Appointed Time: Lesson 48.2: Signs

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Lesson 48.2: Signs - Part 3 of 3

Brief 4-to-5 Minute Teaching Lesson
Why? and What is the Purpose? in My Life SERIES

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The conclusion of lesson 48 of the Discipleship Making process.

In summary of part two of this lesson, we learned that Jesus’ final two future road markers, prior to His return, included the signs in the Heavens and the sign of the Son of Man appearing in the sky.

It is here that we pick-up where we left off, Jesus concluding the final sign that the disciples are to be looking for, the sign of the Son of Man appearing in the sky, so that His future disciples will understand the signs of the times.

Read: Matthew 24:31, Mark 13: 27

Route Marker #12 (continued) – The sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. (Matthew 24:31, Mark 13:27)

Then the Lord will send forth His angels with a Great Trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. The great trumpet is also called the “trump of God” in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and the “last trump” in 1 Corinthians 15:52. The trumpet itself is a shofar. It is made from the horns of a ram because God provided a ram in the place of Isaac when Abraham was about to offer him as a sacrifice. So when it is sounded, the people of God are reminded of His provision for them.

The shofar is sounded at two of the Feasts (appointed times) of the Lord.

Yom Teruah – Day of Blowing (the horn) or Day of Warning is the biblical name of the first feast. Jews also refer to this day as Rosh Hashanah or “head of the year” since it is the 1st day of the seventh month. They also refer to it as Yom Hazikaron – Day of Remembrance and Yom Haddin – Day of Judgment. (Joel 2:1-14)
Yom Kippur - The Day of Atonement is the second feast. (Joel 2:15-17)
These two feasts mark the beginning and end of a ten-day period of people’s repentance towards God called Yamim Noraim – The Days of Awe.

When Jesus referred to the great trumpet some translate those words to mean “with a great sound of a trumpet”. The “great sound” translation works well because it refers to the last note that is played on the shofar: “Tekiah Gedola” - the extended blast. The note begins at the end of the Day of Blowing. It is completed during the “closing of the gate” ceremony at the end of the Day of Atonement in the year of Jubilee (celebrated every 50 years). This trump is blown for an extended amount of time insuring that anyone desiring to repent of his sins will be given opportunity to do so. Since no man can play a note for that length of time (10 days) it is also considered the trump of God.

When the Apostle Paul refers to the “last trump” he has three things in mind.

The last note being played.
The last Jubilee: when people are released from bondage, their debts are canceled and their land is returned.
The Hebrew tradition: that the Lord preserved the two horns from the sacrificial ram given in the place of Isaac. He sounded one horn (the first) at Mount Sinai and will sound the other (the last) when He redeems His people by the coming of Messiah at the end of the age.

The point of this lesson is to understand the signs of the times.

With that, allow me to leave you with this question to consider until my next posting: