| Subject: God's Festivals (prelude) |
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dori
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Date Posted: 16:15:54 02/21/15 Sat
In reply to:
dori
's message, "Hi HB and Gerry et al" on 16:14:11 02/21/15 Sat
Rosh HaShanah and the Messianic Kingdom to Come
A Messianic Jewish Interpretation of the Feast of Trumpets
by Joseph Good
FOREWORD
As one begins a study of the Jewish festivals, a pattern portraying the redemption of G-d culminating in the Messianic Kingdom begins to surface in all areas of Judaic literature. In these various sources, the feast of Rosh HaShanah emerges as the threshold of the Messianic Kingdom. This book is a collection of scattered teachings on this festival that hopefully will restore to the body of Messiah these long forgotten truths. A composite of its doctrines, customs, and traditions define the eschatology of the Athid Lavo (the Coming Age).
For non-Jewish readers, the terminology may be foreign. Even for the Jew, some information may be new. These terms are used not to confuse, but rather to restore that which was seen and known in the first century C.E. (A.D.) It is hoped that this material will aid students of the scripture as they read the Gospels and the Epistles, which were written in the language of the festivals. In order to cause the reader to deal with the fact that the New Testament is a Jewish document, the names of books and persons in that portion of the scripture have been restored to their Hebraic form. The books and names of the First Covenant scriptures have been left in their familiar English form, because most people understand the Jewishness that is there. Hopefully, both segments of scripture will come alive and be seen as the complimentary portions that they are. In addition, numerous Rabbinical sources have been used. It is imperative that today's believers return to the ancient understandings that these writings present. Their validity is established as the scriptures take on new meaning and purpose. These writings, known as the Mishna, Midrashim, Talmud, Targumim, etc., will be new to many of the readers of this work. Their names and logic may be foreign at first, but the student who endeavors to learn will have a gold mine that is his from which to pull untold riches. It is strongly advised that each footnote, as well as note, be examined along with the text. It is hoped that the student will use the bibliography to further his or her understanding.
May the ancient understandings and way be restored for the well-being of the believers in Yeshua the Messiah.
Thus saith the L-rd, Let not the wise many glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the L-rd, which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the L-rd. Jeremiah 9:23-23
PROLOGUE
Today, late in the twentieth century, living thousands of miles from the middle East, our perspectives of Bible times and doctrines are often perverted from their original meanings. The second coming of the Messiah Yeshua and the establishment of His earthly kingdom is a subject that is commonly written about. It is spoken of from pulpits across the nation, but seldom put in its original Jewish setting. This book is an attempt to do just that.
In the beginning, G-d created the earth as an abode for His throne.His creation was perfect in every way. Man was created by G-d in His image and given dominion over His creation.Within man was woman, and G-d separated her from man to be a helpmate and companion to him. Man was created with a free will, as he was created in the image of G-d, who has a free will. This free will had also been given to the angels. According to Ezekiel twenty-eight, Satan, known in Judaism as HaSatan, was created to worship G-d but perverted this worship by transferring the praise of G-d to himself. He led a rebellion of angels that joined with him in the sin of pride. This horde of angels turned-bad would become the demons confined to the earth. HaSatan set out to attack by suggestion and deceit the rightful rulers of the earth. Adam and Chava (Eve).
As Adam and Eve obeyed HaSatan within Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden), man lost his right to rule the planet.His power and glory were broken and man was only a hollow shell of his former stature. The immortal had put on mortality, and the incorruptible had become corrupted. At this point G-d provided a plan of restoration. This restoration would come forth by a redeemer, in Hebrew, called a "go'el." The "go'el" was understood to be a man who would come from G-d, empowered by the Ruach haKodesh (the Holy Spirit) to defeat HaSatan, thereby redeeming man. G-d's law decreed that the man who sinned would die. In order to defeat the adversary, the "go'el" would have to be without sin and pay for the sins that man had committed. Because this man was empowered by the Rauch haKodesh, he was known as the "anointed one," which in Hebrew is the Maschiach (Messiah).
G-d's desire was for man to have faith, that He through the Messiah would redeem man and restore him to his former position and greatness. The promise was that one day man would be returned to his immortality, and the earth would again be as Gan Eden. In order to teach man about the Coming One, and also to teach man the ways of G-d, the Jewish people were created. To this people, G-d gave His torah (teaching and law), as well as the prophets who made fertile the plans of G-d. The faith in the redemption of G-d was defined within everything G-d gave to the Jewish people.
Four thousand years after the creation, the Messiah would come to the earth. He declared the basar (gospel of the Malkut Shamayim (the Kingdom of Heaven), which was the expectation of all the people who looked for the redemption of G-d. This man named Yeshua, which means "Salvation," lived without sin, was falsely accused by jealous men, and died the death of a convicted criminal. His death was accepted by G-d as payment for the sins of mankind. Three days after His death, G-d raised Yeshua back to life by the Ruach haKodesh, but in His resurrection He had a new body, immortal and glorified. In Yeshua, the restoration is complete.
Fifty days after His resurrection, the Ruach haKodesh fell upon all who believed in Yeshua. They were anointed with power which tasted of the Olam Haba (the World to Come), which is promised following the total restoration of mankind. These first believers in Yeshua were all Jewish and remained Jewish in their life-style and faith. In Judaism, their faith was already centered in the message of Yeshua's redemption. For years the believers remained an active part of the Jewish community. Their synagogues, their worship, and their expectations were all Jewish.
With the salvation of Cornelius in Acts ten, to the surprise of the Jews, the basar (good news) of the kingdom was opened to Gentiles. Other Gentiles had become believers in the past, but had always become proselyte Jews. When the Gentiles became co-heirs of the Kingdom with the Jewish believers, major changes took place in the faith.
The Gentile believers of the first century are seldom understood by today's Biblical scholars. They belonged to a group known as the "sebomenoi," or G-d fearers. These were Gentiles who had left paganism and were already attending synagogues. They observed the Sabbath, as well as the Jewish festivals, and had incorporated into their own life-style many of the Jewish customs. Laws within the Torah defined how they were to be treated as well as how they were to live. It should be pointed out that observance of the Torah had nothing to do with the salvation of an individual, which could only be obtained by faith in the Messiah. For these "sebomenoi" believers, as well as the Jewish believers, the Torah defined their faith and their walk with G-d. Within the Sabbath, festivals, and customs, these two groups understood the working of the Messiah (Colossians 2:16-17). This Torah observance, however, was directly linked to an understanding of the doctrines of the faith.
Numerous problems were encountered for full fellowship to be established between these two groups which G-d had now joined together. Mainstream Judaism had a definite separation between these two groups, but now G-d used Rav Shaul (the Apostle Paul) to address the situation among believers. His epistles, inspired by the Ruach haKodesh, repeatedly lay down guidelines to bridge this gap.
Faith in Yeshua was very widespread during the first century among the Jewish population, yet even more Gentiles were becoming believers. Proportionally, this greater number of Gentile believers eventually gave them an upper hand in decisions affecting most of the congregations outside of the region of ancient Israel. Events that happened in the one hundred years following the death of Rav Shaul changed the Faith to the point that today the Faith in Yeshua hardly resembles the Faith of the believers of the first century. Rav Shaul warned of this in his final address to the elders of Ephesus (Acts twenty), where he foretold that savage wolves would come in to destroy the faith.
The same year that Rav Shaul died (66 C.E.), the Jewish nation revolted against the Roman Empire. Four years later the Roman legions encircled Jerusalem at the feast of Pesach (Passover). Yeshua had warned the believers that the generation that was alive at the time of His death would see Jerusalem destroyed. He had instructed that when the city was circled by the enemy, they were to flee, which is what they did. Five months later the city fell. During this time, congregations in the Diaspora (dispersion) scattered throughout the Roman world, experienced radical changes. To support the Jewish people, or even Jewish customs, was interpreted as not being loyal to Rome. The greater numbers of Gentiles among the congregations began to make a difference as anti-Jewishness began to be popular.
In spite of this, Jews were still becoming believers, so much so that in 90 Common Era (C.E.), Rabbinical leaders who did not believe in Yeshua took steps to try to bar the Jewish believer from the synagogues. A benediction was added to the Amidah (a set of eighteen prayers recited daily by observant Jews known as the Birkat haMinim.) This benediction was a curse directed against the believers in Yeshua, with the idea that this would put an end to their rapid growth among the people. Still, more Jews accepted Yeshua as their Messiah. Now pressure was being put on the Jewish believers from three sides: first, from the non-believing pagans who hated anything Jewish; second, from the non-believing Jews, who feared their power among the people; and third, within their own congregations by the new Gentile believers who were entering into the faith already affected by rampant anti-Semitism.
During 116 C.E. another war broke out in Egypt between the Jewish population and Rome. The Jewish population of Egypt was all but annihilated in this war, and again the position of the Jewish believers, as well as anything Jewish, was weakened within the congregations.
The final Jewish war occurred in 135 C.E. with the Bar Kochba rebellion. As the legions of Rome marched on the Jewish homeland, both believer and non-believer responded to the call to arms. The most prominent Rabbi of the time, Akiva, proclaimed that the leader of the Jewish forces was the messiah. With this declaration, the Jewish believers departed from the army for they could not serve another messiah. With their departure, the unbelieving Rabbis declared them "meshumed, which means traitors. This caused a separation of the Jewish believers from the Jewish community. Hadrian, the Roman Caesar, with vengeance came against the Jewish people and destroyed their army and nation. Throughout the empire anti-Semitism was considered patriotism to Rome. All of this undermined the position of the Jewish believers and caused the congregation to turn from anything Jewish.
Toward the beginning of the fourth century C.E., Constantine became the Caesar of Rome. In his rise to power, he supposedly became a believer and joined the group now called Christians. In 325 C.E. he called the Council of Nicea, where he gathered the heads of the Christian community from throughout the empire. In this council, however, he purposely left out every Jewish leader. Laws were passed forbidding Jewish believers to circumcise their children, to observe the Jewish festivals or to rear their children as Jews. The Jewish believers were forced to cease being Jewish and to become, in every sense of the work, Gentiles. Pagan festivals such as Easter, lent, Christmas, and Sunday were substituted for the Biblical festivals of G-d. Not only were the Jewish believers gone for all practical purposes, but so were the "sebomenoi." The faith now was a totally different religion. Greek names, concepts, and religion became Christianity. The faith had been "gentilized."
Going back to the first century, the believers, both Jewish and "sebomenoi," understood the place of the Jewish festivals because of the gift of the Torah, which taught the doctrine. They understood that the Spring festivals taught on the Messiah's first coming and the festivals of the fall taught on His return. They knew the teachings of the Rabbis that the Messianic Kingdom would begin on earth with the advent of Rosh haShanah. They understood the wedding of the Messiah, the coronation, the resurrection of the dead, as well as the beginning of the time of trouble.
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