No. 89 - FEAST OF TRUMPETS 2006 By: John J. Blanchard September 23, 2006 Each year we repeat the cycle of God’s holy days. It is a chronology of events. We have spoken of it as appointments or rendezvous with destiny between God and His people. As we progress through the year, we discuss these chronologies on the particular days that we are meeting: Passover, the First Day of Unleavened Bread, the Last Day of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost (or the Feast of Weeks), and now today the Feast of Trumpets. Each year we repeat this cycle, and hopefully we learn more about God’s plan. We prepare ourselves spiritually for what is ahead in the actual appointments as they fall in order. Christ our Passover has already died, but He becomes the Passover for each of us when we are baptized. At that time we covenant with Him to give our lives to Him. That chronology starts in our lives, in essence, in a certain order that we follow as long as we live and go through God’s Church. We do this each year, and we commemorate looking forward to the event when the Feast of Trumpets will actually be a reality. We learn about God. We observe this day today, the Feast of Trumpets, as directed by God in Leviticus 23. If you would, please turn to Leviticus chapter 23 where God gives a very simple and straight forward directive to the people here. Verse 23: “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying: “In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.’” That was a directive to commemorate this day, the first day of the seventh month. It is a memorial of blowing of trumpets. We also understand as we read more of God’s word that this is the first of the fall holy days. It is the first holy day in the fall season. What does it signify when we hear trumpet blasts, and why does God speak in plurality here? It could have been the Feast of Trumpet, but it is the Feast of Trumpets. FIVE REASONS TO BLOW TRUMPETS Up until very modern times, a trumpet was used as a signaling device. That is exactly what God used it for in the Old Testament. It was used for a variety of situations and a number of different reasons. Turn to Numbers chapter 10, and we will read about the different things the trumpet was to signify and how it was to be used by the people. Read Numbers 10:1-7. These are different signals that God was telling them would be used through the sound of the trumpet. Verse 8: “‘The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations. When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.’” This is a very crucial use of trumpets. Verse 10 of Numbers 10: “‘Also in the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts, and at the beginning of your months, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God: I am the Lord your God.’” Therefore, on all the holy days, it sounds as if you would blow the trumpet, and at the beginning of the months when the new moon would come, you would have a blowing of the trumpet. What do we have here? We see five separate reasons given by God for blowing the trumpet. When the camp was getting ready to move, you would sound a certain signal. When there was to be a gathering, either of the entire assembly or of the ministry and elders, there would be a blowing of the trumpet. When they would go to war and battle, there would be a sounding of the trumpet. When they were marking off time for the annual festivals (marking off the months), there would be a blowing of a trumpet. When they would rejoice before God, there would be a blowing of the trumpet. We see at least five reasons here where God says you will use these trumpets. We could develop the subject larger and see how a shofar (a ram’s horn) could be used as a trumpet and was sometimes called a cornet. It could be used in battle in place of a trumpet like Gideon did. We see the sound of a trumpet has a lot of different applications. But why do we say today is the Feast of Trumpets and not Trumpet? Because I think all of these reasons apply to today, every one of them. Briefly, when the Church hears the trumpet on the Day of Trumpets, the final trumpet, it is getting ready to move. We also find when the trumpets are blown today, the Church is getting ready to be gathered by God. It also tells us that the Church is to be involved in a new dimension of warfare. We also find that the Church is noting in advance the return of Jesus Christ. We also note that the Church rejoices at the thought that Christ is returning and the world will be set free. It will be set free from Satan and his tyrannical government. All of these aspects of the trumpet apply to today. They do not apply to all the Feast days. They apply for today because today, the Feast of Trumpets, commemorates going to war, a gathering of God’s people, a rejoicing and a time for the Church to get ready to move. All of these things apply to today, so God very aptly called this the Feast of Trumpets. Let’s look at a few scriptures that would support this. THE CHURCH MOVES AT THE LAST TRUMPET Turn, if you would, to I Corinthians chapter 15. Read verses 50-55. We see here the Church is getting ready to move to join Jesus Christ. There is a resurrection that puts death away for those resurrected and ultimately leads to the conquering of death entirely. This is a cause for great rejoicing! It is a signal that the final battle of spiritual warfare to put Satan away has commenced. All these things apply that we read earlier. Turn back to Matthew chapter 24. Verse 29: “‘Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.’” When Jesus Christ comes as conqueror of conquerors, as the mighty Messiah, the Savior, all eyes will be able to see Him. When He comes in all His power, there will be the sound of a trumpet when the saints are gathered and the Church is getting ready to move. It will be getting ready to go into another dimension. It will be getting ready to do another phase of God’s great work. The Church will be gathered together in an assembly at the sound of a trumpet. When we are getting ready to move, there is a sound of a trumpet. When there is war, there is the sound of a trumpet. When there is rejoicing, there is a sound of a trumpet. Therefore, today it is called the Feast of Trumpets. WE ARE PAST THE SIXTH TRUMPET Turn to Revelation chapter 11. Verse 15: “Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’” That is the seventh trumpet. When Jesus Christ finally conquers Satan and the demons and brings this world under subjection of His wonderful government, we have the seventh trumpet sounding. Obviously, this is the same event we read of in I Corinthians 15 and in Matthew chapter 24. This is the seventh trumpet. There were six trumpets that preceded the seventh trumpet. We are going to look at them ever so briefly because it can be a huge subject all by itself. We actually have dealt with that in previous sermons. Back up to Revelation chapter 8. I am just going to read the headlines at the top in my Bible of each sounding of the trumpet. In verse 7 when the first trumpet sounds it says here in my headline “The Vegetation is Struck.” Verse 8 the second trumpet sounds when “The Seas are Struck.” The third trumpet sounds when “The Waters are Struck.” The fourth trumpet sounds when “The Heavens are Struck.” The fifth trumpet sounds when “The Locusts are Released From the Bottomless Pit.” Turning a page to Revelation 9:13 the sixth trumpet sounds when “The Angel Dries up the River Euphrates Making Way For the Great Battle.” Brethren, we have passed all six of these trumpets! The damage and the continuing effects are being felt, but these trumpets have all sounded. We are now waiting for the seventh trumpet to sound. If we do not have ears to hear what Jesus Christ is telling the Churches, we are not aware that these trumpets have sounded. Then we will be in dire danger, for we are looking for the wrong things. That has been the subject of other sermons, so we will not delve into that today. Suffice it to say, with six trumpets having sounded, we are looking forward to the seventh; we must be attuned to what God is telling us. We are getting ready to move as a Church! We are getting ready for the last phase of a terrible war to start. We are getting ready to rejoice. There are a lot of emotions that surround this. There is a lot of joy, but also there is some sadness. There has to be the realization in our minds that we have to prepare for this and get ready for Jesus Christ’s return. SPIRITUAL WARFARE The war that the Church has been involved with for the last two thousand years has been spiritual warfare. Yet we have been lulled to sleep looking for physical warfare and physical signs and wonders. They have turned our attention and our focus away from listening to what God has to tell the Churches and understanding that the trumpets have sounded. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 6 for a discussion of this war. Read verses 10-16. This is the description of the spiritual warfare that we wage and the brethren have been waging since Jesus Christ ascended back into heaven. John has spoken of this in Revelation. We understand victory is assured, but there is a lot of suffering and fighting that had to take place from Christ’s ascension to Christ’s return. Turn to Revelation chapter 1. In verse 1 John says something very interesting here about the Book of Revelation for those with ears to hear. Verse 1: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants, things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” If they were shortly to take place and the time was near when John wrote those words, who are we to say that practically the entire Book of Revelation only pertains to our day and our time? John did face the tribulation. The brethren who followed Jesus Christ first faced tribulation. They first faced persecution. What they read in the Book of Revelation applied to them. It is just that more of it applies to us in this time, because we are those upon whom the end of the age has fallen. Continue in verse 9, and we will see what John wrote. Revelation 1, verse 9: “I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” John says I am your brother in the tribulation. If you look up tribulation everywhere in the New Testament, it is the same word from the ancient Greek. Tribulation means trial, difficulty, persecution, pressure. John faced it, and so did the other apostles and the people who followed them. Continue reading Revelation 1:10-20. Starting with the seven Churches and in a progressive chronology down through the ages since that time, the message was very active and alive. For that first Church era and for John, it was very active and alive, just as it is for us. But we have to hear what the Lord is saying to the Churches, and that means we have to hear what these seven angels have to tell us. Angels are also messengers, and they are the ones blowing the seven trumpets. We have to hear and understand what was meant by those seven trumpet blasts. We are now about to enter a new phase in the war against Satan and his demons. The rules of engagement are about to change, and it starts with the real fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets. Yes, it is about war, and around the world God’s Church is split up into many separate little groups. It is hearing about nuclear war, devastation and about the destruction of people. It is putting fear into those sitting before the speakers, as well as putting off anyone who would want to come to a wonderful, kind and benevolent God. This is done because they are portraying this day as a day in which a harsh, judgmental, powerful God takes out His wrath upon the world. Instead, brethren, this day is commemorating a war against Satan that is entering its final phase. It is a phase where the world will get released from the power of Satan and where Satan and his horrible demons (his terrible government) will be put in their place. It will be replaced by Jesus Christ’s government. This day is picturing when the rules of engagement change so much that the saints of God are actually going to fight it as spirit beings. They are the ones we read of in Ephesians 6 who have been fighting this battle. They will fight with Jesus Christ and with the angels who fight with Christ and His armies. You will have 144,000 resurrected spirit beings join the fray! That is what the scriptures said that we read in I Corinthians 15 and Matthew 24. These resurrected saints will join in a very powerful way to defeat Satan, each of them given spheres of responsibility over this earth to replace a specific demon who has tormented the people under his subjugation. It is a wonderful day, brethren. It is somewhat frightening. Change is frightening, but this is a very hopeful day. We need not be afraid. We need to be able to stand before Jesus Christ on that day with courage and rejoicing, join in the fray, and release mankind. This day, the Feast of Trumpets, truly represents an awesome day for the Church and an awesome day for the world, for they will be set at liberty! Turn to Romans chapter 8. Verse 18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” Creation groans, brethren! The people around the world are suffering. You see it on the news every night. They do not need another tribulation of that sort. They are in it! Go tell the people of Darfur that the tribulation is going to be far worse than what they are experiencing now! Go tell that to the AIDS victims in Uganda. Go tell that to the people who suffered the tsunami a little over a year ago in Indonesia. Go tell the people in our own cities here in America who are suffering the plagues of drug addiction, gang violence, broken homes, despair and hopelessness. Go tell them that the tribulation is going to be far worse. Brethren, they are in it! We should be here to set them free. As the Church of God, we are experiencing our own sort of tribulation in this battle, and we have discussed that before. For a short time, the Church gets overwhelmed, but there is a reason for that. When we harshly judge the world and rob them of hope, we deserve to get corrected. We deserve to get set straight, so we understand we are liberators like Romans 8 said. We are liberators and not tyrants. If anyone has the idea that they are going to be a tyrant and wield the rod of iron, they can be assured they are never going to have a position of authority in God’s kingdom. FIFTEEN DAYS TO THE MILLENNIUM What exactly is going on from the Feast of Trumpets until the start of the Millennium pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles? We have a fifteen day time span. Between Trumpets and the Millennium we have fifteen days. There are ten days to Atonement and another five days to the Feast of Tabernacles picturing the Millennium. Since the holy days are in chronological order, there is something going on during this fifteen day period. It would appear that a day-for-a year principle applies here. Somewhere in the future when Jesus Christ does return, there is going to be about a fifteen year lag between that return and the Millennium. It is a very important period of time. What is happening there? What is going on? There will be a battle that will start with the Great Conqueror coming, Jesus Christ, who is the Great Liberator. With the 144,000 saints and His myriad of angels, there will be a battle with Satan and his demons that will culminate at the Day of Atonement, about ten days from now. We will hear about that day on the day of Atonement. But that ten day period represents a war for the hearts and minds of humanity. For the first time, humanity is going to have a leg up on Satan, because the curtain will have been lifted. Behind it the Wizard of Oz will be seen for all that he is, the horrible wizard Satan. When that curtain goes up, the people of the world will no longer be so easily deceived. Why? Because the resurrection will be good news and big news. There will be an advantage for mankind, because they will have seen the resurrection take place. They will have seen spiritual warfare when the Son gets revealed, Jesus Christ, because the sky will be rolled up like a scroll. They will be able to look and see battle for a while. I do not think it will go on for a long time where they can see everything, but they are going to feel it. They will know that Jesus Christ has returned and that the 144,000 saints have been resurrected. They will be hard to fool! False religion will have no more effect. Foolish wars for stupid reasons will not seem like a good idea anymore. Ethnic hatred will become a thing of the past. Man will have a period of time before the Millennium to put aside pagan ways, to get rid of hatreds and animosity, understand the truth and get ready for the Millennium. As we know, they will also see Satan locked away eventually (as in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14). That will be talked about on the Day of Atonement. POWERS OF OBSERVATION Brethren, the complete picture is not all rosy. Turn to Luke chapter 17. Verse 20: “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with observation…’” In the Greek that means without ocular evidence. We have to be listening to the Shepherd’s voice and understanding what the true signs and wonders are and not be shaken by wars, rumors of wars, pestilence and earthquakes. They turn our attention in the wrong direction. We need spiritual powers of observation like we have discussed in our sermon called “Powers of Observation.” Verse 21 of Luke 17: “‘…nor will they say, “See here!” or “See there!” For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.’” He meant in their midst at the time because Christ, the King, was standing before them. Continue reading Luke 17:22-29. Don’t think this is saying that people are going to be having parties, eating, marrying, drinking and celebrating when nuclear bombs are going off, while people are dying of AIDS and water is turning to blood around the world. Nobody is going to be partying if that were to happen. That is why it is not going to happen! People look at these verses and say, oh, the world is going to be full of homosexuals and sodomites and all kinds of disease. No, that is not what it is saying. It is saying as in those days when people were eating, drinking, marrying, and having a good time, they were taken by surprise. This is a warning, brethren, because when Jesus Christ returns, everything is going to look pretty normal out there. We have to listen to the trumpets and listen to the sound of the Lord’s voice, so we understand where we are in time. Continue reading Luke 17:30-37. Brethren, the eagles represent the angels, and the body represents the body of Christ, the Church. The Church will be divided into those who are taken up and those who are left behind. It is a horrible thing that out there you have many people in the Church and in the world reading things like the Left Behind Series and thinking there is going to be some kind of huge rapture around the world, that those left behind go through the tribulation. REALLY LEFT BEHIND Brethren, when Jesus Christ returns, the tribulation is over. It is a spiritual warfare we have been involved in. The persecution of the Church in a spiritual sense is by Satan, the son of perdition. When this happens (and it is almost over) and Christ returns, things in the world will look very much like they always do. People will be going to work, marrying off their daughters and having parties. It is going to take us all by surprise. It should not have taken the Church by surprise, but many scriptures point to some left behind. Turn to Matthew chapter 25. Read verses 1-13. It will take us by surprise. The Feast of Trumpets fulfillment will shock us! But we do not have to lose reward and be left behind where there will be weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. This is God’s warning, brethren. False signs and wonders have the Church focused in the wrong direction right now. The harsh judgment and bad attitudes within the Church are destroying many people’s reward and probably robbing some of eternal life. This is God’s warning that history can and will repeat itself. Let’s see what happened once before in the Old Testament. Turn to Hebrews chapter 3. Read verses 7-19. Brethren, that can happen, and it is happening now! If we are not careful, we will not enter that rest. Continuing in Hebrews chapter 4. Verse 1: “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.” That is written to us, the modern Church. Verse 2: “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: ‘So I swore in my wrath, “They shall not enter My rest…”’” That rest is the Millennium, brethren. Paul would not have written these words, had it not been possible to miss out on that rest. That brings us back to the fifteen year period between Trumpets (Jesus Christ’s return) and the beginning of the Millennium. What happened to those people left behind? If they were not part of the resurrection and they were part of the Church, what happened to them? They will live out their days, and they will die without entering the rest, without going into the Millennium. That’s what is being spoken of here in Hebrews. Are there any scriptures to back that up? Turn to Psalm chapter 82. It is a short Psalm. We will read the whole thing starting with verse 1. “God stands in the congregation of the mighty [God does stand in the midst of the Church. We read that at the very beginning of Revelation.]; He judges among the gods.” What is multiple gods, plural with a small “g”? That can also be translated His mighty ones. Those are the sons of God, the Church. Verse 2: “How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?” This is speaking to the Church. Verse 3: “Defend the poor and fatherless…” These are the people in the world who do not know the Father. Defend them and help them. “…do justice to the afflicted and needy.” Satan has afflicted the world and has created billions of needy. Verse 4: “Deliver the poor and needy; free them from the hand of the wicked.” Help free them from Satan. Verse 5: “They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable.” The world walks upon unstable ground, brethren. They are in the sea of Satan’s attitudes. They are filled with ignorance. They go to war thinking they fight for God. They worship in pagan ways thinking they worship God. They do not know any better, and we could have been born in any one of those lands full of paganism. We were fortunate enough to be born where we could hear the word of God and be called. We can be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Continuing in verse 6 of Psalm 82. “I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.’” It is definitely talking about the Church. Verse 7: “‘But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.’ Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all nations.” This is a statement going back to Revelation 11 when the kingdoms of the nations become God’s kingdom. At the resurrection and as He returns, some are going to go up and help put Satan in his proper place. Some are going to be left behind and die like men and not allowed into the rest. They will have to live for fifteen years, ten of those years when Satan is still out and about and roaring like a lion. They will have to not deny the faith and continue to do the things that they should have done prior to the resurrection, for they will still have the power of the second death over them. It will not be a fun situation. We can avoid that by taking the Feast of Trumpets seriously today. By applying these principles to our lives we grow in holy righteous character, deal with our sins and our shortcomings, and try to be part of the solution for a poor afflicted ignorant world. It is our choice, brethren, but we do not have much time left. How are we going to feel when we understand the last trumpet has sounded?