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Israel’s 7 Apocalyptic Days
The Day of Trumpets and Armageddon!
Chapter 1, Part 3 Preview: The Day of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) represents a triumphant return of both “The Lord and His Christ” to claim Their earth (Acts 4:26, Revelation 11:15, 12:10). But for what purpose? The verses in Part 3 comprise some of the “fine print” of the event that has captivated the thoughts of Christians for many centuries (but not so much their intellects). When we look at the shofar (trumpet) Scriptures of prophecy we see the unmistakable connection between the Day of Yehovah (the “Lord”) and trumpet blasts announcing “Armageddon”! The Victor will be totally unscathed while the losers will completely cease to exist! “Armageddon” is the match that ignites the Gog and Magog battle later in this Jubilee Year—the last obstacle to world peace!
The Year of Payback
I refer to Isaiah 34 frequently because who even mentions the Year long period when “The Lord and His Christ” change EVERYTHING? Tho it does seem that Satan’s seven years get a lot of press!
Isaiah 34:All Come near you nations and listen. Pay attention you people! The earth and everything on it should hear, the world and every living thing. 2 Yehovah is angry with all the nations and furious with their armies. He has devoted them to destruction. He has doomed them to slaughter. 3 Their slain will be thrown out, and the stench of their dead bodies will rise. The mountains will be drenched with their blood. 4 The entire array of stars will disappear. The sky will roll down like a scroll, and all of its stars will fall [1] like withered leaves falling from a grapevine or a fig tree.
5 When My sword is drenched with blood in the sky, it will descend on Edom, a nation I have doomed for destruction. 6 Yehovah’s sword is drenched with blood. It’s covered with fat and with the blood of lambs and goats, with fat from the kidneys of rams. Yehovah 'will receive' a zebak in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7
Men as strong as a monoclonius [KJV unicorn] will fall next to them, young bulls with strong ones. Their land will be saturated with blood and their soil will be greasy with fat. 8 It is the Day of Yehovah’s Vengeance, a Year of Payback settling the dispute (controversy) over Zion!
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, and the ground turned to burning sulfur, and its land will become burning pitch. [2] 10 It won’t be quenched night or day. Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation it will remain deserted. No one will ever travel thru it. 11 But pelicans [?] and porcupines [?] will take over, and owls and ravens will be at home. 'Elohim' will stretch a measuring line of chaos over it, and a plumb line of emptiness. 12 Her nobles will have no one left to proclaim king, and all her princes will vanish. 13 Her 'palaces' will be overgrown with thorns; her fortified cities with nettles and thistles. It will be a haunt for dragons *, the habitat of ostriches! 14 The desert creatures will meet with the hyenas, and hairy goats will cry to each other. Liliths will settle there, finding their resting places. 15 Arrow snakes [?] will make their nests there and lay their eggs, hatch them and gather their young under the shadow of their wings. Raptors will gather there, each with its mate.
16 Search in Yehovah’s book, and read: Not one of these will be missing. Not one will lack a mate. He 'spoke' the command, and His own spirit gathers them. 17 He has cast a lot for them, and His hand has divided it to them with a measuring line forever. From generation to generation they’ll live there.
[1] The exact timing here is revealed in Matthew 24:29. See this oldie about meteorites! [2] The ‘Day’ of Yehovah’s Payback is virtually always correctly translated as a Year. It’s difficult to mess it up. Compare to Isaiah 61:2 & Isaiah 63:4.Again, as we read from the closing remarks of Peter’s Pentecost address, we should bear in mind that Peter thought that his words were strictly a message to “all the House of Israel” as they were entering the end time Day of Yehovah. In actuality, this is the message to all Israel that the Two Witnesses will deliver to the Israelites during the Great Tribulation! What other message could possibly be appropriate as they approach the true Independence Day?
Acts 2:36-43 So the entire family of Israel should know for certain that Yehovah has made this Yeshua, who you crucified, both Sovereign and Messiah.” 37 When they heard these things their hearts ware pierced, so they asked Simon and the rest of the envoys, “What should we do?” 38 Simon said, “Every one of you should amend your ways and be immersed in our Sovereign Yeshua’s name for the exoneration of sins, and you will receive the gift of the 'cherished spirit', 39 because the promise belongs to you and to your children, and to everyone living far away that Yehovah will call.” 40 Using many different 'approaches' he plead with them, “Escape from this crooked generation.” 41 Some of them eagerly accepted his teaching and were immersed. That very day about three thousand 'people' were added to the assembly.
42 They dedicated themselves to the doctrine of the envoys, and fellowshipped together in prayer and in breaking bread. 43 A sense of awe came over everyone, and many miraculous signs and wonders were done 'by' envoys in Jerusalem.—The Gabriel Bible
Here is the perfect illustration about how the truth concerning the Messiah will be received. Israel, and the Jewish people in particular, will undoubtedly be “cut to the heart”. Here is proof that Yehovah’s plan of repentance and physical salvation will come to fruition.
Zechariah 12:6-11 When that day comes I’ll make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a burning torch among sheaves. They’ll burn up all the surrounding nations right and left, while the people of Jerusalem will once again be secure. 7 “Yehovah will save Judah’s tents first so that the honor of David’s family and the honor of the residents of Jerusalem won’t exceed [the rest of] Judah. 8 When that day comes, Yehovah will defend the residents of Jerusalem so that the weakest of them will be like David, and David’s descendants will be like Elohim, like the Messenger of Yehovah going before them. 9 When that day comes I’ll begin destroying all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 “Then I’ll pour on the family of David and on the residents of Jerusalem the spirit of favor and a plea for mercy. They’ll see Me (Aleph Tav) [Alpha Omega], the One they’ve pierced, and they’ll mourn for Him, as someone mourns over a firstborn. [2] 11 When that day comes there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadad rimmon in the valley of Megiddo [Armageddon].
[2] Aleph Tav hidden in the Hebrew text here [= Alpha & Omega in Greek] Yeshua is One who was pierced, and knowledge of this will eventually bring about planet wide mourning and sorrow! The Hebrew letters Aleph & Tav are left untranslated thruout the Scriptures in pertinent places, like an exclamation mark from Yeshua, the Alpha & Omega!Firstfruits are Israelites—the people that Elohim first revealed Himself to! No, “Elohim didn’t reject His people, those He foreknew”. But you have to admit that Plan “A” —national salvation—didn’t work too well, but ancient Israel was given the opportunity. Plan “B” is Elohim working with an Assembly of chosen individuals rather than a “chosen” nation. Plan “B” is not working too well at this point in time either, but that is prophesied to change. I urge you to become a part of the “moral minority”!
The year long Day of Yehovah (the “Lord”) is foreshadowed annually on the Day of Trumpets:
Here are some highlights of the coming Day of Yehovah:
Isaiah 13:6-12 Cry loudly, because the Day of Yehovah is near! It will come like destruction from the Sovereign. 7 That’s why everyone’s hands will go limp, and everyone’s courage will fail. 8 They’ll be terrified. Pain and sorrows will overcome them. They’ll writhe in pain like a woman in labor. They’ll look at each other in astonishment. Their faces aflame with fear.
9 The Day of Yehovah is coming—a cruel day with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy all the sinners within it. 10 The stars in the sky and their constellations will no longer shine. The sun will be darkened when it rises, and the moon won’t reflect its light. 11 “I’ll punish the land for its evil and the wicked for their wickedness. I’ll put an end to the arrogance of the proud and humble the pride of the ruthless. 12 I’ll make people scarcer than pure gold, and mankind more rare than the gold of Ophir.
Zechariah 12:1-3 A revelation [not oracle] about Israel from Yehovah: “Yehovah, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth and formed the spirit of man within him, says: 2 ‘I’ll make Jerusalem like an intoxicating cup that sends all the surrounding nations reeling. Judah will be blockaded as well as Jerusalem! 3 When That Day Comes* I’ll make Jerusalem a heavy stone for every nation. Anyone who attempts to heave it away will be severely injured. And every nation on earth will be gathered to fight against it.
Here is what will happen to all of the traditional religious leaders of our people who survive the Day of Yehovah:
Zechariah 13:2-5 “When That Day Comes,” says Commander Yehovah, “I’ll banish the names of the idols from the land, and they’ll no longer be remembered. I’ll also remove the false [Targum] prophets and the unclean spirits from the land. 3 If anyone continues to prophesy, then his father and his mother who gave birth to him will say, ‘You must die because you’ve told lies in the name of Yehovah.’ Then his father and his mother who gave birth to him will stab him with a dagger [daqar] when he prophesies.
4 “During that future time every “prophet” will be ashamed of the visions that they had prophesied. They’ll no longer wear a hairy mantle [religious costume] in order to deceive. 5 He’ll say, ‘I’m not a prophet, I’m a farm worker. I’ve been one since a man bought me as a slave in my youth.
The Day of Yehovah involves the whole world—EXCEPT for most of Israel, it is for retribution against the people who were punishing both houses of Israel:
Zechariah 14:1-5 The Day of Yehovah is coming, when all of [1] your [Israel’s] possessions will have been plundered right in front of you! 2 I’ll gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. The city will have been taken, the houses looted and the women raped. Half [2] of the residents will have gone into exile [been taken], but the rest of the people will have been left in the city. 3 Then Yehovah will go out and wage war against those nations, as when He fought on a day of battle! 4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. [This is not the Great Tribulation period, rather it is stated to be “The Day of Yehovah” this is after the wise have fled.] And the Mount of Olives will be split in two, from east to west, forming a very large valley, [Elohim is on Mt. Zion, Isaiah 10:12] so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. 5 You’ll flee by My mountain valley, because My mountain valley will reach to Azel. Yes, you’ll flee just like you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Yehovah my Elohim will come, and all of the 'cherished' ones with Him.
[1] The tenses: past, present and future do not work the same in Hebrew as they do in English, that’s why the context often changes from past tense to future tense for no apparent reason in translations, so in this instance the Day of Yehovah is retribution for what has already happened! Yehovah’s intervention does NOT include pillaging and raping—that kind of behavior brought on the intervention! The tense is particularly important here. Virtually no one understands that the seven prophecied years (shemitah years) are followed by a special Jubilee year (the Day of Yehovah) when Elohim steps in (literally, v.4) and begins to vanquish His enemies in preparation for the millennial reign! [2] In Zechariah 13:8, 9, it is “two-thirds” that perish, and “a third” are left behind. However in Zechariah 14:2, it is “in all the land”; here it is “half of the city.” Two-thirds of the “whole people” perish, one-third survives. One-half of the citizens are led captive, the residue are not cut off.On the Day of Trumpets (not one of the three Annual Feasts: “chag” of Deuteronomy 16:16) of what is likely to be 2032 AD “Yehovah (the “Lord”) and His Messiah” will take over the region by force! All ten of the armies listed in Psalm 83 will be thinking that now is the time that they should destroy the Jewish state! When we look at the shofar [trumpet] Bible verses of prophecy, we see an unmistakable connection between the Day of Yehovah and the use of shofars to declare war! The Day of Trumpets commemorates the Day of Yehovah which lasts a full year (Isaiah 34:8)! The Day of Yehovah is referred to in nearly thirty detailed 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 Yehovah! It is the final year of the sixth millennium—the Jubilee year. It is also “Judgment Day”!
Isaiah 34:8 It is the Day of Yehovah’s Vengeance, a Year of Payback settling the dispute (retribution) over Zion!
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 special “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 virtually every modern version, yet in every one of these particular examples, the Hebrew (and English) word is shofar, which is a ram’s horn. The two Exodus references are associated, naturally, to the time following the First Exodus before they entered the promised land.
Exodus 19:16-19 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning with a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud shofar sounded. Everyone in the camp was trembling with fear. 17 Moses led the people out of the camp to meet Elohim, and they stood at the base of the mountain. 18 Mount Sinai was entirely covered in smoke, because Yehovah descended on it in fire and its smoke ascended like the smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently. 19 As the sound of the shofar escalated more intensely, Moses spoke, and Elohim replied to him.
Exodus 20:18 Everyone heard thunder and saw the lightning, and heard the sounding of a shofar, and saw the mountain smoking. When they saw all this, they trembled, and stood off in the distance.
Psalm 81:3 Blow the shofar at the sighting of the New Moon, and at the full moon on our Feast Day [1](more about this later)
. [1] Only the King James Version fails to mention the full moon in this verse, and substitutes ‘in the time appointed” (the annual Sabbaths on full moons being the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of Tabernacles: Leviticus 23:6-7 & 34).The following passages deal with the end of this age, when the Day of Yehovah is about to begin. At this time “The great shofar” will signal the end of Israel’s captivity—when they will be introduced to Yehovah. See for yourself:
Isaiah 27:12-13 When That Day Comes, Yehovah will thresh [harvest] from the 'Euphrates' river valley to the Nile * of Egypt. You Israelites will be gleaned [rescued] one by one. 13 When That Day Comes, the Great Shofar will sound, and those who were dying in the land of Assyria and those who were banished to the land of Egypt will come and worship Yehovah on the 'Special' Mountain in Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 4:19-20 My anguish, my anguish! I’m writhing in pain. My heart is racing. I can’t remain silent because I’ve heard the sound of a shofar, an alarm for war. 20 Disaster after disaster is announced. The entire region has been devastated. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, and my curtains are gone instantly.
Before the next captivity, Yehovah will send watchmen, with a message of war and a message of repentance.
Ezekiel 33:5-6 since they heard the sound of the shofar and ignored the warning. Their shed blood will be their 'own fault'. But if they had heeded the warning, they could have saved their lives. 6 But if the watchman sees swordsmen coming, and doesn’t blow a shofar and warn the people, and swordsmen come and 'kill' any one of them, they are being punished for their own sins, but I’ll hold the watchman responsible for their shed blood.
Leviticus 25:9-12 Then you will sound the shofar alarm [Literally “shofar shofar”] [2] on the tenth day of the seventh moon, on the Day of Atonements you’ll sound the shofar alarm thruout your entire land. 10 You’ll dedicate the fiftieth year, and shout liberty thruout the land to all of its inhabitants. It will be a Jubilee for you, and each of you can return to your own property, and each of you will return to your own clan. 11 The fiftieth year will be your Jubilee year. During ‘that year’ you won’t plant, or preserve the “after crop”* from what grows by itself, or make wine* from any leftover* grapes. 12 It’s a Jubilee, it will be a ‘time of dedication’ [special] for you. You can eat the fresh voluntary produce from your fields.
[2] The KJV wrongly says “trumpet of the jubile[e]”, in agreement with the Jewish custom of beginning years in the seventh month—a practice begun in Babylonian captivity. But an upcoming Jubilee was meant to be announced on the Day of Atonements of the seventh Shemitah year (the 49th year) and then begin on New Year’s day (the 50th year) in the spring.
Israel will not be driven into the sea!
Zephaniah 1:14-17 The great Day of Yehovah is near, it is near and coming very quickly. Just the noise of the Day of Yehovah will be so bitter that even valiant men will cry out. 15 That day will be a day of fury, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and deep darkness, 16 a day of shofar blasts against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers. 17 “I’ll bring enough distress on mankind that they’ll fumble around like the blind, because they’ve sinned against Yehovah, and their blood will gush out onto the ground and their intestines like manure./p>
Zechariah 9:14 Yehovah will appear over them, and His arrows will flash like lightning, and the Sovereign Yehovah will sound the shofar, and march into the storm winds from the south.
This next two references to shofar blasts concern the time when Yehovah’s truths begin to spread out beyond Israel:
Isaiah 18:3 Listen all you inhabitants of the world, everyone who lives on the earth. When a warning banner is raised on the mountain, you’ll see it! When the shofar sounds, you’ll hear it!
Revelation 11:15 The seventh messenger blew his shofar [6], and there were voices [the Greek adds “in heaven”] and thunder that said, “The kingdoms of the world have become the kingdom of Yehovah and of His Messiah, and They will reign forever and ever.”
[6] The Seventh Shofar (“trumpet”) of Revelation 11:15! corresponds with the “Great Shofar” of Isaiah 27, particularly vs 12-13)—adding the pertinen backstory!
(As a side note, the word ‘He’ above is not in the Greek. The context indicates that “They” will reign. Certainly if “we will reign” {Revelation 20:5}, then both of “Them” are qualified as well.)
All of these shofar blasts have to do with the “hidden” meaning of the Day of Trumpets.
Leviticus 23:24 Say to the Israelites: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month you are to have a Sabbath assembly, commemorated by the shouts of shofars; a special public assembly.
While technically the usage of the word “shofars” in the above reference has a somewhat broader meaning than shofar, and can refer to shouting, the use of a wind instrument has always been the preferred means of sounding an alarm in Israel, as in Numbers 31:6. Even a siren is just an “automated shofar (trumpet)”.
This expanded use of the word, that includes the shofar, would fall right in line with the trumpet like voices in the following references: 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Hebrews 12:19, Revelation 1:10, 4:1 and 8:13
“Zechariah Chapter 12 has a Trumpets theme and is read in synagogues on the Day of Trumpets; chapter 13 has an Atonement theme and read on the Day of Atonement; while chapter 14 is read during the Feast of Tabernacles. It is also of interest to note that Ezek 38-39 is read in many synagogues during the Feast of Tabernacles, not prior to it.
“In fact, according to Jewish understanding, Psalm 2 refers to Gog and Magog:
Psalm 2:ALL Why are the nations enraged and the people plotting asinine schemes? 2 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers conspire together against Yehovah and against His Messiah [Anointed], by saying: 3 “Let’s break their shackles apart and shake off their ropes.”
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Sovereign laughs them to scorn! 5 Then He’ll speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury by saying: 6 I have installed My King on My 'cherished' [holy] hill of Zion.
7 “I’ll announce Yehovah’s decree, He said to Me, ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father. 8 Ask me, and I’ll certainly give You the nations as Your inheritance, the remotest parts of the earth as Your property. 9 You’ll break them with an iron scepter. You’ll crush them to pieces like a pottery.” 10 So kings, show discernment. Be warned you leaders of the earth. 11 Serve Yehovah with reverence and celebrate with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son or He’ll be angry and you’ll die along the way, because His wrath can burst into flames. All those who take refuge in Him are blessed.
The Karaite Korner (a non rabbinic Jewish website) interpretation of “the Day of Trumpets” is interesting. Quotations from Nehemiah Gordon’s web site (a Karaite Jew) are provided below. However, because he rejects “the Revelation of Yeshua (Jesus) 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 [Day] (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).”
For a more detailed explanation of when the Biblical year really begins, see “How Yom Teruah Became Rosh Hashanah” —by Nehemia Gordon
“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 1,260 days, then what is this “But of that day and hour no one knows” 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 Immediately after the time of Tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon won’t shed her light and stars will fall from the sky [See footnote on Isaiah 34:4], and the miraculous power of the skies will be shaken.
30 Then the miraculous sign of the Human Son [6] will be seen in the sky, and then all the nations on earth will mourn when they see the Human Son coming on the clouds in the sky with great power and splendor.
31 Then He’ll send out His spirit messengers with a loud shofar blast [7] and they’ll gather together His selected people from the four winds [north, south, east and west], from one farthermost bound of the horizon [heaven] to the other.
32 Now, learn the parable from the fig tree. As soon as its branches become tender and it produces leaves, you know that summer is near.
33 Similarly, when you actually see all of these things, you will realize that He is near, approaching the door!
34 It is certain that the Israelite nation [Aramaic Sharebtha: tribe, people or nation] will not cease to exist before all these things have taken place.
35 [The New] Heaven and earth will pass away arrive [8], and My words will never disappear.
36 But no one knows the exact day or hour [9], not even the messengers in Heaven, but the Father alone.
[6] Yeshua was alluding to Daniel 7:13 where “Daniel saw Someone like a Human Son [4] coming with the clouds in the sky. So what is the sign—it lookes like a human (sun of man) Immediately after Satan’s nearly unhindered seven year long rampage, everyting begins to change. Another entire set of prophecies will play out during the The Year of Payback (Isaiah 34) [7] This link is a remarkable timetable that Ernest Martin calculated in 1989. He made many of the same asumptions as I had. Still a lot of good info. The passage of time necessitated the start of my countdown 2,000 years from Yeshua’s crucifixion rather than start from the beginning of His ministry. (otherwise the Great Tribulation would be well underway by now.) [8] Parerchomai can mean pass away, come near, come forward and arrive in Greek! Aramaic too, so far as I can tell. I would much rather see the New Heaven and the New Earth arrive (rather than pass away), with the eternal nature of His words never “disappearing.” See Isaiah 65 & 66 for the complete end-time context. [9] A thinly disguised reference to the Day of Trumpets that begins each year immediately after the thin crescent of the New Moon is seen in Jerusalem, with the exact “day and hour” annually in question. A select few still anticipate it annually!
While today’s typical Bible reader has no idea about a surprise Festival Day, Yeshua’s audience was fully aware of the one Festival Day that came every year, but never with advance notice. In fact “no one knew the day or hour” of the visible New Moon of the seventh month, until the crescent was actually seen—then the “shofar” was sounded signaling that the Day of Trumpets had. just begun:
Psalm 81:3 Blow the shofar at the sighting of the New Moon, and at the full moon on our Feast Day [1]
[1] Only the King James Version fails to mention the full moon in this verse, and substitutes ‘in the time appointed”..With today’s lunar astronomical calculations, interested people can often be fairly certain that a sufficient small percentage of the new moon will be visible, with cloud cover being the limiting factor. Anciently there may have been hundreds of observers out looking with some few of them being in a sweet spot to greatly increase the odds of becoming witnesses of the new moon. With so few eyes out looking at this time, if I know for certain that the new moon is present that is good enough for me. Furthermore today, if observers west of Israel see the new moon it will most definitely be present in Israel on the next rotation of the planet and instantaneous communications can and do spread the word. That being the case, it seems logical that Yeshua will return on a year when visibility is too close to call. And it could easily be that the heavens have gone dark (Jeremiah 4:23).
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—just like the crescent moon would be making its “surprise” appearance.
Some of us actually rely on a true observance of the crescent New Moon, from Jerusalem, to determine when the seventh month begins and this signals the Day of Trumpets. Others in Israel are awaiting a Sanhedren before returning to the use of actual sitings. 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. Cloud cover often delays the sighting of the New Moon—adding a day to the sixth month. Was it an oversight on Yehovah’s part that the Day of Trumpets can come as a total surprise even with modern computer forecasts? We can still be surprised, and “not know the day or the hour” when the sighting of the New Moon arrives on a “too close to call” year. Consider each Day of Trumpets as a preparedness check! Spring, 2032, the year I believe will be the Jubilee year, and the Fall Day of Trumpets when Yeshua visibly returns, will be one of those “too close to call” years. It is beyond computer projections! Unfortunately the US Naval observatory is no longer online showing that the miniscule percentage of the moon possibly visible is too close to call. But the end results thru 2050 are here!
During the Great Tribulation, the earth will be readjusting to a predictable 360 day long year. Over the course of 1,260 days, the day lengths will be adjusting due to a cosmic shock.
Here is my favorite “thief in the night” verse, but with the metaphoric meaning explained by two Strong’s numbers. I did use the word “minister” instead of “teacher”, because that is what they call themselves today.
1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 because you know for certain that the Day of Yehovah will come like a thieving false “minister” in the time of moral stupidity and darkness [1]. 3 When people are saying, “Peace and security” [2], then suddenly destruction will overtake them like the labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they won’t escape. 4 But you, friends, aren’t in darkness. That Day won’t catch you off guard like a thieving false “minister”,
If you are seized by the Day of the Master as if by a thieving false “minister” in the time of moral stupidity and darkness, it is because you will have been asleep!
The Masters’ Day
The book of Revelation goes into great detail describing the events that are accompanied by trumpet blasts.
Revelation 8:2 I saw the seven messengers who stand before Yehovah, and they were given seven shofars.
In the next verse, Yehovah’s Day (aka “the Lord’s Day) translates exactly as “the Day of the ‘Lord’” in Hebrew—the most prophesied event in the Bible.
Revelation 1:10 I found myself transitioning into the spirit realm on the Day of Yehovah [6], and I heard a loud voice behind me like a shofar that said,
[6] Literally, “like” or “resembling” or “corresponding to”, just as in Daniel 7:13. John was not positive of His identity at first (Revelation 1:17-18).
The entire Book of Revelation is about the Day of Yehovah. There is only one reference to “Lord’s Day” in the Greek translations, but there are over thirty other places in the Tanak (Hebrew Scriptures) describing the same events that John was describing in Revelation, commonly using 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 Yehovah. The nations of Israel will have been in captivity for most of the 1,260 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 Yehovah and His Messiah return!
The Day of Trumpets memorializes, in advance, Yehovah And His Messiah’s conquest of the Earth!
Revelation 4:1 After this, I looked and saw an open door in the sky! The first voice that I heard was like a shofar talking with me. It said, “Come up here and I’ll show you the things that must happen after this.”
This again, is a reference to the trumpeting voices that will be heard “on the Lord’s Day”, concerning “things that must happen after this.”
I’ve never had a Sunday like this.
This culmination of the Trumpet plagues is described in the most wonderful of terms. This is when “Yehovah AND His Messiah” “reign forever”!
Actual shofars will sound, preceding some astounding voices, as was the case just before Israel was given the Ten Commandments, as we saw in Exodus 19:18-19 and Exodus 20:18.
The voices of Yehovah and His Messengers can be quite frightening. That is why Israel, in the wilderness, asked to listen to Moses instead of Yehovah directly. (Exodus 20:19)
2 Samuel 22:14 Yehovah thundered from heaven. The Supreme One allowed His voice to be heard!
Job 37:5 Elohim’s voice thunders extraordinarily. He does amazing things that we can’t even comprehend.
The “Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10) is the climactic conclusion of “this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4). Once the seventh Messenger (angel) sounds, Yehovah’s absence will no longer be a mystery. False religions and Atheism will be history:
Revelation 10:7 When the time comes for the seventh messenger to blow his shofar, the mystery of Yehovah will be finished, just as He announced 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 The earth will be as filled with an awareness of the splendor of Yehovah as water covering 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 Sovereign Yehovah’s spirit overlooks Me, because Yehovah has anointed Me to bring Good News to the afflicted. He has sent Me to relieve the grief stricken, to proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight for the blind and to set the oppressed free; 19 to proclaim the Acceptable Year [1] of Yehovah...[Jubilee] [Directly from Isaiah 61:1-2]
[1] The azazel goat being led out into the wilderness in Leviticus 16:10 corresponds with the spirit leading Yeshua into the wilderness in Luke 4.The fact that He abruptly quit reading the second verse midway thru was an indication that the later portion would be fulfilled later. He did not fulfill: “...and the day of vengeance of Yehovah; to comfort all who mourn...” and all of the other “millennial” prophecies expressed in the rest of the chapter that pertain to the “second coming”. Yet the former things were fulfilled, within His human mission 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 Yehovah”.
You may want to continue reading Isaiah 61 to get more of the context concerning the next “acceptable year”.
The Time of Vengeance and Redemption
The earth will be as filled with the awareness of the splendor of Yehovah, as water covering the sea.
Isaiah 61:2-3...to proclaim the Acceptable Year of Yehovah [Jubilee] [Yeshua stopped quoting here—to be continued], AND the Day of Vengeance of our Elohim, [Jubilee, 2032/2033 AD!] and to comfort everyone who mourns [due to the end time calamity]; 3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give to them crowns instead of ashes on their heads, the oil of joy instead of mourning, clothing of praise instead of a spirit of weakness, so that they can be called ‘terebinth trees of righteousness’, ‘a cluster planted by Yehovah’, so that they can display His splendor.
Here are a couple of the many other references concerning the Day of Yehovah:
Jeremiah 46:10 That day is the day of the Sovereign, YEHOVIH [a variant spelling] the Commander, a day of vengeance when He’ll take vengeance on His enemies. His sword [1] will 'destroy' until it has had enough and drink its fill of their blood, because the Sovereign YEHOVIH the Commander has an atoning zebak to make in the North Country by the Euphrates River.
[1] YEHOVIH the Commander (Yeshua) fulfills this with a sword in Revelation 19:15 & 21.We associate the number seven with Yehovah and good things, and even such things as the seven last plagues. The Day of Yehovah will occupy exactly one year, and 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, Yehovah is in control—regulating the Beast’s coming and going within an exact time frame.
In this passage we see the Redeemer, the “Messenger of His Presence” contemplating the coming time of vengeance:
Isaiah 63:4-9 The Day of Vengeance was on My mind, and My Redemption [Jubilee] [1] has come. 5 I looked around, and no one was there to help, and I was appalled that there was no support, so I supplied My 'own' deliverance, and My wrath sustained Me. 6 I trampled the people in My anger, and made them drunk in My fury, and I spilled their lifeblood on the ground.”
7 I’ll mention the faithful love of Yehovah and the renown of Yehovah due to everything that Yehovah has done for the House of Israel, that He has done for them in His compassion, and by His unlimited mercy. 8 He said, “Surely, these are My people, children who won’t defraud Me.” So He rescued them. 9 In all their distress He too was distressed, and the Messenger of His Presence [Yeshua] rescued them. In His love and mercy He reclaimed them. He lifted them up and carried them for many years in the past.
[1] Israel will be 'purchased', redeemed on the next Jubilee year, beginning with the 144,000 of Revelation 14:1-4.Following Satan’s allotted time, he is cut short of finishing his destruction of Israel. This is when Yehovah avenges the enemies of Israel for a full year.
There is yet another aspect of the coming Day of Yehovah that I am quite interested in participating in. A trumpet blast will also signify the resurrection of “those who are the Messiah’s at His coming”! We will not miss out on this splendid occasion! The “first fruits” 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”, and that would be after the whole “shootin match”. If this is the case then we would not be resurrected until the Philadelphian members of “the seven Churches” (actually “Assemblies”), and perhaps some others had already been protected from the Great Tribulation (Revelation 3:10) within a place of safety called New Jerusalem! If this translation is correct and we are to interpret that this is the last of the seven trumpet plagues rather than in the general time frame of all of the last Trumpets, then it seems that we will have to wait a while for the resurrection/transformation. These plagues, along with the simultaneous bowl plagues and the seven seals, constitute the Day of Yehovah.
1 Corinthians 15:12-52 Now if we announce that the Messiah has been raised from the dead, why do some of you claim that there’s no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead then the Messiah hasn’t been resurrected. 14 If the Messiah hasn’t been resurrected then our heralding is worthless and your faith means nothing. 15 Also, we would even be proven to be false witnesses about Yehovah, because we testified on Yehovah’s behalf that He raised the Messiah, if in fact the dead aren’t resurrected. 16 If the dead don’t rise, then the Messiah hasn’t risen either. 17 If the Messiah hasn’t been raised, your faith is worthless and you are still without hope in your sins. 18 And no doubt those who have already died in the Messiah have been destroyed. 19 If our hope in the Messiah is for this lifetime only, then we’re the most miserable people in the world!
20 But now the Messiah has risen from the dead and has become the first person [firstfruits] born [1a] from the dead. 21 Since one man brought about death, so another man brought about the resurrection of the dead. 22 Everyone dies because of Adam, but in contrast because of the Messiah everyone will be restored to life, 23 but everyone in their order, Messiah was the firstfruit [1b]. Later, at His [2] coming, those who are the Messiah’s [will be restored to life]. 24 Then the end of these events [3] comes, when He’ll have handed over the Kingdom to Yehovah the Father, when every ruler and every government and every powerful force will have been overthrown. 25 For 'Yeshua' must rule until He vanquishes all of His enemies. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 He has put everything under 'Yeshua’s' command. But when He said that everything is under His command, this certainly excludes the One who authorized Him. 28 Now when everything is under His command, then the Son Himself will yield the command to the One who authorized Him, so that Yehovah will be 'absolutely supreme'.
29 Otherwise, what will the people do who are immersed for the sake of the dead, if the dead don’t rise? Why are they immersed for the dead? 30 And why are we continually being endangered? 31 Friends, I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what our Sovereign Yeshua Messiah has done in you. 32 If, as people reason, I was thrown to wild animals in Ephesus [4], what would I gain if the dead don’t rise? “Let’s eat and drink because tomorrow we die.”
33 Don’t be deceived, “Evil communication corrupts good minds.” 34 You should be sober minded and righteous, not wandering from righteousness. There are some of you who don’t know Yehovah. I say this to your shame!
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? And what kind of body will they return with?” 36 Foolish man! The seed you sow won’t germinate unless it dies first. 37 What you sow isn’t the body that will be, but a naked seed of wheat or barley or another grain. 38 Yehovah furnishes the body He intended. Each seed produces its own body. 39 Not every body is alike. People have one kind of body, animals have another, birds have another, and fish have yet another. 40 There are bodies in the Heavenly realm and in the terrestrial, but the splendor of the celestial ones is one thing, and the earthly ones is another. 41 The magnitude of the sun is unique, as is the brightness of the moon and the stars. Each star differs from the other stars in apparent magnitude [5].
42 It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, but what is raised will never decay. 43 They are sown in dishonor, they rise in brightness, they are sown in weakness, they’ll rise in power, 44 it is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a physical body and there is a spiritual body.
45 And so is it written: “Adam, the first man, came into existence as a mortal soul.” [6] The second Adam became a spirit who restores life. 46 The spiritual isn’t first, but the physical and then the spiritual. 47 The first man came from the dust of the earth, the second man was the Sovereign from the Heavens. 48 Just as Adam’s kind was made of earth, so the others of his kind are made of earthly material, and just as 'Yeshua' is, who is from in the Heavenly realm, that is how the Heavenly realm is [7]. 49 As we have borne the likeness of the man made of earth, we’ll also bear the likeness of the One from the Heavenly realm.
50 Friends, I tell you that flesh and blood can’t inherit the Kingdom of the Heavens, nor can the perishable inherit perpetuity. 51 See, I’ll explain a mystery to you, we won’t all die, but we’ll all be transformed! 52 In the smallest possible fraction of a second [Gr. atomos], while the last [seventh] shofar [8] is sounding, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be transformed!
[1a,b] “Firstborn” is the exact equivalent of “firstfruit” as used in the Tanak, and can just as easily be understood as “firstborn” (firstling), since we aren’t picked from trees. While resurrection to physical life certainly has Biblical precedent, Yeshua is the only person ever resurrected to eternal life. (John 3:13). [2] Or this could be translated as “Their coming.”, as in Daniel 7. [3] “The end” of the age, the sixth millennium, is mentioned several times in Daniel 11 and 12 and Matthew 24. The end of the fourth age is mentioned in Hebrews 9:26. [4] The Greek says: “If I have fought with wild animals.” [5] The point is that in the Everlasting Kingdom we will all be unique individuals with varying degrees of “brightness”! [6] See Ezekiel 18:4,20. [7] We will be like the messengers, see Matthew 22:30. [8] See Revelation 8:6.
The phrase that Paul used about death being devoured (v.54) is a direct reference to Isaiah’s statement about “a feast” when Yehovah will see to it that death itself is devoured!
While this is not a reference to the Day of Trumpets (one of the three annual pilgrimage Feasts), it is nevertheless well associated with Yehovah’s plan, as illustrated by all seven Biblical Feasts and Festivals Days. The distinction between a Feast Day (chag) and a Festival (moed) are quite easily separated in Hebrew, but not in the English translations as explained in three times a year!)
Isaiah 25:6-9 Commander Yehovah will prepare a 'lavish' banquet on this mountain using the 'best foods' for every nation, a banquet with well aged wines, of 'choice' cuts full of marrow and refined wines. 7 On this mountain He (Commander Yehovah) will remove the shroud that looms over all people, the veil that 'overshadows' every nation. 8 He (Commander Yehovah)) will devour death forever! The Sovereign Yehovah [2] [“Yeshua”] will wipe away the tears from every face. He’ll eliminate the scorn of His people from the entire earth. Yehovah has spoken! 9 When That Day Comes* Israel will be saying, “This is our Elohim! We have been waiting for Him to save us! This is Yehovah! We’ve been waiting for Him. Let’s rejoice and celebrate His salvation!
[2] Note the context of the next verse—death ceasing (for the righteous) when Messiah returns. Your Bible most likely says “Lord GOD” in verse 8, but in truth it is “adonai (Sovereign) YHVH”! He, the Alpha and the Omega (Yeshua), is the One who will wipe away the tears! Revelation 21:4-6. Ignore the “GOD”, check the Hebrew: 3069 [e], a slight variant of the name YHVH. See Adonai (Adonai)
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 thru 48 all describe the time period extending into the Everlasting Kingdom. But few dare to admit this, preferring to view these nine chapters as historic or allegorical!
The following circumstances are to be a part of the coming millennium:
Ezekiel 44:9,25 The Sovereign Yehovah says: No foreigner with an uncircumcised heart or uncircumcised flesh will enter My 'Temple', including foreigners who live in Israel... 25 They must not defile themselves by going near a dead person. However, for a father or mother, son or daughter, brother or unmarried sister they can defile themselves.
Isaiah 65:20 Never again will there be an infant who lives for only a few days, or an old man who hasn’t lived out his days. A son who only lives to be a hundred years old will die young, because a young man who dies at one hundred years of age will be considered cursed. [Only indecisive people live to 100, but then their shelf life expires.] Isaiah 66:22-23 “As the New Heavens and the New Earth that I’ll make will endure in My presence”, declares Yehovah, “So your descendants and your name will endure. 23 “Then, from one New Moon to the next New Moon [every month!], and from one Sabbath to the next Sabbath [every week!], all of humanity will come to worship before Me”, declares Yehovah. 24 They’ll go out and see the carcasses of the people who rebelled against Me, because the maggots devouring them won’t die off. The fire that’s burning them won’t go out. They’ll be abhorrent to everyone.” [3]
[3] Unfortunately, there will be a steady stream of wicked people being thrown into the fire every ‘moonth’ all thru the time of the “New Heavens and the New Earth.” Whatever the fire does not dispose of will keep the maggots well fed. Gehenna was the city dump of Jerusalem, where the bodies of criminals kept those maggots fed continually.When “Jeremiah’s” “New Covenant” is actually implemented then: Torah [Law] in the very seat of their thoughts and emotions; I’ll write it onto their minds.” People will still have to face their own mortality while they consider their opportunity to obtain immortality. We’ll pick up on this thought in part 4.
The dates for the Feasts and Festival Days for the current year are found at the red link below.
