The Feast of Trumpets Compared to the Trumpets of Revelation
By Kevin Michalek · Revelation: Trumpets and the Heavenly Court
F.O.T. comparison with Rev. Trumpets
Feast of Trumpets (Rosh shashanah / Yom Teruah)
1) Yom Teruah outlined in Silver Trumpets – The Silver trumpets were blown each new moon of each month and marked Yom Teruah at the first day of Tisheri the 7th month and ended it as the last trump of Yom Kippur. Also it was used on the year of Jubilee which always fell on Yom Kippur, Lev. 25:9. 2) Silver Trumpets: The horn trumpet is the shophar or cornet, which, as its name implies, was of horn, or at least horn-shaped; whereas the latter, the chatsotser, was a long' straight tube of silver with a bell-shaped mouth. The true intention of the silver trumpets is distinctly enough indicated in the law before us. They were to be to the children of Israel for a memorial before their God (verse 10); the promise was that when the trumpets were blown, the people should be remembered before the Lord their God, and he would save them from their enemies (verse 9). In other words, the blowing of the silver trumpets was a figure of PRAYER (cf. Acts 10:4).
3) Silver trumpets (chatsotser): Blown every new moon of the 7 months of the Jewish Lunar Agricultural calendar
4) Horn trumpets (Shofar): Blown during daily offerings and during feast of trumpets
5) The 7th month of Tishrei : unfolds the blowing of the shofar trumpet for 10 days
6) The trumpets blasts : became louder and longer
7) Two types of Trumpets : Midrash tradition states that the Silver trumpet blasts represented God’s voice and the shofar horn represented God through man’s voice
8) O.T. verses relating to FOT. Isa. 58:1; Joel 1:14; Joel 2:1,15
1st usage = Mt. Sinai Ex. 19:13,16,19 Levitical laws = Lev. 23:24; 25:9; Two Silver trumpets = Num10:2 Usage of silver trumpets =
- Num. 10:4 (nasiy) for calling the tribe leaders or princes together
- Num. 10:8 for blowing of trumpets for (moed) feasts (new moon / new month)
- Num. 10:9 for blowing trumpets to go to war as an alarm. Num. 31:6,21, Num. 32:6; 2 Chron. 13:12,14; 2 Chron. 20:21-22. 2 Chron. 20:28
- Num. 10:10 for blowing for gladness or joy 1 Chron. 15:24; 1 Chron. 16:16; 2 Chron. 5:12;
2 Chron. 7:6; Ezr. 3:10, Nem. 12:35, Neh. 12:41; 2 Chron. 29:27.
9) The seventh month 1st day (Tishrei 1) Holy (Qodesh) gathering (miqra) day. See Ps. 81:3 No labor or service work performed on this 1st day of Tisheri. After the 1st day of Tishrei, shofar horns are blown until Yom Kippur and if it is a jubilee year the silver trumpet Lev. 25:9. This is the day Paul spoke of as the last Trump 1 Cor. 15:52.
10) Teshuvah – (40 days of repentance/restoration), starting on Elul 1 and ending on Yom Kippur Jesus’ two 40 day periods. 1) Jesus in the wilderness where Jesus took upon himself as the title of Israel – the man became the nation (all promises now were imbedded in Christ) 2 Cor. 1:20 2) The second period was when Jesus was on the earth for 40 days from the beginning of the wave sheaf (Bikkuret) and the counting of the Omar to 10 days prior Pentecost. (Jesus inauguration took 7 days and the other 3 days were also for the apostles to receive the down payment of their inheritance via the Holy Spirit. ) See Ex. 19:11; D.A. p. 36,37. The Law at Sinai was given during Shavuot (the feast of weeks or Pentecost).
O.T. Examples of F.O.T.
Isa. 58:1-14 –Isa. 62:12; Feast of Trumpets (Theme = repentance via helping others)
- Isa. 63:1 – Foreshadowing of coming judgment (Yom Kippur) In that day only the Lord will be
exalted Isa. 2:7
- Isa. 65:17 – 66:24 Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)
Jer. 51:27-29 - A Banner or Standard is lifted during the Feast of Trumpets for
Eze. 33:4 -20 – During the Feast of Trumpets there is a personal responsibility to warn others of the
coming judgment, if not the blood for others is on the watchman’s hands for not warning or blowing the trumpet warnings.
Joel 1;14,15 - A warning of repentance (during the feast of trumpets) for the coming judgment Yom
Kippur
Joel 2:1 -14 - A direct call for the Feast of Trumpets – v.2 Continued soul searching turns into a
powerful trumpet blowing people v.3 through the Latter rain of the H.S. of which cannot be stopped. (Echos the 2 witnesses in Rev.11)
Joel 2:15 – A second call for the Feast of Trumpets.
The first time the trumpet is blown is to warn that the enemy is coming (these are the watchman that blow the silver trumpets) This second time is to call the people together for their soul searching repentance, Num. 10:7. This trumpet call is to gather His people unto Himself, i.e. the closer this experience the better the results of: repentance, humility, contrition, etc. to prepare the people for the sounding of the trumpets i.e. 3 angles message. When the people come into the presence of God, it means first and foremost that they will humble themselves. There is every reason to do so. Is not the enemy coming to them because of their unfaithfulness to the LORD? At the same time, and given the seriousness of the situation, the body’s needs will have to be abandoned. There must be fasting so that all can focus on what God has to say, without being distracted by everyday food and drink.
Besides, what will a person worry about eating and drinking when his life is at stake? How closely fasting and humbling oneself are connected is shown by the instructions for the Day of atonement (Lev 23:27; 29; 32 (refs3)). The word ‘humble’ used there can also be translated as ‘fasting’.
The last part of the verse is word for word equal to Joel 1:14a. The fact that there are two calls for fasting and meeting shows the urgency of the call. The whole people, with no exception, are called upon to a solemn assembly. No excuses for the elders, the small children should not be forgotten, even the nursing infants should be gathered. All classes of society, political, religious or families, are expected to express their feelings regarding the sin committed against God.
If there is sin before God, there is no distinction. Everyone is guilty of punishment. Judgment will affect all, therefore all are involved in the call to come to God. Even the bride and bridegroom are to give up the delight of their hearts, and take part in the penitential and mournful worship.
Zech. 9:14 – God blows His trumpet to war against the enemy and defend His people.
Jehovah appears above them, i.e., coming from heaven as a defense, to fight for them (the sons of Zion), as a mighty man of war (Psa 24:8). His arrow goes out like the lightning ( compare Hab 3:11). Marching at the head of His people, He gives the signal of battle with a trumpet-blast, and attacks the enemy with terribly devastating violence. The description rests upon the poetical descriptions of the coming of the Lord to judgment, the colors of which are borrowed from the phenomena of a storm (cf. Psalm 18 and Hab 3:8.). Storms of the south are the most violent storms, as they come from the Arabian desert, which bounds Canaan on the south (Isa 21:1; cf. Hos 13:15). But Jehovah not only fights for His people; He is also a shield to them in battle, covering them against the weapons of the foe.
Conclusion of the O.T. Feast of Trumpets (Rosh shashanah/Yom Teruah)
As we have seen the Feast of Trumpets has several factors that cooperate with each other in order for God’s people to:
1) Recognize a war is coming and repentance is needed to go forth as conquerors– Joel 1:14 & Joel 2
2) To gathering close to God in humility for repentance of sin, be other centered and recognize that judgment is coming soon. Isa. 58 through Isa. 65
3) To gather Israel to march forward. Num. 10:5-8
4) To warn others of this coming war. - Eze. 33:4 -20
5) A banner (Christ) is lifted high when the Feast of Trumpets commences. Jer. 51:27
6) When a jubilee commences. Lev. 25:9
7) Jewish tradition also has it that the silver trumpets were blown when a king was placed on the throne and at the inauguration of the high priest.
Trumpets in Revelation
1) The blowing of the trumpets Yom Teruah is associated with the altar of incense in Rev. 8.
The trumpets are blown as a memorial to God that He remembers His people and also as prayers are uplifted to heaven. “And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.” Acts 10:4
In addition, the golden altar of incense was used as the intercession by the high priest on behalf of his peoples’ prayers. Prayers go up, God remembers and then intercedes. The trumpets are released in response to the saint’s prayers. Ellen White named the chapter “The Final Warning,” as it relates to the warning of the trumpets couched in the 3 angel’s message. Speaking of the trumpets in Rev. 8 Jon Paulien states, “This is a remarkable parallel to Numbers 10:8-10. There the sounding of a trumpet was understood as an act of prayer reminding God of His covenant with His people. In Revelation the trumpets are unleashed by the prayers of the saints and signal God’s response to those prayers. This strong thematic parallel with Numbers 10 argues that the trumpets in Rev. 8-11 are to be understood in relation to worship and prayer as in the case of much of the Old Testament.” Decoding Revelation’s Trumpets, p.223.
2) The trumpets in Revelation begin with mercy and end with judgment. Compared also in Ex. 19 and in Joel 1, 2 and during Yom Teruah.
3) In Rev. 8:3 Christ, who has the golden censor, gives the trumpets to the angels in v.2. As compared in the O.T. God initiates the Silver Trumpets as in Ex. 19.:4-6 “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey (Shama) my voice (trumpets) indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.”
4) The word incense in v.3 is the same Greek word used as odours in Rev. 5:8 relating to the incense. .The same Greek word θυμίαμα Thumiama (thoo-mee'-am-ah); for odours is used in the Septuagint in Esther 2:12. What is interesting is that Esther needed 6 months or 180 days to be purified. 180 days is the same period of time from the Passover feats until Yom Kippur. Therefore, in Esther the King’s bride is purified with incense for 180 days. Even though it is mentioned as 12 months, the incense is specific to 180 days. I believe that this is a purification period for God’s people and not necessarily how long the trumpets last. Esther’s preparation period can possibly be linked to a metaphorical preparation period in Rev. 8:6.
5) The three woes in Rev. 8:13 relate to the three trumpet judgments spoke in Rev. 9:18 and 20. This contrasts the 10 plagues in Egypt with the 7 last plagues and three trumpet judgments (10) in
Revelation. Thereby giving both saints and sinners mercy with three plagues before the last 7 are released only on the wicked, similar to the Exodus with the Egyptians.
6) In Rev. 9:7 the locusts mentioned, which are a description of those released out of the bottomless pit in the 5th trumpet, echos the locusts released in Joel 1 and 2 during the Feast of Trumpets. In Joel 2:25 God is mentioned to restore (~lX Shalam (shaw-lam'). The Hebrew defines this word as those who are in covenant with God. Basically it states that those who are in Covenant with God, God will restore His covenant keeping people with full restoration of what the evil locusts have done.
7) In Rev. 9:19 we see that these locusts have power in their mouths and their tails. This echos of In Jer. 9:3 their mouths speak lies and in Isa. 9:15 it states that the tails are lies. Therefore, they are full of lies,
8) In Rev. 9:14 the four angels are loosed from where they were held at the river Euphrates. As the culmination of truth is released at the loud cry so the lies compound. God’s people are already sealed at this point, Rev. 7:2,3. The trumpet echo is that as the trumpets become louder and longer before Yom Kippur so each trumpet released is exponentially worse as Yom Teruah blends into Yom Kippur. God’s Covenant people are sealed and the 4 angels are released.
9) The 7th trumpet unfolds the mystery of God, Rev. 10:7, which is the mystery that Paul spoke of Christ in you the hope of glory. Col. 1:27. The O.T. echo of Joshua is seen here. In Joshua 6:16 7 priests blew the seventh trumpet and the city (Jericho/Babylon) fell. This can be considered the last trump of Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur. It is the silver trumpet ushering in the jubilee, Lev. 25:9 and God’s people ascend to the heavenly city for 7 days to occupy the city and celebrate the last feast which is the feast of tabernacles (Sukkot) where God tabernacles with men. Rev. 21:3 states, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” God is now tabernacled IN men. The Spirit and the bride say, Come.