Redeeming The Time As Witnesses

On Sunday evening, September 29, 2019, the Feast of Trumpets, also known as Rosh Hashanah, will commence. It is a time of new beginnings as well as a new year on the Hebrew calendar (5780) with great expectations of things to come. In light of the upcoming celebration of the Feast of Trumpets, I will be tying together some practical teaching from the weekly Torah reading in connection to this special holiday.

The Mosaic Covenant

This week’s Torah Portion follows the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy chapters twenty-seven and twenty-eight. After listing the details of the blessings and curses, Moses called all of the people together and reminded them of the covenantal agreement that they were entering into with the LORD:

You stand today, all of you, before the LORD your God: your chiefs, your tribes, your elders and your officers, even all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the alien who is within your camps, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, that you may enter into the covenant with the LORD your God, and into His oath which the LORD your God is making with you today, in order that He may establish you today as His people and that He may be your God, just as He spoke to you and as He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. – Deut. 29:10-13

The people of Israel, along with all of those who joined themselves to Israel, were to walk according to all of the law of the LORD as detailed in the Torah. It was through obedience to this law that they would receive the blessing while maintaining their relationship with the LORD and it was through disobedience that they would bring upon themselves the curses while severing their relationship with Him.

The covenant that God made with the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai as well as the covenant He made with them in the land of Moab opposite the Promised Land (Deut. 29:1) brought accountability to the people of Israel before the LORD. The safety, security, and blessing of the land was dependent on how the people of Israel kept the law of the LORD. In the Bible we read about the many ups and downs that the Israelites had in keeping the law of God. Ever since agreeing to the covenant with the LORD, the Israelites have physically been cast out of the Land twice and have witnessed the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem in both 586 BC and 70 AD because they broke their covenant with the LORD.

The Promises To Come

In keeping with the promises of God and the covenant that God made with Abraham, we know that there is still yet a future day of safety, security, and blessing for the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. One of these promises is found in this week’s reading from the prophets in the book of Isaiah:

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen; all day and all night they will never keep silent. You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves; and give Him no rest until He establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm, “I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies; nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.” But those who garner it will eat it and praise the LORD; and those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary. Go through, go through the gates, clear the way for the people; Build up, build up the highway, remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples. Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth, say to the daughter of Zion, “Lo, your salvation comes; Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.” And they will call them, “The holy people, the redeemed of the LORD”; And you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.” – Isaiah 62:6-12

These promises of God for the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem have yet to be realized. The verses above are in keeping with the promises of God relating to His kingdom which will be established on this earth.

It has been the hope of generation after generation of the people of Israel to see the kingdom of God come to this earth, to rid this world of evil oppressors, and to establish God’s righteous judgment through His Anointed One. This hope of the coming kingdom, which will be established by the Messiah, is also the hope today of Gentile believers in Yeshua the Messiah.

Looking For The Kingdom

At the Messiah’s first coming two thousand years ago, He laid down His life and instituted the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31) so that we can have complete forgiveness of sin in His Name. When Messiah comes again He will establish the kingdom of God on this earth (Zech. 14:9). The hope of the coming of the kingdom of God to this earth was strongly anticipated by the first disciples of Yeshua:

So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” – Acts 1:6-8

In answer to the disciples question about the timing of the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, Yeshua reminded His disciples to leave the timing of the coming kingdom to the Father in heaven. Instead of focusing on the timing of the coming kingdom, Yeshua instructed His disciples to focus on being His witnesses in Jerusalem and to the ends of the earth.

Expectation Of The Coming King

As mentioned above, we celebrate the first day of Rosh Hashanah (The Feast of Trumpets) on Monday, September 30th, but we begin our celebrations on the evening before, on Sunday evening. To read more about the Feast of Trumpets, click this link: Feast of Trumpets. This particular biblical Feast and Appointed Time ushers in the final three Appointed Times on the biblical calendar (Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles). It is generally understood in Messianic and Evangelical circles that just as the first three yearly Appointed Times witnessed the Messiah’s First Coming (Passover, First Fruits, and The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost), the final three yearly Appointed Times will witness the Messiah’s Second Coming. For more information about the prophetic implications of the Appointed Times, please read the following article: The Appointed Times & The Messiah.

There is great anticipation at this time of the year regarding the coming of the Messiah, however, at the same time it is a good reminder that until the Messiah comes we have a specific calling to fulfill: to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judah, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. As I teach the Bible in Jerusalem and around the world, I am often asked the question regarding the timing of the Messiah’s return and the coming of God’s kingdom. Although I believe we should be aware of the signs of the coming of the Messiah, I do my best to emphasize our need to fulfill the responsibility that Yeshua has given us to be His witnesses and to make disciples (Matt. 28:18-20).

In the context of the covenant that the LORD made with the Israelites in Deuteronomy chapter twenty-nine, we read this simple verse:

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law. – Deut. 29:29

The Israelites were given the law of God and were only responsible for what was revealed to them. There were other things that were kept secret by the LORD which He alone knows but they were not responsible for those things.