Nehemiah 6:15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.
Elul is mentioned one time in the Bible.
In Aramaic, the vernacular of the Jewish people at the time that the month names were adopted, the word Elul means “search”. Per Strong’s Concordance, Elul means “nothingness” in the original Hebrew. A month of searching, but there is nothing to be found. What are we looking for? Where did it go? It appears to be a paradox.
Elul is the last month of the civic calendar in Judaism. Elul is the sixth month of the religious calendar.
Elul 1 marks the beginning of Teshuvah. Teshuvah is a 40 day period that runs through the holiday of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
On a Gregorian calendar in the year 2023, this would be around August 18th, depending on when the new moon is confirmed. There are some folks on the ground near Jerusalem who will be looking to verify the event and confirm the new month by seeing the little slice and crescent of the new moon.
Below is an updated video for those who have questions about the new moon identification and calendar considerations. Check out the original video as well.
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It is Jewish custom to blow a shofar (ram’s horn) one time every day during the season of Teshuvah. The trumpet is blown after the morning service. The trumpet is blown every day except Shabbat or the Sabbath (Saturday for us in western culture) and the last day of month of Elul.
The trumpet blast signified the beginning of the month.
Psalm 81:3-4 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day. For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. See Numbers 10:10 as well.
Some form of a trumpet blast(s) is used at Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). A trumpet blast also signals the beginning of Jubilee (Leviticus 25).
The shofar blast was also a call to war and the prospect of danger.
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Last Elul, Gregorian year 2022, marked the end of a seven year period. The last year of the seven year set is a Sabbatical or Shemitah year. The end of the month of Elul marks the end of a Shemitah year.
The end of Elul can also mark the end of Jubilee year. This year, 2023, is eligible to be a Jubilee year. The 50th year of the set is also the first of the next Jubilee period.
With that thought of Jubilee, let’s read Jesus’ comments from His ministry.
Luke 4:17-21 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD. And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” -Jesus
Jesus read and spoke these words in the synagogue of His home town Nazareth (Luke 4:16). Jesus is reading Isaiah 61:1-2a. He reads verse 1 completely. Jesus then stops reading in the middle of Isaiah 61:2.
By reading these words, He was claiming to be the Messiah. In other words, “Here I am!!”
The stoppage of reading in the verse has lasted close to 2,000 years. At His first coming, Jesus was a suffering servant who died for our sins. His death freed us from the bondage of sin. Christ did not come in vengeance the first time, hence the pause.
And we wait for the remainder of Isaiah 61:2b-11. It describes the future conditions of the nation Israel under the leadership of the Messiah, Jesus. He returns the second time in wrath and judgment.
At this point, many have stopped their analysis. There remains another question. Who is the prophet Isaiah quoting?
…to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD…?
Isaiah is quoting Moses who received instruction from God.
Leviticus 25:10 You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family.
The context of the verses quoted is a description of the jubilee year. Release the inhabitants and freedom for all the slaves.
Is Jesus leaving a clue about the timing of His second coming? Will He return in a year of Jubilee?
Here are some prophetic implications. The seven year peace covenant with Israel will likely be confirmed in God’s fall holiday season.
A jubilee year is proclaimed on the Day of Atonement, Tishri 10 after the end of a set of seven years per Leviticus 25:9. The Bible tells us a jubilee year is proclaimed after a Sabbatical or Shemitah year (Leviticus 25:8-11). This would allow for the culmination of the seven year Tribulation to occur one year after a Sabbatical or Shemitah year, a possible jubilee year by definition.
This author has ZERO% confidence in humanity’s ability to accurately mark time as directed by God. Just thinking out loud and asking some questions…
Are we finishing a Jubilee year? It appears to be possible and reasonable. As for the timing of a jubilee year… no one knows, only the Father.
These are highly controversial topics and understandings. I understand many will not agree with what is written and that is okay. Just making a sincere good faith effort. My eternal salvation does not depend on my nailing the timing of these events. For those who are interested in further study. Please click on the links below.
https://paulthepoke.com/category/jubilee/
https://www.facebook.com/twtramm
https://www.theseasonofreturn.com/
One Jewish custom of Elul is to visit a cemetery. This is quite interesting in light of the Jewish belief that the resurrection of the dead will occur during the period of Teshuvah. Specifically, the resurrection is to occur on the new moon holiday of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Christians refer to this as the Feast of Trumpets. Orthodox Jews do not believe in Christ let alone the New Testament. Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians would confirm their tradition.
1 Corinthians 15:52b at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Resurrection first, then the rapture occurs. The question is the amount of time between the two events.
Am I saying the resurrection of the dead and the rapture is in approximately one month from Elul 1st per identification of the new moon of Tishri? No, but it is possible.
As believers, should we be ready for Christ to gather us into the clouds? Yes, just like any other day.
Do your homework? This is potentially a BIG Fall Appointment season on God’s calendar rapture or not.
Colossians 2:16-17 Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.
The Feast of Trumpets is an announcement that something has come as evidenced by the sounding of the trumpet (shofar, ram’s horn).
