Those who observe the feast of Trumpets look forward to the time when the most important event for humanity will take place—the second coming of Jesus Christ: “…the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).
Scripture tells us an earth-shaking trumpet call will announce the second coming of Jesus Christ and the first resurrection of those who love God and adhered to His laws and way of life, who are referred to as ‘saints’ or the ‘elect’: “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:31).
The Apostle Paul also describes this event in I Thessalonians 4:16-17: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 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.” (See also 1 Corinthians 15:52-53).
The end-time sequence of events leading up to Christ’s return is described in the book of Revelation as Christ breaking open seven seals (Revelation 5). The sequence of the seals is the same sequence of crises Jesus described in His prophecy about His return recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. (See our free study guide The Book Of Revelation Unveiled for more information).
The opening of the first four seals describes the four horsemen of Revelation representing false religion, war, famine and death by pestilence and various disasters (Revelation 6:1-8). The fifth seal portrays persecution and the great tribulation (Revelation 6:9-11; Matthew 24:21). Then heavenly signs are described with the opening of the sixth seal (Matthew 24:29-30; Revelation 6:12-16), which the prophet Joel tells us will happen just “before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31).
The opening of the “seventh seal” is the time Christ returns which is referred to as the Day of the Lord. It is symbolized as seven, consecutive trumpet blasts (Revelation 8:1-2) heralding calamities that will afflict rebellious mankind. The sixth trumpet blast announces a vast army coming from the east, influenced by Satan and his demons, which will gather northwest of Jesusalem at Armageddon to battle Christ at His return (Revelation 16:16). Then when the seventh and last trumpet sounds Christ descends to earth and the elect rise to meet him in the air as described earlier.
The feast of Trumpets reminds us of the global catastrophes and wars and yet to come while, at the same time, celebrating the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings and the resurrection of the saints, which paves the way for peace on earth at last, as Jesus sets up His Kingdom.
