INTRODUCTION
This book is about the feasts of God, and primarily about Rosh Hashana, or the Feast of Trumpets. Generally, the first question that comes to mind is, “Why should we learn about the feasts in the Old Testament?” We will examine that question, and ultimately decide whether these statues from the Old Testament about the feasts of God are, in fact, for the New Testament Christian. But with reference to the first question concerning the feasts of God, a secondary question arises. Paul tells us in Galatians[1] that we are the inheritors of the promises given to Abraham if we belong to Christ. The second question becomes, “Shouldn’t I know something about the promises made to Abraham so that I can know something about my inheritance?”
In the previous statement, we should hear the word Messiah echoing as soon as we mention the name of Christ. Christ is actually taken from a Greek word that means The Messiah. Literally, it should have been translated The Messiah, but instead, the King James translators in the 1600s translated it as Christ, taken from Christos in the Greek.
King Solomon said in Proverbs 25:2, that it is God’s glory to conceal things, but that it is the honor of kings to search out a matter. In the early 1600s, Sir Francis Bacon agreed with this statement, and wrote much about it. He wrote in the Novum Organum preface the following:
For it was not that pure and spotless natural knowledge, by which Adam gave names to all things according to their kind, that was the origin and occasion of the Fall, but that ambitious and headstrong greed for moral knowledge – of telling good from evil – so that man might desert God and make his own laws, that was the ground and manner of this temptation. On the contrary, of the sciences which concern themselves with Nature, the holy philosopher declares: “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; but the glory of a king to discover a thing,” [2] in much the same way as if the Divine Nature took pleasure in the innocent and good-natured children’s game of hide-and-seek, and out of His indulgence and kindness to men chose the human soul to be His companion in play in this game (Bacon 15). [3]
One of God’s purposes in hiding His precepts in His Holy Scriptures is no doubt that we are not overwhelmed with information that we cannot understand. When the time is appropriate, God grants us the knowledge that we seek. Daniel was specifically instructed to “seal up the book until the times of the end.” [4] However, since we are living during the End Times according to many Biblical scholars, much information has been revealed and made clear to us. Knowledge has increased tremendously recently in virtually every area, including Biblical prophecy.
A very good example of God’s cryptograms or concealment of His information is found in Jeremiah 25:26.
And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
The words “king of Sheshach” are written in the text, however historians maintain that there is no such person nor kingdom. Jeremiah simply reverses the letters in Hebrew for Babylon in order to write in a code, so to speak, about Babylon. He uses the term “Sheshach” again in Jeremiah 51:41. [5] The authors of the New International Version of the Bible have included a footnote, which states that “Sheshach” is a cryptogram for Babylon, [6] and the authors of the New King James Version Bible have included a center-column reference which states that “Sheshach” is a code word for Babylon.[7]
Another example of God pointing us to look for His code, is found in the recorded conversation of David and Jonathan in the book of First Samuel, chapter 20. They agreed upon a code for what they were going to say, and they each knew that the words had a deeper meaning.. This type of thing, saying one thing but understanding that it has a deeper meaning, is what I believe that God has done in His Word in order that we can know the moment and times of His events. We just have to understand the deeper meaning of the words. This book will discuss some of the things that have deeper meanings than just the words in the plain text, and I believe that God intended for us to understand these meanings.
If we want to please God, should we not be about His business by studying His Word? To solve God’s cryptograms and to be able to open up the concealment of His concepts are to His delight. Therefore, it is up to us to occupy ourselves with the process of solving the puzzles that God has laid out before us. Our relationship with the Lord will deepen as we begin to understand more of the character of God through these efforts, and we will find that He is truly delighted when we spend time working his magnificent puzzles.
[1] Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
[2] Proverbs 25:2
[3] Bacon, Francis, Edited by Peter Urbach and John Gibson, Novum Organum. Illinjois, Chicago: Open Court Publishing Company. 1994.
[4] Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
[5] Jeremiah 51:41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
[6] The Holy Bible, New International Version (1984) The International Bible Society.
[7] The Holy Bible, The New King James Version, (1988). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.