Feast of Trumpets:
Reveille!
From Middle French reveiller,
from re- + eveiller to awaken,
from Vulgar Latin exvigilare,
from Latin ex- + vigilare
to keep watch, stay awake
[related to vigilant]
1 : a signal to get up mornings
2 : a bugle call at about sunrise signaling the
first military formation of the day
(Click here
to hear
a
bugle playing Reveille.)
The bugle (along with trumpets,
cornets, and other similar wind instruments) has long been used
for many symbolic purposes to convey "messages" to groups of
people. If you are in a military boot camp, you may have to get used to
as many as fifteen or more different "calls" on the bugle
throughout each day, starting with Reveille to rouse you from
slumber, and ending with Taps to let you know it's time return
to that slumber. During times of war, they have rallied
troops on the battlefield, and have been played over the coffins
of those slain in battle to honor their bravery.
These
instruments of rallying and “wake up" calls are well-suited
for the purpose …
you can't sleep nor become distracted by minor things
around you when these are blasting! If you've ever been to a
parade where a drum and bugle corps was passing by, you know you
certainly couldn't doze off as they pass by, nor even carry on a
conversation!
It is the sound qualities of these
instruments that make them so right for the job of waking people
up or getting their attention. It would be very ineffective to
try to wake up a barracks full of soldiers with a tinkling tune
on a xylophone! And you wouldn't think to try to lead a charge
into battle with the lilting strains of a flute. No, it takes
burly sounds like those of the bugle, cornet, or trumpet for
such purposes. Or the sound of these ...
http://madisonpipesanddrums.org/bagpipe_history.html
"The Scots fought long against
domination by the English. The noise of the pipes
together with the fierce war cries of the kilted "savages"
of the north would strike fear into the hearts of the
English soldiers. The Scots were finally disastrously
defeated at the famous battle of Culloden in 1745. The
English, determined to rid themselves of a thorn in their
side forever, passed laws prohibiting playing of the bagpipe
and wearing of the kilt on pain of death. ...
By the time the ban was
lifted, it had done its job well. The Scots were well
integrated into the British Empire. Famous Scottish
regiments such as the Scots Guards, the Gordon Highlanders,
the Black Watch, and the Fraser Highlanders were raised in
the nineteenth century as part of the powerful British
military force. The Scottish regiments earned strong
reputations as some of the bravest and fiercest of His
Majesty's Army in battles from Waterloo where Napoleon was
defeated to the Boer Wars in South Africa to the defeats of
the independent rajahs of India. But whereever they went,
the Scottish regiments brought bagpipes with them. By then
using modern weapons of the British army, the soldiers
continued to be inspired by their highland bagpipe on the
battlefield. And the pipers continued to lead. In the early
days of World War I they leaped from the trenches in charges
against the German machine guns, leading the troops through
the hail of bullets. After some time an order was issued
- pipers were to remain behind the trenches and not lead -
because they became targets, and were killed faster than new
ones could be taught. Yet their courage remained unabated."
The clamor and pomp of these
rousing instruments, from bugles to trumpets to bagpipes, have
announced the triumphal entry of victors into cities and the
grand entrance of monarchs at important occasions. And they have
set a mood of majesty and awe at religious ceremonies of many
nations.
A fanfare of silver trumpets for
the Royal Family of Great Britain on a visit to Scotland.
A trumpet
fanfare for the Royal family of Nepal.
A trumpet fanfare preceding a
ceremony in India.
A trumpet fanfare during a Hindu
religious ceremony.
And this custom
of using dramatic and ear-piercing wind instruments for such
purposes can be found throughout the pages of the Bible.
It first
appears in the book of Exodus, just before the giving of the Ten
Commandments by God at Mt. Sinai:
Exodus
19:10-19
And the
LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today
and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the
third day, because on that day the LORD will come down on Mount
Sinai in the sight of all the people. Put limits for the people
around the mountain and tell them, 'Be careful that you do not
go up the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the
mountain shall surely be put to death. He shall surely be stoned
or shot with arrows; not a hand is to be laid on him. Whether
man or animal, he shall not be permitted to live.' Only when the
ram's horn sounds a long blast may they go up to the mountain."
After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he
consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. Then he said to
the people, "Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from
sexual relations."
On the
morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a
thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet
[Hebrew: shofar] blast. Everyone in the camp
trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with
God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was
covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire.
The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the
whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the
trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the
voice of God answered him.
This "trumpet
blast" didn't just announce the arrival of a king--it announced
the arrival of God Himself to a momentous meeting with the
nation of Israel!
Later, in a
private meeting with Moses up on that same mountain, God instructed
Moses in the ways that the new nation of Israel should use
trumpets for special occasions
Numbers 10:1-10
The LORD said to Moses: "Make
two trumpets [Hebrew: chatsotsrah] of hammered
silver, and use them for calling the community together
and
for having the camps set out. When both are sounded [Hebrew:
taqah, to make a loud, insistent sound] the whole
community is to assemble before you at the entrance to the
Tent of Meeting. If only one is sounded, the leaders-the
heads of the clans of Israel-are to assemble before you.
When a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribes camping on the
east are to set out. At the sounding of a second blast, the
camps on the south are to set out. The blast will be the
signal for setting out. To gather the assembly, blow the
trumpets, but not with the same signal.
"The
sons of Aaron, the priests, are to blow the trumpets. This is to
be a lasting ordinance for you and the generations to come.
When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy
who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets.
Then you will be remembered by the LORD your God and rescued
from your enemies. Also at your times of rejoicing—your
appointed feasts and New Moon festivals—you are to sound the
trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings,
and they will be a memorial for you before your God. I am the
LORD your God."
The blowing of these trumpets was
used for a number of purposes, including:
-
Assembly
- Warning
- Leading
into battle
-
Rejoicing.
In addition to these silver
trumpets, the Israelites used another kind of “wind instrument”
for special purposes. This was the shofar, or trumpet
made out of an animal’s horn (often a ram.) The shofar is what
was sounded by the Israelites when they surrounded Jericho.
Joshua 6:1-5
Now
Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one
went out and no one came in. Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See,
I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king
and its fighting men. March around the city once with all the
armed men. Do this for six days. Have seven priests carry
trumpets of rams' horns [Hebrew: shofar] in front of
the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times,
with the priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear them sound
a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud
shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people
will go up, every man straight in."
In most instances in English
Bibles when the word trumpet is used, other than the two silver
trumpets described in Numbers, and trumpets used in musical
worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, it is translated from the
Hebrew word shofar.
Although silver trumpets, even
the simple ones without "valves," the type that was likely made according
to the instructions in Numbers, can have quite an aesthetically
musical sound, the sound of ram’s horn trumpets is not noted for
its musical qualities. It is noted for its harsh, blasting
noise. You can hear a sample at this Web address.
http://research.umbc.edu/eol/MA/index/number3/cdrev/cdr1.wav
The Feast of
Trumpets
So when God
instructs Moses regarding a special day of worship that is now
called (in English) the Feast of Trumpets, from which of these
various kinds of wind instruments is this name derived?
 Leviticus
23:23-25
The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the
first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of
rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts
[Hebrew: teruah] Do no regular work, but present an
offering made to the LORD by fire.' "
Numbers 29:1
On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly
and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the
trumpets.
Actually, none
of the Hebrew words implying one of the ritual silver trumpets,
or a trumpet for music, or a shofar is used in these passages.
The phrases “trumpet blasts” and “sound the trumpets” are both
used to translate the single Hebrew word teruah. This
word indicates a “clamor, that is, acclamation of
joy or a battle cry; especially clangor of
trumpets, as an alarum.” (The archaic KJV word alarum
means a “call to arms.”)
In other
words, the English translators here have made the assumption
that trumpets are implied in the noisy clamor. And,
indeed, to this day this particular observance is referred to in
English by many as the “Feast of Trumpets” or “Feast of Blowing
of the Shofar.” In Hebrew it is actually Yom Teruah (Hebrew yom="day"--the
Day of Teruah). Although no Hebrew word for trumpet occurs in
this name either, Jewish scholars also assume that the reference
is not just to "clamor" in general (shouting or battle cries)
but to the sounding of actual physical trumpets. On this day,
worship gatherings featuring the ceremonial blowing of the
shofar are typical in Jewish synagogues.
The Symbolism
and Significance of the Feast of Trumpets
Although the Bible nowhere
specifically states the exact “meaning” of the Feast of
Trumpets, both Jewish and Christian commentators and teachers
have connected it to a variety of passages in the Bible that
speak of blowing of trumpets. Consider this verse:
Isaiah
58:1
"Shout
it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet
[Hebrew: shofar]. Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
One lesson that can be taken from
these words of God is this:
When God’s people are in
trouble, because of their sins, God will send messengers such as
Isaiah to sound the alarm, that they may turn and repent … and
then God will hear the “sound of the trumpet” and remember them
and rescue them.
This symbolism is not lost on
modern Jews. The picture below of silver trumpets being blown is
from an event in 2002 in Jerusalem:
“JP 2-15-02
- On the second day of Adar, 5762 (Thursday, Feb. 14
2002) a special prayer service was held at the Western
Wall because of the ongoing Arab terror which has
claimed many lives. During the service, Temple trumpets
fashioned of pure silver by the Temple Institute were
sounded. According to Jewish tradition, prayers on
days of communal distress and fasting should be
accompanied by trumpet-blasts, for their sound has great
spiritual power.”
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Cyprus/5341/
In addition,
some commentators, including Philo (a first century Jewish
philosopher) have connected the symbolism of the blowing of
shofars on the Feast of Trumpets to the shofar blasts of the event of the giving of the Ten Commandments
on Mt. Sinai shortly after the Exodus, quoted from Exodus 20 above.
Trumpets in the New Testament
The symbolism of blowing of
trumpets shows up in a number of places in the New Testament
connected to the return of Christ, with the sense of “waking up”
and “gathering” those who belong to Him. It is thus not
surprising that many Christian prophecy speculators have
bombastically declared that Jesus will actually return on the
exact date of the Feast of Trumpets some year. (See XXX for
examples of this speculation.)
Matthew
24:30-31
"At that
time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all
the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of
Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and
they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of
the heavens to the other.
I Cor
15:51-52
Listen,
I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be
changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be
raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
I Thes
4:14-18
We
believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that
God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are
still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will
certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord
himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with
the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God,
and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are
still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with
the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these
words.
Rev
8:1-2
When he
opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about
half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God,
and to them were given seven trumpets.
Rev
11:15
The
seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud
voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has
become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will
reign for ever and ever."
Some of these
trumpets scriptures have convinced certain "prophecy
speculators" for the past 150 years and more that we ought to
expect Jesus Christ to return to Earth in the Second Coming on
this very day. After all, He died at the time of the annual
Passover, and the Holy Spirit was sent on the very day of
Pentecost. So it is not unreasonable to speculate that future
special events in the history of the Plan of God will occur on
annual Holy Days or around the time of the annual Feasts.
And thus numerous
men and women have actually "set dates" predicting the very year
and day when Christ would appear. William Miller insisted it
would be on Trumpets in 1844. The supporters of Herbert Armstrong expected it to
be on that date in 1975. They, and all the others like them, were
incorrect, but that doesn't stop new prognosticators from
insisting that they have pinned down a new year and date. [ Get
future dates]
It is not impossible, of course, that Jesus will indeed return
on Trumpets. But is that the only, or the primary, focus of
symbolism that Christians should assign to the significance of
this Holy Day?
The reality is that Trumpets teaches the lesson that we should be sober,
vigilant, spiritually prepared and awake, and keeping watch all of the time in
every generation. Because, of course, Jesus WILL "come for"
each individual in a sense the moment they die. There is no more
time for preparation then.
Perhaps it would be good to
consider that the Feast of Trumpets year by year may be calling our attention
to the need for spiritual "watchfulness" in general. The notion
of a “wake up call” has been used in recent years by many
religious teachers to suggest that world conditions, including,
for instance, the 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks and 2005's
Hurricane Katrina, ought to be sobering. They should cause
Christians to “wake up” to their own sins and the sins of their
nations, to quit being distracted by shallow values of greed and
temporary physical pleasures, and turn to God.
Perhaps these events could even
be considered comparable to the voice of the prophets of the Old
Testament "lifting up a voice like a trumpet."
Many people who accept Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord, whether they refer to themselves as "Christian" or
"Messianic," observe the Feast of Trumpets as a time of worship,
fellowship, and celebration. They believe that this Feast, along with the other
Feasts and Holy Days described in Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16, are shadows pointing to the
reality of Jesus. And they believe that there are valuable spiritual lessons to
be learned year by year through actually physically setting aside these Times
of Refreshing as
"appointments with God."
For more about the biblical Feasts
in general, see the article Theme Times elsewhere on
this Times of Refreshing website.
For an
explanation of the Christian observance of each of the Feasts
and Holy Days as
they come in their seasons, explore the links on the navigation
bar above.
For sources of the Hebrew, Greek,
and English definitions in this and other articles on this website, see the
Information page.
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