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As I've said many times before, I credit what I know about
the Feasts of the L
ORD to teacher Mark Biltz. I first heard Mark Biltz speak on
Southwest Radio Church many years ago. I believe that must have been around
2008. He was teaching on the Feasts of the L
ORD and I had longed to learn about
these Feasts for many years, so of course as soon as I heard the topic I was hooked.
Besides hearing him on the radio, I ordered his
set of teaching DVDs on the Feasts and listened to them over and over taking extensive
notes to absorb all the information he taught. I now write on these topics out
of what I learned mostly from Mark Biltz (but also other sources).
Since then Mark Biltz has become a well-known teacher, radio
and TV guest, and author.
I say all this to let you know the following information I
learned from
Mark Biltz's DVD set. I believe he also spoke of this on the Southwest
Radio Church radio shows I heard. I don't know if this information is in any of
his books. But what he teaches about the Feast of Trumpets I found absolutely
exciting and amazing and have remembered it ever since. We'll see if you feel
the same.
In my own words, here's what I've gleaned from Mark Biltz's
teaching and my own study of the Bible:
When God gave the instructions for the Feast of Trumpets in
Leviticus 23:23-25, it was to be a one-day celebration.
23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 "Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord" (Leviticus 23:23-25, ESV).
But at some point in history, it became a two-day Feast.
According to Mark Biltz's DVD set, this change came when the people of Israel
were in exile in Babylon (after 586 B.C.) and here's why.
As we've discussed before, the first of the month on the
Jewish calendar comes on a new moon. Who determines when the first of the
month, and therefore the Feast day, is? That would be the priests viewing the
night sky from the Temple (or Temple Mount, since the Temple had been
destroyed) in Jerusalem. But when the people of Israel are in Babylon, not
Jerusalem, how do you get the message to them that it is the day for the Feast
to begin?
They had to send some sort of signal. But how?
They sent a signal by fire. Mark Biltz said they would set
the hills on fire to send a signal that the day of the Feast had arrived.
However, it might take a while for the smoke signal to be seen by the exiles in
Babylon. For that reason, the people of Israel would be waiting for the signal
to know when this one-day Feast would start and they wouldn't know exactly
which day it would begin on. This meant two things happened:
- This one-day Feast stretched into two days while they
waited for the signal. So although it was two days, it was only supposed to be a one-day Feast. Therefore it became known as "one
long day."
- Since no one knew which day the Feast of Trumpets would start on, it became
known as "the day no one knows."
Now read these verses from Matthew 24 about the return of Jesus:
30 "And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
32 "Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door. 34 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
36 "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows." (Matthew 24:30-36, NLT, emphasis mine).
Did you catch that? The "day nobody knows"
IS the Feast of Trumpets! (
Tweet that!)
I believe Jesus will return and gather his people
on the Feast of Trumpets! I'm not saying it will happen this year. I don't know what year. (
Tweet that!)
But I do know the next Feast to be fulfilled by Jesus on God's prophetic calendar of seven Feasts is the Feast of Trumpets. (
Tweet that!)
It is unfortunate that something has happened over
time in some Christian circles. That is that many people
put strong emphasis on the part of Matthew 24:36 that says:
"...no one knows about that day or hour...not even the angels in
heaven or the Son…"
Now there is nothing wrong with taking that (or any Scripture
verse) seriously. Hear me clearly: there is nothing wrong with taking that seriously!
As a matter of fact, we are to take Scripture very seriously. Always. And I do
not want anyone to think I'm saying differently. However, because of the
emphasis on "no one knows," regarding the
return of Jesus it seems we can't even talk about the
possibilities. In other words, we Christians have been silenced by our own
fellow Christians from even being allowed to be curious. We are silenced.
Discussing that Jesus might return on a certain date is a taboo subject in many Christian
churches and circles today.
If or when we talk about this, it is often called "date setting" and is shunned.
It is for this reason that I fear Mr. Biltz and others have
been discouraged from talking about this. Maybe I simply haven't heard an
interview where Mark Biltz (or others) have talked about it, but in the
interviews I've heard with Mark Biltz on Christian TV talk shows or on the
radio, I haven't heard him talking about this at all--even though I learned it from him. I think it is a terribly and
crucially important piece of information, but it is not being shared or talked
about or taught anywhere. This piece of information is being squelched.
Of course we have to be extremely careful with what I'm
about to say and make sure every theory and idea is thoroughly vetted through
Scripture, but I believe information hidden from humankind for millennia past
will be revealed in the Last Days (which I believe we are living in right now).
One Scripture I can point to is Daniel 12:9. In 539 B.C., Daniel was given a
vision of the End Times. After Daniel had written down the vision given him of
the End Times (see Daniel 10 – 12), the Man talking to him in the vision (who,
it seems clear to me, was the pre-incarnate Lord Jesus Christ), instructed
Daniel to do this (emphasis is mine):
"Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and
sealed until the time of the end"(Daniel 12:9, NIV 1984*).
That tells me that in the "time of the end" we will understand things in Scripture that we have never understood before. They will be unsealed
for our understanding. (
Tweet that!)
What a shame if we are silenced, even by well-meaning
Christians, and cannot talk about these things. I believe after centuries of
being told it is wrong to attempt to set the date of the return of the Lord
Jesus, many Christians just automatically silence any discussion of it.
Let me say it again clearly: I believe Jesus will return ON
the Feast of Trumpets (though we don't know what year). (
Tweet that!)
Yes, that is a specific date because it will be the Feast of
Trumpets. And I believe the year is not too far off. Will God leave us here to
witness the final Blood Moon on September 28, 2015 (which is after the Feast of
Trumpets 2015)? This I do not know. (
Tweet that!)
What do you believe?
*The NIV 1984 is quoted here but, unfortunately, is no longer available so this link goes to three other versions.
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