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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Rosh Hashanah, the Book of Mormon, and Latter-day Temples

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. -Revelation 14:6-7

WHAT IS ROSH HASHANAH?
In commemoration of the redemption of Israel from bondage, the LORD commanded Moses to:
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. -Leviticus 23:24
In rabbinic literature Rosh Hashanah is often referred to as The Day of the Blowing of the Shofar or in Hebrew, Yom Terua. Other traditional Hebrew texts surrounding the Tanakh describe Rosh Hashanah as The Day of Judgment-Yom ha-Din and The Day of Remembrance-Yom ha-Zikkaron.
Yom Terua signifies that #1, Israel has entered its final harvest, #2, the day God had set to remember His ancient promises to regather Israel, #3, the time when new revelation would lead to Israel's New Covenant, and #4, the time to prepare for the Millennial Reign of Israel's God.

The name Rosh Hashanah replaced the former names regarding this holy day, commemorating the Jewish New Year. Traditionally the blowing of the trumpet was implemented atop Mount Sinai, Moses' natural Temple declared by the LORD as Holy Ground (Exodus 3:5, Acts 7:33) and the Mountain of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:2-3) The trumpet or shofar, was an instrument described by both early Jewish and Christian writers as a symbol of revelation.

Current rituals surrounding Rosh Hashanah include the aforementioned blowing of the trumpets, as well as prayers to Yahweh petitioning Him to rebuild His Temple wherein the promises between Israel and their God are the focal point.

WHAT DOES ROSH HASHANAH HAVE TO DO WITH THE BOOK OF MORMON?

In 1827, Rosh Hashanah's date fell on the 22 of September. History students of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will recall that it was on this day that the angel Moroni delivered unto Joseph Smith the untranslated record comprising the Book of Mormon. Thus began God's promised plan to regather Israel, to rebuild His Holy House, and to convince both Jew and Gentile that Jesus is indeed the Christ, and to prepare Israel for the coming of the Messiah.

Today the trumpet of God sits atop many of His houses, symbolically declaring to all this inhabitants of the earth to:
Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. -Revelation 14:7
A LATTER-DAY HOUSE OF THE LORD

Some objectors to Temples in these last days have cited early disciples Stephen and Paul concerning their statements about God not dwelling in "temples made with hands." Yet it is not man who made heaven and earth, nor was it man who directed the building of God's House, but God Himself.

Contextually one refers to Paul's sermon on the "Unknown God" preached on Mars Hill, whereupon the Athenians were condemned for their worship of idols. Even more telling, is the fact that the disciples continued to worship in the Temple after Christ's ascension. Dr. William Hamblin,one of the world's leading experts on Temple theology has commented:
… it is quite clear that the New Testament apostles continued to worship in the Jerusalem temple after Christ’s ascension (Acts 2:46, Acts 3:1–10, Acts 5:20–42). Even Paul worshipped there (Acts 21:26–30, Acts 22:17, Acts 24:6–18, Acts 25:8, Acts 26:21). Paul is explicitly said to have performed purification rituals (Acts 21:26, Acts 24:18), and prayed in the temple (Acts 22:17, cf. Acts 3:1); he claims that he has not offended “against the temple,” implying he accepts its sanctity (Acts 25:8). Indeed, Paul also offered sacrifice (prosfora) in the temple (Acts 21:26, cf. Numbers 6:14–18), a very odd thing for him to do if the temple had been completely superceded after Christ’s ascension. Finally, and most importantly, Paul had a vision of Christ (”The Just One” ton dikaion) in the temple (Acts 22:14–21), paralleling Old Testament temple theophanies, and strongly implying a special sanctity in the temple, where God still appears to men even after Christ’s ascension. (Bill Hamblin, “Temple Obsolete After Christ,”)
Of particular strong support to Temples being built in the last days is the prophecy of Isaiah stating:
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the flaw, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. -Isaiah 2:2-3
Thus we see the works of God in all their majesty. In covenant with Israel the LORD promised He would remember her,(Exodus 6:5, 32:13) gather her back together into one fold through the coming forth of new revelation (Ezekiel 37:15-20, John 10:16) and restore His Holy Mountain upon the earth. (Micah 4:1-3)

3 comments:

  1. It wasn't the Jewish New Year!!!! It was the magic autumnal equinox!!! Joseph Smith was a warlock magician and warlocks are enemies of God!!!

    ;-)

    Good post, bro.

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  2. Speaking of warlocks, that Athanasius woman over at CARM said recently that no real Christian would have anything to do with Harry Potter. I wanted to post "warlocks are enemies of God!!" But I don't think she would get it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! Now this was quite a post, and very informative! Thank you, Tyler.

    ReplyDelete