"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 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. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord" (Lev. 23:23-25).

In the days when our gallant young men were answering the call to the colors one of our consecrated young men put into my hands two huge, pigskin-bound books. They were called, "Wesley's Bible," and contained the Reverend John Wesley's "Explanatory Notes on the Old Testament." They were printed in Bristol, England, and bear the date of 1765. On page 425, I found this interesting and illuminating comment which I believe will be of special interest to our readers in connection with our study of the feast of trumpets: "A sabbath — Solemnized with the blowing of trumpets by the priests, not in a common way, as they did every first day of every month, but in an extraordinary manner, not only in Jerusalem, but in all the cities of Israel, They began to blow at sunrise, and continued blowing till sunset. This seems to have been instituted, 1. To solemnize the beginning of the new year, whereof as to civil matters, and particularly as to the Jubilee, this was the first day; concerning which it was fit the people should be admonished, both to excite their thankfulness for God's blessings in the last year, and to direct them in the management of their civil affairs. 2. To put a special honour upon this month. For as the seventh day was the sabbath, and the seventh year was a sabbatical year, so God would have the seventh month to be a kind of sabbatical month, for the many sabbaths and solemn feasts which were observed in this more than in any other month. And by this sounding of the trumpets in its beginning God would quicken and prepare them for the following sabbaths as well as that of atonement and humiliation for their sins, as those of thanksgiving for God's mercies."

As we study the symbolic significance of the "blowing of trumpets" in the Bible we come to the conclusion that it signifies, "Institution of action," or "change of action in relation to groups." Consequently, it often is related to "a gathering of people." (Exod. 19:13; Num. 10:110; Judges 9:33-35; Ps. 47:5-7; Isa. 28:12-13; Matt. 24:29-31: I Thess. 4:16-17; I Cor. 15:51-52; Rev. 8:613: 11:15-19).

A particular significance of the Feast of Trumpets is suggested by its relation to the Dreceding feasts. A brief review of the feasts will indicate this significance: the Passover Feast typifies Christ as our Passover Lamb sacrificed for us; the Feast of Unleavened Bread typifies Christ as our Bread of Life, giving and sustaining life; the Feast of the Firstfruits typifies Christ as the Resurrection and the Life providing justification for us and assurance of our resurrection; the F^pst of Weeks or Pentecost, typifies Christ's members united in One Body with Christ as the Head: the Feast of Trumpets typifies Christ as the Restorer and Regatherer of His people Israel at His return. This statement is supported by the following analogy.

A few comments on the points which require clarification or emphasis are in order here.

The Feast of Trumpets was the Signal for Israel's gathering.

The gathering of Israel is indicated by the words, "In the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of , trumpets, an holy convocation." When our Lord returns to earth after the time of Israel's "great tribulation" we read that "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" (Matt. 24:31). This has to do with Israel, and not with the Body of Christ, the Church which has been translated to heaven some seen years prior to this event (I Thess. 4:16-17).

A long time elapsed between the feast of trumpets and the feast of weeks.

It has been nearly two thousand years since the Holy Spirit descended to baptize believers into the Body of Christ which was preceded by the ascension of our Lord into heaven. This long time is suggested in the parable of the talents where we read of the man traveling into a far country. Before he leaves he calls his servants and delivers to them his goods. Then after a "long time the Lord of those servants cometh" (Matt. 25:19). But the fact that our Lord has been gone a long time does not nullify His promise to "come again." In spite of scoffers of the last days, our Lord shall come "in like manner" as His disciples had saw Him go into heaven (Acts 1:9-11).

The long interval between the feast of weeks and the feast of trumpets was of uncertain length.

August Van Ryn comments thus on this thought: "The feast of firstfruits was always celebrated on the Sunday after the Passover. But the Passover did not come on the same day of the week every year, for it always fell on the fourteenth day of the month. One year it would therefore fall on Sunday, another on Monday, etc. But the feast of the firstfruits always fell on the same day, the day after the sabbath. Therefore the period between Pentecost and the feast of trumpets was of uncertain length each year" (p. 85, "His Appointments"). This uncertainty typifies and emphasizes the truth enunciated by our Lord in respect to the time of His return: "Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father, only" (Matt. 24:36; cf. Acts 1:6-7).

The feast of trumpets was accompanied by special recognition of the offerings.

The three offerings mentioned are the burnt offering, the meal offering and the sin offering. These offerings in this connection indicate that when Israel is regathered at Christ's return they shall recognize Him as the Lord God (Zech. 14:5), as the Son of man (Matt. 24:30), and as their Sin-bearer. This latter thought is set forth by the prophet Zechariah in this fashion: "And I will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn" (Zech. 12:10; cf. 13:6; Isa. 53:1011). Then Israel shall claim Him as their "offering for sin."

Following the feast of trumpets, Israel was to rest.

This typifies the glorious kingdom rest into which Jesus Christ shall usher His chosen people Israel following the stormy years of the "time of Jacob's trouble." Listen to Micah's cheering words concerning this coming golden age: "And many nations shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it." (Mic. 4:2-4).

But as individuals, we do not need to await the coming kingdom of Christ in order to have rest for our souls! With a voice as the sound of a silver trumpet (Rev. 1:10-11) our Lord calls, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). Those who have heeded His loving call can testify thus:

"I came to Jesus as I was,
     Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him, a resting-place,
     And He has made me glad." ;

Let us then lift our trumpets and with no uncertain sound proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ and His grace to a needy restless world. For soon the "trump of God" shall sound and our period of opportunity for service shall be over (I Thess. 4: 16-17).

1) Achie H. Yetter is Director of the Bible Institute of Denver Bible College, and is in demand as a Bible conference speaker.