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Sermon: Symbolism...a
sermon for Trumpets
by Chris Cumming
Of all the Holy Days of God, this
is the least understood by the people of this world.
I opened my
Nelson’s Bible Dictionary last night and this is what it says…
FEASTS AND
FESTIVALS
Seventh
Month Festival. This festival is mentioned in <Leviticus 23:24-25,27-32>
and <Numbers 29:1-40>. It was introduced with the blowing of trumpets,
the halt of labor, sacrifices, and a testing <Lev. 23:24-32; Num.
29:1-40>. The exact reason for its observance is not clear. Some
scholars believe it originated during the Babylonian Captivity as a way
of counteracting the influence of the Babylonian New Year Festival.
Let us look at the
command to keep this day. Turn to Lev. 23 and beginning in verse 23
Lev 23:23-25
23 And the
LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak
unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first
day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of
trumpets, an holy convocation.
25 Ye shall
do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire
unto the LORD.
The key phrase here
is, “a memorial of blowing of trumpets”
If we can focus in
on the word “trumpet” then we can more fully understand the meaning of
this day and see that it is the “focal point” in the whole plan of God.
So my purpose today is to explore the
meaning of this day and encourage us all to…
“Listen for the Trumpet”
I have organized this sermon into 3
parts
1)
Discuss the meaning of the day.
2)
Describe what is going to happen on this
day.
3)
Focus on the word “trumpet” to discover
its symbolism and meaning.
THE MEANING OF THE DAY OF TRUMPETS
We know from our many years in the
church that this day pictures the return of Jesus Christ. It heralds
that day. It celebrates that day before the fact. That is why this day
is a “festival” day as opposed to a “Feast” day.
My American Heritage dictionary defines
“festival” this way..
fes·ti·val
(fµs“t…-v…l) n. 1. An occasion for feasting or
celebration, especially a day or time of religious significance that
recurs at regular intervals.
A “Feast” is defined as a great meal
enjoyed to commemorate an event or thing.
In a Festival we “celebrate” something
or someone.
In a Feast we commemorate an event.
This Day of Trumpets focuses
specifically on Christ
The Spring Holy Days primarily picture
that part of God’s Plan to call a firstfruits of His harvest.
Passover pictures the sacrifice of Jesus
Christ; the shedding of His blood so that the sins of the firstfruits
could be forgiven.
The Days of Unleavened Bread picture the
firstfruits need to put sin our of their lives.
Pentecost pictures the event of the
giving of the Holy Spirit to strengthen the firstfruits of His
salvation.
The Fall Feast Days picture the putting
away of Satan and the millennial period of Christ’s reign on earth. The
Last Great Day pictures the Second Resurrection and time of judgement.
But it is the Day of Trumpets that give
all the other Holy Days their meaning. It is the focal point, the
central, pivotal Holy day in God’s plan.
It is the Day of Jesus Christ, Himself.
It is the day we hope for and have joy in.
Is it any wonder why this is the least
understood of all the Holy Days? Man does not want this day to happen.
The world with all its nations do not want this day to happen. Satan
does NOT want this day to happen.
But it is going to happen!!
Let us now discuss what specifically is
going to happen on this day. Because if we can do that we learn a
little bit more what this day is all about.
WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN ON THE DAY OF
TRUMPETS?
1)
Jesus Christ Returns to Earth:
Ps 47:5, 7-8
5 God is gone up with a shout,
the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
7 For God is the King of all
the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
8 God reigneth over the
heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.
Rev 11:15
15 And the seventh angel sounded;
and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this
world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he
shall reign for ever and ever.
2)
The firstfruits meet their King.
Matt 24:31
31 And he shall send his angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his
elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
(comment)
1Thes 4:16-18
16 For the Lord himself shall
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the
Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one
another with these words.
3)
It is a Day of Repentance
Joel 2:1
1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion,
and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the
land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
Joel 2:12-13
12 Therefore also now, saith
the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and
with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And rend your heart, and not
your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and
merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the
evil.
4)
Israel Will be Regathered at the Sound
of the Trumpet.
Isa 27:12-13
12 And it shall come to pass in
that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river
unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye
children of Israel.
13 And it shall come to pass in
that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come
which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in
the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at
Jerusalem.
5)
The Day of Trumpets is a Memorial.
Memorial is from the Hebrew word
zi-krown, which means memorial, record, remembrance. Passover and
Trumpets are both Holy Day Memorials.
Passover reminds us of Israel’s exodus
from Egypt and the death of the Messiah.
Trumpets is a memorial of the greatest
event in human history: the return of Jesus Christ to establish His
kingdom.
Leviticus 23:24 says…a sabbath, a
memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
6)
It is a Day of War
Zeph 1:6-7, 14-18
6 And them that are turned back
from the LORD; and those that have not sought the LORD, nor inquired for
him.
7 Hold thy peace at the
presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the
LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
14 The great day of the LORD is
near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the
LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a
day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of
darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of the trumpet and alarm
against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
17 And I will bring distress upon
men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned
against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their
flesh as the dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their
gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but
the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he
shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
7)
It is a day where the trumpet will
signify a Day of Joy
Ps 89:15
15 Blessed is the people that
know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy
countenance.
Ps 98:6
6 With trumpets and sound of
cornet make a joyful noise before the LORD, the King.
So the Day of Trumpets is a day of
·
War
·
of gathering
·
of memorial
·
Repentance
·
of Joy
·
a day of Jesus Christ
Now I want to look at the trumpet
itself…
TRUMPET: THE SYMBOL, USE AND MEANING
(or pattern?)
1)
Trumpets Used to Notify, Warn or
Assemble Israel for War
Numbers 10: 2, 9
Num 10:2
2 Make thee two trumpets of
silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them
for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps.
9 And if ye go to war in your
land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm
with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God,
and ye shall be saved from your enemies.
Jer 4:19
19 My bowels, my bowels! I am
pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my
peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the
alarm of war.
2)
Trumpets Used as a Sound of Peace, End
of Strife
2 Sam 2:26-28 War between Israel and
Judah (chasing)
26 Then Abner called to Joab, and
said, Shall the sword devour for ever? knowest thou not that it will be
bitterness in the latter end? how long shall it be then, ere thou bid
the people return from following their brethren?
27 And Joab said, As God liveth,
unless thou hadst spoken, surely then in the morning the people had gone
up every one from following his brother.
28 So Joab blew a trumpet, and
all the people stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither
fought they any more.
3)
Trumpets Signified Crowing a King
IKing 1:34
34 And let Zadok the priest and
Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with
the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.
Now verse 39
39 And Zadok the priest took an
horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew
the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon.
4)
Trumpet Used in Temple Worship
2 Chr 5:2-3 (Solomon brings the Ark
into the Temple)
2 Then Solomon assembled the
elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the
fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark
of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.
3 Wherefore all the men of
Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the
seventh month.
Drop down to verse 12-13
12 Also the Levites which were
the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their
sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals
and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with
them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)
13 It came even to pass, as the
trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in
praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with
the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the
LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then
the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD;
Now to 2 Chr 7:6
6 And the priests waited on
their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD,
which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy
endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests
sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.
5)
There was a Trumpet on Mt. Sinai
Exod 19:16-19 (Moses brings the people
to meet God)
16 And it came to pass on the
third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a
thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud;
so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
17 And Moses brought forth the
people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether
part of the mount.
18 And mount Sinai was altogether
on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke
thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked
greatly.
19 And when the voice of the
trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God
answered him by a voice.
Exod 20:18 (after the reading of the 10
commandments)
18 And all the people saw the
thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the
mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood
afar off.
6)
God’s Voice is a Trumpet
Rev 1:10-11 (John about to write the
book of Revelation)
10 I was in the Spirit on the
Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega,
the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book,
Now down to Rev chapter 4 and verse 1
Rev 4:1-2
1 After this I looked, and,
behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard
was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither,
and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2 And immediately I was in the
spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the
throne.
John sees God (in vision) sitting on the
throne. Turn over to Psalms 29, a book often read in its entirety on
the Day of Trumpets down through history…
The word “trumpet” is not used in the 11
verses of this chapter but as I read it, YOU tell me…can you hear
trumpets? Are we talking about trumpets AND is Our Great God a Trumpet?
Ps 29:1-11
1 Give unto the LORD, O ye
mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
2 Give unto the LORD the glory
due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is upon
the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is
powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the LORD
breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He maketh them also to skip
like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
7 The voice of the LORD
divideth the flames of fire.
8 The voice of the LORD shaketh
the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the LORD maketh
the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth
every one speak of his glory.
10 The LORD sitteth upon the
flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.
11 The LORD will give strength
unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
Now one final use of the term trumpet…
7)
Jesus Christ, Himself is a Trumpet
That is,
Christ is symbolized by the Trumpet and is the "trumpet" of the Feast of
Trumpets.
We have actually known this since before
He was born into human flesh.
You see, trumpets were not only
instruments of polished metal like the silver ones we read of in Numbers
10. Often they were made of the horns of animals.
Often blown with the trumpets on this
day was the rams horn or shophar.
Let me read from Nelson’s Bible
Dictionary about trumpets..
Trumpet:
Made of metal or bones, the
trumpet featured a sounding air column not quite two feet long. This
short length gave this instrument a high, shrill sound. The tone of the
trumpet apparently could be regulated <2 Chr. 5:12>. Some trumpets were
probably made from the horn of an animal; the word horn is used
for this instrument in some English translations <1 Chr. 25:5>, (KJV).
Other words used for trumpet include cornet <Ps. 98:6>, (KJV), and bugle
<1 Cor. 14:8>, (NASB, RSV).
One distinctive type of
trumpet or horn used by the Hebrew people was the ram's horn, also known
by its Hebrew name, the shophar <Hos. 5:8>. The shophar was the greatest
of the Jewish ritual instruments. Eventually the horn of a mountain goat
was used for this instrument, rather than the horn of a ram. The shophar,
or trumpet, was basically a signaling instrument, used to assemble the
army <Judg. 3:27; 1 Sam. 13:3>, to sound an attack <Job 39:24-25>, and
to sound an alarm <Jer. 6:1; Amos 3:6>.
The ram's horn signaled war
and peace, the new moon, the beginning of the Sabbath, approaching
danger, and the death of a dignitary. Some even believed the shophar had
power to drive out evil spirits and to heal by magic. The sound of the
shophar could be heard from a great distance. -end-
Now, as I said, Jesus Christ is a
trumpet. Turn to Luke 1 and verse 67
Luke 1:67-69
67 And his (John the Baptists)
father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
69 And hath raised up an horn
of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
Were you aware of the fact that on the
altar in the Tabernacle were 4 horns…in each corner. And did you know
that if a person were afraid for his life he could run to the altar,
grab hold of the horns and be safe. Read 1 Kings 1:50 sometime.
Those horns are Jesus Christ!!!
Now Zacharias called Christ the horn of
our salvation. Notice Psalms 18 and verse 2
Ps 18:2
2 The LORD is my rock, and my
fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
Jesus Christ is the horn of our
salvation. He is our trumpet and when does our salvation come???
On the Day of Trumpets!!! This is our
Hope and our Joy this Day so
Listen for that Trumpet!!
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