The End of The Age?

I was watching a television show a few weeks ago - Day of Discovery. The topic of the show was Old Testament festivals. Sounds exciting, right? Well, it was VERY exciting!! But the show stopped before it got to the good stuff. Please join me in a little research . . . a little Biblical background if you will.

Please open your Bibles to the Book of Leviticus. That's the book where God laid down all the Old Testament rules about sacrifices, offerings and marriages. God also extablished all of the Jewish festivals in the Book of Leviticus, chapter 23. Can you find all seven feasts of The Lord? Here they are, in order. Which is very, VERY important.

1. The Lord's Passover (v. 5)
2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread (v.6)
3. The Feast of Firstfruits (v. 10)
4. The Feast of Weeks (aka Pentecost) (v. 16)
5. The Feast of Trumpets (v. 24)
6. The Day of Atonement (v. 27)
7. The Feast of Booths or Tabernacles (v. 34)

There they are. The seven Jewish festivals or feasts. Seems simple enough. God set up these special days where God would be honored and worshiped. But why these specific days? And what do they mean? Why would God designate these VERY specific days? Look how precise the dates are.

"In the first month on the 14th day, at twilight" . . . "then, on 15th day of the month." Hmm.

Two festivals? One right after the other? You'd think God would have spaced them out a little bit. Unless . . . . unless God had a really good reason for them to take place so closely.

And here's something else we can observe. See that line under Festival #4 above? What does that mean? The first four festivals are spring festivals. The last three are fall festivals . . . harvest festivals. Keep THAT word in minnd as we continue forward.

What I am about to show you is really amazing. But God is amazing so why should any of this surprise us? Something very special has happened on each of the first four festivals. I will list the feasts again along with a very significant event in Christian history.

1. The Lord's Passover - Jesus was crucified and died
2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread - Jesus was buried
3. The Feast of Firstfruits - Jesus rose from the dead
4. The Feast of Weeks (aka Pentecost) - The Holy Spirit was given
5. The Feast of Trumpets -
6. The Day of Atonement -
7. The Feast of Booths or Tabernacles -

Isn't that amazing? Each of those first four events happened on a Jewish holiday. Hmm. That's weird. Or is it? And what about the last three events? What will happen on those days?

The last three events have not happened yet. They are in the future. But I can tell you this. I think the next major Biblical event will happen on the Feast of Trumpets. And when IS the Festival of Trumpets this year? Sunday, September 13th.

What is the Festival of Trumpets anyway? Can we get a clue about what will happen by the trumpets? What significance do trumpets hold in the Bible . . . the New Testament Bible?

There are five Books where the word "trumpet" is used in the ESV New Testament - twice in Matthew, once each on 1st Corinthians, 1st Thessalonians, Hebrews and 15 times in the Book of Revelation.

Matthew 6:2 is about not boasting (incidental for this discussion)
Matthew 24:31 is about the rapture of the church
1 Corinthians 15:52 is about the rapture of the church
1 Thessalonians 4:16 is about the rapture of the church
Hebrews 12:19 is about The Kingdom of heaven
Revelation 1:10, 4:1, 8:2, 8:6, 8:7, 8:8, 8:10, 8:12, 8:, 13, 9:1, 9:13, 9:14, 10:7, 11:15 and 18:22 are all about the kingdom of heaven and the coming wrath of God.

Do you sense a pattern here? I sure do!

 The Feast of Trumpets commemorates the end of the summer growing season and the beginning of the harvest.

It seems very obvious to me that something HUGE will happen on the Feast of Trumpets. The only problem is WHICH feast of trumpets. That I do not know. It could be this year (I don't think so) . It could be in 2017. It's really whenever God chooses. None of us will know the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36). The important thing is, are we ready? Well . . . are you? Jesus WILL return one day. The time of growing the church will end and God will harvest his people.

The next festival - the Day of Atonement. Jesus died as an "atoning" sacrifice for our sins. Have you made Jesus Lord of YOUR life? Please, if you have not, when you hear the trumpet sound, it will be too late.

"13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words." - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

This is the Gospel

Sound of The Shofar