Isaiah asserted: “All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the
earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he
bloweth a trumpet, hear ye” (Isaiah 18:3). The sound of a trumpet put
There were five types of trumpet signals that characterized the ancient
Israelites’ theocracy. The priests had a pair of silver trumpets. When one
sounded, it called the leaders of
A fourth trumpet signal represented God’s voice (Exodus
A fifth use of trumpets came in association with appointed festivals, the
new year, the days of the new moon (Numbers 10:10, Psalm 81:3) and when the
onset of the Jubilee year of freedom began (Leviticus 25:9). That type of
sound was always made with a ram’s horn. That “trumpet” was referred to as
the “shofar” (shopar or showphar).
The Bible uses the word shofar often in a figurative way, likening it to a
warning sound of impending disaster (Ezekiel 33:3-6, Isaiah 58:1, Jeremiah
The notes of the ram’s horn were
harsh and aroused a feeling of apprehension. The silver trumpets would not
do that. Before the Sinai theophany, the shofar was blown to order the
people to come near the mountain (Exodus
It is fascinating that of the seven sacred Feasts of the Jewish people, one
was related specifically to the
blowing of trumpets. It was so important that that day was to be a
Sabbath-rest.
“Speak to the children of
This was the only sacred convocation that occurred on a new moon. The
seventh month was later called Tishri after the Babylonian name. This month
ended the “sacred year” of seven months, during which the seven Feasts
occurred. It was also the first month of the new civil calendar year of the
pagan world and the Jewish people.
It is very exciting and important to separate divine purpose from tradition
regarding this time. The Hebrew text states that this time was a (literal)
“memorial of the blast.” Later, the Septuagint added the word salpiggon
or trumpets.[1]
Most scholars feel that this “trumpet” was the ram’s horn or shofar. Jewish
writers state that they were blown in thirty successive long blasts.[2]
It also appears as though this went on at intervals from sunrise to sunset.[3]
It is noteworthy to observe the cultic sacrifices that God ordained for that
day. There was to be a burnt offering using a bullock, a ram and seven lambs
(symbolizing humility and submission to God), plus a sin offering by
sacrificing a buck goat (to bring forgiveness to the camp for all iniquity).
The event was a corporate day of worship and commitment. It was holy, a
Sabbath and no servile work was to be done (Leviticus
Why would such a time be introduced? Weren’t there weekly Sabbaths to
accomplish the same? Weren’t there burnt offerings twice each day and the
chance to offer sin offerings any time? The holy days of those Old Testament
times were not simply make-work
projects to occupy the Israelites’ time while “wandering” in the
wilderness. Each festival was a living symbol of the progressive stages of
the plan of salvation.
Jewish tradition eventually skewed the true meaning of the time of the
Trumpets. By its Hebrew and now common name, Rosh Hashanah, or “head
of the year,” it celebrated the onset of the new civil or pagan year.
Allegedly, what happened on that day determined what the next year
would bring in crops and fortune. That is why it was later called the “Feast
of Trumpets.” Then many Jews added a second day to this sabbath. That was
never commanded in the Torah. The Bible calls it
Yom Ha-Zikkaron (the Day of
Remembrance – Numbers 29:1). Yet it was later called
Yom Ha-Din (the Day of Judgment),
when the people of the earth passed in review before God. He would mark
their names in either the Book of Life or the Book of Death. This
reapplication of the divine purpose erased the deep and solemn meaning of
the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), which occurred ten days later. That
was the judgment day when people were irrevocably “cleansed” or
“cursed.” This particular “judgment tradition” has deeply tainted
Christians’ grasp of end-time Biblical views.
Looking at the anticipation of a final judgment on the Day of Atonement, the
Trumpet day (Tishri 1) became a final time of warning and remembering.
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare
to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins” (Isaiah
58:1 – NIV). Then follows a series of covenant stipulations man must fulfill
to “find joy in the Lord” (58:14).
The sound of the shofar is intended
to awaken the listener from his or her “slumber” and alert them to the
coming judgment.[4]
So important was this warning that every month during the previous six
months on the new moon the shofar was sounded in anticipation of this
seventh warning (Numbers 10:10). Those new moon “blasts” were characterized
by a series of short staccato sounds. On Trumpets the sounds were long and
penetrating.
These “signals” were part of the
spirit of God’s mercy and love. Before He executes judgment, He warns.
Before a no-return course is taken, He provides a timing window of
probation. Before the Flood, people were given 120 years to respond.
From the Feast of Trumpets to Atonement was ten days. The Jewish people
correctly call that period “Ten Days of Repentance.” More commonly it is
referred to today as “Days of Awe.” They represent days of preparation, a
final probationary time to change, to repent.
The Trumpet “day” and the subsequent nine days were not like most feasts
with celebration, festivities and exalted happiness. These days, plus
Atonement, were filled with spiritual introspection and intense reflection
on one’s spiritual commitment.
Old Testament imagery reveals the association of the shofar with repentance.
In fact, it is almost an amazing metaphor for repentance. Joel called the
sound of the shofar in
There are many expositors, as previously noted, who identify this Trumpet
Day as a “day of judgment,” a time when God sits in judicial robes to begin
ten days of pronouncement. This is declared as the time of judicial destiny.
This understanding is at variance with Scripture. It is based more on Jewish
tradition than Biblical evidence. The Feast of Trumpets is anticipatory.
Joel captured that when he wrote, “Blow the trumpet (shofar) in
Some attempt to develop a typology of “investigative judgment” based on
Daniel 7:9-10 “as depicted in the ten days of ‘Awe.’” The link is elusive
and spins a web of complexity of different prophecies, issues and times.
This, once again, threads back to Jewish tradition and not Biblical thought.
Because the shofar was blown at the anointing of Solomon as king (I Kings
The events of the first advent surrounded the spring feasts (Passover,
Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits). Jesus arose as the firstfruit along with
many who were resurrected at that time (Matthew 27:52-53). That coincided
with the early or barley harvest, which followed the early rains.
At the Feast of Weeks, later called Passover, the celebration of the wheat
harvest occurred. That was the inauguration of the Christian church. In
end-of-time typology, that will be the beginning of the Latter Rain. The
144,000 represent the firstfruits of the wheat harvest (Revelation 14:4) and
inaugurate the “making up” of Christ’s kingdom.
The second advent will surround events related to the Fall Feasts. The
Trumpets at Tishri 1 (September or early October) will herald God’s last
call to repent. At that time probation’s end will be quickly approaching.
That will occur on the Day of Atonement when all the forgiven sins, still
residing within the sanctuary precincts, are permanently placed on the
scapegoat, Satan. He will then bear their guilt.
This sequence of events unfolds end-time truth with marvelous information.
Based upon sanctuary typology and the Jewish theocracy, we see wonderful
details of how the final scenes of redemptive history terminate!
How does this fit with the Seven Trumpet sequence of Revelation 8–11? First,
it is significant to review how the Trumpets are divided. They exist in a
“The forbearance that God has exercised toward the wicked, emboldens men in
transgression; but their punishment will be none the less certain and
terrible for being long delayed. ‘The Lord shall rise up as in Mount Perazim,
He shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that He may do His work, His
strange work; and bring to pass His act, His strange act.’ Isaiah 28:21. To
our merciful God the act of punishment is a strange act. ‘As I live, saith
the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the
wicked turn from his way and live.’ Ezekiel 33:11. The Lord is ‘merciful and
gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, ... forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin.’ Yet He will ‘by no means clear the
guilty.’ Exodus 34:6, 7. While He does not delight in vengeance, He will
execute judgment upon the transgressors of His law. He is forced to do this,
to preserve the inhabitants of the earth from utter depravity and ruin.
In order to save some He must cut off those who have become hardened in sin.
‘The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit
the wicked.’ Nahum 1:3. By terrible things in righteousness He will
vindicate the authority of His downtrodden law. And the very fact of His
reluctance to execute justice testifies to the enormity of the sins that
call forth His judgments and to the severity of the retribution awaiting the
transgressor.”[5]
“The time of God’s
destructive judgments is the
time of mercy for those who have
had no opportunity to learn what is truth. Tenderly will the Lord look upon
them. His heart of mercy is touched; His hand is still stretched out to
save, while the door is closed to those who would not enter.”[6]
The symbolism is complete for a final appeal before Atonement. The typology
draws on other prophecies which reveal that during this end-time period of
three and a half years, God’s wrath will be manifested (Daniel 8:19). It
will continue in various expressions to His coming, when the wicked perceive
His face as the “day of His wrath” (Revelation
“Say unto them, [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the
death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn
ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of
As during the ten days of “Awe,” Satan still has power to tempt and create
barriers to a full surrender to God. So, during the fifth Trumpet, he will
bring terrible anxiety and fear on “his world.” In incredible language of
hope and encouragement, he will not be able to touch the grass of the earth,
any green thing, nor any tree. That “greenery” represents God’s people who
have spiritual life, those who may yet go all the way with Jesus. God even
goes further and commands Satan and his minions not to hurt those who are
already sealed (Revelation 9:4). How wonderful!
By this time, before probation closes, when He says “It is done,” God’s
hedge begins to encircle the saints, the remnant. The martyrs had cried out,
“How long” (Revelation
There is no feast typology related to the sixth Trumpet. Probation is
closed. God now permits Satan almost complete freedom to control the wicked
inhabitants of earth. Armageddon ensues and the worst carnage of history
begins. Shortly thereafter the Seven Last Plagues come. The grand finale of
sin’s influence begins to debut. Except for those wicked whom God wishes to
see His coming (which are many – Revelation
It is during this conflagration that God’s people are delivered (Daniel
12:1-2). Jesus said that that would occur at the
end of the time, times, and an
half (moed moeds and half moed).
Moed here refers to a period
between each sacred Festival. Thus,
moed equals one year. At the end of three and a half
moeds (3½ years), God’s people
would be delivered. What point of time could that be? It would have to occur
at or after the Atonement Day when the sin issue was completed. That could
be in the afternoon of that day or between Tishri 10 and 15. During the
afternoon of the Day of Atonement (typical Feast) on the seventh cycle of
Sabbath years (49 years), a Trumpet blew, which began the Jubilee! That was
when preparations began to return things to their original state. Slaves
were freed. Land was restored. It was a true “beginning again.” That is when
the seventh Trumpet “begins” to sound (Revelation 10:7).
There is more to this awesome timing story. On the “seventh” there is always
a Sabbath rest in God’s clock. A “Week of seven months” represents the seven
months of sacred Feasts by the Jewish people. It also represents the sacred
time in which redemptive history will play out – the week of seven
millenniums. Then the Feast of Tabernacles symbolizes
when Jesus comes again. That
point must begin a seventh! Amazing, amazing, that is exactly what happens.
Passover is on Abib 15, Tabernacles is on Tishri 15, exactly seven months
later!
Trumpets Atonement
Tabernacles
3½ years
1260 Days
Deliverance Second
of God’s Coming
People
Jesus is about to come. There is a special period of three and a half years,
which has been precisely outlined in prophecy, that the saints must pass
through. During this time, the gospel must go to the world. Persecution will
arise over the Sabbath issue. Terrible calamities will plague mankind. But
when God stands up to do His strange act, the Trumpets begin to sound. In
those devastating events, it will be clear that divine wrath is being
manifested. It is man’s last chance to repent. God’s people know then that
the end will soon be in sight. Intensified persecution, Armageddon, the
onset of the Seven Last Plagues follow – then the deliverance of God’s
people. At deliverance, the saints know that they are His forever. Peace
comes to their hearts. It truly is a time of Jubilee!
As in ancient
“It is at
“By the people of God a voice, clear and melodious, is heard, saying, ‘Look
up,’ and lifting their eyes to the heavens, they behold the bow of promise.
The black, angry clouds that covered the firmament are parted, and like
Stephen they look up steadfastly into heaven and see the glory of God and
the Son of man seated upon His throne. In His divine form they discern the
marks of His humiliation; and from His lips they hear the request presented
before His Father and the holy angels: ‘I will that theyalso, whom Thou hast
given Me, be with Me where I am.’ John 17:24. Again a voice, musical and
triumphant, is heard, saying: ‘They come! they come! holy, harmless, and
undefiled. They have kept the word of My patience; they shall walk among the
angels;’ and the pale, quivering lips of those who have held fast their
faith utter a shout of victory.”[8]
That shout of victory is about to ring throughout the earth. All those who
have responded to the gospel “call” will be part of that glorious group.
They will be happy, at peace with God and each other and enjoy the vigor of
perfection.
Our prayer is that you, student of these incredible prophecies, will be part of that group!