The Month of Elul: Reflection, Preparation, and Repentance

The Month of Elul: Reflection, Preparation, and Repentance

Posted on August 5, 2013by CARLOS MONTAÑA

Readers might have noticed that I’ve made increasing mention of the Hebrew calendar in recent writings.  This is because the Father is calling my attention to the lunar system and the Feast Days of the Lord.  There are no Feast Days in the month of Elul, but as the final month before the High Holy Days of Tishri it is a month of reflection, preparation, and repentance.  Furthermore, I remain acutely aware that the dream that changed my life occurred on 15 Elul of 5769.

Elul 5773 begins at sundown on Tuesday, 6 August, 2013.  I will be sounding the shofar each morning* to call the people of America to repentance.  In addition, throughout the month I shall be undertaking sofer (scribe) duties as the Father leads.  This will include “standard” research/writing but I’ll also be working on papyrus documents using a kulmus (reed pen) and kosher (Torah) ink.

There is a sense of urgency this year which is difficult for me to articulate to the readers.  Let me just say that obedience is key and time is short; there will much “out with the old” (flesh/carnal) and “in with the new” (spirit) this month and continuing into Tishri and Cheshvan.

The month of Elul is coupled together with forty (40) days of trial, chastisement, and probation, for it is 40 days inclusive from 1 Elul through Yom Kippur (10 Tishri), the traditional days ascribed to Moses’ duration on the mountain.  Here is a solid take on the Biblical meaning of the number 40 (scroll down about 40% of the way)-
http://philologos.org/__eb-nis/13666.htm

And following are two short articles about the month of Elul-

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/293704/jewish/Elul-Observances-in-a-Nutshell.htm
http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/elulrosh/vol1no35.html



Finally, a quote from-

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Rosh_Hashanah/High_Holidays/Elul.shtml

Quote :

Jewish tradition points to the name of the month as symbolically appropriate–the letters of Elul form an acronym for the words in the verseAni le‑dodi ve‑dodi li–”I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” (Song of Songs 6:3). Believing that the “beloved” refers to God, the sages take this verse to describe the particularly loving and close relationship between God and Israel. Elul, then, is our time to establish this closeness so that we can approach the Yamim Noraim, or Days of Awe, in trusting acceptance of God’s judgment. We approach the trial not out of fear, but out of love.

What this suggests to me is that the true, remnant Church, as a “type” of Israel, needs also to draw ever closer to God this month in preparation for the persecution which is coming to the Church of the West as we move into Hebrew year 5774.  Persecution which our sisters and brothers in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and elsewhere have known for centuries on end, and which is also called “tribulations”.  Such tribulations act to purify us, as silver is refined in the fire by burning away of the dross.  It is a time for the Bride of Christ to prepare herself before the Day of the Lord commences.  This is a call to holiness.

The Holy Spirit spoke these words to me this morning:  “Repentance or Repression”.
I immediately recognized the words as the subtitle of a 1976 book by a young John Price,America at the Crossroads-



Thirty-three years later, in 2009, this same man published a follow-up book entitled The End of America-



Words to reflect upon this month of reflection, Elul.  And, remember of course that although it might be too late for the United States of America as a whole, as a nation, to come to repentance and thus avoid the destruction foretold for the Daughter of Babylon, it is not too late for individual repentance and a spiritual “coming out”.  In fact, the time is now.

CARLOS MONTAÑA NABAÉTEUO

*Literally.  I will be blowing a horn each morning.