Rethinking Rosh HaShanah

On September 25th of this year, at sundown, will begin the Fall festival days or feast days that were given to the children of Israel by God through Moses. These High Holy Days begin with what is known in the Jewish community as the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah - the Jewish new year, and followed by Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (Feast of Booths or Tabernacles). 

Let me take a moment to comment on the confusion that exists between the Feast of Trumpets and Rosh Hashanah. The biblical name for the feast is Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets, Leviticus 23:23-25), and is the fifth of seven holy seasons of God as given in Leviticus 23. 

When the Jewish people returned to Israel after the Babylonian captivity, they, unfortunately, brought a number of Babylonian customs with them, the new year being one of them, and institutionalized it into Jewish life and observance much later during the Second Temple period and forward. So tradition says this is the first of the year, but the biblical new year is actually in the spring, just before Passover. Observance of this day as Rosh Hashanah or the Jewish New Year is strictly tradition.   

The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, in rabbinic Jewish tradition, are known as the Days of Awe. These are considered the holiest days on the Jewish calendar. It is to be a time of reflection, fasting, and repentance. During this time, observant Jewish people ask forgiveness from those they have wronged and forgive those who have wronged them. (Nothing wrong with that, except we should do it all the time, not just between these two feast days.)

On Yom Kippur, Jewish people believe that their fate will be sealed and their sins will be covered - for one year until the next High Holy Days occur. 

Back to the Biblical Feast Days, or actually “God’s Appointed Times” or Moedim in Hebrew. The first four of these appointed times all occur in the spring, which are Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Pentecost. All four of these days have been historically fulfilled with the first coming of the Messiah, and Pentecost fulfilled with the coming of the Holy Spirit. 

Yom Teruah is the first of the three fall feasts, following a four-month interval of Leviticus 23:22, and it is the first of the final three festival days that are still prophetic and will be fulfilled by the Messiah at His Second Coming. Fruchtenbaum explains it this way:

“...the basic order of the holy seasons is provided in two revelations. Verse 1 of Leviticus 23 begins, And the Lord spoke to Moses, and verse 22 ends, I am the Lord your God. This is the first revelation that dealt with the spring feasts. The second revelation begins in verse 23 with the statement, Then the Lord spoke to Moses. This is the beginning of the revelation about the fall feasts which ends in verse 43 with, I am the Lord your God.”

We are now entering into the second revelation, the High Holy Days season, beginning with the Feast of Trumpets. So what is significant about this day called Yom Teruah or Day of Blasts?

This year it starts at sundown Sunday, September 25, 2022. It begins with the blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn) and ends with Yom Kippur on Tuesday, October 4, 2022. All of the High Holy Days will come to a close with Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, which begins on the evening of Sunday, October 9. Sukkot lasts for seven days, with a final day of celebration known as Hoshana Rabba. 

That is a quick rundown of the Fall Feasts. Our focus at the moment is Yom Teruah and what God intended to tell us with this particular Holy Day on the Hebrew calendar. It is the fifth of the seven Feasts, or in the Hebrew, Moedim, which means “appointed times.” An understanding that these days are God’s appointed times makes the entire layout of these Holy Days take on much greater significance. 

The Moed or appointed time means there is a “purpose” or a goal for each one of them. All seven of these appointed times are meant to teach us of God’s plan of salvation. Taking the world from chaos to order. 

In the case of the shofar, it has always been a sign of God’s presence with His people. In Exodus 19:13-20, there is the great sound of the trumpet, and the presence of God descends upon Mount Sinai. The sound of the shofar has always been an expectation that God will show up. The order and sequence of the holidays as they are laid out in Leviticus is a reminder to God’s people that He is coming. He will appear. 

This takes on even greater significance for believers today as we consider that the first four Moedim, appointed times, were literally and historically fulfilled on specific days. Passover - the Lamb of God sacrificed; Unleavened Bread - the sinless body of Messiah buried; First Fruits - the resurrection; Pentecost - the coming of the Spirit. 

Now, during a long summer break begins the harvesting of souls culminating with the great harvest at the end of the age, which brings us to the next Feast Day or “appointed time,” which is still prophetic. This is Yom Teruah, or Feast of Trumpets, the fulfillment of which will be the rapture of the church. Considering the prophetic nature of this appointed time / Feast Day, it is the sound of the trumpet that signifies to those watching and waiting for the return of the Messiah to catch up His bride (John 14:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:3). 

In the synagogue, there is a very long final blast of the shofar (trumpet), which is the tekiah gedolah, or the last trump of Yom Teruah that Paul has in mind in 1 Thessalonians, not to be confused with the last trumpet of the Book of Revelation. In light of the historical fulfillment of the first four feasts of Leviticus 23, and the order of the of the last three feasts, the prophetic significance is that the rapture will fulfill Yom Teruah, while Yom Kippur will be fulfilled by the tribulation. Just as Yom Teruah occurs before Yom Kippur, so the rapture will occur before the tribulation. 

Even though the “last trump” doesn’t tell us anything about the date of the rapture, the order and sequence of how the feasts of Israel have been and will be fulfilled teaches us that the rapture occurs before the tribulation. 

In the order and sequence of the feasts, the next after the Feast of Trumpets is Yom Kippur that will be fulfilled by the tribulation or the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7) culminating in the physical return of Messiah and Israel’s national salvation at the end of that seven year period.  And the final feast, Sukkot, will be fulfilled by the Messiah establishing the Messianic kingdom as He ascends the throne of His father David and fulfills not only the feast of Israel (Sukkot / Tabernacles), but also the the promise of God in the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:8-16). 

This should give us great confidence in God who lays out the end from the beginning. All of the events that are taking place today, that we have never seen in our lifetimes, are within the control of God. He has laid out the course of this world leading to His kingdom. 

Don’t be scared, be prepared. Look up for your redemption draws near. As Paul said, “comfort one another with these words.”