©Copyright Double Portion Inheritance August 2008
Growing up as a child in Catholic School, I was erroneously taught by the nuns that our Messiah fasted in the wilderness during the forty days known as “Lent.” This season would commence on “Ash Wednesday,” and it would culminate on “Easter Sunday,” according to Catholic tradition.
It was not until the year 2002 that I discovered these traditions of Ash Wednesday, Lent & Easter stemmed from ancient Babylonian religion, and were adopted into Christianity by Rome. To learn more history behind these false traditions, see my blog entitled “The Queen of Heaven: Why Does the Church Celebrate Easter?”
Four years later, in 2006, I found myself stunned as I read Luke 4:19, where our Messiah declared “The Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH.” I understood in that moment that our Messiah, Yahuwshuwa fasted during the forty days of repentance or “Teshuva,” leading up to Yom Kippur. Even though Luke’s gospel does not tell us what time of year this was, there are enough clues in the language of Isaiah 61 to indicate Yom Kippur typology.
Additionally, during his 40-day fast, our Messiah, Yahuwshuwa turned 30 years old on “Yom Teruah,” (Feast of Trumpets), which then qualified him (according to Numbers 4:3), to acts as our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Messianic tradition holds to the idea that our Messiah was born on The Feast of Tabernacles or “Sukkot.” However, there are a few problems that arise with that theory. Once we understand that our Messiah was acting as the High Priest, (Melchizedek) it makes sense that would have made this declaration of “The Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH.” However, in order for him to make this declaration, he had to have had his 30th birthday BEFORE Yom Kippur!
After his cousin Yahuwchanon (John) immersed him in the Jordan River, there was a transfer of power that was being made. The authority of the Sons of Aaron as the High Priest was being passed on to our Messiah who was from the Tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah). Hebrews 7:14 confirms this when it says that “Melchizedek sprang out of Judah!”
It was on this particular Yom Kippur in Luke 4:19, that we see our Messiah revealing to those in the Synagogue that he was the “Anointed One,” the Messiah of Yisra’el, and the High Priest who could then declare whether or not the nation was accepted that year for Yom Kippur. This is precisely when his 3.5 year ministry began, on Yom Kippur in 26 A.D.
To learn more about when our Messiah was born and why it matters, see the blog entitled: “When Was the Real Messiah Born & Why Does it Matter?”
Once we establish that his 30th birthday took place on the Feast of Trumpets during his 40-days of fasting in the wilderness, we can then conclude that he was old enough to become the High Priest for Yisra’el!
The clue can be found is Luke 4:19, where we learn that our Messiah “DECLARED THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF YAHUWAH!”
Only the Kohan ha’Gadowl (High Priest) could declare “THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF YAHUWAH” once per year on Yom Kippur!
The Month of Elul on the Hebrew Calendar
The month of Elul is the 6th month on the Hebrew Calendar and it is called “chodesh ha’cheshbon,” which is a month of accounting.
The name of the month Elul is spelled with four Hebrew Letters, Alef-Lamed-Vav-Lamed which is said to be an acronym of “Ani l’dodi v’dodi li.” This is translated “I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine,” a quote from Song of Songs 6:3, where the Beloved is YaHuWaH, and the “I” is his covenant bride, Yisra’el.
In Aramaic (the vernacular of the Jewish people at the time that the month names were adopted), the word “Elul” means “search,” which is appropriate, because this is the time of the year when we search our hearts and farmers search for the harvest.
By carefully following the timeline of the Exodus, we can deduce that the month of Elul is the same time when Mosheh (Moses) went to Mount Sinai to prepare the second set of tablets after the incident of the golden calf (Exodus 32; 34:27-28). He ascended on Rosh Chodesh Elul and he descended on the 10th of Tishri, at the end of Yom Kippur, when repentance was complete. The 1st day of Elul commences a period of 40 days where Moses prayed for YaHuWaH to forgive the people after they committed adultery with the golden calf. After this, the commandment to prepare the second set of tablets was given.
Could this be the reason why our Messiah fasted during these very same forty days? Could it be that he was also preparing to present the very same commandments that would be written upon the heart of his bride for Yom Kippur? You see, in Ancient Hebrew Wedding Custom, the bride was to have the ketubah (written marriage agreement) on her at all times, or else she could not enjoy intimacy with her husband. This explains why YaHuWaH promised to “write his Towrah” (laws) in the heart of his bride (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10; 10:16).
Traditionally, the Yahuwdiym (Jews) celebrate a time of fasting and repentance for “forty days.” This is the time that foreshadows the preparation for the bride to meet her bridegroom on the “Feast of Trumpets” (Yom Teruah), and on “Yom Kippur”(Day of Atonement).
These two feast days, I believe represent the marriage of two different brides typified in Leah & Rachel to Ya’aqob (Jacob). In John 10:16, our Messiah spoke of having “two folds of sheep,” when he said the following words “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
These two folds of sheep are none other than what Isaiah 8:14 describes as “Both Houses of Yisra’el.” The Two Southern Tribes of Judah & the Ten Northern Tribes of Yisra’el are referred to in prophecy as as “The Stick of Ephraim & the Stick of Judah” (Ezekiel 37:16).
During these last ten days of tribulation, our Messiah will make these two houses only one house, and one bride. These last ten days are often referred to by the Yahuwdiym (Jews) as “The Ten Days of Awe” (Revelation 3:10).
At the final Jubilee on the “last great day” of the 6th millennium, and going into the “Sabbath Millennium,” this will commence during the 7th Hebrew month called “Ethanim or Tishri!”
The Feast of Trumpets commemorates the “ushering in of the king,” and it is a time for us to prepare our hearts for the Fall Feasts of YaHuWaH.
The two themes of the month of Elul have to do with accounting and preparation of the heart. In Aramaic the word Elul means “searching.”
Tehilliym (Psalms) 139:23 Search me, O Elohiym, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
It was during this time of year that Yahuwchanon (John) the Immerser (Baptist) began preaching repentance in the wilderness:
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 3:
1 In those days came Yahuwchanon (John) the Immerser (Baptist), preaching in the wilderness of Yahuwdah (Judaea),
2 And saying, Repent you: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Yeshayahuw (Isaiah), saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of YHWH, make his paths straight.
The Hebrew word for “repent” is as follows:
#8668 tshuwa’ah tesh-ooaw or tshuah; from #7768 in the sense of #3467; rescue (literal or figurative, personal, national or spiritual): deliverance, help, safety, salvation, victory.
The next two words are the root words that make up this word for repent (tshuwah):
#3467 yasha yawshah to be open, wide or free; to be safe; avenging, defend, deliver, help, preserve, rescue, be safe, bring salvation, save, get victory.
#7768 shava shawvah: to be free, freedom from trouble; cry aloud, shout.
*Note: since the Hebrew letter “Vav” was originally called a “Waw,” and it makes the “long u sound,” the word “shava”should actually be pronounced as “shauwa” and it phonetically sounds like: “sha-oo-ah.”
These three words above, all paint a picture of what is happening during the 40 days of fasting and repentance starting on the 1st of Elul (the 6th month) and leading right up to the 10th day of the 7th month of Tishri on Yom Kippur (day of covering). We first see that John the Immerser (Baptist) was “crying out” (shauwa) for the nation of Yisra’el to repent by exclaiming “tshuwa!”
This was the time of year when Yisra’el was being called to prepare for the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The Day of Atonement is a day of salvation (yasha) for those who repent, but it is a day of avenging or “vengeance” for those who are not ready and have not washed their garments in the blood of the lamb. For forty days, Yisra’el would always prepare their hearts during this season of repenting. It was a time to “make the crooked paths straight” and to ask forgiveness from those whom you may have wronged.
Yahuwshuwa admonished us not to bother bringing a gift to the altar until we go and make peace with our brother:
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 5:24 Leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
To those who repent and make the crooked paths straight (correct the wrongs that they have committed), the Day of Atonement will be a day of “acceptance” by YaHuWaH. However, for those who do not humble themselves and repent, it will be a day of “vengeance.” On the future Day of Atonement when Messiah returns in Revelation 19:2, he will “avenge” the blood of his set-apart ones (his bride). It is for this reason that he read only the first half of Isaiah 61:2 at the end of his “forty days of fasting” in the wilderness:
Yeshayahuw (Isaiah) 61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of YHWH, and the day of vengeance of our Elohiym; to comfort all that mourn;
Yahuwshuwa only read the first half of this verse when he declared that he had come to fulfill this prophecy in “Proclaiming the Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH.”
However, he did not finish the latter part of this verse, because he has yet to fulfill the other half of Isaiah 61:2, at his second coming on “The Day of Vengeance of our Elohiym” (Revelation 19:2). This will be the very same event called “The Great Day of Wrath,” (Zephaniah 1:15-18; Romans 2:5; Revelation 6:17) also referred to as “The Great & Terrible Day of YaHuWaH”(Joel 2:31).
There are three parts to Isaiah 61:2 to be fulfilled in history:
1.) To Proclaim “The Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH.”
Yahuwshuwa already did this at the beginning of his ministry when he emerged from his 40-day fast on Yom Kippur. This statement is “Yom Kippur” language. Only the High Priest (Kohen ha’Gadowl) could declare “The Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH” each year for Yom Kippur. You see, the atonement of the entire nation depended on the righteousness of the High Priest. The High Priest had to first make atonement for himself by killing a bullock. And then he would be a proper vessel to make atonement for the entire nation when he killed the Yom Kippur sacrificial goat. If the High Priest was not righteous, he would die behind the veil in the “Holy of Holies,” and this meant that the entire nation was not atoned for that year and they were “not accepted.”
When John the Immerser baptized Yahuwshuwa, he was transferring the role of the High Priest from the sons of Aaron back to the Melchizedek Priesthood again. And so Yahuwshuwa was now acting as the High Priest that year when he interceded in the wilderness for Yisra’el. This is why he qualified as one who could then “Declare the Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH!”
2.) To Proclaim “The Day of Vengeance of our Elohiym.”
He will do this at his second coming when he returns to “avenge” the injustices that have been done to his bride. He will avenge their blood and “even the score.”
3.) To Comfort All that Mourn.
On that day, the House of Yahuwdah (Judah) will finally see the one whom “they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10) and “they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son.” Not only that, but all of the tribes of the earth shall mourn for him (Matthew 24:30), because not only the House of Judah, but all have crucified him!
Yom Kippur Typology Seen in Luke Chapter 4
Luke 4:1 And Yahuwshuwa being full of the Ruwach ha’Qodesh returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Luke 4:2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
*Note: Here, we see Yahuwshuwa being sent into the wilderness for forty days, as the Yom Kippur scapegoat (see Leviticus 16:10).
Luke 4:9 And he [the devil] brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If you be the Son of Elohiym, cast yourself down from here:
*Note: The devil was trying to tempt Yahuwshuwa to follow a rabbinic tradition of throwing the scapegoat off of a cliff. The commandment in Leviticus 16:10 does not tell us to cast down the scapegoat from a cliff. It says that the scapegoat is to be released into the wilderness.
The rabbis thought they were being clever by killing the scapegoat so that it could never return from the wilderness, thus bringing back the guilt of their sins upon the nation. If the scapegoat returned, it meant that their sins as a nation were not forgiven. When Yahuwshuwa returned out of the wilderness, he was showing Yisra’el that their sins remained!
However, he did something to show them as a nation that he was also their sacrificial goat, and that they did not have to remain in their sins. He went on to illustrate by reading Isaiah 61:1 and half of Isaiah 61:2 that he was their deliverance and their salvation. He openly told them that he was their High Priest, Melchizedek, (the anointed one, the Messiah) the only one who qualified to “declare the acceptable year!”
Luke 4:14 And Yahuwshuwa returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.
Luke 4:15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
*Note: This was a weekly sabbath, but also the high sabbath of Yom Kippur.
Luke 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Yeshayahuw (Isaiah). And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of YHWH is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luke 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of YHWH.
*Note: Yahuwshuwa only read half of Isaiah 61:2, and then he stopped in the middle of the verse! He then, closed the book and handed it back to the temple scribe. Why did he do this? Well, it’s obvious by the prophetic language being used in Isaiah 61 that this was taking place Yom Kippur. Isaiah 61:2 ends with the following words: “....And the day of vengeance of our Elohiym.”
In the future, (at the second coming of Messiah in Revelation 19:2), it says that he is coming back to “avenge” the blood of his servants that were killed by the great whore. The word “avenge” is a root word from where we derive the word “vengeance.”
Every 50th year is a Jubilee year in Yisra’el, where slaves went free, debts were canceled and those who lost their land had it restored back to them. Every year on Yom Kippur , the linear years are counted since the creation of the world. The sabbatical years (seven year increments) and every fiftieth year (a jubilee) is counted on Yom Kippur (Leviticus 25:9). The ones who were given the command to announce “the acceptable year” are the High Priests after the sons of Aaron (see Numbers 10:2-8).
The fact that Yahuwshuwa was now the one declaring “the acceptable year” seemed as if he was breaking protocol or that he was in violation of the Mosaic Law.
That is, unless he was a High Priest, and indeed he was! Psalm 110:4 tells us that he is the only High Priest who was installed into his eternal office “with an oath.” However, the Sons of Aaron were given the charge of the role of High Priests until the “seed should come” (see Galatians 3:19).
Luke 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luke 4:21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Luke 4:22 And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
Luke 4:23 And he said unto them, You will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal yourself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in your country.
Luke 4:24 And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.
Luke 4:25 But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Yisra’el in the days of Eliyahuw (Elijah) when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;
Luke 4:26 But unto none of them was Eliyahuw (Elijah) sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow.
*Note: Yahuwshuwa compared himself to the prophet Elijah who had a ministry that lasted for 3.5 years! This was another clue that his ministry did indeed last for 3.5 years. The widow that Elijah was sent to was symbolic of the nation of Yisra’el (see Isaiah 54:1-4), and her firstborn son who was raised from the dead is a symbol of Yahuwshuwa, the Messiah!
In 1st Kings chapter 17, Elijah prayed that it would not rain for 3.5 years, at the end of which, the widow’s only son died. In 1st Kings 17:21, the prophet stretched himself upon the boy “three times” and he was raised from the dead! This is symbolic of our Messiah being “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).
Luke 4:28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
Luke 4:29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
*Note: Once again, the people who heard him preach in the Synagogue wanted to cast him off of the cliff just like the rabbinic tradition of throwing the scapegoat off a cliff! This is exactly what the devil was trying to tempt him with in the wilderness!
Luke 4:30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way,
*Note: he escaped death because his time had not come yet. He was able to “pass through the midst” of them just as YaHuWaH “passed in the midst of the animal pieces” as a sign of his covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15:17). He “passed through the midst” in the same way that Yisra’el “passed through the Red Sea” to their freedom. At the end of his 3.5 years of ministry, he would “pass through the midst” of Daniel’s 70th week (the middle of the last seven years of the prophecy) from Daniel 9:24-27!
In other words, “in the midst of the last seven years” of Daniel’s 70-Week prophecy, Yahuwshuwa died for the sins of the nation!
Understanding the Two Calendars in Scripture
There seems to be some confusion about the fact that on the 1st day of the 7th month of Tishri, the Jewish people refer to “Yom Teruah” as their New Year or “Rosh Ha’Shanah.” This is referred to as the Civil New Year. However, scripture calls it “A memorial of blowing trumpets” or “Yom Teruah” (Day of Blowing).
To clear up this confusion, it is important to understand that there are two calendars in scripture. The first is the “Civil Calendar” which begins on the 1st of Tishri (the 7th month), and the second is the “Sacred Calendar” which begins on Abib (Aviv or Nisan). From Genesis 1 to Exodus 12, scripture uses the Civil Calendar when referring to dates. However, in Exodus 12, Elohiym instituted a second calendar which begins on Abib/Aviv (Nisan). This is the “Sacred Calendar,” which the Bible uses when referring to dates from Exodus 12 through Revelation 22.
To read more about the biblical New Year in the Spring, see my other article entitled: “Times, Seasons & the Thief in the Night: When is the Real New Year?”
The Sacred Calendar is Seven Months Long
In Exodus 12, YaHuWaH Elohiym instituted a second calendar which begins on the 1st of Abib (Aviv or Nisan). This is the “Sacred Calendar” which the Towrah uses when referring to dates from Exodus 12 through Revelation 22. The Sacred Calendar marks the beginning of the Spiritual New Year and it governs the timing of YaHuWaH’s Feasts outlined in Leviticus 23.
YaHuWaH’s Feasts set the appointed times (days) for the manifestation of Elohiym’s redemption in Messiah Yahuwshuwa, which has to do with our spiritual position in him. Passover celebrates the beginning of our salvation through the blood of Yahuwshuwa, (our Passover Lamb), and takes place in the first month of the Sacred Calendar. Consequently, the 1st of Abib (Aviv/Nisan) marks the beginning of Elohiym’s Spiritual New Year in Messiah that he established at the Exodus:
Shemoth (Exodus)12:1-2 And YHWH spoke unto Mosheh (Moses) and Aharown (Aaron) in the land of Mitzrayim (Egypt) saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
Shemoth (Exodus) 13:
3 And Mosheh (Moses) said unto the people, Remember this day, in which you came out from Mitzrayim (Egypt), out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand YHWH brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.
4 This day came you out in the month Abib.
The word “Abib” is #24 in the Strong’s Hebrew Concordance: to be tender; green; young ear of grain; hence the name of the month Abib; green ears of corn (not maize).
Consequently, the Jewish people have a “fiscal” year where they “account” for their harvest. In many businesses today, they have what is called “a fiscal year” where the company does their annual inventory and they report their income to the government. This is the same thing that the Jews mean when they refer to this time of year as a “Civil New Year” called “Rosh Ha’Shanah.” In the 1st month of the year called Abib (Aviv or Nisan), this commemorates the time when YaHuWaH brought Yisra’el out of Egypt. This is to be celebrated 14 days before Passover.
The idea of calling the 1st day of the 7th month of Tishri “Rosh Ha’Shanah” comes from the fact that on the “Rabbinic Calendar” reckoning, they are using the calendar that was instituted before YaHuWaH brought Yisra’el out of Egypt. However, we cannot justify referring to the Feast of Trumpets as “Rosh Ha’Shanah,” because scripture never calls it that. Scripture calls it “Yom Teruah,” which means “The Day of Blowing.”
Two scriptures are primarily used to defend the Jewish New Year as Rosh Ha’Shanah:
Shemoth (Exodus) 23:16 “The feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when you have gathered in your labours out of the field.”
Shemoth (Exodus) 34:22 “You shall celebrate... the Feast of Ingathering at the turn (revolution) of the year.”
The End of a Seven-Month-Long Sacred Year
The end of the year mentioned in the above scriptures refers to Yisra’el’s Sacred Calendar whereby the feasts are measured on a seven-month-long cycle. These feasts begin with Passover and end seven months later with The Feast of Tabernacles. This agricultural year begins with the spring barley harvest during the season of Passover and ends with the fall wheat harvest on the last day of Tabernacles (Sukkoth). This agricultural calendar is based on a seven-month-long lunar cycle, which refers to the monthly rotation of the moon around the earth. Thus the Hebrew Concordance describes a revolution of time as “the time of planting and harvests.”
The following words below in Hebrew are used to describe the end of the harvest season:
#8622 tquwphah tek-oo-faw from #5362; a revolution (of the sun) course of time; circuit, come about, end.
#5362 naqaph: to strike with more or less violence; beat, knock together; surround or circulate; cut down, destroy, go around.
This word “naqaph” refers to the season of threshing the wheat. The wheat is “beaten” so that the chaff is left behind and nothing but the wheat is left.
Yisra’el’s lunar-based agricultural year ends at the conclusion of Sukkoth, with the winter wheat harvest at the last feast of the agricultural year which represents “the end-time harvest” for New Covenant believers. The “first-fruits” harvest for those who were redeemed when Messiah resurrected happened during the Spring Feasts representing all those saved under the “Old Covenant” (see Ephesians 4:8-9 & Luke 16:1-31). To find out more about the how to determine a biblical new moon, see the link below:
At his first coming, Yahuwshuwa fulfilled the role of “Messiah Ben Joseph” (Son of Joseph) because he came as a “suffering servant” typified in the life of Yahuwceph (Joseph) who was rejected by his ten brothers. Joseph’s brothers are a picture of the Ten Lost Tribes of the House of Yisra’el who have been in exile in the nations since the end of the Assyrian Captivity.
Yahuwshuwa will return as “Messiah Ben David” the conquering reigning king as a prophetic “type” of King David who will sit on the throne as he will rule all Twelve Tribes of Yisra’el from Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
Because Ancient Yisra’el was an agriculturally-based nation, their feasts and celebrations revolved around the planting seasons. Their agricultural calendar only included seven lunar-based months, which began in the month of Abib and ended in the month 7th month of Tishri.
In the Book of Enoch, we discover that YaHuWaH showed Enoch 13 constellations for Thirteen Tribes of Yisra’el—the 13th tribe being Ephraim. Ephraim is not included in Revelation 7 because his tribe becomes “a multitude of nations,” and he is treated as a separate tribe in the last days. Ephraim can only be grafted into the House of Yisra’el (the olive tree) by way of Messiah (who is from the Tribe of Judah). This is why Ephraim is grafted into the Tribe of Judah in the last days (Ezekiel 37:16, Ezekiel 47:22).
Because Yisra’el also functioned with a fiscal year of a twelve-month long calendar-year, related to the solar cycle of the sun, (which is based on the rotation of the earth around the sun), Yisra’el’s twelve- month solar calendar begins at Abib and ends with the 12th month of Adar. However, in some years there is a 13th month called Adar II for leap years.
The Jewish tradition to have the New Year begin on Yom Teruah places it before the fall harvest of Sukkoth. This does not make sense, because YaHuWaH commands us to observe “The Feast of the Ingathering” at the end of the year with the fruit of our labors (Exodus 23:16).
To begin a New Year fifteen days before the eight-day harvest begins (on the Feast of Tabernacles), and twenty-three days before it ends, seems to violate Towrah. However, we can see that that the “Head of the Linear Year” is approaching with the ushering in of the Fall Feasts on Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) and thus it is the “season of harvest” that is taking place during this time leading up to the culmination of the harvest on the last day of Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles).
The Biblical New Year, however, is in the month called “Abib” (Aviv) according to Exodus 12-13. No place in scripture does YaHuWaH command us to call the Feast of Trumpets “the first of the year.”
The Civil Calendar
The first word in the Bible is “bereshyith,” which means “in the beginning,” and is a direct reference to the beginning of Elohiym’s creation (Genesis 1:1). The following Hebrew words give us a clearer picture:
#7225 re’shiyth ray-sheeth from the same as 7218; the first, in place, time, order or rank (specifically, a firstfruit): beginning, chief, first, principle thing.
#7218 rosh roshe from an unused root apparently meaning to shake the head (as most easily shaken), whether literal or figurative (in many applications, of place, time rank): beginning, captain, chief place, company, end, excellent, first, forefront, head, height, highest part, priest, lead, poor, principal, ruler, sum, top.
As you can see, the word “bereshiyth” (Genesis) means “in the beginning” and it has the same root as “Rosh” or “head” as in “Rosh Ha’Shanah,” which means “beginning” or “head of the year.”
Consequently, the traditional Hebraic understanding is that Elohiym began his creation on the Jewish Rosh Ha’Shanah in the 7th month of Tishri. Leviticus 25 confirms this because the Jubilee Cycles and Sabbatical Years are measured on the 10th day of the 7th month of Tishri, indicating that our linear time is being measured in the 7th month.
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 25:9 Then shall you cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the Day of Atonement shall you make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 25:10 And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and you shall return every man unto his possession, and you shall return every man unto his family.
Thus we can see that the 1st day of the 7th month of Tishri marks the beginning of the Civil Calendar which tallies the years of mankind from the beginning of creation. Hence, the traditional Jewish “Rosh Ha’Shanah” (the 1st day of the 7th month of Tishri) marks the beginning of the Civil New Year which is measured on the Civil Calendar.
The “Civil Calendar” is not a rabbinic corruption of the calendar as I had originally thought, but it is a biblical reckoning that measures time itself, because it determines the number of years (linear time) from the beginning of creation until the end of the creation (approximately 7,000 years). Consequently, if we believe that the total number of years from the creation of this earth to the end of Messiah’s 1,000-year reign is 7,000 years, we are counting those 7,000 years on the “Civil Calendar.”
This means that there will be a total of 7,000 “Jewish Rosh Ha’Shanah’s” from the beginning to the ending, and they are all observed on the Civil New Year which is on the 1st day of the 7th month of Tishri. However, scripture never calls this feast day “Rosh Ha’Shanah.” The Towrah refers to the 1st day of the 7th month as follows:
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 23:24 Speak unto the children of Yisra’el, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall you have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
Bemidbar (Numbers) 29:1 And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have an holy convocation; you shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.
As you can see in Numbers 29:1 “a day of blowing” in Hebrew is literally called “Yom Teruah.”
The Civil Calendar also governs the seven-year cycle called “the sabbatical year” or the “shmittah,” when all debts were forgiven, all slaves were set free, and the land was given a sabbatical rest (Deuteronomy 15:1-3). It also measures the 50 years of the Jubilee cycle when slaves were not only freed, but all ancestral plots of land were restored back to their original owners (Leviticus 25:8-12). Consequently, the Civil New Year, which starts on the 1st day of the 7th month of Tishri is very important and should not be written off as “rabbinic tradition.”
Civil & Sacred Calendars Unite on the 1st of Ethanim/Tishri
The Spring Feasts celebrate Messiah’s first coming as the Passover Lamb to save his people (the first-born sons of Yisra’el). And the Fall Feasts celebrate his second coming to rule and reign on the earth for 1,000 years. Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets) is the first of the fall feasts which celebrate the great end-time harvest. This is where Yahuwshuwa reaps “the elect” who are the “wheat” (as opposed to the false tares) into his presence, and the unbelievers are reaped into the wine-press of his great wrath (Revelation 14:14-20).
Therefore, the 1st of Ethanim/Tishri (Yom Teruah) celebrates the prophetic fulfillment of Messiah’s return to begin his millennial reign on earth as King of Kings (civil authority) & Lord of Lords (spiritual authority). Thus, the Jewish Rosh Ha’Shanah (the 1st of Tishri on the Civil Calendar) counts each linear year of Elohiym’s creation and determines the year of Messiah’s return as King, while Yom Teruah (the 1st of Tishri on the Sacred Calendar) celebrates the appointed time (day) of his return as our spiritual High Priest (Melchizedek).
In the Beginning Was the Word
Traditionally, the Sages and Rabbis have taught that Adam was created on the first day of the 7th month of Ethanim (Tishri). But how can we know this for certain? Well, we have a few clues in scripture. Firstly, I want to share with you the research that I did using the works of Dr. Ernest L. Martin and Roy Reinhold. From these sources (among many others), I came to the undeniable fact that our Messiah was born on September 11th in 3 B.C. This date that we use today on the Gregorian Calendar took place the 1st day of the 7th month of Tishri on Yom Teruah (Feast of Trumpets).
Our Messiah is called “The Last Adam” in scripture (1st Corinthians 15:45), thus it is fitting that both Yahuwshuwa and Adam were born on the 1st of Tishri in the 7th month. The future bride of Messiah will also, be “born-again” on the 1st of Tishri when she puts off the old body of sins in the flesh, and she puts in incorruption or immortality (1st Corinthians 15:50-53).
As we just noted, the Hebrew word for “Genesis,” is “bereshiyth,” meaning “In the beginning,” and our Messiah’s first coming is described in the first chapter of Yahuwchanon (John) as taking place
“In the beginning.” The fact that John used the same verbiage as Genesis chapter 1, would seem to indicate, that both Adam & our Messiah were born at the same time of year, on Yom Teruah.
Yahuwchanon (John) 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohiym, and the Word was Elohiym.
In the original Hebrew text, Genesis 1:1, reveals that “In the beginning” Elohiym created the “Aleph & Taw” (the beginning and the ending) or what the Greeks translated as the “Alpha & Omega” (Revelation 1:8 & 11; 21:6; 22:13). Below, you will see how this verse looks in Paleo Pictograph letters:
In the beginning at the creation, Elohiym created the “Aleph” meaning “the first” and he created “the Taw” meaning “the last.” The “Aleph” represents the Father and the “Taw” represents the Son. The “Waw” represents “the nail” and we can see above that the “Father & Son” were together from the beginning in heaven (shamayim) but when the Word became flesh and came to earth (erets), the “Father & Son” were nailed together as the “Aleph & Taw!”
In Zechariah 12:10 YaHuWaH (speaking of himself in the first person singular) spoke the following words:
The Heavenly Father is referring to himself in the first person as “me” in this passage, while the Son is being referred to as “him” in the same passage! Nevertheless, the Son became “the first-born” when he was resurrected from the dead (Colossians 1:15-18).
Interestingly, the “Father” is seen as the “Aleph & Taw” (the first and the last) and he is synonymous with the Son as the “him.” The Father is saying that they have pierced him and the Son together! This means that the Father and the Son are so perfectly united that they are not separate beings!
Yahuwshuwa Messiah is Time
Because Yahuwshuwa referred to himself as “The beginning and the ending,” this means that he is eternal, and he himself is the author of time (Revelation 1:8). It then appears that the “beginning of time” as we know it was at the beginning of creation and because he was born into the world as a baby on the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) on the 1st day of the 7th month of Tishri, then this means that “time” itself began at the 1st of Tishri in the 7th month.
Another clue that we have is that our Creator, YaHuWaH came down to Adam & Eve to talk to them in person (Genesis 3:8) and when he saw that they had eaten of the “tree of knowledge of good and evil” against his commandment, he then “made coverings for them from animal skins.”
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did YHWH Elohiym make coats of skins, and clothed them.
I believe that this event took place on Yom Kippur because the word “kippur” means “atonement” but it comes from another Hebrew root “kaphar” which means “to cover.”
Even though scripture does not come right out and tell us this, we can see hints of the fact that YaHuWaH came down as a foreshadowing of the future Messiah who would act as our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek makes atonement for our sins in eternity as he “covers us” with his blood which also qualifies us to be “clothed” in wedding garments on the future wedding day on the “Day of Atonement” (Yom Kippur).
And thus, it makes sense that YaHuWaH placed Adam in the garden on the 1st day of the 7th month of Tishri and then he gave him a wife (Hawah or Eve). This is a picture of the marriage supper of the lamb in Revelation 19:7, which will take place within seven of the ten days between the Feast of Trumpets & The Day of Atonement. It appears that Adam & Hawah (Eve) were not together as husband and wife for very long before the serpent tried to devour her “seed” (the future Messiah) by deceiving her in Genesis 3:1.
The dragon used King Herod to attempt to devour the child. It will be fulfilled again in the future on Yom Teruah when the bride of Messiah (a corporate man-child or the one new man) is “born-again” into a new resurrected body as he is born of “the woman” (the nation of Yisra’el).
The Anti-Messiah will also be used of the dragon to once again attempt to devour the man-child. We can see subtle hints in the story of creation that seem to point to the fact that Adam was created on the 1st of Tishri and YaHuWaH made “atonement” for Adam & Eve on the Day of Atonement on the 10th day of Tishri. Thus we can see both calendars coming together in the 7th month with the fall feasts, and are divided in the middle as seen on the seven-branch menorah.
Daniel’s 70th Week Divided in Half at Pentecost
For many years I had often wondered why Jacob worked for two periods of “seven years” back-to-back for Rachel; and Joseph also worked two periods of seven years back-to-back for Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
I wondered why our Messiah’s ministry did not follow in the same pattern with two periods of seven years back-to-back.
Then, one day back in 2004, as I was pondering this, YaHuWaH spoke to me while I was in prayer and he said “Why did Solomon threaten to cut that baby in half?”
This was one of those “Aha!” moments, where the revelation came in a flash. I realized that the two harlots spoken of in 1st Kings 3 represented “Both Houses of Yisra’el” as described also in Jeremiah 3. The baby is the inheritance (Messiah), and Solomon’s Kingdom was “cut in half!”
Because “Both Houses of Yisra’el” have been “cut in half,” in 1st Kings chapter 12, and consequently, “Daniel’s 70th Week”has been “cut in half!”
We have been conditioned for a long time to believe that the Great Tribulation aka Jacob’s Time of Trouble is going to last for seven years. However, I want to illustrate that “Daniel’s Seventieth Week” was divided in half by a 2,000-year gap called “The fullness of the gentiles.” In Yeshayahuw (Isaiah) 58:12, we read about this “breach,” or this gap being repaired. What is this gap, or breach? It is the dividing of both Houses of Yisra’el!
This breach or gap in the house has been in the process of being repaired during these past 2,000 years. In Genesis 48:19, Jacob prophesied over this grandson, Ephraim,“His seed shall become a multitude of nations.” This phrase in Hebrew is translated as “Melo ha’goyim,” which literally means “The fullness of the gentiles,” which is the very same phrase used by the Apostle Sha’ul (Paul) in Romans 11:25. It is when this period of time is complete, that the “Blindness of Yisra’el shall be healed!”
Ya’aqob (Jacob) whose name was changed to “Yisra’el” (Israel) was going blind because of old age when he pronounced his blessing on Ephraim. The Apostle Sha’ul (Paul) recognized this “blindness of Yisra’el” as a metaphor for their spiritual blindness to their Messiah, which would be healed after the gentiles would become full in their maturity.
In recent years, a well-known Messianic teacher has published a hypothesis that our Messiah’s ministry lasted for only “seventy weeks.” However, I disagree with this notion, because we have patterns throughout scripture pointing to a 3 ½ year ministry. We have the pattern of Eliyahuw (Elijah) the prophet praying in the days of Jezebel & Ahab that it would not rain for three and a half years (James 5:17). We also have the pattern of the two witnesses in Revelation 11:3 where they are given a ministry that lasts for “1,260 days,” or 3 ½ years.
Our Messiah fulfilled the first half of “Daniel’s Seventieth Week” with a 3 ½ year ministry which began on Yom Kippur, and ended on Shabuwoth (Pentecost), when he poured out his spirit as promised. The second half of “Daniel’s Seventieth Week” will continue when the two witnesses will pick up where Messiah left off at Shabuwoth (Pentecost) with a ministry that will last for 3 ½ years (1,260 days); their ministry will culminate on Yom Kippur.
Our Messiah fulfilled all three Spring Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread & First-Fruits fulfilling his death, burial & resurrection. He also fulfilled an intermediate fulfillment of Pentecost when he poured out his Ruwach (Spirit). Pentecost therefore serves as a dividing point for when our Messiah completed his 3 ½ years of ministry. In the future, when the two witnesses begin their 3 ½ years of ministry (1,260 days), it will begin on Shabuwoth or Pentecost!
Thus, these two periods of 3 ½ years are divided by 2,000 years of what is called “The fullness of the gentiles” or “Melo ha’goyim.” It is fitting that the last seven years of “Daniel’s Seventieth Week” would be divided in half, and that each half is connected at Pentecost. The fullness of the gentiles began at Pentecost when Keefa (Peter) quoted the end-time events of the Joel 2:28-32.
Often times in prophecy, there is the immediate natural fulfillment, and later it’s parallel fulfillment concerning the spiritual. The dual nature of Messianic prophecy has caused the nation of Yisra’el to be blinded by the first appearance of Messiah who came as a “suffering servant.”
Few have pondered the question, “Why did the Prophet Joel prophesy in four verses the beginning and the end of the times of the Gentiles of which many call ‘the Church age?’”
Upon announcing the fulfillment of the first two verses of Joel’s prophecy on Pentecost (Shabuwoth), Keefa (Peter) begins the first two verses as an explanation for the outpouring of the Spirit of Elohiym. The next two verses concluded with atmospheric judgments found in Revelation 6:12-17. When Yahuwshuwa fulfilled the Feast of Shabuwoth (Pentecost) by baptizing his disciples in fire, it marked the beginning of the “last days.” At the end of this 2,000-year gap, (at the “last trump,”) and immediately after the atmospheric signs mentioned in Acts 2:18-19, Yahuwshuwa will gather his elect (Matthew 24:28-31).
This 2,000-year gap between the prophetic fulfillment of the “Feast of Weeks” (Pentecost) and the resurrection of the bride on the “Feast of Trumpets” is when Messiah gathers his elect, and it marks the beginning of the end of this last “age” prior to the second coming of Messiah. On the Feast of Trumpets, when the elect are gathered will mark the end of Daniel’s 70th Week (Daniel 9:24-27). For a more detailed explanation, I recommend reading the blog entitled: “Who Confirms the Covenant of Daniel’s 70th Week?”
Three Agricultural Seasons Parallel to Three Harvests in History
There are three harvest times in Yisra’el during the seven-month long agricultural year.
1.) The Barley Harvest in the Spring.
The spring barley harvest commences on the “The Day of First-fruits,” or in Hebrew “Yom ha’Bikkuriym” (Leviticus 23:9-14).
This is precisely the feast on which our Messiah resurrected from the dead. At this time, he harvested all the souls who died under what is commonly known as “The Old Covenant.” In Luke chapter 16:22, our Messiah told a true account of man named Lazarus, (a poor beggar), and a rich man who refused to help him.
The poor man was being comforted in a place known as “Abraham’s Bosom.” This is the same place where he told the thief next to him on the cross “Verily I say unto you, Today shall you be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). This is where our Messiah went when it says in Ephesians 4:
Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore he says, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Ephesians 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Ephesians 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Where did he descend to, and where did he afterward ascend to? When scripture says that he went to the “lower parts of the earth,” it is referring to this place called “Paradise,” also called “Abraham’s Bosom.” Paradise is a temporary holding place for the righteous who die and await the resurrection of their bodies.
As soon as our Messiah yielded up his spirit, Matthew 27:50-51 scripture records that there was an earthquake, and the temple veil was torn from top to bottom. Additionally the graves of many were opened, and the bodies of these righteous souls resurrected, and then appeared to many!
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
These were the first-fruits of men’s souls from Abraham’s Bosom. At this time, he also presented these souls before the Father in heaven at the throne. On the Day of First Fruits, the priest in the temple is commanded to cut the first sheaf of the year’s barley harvest, and then wave the sheaf before YaHuWaH:
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 23:11 And he shall wave the sheaf before YHWH, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 23:12 And you shall offer that day when you wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto YHWH.
Our Messiah fulfilled this feast, when he presented the first-fruits of his harvest of souls before the Father in heaven as his wave sheaf.
2.) The First Wheat Harvest in the Summer.
After our Messiah resurrected from the dead, he remained here on earth for forty days, as he taught his disciples the Towrah. Ten days before he ascended, he promised to pour out his spirit on his disciples to empower them to be witnesses for him:
“But you shall receive power, after that the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit) is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), and in all Yahuwdah (Judaea), and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
And when that day arrived, Keefa (Peter) preached a sermon, and 3,000 souls were saved that day (Acts 2:41). This was a reversal of the 3,000 souls who perished in the wilderness in the days of Korah’s rebellion, when the earth opened it’s mouth, and swallowed them up (Exodus 32:28). It was this harvest of souls that would commence the beginning of “The fullness of the gentiles.”
In Leviticus 23:17-18, the command on the Feast of Weeks (Shabuwoth) is to wave “two loaves” of barley baked in the fire:
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 23:17 You shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the first fruits unto YHWH.
The first wheat harvest of the year is to commence on the Feast of Weeks, and we are told not to harvest the four corners of the field so that there would be enough gleanings for the poor and the stranger. This is symbolic of the second harvest of souls in history, when Keefa (Peter) preached a sermon that won 3,000 souls to Messiah.
Those who were saved at this event, went out into the world to preach the good news of Messiah. They were not to harvest the four corners of the earth until the end of days, when our Messiah will gather his elect from the four corners of the earth (Matthew 24:29-31).
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 23:22 And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of your field when you reap, neither shall you gather any gleaning of your harvest: you shall leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am YHWH your Elohiym.
3.) The Second Wheat & Grape Harvest in the Autumn.
The final end-time harvest will culminate at the return of during the three fall feasts. On the Feast of Trumpets (Day of Blowing), Messiah will take his bride with him to the New Jerusalem for a seven-day honeymoon, just like Leah & Jacob had “one week” to consummate their marriage (Genesis 29:27-28). Ten days later, on Yom Kippur, our Messiah will return on what is called “The Great & Terrible Day of YaHuWaH,” or “The Day of Vengeance of our Elohiym.”
This is when he will harvest the wicked tares and will gather them to the battle of Armageddon where they shall be eaten by the birds of prey (Revelation 19:17-18). Revelation chapter 14:14-20 details the harvesting of the earth, where the Son of man comes with a golden crown and in his hand a “sharp sickle.”
The Seventh Month is for His Covenant Bride
In the first four feasts of the year, we see the prophetic fulfillment of when Messiah harvested the souls who had departed and were waiting in Paradise. We also see that there were those who were saved on the Pentecost when they heard of Peter’s sermon.
Since the number “seven” symbolizes covenant, it is no surprise that he saves the last part of the year for his bride. At the wedding of Cana, our Messiah was demonstrating the final end-time marriage supper of the lamb:
Yahuwchanon (John) And said unto him, Every man at the beginning does set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then, that which is worse: but you have kept the good wine until now.
At his first coming, Yahuwshuwa Messiah came for the “House of Judah” (typified in Rachel), but his gospel was rejected by them and sent to the nations. Ya’aqob (Jacob) also was hoping to marry Rachel (typified in the House of Judah), but he was disappointed to discover that he had married Leah, who typifies the Gentiles.
After Jacob “finished the week” with Leah, he was finally able to marry Rachel as well. The same pattern is seen with Messiah who had come for the House of Judah, but instead, he was given those in the nations as his bride. John 1:11 says “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” At his second coming, our Messiah will finally be married to those from the House of Judah on Yom Kippur, when his feet shall land on the Mount of Olives, and they will finally see him face-to-face (see Zechariah 12:10).
During those “Ten Days of Awe,” between the Feast of Trumpets (when he gathers the first bride) and Yom Kippur, (when he comes for the second bride), there will be a literal “seven-day” honeymoon between Yahuwshuwa Messiah and his bride. The bride will consist of all those who are all born-again believers (Jew & Gentile) in the nations, who are typified in Leah.
The name “Leah” (Jacob’s first wife) has multiple meanings. Her name means “weak-eyed” but it also means “cow.” The name Rachel means “lamb” and our Messiah (who is the sacrificial lamb) would come from Bethlehem-Judah, where she was buried.
Leah represents the ten sons of Ya’aqob (Jacob) who were later scattered to the nations under the tribal name of “Ephraim.” Ephraim is likened unto a “heifer” (cow) in Hosea 10:11. Leah was the mother of six biological sons, and then two more by her handmaiden, Zilpah for a total of eight sons, and one daughter, Dinah. After Rachel died, however, Leah also became the mother of Joseph & Benjamin, making her the mother of ten sons. Additionally, Leah inherited the sons of Bilhah (Rachel’s maid). This would make her the mother of all twelves sons of Jacob.
However, as previously mentioned, Rachel is buried in Bethlehem-Judah, and her youngest son, Benjamin is eternally bound to Judah. This means that Rachel is the mother of Judah & Benjamin, the “Two Southern Tribes of the Kingdom of Judah.”
Conversely, Leah is the mother of the “Ten Northern Tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim.” Judah & Benjamin were both instrumental in bringing about restoration between Joseph and the other sons of Jacob. We can see that the two families end up switching places in the last days. Judah becomes like Ephraim (the prodigal son) in the last days, but he returns home, just as many Jews have returned to the land of Israel since 1948. However, Ephraim begins to obey Towrah (like Judah) and thus, “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first” (Matthew 19:30; 20:8 & 16; Mark 10:31; Luke 13:30).
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 2:
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth (angry), and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) the prophet, saying,
18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
Rachel’s children are those of Bethlehem-Judah, while the House of Ephraim are Leah’s children. If Ephraim is the grandson of Rachel, then why is he assimilated to Leah? Did you ever notice that Leah was buried with Jacob, but Rachel was not? Here we read that Jacob was buried with his first wife Leah:
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 49:31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
And what does this tell us about Leah? Pay attention to this, because you are going to see that those who are buried in baptism are the true bride of Messiah:
Romiym (Romans) 6:
3 Know you not, that so many of us as were immersed (baptized) into Yahuwshuwa Mashiyach were immersed (baptized) into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by immersion (baptism) into death: that like as Mashiyach was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.
Are you getting the picture yet? Those who are “buried in baptism” with Messiah are the true bride! Leah represents the “first-born” from among the dead, because she was buried with Jacob! She represents the born-again bride who will be caught up to meet the bridegroom on the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah). Leah was the first-born daughter of Laban, therefore she symbolizes those who are called “my first-born,” just as Ephraim is called “my first-born,” in Jeremiah 31:9.
What does it mean to be the “first-born?” Our Messiah was the first-born son of his mother Miriam (Matthew 1:25 & Luke 2:7). However, he was also the first to be resurrected, and therefore called “The first born from the dead” (Colossians 1:18). You might be asking yourself at this point “What about those who were resurrected before the cross?” What about the boy whom Elijah the prophet raised from the dead in 1st Kings 17:17-24?
It is important to understand, that in eternity, time is not linear as it is here on earth. The past, present and future co-exist as one time continuum, in circular fashion rather than linear. Our Messiah is the first in eternity to be resurrected from the dead. That is why he said to Martha in John 11:25 “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
1st Corinthians 15:20 But now is Messiah risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”
1st Corinthians 15:23 But every man in his order: Messiah the firstfruits; afterward they that are Messiahs at his coming.
Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Revelation 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto Elohiym and to the Lamb.
Our Messiah illustrated through his life, that we must first be born of water (the amniotic sack in the womb), and then we must be born of the spirit. He was the first-born of Miriam (Mary) in the natural, and he was also the first-born in eternity. Those of us who are born of the spirit, are born-again of incorruptible seed. This means that one day, we shall also be resurrected into immortality as was our Messiah.
1st Keefa (Peter) 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of Elohiym, which lives and abides forever.
Leah symbolizes the bride who will be married to the bridegroom first on Yom Teruah. She was the first-born in the natural, as well as the first-born spiritually, for she was buried with her husband Jacob.
Nevertheless, after Jacob fulfilled the week with Leah, he married her sister Rachel, who typifies the last-born or the House of Judah.
Joseph’s “double portion inheritance” given to him by his father, Jacob would be realized through Ephraim, who is called “my first-born” (Jeremiah 31:9).
Now, you may be asking yourself “Why does Leah typify the House of Ephraim, and why does Rachel typify the House of Judah?”
When Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin, her body was buried in Bethlehem-Judah, which is also named “Ephrath,” another name for Bethlehem. This name also means “fruitfulness,” just as the name “Ephraim,” means “double fruit.” When King Herod killed all the baby boys of the House of Judah two years old and under, Rachel’s children are referred to as those of the House of Judah.
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 35:19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 2:
17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) the prophet, saying,
18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
Yirmeyahuw (Jeremiah) 31:15 Thus says YHWH; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.
The Hebrew Concordance show us the definition for Ephrath, and that it is another name for Bethlehem which is in the Southern Kingdom of Judah:
#672 Ephraath ef-rawth or Ephrathah {ef-raw'-thaw}; from 6509; fruitfulness; Ephrath, another name for Bethlehem; once (Psa. 132:6) perhaps for Ephraim; also of an Israelitish woman:--Ephrath, Ephratah.
Now, here is where it gets interesting. As previously mentioned, Rachel gave birth to Benjamin (Benyamin) whose name means “son of my right hand.” Originally, Rachel named him “Benoni,” meaning “son of my sorrow,” but Jacob renamed him. Rachel naming her son “son of my sorrow,” indicates that she repented for idolatry, before she died, and that she will be redeemed and resurrected.
Years later, when Joseph was selling grain in Egypt to his brothers, (and he had not yet revealed his identity to them), he sent them back home to fetch his younger brother Benjamin. Meanwhile, he held Simeon in prison as collateral to insure that they would return to Egypt with Benjamin (Genesis 43-44). The only problem was that Jacob refused to allow Benjamin to leave, fearing that he would lose him, just as he had lost Joseph. It was Judah who stepped in to save the day, as he promised to become “surety,” for Benjamin forever:
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 43:9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shall you require him: if I bring him not unto you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.
The Hebrew word for “surety,” is defined as follows:
#6148 `arab aw-rab' a primitive root; to braid, i.e. intermix; technically, to traffic (as if by barter); also or give to be security (as a kind of exchange):--engage, (inter-)meddle (with), mingle (self), mortgage, occupy, give pledges, be(-come, put in) surety, undertake.
Because Judah made this promise to his father Jacob, it remains to this day, that the Tribe of Judah is part of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and they are inseparable. Rachel’s youngest son, Benjamin was now eternally bound to Judah. It is no wonder that Rachel was buried in what is now the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Not only was Rachel physically a part of Judah by burial, but she was spiritually a part of Judah by virtue of a promise.
Judah promised to be “Benjamin’s keeper forever.” The English Standard Version says it this way: “I will be a pledge of his safety. From my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.”
Rachel, who had previously been barren for a time, (and was not as fruitful as her older sister Leah), was buried in Ephrath, (Bethlehem-Judah), which means “fruitfulness.” This is a hint, that Rachel will become fruitful when she resurrects, and her sons are joined into one stick as prophesied in Ezekiel 37:16. Rachel’s son Joseph will be joined to Judah, and they shall become one. Similarly, Rachel & Leah will no longer be two separate brides of Jacob, but they shall become as “one bride,” of Messiah at his return.
After Rachel died, Leah became the mother of all twelve sons of Jacob, which would also include Joseph and his two sons. Even though Leah did not give birth to Joseph, all eleven sons of Jacob would ultimately be ruled by Joseph as foretold in his prophetic dream (Genesis 37:6-8).
This is how Leah & Rachel ended up “trading places.” Rachel became the mother of the Southern Kingdom of Judah, and Leah became the mother of the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim. This is the reason why Ya’aqob (Jacob) who was renamed as “Yisra’el” crossed his arms over and placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head (making him the first-born) and his left hand on Manasseh’s head (making him the last). Both Houses of Yisra’el have at different times in history traded places, with each other, just as Leah & Rachel traded places with one another in their circumstances.
Two Brides Become One Bride
Seven Feasts of YaHuWaH
1.) Passover: Messiah’s death as the Passover Lamb for the first-born & his death as the Red Heifer for “the prodigal son” Ephraim, the younger son in Luke 15. When the younger son returned home, the Father killed the “fatted calf”(Luke 15:23) symbolic of the Red Heifer. When the younger son receives this blood atonement for his sins, he is advanced to the “first-born” status when he is “born-again” of incorruptible seed by the Holy Spirit (1st Peter 1:23; Jeremiah 31:9).
2.) Unleavened Bread: Messiah’s burial. Leah was buried with Jacob but Rachel was not (Genesis 49:31). This means that only those who are willing to “die” to the old nature with Messiah in burial (baptism) will be raised to new life with him.
3.) First-Fruits: Messiah’s resurrection and “first-fruits” offering for the righteous souls who died under the Old Covenant are typified in the spring barley harvest.
4.) Pentecost: This 4th feast brings together all of those redeemed under both covenants (Leah & Rachel) and it is the “middle branch” on the menorah, as well as the “middle feast” representing Messiah who brings together both houses of Yisra’el and both covenants. Messiah came to us in the 4th millennium at his first coming and he comes from the tribe of Judah (the 4th son born to Leah) and he represents “the door” to the Father (the 4th letter in the Hebrew Alphabet) called “the dalet.”
Also, in the name YaHuWDaH (Judah), the dalet is the 4th letter. And finally, Messiah died on the 4th day of the week “in the midst of the week” (Daniel 9:27) and this was on a Wednesday. He also resurrected at the close of the 7th day of the week (the Sabbath) which represents his second coming at the last feast of the sacred year which is the Feast of Tabernacles.
Three Fall Feasts & Latter Rain Harvest
5.) Trumpets: This is the feast where the Renewed Covenant believers who are typified in Leah (Ten Northern Tribes of Ephraim) are redeemed. These symbolize the born-again (redeemed) gentiles, (nations) the bullock, the Red Heifer. These are redeemed at the sound of the last trumpet on this feast.
There are four different types of trumpets sounded on the Feast of Trumpets and the number “4” represents “the four angels from the four winds of heaven who gather the elect from the four corners of the earth!” These four types of trumpet blasts are as follows:
*First Trumpet: The Tekiah - A pure unbroken sound that calls man to search his heart, forsake his wrong ways, and seek forgiveness through repentance.
*Second Trumpet: The Shebarim - A broken, staccato, trembling sound. It typifies the sorrow that comes to man when he realizes his misconduct and desires to change his ways. It sounds like a man moaning in repentance.
*Third Trumpet: The Teruah - A wave-like sound of alarm calling upon man to stand by the banner of Elohiym.
*Fourth Trumpet: The Tekiah Gedolah - The prolonged, unbroken sound typifying a final appeal to sincere repentance and atonement.
This 4th trumpet is “the last trumpet” sound made on the Feast of Trumpets and this represents “the four angels from the four winds and the four corners of the earth” as they gather the elect (Matthew 24:29-31).
6.) Yom Kippur: This is the 6th feast of the year and it represents the redemption of mankind, because Adam was created on the 6th day of creation. This will be the day when the remnant from the House of Yahuwdah (Judah) who are sealed (according to Ezekiel 9 & Revelation 7) will see their Messiah “face-to-face.” This will happen at the Jubilee in the last 50th year as redemption for the House of Yahuwdah (Judah). This is when Yahuwshuwa will also be married to the other bride from the House of Judah who will finally accept him as their Messiah when they see him face-to-face. These redeemed Jews are typified in Rachel.
7.) Tabernacles: This feast will begin the “in-gathering” of both Houses of Yisra’el as Messiah will make them both as “one stick” (Ezekiel 37:16-17) or one bride and this will commence the “Sabbath Millennium” which will last for 1,000 years or (one day) as “One thousand years is like one day to YHWH” (2nd Peter 3:8).
While the Feast of Trumpets takes place at the Civil New Year (because it commences at the time of creation when linear time began), it can be seen as “the anniversary of time.” YaHuWaH’s physical creation of man began on the 1st of Tishri in the 7th month with Adam. But mankind’s spiritual redemption began in the 1st month of Abib when YaHuWaH brought Yisra’el out of Egypt. Hence, the 1st day of the 7th month is when we are born physically, and the 1st day of the 1st month is when we are born spiritually. This reminds us of what Yahuwshuwa said to Nicodemus:
Yahuwchanon (John) 3:
5 Yahuwshuwa answered, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Elohiym.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
We must first be born of water (the amniotic sack in the mother’s womb) which means we are born physically of water. And then we are born-again when we die to the old sinful nature in baptism of the water of repentance. And that is when we are born from above of the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit). Hence, the fall feasts are akin to being born physically (of water) and the spring feasts are akin to being born spiritually (of the Spirit). The New Year in the spring on the first of Abib represents our spiritual birth or renewal. But the Civil New Year in the fall (between Yom Teruah & Yom Kippur) represents our physical birth when we put on immortality in the future!
The Thirty Days of Elul
In Ancient biblical times the Hebrew people had a tradition where the watchmen gave a trumpet warning each day for thirty days leading up to Yom Teruah (Day of Blowing). These thirty days of Elul was a time of preparation leading up to the Fall Feasts.
In Revelation 11:8, the “two witnesses” are “caught up” and taken up to YaHuWaH as “the seventh angel” in heaven sounds the trumpet/shofar! This can only mean one thing! The “catching away” of the bride or what is commonly called “The Rapture” is going to happen on the Yom Teruah or the Day of Blowing. This will happen “after” the 1,260 days of the ministry of the two witnesses. The account of the two witnesses being resurrected correlates exactly to the gathering of the elect from the four corners of the earth. You will notice that this event occurs with a “great sound of a trumpet!”
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 24:29-31 Immediately after the tribulation [1,260 days] of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
In 1st Corinthians 15:50-53 we are told that we are going to be “changed” by putting on incorruption (immortality) “at the last trumpet” and this is none other than the “seventh trumpet” sounded in Revelation 11:8 as well as the “great sound of a trumpet” in Matthew 24:31 “immediately after the tribulation” (1,260 days)!
Yahuwshuwa’s Mikvah on the First Day of the 6th Month of Elul
We see his cousin John, (a Levite) choosing the Yom Kippur sacrificial goat that would be killed for the sins of the people (John 1:29). We also Yahuwshuwa washing himself in the Jordan river, just as the High Priest washed himself before performing his Yom Kippur duties in Leviticus 16:4.
We then see him being lead into the wilderness in the same manner as the scapegoat in Leviticus 16:10. After he emerged from the wilderness, he read Isaiah 61, which uses language that speaks of Yom Kippur typology. The High Priest who announces the acceptable year, along with the pronouncement of liberty to the captives, are all events that take place only on Yom Kippur!
Even though he only read half of Isaiah 61:2, and then closed the book, the rest of the verse speaks of a future Yom Kippur wherein he will “comfort those who will mourn for him” (Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 24:30). This is the very same event when he will also “avenge the blood of his saints,” for it will be The Day of Vengeance, when he returns on a white horse to judge the wicked (Revelation 19:2). Undeniably, these are all clues that his baptism took place forty days earlier from that reading of Isaiah 61, which was obviously a High Sabbath, most likely, Yom Kippur.
The 1st day of the 6th month of Elul correlates to the sixth day of creation when Adam was “born” or created. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that Elohiym created male and female in his image on the sixth day. In Genesis 2:3, Elohiym rested from all his work, and he sanctified the seventh day of the week. In Genesis 2:7, YaHuWaH Elohiym “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Could it be that, YaHuWaH formed Adam on the sixth day, but he did not fill him with his spirit until the Sabbath day? Our Messiah fasted for those forty days, and then returned from the wilderness full of the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14). Was Yahuwshuwa restoring sinful man back to his pre-fallen state? Is there a parallel that we are to notice here? Adam was created on the 6th day, and our Messiah was being tempted all during the 6th month. Adam was filled with the spirit presumably on the seventh day, and our Messiah also returned from his fast in the wilderness full of the spirit.
It would seem that the supernatural and the miraculous has been reserved for the Sabbath day in order to illustrate his power and might. The man with the withered hand was made whole on the Sabbath day (Matthew 12:10; Luke 13:14). The walls of Jericho fell on a Sabbath day to illustrate that his covenant is at work when he is doing the miraculous for his people.
By the end of the 6th day of creation going into the 7th day, is when YaHuWaH would have rested, and then “breathed into Adam the breath of life.” The ancient sages and Rabbis of old believed that Adam was created on the 1st day of the 7th month of Tishri, and this also correlates to the seventh day of the week, when Adam was given breath. The bride of Messiah will also be given new life on the “The Day of Blowing,” aka Feast of Trumpets.
Could it be that YaHuWaH “blew his nostrils” and thus breathed into Adam on the 7th day, which correlates to the 7th month?
Before a baby is born, he is in the womb with water in the amniotic sac. The 6th month is when Yahuwshuwa was immersed in water just like the amniotic sac. Could it be that the 6th day when Adam was created, he was born of water? And then on the 7th day, he was also born of the spirit?
Likewise it is prophetically fitting that our Messiah’s baptism represented his legal moment of death, but also his legal moment of “birth.” In Romans 6:4 we previously learned that baptism is a picture of “death, burial & resurrection.”
Yahuwshuwa Fasted in the Wilderness Forty Days
There are thirty days in each month on the Hebrew Calendar, and the month of Elul is no exception. In Ancient times in Jerusalem, a shofar or trumpet was sounded every day for 29 days during the month of Elul. However, on the 30th day, no shofar sound was made. This was done in order to trick the enemy, so that no man could no the day nor the hour when the Feast of Trumpets would begin.
It also served as a barrier between the 6th month Elul and the 7th month of Tishri. If our Messiah was born on the first of Tishri, his mother Miriam was in labor all that day on the first of Tishri, but by the end of the day, (just as it was about to become the 2nd day of Tishri), she gave one last shout and pushed, and our Messiah was born!
As an adult, just as he was about to turn 30 years of age, the devil (knowing that he would be the High Priest for Yisra’el tried to tempt him to jump off a high pinnacle. He did not want him to make it to his 30th birthday, for fear that he would be eligible to act as the Melchizedek. All during that month, our Messiah was 29 years old, and he was “shouting” at the devil “It is written!” It was finally on that 30th day of Elul, that the devil was silenced and he left him. Then the angels came and ministered to him.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 4:
1 Then was Yahuwshuwa led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If you be the Son of Elohiym, command that these stones be made bread.
Why would the Holy Spirit lead Yahuwshuwa to fast and pray immediately following his baptism for 40 days and nights?
Yahuwshuwa was celebrating the 40 days of repentance leading up to Yom Kippur!
How do we know Yahuwshuwa was baptized 40 days before the Day of Atonement?
On the Day of Atonement, (Yom Kippur) the priests in the temple were commanded to cast lots to determine which of the twin goats would be the sacrificial goat, and which one would be the scapegoat. The sacrificial goat would be killed, but the scapegoat would be sent into the wilderness (the full instructions are found in Leviticus 16).
When Yahuwshuwa came to John for baptism, all of his actions were meant to fulfill the requirements of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). While the priests were carrying out these rituals in the temple in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), Yahuwshuwa came to Yahuwchanon (John) for baptism.
John was the true High Priest in the eyes of Elohiym. Caiaphas was the High Priest in the temple, chosen by Rome. Yahuwshuwa was, in effect, presenting himself as the first goat, which was to be “killed” for the cleansing of the sanctuary.
After his baptism, Matthew 4:1 says: “Then was Yahuwshuwa led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”
He immediately fulfilled the pattern of the second goat, which at that time was being led “by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness” (Leviticus 16:21).
The Hebrew word translated “fit” here means: seasonal, timely, or ready. In this case, we see that the “fit man” was the Ruwach ha’Qodesh (Holy Spirit), who always comes at the appointed time and season to do the work.
Yahuwshuwa’s baptism and the immediate leading of the Spirit into the wilderness ran directly parallel to the temple activities on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). These events reveal that he was immersed (baptized) forty days before the Day of Atonement, which would have been about 30 days before his 30th birthday.
Yahuwshuwa was born on September 11th in 3 B.C. on “Yom Teruah” or “Day of Trumpets.” A book entitled “The Star That Astonished the World” by Dr. Ernest L. Martin shows that the planetary alignment which occurred that year when Yahuwshuwa was born was from this prophecy:
Chazown (Revelation) 12:
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered…
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto Elohiym, and to his throne.
On no other day except on September 11th in 3 B.C. do we see this very same planetary alignment taking place. On this day and never before this date nor ever again afterwards, has this same constellation been seen.
It was “Virgo, the virgin” or “Bethulah” (in Hebrew), and she had 12 stars around her head (for the twelve tribes of Yisra’el), and the moon was underneath her feet. The sun was “mid- body” and so she was “clothed with the sun” and she was giving birth to “Ariel” the Lion of the Tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah). This happened at no other time in history except on this date which was a holy day in which Elohiym already commanded Yisra’el to “keep forever” and this day is called Yom Teruah, a “memorial of blowing trumpets.”
The Heavenly Father was “announcing” the arrival of his son into the world with trumpets and shouting! I believe that Yahuwshuwa was born at the “tail-end” of the 1st of Tishri (just before it became the 2nd day of Tishri at sundown). This would mean that one only needs to count eight days until the 9th day of the 7th month of Tishri, when Yom Kippur actually begins:
Wayyiqra (Leviticus) 23:32 It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening unto evening, shall you celebrate your Sabbath.
Eight days after his birth, his parents circumcised Yahuwshuwa in the temple on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Then 5 days later was the Feast of Tabernacles called “Sukkoth” where Miriam (Mary) & Yahuwceph (Joseph) would have done what every other Yisraelite family would have done which is to “dwell in a sukkah.”
The Hebrew word for tabernacle is “sukkah” which is not the same thing as a stable or a manger. The Greek word for “manger” is Strong’s #G5336 “phatne,” meaning “a feeding trough, an animal stall.”
Luke 1:36 tells us that it was the 6th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy when Miriam (Mary) conceived Yahuwshuwa. This is how we know that there are exactly six months between the birth of John and our Messiah. Counting 180 days from Passover (6 months after Elizabeth gave birth to John) landed precisely on Yom Teruah or the Feast of Trumpets when Yahuwshuwa was born!
In Luke 3:23, we are told that Yahuwshuwa was “beginning to be about 30 years old” when he was immersed by his cousin John. He was not quite 30 years old yet, but he would be on the Feast of Trumpets within 30 days following his baptism!
In order to fulfill the Towrah, neither John the Baptist, nor our Messiah, were eligible for initiation into the ministry until they were fully 30 years old (Numbers 4:3, 23, 30, 35, 39). Scripture tells us that John the Baptist was six months older than Yahuwshuwa. The angel Gabriel came to Miriam in the “sixth month” of Elizabeth’s pregnancy to announce that she would conceive Yahuwshuwa (Luke 1:24-36). John probably began his ministry around his 30th birthday which had fallen on Passover.
If Yahuwshuwa had been born during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), he would not have been able to act as the High Priest that year by declaring “The Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH” on Yom Kippur!
Why not? Because Yom Kippur is five days earlier than the Feast of Tabernacles. Yahuwshuwa was fulfilling the role of the High Priest that year when he read the Isaiah 61 scroll in Luke 4:19.
Only the High Priest was allowed to declare “The Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH.” According to the Towrah, a priest must be 30 years of age before he can enter the priesthood. This can only mean one thing. His 30th birthday had to occur BEFORE the The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) in order for him to be the High Priest that year so that he could The Acceptable Year of YaHuWaH!”
Five days after his circumcision as an infant on Yom Kippur, Yahuwshuwa then dwelled with his parents during The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). Thus we can see that he actually fulfilled all three fall feasts at the time of his nativity!
On the Feast of Tabernacles we are commanded to live in temporary shelters outside for seven days. This is meant to illustrate to us that we are dwelling in a temporary body that will one day decay and be replaced by a new resurrected body. It also shows us that this earth that we live in is also temporary and it will burn up one day and be replaced by the “New Heaven & New Earth” (Revelation 21:1).
Thus we can see that the bride will be born into immortality on the same day as when our Messiah was born. And then the bride will dwell in the “chuppah” (honeymoon chamber) with her bridegroom for seven days!
In Leviticus 23, YaHuWaH established three very important prophetically significant “mowediym” (holy feast days) in the autumn of the year. They all occur in the seventh month of the Hebrew Calendar, which is called the month of Tishri.
This correlates roughly with September or October of our Gregorian Calendar. Now let us observe the pattern for the three fall feasts and how they reveal Messiah and his bride:
*Feast of Trumpets: (1st day of the 7th month of Tishri): The birth of Messiah, and the future birth of the bride into immortality.
*Day of Atonement: (10th day of the 7th month of Tishri): The circumcision of Messiah, and the bride’s heart is circumcised in the future; both brides are made one bride (one stick) in the hand of YaHuWaH (Ezekiel 37:16-17).
*Feast of Tabernacles: (15th day of the 7th month of Tishri): Messiah dwelt with his parents in the sukkah & the future bride will dwell with her bridegroom in the sukkah (chuppah) for the seven-day “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:7).
Yahuwshuwa fulfilled an intermediate fulfillment of the Day of Atonement aka “Yom Kippur” when he was baptized; and since baptism is a symbol of death (Romans 6:4), he was portraying the role of the sacrificial goat. Immediately following that event, he was sent by the Holy Spirit to portray the scapegoat into the wilderness for forty days to be tested on our behalf. In other words, during these forty days of repentance leading up to Yom Kippur, Yahuwshuwa was being tempted on our behalf so that we too could also overcome sin:
Ibriym (Hebrews) 4:15 For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Forty Days for Forty Years
By observing Ezekiel, we can add yet another layer of understanding for why our Messiah went to the wilderness to fast and pray for forty days and forty nights.
He knew that the House of Yahuwdah (Judah) was going to reject him as their Messiah, as they were given forty years to accept him from the time of his death on the tree in 30 A.D. leading up to the Roman Siege in 70 A.D. This is precisely why he fasted and prayed for their future sins, just as Ezekiel had done years earlier:
Yechezqel (Ezekiel) 4:
1 You also, son of man, take you a tile, and lay it before you, and pourtray upon it the city, even Yerushalayim (Jerusalem):
2 And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.
*Note: This is a prophecy about Jerusalem and how they would be judged in the Roman Siege in 70 A.D. For 40 years they were given a period of “testing” to see if they would accept their Messiah whom they pierced or not. And at the end of those 40 years, they still did not repent. That is when the Romans came in and destroyed their city and their temple according to Daniel 9:26. Yahuwshuwa also prophesied against Jerusalem in agreement with Daniel & Ezekiel’s prophecies (Matthew 23:37-39).
Yechezqel (Ezekiel) 4:
3 Moreover take you unto you an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city: and set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Yisra’el.
4 Lie you also upon your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Yisra’el upon it: according to the number of the days that you shall lie upon it you shall bear their iniquity.
5 For I have laid upon you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shall you bear the iniquity of the house of Yisra’el.
*Note: The Ten Northern Tribes of Yisra’el had been taken captive into Assyria for 390 years and their captivity was now over by the time that Yahuwshuwa had come to earth as the Messiah. Now, his judgment was against the House of Yahuwdah (Judah) for their leaders were not doing their job in bringing back these lost sheep from the scattered tribes after the Assyrian Captivity:
Yechezqel (Ezekiel) 4:
6 And when you have accomplished them, lie again on your right side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Yahuwdah (Judah) forty days: I have appointed you each day for a year.
7 Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), and your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it.
*Note: Here we see that Ezekiel foretold about Jerusalem’s future sins for not accepting their Messiah and not bringing back the lost sheep of the House of Yisra’el. The leaders of the House of Yahuwdah were making many man-made rules and regulations that kept the other tribes from returning back to the covenant. Hence, our Messiah had to come to redeem them himself.
The Yom Kippur Miracle for Forty Years
In the Jewish Talmud, there is a detailed record of the events of our Messiah’s crucifixion, and the subsequent forty years of impending judgement.
These events are called “The Forty Year Yom Kippur Miracle.” Beginning in 30 A.D., (when our Messiah was crucified at the age of 33), and culminating in 70 A.D. (when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem), the Talmud explains what took place in the temple.
In Yisra’el, before the time of Messiah, the priests were required to draw lots on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) to see whether or not YaHuWaH Elohiym would forgive them of their sins as a nation or not. The priests would draw either a white stone (for YaHuWaH) or a black stone (for the scapegoat) to determine what the goat would be used for. For the 200 years before 30 A.D, the white and black stones came up about even with each other (50/50 chance).
However, for the 40 years after 30 A.D., the black stone came up EVERY time! The chance of that happening is about 5.5 billion to 1.
The priests would also take a red ribbon (symbolizing sin/blood) and tie half around the horn of the scapegoat and tie half to the temple door. The scapegoat bore the sins of the nation of Yisra’el. If YaHuWaH forgave them of their sins, the red ribbon on the temple door would miraculously turn white. This was done in front of a large crowd to show them they had Elohiym’s favor:
Yeshayahuw (Isaiah) 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together,” says YHWH. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Since 30 A.D., the ribbon stopped turning white as snow; this is even recorded in the Talmud:
Yoma 39 b “Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot [For the Lord] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white; nor did the western most light shine; and the doors of the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves.”
There is only one possible explanation for this:
Because Yahuwshuwa ha’Mashiyach was the perfect sin sacrifice and died in 30 A.D!
Ibriym (Hebrews) 9:12 “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Only his blood can truly atone for our sins and once he paid that price, animal sacrifice was worthless.
Ibriym (Hebrews) 10:4-6 “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he comes into the world, he says, Sacrifice and offering you would not, but a body have you prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have had no pleasure.”
This was all done as a rehearsal for things to come, so Yisra’el would recognize the true Messiah when he came.
Yeshayahuw (Isaiah) 1:11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? says YHWH: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.”
Another thing that is recorded in the Talmud, is this historical mystery of the temple doors. The doors to the temple would swing open by themselves starting in 30 A.D. Recorded in the Talmud:
Sota 6:3 “Said Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakkai to the Temple, ‘O Temple, why do you frighten us? We know that you will end up destroyed. For it has been said, ‘Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedar.”
Lastly, the most important menorah lamp that was to remain lit at all times kept going out on its own accord. The priests went to all measures to insure it would stay lit but much to their futile efforts, the menorah kept going out.
Yahuwshuwa died for our sins and just like the book of Hebrews tells us, the priesthood changed. Messiah is now our High Priest and has given us access to the Father. It is also significant that the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., exactly 40 years after Yahuwshuwa’s death. YaHuWaH gave Yisra’el 40 years to repent of their sins to accept Yahuwshuwa as their Messiah.
And when they did not, (in spite of all the signs he gave them), their probationary period ended in 70 A.D. and their temple and city was destroyed just as Yahuwshuwa prophesied. Yahuwshuwa fasted and prayed “a day for each year” for Yisra’el’s rebellion! Just like Ezekiel!
Yahuwshuwa fasted for 40 days to fulfill the 40 years that Judah rejected him between the years 30 A.D. until 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed the temple. Just like Ezekiel, he bore the iniquity for the House of Judah “one day for each year” (Ezekiel 4:6).
Yahuwshuwa fasted one day for each year just like Ezekiel, and then he prophesied against Jerusalem that their generation would be destroyed 40 years later in the Roman Siege.
Mattithyahuw (Matthew) 23:36-38 “O Yershalayim...behold your house is left to you desolate.”
What did Yahuwshuwa do when he returned out of the wilderness? He displayed the role of the scapegoat going to the wilderness, never to return.
Tehilliym (Psalm) 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
In other words, the sins of Yisra’el he bore himself “never to be remembered!”
Additionally, he displayed the role of the sacrificial goat, when his cousin Yahuwchanon (John) recognized him as “The Lamb of Elohiym that takes away the sin of the world…”
Our Messiah, Yahuwshuwa fulfilled both the sacrificial lamb (for Judah, the first-born), and also the red heifer (for Ephraim the prodigal son).
Yahuwshuwa also performed the pattern of the Yom Kippur “twin goats” for both Houses of Yisra’el during these forty days of repentance leading up to Yom Kippur. He had no need to repent for himself, because as our eternal High Priest (who was perfect and sinless), “He was made to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of Elohiym in him” (2nd Corinthians 5:21).
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