Rosh HaShanah - The Feast of Trumpets

(The Wedding of the Messiah)

We find in Leviticus 23 that the Festivals of the Lord were appointed times established as yearly
rehearsals that taught both historically and prophetically the whole plan of God concerning the
coming of Messiah and the redemption of man. The first four feasts have been fulfilled and we
celebrate them historically. They are Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and the Feast of
Weeks or Pentecost. These four Spring Feasts are considered to be an interrelated whole where
Pentecost is the completion of the process begun at Passover.

Looking at the table below, it is significant that the events that are associated with those feasts
are considered a unit and are quite distinctive from the Fall Feasts. The last three feasts;
Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles are celebrated in the Fall season and are yet to be fulfilled
so they remain prophetic in nature.

Rosh HaShanah is the fifth of seven feasts and it begins the High Holy Days or the Days of Awe.
We know that from the time of the rapture to the end of the tribulation will certainly be days of
awe! The final seven days in the Days of Awe correspond prophetically to the time of Jacob's
trouble or the tribulation. The final three feasts are Trumpets (Rosh HaShanah), Atonement
(Yom Kippur), and Tabernacles. Prophetically, the feast of Trumpets is tied to the coming
rapture of the church. Yom Kippur will find its prophetic fulfillment when all Israel is saved at
the end of the tribulation. Tabernacles will find its prophetic fulfillment when God once again
tabernacles or dwells in the midst of His people at beginning of the millennial reign.

Below is a table where the Feasts are listed with their messianic significance.

Passover Death of Jesus Christ

Unleavened Bread Burial of Jesus Christ
First Fruits Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Feast of Weeks
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit
(Pentecost)
The resurrection of the righteous
Trumpets
dead and rapture of the church
Atonement The Second Coming
Tabernacles The Messianic Era

There are four months that separate the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) or the Spring Feasts unit
from the Fall Feasts. Historically, it seems that the last two thousand years have been relatively
quiet prophetically. That is changing significantly and has been since this century began. I
believe that we are entering the season of the Fall Feasts. The month prior to the High Holy Days
is called Elul and is used to call people to repentance and to prepare to enter the Days of Awe.
There is a growing sense of the approaching Days of Awe on a worldwide scale and many are
getting serious about God and personal holiness.

The Feast of Trumpets will soon find its prophetic fulfillment. Why do we associate the Feast of
Trumpets with the rapture of the church?

The Hebrew name for Rosh HaShanah is Yom Teruah or "the day of the awakening blast".
Following are the Days of Awe. This in itself presents a strong case for a pre tribulation rapture.
The coronation of the King, the resurrection of the dead, the joy of the Messianic kingdom, and
the wedding of the Messiah are among the many themes associated with Rosh HaShanah. A
strong theme associated with Teruah is to "awake." Teruah can also be translated "shout". These
themes are reminiscent of 1Thessalonians 4: 15-17,

"According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the
coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself
will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the
trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and
are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we
will be with the Lord forever."

This passage is filled with Hebrew idioms that are expressly associated with Rosh HaShanah, the
Feast of Trumpets and therefore this passage lends itself as cultural evidence that Rosh
HaShanah will be the appointed day of the rapture of the church and the resurrection of the dead.

Since a significant theme of Rosh HaShanah is that of the wedding of the Messiah, let us now
examine the ancient customs associated with the Jewish wedding ceremony to see if there are
practices that correspond with many themes of this festival. Prior to the actual betrothal (a
serious legal transaction), the woman indicated the acceptance of the man's proposal of marriage
by drinking a cup of wine. This is why Jesus passed the cup of wine at the Last Supper. When we
drink the wine of communion we are accepting Him as our future groom. We are to remember
Him, and not prostitute ourselves and soil our wedding garments. The man would then pay a
bride price. Jesus paid for us with His life. The man would then give his betrothed gifts. Jesus
gave us the Holy Spirit. The man would then leave for a period of one to two years to go build a
place for us - a wedding chamber.

Note that 1000 years is like a day to the Lord. Within 2 days or 2000 years Jesus will return for
His bride! Upon completion of the wedding chamber, the bridegroom goes to get his bride at
midnight with a host of people with him both shouting and blowing the shofar. He takes the bride
to the wedding chamber. Notice that the bride is taken from her familiar surroundings to a place
she has never been - the home of the bridegroom. They would immediately go to the marriage
supper and then enter the bridal chamber for a period of seven days to consummate the marriage.
Rosh HaShanah is also known as the Day of our Concealment. Note that the seven days that we
are concealed within the bridal chamber correspond with the seven years of tribulation that will
be unleashed by God the Father upon an unbelieving world. Notice again the strong evidence for
a pre tribulation rapture based on the Jewish wedding ceremony. When the seven days are
completed, we will return with Jesus and then Yom Kippur and Tabernacles will find their
prophetic fulfillment.

One final word concerning Rosh HaShanah: Many people believe that we "will not know the
day or the hour of His appearing". They fail to realize, however, that this phrase taken from
Matthew 24:36 is an actual common Hebrew idiom for Rosh HaShanah. Jesus' audience fully
understood that what Jesus was saying was "I will come again on Rosh HaShanah at some point
in the future". It would be like saying in America, "I'll see you again when we gather together to
exchange presents." We automatically know that we are referring to Christmas. In like manner,
we can expect to see our Messiah on some future Rosh HaShanah.

I believe that all end time events are divinely planned and are not occurring randomly.
Furthermore, I believe that the rapture will occur at an appointed time and God has revealed to us
what the appointed times were and are in Leviticus 23 in His Festivals. I believe that we will, on
some Rosh HaShanah, hear the awakening blast of the shofar and the shout of the archangel and
we will dwell intimately in the presence of our Savior while the Days of Awe are unleashed upon
the earth.