Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Pentagon Official: The Obama Drone Kill Memo Is Out And Libertarians Were Right — It’s Murder

Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama. Olivier Douliery/Getty Images.  

Pentagon Official: The Obama Drone Kill Memo Is Out And Libertarians Were Right — It’s Murder

Joseph Miller is the pen name for a ranking Department of Defense official with a background in U.S. special operations and combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has worked in strategic planning.
On Monday, the White House memo used to justify drone attacks on U.S. citizens was released, and it appears to confirm the worst suspicions of its libertarian critics. The Obama administration had sought to keep the memo secret, and now we know why: Because there are no checks and balances; there are no classified courts. Indeed, the memo reveals that the president of the United States ordered the targeting killing of U.S. citizens overseas — in violation of their constitutional right to due process — sans any type of oversight outside of the executive.
The 41-page Department of Justice memorandum outlining the administration’s attempt to justify the killing of U.S. citizens accused of plotting acts of terrorism abroad was released on Monday under order of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York. The court did so in response to a Freedom Of Information Act request submitted by both the American Civil Liberties Union and The New York Times.
The memo, entitled “Re: The Applicability of Federal Criminal Laws and the Constitution to Contemplated Lethal Operations against Shaykh Anwar al-Aulaqi,” was written by the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice and was addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder. The Office of Legal Counsel was asked to weigh in on the matter after the Obama administration decided that it might choose to pursue a lethal operation against a U.S. citizen living in Yemen who the administration accused of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism.
It is worth noting that the Obama administration had already added al-Awkaki to target lists before the Justice Department delivered its response to the administration’s question about the legality of such operations — and despite federal statues banning the killing of Americans abroad.
The issue was how the administration could legally pursue lethal actions against its own citizens living abroad, who the administration accused of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism — but who were not actively engaged in committing an act of terrorism or fighting U.S. troops in a war zone — without a conviction in court. American citizens are afforded the right to due process under both the Fifth Amendment and 14th Amendment. And since it is illegal to murder a U.S. citizen abroad under federal statues, some question whether CIA officers involved in the targeted killings of American citizens under the legal framework the memo lays out are guilty of murder.

Instead of taking the U.S. citizens the administration accused of conspiring against the U.S. and her interests to court, the administration was looking for an easier way to solve the problem: They sought to kill them, and wanted the legal backing to do so. But here’s an issue: Even if a U.S. citizen were to be tried in absentia and found guilty of conspiring to commit terrorism by a federal court, the punishment for doing so is not death, and certainly not from a missile fired by a Predator drone.
That has not stopped the Obama administration from doing just that. To date, Anwar al-Awlaki is one of three U.S. citizens to have been killed abroad by the Obama administration without having received due process in a court of law. Another of those was his 14-year-old son, who by all accounts was innocent and was not accused of conspiring to commit terrorism.
None of those killed were in the midst of an act of terrorism, nor were they actively engaged in fighting U.S. troops in a war zone. At the time of his death, al-Awlaki was riding in a vehicle in the Yemeni desert. We made no attempt to capture him or arrest him, despite assurances made to the Justice Department. No one was been made to answer for these deaths, especially that of al-Awlaki’s son.
The signatory for the memo was then-Assistant U.S. Attorney General David J. Barron. In the memo, the administration contends that a U.S. citizen’s alleged leadership role in al-Qaida, and the infeasibility of capturing them, provides sufficient legal justification for either the CIA or the Department of Defense to use lethal force and deny that citizen their right to due process — all based on the authorization of force passed by the Congress after 9/11, and another memo also written by Barron that remains classified.
The problem is that the administration is making the accusations against a U.S. citizen, rendering a judgment of guilt or innocence outside of the court system, and then carrying out an extrajudicial killing of American citizens in complete and utter violation of the Constitution. The part of the memo that addresses the right to due process is redacted.
At no point in the extralegal process outlined in the memo is the U.S. citizen in question tried or convicted in a court of law for the crimes the administration alleges the individual is guilty of. The administration is making that determination, and exactly who within the administration is still unclear. This is a scary usurpation of power from the judicial branch — and an amazing power grab by the executive.
Finally, under the legal reasoning outlined in the memo, there is nothing to prevent the president from ordering a lethal operation against U.S. citizens inside the United States, as the memo does not stipulate that there is a geographic limitation to these operations — only a test of feasibility. Nor is there a single requirement for a federal court of judge to make the determination that a person is a member or leader of a terrorist organization.
When this country was created, the Founders may not have anticipated the dangers posed by a terrorist cell capable of killing thousands or more. But they knew well, and carefully guarded against, the dangers of a government gone wild. In this memo, finally made public, we have proof of a White House that considers itself judge, jury and executioner. And that, America, is a  clear and present danger.
Joseph Miller is the pen name for a ranking Department of Defense official with a background in U.S. special operations and combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has worked in strategic planning.


Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/24/pentagon-official-the-obama-kill-memo-is-out-and-libertarians-were-right-its-murder/#ixzz35iYJAnjn

Mass Fish Deaths: Millions Have Been Found Dead All Over The World In The Past Month

Mass Fish Deaths: Millions Have Been Found Dead All Over The World In The Past Month

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Millions of fish are suddenly dying all over the planet.  In fact, there have been dozens of mass fish death events reported in the past month alone.  So why is this happening?  Why are fish dying in unprecedented numbers all over the world?  When more than six tons of fish died in Marina Del Ray over the weekend, it made headlines all over the United States.  But the truth is that what just happened off the southern California coast is just the tip of the iceberg.  In 2014, mass fish die-offs have pretty much become a daily event globally.  Individually, each event could perhaps be dismissed as an anomaly, but as you will see below when they are all put together into one list it truly is rather stunning.  So is there a reason why so many fish are dying?  Is there something that connects these mass fish death events?  Has something about our environment changed?  The following are just a few examples of the mass fish death reports that have been coming in day after day from all over the globe…
*In April, 500,000 carp were found “floating belly-up in Kentucky’s Cumberland River“.
*Over the weekend, thousands upon thousands of fish died just off the southern California coastline
California Fish and Wildlife workers are still scooping dead sea life from the surface of the harbor Monday after thousands of dead anchovies, stingrays and even an octopus died and floated up over the weekend.
So far officials have cleaned up 6 tons of dead fish, and they still have a long way to go.
*The death of approximately 35,000 fish up in Minnesota is being blamed on a “lack of oxygen“.
*The recent die off of thousands of fish in the Shark River near Belmar, New Jersey is also being blamed on “oxygen depletion“.
*Officials in Menifee, California are still trying to figure out what caused the death of thousands of fish in Menifee Lake a few weeks ago…
Authorities continued testing the water in Menifee Lake Friday after thousands of dead fish have been seen floating since last weekend.
Menifee city officials first heard reports Saturday of floating fish at the lake, which is located on private property about a half-mile east of the 215 Freeway.
*In the Gulf of Mexico, dolphins and sea turtles are dying “in record numbers“.
*Maryland officials are still puzzled by the death of 7,000 Atlantic menhaden last month…
State environmental scientists are investigating the cause of a fish kill that left about 7,000 dead Atlantic menhaden in waters that include the Inner Harbor and Fells Point.
Jay Apperson, spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment, said that biologists went by boat on Tuesday to the area of Monday’s fish kill. He says the area extended from the mouth of the Patapsco River, up the Baltimore Harbor to Fells Point and Fort McHenry.
*Mass fish die-offs in Lake Champlain up in Vermont are being called “the new normal” by government officials.
*Along the coast of northern California, seals and young sea lions are dying “in record numbers“.
*Three months ago, farmers in Singapore lost 160 tons of fish to a mass die-off event.
*Back in September, approximately 40 kilometers of the Fuhe River in China “was covered with dead fish“.
*Also during last September, close to ten tons of dead fish were found floating on a lake near the town of Komotini, Greece.
The following are some more examples of mass fish death events from just the past several weeks that come from a list compiled on another website
*****
17th May 2014 – Masses of fish turn up dead in a marina in Pultneyville, New York, AmericaLink
16th May 2014 – Mass die off of fish in a river in Aragatsotn, ArmeniaLink
15th May 2014 – Hundreds of fish dying off ‘due to pollution’ in the wetlands of Rewalsar, IndiaLink
14th May 2014 – Thousands of dead fish washing ashore in Cootes Paradise, Hamilton, CanadaLink
13th May 2014 – Tens of thousands of dead fish wash up along coast of Tasmania, AustraliaLink
12th May 2014 – Mass death of fish in the river Eden ‘is a mystery’ in Cumbria,EnglandLink
11th May 2014 – Thousands of dead Puffer Fish, also dead turtles washing up on various beaches in Colombia and Costa RicaLink and here
11th May 2014 – Hundreds of dead fish found in a pond is ‘a mystery’ in Southborough, EnglandLink
10th May 2014 – Thousands of fish dead due to pollution in spring in Sikkim,IndiaLink
9th May 2014 – Die off of Fish ’causes panic’ in the Luda Yana River in Bulgaria.Link
8th May 2014 – Thousands of dead fish appear in a lake ‘shock residents’ in Mangalore, IndiaLink
8th May 2014 – 12 TONS of dead fish removed from lakes in Chisago County, Minnesota, AmericaLink
7th May 2014 – Massive die off of fish in reservoirs in Quanzhou, ChinaLink
7th May 2014 – Thousands of fish found dead on the shores of Roatan,HondurasLink
5th May 2014 – Hundreds of dead fish wash up on a beach ‘a mystery’ in San Antonio Oeste, ArgentinaLink
5th May 2014 – Mass death of fish found in lakes in Almindingen, Denmark.Link
4th May 2014 – Mass die off of fish in a river in Fujian, ChinaLink
3rd May 2014 – 1,000+ dead fish wash ashore along a lake in Ontario, Canada.Link
2nd May 2014 – 40,000 fish die suddenly in a dam in Piaui, BrazilLink
30th April 2014 – Mass fish kill ‘worst I’ve seen in 26 years of working here’ in Iowa, AmericaLink
30th April 2014 – Large amount of dead fish found floating along a river in Xiasha District, ChinaLink
29th April 2014 – Dozens of sea turtles are washing up dead in South Mississippi,AmericaLink
29th April 2014 – Thousands of dead fish washing up along the shores of Lakes in Wisconsin, AmericaLink
28th April 2014 – Turtles and other marine life continue to wash up dead in Bari,ItalyLink
28th April 2014 – Large fish kill found in the Mogi River in BrazilLink
25th April 2014 – Large fish kill found in a reservoir in Nanchong, ChinaLink
24th April 2014 – Large amount of fish wash up dead along a river in La Chorrera, PanamaLink
23rd April 2014 – 2 Million fish found dead in a dam in Tehran, IranLink
23rd April 2014 – Mass die off of fish in Island lake in Ontario, CanadaLink
23rd April 2014 – Thousands of dead fish appear in a lake in Mudanjiang, China.Link
22nd April 2014 – 1,000 fish found dead in Oona River, County Tyrone,Northern IrelandLink
21st April 2014 – Large amounts of fish washing up dead along the Panchganga River in IndiaLink
19th April 2014 – MILLIONS of dead fish found floating in Thondamanaru Lagoon, Sri LankaLink
*****
And remember, this list represents events that have happened in just a little over the past month.
So what is causing all of these mass fish death events?
Please feel free to share your opinion by posting a comment below…
This article first appeared here at the American Dream.  Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog. Follow him on Twitter here.

Mississippi Democrats Request Payment From GOP For Services Rendered In Delivering Election For Thad Cochran…

Mississippi Democrats Request Payment From GOP For Services Rendered In Delivering Election For Thad Cochran…

The irony will be lost on the professional political class.

Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson asks GOP Thad Cochran to repay the Democrats in Mississippi for helping him win his re-election.

Bennie thompsonMISSISSIPPI - Senator Thad Cochran (R., Miss.) needs to reward the black voters who crossed party lines to support him in his runoff against tea party challenger Chris McDaniel by backing some concrete policy initiatives, according the the state’s only member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“We have historically black colleges in our state who do the best job they can trying to educate our citizens,” Representative Bennie G. Thompson told National Review Online during a Wednesday interview at the Capitol. ”I’d like to see efforts that they receive full funding. I’d like to see the health care of our citizens improved; our children die too young. I’d like to see an increased effort to make sure that the minority unemployment rate inn our state is reduced. So, there are a lot of opportunities for us to start with.”  (read more)

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Obama’s “Selfie” Pal Urges Muslims To Be Like Al Qaeda

Obama’s “Selfie” Pal Urges Muslims To Be Like Al Qaeda

Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam. He is completing a book on the international challenges America faces in the 21st century.

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At his press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Obama took the time to denounce NBA Clippers owner Donald Sterling for racism.
Obama in a joint press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Sunday that both countries have issues with human rights that need to be addressed.
Obama called Najib a “reformer”.
“I think the Prime Minister is the first to acknowledge that Malaysia’s still got some work to do. Just like the United States, by the way, has some work to do on these issues,” Obama said.
Obama also condemned the “incredibly offensive racist statements” attributed to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, calling them a sign of how the U.S. continues to wrestle with its legacy of “slavery and segregation.”
“Like Malaysia, we constantly have to be on guard against racial attitudes that divide us rather than embracing our diversity as a strength,” Obama said. “We have to make sure that we stay on top of it.”
And Obama took a “selfie” with the Islamic tyrant because he’s still basically a child.
The Great Reformer of Malaysia however has some thoughts on Al Qaeda.
Umno must emulate the bravery of a Middle Eastern militant group that defeated an Iraqi force outnumbering it nearly 30 to one if the Malay nationalist party is to survive, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said yesterday.
“As proof — whether we agree or not is another matter — the group ISIL with the strength of just 1,300 people, can defeat an Iraqi army of 30,000 soldiers, until four, five generals with three, four stars run for their lives, jump out the window at night. Why? Because they are afraid of those who are brave,” he told more than 1,000 Umno members in attendance.
He also stressed the importance of being loyal to Allah, the party, and friends.
Razak has some obvious things in common with Al Qaeda.
Malaysia’s top court on Monday upheld a government ban forbidding non-Muslims from using “Allah” to refer to God, rejecting an appeal by the Roman Catholic Church that argued that the law failed to consider the rights of minorities in the largely Muslim nation.
Some experts believe the Allah issue is an attempt by Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ruling Malay party to strengthen its conservative Muslim voter base. Religion has become an easy tool because government policies have made Islam and Malay identity inseparable.
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THE RAPTURE ON ROSH HASHANA

THE RAPTURE ON ROSH HASHANA

 
There are important parallels between Jewish feasts and the fulfillment of Christ. For example the Passover is now celebrated as the Lord’s Supper. The Sabbath is now celebrated by the Resurrection.

Some other parallels are:
Pesach / Passover
Hag HaMatzah / Feast of Unleavened Bread
Bikkurim / First Fruits
Shavout / Feast of Weeks (Pentecost)

Jewish tradition holds that Rosh Hashanah celebrates the anniversary of the creation of the world, a day when “God takes stock of all of His Creation,” which of course includes all of humanity. Translated from the Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year” – rosh means head, while hashanah means year. Jews believe that God’s judgment on this day determines the course of the coming year.

Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish festival in which most work ceases, just as on the weekly Sabbath. It’s celebrated both in joy and solemnity. During the daily prayer service a ram’s horn, or in the Hebrew, shofar, is sounded:

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 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. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.” (Leviticus 23:23-25)

God does not do things in vain, or without purpose. The Old Testament Holy Days were not just some sort of Divine make-work project to keep the Israelites busy while they were out wandering in the desert. All of the Old Testament Holy Days (Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Weeks, The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, The Festival of Tabernacles and the Last Day) were, and continue to be, living symbols of the stages of God’s Plan of Salvation for all humanity. Those events are now in progress, and true Christians are the manifestation of it.

In the Christian world, Rosh Hashanah is known as The Feast of Trumpets. Many Christians observe this festival for its Christian prophetic application – the Rapture of the Church.

“Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)

All the Spring Feasts were fulfilled at Christ’s first coming. All the Fall Feasts picture the Second Advent, and the Feast of Trumpets is the first of the fall feasts, picturing the Rapture.

Now there are more feasts to be fulfilled with the second coming.

Yom Teruah (Rosh HaShanah) / Feast of Trumpets
        The Rapture; the last trump; wedding of the Messiah; New Moon; Open Door
Yom Kippur / Day of Atonement
Sukkot / Feast of Tabernacles (Booths)

A special season known as ‘Teshuvah’ which in Hebrew means “to return or repent”, begins on the first day of the month of Elul and continues 40 days, ending with Yom Kippur. Thirty days into Teshuvah, on Tishrei 1, comes Rosh HaShanah. This begins a final ten-day period beginning on Rosh HaShanah and ending on Yom Kippur. These are known as the High Holy Days and as the Awesome Days. The sabbath that falls within this ten-day period is called ‘Shabbat Shuvah’, the Sabbath of Return. Five days after Yom Kippur is ‘Sukkot’, the Feast of Tabernacles. Teshuvah begins on Elul 1 and concludes on Tishrei 10, Yom Kippur. Each morning during the 30 days of the month of Elul, the trumpet (shofar) or ram’s horn is blown to warn the people to repent and return to God.

Rosh HaShanah is also referred to as ‘Yom Teruah’, the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar, or the Day of the Awakening Blast. On Yom Teruah, the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar, it is imperative for every person to hear the shofar.

Yom Teruah is the only festival that no man knows when exactly it will occur. This is due to the fact that it begins on the new moon. The new moon was sanctified when two witnesses see the new moon and attest to it before the Sanhedrin in the Temple.

This sanctification could happen during either of two days, depending on when the witnesses come. Since no one knew when the witnesses would come, no one knew when the Feast of Trumpets would start.

On the 30th of each month, the members of the High Court assembled in a courtyard in Jerusalem, where they waited to receive the testimony of two reliable witnesses. They then sanctified the new moon. The new moon is very difficult to see on the first day because it can be seen only about sunset, close to the sun, when the sun is traveling north. So, looking for a very slim faint crescent moon, which is very close to the sun, is a very difficult thing to do. If the moon’s crescent was not seen on the 30th day, the new moon was automatically celebrated on the 31st day.

For this reason, Yom Teruah is always celebrated for two days. These two days are celebrated as though it is just one long day of forty-eight hours. The reason that it is celebrated for two days is because if they waited to start the celebration until after the new moon had been sanctified, they would have missed half the celebration because the new moon can only be sanctified during daylight hours. The command seems to be that we know the season, but not the day or the hour (Matthew 24:32-36).

Yom Teruah, or the Feast of Trumpets, is the only feast that we do not know the day in which to keep it. Therefore, we have to be on the alert and watch for it.

Teruah means “an awakening blast”. A theme associated with Rosh.

HaShanah is the theme “to awake”. Teruah is also translated as “shout”.

The book of Isaiah, chapter 12, puts the shouting in the context of the thousand-year reign of Jesus. The Messianic era and shout is mentioned in Isaiah 44:23 and Zephaniah 3:14. The first coming of Christ is associated with a shout in Zechariah 9:9. The ultimate shout is the Rapture in First Thessalonians 4:16-17.

Whether it is by the blast of a shofar or the force of a supernatural shout, God’s goal is to awaken us. “...Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” – Ephesians 5:14.

The book of Ephesians has many references to Rosh HaShanah and the high Holy Days. For example, in Ephesians 4:30, being sealed unto the day of redemption refers to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. God gave this festival to teach us that we will be judged on Rosh HaShanah and will be sealed unto the closing of the gates on Yom Kippur.

The theme of awakening from sleep is used throughout the Bible. It is found in John 11:11, Romans 13:11, Daniel 12:1-2 and Psalm 78:65.

The shofar was also blown at the temple to begin the Sabbath each week. There are two types of trumpets used in the Bible:

1. The silver trumpet
2. The shofar or ram’s horn

Each sabbath, two men with silver trumpets and a man with a shofar made three trumpet blasts twice during the day. On Rosh HaShanah, it is different. The shofar is the primary trumpet. On Rosh HaShanah, a shofar delivers the first blast, a silver trumpet the second, and then a shofar the third.

According to Leviticus 23:24 and Numbers 29:1, Rosh HaShanah is the day of the blowing of the trumpets.

“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

“And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.” – Numbers 29:1

The trumpet used for this purpose is the ram’s horn, not trumpets made of metal as in Numbers Chapter 10.

Another name for Rosh HaShanah is ‘Yom HaDin’, the Day of Judgment. The righteous are separated and will be with God. This is known to us as the Rapture. The wicked will face the wrath of God during the tribulation period.

The shofar blown on Rosh HaShanah is known as the last trump, which the apostle Paul mentioned in First Thessalonians 4:16-17. At this time, the believers in Christ will escape the tribulation on earth and will be taken to Heaven in the Rapture along with the righteous who had died before this time.

The gates of Heaven are opened on Rosh HaShanah so the righteous nation may enter (Isaiah 26:2, Psalm 118:19-20). Because the gates of Heaven are understood to be open on Rosh HaShanah, this is further evidence that the Rapture of the believers in Christ will take place on Rosh HaShanah.

One of the reasons for blowing the shofar is to proclaim the resurrection of the dead. The resurrection of the dead will take place on Rosh HaShanah.

In First Corinthians 15:52, the apostle Paul tells us that the resurrection of the dead will be “at the last trump.” Earlier in First Corinthians 15:14, he wrote that without the Lord Jesus rising from the dead, our faith is in vain.

We cannot go to the Book of Revelation and say that the voice of the seventh angel (Revelation 11:15) is the last trump. In the first century, the last trump (shofar) meant a specific day in the year. In Judaism, there are three trumpets that have a name. They are the first trump, the last trump, and the great trump. Each one of these trumpets indicates a specific day in the Jewish year. The first trump is blown on the Feast of Pentecost (Exodus 19:19).

It proclaimed that God had betrothed Himself to Israel. The last trump is synonymous with Rosh HaShanah, according to Theodore Gaster in his book, Festivals of the Jewish Year, in his chapter on Rosh HaShanah. Herman Kieval also states the same thing in his book, The High Holy Days in the chapter on the shofar. The great trumpet is blown on Yom Kippur, which will herald the return of Jesus back to the earth (Matthew 24:31).

The first and last trump relate to the two horns of the ram, which according to Jewish tradition, was caught in the thicket on Mount Moriah when Abraham was ready to slay Isaac and offer him up as a burnt offering. This ram became the substitute for Isaac even as Jesus became the substitute for us and provided life for us through His death.

Rabbi Eliezer tells us in Pirkei Avot, that the left horn (first trump) was blown on Mount Sinai, and its right horn (the last trump) will be blown to herald the coming of the Lord for His Church.

Isaiah 18:3 and First Thessalonians 4:13-18 speak of the resurrection of the dead. First Thessalonians chapter 5 continues with the day of the Lord and the birthpangs of the Messiah. The festivals will, beyond a shadow of a doubt, tell you that the resurrection of the dead precedes the time of Jacob’s trouble (the Tribulation). First Thessalonians 4:16-17 says that the dead in Christ will rise first, and that the catching away of the believers will immediately follow.

The term ‘rapture’ comes from the Greek word ‘harpazo’, which means “to seize, catch away, catch up, pluck, pull, take by force” (1 Thessalonians 4;17). Isaiah 57:1-2 speaks clearly of the resurrection of the dead, the taking of the believers, and the hiding of the believers from the indignation (the tribulation). Zephaniah 1:14-18 and 2:2-3 tells about the terrible times during the day of the Lord, the birthpangs of the Messiah, and issues a decree to repent and turn to God before that day to be hid from that time.

Psalm 27:5 says the righteous will be hid in the time of trouble. Paul in Second Thessalonians 2:1 tells us, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him.” The phrase “gathering together” comes from the Greek word ‘episunagoge’, which means “an assembly”.

The Feast of Trumpets, through careful study depicts nothing less than the return of Jesus Christ for His Church at the last trump, just before God pours His wrath and judgment on a sinful and Christ rejecting world

To summarize:

The Feast of Trumpets is when the “last trump” of the Rapture of 1 Cor. 15 is blown.

The Feast of Trumpets is known as the Wedding of the Messiah, and the Church is the Bride of Christ, and the Rapture is when the Church is caught up to heaven to be wed with Christ.

The Feast of Trumpets happens on the “new moon”, which is 29.5 days after the last one, meaning it might occur on the 29th or 30th day, nobody knows for sure.

The “Open Door” of the Rapture in Matt 25, and Rev 3, & Rev 4:1 is a symbol of the Feast of Trumpets. [Ezek 46:1] “Thus says the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days; but on the sabbath day it shall be opened and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.”

“Thus saith the Lord GOD; The gate of the inner court that looketh toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened, and in the day of the new moon it shall be opened.” (KJV)

We are told that the new moon and the Feasts of the Lord are a shadow of things to come in Col 2:16,17. Since the Feast of Trumpets is the only Feast of the Lord that falls on a new moon, we should take particular note.

There are seven Days of Awe in between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. These picture the seven years of tribulation. Atonement pictures Satan being defeated and cast away at the end of tribulation. If you add the two-day Trumpets Feast, and the Day of Atonement, the 7 Days of Awe are “ten days of tribulation” which might be referred to in Rev. 2:10.

In the Jewish Wedding, a marriage takes place over a period of time known as the “bridal week”. During the bridal week, the groom and bride have relations in the bridal chamber. At the end of the week, there is a marriage supper. Compare Judges 14, Rev. 19, and Genesis 29:22-28. This bridal week will be the tribulation week on earth, while the bride of Christ is in heaven.

In the Jewish Wedding, the groom comes for his bride without warning to take (seize / rapture) her away and into the bridal chamber for the bridal week at his father’s house.

The Feast of Trumpets is also known as the coronation of the Messiah, when he will start reigning as king, thus the beginning of the “Day of the Lord”, which includes the Tribulation.