"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, but the Father alone." Matthew 24:36

I want to focus on the first of the fall feasts, Rosh Hashanah which literally means head of the year. It is also called the Feast of Trumpets and is always celebrated in the fall in September/October. This is the only feast celebrated on a new moon, which obviously we cannot see, so this feast is shrouded in mystery.

In ancient times two witnesses who independently saw the outline of the new moon reported this separately to the Sanhedrin. Once the new moon was confirmed the Sanhedrin officially announced the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. Runners were sent out to light bonfires on hilltops. With this signal the word went out to the world that Rosh Hashanah had begun. The feast was celebrated over two days so that those who lagged behind learning of that Rosh Hashanah had begun would not miss the feast. It came to be called the Hidden Day, the Day of Concealment or One Long Day.

Our Lord was Jewish and He spoke in Jewish idioms and used Jewish expressions. His followers who were Jewish totally understood what He meant by what He said. Idioms are not to be taken literally. An example would be, “I am as big as a house!" We all understand idioms and use them all the time. Imagine if someone two thousand years from now tried to translate my idiom into another language and make literal sense out of my instruction to not to let the grass grow under your feet. You can see how easily my words could be misunderstood.

When Jesus was asked about His return, He said, “Of that day and hour no man knows.” This is an idiom that refers to Rosh Hashanah and the unique way this feast began. No man knew the day and hour when the Sanhedrin would confirm the report of the two witnesses and sanctify the celebration of the feast. (They obviously had a really good idea but not the precise moment.)

Then Jesus added another Jewish reference, “Only My Father knows.” This was another Jewish idiom that refers to ancient Jewish wedding customs. After a Jewish couple were betrothed, which is roughly equivalent to a very formal engagement, the groom went to his father’s land and built a home for his bride. When it was complete, and his father approved his building project, then, and only then, the groom took his wedding party to get his bride and bring her home for the consummation of the marriage and the wedding celebration. If during the building of the house you asked the groom when he was going to fetch his bride, he would say, “No man knows, only my father.”

So the Lord isn’t saying that He doesn’t really know when He is returning, that would imply that He is not God. He is combining two idioms, one that alludes to Rosh Hoshanah and one to a groom fetching his bride. “Of that day and hour no one knows, only the Father alone.”

For almost two thousand years the liturgy for Rosh Hashanah services has included the blowing of the shofar or the trumpet. In fact to this day, the shofar is blown one hundred times during the two days of Rosh Hashanah. It is believed that the blowing of the shofar proclaims the resurrection of the dead. The theme is wake up! During the third section of the service the greatest and longest blast of the shofar symbolizes the hope of redemption. Psalm 47 is read seven times during the service. “God has ascended with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.” Psalm 47:5. Ancient Jewish tradition holds that the resurrection of the dead will occur on the Feast of Trumpets. In fact, Jewish gravestones are often engraved with shofars.

It could be that one future day in late September or early October, right at the new moon, exactly while Rosh Hashanah is being celebrated with the blowing of the shofar, “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 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.” I Thessalonians 4:16-17. As Luke 21:28 says, “When you see these things, straighten up, lift up your heads, your redemption is drawing near!”

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You, Lord that you will not forget us. Some day you will return for your bride with a shout and with the blast of the shofar. May this truth so capture our hearts that we follow you closely and bring you glory every day until that day. May we be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.”
In Jesus’ name,
Amen