Rosh Hashana / ראש השנה

or

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign! (Matthew 24:36)

“..the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do….”1 Chronicles 12:32 (New American Standard)

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (New American Standard)

36“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.  Matthew 24:36-37 (New American Standard)

As the old rock song said: “Signs, signs, everywhere a sign, do this don’t do that can’t you read the sign!” Christian, can you read the sign?

In my haste to begin the series of lessons on Spirit, Soul and Body, I forgot to publish first lessons on our new year starting sundown October 2, 2016. Yes, for those of us Christians, the fall feasts begin in about 10 days with Rosh Hashanah!

Happy New Year 5777!!!                                                                

Rosh Hashanah is followed by Yom Kippur, October 12, 2016 and Feast of Trumpets, October 17, 2016. If you are not familiar with the final three feasts of the Jewish calendar, you should be. For I believe these times are right for the coming of our Lord Jesus the Christ, otherwise known as the Rapture of the Church. Signs, sign, everywhere a sign.

The men of Issachar, according to Hebrew Targum, “had understanding to know the times, and were skilled in fixing the beginnings of years, the commencement of months, and the inter-calculation of months and years; skillful in the changes of the moon, and in fixing the lunar solemnities to their proper times; skillful also in the doctrine of the solar periods; astrologers in signs and stars, that they might show Israel what to do; and their teachers were two hundred chiefs of the Sanhedrin: and all their brethren excelled in the words of the law, and were endued with wisdom, and were obedient to their command.”  Are you? I’m not, but there are a few signs we need to know: 5777 and the feasts.

Why are these signs and times important for you to know?

First, they are the remaining feasts not fulfilled yet in their entirety by the Lord Jesus the Christ.

The first four feasts have been fulfilled by our Lord.

• Passover, as our Passover Lamb, Savior and Sacrifice.
• Unleavened Bread, as there was no leaven or sin found in Him as our perfect sacrifice acceptable to God the Father.
• First Fruits, as the last Adam and a type of our resurrection and hope of our salvation
• Pentecost, the receiving of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter and Power on this earth

Second, you need to see how Jesus fulfills each one of these feasts so you know what to expect. Forewarned is forearmed.

Third, this is your Christian heritage. You need to appreciate what our Jewish friends are doing this time of year. For more information, read a great website called hebrew4christians.com.

Fourth, we must learn the lesson of the fig tree (Matthew 24:29-37). There are signs hung by God all over the place. Some Christians don’t have a clue about the signs or the seasons when the rapture will take place. The Kingdom of God is near. Help them to understand.

We are not supposed to know the day or the hour of the coming of the Son of Man (Acts 1:7), but we are to know generally the times and the seasons of His coming (Matthew 24:32). Unfortunately, the vast majority of Christians churches do no specific teaching on Jewish tradition nor the feasts of our Lord except for Passover. Even then, that is taught incorrectly through man’s tradition. But that is another series of articles.

So, what do we know about New Years and the significance of this coming new year 5777?

The numbers 5777 separately and together have historical and prophetic significance. As an example, 5 is the number of redemption and 7 is the number of perfection. Anytime you see three of any number, that has to do with the Trinity. But, 5777 and it’s reverse 7775 also have to do with God’s judgment. Yes, judgment! The rest of this article is trying to put these numbers into historical context. I think you will find that interesting.

The ancient rabbis believed that God did not just throw numbers around. Every number in scripture has a meaning. This is not numerology, it is called gematria. We get our English word geometry from it. The ancient peoples did not have separate numbers as we do today. So, letters in their alphabet stood for certain numbers. So as the rabbis studied the words and numbers in their Torah, they were astonished as to the regularity and the meaning of those discoveries. So let me get 5777 in some Biblical context using its reverse number 7775.
30. Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died. Genesis 5:30, 31 (New American Standard Bible)
6. Now Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth…. 10. It came about after the seven days, that the water of the flood came upon the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened. Genesis 7:6-11 (New American Standard)

So Lamech, the father of Noah, lives 777 years. And 5 years later, the flood happens. “7775.”

Now add this what is going on with Enoch and Methuselah just before this.

23 Enoch lived 365 years, 24 walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him. Genesis 5:23,24 (New Living Translation).

Then you have the next verse about Methuselah:

25 When Methuselah was 187 years old, he became the father of Lamech. 26 After the birth of Lamech, Methuselah lived another 782 years, and he had other sons and daughters. 27 Methuselah lived 969 years, and then he died. Genesis 5:25-27 (New Living Translation).

Enoch walking close to God and then disappearing is a type of the rapture of the church. The first of four generations of preachers, and the seventh from Adam, Enoch had a prophecy about the second coming of our Lord:

14 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jude 14 &15. (New American Standard)

Then add to that Methuselah’s name. Enoch means “teaching or commencement.” But following this, Methuselah’s name means “his death shall bring” or “When he is dead, it shall come or be sent.” What then came after 969 years of his life: the flood. Get it? The seventh man (there’s that number again), rapture, then judgment.

Why is going back to Genesis important? Jesus the Christ said that “just like in the days of Noah” (Matthew 24:37). Jesus talks here of end time events, but He specifically cites the flood because it was the first judgment against man and the second coming of Christ will mark the last judgment of man. Like bookends, 7775 (Lamech’s age 777 and the 5 years to the flood) and the new Jewish year 5777 are significant.

What else is significant about 5777? I believe in God’s own timing, the rapture of the church will occur prior to the Great Tribulation. Jesus will literally fulfill the last three feasts and the tribulation will begin. And there is no better time than this feast season. The number 5 represents redemption and the three 777 represents perfection and the Trinity, plus we are ending a jubilee year when all captives are set free and the land reverts to its original owner. Sounds good to me! Good for we Christians, but bad for the unbeliever as it starts the Great Tribulation. But what about the tribulation period and 5777?

Rosh Hashanah is the fifth feast. (Remember Jesus has fulfilled the other four.) We know from scripture that the tribulation period of seven years contains 7 seals, 7 trumpets and 7 vials. (Revelation chapters 6, 7 & 8) So the tribulation, leading up to final judgment starts with a 5 (the 5th feast) followed by three 7’s (seals, trumpets, and vials) giving us the number 5777. So the Bible starts with a 7775 and ends with a 5777. First worldwide judgment the flood, last worldwide judgment, fire. God just doesn’t throw numbers around.

Other significant 7775 and 5777 happenings have occurred. On September 29, 2008 the US stock market dropped 777 points. While this was on the 29^th in the United States, it was already about 12:30 a.m. in Israel on the 30th, which was Rosh Hashanah, the 5th feast. So again, we have the number 777 appearing on the 5th feast (Israel time) combining again for the number 7775. Or, if you will, 5777. Either way, it is interesting.

In the next few articles, I will talk about the numbers 5777 themselves, and how our Lord, Jesus the Christ fulfills each of the fall feasts. He is coming. Be ready!