Have you ever been surprised by the lack of information we are given in Scripture concerning the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah)? Let’s read from Leviticus 23:23–25, Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’
There is an aura of mystery covering this feast for these three short verses contain the only information we are given about it, and it is not much at all. Numbers 29 also speaks about the Feast of Trumpets, but that passage only lists the different sacrificial offerings done on that particular day. So, in reading the text, we are told it is called a day of remembrance, Yom Hazikaron. What is it that we are told to remember? We also read that it is a day of blowing the trumpets, Yom T’ruah, but we are not told why.
Many rabbinic commentators have asked this same question such as 12th century Ibn Ezra, who spoke of religious mysteries when commenting on this feast. Abarbanel, a 15th century rabbi and bible commentator asked, Why does the Torah not explain the purpose for this festival? (Commentary on Lev.). It is indeed an enigma for no reasons are given for the zicharon, for the t’ruah, or for the calling of a holy convocation. All this makes the study of this feast fascinating, and we will see that the answer to this dilemma is found in the Brit Chadashah, the New Testament which explains its context within the whole of the seven feasts of Israel.
But, before we get there, let’s read something which highlights an important element of this feast. We begin by noticing a new word that the Spirit of God uses here; we read the words blowing of trumpets which is one word in the Hebrew, t’ruah תְּרוּעָה. Here is its first appearance of the 36 times it is cited in the Hebrew Bible, and there are two distinct uses for this word in Scripture.
First, it is mainly used to warn of a coming war. In Jeremiah, it is the sound of the alarm for war as the Babylonians were advancing toward Jerusalem to destroy it and the First Temple (Jer. 4:19, 20,16, 49:2). In Ezekiel, Amos and Zephaniah it is translated as battle cry (Ezek. 21:27 Amos 1:14 Zeph. 1:16). The blowing however, was not always done with a trumpet, it could have been made with a shout as well (Jos 6:5). It is significant when we realize that the next feast in the prophetic plan, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is also known as the Day of the Lord, an often-repeated title used to describe the final wars of Armageddon and those of Gog and Magog. T’ruah therefore, is a shout of warning of things to come. This sound or blast is getting louder as we see those same nations spoken of by the prophets thousands of years ago, gathering for the last showdown.
As for its second usage, t’ruah conveys a joyful sign of a great reunion between the believer and his God. Scripture also uses t’ruah as a means to gather worshippers to praise God, as in Psalm 89:15 where we read, How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! Psalm 150:5 expresses this same emotion where we read Praise Him with resounding cymbals. In Hebrew it is with the t’ruah of the cymbals. So, Yom T’ruah, is both these things; it is warning sound for impeding wars and a sound of a joyful reunion.
But it is on the second facet of this word t’ruah, the pointing to the great reunion between the believer and his God that we will focus. This is where we are going to see how the Brit Chadashah, the New Testament reveals the mystery behind this feast. The first passage which mentions the revealed mystery is in the chapter of the resurrection, where Paul speaks of it in 1Corinthians 15:51-52, 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. Here is the mystery revealed of Leviticus 23 and the significance of the t’ruah and the zicharon.
Speaking of the believers, Paul uses the pronoun, we. That word is found three times in the passage: We will not all sleep, we will all be changed, and again, we will be changed. This tells us that Paul himself was expecting the rapture during his lifetime, for this is the next prophecy to occur after the fall of the Second Temple in 70 A.D. The mystery (the rapture) reveals what would happen to the believers who will be alive on the earth at the moment of this resurrection.
Many today say that it is old fashioned to believe such things and that the idea of the rapture was invented by a man named Darby. But this is a manipulation of history. This doctrine can be seen proclaimed by Bible students throughout history. Take for instance a book written in the 1700’s by a Jewish believer in Yeshua named Manuel Lacunza. He revived the doctrine of the rapture and of Israel, teaching that the Jewish nation will rise again according to prophecy and that the rapture will occur before the Tribulation. This did not sit well with the Catholic Pope of the time, so Lacunza was banned and fled the country. He later wrote this book titled The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty. It is still on sale at Amazon.
But if Darby along with others, are associated with the rapture and the end time prophecies, it is because this man was part of a great awakening of the time. The late 1800’s was when, after 2000 years, Jews began their return to the land of Israel planning and praying for its rebirth which finally took place in 1948. Her return to the land triggered a series of events in the world – with countries who would play a role in the end times. Armageddon could finally be seen rising on the horizon. At this same point in history, there also began another awakening, the resurgence and the rediscovery of the Bible itself. The dark ages of the church which lasted close to 1700 years had buried its message but now men and women of God finally began to read. Darby was a pioneer in this revival.