Human beings are naturally programmed to look toward the source of a loud sound to assess where it came from and what it was made by. The sudden presence of noise puts us on alert, and our bodies prepare for danger as we investigate the cause. This is a matter of survival, and sometimes immediate action is needed!

The Hebrew name of the festival we call “Feast of Trumpets” is yom teruah, which literally means “day of great noise.” In its usage throughout the Old Testament, the word teruah can refer to trumpet blasts (Numbers 10:2-5), the vocal battle cries of an army (Joshua 6:5), or the sound of a great number of people (1 Samuel 4:5). Trumpet blasts in particular served various purposes—to assemble people together (Numbers 10:2-4), to announce the arrival of an army for war (Numbers 10:9), or to glorify God with music (1 Chronicles 13:8).

The Feast of Trumpets has great prophetic significance in God’s plan, and the intent of this “great noise” becomes clear no matter which angle we observe from: God is going to get the world’s attention with these incredible sounds! But the question we in the Church must ask ourselves at this time of year is whether or not God has our attention—has the trumpet sounded in our hearts?

The Battle Cry

Revelation 8-9 pictures a time when six great trumpet blasts will resound through the earth, each accompanied by terrible plagues. In Revelation 11:15, a seventh blast declares that “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

Even after the awful plagues of the first six trumpets, Revelation 9:20-21 reveals that the people who remain alive will not repent of their evil deeds. Even after so much suffering, famine and bloodshed, some will stubbornly refuse to accept the message that they must turn from their sins. And so comes the final wake-up call to mankind when Jesus descends with “the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). This astonishing sound becomes a battle cry as the army of God lays waste to the armies of the world gathered against Jerusalem (Revelation 19:11-21).

Afterwards, when Jesus and the resurrected saints begin to reign, all of mankind will have heard the sound and be on alert, ready to finally investigate the source of such great calamity! They will come to realize that this worldwide disaster and unimaginable suffering was the result of sin, and they will learn God’s holy way of life as they repent.

God has called us in the Church to repentance today, before the world has heard the battle cry. Have we heard God’s battle cry, and are we taking action? If so, God has given us the amazing opportunity to actually join the battle cry of Jesus Christ at His return in order to lead the entire world to repentance and eternal life!

The Call to Worship

One of the primary purposes of a trumpet blast in ancient Israel was the gathering of God’s people together, either to hear an urgent message or to worship God. A long trumpet blast accompanied God’s presence when He appeared to Israel to give the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19:13,16,19). This terrifying noise drew the Israelites’ attention to God and caused them to tremble and worship before His awesomeness as they heard His words.

In the prophetic fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets, all people will hear the trumpet blast and will eventually be humbled to worship before God’s power. In those days, “from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, declares the Lord” (Isaiah 66:23), and “every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God” (Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11). The central purpose of the Feast of Trumpets is reconciling humanity to God and bringing them into worship of Him.

If we have already heard the call to worship God, then it is important that we gather together every Sabbath and every Holy Day if we are able to do so. God’s Sabbath and holy days are “appointed times” when God commands us to have “holy convocations” with each other before Him (Leviticus 23:2). In order to be sure that we are properly responding to God’s trumpet call in our hearts, it is paramount that we “not [forsake] the assembling of ourselves together . . . but [exhort] one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

Shouts of Joy

At Jesus’ return, God’s resurrected saints will also make a resounding joyful noise along with the angels, and a sound “like mighty peals of  thunder” (Revelation 19:6-8) will be heard in praise of God! The entire creation will rejoice as it is freed from bondage and turned over to “the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21)—the trees will clap their hands, and the mountains will break forth in song (Isaiah 55:12).

During the 1,000 years, the world will look to the cause of these great shouts of joy: the fulfillment of God’s promises to the firstfruits of His harvest, of which they are the next phase. They will see clearly that this great sound of praise that is raised at Jesus’ coming is the result of God’s faithfulness and worthiness, and that they too should rejoice in the greatness of God.

If we have been called into covenant with God, then there should be a loud, joyful noise growing in our hearts today! We are called to rejoice in the hope of God’s promises through faith, and our rejoicing will reach a glorious crescendo at the return of Jesus Christ that will shake the entire earth!

Does God Have Our Attention?

This Feast of Trumpets, let’s consider the teruah, the “great noise,” that will come upon the entire world. What is its purpose, and what does it mean for those of us today who already hear it coming? It is a warning to be spiritually alert, to repent from our sins and to join the army of God. As He leads us out of captivity from sin, we must also joyfully praise God for His awesome deeds by which He has delivered us through Jesus Christ! And we must continue to gather with one another week by week, year by year, edifying each other and growing together in faith and love as we answer the worship call that the entire world will soon hear.

If we have become slack in our calling, let’s take this Feast of Trumpets as an opportunity to make ourselves alert! Let’s consider whether the trumpet is sounding loudly in our hearts and how we can work together to magnify that sound to the world through our lives.