Like a thief in the night…on Rosh Hashanah.
Sept 2021
Please note at the outset that this doesn’t read as easily as some of my other writings. But, as is common, there are plenty of hyperlinks and Scripture references that I invite you to use as your own study tools to draw your own conclusions.
This is merely a work in progress / working theory in the context of the [only slightly out of context] encouragement from Joel Richardson:
“I actually believe we should get lost in such dreaming as we meditate upon the nature of the age to come.”
Ultimately I want to suggest here that the Lord may very well return on the festival of Rosh Hashanah (spoiler), but there are some important prerequisite comments and disclaimers.
Like A Thief In The Night
For one, I understand and believe that we won’t ‘know the day or the hour.’ This 17 min video would be a good starting point for further consideration (I’ve studied these things myself so I’m not parroting this blindly). Without re-hashing this whole discussion entirely, suffice it to say that there is far more encouragement in Mt. 24–25 TO discern the times and seasons, and in fact ‘NOT knowing’ being a far more negative thing, lest we be like those in Noah’s day who ignored what God said was coming even if the precise moment wasn’t clear.
In fact, there is much throughout Scripture that the Lord does tell us will happen, and with a little study we can begin to taste and feel what those final seasons and days will look like, with far more clarity than I ever imagined. FAI, through various bible studies, has done a great job of pointing to these things in Scripture and letting me see them for myself. Joel Richardson’s book Sinai To Zion is also incredibly fun and exciting as we look forward to the return of our King. What I’ll suggest below is a mere surface-scratcher on the wealth of content that I would suggest from FAI.
All of that said though, this particular ‘article’ is not nearly as practical (if at all) or therefore ‘important’ as other ones. For me, this is not about date-setting so much as it is about wonder and awe at the things the Lord has planned out in His sovereign providence. I find it fascinating and exciting to discover consistencies and patterns in Scripture that were once hidden and now seem glaring, and it’s even more fun (and often sobering) to find myself wedged somewhere in the middle of the story looking into things that the Lord has said are yet to come, things which we as the body of Yeshua, either in this generation or a future one, will be part of.
So here are the nuts and bolts of the whole date-setting thing, and then we’ll get into the festivals and their significance.
Date-Setting
The Scriptures tell us there will be so much chaos and darkness — literal darkness — in the world during those days that it is reasonable to believe the time and date will be unclear. We’re talking about significant cosmic disturbance and darkness for days (think of, say, winter in Alaska) so the idea of looking up at the movement of the sun or looking down at your watch and knowing what time of day it is will be laughable. And this will go on for enough time in the midst of other elements of global chaos that essentially we’ll all lose track of exactly what day it is — except for God. So in this sense, it will very much be ‘like a thief in the night.’
(Let this next segment be a study tool as you check out these things yourself and draw your own conclusions. Note that there is lot of overlap between these verses since they’re all essentially describing the same scene/succession of events, so some of them will mention all of these elements (and more) while some of them only seem to highlight one particular element. I separated them as much as possible to make the point.)
Cosmic Disturbance on the Day of the Lord:
- Mt. 24:29 — sun darkened, stars fall, immediately after the tribulation, preceding the return of Jesus and the gathering of the elect.
- Joel 2:1+ — the day of the Lord “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness” as the antichrist’s army marches upon Jerusalem (“like a thief”), and “the sun and moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining.” “I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.”
- Zech 14:6-7 “On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. And there shall be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.”
- Is. 13:10-11+
Storm and Darkness / Messiah coming within the storm:
- Ex 14:19
- Ex 19:16-17, 19:20
- Deut 33:26
- Ps 18:7-15, 2 Sam 22:10-16
- Ps 50:1-6
- Is. 66:12-16
- Zeph 1:15-16
- Hab 3:3-4, 9, 11
- Dan 7:13
- Rev 1:7
- Mt. 24:30
- Mt. 26:64
- Rev 1:7
- Amos 1:14, 4:13, 5:8–9, 5:18–24
- Heb 12:18–21,26–29
- (Rain)
- Hosea 6:1-3
- Joel 2:23
- Isaiah 4 (The Eschatological Wedding) (see chapter 11 of Sinai To Zion)
- Judges 5:4-5
- Ps. 68:8-10 (Chapter 20, Sinai To Zion)
- Isaiah 34-35 (35:1-2) (Chapter 21, Sinai To Zion)
- Is. 30:23-30
- Is. 59:19
- Jer 30:21-24
- Jer 46:6-12
- (Jer 47:2)
- (The Cloud Rider and The Pillar of Cloud — see Appendix B of Sinai To Zion)
- Acts 1:9-11
- Rev 14:14, 16:17-21
- Songs 3:6-11
Messiah comes from the East / like the Sun:
- (The ‘rising of the sun’ and ‘east to west’ otherwise being a picture of God’s character steadfast love, faithfulness, praiseworthiness, dominion over the whole earth, etc. — Ps. 113:3, Is. 45:6-7 (creation of both light and darkness), Mal 1:11, Job 38:12, Zeph 3:5, Ps. 75:6-7, Ps. 103:12, Is. 59:19)
- The wilderness/desert to the east and south of Jerusalem is where the people of Israel will be hiding, be captive, be restored, and where Messiah will gather them from as He marches into Jerusalem to reign, from east of the city and through the eastern gate. (Sinai To Zion, chapter 15, chapter 26)
- At dawn comes victory, relief. (Josh 6:15, Judges 19:25, Job 7:4, Mt. 28:1, Lk 24:1)
- Conversely, to be without light and the dawn of the morning is to be cursed (Job 3:3-9,20,23, Is. 8:20-22)
- There is blessing to be awake before the dawn and to watch for its coming in prayer (Ps. 57:8, 108:2, 119:147, 130:1-8, Mk 1:35)
- (Blessing of light and water for those who fast and sabbath rightly — Is. 58:8,10,11)
- The Lord sends an ‘east wind’ for judgment (Gen 41:6,23,27, Ex 10:13, Ps. 48:7, Jer 18:17, Ezekiel 17:10, 19:12, 27:26, Hos 12:1, 13:15, Jonah 4:8) and for salvation (Ex. 14:21, Ps. 78:26, Is. 27:8)
- The tree of life is guarded on the east side (Gen 3:24) and the tabernacle is guarded by those on the east side of the camp (tribe of Judah, Moses & Aaron) (Num 2:3, 3:38) and they set out first when traveling (Num 10:5)
- Deut 33:1-2
- Is. 41:2-4
- Hos 6:3
- Ps. 19:4-6
- Ps. 84:11
- Mt. 17:2, 24:27
- Rev 10:1
- Rev 1:16 (cf. Job 41:18, Rev 1:14)
- Rev 7:2
- Rev 16:12 (Sinai To Zion, Chapter 20, Chapter 21) (cf. Num 20:17, 20:22, Is. 35, 40:1-11, 41:18, 42:11-13, 43:19-20, 49:11-12, 51:3, 63:1, Ps. 68
- Lk. 1:78-80
- Mal 4:2 “the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings”
- Is. 60:1-5+, 60:19-20, 62:1-2, 64:1-3
- Ezekiel 43:1-4 — in the midst of this long description of the fourth and final temple, that of the Messiah’s millennial reign, we see the glory of God coming to enter and fill the temple (along with ’the sound of many waters’ and the earth ’shining with His glory’) from the east, and coming through the east gate, which is closed until the Messiah comes (Ezekiel 44:1–3, Ps. 24) (the east gate is indeed closed today).
- (Ezekiel 47:1-12)
- Zech 14:4
- 1 Tim 6:16, 1 Cor 2:8, 2 Cor 4:4, Heb 1:3, James 1:17, Mt. 4:16, Lk 2:29-32, John 1:1-18, 3:16-21, 5:33-46, 8:12, 9:4, 9:5, 11:9-10, 12:35-36, 12:46
- Mk. 8:38, Lk 9:26, Mt. 25:31
- Titus 2:13
- Ps 50:1-6
- Ps. 49:13-14 (the day when the righteous rule over the wicked is referred to as ‘morning’)
Thus, while it might seem contradictory, I would propose that 1. the Lord in His sovereignty and omniscience has already essentially told us the day (and it will only become more clear as it gets closer), but He will be the only one who knows what day it actually is at the time, and thus 2. we will not know the day/hour precisely even though we will know it is imminent.
And it will be absolutely glorious when He comes — literally shining like the Sun in a world that is in utter darkness.
And things only get better after the dawn — Prov 4:18, Ecc 11:7.
The Festivals
This gives us at least a very basic framework for the cosmic circumstance surrounding the return of Jesus. This is an important prerequisite for the conversation at hand because it allows us to conceptualize how, even if we pick a date on the calendar, our clocks and watches won’t necessarily be working on that day (to put a very gruesome and fearful reality mildly, as the sun won’t even ‘come up’ in the day(s) preceding His arrival), and therefore we won’t ‘know’ what day it is. Despite this sobering consideration, we now hopefully feel more comfortable pondering what day God might have selected for this incredible pre-ordained moment.
I invite you into deeper study of the fact that the Genesis 1 poem which kicks off the whole of Scripture, is beautifully and sovereignly constructed to make several key points. Points that we in the Western world may be prone to miss. One such point (albeit with even deeper meaning than we’ll consider here) is that there is one word which lies dead center in a Hebrew word count of the entire poem: mô’ēd.
Translated ‘seasons’ in most English translations, this is ‘An appointment. A fixed time or season. Specifically, a festival. Conventionally a year. By implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose). Technically the congregation. By extension, the place of meeting.’
From the very beginning of creation, and the beginning of what God would have us know in Scripture, one of the focal points is His creation of the cosmic order, such that the created days and years would also have created appointed times, seasons, and festivals.
(For the sake of one fun illustration of this, I invite you to watch this dry, but fascinating testimony of one man’s journey to discover if the star of Bethlehem was an actual historical astronomical event.)
With this, we turn to the Jewish [God-appointed] festivals. In order to ask whether Jesus might return on a particular festival in the future, we ought to ask whether He’s aligned any key events with festivals in the past.
The following was not my own discovery, but has intrigued me the last couple years:
- Five days before Passover, on the day when the passover lamb is selected, was when Jesus/Yeshua’s Triumphal Entry took place.
- The Lamb of God, Jesus/Yeshua, then died on Passover shouting “it is finished” at the moment of the 3pm sacrifice and shofar. (episodes 4–5)
- He was then buried on the feast of Unleavened Bread, which is when grain is put in the ground, and the Jewish people pray for God to bring the harvest.
- Then during the festival of the Firstfruits, when they bring the first part of the harvest and bless God (knowing the rest will follow), is when He rose, being the ‘first to rise.’
- Pentecost/Weeks celebrated the covenant at Sinai (where 3000 died) and the end of harvest, which of course is when the Spirit came and 3000 were saved.
The guy I heard this from was making an entirely different point but mentioned off-hand that he thought the Return (we might say the 7th trumpet) would probably be on Rosh Hashanah.
I wanted to dive in deeper and see if that would make any logical sense.
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah itself is a day of rest, of sabbath, and points to the sixth day of creation, the creation of man, and also the sacrifice of Isaac at Mt. Moriah (hence, the shofar). It celebrates and recognizes (by resting and repentance) “the sovereignty of God the King, Creator of the universe.” In keeping with our previous discussion (above) about the dawn/morning, and the water refreshing the people and the land (as well as a separate discussion about the Temple/Temple Mount), will there not be incredible rest on that Day, a day like no other? The Messiah King will rule and reign from His rightful throne, and His enemies defeated (and the temple ‘cleansed’ of the antichrist). It is all the more intriguing to me then that, on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish people prepare their challah (shabbat/festival bread) with added sweetness, and shape it into a circular shape, symbolizing a never-ending sweetness.
Included in the intentionally Sinai-like storms, thunder, earthquakes, and war of Jesus’ return is the ‘final/great/seventh trumpet’ as well as Israel’s national repentance. Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets) begins with the shofar and kicks off 10 ‘days of awe’ which are days of introspection, asking forgiveness, and ultimately repentance. The Temple Institute also explains this day as a recognition of God as the “Judge of all mankind,” and says it is “the day on which ‘all beings pass before Him like sheep.’” I don’t know what verse they are quoting there, but I can’t help but consider Mt. 25. Even the Israeli government site recognizes this festival as ‘preparation for the Day of Divine Judgment.’ Rabbinic tradition says it’s on this day (Rosh Hashanah) that the destinies of the righteous and the wicked are sealed in the books of life and death, yet most people will still have these 10 ‘days of awe’ (yomim nora’im) to repent. As such, a common greeting during this time is, “may your name be inscribed [in the book of life].” While as Christians we’ve been able to reflect upon the sacrifice of the Messiah for two thousand years, it is fitting that the Jews would be able to spend these 10 days “looking upon Him whom they’ve pierced and mourn” [and fast] (Zech 14) in keeping with the Rosh Hashanah theme. Indeed, may our names also be written in the book of life (Rev 13, 17, 20, 21).
As the return of Jesus ushers in the new Age of His millennial reign, it is fitting that Rosh Hashanah has become the first day of the Jewish new year (including government correspondence, newspapers, broadcasts, etc.). Its original celebration had a lot to do with the appearance of the new moon, and the determination of this by two witnesses, and the subsequent celebration of its confirmation (music), was an expression of man’s partnership in the established order of creation. This also seems fitting in light of the cosmic signs and wonders and disorder we discussed above. How wonderful, after the tribulation, to celebrate God being on the throne, not only on the earth, but also over the cosmos! After they confirmed the new moon, they would send messengers throughout the land of Israel to let everyone know, “the day is hallowed!” and then they would use relay torches on hilltops (like we see in LOTR) to spread the good news to the Jews scattered elsewhere (Babylon & Persia), the first station being the Mt. Olives. This bears so much similarity and brings such celebration and joy to the scene I suggested in another discussion concerning the first days of this millennial reign.
Yom Kippur
All of this of course leads up to Yom Kippur, which is of course the ultimate day of fasting, mourning, and celebrating atonement.
It is possible, and I would suggest, that Jesus returns to Egypt first and subsequently travels along the Exodus path, from Sinai and then to Zion. Therefore we might consider that Rosh Hashanah is when Jesus ‘lands’ in Egypt. In our modern world of technology, it is not hard to imagine how “every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him [from Israel]” (Rev 1:7) even if He’s in Egypt at first. As such, the Jewish people would begin carrying out the celebrations, message-proclaiming, and repentance discussed previously, over the course of the 10 ‘days of awe.’ During this same period of 10 days, Jesus would be traveling ultimately to Zion, defeating the armies of the antichrist on the way and thus ‘treading the winepress.’ This then would be in keeping with the festival themes, giving people their final opportunities to repent, and ultimately culminating in His enthronement on the Temple Mount on/around Yom Kippur as Israel “looks upon Him whom they’ve pierced and mourns” [and fasts] (Zech 14) on the festival with a “level of public solemnity which surpasses that of any other festival.”
(As an aside, this fits all the more with the LOTR beacons, as there would be a wicked king on the throne trying to prevent this message from going out. The antichrist will hate this message that “the new age has begun, and salvation is on its way [from Egypt] — this day is hallowed!”)
Sukkot
I am still curious about Sukkot.
RVL makes a strong (and fascinating) case that Jesus may have been born on Sukkot, at least between July and November, and very likely conceived on Hanukkah (Feast of Lights) and therefore born late September (Sukkot). As Sukkot celebrates and remembers wandering the desert in tents/booths/tabernacles until finally coming into the Promised Land, it is fitting that Messiah would come first on Sukkot and thus ‘tabernacle/sukkot’ among us (John 1:14) (episode 9, 17:07–28:55). It would be all the more fitting that when He returns, we would continue to celebrate the final Jewish return to the Land, led once again by Messiah who has come again, once and for all, to ‘tabernacle/sukkot’ with His people, this time reigning from His temple.
I’ve been studying Solomon’s temple dedication and have been intrigued by the connections between the Temple and Sukkot. This temple was obviously dedicated on Sukkot as it was God’s dwelling place on the earth (though this hadn’t been obvious to my Western mind since it wasn’t explicitly stated). It seems that the second temple sacrifices began on sukkot (Ezra 3:1–6), even though the temple was built and finished years later at a different time of the year (Ezra 6:15), but then was dedicated months later during Sukkot (Neh 8:13–18). I also realized that Zechariah ties the temple and Sukkot together saying that Jew & Gentile will come to the temple to celebrate Sukkot in the millennium (14:16–19). Haggai also, on Sukkot, per God’s direction, points the people to (I assume not the third) the fourth and final temple of the messianic age (Hag 2:1–9 (and Ezekiel 40–48)).
So the temple and Sukkot are linked to Israel’s glorious monarchic past and messianic future, and Solomon and Nehemiah both set a precedent for guiding the people into new phases of religious government during this particular festival at the temple. I read an article on TheTorah.com about people therefore using this timing (Sukkot) and this place (Temple) to declare their leadership or to assert themselves as Messiah (Jonathan the Maccabee, Alexander Jannaeus, and Jesus (John 7)).
I might suggest that the first Sukkot of Jesus’ reign (just 5 days after Yom Kippur) will look more like the instance of the second temple, where the temple isn’t yet rebuilt, but the celebration and sacrifices still happen (Ezra 6:15), and the actual temple rebuilding and dedication happening at a later date (Neh 8:13–18) (perhaps the Sukkot of the following year).
As suggested in another article, there are 7 months of cleaning up dead bodies (Ezekiel 38–39), gentiles bringing gifts and the rebuilding of Israel (Is. 60+), etc. so it doesn’t seem like Jesus is in a four-day-type rush to build the temple… unless He meant multiple things in John 2:13–22.
Couple side comments:
Also, I am unsure what might takes place at the 45-day mark (1335–1290, Dan 12). Perhaps 1290 (42 months, Rev 11,13) is the theoretical Rosh Hashanah arrival (above) and thus 10 days of transit and war pass before His enthronement on Yom Kippur, leaving 35 more days. Then similar to when Hezekiah decided they should add 7 more days to their already-seven-day feast (2 Ch. 30:23), perhaps this post-Yom Kippur enthronement celebration lasts 5x7 days (35 days). Yet I don’t know why anyone would be ‘blessed’ by ‘waiting’ and ‘not arriving’ in Jerusalem until after such a celebration (Dan 12). So perhaps it simply takes 35 days for Him to cleanse His city of the enemy hoards and judge them in the Valley Kidron, separating the sheep, goats, wheat, and chaff. Even though He will kill the antichrist with ‘the breath of His mouth’ (2 Thess 2), this whole scene does not have to (and I’d argue won’t) unfold instantaneously, as if in a flash of light and all is finished. No, the glorious final scene of the Lord’s chapter-ending story will be like the grand battle for Minas Tirith— and yes, ‘blessed’ would be Arwen who is spared the bloody war and arrives to wed her bridegroom who won the battle for her.
If Jesus were to return ~Rosh Hashanah, which is typically anytime in September, that means that the abomination of desolation (3.5 yrs prior) and subsequent immediate fleeing to the mountains (Mt. 24:15–18) will be, seasonally, around 6 months prior to Rosh Hashanah, putting it sometime in February, one of the coldest months of the year in Israel. Thus, it makes sense that this would be an additional concern of Jesus as He gives this command to flee (Mt. 24:19–20): “…Pray that your flight may not be in winter…”
As I said from the outset, this is a fun work in progress and I could be terribly wrong about all of it. I would love to engage with anyone on Twitter (https://twitter.com/RT_Brown7) if you have any suggestions, amendments, or criticisms.
May we long for His return in any case. Maranatha!
December 17, 2023 Additional Note:
In response to a post from Travis Snow, I asked him for his thoughts on this ‘article,’ to which he graciously replied:
