Tanak Foundations-Concepts on the Natzal (Rapture)-Part 32

Now we are going to look at some psalms associated with Rosh Ha Shanah, and some other passages. We will look at the timing of the Natzal (Rapture, Gathering) and then do a summary.

Psalm 27 is read for forty days (Elul 1 to Tishri 10) and it has many phrases that allude to Rosh Ha Shanah. Psa 27.5 says, “For in the time of trouble (the Birth-pains) he (God ) will hide me in his pavilion; in the secret of his tent he shall hide me, he shall set me on a rock.” So we see the Natzal (Gathering) in this passage in particular. A shofar is blown when this psalm is read.

Psa 24 is another Rosh Ha Shanah psalm and it is read in every service. We have references to the coronation, “The earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” He is being declared the king here. We also have a reference to the Natzal (Rapture), “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?” then there is a description of the righteous in 24.4.

In Psa 24.7-10 we have several key phrases. It says, “Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in!” Again, this identifies Rosh Ha Shanah because it is the time when the gates of heaven are opened. This is where the righteous enter in (read Isa 13.1-3). This phrase is mentioned twice here (v 7-8, 9-10).

The next main psalm we are going to look at is Psa 47.1-9. It is a Rosh Ha Shanah psalm because it is a coronation psalm. Psa 47.1 says, “Clap your hands” and this is associated with a coronation and the acclamation of a Jewish king (2 Kings 11.12). Then Psa 47.1 goes on to say, “Shout to God with the voice of triumph!” The word “shout” is “ruah” and it means to “give a blast” or sound on the shofar (Psa 98.6). You see that this word is associated with the word “teruah” (Num 29.1) which is a particular note blown on the shofar, and we will see “shout” or “teruah” later on in verse 5.

Psa 47.2 goes on to use the phrase “a great King” (coronation) and 47.5 says, “God has ascended (to the throne) with a shout (teruah), the Lord (Yehovah) with the sound of a trumpet (shofar).” Both “shout” and “trumpet” can be seen in 1 Thes 4.16, a passage that describes the Natzal and is linked to the coronation of Yeshua on Rosh Ha Shanah. This is a Hebrew parallelism.

Then Psa 47.9 says, “The princes of the people have assembled themselves, the people of the God of Abraham (Isa 13.1-3; Psa 27.5).” We have the word “assembled” (ne’esaphu) here and it is related to the word “asaph” which means “to gather.” Many of the psalms were written by a man named Asaph who was the archivist (gatherer) of the psalms. Asaph is a title for that position as well as a name of a person (1 Chr 6.39; 2 Chr 5.12).

When we associate words together from numerous passages it is called “Midrashic Pearl Stringing.” Passages are joined together by related terms. A passage from Psalms is joined us to a passage from 1 Thes 4 as we have seen already, and will see again soon. Then we will have another passage from Psalms joined to another passage from Ephesians, and then Isaiah. They will tell a story as you move through various passages from different books. That is Midrashic Pearl Stringing, and the Jewish people had teachers who were experts on this.

So, we are going to get into 1 Thes 4 and the book of Ephesians (in Part 33), so watch for these. We will see that these passages will be saying the same thing. We will also answer the question, “Where did the writers of the Gospels and the Epistles get this from?” Paul didn’t just pull these terms out of the air. They will come out of the Tanak. Since most people are never trained in the Tanak or these concepts, these meanings are lost on most people who read the Bible. Then when we find relevant terms we need to find out if they are related to any particular festival. Then we can look into that festival to what it teaches about in God’s eschatological plan.

Isa 59.9-20 is an ancient reading for Rosh Ha Shanah, and this will be the text that Paul will use as a basis for 1 Thes 5.1-5 and Eph 6.10-17. This text goes right into Isa 60.1 where it says, “Rise and shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” These are all Rosh Ha Shanah terms.

When we read these passages in Isa 59.9-20 we will see the same terms coming up in 1 Thessalonians and Ephesians. These phrases will include, “And he put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation (Hebrew “yeshua”) on his head.” These are pieces of armor and Isaiah wrote this in the Eighth Century B.C. when the Assyrians were coming to invade Israel. If you go to a Bible bookstore and buy books on Spiritual Warfare, you will see the passages referenced will be Eph 6.10-17 and how a believer has armor. Then the author will say that Paul was comparing the armor of a believer with the armor of a Roman soldier because they were the soldiers of Paul’s time (we’ve seen this). But the author is wrong and he missed it. Paul was using Isa 59.17 as his text and it was not the armor of the Romans he is talking about, but the armor of the Jewish army in the Eighth Century B.C., the time of Isaiah. If you want insight into spiritual warfare, study that.

Other phrases in Isa 59 are, “The Redeemer will come to Zion” (v 20) and then it goes right into Isa 60.1 with the terms “arise and shine” and “your light has come.” These terms are associated with Rosh Ha Shanah. So, it would be good for you to read Isa 59.9-20 and highlight these Rosh Ha Shanah terms.

Now, let’s go to 1 Thes 4.13-18 and the famous “rapture” passage that so many know. It says, “But I do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep (dead), that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep (died) in Yeshua (they are believers). For this we say to you by the word of the Lord (in the Tanak like Psa 47.1; Isa 21.5; Zeph 2.1-3; Isa 57.1-2; Isa 13.13; Isa 18.3; Isa 26.19-26; Job 14.7, 11-15; Job 19.25-26) that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord (in the Natzal, Tishri 1, year 6001, Rosh Ha Shanah) shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend (from heaven) with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God (see above Scriptures) and the dead in Messiah will rise first (the “first” of 2 Thes 2.3…at the beginning of the Day of the Lord), then we who are alive and remain (on the earth…Isa 18.3) shall be caught up (Greek “harpuzo” and is a synonym for “apostasia” in 2 Thes 2.3, meaning a physical departure) together with them (the Natzal or gathering) in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words.” A believer is expected to be hidden from the wrath of God in the Birth-pains (Zeph 2.1-3; Psa 27.5; Isa 57.1-2; Isa 26.19-20).

Now we are going to move on to 1 Thes 5.1-6 to pick up more Rosh Ha Shanah terms, “But concerning the times (festivals) and the seasons (festival seasons), brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord (a term for the last 1000 years called the Messianic Kingdom and Sabbath of God or Lord’s Day, but it is also a term for Rosh Ha Shanah because that is when it begins) so comes as a thief in the night (one who steals or “kleptes” in Greek where we get the word “kleptomaniac”). For when they say, ‘Peace and safety’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman (alluding to the Birth-pains); and they shall not escape.”

Notice Paul is using the terms associated with Rosh Ha Shanah. He continues, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this day (Day of the Lord, beginning on Rosh Ha Shanah) should not overtake you like a thief (a kleptomaniac). You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” Notice we have the same terms found in the Rosh Ha Shanah passages of Psa 27 and Isa 59.

He then continues in 1 Thes 5.7-9, “For those who sleep sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation (you see how he is using Isa 59.17?), for God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.”

In Part 33 we will pick up here.

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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