The Resurrection and Last Trumpet

The next event that will occur on the Feast of Trumpets is the resurrection, also called the rapture, the day of the awakening blast, or the nutsaw. Yom Teruah means to shout, to blow an alarm, and to blast, which is the reason for the memorial and dress rehearsal of blowing trumpets every year. Just as Yeshua went up with a shout and the sound of a trumpet, He will return with a shout and the sound of a trumpet.

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."

Isaiah proclaims: "Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." The Apostle Paul ratifies this: "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive, but each one in his own order: Christ the first fruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming." The day of the awakening blast, the rapture, the resurrection of the saints will occur on Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets.

Now, let's discuss the mystery of "no one knows the day or the hour." Yeshua understood this, which is why He spoke it. The Feast of Trumpets became a two-day feast because of the scattering of the children of Israel after the destruction of Jerusalem. The Feast of Trumpets is the only feast celebrated on the new moon. Once leaders confirmed the new moon, they could mark the beginning of the feast. However, because Israel was scattered, they communicated by lighting fires on mountaintops. By the time the word spread, the day was over, so it was observed for two days.

In Judaism, it is known as the feast that no one knows the day or the hour because of the scattering and the time it took to light the fires. Another tradition relates to a Jewish wedding. When asked about the wedding date, the son would say, "Only my father knows." Yeshua, being Jewish, would have used this customary terminology.

In the Olivet Discourse, Yeshua provides a chronological timeline. After describing the abomination of desolation, He prophesies: "Immediately after the tribulation 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 heaven will be shaken. 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. 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. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only."

This refers to the Feast of Trumpets, the day that no one knew the day or the hour. Yeshua spoke using traditions and terminology that the children of Israel would have understood. He was pointing to the Feast of Trumpets as the time of His return. If He wanted them to understand the time of their visitation, then we can understand the time of our visitation as well. Otherwise, we will be caught as a thief in the night, and it will be the 10 days of awe, which will be bad.

Yeshua, being Jewish, used Jewish slang and references. He would have spoken to the Jewish people in terms they understood, referencing the Feast of Trumpets as the time of His return because He had already fulfilled the first four spring feasts. He wants everyone to understand this so we are not in darkness and this day does not overtake us as a thief.

On Rosh Hashanah, there are three major blasts of the trumpet: Tekiah (one long blast), Shevarim (three short blasts), and Teruah (nine quick blasts). This series is blown 11 times, totaling 99 blasts. The last blast, the 100th blast, is called Tekiah Gedolah, or the Last Trump, which occurs on the Feast of Trumpets. This is why understanding God's instructions is so important.

The Apostle Paul proclaims in 1 Corinthians: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—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." The resurrection, or rapture, of the saints will occur on the Feast of Trumpets immediately after the seven-year tribulation period.