Feast of Trumpets: A Call to Repentance

This day is multifaceted
Other messages on this day have brought out many other aspects of this day…some that we will touch on today

Leviticus 23 These are the holy days that everyone should be keeping

Leviticus 23:23 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Leviticus 23:24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
Leviticus 23:25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.’ ”

These also were kept in New Testament times and will be kept in the future (Zechariah 14)

Trumpet – A Call to Repentance

The sound of the shofar evokes what?… sirens of war

Ezekiel 33:1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Makes an analogy/parable that rings very true to them and then makes the point at the end
Ezekiel 33:2 “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman,
Ezekiel 33:3 when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet [shofar] and warns the people,
Ezekiel 33:4 then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.
Ezekiel 33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.
Ezekiel 33:6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’
Ezekiel 33:7 “So you, son of man [Ezekiel]: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.

Background: Ezekiel was in captivity in Babylon with the rest of Judah
Israel 130 years before into Assyria
Message

Ezekiel 33:8 When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
Ezekiel 33:9 Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
Ezekiel 33:10 “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, “If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?” ‘
Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
Ezekiel 33:33 And when this comes to pass—surely it will come—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.”

This warning is to still be going out today
This is still the job of the church
Hopefully we understand this necessity

Warning to Go Out

Isaiah 58:1 “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet [shofar]; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.

To warn of impending punishment for sins
God wants to get their attention
He wants them to change
He wants obedience NOT sacrifice
BUT in the end

Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand:
Joel 2:2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations.
Joel 2:3 A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them.

Joel 2:11 The LORD gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?
Joel 2:12 “Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
Joel 2:13 So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents [why?] from doing harm.
Joel 2:14 Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him— A grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God?
Joel 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly;
Joel 2:16 Gather the people, Sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and nursing babes; Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber, And the bride from her dressing room.
Joel 2:17 Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, Weep between the porch and the altar; Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD, And do not give Your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ”
Joel 2:18 Then the LORD will be zealous for His land, And pity His people.

Why blow the trumpet…why not just come?

God wants to give people a chance to change

Hosea 14:1 O Israel, return to the LORD your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
Hosea 14:2 Take words with you, And return to the LORD. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity; Receive us graciously, For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.

Admit guilt and ask for forgiveness.
Extend Mercy
Sincere promise of right action in the future

More things their lips should not say, that they had been saying
Remember this is prophetic

Hosea 14:3 Assyria shall not save us, We will not ride on horses, Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’ For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”

Assyria, king of the north; beast power; Germanic led coalition in the end-time
They go to them for help

Hosea 5:9 Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure.
Hosea 5:10 “The princes of Judah are like those who remove a landmark; I will pour out my wrath on them like water.
Hosea 5:11 Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, Because he willingly walked by human precept.
Hosea 5:12 Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth, And to the house of Judah like rottenness.
Hosea 5:13 “When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound.
Hosea 5:14 For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
Hosea 5:15 I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

Back to 14:3
Hosea 14:3 Assyria shall not save us, We will not ride on horses, Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’ For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”

So they acknowledge that Assyria can’t save
They say that they will not ride on horses to seek help from anyone else
And they won’t rely on their own strength

If they follow the formula that Hosea is giving to them, God says:
Hosea 14:4 “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him.
Hosea 14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
Hosea 14:6 His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon.
Hosea 14:7 Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; They shall be revived like grain, And grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Hosea 14:8 “Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’ I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in Me.”
Hosea 14:9 Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them.

God gave us all that we need, nothing more, nothing less.

God Does Not Want to Punish

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
Ezekiel 18:21 “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
Ezekiel 18:22 None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.
Ezekiel 18:23 Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord GOD, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?
Ezekiel 18:24 “But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.
Ezekiel 18:25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?
Ezekiel 18:26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies.
Ezekiel 18:27 Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive.
Ezekiel 18:28 Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
Ezekiel 18:29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not fair.’ O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?
Ezekiel 18:30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord GOD. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.
Ezekiel 18:31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?

Ezekiel 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore turn and live!”

Mankind Will Not Listen

Jeremiah 6:16 Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
Jeremiah 6:17 Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
Jeremiah 6:18 Therefore hear, you nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them.
Jeremiah 6:19 Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people— The fruit of their thoughts, Because they have not heeded My words Nor My law, but rejected it.
Jeremiah 6:20 For what purpose to Me Comes frankincense from Sheba, And sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”

Inevitably God Will Have to Chastise Mankind

Ezekiel 6:6 In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.
Ezekiel 6:7 The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
Ezekiel 6:8 “Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered through the countries.
Ezekiel 6:9 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols; they will loathe themselves for the evils which they committed in all their abominations.
Ezekiel 6:10 And they shall know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them.”

Timeline on Repentance

Isaiah 27:12 And it shall come to pass in that day That the LORD will thresh, From the channel of the River to the Brook of Egypt; And you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel.
Isaiah 27:13 So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, And shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

Specifically and personally gathered up; in that day at the blowing of the great trumpet; out of Assyrian and Egypt; brought back to the land of promise.

Now what about:

Spiritual Israel

God’s church and those that have been called out now.

We are given this insight and understanding about the need to repent
Through the help of God by His power we see these things more clearly
BUT in the true style of the Israelite, there will be those that STILL do not heed God.

Revelation 12:13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child.
Revelation 12:14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
Revelation 12:15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.
Revelation 12:16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
They were unwilling to lay down their lives for God
They did not put God and His way first
So God not being a respector of persons, uses similar methods on His church at this time

To the Philadelphians:
Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

But to the Laodiceans:
Revelation 3:17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—
Revelation 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.
Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

Revelation 13:7 It was granted to him [beast power] to make war with the saints and to overcome them. [They must lay down their lives physically] And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

We have the same Timeline on Repentance

Matthew 24:29 “Immediately after the tribulation [5th Seal] of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.[6th Seal].
Matthew 24:30 Then 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. [7th Seal, which are the 7 trumpets and then the 7 plagues] Matthew 24:31 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.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
2 Peter 3:11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
2 Peter 3:12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
2 Peter 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

We must repent before Christ comes, which is depicted by the day of Trumpets

This day is a memorial that looks forward to the return of Jesus Christ.
But in a sense, the blowing of it every year at this time becomes its own memorial.

For as often as we blow this trumpet, we proclaim the need for repentance till He comes.

But we only have up until the time of His return, that day that is depicted by this Feast of Trumpets

So if we change before then from our way to His and if we are able to convince God that we want His way of life above all then God will make His Godly ways permanent in our life

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—
1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.