Yom Teruah - The Feast of Trumpets*
The Feast of Trumpets is described in Leviticus 23:23-25: "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak to 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, a holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD." The offerings of the Feast, including seven lambs without blemish "to make an atonement for you," are described in Numbers 29:1-6.
As Jesus told His disciples the signs to expect before His return including wars, deception, earthquakes, severe storms and great tribulation, He added: "And he (the Son of man) 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...Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled...But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only...Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." (Mt. 24:31-39, excerpt, see also Mt. 25:13). The trumpets sound to gather the elect of the generation that has seen these things. We are to watch for it as Jesus said.
Jesus also warned, like a warning trumpet, that in the midst of the appearing signs: "...take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." (Lk. 21:34-36). There is a snare that will try to keep our eyes from watching. It is a snare that includes being overcome by the cares of this life.
Paul also wrote of the role of the sound of the trumpet of God in the gathering of the elect, as they are changed from the corruptible flesh into the incorruptible: "...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...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." (1 Cor. 15:51-57). In another place, Paul wrote again: "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...But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you....the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night...But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief...Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." (1 Thess. 4:13-18, 5:1-11, excerpt).
Isaiah also wrote of the day of resurrection and the separation of the elect from the earth: "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust...and the earth shall cast out the dead.. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." (Isa. 26:1-21, excerpt). The promise of salvation is given. The call goes out to come into the chamber, or tabernacle, to escape the wrath of God coming upon the earth. We are not meant for the wrath of God, but for His salvation in Jesus Christ.
The shofar trumpet is blown in memorial, but the original trumpet sound is of God, as we read on the occasion when He appeared to the Israelites from the mountain top: "And it came to pass on the third morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceedingly loud; so that all the people that (were) in the camp trembled...And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire...the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice." (Ex. 19:16-19, excerpt). This was not the trump of man but of God.
The trumpet also issues a warning, even of the coming of the day of the LORD: "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 thick darkness...". (Joel 2:1-2). The judgment fire of the LORD had spread across the land as this trumpet was sounded.
However, the LORD is ready to relent from His anger, and instead pouring out His mercy. He promises to "...cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:18-19).
The prophet Zechariah wrote of the trumpet of the LORD sounding His defense of His people: "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 forth with the whirlwinds of the south. The LORD of hosts shall defend them...And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty!....". (Zech. 9:9-17, excerpt). The fall feasts have not yet been fulfilled, but they will be fulfilled by Jesus Christ, as the spring feasts were.
This time before the fall feasts begin is the time to return to the LORD. The prophet Hosea wrote: "Come and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then we shall know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and the former rain unto the earth...". (Hosea 6:1-11, excerpt).
The shofar trumpet is being blown daily during this season before the feasts begin. The people of God should hear the trumpets and prepare for Christ's return. The trumpets also declare the crowning of the King of the universe.
*Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson, Jr.'s 8/30/26 message to the church. If you would like to hear the complete message, you can find it on the Facebook page of Kenneth E. Stevenson Jr. Dr. Stevenson's video messages are also found on You Tube at the Kenneth Stevenson channel. To contact or support this ministry, or to request prayer, you can write to PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705. To find out more about the Shroud of Turin, which is evidence of Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection, and to receive a free e-book now available in several languages, go to http://www.theshroudofturin.org/freebook. Also the book NAZAH: White Linen and the Blood of Sprinkling, written by Dr. Stevenson, is available on Amazon.
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