Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) pt. 2

"...on the first day of the [seventh] month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation."
-Leviticus 23:24b

"a memorial of blowing of trumpets" is teruah in the Hebrew:
H8643
תּרוּעה
terû‛âh
ter-oo-aw'
From H7321; clamor, that is, acclamation of joy or a battle cry; especially clangor of trumpets, as an alarum: - alarm, blow (-ing) (of, the) (trumpets), joy, jubile, loud noise, rejoicing, shout (-ing), (high, joyful) sound (-ing).

H7321 is 'rua' which literally means "to shout (for alarm or joy); to sound an alarm; to cry aloud; to make a joyful noise."

The Feast of Trumpets is much more than just blowing the shofar (Hebrew for trumpet). In fact it's not limited to the blowing of the trumpet, but it is for the voice as well. This is important because as we shout to God with the voice of triumph (Psalm 47:1) there is a Voice that we are to be listening for - The Lord God Almighty's!

In fact that is what this Feast, or Day, is all about...hearing HIS Voice!

In looking at the pattern of the fall Feasts of YHWH, there is no doubt that Tabernacles is about the time of restitution and Him dwelling with (literally 'tabernacling with') His people...for eternity! (Revelation 21:3). Going backward to the Day of Atonement we see not only the picture of redemption in Messiah Yeshua, but also the Day of His judgment upon the earth. This inevitably leads us back ten days to Trumpets which is a picture of His heralded return! The day Yeshua comes back for His bride, the church! If this is the case then there should certainly be more than one witness of this in the Scriptures.

The first picture we have took place at Mt. Sinai, as Yahweh called His people to enter covenant with Him.

"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation...

Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.
And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

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.

And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice."
-Exodus 19:5-6; 10-11; 16; 19

What an amazing event! And there are so many things to see in this passage that one could devote hours to it, but we won't do that today! But do check out a couple of passages about whom the LORD calls to be a "kingdom of priests, a holy nation, and a special treasure"
(1 Peter 2:4-5; 9; Revelation 1:6).

One thing that obviously stands out is hearing God's voice. This isn't the only place in Scripture that He tells His people to hear His voice. But we also see this clearly in the New Testament,

"As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."
-John 10:15-16; 27

Notice that He says that His sheep hear His voice. Back in verse 5 of John 10, Yeshua said that His sheep will not follow a 'thief' because they do not know his voice. If we do not know the voice of God then we will end up following those who are lawless. If we expect to hear the LORD call our name when He returns then we better know His voice, which He identifies with keeping HIS Commandments (Genesis 26:5; Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 13:4, 18; 15:5; 26:17; 27:10; 28:1, 15, 45; 30:8, 10; Psalm 103:20).

Are you lawful or lawless? The anti-christ is identified as the 'man of lawlessness' in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 . Something to think about.

Hearing the voice of Yahweh is knowing His Word and keeping His Commandments which the Holy Spirit writes on the hearts and minds of true believers (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; John 16:13, 17:17 /Psalm 119:142).

As we continue to look at this, keep in mind the picture of the feast of trumpets - the Lord's return.

As we've seen the blast of the shofar (trumpet) is the awakening sound of the voice of the LORD calling His people to HIM!

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
-Matthew 24:29-31

"...in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
-1 Corinthians 15:52

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first."
-1 Thessalonians 4:16

Messiah will return with shouting and blasting of a shofar...an awakening blast! A cry of battle and terror for the lawless, but a shout of joy and acclamation for those who are His! Those who hear HIS Voice!

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,"
-Revelation 1:10-11a

Yeshua, in speaking to John about the Day to come, shouted His return. It will be for all to hear, but not everyone will hear the same message depending on where they stand. We are either with Him, standing on His commandments, or we are against Him, standing on shaky ground.

I want to leave you with a psalm that speaks of not only His return, but of how triumphant and joyful it will be in that Day. When Messiah returns for His bride, may we be awake and ready, with oil in our lamps, our wicks trimmed, and listening for His Voice.

"Oh, clap your hands all you peoples!
Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
For YHWH Most High is awesome!
He is the great King over all the earth
He will subdue the peoples under us,
and the nations under our feet.
He will choose our inheritance for us,
The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
God has gone up with a shout,
YHWH with the sound of the trumpet.
Sing praises to our God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing praises with understanding.
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on His holy throne.
The princes of the people
have gathered together.
The people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
He is greatly exalted.
-Psalm 47

Yom Teruah (the Feast of Trumpets)

You can read more here: http://www.ezekielthree.com/trumpets.html

In just a few days it will be the first day of the fall Feasts of the LORD - the Day of the Awakening Blast, also called the Feast of Trumpets.

In Leviticus 23:23-25 we read,

"Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
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 trumpets, a holy convocation.
You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'"

There's several things in this verse that would make people jump to the conclusion that this feast is not for His church/body today, mainly the fact that He speaks to Israel and that an offering of fire should be made. Granted these seem to point to that conclusion, but they wouldn't be taking in the whole context of Scripture.

To understand this let's consider the New Covenant for a moment. In Jeremiah 31:31-34 we read,

"Behold the days are coming says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah - not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, form the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.'"

We see first of all that the LORD is speaking to Israel and Judah at first, but then in verse 33 we read only Israel. Is He not including Judah now? No, He's simply pointing out that they will be made whole again, remembering of course that He is speaking to those of Israel and Judah who are BELIEVERS in HIM. The Jewish people are not saved because they are of Israel, but only if they believe upon Yeshua as Messiah! And what about us Gentiles? We'll get to that!

Next we see that He is certainly speaking of the New Covenant that was made in Messiah's blood because of verse 34, where He says He will 'forgive their iniquity' and remember their sins no more.

Yeshua said,

"For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
-Matthew 26:28

Also in Jeremiah 31:34 God promises to be their God and that they will be His people. We see this fulfilled in it's entirety in Revelation.

Revelation 21:3 says,

"And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.'"

Clearly in Jeremiah the Lord God is speaking of the New Covenant that we have entered into today as followers of Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). So if that is the case, then where do the Gentiles fit into this according to Jeremiah 31? If He was only speaking of Israel what about Gentiles? In Scriptures like Deuteronomy 29:14; 32:43; Isaiah 56:1-8; Acts 15: 7-9; Romans 11:11-36; Ephesians 2:11-22; 3:3-6 and others we see clearly that the Gentiles have always been welcomed to YHWH by His grace, through faith in Messiah Yeshua just as the Jews. But as Paul wrote in Romans 2:9-11, it was offered to the Jew first and then to the Gentile as well. Both Jew AND Gentile can enter His New Covenant by faith in Yeshua!

So what does all this have to do with the Feast of Trumpets? Well, if we as Gentiles in the flesh can become partakers of the New Covenant then we are now able to enjoy His feasts as well, along with ALL of HIS Commandments! The church is made up of both believing Jew and believing Gentile - one new man created in HIM for obedience to the faith (Galatians 3:28; Romans 1:5).

His commandments, including HIS APPOINTED TIMES (Heb. moedim) ie. His Sabbath, His feasts, His new moons, are for all His people - the church.

What about the offering made by fire? I explain this a bit further in my study on this feast, but basically that commandment has not been done away with. We are still to offer up a burnt offering, but not animals, rather, we are to offer up ourselves! We are to be living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2) and we are to offer up sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to His name, by which sacrifices God is well pleased (Hebrews 13:15-16). Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29 also says that God is a consuming fire. If He accepts our lives as an offering to Him, wouldn't that be a burnt offering? I know this seems like I'm spiritualizing the matter, but this is not a new concept. Long before Messiah came to earth in the flesh, God had always wanted the New Covenant for His people, however many of them rejected it. He always wanted their hearts circumcised (Deuteronomy 10:16; Jeremiah 4:4) but now we see it fulfilled in Messiah (Colossians 2:11). He always wanted His people to allow the Holy Spirit to indwell them and for them to be His house (Numbers 11:29; 2 Samuel 7:6-11; Isaiah 63:11) yet we see it fulfilled today (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:5).

I suppose to an extent we are spiritualizing, but only in the sense that the Scriptures give us. Yeshua said,

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him."
-John 4:23

God had placed His Spirit in those of old - Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others - as well as circumcised their hearts, and today we are a part of that family who worship Him in spirit and truth (if we have faith in the Son of God). Remembering that God is spirit and His Word is truth and that Yeshua IS the Living Word. His Law/Word is the very truth that the Holy Spirit writes on our hearts (Psalm 119:142; Jeremiah 31:33-34; Ezekiel 36:27) and by our obedience we know that we love God and love His children (John 14:15; 1 John 5:2-3; James 2:14-26).

As the day approaches we'll look more at this feast and what it means for us, but for now consider that it IS for us. Also, consider the time coming, looking unto Him...and listening for His voice.

Ephesians 5:11

Well I thought that it was time to clean things up a bit :)

I've started an additional blog to this one entitled Ephesians 5:11.

In the book of Ephesians, chapter 5 v 11, Paul writes:

"and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."

This is a call to all believers to not stand idly by as wickedness takes place, but to stand up and call out the enemy, our flesh, and this world which are in opposition to the LORD! To expose the evil practices of man by shedding the light of the Word of God on them, but we can only do that if we ourselves are walking in the light of His Word...in obedience to His Commandments.

Actually I wanted to call it Ephesians 5 because the entire chapter speaks volumes of what we should be doing and living like according to God's standard of righteousness, but believe it or not that name was already taken! So I figured verse 11 kinda says it all.

I plan on devoting more time here at Ezekielthree to studies in the Scriptures, while the new blog will also incorporate some of that but mostly focus on looking at the evil practices and demonic goings on in the world including paganism (especially that which is in the professing church), the many lies concerning health issues, false doctrines, and other such topics.

I will be eventually moving some articles from this blog over to Ephesians511, those that would fit better there. But as I said my goal is to dig more into the Scriptures here at Ezekielthree and seek the LORD for His understanding.

Hopefully these two blogs will help keep things a bit more organized and easier to find as well as cause awarness of what we as followers of Messiah need to be doing as we sojourn through this world.

Blessings in HIM, Jason

Swine Flu Pandemic?

Well I had to write a short stint on this supposed "outbreak" of swine flu that's supposed to ravage the states this fall and winter. It seems as though there's a bit more to it then we've been told (are you really surprised?), but the majority of cases here in the U.S. have been overly-hyped with little pay off for the drug companies. People complain of the symptoms which they say are no more potent than the regular flu!

Below are two videos I found interesting. The first is from the CBS Early Show revealing as with most all cases that the symptoms of the swine flu are nothing more than the regular flu.

The Second video is a bit more interesting and worth watching...pay close attention to what's being said...as I said, interesting.

Still Here...

It's been a while since I've posted anything other than some links...I've been way too busy! The Lord continues to teach me when to slow down and focus on the things that matter most. The more I study His Word and continue to try and submit to His ways the more I learn that He is always teaching me to keep my eyes on Him.

We were going through Deuteronomy 16-18, Daniel 3, and Revelation 5, 6, and 7 at our gathering last night and it amazes me how awesome the Lord truly is! I can't even begin to fathom His greatness but I catch these little glimpses all throughout His Word.

One thing that jumped out at me was how we have such little control in our lives. Yet the Lord is in COMPLETE control and His love extends far beyond us. He promises to keep those who are His and we see that in the book of Daniel when king Nebuchadnezzer had Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego - their Babylonian-given names) thrown into the fiery furnace for their refusal to bow down and worship the image of gold that the king had set up. Nebuchadnezzer, in his fury, ordered the three men to be thrown into the furnace and he heated it 7 times hotter than before, so hot that it killed the guards who were throwing the young Hebrews into it. Yet Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were protected in the furnace. Nebuchadnezzer saw them and a fourth man whom he said looked like the Son of God. Yeshua (Jesus) kept Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego safe through the fire.

In Deuteronomy 4:24 and Hebrews 12:29 we read that our God is a consuming fire. It's by fire that He will judge the world and if we're not submitted to Him then we will be burned up in His judgment. The fire of king Nebuchadnezzer's furnace was nothing compared to our God.

I can't imagine being put in the position that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were put in, yet if/when the day comes that I am I pray that I will trust in Him to protect me, even if that means death for His name's sake. If that's the case, it's nothing that isn't coming anyway...as I see it I'm going home at some point and only He knows when that is because He's in complete control.

He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lillies of the field...will He not take better care of His sons and daughters whom He loves?

Love

Love & The Commandments

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Which Day is the Sabbath?

An interesting article on the Sabbath found at World Net Daily, a conservative news publication:
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=57978

This is a link to the Sabbath page on my site:
http://www.ezekielthree.com/sabbath.html