Can Jesus Christ return at any time?
Are you ready? The answer may surprise you.
Here is an insightful study into the timing and timelines for the return of Jesus Christ and the redemption of the house of Israel.
I would have one small disclaimer which is that I would not agree that the church / body of Christ is to be “observing” the jewish feasts in the way that most Messianic congregants would understand the concept. I would say that we are, rather, to consider their framework to understand the “times and Seasons” that The Lord has established for His purposes, that the Day would not overtake us unawares.
As Paul so beautifully states in Galatians 4:4-12:
But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.[b]6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[c] Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces[d]? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.
12 I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you.
And again in Collisians 2:16-23
Freedom From Human Rules
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Re-posted from the following blog:
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Yom Teruw’ah: “The Day That No Man Knows!”
By Maria Merola אריאל
© Copyright Double Portion Inheritance, September 2008
http://www.DoublePortionInheritance.com/
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 24:36-37 But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the malak (angels)of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Many of us have read the famous quote of our Messiah in the gospels when he declared that his second coming would be at a time that “no man knows.” But how many of us knew that he was actually making a reference to the “Feast of Trumpets” when he spoke this Hebrew Idiom? What is an idiom? An idiom is an expression that does not make sense in other languages other than the one being spoken. Here is an example of an idiom in English: “Its raining cats and dogs outside!” Everyone knows that when this expression is being used, that there are not actually cats and dogs falling out of the sky. It is an expression that means that it is raining very heavily. Only those who speak English would understand this expression. But in other languages, it does not make sense. And such is the case with this Hebrew Idiom for 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? Well, it is because this is the only feast that is determined by the sighting of the new moon, and so “no man” can calculate the exact day or hour of when this feast day will begin.
To find out more about the how to determine a biblical new moon, see the link below:
http://www.yrm.org/whatisbiblicalnewmoon.htm
In ancient Jerusalem, there would be “two witnesses” who would stand on the walls of Jerusalem and “watch” for the first sliver (crescent) of the new moon. When the Father in heaven decided to allow the new moon to appear in the sky, then these “two witnesses” would sound the showphar (trumpet)and all the people in the city would immediately drop what they were doing, and they would run towards the temple for the celebration of “The Day of Blowing” or in Hebrew it is called “Yom Teruw’ah.”
The temple doors were only open for a short period of time, and if they failed to make it to the temple before the doors were shut, those who were slack in running to the temple were left out of the feast because the “doors were shut,” and once they were shut, no man could get in. Because this feast was to begin at sundown, they had to make sure that their oil lamps were filled so that they could find their way in the dark towards the temple. In those days, there were no street lights, and so they had to carry their oil lamps to help them find their way once it grew dark. In Matthew 25, our Messiah told us a parable about ten virgins. Only five of these virgins were wise and had their oil lamps filled when the bridegroom came. But the other five foolish virgins had not prepared themselves by filling their lamps with oil. When “The Day That No Man Knows” had arrived, the two witnesses sounded the “trumpet” and the five wise virgins were ready to go into the marriage. But the foolish virgins had no oil in their lamps, and so they could not see their way around in the dark. The foolish virgins went to buy oil for their lamps, and this caused them to be too late for the feast. When the temple doors were shut, the five foolish virgins were left out.
Many of these inhabitants of Jerusalem would be working in the fields or grinding at the mill (Matthew 24:40-42), and when they heard the sound of the showphar (trumpet) they knew that their work was finished. Our Messiah was speaking in the language of Feast of Trumpets typology when he said that we must “work while it is yet day, for the night comes when no man can work” (John 9:24). Those who were working in the fields had to run towards the temple before the doors were shut. The person who was alert and listening for the sound of the showphar was “taken” by the sound of the trumpet; this was his signal to run towards the temple. But the person who was not alert and not watching, would not hear the sound of the trumpet, and they would be “left” in the field or grinding at the mill, unaware that the day had come. To read more about the concept of who is “taken” and who is “left” see my article entitled: “Remember Lot’s Wife: Taken or Left?”
Yahuwshuwa likened himself to a “thief in the night” who would come at an hour “that no man knows” and for these people who were not watching with their oil lamps filled, “sudden destruction” would come upon them as a woman in travail and it would be too late for them to escape the wrath of YaHuWaH (1st Thessalonians 5:3).
The Thief in the Night
We often make reference to this term “thief in the night” from the scriptures, but how many really know what the metaphor of the “thief in the night” is all about? In order to understand this metaphor, we must know historically where this term came from. In ancient Jerusalem, the High Priest in the temple (Kohen Gadowl) would make his rounds each night to make sure that the other priests were doing their duty of keeping the fire burning on the brazen altar. The commandment in the Towrah was to never allow this fire on the altar to go out (Leviticus 6:13).
If a priest was on duty to watch the fire by night, he was not allowed to fall asleep on the job, for if he did, the fire would not stay stoked and the fire could go out, thereby bringing judgment on the entire nation of Yisra’el. The priests were also commanded not to have wine or strong drink while serving in the temple (Leviticus 10:9).
Alcohol in their blood stream would defile their worship and cause them to become drunk, lazy and sleepy. Because the Kohen Gadowl (High Priest) came at an hour when they were least expecting him to show up, the priests began to nick-name him “the thief in the night.”
When will Christ Return? 2036 AD?
We all know that we are in the last days. This century had seen technological advancements and the increase in knowledge as never before as spoken by prophet Daniel.
Dan 12:4 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
Every year that passes by is getting closer to our Lord’s coming. We see lawlessness abound and the days of Noah had already come. Now the big question we all have is, can we even roughly predict our Lord’s second coming?
Mark 13:32-33 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.
Spring Feasts of the Lord
| Feast | Scripture Reference | Fulfillment |
|---|---|---|
| Passover | 1Cor 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. | Christ is our Passover Lamb. |
| Unleavened Bread | John 6:51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” | Christ is our unleavened bread who came down from heaven. |
| Firstfruits | 1Cor 15:20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. | Christ has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. |
| Pentecost | Acts 2:1-4 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. | Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost. |
We also see that these above feasts are for what Christ came to fulfill based on His scripture reading.
Isa 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
Luke 4:17-20 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
Lev 25:10 ‘And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.
Fall Feasts of the Lord
| Feast | Scripture Reference |
|---|---|
| Trumpets 1st Tishrei |
Lev 23:24-25 Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.’ |
| Atonement 10th Tishrei |
Lev 23:27-28 Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. Lev 25:9-10 ‘Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. |
| Tabernacles 15-22 Tishrei |
Lev 23:34-36 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. ‘On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. ‘For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. |
Isa 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”
Just as all the spring feasts where fulfilled in one year, which is the Jubilee, the fall feasts will also be fulfilled in one year which will also be a Jubilee (because the last trumpet as per the law will be on the year of Jubilee).
1Cor 15:51-52 Behold, I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Thess 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Is Christ’s Second Coming on 2036 AD?
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