[Steve Myers] Well, it is an unusual day in a number of aspects. Among the Holy Days, there’s something unusual. And so let’s look at Leviticus 23 for just a moment, see if we can pick at least one unusual thing out about this day, the Feast of Trumpets. Leviticus 23:23. It’s an easy one to remember, matching numbers, 23:23, where we have God giving instructions to Moses, who gives the instructions to Israel. And, of course, we know the beginning of Chapter 23 tells us exactly about these days. They’re not Jewish days, they’re not Israelite days. They are God’s days. They are God’s Feast, beginning with the Sabbath, right down the line.

Leviticus 23:23-25 It says, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘in the seventh month, in the first day of the month…’” That’s today. It says, “‘You shall have a Sabbath, a blowing of trumpets, and a holy convocation.’” And so we are convening together. This is a commanded assembly. This is a requirement of God. It is a sacred assembly that God has called. And so He says, “You don’t do any work, no servile work, but you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.”

And so we don’t have physical offerings in the sense of burning animals or anything like that, but we bring an offering on this day. Now, I don’t know, if you notice what was one of the things that’s a little different about this day. Okay, it says, “Blowing trumpets,” but it also says, “It’s a memorial of blowing of trumpets.” A memorial. When you think about that, yes, we honor this day, we come together, we worship God, we not only celebrate together, and boy, we are together today, we are right next to each other this morning. But we notice that memorial of blowing of trumpets is what the King James says. That’s a commemoration. That’s something that you recall. In fact, other translations call this a time of remembrance or a Sabbath for remembering. I like the new-century version. It says, “A special time of remembering, of blowing of trumpets.” And so this morning let’s take some time to remember, and especially, remember some of the amazing aspects of this special Holy Day. So, remember the trumpet. Remember the trumpet is what God’s telling us here in Leviticus 23.

One of the things we remember about this day is, be ready to meet God. The Feast of Trumpets reminds us of that very fact. Remember the trumpet because you better be ready to meet God.

Now, if you remember back in history, okay, we’re calling some things that were commemorated. Go with me over to Exodus 19. Now, here’s an event to remember. One that we memorialize, one that’s a commemoration. Now, it’s not the Feast of Trumpets, but in Exodus 19:16. Here we have a connection to this day as we remember, as we recall some very special significant events that happened during the time of Israel that point to this Feast of Trumpets. Exodus 19:16, you’ll recognize it as soon as we begin to read it here.

Exodus 19:16-17 It says, “It came to pass on the third day in the morning. There were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain.” What mountain are we talking about here? This is Mount Sinai. Mount Sinai. Israel had left Egypt. They came before God at the mountain. And notice what it says next. End of verse 16. “The sound of the trumpet was very loud so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.” That’s loud. That is a shake-in-your-boots kind of loud. That the people were frightened. It says, “Moses brought the people out of the camp.” Why? “To meet with God.”

And so we have the sound of the trumpet and people coming out to meet God. They had prepared themselves. They were ready to meet with God. And so they stood at the foot of Mount Sinai.

Exodus 19:18 It says, “Mount Sinai was completely in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace and the whole mountain quaked greatly.”

And you imagine this shaking and this noise, certainly pointing forward as a type of things to come as well. Because look what follows.

Exodus 19:19-20 “And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him by voice.” Looking down to verse 20, “The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai on the top of the mountain and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up.”

And so we recall, we memorialize this day, we recognize the people who came out to meet God connected to the sound of a trumpet. And this first meeting of Israel with God was announced by that horn, by that blast. And this is incredible sound. This was a sound that was connected with the presence of God. And it connects us on this day because this is the day, ultimately in fulfillment that this world is going to be introduced to the one true God, that trumpet is going to sound and Jesus Christ will descend and they will be meeting God. And it’s ready or not ready, ready or not. Here, Israel was ready to meet God. God’s Church had better be ready to meet God as well. Because meeting God has the same connection to this day, to the Feast of Trumpets. You notice this shaking, and this smoke, and this fire. Certainly, reminiscent of what’s on the horizon for this world in the great tribulation in the day of the Lord.

Psalm 29 says a similar kind of thing. David prophesied about this day and the ultimate fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets as well. Psalm 29:4. Notice how it describes this amazing sound, this sound that would be so piercing, and so incredible, and so loud that we connected with the voice of God. His very presence.

Psalm 29:4-5 David was inspired to write, “The voice of the Lord is powerful,” probably an understatement, don’t you think? Yes, not just that He’s got a loud voice. No, notice how it’s described. “The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.”Not only is God full of majesty, but His voice alone. His voice is amazing and overwhelming. It says, “The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.” Yeah, powerful piercing.

I mean, what comes to mind when you think about that image? Maybe a hurricane. You’ve heard there’s a hurricane in the Gulf. It may hit Florida. What happens to trees when a hurricane hits? They are laid flat, and maybe that’s kind of a description of that, or a tornado that just takes down everything in its sight or a volcano that blows its top. Trees, and buildings, and anything in its way is just... Well, here, God’s voice, His voice alone is laying trees straight out. And that’s not all.

Psalm 26:6 “He makes them also to skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young calf.”

Yeah, that’s just how you’re skipping. Well, you are bouncing on the ground. You were skipping. It’s not like they’re la, la, la, skipping like that kind of snow. That’s not the kind of skipping this is describing. This earth is not still and so they’re bouncing all over the place because of the force of the earth itself from the sound of God’s voice. And so, he describes it further.

Psalm 26:7-10 “The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness. The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth.” That’s power. That’s authority. It said,“It strips the forest bare. And in His temple, everyone says glory. The Lord sits upon the flood and the Lord sits as king forever.”

Well, imagine that idea, that imagery, He sits as king forever. Can you not help, but think about the Feast of Trumpets? Our king is returning, forever. He will rule all glory to Jesus Christ and God the Father. He is sitting above all.

Psalm 26:11 And so it says, “That’s going to scare us, that will frighten us.” And yet, he tells us, “The Lord will give strength to His people and bless His people with peace.”

And so we’re not caught unawares. We recognize that fact that Christ will descend with a shout and the voice of an archangel. And these kinds of things that Psalm 29 and Exodus 19 we’re describing are going to happen again. And so, we remember the trumpet, and we make sure we are ready to meet God. That symbolism and that typology is going to continue right to the appearance of Jesus Christ where God makes Himself known, and this Feast is such a great reminder of that very fact. And yet, when you think about the sound of the trumpet, we also remember the trumpet because there is a message that is given. Think of that aspect.

The second aspect to remember the trumpet, is that trumpet message. At the Exodus, they stood waiting to hear the message of God. God was going to give them his commandments, give them guidance for life. That message certainly continues. And as you think about the message today, yes, we need to be keeping the commandments, no doubt about that. If you turn with me over to Numbers 10:9, that sound of the trumpet, that message that God gives us, certainly has a tremendous depth of meaning. We heard earlier the ceremonial trumpets, those silver trumpets. We have a kind of a recreation of that this morning. In Numbers 10, describes those ceremonial trumpets that were blasted on God’s Feast days, on the Feast of Trumpets. But at other times as well. So, here in Numbers 10:9, it describes a trumpet message. And see if we can sort out a connection here to the Feast of Trumpets as well.

Numbers 10:9 It says, “When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with trumpets. And you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.”

Of course, a memorial is a remembrance. A commemoration is recalling and remembering. And here we recognize that sound, that sound that the priests would make with the trumpets, not only cause them to remember God, but God remembers His people, right? You will be remembered before the Lord. God’s not going to leave us. He’s not going to forsake us. He will always remember us. And it says, “You shall be saved from your enemies.” And as these difficult times come, we are going to need both physical saving and spiritual saving. We are in desperate need of Almighty God. And so He gives instructions, “Sound the alarm.”

Numbers 10:10 “In the day of your gladness, in your appointed feasts,” like today, the priests were to sound the trumpet. It says, “At the beginning of your months at the new moon, you shall blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings, over your sacrifices of your peace offerings. And they shall be a memorial for you before your God. I am the Lord your God”

So, these sacrificial offerings were to be a memorial. The blowing of trumpets was that reminder. And we see right here in Numbers 10, the use of these ceremonial trumpets sent a message. Just like the Feast of Trumpets sends a message. Here we see a message of war. We see a message of alarm. We see the trumpets used in that way, calling the people together on the Holy Days. We have the offerings that are given, the assemblies, and we have keeping of time, the beginning of months. They would sound the trumpet to signify that very thing. And so you put all of these different aspects of the use of the trumpet, it was to send a message, a sending that message that we are ready before God. You know, did you hear the trumpet? Have you been recognizing that it is sounding already in so many ways?

I was talking to someone the other day who had served in the Navy in World War II. And they were talking about trumpets coming up and they said, they were used to hearing trumpets when they were in the Navy. Because every morning the trumpet sent a message. To begin with, it was revelry, right? “Time to get up, time to get up.” You probably know the words to the song, don’t you? “I hate to get up, I hate to get up. Oh, no, I love to get up in the morning,” right? And then they’d blast the trumpet for morning colors. The flag goes up on the flagpole. The trumpet would sound as that flag is going up. The point, if you ever went into a conflict, you heard general quarters, battle stations that piercing trumpet sound with a clanging alarm bell that would go off. Everybody gets to their stations, absolutely as fast as they possibly could. And even to close out the day, you know what they would play? Taps. Taps would sound at the end of the day every night.

And it’s no different when it comes to the trumpet that is sounding today. The Feast of Trumpets is certainly a reminder. It’s recalling the alarm, the war, the message of God. Today God’s people should lift their voice like the sound of a trumpet. His prophets were to preach and teach. And this trumpet sound that’s sounding today is reminding us, we are not far from those seven seals. Revelation describes those seven seals where Jesus opens the seventh seal, the last seal, and there are seven angels with trumpets. And they will blow those trumpets to announce tremendous terrible end-time events. And we recall the voice of God laying flat the cedars of Lebanon. This world will be laid flat as those trumpets are called one after another, after another. And finally, getting to that third woe and that seventh trumpet signaling the return of Jesus Christ. God is sending a message and will continue to send that message in a more powerful way that He will be absolutely known. You can’t deny something significant is happening.

And so as we recall that, we recognize and remember the trumpet sending a message to this world. War is coming. Man’s rule is ending. Jesus Christ is returning. Assemble and be ready for Christ. Because, ultimately, I think a third aspect that that points to is we remember the trumpet because God will intervene. Things are not going to continue on as they’ve been. It can’t. It can’t. God will intervene in the affairs of man. Good example of this, we find from the Prophet Jeremiah. Notice Jeremiah 4. We’ll begin in verse 19, as Jeremiah preaches to Judah at the time, but this is not just a prophecy for ancient Judah. Yes, God was going to intervene in Judah. He certainly intervened in Israel. They were carted off into captivity. We see this warning message by Jeremiah to Judah. But we can see pretty clearly, this has to be a dual prophecy. It’s also for a time that’s just ahead of us that God will intervene. Notice what he says.

Jeremiah 4:19-22 He says, “Oh, my soul, my soul, I am pained in my very heart.” Well, why would he feel this way? He says, “My heart makes a noise in me. I can’t hold my peace because you’ve heard all my soul. The sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war, destruction upon, destruction is cried for the whole land is plundered. Suddenly my tents are plundered. My curtains in a moment. How long will I see the standard and hear the trumpet sound? My people are foolish. They have not known. They are silly children. They have no understanding. They’re wise to do evil, but to do good. They have no knowledge.”

And so, certainly, Judah was in trouble. They were going to be carted off into captivity. But notice how big a picture this is painting. It’s not just a Judah thing, but it’s a whole mankind thing.

Jeremiah 4:23 “I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form and void in the heavens. They had no light.”

Sounds like those trumpets in the Book of Revelation. The heavens are shaken. They’re rolled back like a scroll. The heavenly signs that are on the horizon. Yeah, that’s what he’s describing. The destruction from the great tribulation in the day of the Lord.

Jeremiah 4:24-28 He says, “I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled. All the hills moved back and forth.” It sounds like Sinai. And it sounds like what David was describing. “I beheld indeed there was no man. All the birds of the heavens had fled. I beheld and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness. And all its cities were broken down at the presence of the Lord by His fears, anger, and fear. For thus says the Lord, ‘The whole land will be desolate, yet I will not make a full end.’” Yes, He will cut short that time. Otherwise, there would be total destruction. He says, “For this shall the earth mourn, the heavens above will be black because I have spoken, I have purposed and will not relent nor will I turn back.”

Yes, the great tribulation is coming. The day of the Lord God will not turn. How is it ushered in? Well, He describes it, with the blast of a trumpet. We remember the trumpet that God will intervene in the affairs of this world, it is coming and Christ will return. And when it comes, when those trumpets sound, it’s destruction and it’s desolation. Cities will be thrown down, and it’s all ushered in with the voice of a frightening trumpet. And so, this day we recall that there are difficult times ahead. But as we recall the trumpet also brings another interesting aspect to mind. I think you could say a fourth remembering the trumpet. You could tie to Exodus. Exodus. Now, why would a trumpet sound remind you of... Of course, when you think of Exodus, you think of ancient Israel leaving Egypt, right? We’ve read a little bit about that at Sinai when the trumpet was sounding at the giving of the Ten Commandments. But trumpets also remind us, not only the first Exodus as a type, not just history, but also a future Exodus. A future Exodus.

Turn with me over to Isaiah 27:12. Here, we rehearse the difficult times that lie ahead. And we see a connection that that first Exodus was a type. It was a symbol of an Exodus to come as well. Isaiah 27:12. Notice the setting.

Isaiah 27:12 It says, “It shall come to pass in that day.” So, we’re looking to that day, and it says, “That day, that day the Lord will thresh…” Here we see a threshing taking place. It says, “From the channel of the river to the brook of Egypt, and you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel.”

In that day, what’s going to happen? God will thresh. Now, most of us aren’t farmers, and the way they used to thresh was quite different than having a combine go through the wheat fields today. What would happen when they were threshing wheat? Well, they would lay out these long stalks, and the grain heads would be at the top of those stalks. And the custom was they would put them down and they would beat the grain off of the stalks. And that was the threshing process.

So, here, Isaiah is using this poetry for imagery. And it should remind us of this image. And now imagine God taking a great stick in His hand. And instead of beating wheat, that wheat is symbolic of people. He is beating the people that are laid out before Him. And He’s collecting the grain. He’s breaking off the wheat from the chaff. And He’s going to thresh it, it says, “From the river to the stream of Egypt, to the brook of Egypt and you’ll be gathered one by one.” Well, who’s being gathered? Israel. God’s people, Israel, are being gathered. They’ll be broken off, loosened up, and God is picturing that being picked up, like picking up one grain of wheat at a time. And it will be returned. And if you notice, when does this happen?

Isaiah 27:13 “So, it shall be in that day, the great trumpet will be blown.” Now, that’s not any old trumpet. It says, “The great trumpet.” That great trumpet, it will be sounded. And so it points to the Feast. It points to the return of Christ. It points to the Feast of Trumpets. It says, “They will come who are about to perish in the land of Assyria. They who are outcast in the land of Egypt and shall worship the Lord in the holy Mount at Jerusalem.”

There will be an exodus from this world where God will assemble physical Israel at the beginning of the millennium. And it’ll hearken back to that ancient exodus where God will thresh and bring His physical people that survive the great tribulation in the day of the Lord, bring them back together. We know that’s true because as we look here, think about the people that are hearing this prophecy. They were never in Egypt. They were never there. Their forefathers were there, but that’s all history to them. They’d heard about it. They sang songs about it. And now, hundreds and hundreds of years later, a prophet comes along and he tells them, “Your nation is terrible. You’re going into captivity. God is going to allow you to suffer the consequences of turning your back on Him. And you are rotten to the core, your government is corrupt, your kings are corrupt, your worship is useless, and you’re going to suffer the consequences.”

But, ultimately, God will return and thresh in all those places where you’ve been held captive, held captive by wrong beliefs, wrong worship, wrong understanding, and God will bring His people back to Jerusalem, to the promised land, that physical people, He’ll take you back, kind of describe one grain at a time, He’s going to rescue them. And we recognize that time is at the sound of the trumpet, at the return of Christ. And, of course, it’s also reminiscent, this idea of Exodus, not only the physical people that survive, the great tribulation in the day of the Lord. It also is a reminder for us. We’ve got to exodus from this world. We can’t be a part of this world now. Our exodus is better be complete by this time because we’re to exit this physical realm. And when that sound of that great trumpet is heard, we need to exit the physical realm and be spirit beings born into the family of God. And so we remember the trumpet and exodus as well.

Now, of course, that points to Jesus Christ in His return. I think a fifth thing that we remember as we remember the trumpet, it introduces the Kingdom of God by power of the resurrection. I mean, this is a time we look forward to that sound of the great trumpet. When, ultimately, an amazing pronouncement is made. If you turn with me over to Revelation 11:15. Here we see that powerful trumpet blast is sounded. And look at the announcement that is made at this time. Revelation 11:15. Do we memorialize this? Do we look forward to this? Do we remember the trumpet?

Revelation 11:15-18 It says, “The seventh angel sounded,” that’s the last one, “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.’” It says, “The 24 elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God saying, ‘We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the one who is, and who was, and who is to come because you have taken your great power and reigned. The nations were angry and your wrath has come and the time of the dead that they should be judged, that you should reward your servants, the prophets, and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.’”

Christ is coming back. The time is just on the horizon. How much closer are we today than even last Feast of Trumpets? What has been going on in the world just in this last year? Do we see it? Do we recognize it? How long can things continue to go on? I mean, this points us straight to the time when Christ will come back. His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. The voice of the Lord will break the cedars of Lebanon. And, ultimately, He will shatter man’s rule. And ultimately, saints will be resurrected. 1 Thessalonians 4, certainly reminds us of that very fact. And 1 Corinthians 15, maybe we can turn there. 1 Corinthians 15:51, we see when Christ returns, the resurrection occurs. And 1 Corinthians 15 will, ultimately, be fulfilled. Ultimately, we see this, that man’s reign will come to an end and the Kingdom of God will be established on earth. And, ultimately, we have that opportunity as we remember the trumpet, not only today but every day in our life. And so, 1 Corinthians 15, we see the ultimate fulfillment.

1 Corinthians 15:51-54 Paul was inspired to write, “I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. We’re not all going to die before the return of Christ, but we’ll be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible. And we shall be changed. Those who have died in the faith will be raised first.” Those who are faithful at that time and that Christ returns will be changed. He says, “This corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. So, when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory.”

And so, the Feast of Trumpets certainly reminds us of this very fact, the establishment of the Kingdom of God, and the resurrection of the saints. I mean, what a beautiful time this pictures, gets beyond the death and the destruction and the desolation to a brilliant future, a future of peace and safety. Families brought together, children and parents and grandparents will have the love of God demonstrated before their eyes where it can be set right. And it will be so amazing that even nature will be brought to balance. And even the animals won’t threaten human beings anymore. We look forward to that time that’s ushered in with the sound of a trumpet. And as we remember this time, it’s not just a memorial. It’s not just a commemoration. It’s not just recalling the past and looking forward to the future. Maybe one of the most significant things as we remember the trumpet, is whenever that message went out, in whatever form, it was always a motivation to action, always a motivation to action. And it brings to mind, maybe the most pivotal scripture of the whole entire Bible. It’s over in Acts 3:19. Yeah, sometimes known as the pivotal scripture in the entire Bible. Because it’s one that recalls and remembers the trumpet, but also is a call to action. It’s a motivation. It’s something that should move us. God’s Holy Days are all established partly for that reason, to remind us and motivate us to put on Christ.

Acts 3:19 Because of the purpose, because of the plan of God, we’re reminded, “Repent therefore and be converted.” He says, “That your sins may be blotted out. So, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”

Yeah, that’s trumpets. Trumpets should remind us of this. It should remind us to put our life in order. Make sure we are repentant before God. Make sure we are standing justified before Him, making sure our sins are blotted out. And so, we are living submitted to God’s Holy Spirit because there are times of refreshing coming. But, you know, we have a time of refreshing right now. Every time we go before God, and we repent of our sins, and He forgives us, we are brought back into a right relationship with God, and we can be refreshed in His presence.

And so, Trumpets reminds us of this very thing. A time is coming when the whole earth will be refreshed. But we have that opportunity now, that we can stand repentant before God. We can stand repentant before God can be converted as we submit our lives to God’s Holy Spirit, and we are led by that spirit. And so, we should be living, breathing examples of God’s Spirit at work, repentant before Him, anxious, and looking forward to the ultimate fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets. Because that time is coming.

Acts 3:20 It says, “He will send Jesus Christ who has preached to you before.” It says, “Whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.”

So, we look back and we remember, but we look forward and we are motivated then to be faithful to God, be faithful to our calling, to put His law, and His way to work in our lives today because He’s called us ultimately to live, to live, to live is Christ and stand before Him as His people. And so, we’ve been given that opportunity today. And so, we consider this awesome time. And we realize the tremendous significance of the sound of the trumpet. Certainly, it is a memorial. It is a commemoration. And we remember God has made Himself known to us. And the time will come that this world will meet their Lord, their master, and He will return as high priest. And the world will understand that message. And that message should challenge us. We’ve been given that good news that we can put that message in practice today. And we can exit this world like ancient Israel exited Egypt, that representation of sin.

This world is inundated with sin today. And, ultimately, there will be a future exodus of God’s people when He will intervene, and He will thresh, and He will harvest. And we look forward to being harvested into the family of God. And so, we remember this time, that ultimately the kingdoms of this world will be blown away. They’ll be blasted away by the sound of the trumpet. And it will then be the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. And He will reign forever and ever. And so, we celebrate, and we worship, and we commemorate, and we praise God, and hopefully motivated to be determined to be spiritually ready for the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So, remember the trumpet.