How to Celebrate the FEAST of TRUMPETS

Now "in the seventh month, on the first day of the month enjoy a day of COMPLETE REST, a day of REMEMBRANCE ("and you shall be REMEMBERED before ... God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies" -- Num.10:9; Berishit Rabba 56:13), announced by the BLOWING of TRUMPETS (not only the standard silver trumpets of Numbers 10:10, but also the ram's horn -- Rosh Ha Shanah 3:3 & 16a), an holy CONVOCATION ("rehearsal" -- #4744). Ye shall do NO SERVILE WORK therein: but ye shall offer an offering ... unto the Eternal" (Lev.23:24-25; Moffatt, Berkeley, KJV; Num.29:1). This is NEW YEAR'S DAY. Jews ask God on this day to write their names in the Book of Life for the coming year (cp. Ps. 69:28; Ex.32:33). Many believe God records our fate for the coming year on this day. Wear WHITE CLOTHES because "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as WHITE as snow" (Isa. 1:18).

And "in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn (FEAST) days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall BLOW with the (silver) TRUMPETS" (Num.10:10) so all Israel will gather together.

The first day of Nisan is New Year's Day for festivals and kings (the date for determining how many years a king has ruled). Elul one is the new year for the tithing of animals. The first day of Tishri is New Year's Day for PLANTING and VEGETABLES, TITHING, the YEAR of RELEASE and the RECKONING of YEARS, SABBATICAL Years and for JUBI- LEES and the first of Shebet is New Year for fruit trees (Rosh Ha Shanah 1:1-2).

ROSH HA SHANAH actually means "HEAD OF THE YEAR" or the first day of the civil year (cp. Ex.23:16-17, Ex.34:22-23 & Ez.40:1). Here is an interesting reference to the month of Tishri (also called Ethanim): "in the month of Ethanim ... that is, the SEVENTH month. 'In the month that the ancient ones called the FIRST month but now it is called the SEVENTH month.'" (Targum Yonathan ben Uzziel on 1 Kings 8:21).

Repeat this blessing: "Praised be Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has given us life, and sustained us, and permitted us to reach and enjoy this moment." This is day 30 of a 40-day repentance that began on the first day of Elul known as Teshuvah (cp. Matt. 4:2).

After 6000 Years Of Man's Rule Comes The Millenium

The TRUMPET signaled the END of the AGRICULTURAL YEAR and the time of the HARVEST. Man has been given the first 6000 YEARS to do what he pleases. But the seventh period of 1000 YEARS is God's MILLENIUM. This teaching can be found in the Slavic version of the Book of Enoch 33:1-2 ; Talmud Sanhedrin 97a; Avodah Zarah 9a; Epistle of Barnabas 13:4 as well as Psalm 90:4, 2 Peter 3:8, Revelation 20:1-7 and Hebrews 4:1-11. It is the time of the SPIRITUAL HARVEST. The first SIX MONTHS of the sacred calendar contain only THREE holy days. But in the SEVENTH MONTH the remaining FOUR holy days all come together. This tells us that MAJOR EVENTS will CRESCENDO in the MILLENIUM. Growth, maturing and character-building should reach HARVEST STAGE by the time the seventh month arrives. That is why Solomon's temple -- representing the church --- was COMPLETED just BEFORE the FEAST OF TRUMPETS (2 Chr.5:1-3). SOLOMON, the prince of peace, in his wisdom, wealth and glory was a shadow of the MESSIAH to come. SIX STEPS (six thousand years) led to his THRONE (the millenium) (2 Chr.9:17-19). Both Solomon and Christ are wise, wealthy KINGS and SONS of DAVID who build a wonderful TEMPLE and create an era of PEACE. Solomon had 1000 wives from around the WORLD which typifies the true church, composed of Jewish Christians from around the WORLD, married to Christ. Jesus went to the WEDDING in Cana on the seventh day SABBATH. The first four days are found in John 1:19, 29, 35 and 43. On the fourth day he TAKES a TRIP, and is not seen again until the seventh day in chapter 2 (John 2:3). Yes, after 4000 YEARS, Christ TOOK A TRIP to earth, but we won't see him again till the end of 6000 YEARS when he has his WEDDING. Noah was 600 YEARS old when the FLOOD came (Gen.7:6). Then "in the 601st year, in the first month, the first day of the month, (according to the civil calendar; seventh month according to sacred calendar) the waters were dried up ... and Noah removed the covering of the ark" (Gen.8:13 ). On this FEAST OF TRUMPETS the earth was CLEANSED of all its evil and BEGAN AGAIN with the righteous. It will be that way in the MILLENIUM after a FIERY catastrophe (2 Pet.3:5-7). Christ said "There are some standing here, who shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom" (Matt.16:28). Then, "AFTER SIX DAYS Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John, his brother, and bringeth them up into an high MOUNTAIN (kingdom -- Dan.2:35,44-45) privately, and was TRANSFIGURED before them; and his face did shine like the sun, and his raiment was as white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him" (Matt.17:1-3). A Jewish wedding requires two witnesses. These two are often the same as "the FRIENDS of the BRIDEGROOM" -- one being assigned to the bride and the other to the groom. John the Baptist, a type of Elijah (Luke 1:17), was "the friend of the bridegroom" (John 3:28-29). Moses escorted the bride (Ex.19:17). Indeed, the Torah (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) are the two witnesses of Christ's Messiahship (Luke 24:25-27; cp. Rev. 11:3-7). Again, we read about JOASH the HEIR to the throne of Judah being "hidden in the house of the Eternal SIX YEARS ... And the SEVENTH YEAR Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the Eternal, and made a covenant with them ... And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him" (2 Kings 11:3,4,12). Another figurative prophecy is the SHOFAR blown at the temple to begin the SABBATH each week, after SIX DAYS of work.

Judgment Day For Jewish Christians -- Yom Ha Din

Another name of Rosh Ha Shanah is "Yom Ha Din," the DAY OF JUDGMENT -- "For the hour of his JUDGMENT has come" (Rev.14:7), "the time for the dead to be JUDGED, for REWARDING thy servants, the prophets and saints ... and for DESTROYING the destroyers of the earth" (Rev.11:18). "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the JUDGMENT" (Heb.9:27; cp. Dan.7:9-28). "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall REWARD every man according to his WORKS" (Matt.16:27). "Every IDLE WORD that men shall speak, they shall give account of it in the DAY OF JUDGMENT" (Matt.12:36). "For he cometh to JUDGE the earth: he shall JUDGE the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth" (the Bible) (Ps.96:13). "For we must all appear before the JUDGMENT SEAT of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (2 Cor.5:10; NAS). This "bema judgment seat" was the bench where the judge judged athletic contests and handed out laurel wreaths to the winners. Daniel 7:9-14 says, "I beheld till the thrones were cast down ("put in place" -- a "great white throne" [Rev.20:11]), and the Ancient of days did sit ... the judgment was set ("the court was seated"), and the books were opened (On Rosh HaShanah which is Yom HaDin, "The righteous are immediately inscribed in the book of life, the wicked in the book of death, and the verdict of the in-between is suspended until Yom Kippur" -- Rosh HaShanah 16b) ... I saw ... one like the Son of man (Messiah) came with the CLOUDS OF HEAVEN (clouds are saints -- Heb.12:1; Rev.1:7; Jude 14; Isa.60:8; Acts 1:9-11), and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him ... And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him." Notice that Messiah and the saints are arriving at heaven, not the earth. This is not a JUDGMENT determining whether we are saved or not, but a JUDGMENT determining our reward based on our deeds.

Do You Blow A Ram's Horn on Yom Teruah?

When we BLOW a SHOFAR with sustained, quavering, and staccato blasts three times as the Jews do (Lev.23:24; Num.10:10) we are foretelling the day when "the Lord God shall blow the SHOFAR" (Zech. 9:14). This is a statute and a law (Ps.81:3). But how many Christians do it today? A small shofar can be purchased for about $40.00 dollars from M.J.M.I. P.O. Box 30313, Bethesda, MD. 20824. Also say "Blessed are you,Yahweh our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us by your word, and has instructed us to hear the Shofar." Two different sounds are mentioned -- TEKIA and TERUA (Num. 10:5-8). In M. Rosh haShanah 4:9, the TEKIA is described as a LONG BLAST and the TERUA as NINE STACCATO BLASTS. However, some rabbis felt TERUA was THREE WAVERING SOUNDS so a SHEVARIM was introduced to cover that possibility (Rosh HaShanah 33b). Or according to another source, the TEKIA (long sound) is mentioned in Num. 10:3, the SHEVARIM (three broken sounds) in Numbers 10:5 and the TERUAH (nine short sounds) in Numbers 10:9. One sequence for blowing the shofar is: TEKIA, SHEVARIM, TERUA. TEKIA, SHEVARIM, TERUA. TEKIA, SHEVARIM, TERUA. All equal length. This nine-blast sequence is sounded after each prophetic section dealing with this day is read. For instance, Judgment Day gets nine. The Coronation gets nine. First Resurrection gets nine. Marriage gets nine. Etcetera. Nine times eleven is 99. Then the one-hundredth blast is the "LAST TRUMP" and "in the TWINKLING of an EYE" -- a Hebrew idiom meaning "just before night" (1 Cor. 15:52) (cp. p.230, Jewish Book of Why by Kolatch).

The Day Of The Coronation

The BLOWING of TRUMPETS symbolizes the CROWNING of a KING. First Kings 1:34 says, "BLOW ye with the TRUMPET, and say, God save KING Solomon" (cp.v.39). Second Kings 9:13 says they "BLEW with TRUMPETS, saying, Jehu is KING." Second Kings 11:12-14 says, "And he brought forth the KING'S SON, and put the CROWN upon him ... and all the people of the land REJOICED, and BLEW with TRUMPETS." Psalm 98:6 says, "With TRUMPETS and sound of CORNET make a JOYFUL NOISE before the Eternal, the KING." In Old Testament times, KINGS were CROWNED on the FEAST of TRUMPETS (cp. 2 Sam.15:10; 20:1). It was the FEAST of TRUMPETS when God created the first man and woman and began to REIGN over them. The Hebrew "bereshit" (Gen. 1) or "in the beginning" can be rearranged as "first of Tishri." The TRUMPET was BLOWN in JOYFUL triumph (Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, p.86), just as "the sons of God SHOUTED for JOY" (Job 38:7) on this same day when the creation took place. Psalm 81:1-3 mentions a "JOYFUL NOISE" on the FEAST of TRUMPETS. "God has gone up with a SHOUT, the Lord with the sound of a TRUMPET" (Ps.47:5). "The SHOUT of a king is among them" (Num.23:21).

"I am God ... unto me every KNEE shall BOW, every tongue shall swear" (Isa. 45:22-23). Worshippers in some synagogues KNEEL and touch their foreheads to the GROUND just as Ezra's congregation "BOWED their heads, and worshipped the Eternal with their faces to the GROUND" (Neh. 8:6) on the Feast of Trumpets. Temple priests also followed this custom.

The Day Of The Awakening Blast -- the First Resurrection

The ARK of the COVENANT entered the PROMISED LAND 2000 CUBITS ahead of ISRAEL (Josh. 3:4) just as MESSIAH was resurrected and entered the KINGDOM 2000 YEARS ahead of the SAINTS.

Noah warned the wicked of a coming flood. When Noah entered his ship, then the world perished. Lot warned Sodomites of coming doom. The same day Lot left, Sodom was destroyed with fire. Moses warned Egypt of coming plagues. When Moses reached the opposite bank, the waters drowned the Egyptian army. When Titus temporarily lifted the siege of Jerusalem, all the Jewish Christians fled to Petra. Then the siege was resumed and the entire population of Jerusalem was killed or enslaved.

In the same way, the righteous dead, who warned the world of sin, will come up out of their graves and ASSEMBLE to take a JOURNEY at the SOUND of the TRUMPET just like ancient Israel did (Num.10:2). They will escape the tribulation that will engulf the entire world. When Jewish Christians MEET TOGETHER on this day, they are TYPIFYING this RESURRECTION. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (a Hebrew idiom for just before night), at the LAST TRUMP (100th blast on Feast of Trumpets); for the TRUMPET shall SOUND, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor.15:52). "Blessed are the people that know the JOYFUL SOUND" (Ps.89:15). "For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain" (the RESURRECTION) (Isa. 26:21) "OPEN YE THE GATES (of heaven), that the righteous nation that keepeth the truth may enter in" (Isa.26:2). "OPEN TO ME THE GATES of righteousness; I will go into them ... This GATE of the Eternal, into which the righteous will enter" (Ps.118:19-20: Ps. 24:1-10). "After this I looked, and behold, a DOOR was OPENED in HEAVEN (The GATES OF HEAVEN are OPENED on Rosh HaShanah): and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a TRUMPET (Last Trumpet) talking with me [Like a "loud shout" -- 1 Th.4:16-17] ... And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne (the coronation)" (Rev.4:1-2). The GATES are also OPENED for ten days to receive prayers for forgiveness. After the DAYS OF AWE comes the closing ceremony of the Jewish Yom Kippur service, Neilah, meaning "CLOSING of the GATE." It refers to the gates of the Temple and of the Kingdom of Heaven being shut when it is TOO LATE to REPENT and ACCEPT the Messiah. Yes, "the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the DOOR WAS SHUT" (Matt.25:10). Luke 13:25 says, "When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath SHUT THE DOOR, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, OPEN UNTO US; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not from where ye are." (In order for God to REMEMBER us, we must REMEMBER to blow the shofar -- Mal. 3:16-18.) "For the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear HIS VOICE and come forth" (John 5:29). Yes, CHRIST'S VOICE is "a LOUD VOICE like a TRUMPET" (Rev.1:10). "The Eternal is ... the HORN of my SALVATION."

According to Rosh Ha Shanah 16b, the resurrection of the dead will occur on Yom Ha Din or the Feast of Trumpets. Archaeologists are discovering Jewish tombstones with SHOFARIM etched on them, indicating their belief in a resurrection from the dead at the sound of the SHOFAR. God will BLOW his spirit into the righteous dead and they will live. We will become "KINGS and priests, and we shall REIGN on the earth" (Rev.5:10). The trumpet is a call to the DEAD physically and spiritually to ARISE and LIVE AGAIN, to awaken from sin to righteousness through repentance. "Wherefore, he saith, AWAKE thou that SLEEPEST, and ARISE from the DEAD, and Christ shall give thee light" (Eph. 5:14). "All ye inhabitants of the world ... see when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains (nations); and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear" (Isa.18:3). "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may AWAKE him out of sleep" (John 11:11). "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a SHOUT, with the voice of the archangel, and with the TRUMP of God; and the DEAD in Christ shall RISE first; Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Th. 4:16-17 ). "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall AWAKE, some to everlasting life" (Dan.12:2). "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the LAST TRUMP; for the TRUMPET shall SOUND, and the DEAD shall be RAISED incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Cor.15:52). In Judaism, the shofar was blown 100 times on the Rosh HaShanah and the l00th blast was the "Last Trump." "AWAKEN from SLEEP ... lay aside the deeds of darkness" (Rom.13:11-12). "RISE UP (in a resurrection), my love, my fair one, and come away" (Song 2:10). "Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound" (teruah) (Ps.89:15).

Just as the first birth makes us human beings, so also the second birth afterward makes us immortal children of God (John 1:12; 3:1-7; Rom. 9:8-13; 1 Cor.15:22; 15:45-47).

Is it only a coincidence then that Cain was firstborn as a human but Abel will be firstborn as a spirit (Gen.4:1-8)? Ishmael was first born as a human but Isaac will be first born as a spirit (Gen.16-17). Esau was firstborn as a human and Jacob will be firstborn as a spirit (Gen.25:19-26). Etcetera.

A Trumpet Warning of the Tribulation -- the Day of the Lord's Anger

The TRUMPETS WARNED Israelites to PREPARE FOR WAR. "Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh" (Joel 2:1). "A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities" (Zeph. 1:14-16). The "SOUND of the TRUMPET, the ALARM of WAR" (Jer.4:19) is another theme of the Feast of Trumpets -- the time of Jacob's trouble and the birthpangs (Jer. 30:4-7; 1 Th. 5:1-3; Rev. 12:1-3; Dan. 12:1; Isa. 13:6-8; Isa. 26:17; Amos 5:20; Matt. 24). The shofar sounded to gather troops together for battle (Joshua 6). As Amos 3:6-7 says, "Shall a TRUMPET be BLOWN in the city, and the people not be AFRAID? Shall there be EVIL in a city, and the Eternal hath not done it? Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants, the prophets." (See also Num. 31:6; Judges 3:27; 6:34; 7:8-22; 1 Sam.13:3; 2 Sam. 20:1; Num.10:2-9; 1 Cor.14:8; Neh.4:19-20). God's voice is compared to the SOUND of a RAM'S HORN (Ex.19:16-19; 20:18; Ps.29; Heb.12:18-29; Rev.1:10-11; 4:1). Jewish Christians prepare for war by taking "the whole armor of God" -- truth (BELT), righteousness (BREASTPLATE), faith (SHIELD) and the Bible (SWORD) (Eph.6:13-18; 2 Cor.10:3-4). "Then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow go forth like lightning; the Lord God will sound the TRUMPET (shofar), and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south" (Zech.9:14).The BLOWING of TRUMPETS pictures an ALARM WARNING sinners and MAKING THEM AWARE of their SINS. As Isaiah 58:1 says, "CRY ALOUD, spare not, LIFT UP thy VOICE like a TRUMPET, and SHOW my people their TRANSGRESSION, and the house of Jacob their SINS." Make them RESPONSIBLE for their mistakes. Jeremiah 6:17 says, "Also, I set WATCHMEN over you, saying, HEARKEN to the SOUND of the TRUMPET. But they said, We will not hearken." Hosea was told, "SET the TRUMPET to thy MOUTH ... they have TRANSGRESSED my covenant, and TRESPASSED against my law.... Israel hath cast off the thing that is good; the ENEMY shall PURSUE him" (Hos.8:1-3). "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart; thou shalt in any wise REBUKE thy neighbor, LEST YOU BEAR SIN because of him" (Lev.19:17). "When I bring the SWORD upon a land, if the people of the land take a MAN ... and set him for their WATCHMAN; If, when he seeth the SWORD COME upon the land, he BLOW the TRUMPET, and WARN the people, Then whosoever HEARETH the SOUND of the TRUMPET, and taketh not WARNING, if the SWORD COME, and take him away, his BLOOD shall be UPON his OWN HEAD.... But he that TAKETH WARNING shall DELIVER HIS SOUL. But if the WATCHMAN see the SWORD COME, and BLOW NOT the TRUMPET, and the people be NOT WARNED; if the SWORD COME, and take any person from among them, he is taken away IN HIS INIQUITY, but his BLOOD will I REQUIRE at the WATCHMAN'S HAND.... I have set thee a WATCHMAN unto the house of Israel" (Ez.33:2-7; cp. Num.10:8). If anybody sins "AGAINST THEE" [Luke 17:3], "BLOW ... the TRUMPET" (Ps.81:3) by pointing out his mistake. This is WITNESSING. It doesn't matter if he repents or not.

The Day of the New Covenant Marriage

Biblical weddings consist of two stages. The first stage is BETROTHAL (Ex. 21:8; Lev. 19:20; Deut. 20:7; 22:23; Matt. 1:18-20). You are legally married but don't live together. The Old Covenant was a BETROTHAL contract (Jer. 2:2) on Pentecost after Israel was "bought with a (bride) PRICE" (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23; 1 Pet. 1:18-19) on Passover. Now on Trumpets, a messenger (one of the two witnesses for the wedding) would come and announce the SECOND COMING of the bridegroom with a shout (Josh.6:5; 1 Th.4:16). That shout would be, "BEHOLD, the BRIDEGROOM COMETH" (Jer.7:34; Rev.18:23). Music and blowing a SHOFAR would accompany the announcement. He would wait outside and not enter HER HOUSE just as when Christ returns he won't actually land on EARTH. Instead the bride will meet him in the air (1 Th. 4:13-17). First he will come back FOR his bride, then he comes back WITH his bride [Zech.14:5). She will have her oil lamp ready in case he comes late at night (Matt.25:1-13) -- ready to travel at a moment's notice. It will be a joyful procession (Jer.7:34; 16:9; 25:10). She will be carried in an APERION (chair on poles). Bride and groom both will wear crowns. There was literal truth to the Hebrew expression "TO TAKE" a wife (Gen.4:19; 12:19). Rebekah said "I WILL GO" (Gen.24:58). The groom will take her and all of her friends and bridesmaids to his father's house where all the wedding guests will celebrate the "marriage supper" (Rev.19:9; Luke 14:24) which will take place in the evening (Matt.25:1-13; Luke 12:35-38). At a traditional Jewish wedding, everybody says to the groom, "BLESSED is he who COMES in the NAME of the LORD" (Matt.23:37; Gen.24:31). Messiah said, "Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matt. 23:39). That time is the Feast of Trumpets, when the people sing "Baruch Haba Bashem Adonai" (Ps. 118:26.) He comes first to the canopy (HUPPAH symbolizing Mt. Sinai above the Israelites) and waits for her (Deut.33:2). Two close "FRIENDS of the BRIDEGROOM" (John 3:28-29; Ex.19:17 -- Elijah & Moses) function as the two witnesses required for the Jewish wedding. The KETUBAH had to be signed by both. One assists the bride, the other assists the groom. During the ceremony, known as KEDUSHIN, the CONTRACT is brought forth called a KETUBAH. This marriage CONTRACT was witnessed by the friends of the bridegroom and turned over to the parents of the bride. It contained the promises that the groom pledged to his wife. For instance, "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession" (Ex.19:5). The bride responds, "We will do everything the Eternal has said" (Ex.19:7-8). This will be the Ketubah (NEW COVENANT) -- the same exact contract as the betrothal agreement (OLD COVENANT) which is now read aloud and signed.

On Pentecost he brought her a skin of wine to drink, a large sum of money (1 Cor. 6:20) and gifts (Eph. 4; 1 Cor. 12), and a betrothal contract which specified the bride price, promises of groom and rights of bride (Gen. 24:53; 1 Pet. 1:8). She then prepares to be a mother in Israel. He goes to prepare a place for her (John 14). The marriage COVENANT is a REPLICA of the Sinai OLD COVENANT (Jer.31:32; Hos.2:16). Following the ceremony, the bride and groom entered the CHUPAH or CHEDER (bridal chamber) and "the DOOR was SHUT" (Matt.25:10). Before the party could begin, the friend of the groom stood near the door of the bridal chamber, waiting to hear from the groom that consummation had taken place. He was the one who initially took the blood-stained linen of this wedding night kept by the bride's parents to prove her virginity (Deut.22:13-21). The "FRIEND OF THE BRIDEGROOM, who standeth (at the door) and heareth him (say he consummated sex) rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice; this my joy, therefore, is fulfilled" (John 3:29). Then the friend announces to the assembled guests that consummation has taken place (on the first night -- Gen.29:23) and then the guests start to celebrate. On the wedding day, the bridegroom is seen as a king and the bride as a queen. During the consummation of the marriage, Messiah will be crowned king over all the earth and his bride will rule with him (Isa.62:3-7). The honeymoon will last an awesome SEVEN DAYS (Gen.29:27; Judges 14:12; Dan.9:24-27) inside this room during which the bride is hidden. The Song of Solomon illustrates the love between God and Israel (Mishnah Taanit 4:8). After the seven days she comes out with her veil removed (Joel 2:16). Then the WEDDING FEAST or MARRIAGE SUPPER begins. Weddings were held at night anciently. His name: "The Lord our Righteousness" (Jer. 23:6). Her name: "The Lord Our Righteousness" (Jer. 33:16).

Yom Ha Keseh -- Do You Watch For The Crescent?

A person must WATCH for the CRESCENT AFTER SUNSET above the WESTERN HORIZON the NIGHT BEFORE the day of this festival. Unlike the other festivals, there is NO WARNING of the time of this festival. Hence the need for a TRUMPET. Each month must have 29 or 30 days. A Jewish Christian must STAY ALERT to SEE the BRIEF and FAINT CRESCENT. "But of that day and hour knoweth no man" (Matt.24:36). "The day of the Lord so cometh as a THIEF in the NIGHT (with curved sword to "steal" his bride secretly) ... But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief" (1 Th.5:2-4). You celebrate the Feast of Trumpets. He comes like a thief only to those who are disobedient (1 Thess.5:4; Rev. 3:3) and don't celebrate Rosh HaShanah. Only CORRUPT Christians will be caught off guard (Luke 12:46). Notice that it was the five FOOLISH virgins who didn't know the day or hour (Matt. 25:12-13). Notice he "comes as a thief" to Sardis only if they DON'T WATCH (Rev. 3:3). He comes to Laodicea as a thief because they are "BLIND and NAKED" (Rev. 3:18; 16:15). Leah was ready for Jacob and enjoyed a seven-day honeymoon, but Rachel was caught unaware and had to wait seven days of tribulation. This event from "ancient times" teaches us "what is still to come" (Isa. 46:10). Many Old Testament stories were intended as "examples ... for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the earth are come" (1 Cor. 10:11; cp. Luke 17:26-30).

The Temple guards were to keep the unclean from entering the Temple. If any Temple guard was found asleep at his post, the punishment was to have their clothes set on fire by the Captain of the Temple as he went his rounds at night. Hence the admonition, "Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments" (Rev. 16:15), lest he run through the Temple courts naked as he threw off his burning garments. The priest, whose duty it was to superintend the the arrangements might any moment , no one knew when, knock at the door and demand entrance. He came suddenly and unexpectedly, no one knew when. The Rabbis use almost the very words in which Scripture describes the unexpected coming of our Lord: "Watch ye, therefore; for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning " (Mark 13:35) (Edersheim's Temple pp.148-149). The priest then assigned Temple duties to those who had stayed awake.

Psalm 81:4 calls it a day of CONCEALMENT -- Yom HaKeseh -- since we often don't see the crescent. "Verily, thou art a God who HIDEST thyself" (Isa. 45:15). "Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your LORD will COME ... lest the son of man come at an hour when you do not expect him" (Matt. 24:44). Will it be after 29 days or 30? "The sign of the son of man in heaven" (Matt. 24:30) is the THIN CRESCENT. False reports of the CRESCENT are FALSE MESSIAHS. These are the "things TO COME" that NEW MOONS"are a SHADOW of" (Col. 2:16-17; Isa. 60:20). By using an ALMANAC a person can usually PREDICT within a TWO-DAY PERIOD when the CRESCENT will be SEEN. This is why Jews celebrate two consecutive FEAST of TRUMPETS (see Edersheim's Temple, pp. 157-158; also see Mishnah Menahoth 11:9 and Rosh HaShanah 4:4). Yes, the visual new moon often required celebrating two consecutive days (Neh. 8:4,13; 1 Sam. 20:5,24-27). Another method is to buy an ASTRONOMY SOFTWARE PROGRAM ("Distant Suns" etc.) for your computer and then use it as a planetarium. A person can simulate the night sky for any date and time in question at any location on earth. CLOUDS are NO longer a PROBLEM. The best web site to determine the crescent's visibility is www.moonsighting.com. Another web site is www.karaite-korner.org. For those watching the real night sky, the crescent can be SEEN VERY LOW in the SOUTHWEST SKY. Remember the 30-minute minimum (not visible) and 45-minute maximum (crescent visible) sunset-moonset-difference rule.

It is not just the moon that is CONCEALED (Keseh). Notice: "For in the time of trouble he shall HIDE me in his pavilion; in the secred of his tabernacle shall he HIDE me; he shall set me up upon a rock" (Ps. 27:5). "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; HIDE thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation is past" (Isa. 26:20). "Seek the Eternal, all ye meek of the earth, who have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be HIDDEN in the day of the Eternal's anger" (Zeph. 2:3).

Ten Days of Awe

"Seek ye the Lord, while He may be found; call ye upon Him, while he is near" (Isa. 55:6). "When is God near? During the Ten Days of Repentance." (Otzar Midrashim p. 495)

"When a man sins during the year, a record of his transgression is inscribed in faint ink. If he repents during the Ten Days of Penitence, the record is erased. If not, it is rewritten in indelible ink" (Otzar Midrashim p.494). GOOD DEEDS of RESTITUTION and KINDNESS are performed on the Days of Awe to make ATONEMENT. Also seven shofars are sounded when God judges the earth during the seven-year tribulation (Rev. 8-9).

"On Rosh ha-Shanah we should go about with a subdued spirit; on Yom Kippur with an exalted spirit" (Rosh ha-Shanah, 26).