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The first day of the seventh month is perhaps better named "Yom Teruah" (ΧΧΦΉΧ ΧͺΦΌΦ°Χ¨ΧΦΌΧ’ΦΈΧ) rather than "Rosh Hashanah" (Χ¨ΧΧ© ΧΧ©Χ Χ) because it signals something prophetic in the Kingdom of God. "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of shofars (ΧͺΦΌΦ°Χ¨ΧΦΌΧ’ΦΈΧ), a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD" (Lev. 23:24-25). What's interesting here is that a great shout (i.e., teruah, from Χ¨ΧΦΌΧ’Φ·, to shout or cheer) was commanded to be made at this time, but no explanation was given. Because of this the sages decided to regard Yom Teruah as "Rosh Hashanah," the head of the year, both because it marked the seventh month of the Torah's calendar, and the "shouting" of praise was interpreted to herald the fall harvest and the end of the agricultural year (see Exod. 23:16).
What I find interesting, however, is that while each new moon is inherently mysterious, the new moon of the seventh month, called Rosh Chodashim (Χ¨ΧΧ© ΧΧΧ©ΧΧ), points to the mystery of God in revelation to come. Again, while there is no explicit reason given why this communal shout of praise should occur at this time, on the Torah's calendar the fall holidays center on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) and then, five days later, the holiday of Sukkot (Tabernacles) under the full moon. Prophetically, then, Yom Teruah may signify the great "catching away" or "rapture" of the people of Messiah in anticipation of the beginning of the final "week of years" that marks the Tribulation Period.
Recall that this period of time, known as "Daniel's 70th Week," is divided into two distinct parts. The first half of this week of years (i.e., 3.5 years) is a time of the implementation of a global control system as directed by the prince of darkness (later disguised as Israel's messiah), and the second half will be a time of progressive judgments from heaven that will result in the overthrow and destruction of the world dictator. Based on Daniel 9:27, it is likely that after this evil world leader breaks covenant with Israel, the people will recognize him as a false messiah and a national conversion to Yeshua will then take place. The people of Israel will flee the land and the rise of the 144,000 "sealed" prophets will begin to evangelize the world (Matt. 24:15-22, Rev. 7; Rev. 14:1-5). Concurrent with Israel's atonement, the second 3.5 years will be a time of increasing judgments from heaven upon the false Messiah who, like Pharaoh of old, will be utterly destroyed when Yeshua returns to establish the promised Millennial Kingdom of Zion.
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Now of course no one knows "the day or hour," as our Lord plainly said (Matt. 24:36, Acts 1:7), so we are forbidden to prognosticate the exact time of his return, though we are instructed to watch for the signs, and indeed Yeshua faulted the sages of his day for ignoring the signs that foretold his first coming (see Luke 19:44). In his account of the second coming as the Son of Man in his glory, Yeshua gave a picture of the state of the world before he would come, and he summarized his admonition by pointing to a fig tree, saying that just as its sprouting of leaves indicates that summer draws near, so when we see these things we are to "know that it (i.e., the end of the age) is near - at the doors (Matt. 24:33). Moreover we are instructed to "look for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah" (Titus 2:13) and to "keep ourselves in the love of God, waiting eagerly for the mercy of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah to eternal life" (Jude 1:21). "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Yeshua the Messiah" (1 Pet. 1:13).
For years I wondered how the Antichrist, or the "Man of Sin, the son of Perdition" would be able to gain control of the entire world system, but after Covid 19 was unleashed I watched in amazement as the entire industrialized world - every major city across the globe - was suddenly "locked down" and its citizens subjected to irrational mandates - surely an unprecedented display of power wielded by the satanic princes of this age! Indeed, with the rise of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and its globalist machinations (including coming cashless economies and the use of digital currencies), the World Health Organization and its fearmongering disinformation campaigns, the takeover of corporations by woke ideologues and the "great reset," the ubiquity of the internet and its censorship of information flow by the power elite, the rank perversion of educational institutions and the rise of "identity politics" to divide and control culture, the regular use of psychological warfare and propaganda as tools of the social control, the rise of global surveillance technologies, the instigation of global unrest and wars that will lead to global absolutism - all these things - and more - reveal how absolute control can be realized today like no other time in history.
Hebrew Lesson
Zephaniah 1:14a reading (click for audio):
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