Leviticus 23:24
Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.’ (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Leviticus 23:23-25 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The Feast of Trumpets is the fifth feast given by God. The first four feasts occurred in the Spring. The feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits all occur within a week or so of each other usually in March or April of our current calendar. The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost occurs in May or June. These four feasts have already been fulfilled by Jesus when he came to earth over two thousand years ago.
The next three feasts will take place in the fall and all will occur one right after another just like the spring feasts. None of these feasts have been fulfilled yet. The first of the fall feasts is the Feast of Trumpets also known as Rosh Hashanah or the Jewish New Year. The Feast of Trumpets begins on the 1st day of the seventh month and lasts for two days. The first day will be a Sabbath day of rest and trumpet blasts will commemorate the day.
The blowing of the trumpets on first day of the month brought a time of preparation for the Day of Atonement which would occur ten days later. This preparation time was called “Ten Days of Repentance” or the “Days of Awe.” The trumpet sound was an alarm of sorts and was meant to be a call to introspection and repentance.
This feast is probably the most debated feast in terms of how it will be fulfilled by Jesus. There are many theories and many trumpet blasts in the end times that could match up with this feast. I think there is a good case to be made that this feast will be fulfilled in the rapture of the Church so let’s examine that theory.
The timeline of the first ten days of the seventh month are as follows:
- Days 1 & 2 – Feast of Trumpets
- Days 3 through 9 – The Days of Awe
- Day 10 – Day of Atonement
Recall that the Jewish calendar reset when Jesus arrived. The seventh month used to be the first month. There are a couple of significant events that happened on the first day of this month in addition to the Feast of Trumpets:
- It is believed that Adam was created on this day marking the beginning of the human race.
- The water dried up on this day during Noah’s flood marking the first day of dry ground and the new world (Genesis 8:13).
The text that points to the rapture occurring at the sound of the trumpet is found in first Thessalonians. “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thes 4:16-17).
It is also mention by Paul when he writes, “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Cor 15:51-52). The last trumpet is a reference to the Feast of Trumpets. On that day 100 trumpet blasts were heard and the last one was called “the last trump.” Paul seems to be saying that the rapture will occur when the last trumpet is sounded.
Whether the rapture happens or not, the trumpet is announcing Jesus’ return. Just as when David made Solomon the new king of Israel, “Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, ‘Long live King Solomon!’” (1 Kings 1:39), Jesus will be crowned king at the sound of the trumpet. And when this happens, a great battle will ensue at the end of which Satan and death itself will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. The prophet Joel tells us:
“Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy hill.
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand—
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was in ancient times
nor ever will be in ages to come” (Joel 2:1-2).
Jesus is coming soon and we will hear the trumpet sound. If you’re not ready then there’s no time like today to get ready. Jesus will come in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye. Be ready!
Christ in the Old Testament 
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