A Rosh Hashanah Rapture

Have you ever wondered about the Jewish Festivals in the Bible? Have you ever heard of them having a prophetic relevance for the Jews and the Christians? Has anyone you know ever made claims regarding the Rapture of the Church happening on a Jewish Holiday?

Well, in this study I will attempt to cover the topic of the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah and it’s prophetic significance / correlation to the Rapture of the Christian Church as some believe. For the record, I do believe that there is a very strong possibility for this and though I may make suggestions in this post regarding this year being a great possibility, this is not written in stone… so, please take note of this before writing to me regarding false prophecies, etc.

So, before we get into this study further… I would like to pre-address the argument regarding that no man will know the day or the hour, which some cling to so that they can have comfort in the fact that they are not “watching”. It reminds me of the stance that ignorance is bliss because if you know the truth, then you are accountable for the truth and that means effort and acknowledgment. For this, I would like to point you first to the scripture that most rely on 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and then I would like for you to pay very close attention to this scripture 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5, which should clarify our position as the Church verses those outside the Church as in the first verse. A decent site for debate reference would be HERE, which goes into detail regarding defending the Rapture theology. There are plenty of scripture verses used in this reference site, so I encourage you to endulge yourself in your study. Another site for studying the relevance of a Rosh Hashana Rapture would be HERE.

As you will see, some of the practices I list here are based in scriptures that I can find and others are instituted through traditions. To make myself clear up front, I do not necessarily condone tradition as a Biblical standard. I am only listing the traditions practiced here for references and to gain a better insight as to how the Jewish people view and practice the Biblical Holidays for a possible deeper understanding behind the meanings for prophetic significance of the Holidays.

Also, as a disclaimer… I do not necessarily agree with 100% of what the reference links state, whether in written/spoken or applied infurance. I have only referred to what is particularly relevant to this study as a whole and anything beyond that is at your own judgment.

Now, to begin… there is a period of 30 days before Rosh Hashanah in which the Jewish people begin repenting in preparation for the coming High Holy-days. This is called Teshuvah. Teshuvah begins on Elul 1. When you put together the 30 days prior to Rosh Hashanah and the 10 days to conclude Yom Kippur, you get 40 days of repentance… Does this sound familiar (*Israel – 40 years in the desert, *Jesus – 40 days of fasting on the mount)? Another interesting point is that we are currently in the 40th (Jewish) year from the time that Israel conquered Jerusalem and then immediately gave it back. Could this be a 40 year time of the Gentiles running the promised land spoken of in Luke 21:24?

In this video, you can gain a little history behind understanding when Rosh Hashanah is calculated as well as other months and days according to the Jewish calendar.

Leviticus 23:24-25 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first [day] of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work [therein]: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

Rosh Hashanah is a fall Jewish festival, which is celebrated for two days, Tishri 1 and Tishri 2 (September – October on the Gregorian calendar). Click here for the current Jewish Calendar. Rosh Hashanah is a new moon festival, which begins a new year on the Jewish calendar and this is the reason why they celebrate this holiday for two days because of the need to spot the new moon and the Jews in the Diaspora (dispersed Jews). This holiday was so important because it was a major marker for the Jews to get right with God before He judged them on Yom Kippur for the year to come. Therefore, in order to recognize it on the right day and to get word to the Jews outside of the Holy Land, they observed it on two days. In doing so, the Jews reserve the observance of Rosh Hashanah as one long day and not two separate days.

As with all Jewish festivals and days in general, they begin at sunset the day before and go through to sunset the day of. So, Rosh Hashanah in 2008 is to begin on September 29th… this means that it begins at sunset September 28th. Now, because it is celebrated for 2 days, it would end at sunset on September 30th. The Jewish people begin their celebrations and end them around 6 pm to keep the hours of the day equal even though sunset on some days may not be until 7pm or 8pm, etc. For an accurate sunset time, you can check out this link. To see what time sunset is in correlation to your area, you can click HERE for the world clock.

Leviticus 23:27-28 Also on the tenth [day] of this seventh month [there shall be] a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it [is] a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God… (continues through verse 32)

In the verse above, you see that the very next observance is what is called Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement. The days between Rosh Hashanah (Tishri 1) and Yom Kippur (Tishri 10) are known as the Days of Awe. These are days (High Holy-days) in which the Jewish people basically plead before God so that He will forgive them on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). [a last ditch effort for cleansing if you will].

Numbers 29:1 And in the seventh month, on the first [day] of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.

Now, as you can see in the verse above as well as in Leviticus 23, on this Holy Day, the Jewish people were required to blow the shofar. The Shofar is a rams horn, which is blown for different reasons on different occasions. You can see a Shofar in the picture below.

For Rosh Hashana, the Shofar was blown in a certain way, which can be heard HERE. In Psalm 150:3 the word “sound” is translated from the word teqa` , which is pronounced “tā·kah’ “. You can find out more in depth regarding strongs translation HERE. According to a source, the root for tekiah means “blast” and this is the first sound made on the Shofar. This article also states that:

The second sound made with the sofar is called shevarim, which means “broken.” Broken is a good way to describe this sound. It is intended to portray a person who is crying. Thus, rabbinic tradition states the purpose for shevarim is to remind people of the need for repentance. True repentance is only possible once someone is broken before God.

The third sound is called teruah, which means “alarm.” Teruah is made by sounding at least nine short staccato blasts on the shofar. This sound is intended to alert the hearer to impending danger or some other type of ominous event.

The article goes on to state that these blasts are in recognition of God as Creator, a Father who forgives and a Judge who is coming to judge the entire earth. The article also states that the most associated part of the Shofar blasts on Rosh Hashanah, is one of an awakening blast to resurrect the dead. Regarding this fourth blast, the article states:

Rabbinic literature teaches that it is God who will resurrect the dead and redeem man with the sound of the Shofar…

…The fourth sound made upon the shofar sounds exactly as tekiah, except that it is sounded for as long as one can hold his breath. This is the sound that many believe will announce the resurrection. For that reason, it is called tekiah hagadolah, which means “the great blast,” or as some would refer to it – “the last trump.”

Regarding the different names which refer to Rosh Hashanah, I will quote a source in the following (underline emphasis mine):

Rosh Hashanah literally means Head of the Year.

Other names for Rosh Hashanah include…
Jewish New Year
Feast of Trumpets
Feast of the Last Trump
Feast of the Born Again
Yom Ha’Zikkaron – Day of Remembrance
Yom Teruah – Day of the Awakening Blast
Yom HaDin – Day of Judgment
Yom HaMelech – Day of the King – the Coronation
Yom HaKiseh – the Hidden Day (referring to the New or Hidden Moon).

Yeshua said no man knows the day or the hour.  This was actually an indication that the “catching away” would take place on this “hidden” festival.

Two other sites, HERE and HERE as well as HERE, adds to the list of name references such as:

The Shout
The Open Door – of the rapture in Matthew 25, and Revelation 3 and Revelation 4:1 is a symbol of the Feast of Trumpets. [Ezekial 46:1] “Thus says the Lord God: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days; but on the sabbath day it shall be opened and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
A Thief in the Night – “Of that day and hour no man knows, but my Father only” is an expression used by a groom when asked when his wedding will be. He says this because it is his Father that will tell him when his preparations on the bridal chamber are completed and it is time. Again, the wedding pictures the rapture.
Teshuvah – Repentance
The Time of Jacob’s (Ya’akov) Trouble – (the birthpains of the Messiah, Chevlai shel Mashiach)
Kiddushin/Nesu’in – (the wedding ceremony)
The Resurrection of the dead – (Rapture/Natzal)

Rosh Hashanah also is referred to in themes… kind of a scene behind the scene. Those themes are as follows:

1. The Rapture – Catching away of the Bride of Christ

This is the topic that we will be focusing on here today. As stated previously in the names for Rosh Hashanah, the one that would be most recognized to this event would be the feast of the Last Trump as spoken of in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54.

2. Resurrection of the dead

As one of the names for the festival of Rosh Hashanah, which fits this theme is Yom Teruah – Day of the Awakening Blast. As the feast of Trumpets, in Jerusalem, when the trumpets would sound, the workers would stop what they were doing and immediately enter the temple. Rosh Hashanah is a time of rest, worship and marriage as you can see from the references here.

3. The Kings coronation

Again referring to the multiple names held for Rosh Hashana, we must associate this theme to that of Yom HaMelech – Day of the King – the Coronation.

4. The Marriage (the Messiah and His Bride)

You can find out more on this at my post HERE.

5. The birthday of the world

The Jewish people believe this day (Tishri 1) to be the day that God created the world, therefore it begins a new year.

Many believe that the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur represent the tribulation period of 7 days = 7 years. Yom Kippur last for 3 days and we will cover that in a different study.

According to this source, the Jewish beliefs regarding the festival of Rosh Hashana correlate with the belief of a rapture/resurrection occurring on this day.

Jewish eschatology is consistent with this view. The Rabbis taught that when 6000 years (or six “days”) of human history are completed, the seventh day, the Day of the Lord will come. On the Feast of Trumpets, Tishri 1, the shofar will sound and all the righteous, both dead and alive will be resurrected. The righteous will go to the “gates” for the coronation of the King, the Messiah and then be united with the Messiah as His bride.

We are currently in the year 5769 according to the Jewish calendar and that ends on Rosh Hashanah 2008. Also something to consider is that this is what they call a Sabbatical year. Many believe that the Lord Messiah will return in a Sabbatical year, therefore, if the Rapture of the Church is 7 years before the Lord’s return… that means the Rapture is also in a Sabbatical year. Many also believe that the Lord’s second coming will be on Yom Kippur, which leaves Rosh Hashanah open for the fulfillment of the Rapture. You can do further research on this by clicking HERE. This link also includes the study that has made its way around the world a few times now regarding the solar and lunar eclipses in the last days. This article will include some videos as well.

Probably one of the strongest indications of how close we are to the Rapture of the Church, possibly being this year is that of the news around the world. All countries are now aligning themselves on one pole or another in this third world war. All of the countries predicted throughout the Bible that will go against Israel in the last days are now creating alliances with each other and the focus of the world is on Israel… just as predicted. I wish that I could go deep into all of that topic here, however, it is much too long for this post. Please check out my links page (tab) above to research that topic.

The following is a study series in 3 parts regarding Rosh Hashanah and the Rapture:

Part I

Part II

Part III

To Be Continued…