The Feast of Trumpets is a Jewish holiday that takes place on the first day of the seventh month, which is October 1 in the Gregorian calendar. This day is called Rosh Hashanah in Hebrew, which means “head of the year.”
It is one of many Jewish holy days during which God revealed himself to his people. In Leviticus 23:24–25, God tells Moses that he will sanctify this day as a holy convocation; it should be kept by all those who live in Israel. The people were to sound an alarm on this day with trumpets made from ram’s horns. They were also instructed to keep this holy time filled with joyous feasts and offerings (Leviticus 23:26).
The Feast of Trumpets is an important holiday because it marked the beginning of months for Jews during biblical times. On this day, God would reveal himself through his prophets and give them information about what was going to happen during their upcoming year (Nehemiah 9:2–3).’
Feasts Of Trumpets In The Bible
First of all, this Feast is known in the Bible as Yom Teruah, which is Hebrew for the Day of Shouting or Blasting. It is also known as Rosh Hashanah or Head of the Year, which is mostly a secular term. The feast occurs on Tishri 1 (the seventh month) which this year happens to be September 18th.
The Feast of Trumpets is the first of the three main festivals that occur on the Jewish calendar. It is also one of two special Sabbaths that occur during this season, which starts on Rosh Hashanah and ends with Yom Kippur. The name “Trumpets” comes from what we call a shofar or ram’s horn trumpet, which is blown as part of an important ceremony on this day.
You’ll hear about Yom Teruah in many places around the world but especially here in America where it’s called “Rosh Hashanah.” It occurs on Tishri 1 (the seventh month) which this year happens to be September 18th. This feast should not be confused with Yom Kippur because they are separate occasions although they do share some similarities such as fasting and prayerful reflection upon sins committed over past months or years respectively (see Leviticus 23:24-25).
The first thing to note about Yom Teruah, Feast of Trumpets, is that it is called a Shabbat (a Sabbath) and a Moed (appointed time). This makes it different from the other biblical feasts like Passover and Unleavened Bread and Pentecost.
The first thing to note about Yom Teruah, Feast of Trumpets, is that it is called a Shabbat (a Sabbath) and Moed (appointed time). This makes it different from the other biblical feasts like Passover and Unleavened Bread and Pentecost.
The Feast occurs on the first day of the seventh month and is called Yom Teruah. That means “Trumpets” in Hebrew. There are two important points here:
- First: The name itself tells us what we need to know about this feast! We see immediately there is something special about this day because it has its own name!
- Second: It takes place on a Sabbath; this means that all normal work activities are suspended from sundown Friday until sunset Saturday evening.
In Numbers 29:1-6 we are told that on the first day of the seventh month we are to have a holy convocation and do no regular work, that we are to offer an ascension offering before God with a burned offering and grain offering, wine offerings and peace offerings.
In Numbers 29:1-6 we are told that on the first day of the seventh month we are to have a holy convocation and do no regular work, that we are to offer an ascension offering before God with a burned offering and grain offering, wine offerings and peace offerings.
According to Strong’s Concordance “ascension” means going up or being brought up. The same word is used in Hebrews 10:19 where it says “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul…” Our hope is like an anchor because it keeps us from drifting away from God. It was Jesus’ ascension into heaven that secured our salvation and gave us victory over sin (Hebrews 4:14). His ascended life continues to be available for those who believe in Him (John 14:15). The ascension offering was a reminder of Christ’s return (Acts 1:11) and how He will bring us back into Heaven someday with Him when He returns again–but only after all who believe in Him will receive their reward for faithfulness here on earth during their lifetime.
We can also read about this day in Leviticus 23:24-25 where it states “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month [this], shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein” (KJV).
We can also read about this day in Leviticus 23:24-25 where it states “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month [this], shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein” (KJV).
The Feast of Trumpets is a time when we remember events from God’s past such as Adam and Eve’s sin or Noah’s flood or Moses’ escape from Egypt. We also remember those who will have their lives changed forever when Christ returns for His Bride at His Second Coming. The blowing of trumpets is symbolic because it reminds us that one day soon we will hear another trumpet blast which signifies judgment day; however it will actually be our deliverance from this evil world system!
What Is The Purpose of The Feast of Trumpets
Summer is winding down, and we’ll soon see stores flood with kids begrudgingly walking through the school supplies aisle. But there’s more to fall than just back-to-school shopping and pumpkin patches.
In fact, there’s much, much more.
As the sun sets on September 25th, families all over the globe will begin to settle into the first of the fall Biblical holidays, Rosh Hashanah, or the Feast of Trumpets.
Despite common beliefs, the holidays in the Bible are not simply Jewish holidays. Rather, everyone is invited to participate in these holy celebrations.
Before we dive into the specifics of the Feast of Trumpets 2022, let’s review the cycle of the holy days.
What Holidays are on the Jewish Calendar?
Much like the seasons themselves, the Biblical holidays operate in a cyclical manner. In Leviticus 23, God tells Moses about the holidays and how to celebrate each one. He lays out everything from the weekly sabbath (Shabbat) to the feast days and the holiest of days, Yom Kippur.
SPRING HOLIDAYS
There are three holidays in the Spring—Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits.
PASSOVER (FEAST OF PESACH)
In the days of Moses, the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Through a series of 10 plagues, each of the major Egyptian gods was challenged. The 10th plague brought death to all the firstborn children in the land—all except those who put a lamb’s blood over their doorpost. As the spirit of death moved through the land, it passed over those with the blood on the door.
FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD
Passover kicks off the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a seven-day holiday that celebrates freedom. As the Israelites prepared to leave Egypt, they didn’t have time to let their bread rise. We celebrate Unleavened Bread by ridding our homes of leavening to both 1. Remember the Israelites’ wanderings through the desert once they were sent away from Egypt, and 2. Celebrate the invitation to leave behind sin and enter into a season of new holiness.
FIRST FRUITS
After the Feast of Unleavened Bread comes First Fruits. This is a day for agricultural offerings of the first fruits of the season. It also kicks off counting the omer, or counting down the 50 days before Pentecost.
SUMMER HOLIDAYS
There is only one holiday in the summer—Pentecost.
During the days of Moses, Pentecost was when the Israelites received the 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai. After Jesus’ death, Pentecost marked the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on man.
FALL HOLIDAYS
That brings us to the Fall Holidays. There are three holidays during this time of year—Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles.
FEAST OF TRUMPETS (ROSH HASHANAH)
The Feast of Trumpets marks a new year in the Hebrew calendar. In Israel, Jewish people throw stones into a body of water to symbolize the casting off of sins. Our congregation recognizes this tradition and casts off something we’ve been carrying so we can pick up better things in the new year.
DAY OF ATONEMENT (YOM KIPPUR)
The holiest of the high holy days, Yom Kippur is a time when we remember & rehearse our meeting with Jesus during judgment day. We repent of our sins by asking forgiveness from those we’ve wronged and extending forgiveness to those who have wronged us. It’s a solemn day of fasting.
FEAST OF TABERNACLES (SUKKOT)
Also called the Feast of Booths, Tabernacles calls for God’s people to live life in temporary dwellings just as the Israelites did in the desert and to symbolize our own temporary passage on this earth.
During this holiday, we are called to celebrate with others as we anticipate what it will be like in eternity.
A FEW NOTES ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS FOR 2022
It’s important to know that the Jewish calendar operates in a different way than the American one we’re so used to. While our days begin with the sun rising each morning, days for the Jewish people begin at sundown, as the first days are described in Genesis, with the evening coming first. Not only this, but a day beginning with sunset is a day that begins with rest, a fundamental characteristic of God’s people.
Also, you may have noticed that one major holiday wasn’t on our list—Hanukkah. That’s because, while Hanukkah may have been a popular holiday in the Jewish community, there is no Biblical command dedicated to celebrating Hanukkah. Because Jesus did, we here at Twenty-Six Eight also recognize and celebrate the holiday.
Another holiday you may have heard about is Purim, described in the book of Esther. Although there are no major sabbaths or holy days associated with Purim, we gather corporately to celebrate Purim together as well.
Feast of Trumpet Symbolism
Rosh Hashanah is also called Yom Teruah and translates to “Day for blowing trumpets.”
So, the trumpets we blow!
TIMES TO BLOW TRUMPETS
Biblically, trumpets were blown for a handful of different occasions:
- 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
- To gather all of God’s People
- To warn of impending danger
- To rouse people to repentance
- To coronate a new king of Israel
In this case, 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)
But we don’t just use any ol’ brass trumpet that’s fit for a marching band. Instead, these sounds come from a shofar, or a ram’s horn.
How Long Is The Feast of Trumpets
Those are not orders shouted by a Klingon general, but the names of the various shofar (ram’s horn) blasts heard every year in the synagogue in the month of Tishrei. The first of Tishrei, variously falling in September or October, is known in the Bible as the Feast of Trumpets and more widely today as Rosh Hashanah.
Rosh Hashanah, meaning “the head of the year” in Hebrew, is known in English as the Jewish New Year. It is one of three holy festivals that the Lord commanded the Jewish people to observe in Tishrei, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. (The reason it is known as the New Year even though it is the seventh month biblically is because there are several new years—religious, civil, and others.) The other two are Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement (on Tishrei 10) and Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles (beginning on Tishrei 15). Besides heralding the arrival of Tishrei, the Feast of Trumpets also begins a 10-day period known as the Yamim Nora’im (Days of Awe) that falls between the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. Those 10 days are a time for Jewish people to reflect on sin and repent in preparation for the latter day.
The Biblical Meaning of the Feast of Trumpets
There is, however, more to the Feast of Trumpets. Leviticus 23:23–25 maps out God’s commandments concerning this festival.
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.”
The day is to be a “memorial” with “blast of trumpets.” The blast of a trumpet or similar instrument could be used to rouse people to war or to march. In the context of this season, it is generally understood as a call to repentance since the Day of Atonement comes 10 days later.
God manifests His presence with the sound of a trumpet that causes the people to tremble
We can find a further significance in the blowing of trumpets. Exodus chapters 19 and 20 are the account of God’s appearance on Mount Sinai and the giving of the Ten Commandments. Exodus 19:4–6 depicts God inviting the nation of Israel into a covenant. In a spectacular revelation, God manifests His presence in smoke and fire on the mountain, along with the fearful sound of a trumpet that causes the people to tremble.
When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain…. On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. (Exodus 19:13, 16–19)
The events at Mount Sinai were stamped indelibly in the memory of the nation of Israel. And so, at the Feast of Trumpets, the sound of the shofar—the same word used in Exodus 20:18—reminds Israel that they are a people under covenant, a nation who has accepted the responsibilities of being God’s people. Being in covenant with God includes repenting of sin, a form of breaking the covenant, and then seeking atonement. So, covenant and repentance become hallmarks of this day.
What about the word “memorial” spoken of in Leviticus? The day serves both to remind Israel of the covenant with its need for repentance, but also to “remind” God of His covenant promises, which include restoration upon repentance from sin. When Scripture speaks of God being “reminded” of something or “remembering” something, it means that He is going to take action based on His past promises (see Genesis 8:1, Exodus 2:24). So, the Feast of Trumpets both implores God to accept Israel’s repentance and reminds the Jewish people that they have entered into a binding covenant with God.
The only other reference to this festival in the Torah (or Pentateuch) is in Numbers 29:1. Numbers 29:1–6 reiterate that this is a day “to blow the trumpets” and specifies the numerous sacrifices that were to take place on that day. Since sacrifices were a central component in the worship of ancient Israel, we understand that this was to be a day of worship. The mention of the sin offering “to make atonement” alongside other kinds of offerings reinforces that repentance is a main aspect of the day.
The Feast of Trumpets in the New Testament
The Feast of Trumpets is not mentioned in the New Testament. However, Yom Kippur, which follows 10 days afterwards, is found in Acts 27:9: “Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them.” Here the day is called by its prominent observance, fasting, and the context is that by that late in the season, ocean travel could be perilous. We can assume that Jews in the first century observed the Feast of Trumpets, but we are lacking details.1
The blast of a trumpet gathered attention and presaged something of note.
Trumpets are mentioned in the New Testament, but are not directly connected with the Feast of Trumpets. Jesus advises his followers in Matthew 6:2 to “sound no trumpet” when giving to charity, indicating how attention getting a trumpet blast was. In Matthew 24:31, 1 Corinthians 15:52, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the “trumpet” indicates the gathering of God’s people. Hebrews 12:19 alludes to the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai when “the sound of a trumpet” was one of the fearsome phenomena experienced by the nation Israel. Finally, the book of Revelation mentions a trumpet numerous times, either as the way a voice sounded (1:10; 4:1) or more often, as blown by angels (chapters 8–9). While none of these references allude to the Feast of Trumpets, they show that the blast of a trumpet gathered attention and presaged something of note. Similarly, the sound of the shofar on the Feast of Trumpets is meant to call the nation to attention and to the solemnity of repentance.