The Feast of Trumpets: A Rehearsal for What's Coming
October 6, 2025
Scripture referenced
The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
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Acts 2 cited as the origin of revival after Jesus' crucifixion, when believers came together in one mind and one accord and the Spirit came like a rushing mighty wind
1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 Suddenly there came from the sky a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them, and one sat on each of them.
4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky.
6 When this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because everyone heard them speaking in his own language.
7 They were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Behold, aren’t all these who speak Galileans?
8 How do we hear, everyone in our own native language?
9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia,
10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, the parts of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabians: we hear them speaking in our languages the mighty works of God!”
12 They were all amazed, and were perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
13 Others, mocking, said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke out to them, “You men of Judea, and all you who dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
15 For these aren’t drunken, as you suppose, seeing it is only the third hour of the day.
16 But this is what has been spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. Your old men will dream dreams.
18 Yes, and on my servants and on my handmaidens in those days, I will pour out my Spirit, and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
21 It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know,
23 him, being delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by the hand of lawless men, crucified and killed;
24 whom God raised up, having freed him from the agony of death, because it was not possible that he should be held by it.
25 For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before my face, For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved.
26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. Moreover my flesh also will dwell in hope;
27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your Holy One to see decay.
28 You made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I may tell you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
31 he foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul wasn’t left in Hades, and his flesh didn’t see decay.
32 This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses.
33 Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear.
34 For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
36 “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.”
40 With many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.
42 They continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and prayer.
43 Fear came on every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
44 All who believed were together, and had all things in common.
45 They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need.
46 Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. The Lord added to the assembly day by day those who were being saved.
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Keep this verse
Leviticus 23:23-44
read aloud by the congregation as the primary text, covering the feast of trumpets, day of atonement, and feast of shelters
23 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.
25 You shall do no regular work; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.’”
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
27 “However on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
28 You shall do no kind of work in that same day; for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God.
29 For whoever it is who shall not deny himself in that same day; shall be cut off from his people.
30 Whoever it is who does any kind of work in that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
31 You shall do no kind of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
32 It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.”
33 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
34 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tents for seven days to Yahweh.
35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation: you shall do no regular work.
36 Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. It is a solemn assembly; you shall do no regular work.
37 “‘These are the appointed feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering, and a meal offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its own day—
38 besides the Sabbaths of Yahweh, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to Yahweh.
39 “‘So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the feast of Yahweh seven days: on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest.
40 You shall take on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God seven days.
41 You shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations. You shall keep it in the seventh month.
42 You shall dwell in temporary shelters for seven days. All who are native-born in Israel shall dwell in temporary shelters,
43 that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in temporary shelters, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God.’”
44 Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed feasts of Yahweh.
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Numbers 29
mentioned alongside Leviticus 23 as an Old Testament reference for the feast of trumpets
1 “‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no regular work: it is a day of blowing of trumpets to you.
2 You shall offer a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without defect;
3 and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths for the bull, two tenths for the ram,
4 and one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs;
5 and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you;
6 besides the burnt offering of the new moon, and its meal offering, and the continual burnt offering and its meal offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, for a pleasant aroma, an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
7 “‘On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls. You shall do no kind of work;
8 but you shall offer a burnt offering to Yahweh for a pleasant aroma: one young bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old; all without defect;
9 and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths for the bull, two tenths for the one ram,
10 one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs:
11 one male goat for a sin offering; besides the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, and their drink offerings.
12 “‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. You shall keep a feast to Yahweh seven days.
13 You shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: thirteen young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old; all without defect;
14 and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths for every bull of the thirteen bulls, two tenths for each ram of the two rams,
15 and one tenth for every lamb of the fourteen lambs;
16 and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its drink offering.
17 “‘On the second day you shall offer twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect;
18 and their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance;
19 and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, with its meal offering and their drink offerings.
20 “‘On the third day eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect;
21 and their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance;
22 and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, and its drink offering.
23 “‘On the fourth day ten bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect;
24 their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance;
25 and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its drink offering.
26 “‘On the fifth day nine bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect;
27 and their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance;
28 and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, and its drink offering.
29 “‘On the sixth day eight bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect;
30 and their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance;
31 and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and the drink offerings of it.
32 “‘On the seventh day seven bulls, two rams, fourteen male lambs a year old without defect;
33 and their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, according to their number, after the ordinance;
34 and one male goat for a sin offering; besides the continual burnt offering, its meal offering, and its drink offering.
35 “‘On the eighth day you shall have a solemn assembly: you shall do no regular work;
36 but you shall offer a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: one bull, one ram, seven male lambs a year old without defect;
37 their meal offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the ordinance:
38 and one male goat for a sin offering, besides the continual burnt offering, with its meal offering, and its drink offering.
39 “‘You shall offer these to Yahweh in your set feasts, besides your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your meal offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings.’”
40 Moses told the children of Israel according to all that Yahweh commanded Moses.
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1 Corinthians 15:51-52
quoted to describe the transformation of believers at the last trumpet, connecting the feast of trumpets to the rapture
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
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 will be changed.
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1 Thessalonians 4:16
quoted to describe the Lord descending with a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet call, with the dead rising first
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first,
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Zechariah 12
read to describe God watching over Judah and the clans finding strength in the Lord, connected to Jesus leading Israel to retake Jerusalem
1 A revelation, Yahweh’s word concerning Israel. Yahweh, who stretches out the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him says:
2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples, and it will also be on Judah in the siege against Jerusalem.
3 It will happen in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it will be severely wounded, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against it.
4 In that day,” says Yahweh, “I will strike every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open my eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
5 The chieftains of Judah will say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in Yahweh of Armies their God.’
6 In that day I will make the chieftains of Judah like a pan of fire among wood, and like a flaming torch among sheaves; and they will devour all the surrounding peoples, on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem will yet again dwell in their own place, even in Jerusalem.
7 Yahweh also will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of David’s house and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem not be magnified above Judah.
8 In that day Yahweh will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He who is feeble among them at that day will be like David, and David’s house will be like God, like Yahweh’s angel before them.
9 It will happen in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 I will pour on David’s house, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look to me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves for his firstborn.
11 In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
12 The land will mourn, every family apart; the family of David’s house apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
13 the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart;
14 all the families who remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
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Zechariah 12:10
quoted to describe Israel looking on the one they have pierced and mourning, connected to national repentance at the day of atonement
10 I will pour on David’s house, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they will look to me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him, as one grieves for his firstborn.
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Zephaniah 3:17
quoted to show Jesus rejoicing over Israel with gladness and calming their fears after their recognition of him
17 Yahweh, your God, is among you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.
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Daniel 9, 10, 11
referenced briefly as scriptural basis for the seven-year tribulation timeline
Keep this verseJeremiah 30
referenced alongside Daniel and Ezekiel as prophetic basis for the tribulation period
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,
2 “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Write all the words that I have spoken to you in a book.
3 For, behold, the days come,’ says Yahweh, ‘that I will reverse the captivity of my people Israel and Judah,’ says Yahweh. ‘I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they will possess it.’”
4 These are the words that Yahweh spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah.
5 For Yahweh says: “We have heard a voice of trembling; a voice of fear, and not of peace.
6 Ask now, and see whether a man travails with child. Why do I see every man with his hands on his waist, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned pale?
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he will be saved out of it.
8 It will come to pass in that day, says Yahweh of Armies, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and will burst your bonds. Strangers will no more make them their bondservants;
9 but they will serve Yahweh their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them.
10 Therefore don’t be afraid, O Jacob my servant, says Yahweh. Don’t be dismayed, Israel. For, behold, I will save you from afar, and save your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob will return, and will be quiet and at ease. No one will make him afraid.
11 For I am with you, says Yahweh, to save you; for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished.”
12 For Yahweh says, “Your hurt is incurable. Your wound is grievous.
13 There is no one to plead your cause, that you may be bound up. You have no healing medicines.
14 All your lovers have forgotten you. They don’t seek you. For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the greatness of your iniquity, because your sins were increased.
15 Why do you cry over your injury? Your pain is incurable. For the greatness of your iniquity, because your sins have increased, I have done these things to you.
16 Therefore all those who devour you will be devoured. All your adversaries, everyone of them, will go into captivity. Those who plunder you will be plunder. I will make all who prey on you become prey.
17 For I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds,” says Yahweh; “because they have called you an outcast, saying, ‘It is Zion, whom no man seeks after.’”
18 Yahweh says: “Behold, I will reverse the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have compassion on his dwelling places. The city will be built on its own hill, and the palace will be inhabited in its own place.
19 Thanksgiving will proceed out of them with the voice of those who make merry. I will multiply them, and they will not be few; I will also glorify them, and they will not be small.
20 Their children also will be as before, and their congregation will be established before me. I will punish all who oppress them.
21 Their prince will be one of them, and their ruler will proceed from among them. I will cause him to draw near, and he will approach to me; for who is he who has had boldness to approach to me?” says Yahweh.
22 “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.
23 Behold, Yahweh’s storm, his wrath, has gone out, a sweeping storm: it will burst on the head of the wicked.
24 The fierce anger of Yahweh will not return until he has accomplished, and until he has performed the intentions of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it.”
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Ezekiel
referenced alongside Daniel and Jeremiah as prophetic basis for the tribulation period
Keep this verseMatthew 24
cited as Jesus' own words about his return at the last trumpet
1 Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.
2 But he answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.”
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray.
5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places.
8 But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
9 Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake.
10 Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another.
11 Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray.
12 Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.
14 This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15 “When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house.
18 Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes.
19 But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days!
20 Pray that your flight will not be in the winter, nor on a Sabbath,
21 for then there will be great oppression, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.
22 Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.
23 “Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There,’ don’t believe it.
24 For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.
25 “Behold, I have told you beforehand.
26 If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it.
27 For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
28 For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures gather together.
29 But immediately after the oppression of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;
30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
31 He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
32 “Now from the fig tree learn this parable. When its branch has now become tender, and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near.
33 Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all these things are accomplished.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
36 But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37 “As the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship,
39 and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left.
42 Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes.
43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
44 Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes.
47 Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has.
48 But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’
49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards,
50 the lord of that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t expect it, and in an hour when he doesn’t know it,
51 and will cut him in pieces, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.
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Micah 4:1-3
quoted as the closing verse describing nations streaming to the Lord's house, swords beaten into plowshares, and the Lord settling disputes, connected to the feast of Sukkot and the millennial reign
1 But in the latter days, it will happen that the mountain of Yahweh’s temple will be established on the top of the mountains, and it will be exalted above the hills; and peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will go and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law will go out of Zion, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem;
3 and he will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations afar off. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more.
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Revelation
mentioned in connection with the seven trumpets and the prophetic picture of Jesus returning
Keep this verseRecap
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Brian walked Tribe through the three fall feasts described in Leviticus 23, arguing that these are not just ancient Jewish rituals but God's own family traditions, and that each one is a rehearsal for something Jesus has not yet done but will do. The message landed in the middle of a broader conversation Tribe has been having since COVID about getting back onto God's rhythm rather than the world's. By the end, the goal was for everyone in the room to be able to see themselves and the days ahead inside those few verses from Leviticus.
What was said
Coming out of COVID, Brian said, there was a global rush to get back to normal without ever stopping to grieve or process what had just happened. Tribe's leadership team eventually asked a different question: rather than jumping back onto the world's rhythm, what would it look like to get onto God's rhythm? That question led them to the Old Testament feasts, which Brian reframed from the start. Instead of calling them Jewish feasts, he called them God's family traditions, shared with the Jewish people first but extended as an invitation to everyone.
Each of these traditions, Brian said, does three things when you celebrate them: they help you remember what God has done, they recalibrate your life away from the pace of work and school and seasons, and they serve as a rehearsal for future events that have not yet been fulfilled. The spring feasts, he noted, have already been checked off. The crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus fulfilled Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits exactly. The fall feasts still have no check mark next to them.
The first fall feast, Rosh Hashanah or the Feast of Trumpets, is a rehearsal for the return of Jesus and the rapture of the saints. Brian read from 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4, pointing to the repeated image of a trumpet blast as the signal for the dead in Christ to be raised and the living to be transformed. He was careful to say that the return of Jesus and the rapture cannot be separated in scripture, and that Paul wrote with a genuine expectation that Jesus might return within the reader's lifetime, a hope Christians have carried for two thousand years.
The Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, Brian said, is a rehearsal for Jesus physically returning to earth and leading the surviving remnant of Israel to retake Jerusalem after a period of intense persecution under the antichrist. He read from Zechariah 12, where the clans of Judah find strength in the Lord of Heaven's Armies, and described what he called his sanctified prophetic imagination: a moment when the soldiers, adrenaline wearing off, begin to ask who their commander is, look at his wounds, and realize it is Jesus of Nazareth. Rather than anger, Brian said, what follows is Zephaniah 3:17, the Lord rejoicing over them with joyful songs, the same posture as the father running to meet the prodigal son.
The third feast, Sukkot or the Feast of Shelters, begins this week on the Jewish calendar. It is observed by building a temporary structure, decorating it with palm fronds, and sleeping under it to remember the wilderness years when God provided for Israel in the desert. Brian tied it to Micah 4, where in the last days the nations stream to Jerusalem to hear the Lord settle their disputes, and swords are hammered into plowshares. The Sukkah, he said, is a rehearsal for the millennial reign of Jesus, when God himself becomes our shelter and rules from Jerusalem.
Brian closed by connecting all three feasts to the present moment. He said that remembering, recalibrating, and rehearsing these traditions positions Tribe as a steady, anchored community when the world is in chaos, particularly as pressure on Israel intensifies. He tied it directly to the monthly solidarity gathering on Jackson's Town Square, telling the congregation that standing with the Jewish community there does not require endorsing every action of the Israeli government, and that grief for innocent Palestinians and support for Jewish neighbors can exist at the same time.
Touch points
Things you could actually do this week.
- Show up to the Town Square at 5PM today to stand with the Jewish community at their monthly gathering marking two years since October 7.
- Build or look up what a sukkah is, and spend a few minutes outside this week sitting under the night sky thinking about what it means that God himself wants to be your shelter.
- Take ten minutes in your quiet time this week to sit with one of the fall feast passages from Leviticus 23 and ask the Lord to recalibrate your rhythm away from the world's pace.
- If you have been carrying sin, shame, or bondage you have not named out loud, find someone you trust this week and say it out, the way Lissa invited the congregation to do during worship.
- Fill out the connect card in your seat and check the young adult box if you want to get plugged into what that community has going on.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
- Brian talked about how, after COVID, many people rushed back to normal without stopping to grieve or process what had happened. Have you experienced that kind of skipping-over in your own life, and what did it cost you?
- Brian described God's feasts as family traditions meant to help us remember, recalibrate, and rehearse. Which of those three feels most foreign or most needed in your life right now, and why?
and 3 more questions in the guide
Resumen en español
El mensaje resumido, en español.
Brian Hunter comenzó invitando a la congregación a detenerse y arrepentirse antes de cantar o escuchar la palabra. Explicó que el avivamiento, ya sea personal, en la iglesia o en el valle de Jackson, no comienza en la esquina de una calle sino adentro, cuando permitimos que el Espíritu Santo examine nuestro corazón y salimos a confesar nuestro pecado. También compartió el testimonio de un hombre que estuvo preso durante veintitres años y ahora lidera una iglesia, como ejemplo de que nada es demasiado grande para la gracia de Dios.
La mayor parte del mensaje giró en torno a las fiestas de otoño del calendario bíblico, que Brian prefiere llamar "tradiciones familiares de Dios" en lugar de "fiestas judías", porque la invitación a participar en ellas es para toda la familia de Dios. Explicó que estas tradiciones sirven para recordar lo que Dios ha hecho, recalibrar nuestras vidas fuera del ritmo del mundo, y ensayar eventos futuros que aún no se han cumplido. Las tres fiestas de otoño son: Rosh Hashaná, que es un ensayo del regreso de Jesús y el arrebatamiento de los santos; Yom Kipur, que prefigura el momento en que Jesús liderará al ejército israelí para recuperar Jerusalén y la nación de Israel lo reconocerá como su Mesías; y Sucot, que apunta al reino milenial cuando Dios mismo será nuestro refugio entre nosotros.
Brian cerró animando a la congregación a apoyar a la comunidad judía de Jackson, que se reúne el primer domingo de cada mes en la plaza del pueblo para recordar a las víctimas del ataque de Hamas del 7 de octubre. Aclaró que estar presente no significa aprobar cada acción del gobierno israelí, y que es posible apoyar a los judíos y al mismo tiempo sentir dolor por los palestinos inocentes.
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Pasajes bíblicos mencionados
- Levítico 23.23-44
- Números 29
- 1 Corintios 15.51-52
- 1 Tesalonicenses 4.16
- Mateo 24
- Zacarías 12
- Zacarías 12.10
- Sofonías 3.17
- Miqueas 4.1-3
- Daniel 9, 10 y 11
- Jeremías 30
- Ezequiel (mención general)
