The Day of Trumpets (sometimes incorrectly referred to as "The Feast of Trumpets")
Welcome to the Messiah Beyond a Shadow of Doubt. I'm Don McCluskey, and in this lesson, we will begin our exploration of the shadows of the Fall Appointed Times, shadows of things that are yet to come. The Day of Trumpets (not the Jewish Feast of Trumpets) is the first of the Fall Appointed Times, and as always, we will begin our study in the 23rd chapter of Leviticus, and then branch out to related Scripture passages from there. So, let's begin.
In Leviticus 23, verses 24 and 25, the Lord said to Moses, "In the seventh month, on the first of the month, you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord."
So, what is this day? The Lord gave very little information about the Day of Trumpets, very little information about the activities, and almost no information about its meaning and significance.
Let's put the pieces together that He gave us. The date of this Appointed Time is very clear. It is the first day of the seventh month, which is the month of Tishri, and recall that Tishri falls in the September-October timeframe of our solar calendar. Notice also that the Lord says, "You shall have a rest." That would be a High Sabbath, so let's add the Day of Trumpets (notice The Feast of Trumpets is not in the Bible) to our list of High Sabbaths of the Appointed Times. It is the fourth one of the seven High Sabbaths. Then the Lord said, "They shall have a reminder." What does He mean by a reminder? Are the people to be reminded of something? Perhaps be reminded of their God? Or, is the Lord to be reminded of the people? Now, it may sound strange that the Lord would need a reminder, so we will explain that concept later.
Trumpets or Teruah?
But there's something else in this passage that is very important but not obvious. It has to do with the phrase, "Blowing of trumpets." Strangely, trumpets are not mentioned in the underlying Hebrew language. The word is teruah. Teruah Is a Hebrew word that can mean a trumpet sound, but it frequently refers to loud sounds or noises. Teruah could include the blast of a ram's horn, or a loud shout, or a command to attack. It can also mean a cry of the voice with loud sounds, including shouts of joyful acclimation. It is even used to refer to the clashing and crashing of percussion and loud cymbals. Based on this understanding, it would be more accurate to refer to this Appointed Time as the Day of Teruah or Yom Teruah, as a Hebrews call it. Now, you may be thinking that this distinction is not really important, or that I'm just splitting hairs, but actually, it provides a valuable clue as we trace the shadow of this Appointed Time through the Scriptures. After all, if we are examining a shadow that is not clearly defined, then we may not recognize its fulfillment when we encounter it.
Silver Trumpets
Now, you may be wondering if they really used trumpets, or if they might've used shofars instead. By the way, a shofar is a ram's horn, and they come from these. I used to think they were made by injection molding, but they're not. Well, they certainly used ram's horns on this holy day, but you may be surprised to know that they also used silver trumpets and, as you would guess, the Scriptures provide some clear insights about trumpets. There's a very interesting passage in the 10th chapter of the book of Numbers, where the Lord told Moses to make two trumpets of silver. He gave a pretty thorough description of their usage, which provides more clues about the fulfillment of the Day of Trumpets.
In this passage, the Lord said, "Make yourself two trumpets of silver," and farther down in verse nine, He says, "That you may be remembered before the Lord your God." There's the idea of being remembered again. He also told Moses that the trumpets shall be used "In your Appointed Feasts, and on the first days of your month." Among other things, the silver trumpets are to be used in the Appointed Feasts and on the first days of your months, which means that trumpets are part of the teruah that was sounded on the Day of Trumpets. We'll keep that in mind as we follow the thread of teruah throughout the Scriptures.
A Day of Remembrance
Now, let's return to the idea of the Day of Trumpets as a reminder. The purpose of the silver trumpets is that, "They shall be a reminder of you before your God." Very interesting – a reminder of you. The idea is that God will hear the trumpet sounds and be reminded of the people. Now, the word reminded does not mean that God forgot about them. Instead, the Hebrews used the word to show that God turned His attention to them, and that takes us back to the description of the Day of Trumpets, when He said it would be, "A reminder by blowing of trumpets," or a reminder by teruah. Does that make sense? When the trumpets sound and the teruah rises, God will be reminded of His people, and turn His attention to them.
Trumpets and Teruah in Progressive Revelation
In the Messiah book, we explain how the Lord progressively revealed His plan for His Messiah throughout the Scriptures, from the beginning to the end. In order to understand the Day of Trumpets, we are going to explore passages in the Bible that reference trumpets, or teruah. As we study in this way, we will see that these passages almost always provide a view of the future, or last days, as well as to those which speak of heavenly or transcendent events.
Two Psalms that are Filled with Teruah
Let's begin with two psalms that are filled with teruah. The Jewish Talmud teaches that the Messiah will return on the Day of Trumpets. Let's see if these Scripture passages support that idea. The Talmud points to two psalms, Psalms 47 and 98, which direct praise to God as our king, and the passages are filled with teruah: trumpets, singing, shouting praises, and expressions of great joy, exclamations that clearly fall into the realm of teruah.
Is it possible that these psalms are suggesting that their events are related to the Day of Trumpets, or the day of teruah? Take a look at these two psalms. Notice the different types of loud expressions, the teruah, that they proclaim. In Psalm 47, it says, "Clap your hands. Shout to God with a voice of joy. God has ascended with a shout, with the sound of trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises to our king, sing praises with a skillful psalm."
Now, let's take a look at Psalm 98. "Oh, sing to the Lord a new song. Shout joyfully to the Lord, break forth and sing for joy, and sing praises. Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, and with the sound of melody. With trumpets and the sound of horn, shout joyfully. Let the sea roar. Let the rivers clap their hands. Let the mountains sing together for joy." The writers of these psalms were declaring the power and majesty of the Lord, and His ascending the throne with trumpets and teruah before God the king.
Themes of the Teruah Psalms
What are the themes that are proclaimed in these psalms?
- The Lord is a great king over all the earth.
- He subdues the people and the nations victorious.
- He has revealed His salvation and His righteousness.
- He has remembered His loving kindness and faithfulness to Israel.
- He chooses, or gives an inheritance.
- He has ascended with a shout, the sound of a trumpet.
- He sits on His holy throne.
- The princes have assembled themselves before him.
- He is coming to judge the earth and the world."
Do you see it? A divine king ascending His throne, victorious over His enemies, rewarding His servants with an inheritance, and judging those who oppose him. Don't overlook the nobles, the princes participating in the ceremony. It seems to be their attendance at a coronation.
Teruah Passages in the New Testament
These two Psalms fuse together the idea of teruah, and the coronation of the Messiah. We're going to follow the teruah thread throughout the Scriptures, and look into the teachings of Jesus and His apostles that mention trumpets and teruah, to see if they contain the same themes as these two psalms. We're going to focus on four key passages,
- Matthew 24 and 25
- 1 Corinthians 15
- 1 Thessalonians 4:13 through 5:11, and then
- Revelation chapters 8 through 11
Matthew 24 and 25
Let's begin with the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 24 and 25. These two chapters contain stunning prophecies about the last days, and their key events are set in motion at the sound of a great trumpet. The primary focus of these two chapters is the return of the Son of Man, the Messiah, coming on the clouds of the sky with great power and great glory, and judging humanity from His glorious throne, and how we must be ready and watching for His return. Jesus said, "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be."
He goes on to say, "The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory, and He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end into the sky to the other." As part of this great apocalyptic event, the Son of Man, the Messiah, will send His angels with a sound of a great trumpet, teruah, to gather His chosen ones from every place on the planet.
The Trumpet Signals the Gathering
Did you get that? It seems that the purpose of the trumpet is to signal the angels to begin their work of gathering those who belong to Christ, bringing His salvation and righteousness, and there is no power in the universe, Satanic or earthly, that can hinder them. This is the work of the Messiah of God. When we read further down in this context, in Matthew 25:31 to 46, Jesus reveals some more key points about His return, which echo Psalm 47 and 98, events that will be part of this powerful messianic event. He tells us, "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with him, then He will sit on His glorious throne, and all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left."
The King on His Throne – Reward and Judgement
He continues to tell how the judgment will unfold. "He will sit on His glorious throne and reward those who faithfully served him by giving them the kingdom that was prepared for them from the foundations of the world," an enormous inheritance and reward. To those who did not obey him, they will be banished to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. Difficult words, but they can be viewed as a warning to those who might heed them and become heirs of the Kingdom.
In this context, in Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus confirms that
- He will ascend His glorious throne, and
- He is a great king over all the earth.
- He subdues the people and the nations, and
- He gives an inheritance, and that
- He is coming to judge the earth.
Very interesting. This passage, which features the great trumpet, proclaims the same events of the teruah psalms that we looked into earlier. They are certainly part of the same thread.
1 Corinthians 15
Let's continue following our thread of trumpets and teruah throughout the Scriptures. The next passage is the entire 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians. Some of the most thrilling words in the Bible are contained in verses 51 to 53. The apostle Paul writes, "Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal put on immortality." In this chapter, Paul repeated and underscored the truth of the resurrection and its foundational place in the faith. He emphasizes it by saying, "But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. The first fruits of those who are asleep. In Christ, all will be made alive."
Something Marvelous and Magnificent
How will all be made alive? Something is about to happen, something marvelous and magnificent, and unparalleled in the imagination of mankind. A miraculous, universal event is going to happen instantaneously, at the sound of the trumpet of God, specifically at the sound of the last trumpet. What does he mean by the last trumpet? Clearly, if there's a last trumpet, then there must be multiple trumpets, or a series of them. When the Lord gave instructions to Moses about the Day of Trumpets, He said it will be a day of teruah, suggesting that there would be sounds and shouts throughout the day, but He did not provide any information about the sounds, or their order and timing. You might say that it is a mystery, and behold, Paul is unveiling the mystery by telling us that it is the last trump.
The Last Trumpet
In the Book of Revelation, the apostle John describes his experience in heaven. He saw seven trumpets were given to seven angels, and each angel sounded in his proper order, setting off terrifying, apocalyptic events. Could it be that the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52 is referring to the seventh and final trumpet of this series? I believe it is, especially since the events that are initiated by the seventh trumpet result in the same events that we find in Psalms 47 and 98.
What will actually happen when the last trumpet sounds? We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. Did you get that? It means that some people will still be alive when the trumpet sounds to signal the start of this magnificent event, and all who are believers in Jesus, the Messiah, will be miraculously changed. In this, he is revealing one of the most amazing mysteries of the faith, that our bodies will be miraculously changed from mortal to immortal, from perishable to imperishable. Our bodies will be fundamentally changed in an instant by the power of God. We'll be created anew, and we'll never again experience pain or death. In Jesus' words, those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead "Cannot even die anymore, because they are like the angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." The dead will return from the dust, the seas and the ashes not as decayed, mindless zombies, but as beautiful, magnificent human beings in the perfection of health and vitality, raised to immortality.
As CS Lewis fancied, if you saw these resurrected creatures, you would be strongly tempted to worship them because of the beauty and glory that God will recreate in His beloved children. These words of resurrection are not mere poetry, or pleasant sayings on a wall calendar or a coffee mug. These words are truth. It is the promise of heaven from God Himself to all who receive His messiah. New life and living again are themes that are trumpeted throughout the entire body of the Scriptures, and they will come to pass at the sound of the last trumpet.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11
Our next trumpet teruah passage is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 through 5:11 – once again, the words of Paul. Notice the teruah, with a shout from the archangel and the sound of the trumpet of God. "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with a voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." These words were written by Paul to the Thessalonian church. Once again, it resounds with the certainty of the resurrection of the dead, and we find the same elements, including angels, a trumpet, a gathering, and the resurrection of the dead.
Teruah – A Shout and the Trumpet of God
Paul continues, telling us that the Lord Himself will descend from heaven, announced by a shout from the archangel and the trumpet of God, and immediately, the resurrection of the dead will begin at His command. The underlying Greek word for shout carries the idea of a cry of command. It appears that the mighty warrior of heaven is commanding the armies of the Messiah to gather His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
Paul makes several very important points in this passage. First, he explains the order of the resurrection. The resurrection of the dead will occur immediately before the living believers are changed and gathered to Christ. He makes it very clear that the dead in Christ will rise first. He is referring to those who believed in Christ who have already died. They will be raised from the dead and gathered into the sky, into the clouds before the living believers.
"Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these words." With that, the greatest hope and joys that anyone could imagine will be realized. We will meet the Lord in the air, and we will always be with him. I can only imagine what this will be like. Nothing will ever be the same. All of the sorrows and evil that we have ever known will be gone. Looking forward from that moment onward will be the most radical paradigm shift of all time. Nothing will ever be the same.
We Will Be Caught Up Together
Paul tells us that we will be caught up together. What does it mean to be caught up? The underlying Greek word carries the idea of seizing, and carrying away by force, or to seize something, or to snatch out, or away. All of these uses of the word describe an action that is abrupt, and even aggressive. Who will do the catching up? It could be an action of God, or of Christ, resurrecting and changing the chosen ones and transferring them upward. Or, it could be the angels of the Son of Man that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24, which were called into action at the sound of the trumpet. Do you have loved ones who have died? Paul tells us that we can comfort each other with these words, because the separation of death is only temporary. Our grief does not have to be debilitating forever, because we will be able to see our loved ones again, and live with them forever. What a precious hope. The hope of the resurrection is one of the crown jewels of our faith, and with that hope, there is nothing that can stand against us in this life.
Trumpets in the Book of Revelation
Now, let's turn our attention to the Book of Revelation, to the passage that describes the culmination of world history at the sounding of the last trumpet. In Revelation chapter eight, verses one and two, the apostle John tells us that seven trumpets were given to the seven angels who stand before God, setting the stage for global terrors and chaos on planet earth, and on those who did not repent of their godless deeds. After the first six trumpets had sounded, and their terrors filled the earth, a strong angel who was standing on the sea and on the land lifted his right hand up to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heavens and the things in it, and the earth and the things in it, and the sea and the things in it, that there will be delay no longer.
The Significance of the 7th Trumpet
The angel said, "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then the mystery of God is finished, as He preached to His servants, the prophets." With these words, the spirit makes certain that we grasp the significance of the last trumpet. Watch carefully when the seventh trumpet sounds, because this is not just signaling another disaster on the earth. Instead, it announces the fulfillment of the mystery of God as He preached to the prophets. What is the mystery of God? It can literally be translated as, “He preached the gospel to His servants of prophets.” It is the gospel, the good news of the Messiah, which He began progressively revealing way back in Genesis 3:15.
What will happen when the seventh trumpet sounds? Revelation 11:15 says, "Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven saying the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever. And the 24 elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, "We give you thanks, O Lord, God the Almighty. Who are and who were, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. And the nations were enraged, and your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and time to reward your bond servants, the prophets, and the saints and those who fear your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth."
At the sound of the last trumpet, the mystery of God, as He preached the gospel to His servants, will be finished. In this passage, we clearly see teruah in the trumpet and loud voices in heaven, and we see the fulfillment of the events that are mentioned in Psalms 47 and 98, as well as the fulfillment of the events of the trumpet passages in the New Testament. The world will be over, and a new chapter, rather, a new volume in His story will begin with A new world.
The Shadow of the Day of Trumpets
Was the teruah that was to be offered by the nation of Israel every year on the Day of Trumpets a shadow of this heavenly teruah? Indeed, it seems that the fantastic events that will occur at the sound of the seven trumpets are the messianic substance of this Appointed Time, the culminating act of the Messiah as He ascended His throne as the King of the Universe.
The events of the last days were choreographed long ago, in ages past. The actors in the apocalyptic scene will soon step onto the celestial stage, eager to carry out their parts in the Lord's plan, and the substance of the Day of Trumpets will be fulfilled by the Messiah, the sovereign player in the final events of this world.
I'm Don McCluskey, and it has been my privilege to bring these words of the gospel to you. I invite you to join us in our next lesson, the Day of Atonement, which is a shadow of the most significant event in all human history. May the Lord bless you as we study His word.
