The Feasts of Israel – Trumpets

These are the Lord’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you must proclaim at their appointed time. (Leviticus 23:4 NET)

Historical Background of the Feast of Trumpets

God gave the following instructions concerning the Feast of Trumpets in 1446 B.C.:

The LORD spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a day of complete rest, commemoration, and joyful shouting —a sacred assembly. You must not do any daily work, but you must present a fire offering to the LORD.” (Leviticus 23:23–25 HCSB)

The Feast of Trumpets is the first day of the seventh month on the Hebrew religious calendar. (1) This is the Hebrew month of Tishri, the post-exilic name (Ethanim was the pre-exilic name), which corresponds to the Gentile months of September through October. Tishri is also the first month on the Jewish civil calendar and is the Jewish New Year. (3)

The seventh month of the Jewish calendar stood out above the others in the eyes of Moses and Israel. As God announced the order of the Hebrew calendar, He instructed the people to punctuate the arrival of each new month, which started with a new moon (1), with a celebration and a blowing of trumpets (1). (5)

But He emphasized the seventh month when from the foot of Mount Sinai He said through Moses the lawgiver: (5)

“Tell the Israelites, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a complete rest, a memorial announced by loud horn blasts, a holy assembly. (Leviticus 23:24 NET)

Blow the horn [shofar] on the day of our feasts during the new moon [Feast of Trumpets] and during the full moon [Feast of Tabernacles]. For this is a statute for Israel, a judgment of the God of Jacob. (Psalm 81:3–4 NET)

Again, the first day of each month was a new moon day, but the only time that the new moon day was also a festival was on the day of the Feast of Trumpets, the first day of the seventh month. Note, the Hebrew here does mention the shofar and that blowing it is a statute for Israel.

Names Given for this Day

So a feast was decreed on the first of the seventh month. But what was it to be called? When He gave the calendar, God named the appointed feasts—the Sabbath, the Passover, the Day of Atonement, etc. However, this feast received no title from Yahweh. (5) Consequently, several names have been given for the beginning of the new year.

Scripturally Derived Names

Yom Zicharon T^eru’ah

Yom means “day,” Zicharon means “memorial,” and T^eruah (1) in this context means “loud horn blasts” (cf. Numbers 23:21;31:6; 2 Chronicles 13:12; Jeremiah 20:16;49:2; Ezekiel 21:22; Amos 1:14) or “shouting for joy” (cf. Job 8:21; 1 Samuel 4:5,6; Ezra 3:11–13; Job 8:21;33:26; Psalms 27:6;33:3;89:15)

Taken together, they mean a day [yom] of “Memorial of Loud Horn Blasts and Shouting for Joy.” (2)

The LORD spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day [yom] of the month, you must have a complete rest, a memorial [zicharon] announced by loud horn blasts [teruah], a holy assembly. You must not do any regular work, but you must present a gift to the LORD.’ ” (Leviticus 23:23–25 NET)

The LORD spoke to Moses: “Tell the Israelites: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a day [yom] of complete rest, commemoration [zicharon], and joyful shouting [teruah] —a sacred assembly. You must not do any daily work, but you must present a fire offering to the LORD.” (Leviticus 23:23–25 HCSB)

The concept of shouting for joy is based upon the book of Job, which states that when God created the heavens and the earth, the sons (i.e., the angels (cf. Job 1:6))(4) of God shouted for joy. (2)

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you possess understanding! Who set its measurements—if you know— or who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its bases set, or who laid its cornerstone— when the morning stars sang in chorus, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:4–7 NET)

Judaism, not the Bible, teaches that God created the heavens and the earth on the Feast of Trumpets, so it was on this occasion that the angels shouted for joy. The Feast of Trumpets, therefore, is known as the shouting for Joy. The horn that is used on this day is not only to be remembered but also to be blown. Whenever the Feast of Trumpets falls on a weekday, the ram’s horns are blown inside and outside the Temple. In ancient times the shofar was sounded only within the Temple and not the synagogues when the Feast of Trumpets fell on a Sabbath. (2)(7) In modern Judaism, the shofar is prohibited from being blown on the Sabbath. (12)

Yom T^eru’ah

Again, Yom means “day” with t^eruah again meaning “loud horn blasts” or “shouting for joy.” Together they mean “Day of Loud Horn Blasts and Shouting for Joy.” (2)

“ ‘On the first day of the seventh month, you are to hold a holy assembly. You must not do your ordinary work, for it is a day [yom] of blowing trumpets [teruah] for you. (Numbers 29:1 NET)

“You are to hold a sacred assembly in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, and you are not to do any daily work. This will be a day [yom] of joyful shouting [teruah] for you. (Numbers 29:1 HCSB)

Realize in Leviticus 23:24 and Numbers 29:1 that the Hebrew word for the instrument to be blown is T^eru’ah which means “loud horn blasts,” specifically the shofar, and not the silver trumpets (1). Therefore this feast day would more accurately be called “Feast of Horns” instead of “Feast of Trumpets.”

Nevertheless, it came to be called the Feast of Trumpets. And the blowing of the Shofar became the distinguishing characteristic of the day, calling the people’s attention to the awesome festival that was to soon follow—the Day of Atonement on the 10th of Tishri. (5)

Rosh Hashanah

This is the most common Jewish term for this feast today. Very few Jewish people today talk about the Feast of Trumpets; rather, they mention Rosh Hashanah, which means “the head of the year.” This has become the most common term for this feast in Judaism.

However, this designation was not applied to this feast until at least the second century A.D., more than 1500 years after the institution of the holiday. Following the A.D. 70 Destruction of the Temple, its observance was radically altered. For the holiday, it was a matter of survival in the midst of tragic circumstances. Continued observance of the Feast of Trumpets was threatened due to the absence of the Temple and its sacrificial system. As a result, synagogue liturgy was enlarged, new traditions were suggested, and emphases were shifted in an attempt to preserve and adapt the observance of this holiday for a people scattered outside their homeland and stripped of their temple. The timing of the ancient Feast of Trumpets coincided with the beginning of Israel’s civil New Year. After the A.D. 70 destruction of the second Temple, the two observances became inseparably connected. Over time, the Feast of Trumpets was largely overshadowed and assimilated by the Jewish New Year, becoming known as Rosh Hashanah. (15)

The biblical holiday, Yom Teruah, was a one-day festival that had other purposes than Rosh Hashanah; that is celebrated for two days and focuses on the onset of a year, repentance, and commitment to live the next year properly. These ideas are not suggested in Yom T^eru’ah concentrated on months and the number seven (i.e., seventh month), rest, joy, and blowing the shofar. (14)

The expression “Rosh Hashanah” is found in Ezekiel; however, it is not associated with this particular feast day. (2)

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning [rosh] of the year [hashanah], on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on this very day, the hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me there. (Ezekiel 40:1 NET)

The reason Jewish people call this feast Rosh Hashanah or “the head of the year” is for five reasons. It is the head or beginning of the year because:

1. Judaism teaches that God created the heavens and the earth on this feast day (Tishri 1),
2. It is used for the Sabbatical Year count,
3. It is used for the Jubilee Year count,
4. It is used for the fruit tree count. When a new fruit tree is planted, rabbinic law forbids the eating of the fruit for the first three years of its growth. One begins the count for this on the Feast of Trumpets,
5. Is it used for the laws pertaining to vegetables in that ten percent of all produce is to be given to the Levites on this particular occasion. (2)

Therefore, this feast has become known as the beginning of the Jewish Civil year. (2)

Non-Scripturally Derived Names

Yom Hazicharon

Which means “the day of remembrance.” This is a rabbinic name for the feast because the rabbis teach that on this day, there is a call to all Jews to remember their sins before the next holy day, the Day of Atonement. On this day, it is believed that God remembers His creatures and shows them mercy. Thus it is called Yom Hazicharon, the day of remembrance. (2)

Yom Hadin

Which means “the day of judgment.” This is a name from Jewish beliefs that all Jews on this day are to pass under judgment to see if their sins will be forgiven or not. (2)

The Purpose of the Feast

The main purpose of the Feast of Trumpets was initially to be a joyful day of celebration of a divine mystery. However, it has now become the announcement of the seventh month’s arrival, which was to prepare the people for the Day of Atonement, which was ten days later on the 10th of Tishri. The seventh month was special because it was the last month of the religious festival season. It was the time when God would complete His dealings with the people for that year. (3)

The Feast of Trumpets was not one of the three pilgrimage feasts (i.e., Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Weeks, and Feast of Tabernacles were pilgrimage feasts) when all Jewish males were required to go to Jerusalem to “appear before the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 16:16. Exodus 23:14-17). However, the sound of trumpets of the Feast of Trumpets would announce to those living outside Jerusalem that the Day of Atonement, followed by the Feast of Tabernacles, a pilgrimage feast, would soon occur.

There were Five Unique Features of the Feast of Trumpets:

• It was to be observed for one day only (However, it became a two-day festival, possibly to ensure the correct day was celebrated due to the inaccuracy of visually determining the new Moon in inclement weather, including the time to evaluate the testimony of the witnesses).
• It is a day of rest, a day of no labor.
• The blowing of the shofar (1) was a memorial, but a memorial of what? The Scriptures do not say. Whereas in other feasts, reasons were given for the different actions, on this feast God chose to give no reason for blowing the trumpet. He left it as part of the divine mystery to be revealed later. (3) Perhaps the shofar was blown in remembrance of the ram that was sacrificed in place of Isaac (Genesis 22:13). The ram was a type of the Lamb of God! (John 1:29,36)
• Certainly, the call of the shofar reminded Israel that the seventh month had begun. It was distinctive from the silver trumpets blown on other new moons. Silver trumpets were sounded at the daily burnt offering and at the beginning of each new month (Numbers 10:1-10), but the shofar specifically was blown at the beginning of the month of Tishri. (5) The silver trumpets were probably blown as well, as it was also a new moon. (6)
• It was a day with many animal, grain, and wine sacrifices and offerings.

Required Sacrifices

“ ‘On the first day of the seventh month, you are to hold a holy assembly. You must not do your ordinary work, for it is a day of blowing trumpets for you. You must offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the Lord: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs one year old without blemish. “ ‘Their grain offering is to be of finely ground flour mixed with olive oil, three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths of an ephah for the ram, and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs, with one male goat for a purification offering to make an atonement for you; this is in addition to the monthly burnt offering and its grain offering, and the daily burnt offering with its grain offering and their drink offerings as prescribed, as a sweet aroma, a sacrifice made by fire to the Lord. (Numbers 29:1–6 NET)

A burnt offering (1) consisting of a bull and seven lambs were required. The appropriate meal (grain) (1) offering of wheat flour (1), olive oil (1), frankincense (1), and salt (1) were placed on top of the sacrificial animals, followed by the drink offering of wine (1). In addition, a kid for the sin offering (1) was required with no grain or drink offerings accompanying it. (3) These sacrifices and offerings were in addition to those required daily (1) and for the 1st of the Month (New Moon).

The animals to be sacrificed had to have the following four general characteristics. The animal had to be: 

• ceremonially clean, 
• utilitarian, meaning “usable for food” or sustenance, 
• domesticated (i.e., those that obeyed their master’s will and more or less were endeared to the offerer), and
• types of animal sacrifices (see “Sacrifices and Offerings of the Old Covenant” table immediately below)

In addition, the animal to be sacrificed had to meet the following three criteria:

• Condition – perfect without spot, blemish, disease, or deformity (cf. Malachi 1:8)
• Gender – Male (6) and
• Age – generally, the lamb or kid had to be one year old [i.e., a lamb or kid at the peak of life and health]. Sometimes, it could be as young as eight days old (Leviticus 22:27) or as old as three years (Genesis 15:9). The bull and ram must be older than seven days (Leviticus 22:27) or as old as three years. (2)

The Feast of Trumpets in the Scriptures

There are two specific places where the Feast of Trumpets is alluded to in Scripture. They are both in the Old Covenant; however, the feast’s name is not mentioned. The Feast of Trumpets is never mentioned as a feast in the New Covenant.

The Only Recorded Observation of the Feast of Trumpets in the Old Covenant (circa 536 B.C.) (6)

When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites were living in their towns, the people assembled in Jerusalem. Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his priestly colleagues and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues started to build the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by the law of Moses the man of God. They established the altar on its foundations, even though they were in terror of the local peoples, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and the evening offerings. They observed the Festival of Temporary Shelters as required and offered the proper number of daily burnt offerings according to the requirement for each day. Afterward they offered the continual burnt offerings and those for the new moons and those for all the holy assemblies of the Lord and all those that were being voluntarily offered to the Lord. From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. However, the Lord’s temple was not at that time established. (Ezra 3:1–6 NET)

The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all the rest of Israel lived in their cities. When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites were settled in their cities, all the people gathered together in the plaza which was in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly which included men and women and all those able to understand what they heard. (This happened on the first day of the seventh month.) So he read it before the plaza in front of the Water Gate from dawn till noon before the men and women and those children who could understand. All the people were eager to hear the book of the law. Ezra the scribe stood on a towering wooden platform constructed for this purpose. Standing near him on his right were Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Masseiah. On his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. Ezra opened the book in plain view of all the people, for he was elevated above all the people. When he opened the book, all the people stood up. Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people replied “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—all of whom were Levites—were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing. They read from the book of God’s law, explaining it and imparting insight. Thus the people gained understanding from what was read. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priestly scribe, and the Levites who were imparting understanding to the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the law. He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Then the Levites quieted all the people saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy. Do not grieve.” So all the people departed to eat and drink and to share their food with others and to enjoy tremendous joy, for they had gained insight in the matters that had been made known to them. (Nehemiah 7:73–8:12 NET)

The altar was rebuilt on this occasion. When the altar was rebuilt, the sacrifices were resumed before the Temple itself was actually completed in 516 B.C. On this occasion, Ezra read the Law of Moses before the Jewish people. A Jewish custom arose to stand up and read the entire Mosaic Law.

The Feast of Trumpets during the Time of Jesus the Messiah on Earth

The Feast of Trumpets was observed as a “Sabbath” and a “holy convocation,” in which “no servile work” might be done. The prescribed offerings for the day consisted, besides the ordinary morning and evening sacrifices, first, of the burnt offerings, but not the sin-offering, of ordinary new moons, with their meat- and drink offerings, and after that, of another festive burnt offering of one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs, with their appropriate meat- and drink-offerings, together with “one kid of the goats for a sin-offering, to make an atonement for you.” While the drink-offering of the festive sacrifice was poured out, the priests and Levites chanted Psalm 81, and if the feast fell on a Thursday, for which that Psalm was, at any rate, prescribed, it was sung twice, beginning the second time at verse 7 in the Hebrew text, or verse 6 of our Authorized Version. At the evening sacrifice, Psalm 29. was sung. For reasons previously explained, it became common early to observe the New Year’s Feast on two successive days, and the practice may have been introduced in Temple times. (9)

During New Year’s Day, trumpets and shofars were blown in Jerusalem inside and outside the Temple from morning until evening. Again, if Tishri 1 fell on a Sabbath, they were only blown inside the Temple during this period. (However, after the destruction of Jerusalem, this restriction was removed, and the horn is blown in every synagogue, even if the feast fell upon a Sabbath. Today the shofar is not blown at all on a Sabbath) Again, the instruments used were not the ordinary priests’ silver trumpets but shofars. The Mishnah (10) holds that any kind of horns may be blown except those of oxen or calves in order not to remind God of the sin of the golden calf! The Mishnah, however, specially mentions the straight horn of the antelope and the bent horn of the ram. The latter with special allusion to the sacrifice in substitution of Isaac, it is a Jewish tradition that it was on New Year’s Day in which Abraham, despite Satan’s wiles to prevent or retard him, had offered up his son Isaac on Mount Moriah (1). The mouthpiece of the shofar for New Year’s Day was fitted with gold (1), and those used on fast days was fitted with silver (1). (9)

Another distinction in this period was that on New Year’s Day, those who blew the shofar were placed between others who blew the silver trumpets, and the sound of the shofars with the gold mouthpieces was prolonged beyond the sound of the silver trumpets. However, on fast days those who sounded the silver trumpets stood in the middle, and their blast was prolonged beyond those standing on the outside sounding the shofars with silver mouthpieces. (11)

For the proper observance of these solemn seasons, it was deemed necessary not only to hear but to listen to the sound of the shofar, since, as the Mishnah adds, everything depends on the intent of the heart, not on the mere outward deed, just as it was not Moses lifting up his hands that gave Israel the victory, nor yet the lifting up of the brazen serpent which healed, but the upturning of the heart of Israel to “their Father who is in heaven”— or faith. (11)

This remark is one of the comparatively few passages in the Mishnah which reveal the true essence of religion. It gives an insight into the most ancient views of the Rabbis on these types and reminding us of the memorable teaching of our Lord to one of those very Rabbis, Nicodemus. (9)

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14–15 NET)

The Shofar Blasts on New Year’s Day

(14)

There was to be a total of one hundred blasts of the Shofar, and these one hundred blasts came in four different categories of sounds. (2)

The Tekiah

The first category of sound, known as the tekiah, is a long, single blast. This is a straight, plain, smooth, continuous note and it is to symbolize the expression of joy and contentment. (2)

The Truah (t^eru’ah )

The third category of sound is known as the truah. These are extremely short blasts that combine nine staccato notes in a very quick succession of short trills. This symbolizes trepidation, sorrow, and sobbing. (2)

The Shevarim

The second category, known as the shevarim, is three short blasts. This is a combination of three broken notes to symbolize weeping. (2)

The Tekiah Gedolah

And the fourth category is known as the tekiah gedolah, which means “the great tekiah” or “the last trump.” This one symbolizes the hope of redemption. It is a very long, final note. (2)

Every set begins and ends with the longer straight sound, tekiah. The “broken” sounds are in between. 

The sets that make up the first 99 shofar blasts are arranged in three ways: (27)

1. Tekiah – Shevarim – Teru’ah – Tekiah (4 shofar sounds)
2. Tekiah – Shevarim – Tekiah (3 shofar sounds)
3. Tekiah – Teru’ah – Tekiah (3 shofar sounds)

Then comes the one hundredth blast, the tekiah gedolah, a very long-sustained note—as long as the trumpeter had breath to hold it — and again, it is known as “the last trump.” (2)

Old Covenant Prophetic and Messianic Significance of the Feast of Trumpets

At that time a large trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 27:13 NET)

This passage speaks of the regathering of Israel. In relationship to the regathering of Israel, a great trumpet shall be blown. The Hebrew word used here is shofar, the same word used in the passages previously studied in conjunction with the Feast of Trumpets. This verse states that a great trumpet, the shofar or ram’s horn, shall be blown that will signal the final return of Israel for the purpose of worshipping God in the Kingdom. Insofar as Israel is concerned, the significance of Feast of Trumpets is the final return. It signals the final return to take place some time after the blowing of the trumpet. The regathering does not take place before the trumpet is blown nor does it take place during the blowing of the trumpet, it is only after it is blown. (2)

New Covenant Prophetic and Messianic Significance of the Feast of Trumpets

The prophetic and messianic significance of the Feast of Trumpets in the New Covenant has two purposes.

1. To Signal the Regathering

Just as in the Old Covenant, the Feast of Trumpets signals the regathering of Israel. Again, the Old Covenant verse:

At that time a large trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 27:13 NET)

The corresponding passage in the New Covenant is:

And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet [shofar] blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:31 NET)

This verse is very similar to Isaiah 27:13 and with four points:

• And He will send His angels… The means of the regathering is that God is going to use angels to bring the Jewish people back into the Promised Land.
• …with a loud trumpet blast,… Here, the similarity of the language with Isaiah 27:13 should not be missed. There is going to be a regathering after a great sound of a trumpet.
• …and they will gather His elect… Sometimes the word elect refers to all believers, but sometimes in any given context, it applies only to a specific group of believers. In the context of Matthew 24, especially verses 15–22, Yeshua (Jesus) was dealing specifically with the Jewish elect. So, they shall gather together his elect, meaning the Jewish elect. That is, it is the Jews that are going to be gathered from all parts of the world.
• …from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. It is going to be from all over, from the four winds. It will be a great worldwide regathering of the Jewish people in conjunction with the trumpet blowing. The actual regathering takes place after the blowing of the trumpet, but how long after? That is the right question!

2. To Announce the Coming Judgment

Just as in the Old Covenant, the prophets often used the blowing of the trumpets to announce a coming judgment; God is going to use trumpets again to announce judgments, especially the specific judgments of the Great Tribulation. God speaks of these specific trumpet judgments in the Book of Revelation 8 and Revelation 9. For example: (2)

Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. (Revelation 8:2 NET)

Now the seven angels holding the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. (Revelation 8:6 NET)

In the Book of Revelation, trumpets play a major role in conjunction with the Great Tribulation’s judgments, especially in announcing these particular trumpet judgments. In that sense, then, the blowing of trumpets, in particular, plays the same or a similar role that they played in the Old Covenant when it was often used as a warning of coming judgment. (2)

The Fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets

The first four festivals come close together within fifty days of each other: the Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Weeks. All four of these were fulfilled in the program of the First Coming of Jesus the Messiah. (2)

• The Feast of Passover (1) was fulfilled by the death of the Messiah.
• The Feast of Unleavened Bread (1) was fulfilled by the sinlessness of His body and blood-offering upon His death.
• The Feast of First Fruits (1) was fulfilled by the Resurrection of the Messiah.
• The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) (1) was fulfilled on the day of birth of the Church. (2)

Following the first cycle of feasts came a three-month interval separating the first cycle from the second cycle of feasts. (2) These were the long summer months of Tammuz, Ab, and Elul. (3)

Recall that the feasts were religious seasons (1) or holy convocations representing God’s dealings with the Jewish people as a nation. They symbolized major encounters between God and His covenant people. The long, hot summer months when there was no feast served as a prophetic picture to the Jewish people of a future time when God would not be dealing with them nationally. He would still be redeeming individual Jews, but His attention would be directed toward the Gentiles. (3)

God chose the Jews as the nation of people through whom He would work out certain of His divine plans and purposes. (3)

God would use them to:

• write down and preserve the Scriptures,
• bring Messiah into the world, and
• proclaim the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah to all nations [Gentiles].

The Jews fulfilled these first two callings but failed on the last because their leaders rejected Jesus as the Messiah. (3)

Jesus spoke of a physical kingdom as well as a spiritual kingdom. But the physical kingdom could only be established by accepting the spiritual kingdom. Although tens of thousands of Jews acknowledged Jesus as Messiah, the leadership in Jerusalem rejected Him. Jesus then offered the spiritual blessing of the Kingdom of God to Gentiles as well as believing Jews. While the physical kingdom will be realized at the coming of Messiah Jesus, believers presently live in the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of God. (3)

Again, when the Jews as a nation rejected Jesus, God directed His attention primarily toward the Gentiles. (3)

John said of Jesus,

He came to what was his own [Jews], but his own people did not receive him. But to all who have received him [Gentiles]—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children—children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband’s decision, but by God. (John 1:11-13 NET)

For approximately 2,000 years, God has blessed the Gentiles, not Israel. While God’s covenant with the Jewish people is unconditional and forever in time, the Gentiles have been the ones to spread the Gospel of Jesus to the world.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations [Gentiles], baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19–20 NET)

Therefore, the three long summer months where there is no feast corresponds to what is the “Times of the Gentiles” or is sometimes called “the Church age or period.” (3)

They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away as captives among all nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24 NET)(cf. 

For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25 NET)

When God completes His time of calling the Gentiles to Himself, He will once again turn His attention to the Jewish people on a national basis. The Jewish people as a nation will acknowledge Jesus as Messiah and King (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:25-26). Jesus will then return to earth to defeat the enemy nations seeking to destroy the Jews (Zechariah 14:1-9). At that time, God will rule as King over all the earth through Messiah Jesus. Both the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of David will be united in His rule (Isaiah 9:6-7). Now that we see Israel reborn as a nation, we know the coming of the Messiah is near. (3)

Now that Israel has been restored as a nation and the Jews once again control Jerusalem, we can be assured that God is even now dealing with the Jewish people as a nation to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah Jesus. This is what is happening in our world today. As we see Israel in the spotlight of world news, we know that the return of the Messiah Jesus is near, even if the nations force Israel to divide Jerusalem. (3)

So also you, when you see these things happening, know that he is near, right at the door. (Mark 13:29 NET)(cf. Matthew 24:33)

God amazingly revealed this was His plan by placing a comment about Gentiles in Leviticus 23. God put this comment right between the last verse of instruction on the Feast of Pentecost and the first verse of instruction on the Feast of Trumpets, which is part of the Feast of Tabernacles. Perhaps God did this as a sneak preview of what He had in mind. Here is the comment, (3)

When you gather in the harvest of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.’ ” (Leviticus 23:22 NET)

The keyword for this discussion is “foreigner,” which refers to Gentiles. The story of Ruth and Boaz was written in the Bible as an example of God’s instruction being obeyed. (3)

Boaz was a rich Jewish landowner. Ruth was a Gentile (Moabite) who gleaned in his fields. Ruth married Boaz and, as a result, became a partaker in the covenant promises God had made to Father Abraham (Genesis 17). Likewise, the Gentiles have become partakers in certain of the covenant promises to Abraham through their spiritual marriage to Jesus. (Boaz is a type or shadow of Jesus, our husband redeemer, while Ruth is a type of the Gentile Church.) (3)

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”) in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith. (Galatians 3:13–14 NET)

The Gentile Church period fills the great time gap between the two comings of Jesus. He came the first time as the Passover Lamb who died for our sins. Then He sent the Holy Spirit to initiate the age of the Gentile Church. When the Gentile Church age is over, He will come a second time as the Lion from the tribe of Judah to rule, not only as King of the Jews but also as King of kings and Lord of lords. (3)

Lastly, just as the first four festivals come close together, so do the last three—within two weeks of each other. The last three will be fulfilled by the program of the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah!

Then the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by the one who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, and the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, “There will be no more delay! But in the days when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, the mystery of God is completed, just as he has proclaimed to his servants the prophets.” (Revelation 10:5–7 NET)

The Feast of Trumpets is the first feast of the fall season or the latter rains. This festival was to be celebrated on the first day of the Jewish month of Tishri (Leviticus 23:23-25). The feast commemorates the future beginning of the Messianic kingdom and the disastrous fate of the unbelieving Gentile nations. From the beginning of Rosh Hashanah until the Day of Atonement are ten days. These ten days are known as “the days of awe,” according to Jewish tradition, they are the final period of time that the world and Israel have to repent before God’s final judgment is unleashed.” The Feast of Trumpets is also believed to be the birthday of the world, the beginning of the Messianic kingdom, and the day in which the Messiah will reveal Himself and re-gather Israel back to the land since the first day of Tishri was the day in which God created the earth, it seems very appropriate that Jesus, as the Angel of the Lord, stands upon the earth on this same day, reclaiming its possession for His kingdom. The events of this great feast are fulfilled in Revelation chapter 10. (26)

John sees that this angel sets his right foot on the sea and his left foot upon the land. This will be the first time Jesus returns physically to earth for the salvation of national Israel. John states that the angel cries out with a loud voice like a lion. The language of these verses parallels a similar set of verses in the book of Hosea, which also speak of the Messiah’s return for the salvation of Israel:

He will roar like a lion, and they will follow the Lord; when he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. They will return in fear and trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria, and I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord. (Hosea 11:10–11 NET)

Three times John mentions that the angel has one foot on the sea and the other on the land. The fact that this angel has one foot on the sea and another on the land is John’s way of saying that the angel has a message for the whole world. This description of how the angel is standing is a clear and powerful statement that: (21)

The Lord owns the earth and all it contains, the world and all who live in it. (Psalm 24:1 NET)

Another passage in Isaiah also closely parallels the beginning of Christ’s kingdom on the Feast of the Trumpets:

At that time the Lord will shake the tree, from the Euphrates River to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. At that time a large trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. (Isaiah 27:12–13 NET)

In this text is pictured the blowing of the Great Shofar, or ram’s horn, which occurs during the celebration of the Feast of Trumpets. Isaiah also states that those who have escaped to the wilderness will come back to worship the Lord at the Holy Mount in Jerusalem. This mountain is very likely Holy Mount Zion, where Jesus will later be seen standing.

As Jesus returns to the earth and roars to His people to return from the wilderness to Israel, it is stated that the seven thunders will sound (Revelation 10:3-4). What these thunders reveal is not described because John is asked not to record what he hears. They will probably make some sort of announcement to the world and Israel regarding what will occur as Jesus takes possession of His kingdom. Since the seven thunders’ message is not revealed, one can only speculate as to their importance. Jesus then swears before the Almighty Father that there will be no more delay for the establishment of His kingdom. John also states that in the days of the sounding of the seventh trumpet and final woe, the mystery of God will be completed, which was spoken of by His servants and prophets. This mystery is the completion of God’s redemption of national Israel and the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom as the days of the Seventieth Week come to a close. Israel had rejected her Messiah and refused to repent at His first advent. It will be during our Lord’s return that the nation of Israel will finally be redeemed, fulfilling all that was predicted by the prophets. In Romans, Paul speaks of this great mystery:

For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” (Romans 11:25–27 NET)

As the Lord returns physically to earth, He will cry out to those Jews who have not received the mark that they should repent. As stated in Hebrews, Jesus will come a second time not to put away sin but for the salvation of Israel.

And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment, so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation. (Hebrews 9:27–28 NET)

These compromising Jews will have the ten-day period to accept Christ’s offer before the Day of Atonement, which will end the Seventieth Week. Upon their repentance, Jesus went forth to rescue the 144,000 and the other Jews hiding in Assyria and Egypt. This great roar of the Messiah will signal the Jews should now return to the land of Israel. The prophet Zechariah tells us that there will be a great mourning in the land during this period of repentance: (26)

“I will pour out on the kingship of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn.On that day the lamentation in Jerusalem will be as great as the lamentation at Hadad-Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, clan by clan—the clan of the royal household of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the clan of the family of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; the clan of the descendants of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; and the clan of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves—all the clans that remain, each separately with their wives.” (Zechariah 12:10–14 NET)

This revealing of the Messiah, the calling of the assembly of Israel back to the land, and the beginning of the Messianic kingdom on the first day of the month Tishri is a perfect fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets. With its initiation, the ten days of repentance begin. Its culmination will be in fulfillment of the next feast on the Jewish calendar: the Day of Atonement. (26)

Feasts, Festivals, and Important Occasions of the Biblical Covenants Series:

• The Feasts of Israel – Introduction
• The Feasts of Israel – Hebrew Calendars, New Moon, Sabbath Year, and the Jubilee Year
• The Feasts of Israel – Sabbath

– The Spring Festivals:

• The Feasts of Israel – Passover
• The Feasts of Israel – Unleavened Bread
• The Feasts of Israel – Firstfruits
• The Feasts of Israel – Weeks (Pentecost)

– Seven Church Conditions during the Church Age:

• Prologue
• Jesus the Messiah!
• The Legalistic Congregation (Ephesus)
• The Persecuted and Faithful Congregation (Smyrna)
• The Persecuted and Compromised Congregation (Pergamos)
• The Licentious Congregation (Thyatira)
• The Dying Congregation (Sardis)
• The “Canceled” and Faithful Congregation (Philadelphia)
• The Dead Congregation (Laodicea)

– The Fall Festivals:

• The Feasts of Israel – Trumpets
• The Feasts of Israel – Day of Atonements
• The Feasts of Israel – Tabernacles
• The Feasts of Israel – Dedication (Hanukkah)

Biblical Typologies, Metaphors, & Similes Series:

• The Old Leaven of the Kingdom of Darkness
• The New Leaven of the Kingdom of Heaven
• Wine
• Finely Sifted (Wheat) Flour
• Frankincense
• Olive Oil
• Honey
• Salt
• Waving and Heaving
• Barley
• Gold
• Silver
• Bronze
• Stone
• Wood
• Linen
• Iron
• Shofar and Trumpet

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Shalom
(Security, Wholeness, Success)
Peace

Dear friend, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul. 
(3 John 1:2 NET)

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(1) Select the link to open another article in a new tab with additional information.

(2) Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, The Messianic Bible Study Collection, vol. 118 (Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 1983).

(3) Richard Booker, Celebrating Jesus in the Biblical Feasts Expanded Edition: Discovering Their Significance to You as a Christian (Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image, 2016).

(4) The “sons of God” in the OT is generally taken to refer to angels. They are not actually “sons” of Elohim; the idiom is a poetic way of describing their nature and relationship to God. The phrase indicates their supernatural nature, and their submission to God as the sovereign Lord. It may be classified as a genitive that expresses how individuals belong to a certain class or type, i.e., the supernatural (GKC 418 §128.v). In the pagan literature, especially of Ugarit, “the sons of God” refers to the lesser gods or deities of the pantheon. See H. W. Robinson, “The Council of Yahweh,” JTS 45 (1943): 151–57; G. Cooke, “The Sons of (the) God(s),” ZAW 76 (1964): 22–47; M. Tsevat, “God and the Gods in the Assembly,” HUCA 40–41 (1969/70): 123–37.

Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005).

(5) Mitch Glaser and Zhava Glaser, The Fall Feasts of Israel (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1987).

(6) Rusten, S. with E. Michael. (2005). The complete book of when & where in the Bible and throughout history (p. 47). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

(7) Schaff, P., ed. (1880). In A Dictionary of the Bible: Including Biography, Natural History, Geography, Topography, Archæology, and Literature (p. 882). Philadelphia; New York; Chicago: American Sunday-School Union.

(8) Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (1 Co 15:52). Biblical Studies Press.

(9) Edersheim, A. (1959). The Temple, its ministry and services as they were at the time of Jesus Christ. (p. 294). London: James Clarke & Co.

(10) Neusner, J. (1988). The Mishnah : A new translation (pp. 303–304). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

3:2 A All shofars are valid, except for that of a cow,

B because it is a horn.

C Said R. Yose, “But are not all shofars called horns,

D “since it is said, When they will make a long blast with the horn at the Jubilee [when you hear the sound of the shofar] (Josh. 6:5)?”

3:3 A The shofar for the New Year derives from an antelope.

B It is straight.

C Its mouth is overlaid with gold.

D And at the sides [of the one who blew the shofar] are two [who blow] trumpets.

E The shofar is sounded for a long note, and the trumpets are sounded for a short note [so the shofar is heard over the trumpet],

F for the religious duty of the day applies to the shofar.

3:4 A [Those used] on fast days are rams’ horns.

B They are curved.

C Their mouth is overlaid with silver.

D And in the middle [of those who blew the shofar] are two [who sound] the trumpets.

E The shofar is sounded for a short note, and the trumpets are sounded for a long note,

F for the religious duty of that day applies to the trumpets.

(11)  Neusner, J. (1988). The Mishnah : A new translation (pp. 304–305). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

3:8 A Now it happened that when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand fall, Amalek prevailed (Ex. 17:11).

B Now do Moses’s hands make war or stop it?

C But the purpose is to say this to you:

D So long as the Israelites would set their eyes upward and submit their hearts to their Father in heaven, they would grow stronger.  And if not, they fell.

E In like wise, you may say the following:

F Make yourself a fiery serpent and set it on a standard, and it shall come to pass that every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live (Num. 21:8).

G Now does that serpent [on the standard] kill or give life?  [Obviously not.]

H But: So long as the Israelites would set their eyes upward and submit to their Father in heaven, they would be healed. And if not, they would pine away.

I [The shofar blasts of] a deaf-mute, idiot, and minor do not fulfill the obligation of the community.

J This is the governing principle: Whoever is not obligated to carry out a particular deed cannot effect the obligation of the community either.

(12) Glaser, M., & Glaser, Z. (1987). The fall feasts of israel. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

(13) https://booksnthoughts.com/rosh-hashanah-is-not-a-biblical-holiday-5/

(14) https://www.ifcj.org/learn/jewish-holidays/what-is-rosh-hashanah

(15) Howard, K., & Rosenthal, M. (1997)The Feasts of the Lord. Thomas Nelson, Inc.

(21) Booker, R. (2013). the Victorious Kingdom. Destiny Image

(26) Salerno, Jr., Donald A., (2010). Revelation Unsealed. Virtualbookworm.com Publish-ing, Inc.

(27) https://theisraelbible.com/the-call-of-the-shofar-from-creation-to-redemption/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=The+Call+of+the+Shofar%3A+From+Creation+to+Redemption&utm_campaign=I365+-+Daily+-+September+17%2C+2023