God’s Appointed Pathway

God’s Appointed Pathway

The Seven Feasts of Israel
“The Feast of Trumpets”
Leviticus 23:1-2, 23-25

Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor

  This year, The Feast of Trumpets is from sunset, Sunday, September 25, to sunset. Tuesday, September 27, moving the Hebrew calendar to the year 5782.

• According to Strong’s Concordance, the corresponding word for 5782 is “UR,” which means to arise, arouse, awaken, to be exulted, to be excited, to be triumphant, to be lifted, to be raised, and roused.
• The word “UR” is found in Psalm 57:8, which says, “Awake my soul, awake! I will awaken the dawn,” and the central theme of Psalm 57 is our refuge in God.
• Whether we wake up on the morning of the Feast of Trumpets in the presence of the Lord, or we wake up with a fresh awareness of His presence within our lives, this is the purpose of the Feast of Trumpets.
• However, while it will be wonderful to meet the Lord in the air on that great resurrection morning, it will also be a shame to meet Him, not having finished the work He left us here to do.

    In Leviticus 23:1-2, God told Moses to tell the Israelites, “The feast of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.”

• Having redeemed His people from the Egyptians, God needed to instruct them on how to live as His people in the world.
• In Leviticus 19:2, God told them, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”
• The theme of the book of Leviticus is God’s sanctification, God’s method of purifying His people from their sins so they could worship Him and have fellowship with Him.
• In 1 Peter 1:15-16, the Apostle quoted Leviticus 19:2 when he told those first-century Christians, and now to all Christians, “As He who has called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, be holy, for I am holy.”
• God told the Israelites to set these seven dates aside on their calendar as holy unto Him and to use them to remind them of what He had done for them to redeem them and what they must do to continually renew their relationship with Him.

    But not only were these seven feasts for the sanctification of the Jews, God also established them as dress rehearsals for the seven most important events in the history of mankind, for they all pointed to the Person and work of Jesus Christ to redeem us from our sins.

• The Hebrew word “feast” is “Moed,” which means divine appointments.
• The Hebrew word “convocation” is “Miqra,” which means dress rehearsal.
• The four spring feasts rehearsed the Lord’s first coming.
  • Jesus was crucified on Passover.
  • Jesus was buried on the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
  • Jesus rose from the dead on the Feast of Firstfruits.
  • The Holy Spirit was poured out on those first believers on Pentecost, just as Jesus had promised.
• The three fall feasts rehearsed the Lord’s second coming:
  • The Feast of Trumpets points to the Lord’s coming for us.
  • The Day of Atonement points to the Lord coming with us.
  • The Feast of Tabernacles points to the Lord’s 1000-year reign upon this earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and in the new heaven and new earth, forever, world without end.

   The Feast of Trumpets was also called “Rosh HaShanah,” the “Head of the year.” “On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets.” Numbers 29:1

• Tishrei is the first month of the Jewish new year, and it starts with the blowing of the trumpets to call the people to repentance.
• The sound of the trumpets was heard each day for ten days, with the same series of short and longer blasts, until they reached the “Tekiah HaGadol,” the last trump, that lasted for 10 seconds.
• Tishrei 1 is the anniversary of God’s creation of Adam, as well as the day He began His judgment against man’s sin. Tishrei 1is the anniversary of the day Abraham offered Isaac on the altar and the day God renewed His covenant with His people during the days of Nehemiah. Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Hannah gave birth on this day. Samuel and Elisha were born on this day. Joseph was released from prison, and Solomon’s temple was dedicated on this day.
• There were at least ten other names for this day, each with its own meaning that can now be connected to the Rapture of the Church.
• The Feast of Trumpets is also known as “The Wedding of the Messiah,” the day when the Lord will come for His Bride. In1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, the Apostle Paul said:
  • Jesus will descend from heaven with a shout – Rev. 4:1
  • The shout will be repeated by an archangel.
  • The shofar will be blown again.
  • The bodies of those who died believing in Jesus from Pentecost forward will be resurrected. – 1 Cor. 15:52-53
  • Believers who are alive that day will be snatched up.
  • Believers will meet the Lord in the air.
  • Believers will assemble under the Chuppah to be united with Christ and to dwell with Him forever.
  • Skeptics scoff as to how we can be sure this will happen on Rosh Ha Shanna – the Feast of Trumpets.
  • Did not Paul say Jesus fulfilled the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread with His death and burial? 1 Cor. 5:7
  • Did not Paul say Jesus fulfilled the Feast of Firstfruits with His resurrection from the grave? 1 Cor. 15:20
  • Did not Paul connect the Feast of Pentecost with the birth of the Church? Acts 10:16

• Since these first four feasts were all fulfilled through the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord, can we not assume He will fulfill the final three with His return?
  • Will not the Atonement be fulfilled when Jesus appears to the final remnant of the Jews and they receive Him as the Messiah? Zechariah 12:10
  • Will not the Feast of Tabernacles be fulfilled when Jesus returns to establish His millennial kingdom? Zechariah 8, Ezekiel 37, Isaiah 24.
• On what basis do we deny He will fulfill the Feast of Trumpets when He calls for His Bride to “come forth?”
  • Did Jesus not warn the dead church at Sardis that unless they repented, He would come to them as a thief?
  • Did Jesus not assure the church at Philadelphia that He would keep them from the hour of trial which was to come upon the whole world?
  • Did the Apostle Paul not assure his readers that those who received Christ as their Savior and Lord were also delivered from God’s wrath?
  • Did Jesus not stand up when Stephen was being stoned to welcome him home, making him the first member of the Bride of Christ to enter into heaven?
• When God the Father gives God the Son the command, Jesus will again rise from His seat, descend from heaven with a shout, and gather the remaining members of His Bride.
• Therefore, we must live in continual repentance, constantly cleansing our hearts of all sin and daily resolving our conflicts with others, for that is the level of purity God requires of those with whom He has fellowship and of those who worship Him.
• In 2 Peter 3:8-9, the Apostle said, “The Lord is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
• The only way we could advance the date of the rapture, if that is even possible, is through our witness to those who have never heard the gospel, for the trumpet will not sound until all of the elect are saved.
• Until that day, we should live with our eyes focused upon Jesus, in the hope of His promise, prepared and longing for His return, and always dressed and ready to go when He calls us.
• The next event on God’s prophetic calendar is the Feast of Trumpets: The Rapture of the Church. Are you ready?

   After the Rapture of the Church, God will pour out His wrath upon the whole world. Those left behind will face 21 sets of judgment that will bring this age to a close and usher in the millennial kingdom. These judgments are outlined in Revelation 6-18, and it is important to note that the Church is never mentioned.

• Revelation 6:1-2. Christ opens the first of the seven-sealed scroll, and the rider on the white horse appears and offers the promise of peace if allowed to establish his government.
• Revelation 6:3-4. The second seal introduces a great world war.
• Revelation 6:5-6. The third seal begins the suffering of famine and inflation.
• Revelation 6:7-8. The fourth seal results in the death of one-fourth of the people and living creatures. Est. 1.5 billion people.
• Revelation 6:9-11. This introduces the martyrdom of those converted under the preaching of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses.
• Revelation 6:12-17. This sixth seal exhibits the wrath of God poured out in the form of a mighty earthquake.
• Revelation 8:1-6. The seventh seal introduces the Seven Trumpet Judgments, including the “day of His [God’s] wrath.”
• Revelation 8:7. The first trumpet judgment results in one-third of all trees and green grass being burned up by hail, fire, and blood.
• Revelation 8:8-9. The second trumpet sees a great mountain of sulfur falling into the sea and destroying one-third of the sea and all living creatures in it and a third of the shipping vessels.
• Revelation 8:10-11. The third trumpet causes a great star (meteor) to destroy the deep fountains of water, and a third of rivers to turn bitter.
• Revelation 8:12. The fourth trumpet results in one-third less sun, moonlight, and stars, extending the darkness of night.
• Revelation 8:13. A special angel flies around the earth, warning that worse judgments are to come.
• Revelation 9:1-12. The fifth trumpet introduces demon-like creatures such as scorpions and locusts out of the bottomless pit.
• Revelation 9:13. The sixth trumpet introduces two hundred million horsemen who will kill one-third of the people.
• Revelation 11:3-14. The Two Witnesses will prophesy for 1,260 days.
• Revelation 11:15. The seventh trumpet introduces the vile judgments described in chapters 12-18, the most severe set of judgments yet.
• Revelation 17:1-18. The false religious system that merged with the Antichrist will be destroyed.
• Revelation 13:1-3. The Antichrist receives “a deadly wound” that is healed as Satan enters the Antichrist’s body and gives him a more vicious life.
• Revelation 13:4-10. The Antichrist will force the people to worship him.
• Revelation 13:11-18. The False Prophet will force the people to receive and display a 666 mark to hold a job and “buy and sell.”
• Revelation 16:1-2. The first vial causes giant sores on those who accepted the mark of the Beast, signifying their worship of him.
• Revelation 16:3. The second vial turns the sea to blood as of a dead man, and every living creature in the sea dies.
• Revelation 16:4. The third vial turns the rivers and other sources of water to blood.
• Revelation 16:8-9. The fourth vial will intensify the sun’s heat until ungodly men blaspheme the name of God.
• Revelation 16:10-11. The fifth vial will cause darkness to cover the throne of Antichrist and his entire kingdom. The sores will continue to produce such agony that men will gnaw their tongues and blaspheme God rather than repent.
• Revelation 16:13-16. The sixth vial sends lying demon spirits out to the kings of the whole world to bring them down to “the battle of that great day of God Almighty,” more popularly known as the Battle of Armageddon.
• Revelation 16:17-21. The seventh vial results in a judgment of Almighty God that destroys the entire world system and judges all unsaved men severely. But even though enormous hailstones fall, the unregenerate still refuse to repent. This judgment is so devastating that it prepares the world for the coming of Christ to set up His earthly kingdom.
• Revelation 18:1-24. The destruction of Babylon—the New World Order will totally collapse and pave the way for the final event of the Great Tribulation.
• Revelation 19:11-21. Those left on the world after all of this will witness the Glorious Appearing of Christ in Power and Great Glory as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to set up His thousand-year reign on this earth.
  
  Knowing all of this, wouldn’t you rather be “snatched up” in the Rapture? Receive Jesus Christ as your Savior today, for you may meet Him face to face tomorrow.