A Shadow of Things to Come
The feast of Trumpets
Jeremiah6:16-19:
"Stand in the way and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘we will not walk in it.' Also I set watchmen over you, saying, and ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen.' Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear O earth! Behold I will certainly bring calamity on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded my words, nor my law, but rejected it."
This article will be on the Feast of Trumpets. This is the next feast listed in Leviticus 23, beginning in verse 23, it reads as follows: "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, '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. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.' "
In my previous articles I stated that the Feasts were in reality a type of prophecy. Through keeping them they point to the true destiny of mankind. The Passover prophesied the crucifixion of Jehoshua. The Feast of First Fruits, His resurrection. The Feast of Weeks pointed to the beginning of the "New Testament Church", and the weekly Sabbath helps us to remember the true rest that we are to have with the coming of the Kingdom.
I also pointed out that the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost was the pivotal feast for it shows the state the people of God are in now. We are a Spiritual church, with each member being a part of His body, with Jehoshua as the head.
1Corinthians 12:27:
"Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually."
Colossians 1:18:
"And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence."
So I concluded in my last article that if Pentecost is where we are now, than the remaining feasts must point to a time that has not arrived. They must show where His people are headed, a time in the future. I am not going to pretend that this may not raise some eyebrows, for there are those who may have never heard these things, but I ask that you study the scriptures faithfully, and pray to Him, to see if the things which I say are true or not.
So to begin to understand this Feast we must go back to the beginning, to the time of Moses and ancient Israel. In the book of Exodus we find the people escaping the slavery of Egypt through the miracles of the Creator. He led them through the Red Sea to the base of Mt. Sinai. He then spoke to Moses telling him to make the people ready.
Exodus19:10-11:
"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow and let them wash their clothes. And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mt. Sinai in the sight of all the people."
Moses did as the Lord commanded.
Exodus 19:16:
"Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud so that all the people who were in the camp trembled."
Exodus 19:19:
"And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him by voice."
Exodus 20:18:
"Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking..."
It is here that we first find the use of the trumpet in the Bible. As you can see it is a supernatural event. The trumpet was being blown by the Creator to announce His arrival. After this event we are told that God commanded Israel to make trumpets for themselves.
Numbers 10:1-2:
"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Make two silver trumpets for yourself; you shall make them of hammered work; you shall use them for calling the assembly and for directing the movement of the camps.' "
Numbers10:8:
"The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations."
The trumpets were to be used for calling the people together for many events including war, the beginning of the months, the time of the burnt offering and sacrifices, and at the appointed Feasts. So we see that the blowing of these silver trumpets was a command by the Creator. Yet there is only one feast, where the feast itself, is the blowing of the trumpets. This is the Feast of Trumpets. So whatever this Feast represents it is preceded by the blowing of trumpets.
So let us see what the scriptures say about the blowing of trumpets. Remember that this feast comes after the feast of Pentecost which establishes the Spiritual church, so whatever event the Feast of Trumpets points to it must come after the establishment of the church.
In my previous articles I explained that the Old Testament was the physical representation of the New Testament. The old explains the new, and the new gives life to the old. So in order to truly understand what this feast means to us today, let us first look at what happened in the old.
The children Of Israel after Mt Sinai were led through the wilderness for forty years. They came to the outskirts of their promised land. Moses was not allowed to enter the land and died. Joshua took over as leader and was to lead the people into their inheritance, the land of Jericho, but there were already people living in the land. We shall pick up the story from here.
Joshua 6:1-4:
"Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said to Joshua: 'See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times and the priests shall blow the
trumpets.' "
Joshua 6:20:
"So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city."
So again we see a supernatural event taking place after the blowing of trumpets. This time it ushered in a new era for the Israelites. They entered their kingdom, their promised land. This was their kingdom, their rest, if they kept the Lord's commandments.
The Israelites were a physical people, they were established as the people of God, and they were given the promised physical kingdom. It was announced by, and they were able to enter the kingdom after, the sounding of trumpets. So what does this have to say about the future people of Israel, the spiritual Israelites, or in other words "The New Testament Church"? Let us turn to Matthew.
Chapter 24 shows Jehoshua leaving the temple and speaking to His disciples. After prophesying about future events the disciples asked Him when these things would take place.
Matthew 24:3:
"Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and the end of the age?"
He speaks to them telling of the coming tribulations and trials that the church will go through. Then beginning in verse 30 He says:
Matthew 24:30-31:
"Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and the all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great 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 another."
The blowing of a trumpet will announce the return of Jehoshua. It will be the time that He gathers His people from the four corners of the earth, whether they are living or dead.
1Thessalonians 4:15-16:
"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 Christ 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."
The Feast of Trumpets announces the return of our Lord and Savior. He will come and claim His people that are on the earth, living and dead.
1Corinthians 15:51-53:
"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 thetrumpet will sound and the dead will beraised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."
The Lord will come at the sounding of a great trumpet and His church will be changed from flesh [corruption] to spirit [incorruption], and we shall meet Him in the air as He is coming to claim what is rightfully His, and His people shall claim the spiritual promise, the true Kingdom, the true rest.
Ancient Israel was physical, as were all the rituals and promises that were given to them. The Church today is Spiritual. I wrote in a previous article that the real name of Joshua is Jehoshua. [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible] He has the same name as the Messiah. It is the same because they both have the same job, to lead Israel into their promised Kingdom. The first led Israel into Jericho, a physical kingdom. The second will lead His people into Zion, a spiritual Kingdom, and for that we must be spirit.
1Corinthians 15:50:
"Now this I say brethren, that flesh and blood,
Cannot enter the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption."
This is the true meaning of the Feast of Trumpets. The day the Lord will return to the earth. Yet this is only the beginning of this feasts there is so much more. A person cannot understand the mysteries of the Creator unless He understands the Feasts. They were given to us so that there would be no misunderstanding of His plans for Mankind. If they have been done away with then we have no hope for it is the only salvation for us. Although each represents a different event, together they all point to the good news, the gospel of His coming Kingdom.
As always my friends I hope this article has enlightened and given you a greater understanding of the faith for which we proclaim. I pray in some small way it is a blessing to all those who read it. So until next time I will leave you with this:
1Corinthians15:54:
"So when the corruptible has put on incorruption and the mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death s swallowed up in victory.' "
So until next time please take care.