Post by Rev. Jim Cunningham on Sept 18, 2009 20:50:35 GMT -5
L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem!
"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year!"
HAPPY ROSH HASHANAH!!!
Brothers and Sisters,
There are three chief holidays/feasts (Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur), commanded by the Lord in Leviticus to all of the Faithful, and observed by the Lord Himself while on earth, and observed by the Apostles before AND AFTER the death and resurrection of the Lord. We, as servants of the Lord Jesus - who said "If you love Me keep My commandments" - are obliged to keep God's commands and remember this precious day.
The Feast of Rosh Hashanah (or "Yom Teruah" as it is called in Scripture) is especially important to Christians. It has been said that "Christmas" (the birthday of the sun god Mithras adopted by the Vatican) is not really the birthday of Jesus. This is true, and fortunately most people know this now. It is also said that we do not really know His real birthday, and that we aren't commanded to observe it anyway. This is false, but sadly most people don't know this.
As most of you will remember, all days on the biblical calendar begin at sundown and end at sundown the next day. This is why Sabbath begins at sundown Friday night and ends at sundown on Saturday night. Rosh Hashanah (meaning "first of the year) - or "Yom Teruah" (meaning "the day of trumpets" and commonly refered to as "the feast of trumpets") - is a holiday commanded by the Lord to be celebrated with the blowing of the trumpet (or "shofar" - a ram's horn), beginning at sundown. It is often refered to as the Jewish New Year, but curiously, the Scriptures actually command that the New Year begin two weeks before Passover - seven months before Rosh Hashanah, and it is interesting to note that God did not command us to celebrate the actual New Year. So why in the world is Rosh Hashanah considered the Jewish New Year? Actually it is considered the "spiritual" New Year by Jews, though they generally do not understand exactly why. Most Jews also have difficulty explaining why exactly this day is so important that God COMMANDED its observance, and why He specifically required celebrations with the blowing of trumpets, and why He calls for harsh punishment for those who violate it. The reason they do not fully understand is because, as it was written, the Jews now have a temporary spiritual veil over their eyes, and therefore they do not realize that they celebrate Messiah Jesus every year in the observance of this holiday.
It was foretold in the writings of both the Old and New Testaments that Messiah's first and second arrivals will be heralded by trumpets, and that Messiah will be the "lamb of the first year". His birth would initiate a new calendar. And in fact, all of planet earth - with or without their consent or even their knowledge or understanding - will observe this. Did you notice that the current calendar used throughout the world says that this is the year 2,009? Of course you did. But 2,009 years from WHEN? In other words, by acknowledging the year 2,009, what is the world acknowledging as the historical event that initiated year 1? THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST! Which is why we calculate the years of history as being "B.C." ("Before Christ") and "A.D." ("Anno Domini" - meaning "Year of Our Lord").
If you haven't guessed it yet, yes indeed, on the evening that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and laid under the stars in a manger, the trumpets were blasting throughout Israel in celebration. Rosh Hashanah (Yom Teruah) is the birthday of our Lord - and this is why it was commanded that we celebrate it ever year! I find it so fascinating that this holiday was prescribed by our Lord to be observed every year BEFORE His birth to ensure that it would be observed AT His birth and observed forever AFTER His birth without the Jews even understanding why - and yet now that it has come to fruition, Christians, the very ones who should be celebrating this day with great joy over its fulfillment, have put themselves under the misconception that it is a mere "Jewish holiday" that we don't have to observe!
I know that tradition has jammed its way into our lives so much that many times we can't tell whether it is truth or man's invention. Each of us has see what damage unbiblical anti-gay tradition causes. Look at what bondage this tradition holds the church in! Before you brush off the observance of Rosh Hashanah as a law "for the Jews" that keeps us "in bondage to legalism", remember that the same people who invented THAT tradition also invented the anti-gay tradition.
It's Jesus' birthday, y'all! So come on, brothers and sisters, get out a trumpet and PARTY!!!!!!
HAPPY ROSH HASHANAH!!
(i.e. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!)
-Rev. Jim Cunningham
King James Bible Ministries
www.GayChristianSurvivors.com