Yahshua...the fulfillment of EVERY part of YHVH's Word!
But that is still to come. Let's first focus on today.
Today is the first day of the seventh month on YHVH's biblical calendar!
Today is Yom Teruah!
Yom means day;
teruah means shout or blast (trumpet or shofar) of alarm or war or joy.
It is also called Zichron Teruah...a Shout of Remembrance!
I realize that I wrote a blog post about Yom Teruah at this time last year (at which time I was in Israel for a whole month - celebrating the 3 commanded mo'edim, or appointed times, that happen within this next month).
Today's blog post will be a bit of a different perspective on and a continuation of last year's blog post about Yom Teruah.
That's the great thing about relationship with YHVH and obedience to His Word - we continue to learn more about Him as we grow and as we obey! Oh the depths of joy in knowing our Creator through Yahshua the Messiah!
Yom Teruah is commanded in Leviticus 23:23-25:
YHVH said to Moses, "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a rest, a remembrance (zichron) of blowing (teruah) of trumpets, a set-apart gathering. You do no servile work, and you shall bring an offering made by fire to YHVH.'"
...And in Numbers 29:1-6
'And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you have a set-apart gathering, you do no servile work, it is a day (yom) of blowing (teruah) the trumpets for you. And you shall prepare a burnt offering as a sweet fragrance to YHVH...'
(If you do not have access to a shofar and are not in a place where you can hear the blast of the shofar being blown, you can do what I have done and go to a website that has a shofar sound byte!)
Do you know what is unique to Yom Teruah that all the other mo'edim do not share?
Yom Teruah is commanded on the FIRST day of a month.
Do you know why this is special?
A new month was only "official" when the new sliver of crescent moon was first visible in the night sky. When two witnesses saw the new moon, then the new month was established and the shofar was sounded to proclaim the new month.
If the new month was due and the moon was not sighted, then the new month was not proclaimed at that time.
Every new month was a time of watchful anticipation...and the first day of the seventh month was even more of a watchful anticipation.
In other words...no one knew EXACTLY in advance when the new moon for the seventh month would be sighted and when Yom Teruah would begin. And everyone watched and waited with eager anticipation for the new moon to be sighted...for Yom Teruah to begin.
Do you know what else is unique to this particular appointed time?
It's purpose is not given in Scripture. We are only told that it is a day of Teruah, a day of a blast of remembrance. We are not told what to remember. We are not told to remember the exodus from Egypt (as in Pesach) or to be thankful for the harvest (as in Shavuot and Sukkot), etc.
It is a day of noise...a day of the shout...a day of the blast... a day of the alarm warning, the joyful sound...the TERUAH!
Teruah...
Let's look at some other places where teruah is used in YHVH's Word.
Remember Balaam? (The last blog post I wrote was about Balaam and his talking donkey.)
One of Balaam's YHVH-inspired prophecies for Israel included the use of this word teruah.
Numbers 23:19-23
“El [God] is not a man, to lie; nor a son of man, to repent! Has He said, and would He not do it; or spoken, and would not confirm it? See, I have received, to bless. And He has blessed, and I do not reverse it. He has not looked upon wickedness in Jacob, nor has He seen trouble in Israel. יהוה his Elohim is with him, and the shout [teruah] of a King is in him. El who brought them out of Egypt, is for them like the horns of a wild ox. For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor is there any divination against Israell. Now it is said to Jacob and to Israel, ‘What has El done!’"
Remember Joshua and the shout that brought the walls of Jericho a-tumblin' down?
Joshua 6:5, 20“And it shall be, when they make a long blast [mashak] with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound [kol] of the horn, that all the people shout with a great shout [teruah]. And the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall go up every man straight before him.” ....
And the people shouted when the priests blew the horns. And it came to be when the people heard the sound of the horn, and the people shouted with a great shout [teruah], that the wall fell down flat. And the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they captured the city.
The ark of the covenant...
1 Samuel 4:5-7
And when the ark of the covenant of יהוה came into the camp, all Israel shouted [teruah] so loudly that the earth shook. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout [teruah], they said, “What is the noise of this great shout [teruah] in the camp of the Hebrews?” And when they knew that the ark of יהוה had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “Elohim has come into the camp!” And they said, “Woe to us! For it has never been like this before.
The return of the exiles to Israel to rebuild the wall and the Temple...
Ezra 3:10-13
...The builders laid the foundation of the temple of יהוה...
And they responded by praising and giving thanks to יהוה, “For He is good, for His kindness towards Israel is forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout [teruah], when they praised יהוה, because the foundation of the House of יהוה was laid. And many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, the old men who had seen the first House, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this House was laid before their eyes, and many shouted aloud for joy [teruah], and the people could not distinguish the noise of the shout of joy [teruah] from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout [teruah], and the sound was heard far away.
And in the Psalms...
Psalm 27:4-6
One matter I asked of יהוה – this I seek: to dwell in the House of יהוה all the days of my life, to see the pleasantness of יהוה, and to inquire in His Temple.
For in the day of evil He hides me in His booth [suk/sukkah]; in the covering of His Tent He hides me; on a rock He raises me up.
And now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me; and I offer in His Tent with shouts of joy [teruah]; I sing, yea, I sing praises to יהוה.
Psalm 47
Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to Elohim with a voice of singing!
For יהוה Most High is awesome; A great Sovereign (king) over all the earth.
He subdues peoples under us, And nations under our feet.
He chooses our inheritance for us, The excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.
Elohim shall go up with a shout [teruah], יהוה with the sound of a ram’s horn.
Sing praises to Elohim, sing praises! Sing praises to our Sovereign, sing praises!
For Elohim is Sovereign of all the earth; Sing praises with understanding.
Elohim shall reign over the nations; Elohim shall sit on His set-apart throne.
Nobles of peoples shall be gathered together, The people of the Elohim of Aḇraham. For the shields of the earth belong to Elohim; He shall be greatly exalted.
Psalm 89:14-18
Righteousness and right-ruling are the foundation of Your throne; kindness and truth go before Your face.
Blessed are the people who know the festal trumpet-call [teruah]! They walk, O יהוה, in the light of Your face.
In Your Name they rejoice all day long, and they are exalted in Your righteousness.
For You are the comeliness of their strength, and by Your good pleasure our horn is exalted.
For יהוה is our shield, And the Set-apart One of Israel is our Sovereign.
And the sound of alarm - the battle cry...
Jeremiah 4:19; 49:2
Amos 1:14; 2:2
Zephaniah 1:14-17
Near is the great day of יהוה, near and hurrying greatly, the noise of the day of יהוה. Let the mighty man then bitterly cry out! That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and trouble, a day of waste and ruin, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of ram’s horn and alarm [teruah] – against the walled cities and against the corner towers. And I shall bring distress on men, and they shall walk like blind men – because they have sinned against יהוה...
It is also interesting to see some of the different places and situations the word zichron or remembrance is used throughout Scripture.
What and how does YHVH want His people to remember throughout Scripture?
Exodus 12:14 - Passover... and this day shall become to you a remembrance [zichron]...
Exodus 13:9 - The Feast of Unleavened Bread
Exodus 28:12 And you shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the shoulder garment as stones of remembrance [zichron] for the sons of Yisra’ĕl. And Aharon shall bear their names before יהוה on his two shoulders, for a remembrance [zichron]. (see also Exodus 28:29)
Numbers 10:10 - the blowing of trumpets and the offerings at the beginning of every month, a remembrance
Joshua 4 - the stones from the Jordan River, a remembrance
Zechariah 6:11-15 - the crown in the Temple of YHVH, a remembrance:
“And you shall take the silver and gold, make a crown, and set it on the head of Yehoshua the son of Yehotsaḏaq, the high priest, and shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus said יהוה of hosts, saying, “See, the Man whose name is the Branch! And from His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the Temple of יהוה. It is He who is going to build the Temple of יהוה. It is He who is going to bear the splendor. And He shall sit and rule on His throne, and shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both,”' while the crown is for a remembrance in the Temple....And those who are far away shall come and build the Temple of יהוה. And you shall know that יהוה of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall be, if you diligently obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim.”
“And you shall take the silver and gold, make a crown, and set it on the head of Yehoshua the son of Yehotsaḏaq, the high priest, and shall speak to him, saying, ‘Thus said יהוה of hosts, saying, “See, the Man whose name is the Branch! And from His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the Temple of יהוה. It is He who is going to build the Temple of יהוה. It is He who is going to bear the splendor. And He shall sit and rule on His throne, and shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between Them both,”' while the crown is for a remembrance in the Temple....And those who are far away shall come and build the Temple of יהוה. And you shall know that יהוה of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall be, if you diligently obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim.”
Notice, in Zechariah,
WHO is sitting on the throne at this time!
WHO is sitting on the throne at this time!
The One whose name is The BRANCH!
Isn't it interesting the things that YHVH wants us to remember and, in the case of today, Zichron Teruah, to remember with a shout and a blast of the shofar!
Now, let's focus on this One called the BRANCH...
what does He have to do with today, Yom Teruah?
what does He have to do with today, Yom Teruah?
Everything!!
As you already know, the One called the Branch is the Messiah - Yahshua is His name.
And He also had some things to say about the trumpet/shofar call. Some very important things to say.
At the beginning of Matthew 24, Yahshua's talmidim (disciples) asked Him, “Say to us...what is the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Yahshua spoke for the whole chapter about the signs that would happen over the years in the world before His return, including warnings about persecution, wars, false prophets, and finally the abomination that lays waste and the great tribulation.
He followed this description with a warning about people who might say that Yahshua has returned and is in a certain location. This will not be possible, because according to Him, EVERY person will see Him when He returns...
Matthew 24:27-31
"For as the lightning comes from the east and shines to the west, so also shall the coming of the Son of Aḏam be. For wherever the dead body is, there the eagles shall be gathered together. And immediately after the distress of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
And then the sign of the Son of Aḏam shall appear in the heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Aḏam coming on the clouds of the heaven with power and much esteem.
And He shall send His messengers with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
And then verse 36: “But concerning that day and the hour no one knows, not even the messengers of the heavens, but My Father only."
And verse 42: “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Master is coming.
Paul reminds us of the truth of the literal sound of Teruah when Yahshua returns:
1Corinthians 15:51-52
See, I speak a secret to you: 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 shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
When Yahshua spoke to John in Revelation about the seven congregations, His voice was like the Teruah shout and trumpet blast...
Revelation 1:10-11
I came to be in the Spirit on the Day of יהוה, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Tav’, the First and the Last,” and, “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven assemblies of Asia..."
At the beginning of Matthew 24, Yahshua's talmidim (disciples) asked Him, “Say to us...what is the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Yahshua spoke for the whole chapter about the signs that would happen over the years in the world before His return, including warnings about persecution, wars, false prophets, and finally the abomination that lays waste and the great tribulation.
He followed this description with a warning about people who might say that Yahshua has returned and is in a certain location. This will not be possible, because according to Him, EVERY person will see Him when He returns...
Matthew 24:27-31
"For as the lightning comes from the east and shines to the west, so also shall the coming of the Son of Aḏam be. For wherever the dead body is, there the eagles shall be gathered together. And immediately after the distress of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
And then the sign of the Son of Aḏam shall appear in the heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Aḏam coming on the clouds of the heaven with power and much esteem.
And He shall send His messengers with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
And verse 42: “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Master is coming.
Paul reminds us of the truth of the literal sound of Teruah when Yahshua returns:
1Corinthians 15:51-52
See, I speak a secret to you: 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 shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
For this we say to you by the word of the Master, that we, the living who are left over at the coming of the Master shall in no way go before those who are asleep. Because the Master Himself shall come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of a chief messenger, and with the trumpet of Elohim, and the dead in Messiah shall rise first. Then we, the living who are left over, shall be caught away together with them in the clouds to meet the Master in the air – and so we shall always be with the Master.
When Yahshua spoke to John in Revelation about the seven congregations, His voice was like the Teruah shout and trumpet blast...
Revelation 1:10-11
I came to be in the Spirit on the Day of יהוה, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Tav’, the First and the Last,” and, “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven assemblies of Asia..."
And then, after all of the events of Revelation, our KING, Yahshua the Messiah, the BRANCH, is accompanied by the sound of a great voice like that of thundering waters, mixed with other voices and harps...a tremendous Teruah!
Revelation 14:1-3
And I looked and saw a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s Name written upon their foreheads. And I heard a voice out of the heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder, and I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a renewed song before the throne...
Revelation 19:5-9
And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our Elohim, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” And I heard as the voice of a great crowd, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunders, saying, “Halleluyah, for יהוה Ěl Shaddai reigns!
Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him praise, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife prepared herself. And to her it was given to be dressed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the set-apart ones." And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true words of Elohim.”
Teruah is such an important part of the return of the Messiah, the KING!
Remember that part of the nature of Yom Teruah is that no one ever really knows EXACTLY when it will occur...it depends on the sighting of the new moon.
And the same is true for the return of the Messiah. No one knows the EXACT timing.
YHVH's Word says repeatedly that Yahshua's return will come like a thief (Matthew 24:42; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10) and that we must be watchful, repentant, and awake.
Revelation 3:3
“Remember, then, how you have received, and heard. And watch and repent. If, then, you do not wake up, I shall come upon you as a thief, and you shall not know at all what hour I come upon you."
Revelation 16:15
“See, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who is staying awake and guarding his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
1Thessalonians 5:4-6
But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. So, then, we should not sleep, as others do, but we should watch and be sober.
Yom Teruah...
Revelation 14:1-3
And I looked and saw a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s Name written upon their foreheads. And I heard a voice out of the heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder, and I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a renewed song before the throne...
Revelation 19:5-9
And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our Elohim, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” And I heard as the voice of a great crowd, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunders, saying, “Halleluyah, for יהוה Ěl Shaddai reigns!
Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him praise, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife prepared herself. And to her it was given to be dressed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the set-apart ones." And he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who have been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true words of Elohim.”
verses 11-16
And I saw the heaven opened, and there was a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Trustworthy and True, and in righteousness He judges and fights. And His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns, having a Name that had been written, which no one had perceived except Himself – and having been dressed in a robe dipped in blood – and His Name is called: The Word of יהוה.... And out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations. And He shall shepherd them with a rod of iron. And He treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of El Shaddai. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: SOVEREIGN OF SOVEREIGNS AND MASTER OF MASTERS.
Teruah is such an important part of the return of the Messiah, the KING!
Remember that part of the nature of Yom Teruah is that no one ever really knows EXACTLY when it will occur...it depends on the sighting of the new moon.
And the same is true for the return of the Messiah. No one knows the EXACT timing.
YHVH's Word says repeatedly that Yahshua's return will come like a thief (Matthew 24:42; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10) and that we must be watchful, repentant, and awake.
Revelation 3:3
“Remember, then, how you have received, and heard. And watch and repent. If, then, you do not wake up, I shall come upon you as a thief, and you shall not know at all what hour I come upon you."
Revelation 16:15
“See, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who is staying awake and guarding his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”
1Thessalonians 5:4-6
But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. So, then, we should not sleep, as others do, but we should watch and be sober.
Yom Teruah...
Do we have a reason to Shout, to sound the Teruah? YES!
Do we have a reason to celebrate today as a remembrance of YHVH? YES!
Yahshua has fulfilled the first mo'edim with His first coming and will completely finish fulfilling the last mo'edim with His final coming!
He is The Word. He will fulfill and complete His Word in every detail!
As we go through these Days of Awe (Yom Teruah on the 1st day of the 7th month through Yom Kippur on the 10th day of the 7th month) - days of serious introspection and allowing YHVH to inspect the deepest parts of our lives, days of repentance (teshuvah) and turning back to Him, striving to live the way He has prescribed - may we look to our Lamb who was slain, who is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah...the soon-coming KING, Yahshua the Messiah.
Peter, in Acts 3, said to the people of Israel,
“Repent therefore and turn back, for the blotting out of your sins, in order that times of refreshing might come from the presence of the Master, and that He sends Yahshua the Messiah, pre-appointed for you, whom heaven needs to receive until the times of restoration of all matters, of which Elohim spoke through the mouth of all His set-apart prophets since of old."
And as we approach Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the Day of YHVH's Judgment, may we know without a doubt that our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life!
Finally, as we move into the week-long celebration of Sukkot, the Feast of Booths, may we look forward to an eternity with our Elohim in the dwelling place He is preparing for us!
Staying alert with watchful anticipation for the return of my KING,
Gina
Do we have a reason to celebrate today as a remembrance of YHVH? YES!
Yahshua has fulfilled the first mo'edim with His first coming and will completely finish fulfilling the last mo'edim with His final coming!
He is The Word. He will fulfill and complete His Word in every detail!
As we go through these Days of Awe (Yom Teruah on the 1st day of the 7th month through Yom Kippur on the 10th day of the 7th month) - days of serious introspection and allowing YHVH to inspect the deepest parts of our lives, days of repentance (teshuvah) and turning back to Him, striving to live the way He has prescribed - may we look to our Lamb who was slain, who is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah...the soon-coming KING, Yahshua the Messiah.
Peter, in Acts 3, said to the people of Israel,
“Repent therefore and turn back, for the blotting out of your sins, in order that times of refreshing might come from the presence of the Master, and that He sends Yahshua the Messiah, pre-appointed for you, whom heaven needs to receive until the times of restoration of all matters, of which Elohim spoke through the mouth of all His set-apart prophets since of old."
And as we approach Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the Day of YHVH's Judgment, may we know without a doubt that our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life!
Finally, as we move into the week-long celebration of Sukkot, the Feast of Booths, may we look forward to an eternity with our Elohim in the dwelling place He is preparing for us!
Staying alert with watchful anticipation for the return of my KING,
Gina
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