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Feast of Trumpets
September 26, 2022
Today is the Feast of Trumpets, and we will look at the trumpets from Revelation developing an understanding of what we need to be doing now. The trumpets of Revelation are linked through the pages of the Bible to a feast, to be held on this day on God’s calendar, as a memorial for the blowing of the trumpets. As we look forward in history through prophecy, we will develop a better understanding of what is being memorialized through the trumpets. For now, let’s review the words given by God to Moses when the children of Israel were first taught about the Feast of Trumpets.
Leviticus 23:23-25
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Trumpets were used to sound an alarm. Today an alarm signal is used. If you use a smart phone’s alarm feature to help you wake up, you can have just about any type of alarm tone set, and for the caller function, you can specify different sounds when being called by different callers. In ancient Israel, the trumpet was used. One sound was used as an alarm, the trumpet. When that sound was heard, the people knew something ominous was happening. We can read of the imagery of the trumpet in Joel.
Joel 2:1-2
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;
A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
The trumpets of the Feast of Trumpets are so significant that in heaven, before the first trumpet sounded, there was not just a moment of silence, there was a half-hour of silence. A half-hour can go by pretty quickly, but when all that happens is total silence, a half-hour can seem like an eternity. Each of the seven angels standing before God were given a trumpet and among them was an eighth angel having a golden censer filled with incense, representing the prayers of the saints, and the smoke of the incense filled with the prayers of the saints went up towards God. This eighth angel took the golden censer and threw it down to the earth, and as this happened voices, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake were observed, and this signaled the seven angels who each have a trumpet, that it would soon be time for them to sound their trumpet. The first angel sounded the trumpet and fire mingled with blood were cast upon the earth causing widespread devastation of trees and grasses on land. The second angel sounded the trumpet and it was as if a great burning mountain was cast into the ocean causing a great part of sea life and ships to be devastated. The third angel sounded the third trumpet and a star named Wormwood fell from heaven causing a third of drinkable water to become poisoned. When the fourth angel sounded with the fourth trumpet, it caused atmospheric problems on earth that blocked the light from the sun, moon, and stars. With all of this devastation, the worst is yet to come.
Revelation 8:1-13
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.
And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
When the fifth trumpet sounds, it signals a time of distress on earth with a star falling from heaven, Satan, who falls to earth with the key of the bottomless pit who then unlocks the bottomless pit. When this happens, mankind will have an answer to the rhetorical question of how bad can it get? When the bottomless pit is unlocked, smoke billows out of the bottomless pit, almost like the gases and smoke are turned on in a volcano, and this smoke causes the sun and air to be darkened.
When this pit is unlocked a swarm of what is described as locusts will be let loose on earth. John who had this image of the end time was describing the end time using imagery that could only be understood during the end time. John likely had no contemporary reference to what he saw except for a locust, a smaller flying insect. Until we speak with John and understand exactly what he saw, we won’t know exactly what he saw. Maybe he saw actual insects or something like a small drone, perhaps even an attack helicopter. These locusts, whatever they are, have stinging power and become focused on those who are not sealed by God. Described as having something like a crown of gold, perhaps the rotor blade outline of a drone or helicopter, they also have something like the face of men. These are also described as having the hair of women. Today jets leave contrails, but maybe with these the hair is the stinger element, sort of like a taser. What these locusts do is so highly irritating and painful that people will wish they would die, even though the attack itself will not cause death. The attack of these locusts will go on for five months.
Revelation 9:1-12
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
When the sixth trumpet sounds, four angels will be let loose in the Euphrates river. These four angels have been tied up awaiting the opportunity to fulfill this mission. Imagine what it would be like to not to be able to do the one thing you have been prepared to do, and suddenly, you are free to do that one thing. You would probably do that one thing well, and the job of these four angels was to kill one-third of mankind. Recently, we have had the COVID pandemic which locked virtually all of down for more than a year, and even COVID didn’t cause this many deaths. And why were these angels released-to give pause for mankind to consider repentance, which mankind does not do. People continue to worship what is evil as good and gods made after images and likenesses of man’s thinking. They also will continue with other sins.
Revelation 9:13-21
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
After this, John saw a powerful angel come down from heaven holding a little book in his hand, and the voice of this angel was overpowering, sounding like a lion roaring, and when he cried the voices of the seven thunders were heard. John was not allowed to write down what he heard the seven thunders say, so whatever they said would have given more information than God would have wanted to provide in prophecy. John does tell us when the seventh trumpet sounds, God’s plan for people on earth begins to wrap up quickly.
Revelation 10:1-11
And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.
And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
In John’s accounting of his vision, we are in a planned pause on the countdown to the seventh trumpet. The sixth trumpet has sounded, but the seventh trumpet has not yet sounded. We see the work of the two witnesses who prophesy for the one thousand two hundred and threescore days. These two have the power to control weather during this time so that it does not rain when they prophesy. These two can also bring any disease upon the earth as they see fit.
When the two witnesses are finished with their work, the beast will be given power to kill them when they are in Jerusalem. Their bodies will lay in the streets for three and one-half days, symbolic of their three and one-half years of prophecy. When these two die, people will celebrate their death like Christmas, giving gifts to each other.
After three and a half days, the two witnesses will be resurrected and naturally those who see this will have great fear because they were probably told that this would happen by the two witnesses, and they will hear a voice coming from heaven telling the two witnesses to ascend in a cloud. That same hour an earthquake rocks Jerusalem causing a tenth of the buildings to collapse, meaning it is a very intense earthquake that also kills seven thousand people. Everybody who remains decides to give glory to God. Imagine that.
The second woe, the sixth trumpet is past, and the seventh trumpet sounds. When this happens, great voices will be heard in heaven proclaiming the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever. The twenty-four elders of heaven also praise and thank God as the temple of God is opened in heaven revealing the ark of his testament. Lightnings, voices, thunderings, an earthquake and lots of hail give the start of the Kingdom of God the look and feel of the start of a rock concert. Anyone who sees this knows something really impressive is about to happen.
Revelation 11:1-19
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
And the seventh angel sounded; 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.
And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
It is at this last trumpet that Paul writes to the Corinthians that the dead will be raised incorruptible. While we memorialize these events on this date, we don’t know for sure that the last trumpet will actually occur on the Feast of Trumpets, because we have already learned the trumpets of Revelation will span a long period of time, much longer than a single day.
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
In his letter to the Thessalonians, we know with the last trumpet, that Jesus will descend from heaven and the dead in Christ will be resurrected first. Those who are faithful and alive on earth will then ascend to meet Jesus in the sky. Again, this happens during the seventh trumpet of Revelation, as memorialized by the Feast of Trumpets, but not necessarily during the Feast of Trumpets. Being told by the Bible to avoid disputes over doubtful matters, I will leave my discussion at that.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
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:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
We know from Matthew, that the seventh trumpet comes after the tribulation when the world is sad because they see the return of Jesus Christ as Jesus returns to gather his elect from around the world. Between the end of the tribulation and return of Jesus Christ will be a solar and lunar eclipse along with a bunch of shooting stars.
Matthew 24:29-31
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
When exactly Jesus returns we do not know. Only God the Father knows when that seventh trumpet will sound signaling the return of Jesus Christ.
Mark 13:32-37
But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
Being told by Jesus to be ready for his return, Jesus further reminded the disciples to be prepared for his return through the parable of the ten virgins, where five were wise, and five were foolish.
Matthew 25:1-13
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Jesus then told the disciples of the need to grow spiritually during our time on earth, by giving the parable of the talents. Those who fail to grow spiritually will not be in the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 25:14-30
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Finally, Jesus reminded His disciples of the need to be compassionate to those in need. Those who seek only to save themselves will likely ignore the needs of other people, and these people will not be part of the Kingdom of God. To be part of the Kingdom of God we must be doing more than just trying to save ourselves. We might be working out our own salvation with fear and trembling by not judging others, and we will find ways to helps others in need.
Matthew 25:31-46
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
The Feast of Trumpets is the start of the fall Holy Day season, the time of year when we especially focus attention on the Kingdom of God. The original purpose of this feast was to establish a memorial of the blowing of the trumpets. We memorialize loss and tragedy and celebrate triumph. By reading the Book of Revelation we see that how through loss and tragedy God brings triumph to His people.
With every hardship faced by the church and the children of Israel through the millennia, God uses the Feast of Trumpets to not only help us reflect on the loss and tragedy in our lives and collective experience of the church, the Feast of Trumpets also serves as a celebration for us reminding us that one day, yet only known to God the Father, the Kingdom of God will be proclaimed on earth as the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.
All verses are from the King James Version.
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