THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS

“These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of YHVH,

which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies”

(Leviticus 23:2)

09 / 27 / 08

(Comments in parentheses and emphasis are mine)

FIRST THOUGHTS:

When a king is ushered in or is anointed, isn’t there a trumpet sounded?”  (2 Kings 9:13 and 1 Kings 1:34 … “There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’”)

Isn’t a trumpet used to wake people up or to warn them?”  (Ezekiel 33:6 and especially Joel 2:1 which says, “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of YHVH is coming. It is close at hand”).

Isn’t the Son of God the King we are living for and are going to be ushering in?  Aren’t we to be sounding the horn of the coming kingdom? 

THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS IS COMING (And so is the King!?):

Although this week might be another dress rehearsal, are you ready to receive the King if it isn’t?  Are we not to be preparing ourselves to be with the One we love?  “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.  Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)”  (Revelation 19:7-8) 

Note:  Our righteous acts are our obedience to God’s commands.  We are commanded to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets.  Recall from last week that sin is disobeying God’s commands.

THIS IS AN ACTUAL APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED BY GOD!

Original command:  found in Leviticus  23:23-35 (verse 24 shown): “…On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.”  (This is speaking of the seventh month on God’s timetable, not man’s seventh month of July.)

Spiritual meaning:  God uses His appointments to reveal Himself.  The Spring Feasts have already passed:

-          Passover (The chosen Lamb)

-          Unleavened Bread (sinless and the single kernel buried)

-          Firstfruit (Overcoming the grips of death and being the first to rise)

-          Pentecost (the giving of the Spirit to help us obey God’s Laws)

Although much of Christianity disregards God’s appointments and instead celebrates the man-made holidays of Easter and good Friday (and many simply ignore the giving of the Sprit), these appointments are eternal and cannot be changed (“All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.” – Psalm 119:160).  The above are the Spring feasts, but what about the Fall Feasts?  Are we not waiting for His return?  Are we not waiting for judgment Day?  Are we not waiting to be with Him forever?  These things are yet to come and are all closely tied to the Fall Feast days, yet the modern day church has ceased from celebrating them!  The Fall feasts reveal what the Messiah is going to do in our lives and in Israel (His family)!  Since the Feasts are determined by the new moon, I will let you know when the new moon is spotted (setting the cycle of Feasts).  The first of the Fall feasts is Trumpets.  In short, it is a day in which we are commanded to blow the trumpet (shofar), get together as a body of Believers, and do no work.  My friends … that is it!  Blowing of the trumpet (shofar) and celebrating the Messiah!  Can you see the symbolism of blowing the trumpet?  Many believe it will be on this day that our Lord returns!  We should be celebrating the feast of Trumpets out of a child-like faith (God said it – we do it).  We celebrate this Feast in anticipation of His return (out of faith).  Can you see the sound getting louder each year as more and more believers walk in the truth?  One year, it will no longer be a dress rehearsal, but the actual performance. 

New Testament findings: What did Yeshua (Jesus) do?  Our Messiah celebrated this, as well as His followers … so why aren’t we? 

-          Matthew 24:31: “And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” (Isn’t this what we are all hoping for?  Will you be celebrating and blowing the trumpet (shofar) on this day?  Or will you be, like many at His first coming, simply going about your business on this day and doing the “routine” of life?  Will you miss the Messiah?  Can you imagine, while we are blowing our trumpet (shofar) He may actually return?)

-          1 Corinthians 15:51-52: “Listen, I tell you a mystery: 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.”  (Because many of us have been raised NOT to obey the Law and appointments of God, we all know the part of the phrase that says, “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye” as well as being “raised imperishable” – but have no idea about the trumpet call!)

-          1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:  “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.”  (All I know is that my family and I (along with many others) will be celebrating and have already sent in our RSVP to the invitation.  I guess there is limited seating:  “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14).  We should all desire to be found in obedience when He returns at His appointed time.)

-          Revelation 1:10:  “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,” and again in 4:1:  “After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’”

WHEN IS THE FEAST OF TRUMPETS THIS YEAR (We will have to wait until the new moon is spotted):

This year’s Feast of Trumpets will be on Wednesday (beginning the evening of 09/30) or Thursday (beginning the evening of 10/01), depending upon when the new moon is seen in Israel.  Again, there are many who go by the calendar and man’s scientific guess, but what joy and anticipation there is in doing it the way God set up and the way our Master did.  I admit it may be more of a “hassle” to do it this way, but nothing worthwhile is ever easy.  God is NOT about our convenience in the flesh.  Quite the opposite.  Are we ready for His return or are we not?  Are we really anticipating His return or just going through the motions?  Waiting for the actual moon to be cited is very exciting and fulfills Matthew 25:13 which says, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour” regarding His return.  So if we go by the calendar, we DO know the day and time.  In actuality, though, we do not know until it is spotted.  For it is also written that His return will not surprise those who are obedient to His commands:  1 Thessalonians 5:4 … “But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. “  We anticipate His return on this day, but simply do not know when it is until the new moon is spotted.   

God’s word says that “The moon marks off the seasons (the Hebrew word for seasons is mô‛êd  which means an appointment, or specifically a festival)”  (Psalm 104:19).  His word also says that the beast in the end times will “speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws.” (Daniel 7:25)  These verses deserve some close attention and meditation.   

Enjoy the day off this coming feast and let the sound of the horn get louder and louder each year.  (Note: Let me know if you would like to be notified when we receive word of the new moon sighting in Israel where our Savior will be returning one year.  (Zechariah 14:3-4 … “Then YHVH will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle.  On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.”)  Maybe it will be this week!