In Leviticus 23 the Lord commands His people, Israel, to keep His holy days: the Sabbath (Shabbat, v. 3), Passover (v. 5), the Feast of Unleavened Bread (v. 6), the Feast of Firstfruits (vv. 10–11), Pentecost (Shavuot, vv. 15–16), the Feast of Trumpets (v. 24), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur, v. 27), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot, vv. 34–42). Historically, these holy, or appointed, days commemorated significant events in Israel’s history and served as a time to gather and remember God’s deliverance and blessings. Yet each of these holy days finds its ultimate fulfillment in Yeshua.
The Feast of Trumpets, the first of the three fall festivals, was marked in ancient Israel by the blowing of the trumpets, or the shofar. In the Torah the blowing of the trumpets often preceded times when God revealed Himself or was about to break in on behalf of His people. In Exodus 19, the first time the Israelites as a nation encountered Yahweh, the Lord announced Himself with the blowing of a trumpet that proceeded out of heaven (vv. 10–20).
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For believers in Messiah this feast is a picture of the rapture. When Jesus returns with the blowing of a trumpet from heaven, those who are not prepared to meet Him will tremble in unspeakable fear. But those of us who are ready to see our God will ascend and meet Messiah in the air, just as Moses did when he went up the mountain to meet God after he heard the heavenly shofar blow.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 Paul writes: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” And Paul says elsewhere, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Cor. 15:52).
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In both the past and future, the blowing of the shofar announces God’s manifest presence. Thus, the Feast of Trumpets calls believers to be alert and ready. The next time God sounds His trumpet from heaven, it will signal Messiah’s return. At this time, His glory will be fully manifested to the entire world.
Rabbi Schneider hosts the impactful television program, Discovering the Jewish Jesus, which is available in more than 100 million homes in the United States and nearly 200 nations worldwide. In 2021 he began broadcasting on radio and now airs across America. Rabbi Schneider imparts revelation of Jesus’ Jewish heritage and His fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Questions of how the Old and New Testaments tie together, and how Yeshua completes the unfolding plan of The Almighty Yahweh, are answered with exceptional clarity. Learn more at www.discoveringthejewishjesus.com/about-2/rabbi-schneider/.
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