YAHWEH, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, IS WITH US!

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins...”
( Isaiah 58: 1)

Feast of Trumpets

The Feast of Trumpets

Reading Numbers 10 & Jeremiah 4

1. Introduction

Every one is familiar with the musical instrument called the trumpet. Made of a variety of materials, ranging from animals horns, copper, brass, silver-plated brass, steel and even pure silver; the trumpet is used in virtually every country on earth. Because the trumpet is audible at great distances, it is used in war and worship, especially outdoor worship. Every army has its trumpeters or buglers to draw the attention of the troops, to sound the alarm, or to convey a general's commands to his army.

Why is it important to observe a Feast of Trumpets?

Why are we here today when the majority of mankind is busy going about its day-to-day business, oblivious of this sacred Sabbath? Today, this Day of Trumpets, we hope to answer these questions. Let us begin by reading a passage about two silver trumpets Yahweh commanded Moses to make.

Numbers 10: 1: And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2: Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
3: And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
4: And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.
5: When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.
6: When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys.
7: But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.
8: And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.
9: And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies.
10: Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God.

Notice the trumpet's use:

These are detailed instructions, which contain vital information, the significance, of which, we need to understand. What and why you may well ask, do we need to know? Are all these Old Testament details important to us in the 21st century?

2. The Heavenly Originals

The answer is, they are important, very important. We need to understand because every article, every instrument, every animal, every spiritual procedure used in the service, of the Almighty God of Abraham, was designed for a specific purpose. Moses received instructions from God in the mountain of Sinai. “Make everything,” God said to Moses:

Exodus 25: 9: According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

The writer of Hebrews refers to this command:

Hebrews 8: 5: See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Yahweh's ceremonial commands foretell specific acts in the Plan of Salvation; each put there to point out an eternal concept or moral principle, the Almighty wants to bring to man's attention. The silver trumpets mentioned in Numbers 10, are no exception. They both point to the heavenly originals, the Trumpets of the LORD, which are blown by the Almighty and His Son. We first see the use of heavenly trumpets in the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai.

Exodus 19: 16: And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
19: And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.

Sound, many of us know, can shatter glass, split rocks and cause buildings to explode into dust. In this instance, the whole mountain range of Sinai shook and the nation of Israel trembled. Later, we will consider those original heavenly trumpets and their use.

3. The Feast of Trumpets

Yahweh’s Feasts, as we have taught for many, many years, are shadows and memorials of His mightiest acts in the Program of Salvation. When they are celebrated before the event, they foreshadow things to come. When they are celebrated after the event, they are memorials and will continue to be memorials for all time!

The Feast of Trumpets, occurring as it does on the first day of the seventh month of Ethanim (Tishri), has still to be fulfilled. To our knowledge, nothing of great spiritual significance, which could be taken as a fulfillment of this Feast, has ever occurred on this day. It still awaits fulfillment! Bear in mind, all Yahweh's Feasts are shadows of things to come.

What is the event that is still to come? What is this feast a memorial of? We do not profess to know all the facts concerning this feast, any more than the disciples knew what was going to happen, on the day of Pentecost; but we are certain, the verses we have just read are directly linked with mighty events soon to occur. When they occur, heavenly trumpets - the originals - will herald them. We will hear the trumpets like air raid sirens sounding throughout the earth. We'll need to wait and see what will actually happen then. We are certain it will be marvelous.

4. Trumpet Shadows

The trumpet figured extensively in Israel's past. Trumpet-backed dramas are recorded in the Scriptures. Most are dramatized prophecies for our time. They were staged by the Eternal, to inform the entire universe of what He is planning to do in the last days of earth’s history. The Apostle Paul writes:

1 Corinthians 10: 11: Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Let us now look at some of those ‘prophetic dramas,’ those ‘shadows of coming events’ and see what we, in our current time, can learn from them.

Holy War:

Numbers 31: 6: And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.

The Fall of Jericho:

Joshua 6: 4: And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
5: And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
6: And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.
13: And seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams' horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men went before them; but the rereward came after the ark of the LORD, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
20: So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

A similar collapse of earth's cities is foretold in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 16: 15: Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16: And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17: And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
18: And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.
19: And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Gideon’s Victory:

Judges 7: 18: When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon.

The Ark of The Covenant:

2 Samuel 6: 15: So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
1 Chronicles 15: 28: Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet (yobel), and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with psalteries and harps.

Anointing The King:

1 Kings 1: 39: And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.

Revelation 11: 15: And the seventh angel sounded (his trumpet) and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Dedication of Solomon’s Temple:

2 Chronicles 5: 12: Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:

King Abijah’s Victory Over Jeroboam:

2 Chronicles 13: 1: Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah.
2: He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.
3: And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, being mighty men of valour.
4: And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel;
5: Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?
6: Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord.
7: And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.
8: And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.
9: Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.
10: But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business:
11: And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him.
12: And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.
13: But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them.
14: And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.
15: Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
16: And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand.
17: And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.
18: Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers.
19: And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel with the towns thereof, and Jeshnah with the towns thereof, and Ephrain with the towns thereof.
20: Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the LORD struck him, and he died.

Building The Second Temple:

Ezra 3: 10: And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.

Jubile Trumpet:
Hebrew Yobel = Jubile, a ram's horn (Shofar)

Leviticus 25: 9: Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.

5. Still Future

These laws and the experiences, bear in mind, are prophetic dramas, shadows, types, miniature examples of great universal realities due to occur in our day. This includes the sacred trumpets on high and the yobel (ram’s horn) trumpeters on earth.

Isaiah 18: 3: 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.
4: For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
Isaiah 27: 1: In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
2: In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.
3: I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.
4: Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.
5: Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.
12: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.
13: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the GREAT TRUMPET shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

6. The Resurrection

When the Trumpet of the Lord sounds, even the dead will hear it. It will trigger the resurrection. Millions of believers, from ages past, will rise out of their graves, to greet the coming king. There will be a shout of delight so loud, the earth will shake. It will be the greatest day, this old universe has ever witnessed; a day of freedom, a day of victory over death, pain, sickness, sorrow and separation. This is the reason, why we suspect the Savior may return on a Feast of Trumpets in some future year.

1 Thessalonians 4: 16: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1 Corinthians 15: 52: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

7. We Preachers Are Trumpets

But, what about the ram's horn trumpet itself - the shofar? The shofar is a symbol of Yahweh's mouthpiece; His prophets, priests and preachers. It is through such human agents, His Holy Spirit blows. Our task as the Almighty's spokesmen is as follows:

To Identify Sin - Loud and Clear!

Isaiah 58: 1: Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.
1 Corinthians 14: 8: For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
Jeremiah 4: 19: My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

To Warn The Church:

Joel 2: 1: Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

Christian Apathy:

Jeremiah 6: 17: Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
Ezekiel 7: 14: They have blown the trumpet, even to make all ready; but none goeth to the battle: for my wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

The Watchman’s Responsibilities:

Ezekiel 33: 3: If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
4: Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
5: He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
6: But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.

8. The Day of The LORD

Joel 2: 15: Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
Zephaniah 1: 15: That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16: A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
17: And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
18: Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
Zechariah. 9: 14: And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the LORD GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.

Jeremiah Chapter 4; Read this chapter through. Pause and concentrate on verse 13.

Jeremiah 4: 1: If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
2: And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
3: For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
4: Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
5: Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.
6: Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
7: The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.
8: For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.
9: And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
10: Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.
11: At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
12: Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
13: Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.
14: O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
15: For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.
16: Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.
17: As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.
18: Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
19: My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
20: Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
21: How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22: For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
23: I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
24: I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
25: I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
26: I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.
27: For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
28: For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
29: The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
30: And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
31: For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
Isaiah 27: 13: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

In View of These Facts:

Isaiah 18: 3: 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.

In other words, let all on earth; let all the men in the world watch when the signal is raised (a visible alarm), and take heed when the trumpet is blown (an audible alarm)!

9. What Does This Mean For All of Us?

We are the Almighty’s trumpets, cornets, spiritual instruments Yahweh uses to warn others.

The Trumpet Message:

Isaiah 58: 1: Lift up your voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgressions.

Where To Blow:

Jeremiah 51: 27: Set up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations.

The Seven Trumpets of Revelation:

Fifth Trumpet: 1st Woe (Revelation 9: 1-12):

Abaddon is released from the bottomless pit. His five-month campaign of terror occurs. He has not been give power from the dragon to reign ("continue 40 and two months") yet as specified in Revelation 13:5.

Sixth Trumpet: 2nd Woe (Revelation 9: 13 to Revelation 11: 14):

Seventh Trumpet: 3rd Woe (Revelation 11: 15 - on to chapter 19) & Messiahs return:

10. Conclusions

All these important events will be heralded by the sounding of Yahweh's heavenly trumpets. We should not only be aware these events will happen, but mentally and spiritually prepare before they do happen. That means now! The questions we should be asking are:

The Shofar Is Sounding! Heed Its Message!

AMEN

In The Son's Name, For The Father's Glory

A Voice In The Wilderness - USA
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