THE LAST TRUMPET CALL

On Sunday, the first day of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, Jews everywhere celebrated the fifth of the seven Biblical feasts, the Feast of Trumpets, or as it is more commonly known, Rosh Hashanah or the Jewish New Year. We actually celebrate this feast over two days because in ancient times it was difficult to determine exactly when the new moon appeared. 

You will not find any reference to a Feast called Rosh Hashanah in the Bible. In fact, this feast is in the 7th Hebrew month and not at the beginning of the year. It only became known as Rosh Hashanah during the Babylonian exile as it falls at the time of the Babylonian New Year. 

In the Bible, this feast is called a "memorial of trumpets" or a "day of the blowing of trumpets".  

 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,  “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.  You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.’ ”

Leviticus 23: 23-25 

And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets. 2 You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish. 3 Their grain offering shall be fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephahfor the bull, two-tenths for the ram, 4 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 5 also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, to make atonement for you; 6 besides the burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Moon, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.

Numbers 29: 1-6

One might therefore ask, what is this feast, called 'a memorial of trumpets', actually commemorating? This feast was given to Moses by God immediately after God had spoken to him and the people of Israel from Mt Sinai. God commanded the people not to touch the mountain but to draw near when they heard the long drawn-out sounding of the ram's horn ("yuval" - from which we get the word Jubilee). This trumpet blast came from God himself. He blew the trumpet to assemble the people. Today we call the ram's horn a shofar - a word that comes from the root sh/f/r which means 'to improve'. The sounding of the shofar at Mt Sinai marked a significant step towards the restoration of the world, namely the giving of the Torah Law in Moses' time. 

To hear the sound of the shofar  go to  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ht0ailWQf8&list=RD9ht0ailWQf8&t=37

Why a ram's horn? This goes back to the time when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and at the last moment, God provided a ram for the sacrifice in Isaac's place. This is a type of the sacrifice of Yeshua for the forgiveness of sin in our place. 

Blowing of the shofar
http://www.dailydoseofemuna.com/shofar-different-angle/

A memorial is normally a reminder of past events, but it may also be a reminder of events yet to come. The Feast of Trumpets is also a reminder to us of a future event in which God will again sound a long trumpet blast from heaven, to announce the final coming of our Lord Yeshua and "the gathering of the elect" unto Him. 

Then the Lord will be seen over them,
And His arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord God will blow the trumpet,
And go with whirlwinds from the south.

Zechariah 9:14

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

Matthew 24: 29-31

 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are [d]asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

I Thessalonians 4: 15-18

 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1 Corinthians 15: 51- 52

We are not given to know the exact time of our Lord's return, but we are told to always be ready. This is a reminder of that we must always be watching and praying and ready to meet our God. None of us knows the day of our death. No one knows the day or the hour of our Lord's return.  Let us all be ready!!! And, let us all take comfort in knowing the hope that lies before us if we are in Yeshua. 

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is."

Mark 13- 32-33

There are many indications that the world as we know it is not going to survive much longer -  wars, overpopulation, the economic imbalance between rich and poor, mass migrations, global warming and other ecological threats, the shifting of the magnetic poles, just to mention a few. It seems that the Lord will have to return soon before we self-destruct. The darkness increases daily but I take comfort in the thought that it is always darkest just before dawn. 

Idlib
The Middle East is on the brink of an explosion. The battle for the province of Idlib in Syria has already begun, and this could well prove to be the fuse that will set it off. Assad's ground forces are amassing around the perimeter and Russian  and Syrian planes began bombing areas of western Idlib on Tuesday. 

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pro-government-offensive-continues-syria-s-idlib-province-1262532302

 Idlib is the last stronghold of rebel-held territory in Syria. It is home to some 3 million people, including around 1.5 million refugees who fled there from the Assad regime. It is currently controlled by a mosaic of rebel militias including moderate, liberal rebels and various groups of extreme Jihadists, such as  Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the latest incarnation of the former Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusrah.  Foreign Jihadists including Ughars from China,  and fighters from Uzbekistan and Chechniya have also flocked into the region. Many civilian refugees in Idlib belong to minority groups, including Christians, that fled the Assad regime from other parts of Syria.  The various militias and the refugees of Idlib have only one thing in common, they are considered to be enemies of the Assad regime. As such, surrender is not an option, and since Turkey, which already has taken in 3.5 million Syrian refugees, has closed its border, they have nowhere else to run. The militias will therefore fight to the death, and it seems Idlib is going to be a bloodbath unless a miracle of diplomacy occurs. So far talks to resolve the situation have failed. 

Already the bombardment has begun, with reports of Russian and Syrian planes dropping bombs and on various towns in the region. There are reports that Syrian planes have dropped barrel bombs and white phosphorus on civilian areas and even hospitals.  Both these kinds of weapons are forbidden by the Geneva Convention.

 A video shot by one of the White Helmet rescue workers, Anas al-Diab, even as he himself is hit and seriously wounded in the legs, shows the bombing of civilian areas. You can see this video on the link below (warning: contains disturbing content):
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/10/middleeast/syria-idlib-white-helmets-intl/index.html

This picture shows the aftermath of strikes by Syrian government force on the town of Al Habit on the southern edges of the rebel-held Idlib province on September 9, 2018. (AFP Photo/Omar Haj Kadour)
https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrias-assad-said-to-ok-chlorine-gas-use-in-idlib-offensive/

The ground offensive has not yet begun but Syrian troops are amassing around the perimeter in readiness. According to the Wall Street Journal, Syria's President Assad has authorized his military to use chlorine gas in their assault on Idlib province (2). US President Trump has threatened a reponse should Assad resort to chemical weapons and this raises the spectre of a confrontation between Russia and the US, which could escalate out of control and even lead to a world war. 

This past week Russia has held a massive naval exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean basin. Though it claims this exercise was planned long in advance the timing is significantly convenient, placing a large force just off the coast as the assault on Idlib is beginning. According to the Russian Navy chief commanding the exercise, Admiral Vladimir Korolyov, 26 warships, two submarines and 34 aircraft are taking part in the exercise.  Navy aircraft, long-range transport planes, Tu-160 bombers, Il-38 and Tu-142MK fighter jets capable of hitting submarines and Sukhoi Su-33 and Sukhoi Su-30SM planes also in the exercise. (3). This is a sizeable force and I suspect it seriously outguns the American forces in the area.  Here is Israel we are watching Russia's rapidly strengthening influence in the Middle East with great concern. Russia is also expected to carry out an additional exercise in the near future in Belarus and there are fears this is being done in preparation for an invasion of Poland, Lithuania or the Ukraine, although of course the Russians deny this (3).

 At the same time as Russian is gaining influence in the area the USA is trying to pull out. China is also increasing its influence in the area and is also assisting the Assad regime.  This is a major shift in the balance of power here and is a cause for concern. 

  


Iran

Where ever you look in the Middle East, especially where there is unrest and turmoil, you will find Iran with its 'finger in the pie', in Syria, Yemen and Iraq especially. Iran moved into Syria ostensibly to help Assad destroy rebel militias especially those of ISIS and other radical jihadist groups and regain control of the country. Now that ISIS is essentially defeated in Syria and the rebels driven back to Idlib, Iran is showing now signs of leaving Syria. The opposite is true, Iran is 'digging in' establishing military bases, supplying Syria and Hezbollah with advanced military weapons, training and advising military personnel and wielding much influence over Assad. Israel is determined to prevent Iran from gaining a foothold here on our doorstep.  According to the UK based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights jets targetted Iranian military installations in Syria killing at least one person and wounding 12 others. Although Israel has not confirmed responsibility for this particular attack a military spokesperson this week announced that in the last 18 months Israel has attacked some  200 Iranian military installations in Syria.  Meanwhile the US has been pushing the Iranians out of a 55km strip along the Syrian-Iraqi border and the Russians have pushed back Iranian forces to at least 80km from the Israeli forces, even as it competes with Teheran for reconstruction contracts to rebuild Syria (4).  

The IDF claims that Iraq is more important to Iran than Syria since 64% of Iraq's population is Shiite (like Iran) and therefore more open to Iran. This week it was reported that Iran had moved advanced missiles with a range of up to 700 km into Iraq, capable of hitting both Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Tel Aviv in Israel. One Iranian official said that " The logic was to have a backup plan if Iran was attacked. The numbers can be increased if necessary" (5).

Gaza 

With the Gaza ceasefire negotiations stalled the daily riots and incendiary attacks continue largely unabated. The border riots tend to intensify every Friday at the completion of Muslim prayers. This last Friday (7/9) some 7000 demonstrated at the border, burning tires, throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks and attempting to breach the border and two teenagers were killed by IDF fire. Another 100 Gazans were injured, mainly by tear gas inhalation.  According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, this brings the death toll to 181 Palestinian deaths and one Israeli death since the beginning of the 'Great March of Return' in March (6). 

Incendiary devices, kites, balloons and even inflated condoms have burned thousands of dunams of agricultural land and nature reserves along the Israeli side of the border. In a new development on Monday, hundreds of Palestinians launched rafts of burning tires towards Israeli beaches. Earlier dozens of boats from Gaza attempted to approach Israeli beaches but turned back when the Israeli navy fired warning shots at them. The IDF shot at Palestinians who rolled burning tires at them on land and threw an explosive device. Ten Palestinians were injured and a Palestinian cameraman was shot in the leg (7). 

Incendiary rafts on the Gaza beach
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5347144,00.html

Palestinian-Israeli Peace Plan
US President Trump's initiative to restart Palestinian-Israeli negotiations for a final resolution of the conflict has essentially hit a brick wall. Trump's plan suffered its first deadly blow when Jordan made it crystal clear that Trump's suggestion of a Jordanian-Palestinian Confederation was absolutely not open for discussion (8). Even though Jordan's population of around 10 million is 70% Palestinian, Jordan does not want another two million disaffected Palestinians within its borders. 

The Palestinians,  angered by the move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, and the events in Gaza, are refusing to even participate in the negotiations. Trump has instituted 3 somewhat draconian measures to try and force the Palestinians to come to the negotiating table. First, he cut all aid to UNWRA (see my previous post), then he cut funding to the East Jerusalem hospitals and most recently, announced the closure of the PLO offices in Washington. These measures will undoubtedly lead to great hardship for the Palestinians especially in Gaza and East Jerusalem and are likely to result in an even greater humanitarian crisis than that which already exists.  

Although these steps may shake up the stagnant status quo, I suspect they will only cause the Palestinians to become more entrenched in their hatred of the US and Israel, and therefore will be more likely to turn to Iran and Russia for support.  I hope I am wrong and the Palestinians reach out and take this opportunity for statehood. They have rejected many such opportunities in the past but this may be their last chance for a state of their own. Israeli support for the 'two-state solution' is waning.  It is time the Palestinians stopped crying about the past, which cannot be undone, and abandon their hope of destroying Israel, for that will never happen, and instead look towards building a better future for themselves.  I am glad to say that some young people amongst the Palestinians are beginning to understand this need, but they are still very few and have little influence in the leadership. 

Terror at home

Terror attacks also continue elsewhere in Israel and the Territories. According to Shin Bet (Israel's security service) there were some 255 terror attacks, including 11 in Jerusalem,  carried out against Israelis last month alone, and some  250 major attacks thwarted since January (9). 


Attacks and attempted attacks tend to increase during Jewish holiday periods. This week, for example, a number of planned attacks intended to disrupt the Rosh Hashanah celebrations on Sunday were foiled by Israeli security forces (9). To help protect Israeli citizens during these times the borders are closed so that Palestinians from the territories cannot enter Israel. 

Yesterday terrorists set fire to the Einot Tsukim (Ein Fashka) Nature Reserve on the shores of the Dead sea burning some 500 dunams (about 125 acres) of vegetation. Two residents of East Jerusalem were captured with a strong smell of gasoline on them and with funnels in their car, and have since been charged with arson (10). This nature reserve is a very important reserve as it contains the last remnants of a very special flora and fauna which grows around the freshwater springs at the foot of the Judean escarpment along the northern part of the Dead Sea. To get an idea of the extent of the fire take a look at the video on the link: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5347744,00.html

The fire at Einot Tsukim
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5347744,00.html

Below are some photos I took of Einot Tsukim reserve in 2014. The reserve is (was?) home to a number of rare and endemic species, remnants of the ancient freshwater lake that once filled the Jordan Valley. These include a number of endemic species of tilapia and the rare Dead Sea Sparrow that nests near these water sources. The sparrow male has specially adapted breast feathers which soak up water which he carries to the nest where it evaporates to cool the air for the eggs and chicks so they can survive the 45 plus degree air temperatures in the region. It will be tragic if this special and unique ecosystem has been destroyed. I do not understand how Palestinians, who claim the Land belongs to them, have so little respect for it!!! 

One of the swimming holes

Two of the endemic tilapia species in a very shallow fresh water pool

the rare blue tilapia

reeds and tamarisk around a freshwater spring

The Feast of Trumpets is now over and we are in the period known as the Days of Awe, a solemn period of introspection and repentance leading up to Yom Kippur which begin on the evening of the 18th of September this year. Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement is the most solemn day of the Jewish cycle of holy days. I will write about it more next time. However I just want to tell you about an interesting phenomenon that has broken out in Israeli society, especially amongst the young people, in recent months. Instead of the usual greetings or blessings one might says to one's friends it has now become common to say instead 'kapara alecha' (or aleich if speaking to a woman), which literally means 'atonement for you'. How this peculiar blessing came to be part of Israeli street culture I have no idea, but it is curious and I think it reflects a deep desire, perhaps not even a conscious one, but real nevertheless, for atonement. Lets please pray for a deep hunger amongst the young and not-so-young Israelis, and Jews everywhere, at this time for a true and real experience of atonement - which can be only received through the blood of Yeshua. 

References:
1. Idlib  https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/syria/.premium-a-massacre-waiting-to-happen-in-syria-s-idlib-1.6433400

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/2163496/china-chechnya-and-beyond-foreign-jihadists-flocked-syria

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/looming-battle-idlib-180908142026400.html

2. https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrias-assad-said-to-ok-chlorine-gas-use-in-idlib-offensive/

3. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5340904,00.html

4. https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/1587147/israeli-jets-strike-syria-in-rare-daytime-raid-idf-confirms-striking-over-200-targets.html

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5341969,00.html

5. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-iraq-missiles-exclusive/exclusive-iran-moves-missiles-to-iraq-in-warning-to-enemies-idUSKCN1LG0WB

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5338568,00.html

6. https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/09/middleeast/gaza-teenagers-deaths/index.html

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5347144,00.html 

7. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5347144,00.html

8.  https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5340089,00.html

9. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/middle-east/183821-180909-liberman-says-terrorist-attacks-were-foiled-in-recent-days

10. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5347744,00.html