One of the reasons for blowing the shofar is to proclaim the resurrection
of the
dead. In 1 Cor. 15:52, the apostle Paul tells us that the resurrection
of the dead will be “at
the last trump.”
We cannot go to the Book of Revelation and say that the voice
of the seventh
angel (Rev. 11:15) is the last trump. In the first century, the
last trump meant a specific
day in the year. In Judaism, there are three trumpets that have
a name. They are the first
trump, the last trump, and the great trump. Each one of these
trumpets indicates a specific
day in the Jewish year. The first trump is blown on the Feast
of Shavuot (Pentecost) Ex.
19:19. It proclaimed that God had betrothed Himself to Israel,
The last trump is
synonymous with Rosh HaShanah. The great trump is blown on Yom
Kippur, which will
herald the return of Messiah Jesus back to earth (Matt. 24:31).
The first and last trump relate to the two horns of the ram, which
according to
Jewish tradition, was caught in the thicket on Mount Moriah when Abraham
was ready to
slay Isaac and offer him up as a burnt offering. This ram became
the substitute for Isaac
as Jesus became the substitute for us and provided life for us through
His death.
Isa. 18:3 and 1 Thess. 4:13-18 speak of the resurrection of the
dead. 1 Thess.
chapter 5 continues with the day of the Lord and the birthpangs of
Messiah. The festivals
will, beyond a shadow of a doubt, tell you that the resurrection of
the dead precedes the
time of Jacob’s trouble (also known as the tribulation).
The term rapture comes from the Greek word harpazo, which means
“to seize,
catch away, catch up, pluck, pull, take by force” (1 Thess. 4:17).
The Hebrew equivalent
is the word natzal. Isa. 26:2-3, 19-20 and 57:1-2 all speak clearly
of the resurrection of
the dead, and taking of the believers, and the hiding of the believers
from the indignation
(the tribulation). Dan. 12:1-2 also speaks of the resurrection
of the dead, the tribulation,
and the salvation of Israel through the tribulation. Zeph. 1:14-18
and 2:2-3 tells about the
terrible times during the day of the Lord, the birthpangs of the Messiah,
and issues a
decree to repent and turn to God before that day to be hid from that
time. Psalm 27:5
says the righteous will be hid in the time of trouble. 2 Thess.
2:1 talks about “our
gathering together unto Him.” The phrase, “gathering together’
comes from the Greek
word episunagoge, which means “an assembly.” In Num. 10:2-3,
the trumpet is blown to
assemble the people. The blowing of the trumpet and the assembling
of the people also
appear together in 1 Thess. 4:16-17 and 1 Cor. 15:51-53.
YOM HAKESEH: THE HIDDEN DAY
In Psa. 27:5 it is written, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me; He shall set me up upon a rock.”
Another name for Rosh HaShanah is Yom HaKeseh, “The Day of the Hiding” or “the Hidden Day.” The term keseh or keceh is derived from the Hebrew root kacah, which means to “conceal, cover, or hide.” Every day during the month of Elul, a trumpet is blown to warn people to turn back to God, except for the thirtieth day of Elel, the day preceding Rosh HaShanah. On that day the trumpet is not blown, and is therefore silent. This is because much about Rosh HaShanah is concealed and shrouded in mystery. The mystical aspect of Rosh Hashanah is indicated in Scripture: “Sound the shofar on the New Moon, in concealment of the day of our festival” (Ps. 81:3). Satan, the accuser, is not be given notice about the arrival of Rosh HaShanah, the Day of Judgement. Hiding, because it was hidden from satan, the adversary. The Bible says that satan comes to rob and to steal (John 10:10), and to confuse 1 Cor. 14:33). Because it is the Day of Judgement, it is symbolically hidden from satan (satan did not know and understand the plan of the cross, 1 Cor. 2:7-8). This was hidden from him as well.
One of the reasons most often given to disclaim that the resurrection of the dead and the catching away of the believers is on Rosh HaShanah is the statement given by Jesus in Matt. 24:36, “But of that day and hour no man knows, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Because Rosh HaShanah was understood to be the hidden day, this statement by Jesus is actually an idiom for Rosh HaShanah. Thus it should be given as proof that He was speaking of Rosh HaShanah because Rosh HaShanah is the only day in the whole year that was referred to as the hidden day or the day that no man knew.
Spiritual Application. Rosh HaShanah takes place on the
new moon. Col. 2:16-17
says that the new moon will teach about the Messiah. The Jewish
(biblical) month is based
upon a lunar cycle. The moon can barely be seen as the cycle
begins. But then the moon
turns toward the sun and begins to reflect the light of the sun.
The sun in the sky is a
picture of Jesus (Mal. 4:2), and the moon is a picture of the believers
in the Messiah. The
sun has its own light, but the moon’s light is a reflection of the
sun. When we first
become believers in Jesus, we can hardly be seen spiritually, and we
know very little about
God. But then our lives begin to revolve around the Messiah as
the moon revolves around
the sun. As we begin to turn more and more toward the center
of creation, we begin to
reflect that light (Jesus) more and more, just as the moon reflects
the light from the center
of the solar system.
