Rosh Hashanah and the Shofar: A Prophetic Message for the Nations
Updated: Oct 3
The short answer: Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah, “the day of blowing”), is one of the Lord’s appointed times, not just a Jewish holiday (Leviticus 23:2). Its shofar blasts call God’s people to repentance and readiness, and they rehearse the coronation of the King and the gathering of His elect. Pastor Chris teaches that this gathering comes at the last trumpet after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29–31), not as a pre-tribulation escape. Recorded on the eve of Rosh Hashanah 2025, this message shares his conviction that the season of shaking was beginning, and that believers should expect refining, endurance and a great revival rather than evacuation.
A prophetic announcement, not just a greeting
Pastor Chris recorded this short message close to midnight on September 22, 2025, as Rosh Hashanah began. It marks the new year on the Hebrew calendar, and he came on to wish everyone a happy new year according to the Lord’s calendar. But he stresses that the day is more than a cultural greeting. It is a prophetic announcement that the church cannot afford to ignore.
He explains why Faith Sower Ministries keeps the Hebrew calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar that came out of Rome. The Lord Himself calls these days His appointed seasons, His moedim:
“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.’” (Leviticus 23:2)
These are not “Jewish things.” The Jewish people held on to these blessings and kept them, and Pastor Chris honors them for it. Believers in Yeshua, Christians and Messianics alike, should be keeping them too.
You will not be raptured tomorrow
With many people expecting to be taken up on September 23, 2025, Pastor Chris speaks plainly: it was not going to happen. Much of the church follows doctrines formed by Rome, by later church fathers and by human tradition. When we go back to the historical and cultural roots of the Bible, the words of Yeshua and the apostles open up far more clearly.
He teaches that a pre-tribulation rapture is not found in Scripture but is a doctrine that arose in the 1800s. There will be a gathering of the saints, but it happens at the last trumpet. He offers one “nugget” to think about: God warned His people not to take the mark of the beast.
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.’” (Revelation 14:9–10)
Pastor Chris teaches that the mark comes during the last three and a half years of the seven-year tribulation, the great tribulation. Why would God warn us not to take a mark if we were not going to be here? His counsel is to stop leaning on our own understanding and read the Bible for what it says (Proverbs 3:5; Isaiah 55:8), and to study for ourselves:
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
What believers are sensing in the spirit
Pastor Chris believes many Christians are picking up something real in the spirit, and in their emotions they are interpreting it as the rapture. What he believes is beginning is not an escape but the tribulation itself. In this message he shared his conviction that the seven-year clock was starting, and that this explains the chaos rising among the nations, shaking economies, stirring wars and the trembling of Babylon’s system.
He ties this to his teaching on the Hebrew timeline. According to the corrected biblical calendar he teaches, the world was then moving from the year 5995 into 5996, leaving about four years until the year 6000. Pastor Chris teaches that Daniel points to Messiah coming at the change of the millennium, the year 6000. He frames this as recognizing the season, not setting a date, and he points to the sequence Paul gives:
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4)
Pastor Chris teaches that this points to the Antichrist sitting in a rebuilt third temple and proclaiming himself God. Until that happens, Messiah will not return, so he cautions believers against saying Yeshua could come “at any moment” when Scripture says other things must be fulfilled first.
He also expects a revival unlike anything in history, with multitudes coming to Yeshua. Yet the path is narrow. The Lord is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), and still “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:14). “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). This is not a time of escape but of endurance:
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
He encourages listeners to share this teaching with their pastors, trusting that any shepherd who carries the Holy Spirit will weigh it before the Lord.
The prophetic meaning of the Feast of Trumpets
Rosh Hashanah is not just a festival; it is a divine appointment. In Scripture it is called Yom Teruah, the day of blowing:
“And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets.” (Numbers 29:1)
On this day the shofar sounds again and again, awakening God’s people to repentance, renewal and readiness. Pastor Chris explains what the trumpet represents:
God’s voice calling His people back to Him.
The coronation of the King, a rehearsal for the day Messiah is revealed to the Jewish people and to the nations.
A warning blast to prepare for judgment and war.
A prophetic rehearsal of the resurrection and the gathering of His people.
That last point is where timing matters. Pastor Chris teaches that the gathering does not come at the beginning of the tribulation but at the coming of Messiah after it:
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:29–31)
So when people say Yeshua will return on Rosh Hashanah, Pastor Chris says they are sensing something true: the Feast of Trumpets does point to His return, because God works on His own calendar. But the timing is post-tribulation victory, not pre-tribulation escape.
A hundred shofars and the meaning of 100
Pastor Chris mentioned reports that a hundred shofars would be sounded together in Israel that week, something he believed had not been done before. He reads it prophetically. The shofar proclaims war and judgment, and it also announces the coming of the King. Since he teaches that other prophecies must be fulfilled before Messiah returns, that leaves the message of judgment.
He adds a teaching from Hebrew gematria: the number 100 (the letter qof) carries the ideas of refinement, conclusion, judgment, readiness and fulfillment. Put the sounding of the alarm together with that meaning, he says, and it lines up with what he believes the Lord was announcing to the nations that week.
The Days of Awe and the season of shaking
Rosh Hashanah opens the ten Days of Awe that lead to Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Pastor Chris sees them as a prophetic picture of a final period of testing, repentance and preparation, a shaking that separates the true from the false, the wheat from the tares, and the faithful remnant from the complacent. The question each of us must answer is: who are you, and who do you want to be?
The shofar is not just a sound to listen to. It is a call to awaken what is dead inside of us. It pierces the soul and proclaims that the King is coming. That is why we cannot dismiss the Lord’s calendar: the feasts are His appointed times, divine rehearsals of redemption, judgment and final glory.
Pastor Chris closes with a charge. This is not the time for religious slumber. Do not expect a sudden evacuation; expect refining, endurance and glory in the middle of the shaking, and expect victory, because these days lead to the coronation of King Yeshua, who will reign from Jerusalem. Put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10–18) and get ready for the great harvest. Shanah tovah: a good and sweet year.
Frequently asked questions
What is Rosh Hashanah?
The Feast of Trumpets, called Yom Teruah or “the day of blowing” in Scripture (Numbers 29:1). It falls on the first day of the seventh month and is one of the Lord’s appointed feasts (Leviticus 23).
Are the feasts only for Jewish people?
Pastor Chris teaches no. God calls them “My feasts” (Leviticus 23:2), so believers in Yeshua should honor them too.
Did the rapture happen on September 23, 2025?
No. Pastor Chris said in advance that it would not, because Scripture places the gathering at the last trumpet after the tribulation.
Why does Pastor Chris reject a pre-tribulation rapture?
He teaches it arose in the 1800s and conflicts with Scripture, which warns believers not to take the mark of the beast (Revelation 14:9–10) and places the gathering after the tribulation (Matthew 24:29–31).
What must happen before Yeshua returns?
The falling away and the revealing of the man of sin, who sits in the temple proclaiming himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4).
What does the shofar symbolize?
God’s call to repentance, the coronation of the King, a warning of judgment and war, and a rehearsal of the resurrection and gathering.
What are the Days of Awe?
The ten days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, a season of repentance that Pastor Chris sees as a picture of the final period of testing and preparation.
What year is it on the biblical calendar Pastor Chris teaches?
He teaches that the corrected count stood at about 5995 going into 5996 in September 2025, roughly four years from the year 6000, which he presents as a sign of the season rather than a set date.
What should believers do in this season?
Stay awake, stay rooted in the Word, repent, put on the armor of God, and prepare to endure and to reap a great harvest.
Take the next step
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