This entry is Part 2 of the discussion begun in the previous post, "NewMoon". You will find it helpful if you read that post first. There will be a Part 3 dealing with Yom Kippur , the Day of Atonement, following this entry.
In part 1, "Newmoon", we discussed how important this time of year and its ordained feasts are, not only to the Jewish people and Israel, but to all believers in Christ as well. It is a time, over the course of these next ten days called the Days of Awe, or the Days of Repentance (Teshuvah), following the Feast of Trumpets, to take the opportunity that the Lord has given to examine ourselves, repent, and change before the judgment of Yom Kippur is finalized or "sealed". The Feast of Trumpets is directly associated with the new moon that begins the month of Tishrei ("beginning"). That new moon means renewal, restoration, repair, rebuilding, even the cutting/polishing (of a sword) according to the meaning of its Hebrew root word, chadash. Our repentance and determination to change what we need to change within us individually, also institutes the same renewal, restoration and repair on a far wider scale (see scriptures from "NewMoon").
For the Feast of Trumpets, there is a poem ("piyyut") or writing that is included in the liturgy of the synagogue/temple. It has been called "one of the most stirring compositions in the entire liturgy of the Days of Awe." This poem is called "Unetanah Tokef". Although I will be referring to excerpts from it, it is too lengthy to include it in its entirety on this post, so I am providing a link to it (here). When I read it, it seems to me to parallel the Book of Revelation in an awesome way.
The Days of Awe for reflection and repentance, concluded by Yom Kippur when the inscriptions of judgment (in the Book of Life, or the Book of Death) are sealed, is not about the judgment of the dead, with which we are familiar. It is the weighing and judging of the living by God.
In Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of the Book of Revelation, Christ addresses the seven churches, and calls them to repent and change the troubling issues He has found in them, and also commends them for what He has found pleasing in them. Judgment means "justice", receiving what we deserve, good or bad. According to these chapters in Revelation, Jesus told the churches that if they did not repent and change in the problem areas He had seen in them, He would remove something vital from them. They will suffer a loss. If they do repent and change, they will gain something precious from Him.
The Book of Revelation tells us, therefore, that the believers are also called to difficult days of repentance and change, in the face of Christ's examination and pending judgment. This is not something we can ignore, incorrectly thinking that the requirements of these fall feast days do not pertain to us. Jesus also describes Himself as having "the sharp, two-edged sword" (Rev. 2:12), which brings us back to remembering the meaning of the New Moon root, chadash.
The Piyyut of the Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah referred to above, says in part regarding this examination and judgment:
And all creatures shall parade before You as a troop.
As a shepherd herds his flock,
Causing his sheep to pass beneath his staff,
So do You cause to pass, count, and record,
Visiting the souls of all living,
Decreeing the length of their days,
Inscribing their judgment.
On Rosh Hashanah it is inscribed,
And on Yom Kippur it is sealed.
Our Good Shepherd inspects us, and all living, not the dead at this time, and inscribes the judgment. He is also described as follows in the Piyyut:
In truth...
The exhorter, the all-knowing, the witness,
He who inscribes and seals...
You open the book of remembrance...
And the seal of each person is there.
We are inscribed on the Feast of Trumpets, and the judgment is sealed on Yom Kippur.
Christ opens the seals of the scroll that no one else can open (Rev. 5:1-3). Rev. 7:3, and 9:4 describe a seal that has been placed upon people. He also identifies Himself as the faithful and true witness (Rev. 3:14).
The Piyyut also says that it is at this time that it is decided who shall live and who shall die. The various manners of death, and suffering for the living are described in the Piyyut as being by water and thirst (Rev. 8:10-11), fire (Rev. 9:17-18), sword (Rev. 6:8), wild beast (also Rev. 6:8), famine (Rev. 6:5-6, 8), earthquake (Rev. 6:12), plague (Rev. 16:1-2, 21).
Some, as a result of judgment, will not attain peace and rest but will be pursued (Rev. 6:3-4), and tormented (Rev. 9:5-6).
As the Piyyut comes to a close, it brings forth a truth that is completely revealed only in the Book of Revelation:
Your name is fitting unto You...and our name has been called by Your name.
Revelation 3:12, 14:1, and 22:3-4 all refer to those who have had the name of the Lord written upon them, or given to them.
The Piyyut also points out the mercy of God that gives us all the opportunity to repent, and change ourselves and the judgments written against us saying of God:
You are difficult to anger and easy to appease. For You do not desire the death of the condemned, but that he turn from his path and live.
The Apostle Peter gave us this same insight when he wrote:
"The Lord...is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." 2 Pet. 3:9
Peter then goes on to write that at the time of judgment, the heavens and earth melt, and pass away. Because of this, we look then for the new heavens and the new earth to come. The Book of Revelation also concludes with this renewal of the heavens and earth (Rev. 21:1). This is also in accord with the renewal found in chadash, the New Moon of Tishrei ("Beginning"), the Feast of Trumpets, or Rosh Hashanah. This feast marks the beginning of creation to the Jews, and as such, it must include Jesus, who called Himself "the Beginning of the creation of God" (Rev. 3:14).
I think we can see that throughout the Book of Revelation, Jesus continually uses words and phrases which would immediately bring to the remembrance of His Jewish-based Church the following: the call to the Days of Awe, beginning with the Feast of Trumpets with its New Moon, and the chadash renewal attached to it, the sealing of judgment on Yom Kippur, but also the sprinkling of the blood of atonement upon the mercy seat (the propitiation) of God by our eternal High Priest for all of those who will heed the call of the feasts, and receive that mercy.
As priests before God, we also, through our own obedience and faith, take part in the approach to the mercy seat, which the Jews call the throne of God, and the application of that blood of mercy of the sacrificed Lamb of God represented by Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur reflects the truth that mercy and judgment reside side by side in God:
"In mercy the throne will be established; And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David, judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness." Isa. 16:5 (see also Ps. 89:14, Ps. 101:1, Hos. 12:6)
The Apostle James tells us that mercy rejoices against judgment (Jam. 2:13).
Please see the next installment in this series entitled "Mercy", which studies Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the next feast of the LORD.
Our Father has revealed His call to repentance, His seal of judgment, and His provision of mercy in the Days of Awe, and Yom Kippur.
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