Trumpets&

• We are studying the 7 Jewish Feasts instituted by the Lord in Leviticus 23.

• These feasts reveal God’s prophetic timetable through history.

• God dictated the 7 Feasts to Moses @ Sinai. • He also set a definite time of the year to

celebrate each. • The Hebrew word for feasts literally means

appointed times. • These were to be special times the people of

Israel set aside to meet with the Lord.

• Here is a list of the 7 in order that they appear in the year:1. Passover2. Unleavened Bread3. First fruits4. Pentecost (Harvests)5. Trumpets6. Atonement7. Tabernacles

1. Passover – Spring (Mar/April) & in an 8 day period

• Passover• Unleavened Bread• First Fruits2. Pentecost – 50 days after First Fruits3. Tabernacles – Occur in the Fall (Sept/Oct)

and over a 21 day period• Trumpets• Day of Atonement• Tabernacles

1. Feast of Passover – depicts the death of Jesus on the cross.

• Jesus, the Passover Lamb, was sacrificed. • He was crucified on Passover.

2. Feast of Unleavened Bread – reveals that Jesus’ body would not decay in the grave.

• Jesus was buried on the 1st day of this 7 day feast.

3. Feast of First Fruits – the triumphant resurrection of Jesus.

• Because Jesus lives, we too shall live. • He is the first fruits of all who will be

resurrected. • Jesus rose on the day of the Feast of First

Fruits.4. Feast of Pentecost – the coming of the Holy

Spirit at the 1st of the wheat harvest. • The Holy Spirit filled the early disciples on the

actual Day of Pentecost.

• The 1st 3 feasts occur in the 1st month of the year in Nisan (April).

• Pentecost falls 50 days later, which is usually in May/June.

• Now, we go to the 1st day of Tishrei, the 7th month, which is in the fall or Sept./October.

• The redemptive work of Jesus, which the 4 spring feasts depict, is now history.

• You can look back & study as historical facts.

• The 3 fall feasts have yet to be fulfilled. • Each feast depicts events still in our future. • And, will be fulfilled during Jesus’ 2nd coming.• Presently, we are in:

– the time between the last of the spring feasts and the 1st of the fall feasts

– between the 4th and 5th feasts– the long summer months harvesting– between the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the

Day of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets

• The Feast of Trumpets represents the rapture of the Church and the end of the Church Age.

5. Feast of Trumpets

Leviticus 23:23-24 – 23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: '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. (NKJV)

• This feast is the 1st of the fall feasts and is called Rosh Hashanah by the Jews.

• It falls on the 1st day of the 7th month. • It is so important that it stands alongside the

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur, 10th day of the month) to make up the High Holy Days.

• This 10 day period is considered to be the most holy days on the Jewish calendar.

• Also called the Days of Awe.

• Here’s why: This is when the Jewish people examine their lives and repent of their sins.

• This is considered to be their last chance to repent before God’s judgment is finalized for the coming year on the Day of Atonement.

• Because this is such a serious time of the year, joyous occasions like weddings are not celebrated during the 10 day period.

• Some of these practices are not found in Scripture but are rooted in Jewish Tradition.

• For instance, the Jews today practice what they call the Casting Ceremony.

• On the afternoon of the Feast of Trumpets, Jewish people go to a body of water and confess their sins.

• Then, they empty their pockets of bread crumbs into the water.

• Symbolic of ridding themselves of all sin & not carry or remember them anymore.Micah 7:19b – You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. (NKJV)

• Since this is the Feast of Trumpets, let’s look at the various uses of the trumpet in the Bible.

• When the trumpet would sound, it would be a signal for the workers in the field to quit working and come to the temple for worship.

• If there were a Jew and a Gentile working side-by-side in the field, and when the trumpet blows, the Jew would go to the temple leaving the Gentile in the field. Matthew 24:40 – Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.

• Trumpets and the Rapture are closely related:1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 – 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 Christ will rise first. 17 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.

• This will mark the end of the Church Age and the beginning of the judgment of God.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 – 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed — 52 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.

• When the trumpet sounds, the believers who had died will rise first from the grave.

• Then, those of us who are alive will rise to meet the Lord in the clouds.

• In the Hebrew, there are 2 different trumpets.

1. Silver Trumpet – A long flared out trumpet.2. Shofar – Made from a ram’s horn. • The horn used during the Feast of Trumpets. • They couldn’t use a cow’s horn because it

was reminiscent of worshiping the golden calf in the wilderness.

• But, a ram’s horn was a reminder of God’s deliverance of Isaac thru a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.

• The shofar was blown for 3 reasons:1. To announce a Solemn Assembly – this was 1

of 3 times all males were to come to the Temple.

2. To signal war – Gideon & Joshua3. Coronation of a king – Solomon

• Like Israel’s ancient purposes for the shofar, God’s last trumpet will accomplish 3 things:

1. It will gather an assembly to the Lord known as the rapture. 1 Thess. 1:10b – Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. 1 Thess. 5:9 – God did not appoint us to wrath.

2. It will signal God’s battle alarm against Satan & the wicked as the day of His wrath begins.

3. It will announce the coronation of the coming Messiah as the King of the kings.

• The triumph of Joshua at the Battle of Jericho is a shadow of the Rapture of the Church.

• The people of Israel shouted and blew trumpets as the walls of Jericho collapsed.

• Then, they ascended into the city. • Jericho was a beautiful city, an oasis in the

wilderness. • It was their 1st sight of anything other than a

wilderness for 40 years.

• Likewise, our 1st glimpse of heaven, through the rapture, will signal the end of a long journey through the wilderness.

• It will be the entrance to our Promised Land.• The wilderness story is a picture of salvation. • We are saved through Passover. • Then the Hebrews passed through the Red

Sea, which is a symbol of water baptism. • This leads to the wilderness which is our life in

this world.

• It ends in Jericho in the Promised Land after we have passed over the Jordan River.

• Jericho is representative of heaven, where we will go after the trumpet sounds.

• The final similarity is in the names of the 2 leaders.

• Joshua is actually Jesus in Hebrew. • Yeshua = Jesus.

• Many people scoff at the concept of the Rapture.

• But, it clearly fits into the plan presented in the Feasts of Israel.

• The Rapture is a supernatural event and it takes faith to believe in it.

• I don’t, however, see it as a blind leap of faith. • It is clearly based in Scripture. • During the Revelation series, I taught on why I

believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

• I believe it is more clearly taught in Scripture than the alternatives.

• Some ideas are so stupid that only intellectuals believe in them.

»George Orwell (1984)

• The Feast of Trumpets is the only feast which begins on the 1st day of the month.

• This often created a problem when trying to figure out the exact day to celebrate it.

• The Jewish calendar was based on a lunar calendar.

• The moon is just a sliver on the 1st. • Often the moon was clouded during that time

of the month, so it was difficult to decipher the correct day for the feast.

• This shows 2 important points for us:1. Watchfulness was critical for this feast. • The idea of being watchful and prepared is

echoed throughout the N.T. in connection to the return of the Lord.Matthew 24:42 – Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. 1 Thessalonians 5:6 – Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

• This is what Jesus was teaching during the Parable of the Virgins.

• What was the difference between the 5 wise and the 5 foolish?

• The wise were prepared for His coming. • We don’t know the hour when He will return. • We need to make sure our relationship with

Jesus is right. • He will come when we least expect it.

2. Israel’s Dark Day – This feast appears when the primary night light is darkened.

• The prophets announced the coming judgment of the Lord—the Day of the Lord. Zephaniah 1:14-16 – 14 The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of trumpet and alarm . . .

• Just as the darkened moon announced the Feast of Trumpets, the darkening of the moon will announce coming Day of the Lord:

Joel 2:31 – The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. (NKJV)

• This is why this feast became associated with repentance.

• It forecasted the great day of the Lord. • For us, it can be a time of celebration or a time

of weeping. • We will either be raptured to live forever with

the Lord, or we will be left behind. • The choice is ours.

• The Hebrew word for repentance means to return.

• It involves a turn around in spiritual direction. • This is accomplish in 2 actions:1. Turn away from sin by forsaking it.2. Turn toward God by putting your trust in Him

as your redeemer.

Conclusion• Do you see where we are on God’s prophetic

timetable?• The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus

were accomplished on Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits.

• The coming of the Holy Spirit was accomplished on the Day of Pentecost.

• Now, we are in the months of July and August waiting for the next feast.

• Trumpets which will be the rapture of the Church and beginning of the Tribulation.

• Which of the virgins are you most like?• Are you wise or foolish?• The difference is in your preparation.

Trumpets&