I. The Feast of Trumpets

The Feast of Trumpets is described very simply in Leviticus 23:23- 25. It is mentioned in only two other places in Scripture. Numbers 29:1-6 emphasizes the various sacrifices which were obligatory for this festival. And in Nehemiah 8:1-12, Ezra read the Law of Moses before the people during the Feast of Trumpets.

There are five alternative names for this feast. The first is Yom Truah, a biblical name meaning “the day of the blowing of the trumpets.” Modern Judaism teaches that this name was given because of the call on this day to Jewish people to remember their sins. The second name – “The Memorial of Triumph” or “The Shouting of Joy” – is based upon Job 38:7, which stated that the sons of God (the angels) shouted for joy when God created the heavens and earth. A Jewish tradition holds that the world was created on the Feast of Trumpets. A third name for this feast is “The Day of Remembrance,” so called because Jewish theology includes a call to Jews to remember their sins on this day before the next holy season, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). The fourth name, “The Day of Judgment,” derives from a traditional Jewish teaching that on this day all Jews undergo judgment to determine if their sins will be forgiven. This feast’s fifth and most common name among Jewish people today is Rosh Hashanah, which means “the head of the year.” Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish civil year. Technically, the Jewish calendar consists of two new years:  The religious new year begins in the spring with the Feast of Passover or Pesach; the civil new year begins in the fall with the Feast of Trumpets.

A. Biblical Practice of the Feast of Trumpets

The Old Testament Mosaic Law stipulates four principles regarding the Feast of Trumpets. First, it was to be a one-day festival only. Second, like the Sabbath, it was to be a day of rest with no labor performed. Third, it was to be celebrated by the blowing of trumpets. Finally, the trumpet – called the shofar – was to be the horn of a ram rather than the silver instrument generally shown in Bible picture books. In Judaism, the ram’s horn has been preferred because of the symbolic link with Isaac’s sacrifice in Genesis 22.

B. Jewish Observance of the Feast of Trumpets

There are several important points regarding the modern Jewish observance of this particular feast. On Rosh Hashanah, the shofar is blown in the synagogue for three Jewish theological reasons:  First, the blowing of the horn is a call to remembrance and repentance. All Jews are called to return to Judaism, as all will pass under judgment on this day. The blowing of the shofar is also a reminder of Israel’s covenant relationship with God. The third reason for the trumpet call is to confuse Satan on the day he accuses Israel. According to Zechariah 3:1, Satan likes to accuse Israel of her sin, and Jewish theology teaches that Satan does this on the Feast of Trumpets. On this day, then, the trumpet is blown in an effort to deter Satan from accusing Israel.

The blowing of the ram’s horn also symbolizes three important concepts:  First, it is a symbol of the regathering of Israel, according to Isaiah 27:12-13. Furthermore, it signifies the resurrection of the dead, as a trumpet will be sounded when the dead are raised. Third, the blowing of the trumpet represents the opening of three books in Heaven. The first is the Book of the Righteous, reserved for the righteous who will survive for at least one more year. The Book of the Wicked, also known as the Book of the Dead, contains the names of those who are completely wicked and who, therefore, must die within the next year. The third book, the Book of the In-Between, holds the most names because most Jewish people are neither totally righteous or totally wicked. Those inscribed in this book are given 10 days to repent, the same 10 days that elapse between the Feast of Trumpets and the final judgment day, the Day of Atonement. Because one cannot know for certain in which book his name will be entered, Jewish teaching says that one should assume to be in the Book of the In-Between and repent during the 10-day period.

Regarding the trumpet blasts themselves, there will be a total of 100, divided into four different types. The first is a single, long blast called tekiah. This is a plain, smooth, continuous note symbolizing joy and contentment. The second type of horn sound is the shevarim, consisting of three short blasts or broken notes. The truah is the third method, characterized by extremely short blasts comprised of nine staccato notes. This quick succession of short trills expresses trepidation and sorrow. While these three types of blasts are repeated, the fourth type is a single, sustained note that concludes the blowing of the trumpets. This one is the tekiah gedolah, meaning “the great tekiah,” “the great blast,” or “the last trump.”

Another facet of the modern Jewish observance of this festival is a ceremony called the Tashlich. Conducted by Orthodox Jews, it is based on Micah’s prophecy that God would one day cast the sins of Israel into the sea (Mic. 7:19). In the Tashlich ceremony, Jews symbolically empty their pockets into a body of water to signify the day when God will cast their sins into the depths of the sea.

A fifth aspect regarding Jewish practice and Rosh Hashanah is the existence of many legends concerning the significance of this day. For example, it was supposedly on this day that many important events occurred:  The world was created; Adam was created; Adam fell; Cain was born with a twin sister, as was Abel; Cain killed Abel; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were born; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob died; Sarah, Rebecca and Hannah gave birth; sacrifices resumed in the rebuilt Temple.

C. The Messianic Significance of the Feast of Trumpets

The Feast of Trumpets is prophetic in regard to two important, messianic elements. First, the eventual regathering of Israel (before the Great Tribulation) is signified by the blowing of a trumpet in Isaiah 27:13. The festival’s second and ultimate fulfillment – again involving the trumpet – will occur with the Rapture of the Church. Described in two main passages, I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians 15:15-58, the events of the Rapture are the resurrection of the dead saints and the rapturing or catching up of the living saints, each connected with the blowing of the trumpet.

II. The Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement, detailed in Leviticus 16:1-34, 23:26-32 and 25:8-12, is more appropriately called a “holy season” rather than a festival. The Scriptures mention it three other times:  Numbers 29:7-11 emphasizes the special offerings and sacrifices for this occasion; Hebrews 9:11-10:18 shows the superiority of the blood of the Messiah to that of animals; and Hebrews 13:10-16 states that just as the Day of Atonement sacrifice was burned outside the camp, Jesus Christ died outside the camp, i.e., the walls of Jerusalem.

Three different names apply to this particular holy season. The most common is Yom Kippur, which means “the day of atonement.” This term’s plural form, Yom Hakippurim, serves as another name, because Jewish tradition holds that atonements were made for both the living and the dead on this special day. It is also known as Shabbat Shabbaton, “the sabbath of sabbaths,” emphasizing that this is by far the holiest of rest days.

A. Biblical Practice of the Day of Atonement

The Old Testament outlines several practices concerning Yom Kippur. First, it was to be a time of affliction of the soul, a day of individual and national atonement. Specifically, two goats were to be offered: one to die as a sin offering on behalf of the people and one (Azazel) to live removed or banished into the wilderness to symbolize the removal of Israel’s sins. This is found in Leviticus 16:1-34, which provides several other directives concerning the Day of Atonement:  Only one person, the High Priest – on only this holy day – had access to the Holy of Holies of the Temple. Here, the specially-dressed High Priest first offered to the Lord the blood sacrifice of a bullock or calf for his own sins and, next, that of the goat for the people’s transgressions. It was a day of national atonement.

B. Jewish Observance of the Day of Atonement

Contrary to biblical practice, modern Judaism teaches that man can achieve atonement for his sins through his own efforts. Furthermore, the Temple’s destruction and, thus, that of the sacrificial system, has given way to a modern alternative to the scriptural method of atonement. In place of the affliction of the soul, Judaism today practices the affliction of the body through fasting. At one time, Jews commonly had themselves flogged on the day before Yom Kippur. Though the ultra-Orthodox still practice a form of sacrifice (chickens rather than goats), most Jewish people no longer do so. Blood sacrifices have been replaced by three things: repentance, prayer and charity as prescribed by the rabbis.

In keeping with the theme of affliction of the body, Jewish custom today forbids: eating or drinking (in order to enhance spirituality); washing and bathing (as one is not to be comfortable); anointing of oil (including hand and face creams); cohabitation with spouse (no pleasure); wearing leather shoes or sandals (considered luxuries inappropriate to this day). Furthermore, because the rabbis taught that all the earth is holy ground on the Day of Atonement, Jews must wear rubber or canvas shoes in order to feel the ground.

Another routine common to this observance is the reading of the book of Jonah, emphasizing two ideas:  Man cannot run away from God, and repentance is powerful to save, just as it was in the case of Nineveh.

C. Messianic Significance of the Day of Atonement

The Day of Atonement is, of course, fulfilled with the Messiah’s sacrificial death as described in Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Contextually, this passage – more than a prophecy of Yeshua’s atonement – is also Israel’s confession of her national sin. Yom Kippur, with its crucial theme of affliction, is to be fulfilled as well by the Great Tribulation. Often referred to in the Scriptures by the term affliction, the Tribulation will be characterized by tremendous affliction of both the body and the soul. Hosea 5:15 - 6:3 and Zechariah 13:8-9 detail the affliction of the body of Israel, followed by the affliction of the soul when the nation mourns for the One whom they pierced. Such affliction leads to the national regeneration of Israel after the nation confesses its sin (Is. 53:1-9).

Finally, the Great Tribulation will fulfill the Day of Atonement, and the Rapture of the Church will fulfill the Feast of Trumpets. And just as the Feast of Trumpets precedes the Day of Atonement, the Rapture will in turn precede the Tribulation.