Apocalypse Of The Teruah’s Cry

Rosh Hashanah is the start of a New Year in Israel,

It actually means “Head of the Year.”

And it will be the Hebrew Year

since creation, which really gives a clearer understanding of where we actually are in Father’s timeline.

Rosh Hashanah is celebrated for two days. It is the start of the 3 Fall/ Autumn, Appointed Times of The Lord/Feasts /Festivals.

A look at some fascinating facts, mysteries and scriptures connected with Israel’s Fall/Autumn Appointed Times.

The day on which Rosh HaShanah is celebrated is Biblically known as Yom
Teruah (Day of the Trumpet Blasts)

The traditional Rosh Hashanah greeting is

‘shanah tovah’

which means,

good year!

The word U’Metuka

(and sweet) is sometimes added.

When is Rosh HaShanah?  

The Hebrew date is always the same — the 1st of the month of Tishrei.

The dates of Jewish holidays don’t change from year to year; however, a Jewish year can change in length from 353 to 354 or 355 days long.  A Jewish leap year can be 383, 384 or 385 days long and because the Jewish year is not the same length as the year on the civil calendar, the dates of holidays seem to shift quite a bit; consequently that results in the Israels High Holidays falling anywhere from early September all the way into October.

So what date is the holiday on the Gregorian calendar? This year, Rosh HaShanah begins at sunset on Sunday, September 9. 

September, 2018 calendar with Jewish High Holy Days circled

Brief history explaining the reason for the two calendars and why are they different in length?

The civil Gregorian calendar is based on the solar cycle of 365 days, five hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time it takes the earth to make one complete rotation around the sun.

To correct the problem of those extra hours, an extra day is added to February every four years.  This keeps the equinox (when the sun shines directly on the equator) occurring on generally the same date every year: March 19 or 20 and September 22 or 23.

The Jewish calendar is a luni-solar calendar.  It considers three things: the yearly rotation of the earth around the sun, the daily rotation of the earth on its own axis, and the monthly cycle of the moon around the earth.

Each new moon cycle begins a new month or Rosh Chodesh.  

However, there are approximately 12.4 lunar months in every solar year.  In other words, a lunar year is about 11 days shorter than a solar year.

If the Jewish calendar were a strict lunar calendar that had 29.5 days in a month, every 16 years or so the Fall Feasts would be held in Spring, and Passover would be held in autumn.   

To keep the Jewish holidays and appointed times in their correct seasons, every two or three years the month of Nissan begins earlier and an extra month is added.  This 13-month year is called Shanah Me’uberet, literally, a pregnant year.

The additional month of Adar 1 (also called Adar Aleph) is added before Adar, which is designated Adar 2.  

The addition of the extra month guarantees that Passover (Pesach) and the wheat harvest feast (Pentecost / Shavuot) occurs in the spring.   

Between AD 320 and 385, Hillel II, the Nasi (Prince) of the ancient Jewish Sanhedrin, established the calendar that is used today which follows a 19-year cycle, realigning the lunar and solar calendars.

In this system the extra month is added on the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th years of the cycle.  The current cycle began at the start of the Jewish year 5758, which occurred on October 2, 1997.

The Gregorian calendar, however, was created in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII and proclaimed the official civil calendar of Britain and the British colonies of America in 1752.

Below is a chart correlating the 7 Appointed Times with Prophetic Fulfillment in Messiah.

The Feast of Trumpets is also the anniversary of the creation of man. Adam, the first human being, opened his eyes to a world that appeared to have always existed.

More Interesting information of HebraicThought and Concepts.

The ancient Hebrew text ‘Book of Formation’, teaches that there is more to the universe than time and space. There is a soul.

Whatever is found in the universe’s soul is found somewhere in its space. And whatever is found in space, is found in time.

In the soul of the universe there is a consciousness from which all consciousness extends.

In space, there is the Land of Israel, a space from where all space is nurtured.

In time, there is Rosh Hashanah, a time from which all time is renewed.

Rosh Hashanah means Head of the Year.

Not just a starting point, but a head, a new beginning of time in which a new consciousness enters our universe. It is said, that whatever transpires in the coming year is first conceived in these two days.

That is why Rosh Hashanah is called the first day of creation, for only then did the world know it had meaning.

For Israel, on each Rosh Hashanah that scene is replayed, and new meaning is discovered in our world, and the world is born again. (Interesting concept!)

All the cosmos came to be because Hashem, (The Name), chose to invest His very essence into a great drama: the drama of a lowly world becoming the home of an infinite God. A marriage of opposites, the fusion of finite and infinite, light and darkness, heaven and earth.

We would seem to be the players in that drama, the cosmic matchmakers. With our every action, we have the power to marry our mundane world to the infinite and unknowable.

Apocalypse of the Teruah’s cry? A horn that cries?

How can an animals horn cry out?

It’s the cry IN the sound of the shofar!

It is part of hebrew thought that the first time a shofar was heard in creation was when God created Adam. God blew Adam’s soul into him, and the sound it made was the sound of the shofar. Just like God created mankind on Rosh Hashanah, on the anniversary of that day, God is recreating us.

Could it be said that we are God’s shofar?..

The sound of the shofar being blown is the sound of creation.

The breath represents the soul, and the instrument represents our bodies.

The shofar reminds us that when our bodies do the will of our soul, there is song and harmony.

Spirituality is represented by music because music sounds even more beautiful the more notes that are being played, unlike too much speech.

Do each of our souls have a mission to add to the harmony of the world?

The shofar is supposed to change us. It’s sounds are intended to invoke that nagging feeling inside of us that asks us to live a deeper, fuller life in the year to come.

There is a difference between simply hearing it and then going about our lives, and really listening to it and having its wailing sound transform us.

Even though it is not the anniversary of the creation of the entire universe, but that of the human being, it’s the true beginning, as all of time, as we know it, begins on this day.

Why? Because on this day, more than any other, the Hebrew thought is we are empowered to change lanes, to switch direction, to alter and transform our destiny and thereby the destiny of all of creation if as we believe everything is connected!

Through us, truth and goodness can become a flaming torch of light, which was once obscured in darkness and ignorance.

All is defined by destiny. Even the past is redefined by the arrow of its future. The very existence of that time that held that past is re-created once it achieves its hidden destiny. A destiny that only each of us can reveal.

For those whose focus is on Rosh Hashanah, the here and now that is all that matters; for it represents the first day of all of time, future and past.

In biblical times, the shofar was used to tell the people that the King was coming.

What is the correct etiquette when a King comes?

Most likely, we want to impress the King so we make an effort to perfect ourselves and our surroundings.

It was also used as a signal that war was coming. What is the strategy we adopt when war comes? Probably we prepare our weapons, form an army and we prepare to fight.

The shofar was also a tool to help break down barriers. When the shofar was blown at Jericho, the walls came crumbling down. This is why it is also known as the 

Even though sometimes we change from the inside out, it is more often influences from the outside that really have an impact on us. Is it possible that the shofar is necessary because it is a powerful tool outside ourselves and helps us to improve ourselves on the inside?

Our actual bones are supposed to resonate with the sound of the shofar. Do we have the ability to not only hear what the sound is reflecting but to absorb its frequency and let it stir deep within our souls, so much so, that there is an effect on our physical bodies??

Throughout life, our soul is constantly being affected by outside influences: fashion dictates how we dress, advertisements tell us what we like, the media affects how we think, and the people that surround us dictate our reality. Yet, how often do we stop and really listen to the sounds that surround us? How often do we connect to what is inside of us and who is above us? How in tune are we with nature and the spiritual aspects of our lives? How much do the sounds of the outside world drown out the sounds of our soul?

With a new year comes a clean slate, the ability to correct our mistakes, with the power to transform into a newer and better self.

The shofar is our call to action – an alarm!

The power is within us. Once we hear the call, it is our job to make it real.

And so too, every morning, we are all reborn from a night-time taste of death.

Since Father created earth by His spoken word and creation is still in motion and at every moment—in the smallest increment of time—every particle of the universe is still being projected into being out of absolute nothingness, as it was at the very genesis of all things.

The feast of trumpets is the season of Teshuvah – the season of repentance/return.

Teshuvah is the Hebrew word from the root word SHUV meaning to return.

Hosea 3:4 -5 Jeremiah 3:22; Isaiah 30:15.

The great mystery is that in ancient times God has set up this entire age as a Hebrew year. The Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkot, starts the civil new year, however on the Sacred Calendar it represents the end of the year, not the beginning.

So the season of repentance comes at the end.

Teshuvah has a double meaning; as well as returning to God, it can also mean physical return. So the days of Teshuvah contain another secret, that of an apocalypse, a revealing, that Israel must return to the land of promise and to Jerusalem.

Teshuvah is not just for a week for a season, but a lifestyle.

We are to live our whole lives with Teshuvah hearts and the greater the Teshuvah, the greater will be our continual returning to Him.

Teshuvah signifies that the time of Israel’s repentance and their subsequent return to Messiah will happen at the end of the age. So in a way the Hebrew year waits for Israel to repent and turn, Teshuvah, in order for it to come to its conclusion. This is why we are to pray for Israel to return to Messiah and why the Appointed Time WILL surely come.

The Rabbis/Teachers compare the coming Messianic era to the full moon, the hope of redemption and His coming is compared to the new moon.

The Talmud, (compendium of rabbinical teachings and discussions), teaches that when the Messiah returns, the moon will cease to diminish and remain as large and bright as the sun.

So while the celebration of the new moon reminds us of His coming, it also reminds us to renew our awareness of His Presence in our lives, and to push forward into the growth and change that He has for us, becoming all He created us to be.

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”  (Psalm 8:3–4)

In truth, we need only awaken the spark of God within our own souls. That spark within us connects with the Infinite Light of God above. The circuit is complete and a new cycle begins. For this reason we are called His children, and we call Him our Father. We are created beings, yet there is something of us that lies beyond creation. It is the One who sustains the universe who breaths within us.

On Rosh Hashanah, God is addressed as both

Father/Avinu/Avinou

and

King/Malkeinu/Malkaynou

Father, because there is something of Him within each of us.

King, because He dictates what will be and what will not.

Indeed, as we choose, so He will dictate.

Choose life.

Words to Avinou Malkaynou

Our Father Our King Hear our voice

Our Father Our King We have no King but You

Our Father Our King Renew For us a good year

Send us complete healing to the sick of your people

Our Father Our King

Inscribe us in the book of life

fill our hands with your blessing

Our Father Our King 

Fill our storehouses with plenty

Our Father Our King

Hear our voice have compassion upon us

Our Father Our King Hear our voice

Our Father Our King Hear our voice

_______________

Avinu malkeinu sh’ma kolenu


Avinu malkeinu chatanu l’faneycha


Avinu malkeinu alkenu chamol aleynu


V’al olaleynu v’tapenu

Avinu malkeinu


Kaleh dever v’cherev v’raav mealeynu


Avinu malkeinu kalehchol tsar


Umastin mealeynu

Avinu malkeinu 
Avinu malkeinu


Kotvenu b’sefer chayim tovim


Avinu malkeinu chadesh aleynu


Chadesh aleynu shanah tovah

Sh’ma kolenu
 Sh’ma kolenu Sh’ma kolenu

Avinu malkeinu Avinu malkeinu


Chadesh aleynu

Shanah tovah

Avinu malkeinu
 Sh’ma kolenu


Sh’ma kolenu
 Sh’ma kolenu
 Sh’ma kolenu

A King speaks and his word is fulfilled. God speaks and the world comes into being. 

When we speak the words of Torah/Scripture, they resonate in the heavens and beyond. Spoken words have sound and frequency which is part of creations makeup. Why? Because they are His words, and they are on the rebound to Him. He spoke, He said and He watches over His Word to perform it and it will not return to Him void. Is.55:11

The central observance and widespread custom of Rosh Hashanah is sounding and listening to the blowing of the shofar on both mornings of Rosh Hashanah. The shofar is made from a hollowed-out ram’s horn. It produces three ‘voices’

tekiah (a long blast), 

shevarim (a series of three short blasts) and 

teruah (a staccato burst of at least nine blasts).

Click http link below for more information and on the mp3 bar to hear the different shofar sounds.

(The sounds will begin after 15 seconds)

https://www.minimannamoments.com/blowing-your-own-trumpet-2/

The shofar is blown at various intervals during the Rosh Hashanah morning service. When all added up there are 100 ‘voices‘ in total.

On Rosh Hashanah, we cry out from our very essence, from our spirit man, with the call of the shofar; Father replies, sending His very essence towards His creation.

The shofar cries out from the raw essence of the soul, to its Beloved, the One who is the raw essence of all being. It’s not a human voice but rather the howl of an animal horn and when its sound is heard it is so primal that the mind ceases to think and the heart skips a beat, the throb of life suspended for a moment in time.

That is the moment that heaven and earth connect. The base nature of our souls here on earth reach up to touch the divine essence above as He reaches down and the RE-union is made. Our souls press upwards bursting through the veil into the heavenly dimension, escaping the constraints enforced upon it by our earthly bodies.

For there are many things that are important even essential for us and often words flow out in a burst of emotion, rich words, expressive and vibrantly imbued with life.

And then, there are things that shake us to the very core – challenging all that we have known and believed.

Things that do not wait for the right words or the mind’s permission, in this case, the mind cannot fathom them, the most expressive words could not contain them. These are the things that can only break out in a cry, in a scream, and then fall into silence.

This is something of the sound of the shofar: From the very core of our souls our hearts crying, ‘Father! please don’t leave – let your presence remain always!’

Another significance of the shofar is to recall the Binding of Isaac which also occurred on Rosh Hashanah, in which a ram took Isaac’s place as an offering to God;

as we remember Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son, and pray that He should stand by us as we pray for a year of life, health and prosperity.

Rosh Hashanah is the start of the Yamim Nora’im (High Holidays).

At the time of writing, the Holy Day, (Yom Kadosh), of Yom Kippur, is just a week away and the people will gather in synagogues for 25 hours of fasting, prayer and inspiration.

The days in between are known as the 10 Days of Repentance,

or the Ten Days of Return/Days of Awe

and they are an especially propitious time for teshuvah, for returning to the Father.  Before the

Yom Kippur is followed by the joyous holidays of Sukkot and Simchat Torah.

Parallels of Khataah – The Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur

The sacrifice that took away guilt and which was also the guilt, called the Asham. On the day of atonement there was a sacrifice that took away the sins of all Israel. It was a sacrifice of a parallel nature and contains a parallel mystery. It was called the sin offering it was the offering that took away sin.

Messiah was the old covenant/testament mystery revealed in the renewed covenant/testament, it was a shadow of Him as He was and is THE sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world.

In Hebrew the sin offering is called the Khataah. It has a double meaning. One is, sin offering, and it also means the sin itself.

As Messiah is the mystery, He is the Khataah and the same as in the mystery of the Asham.

(Asham = the sacrifice becomes the very thing it removes, in this case sin, more explanation to follow).

Messiah had to become sin itself in order to fulfill scripture. 2Corinthians 5:21 He made Himself who knew no sin to be sin. Matthew 1:21.

Both the sacrifice and the sin are called Khataah meaning that, not only does the sacrifice have the name as the sin but the sin has the name of the sacrifice that removes the sin.

Every sin has or carries the name of the sin offering and if Messiah is the sin offering, the Khataah, then every sin has His name, for every sin has the name of the sacrifice.

So in the Hebrew language every sin we’ve committed, repented of, been forgiven for and is now under His Blood, bears His name, the name of the sacrifice. So therefore He owns our sin. They are no longer ours, they belong to Him now, so we cannot keep them for He is the owner of them His name is on our sin.

Isaiah 53:7 – 11; two Corinthians 5:21

One of the sacrifices offered in the temple was called the Asham.

It was for a specific purpose it removed the guilt of the one who offered it up.

Asham means guilt offering.

However it also means the guilt, which seems to be a paradox, yet they do in fact go together.

How can the guilt and the guilt offering connect in this way?

Because the criteria of the Asham, the guilt offering, was that it could only take away the guilt of the one offering it by first becoming the guilt. A full representation and identification of it. The priests action of laying hands on the Head of the sacrifice was a physical indication of this.

As in Isaiah, he prophesied that Messiah would be crushed, pierced and wounded for our transgressions and sins. However in the Hebrew original text it says more and declares that His life would become an Asham.

 The same word Asham, used also in Leviticus. Here it is referring to the animal sacrifices offered up by the priests to redeem the guilty.

In Isaiah it is not referring to animal sacrifice but of a human life, that of the coming Messiah.

Here he tells us Messiah is the Asham and the Asham is the Messiah. This indicates that not only does He die to remove our guilt but He becomes the guilt itself. Looking at His death, we see both the sacrificial act and the guilt itself. The guilt of our guilt literally nailed to the cross\tree

The conclusion is therefore, if Messiah is the Asham and the Asham is the guilt, when the Asham dies so does all the guilt and shame.

All have died and been removed, gone forever and why He could say these words from the cross,

And very timely the old year is finished too and now on Rosh Hashanah, the traditional start to the holiday feasts, begins with two loaves of round challah, (bread). The round shape symbolizes the cycle of life and the crown with which God is coronated every year as King of the Universe.

To add sweetness to demonstrate the wish for a sweet new year, the challah is dipped in honey before taking the first bite. 

Many people eat pomegranates on Rosh Hashanah, demonstrating their wish for as many merits as the pomegranate has seeds. It is commonly said that the pomegranate has 613 seeds, corresponding to the 613 mitzvahs in the Torah. However, this has yet to be empirically demonstrated by seed counters worldwide!

Rosh Hashanah emphasizes the special relationship between God and us: our dependence upon God as our creator and sustainer, and God’s dependance upon us as the ones who make His presence known and felt in His world.

 Let’s Bless one another with the words

 ‘Leshanah tovah tikateiv veteichateim,’ 

‘May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.’

You are loved! Abundant shalom and New Year blessings to every reader from your family and friends at MMM.

PLEASE Don’t leave this page without making that life-saving decision – time is running out. Don’t miss the day of your visitation!

The Shofars Voice is Calling for you today!

This life is NOT all there is!

You are not here by chance!

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…Don’t put it off one more moment…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.

You are now Born Again by the Holy Spirit of the Living God and you are part of the ever growing family of believers. You will never be the same again!

At-One-Ment With The One You Love

Special Word of Introduction:

Ecclesiastes 3 tells us there are different times and seasons. This is a time to be serious and to put away, to cast down and throw from us all that would distract and keep us from the One to whom we owe EVERYTHING.

We will sing of your love for ever, we will declare your faithfulness and mercy to the generations.

This is the pen-ultimate appointed time of the Hebrew calendar year. The 6th of 7 specific dates the Lord set into the annual cycle of life, incorporating the harvest seasons of the grains and fruits. Times chosen when The Lord God wanted to spend time with His people.They were all a prophetic type and shadow, a fore-telling of the coming Savior. A rehearsal for the future Messiah, JESUS who came a little over 2000 years ago and literally fulfilled the words of the prophets concerning God’s plan of the ages.

In Hebrew,Jesus was the burden removing, yoke destroying answer, redeeming mankind and all who will believe and trust in His atoning sacrifice of substitution at Calvary.

There His Blood has paid the price for ALL our transgressions. The wages of sin is death, meaning eternal separation from God’s presence. Because of Jesus, we will never have to experience that or have to personally pay the price for our errant ways. Ezekiel 18:20 ‘the soul who sins he shall die..’

Yom Kippur is all about the sacrificial offering of a pure unblemished innocent life, freely and willingly given to cover for sin, through the shedding of its blood. (For the life of the flesh is in the blood. Lev. 17:11) Yom haKipuriym/day of the Atonements, falls on the 10th day of the 7th month. It is not a feast day but rather a Holy convocation, an opportunity to deny ourselves, a time for self examination. A perfect opportunity for a heart (spiritual) check-up.As the High Priest performs the atonements for himself, the altar, the Tabernacle, and the whole community in Israel, we are encouraged to stop and think. To turn those thoughts to our own lives and allow an inner conviction to lead us to true repentance and then to the acceptance of the blood sacrifice of Jesus as a means of cleansing and forgiveness.Jesus our Messiah has clearly fulfilled both the position of our High Priest and that of our personal sacrifice, He atoned for us once and for all and is continually making intercession for us before the Father.He does not need to make sacrifices for Himself and for us year after year in order to atone for our sins–it has already been accomplished for ever. Hebrews 9:6–12

The weight and penalty of the sins, was symbolically transferred to the animal sacrifices for that year, so that forgiveness could be attained.

Our willingness to deny self on this day does not cause, aid or enhance our atonement, however it allows us to become acutely aware of our own mortality, our sin, our continuing need for atonement, and our desire for life. At the same time it causes us to appreciate on some minute level, the sacrifice the Master made as He denied His own life on our behalf and to re-evaluate our own commitment to walk in the way, the truth and the life, by obeying and keeping His commandments.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matt.5:17-20

 

The sanctity and holiness of this day cannot be understated.

Though we may find great joy in our eternal atonement in Jesus the Messiah, this is a day for remembering the atonement in such a way that it should be very hard to forget in the busyness of daily life.

Although we are saved by grace and live by faith, we are still accountable for our individual lives and for changing our ways in compliance of being a ‘doer’ of the things Jesus taught and not a ‘hearer only’.

We are to be contemplative, repentant, humble and dead to ourselves because the self sacrifice necessary to atone for our sins is far beyond what any of us are able or willing to do. It would take every drop, every ounce of blood in our bodies to cover even our own sins, much less the sins of another.

However we can rejoice for the Messiah has come! Atonement has been made and He has obtained age enduring redemption, which is available for us! Justice is satisfied and Mercy fulfilled, once and for all!On Yom haKipuriym, day of the Atonements, we are also to remember that we live and breathe only because the Father so chooses, and that by His choice, He has the right and the power to take it away as well. A sobering reality.

Lk. 12:20; Mk. 13:44.

Hard though that is for some of us to admit, once born again and redeemed, it means that God through Jesus bought and paid for us and we belong to Him. Our life is no longer our own to live as we please and our destiny is His hands. At this time the story of Jonah is appropriate, teaching that sincere repentance can reverse even the harshest heavenly decreeand the prevention of Jonah’s flight shows that no one can escape from God.There is such an abundance of revelatory instruction around the 7th appointed time, it is prohibitive to attempt to include everything in one post, so some aspects are not mentioned below due to space and in an attempt to curtail longevity, however it is not out of ignorance or neglect.

(Further details regarding insights on the sacrifices and Temple proceedings followed at Yom Kippur will be posted on more mini manna moments/ deeper dig.)

Now for the Main Meal of the day! Yom Kippur – Day of Atonement (Lev. 25:9) 

The Biblical name for the day of Atonement is Yom HaKippurim, meaning ‘the day of covering, canceling, pardon, reconciling.’ Occasionally, it was called ‘the Day of the Fast’ or ‘the Great Fast’ (Lev. 23:27-31; 16:29-34). It is a unique ceremony which took place on the ancient Hebrew calendar for the children of Israel, it was the holiest day of the year and still is for believers and the Jewish community today. ‘Kadosh’, often translated as ‘Holy’, it also has a deeper meaning and conveys an understanding of being separate and set aside for Adonai /The Lord and not as the world and the things of the world are.Deut. 7:6, We are to be His own unique treasure.

This day marks the end of the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe) and falls on the 9th/10th day of Tishrei (Tishri), the seventh month in the Jewish calendar.It’s not a feast like the others that we have looked at. It is a day of repentance and it’s still of great significance for Christian believers, because not one of us is perfect.  It’s a time for us to make a decision to be better in the coming year than we were in the past year. Paul makes mention of Yom Kippur when he refers to it in Acts 27:9 saying that the fast had already gone by, as the main focus of this day is to fast before the Lord.Names used are:

Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement)

Face to Face
The Day (or the Great Day)
The Fast
The Great Shofar (Shofar HaGadol)
Neilah (the closing of the gates of heaven as the festival concludes and the judgment was set for another year.)

 

UNDERSTANDING THE PRIESTLY SERVICE FOR YOM KIPPURLev. 16, specifies the 10th of Tishrei as the date on which the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) shall conduct a special ceremony to purge defilement from the sanctuary and from the people. The heart of it is that the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) shall bring a bull and two goats as a special offering. First, the bull is sacrificed to purge the sanctuary from any defilements caused by misdeeds of the priest himself and of his household (Lev. 16:6). Secondly, one of the goats is chosen by lot to be sacrificed, to purge the sanctuary of any similar defilement stimulated by misdeeds of the whole Israelite people (Lev. 16:7-8). Finally, the second goat is sent away, not sacrificed, to cleanse the people themselves. The goat is marked for Azazel and is sent away to wander in the wilderness (Lev. 16:10).Before the goat is sent out, the high priest lays both his hands upon its head and confesses over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their misdeeds, and so putting them on the head of the goat. Thus, the Torah adds, ‘The goat shall carry on it all their iniquities to an inaccessible region…’ (Lev. 16:20- 22).

AZAZEL: THE SCAPEGOAT

The Hebrew word for scapegoat is ‘Azazel’. Azazel was seen as a type of satan (Ha satan). The sins of the people and thus the punishment of the people were laid upon Azazel the scapegoat. Azazel being sent into the wilderness is understood to be a picture of satan (Ha satan) being cast into the lake of fire (Rev.19:20).The sins of the people were laid upon the scapegoat (Lev.16:21-22).

 

ADDITIONAL ASPECTS TO THE HIGH PRIEST CEREMONY

In order to enter the Holy of Holies, the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) was first to bathe his entire body, going beyond the mere washing of hands and feet as required by other occasions. The washing symbolized his desire for purification (Num. 19). The washing was of his clothes and his flesh (Num. 8:5-7;19:7-9).

This was done in conjunction with taking the blood of an animal with the finger
and sprinkling the blood upon the altar (Num. 19:1-4; Lev. 8:13-15 and in Num. 31:21-24.)  

‘And the priest shall take of the blood thereof with his finger, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering.’

The priest dipping his finger in the blood and placing it on the horns of the altar represents that the sin is recorded. The mark of a finger print in blood is evidence a death had taken place to pay the price for the sin.By this action, the altar had in a sense, become defiled until on the Day of Atonement when the pure blood of the Lord’s goat was placed on the altar to purify it.

The blood is shed for the sinner’s life and to satisfy the demand of the law, on the Day of Atonement the redemption is finalized. So too, is the process in the heavenly sanctuary on the day when our sins are blotted out. 

 The spiritual understanding of this is given in Heb. 9 -10:19-22.
The sprinkling of blood upon the altar is also mentioned in Ex. 29:1-4,10-12, 16,20-21; and Lev. 1:3-5,11; 3:1-2,8; 4:1-6; 5:4-6,9. The spiritual understanding is found in Heb. 9:11-14,23-25, and 1Pet. 1:2.

FACE TO FACE

The high priest (Cohen HaGadol) could only go into the Holy of Holies once a year (Lev.16:2; Heb. 9:6-7).(God issued a warning that no man could see His face and live (Ex.33:20). But because on the Day of Atonement the priest could be in God’s presence (Lev.16:2), another term for the Day of Atonement is ‘face to face.’  At that point, the high priest was ‘face to face with the mercy seat of God.’

Face in Hebrew: panim or paneh פָּנִים (paw-neem’)When the high priest (Cohen HaGadol) entered the Holy of Holies, he saw the Lord’s presence as a brilliant cloud hovering above the mercy seat (Lev.16:2).The word for mercy seat in Hebrew is kapporet. It comes from the root word kaphar, which is the same word used for atonement. The mercy seat can also be translated as the seat of atonement. The mercy seat is described in detail in Ex. 25:17-22 and 37:6-9. This is the place where Moses (Moshe) met and spoke with God face to face (Ex. 25:22; 30:6; Num. 7:89).The themes are:

Yom Kippur is a day of fasting and affliction of the soul.

The incense of the golden censer represents the prayers of Bible believers.Repentance Repent (Teshuvah) return to the Lord.

Hear (Shema) the calling (Shofar) for our lives.

Yielding ourselves to God so we may live every day (face to face – al paneh – פָּנִים) in His Presence. Furniture of the Tabernacle

Atonement

 At the moment the atonement was made on the Day of Atonement, those being atoned for were sinless and blameless before God.

The congregation of believers (kehilat) in the Messiah is being presented before God without spot or blemish (Eph. 5:27) because of the blood of Jesus/Yeshua (1 Pet. 1:19).Messianic Fulfillment; Jesus/Yeshua is the sacrifice of God for us who believe on Him (Heb. 9:26-28; 10:1-10). 

Forgiveness

Messianic Fulfillment: Aaron the high priest typifies the ministry of mediator and intercessor. Jesus/Yeshua is our High Priest (Heb. 3:1) and Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 12:24). He lives to make intercession for us (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:22-27).Spiritual Application (Halacha): By the death of Jesus/Yeshua, we are free to enter into the veil every day not just once a year. (Matt. 27:50-51; 2 Cor. 3:14; Heb. 4:16; 6:13-19; 10:19-22).

 More about the Goats 

Lev. 16:7–10. the high priest would stand before the people in Jerusalem with two identical goats.He would then put his hand into an urn where there were two lots, each one with a different Hebrew word carved into it. The High priest would then remove them both, one in each hand. He then placed the lot in his right hand on the head of the goat to his right the other to the goat on the left.One of the lots decreed that one of the goats would live and be set free, the other that it would die as the sacrifice for the sins of the people on Yom Kippur.  This is where two goats (or lambs) were chosen annually to represent the sins of Israel, one was sacrificed as the usual sin offering and the other released into the wild, bearing the sins of the people on it.The fate of each goat was determined by the drawing of the lots. The black lot signifying the scapegoat and the white lot, the goat for sacrifice. When the lots were drawn, if the black stone was found in the priest’s left hand when the stones were revealed it was an indication that the offering was unacceptable to the Lord. White meant yes, black meant no.

The Mystery of the Semikhah

Within this ceremony is also the mystery of the Semikhah. This is the sacred act that had to take place before a sacrifice could be offered up for the sins of the one offering it, or before the scapegoat could take away the sins of the nation on Yom Kippur.

It is the mystery of physical contact.

The person offering the sacrifice had to make physical contact with the sacrifice itself.

The priest had to touch it and very specifically had to place the palms of both his hands on the sacrifice.Lev. 16:21, Only after the Semikhah was performed could the scapegoat take away the sins of the nation or the sacrifice be offered up as an atonement.

The mystery is the Messiah. He is the sacrifice. 

As the Semikhah must be performed and it was the priests who offered Him up and then delivered Him to His death. In accordance with Scripture, the priest had to make physical contact with the sacrifice by placing his hands on it. Mk. 14:65 records that after condemning Him to death the priests struck Him repeatedly with their hands. The description shows that they specifically struck his face and head the palms of their hands and afterwards Messiah was led away to be killed.What we need to comprehend is that what took place on earth at that moment, was symbolic of what happened in heavenly realms. That is where the reality and sovereignty of God’s intervention took place concerning the fate of mankind. In truth, it was God who performed the Semikhah when He placed our sins on Jesus, ensuring that sins are gone, Semikhah was completed and those sins can never return!

 

MESSIANIC UNDERSTANDING

God gave this ceremony of the casting of lots during Yom Kippur to teach us how He will judge the nations of the world prior to the Messianic age known as the Millennium. The nations of the world will be judged according to how they treated the Jewish people. Those nations who mistreated the Jews will be goat nations and they will go into the left hand. Those nations that stood beside the Jewish people will be sheep nations and will enter into the Messianic kingdom or the Millennium. Matt. 25:31-46.
Jesus/Yeshua during His first coming was a type of the goat marked La Adonai. He was a sin offering to us as God laid upon Him the sins of the whole world (Is. 53:1-6; 1 Cor. 15:3; Gal. 1:3-4; Heb. 2:17; 1 Jn. 2:2; 4:10).

In the ceremony of the two goats, the two goats were considered as one offering. A crimson sash was tied around the horns of the goat marked Azazel.At the appropriate time, the goat was led to a steep cliff in the wilderness and pushed off the cliff.  Before there could be any sacrifice, there had to be a public presentation of the two goats before the people and the decision of which destiny would be for each goat. In the life of Messiah before his sacrificial death at Passover He too was presented before the people by pilate. For them to choose which man would live and which would die. With the goats only one could become the sacrifice, so Messiah had to be one of two lives presented to the people in order to be chosen as the sacrifice. According to the Yom Kippur decree and the requirements of the ceremony, the other life had to be let go and his name was Barabbas. Matt. 27:15–24

They had to be identical but how could that have been true? Barabbas was a sinner, bandit and murderer Jesus was sinless.

It’s all in the name.

Jesus our Messiah was also the Son of God, the Son of the Father and Barabbas name in Aramaic comes from two words. Bar which means Son and Abba which means father so therefore Barabbas means son of the father. The two men each bearing the same name son of the father. So the one who was the sacrifice and the one set free were identical in this way. Similarly, as we believe Jesus was the son of God, He was also equal to God; then it would follow that God in the flesh had to die in our place and have an equality in some way with us. (John14:9, If you have seen me you have seen the father.) He did become flesh in the form of a man, in the ‘likeness’ of sinful flesh and as such was ‘identical’ to fulfill the law.Bar Abba (Barabbas) was a symbol of the disobedient nation of Yisra’el, and he was released from prison even though he was guilty. But our Messiah, Jesus was killed in his place, because He became the scapegoat for Yisra’el!The definition for the word ‘scapegoat’ is ‘the innocent party who takes the blame for the guilty party.’ The nation of Israel/Yisra’el, (the firstborn son) was the guilty party, but the Father put on human flesh and became the Son (representing Israel/Yisra’el) by trading places with him! 

(This is where we get our idiom for a scapegoat, for the one who takes the blame.)

Messiah fulfilled the pattern of the twin goats on Yom Kippur and then he also fulfilled the role of the Kohen Gadowl (High Priest) that year when He read Is.61:1-2 in the synagogue (Lk. 4:19) declaring the acceptable year of The Lord.”
We are not under the law of sin and death any more we are under the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Rom.8:2

Because of the sovereign purposes of the Lord, Israel has undergone a partial hardening until all of those whom God has called from among nations have been grafted in to the Olive tree of God. During this age of grace, those who were called not my people, are intended to provoke Israel to jealousy by means of the message. (Hos. 2:23) After the age of grace is complete all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26) and the original covenant will be fully restored and redeemed. Yom Kippur will be a fulfilled festival on that great day. Then the words of the prophets will be proven true and God will be vindicated. Israel will be adorned with honor and blessing above all the nations of the earth and they will finally be home from their long exile.

The aspect of ‘hidden, covered, veiled.’ We see ‘Yom Kippur’ typology here with the concept of being ‘covered’ or ‘veiled.’ To this day, the Jewish people have nick-named this day of ‘Yom Kippur’ as ‘face-to-face’ because it was this one time per year when the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies ‘behind the veil’ and come ‘face-to-face’ with The Lord!As the High Priest had to intercede on behalf of Israel/Yisra’el for her sins, if he had any sin for which he had not repented, he would die in the Holy of Holies! At the future Day of Atonement, the bride who sufficiently sanctifies herself or ‘afflicts’ and prepares herself will be able to come ‘face-to-face’ with the bridegroom. Likewise on that day when Jesus returns, the veil will be removed from her face and her heart (Israel) and she will ‘see’ her Messiah (2 Cor. 3:14-16). The scales will fall away from her eyes also as she will ‘look upon’ the one whom she pierced (Zech. 12:10).

In the future, during the ‘Ten Days of Awe’ between The Feast of Trumpets & the Day of Atonement, there will also be a ‘7-day’ wedding for the bride of Messiah.

Through Yeshua  the atonement has been made, not just for a year but forever; not just for Israel but for all who will believe.  We have been and will always be forgiven by God’s grace through faith. Jesus is not still on the cross however 
because of Jesus who is the heart and prophetic fulfillment of every one of God’s holy days. These are His feasts, the feasts of the Lord. Because God chose Israel to be His witness to the rest of the world, the celebrations commemorate events in Israel’s history.  Through them God revealed His character and His plan of redemption through Jesus.

So the Feasts are continual reminders of God’s faithfulness and goodness.  They connect us together as a community and are anchors of our souls.

The ultimate fulfillment of the year of Jubilee will take place at the second coming of Messiah.The earth will be redeemed and come into full and complete rest from the curse brought upon it by Adam’s sin. Complete restoration of man’s lost inheritance will take place. God’s people will be totally set free — set at liberty, from all sin, sickness and disease, death, and the curse. Satan (Ha satan), the source of all these things, will be bound and true rest, true shalom will be realized. The tabernacle of God will be with men and He will dwell with them (Rev.21:1-4). So, the day of Atonement speaks of the fullness of the redemptive plan of God for man.We do well to remember, liberty and freedom are NEVER really free.

Somewhere – sometime – someone...

has ALWAYS paid the price for that freedom. It would behoove us to count the cost now, today – for there will be no avoiding the inevitable day of reckoning.

Returning To Your First Love

Of The Heart…

The fall festival season begins with a 40-day period called, in Hebrew, Teshuvah,which means “to repent or return.”

At this time every year in the Hebrew calendar is a season of self examination.Prophetically: Teshuvah’s 40 days of repentance, Prepares Believers For Messiah’s Appearing.

“I Tell You A Mystery: We Will Not All Sleep, But We Will All Be Changed— In A Flash, In The Twinkling Of An Eye, At The Last Trumpet (Shofar). For The Trumpet Will Sound, The Dead Will Be Raised Imperishable, And We Will Be Changed.” 1 Cor 15:51-52

Create in Me A Clean Heart Oh Lord/Adonai and Renew a Right Spirit Within Me. Psalm 51

Elul is the 6th month of the Biblical Calendar year. This month is set aside for Teshuvah/Repentance in anticipation of the Fall Feasts. The month of Elul is a time to prepare for Yamim Nora’im, The Days of Awe by getting our SPIRITUAL HOUSE IN ORDER.Jeremiah 24:7

This is a time to look into our hearts and ask the Ruach HaKodesh to search our hearts and reveal any hidden sins, resentments, forgiveness, pride, anger, bitterness etc. and to repent, make Teshuvah and work at walking according to the Spirit and not the flesh.The root of this important word is shuv which means to turn back. Teshuvah is as much a state of mind (faith / creed) as it is a step of action (Faithfulness / Deed).

The call to make teshuvah is a call to leave one’s own path and turn to The Lords/Adonai’s. It is a call to submit one’s will to God’s will.Perhaps the most important dimension of teshuvah to grasp, is that it requires more than simply turing from sin. One must be willing to turn to the path of righteousness. The cry of the penitent one says, ‘My soul desires what Your soul desires!’

Primarily, repentance calls for the abandonment of the way of sin and the inner resolve never to return to it, and not the outward acts that accompany it.

Note: In Hebrew a person is called a Ba’al Teshuvah who turns to the Lord/Adonai, from a life of sin. Literally this means, a Master of Repentance. It describes the reality that TESHUVAH IS NOT A ONCE AND DONE ACT! As followers of Jesus/Yeshua we live a life of turning back to The Lord/Adonai.  We are ever turning from self to The Lord/Adonai.

The 40 days of Teshuvah begins on the first day of the sixth month, the month of Elul. Elul last for 30 days, (known as the month of MERCY, the month when The Lord/Adonai draws near to His people.)

It concludes with the 1st of Tishrei, the 7th month, which is also the mo’edim/appointed time, known as Yom Teruah or The Day of Trumpets. (Leviticus 23:23-25)

Ten days later, on the 10th of Tishrei, is Yom Kippur or the “Day of Atonement”. (Leviticus 23:26-27). The days in between these two Biblical festivals are called Yamim Nora’im which literally means the “awesome days”; commonly called the Days of Awe. This 10 day period, coupled with the 30 days of Elul, make up the 40 days of Teshuvah. (Literally: “returning”; a Hebrew term for repentance.)

The Rabbis said that this is the time when “the King is in the field”. The heart of HaShem is for His beloved to make teshuvah.We are the beloved of Adonai/The Lord. It is His love that draws us to repentance thus, in love, He beckons us to return to Him. Deut. 4:30The month of Elul is sometimes called the month of love and compassion based on the acronym formed from,


     I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine. Song of Solomon 6:3This poignant verse alludes to the mystery that God is our heavenly groom and we are his betrothed. God is the great lover of our souls and the greatest mitzvah/commandment of all, is to keep faith in his covenant promise of love. Romans 8:24 Our beloved is coming Jesus/Yeshua our Messiah, will soon be here chevarim (friends), don’t miss the bridegroom’s call. Return to the passion of your first love. Rev. 2:4

Jesus/Yeshua illustrated the idea of Teshuvah which means returning to God, by telling the story of the prodigal son. Luke 15:11–32.

After squandering his father’s inheritance a wayward son decided to return home full of shame and self-reproach. That while he was still a long way off his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him and he ran to his son threw his arms around him and kissed him.The father then ordered a celebratory meal in honor of his lost son’s homecoming. When his older brother objected that father said, we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again he was lost and is found.

In the parable reveals that teshuvah ultimately means returning (shuv) to the compassionate arms of your heavenly Father.God sees you while you are still a long way off. Rom. 5:8

He runs to you with affection when you first begin to turn your heart toward Him. Indeed Gods compassion is so great that He willingly embraces the shame of your sins and then adorns you with a fine robe a ring and sandals.Your Heavenly Father even slaughters the fattened calf Jesus/Yeshua so that a meal that celebrates your life may be served.

Why did Jesus/Yeshua come? He was like the father in the parable who was actively looking for his lost son. He came to seek and save the lost Luke 19:10

Jesus/Yeshua likened Himself to a shepherd who left his flock to search for one lost sheep and after finding it laid that sheep on his shoulders rejoicing. Luke 15:3–7He also likened himself to a woman who lost a coin but diligently searched for it. After she found it she called together her friends and neighbors saying rejoice with me for I have found the lost coin. Luke 15:8–10Jesus/Yeshuas first words of public ministry were REPENT and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL. Mark 1:15

The word repent is metanao meaning to change your thinking and the word gospel means good news. From good and message. We could translate the verse as: change your thinking and believe the message of God’s good will toward you. The good news is that we are to be set free from the curse of the law and futile efforts of seeking self justification before heaven. We no longer need to live in fear of God’s conditional acceptance of us and therefore of our conditional worth.

As Paul later preached, let it be known to you therefore brothers that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Acts 13:38–39The Jews had known about repentance teshuvah for a long time of course. They understood the rituals and mitzvoth/commandments that were required to keep the law and they even devised legal formulas for making your defense before the Almighty. (ie the Kol Nidre service recited before Yom Kippur which was, we exonerate ourselves for failing to keep our word.) If Moses and the law could have saved us we wouldn’t need to be declared righteous by God’s grace through the redemption in Jesus/Yeshua. Romans 3:24  and we would not need the cross. All we’d need to do is work hard at repentance, perform additional mitzvoth/good works but clearly Jesus/Yeshua meant something other than this when He made the call to repent.The repentance that Jesus/Yeshua preached was inextricably connected with the good news that He alone is God’s answer to the problem of sin. Jesus/Yeshua was born to die as the divinely appointed Sin bearer of the world. Hebrews 10:5-7

He came to the earth and emptied Himself of His regal glory and power in order to be the high priest. After the order of Malki –Tzedek and the mediator of the new covenant. Hebrews 5:6; 9:15; Psalm 110:4; 1 Timothy 2:5;

He came to Jerusalem, to Moriah for the explicit purpose of suffering and dying and being raised from the dead. Matthew 16:21 Luke 9:22

Jesus/Yeshua died not only for our forgiveness but also to deliver us from the law of sin and death.i.e. the power that  sin holds in our lives. He died to set us free so that we could become the beloved children of God. Jesus/Yeshua surely was not calling people to become followers of the scribes and Pharisees, who were blind guides and hypocrites Matthew 23:13–36. He did not want people to become slaves to rituals or religion, now he called people to follow Him.

Take up your cross and follow Me.

Turn your thinking around.

Die to your religion.

Be comforted because there is good news from heaven.Gods unconditional acceptance is given to those who trust in the righteousness of Jesus/Yeshua in place of any self righteousness that might be gained by performing the works of the law. Galatians 2:16, Titus 3:5

Jesus/Yeshua is the goal of the law for righteousness for all who believe Romans 10:4–13

 Dying to the religious project of attaining self-righteousness is to admit the need for radical deliverance from the law itself.Jesus’/Yeshua’s message of salvation was rejected by the religious establishment of His day, just as it is likewise rejected by all other karma-based religions and philosophies that believed that good deeds are sufficient for your place in heaven. After all the religious Jews assumed they already understood the requirements for repentance and the means for finding atonement with God through the rituals and practices surrounding the high holidays.Their religion was essentially a meritocracy based on the performance of good works. That were thought to impart zechut and righteousness to the soul.

But Yeshua explained to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, that a person is not justified on the basis of their supposed good deeds or merits but entirely by appealing to God’s compassion and mercy.

It was the despised tax collector not the self-righteous Pharisee that left the temple justified: Luke 18:10-14

The talmud (Hebrew Commentary) draws a distinction between those motivated by:

Teshuvah me-yirah, “return out of fear” (of punishment),

And

Teshuvah me- ahavah, “return out of love” (of god).

Of the former, their intentional sins are accounted as if they were unintentional;

Of those who return out of love, their intentional transgressions become like merits.

The concept is that the human personality is capable of regeneration and renewal.

Thus teshuvah is an experience of transformation.

When performed out of fear, it lessens the burden of sin but does not give victory over the sin.

Teshuvah undertaken out of love accomplishes a fundamental transformation, in which healing and purification are complete ‘for the baal teshuvah, the man who returned.’

During this season of teshuvah, we must always remember that the Lord is for us and not against us.

He died while we were yet sinners. Romans 5:8

He is the loving strongman who rescued us forever.

Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Rom 8:31–39

We are literally saved in this hope. Romans 8:24

Peace – Shalom!