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Jesus Christ – Fulfilling the Feasts of Israel

A Focus on the Future; The Feast of Trumpets
(#? in a series of #?)
Scripture Reading – Leviticus 23:23-25; I Corinthians 15:35-58
November 14, 2021
My name is Colin Lord, and I teach music at UIS.
(You can private message me on FaceBook if you want to get in touch with
me. I’m the older guy with a clarinet or bagpipes. Just reference it in
regards to this sermon.)
Pray
This sermon is late. I had intended it to be presented in September, but
other things were pressing in on my time and the Prayers in the OT series
was going on, so instead I’m preaching it today. “Why September,” You
ask? Because, as you can see, I’m going to focus on the Jewish religious
Feast of Trumpets which takes place in the fall post-harvest time in the
Northern Hemisphere, sometime during September/October. I had
originally intended to do an overview of all three of the Fall Feasts: Feast of
Trumpets, the Day of Atonement (which is really a ‘fast’), and the Feast of
Booths. But as I prepared it soon became obvious that I shouldn’t try to do
more than one Feast in this sermon. Perhaps in the future I’ll do another
since I’ve already done a bit of studying.
I also want to preface this sermon with the understanding that I am not
trying to push any particular eschatological (or end-times) view. If it sounds
like I am, I apologize in advance. Having grown up being taught one
dogmatic position, seeing too many problems with it to continue in it, yet
not finding one I’m completely convinced by, means that I don’t really have
a consistent eschatological view. However, I am convinced there are some
truths about our future which God has made clear. These are the sorts of
things we will examine to see the fulfillment of the Fall Feasts, some of
which are very encouraging to study.
But first, let’s read from:
*Col. 2:16 – 17
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Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with
regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however,
is found in Christ.
The Jews celebrated the Sabbath weekly, New Moon celebrations monthly,
and religious festivals when it was the right time of the year. This verse
declares that these celebrations were a shadow of the things to come, but
that the real thing is found in Christ Jesus himself.
It’s almost like someone is going to come around a corner, but you can see
their shadow on the ground. However, unless that person has a distinct
shape, you cannot be sure who it is that is coming. The shadow only gives
you an outline. It doesn’t give you any of the distinguishing features or
details that would appear on the surface of the object.
If we study the Jewish religious festivals in light of the New Covenant, they
point us to Jesus himself and His work. Some of them, He has already
fulfilled. Others, He has yet to fulfill.
Some Bible scholars prefer to use the terminology of type instead of
shadow. The shadow points to the reality, and the type of a certain person
or event like one of the Jewish religious festivals points us to the anti-type
or fulfillment. A good example of this is found in
*Hebrews 8:1 – 2, 5
The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who
sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who
serves in the sanctuary the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by
man.
*<Earthly high priests> serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow
of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about
to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the
pattern shown you on the mountain.”
So today, even though we’ll be looking at the Old Testament for information
on the Jewish Feast of Trumpets, the heart of this message is the person of
Jesus Christ. What does this feast tell us about Him? How does it point to
our Lord?
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SEVEN FEASTS
(actually 6 Feasts and 1 Fast) Which the children of Israel were to observe:
• *Passover (Pesach)
• *Feast of Unleavened Bread
• *Day of Firstfruits (Omer)
• *Feast of Weeks (Shavuos or Pentecost)
• *Feast of Trumpets, Day of Memorial (Rosh Hashanah)
• *Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur – a fast)
• *Feast of Booths (Sukkoth)
*Instructions on following the Feasts or Festivals is given in several places
in the Torah (5 books of Moses), particularly Exodus 12, 23; Leviticus 16,
23; Numbers 28, 29; and Deuteronomy 16
*The men of Israel were to assemble before the Lord with all the other
faithful Israelite men to celebrate the Feasts three times a year. The first
time in the Spring, they would celebrate Passover, Unleavened Bread, and
Firstfruits since they occurred all together within an eight-day period. The
second time in the Summer, they would celebrate the Feast of Weeks
which was on the 49th day after Firstfruits. The third time was in the Fall, to
celebrate the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the eight-day
long Feast of Booths.
Since we’re jumping in at the middle of the Feast calendar, let’s review the
first four Feasts briefly. Before doing so, I’ll also remind you that Jews
count their days from sundown to sundown.
We’ll also note that the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar with 28 days in
each month. That’s why even though the feast days are specifically listed
as a certain day of a certain month, they move around on our Roman
calendar. This is most obvious with Easter (or Resurrection Sunday), which
is always on the Sunday following Passover, no matter which day of the
week Passover was on. So fasten your seatbelts for a quick tour of the
Feasts.
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*Passover was originally celebrated to remind the Israelites of their

freedom from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. *It was celebrated by Jesus
and His disciples after sundown on the evening we call the Last Supper.
Jesus ultimately fulfilled the Passover when *He died the next day on the
cross as “The Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the World,” freeing
us from bondage to sin. When I learned of the many symbols * in the
Passover which point to Jesus, I started celebrating a Christian Passover
and have done so every year of our marriage. * It’s my kids’ favorite
holiday. So much so that the one time we felt too busy and overwhelmed to
do it, the kids exclaimed “We have to celebrate Passover,” and helped
make it happen. From the Passover Feast, Jesus instituted the Lord’s
Supper or Communion for the church.
*The Feast of Unleavened Bread began at sundown after Passover and
lasted for seven days. Jesus had just died on the cross was buried right
before the Feast of Unleavened Bread began. Jesus himself said before he
was killed, (John 12:23) “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be
glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and
dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
Jesus was predicting His own death and his resurrection which would make
a way for many to be resurrected to new life with Him.
*The Feast of Firstfruits is next on God’s calendar. It was specifically
celebrated on the day after the Sabbath during the week of Unleavened
Bread. The Priest would wave the Firstfruits before the Lord as a wave
offering. *Jesus was resurrected on the Feast of Firstfruits. He was the
firstfruits of resurrection (along with many holy people as recorded in
Matthew) and many more people to be resurrected later. I’ll talk more on
this later.
*The Feast of Weeks, Shavuos, or Pentecost is the next feast on the
Jewish calendar. Although originally established as an early harvest
celebration, it also commemorated the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.
With the Law came everything needed to govern the new nation called
“Israel.” God’s timing is amazing in that the same day of the year which
birthed the nation of Israel was also the day many years later which God
birthed the church * by the giving of the Holy Spirit. The feast was fulfilled
when God poured out His Spirit “on us richly through Jesus Christ our
Saviour.” (Titus 3:6)
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Each of these four feasts was celebrated by Jews annually for centuries.
Jesus celebrated them while He lived on earth. But these feasts found their
final fulfillment in Jesus Christ and His work. Perhaps in the future I’ll spend
more time elaborating on those, but for this morning, I’d like to look at the
first of the Fall feasts which I do not believe have been totally fulfilled yet. I
believe we have only seen them in ‘shadow’ form. They are: The Feast of
Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths. Let’s read about
the Feast of Trumpets from
*Leviticus 23:23 – 25
The LORD said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the
seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly
commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an
offering made to the LORD by fire.’”
*The Feast of Trumpets – is also called the Day of Memorial by Jews. I’ll
talk about that a bit later. It is also called Yom Teruah and translates to
“Day for blowing trumpets.”
I. General use of trumpets – both kinds
There were two kinds of trumpets used by Israel in the Old Testament. God
often delineated which kind of trumpet should be used for which occasions.
There were two silver trumpets made by the craftsmen who built the
tabernacle and only the Priests were allowed to blow them. *You can see
them to the right on this relief of Roman soldiers carrying off the Jewish
treasures on the Arch of Titus along the Apian Way in Italy.
*The Silver Trumpets were blown for a number of different occasions (see
Numbers 10):
• *To gather all of God’s People
• *To cause the camps of Israel to set out and move forward
(when they were in ‘wandering’ mode)
• *To signify the beginning of a new month
• *To remember or hold a memorial day
• *To signify the beginning of a Jubilee year or year of rest
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• *To accompany burnt-offerings and peace-offerings

• *To call the nation of Israel to war
*But you didn’t have to be a priest to use a ram’s horn/Shofar.
• *To call the nation of Israel to war (Gideon - Judges 6:34)
• *To warn of impending danger (King Saul - I Samuel 13:3)
• *To celebrate the Ark of the Lord moving to Jerusalem
(David - 2 Samuel 6:15)
• *To coronate a new king of Israel
(David for Solomon’s coronation - I Kings 1:39)
Unfortunately, when they translated the Bible into English, they chose to
use the word trumpet to mean either kind, which makes some things
confusing if you don’t check the original language. I’ll also let you know that
in the New Testament translated by Martin Luther, he chose the German
term meaning trombone rather than trumpet. Perhaps because the
trombone was associated with religious music in his culture. In any case,
the silver trumpets were used for some things, but for the Feast of
*Trumpets, the ram’s horn or Shofar would be used. It sounds like this:
(demonstration - Siera)
[There were four primary sounds called by the Shofar for the Day of
Memorial – or Feast of Trumpets:
Tekiah: a long single blast lasting three to four seconds
Shevarim: three connected short blasts each lasting one second
Teruah : a series of nine very short notes. The nine notes of the
Teruah should be equal to the three notes of the Shevarim in
duration
Tekiah Gedolah: a great long balst for as long as you can blow]
II. Original Practice
The harvest is nearly over. It is the first day of the seventh month which
usually arrives in September or early October.
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Read Zola’s paragraph on page 11

III. Modern commentary on this Day
A. A Jewish (not Christian) commentator writes: Read Maimonides note for
vs 24-25 on page 522+
Between the two notes, read this:
Note that the Jewish New Year’s Day – Rosh Hashanah - was man’s
invention, not God’s. We’re not even sure when it became the New Year’s
Day.
*Amos 3:6 – When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
(After reading the whole note) Remember, this is a Jewish perspective (not
Christian). But it does raise some things to think about.
However, did you notice his reference to the Day of Memorial? I promised
I’d get back to it, so here we are. What are we remembering? This author
suggests we should remember our sinful ways and our chasing after
“shadows and waste.” Perhaps he is correct. We certainly shouldn’t ignore
our need to repent. He says we should forsake our “evil ways and thoughts
and return to God so that He may have mercy upon you.” But how can a
just God have mercy upon sin if it has not been paid for? This is the
problem with many Jewish commentators. Our difference with this writer is
that we have a Savior who has already paid the penalty for our sin. And
*I John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (NIV/KJV)
B. Another commentator suggests that the Day of Memorial is borrowed
from an idea in
*Numbers 10:9, 10
When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is
oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be
remembered by the LORD your God and rescued from your enemies.
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It’s not that God needs to be reminded that we need his help. It is that we
need to remember that God is our only real source of help.
Here’s how nineteenth-century theologian Gustav Oehler explained it: “The
sounding of trumpets at worship took the place, as it were, of an invocation: it was
to bring the people to God’s remembrance, or rather to bring the people to the
consciousness that God was thinking of them” (Old Testament Theology, trans.
George Day, 336). (Fest of Tpts-BJU)
*Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
C. Some Messianic Jews (Jews who believe in Jesus) hold that “the
trumpets are blown on this Jewish new year to gather God’s people, rouse
them to repentance and will one day coronate our reigning King Jesus, who
will be accompanied by the sound of trumpets upon His return. (Zechariah
9:14)” (26/8 church)
*Zechariah 9:14
Then the LORD will appear over them; His arrow will flash like lightning.
The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of
the south, and the LORD Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and
overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will
be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar. The LORD
their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will
sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.
The Shofar has been used in the past for a King’s coronation, who’s to say
it may not be used again?
D. On the other hand, we are reminded in (New Testament final fulfillment
possibilities)
*Matthew 9:37, 38 –
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers
are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his
harvest field.”
The Day or Memorial or the Feast of Trumpets put an end to the harvest.
The harvest was over once the trumpet sounded. I don’t feel like we’re
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ready in PNG for the harvest to be over. There is much more work to be
done. But we don’t know how long we have. As Ryan Harty pointed out in
the parable of the workers a few weeks ago, we need to be vigilant in doing
Kingdom work before the harvest is ended by the Trumpet sound.
Several verses in the New Testament allude to God’s use of trumpets such
as
*Matthew 24:30 (Jesus is teaching)
[All the nations of the earth] will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds
of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a
loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from
one end of the heavens to the other.”
When Jesus comes on the clouds of the sky, a trumpet call will be made,
and the angels will gather God’s elect from all over the Earth. If the elect
have been working in God’s harvest field, they are now being called in for
something else. Harvest time is over.
*I Thess. 4:16 – 17 gives a little more detail (if indeed, this is the same
event-which I think it is)
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command,
with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the
dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will
be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so we will be with the Lord forever.
In these verses we are given confidence that both the living and the dead
who are in Christ will meet Him and be with Him forever. We have even
more information in
*I Cor 15:51, 52
Listen, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed
– in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last <trombone>trumpet. For
the <trombone> trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable,
and we will be changed.
Just to clarify, when this verse says “We will not all sleep,” it really means,
“We will not all die.” Those who are “asleep” according to this verse are
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“dead.” But the wonderful thing is, that the dead believers are resurrected,
and they have a new imperishable body. Those who were alive also have a
new body. When God’s trumpet sounds, all believers will be changed
whether they are dead or alive when Jesus returns. This passage also tells
us something about our new bodies when we read a little earlier in
*I Cor. 15:35 – 37
But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body
will they come?” How foolish. What you sow does not come to life unless it
dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed,
perhaps of wheat or of something else.
So Paul is comparing our earthly bodies to a seed, just like earlier Jesus
compared himself to a seed. Jesus recognized that by dying He would be
raised to life again, and bring many others with Him. He would also be in a
renewed/regenerated body when He rose again.
*I Cor. 15:42-44a
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is
perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in
glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body,
it is raised a spiritual body.
What does our new body look like?
It is raised imperishable – it won’t get old ever again
It is raised in glory – remember what Jesus looked like at His
transfiguration? the glory of Jesus shown so bright the three disciples
couldn’t even look at Him. After His resurrection, I’m sure he kept His ‘glory
shield’ around Him so that His disciples could see him. What will our new
bodies be like if we are raised in glory?
It is raised in power – The power of Jesus working in us will be astonishing
It is raised a spiritual body – It will be a body, but so much better than the
current earthly one we all live in now.
One more item about this Feast of Trumpets -
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I found out that in Israel, Jewish people throw stones into a body of water to
symbolize the casting off of sins. (26/8 church) A current Christian practice
might be to throw away something which symbolizes a sin or distraction
from God’s true purpose in your life. I think this can be a good thing.
However, perhaps the real meaning behind throwing the stones into a body
of water is to symbolize that at the ultimate Feast of Trumpets our old
bodies will be cast off and God will clothe us with new resurrected,
imperishable, glorified, powerful, and spiritual bodies.
My question to you is: Are you encouraged by this? Do you look forward to
the day when Jesus returns, and you are given a new body capable of
enjoying eternity with Him? I’m sure that many here today are, but some
may not be. If you do not yet know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, do not
delay. We don’t know when the trumpet of God will sound, and once it
does, it will be too late to put your trust in Him.
As we are reminded in Daniel 12:2
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth (those who are dead) will
awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
My prayer is that you will all be resurrected to everlasting life.
*Today’s Takeaways:
*Jesus has or will fulfill all of the feasts.
*Because the Feast of Trumpets has not been fulfilled yet, we are still in the
time of harvest, let us not grow weary in our work,
*Let us ask the Lord of the harvest for more workers.
*If you have not yet put your trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation, do so
today.
*In anticipation of the Feast of Trumpets Especially the Day of Memorial:
*~let us remember to confess our sins and rely on God’s forgiveness.
*~let us remember that God has not forgotten us, and He will fight for
us, having already won the most important battle for us, the one over
sin and death.
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*~let us hold fast to the promise of Jesus’ return, our resurrection

from the dead, and our new spiritual, glorified bodies.
As
*I Thessalonians 4:18 says,
Therefore encourage each other with these words.

*Pray

(Song)

Benediction:
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give
yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor
in the Lord is not in vain.