The Days of Awe

Last year around this time of year, as the Fall Appointed Times approached, I began a study into those very approaching times. For some time prior to beginning this research, I had been feeling like I needed to get some questions answered about my thinking.  I had watched videos of teachers talking about how amazing events even prior to the spring appointed times, leading up to them, happened to Jesus that were incredibly specific.  It struck a deep chord in me that this must also be true for the fall Appointed Times.  I had also done an Eriktology study on the ancient Hebrew alphabet and the teacher here said something that also hit me hard regarding Jesus and the Appointed Times.  Many things were leading me to dig into this topic. Finally, one Sabbath, I was listening to the speakers and a brief mention of the possibility that Jesus was born on Day of Trumpets and that was it… like a whiff of smelling salts I was energized to dig in.
 
First a few givens…everyone seems to be in agreement now that he was NOT born during Christmas on December 25th and that the days leading up to and including his death, resurrection and giving of the Holy Spirit all fulfilled the Spring Appointed Times. There are two, that I know of, schools of thought for when The Messiah was born.  The Feast of Tabernacles or the Day of Trumpets.  I’d heard of the Feast of Tabernacles but not Day of Trumpets. I started thinking... started researching about what the Temple priests were doing and what the traditions were for the fall feasts during the time Jesus lived.  I started gathering and working on a timeline for his birth and happenings at this time.  I understood the pattern He’d followed for the spring Appointed Times and wondered, if He were born on the Day of Trumpets, it has to mean something and I bet all of the fall Appointed Times would be included in this pattern.  Here is a link to a teacher expounding on Jesus and the spring biblical festivals, Pesach information particularly. https://youtu.be/cpBtUq2u6BQ (watch till 9:31 for the pattern I'm referencing) This is the kind of pattern is what I was inspired to look for. 
 
After all my digging, I do see a pattern and I’ll try and express it to you as best I am able.  I have several scripture references from the Tanak or Old Testament, to share to open the study on the Fall Appointed Times, using the ESV.  I wanted to get a feel for how these fall times were recognized before Jesus was born because I knew that the temple at the time of his life was dysfunctional.  I looked for mentions of the 7th month as all of the fall Appointed Times are within a 22 day period during the 7th month, thinking that would give me a good look at it scripturally.  These are some of what I found: 
Leviticus 23:23-25 The Feast of Trumpets “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “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 trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.”
 
Numbers 29:1 Offerings for the Feast of Trumpets “On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a day for you to blow the trumpets”
 
Psalm 81:1-3 “Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.”
 
Ezra 3:1-6 “When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the Lord, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the Lord. From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid.

Nehemiah 8:1-12 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.
 
After finding and reading scripture references, I turned my search to the internet and looked for significance of Day of Trumpets.  A lot of what’s there is future oriented and I wasn’t looking for prophesy.  The scope of what I am looking for is aimed at the time of Jesus's birth to his death wrapped up in His Fathers clock, the Fathers timing, His Appointed Times for His handiwork. I am going to share the web links and ask that you take the time to read what is there on your own.  I will highlight some things that stood out to me but want you to see how it resonates with you as well! The first site is about The Significance of Day of Trumpets: http://www.betemunah.org/teruah.html from a Messianic Rabbis perspective. I’ve made note of several things that stood out to me but there was a lot and I have other links to provide so as not to overwhelm I’ll just lay out a few things that struck me. 
 
The Day of Trumpets is the only Appointed Time where all 4 types of sacrifices made to YHVH are offered and the birth of Jesus on this day is telling as He would fulfill those sacrificial needs.  Many of the traditional scriptures read are quite poignant but Psalm 118:24 stood out for me, “This is the day that YHVH has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” and what a thing to rejoice about , the fulfillment of the Promise in the Mazzaroth.  The 7th month is blessed by YHVH and the Jews consider this Appointed Time as the beginning of a New Year and call it Rosh Hashanah (a Babylonian synchronicity point).  The new moon heralds the start of this festival.  This Appointed Time is about renewal… judgement (without sorrow) and renewal simultaneously. The Babylonian name given to the 7th month, Tishri, has two possible meanings of “you shall begin” taken from Deuteronomy and to dissolve and pardon our iniquities, taken together speak volumes about Jesus.. you shall begin to dissolve and pardon our iniquities.. wow.  The three themes for Rosh Hashanah are telling as well, they are Kingship, remembrance and revelation.  Please take the time to visit the websites for more information but understand that I do not subscribe to any of these sites in full, these were found for research purposes.
 
The next site I found was very important to me in my search as I understand that the heavens declare the glory of YHVH, Jesus is proclaimed in the Mazzaroth, reading each book from Virgo to Leo. This link, digs into the celestial signs when Jesus was born. http://theopenscroll.com/when_jesus_was_born.htm  Again, this site offers a specific year and I am not looking into the specific year but the Appointed Time that YHVH moved on.   This page on this site is so full of information that you must read it yourself to feel its full impact and to be blessed by its revealing some amazing truth. It is quite amazing. This is a very important witness to Jesus being born on Day of Trumpets. Please do not skip visiting this link and seeing what was happening in the heavens on the Day of Trumpets.
 
Oiy… Curiosity, they say, kills the cat, well then I’m glad I’m not one.  I was very curious about what would have been going on in the dysfunctional temple in Jerusalem at this time.  The traditions and practices that had developed by the early 1st century, what were they and how would they have pointed, towards Jesus’s birth.  This is the Temple Institutes website link for just this kind of information about Day of Trumpets. templeinstitute.org/rosh-hashana/ What’s the first Babylonian synchronistic 1st century tradition that I see?  Just look at the name of the link.. Rosh Hashanah… many name changes certainly.  I’ve searched out much from this site and found the things that these men, these priests would be doing and looking for were so very foretelling and I’m sure just as scripture says, when they heard that the One prophesied about was born at this time they were all troubled not only did they understand the significance, but it would mean curtains for their dysfunctional doings.  Something really amazing to me was to find out that these priests and those who followed them believed that Day of Trumpets or Rosh Hashanah, as they changed the name to, to be the day when the first man was created, makes sense if you realize it is the day of blowing and this is what YHVH did to bring man from just flesh to Spirit + flesh equaling the Soul.  Coincidence or Appointed Timing that Jesus would be born on this day as well?
 
During this time most of Israel and certainly Jerusalem, were watching the heavens intently.  The Holy day would not begin until 2 witnesses sighted the new moon and they were heavily questioned to prove they were speaking truth.  Once the witnesses were verified and the Holy day was to begin the leaders of the Sanhedrin would come to proclaim to the people waiting to begin the festivities, “The day is hallowed” and the people would respond in kind “the day is hallowed.” (I Imagine this happening in the temple simultaneously as Myriam is preparing to deliver the baby.)  Next, men were dispatched via horseback to tell the villages that Day of Trumpets had begun and torches were lit that were situated upon strategic mountain tops to proclaim that the day had begun. The first mountain top to be lit?  It wouldn’t be the very mountain that Jesus would be so connected with would it?  Well, yah, it is… the Mount of Olives.  They would be lit all the way to a Babylonian city that was a major center for Jewish life at the time.  All of the offerings and shofar and trumpet blowing began and the first day of the “Days of Awe” commences. The temple readings for Day of Trumpets include: Jeremiah 31:15 Thus says the Lord: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” This is said to be fulfilled in Matthew 2:16-17 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”  (Rachel was buried in Bethlehem)
 
Many people only know the name Rosh Hashanah for the day rather than Day of Trumpets and this web page offers great insight into how that happened.  https://www.nehemiaswall.com/yom-teruah-day-shouting-became-rosh-hashanah And even though it’s a practice that comes from synchronicity of Babylonian practices, it is always amazing to see how YHVH will use even dysfunction to proclaim His Way.  What do I mean by this, well calling the day that Jesus was born the “new year” or the “head of the new year” is telling in its own way, isn’t it?!
 
Now I’m ready to dig into the gospel scriptures speaking about the happenings during Jesus’s birth.  The shepherds spoken about in Luke out in the field watching the flock during the evening would have been watching for the new moon as all of Israel was, waiting to hear the shofar blasts and to see the torches lit.  These men were not just regular shepherds watching their flock but the shepherds of the temples flock of animals that would be used for temple sacrifices. https://int.icej.org/news/commentary/tower-flock WOW!  On the Day of Trumpets, the Angels broke forth from the heavens and proclaimed the birth of the Deliverer that is foretold of in those very heavens.  They broke forth and proclaimed it to those who kept the flock used for the sacrifices that Jesus would eventually take the place of! The angel said, “Don’t be afraid, because I am here announcing to you Good News that will bring great joy to all the people.  This very day in the town of David, there was born for you a Deliverer who is the Messiah, the Lord.  Here is how you will know: you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.” Luke 2:10-12 Then a vast army from heaven suddenly is with the angel praising YHVH saying: “In the highest heaven, glory to YHVH! And on earth, peace among people of good will!” Luke 2:13-14  Is it possible that simultaneously as the new moon is verified by the temple and the shofar blasts begin and the torches are lit that the angels were doing this? I believe that it’s not only possible but certain. How about this idea… was the angel that spoke to the shepherds also the sign, the star, the light that the Magi followed to the specific location of Jesus? Hmmm… So then the shepherds go to Beit-Lechem (the house of bread), Bethlehem, and find Myriam, Joseph and baby in the cave probably very shortly after the birth. The shepherds proceed to tell them what they heard and saw and it says that Myriam didn’t say anything… well shoot, she’d just delivered a baby, give her a second!  For me, the evidence is clear about Jesus being born on the first day of the Days of Awe, the Day of Trumpets, the Day of Blowing, the commemoration of the day that YHVH breathed life into Adam.  I believe there is enough evidence to show that Jesus, the man clothed in the flesh from heaven, promised in the Zodiac, the Constellations of the heavens, was born on the 1st day of the Days of Awe, Day of Trumpets. 
 
 Now to find out more about The Day of Atonements and Jesus.  From my research, I see evidence that Jesus, just after His 30th year was marked by his birthday on the Day of Trumpets, was immersed by John, the true High Priest of Israel, on The Day of Atonements.  Firstly let me show why I believe that his immersion would have happened on his 30th year. I’m won't rewrite the information from this page because it is put together very well so please click on this link and read it. http://www.betemunah.org/thirty.html Now to the Temple Institutes website, to learn about 1st century,  Day of Atonements Temple traditions.  https://templeinstitute.org/yom-kippur-contents/ Please go read this information about the Temple practices for The Day of Atonements during the early first century don’t just take my word on it.  It is also important to keep in mind that the men in the Temple Priestly positions, by this time, were elected to their stations, and were not from the family line of Aaron or Levi. They were not righteous men like John the Immerser and when you read things like this, on that website: “The High Priest Bears Full Responsibility for the Service”, imagine how far from a true High Priest the one they elected was and what bearing that had on those services. As opposed to other ceremonies throughout the year, all of the sacred tasks performed on the Day of Atonements - tasks which bring about atonement for Israel - must be done exclusively by the High Priest himself. As the Bible states a number of times in the book of Leviticus, chapter 16: "and he shall make atonement for himself and for his household;" "until he comes out, and have made atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel," etc. He alone is responsible for every aspect of the Divine service on this most holy and awesome day.” Then consider a few other things as well: that John,  was the true High Priest, of the sons of Aaron, of the tribe of Levi at that time, choosing not to partake in any temple dysfunction and preaching from and in living in the desert; He then immerses Jesus on the Day of Atonement's where that  immersion atones for all of Israel because He is our High Priest forever; this happens in the Jordan fulfilling all righteousness by an actual High Priest of the line of Levi bringing Jesus the Messiah into His MelkiTzadiq position as the Anointed Righteous King, the King and Priest, a change in priesthood.   
During the temple prayers, tradition says that the High Priest will actually speak the Tetragrammaton, the Creators personal name YHVH is pronounced or spoken 10 times on this day when normally it is never uttered and on this day after Jesus was immersed, that very Creator, the Ancient of Days speaks at the river Jordan, that this is His Son with whom He is well pleased! (I always wonder if these things are happening simultaneously and if the priests at the temple hear about it after) There is also the Temple tradition of a scapegoat that is chosen and led by one man on a 12 mile hike to Mt. Azazel in the Judean desert (and killed) taking all of Israel’s sins with it… Coinciding with this?... directly after the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus as a dove and YHVH proclaims who Jesus is, he is taken by the Spirit into the desert, probably the very same one the goat of atonement goes to, and tempted but, does not die…hmm. The Temple Institute says this about The Day of Atonements, “Every aspect of the Divine service on this awesome day reflected the special status and sanctity which is inseparable from the very nature of the day itself; a day of sublime communion with the Creator; a day of resolve and repentance; a day of both great inner peace and national unity.” Wow, I would have to agree, especially on this specific Day of Atonements! On this day the traditional temple readings include the whole book of Jonah, the very prophet that Jesus said was to be the only sign given about the Son of YHVH in Matthew 12:38-41. What about scriptures from the Tanak or Old Testament, regarding the Day of Atonements?  What does scripture say is to happen?  Leviticus 16 encompasses all of what is to happen on this last day of the Days of Awe but in chapter 23 it expresses information about afflicting the soul. The only appointed time marked with such a requirement. Something I notice straight away that differs from the temple practice…. The scapegoat is set free in scripture, not killed. Isn’t it just like man to add more death?  This goat is to be presented alive to YHVH not pushed off of a cliff and killed.  Yet isn’t it telling that the dysfunctional Temple would kill the one that has taken on all of the sins of Israel away for atonement?

Something to note, the 6th month, the month of Elul, the 30 days preceding the Days of Awe and the first 10 days of the 7th month, the Days of Awe, correspond to Moses’ third 40-day stay on Mount Sinai http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2508/jewish/The-120-Day-Version.htm (1st paragraph) and in that time I imagine that Moses was not taking time to nor needed to eat… which corresponds to Matthew 4:1-4, Jesus 40 days and nights fast: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 

How about another clue that points to it being The Day of Atonements when Jesus was baptized? The day Aaron is inaugurated as the Levitical High Priest by Moses (by Moses immersing Aaron) happened on The Day of Atonements - the first High Priest in the Levitical order (Leviticus 7:35-8:6) and Jesus is immersed by John, the true High Priest from Aaron's lineage in the Levitical order ushering in the Melkitzadiq order where the now Anointed Righteous King, Jesus, begins His ministry. I can’t tell you how many times during this study that I’ve just laid my pencil down and said WOW.. I can’t believe they didn’t see this… One last thing I see as a clue is in Matthew 3:5-7 scripture tells us that John was immersing many people for confession of sins, even the high religious people because it is a Jewish custom to be immersed and to vidui (confession of sins) the day before The Day of Atonements. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/989595/jewish/Mikvah.htm

For me, again, the evidence and pattern is so perfect that my conclusion for this part of my yearlong study on Jesus's life being wrapped up within His Fathers Appointed Times is settled.  Enjoy the Days of Awe!  Our promised salvation was born and ushered into the position of Melkitzatiq, Righteous King, Priestly King, during these times.  On the day of remembrance for the creation of the first man, Jesus was born with Angelic proclamation. Then just after his 30th birthday He is anointed as the Righteous King by the Creator Himself after making atonement for all mankind, taking all sins away for those who believe.  All this is happening while the dysfunctional 2nd Temple played out the very moments, almost one by one, and they missed it.  I continue to shake my head as to how but, if they would not have then our Kinsman redeemer may never have finished out the promise and we would all be lost.  Thank you YHVH, our Father for loving us so much that you would give Your only begotten Son, the 2nd Adam, to allow our return to your grace and love.