Rosh Hashanah, Feast of Trumpets 2009

Rosh Hashanah 2009

In 2009 Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) begins at sundown on Friday September 18 and ends at nightfall on Sunday September 20.

I would be remiss as a fellow servant if I did not remind you of what lies ahead of us on the calendar. This Friday at sundown begins Rosh Hashanah 2009 which interestingly falls on a sabbath day...a day of rest, which could be a topic all on its own. What makes this time special each year? I have done extensive reading on the escape from all (luke 21:36) rapture of the church and the one place in the year that appears to have bells and whistles and neon lights hanging all over it pointing to the rapture/escape is the feast of trumpets/rosh hashanah.

I have asked the Lord repeatedly about this year, will this weekend be the "great escape" etc? So far, the Lord has given me nothing, no impression or indication whatsoever that anything will happen this weekend. What he has given me and you is his word. To brush up on why the feast of trumpets is a special time each year, please read this brothers work:

http://www.linkjesus.com/introtrumpets.htm

then read

http://www.linkjesus.com/trumpets.htm

He sums up the case nicely. There are many other places on the internet where brothers have reached the same conclusion, the feast of trumpets is like all the other feast days, it is special...

As I look at where we stand this year, I see a world that is a picture perfect parallel for the days of Noah and Lot we read about in Luke 17 and Matt 24. Our Lord is coming back for us in days that are just like today. We are told that eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage are the inidicators we are to look for with our Lord's return for the church. If the time of Jacob's trouble was the time the Lord would return, then we would see wording similar to the words used in the book of Revelation...but we don't.

In spite of the economic troubles facing this world, life for many people goes on as usual. Last year at this time things were (seemingly) at a boiling point. I was among many who thought "this is it," but it wasn't. I think that this years Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah time window is more likely than last years to see the escape from all. That does not mean anything will happen mind you, it just "fits" more closely with the description of the days of Noah and Lot that we see in Luke 17 and Matt 24.

This time each year is a good time to take stock of our lives. It's a good time to determine if we are "in the faith" and "in Christ." I asked the Lord this morning if this was something he even wanted me to write about and I sensed that I had a "green light" to go ahead. I believe its a useless excercise to try to predict the "day and hour" that our Lord will show up because he told us to be ready every day. He told us to be always watching, ready and alert so when he does show up we are ready for him.

It is possible that over the course of this week, some of the servants of the Lord who are now on earth, will be in heaven as a result of the escape from all promised in Luke 21:36. I have no idea when the escape will take place, nor do I need to know, I just need to be ready, just like you. There is a worthiness factor to be considered with this escape from all thats about to happen. I believe we are to take a hard look at ourselves to determine for ourselves if we think we are worthy, and if not, why not? We should judge ourselves, we should remember what we have received and heard and obey it:

Rev 3:3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

If we do not "wake up" our Lord will come like a thief to us. That says to me that if we do "wake up" his coming will not be like a thief. This is the whole point of what is written here today. The reason I believe the Lord allowed me to write on this today is not to predict his coming this weekend, but to get us to "wake up." If we "wake up" then it won't matter when our Lord shows up for us because we will be ready for him. Along these same lines, the title of yesterday's post was "Daily." It was all about the importance of daily walking with the Lord, daily prayer, and daily bible reading. Keeping ourselves ready daily will ensure that on "that day" when our Lord shows up, we will not be ashamed at his coming.

I beleive that shortly before the Lord takes us out of this world, we will be told its about to happen. Where do I get that from?

Luke 17:22 And he said unto his disciples, 'Days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and ye shall not behold it; 23 and they shall say to you, Lo, here; or lo, there; ye may not go away, nor follow; 24 for as the lightning that is lightening out of the one part under heaven, to the other part under heaven doth shine, so shall be also the Son of Man in his day; 25 and first it behoveth him to suffer many things, and to be rejected by this generation. 26 'And, as it came to pass in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man; 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were given in marriage, till the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the deluge came, and destroyed all; 28 in like manner also, as it came to pass in the days of Lot; they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29 and on the day Lot went forth from Sodom, He rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed all. 30 'According to these things it shall be, in the day the Son of Man is revealed; 31 in that day, he who shall be on the house top, and his vessels in the house, let him not come down to take them away; and he in the field, in like manner, let him not turn backward; 32 remember the wife of Lot. 33 Whoever may seek to save his life, shall lose it; and whoever may lose it, shall preserve it. 34 'I say to you, In that night, there shall be two men on one couch, the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left; 35 two women shall be grinding at the same place together, the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left; 36 two men shall be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left.' 37 And they answering say to him, 'Where, sir?' and he said to them, 'Where the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together.'


What does this tell us?

'According to these things it shall be, in the day the Son of Man is revealed; 31 in that day, he who shall be on the house top, and his vessels in the house, let him not come down to take them away; and he in the field, in like manner, let him not turn backward; 32 remember the wife of Lot. 33 Whoever may seek to save his life, shall lose it; and whoever may lose it, shall preserve it.

If someone is on their house top, it would take time and a reason to go down into the house to get their stuff....Time and a reason would come from being on the housetop and getting a word somehow from the Lord that "its time." The warning here is that our heart should have no strings attached to the "stuff" of this world. When we hear the "its time" from our Lord our hearts should be 100% focused heavenward with zero attachments to this world. This is reinforced by the "worthiness" factor we read about in Luke 21:36. What does it take to be counted "worthy?" Apparently having a heart set on the Lord and heaven and severed from the things of this world is a part of it. Remember Lot's wife....

grace and peace