile themselves by coming near a DEAD person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves.

When “Jeremiah’s” “New Covenant” is actually implemented then: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts”, people will still have to face their own mortality while they consider their opportunity to obtain immortality.

The dates for the Holy Days (Aviv/New Moon) for the current year are found at the Holydays link below.

Now for Part 4

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