The Appointed Days of the Fall 5787
בס״ד
המועדים בסתיו תשפ״ז
The Appointed Days of the Fall 5787
The month of Tishre is an important month on the Biblical calendar. In this month there are a total of four special holidays. The month begins with the Feast of Trumpets, commonly referred to as Rosh HaShanah. It is followed by the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and then finally, a most unusual day called the Eighth Day Assembly (Shimini Atzeret). Each of these appointed days has a special message attached to it, which is incumbent upon every believer to learn, in order to understand the revelation of G-d to His people.
Let us begin with the Feast of Trumpets. The horn which is actually sounded on this holiday is the Shofar, the ram’s horn. On this day, the account of the binding of Isaac is read in the synagogue. What is significant is that Abraham is commanded to offer up his son, his only son, Isaac as a burnt offering. It is most interesting that in fact Isaac was not Abraham’s only son, as Ishmael was also his son. The important thing is that it is only Isaac who is connected to the promise of G-d. As Paul states in Galatians 3:16,
τω δε αβρααμ ερρηθησαν αι επαγγελιαι και τω σπερματι αυτου ου λεγει και τοις σπερμασιν ως επι πολλων αλλ ως εφ ενος και τω σπερματι σου ος εστιν χριστος
“But to Abraham the promises were made to be spoken and to his seed, it does not say and to the seeds, as to many, but as to one and your seed which is Messiah.”
Galatians 3:16
This verse shows the connection between the Messiah and Isaac. It was Isaac who was related to the promise, just as the Messiah is related to the promise of Salvation. When one hears the sounding of the shofar, it conveys to the listener G-d’s faithfulness to provide. In actuality the word which appears is not “to provide”; but rather in the Hebrew language it is simply the Hebrew word יִרְאֶה which means that the L-rd will see. It is most disappointing that instead of translating the word correctly, translators willfully misrepresent the word and state that “the L-rd will provide”. The Hebrew text emphasizes that G-d is constantly watching His servants, and whenever there is a shortage, G-d will see and give to His people. Again, the emphasis is on G-d watching or seeing; rather than providing. It is unfortunately a good example of how translators interpret, rather than simply translate what actually appears in the Biblical text. In addition to G-d Who will see His people, there is also another verse of great significance in Genesis chapter 22. This verse is Genesis 22:17.
Once again, translators fail in doing their task. The Hebrew text states,
כִּֽי־בָרֵ֣ךְ אֲבָרֶכְךָ֗ וְהַרְבָּ֨ה אַרְבֶּ֤ה אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֙ כְּכוֹכְבֵ֣י הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְכַח֕וֹל אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־שְׂפַ֣ת הַיָּ֑ם וְיִרַ֣שׁ זַרְעֲךָ֔ אֵ֖ת שַׁ֥עַר אֹיְבָֽיו׃
“For I will utterly bless you and I will utterly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the shore of the sea, and your seed will possess the gate of his enemies.” Genesis 22:17
Please note how several of the translators render this verse:
I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies.
"I will bless you and give you such a large family, that someday your descendants will be more numerous than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand along the seashore. They will defeat their enemies and take over the cities where their enemies live.
I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies' cities.
Brenton Septuagint Translation
surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is by the shore of the sea, and thy seed shall inherit the cities of their enemies.
All of these translations fail, as they ignore the Biblical word שַׁ֥עַר and instead render it as “cities”. Such translations do not capture that the gate of a city is where judgment is administered. In other words, G-d is acting to judge the enemies of Israel. This is not an isolated incident, but exactly what believers should expect in the End Times. This also provides assistance in understanding the promise which comes through Isaac and the Messiah. The phrase “to possess the gate of one’s enemies” relates to victory. This is what G-d is promising to His people.
Now, we will move on to discussing the Day of Atonement. For those who embrace Reform Theology, i.e., Calvinism, there is a serious problem. One of John Calvin’s principles relates to the doctrine which states that what the Messiah provided for His people is a Limited Atonement. I would suggest that to speak of the Messiah’s work on the Cross as a Limited Atonement is highly insulting to G-d. One should never use the word atonement in regard to what our Messiah secured for the believer. He certainly was not crucified on the Day of Atonement, but rather on Passover, which is the day which is related to redemption. An excellent verse which underscores this fact is found in Hebrews 9:12,
ουδε δι αιματος τραγων και μοσχων δια δε του ιδιου αιματος εισηλθεν εφαπαξ εις τα αγια αιωνιαν λυτρωσιν ευραμενος
“But not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood He entered once and for all, into the Holy place having cause to be found eternal redemption.”
Hebrews 9:12
Please notice that the Greek word at the end of the verse is ευραμενος. It is in the passive voice and shows that eternal redemption did not just happen, but “was made or caused to take place”. The source of this eternal redemption was of course the blood of our Messiah. Again, there is no reason to speak of the Messiah’s work as an atonement. There is also a most misleading verse which fails to recognize the Koine Greek language correctly. The verse is 1 John 2:2,
και αυτος ιλασμος εστιν περι των αμαρτιων ημων ου περι των ημετερων δε μονον αλλα και περι ολου του κοσμου
The vast majority of English translations render the Greek word ιλασμος as atonement. Such a translation is most problematic. If one properly researches the word, it becomes clear that such a sacrifice is not at all related to an atonement. Among better translations the word is rendered as propitiation. This word only appears twice in the entire New Covenant, here in 1 John 2:2 and also in 1 John 4:10. Let us examine these two verses carefully.
και αυτος ιλασμος εστιν περι των αμαρτιων ημων ου περι των ημετερων δε μονον αλλα και περι ολου του κοσμου
“And He is the propitiation concerning our sin, but not concerning ours only, but also concerning the whole world.” 1 John 2:2
There is nothing contained in this verse which would support a Calvinistic teaching of a limited atonement. Again, it is highly offensive to G-d and our Savior to speak of Messiah’s work on the cross as an atonement. Atonement is only a covering and is temporary in nature. Messiah was crucified on Passover, the Day of Redemption, and His blood purchases for the believer eternal redemption.
εν τουτω εστιν η αγαπη ουχ οτι ημεις ηγαπησαμεν τον θεον αλλ οτι αυτος ηγαπησεν ημας και απεστειλεν τον υιον αυτου ιλασμον περι των αμαρτιων ημων
“In this is the love, not that we have loved G-d, but because He has loved us and sent His Son a propitiation concerning our sins. 1 John 4:10
In one word study aid it is stated about the word ιλασμος,
“of Christ's blood that appeases God's wrath, on all confessed sin.” By the sacrifice of Himself, Jesus Christ provided the ultimate ιλασμος hilasmós ("propitiation"). It is incorrect to speak of Messiah’s work on the Cross in terms of an atonement. However, what is said in this word study aid is accurate in stating, “Christ's blood appeases God's wrath, “By the sacrifice of Himself, Jesus Christ provided the ultimate ιλασμος hilasmós ("propitiation").” What does the English word propitiation mean? When searching on-line I found this,
“Propitiation is the act of appeasing or averting the wrath of an offended party, especially a deity, to regain their favor. It involves making amends or offering a sacrifice to satisfy justice and pacify anger.”
When stating, “to regain favor”, it sounds most similar to reconciliation. This is indeed what redemption does; it reconciles the sinner to the Holy G-d. This reconciliation is not temporal or limited in any way. It is permanent and eternal. How does one know this? When a person accepts the Gospel, what does he or she receive? The answer is eternal life. There is great significance in the term “eternal life”. It means exactly what it says, the believer will live forever due to one’s faith in the all-sufficient sacrifice of Messiah Yeshua. The primary idea found in the word propitiation is the concept of appeasing or averting the wrath of G-d. If the work of the Messiah was limited in any way, one could not describe His sacrifice as a propitiation. Because of the blood of our Passover sacrifice, believers will never experience the wrath of G-d. There is nothing limited about this absolute and complete forgiveness! At this time, we will proceed to discussing the Feast of Tabernacles. The primary commandment is to dwell in temporary structures called booths or huts. Biblically, one is required to spend all seven days of the festival dwelling in these temporary dwelling places. Obviously, one does not have to spend seven full days, but normally sleeping and eating in this booth or hut is considered as dwelling in them. The main teaching of the Feast of Tabernacles is to trust, depend and rely upon G-d for all things. The Children of Israel were commanded to dwell in these temporary structures, so they would remember the faithfulness of G-d and that it was proper to trust Him for all things, that one could depend upon Him and never be disappointed and that He was fully reliable regardless of one’s circumstances. Another commandment which is connected to the Feast of Tabernacles involves taking the four species of vegetation. These four species are the etrog, the palm branch, the leaves from the myrtle tree and the leaves from a willow branch. G-d commanded the Children of Israel to not only take these four species, but to wave them in six directions, proclaiming the grace of G-d to the nations. This is related to G-d’s call upon the Children of Israel to be a light to the nations. The first day of the Feast of Tabernacles is treated as a Holy Proclamation. The rest of the seven days are part of the Festival, but work may be done on these days.
The final appointed day does not have a great deal of information written about it in the Bible. I am speaking about the Eighth Day Assembly (שמיני עצרת). We read about this day in Leviticus 23:39 and Nehemiah 8:18,
אַ֡ךְ בַּחֲמִשָּׁה֩ עָשָׂ֨ר י֜וֹם לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י בְּאׇסְפְּכֶם֙ אֶת־תְּבוּאַ֣ת הָאָ֔רֶץ תָּחֹ֥גּוּ אֶת־חַג־יְהֹוָ֖ה שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים בַּיּ֤וֹם הָֽרִאשׁוֹן֙ שַׁבָּת֔וֹן וּבַיּ֥וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֖י שַׁבָּתֽוֹן׃
“But on the 15th day of the seventh month when you gather the produce of the land, you will celebrate the Feast of the L-rd seven days and on the first day a sacred Shabbat, and on the eighth day a sacred Shabbat.” Leviticus 23:39
וַיִּקְרָא בְּסֵפֶר תּוֹרַת הָאֱלֹהִים, יוֹם בְּיוֹם--מִן-הַיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן, עַד הַיּוֹם הָאַחֲרוֹן; וַיַּעֲשׂוּ-חָג שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת כַּמִּשְׁפָּט
״And he read in the book of the Law of G-d, daily, from the first day until the last day, and they will do seven days and on the eighth day an assembly according to the judgment.” Nehemiah 8:18
The Eighth Day Assembly is understood by its name. The number eight is most important in the Scripture. It is connected to the concepts of “new”, “redemption” and the “Kingdom”. For it was on the eighth day that male boys were circumcised and entered into a new relationship with the Children of Israel. This concept of newness relates to the death of the flesh, the primary message of circumcision. Circumcision is not directly connected to the Torah, but to the Abrahamic Covenant which Abraham entered into by faith. It is faith and not works which brought about the death of the flesh. How is the number eight related to redemption? The Messiah was raised from the dead on the eighth day; that is seven days plus one, as the first day of the week is also known as the eighth day. It was on the eighth day that the work of Messiah was completed, when G-d His Father raised Him from the dead, testifying that G-d had received Yeshua’s work of redemption. It is resurrection that testifies to the victory which redemption brings about. What type of victory? A kingdom victory– as flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of G-d. The concept of the Kingdom speaks about a restoration back to the will of G-d. Only through redemption does the believer have an expectation that the will of G-d can now become a reality for him or her.
In conclusion, these Appointed Days of the L-rd provides the believer with an expectation that the enemy will not succeed in his plans against the will of G-d, and that through faith, what G-d has desired for His New Covenant people will be achieved.