Is Jesus At The Door?

Mark 13 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.

This past Sunday a member of our church in Texas commented that he had a real sense of urgency that Jesus was standing right at the door ready to return. He was describing the expectancy that he felt in his heart for the Lord's return. I think many of God's people are sensing the same thing this year.

The truth is, at this time of the year - every year - Jesus IS right at the door! Whenever the Feast of Trumpets approaches, the possibility that Jesus will return for His Bride and the Feast will be fulfilled becomes very real.

THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS AND THE NEW MOON

In my book, Becoming the Beloved, I lay out the various reasons why the Feast of Trumpets signals the time when the Bride of Christ will experience her Rapture into heaven. In my previous post I talked about how the ancient Jews could not begin to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets until the new moon was sighted and confirmed by two eye-witnesses. Two Jewish priests were assigned to the task by the leader of the Sanhedrin who was affectionately called the Av Beit Din or the "father" of the house. Once the priests reported the arrival of the new moon to the Av Beit Din then only the "father" knew the "secret" of when he would give the order to blow the trumpet so that the Feast of Trumpets could commence.

THE EASTERN GATE OF JERUSALEM

The Eastern Gate of the Temple is of special interest at this time of year because the Bible states that Messiah will enter the Temple through the Eastern Gate at the time of the new moon. When God’s glory left the Temple during the days of Ezekiel, it departed by way of the Eastern Gate (see Ezek. 10:19, 11:23). His glory returned on the day when Jesus walked into the Temple as the Messiah, fulfilling the word of the prophet Malachi: “...the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple...” (Mal. 3:1)

However, the glory departed once again when Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah and the Gate was shut once more. Ezekiel spoke of this when he said:

Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut. The LORD said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut” (44:1,2; see also 46:12).

Since the days of Jesus the Eastern Gate has been shut by virtue of the fact that the Temple and the gate were destroyed in 70AD.

NO TEMPLE - NO GATE

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.

When the Temple of the Jews was still in existence, there were two times when the Eastern Gate was to be opened. It was opened every Sabbath and every new moon (Feast of Trumpets.) The Jews call the Sabbath a "she" and every Sabbath day is referred to as the "welcoming of the bride." In fact everything about the Sabbath and the Sabbath meal speaks of the bride of Christ. The Sabbath bread, for example, is called the "challah " which means "the bride's meal." It is made by twisting two loaves of bread together to form what is called "the lover's embrace." Beloved, every Sabbath is a dress rehearsal of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb!

The Eastern Gate was also opened every Feast of Trumpets as a sign that Jerusalem was prepared and ready to welcome and receive the return of her Messiah.

Presently, there is no Temple and therefore there is no Eastern Gate - at least on earth.

But the physical Temple on earth was a mere shadow of the real Temple which exists in the heavenlies. That Temple still stands! And every Feast of Trumpets the Eastern Gate of that Temple is opened creating the possibility that Jesus will return!

1 TISHRI

The Days of Elul (the days of the Bride's preparation) are now winding to a close. Soon the Feast of Trumpets will arrive. This year the Feast begins on September 8. However, only the Father really knows the exact day the Feast will begin. And only the Father knows if this Feast of Trumpets will be THE Feast day when Jesus steps over the threshold of heaven and returns for His Bride. Rest assured, however, that in a few days the Eastern Gate in heaven will open and Jesus will be near - even at the door! Will this be the year and will this be the Feast of Trumpets when our Bridegroom comes? I encourage you to spend the next week watching and praying along with Rebecca and I as we say "Come, Lord Jesus!"