Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 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.
When Will the Last Trumpet Sound?
The Hebrew term Rosh HaShanah means “the head of the year,” and Jewish tradition teaches that God created the heavens and the earth on this day. In Judaism there are two calendars that the Jewish people recognize: the religious new year that occurs in the spring in the month of Nisan, and a civil new year that begins in the fall in the month of Tishrei. Rosh Hashanah begins the civil new year in Israel.
God instituted seven feasts for Israel in the Old Testament that have their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. These are the spring feasts:
Passover (Pesach) -God instituted the shedding of the blood of the lamb which kept the angel of death from their homes. This feast found its ultimate fulfillment in the Lamb that was slain that those who believe in Him might pass out of death into life. (Exodus 12; Leviticus 23:5; 1 Corinthians 5:7)
Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMotzi) -The feast in which the striped and pierced matzo bread was broken. This feast was fulfilled in the crucifixion of Christ for the sins of the world. (Leviticus 23:6; Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24; Zechariah 12:10)
First Fruits (Reshit Katzir) -The presentation of the first fruits of the harvest. This feast symbolizes the resurrection of Christ, who is called the firstfruits.
Pentecost (Shavu’ot) -The commemoration of the giving of the law. On this day, the Holy Spirit came with power upon believers.
The three fall feasts are:
Trumpets (Yom Teru’ah or Rosh HaShanah) -At the Feast of Trumpets, a trumpet, or shofar, was blown to call God’s people out of the harvest fields to come worship at the Temple. This feast has a future fulfillment in the Rapture of the Church.
Atonement (Yom Kippur) -This feast follows ten days of reflection called the Days of Awe. Jewish tradition says that it will be a day when the destiny of the righteous and the wicked are written in the Book of Life and the Book of Death. For the Christian, Jesus Christ has already become the atonement for our sins, granting us eternal life. (Leviticus 23:27; Hebrews 5:6; 6:20; 9:15)
Tabernacles (Sukkot) -This feast represents God and man together again in Jerusalem.
(Leviticus 23:34; Ezekiel 37:26; Zechariah 14:16-17
Jesus literally fulfilled the spring feasts with His first coming. The fall feasts have yet to be fulfilled. The next feast is Rosh Hashanah, the Feast of Trumpets. Like all the feasts, the Feast of Trumpets is filled with parallels to prophetic events unveiled in the New Testament.
The first blast is a call to those laboring in the harvest to drop everything and return to Jerusalem. During this feast 100 trumpets are blown. These trumpet blasts are named and categorized:
Tekiah– a single blast (as at a king’s coronation)
Shevarim– a series of wail-like blasts (signifying the mourning of repentance)
Teru’ah– staccato blasts (sent as an alarm or warning to awaken the soul)
Tekiah ha’Gadol– one long blast
These first three are blown back and forth over the course of the feast until there have been 99 blasts. Then on the last day the Tekiah ha’Gadol, literally the “great tekiah,” or last blast, is sounded. The trumpeter blows the shofar once and holds it for as long as possible. The time of this last trump is never known.
Many theologians and Bible scholars believe that Christ’s appearing for His Church, called harpazo (to snatch or take to oneself) in Scripture and known as the Rapture, is the next prophetic event to occur.
Some believe that it will be fulfilled on Rosh Hashanah, as was the prophetic events linked to the spring feasts.
Whether or not the Rapture happens to coincide exactly with the Jewish feast, we have been given a prophetic itinerary of the events of the last days in God’s Word. The Feast of Trumpets is our promise that one day that final blast of the trumpet will announce Christ’s return for His Church and our resurrection to meet Him in the air.
Today we await the call. Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Jesus said,
Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.
– Mark 13:29-33