Lev 23:4 ‘These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.
What was the purpose of observing these same days years after year, generation after generation? Pounding in a message. What message? A message of what the Lord has done (the observed feasts of already fulfilled prophesy) and a message of what the Lord will do (prophesy yet to be fulfilled). These days in their seasons are days of remembering. We are to observe and remember what 1. the Lord has done and 2. what He promised to do. That brings us to Rosh Hashanah 2019.
Rosh Hashanah is the day and hour no man knows because the moon has to declare the beginning of the new year. This is also a direct reference to the unannounced, secret coming of the Lord. Is it really a secret? You tell me:
Mark 13:32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Uhhh, the Son of God does not even know this day or hour so...…….I think yes its safe to call it a secret. On that day and hour our Lord will come back for us in the blink of an eye, looking for faith on earth and those who belong to Him who are looking and longing for His coming:
Luke 18:8I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Mark 13:32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
33Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
34For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
35Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
We were commanded, over and over again in multiple different parts of the scripture to be watching for the imminent, any time, secret, unannounced return of the Lord Jesus Christ for us, His Church. This particular secret return of the Lord for us was to be a comfort for us in this ungodly, sick, wicked, twisted world we live in:
1 Thess 4:13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16For 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:
17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
And guess what? Leaving this world to be with the Lord was the cornerstone of both of these ^^ above scriptural promises intended to comfort us. To their own discredit and shame, many are those who argue today that it is "escapist" to preach or teach such ideas as if this were some kind of shameful idea. Guess what? Yea, it is very escapist and we were told to be continually praying, hoping and rejoicing in that escape that is most certainly, 100% guaranteed coming:
Luke 21:34And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Yep, pray for escape. That is exactly what it says. Man made doctrine be damned. What does the Word of the Most High God say? That is the one and only thing that matters. How do you read it? What does your faith say? What does the Spirit of the Lord say to your spirit? You, and we do not have to "prove" anything to anybody except ourselves. It is what we believe that will enable us to escape while what "they" do not believe will keep them here. When people are screaming at you with red faces, and veins popping out of their necks that there is no escape, do not be troubled. They are right! But only insofar as they are preaching to and for themselves. I suppose they never suspected that they are preaching themselves directly into the tribulation. Do not be deceived, what we believe matters:
Matt 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
We do not have to predict on which day or hour the Lord Jesus will come back for us. However during this season of remembrance, established by the feast of the Lord-Rosh Hashanah-we would be wise to remember what the Lord has already done prophetically. Which is a guarantee (in addition to His eternal Word which is its own guarantee) that the prophetic significance of these days in this season will be fulfilled to the letter as well as what has already been fulfilled.
We should remember in this season of remembrance that the perfect command given to us by the Spirit of the Lord continually prepares us in readiness for the unexpected, unannounced arrival of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Though faith and obedience, we who tremble at the Word of the Lord are watching continually, always, perpetually for the arrival of our Lord. We were told to watch (always) and that is what we are doing, every day. In this way, it is impossible for us to miss the unexpected arrival of our Lord through disobedience and unbelief (those who teach and preach not to bother watching for the Lord's return right now for whatever reason their man made doctrine purports.)
There are wise and foolish virgins. Yes, the Lord God called them fools. They were not ready when He arrived. You do not have to be a rocket scientst to figure this stuff out. If we just do exactly what He told us to do we would not have problems, but there will be many with serious problems when they are found not watching themselves, but worse, teaching others not to watch as well. Big problems. Doing what we were told to do matters. Obedience matters. Our faith and belief matters. Just ask Noah. What if Noah decided "nah, its "escapist to build an ark. Who is going to preach to all these wicked heathen if me and my family "escape" into an ark?" Noah built the ark, and yes, Noah escaped 100% of the flood. Or you can ask Lot. What if Lot decided that he could not leave Sodom because "its escapist, and all of these perverts need me to stay here and preach to them." Lot left Sodom just like Noah and he escaped 100% of the fiery destruction on that city.
This is not radical stuff. This is not hard to understand. Do what we were told to do. You cannot miss the unexpected return of the Lord if you are watching and ready for it each and every day. Its an iron clad guarantee. Those who tell us not to bother watching today will more likely than not be taught the error of doctrine in tears and great sorrow.
We who believe what the Lord told us, and are doing exactly what He told us to do (watching and praying for His unexpected return) should comfort each other with the Words we were given. Those Words teach us of a coming escape from this sick and twisted world. We are in this world but we are not of this world, therefore we do not preach a message from the viewpoint of this world.
1 John 4:1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
2Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
3And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
4Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
5They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
6We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Those who are of this world want to stay in this world. They speak from the viewpoint of this world and the world listens to them. Those of us who are not of this world, want to leave this world (when our Lord is good and ready for us to) and do not speak from the viewpoint of this world and only those who are not of this world listen to us.
We are of and from our Father's kingdom which is now in heaven but is coming to this earth to rule with a rod of iron. Our enemy knows it, and those who belong to him know it which is why they hate us. We know who they are and where they are from by the anger and hatred that is evident in them. We also know them by their fruit and by the viewpoint they espouse (ie get more involved in the world, this world is their beginning and their end).
Let us end this note on a positive. Do what we were told to do in simple language and be comforted and encouraged. The Lord our God is coming for us. The world and those who belong to this world are not watching for Him, nor are they ready for Him. When He comes for them there will be no comfort, only dread. They hated Him first which is why they hate us now. This is what is in store for them:
Rev 6:12And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
As this world goes from bad to worse, do not let your heart be troubled!
John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
We have a place prepared for us, not on this earth but in heaven (where we are from-our Father's kingdom, our home). We will be taken to that place soon enough. In the meantime we watch for our Lord's appearance with joy and gladness, with patience and perseverance until the time we are transformed into His likeness with a body like His at which time our hearts will explode with rejoicing and gladness. Do what we were told to do. Be faithful. Be obedient. Trust in the Word, it is your life and your future. Glory to God, our Savior comes.
grace and peace
