THE SOUND OF TRUMPETS

 

Numbers 10:1-10

 

Prayer

 

“The LORD spake unto Moses, saying, make thee two trumpets of silver”    

(Num. 10:1-2).

“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” (Verse 10).

There were other reasons for blowing the trumpets.

 

 

But today, I want to notice that God told the Jews to blow the trumpets on   

their feast days.

He even told them what feast days to observe,

 

 

And when to observe them.

Seven are listed in the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus:

 

          The Feast of Passover

          The Feast of Unleavened Bread

          The Feast of First Fruits

          The Feast of Weeks or Pentecost

          The Feast of Trumpets

          The Feast of Atonement and

          The Feast of Tabernacles

 

 

The 1st feast is the Feast of Passover.

Passover goes back to the time the Jews were slaves in Egypt.

 

 

 

Moses told Pharaoh God said, “let my people go.”

Pharaoh refused.

 

 

So God sent ten plagues on Egypt.

The tenth plague was the death angel.

 

 

God said the death angel will slay the firstborn children and animals in Egypt.

But he won’t slay the Jews, if they will sacrifice a lamb without blemish and  

without spot (Ex 12:21);

 

 

Catch the blood;

And sprinkle the blood on the lintel and door posts of their house.

 

 

He said, the death angel will see the blood;

And pass over their house (Ex. 12:1-14; 43-48).

 

 

“And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the first-born of     

 Pharaoh who sat on his throne unto the first-born of the captive who     

 was in the dungeon;”

“And all the first-born of cattle.”

 

 

“And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians,

and there was a great cry in Egypt;”

“For there was not a house where there was not one dead.”

 

 

“And he [Pharaoh] called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up,  

and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel;”

“And go, serve the Lord, as ye have said” (Exodus 12:29-31).

 

 

 

So Passover began when the death angel passed over Egypt.

And the first born Jews were saved by the blood of the lamb.

 

 

Later, God told the Jews to remember this with a feast on the 14th day of the          

first month (Lev. 23:4-5).

He said blow the trumpets;

 

 

Sacrifice a lamb;

And remember the event.

 

 

They did.

But now we know that this also pointed forward to Jesus.

 

 

He was God’s Lamb without blemish and without spot.

Peter said, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with    

corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation         

received by tradition from your fathers;”

 

 

“But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and  

without spot” (I Peter 1:18-19).

Paul called Him “our Passover.”

 

 

He said, “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (I Cor. 5:7).

But the point that I want you to remember is that Jesus was crucified on        

Passover.

 

 

Two days before Passover, He told His disciples, “Ye know that after two    

days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be    

crucified” (Matt. 26:2).

The 2nd feast is the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

 

 

On the day after the death angel passed over Egypt, the Jews left that country.

They left in a hurry;

 

 

Afraid that Pharaoh would change his mind;

Chase them;

 

 

And bring them back.

They got hungry.

 

 

They wanted to stop and bake bread.

But they didn’t have time.

 

 

They wanted to mix leaven or yeast in their dough.

And let it rise.

 

 

But they were afraid to take the time.

So they ate unleavened bread on the run.

 

 

It was flat;

Not risen.

 

 

They called that unleavened bread the bread of affliction (Deut. 16:3).

Later, God told them to remember this with a feast on the day after Passover

(Lev. 23:6-8).

 

 

He said blow the trumpets;       

Offer sacrifices;

 

 

And eat unleavened bread.

They did.

But Jesus revealed that this pointed to Him.

He’s the Bread of Life (Jn. 6:32-35; 47-51; 53-58).

 

 

And since leaven is associated with sin in the Bible, Jesus was the Unleavened or

sinless Bread of life (Mark 8:15; II Cor. 5:21; I Jn. 3:5).

On the day after Passover, the Jews ate the bread of affliction.

 

 

They ate unleavened or unrisen bread.

And on the day after Passover, the afflicted, nail-scarred body of Jesus was in        

the grave.

 

 

He was the unleavened or unrisen Bread of Life.

Are you beginning to get the picture?

 

 

The first feast day is Passover.

Jesus, our Passover, was crucified on Passover.

 

 

The second feast day is Unleavened Bread.

Jesus, our Bread of Life, was in the grave on Unleavened Bread.

 

 

The 3rd feast is the Feast of First Fruits.

Moses led the Jews out of Egypt.

 

 

They complained about being hungry.

God gave them manna from heaven.

 

 

How long did He give them manna from heaven?

Every day, six days a week;

 

 

 

Until two days after they entered the Promised Land (Joshua 5:10).

Now pay attention.

 

 

Pharaoh released the Jews on Passover Day.

They left Egypt.

 

 

They entered the Promised Land forty years later.

When did they enter the Promised Land?

 

 

They entered on Passover Day exactly forty years after they left Egypt on     

Passover Day (Joshua 5:10-11).

And two days after Passover Day, God stopped giving them manna from     

heaven (Joshua 5:12).

 

 

On the third day, they gathered food in the Promised Land.

This was the first time they ate the fruit of the land.

 

 

God told them to remember this with a feast on the first day after the         

Sabbath following Passover (Lev. 23:9-14).

Saturday is the Sabbath.

 

 

And the first day after the Sabbath is Sunday.

So God told the Jews to celebrate a feast called the Feast of Firstfruits on the         

first Sunday after Passover.

 

 

He said blow the trumpets;

Offer the first fruits of your harvest as a sacrifice (Lev. 23:9-10);

 

 

They did.

But now we know that this also pointed forward to Jesus.

 

Paul said, “Now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of  

them that slept” (I Cor. 15:20).

“Every man in his own order.”

 

 

“Christ the firstfruits afterwards they that are Christ’s at His coming”

(I Cor. 15:23).

Have you got the picture?

 

 

Jesus, our Passover, was crucified on the Feast of Passover;

Jesus, our Bread of Life, was in the grave on the Feast of Unleavened Bread;

 

 

Jesus, the firstfruits of those raised from the dead was raised on the Feast of

Firstfruits.

The 4th feast is the Feast of Weeks.

 

 

It’s also called the Feast of Pentecost.

I need to explain something here.

 

 

The Jews celebrate two harvests:

One in the spring;

 

 

And one in the fall.

They celebrate a spring harvest when they gather the barley and wheat.

 

 

And they celebrate a fall harvest when they gather the cotton and other crops.

We have a spring harvest.

 

 

And a fall harvest.

We just don’t celebrate them.

 

 

But the Jews do.

God told the Jews to celebrate the spring harvest fifty days after the Feast of

Firstfruits (Lev. 23:15-21).

 

 

The word “Pentecost” means fifty.

So this feast is called the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Pentecost.

 

 

God said blow the trumpets;

Offer part of your crop;

 

 

And remember that I’m the One who gives the harvest.

Later, the Jews expanded the celebration.

 

 

By studying the Scriptures, they figured out that God gave the Ten Commandments

to Moses at Mt. Sinai on this day.

So in addition to celebrating the spring harvest, they also started celebrating  

the giving of the Ten Commandments.

 

 

Do you remember what happened on the first Pentecost following the resurrection

of Jesus?

That was the beginning of the Church.

 

 

The trumpets sounded.

The Jews were celebrating the spring harvest;

 

 

Celebrating the giving of the Ten Commandments.

And the Holy Spirit was poured out on the believers who were gathered in the        

upper room.

 

 

 

 

On a day when the trumpets sounded to celebrate the harvest, three thousand         

souls were harvested for Jesus.

On a day when the trumpets sounded to celebrate the giving of the Law, the  

age of grace began.

 

 

Jesus, our Passover, was crucified on the Feast of Passover;

Jesus, our Bread of Life, was in the grave on the Feast of Unleavened Bread;

 

 

Jesus, the firstfruits of those raised from the dead, was raised on the Feast of         

First Fruits.

And Jesus began His Church on the Feast of Pentecost.

 

 

The 5th feast is the Feast of Trumpets.

God told them to celebrate the fall harvest on the first day of the seventh       

month on their religious calendar (Lev. 23:23-25).

 

 

This was New Year’s Day on their civil calendar.

And the Jews believe this was the first day of Creation;

 

 

The day when the earth was without form, and void;

And darkness was upon the face of the deep;

 

 

And God said Let there be light;

And there was light (Gen. 1:2-3).

 

 

So God said blow the trumpets;

Make a burnt offering;

 

 

And remember the event.

They did.

 

And the highlight of the day was a festival called “the blowing of the   

trumpets.”

The trumpets were blown all over the land.

 

 

They were blown extra long and extra loud.

And, at the Temple, they were blown one hundred times.

 

 

No one knows when the Rapture will occur.

But some believe it will occur on the Feast of Trumpets.

 

 

Concerning the Rapture, Paul said, “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” (I Thess. 4:13-18).

 

 

Paul also said, “Behold I show 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” I Cor. 15:51, 52).

In addition to blowing the trumpets on the feast days, God told Moses to     

blow the trumpets to assemble the people.

 

 

Here, we learn that the Church will be assembled for the Rapture at the sound         

of a trumpet.

This will be the fall or latter harvest.

 

 

Jesus, our Passover, was crucified on the Feast of Passover;

Jesus, our Bread of Life, was in the grave on the Feast of Unleavened Bread;

 

 

 

Jesus, the first fruits of those raised from the dead, was raised on the Feast of        

Firstfruits;

Jesus began His Church on the Feast of Pentecost;

 

 

And many believe He will Rapture His Church on the Feast of Trumpets.

The 6th feast is the Feast of Atonement.

 

 

God told the Jews to celebrate the Feast of Atonement ten days after the       

Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23:26-32).

That was the day the Jewish High Priest went into the Holy of Holies in the   

Temple.

 

 

He sprinkled the blood of a goat without spot or blemish on the Mercy Seat

that covered the Ark of the Covenant.

This was a day of affliction;

 

 

A day of godly grief;

And repentance.

 

 

This offering was for the sins of the nation.

The blood was offered as an atonement for the people.

 

 

Later, the Jews added a second reason to celebrate.

They knew from the Scriptures that Moses went up on Mt. Sinai to receive  

 the Ten Commandments a second time.

 

 

When he came down the first time, the people were worshipping a golden     

calf.

Moses got angry

 

 

 

He cast down the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments.

They broke into pieces.

 

 

So Moses went back up on Mt. Sinai a second time.

He received a second set.

 

 

And the Day of Atonement falls on the day Moses came down with the         

second set.

It was the second time God gave the Law or the Ten Commandments to       

Israel.

 

 

So God said blow the trumpets;

Offer a sacrifice;

 

 

And remember the event;

Concerning Jesus, Paul said Jesus is our atonement.

 

 

He said, we “joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have   

now received the atonement” (Rom. 5:11).

But the Jews haven’t accepted Jesus.

 

 

So He’s not their atonement.

They expect a future Day of Atonement;

 

 

A day of judgment;

A day for the accounting of the soul.

 

 

Just as Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments a     

second time,

Modern Jews expect to go back under the Law.

 

Just as the Old Testament nation had a day of affliction and mourning,

Modern Jews expect another day of affliction and mourning.

 

 

We call that day the Tribulation Period.

It’s “to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make     

reconciliation [Atonement] for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting        

righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the         

most Holy” (Dan. 9:24).

 

 

In the near future, the trumpets will sound to celebrate the Feast of      

Atonement.

But I believe they will actually signal the end of the Tribulation Period;

 

 

And the Second Coming of Jesus.

That’s when the Jews will accept Jesus (Zech. 3:9; 13:1-2, 8-9).

 

 

The 7th feast is the Feast of Tabernacles.

God told the Jews to celebrate it on the fifteenth day of the seventh month    

(Lev. 23:33-36; 39-43).

 

 

The Jews built small tabernacles or booths to live in during the feast.

          (1) They had to be loosely constructed, and

          (2) They had to have cracks in the roof.

 

 

The loose construction reminded the Jews that their ancestors used temporary        

housing in the wilderness.

They were just passing through.

 

 

The cracks in the roof allowed them to see the sky.

It reminded them to keep their eyes on heaven.

 

 

The Feast of Tabernacles was a week long celebration;

A week of rest;

 

 

A week when the Jews were forbidden to bear a burden;

A week when they forgot their troubles;

 

 

A week of remembrance and rejoicing.

So God said blow the trumpets;

 

 

Dwell in temporary tabernacles;

Offer sacrifices;

 

 

And remember the event.

Concerning Jesus, Amos said the Tabernacle of David will be restored in the

last days (Amos 9:11)

 

 

James said Jesus will call out His Church;

Return and rebuild the Tabernacle of David (Acts 15:16).

 

 

John said, the Tabernacle of God will be with men (Rev. 21:3).

This will take place during the Millennium.

 

 

The time will come when the trumpet will sound to celebrate the Feast of      

Tabernacles;

The Millennium will begin;

 

 

The curse of sin will be removed;

Satan will be bound and chained;

  

Those on earth will be at rest with Christ;

We will be free of our burdens and troubles.

 

 

And there will be a thousand years of remembrance and rejoicing.

In closing, no one knows the day or the hour when Jesus will come back.

 

 

But we need to be aware of some things.

One---The nation of Israel is back in existence.

 

 

Two---The city of Jerusalem is back in existence.

Three---The trumpets are back in existence.

 

 

Four----The Feast Days are being celebrated again.

And all the signs indicate that the end of the age is drawing near;

 

 

Paul said, “In the last days perilous times shall come” (II Tim. 3:1).

It seems to me that perilous times have arrived.

 

 

The problems of the Middle East are engulfing the whole world.

They will get worse before they get better.

 

 

There’s a great need for everyone to be ready to go on a moments notice.

Are you ready?