The Blowing of Trumpets

THE BLOWING OF TRUMPETS

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The memorial of blowing of Trumpets is the feast that follows Pentecost. The blowing of Trumpets announces the coming of King Jesus to make war against His enemies. The spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Trumpets is the alerting of God’s Zion to the coming of the Lord to remove from the holy remnant, then from all Israel, and finally from the saved nations of the earth, all that is not acceptable to God. The era of the coming Jubilee already is casting its shadow upon us.

The blowing of Trumpets tells us the Lord is ready to organize His saints into an army.

FOREWORD

There were seven feasts of the Lord. These seven feasts are set forth in the twenty-third chapter of the Book of Leviticus. Each of the seven feasts has a great Kingdom-wide fulfillment, and each has a personal fulfillment in the life of the individual believer in Jesus Christ:

Passover (Leviticus 23:5).
Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:6).
Firstfruits (Leviticus 23:10).
Pentecost (Leviticus 23:15).
Blowing of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24).
Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27).
Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34).

Our understanding of the spiritual fulfillments of the seven feasts of the Lord is as follows:

Passover

The Kingdom-wide fulfillment of the Passover was the death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.

The personal fulfillment of Passover is our receiving the covering of the precious blood of God’s Lamb, Jesus Christ.

Unleavened Bread

The Kingdom-wide fulfillment of the feast of Unleavened Bread was the descent of the Lord Jesus into Sheol, carrying with Him the leaven of the sins of the world.

The personal fulfillment of Unleavened Bread is our repentance and entrance into the death of the Lord Jesus. Water baptism is a sacrament that portrays our oneness with the crucified Christ.

Firstfruits

The Kingdom-wide fulfillment of the feast of Firstfruits was the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead.

The personal fulfillment of Firstfruits is our being born again, and the raising of our new spiritual nature in Jesus Christ to the right hand of the Father. Our coming forth from the waters of baptism represents our birth into the Kingdom of God. It is an expression of union with our resurrected Lord.

Pentecost

The Kingdom-wide fulfillment of Pentecost (the feast of Weeks) was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the early Christians, as described in the Book of Acts.

The personal fulfillment of Pentecost is the baptizing of us with the Holy Spirit, giving us wisdom and power to bear witness of Christ’s death and resurrection, and wisdom and power to live in a righteous, holy, and obedient manner before God.

Trumpets

The Kingdom-wide fulfillment of the blowing of Trumpets is the blowing of the seven trumpets, as described in the Book of Revelation. The saints will be raised from the dead at the seventh trumpet.

The personal fulfillment of Trumpets is the coming of King Jesus to us to set up His Kingdom in our personality.

Day of Atonement

The Kingdom-wide fulfillment of the Day of Atonement is the thousand-year period known as the Millennium.

The personal fulfillment of the Day of Atonement is the judging and cleansing of our personality, resulting in our total reconciliation to God.

Tabernacles

The Kingdom-wide fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles is the eternal reign of Jesus Christ.

The personal fulfillment of Tabernacles is the coming of the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit to take up Their eternal abode in the personality of the saint.

THE BLOWING OF TRUMPETS

Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel.
So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. (Nehemiah 8:1,2)

The “first day of the seventh month” is the memorial of blowing of Trumpets.

“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 23:24)

The eighth chapter of the Book of Nehemiah describes the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles which took place as soon as the wall of Jerusalem had been rebuilt (Nehemiah 7:1). Nehemiah, the governor, and Ezra, the priest, were in charge.

According to the Law, there are three feasts which are to be celebrated in the seventh month: Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles.

The eighth chapter of Nehemiah depicts the observing of Trumpets and Tabernacles. Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, was not kept at this time, probably because the Jews had been in captivity for so long they had forgotten the Law. However, the subsequent repenting and confessing of sins certainly was an observance of the spirit of Yom Kippur (Nehemiah 9:2).

We think the events of Nehemiah Eight are prophetic, especially with respect to the hour in which we are living.

It is our opinion that the Lord God of heaven is moving today to bring into existence the spiritual substance of which Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles are types and shadows. We think the material aspect of the Kingdom of God is being introduced into the earth. This accounts for the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and also for the compelling desire in the hearts of numerous Christians to go to Jerusalem and to support the Jews in every way possible.

The return of Jacob to the land of promise means the times of the nations have been fulfilled:

“And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)

The memorial of blowing of Trumpets is the feast which follows Pentecost. God has brought His Church as far as Pentecost. Now it is time for us to move forward into the spiritual fulfillment of the final three feasts of the Lord: Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles.

The blowing of Trumpets announces the coming of King Jesus to make war against His enemies. The spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Trumpets occurs when God’s Zion is alerted that the Lord is coming to remove all that He finds unacceptable from the holy remnant, then from all Israel, and finally from the saved nations of the earth. We are in that time now.

As we study the eighth chapter of Nehemiah, we notice the emphasis on reading the Law of God. Reading the Law began on the first day of the seventh month, that is, on the day of Trumpets, (Rosh Hashanah, as it is termed today), and continued throughout the observance of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:18).

Reading the Law (the five books of Moses) brought the holy demands of the God of Israel to the minds of the worshipers. They realized they were obliged to adhere to the numerous statutes and precepts given to Moses. The people had not been keeping the Law while they were in Babylon, and there was much weeping because of their newly awakened awareness that they had been breaking the commandments of the Lord (Nehemiah 8:9).

How does the eighth chapter of Nehemiah apply to us today? In what way are the events of this chapter typical and prophetic? What is the spiritual substance of these types and shadows?

The spiritual fulfillment of Trumpets is the coming of the Lawgiver Himself, not only to bring to our minds the numerous statutes and precepts found in the writings of the Apostles of the New Testament, but also to remove the presence of sin from the elect and to fill us with Divine Life and Nature so we can walk in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God.

A study of the Day of Atonement (Leviticus, Chapter Sixteen) reveals that the atonement has two primary emphases: (1) forgiving the guilt of the Israelites; and (2) removing sin from the camp.

The doctrine of the propitiation of God’s wrath through means of the blood atonement has been taught thoroughly in the Christian churches. What is not understood by many Christian believers is that the Divine atonement made through the death of Christ includes not only the forgiveness of the sins of the elect, and of the whole world, but also (and primarily) the actual removal of the presence of sin from the elect and from every saved person of the nations of the earth.

The atonement made by Jesus Christ makes possible the forgiveness of our sins. However, the primary emphasis of the new covenant is not on the forgiveness of our sin but on putting the laws of God in our minds and writing them in our hearts (Hebrews 8:10).

In a dispensational sense, we have come now to the promised redemption, to the time of removing the presence of sin from the earth.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Hebrews 9:28)
who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:5)

Removing the presence of sin from the Church and from the earth is an act of Divine judgment on Satan. The Divine judgment has begun now. The Day of Vengeance of our God has commenced, and it will continue until the termination of the thousand-year Kingdom Age.

The seven trumpets of the Book of Revelation (Chapters Eight through Eleven) portray what happens to the works of men when the King, Jesus Christ, begins to bring all the earth, including His Church, into subjection to Himself.

How are we affected as the Holy Spirit brings us past the fulfillment of the feast of Pentecost and into Trumpets and the Day of Atonement? How are we to address ourselves to the dealings of the King, as He seeks admittance to our personality so He may cast down every false god within us and establish His throne at the core of our being?

The Lord Jesus is coming to each member of His Body today. He stands at the door of our life and knocks. He knocks until He gains our attention. Some hear the Lord readily. In other instances it is necessary for the Lord to bring trouble to the individual in order to make him aware God has come to him.

Then Jesus speaks. If we open the door of our heart to Him He enters into us and dines with us, and we with Him. The food and drink of which we partake are His body and blood. It is by eating Him that we become married to Him, learning to live by Him as He lives by the Father.

Then the Lord Jesus begins to cast down every throne within us. We must remember that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)

It is God’s will that man not dwell alone in his body. The body of man is made to be the house, the booth, the tabernacle of God. It is our responsibility to present our body a living sacrifice so we may prove the will of God.

If we are willing to receive the Lord, permitting Him to cast out of us the love of the world, the love of sin, and the love of our self-will, the Father and the Son come to us and make Their abode with us. Now there are four of us living in the same body: the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the saint.

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him. (John 14:23)

When we overcome all that hinders God from resting in us we discover we are sitting with the Lord Jesus on His throne, which is our own heart.

“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Revelation 3:21)

The goal of salvation is to become the dwelling place of God and Jesus. This is the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles.

The King is coming to each one of us. If we have ears to hear and open the door, He enters us and makes His abode with us. This is our marriage to the Lord.

As Christ settles down to rest in us He deals with everything in us that is contrary to God’s Personality. The dealings of the Lord, as He accomplishes our total sanctification, can result in enormous upheavals and misunderstandings. Our part is to look steadfastly to Jesus and to hold steady in faith until that rest in God, which we desire so fervently, has been gained perfectly and completely.

The twenty-fourth Psalm reveals many elements of the spiritual fulfillment of the memorial of blowing of Trumpets.

The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein. (Psalms 24:1)

The earth is the Lord’s!

During our involvement in the spiritual fulfillment of the first four feasts—Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost—we are invited to set our affection on things above, for that is where our spiritual life is (see Leviticus, Chapter 23 for the seven feasts of the Lord).

When the Lord brings us toward the spiritual fulfillment of the last three feasts—Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles—we begin to understand the Kingdom of God, while it is formed in heaven, is destined to come to the earth. The earth is brought to our attention. Many have a strong desire to go to Jerusalem (on earth) because it is to Jerusalem that the Lord Jesus the Christ will come.

The earth, its resources, the world and all who dwell therein, enter increasingly into our thoughts. It is not that we love the present world, or think somehow God is going to help us to live in such a manner that gradually the Kingdom of God will appear. This is not the case. The actual truth is, matters will grow worse as time goes on. The tares will come to maturity.

The Kingdom of God will descend to earth in total violence, crushing all resistance to the rule of Jesus Christ. The coming of the Lord is so near at hand that we Christians are beginning to feel within ourselves the preparatory work which God intends to do in Jerusalem, probably in the near future, and we want to experience that marvelous glory.

The granite walls of the old city of Jerusalem bring to our mind that Jesus shall be King of kings and Lord of lords over the kingdoms of this world. The return of Jesus Christ and the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth will have political consequences.

For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters. (Psalms 24:2)

Nothing in this present world is stable. The world with all its parts has been established on the floods. Each person who would obtain a secure foundation must come to Jesus, for Jesus is the Rock which cannot be shaken. God will shake earth and also heaven, and only that which has been built on Christ will remain.

whose voice then shook the earth [at Sinai]; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” (Hebrews 12:26)

The feast of Trumpets announces the coming of King Jesus. All God’s created works will tremble at the Presence of the Lord Jesus. All the works of man will be removed.

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place? (Psalms 24:3)

The most worthwhile effort that can be made by a human being is to ascend the hill of the Lord. The world and Satan strive endlessly to entice human beings to show interest in them, to worship them, and to love them. But all is vanity. There is no lasting joy, no peace, no love anywhere except in Zion, in the Presence of the Father. The only true goal of the human being is rest in the Presence of the Father. All else is worthless and less than worthless.

Who is able to stand in the Presence of Jesus; who is able, through Jesus, to come to the Father?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. (Psalms 24:4)

The doctrine of grace preached by the early apostles offers righteousness to each person who will place his or her faith in the atonement made by the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. The doctrine of grace and of complete forgiveness through the blood of Jesus comes from God in Heaven.

By faith we receive an imputed (ascribed) righteousness. We have not been able or willing to keep the Law of Moses, but the Lord Jesus has. Through our faith the righteous behavior of Jesus is ascribed to us. When God looks at us He sees the righteousness of His beloved Son, provided we are following the Holy Spirit in overcoming the world, the lusts of our flesh, and our self-will.

However, Paul’s doctrine of grace has been perverted. The current understanding is that grace and faith are new ways in which God relates to people. The moral principles of the Old Testament no longer are stressed. What is emphasized today is a state of ascribed righteousness in which the believer claims the covering of the righteousness of Jesus but is not participating in the work of moral transformation. This interpretation of Divine grace comes from man’s love for himself.

The problem is not the principle of ascribed righteousness. The problem occurs when we regard ascribed righteousness as a permanent state. Our transformation into the image of Christ, which is the nature and purpose of the Divine redemption, is given a sort of careless acknowledgment.

What has been the result of stressing ascribed righteousness, virtually excluding an awareness of our need for transformation into the image of the Lord? The result has been multiplied thousands of spiritual babies who have little or no fellowship with God because they are ignorant of the principles of righteous, holy living.

How has this error come about?

The perversion of Divine grace has proceeded from an ignorance of God’s plan of redemption under the new covenant. God’s plan of redemption includes an ascribed righteousness which is operative throughout the period of time that the believer is being transformed from ungodliness to godliness. The substituted righteousness fills in the gap so Christ is able to deal with us even though we still are children in the principles of righteous behavior.

Do you see the difference between regarding ascribed righteousness as a new way in which God deals with people, as distinguished from ascribed righteousness as a temporary provision while we are undergoing a transformation from moral chaos into the image of Christ?

Ascribed righteousness is not intended to be a permanent condition by which God is able to have fellowship with untransformed sons of Adam. Ascribed righteousness is a means of shielding the believer from God’s wrath while Christ is building a new creation.

We are to keep the Words of Jesus and do what He commanded us, obtaining the necessary help from the Holy Spirit. Our efforts in the Lord bring to us a measure of sanctification, and the precious blood of the Lord makes up the difference between our conduct and the standard of conduct which God requires.

Now the Lord is appearing to His people and completing the work of removing from us the love of the world, the love of sin, and the love of self-will. Our cooperation in the work of judgment and cleansing is necessary to the process. Israel must fight in order to overcome the enemies in the land of promise, the adversaries presently occupying our inheritance.

Ascribed righteousness does not enable us to ascend the hill of the Lord, to stand in His holy place. Rather, ascribed righteousness suspends the wrath of God until we gain, through Christ, the spiritual strength to overcome the love of the world, the love of sin, and the love of self-will.

Then, as we overcome sin, and grow in the holy ways of the Lord, we are able to ascend into the hill of the Lord, into Zion, into eternal life. This is the true relationship between the grace which Paul taught and the moral conduct taught by Paul and all the other writers of Scripture.

Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?

“He who has clean hands, and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to vanity nor sworn deceitfully.” God’s moral requirements never change.

Our hands are defiled when we practice immorality or violence or drunkenness.

Our heart is not pure when we dwell on lustful thoughts, or conceive evil against our neighbor, or harbor real or imagined insults, or entertain grudges, revenge, envy, jealousy, or covetousness.

Our soul is not right within us when we seek to exalt our lawless and lying self, pushing forward in our self-will and self-centeredness as we attempt to force people, circumstances, and God Himself to conform to our desires.

We are as a serpent when we strive to twist the simple truth, hoping through our multitude of words to convince people that our scheming actually is righteous and worthy.

God is interested in actual righteousness. God has fellowship with those who love Him and keep His commandments. He hears the prayers of those who walk uprightly, who speak the truth, and who love mercy. But the ungodly never will stand in the Presence of our holy God, whether or not they name the name of Jesus.

He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalms 24:5)

The blessing of the Lord is eternal life. Eternal life is the result of righteous, holy, and obedient conduct. The grace of our Lord Jesus leads us in paths of righteousness so we may inherit eternal life.

Notice carefully that the person who walks in righteousness “shall receive… righteousness from the God of his salvation.”

If he walks in righteousness, not lifting up his soul to vanity nor swearing deceitfully, why is it that he receives righteousness? If he practices righteous conduct, why is it necessary for righteousness to be given to him?

The answer is, righteousness is not conformity to a set of religious principles. Righteousness is that which God accepts and approves.

In the ultimate sense, all righteousness is imputed. One cannot present himself as righteous before the Lord on the basis of his own uprightness of character, because God retains the authority and power to determine who is righteous and who is not.

For example, Abraham attempted to sell his wife, and Rahab the harlot told an outright lie (Joshua 2:5). Neither of these are acts of righteousness. Yet, both Abraham and Rahab are listed among the heroes of faith of Hebrews, Chapter Eleven.

It is not our conformity to a code of behavior which establishes us in righteousness (except as judged by our religion). Rather, it is God, and God alone, who imputes righteousness.

Therefore, in order for an individual to be truly righteous, God must regard him as being righteous. Even though he has clean hands and a pure heart, he must receive righteousness from the God of his salvation.

The problem has arisen because theologians have reasoned that if God alone imputes righteousness, it is not critically significant how people behave. Such thinking is a warping of Divine truth.

God commands us from Genesis to Revelation to practice righteousness, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. If we do this, in the fear of God and by His help, God shall impute righteousness to us.

Under the new covenant, we must accept by faith the blood atonement made by the Lord Jesus. The Jews appear to be at fault here in that they are not continuing the blood sacrifices commanded by the Law. They have abandoned the necessary animal sacrifices, and will not receive the blood atonement made by Jesus. How can God ascribe righteousness to them when they are obeying neither Moses nor Jesus?

As we have said, God has commanded us to accept by faith the blood atonement made by the Lord Jesus. When we do this, God imputes righteousness to us because we have obeyed Him.

Men have reasoned from this that we now are righteous because of the atonement made by the Lord Jesus, and therefore have no need to obey the moral precepts written in the New Testament.

This is false! God has imputed righteousness to us because we have obeyed Him in receiving the blood atonement by faith. We also must obey Him in everything else which He has commanded through the Apostles of the Lamb.

The Christian believers have obeyed God by receiving the atonement by faith. But they have not obeyed God, in many instances, in the laying down of their life, taking up their cross, and following Jesus. They have not obeyed God in presenting their body a living sacrifice to God. They have obeyed God in one aspect of the new covenant but not in another. Therefore, righteousness is not imputed to them.

God has promised that in the last days He will remove the presence of sin from His Church, and from the saved nations of the earth. Righteousness will be imputed to those who cooperate with the Lord Jesus as, through the Holy Spirit, He drives out of us the love of the world, the love of sin, and the love of self-seeking.

Righteousness will not be imputed to the individual who maintains that since he believes in the atonement made by Jesus he is righteous even though he is not following the Lord Jesus with a pure heart. God shall not impute righteousness to him, in spite of his profession of faith, because he is not obeying God in all matters.

This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek your face. Selah (Psalms 24:6)

The idea here is related to the oft-repeated exhortation of the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches” (Revelation 3:6).

The believer who intends to press on past Pentecost to the fulfillment of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles, must seek the face of the Lord Jesus until he has an ear to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the churches.

It is not enough to continue in our religious practices, even if those practices include unremitting service in the Lord’s vineyard. There must be an intense seeking of the Lord, although it may mean letting go of some of our activities, and our status in our religion, as the Lord leads.

There must be a seeking of the Lord. Seeking the Lord requires time and concentration. Seeking the face of the Lord can be difficult, especially if we have been accustomed to praying on the run as we carry out numerous responsibilities.

The Lord is doing a new thing today. He is preparing the nation of Israel, the Christian Church, and the nations of the earth for His coming to the earth as King of all kings and Lord of all lords. There will be some changes in the manner in which we are accustomed to doing things. Guesswork is not enough. Good intentions are not enough. We must hear from God.

It is the generation which seeks the face of the Lord that will succeed in ruling in Zion.

Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. (Psalms 24:7)

The everlasting doors are the doors of the hearts of people. The Lord Jesus, the King of glory, has come through the Spirit to the personality of each member of the elect. If we open our hearts to Him He will enter in and drive out that which is not pleasing to Himself. Every other god must leave. Jesus, and Jesus alone, is to be exalted on the throne of our life. This coming of the King of glory is the spiritual fulfillment of the Old Testament blowing of Trumpets.

Jesus Christ is the “King of glory.” To the obedient saint, the one who permits Jesus to have His way in him, there will be given glory beyond all comprehension.

Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. (Psalms 24:8)

We have not known the warrior aspect of the Personality of Christ. We may conceive of Him as the gentle Shepherd, or the wise Teacher. But the King of glory! The Lord mighty in battle! This we do not understand. The poison of Humanism which has filtered into Christian thinking prevents us from perceiving correctly the harshness of those passages of Scripture which are directed toward God’s enemies.

According to the parables of Jesus, on his return the outraged king will slay his enemies (compare Luke 19:27). So it is in the Kingdom. The wicked shall be crushed. The Kingdom of God is not a democracy, it is a kingdom which shall wage total war against the enemy.

The Lord is “strong and mighty.” We are not able to cast out of ourselves the love of the world, the love of sin, or the love of self-will. The Lord Jesus is strong and mighty enough to overcome the darkness in us and to bring us forth in His image.

The Lord Jesus is “mighty in battle.” It is important for Christians to understand the degree of darkness that is in us. Lawlessness, rebellion, and lustful self-centeredness proceed from the enemies of God. These are not human imperfections. These are spiritual enemies. They can be overcome only by relentless war waged against them by a superior, wiser power. That Power is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. (Psalms 24:9)

Again, the Spirit of Christ in David exhorts us to open up our hearts to the Lord. The elements of our redemption which we have experienced thus far, the Passover blood of protection, repentance, water baptism, the baptism with the Holy Spirit, have meaning only in terms of the promised redemption. They are as a seal, a pledge, on the redemption which comes to us when the King of glory enters into us and drives out all the spiritual darkness which has held us in the chains of rebellion, corruption, and death.

Let us not repeat the tragic error of the Jews. The Jews hope for Christ and for the glorious new world to come. But when Christ came they rejected Him because He did not come in the manner which their scholars had anticipated. He was born in a stable and died on the cross.

The same danger confronts us Christians. We hope for perfect redemption from the power and corruption of sin, and for the glorious new world to come. Let us make sure that we do not reject the present-day aspects of the Divine redemption when they do not come in the manner our scholars have anticipated.

Because redemption is coming to us in the ordinary struggles and facts of our life; because there is personal pain and death involved as the Lord brings down to death those elements in us which keep us in slavery; and because the glory is not being given to us in a rainbow-burst of love and joy in a paradisiacal environment, we may tend to ignore what God is doing, as the Jews ignored the Presence and Word of Jesus of Nazareth.

Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah (Psalms 24:10)

Jesus is the King! When we move past Pentecost to the blowing of Trumpets we are approaching the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.

The Jewish calendar has two overlapping years. Passover marks the beginning of one type of year. Rosh Hashanah is the first day of another type of year, and takes place on the first day of the seventh month of the year which begins with Passover. Passover is New Year’s Day of one year. Rosh Hashanah is New Year’s Day of an overlapping year.

The year which commences with Passover typifies the year of spiritual redemption. The year which commences with Rosh Hashanah typifies the year of the Kingdom of God.

Rosh Hashanah, the time of the blowing of Trumpets, portrays the beginning of the Kingdom of God in the earth.

The feast of Passover marks the beginning of the religious year of feasts and ceremonies. But the year which commences with Rosh Hashanah is the year of kings and contracts. It is the year of doing business.

Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the agricultural year. The fall planting rains are at hand.

The King is coming today in the spiritual realm; in the near future He will come in the clouds of glory. The nation of Israel, the members of the Christian churches, and the nations of the earth—all shall feel the power of His coming. He is coming to judge the world.

The effects of the Divine judgment will be felt by all, but the redemptive aspect of the judgment is directed at present toward a firstfruits of the Lord’s people, as in the type of Gideon’s army. God will bring a remnant through the fire and then use that remnant as the Divine standard and source of deliverance in the earth for all of God’s Israel and for the saved nations.

I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’; and each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’” (Zechariah 13:9)

Isaiah spoke of the day in which we are living:

The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” (Isaiah 33:14)

Again, in Joel:

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 2:1)

Again, in Isaiah:

“Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. (Isaiah 58:1)

The time has come for the purifying of the Lord’s royal priesthood.

“Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)

The messenger was John the Baptist. The Lord, the Messenger of the covenant, is the Servant of the Lord—Jesus Christ.

The Lord will come suddenly to His temple, that is, to the hearts of the members of the royal priesthood.

“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s soap.
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness. (Malachi 3:2,3)

The Lord’s coming is one coming. He has come and never shall leave. It is true that He ascended to heaven, and that He will appear in the clouds of glory and descend to the Mount of Olives. In another sense, He has never left since He came. He always has been here wherever we have gathered together in His name.

Malachi is not describing a separate coming of the Lord, but an aspect of the one coming. The Lord’s birth in the manger was one aspect of His coming. His death on the cross was another aspect. His bodily resurrection from the dead was another aspect. His ascension to the Father was another aspect. His out-pouring of the Holy Spirit on the waiting disciples was another aspect of the one coming.

His coming through the Spirit today is still another aspect of the one coming. He is coming, as John the Baptist promised, to baptize us with fire and to thoroughly cleanse His floor, burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire. He is laying the ax to the root of the cedars and oaks which have exalted themselves against the Lord, casting into the fire every tree not bringing forth good fruit (Matthew 3:10-12).

The Lord Jesus is refining the silver (redemption) and the gold (Divinity) which He has placed within the priesthood. He is purifying us with the fires of tribulation and persecution. He is like strong soap, washing away the stains of sin and rebellion.

Those who faithfully remain true to the Lord throughout the purifying process will be able then to offer spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God through the Lord Jesus Christ; those who refuse and rebel will be visited with the fires of torment.

The hour is here. The King has come, through the Holy Spirit, to prepare His elect and the nations of the earth for His appearing in the clouds of glory with the saints and holy angels.

We must repent, confess our sins, and accept the prisons and crosses which God finds necessary for our purification.

The wheat and the tares are coming to maturity. Even now the tares are being removed from the Kingdom. First, the sins and rebellions are being removed from the personalities of those who are pressing forward in faith with the Lord. Second, those who persist in their sins and rebellions will find themselves being removed from the Kingdom.

It is time to blow the trumpet in Zion. It is time to sound the alarm in God’s holy mountain. It is time to prepare the great and strong army of the Lord. Soon the army will descend with the Lord and the wicked will be ashes under the soles of the feet of God’s saints.

Let every believer in the Lord now turn to God with his whole heart, confessing his sins, repenting of his coldness, his complaining, his impatience, his faithlessness. Let the righteous rejoice and grow mightily in the righteousness which the Lord is giving.

The blowing of Trumpets announces the Day of Atonement, that is, the reconciling to God of His creatures.

As soon as the reconciliation has been made, God can find His rest in us. The abiding of the Father and the Son in us is the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles.

The invitation to the members of the Bride is to wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb; the invitation to the nations of the earth is to drink freely of the water of eternal life. All who partake of God’s salvation in shall receive the blessing of the Lord.

None of those who refuse and rebel will have any part in the new world of righteousness and glory which God has promised to those who love Him.

The trumpet is blowing in Zion!

(“The Blowing of Trumpets”, 3708-1)