The Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) 2025 - The Return of the King

The question of the entire Torah is: where is the lamb? To all Jewish friends, who is the lamb? This is the central question of the whole Torah, including the account of father Abraham. What does he say? "God will provide himself a lamb." Think about that — God himself will provide a lamb (Genesis 22:13). Then they saw the ram caught in the thicket and sacrificed him instead of Isaac. He was the substitute. The ram was the substitute for Isaac, who was born on Passover. This was a prophetic foreshadow of what was to come. Abraham's declaration — "God himself will have a lamb, his son, to come and do all these things" — points forward to Yeshua, who would take that responsibility, not Isaac.

Isaac is the promised son of the pure royal lineage, born on Passover, and the Savior of the world was crucified on Passover as the seed of Abraham. When you read your Bible, Paul makes clear in Galatians 3 that it is a capital-S "seed" — not seeds — which is Yeshua the Messiah. Abraham's declaration that God will provide the lamb is a future-tense prophecy. An actual lamb was provided as a substitute in the meantime, until Yeshua came upon the earth. That prophecy was therefore not yet fulfilled at that moment — it awaited its fulfillment in Yeshua the Messiah.

Now consider the location connection. Mount Moriah, where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, is in Jerusalem — and that is the same location where Yeshua was sentenced. He was sentenced in Jerusalem, but had to be crucified outside the gates. For many reasons, it is worth considering that he was crucified on the Mount of Olives rather than the traditional sites people commonly accept. Yeshua's crucifixion on the Mount of Olives, which is directly east of the temple, aligns symbolically with the red heifer sacrifice described in Numbers 19, which had to be slain outside the camp — not inside Jerusalem. Both represent a perfect, spotless sacrifice performed to purify from sin and death, and the two are often depicted together in redemption art.

Regarding the key symbolism connecting Yeshua and the red heifer: first, the location — the red heifer was historically slaughtered and burned on the Mount of Olives, and many believe Yeshua was crucified in that same area, fulfilling that ritual type. Second, the spotless nature — the red heifer had to be without blemish and never under a yoke, representing Yeshua's sinless nature and freedom from bondage to sin, human systems, and death. Third, the red color of the heifer symbolizes humanity — "Adam" meaning red or ruddy — and the sins that the blood of the lamb cleanses. Fourth, the seven sprinklings — the red heifer's blood was sprinkled seven times toward the temple, and similarly Yeshua suffered wounds in seven areas: the head, the back, two hands, two feet, and the side. Fifth, the components — the burning of the red heifer included cedar, hyssop, and scarlet; the cedar connects to the wooden cross.

There was a bridge in Yeshua's day connecting the city to the Mount of Olives — it no longer exists today, where you now cross the Kidron Valley or Valley of Jehoshaphat on foot. In that era, a bridge extended straight across from the temple to the Mount of Olives, where the priests performed the red heifer sacrifice. The red heifer was sacrificed outside the city, but was turned so that its head faced toward the temple. This is why it is reasonable to believe that Yeshua was on the cross looking at the city, fulfilling the red heifer sacrifice — outside the city, on the Mount of Olives, directly across from that bridge, looking toward the temple. When he died, the temple veil split in two. He had to fulfill the red heifer sacrifice — every jot and tittle of Numbers 19 — and he did so on Passover, Nissan 14, though the process begins on Nissan 10.

When Yeshua returns, it will not be as a sacrifice. He returns with a sword and a crown on his head. He was sacrificed one time, once for all. The history of how the city was laid out, the bridge across to the Mount of Olives, and the ritual requirements of the red heifer all converge in a remarkable way when examined in their proper historical context.

Now, Nissan 10: the lamb chosen. Exodus 12:3–6 instructs that on the tenth day of the first month, a lamb was to be selected and kept until the fourteenth day — Nissan 14 — at which point it was sacrificed. This pattern was established so that the lamb could be held for four days and inspected for any blemishes, because a blemished lamb could not be sacrificed. Yeshua had no blemishes — he was without sin, unleavened. This creates the prophetic template: selection of the lamb on Nissan 10, inspection for four days, and sacrifice on Nissan 14.

There is another powerful connection to Nissan 10, this time through Joshua. After forty years in the desert — during which the older generation died off and the new generation stood ready to enter the land under the Abrahamic covenant — Israel crossed the Jordan River on Nissan 10. The waters stopped, just as the Red Sea had parted, on that same date (Joshua 4:9). What followed is remarkable. After crossing into the promised land, all the men were circumcised — the removal of the reproach of Egypt, the removal of the uncircumcised state (Joshua 5:10). Then they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day. And then, immediately after, Joshua encountered the commander of the Lord's armies.

It came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him and said, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" And he said, "No, but as commander of the Lord's armies I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to him, "What does my lord say to his servant?" Then the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so.

This is one of the most remarkable chapters in the entire Bible. The people crossed the Jordan on Nissan 10, were circumcised, kept the Passover on Nissan 14, and then Joshua encountered the commander of the Lord's armies — after which they conquered Jericho. People often forget who was standing before Joshua to lead the conquest of the promised land: it was the King of kings, the Lord of lords, Yeshua the Messiah himself. How do we know this? In Revelation 19, we find the same Lord, the same commander of the Lord's armies — but this time a sword is coming out of his mouth, not merely drawn in his hand, and all of us are following him down for the final conquering of the promised land under the Abrahamic covenant.

He has to fulfill every jot and tittle as the Jewish Messiah. He had to be crucified on Passover, or he would not qualify. He had to fulfill Nissan 10 — Shabbat HaGadol — or he would not qualify. These are not incidental details; they are the prerequisites. Both Jewish friends and Christian friends need to understand that Yeshua is that Jewish Messiah, and that we are to celebrate him as he instructed — on his Father's feast days.