Rosh HaShana 2014
by Virginia Labounty
Today was this
year's Feast of the Memorial of Trumpets, renamed by the orthodox
Jews as “Rosh Hashana”. In a typically human move, men have
taken the focus of this day....the first day of the seventh month,
away from trumpets being blown to dipping apples in honey!
I think Satan
doesn't want us listening or watching for those trumpets. I am
ashamed to admit that only yesterday, after years of reading the
Bible did I notice that Paul in 1 Corinthian 15:52 writes
specifically, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the LAST
trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
Last,
trumpet.....memorial of trumpets. “What is God annually reminding
us of,,” I wondered. Where else in the Bible does it talk about
trumpets? In Revelation, of course, chapters 8-11. Seven trumpets
are mentioned and at the last trumpet a loud voice from heaven
declares, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of
our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
I looked back
through the other six trumpets and sighed. We have a lot to go
through before that last trumpet, brothers and sisters. I believe
God wants us aware of the results of those other six trumpets because
we will be here to see them. We probably won't hear those trumpets
until that last one is blown, but we will see the results if we look
for them.
We may have to look
very hard to see them. We live in a world where a Christian is
killed every 5 minutes simply because they believe in Jesus
Christ......approximately 100,000 a year and it is being done almost
silently. Most people who do not live in Arab dominated countries
are quite unaware of it or are indifferent to it. The western
church is so clueless about this that many are still pushing the
doctrine of a pretribulation rapture. Dear ones, 100,000 of your
brothers and sisters being, decapitated, crucified, raped, burned and
otherwise tortured to death per year is a tribulation and one that I
fear will very soon be at our door.
A world that can
cover up mass murder like that is not going to admit on front pages
that 1/3 of the fish in the sea have died, or that 1/3 of the fresh
water in the world is so polluted that it is making people sicken and
die if they drink it. We need to open our eyes, open our
Bibles,believe God and be ready to either die for the one who died
for us or to endure to the end when that last trumpet sounds.
I was thinking today
about the birth of Jesus. How many people were watching for that
event? How many studied the scriptures and watched the skies for
signs of his coming like the Magi, Simeon and Anna? How many
people lived through those amazing 33 years and never even knew that
the son of God had come? Sadly most of the world's population did
not know a thing about it, yet he came, lived, died for all of
mankind and rose again anyway.
God has told mankind
events that will happen in the Bible. No matter how little it is
understood or studied or how preposterously it is twisted and
misinterpreted, God events will take place in His order and time.
They do not need us noticing them to be fulfilled. I personally
find that a very unnerving thought. That I could live through many
of the amazing events of Revelation and be as totally unaware of it
as the majority of the Jewish people were unaware of the birth, life
and death of their Messiah!
I don't want to be
surprised when Jesus shows up. I don't want to have to say to him,
“Gee, you are already here? All those things you said would
happen before you came already have happened? I guess I wasn't
sufficiently interested in you to notice.” God forbid. I am so
longing for him. I can't wait for the day he arrives. It is this
that compels me to study the scriptures, especially the prophecies.
As it is written in Revelation 22:7 “Behold, I am coming quickly!
Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Shana Tova
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