Rabbi Schneider - The Mystery of the Feast of Trumpets

I want to talk today about a very special sacred subject. We're gonna be looking today once again, at the prophetic fulfillment of God's fall holy days. I'm going to be showing you how the things that the Lord wrote about the days that we call Rosh Hashana or the Feast of Trumpets, the Feast of Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. I'm gonna show you what these feasts mean for us as believers and how they're going to be fulfilled for you and I, both in the present sense and in the futuristic sense, as well as how they're already being fulfilled in our lives as God's children.

Very important broadcast, I really want to encourage you, tune into this entire series, take notes, maybe even have a little Bible study, invite some friends over with it. Well, let's begin today by going to the book of Leviticus, which contains God's whole sacred calendar. Many of you know God has a calendar. He has certain holy days from which we get the concept of holidays. We're gonna be looking now at what are the marked days of God on His calendar?

Now let me say this at the onset, that God's calendar is not in complete conjunction or does not completely correspond to the calendars that we use in America, even around the rest of the world, which are called the Greco-Gregorian Calendars. In other words, God's months are not January, February, March. He has different months. He's on a different system and this first feast that we're gonna look at takes place on the seventh month of God's calendar. It's called the month of Tishrei. It's the most holy month of the year and we're gonna be looking at several of God's holy days that take place on this seventh month of Tishrei.

Let's go now to begin to the book of Leviticus. I'm gonna read as our foundational scripture Leviticus twenty three, verse twenty three through twenty five. Hear the word of God. "Again the Lord spoke to Moses saying, 'Speak to the sons of Israel saying, "In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you should present an offering by fire to the Lord".'"

I want to point out two foundational concepts in this scripture verse that we just read. Number one, I want to talk about the word reminder. The Lord said, "You shall have a reminder and this reminder shall be," He said, get it now, "By the blowing of trumpets". So let's pause for a second. First of all, what was it that the children of Israel were to be reminded of? It's an interesting holiday in terms of looking at the scriptural context of it, because the scripture itself does not give us a direct explanation here, only when it happens; in the month of Tishrei on the first of the month, that we're to blow trumpets and that the trumpets are to be a reminder.

So the first question we're asking our self is, what was the blowing of the trumpets reminding the children of Israel of? I want to take you back now to give you the answer to that, into the Torah. We know that the most climatic event in Israel's history was when God appeared over a million Jews, a million Israelites at the base of Mount Sinai. Now let me say, the coming of Jesus was the climax of it all. But up to this point, in other words, when we're reading from the book of Leviticus, the most climatic event in Israel's history up to that time was the time beloved children of God, when Yahweh Himself, when the God of Israel Himself visibly appeared to them when He was on top of Mount Sinai and they were surrounding the mountain at the base.

In fact I want you to get this, you cannot explain the existence of the Jewish people today unless this event at Mount Sinai really happened, because think about it. The Jewish people have been out of their own land, out of Israel for about two thirds of their existence. They were scattered amongst all the people's of the earth. Now we know that Israel became a nation again in 1948 and Jewish people began to make aliyah, they began to move to Israel from all over the world. But up to this point most of them beloved, were scattered all over the earth in Spain, in Africa, in other parts of Europe, in America and the list goes on. They were scattered to all the nations just as God told them what happened in the Torah prophetically.

So here they are. They're in the nations of the world and they're separated from each other, listen now, by great oceans. So in other words, the Jews in Spain have no way of talking to the Jews in other parts of the world, because there's no internet, there's no telephone. Okay? There's no communication means. They're surrounded by only the people that were the native people in those regions. They're absorbed into these Gentile worlds and yet even living, listen now, as a remnant people, separated from each other all over the world, listen, they retain their identity. The Jews in Spain retained their identity. The Jews in Germany retained their identity. The Jews in other parts of the world retained their identity.

And here they are now with nothing to bolster them up, no type of cultural boosting from the peoples they're surrounded by and yet they were so marked by this event at Mount Sinai that they were all saying the same thing regardless of where in the world they were. They said, "We are Jews. God appeared to us at Mount Sinai. He delivered us out of Egypt by the blood of the Passover Lamb". And they never forgot it. They never faltered. They never compromised. Jews for thirty five hundred years have been telling the same story and there's one explanation only for this and that is beloved child of God, get it now, that it really happened. Consider this when we think about this whole phenomenon and this extraordinary remarkable preservation of the Jewish people.

Not only was their identity preserved when they were scattered all over the earth, surrounded by Gentile cultures with no way of communicating with each other. Not only was their identity and history preserved amongst them, but when you look at Jewish people today they make up less than one fifth of one percent of the world's population and yet have won about twenty two percent of the Nobel Prizes ever given. I mean the only thing that explains this phenomenon is the word of God, that God really did choose Israel out of the peoples of the world for a special purpose. He supernaturally preserved them, even when they were scattered amongst the nations and even today they're supernaturally having impact in the world that far outweighs their numbers. This is real revelation beloved ones. This is a fact.

So getting back now to the Feast of Trumpets, to Rosh Hashana and tying this in to Leviticus twenty three verse twenty three through twenty five, which we just read; that the Feast of Trumpets takes place every year, the seventh month of the year on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, which is the seventh month once again, and Jewish people are to blow trumpets as a reminder. What they were reminded of, what they were remembering and what Jewish people remember today every year when the shofar is blown in the synagogue all over the world when Jewish people celebrate this holiday, they're reminded of when they were gathered at the base of Mount Sinai thirty five hundred years ago and the Holy God of Israel, Yahweh Himself appeared on top of the mountain in glory.

A trumpet sounded from heaven. The trumpet grew louder and louder and louder. It was a supernatural, divine trumpet shouting from the sky. And when the trumpet blast reached a crescendo, a climax, Yahweh Himself, God Himself spoke to the Jewish people and they trembled in such fear they had to beg Moses to tell Him to stop. So we're gonna go ahead and read the account now in the book of Exodus, chapter number nineteen, verse ten and eleven. Hear the word of God. "The Lord also said to Moses, 'Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.'"

Continue with the sixteenth verse, so it came about on the third day. "When it was morning there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp," get it now, these three words, "to meet God". They literally met God. "And they stood at the foot of the mountain". And it continues on in the eighteenth verse. "Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire. And it's smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet," Get it now.

Remember we're in the Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashana, Yom Teruah. They're to blow a trumpet and they're to be reminded of something. Here's what they are being reminded of, when the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. The Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up. And so every year when Jewish people go to synagogue and the trumpet, the shofar is blown, what God is wanting to remind them of is that they met Him at Mount Sinai thirty five hundred years ago and they're meeting Him beloved ones, was announced with the blowing of the shofar.

Now think about this as we relate it to the fulfillment in Yeshua, in Jesus, as I take you now to the book of 2 Thessalonians chapter four, verse sixteen and seventeen. Hear the word of God. I want you to see how what we just studied connects to this prophetic fulfillment. Hear God's word. 1 Thessalonians four, sixteen and seventeen, "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout". Remember He descended upon Mount Sinai, now we're looking at what's happening at Yeshua's return. "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, so we shall always be with the Lord".

Once again, if you were paying careful attention, you noticed that when the Lord returns, when Jesus, when Yeshua Hamashiach returns. His return is announced with the blowing of the trumpet, with the blowing of the shofar. We just read it in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and when He returns, being announced by the blowing of the shofar, the dead in Christ will arise and then those of us that are alive on planet earth that know Him will also arise to meet Him in the air, even as Moses went up the mountain to meet Him at the top of the mountain. Isn't that incredible beloved ones? Let's give the Lord a hand today. I want you just to do that wherever you're sitting in front of your computer or in front of your TV set today.

I want to share with you today two things. I want to impress upon your heart today two things. This is reality. Number one, I want to impress upon our hearts today that Yeshua's return is a reality. You can put your entire faith in it. He really is coming back. I'm gonna talk about this and I believe God's gonna strengthen your faith today through His word. You know sometimes we hear about the return of Jesus and it kind of goes in one ear and out the other. I'm not saying that's you, but I'm just saying for a lot of people, because they've heard about it for so long it's so far outside our experience. He didn't return yesterday. He didn't return last week, didn't return last year.

In fact no matter how old you are He hasn't returned yet. He hasn't returned in your parents lifetime, your grandparents lifetime. And after a while human nature is that we can stop expecting, that yeah we hear it, we agree with it theologically and doctrinally, but are we really expecting it. Today I want to impress upon you my friends, you should expect this. In fact scripture teaches us that Father God and Jesus want every generation to expect Him to return in their lifetime. I'm gonna help you today to take a hold of the fact of the soon and imminent return of Jesus Christ. Then also in this message, which I'll be continuing next week, I want to impress upon you my friends, the reality of heaven.

You know we hear about heaven. We believe in heaven, but I'm gonna help you I believe, with God's help, to really take a hold of the fact that heaven is a real place; that those of us that know Him are really gonna go here. Let's begin with the first of these. I want to talk about today Jesus is really coming back. Let's go to the book of John chapter fourteen, verse two and three. Jesus said, "In my father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so I would have told you. For I got to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you," get this now, "I will come again and receive you to myself". Jesus is promising, He says, "If it were not so," He said, "I would not be telling you this". He said, "I'm going to prepare a place for you". Get it church, "And I'm coming again to receive you to myself".

Jesus is coming again. Get that in your heart right now. Jesus is coming back for you. Put your hand over your heart right now and just say this out loud with me. Say, "Jesus is coming back for me". Beloved, He really is coming back. Peter warned us about the danger of losing faith in this. He warned us about losing our sense of expectancy. He talked about people that began to say in their heart, "You know what? He hasn't come back for all these years. Where is He"? And they begin to stop looking.

This is what the story of the ten virgins is about. All ten of them said they believed that the bridegroom was gonna return, but five of the ten stopped looking. They stopped paying attention. They quit having oil in their lamps. It wasn't that they said they didn't believe in it, but they lost their faith to expect it to happen soon. And because of that they fell asleep and when the bridegroom returned they weren't ready and they weren't able to enter in. I'm telling you my beloved friend, Jesus is about to come back for you soon. In fact His last words in scripture were these, "I am coming quickly". You're gonna meet Him and I'm gonna meet Him, either by our death, which we don't know when that's gonna happen or by His return and it's gonna happen just like that.

Life goes by like a vapor. Those of us that are older, we look back on our life and it's gone by so quickly. You and I are gonna meet Jesus soon and knowing this should help us focus every single day to live for Him, because what's left? The world is passing away. It's luster passing away. But the scripture says, "He that does the will of God abides forever". You see Father God put this holiday in His sacred calendar, because He wants to remind us every year that Jesus is coming back. He's coming back soon and He's coming back for you. This holy day called Rosh Hashana, Jewish people refer to it as Rosh Hashana, which means the head of the year. Biblically, probably a better name is Yom Teruah, the Fest of Trumpets. The Lord put this in His calendar for the entire church, so that we could every year have a time in our life where we re-focus on the return of Jesus Christ.

Beloved one, He's coming back for you and He's coming back sooner than you and I think or realize. He wants each and every one of us to expect Him to return and live as if He's gonna return in our own lifetime. I want to encourage you today, once again, the last words that Jesus spoke were, "I'm coming back quickly and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to what he's done". Why would this be His last word in revelation? Because He wants us to live with our eyes on His return. Jesus is coming back for you. Put your hand over your heart one more time and just say this, "Jesus is coming back soon for me". I love you. This is Rabbi Schneider saying shalom.