Tonight at sunset, one of God’s family reunions will begin. He created all of us because He wanted a family. And like any good dad, He set in order times to gather and celebrate. God has an amazing calendar of events that He placed in the heavens before man was on the scene. 

Genesis 1:14 says, “Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years”  The word ‘seasons’ here means appointed times or feasts.

And in Leviticus 23:4, “These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.”

God calls His family gatherings feasts. He also calls them “holy convocations,” or holy rehearsals. Each of the seven feasts He created, reveals the identity and mission of Jesus. Jews and many others have been rehearsing the return of Jesus for centuries.

Tonight at sundown, we will step into a ‘season’ and ‘appointed time’ planned before the beginning of time. It will be the first of three parts for the Feast of Tabernacles.  We will celebrate the “Day of the Awakening Blast”  or the Feast of Trumpets.  Ultimately it will announce that the Bridegroom is on His way for His Bride.

Centuries later, the disciples asked Jesus, “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3) He told them, “...learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! ³⁴ Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  ³⁶ No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows.³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

While we’ve read that His second coming would come at a time that “no man knows,”  how many of us knew that He was actually making a reference to the Feast of Trumpets? The Feast of Trumpets was known by those in Ancient Jerusalem as “The Day That No Man Knows.”  And why is it called this? Because it is the only feast that begins with the sighting of the new moon.  

Today we have calendars that tell us which day the new moon will appear, and some even tell us the hour, but in the times of Jesus, they didn’t have access to these things. In His time, “two witnesses” would to stand on the walls of Jerusalem at the end of the 30 days of the month of Elul and “watch” for the first sighting of the new moon. When they saw the new moon appear in the sky, they would sound the shofar (trumpet), and all the people in the city would immediately drop what they were doing, and they would run to the temple for the trumpet celebration.

In Matthew 25, when Yeshua tells the parable of the ten virgins, it says that all the virgins were asleep.  When the trumpet sounded and the cry went out that the Bridegroom was on His way, all of them woke up, but only five of the virgins were wise and had their oil lamps filled. The other five foolish virgins were not prepared.

Since the feast starts at sundown, the temple doors were only open for a short period of time. If people failed to make it to the temple before the doors were shut, they were left out of the feast. Once the doors were shut, no man could get in.

The oil represents our relationship with the Bridegroom.  It is not enough to know His word, we need to know Him.  We must spend time with Him, learning His ways, taking on His lifestyle and partnering with Him in His mission.  This kind of  ‘oil’ cannot be passed on to someone else.  Each of us must accumulate it through an intimate relationship with Him.

In the first four feasts, God incorporated specific events in Jesus’ life.

• He was crucified on Passover – our perfect Passover lamb- “…you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)
• He went into the grave on the Feast of Unleavened (sinless) Bread-–“He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
• He rose from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits — the first fruit of our redemption- “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20)
• He sent His Holy Spirit on the Feast of Weeks/ Pentecost – “...I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth…” (John 14:16-17; Acts 2:1-13)

It is believed that He will mark the Fall feasts with similar events that will bring about His second coming.  While we don’t know what year He will come, we can be watching in expectation.

The Feast of Trumpets also begins what is known as the Ten Days of Awe. It is time for introspection and repentance. It is a time to mend relationships and pay restitution to those we have wronged. The Bride wants to be without spot or wrinkle when her Bridegroom comes.

Prophecy is unfolding more quickly than ever before.  Reports of moral decline, wars, and rumors of wars, upheaval in our weather patterns, the speeding up of time and persecution of Christians fill our news daily.  The year of our Bridegroom’s return is hidden from us, but it’s more than a good chance that it will be sometime during the fall feasts.

As believers, we know Jesus already paid the ultimate Bride price with His own blood to wash us free of our sins and present us spotless before Abba. However, we still need to sincerely acknowledge when we go against God’s will. Then we must make the choice to turn around and follow Him again. In doing this, we are thanking Him for His sacrifice and declaring again that He is our LORD. His mercy and grace are ever available.

We can also spend some time praying for our Jewish brothers and sisters and all those who need to receive Jesus as their Savior–their Messiah.

So MUCH more could be written about this feast and it’s meaning, but I hope this is enough to get your attention.

Are your lamps filled?  Are you watching? The signs of the times are declaring that His coming is drawing near.

Shalom ♥