Holidays; Holy and Pagan: Feast of Trumpets and New Years

Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) and New Years

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 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. – Lev. 23:23-25


Biblical Month: Tishrei


Secular Month: Sept/Oct


Rosh Ha Shannah means, the New Year, or the Head of the Year, but Biblically it is known as Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets.
 

Yom Teruah is actually one of 4 New Years in Judaism


The four Jewish new year’s specified in Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1 are 1^st of Tishri, 15^th of Shevat, 1^st of Nisan, and 1^st of Elul.

1.) 1^st of Tishrei: Civil/Fiscal New Year 

·        Anniversary of Creation

·        Calculating the Reign of Secular Kings

·        Calculating the Sabbatical and Jubilee Years (Lev. 25:2-5)

·        Anniversary of the Akeidah (Binding of Isaac). 

·        Books in Heaven are opened for accounting

·        Hints of Messiah’s Return, The Last Trump   Thus Yom Teruah would be more likened unto the civil fiscal year of business and agriculture.  

2.) 15^th of Shevat: Jewish Arbor Day/Jewish Earth Day 

·        New Year for Trees.

·        Most Jewish sources consider 15 Shevat as the New Year both for designating fruits as orlah (that is, forbidden to eat, because they have grown during the first three years after a tree's planting) and for separating fruits for tithing. This date was selected "because most of the winter rains are over" (Rosh Hashanah 14a), the sap has begun to rise, and the fruit has started to ripen. Fruits that have just begun to ripen--from the blossoming stage up to one third of full growth--are attributed to the previous year, whereas fruits that are more mature on 15 Shevat apply to the upcoming year. As with vegetables and grains, fruits that budded during one "fiscal year" could not be used as tithes on those that budded in another year.

·        Traditional to plant trees

3.) 1^st of Nisan: Spiritual New Year

·        The third Jewish new year is 1 Nisan, which corresponds to the season of the redemption from Egypt and the birth of the Israelite nation. This particularistic national event defines the nature of the New Year celebrated on 1 Nisan. The Torah's command that "this month [Nisan] is for you the beginning of the months, it shall be the first month of the year to you" tied all counting of Jewish religious festivals to the Exodus from Egypt, and this special religious counting system distinguished Israel from other nations.

·        The first of Nisan is also the New Year for the reigns of Jewish kings.

·        1 Nisan is also the due date for using the half-shekel contribution described on Shabbat Shekalim to purchase communal sacrifices for the Temple.

4.) 1^st of Elul: 

·       The last new year is 1^st of Elul, is the New Year for the tithing of cattle. The tithe for cattle had to be made from cattle born in the same fiscal year, between 1 Elul one year and the next.   

Yom Teruah (Rosh Ha Shannah) Timeline

Lev. 23:23-25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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. 

We are commanded by Adonai to celebrate Yom Teruah.

Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth

John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. 

About 6000 years ago God gave birth, through His Spoken Word, to the earth and all we see and know.

Gen. 22:1-2, 11-14 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of…  And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. 

About 4000 years ago Abraham offered his son Isaac to ADONAI. But before the sacrifice could be made, a ram was given to Abraham by God in place of his son Isaac. And tradition states that the ram had two horns a small one which was given to Abraham to use as a shofar, and a larger one which G-d took and will use to herald the coming of the Messiah.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Heb. 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

About 2000 years ago God offered up His Son Yeshua in our place as a permanent sacrifice for sin. On the same mountain Avraham offered up Isaac. Yeshua is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Rev. 20:11-12 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 

I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It is believed that today the books in heaven are opened and we are judged according to our righteousness. Therefore we must take inventory of our lives and repent and ask for forgiveness.

I Thess. 4:16-17 For 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: Then 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. 

I Cor. 15:51-52  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 

Sometime in the future we will hear a shofar blast to call all those dead and alive who are cleansed, forgiven and ready to meet God and be with Him forever. One day we will celebrate Rosh Ha Shannah – Yom Teruah not in this home but in our Heavenly Fathers Home.

The Shofar: The Ram’s Horn

Lev. 23:23-25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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.

Every time I hear that shofar at Rosh Ha Shannah it’s as if time stands still. Chills run up and down my spine as a sense of holiness cleanses and even stops time for that brief moment. I can easily see why the Rabbi’s and sages say the sound of the shofar actually scares Satan away.

I bask in the echo of that rams horn. I close my eyes and take a deep breath and prepare myself to spiritually meet my God. For this starts the 10 Days of Awe leading up to Yom Kippur. A time where I make sure things are right between me and God.

Legend has it that the Rams horn was given to Abraham during the Binding of Isaac. The Ram caught in the thicket had a large horn and a small horn and the smaller one was given to Abraham to use while God took the other one to heaven to use to announce the coming of Messiah in the Last Days.

As I hear and see the shofar on Rosh Ha Shannah I am reminded of who I am to be this and every year.

I am to be like a ram’s horn, I am to be like a shofar.

Once a ram’s horn is cut off from the head of the ram it begins a grueling process to become a shofar. An instrument used for combat becomes a claxon to call one to combat oneself. It becomes a spiritual alarm clock to wake the slumbering soul. It becomes a too one uses to send a message of repentance and salvation to the world!

First, the ram’s horn is gutted of all of the gunk that is inside it. You can’t just cut of a ram’s horn and immediately start blowing and expect to hear a sound; it’s stopped up. It is like us before God can use us as His mouth piece. He needs to clean us out of all of the gunk that is inside our lives that stops us from making a sound for Him.

Next, after the ram’s horn is hallowed out, it is buffed and polished. For God to use me and get all the glory He has to put the finishing touches on me too.

And when one blows a shofar, what is it filled with to make a sound? Wind! Wind in Hebrew is Ruach, which also means spirit. We need to be filled with the Ruach Ha Kodesh, the Holy Spirit of God to be able to make a sound.

When God created man, didn’t He breathe into Adam’s nostrils the “breath”, the “ruach” of life (Gen. 2:7)!? Ruach, breath, wind, in Judaism is also synonymous with and symbolic of wisdom. To be used as His mouth piece, to share His message with mankind for His Glory we need to resound with a clear sound of wisdom for us to truly be heard.

Also there must be focus. You just can’t put your mouth on a shofar and blow and all you’ll get is a sound like when one puts their ear to a conch shell. If I am blowing into a shofar and no sound is coming out, what kind of “ruach” is being heard through me? I’ll tell you, nothing but hot air! And does anyone want to listen to someone who’s blowing of hot air? Does God get any glory from a bunch of hot air? No, never!

To make a pure clear sound one must focus ones lips and blow into the shofar a certain way. As a shofar, I must be focused to be able to channel God’s “ruach” through me so I can make a pure, clear sound so His message can be heard loud and clear through me for His glory.

The shofar has many uses. Very specific sounds send a very specific message.

I Cor. 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?

Shofars were used to call meetings together, to announce war, etc. But on Rosh Hashanah what message does God want to sound through me for the people to hear? The sound of Teshuvah (Repentance); for Rosh Ha Shannah, the Feast of Trumpets, leads to up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the day that’s all about repentance.

The blast of the shofar on Rosh Ha Shannah and Yom Kippur is very specific and embodies the process of repentance. There is a blast that awakens the soul. Followed by a series of broken wailing, sobbing sounds, topped off with a peaceful mellow steady blast of praise.

Some are confused about the silver trumpets that are mentioned, because they have a similar use. But most of the time (not always) when the word trumpet is mentioned by itself without the descriptor “silver” it is usually a rams horn, a shofar. The silver trumpets were predominately used within the camp and on Rosh Kodesh (the new month) according to Numbers chapter Ten, not so much on High Holy Days except when one fell on the first of the month. Sometimes they were used in conjunction with the Shofar.

Blowing the Shofar

Hot air vs. Breath/Wind (Ruach). I can blow into the shofar and just make a hot hissing sound because the wind of my lungs coming out of my mouth is not focused into a cool stream of air that will cause the shofar to make a sound.

Gen. 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The shofar has many uses. Very specific sounds send a very specific message. 

I Cor. 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?

Shofars were used to call meetings together a meeting of the elders, the community at large or, to call soldiers to battle.

But on Rosh Ha Shannah what message does God want to sound through me for the people to hear? The sound of Teshuvah (Repentance); for Rosh Ha Shannah, the Feast of Trumpets, leads to up to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the day that’s all about repentance.

The blast of the shofar on Rosh Ha Shannah and Yom Kippur is very specific and embodies the process of repentance. There is a blast that awakens the soul. Followed by a series of broken wailing, sobbing sounds, topped off with a peaceful mellow steady blast of praise.

There are three Shofar notes. They are:

• Tekiyah - one long, sharp, straight blast that is sustained for 3 seconds.
• Shevarim - three 1-second medium, staccato, wailing sounds in broken segments that rise in tone.
• Teruah - a series of nine quick, firm, searing and soaring blasts in short succession that extend over a period of about 3 seconds.
• Tekiyah Gedolah - literally or "big Tekiyah" in Hebrew, this sound replaces the regular Tekiyah sound. A Tekiyah Gedolah sounds the same as a Tekiyah but is a triple Tekiyah, meaning it is a sound that extends for three consecutive tekiyot, meaning it lasts for a minimum of nine seconds.

 

What do each of the Shofar notes symbolize?

• Tekiyah - symbolizes wholeness as it is one long, sharp, straight blast
• Shevarim - the Talmud describes this medium, staccato, wailing sound as symbolizing sighing or groaning.
• Teruah - the Talmud describes this quick, firm, searing and soaring sound as symbolizing sobbing.
• Tekiyah Gedolah - this sound symbolizes not only an alarm call, but a wake-up call.

1 Cor. 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

New Years, January 1st

New Years; horns and fresh starts, that’s what Yom Teruah and the secular New Year have in common.

But you may be thinking, “Silly pointy hats, annoying party horns, confetti, making New Year’s resolutions, raising a glass and kissing a loved ones as one rings in the New Year. What’s so bad about that?”

Well, first off, again we are dealing with God’s Calendar and Appointed Times, His reckoning of Years, versus the counterfeit Gregorian year which satan has used to perpetuate his counterfeit holidays.

The New Year's festivities have its origins in Babylon and evolved as they found their way into other civilizations like Greece and Rome. The Romans called it, "Saturnalia," in honor of Saturn, who in Biblical Astronomy represents satan himself. It was a time of drinking bouts, orgies and human sacrifice.

It was Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, for whom the Julian calendar is attributed to, who instituted New Year's on the first of January and transferred all the pagan customs surrounding the festival of Saturnalia to that day. Later Pope Gregory did the same when the calendar attributed to him, the Gregorian calendar, was established. This is the calendar we go by to this very day.

"The first day of the Saturnalia shifted during the lifetime of Rome ... it began around the middle of December ... and continued until January first. In its midst was December twenty-fifth, the day, as the Romans calculated, when the sun was at its lowest ebb ...." - E. W. Count's "4000 Years of Christmas," page 28

In Greece, the god of wine, Dionysus also known as Bacchus, was honored during this time of the year with drunken revelry, and this very thing occurs still today during the modern incarnation of the New Year’s celebration. It was also customary in ancient Greece during this festival to parade an infant in a wicker basket, denoting the birth of the New Year, and this is where we get Baby New Year from.

Father Time is also a part of familiar New Year’s motif and comes from the old white haired, scythe carrying Greek god of human sacrifice, Cronos, whom is celebrated at that time of year, symbolizing the death or the end of the previous year. Cronos is also known as the Grim Reaper. 

Seeing as we go by the secular Gregorian calendar in our society and it dictates our lives and business transactions, etc., it is okay to acknowledge the day, but one does not have to take part in its riotous and hedonistic celebration, which is clearly rooted in satanic paganism. Will you be so brave as to recognize and celebrate the Biblical New Year’s as opposed to the pagan secular one, despite opposition from family, friends or even religious leaders?