THE DAY OF A SHOFAR AND ALARM – ARE YOU READY! – At the Foot of the Covenant Ministries

An overview of Yom Teruah/ Feast of Trumpets

Shabbat Shalom family, blessed be יהוה our Elohim, praise His Mighty and Wonderful Name, aměn! Every single week as we come together on erev Shabbat (Sabbath evening), we in fact are given the wonderful opportunity to rehearse weekly our readiness for His soon coming. Many of us may feel tired and stressed out and easily decide to skip gathering due to a hectic week at work. May we realise the need to rehearse our readiness! Just think for a moment what it was like back in Mitsrayim – Yisra’ĕl were in slavery – slaving away at hard labour each and every day, and when they were told to be ready to leave at the call of the Creator – how many do you think would have said, “no, I am going to skip this one as I have had a really tough week and am too tired!” If any did this they would have been foolish! Each week may we be reminded just how important our coming together is – we continually are rehearsing our readiness as a Bride for His soon coming. Sabbath being the 7^th day, we get each week to start the day (in the evening) and being watchful and mindful of Him as we are to be for Yom Teru’ah which is in the 7^th month – at a time when no man knows the day or hour as we must be watchful and ready to sight the moon to signify this day! Every Shabbat must be the highlight of our week that we look forward to and not allow the ‘slavery’ of busy schedules cause us to be asleep to the need to be a Bride who prepares herself, aměn!

I do hope that you are all aware of what we will be doing next week! As you should all know we are approaching the end of the 6^th month and when we see the new moon it will mark the beginning of the 7^th month which is a major significant day for us – it is Yom Teru‘ah! תְּרוּעָה ‘Teruah’ H8643 – means ‘a shout or blast of war, alarm or joy’. It is a day of shouting, as in the raising of a noise as the sound of a shofar, trumpets – hence also known as The Day of Trumpets. We have so much to look forward to as we diligently rehearse the Feasts of יהוה as commanded to and for tonight I want to briefly share once again a slight overview of what this Yom Teruah is about in a message called, ‘The day of The Shofar and Alarm – Are you Ready!’. Although many of you may have heard what I am about to share with you, what we are to realise is that we are to continually be reminded just exactly what His Feasts are all about as they clearly reveal His plans and are there for us to watch and keep as a continual remembrance of who He is and better helps us fully understand His Word, in order that we may be a Bride made ready for Her soon coming Husband, aměn!

Wayyiqra/Leviticus 23: 23-25 “And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘In the seventh new moon, on the first day of the new moon, you have a rest, a remembrance of Teru‘ah, a set-apart gathering. 25 ‘You do no servile work, and you shall bring an offering made by fire to יהוה.’ ”

What we see from this clear instruction is that on the 1^st of the 7^th we are to have a ‘rest’, which in the Hebrew is the term שַׁבָּתוֹן ‘shabbathon’ H7677 meaning a ‘Sabbath-like’ rest or Sabbath observance. So although it may not fall on a Sabbath, the day is treated like one – you do no work and you have a set-apart gathering. And on top of that – you have a remembrance of Teru‘ah. The word for remembrance in Hebrew is זִכָּרוֹן ‘zikkaron’ H2146 meaning ‘memorial, commemoration or remembrance’ and comes from the root word זָכַר ‘zakar’ H2142 which means ‘to remember, or be mindful, or bring to remembrance’. It is therefore a day for us as a call to remember Teru‘ah. And it is on this day that we certainly raise a shout and blow the shofar/trumpets. In Bemiḏbar/Numbers 10:1-10 Mosheh is given instruction to make 2 silver trumpets of beating work that would be used for the calling of the congregation as well as for the breaking of camp, which carries great significance for us prophetically. If one was blown then the leaders would gather and if both were blown the entire assembly was to gather. It was to be used in battle against their enemies so that they would be ‘remembered’ by יהוה and be saved and delivered from their enemies; and it was also to be blown on the Appointed Times as instructed, forever! The 2 silver trumpets symbolise for us refinement and redemption and the silver would also carry a very crisp and clear sound. The trumpets of ‘beaten work’ – that is that they were ‘hammered out’ by the work of a skilled craftsmen and this too is a picture of how יהוה is ‘beating’ us out and moulding us through tests and affliction, as Ya’aqoḇ/James tells us that we are to rejoice when we fall into trials of many kinds – we are to consider – that is to bring to thought and take account – it pure joy, as we remember that we are being proved through endurance in order to be complete and not lack anything (Ya’aqoḇ/James 1:2-4).

The 2 silver trumpets signify for us the 2 houses of Yehuḏah and Ephrayim, who are refined through testing and redeemed by the Blood of יהושע, and are gathered to Him as they heed the Words of the Living Torah:

Zeḵaryah/Zechariah 13:9 “And I shall bring the third into fire, and refine them as silver is refined, and try them as gold is tried. They shall call on My Name, and I shall answer them. I shall say, ‘This is My people,’ while they say, ‘יהוה is my Elohim.’”

In the Scriptures we see the sound of the trumpet or shofar or rams horn being used at the command of יהוה and I just want to share some with you that you may begin to see the significance of this unique sounding that יהוה has both commanded us to carry out and to hear!

Shofar in the Scriptures:

The Torah was given at Mount Sinai at the sound of the shofar, which we will look at shortly (Shemoth/Exodus 19:19)
Yisra’ĕl conquered the enemy in the battle of Yeriḥo with the sound of the shofar (Yehoshua/Joshua 6:20)
It sounds the coming of the Messiah (Zeḵaryah/Zechariah 9:14,16)
It is blown at the time of the ingathering of the exiles (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 27:13)
It was blown to signal assembly during war (Shophetim/Judges 3:27)
The watchmen on the wall would sound the alarm, warning the people of attack by blowing the shofar (Yeḥezqĕl/Ezekiel 33:3)
It is blown at the start of the Jubilee year (Wayyiqra/Leviticus 25:9)
It is blown to remind us of the sovereignty of יהוה (Tehillim/Psalm 47:5)
It is blown as a reminder of Aḇraham’s sacrifice of Yitsḥaq and יהוה’s provision of a ram as a substitute
Blown to announce the appointed times and festivals and celebrate the New Moon (Bemidbar/Numbers 10:10 – Tehillim/Psalm 81:1-3))
It is blown as a call to repentance (Yeshayahu/Isaiah 58:1)
It is blown to usher in the Day of יהוה (Yo’ĕl/Joel 2:1)
It is blown to sound יהושע coming to take His Bride (1 Thessalonians 4:16)
Used for the coronation of kings (Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 1:34,39)

These are just some of the many accounts we can see where the sound of the Trumpet or shofar is used in Scripture.

But more specifically tonight we are talking about Yom Teru‘ah, the Feast of Trumpets. Teru‘ah as I have mentioned means ‘blast or shout’ and is also known as the awakening blast! When יהושע came the first time riding on a donkey – there was a shouting – Blessed is He who comes in the name of יהוה, which the Pharisees tried to stop by commanding Him to silence His disciples to which He told them that is they do not cry out then the rocks would cry out! When He comes again there will be more than a shout of men – both the heavens and the earth will be shaken at the sound of His coming! He said Himself that He would not come again until the time comes when we say ‘Blessed is He who is coming in the name of יהוה’. Well we know for sure that the Name of יהוה is certainly being restored as we are rapidly entering in to that time – the time of His coming! And this is what Yom Teru‘ah marks for us!

Now on this day – Yom Teru‘ah –we are to remember the Teru‘ah and to better understand why this is significant in a Bride being ready we need to go back to what happened at Mount Sinai – the very point in time when a marriage was announced with the sound of a trumpet. This was the day of Teru‘ah or better known as the ‘First trumpet’. Turn with me to Shemoth/Exodus 19:10-19 (Read).

This was certainly a day to be remembered! They had, as a nation, said the ‘I do’ of a marriage vow unto a bridegroom who had delivered them from slavery. And then יהוה told Mosheh to tell the people that they had 2 days to ‘get ready’ for on the 3^rd day יהוה was to come down before the eyes of all the people, and when the Yoḇel sounds – that is the ‘blast of the horn’ sounds – then the people are to come near to the mountain – only they had to be prepared! Then on the 3^rd day there was thunder and lightning, and I can imagine that it was not just a little crack of thunder and a flash of lightning – this was intense – so much so that there was also a sound of a shofar that was very strong and loud – so much so that all the people trembled, which in the Hebrew literally means to shudder with terror! Everyone then assembled – you certainly would not dare to not be there – or else! Then the mount was in smoke as יהוה came down in fire causing the mountain to tremble! At this point the voice of the shofar became even stronger and long and יהוה answered Mosheh and came down and called Mosheh up to the top of the Mountain! This is the day that we are not to forget!!!!

This was the day that יהוה spoke His commandments. Now it might seem strange at first to think or consider why יהוה would tell us to remember this on the 1^st of the 7^th month when this took place on Shavuot! It is because the 7^th Month containing the Feasts of the 7^th month proclaims His 7^th Millennium where will come for His Bride and His reign will be firmly established here on earth. By looking back and remembering this incredible, yet very fearsome day when He entered into a Marriage Covenant by giving His Torah at Shavuot, announcing it with the sound of the first trumpet we are enabled to look forward to the day when once again He will be coming with fire and the awakening blast of the trumpet sound at Yom Teru‘ah where He will come for His Bride. We have been given 2 days to get ready. This carries great insight for us as יהוה’s Appointed Times have been set from creation week and stands firm forever! It was in the 4^th day that He gave the lights to rule over the day and the night and to ‘separate’ the light from the darkness (Berěshith/Genesis 1:18); and as we know the Light of the world – יהושע Messiah came down in the ‘4^th day’ (4^th Millennium) to ‘separate’ the light from darkness and call us out of darkness into His marvellous light and through His shed Blood He ‘renewed/restored’ the Marriage Covenant, and that it is only by His Blood that we have access to be brought near and grafted into the Covenants of Promise from which we were once far off, and through His work we now have the Torah written upon our hearts and in essence were given 2 days to ‘get ready’ (that being day 5 and 6) and then on the 3^rd day when the trumpet sounds (day 7 – 7^th Millennium) He will come with fire and we will be gathered unto Him!

Yom Teru‘ah is a time to remember the day He entered into a Marriage with us and we as His Bride who have said yes, and accepted His Covenant through the Blood of Messiah must now prepare ourselves and be washed.

Dani’ěl/Daniel 7:9 “I was looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days was seated. His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like clean wool, His throne was flames of fire, its wheels burning fire.”

His garment is as white as snow and so should ours be!

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 1:16-20 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Stop doing evil! 17 Learn to do good! Seek right-ruling, reprove the oppressor, defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” says יהוה. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 “If you submit and obey, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword,” for the mouth of יהוה has spoken.”

Clean garments are a symbol of readiness to stand before יהוה in the Righteousness that he has provided and how we wash ourselves is through His Word – we submit to and walk in His Torah of Righteousness that leads us to Messiah, prepared as a ready Bride, made spotless in Him!

Any attempts that there have been to ‘change’ the 7^th day is the crafty ploy of the enemy in trying his best to put many of course in truly understanding יהוה’s Calendar and Appointed Times and so making many people to not be ready!!!

Yom Teru‘ah is a wakeup call to be about getting ready, being dressed in garments of righteousness:

Ḥazon/Revelation 3:2-6 “Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before Elohim. 3 Remember, then, how you have received, and heard. And watch and repent. If, then, you do not wake up, I shall come upon you as a thief, and you shall not know at all what hour I come upon you. 4 Nevertheless, you have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments. And they shall walk with Me in white, because they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be dressed in white robes, and I shall by no means blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I shall confess his name before My Father and before His messengers. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies.”

Those who are not watching – that is those who are not keeping His Feasts and walking in His Torah will be caught out and it will come upon them as a thief. Notice that there are only ‘few’ who had not defiled their garments! This walk in a narrow walk on a narrow path – that few find!

At Mount Sinai, Yisra’ĕl was about to receive the garment – that is the Torah – that would teach them how to be the body and had to display their acceptance of this fact by having their own garments that had been soiled by the desert terrain cleaned.

יהושע gave us a parable about a man who did not wear the proper wedding garments to a wedding feast:

Mattithyahu/ Matthew 22: 11-14 “And when the sovereign came in to view the guests, he saw there a man who had not put on a wedding garment, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here not having a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the sovereign said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him out into the outer darkness – there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

This man was not there for the Bride or Bridegroom, he was just there for the food, and was thrown out! Sadly there will be so many who have not made themselves ready and will too be speechless before יהוה.

At Mount Sinai יהוה wanted clean garments – in other words they were to wash themselves and in essence get the ‘smell of Mitsrayim’ off of their clothes. We too today have a responsibility in making sure we are getting ourselves cleaned up, walking in His garments as we hear, guard and do His Torah – especially if we want to be able to eat at His Table, aměn!

The 3^rd day – that is the 3^rd day after He came and renewed the Marriage – the 3^rd day from the 4^th day – we are to be ready – It was on the 3^rd day that Yosĕph released his brothers from jail; we all know that Yonah was spat out of the great fish on the 3^rd day – the only sign Messiah said He would give and so it is again we see Him raising us up on the 3^rd day – that is the 3^rd day from the 4^th day when He came to renew the Covenant! Why am I repeating myself – because it is important to understand the Appointed Times of יהוה. This is what the Word says in Hoshěa:

Hoshěa/Hosea 6:1-3 “Come, and let us turn back to יהוה. For He has torn but He does heal us, He has stricken but He binds us up. 2 ‘After two days He shall revive us, on the third day He shall raise us up, so that we live before Him. 3 ‘So let us know, let us pursue to know יהוה. His going forth is as certain as the morning. And He comes to us like the rain, like the latter rain watering the earth.”

It is on the 3^rd day the He shall raise ‘us’ up – this is not a reference to his resurrection but rather to our being raised up on the 3^rd day from the 4^th – that being the 7^th day! I really hope you are getting this.

Kěpha Bet/2 Pete 3:8 “But, beloved ones, let not this one matter be hidden from you: that with יהוה one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

Kěpha/Peter writes this powerful statement that many simply miss – he says that we are to not let this one matter be hidden from us. Do not let this be hidden from you – there may be other things that are seemingly hidden but do not let this one be!!! That with יהוה one day is as a thousand and a thousand as one day. You see, if we do not get this then we will not understand or begin to understand His plan as already laid out for us in Creation week. When people begin to change His 7^th day to the 1^st day this critical matter becomes hidden to them and they have no clue as to the appointed Times and are as ones groping in the dark who will be caught not being ready!

יהוה instructed Moshe is Shemoth/Exodus 19:13 that when the trumpet ‘sounds long’ then the people could come near the mountain. The term ‘sounds long’ is the Hebrew word מָשַׁךְ ‘mashak’ H4900, which means, ‘to draw out, drag or seize’, and also means, ‘a drawing out of something such as a hand, bow, or a sound (as from a horn), or time’.

This is very significant as the picture of ‘a drawing out of the hand’ points to the outstretched working arm of יהוה – יהושע Messiah our Redeemer and Saviour. Mosheh’s name also means ‘to draw out’ and reflects the foreshadow of the deliverance of יהוה’s people from slavery through His drawn out hand – the Living Torah!

The word messiah – מָשִׁיחַ ‘mashiach’ H4899 comes from the word מָשַׁח ‘mashach’ H4886 which means ‘to smear, anoint or anointed’, and we know that ointments were made from the oils to heal the sick and oils were smeared also on the heads of individuals who are being given the office of a prophet, priest or king, as a sign of authority.

So, ‘mashak, means the drawing out of something such as a sound from a horn! And how would they ‘mashach’ kings in Scripture?

Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 1:34 “And there Tsaḏoq the priest and Nathan the prophet shall anoint him sovereign over Yisra’ĕl. And blow the horn, and say, ‘Let Sovereign Shelomoh live!’ “

Shemuʼĕl Aleph/1 Samuel 16:1 “And יהוה said to Shemuʼĕl, “How long are you going to mourn for Sha’ul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Yisra’ĕl? Fill your horn with oil, and go, I am sending you to Yishai the Bĕyth Leḥemite. For I have seen among his sons a sovereign for Myself.”

Kings were anointed by the blowing of the shofar and the very oil used for the anointing came from the shofar!

Why am I telling you all this? Well, because this is so exciting – from the root word of mashak, which means to draw out, comes the meaning of gravity or heavy. And at the drawn out sound of the shofar we can see the prophetic picture of יהושע who came as the Outstretched Arm of YHWH and took the weight or gravity of sin upon Himself and He tell us that He will ‘draw’ all men unto Himself! So – The Trumpet sound is a declaration of the Messiah! The ‘mashak’ (drawn out hand) of the ‘mashach’ (anointed) – this is the sound of the Trumpet!

In a typical Hebrew marriage there are two phases or steps in the marriage; there is firstly the contract or ‘Ketuḇah’ and then the ‘gathering’. At the acceptance of the marriage proposal, which would be seen by the bride accepting the cup of wine offered by the groom, a bride price is negotiated and a contract is drawn up outlining the conditions of the marriage contract, with blessings and curses, with each party receiving a copy – pretty similar to today when people get married – they either enter in to an out of community of in community of property contract. In the Hebrew marriage at this first stage, which we would call the engagement, is seen as legally being married even though the two parties do not yet stay together, and the bride or bridegroom cannot get out of the marriage except through divorce as a result of adultery. The first stage is announced by the sound of a shofar, known as the first shofar. The bride-groom goes to prepare a room for his bride while the bride must make herself ready for the wedding feast. She does not know when her groom will come but must be ready and kept spotless. The second stage in the marriage, called the gathering, is when the groom comes to fetch his bride and take her to the house or room he has prepared for her at his father’s house. It is only when the father sees that both the bride is ready and the dwelling place the groom has prepared is ready that he then announces with the sound of a shofar that the gathering can take place and the groom can go and lift up and take his bride, this is known as the last shofar. The bride had to be ready having her lamp full of oil, and when she heard the sound of the shofar she must be ready with lamp lit to show the groom that she is still waiting faithfully for him. If she was not at home the wedding would be cancelled and if she did not have oil in her lamp the wedding was cancelled!!!

יהושע is the groom and we are His Bride. He has paid the Bride price in full with Blood and has sealed the Ketuḇah and has gone to prepare a place for us. And now we eagerly await His return with our lamps filled with oil and burning brightly is this dark world showing we are betrothed, clothed in righteousness and keeping our garments spotless by walking in obedience to the Torah, our marriage contract! יהושע, our Righteous King is coming, and He is coming at the sound of the ‘second shofar’ to come and ‘lift up’ and ‘take’ His Bride to be with Him forever!

1 Thessalonians 4: 16-18 “Because the Master Himself shall come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of a chief messenger, and with the trumpet of Elohim, and the dead in Messiah shall rise first. 17 Then we, the living who are left over, shall be caught away together with them in the clouds to meet the Master in the air – and so we shall always be with the Master. 18 so, then, encourage one another with these words.”

Notice here in this passage the words ‘caught away’ – in Hebrew this is known as the ‘lakach’ and ‘nissuim’ – taken and lifted up. The Bride will be taken and lifted up by the Bridegroom and so the second part of the marriage will take place when Messiah comes again and lift us up and takes us to be with Him. He is coming for His Bride who has made herself ready – He is not coming for part of His Bride – then coming for the rest – He is coming for His ready Bride! And this is not the ‘rapture’ – it is יהושע coming to lift up and take His Bride to be with Him and dwell with Him here on earth!

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 “See, I speak a secret to you: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

We are to be awake and when he comes we better be ‘at home’ so to speak, meaning in our rightful place in Him walking in His ways faithfully busy about His business and not outside where the murderers and idolaters and drunkards are and we are to have our lamps lit and full of oil.

This feast celebrates the time when His Bride will be ‘gathered’ together, calling out His Bride out of the nations and part of being called out is to be cleansed and washed in His Word in order that we are able to stand before Him.

At Mount Sinai, at the first shofar, the nation of Yisra’ĕl could only come to the foot of the Mountain, and now at the second or last shofar we will be taken up to be with Him as He sets His foot down on the Mount of Olives and we will be able to go up to the Mountain of יהוה!!!

Beware those who are not ready, for just as this day heralds His Coming, so too does it herald in the day of His wrath and fire. Tsephanyah/Zephaniah in speaking of the day of יהוה, gives us a clear indication that this day is marked by the announcing of Yom Teru‘ah:

Tsephanyah/Zephaniah 1:16 “a day of a shofar and sounding against the walled cities and against the corner towers”

A day of a shofar and sounding – other translations say the day of the trumpet and alarm! In Hebrew this says literally, “The day of shofar and Teru‘ah” –יום שׁופר ותרועה

Repeatedly he (Tsephanyah) speaks of this day as the day of wrath of יהוה, and Yo’ĕl/Joel tells us that the day of יהוה is near, a day of darkness and gloom, the day of thick darkness, coming as destruction from the Almighty – it is very great and awesome, and who does bear it! And so understanding His times and seasons this is a wake-up call – we have been given 2 days to get ready before the day of a shofar and alarm. This is a day that we are to be ready for in advance, as we know the seasons yet not the day or the hour as we watch for the new moon and so what we do at this feast is sound the alarm, blow the shofar and rejoice in Him reflecting our need to be washed and ready for when he comes again, not only will the mountains tremble but the heavens and the earth will tremble.

As this can be a rejoicing sound – may it too be a warning alarm that the days for preparation are but almost over – and so let us raise the alarm that others may hear and come and assemble as washed and ready before Him – or else!!!

Eph’siyim/Ephesians 5: 3-5 “But whoring and all uncleanness, or greed of gain, let it not even be named among you, as is proper among set-apart ones – 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For this you know, that no one who whores, nor unclean one, nor one greedy of gain, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the reign of Messiah and Elohim.”

Romiyim/Romans 13:11-14 “And do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for us to wake up from sleep, for now our deliverance is nearer than when we did believe. 12 The night is far advanced, the day has come near. So let us put off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk becomingly, as in the day, not in wild parties and drunkenness, not in living together and indecencies, not in fighting and envy, 14 but put on the Master יהושע Messiah, and make no provision for the lusts of the flesh.”

Yeshayahu/Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come! And the esteem of יהוה has risen upon you.”

Just as they had to be cleansed and prepared to hear His voice at Sinai, so too do we have to prepare ourselves and make ourselves ready that when the Trumpet sounds, He will find us faithfully waiting for His return.

His Word does not return void, and at Mount Sinai His voice went out with the Words of His covenant, His Marriage Contract – hear the sound and stay faithful to Him as He is coming for a ready bride!

Looking forward to this feast we can also look in at our own lives and see if there is any spot or blemish that has spoiled our wedding garments – the fine linen that is our righteousness, and if so then come to Him and be cleansed that we may not be found asleep and without oil.

I just want to make it very clear that Yom Teruah is not ‘Rosh Hashanah’ which means ‘New Year’ as Rabbinical Judaism teaches – it is the 1^st of the 7^th month and the celebration of Rosh Hashanah at this time is simply a rabbinical practice that was taken from the period of Babylonian captivity. יהוה clearly instructed Mosheh when Yisra’ĕl came out of Mitsrayim (Egypt) that that month was to be the beginning of the year for them (Shemoth/Exodus 12:2). יהוה does not change and what comes forth from His mouth does not return void and as we begin to better understand His plans as we look at the Creation week in laying forth the 7 millennia then we can clearly see that what he was saying to Yisra’ĕl after coming out from Mitsrayim was that they were to once again follow His Times and His Calendar and not that of Mitsrayim to which they had been enslaved for centuries! יהוה did not change His plans or change the year – he was realigning the focus of His called out ones to follow His Timing, just as we too have had to adjust to a ‘new’ calendar system that at first seems very foreign to us. Now because we align ourselves with the Truth it does not mean that יהוה changed His ‘new year’ or rather ‘head of the year’ – we changed to be in line with the Truth!

Let us be very careful in our pursuit of Truth not to get caught up in rabbinical precedents and man-made laws that intend to or try and attempt to change יהוה’s instructions and times. What rabbinic tradition has done is no different to what Christianity has done: By changing 7 to 1! Just as the ‘church’ has changed or ‘attempted to change’ the Sabbath from the 7^th day to the 1^st day, so too has rabbinic tradition attempted at changing the 7^th month to the 1^st month and labelled it as another new year. This is nothing more than the enemies plot to throw off millions from understanding the Times of the Creator. We now begin to see the very similar dangers that exist in both rabbinic Judaism and Christianity. I say that they have attempted to change as Dani’ěl 7:25 tells us as clearly we must realise and know that nobody can in actual fact change יהוה’s Times. Man can attempt to and even follow his attempts; but that will only cause him to continually be in the ‘dark’ never able to walk in the ‘light’ of the Creator and we as children of light are to put on the armour of light as we guard His Word and Truth and walk fully in His ways! Let us make one thing clear – 7 cannot be 1!!!

Let us also not be led astray by the deception and lie that the church teaches in regard to ‘the rapture’ of the church, and that we are supposedly in the ‘church age’ which according to doctrines of man is between Pentecost and Trumpets and that the ‘church’ will be raptured before the tribulation where יהוה will sort out the ‘Jews’. This is a lie. We, His Bride – that is Yisra’ĕl – that is the combined Bride of the two houses of Ephraim and Yehuḏah are living between the first and the last shofar, we are in our betrothal period, awaiting the Bridegroom to come and lift up and take His Bride.

What I also want to make very clear here is that Yom Teruah marks the ‘sounding blast’ of the coming of our King – He is not yet coming out of the Most Set-Apart Place – as that will only happen on Yom Kippur, when He as high Priest completes His duties as High priest and changes His garments and comes as King to trample the winepress. Yom Teruah marks the Awakening Blast of His coming and also begins the 10 days of Ya’aqoḇ’s trouble until Yom Kippur. Yom Teruah marks the beginning of the 7 trumpets that will sound, and we as a Bride must be ready with our lamps filled with His oil!

In the parable of the 10 virgins we find that all ten fell asleep and only 5 have oil in the lamps when the wake-up call came! When the wakeup call came they were to ‘trim their wicks’ and light their lamps which is a picture of making final preparations that will take place during the 10 days of awe between Yom Teru‘ah and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)! Those who have been grafted in by the Blood of Messiah and ‘remember’ to keep the Sabbath as well as all the Feasts and guard the Torah of Elohim are the ones who have oil in their lamps and will be able to keep shining during the intense 10 days of distress and persecution that will come before יהושע comes out of the Most Set-Apart Place!

This day of Yom Teru‘ah we remember that we are married and that the day of the return of our Husband draws near and so we raise a shout of joy, but also of alarm as a call to be armed in the Torah and stand steadfast!

As we reflect on the day of the shofar and alarm – Yom Teru‘ah – and realise that just as they were given 2 days at Mount Sinai to get ready, so to have we been given 2 days – that being said, ask yourself – Are you ready?

Shalom, see you next week as we watch for Yom Teru‘ah!

יהוה bless you and guard you!