Tanak Foundations-Concepts on the Natzal (Rapture)-Part 22

Let’s talk about the coronation of a Jewish king because Yeshua will be coronated on Rosh Ha Shanah and we should understand this concept. There is a book called “Ancient Israel” by Roland De Vaux. He was a Jesuit priest and an outstanding scholar. He excavated Qumran and much of this book is good but there are other parts that use the “Wellhausen Theory” that says the Bible wasn’t written by the people whose names are in the title. In other words, the Torah had numerous authors and different periods and we do not agree with that. In the first half of the book he discusses Israel.

In Chapter 5 we have “The Person of the King” and in Section 2 we have “The Coronation Rites.” There are five steps to the coronation of a Jewish king. There was the Investiture with Insignia, the Anointing, the Acclamation, the Enthronement and the Homage of the high officials.

We have two coronation examples for us in Scripture. We have the coronation of Solomon and the coronation of Joash. In 2 Kings 11.1-21 we have the story of Joash and he will be a picture of Yeshua. Joash is hidden away in the Temple for six years (6000 years) and then is coronated as king in the seventh year (Day of the Lord). Athaliah in this story is a picture of the False Messiah who has usurped authority, and she is overthrown and killed in the seventh year.

In 2 Kings 11.12 we have the Investiture with Insignia (crown and testimony), the Anointing and the Acclamation (“Long live the king”). In 2 Kings 11.19-20 we have the final two steps of Enthronement and Homage, and these steps can also be seen in 1 Kings 1.46-47 and Psa 2.12.

We have seen that Rev 4 is a Yom Ha Din and a Rosh Ha Shanah (4.1-2). A throne was set up in heaven, and one sat on the throne, just like in Dan 7.9-10. Now, if we go to Rev 5.1-14 we will see it as a Coronation and Enthronement of a Jewish king, just like in Dan 7.13-14, and that king is Yeshua, who has been anointed already. We have the investiture in Rev 5.7, and the acclamation in verse 9. We have the enthronement in Rev 5.13 and homage in verse 14. We also have a phrase in Rev 5.9 that says, “And they sang a new song.” This expression means “the Messiah has come” in Hebrew thought. Rev 14.3 says, “And they sang a new (meaning restored or renewed) song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been purchased from the earth.”

Isa 42.10 says, “Sing to Yehovah a new song” and it is “shir chadash” in Hebrew, which is masculine. Usually this term is “shirah chadash” which is feminine, but Messiah has come so it is in the masculine. Psa 96.1 says, “Sing to Yehovah a new song” and it is masculine again, meaning Messiah has come. This psalm is recited at the beginning of the Sabbath, which is a picture of the Day of the Lord. What do they sing at the beginning of the Day of the Lord? A new song! Messiah comes at the beginning of the Day of the Lord on Yom Ha Din Rosh Ha Shanah. Christianity has no concept about this because they have done away with the Sabbath, so these concepts are lost to them and are never taught. Psa 98.1 is also a Sabbath song and it says, “Sing to Yehovah a new song.” The “new song” is a Messianic psalm.

We know that during the acclamation of a Jewish king a shofar is blown (2 Sam 15.10). 2 Kings 11.14 says that trumpets were blown when Joash was coronated. When Solomon was anointed king they blew a trumpet (1 Kings 1.39). In a Rosh Ha Shanah Machzor, after the Shacharit (morning) service, shofarot (ram’s horn) are blown during the Mussaf (additional) service. You can see this on p. 508-521 in the Rosh Ha Shanah Machzor by Artscroll.

One of the reasons for blowing the shofar is the “Kingship.” In the liturgy for Rosh Ha Shanah, it literally says, “At the start of the Mussaf service: Order of the Shofar Blowing. The following psalm is recited seven times by the entire congregation, ‘Psalm 47, to the chief musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Oh, clap your hands (acclamation) all you peoples, shout to God with the voice of triumph! For the Lord Most High is awesome; he is a great king over all the earth. He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet. He will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom he loves. Selah. God has gone up with a shout (teruah), the Lord with the sound of a trumpet (shofar). Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our king, sing praises. For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with understanding, God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne. The princes of the people have gathered together (we will come back to this when we talk about the Natzal or “rapture”), the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.'”

This is read seven times (number of completion) because the people are to take notice of what is being communicated. It is Rosh Ha Shanah, we have the acclamation of a king (“clap your hands”), we have a shout (teruah is a shofar note) and a shofar (1 Thes 4.16). The princes are being gathered together because there is going to be a coronation.

Now we are going to another coronation psalm (Psa 45), but before we do let’s talk about the two redemptions. As we have said before, the “first redemption” is also the “lesser redemption” and that is when Moses the Shaliach (sent one, apostle, agent) takes the people out of Egypt. If the story stopped there, it would not be the whole story as to why the Exodus happened in the first place. They were freed from Egypt in order to go to Mount Sinai and receive the Torah and the Mishkan. Here is the rest of the story.

A Jewish wedding had two basic stages anciently. There was no ceremony, marriage licenses or a need to have a “rabbi” because those things are relatively new, just a few hundred years old. But there was a “Shitre Erusin” or a “betrothal stage” where the couple was considered married. Then there was also the “full marriage” or “Kiddushin.” Marriage is understood as more of a contract (covenant agreement between two people) than a ceremony. Biblically, it is not like what they do today. It basically consisted of an agreement (covenant) between the two families, negotiated by the fathers usually. The only biblical requirement was that the two parties leave their family and cleave to one another to form a new “house.” If there were no parents, and they were older, it was an agreement between the man and the woman. Abraham had an agreement with Bethuel about Isaac and Rebekah. She agreed and left her home and went to Isaac and when he saw her, he took into his mother’s tent and that was it. No ceremony, no minister. God is entering into a “brit” or “covenant” with Israel at Mount Sinai. He is giving them the Torah as a Shitre Erusin or betrothal covenant. She agrees to it in Exo 24.3-7, and that was it, they were betrothed. We will get to the full marriage later.

The festival of Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah to Israel (betrothal). This festival is also known as “Yom Ha Bikurim” when the first fruits of the crops are brought (called the “Sheva Minim” or “seven species”). They are brought in a ceremony to the Lord in the Temple.

Jer 2.1-3 says, “Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying “Thus says the Lord, I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, the love of your betrothals, your following after me in the wilderness, through a land not sown. Israel was holy (had a kedusha) to the Lord, the first of his harvest. All who ate of it (devoured Israel) became guilty; evil came upon them declares the Lord.'” These verses refer to the first Shavuot when God gave the Torah to the people. This was the betrothal contract or Shitre Erusin.

In Part 23 we will begin to deal with the second stage called the “Kiddushin” or “full marriage” where there is another contract called the “Ketubah.” The full marriage is associated with the festival of Rosh Ha Shanah and that is why the wedding of the Messiah is a theme. In the Natzal, we will be going to the coronation of the Messiah, but there will also be a wedding, so we need to understand this concept.

Posted in All Teachings, Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, The Festivals of the Lord, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament

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