(THE SIGNIFICANCE THEREOF PERTAINING TO THE MESSIAH)
Notice God's original command to ancient Israel concerning this Holy Day: "In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation" (Lev. 23:24). Just what is this Festival intended to portray?
An Alarm of War!
In ancient Israel, blowing silver trumpets was used as a call for the people to assemble, a signal to take some action such as moving the camp or an alarm of war! (Num. 10:1-9). Indeed, God said, "When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God, and you will be saved from your enemies" (v. 9). The trumpets were then used to muster troops and assemble the people in the midst of battles.
These silver trumpets were also blown on the Feast of Trumpets. In fact, they were blown on every Festival (v. 10). But on the Feast of Trumpets, something else was regularly sounded. Jewish tradition records that the shofar or ram's horn was also blown on this day--a fact supported by Scripture. You see, like modern brass instruments, the silver trumpets could produce a variety of musical notes. By contrast, the ram's horn produced only a loud, piercing blast. Often referred to as a "shout" or "noise," this blast was not considered to be musical in nature, but rather served as an unmistakable and urgent warning. In Leviticus 23:24, quoted above, the phrase "blowing of trumpets" does not actually include the word "trumpets" in the original Hebrew--although it is understood. Rather, the entire phrase is a translation of the word teruah, which is defined by the Enhanced Strong's Lexicon as "alarm, signal, sound of tempest, shout, shout or blast of war or alarm or joy"--in fact, it is perhaps best rendered as an "awakening blast." And this was only produced by the shofar.
Again, the trumpet, or ram's horn, was used as an alarm of WAR. Its sound filled those who heard it with fear because they knew it heralded the horror of imminent war! (cf. Jer. 4:19-21). It is this dire warning that sets the Feast of Trumpets apart from God's other Festivals and gives this joyous occasion a contrasting note of solemnity.
Let's not forget that the greatest time of war, chaos and world upheaval is yet ahead of us! Notice this inspired prophecy from the book of Joel: "Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD is coming, for it is at hand: a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them.... The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. The LORD gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; who can endure it?" (Joel 2:1-11). Thus, the blowing of trumpets here sounds the alarm that the prophesied "Day of the Lord" is at hand!
Incredibly, this evil age of human self-rule will end with the human race standing on the very threshold of mass extinction. Indeed, the Bible has much to say about a terrible World War to come that will engulf the whole earth in the near future.
Thankfully--before it's all over--humanity will be prevented from utterly destroying itself by the intervention of the Great God (Matthew 24:22). For then, the day of man will be over--and the Day of the Lord will commence. Yet it will not begin with peace and joy for everyone. Rather, the Almighty will have to enforce peace upon rebellious humanity--by first breaking its stubborn will. Thus, our Creator will intervene to show HIS POWER and remind a wayward civilization that HE is the ultimate RULER of heaven and earth.
Therefore, other titanic, earth-shattering events will follow the Tribulation. For notice what is going to happen during the Day of the Lord, "So the seven angels who had the SEVEN TRUMPETS prepared themselves to sound. The first angel sounded: and hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up" (Rev. 8:6-7). With the next trumpet, a "great mountain burning with fire" falls into the sea (vv. 8-9)--an asteroid meteor perhaps? Next, a "great star" falls from the sky, "burning like a torch" (vv. 10-11)--a comet impact? (called in the Greek ABSYNTHE) meaning (bitter.) Even if we can't know for sure what the literal fulfillment of these prophecies will be, it's certain that they indicate violent cataclysms that will literally rock this planet! And each introduced by the sound of a trumpet blast. For God did say, "yet will I shake the heavens and the earth" God did it in the past and he shall do it again !
The Last Trumpet
It should be noted that trumpets were also used to herald the coronation of a new king, as in the case of Israel's King Solomon (1 Kings 1:34, 39). And the peaceful rule of Solomon, following the wars of his father David, was a type of the coming rule of the Prince of Peace, Yeshua the messiah (cf. 1 Kings 4:25; 1 Chron. 28:5).
Thus, finally, at long last, the Living Yeshua the messiah will supernaturally intervene to SAVE a rebellious humanity and to bring genuine PEACE to the world. Returning to the last of the seven trumpets of Revelation, we read, "Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He shall reign forever and ever!'" (11:15). Yeshua, then, will return to this earth as "King of kings and Lord of lords" (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 19:6).
Therefore, the messiah will return at the seventh trumpet! He told His disciples, "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" (Matt. 24:29-31).
What is the significance of messiah sending angels to gather His elect at this time? We've already seen part of what the Apostle Paul said in this regard: "But now the messiah is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:20). But notice what he further stated: "For since by man [Adam] came death, by Man [Yeshua the messiah] also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in the messiah all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits [i.e. the first of the firstfruits], afterward those who are the messiah's at His coming [i.e. the rest of the firstfruits]" (vv. 21-23).
And when will it all happen? Paul says, "Behold, I tell 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 TRUMPET. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (vv. 51-52). Perhaps there is nothing more encouraging than this amazing fact. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Church:
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Yeshua died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Yeshua. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in messiah will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord [1 Thess. 4:13-17].
How staggering and wonderful this is! At messiah's return, those who have God's Spirit will be changed from powerless, flesh-and-blood human beings into divine, immortal spirit beings bearing the very glory and appearance of our Savior Yeshua the messiah,(1 Cor. 15:45, 49; Rom. 8:11; 1 John 3:2). We will then be full, glorified "sons of God, being sons of the resurrection" (Luke 20:36) who are "filled with all the fullness of God"! (Eph. 3:19).
No wonder King David understood the Feast of Trumpets, as all of God's Feast days, to be a day of singing and shouting for joy (Ps. 81:1-3). Indeed, this was a statute in Israel (v. 4). For in spite of the solemnity of the shofar blast, the Feast of Trumpets is a day of gladness and great rejoicing--because the shofar not only signals war, but the "awakening blast" of the shofar will one day literally wake the dead! This was actually understood by many of the Jews. In fact, according to the Talmud (the Jewish commentary on the Scriptures) the resurrection of the dead will occur on this very day (Rosh Hashana). And it might indeed. For isn't it interesting that the spring Festivals had major aspects of what they pictured fulfilled on the exact days of their observance? This should not surprise us, for remember that these are God's scheduled "appointments." And as messiah has come to fulfill the former season, He will fulfill the latter season in like manner (cf. Hosea 6:3). The messiah died on the EXACT DAY commanded by God that the Lamb was to be slain, ie: NISAN 14th
The Day of Trumpets represents the most pivotal moment there will ever be: the MASSIVE intervention of God in human affairs climaxing in the Second Coming of Yeshua the messiah as King of kings at the seventh, or last, trumpet. Can we picture a great, blinding LIGHT so radiant that human beings cannot even look at it? That is how the risen messiah will appear as He returns in GLORY. Can we imagine a deafening trumpet blast literally SHAKING the earth as the messiah returns in all the infinite power of God? Can we picture God's true saints, now resurrected from the dead and born of the Spirit, rising to meet the messiah in the air to be crowned as divine kings and priests to RULE this planet with Him? (cf. Rev. 2:26-27; 5:10). What a day that will be!
Yes, all of these things will occur at the last trumpet! For although the Feast of Trumpets pictures the horrifying WARS and PLAGUES at the end of this human civilization, it also pictures the glorious INTERVENTION of the Creator God, who will finally restore order and bring genuine PEACE and JOY to a chastened humanity that is at last ready to listen to Him and follow His righteous ways.
Notice too please, that there is to be an 8th DAY..refers to the new heaven and earth to come and is prefigured in the fact that the Lord Yeshua rose on the 8th day, indeed it was on the setting of the sabbath, during the night that he rose.....this was the day AFTER the sabbath and thus the 8th day.............telling us so much, that in HIM is the RESURRECTION and LIFE..and that this LIFE is everlasting and the LAST GREAT FEAST DAY is the 8th DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!.after the CHILIAD reign of the Lord Yeshua.
NOTE please that the Greek name IESOUS is for YESHUA or YOSHUA, this is shown in the Septuagint, (the scripture in Greek) in the Book of IESOUS........commonly called the Book of JOSHUA !!!. The Lord is the MESSIAH ( the annointed) see Isaiah 61:1. 'Christos' in Greek means the 'annointed' Thus he is the MESSIAH the SON OF THE LIVING GOD... as declared by the apostle Peter, which was given to Peter by direct REVELATION OF THE FATHER !!
Richard Merrell.....2002
RETURN TO MY HOME PAGE