[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

Introduction: A Less-Known Holy Day

Trumpets figure prominently in the prophetic language of the Bible. Most people have heard of the seven trumpets of Revelation. These trumpets will signal seven powerful plagues unleashed on the earth during the Day of the Lord. The seventh of these trumpets will signal the beginning of Christ’s reign over the kingdoms of this world. And this trumpet will also announce the resurrection of the saints to glory.

But who has ever heard of the “Feast of Trumpets”? Just what is the “Feast of Trumpets”?

The Feast of Trumpets is one of the seven biblical Feasts that are outlined in Scripture. These are holy days observed annually by a growing number of Christians around the world. These holy days are not just empty rituals, but deeply, meaningful holy days that provide a framework for the plan of salvation. They teach us how God is bringing many sons to glory, as it says in Hebrews 2:10.

If you haven’t heard of the Feast of Trumpets, why not?

Maybe it’s time you did. Because your Bible shows this feast day is a significant day of worship to God. And keeping it can give us a depth of understanding about where we are in prophecy, and where we’re headed.

On today’s program, we’re going to ask the question, “What is the Feast of Trumpets”? We’ll examine how it fits into the overall outline of biblical holy days. And we’ll discover the special significance it has for Christians living in the last days.

Trumpets: A Vital Biblical Symbol

Welcome to Tomorrow’s World, where we bring an understanding of today’s world, through the prophecies of the Bible.

When we speak of trumpets in the Bible, what comes to mind? You might recall that there will be seven trumpets blown during the Day of the Lord, announcing seven powerful plagues. You may also recall that there is a mighty trumpet blown at the resurrection of the saints.

Why do we have these uses of trumpets in prophecy, and what do they mean for us? To answer this question, we must understand that the Bible reveals there are seven biblical holy days. They are annual holy days and occur as regular, annual feasts. One is called “a memorial of blowing of trumpets.” Or, just “the Feast of Trumpets.” But what is it all about?

Perhaps the best way to introduce the Feast of Trumpets is to first take a step back, and outline all of the seven annual feasts. Now, some think the feast days, originally found in the Old Testament, were just for the ancient Israelites, or just for the Jews. But actually, the New Testament church kept the biblical holy days, too. This might be a shock to some. But if you want to see for yourself, be sure to get the study guide we are offering today, The Holy Days: God’s Master Plan.

We find the biblical holy days listed in the book of Leviticus. I’ll briefly review them, and explain what they symbolize for Christians.

Let’s turn to Leviticus 23 and we’ll read in verse 1.

“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.

Now stop just for a moment, and think about this. Who is “the Lord” speaking? Well, that’s the preincarnate Jesus Christ and He says these are His feasts. These feasts He’s going to be talking about. There not the feasts of the Jews, There not the feasts of the Isrealites, they are the Lord’s feasts. And if we understand that this is the preincarnate Jesus Christ talking should we not take notice and think about what does our Lord want us to learn about His feasts?

Going on:

“Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.” [v. 3]

So, this is interesting because what we find here is there is a weekly Sabbath, and there are annual Sabbaths. The seventh day, Saturday, is the weekly Sabbath, and the feasts we are going to be talking about here in a moment are the annual Sabbaths. And they are all feasts of the Lord.

Going on in verse 4…

“These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times….”

So this is interesting. In the introduction to a discussion about the feast days, we’re told these are the feasts of the Lord. Who is the Lord? The preincarnate Jesus Christ. And they’re connected to the seventh day Sabbath, and they are to be proclaimed at their appointed times. Now let’s go through a step by step discussion of what these feast days are.

1. First, comes the Passover. This is found in Leviticus 23:4 and 5.

For Christians, Passover is a memorial of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins. It signifies the fact that if we have repented of our sins, we can be “passed over” and we can be justified before God through the death of Jesus Christ. We can be freed from the death penalty, which we earned through sin. This is the first and pivotal step in the awesome plan of salvation of Almighty God.

2. The second feast is the Feast of Unleavened Bread, found in Leviticus 23:6–8.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread follows Passover. This feast is a time when Christians remove leaven from their homes and sin from their hearts. It’s a seven-day period where we are admonished to examine ourselves and determine: Are we living up to the sacrifice that Christ made for us? Leavening symbolizes sin, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread symbolizes coming out of sin, through the help of our Savior Jesus Christ.

3. The third feast in the biblical list of holy days is the day of Pentecost. In Leviticus 23:15–21 it is introduced as the “feast of weeks” or the “feast of firstfruits.”

This one you might be more familiar with. You may remember that it was called the Day of Pentecost in the New Testament. That’s just a Greek word for “fiftieth,” as they were to count fifty days in order to calculate the timing of this day. Pentecost was the day the Holy Spirit was poured out on the fledgling New Testament church. Pentecost, or the “Feast of Firstfruits” teaches us that God is calling just a small number of people today, as firstfruits. He’s simply not calling the whole world now. Have you ever wondered why there is so much sin in the world? Why is it such a violent and dangerous place to be, and getting worse? If God really was trying to call all of humanity at this time, don’t you think He’d be more successful? No, God is not calling everyone now. And this is explained in the Day of Pentecost, or Feast of Firstfruits.

4. The next feast often occurs in September and is called a “memorial of blowing of trumpets,” in Leviticus 23:23–25. In short, it’s called the Feast of Trumpets.

But what is the Feast of Trumpets for? Well, this feast teaches us that Jesus Christ’s return will be in a time of great warfare and violence. It also symbolizes Him coming as a warrior, as a conquering king, no longer as a suffering Lamb. We’ll come back to this a little later.

5. Following short on the heels of the Feast of Trumpets is another day called The Day of Atonement. This is found in Leviticus 23:26–32.

The Day of Atonement is a very sobering day because it’s a day of fasting and humbling ourselves. It’s a day when we recognize that Satan the Devil has been given temporary rulership over this world. But he will be removed when Jesus comes back to this earth. And for that reason, it’s a day of great hope and promise for all mankind.

6. The next feast is called the Feast of Tabernacles. That’s found in Leviticus 23:33 through 36.

The Feast of Tabernacles signifies the big harvest which will take place during Christ’s 1,000-year reign on earth. It’s also called the “Feast of Ingathering.” And during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, God’s Spirit will be open to everyone and all will know the truth. Everyone in every nation around the globe will be taught to worship Him and learn His ways. The Feast of Tabernacles is a seven-day, joyous celebration that reminds us of this coming age of peace and prosperity.

7. The last feast is called the “eighth day” in Leviticus 23:36. It’s also called “the last day, that great day of the feast” in John 7:37.

This Last Great Day comes immediately after the Feast of Tabernacles. It’s a one-day feast that teaches us just how just and fair God really is. The Last Great Day teaches us that there will come a time after the millennium when every human being will have a chance at salvation. Those who have lived and died but never even heard the name of Jesus Christ will have an opportunity and God will not consign them to punishment without really giving them a chance. This feast pictures that day when they’ll be given their chance. And what a wonderful picture of a fair and loving God it is.

What we’ve just reviewed is God’s master plan of salvation. In other words, God has a step-by-step plan by which He will give every man and woman a chance at salvation.

So, what does this have to do with you? And why are we talking about the Feast of Trumpets.

True Christians Kept God’s Feasts

In the last segment, we briefly outlined the seven feasts of God that He reveals in the Bible. These are feast days that the early New Testament Church kept in the first century. But don’t take our word for it; do your own research. Check it out for yourself. You’ll find that first-century Christians never kept Christmas, Easter, or Halloween. What they did keep is Pentecost, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Passover, and others. How do we know? Well, we can look at the record of the Bible itself.

Take a look at Acts 2:1:

“When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” (Acts 2:1)

Isn’t it interesting that the Holy Spirit was given, initiating the New Testament church, on what most people think of as an Old Testament holy day? This is after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Shouldn’t it give us pause before casting aside these holy days?

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church was written in the 50s AD, well over two decades after the New Testament church was founded. And yet, Paul refers to this church as keeping Feast of Unleavened Bread, another of the biblical holy days. We can read it in 1 Corinthians 5:6:

“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened.” (1 Corinthians 5:6–7)

Leaven was compared to sin. Just like leaven spreads throughout a whole loaf of bread in the leavening process, even so, sin spreads and multiplies in us and has a corrosive effect in our lives. During the feast of Unleavened Bread, we are to eliminate any leavened products from our homes and any of our meals. Paul acknowledges the fact that these members of the Church in Corinth were in fact keeping these days, because he said, “you truly are unleavened.”

The next statement should make it even more clear. In 1 Corinthians 5:8 Paul wrote:

“Therefore let us keep the feast…” (1 Corinthians 5:8)

So, we find the church of God keeping this so-called Old Testament holy day well into the New Testament era. As one step further, Paul explains that we should observe the New Testament Passover in honor of our Lord’s death. Notice in verse 7 of 1 Corinthians 5:

“For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” (1 Corinthians 5:7)

In chapter 11 he gives instruction on how to observe the New Testament Passover:

“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ … For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23–24, 26)

Now, why does this matter? Why go through examples of the New Testament writers explaining how the early church kept the biblical holy days? Because as Christians, we are to follow in the footsteps of Christ and the disciples. And certainly, it’s even more important to be diligent to follow the example of Jesus Christ, as we see the day of His return approaching.

As we mentioned in the last segment, the Feast of Trumpets is the fourth feast in the sequence of annual holy days. But to understand the Feast of Trumpets, we have to understand how trumpets were used in ancient times. Thousands of years ago, before the advent of radio or satellite communication, there had to be a way to convey signals to people separated by great distances. Whether an army in formation, or citizens scattered throughout a walled city, their lives depended on having sentries who could blast a trumpet call to everyone, if danger was approaching.

So, what does this mean for us today? What should we learn from the Feast of Trumpets? This Feast focuses on the return of Christ. But not only that, it warns us that Jesus’ return will occur during a time of great calamity and war. That’s what trumpets were used for in ancient times. To announce danger or an approaching army. So, this holy day, to be kept annually, is designed to teach us about how to be ready in a dangerous and violent world leading up to Christ’s return.

If you’re a long-time viewer of Tomorrow’s World, you know that the prophesied Day of the Lord is a one-year period leading up to the return of Jesus Christ. During that one-year period, seven trumpets will be blown by seven powerful angels. These seven trumpets will announce seven plagues poured out on mankind. These seven plagues are outlined in Revelation 8, 9, and 11. The description in these chapters shows that this will be a time of great devastation and distress on earth. This final year, the Day of the Lord, will be the year of God’s wrath on rebellious mankind. At the end of that period, Jesus Christ will intervene to save humanity from itself. We read of the seventh trumpet blowing and a profound announcement taking place. This is in Revelation 11:15,

“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!’” (Revelation 11:15)

Think about it! What a momentous event that will be. The announcement of our Savior directly taking control of the governments of this world. Can you imagine what a profound shift this will be? In response, Zechariah shows us that the leaders of this world will actually fight against Him. In Zechariah 14:1–2, we read:

“Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem…. [v. 3] Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.” (Zechariah 14:1–4)

Why does Jesus Christ have to take over the kingdoms of this earth when He returns? Have you ever asked yourself that question? The answer is simple. He is NOT the ruler of this world today. Satan the devil is. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says Satan is “the god of this age.” Ephesians 2:2 shows Satan is the “prince of the power of the air.” He rules over this age, with chaos and violence. Is it any wonder why we have so much mayhem and destruction in our world today? It’s because Satan is currently ruling over this earth. But he will be replaced by Jesus Christ, and the Feast of Trumpets teaches us that.

God’s Plan of Salvation—Step by Step

We’re living in very uncertain times. The news is frightening. The trends in society are discouraging. And it’s easy to worry about what’s going to happen next. But we don’t have to wonder or worry, because we’ve been given an outline of the plan.

The holy days reveal the plan of salvation of our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. The biblical holy days outline that plan and they show us where we are in history.

They also show us that when Christ returns, in a time of war, another event will happen. This is something God’s servants have waited for, for thousands of years. That is, the resurrection of the saints. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 explains this:

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–18)

And it is a comfort, isn’t it? To know our Savior is coming back, and when that trumpet blows, those who have died in the faith, as disciples of Christ, will be awakened and given life, spirit life. And we, too, can be part of that group that enters God’s glorious kingdom in that day. A life without pain, without suffering, without death, forever. That’s hard even to imagine, but that is what will happen when that trumpet blows.

But which trumpet is it? 1 Corinthians 15:51 gets more specific:

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52)

Just as Christ will take over the kingdoms of this world at the announcement of the last trumpet, so will the resurrection occur. At the last trumpet. The seventh trumpet of Revelation. The time when saints will enter glory, eternal life with God the Father and Jesus Christ. To live forever and never die. This is what the Feast of Trumpets teaches us—that we can be changed into immortal spirit beings, at the blast of that last, seventh trumpet. What an encouraging and powerful hope we have!

Frankly, we are nearing that time now. We are living in the time leading up to the events symbolized by the Feast of Trumpets. Wouldn’t you want to know more about the Feast of Trumpets if it reveals understanding about the time we’re living in? Wouldn’t you want to keep the Feast of Trumpets if it gives comfort and encouragement in a time of violence and war? This profound observance teaches us about preparing for and being ready for the tumultuous times ahead of us.

Conclusion: The True Gospel

On Tomorrow’s World, we bring you the truth. And truth is so rare, today. We are committed to preaching this message, to accomplish our mission and goal, and that is, of publishing the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God on earth—the same Gospel message Christ preached.

Isaiah 58:1 tells God’s servants:

“Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet.” (Isaiah 58:1)

And that’s what we want to do, with each episode of Tomorrow’s World. Not just perpetuating the world’s traditions and customs, but actually teaching how you can have a relationship with God based on obedience to His laws. Jesus Christ came to die for our sins, and we can have forgiveness through Him. But there is so much more to His message, including the advance warning of how to prepare for the times just ahead.

So, what is the Feast of Trumpets? It’s an annual holy day, among the biblical Holy days of God, which prepares us to be ready for the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And what could be more important than that?

Thank you for watching! Remember to subscribe so you don’t miss another Tomorrow’s World video, and if you would like a copy of our free study guide The Holy Days: God’s Master Plan, go to TWTV.org/Plan or click the link in the description. See you next time.