We are gong to talk about the future and concepts needed to understand it. The Scriptures are built on questions. Everything is designed for instruction, with the Lord as the teacher. He has given authority to those anointed to convey these concepts. There is a concept called the “Dual Concept of the Messiah” and we have already touched on some of this before. The rabbis and teachers in the first century had a concept that the Messiah would possibly be two or three individuals. One of the names for the Messiah was “Mashiach Ben David” and that when the Messiah came, he would be like King David, descended from him, and reign on his throne. He would be the conquering king who would restore his throne to Israel. But the teachers saw a problem. They also saw the Messiah as “Mashiach Ben Joseph”, a suffering servant, who would come and deal with the sins of the people. So how could these two concepts be reconciled? They had a belief that the Messiah would be two individuals who would come and fulfill each role. There also was a third concept of the Messiah called the “Mashiach Ben Levi”, a priestly messiah who would serve the people in a Temple role as high priest. He is also referred to as the “high priest anointed for war” or the “warrior priest.”
This concept is associated with the idea that when Israel went to war, the high priest did not go, but his deputy, called the “sagan” did and he was among the people in their battles (Deut 20.2). But we are going to concentrate on the first two concepts. In Matt 11.1-6 we learn that John the Baptist, Yeshua’s cousin, is in prison. He asks Yeshua an eschatological question about his role as the Messiah. John knew that he was the Messiah because the Father had revealed it to him at Yeshua’s baptism. John knew he was sent to open the way for him, to be the forerunner and messenger of the Messiah Ben Joseph, the suffering servant. What he didn’t know was if Yeshua was going to fulfill the role of Messiah Ben David as well, or should they “look for another” individual to fulfill that role. Yeshua answered him in a way that John understood, in that, he was going to fulfill both roles as the suffering servant and the conquering king, and this would be accomplished in two comings. Another concept to understand if we are going to understand the second coming of Yeshua is the concept of the Chosen People.
Israel was chosen for a task. The whole Tanach, starting with Genesis, is the story of how God prepared a nation, a tribe and a family to receive the Messiah. This task is defined in Rom 9.1-4. They were to teach the Scriptures that the Lord was going to bring forth through them. They were to be different from all the other nations because of this task. God structured Jewish history to tell the story of the coming of Messiah and of the coming of his kingdom onto the earth. Another concept to be understood if we are going to understand the coming of the Messiah is the biblical festivals in Lev 23. These festivals are the blueprint for the mission of the Messiah, to be accomplished in two separate comings. The festival of Pesach (Passover) teaches the death of the Messiah and the ratification of the new covenant in his blood. The festival of Hag Ha Matzah (Unleavened Bread) teaches his burial, the festival of Bikkurim (First Fruits) teaches his resurrection from the dead and the festival of Shavuot (Pentecost) teaches the coming of the Ruach Ha Kodesh in power upon the eschatological congregation of the Messiah. These festivals take place in Nisan and Sivan in the spring, and teach his first coming.
After the summer harvest, we come to the fall month of Tishri and Yom Ha Teruah (Rosh Ha Shannah) which teaches the resurrection of the believer, the coronation of the Messiah, the wedding of the Messiah and judgment of the believer in heaven. Then ten days later we come to Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and this festival teaches the second coming of the Messiah to the earth. The last festival in Tishri is five days after Yom Kippur, called Sukkot (Tabernacles) and this festival teaches the setting up of God’s kingdom on the earth. Everything associated with these festivals carries the concept of “filtering” and you will see it in the Jewish prayer book called a siddur, the services in the Temple and in everything God does. One festival concept will lead you to the next concept. The festivals in turn lead us to prepare for the “Olam Haba” which means the “world to come.” Again, these festivals will be fulfilled in two comings of the Messiah. If he fulfilled the first four festivals in his first coming, he will fulfill the last three in his second coming.
Next we have the concept of the Two Calendars. Many people do not realize that the Bible operates with two calendars. When dates are given from Gen 1 to Exo 11, they are according to the civil calendar. The months of the civil calendar are: Tishri (also called Ethanim); Chesvan (Bul); Kislev; Tevet; Shevat; Adar; Nisan (also called Aviv which means “green ear”); Iyar (also called Zif); Sivan; Tammuz; Av and Elul. However, when dates are given from Exo 12 to Rev 22, they are according to the religious calendar. The months of the religious year are as follows: Nisan; Iyar; Sivan; Tammuz; Av; Elul; Tishri; Chesvan; Kislev; Tevet; Shevat and Adar. This concept is very important to know because there are prophecies that tell you what month the Messiah will come if you understand this. For instance, in Joel 2.23 it says that the Messiah will come “in the first month.” But there are two comings, so how can that be if he comes according to the festivals given by God in the spring and fall of the year. Well, he came according to the religious calendar in his first coming. The first month of the religious calendar is Nisan, and he died, was buried and resurrected in Nisan. He sent the Ruach in Sivan, but the spring Passover season is not over till Sivan, at Shavuot. You see, there is an “overlapping” concept in the Scriptures. For example, you will see Yeshua riding into Jerusalem at Passover, but they are using palm branches, which is done at Sukkot, in welcoming Yeshua into the city. Why? Sukkot teaches the kingdom, and they are using Sukkot rituals involving the “lulavim” to say that Yeshua was the king, the Messiah. Now, the first month in Joel 2.23 also alludes to the festivals in Tishri because that is the first month of the civil calendar, and Yeshua will come back in his second coming in Tishri. You see, if you did not know about the two calendars, you would not understand the prophecy in Joel 2.23.
Another concept to understand concerning the second coming of Yeshua is the 7000 year plan of God. Psa 90.4 says that a day is like a thousand years with the Lord. God created the heavens and the earth in six days, and rested on the seventh. It is blueprint for this 7000 year plan of God (we have several articles on this in our Prophecy and Eschatology menu on this site). One of the most important concepts to understand is the festival of Yom Teruah itself (Num 29.1). Yom Teruah (the Scriptural name) means “the day of the awakening blast” and it also means “shout.” A “teruah” is a note on a shofar and this festival teaches the resurrection of the righteous dead at the Natzal (meaning “deliverance”) and it also goes by the name of “the rapture” but that does not convey the meaning very well. The believers are taken to heaven, where we will be judged, not for salvation, but our works. It also teaches that we will be present for the wedding and coronation of the Messiah in Heaven. This day is also called a “Yom Ha Din” meaning a “day of judgment” and Paul refers to it as the “last trump” in 1 Cor 15.52. Rev chapters 4 and 5 teach these concepts.
Another concept to understand is the concept of Teshuvah, which means “to return.” This is a 40 day period, from Elul 1 to Tishri 10 (Yom Kippur) where mankind is to get ready for the coming of the Lord and the Day of Judgment. It is a filter (as we have already mentioned before) for people to go from corruptible to incorruptible, like the 13 sieves used on the festival of Bikkurim and the first fruits of the barley that was going to go before God in the Temple. Another concept is the Day of the Lord. This refers to the last 1000 year period of time, also called the Sabbath of God, or Lord’s Day. For those who have no understanding about the Sabbath, this concept is virtually unknown. That is why it is important to keep the commandments of the Lord otherwise you will be “in darkness” when it comes to understanding the second coming of the Messiah.
Another concept to understand is the concept of the “Two Theatres of Operation.” This concerns the seven year Birth-pains of the Messiah, or as it is known, the Tribulation Period. When the Natzal happens on Tishri 1, Yom Teruah, the believers go to heaven to be with the Lord. Those left behind will go through the Birthpains, face the false messiah and possibly stay alive long enough to see the second coming of the Lord on Yom Kippur at the end of the Birthpains. So, there will be two theatre’s of operation during the Birth-pains. The first theatre is in heaven, and the second on earth.
The Coronation of the Messiah will occur in heaven and 1 Kings 1 (Solomon) and 2 Kings 11 (Joash) are two coronations that give us a glimpse into the coronation of a Judean king. The Wedding of the Messiah is related to two festivals. A Jewish wedding had two stages, the betrothal, called the Shitre Erusin, and the full marriage, called the Kedushin. The betrothal took place at Mount Sinai on Shavuot (Jer 2.2) and is called “the first trump” in Jewish thought, and the full marriage will not take place till Yom Teruah (the last trump), at the resurrection of the righteous, right before the Birthpains begin. Now, the “first trump” at Shavuot and the “last trump” at Yom Teruah relate back to the ram caught in the thicket in Gen 22. These two horns relate to the two stages of a Jewish wedding, the betrothal at Shavuot and the full marriage at Yom Teruah in Jewish eschatology. Why is that concept important? Because there are many so-called “prophecy teachers” that do not understand this concept and think that the “last trump” refers to the last of the trumpet judgments in Revelation, but in reality, it has nothing to do with it. Because of a lack of knowledge, they teach many false concepts about the “last trump” and lead many people astray. Then we enter into the “seven days of the Chuppah”, which in this case is seven years, and at the end we will go to the Wedding Feast on earth (Isa 25.6; Rev 19.7-21).
Now, these concept must be mastered in order to even begin to comprehend the second coming of the Messiah and all the concepts associated with it. Once this is done, the Scriptures will come alive for you and you will be able to see the 7000 year plan of God coming to pass right before your eyes. We have only touched on these concepts. In order to get into more detail, we have many article on this site about these concepts, and you can google them on the Internet for more information. In Part 2, we will begin to talk about Yom Teruah, year 6001 from creation and the Day of the Lord.
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