Yom Teruah
What is This Feast?
Yom Teruah is a holy convocation marked by the sound of teruah on the first day of the seventh month. Yehovah’s people were commanded to rest from customary work and bring prescribed offerings (Leviticus 23:24-25; Numbers 29:1-6).
Trumpets (Shofar) and loud signals already served biblical purposes: calling the congregation, directing movement, marking days of joy and offerings, and sounding alarms (Numbers 10:1-10). The day draws on this biblical language of attention, remembrance, and response.
Biblical Origins
In Leviticus 23, Yehovah personally declares the first day of the seventh month a day of solemn rest, memorial sounding, and holy convocation. Numbers 29 repeats the requirement for an assembly and the prescribed offerings.
Numbers 10 establishes the broader framework of trumpet signals for the assembled nation. These passages supply the foundation for understanding the day without adding later customs as though they were direct Torah commands.
Biblical Observance
The Torah commands a holy convocation, rest from customary labor, remembrance by sounding, and the appointed offerings (Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6). Scripture does not specify a complete modern shofar liturgy or a required number and pattern of blasts for this day.
Present-day participants can gather for Scripture, prayer, praise, and appropriate sounding of the shofar in remembrance. Such practices should be described as ways of honoring the day, not as exact replacements for temple offerings.
Yeshua and the Feast
Yeshua teaches that the Son of Man will send His angels with a great trumpet sound to gather His elect (Matthew 24:30-31). Paul writes of the Lord’s descent with the trumpet of God and the resurrection of those who belong to Messiah (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
First Corinthians 15:51-52 describes the resurrection transformation at the last trumpet. These passages connect trumpet imagery to Messiah’s victory, although they do not directly state that His return will occur on a particular modern observance of Yom Teruah.
Prophetic Significance
The sound of the trumpet reminds Yehovah’s people to be attentive and ready to respond. The prophets use trumpet language both as an alarm of coming judgment and a summons to return to Him (Joel 2:1, 12-13).
The apostolic description of Messiah’s return and the resurrection gives the day a forward-looking dimension of expectation, gathering, and hope. Scripture supports the symbolism; it does not authorize a guaranteed calendar prediction for the Second Coming.
Key Scriptures
- Leviticus 23:23-25 — Yehovah appoints the first day of the seventh month for memorial sounding and holy convocation.
- Numbers 29:1-6 — The day is set apart as a trumpet-sounding assembly with prescribed offerings.
- Numbers 10:1-10 — Trumpets summon the congregation, signal movement, and serve for remembrance before Yehovah.
- Nehemiah 8:1-12 — The people gather on the first day of the seventh month to hear and respond to the Torah.
- Psalm 47:5-9 — Shouts and trumpet sound accompany the proclamation of Yehovah’s kingship.
- Joel 2:1 — The trumpet sounds an alarm in view of the approaching day of Yehovah.
- Matthew 24:30-31 — Yeshua speaks of a great trumpet and the gathering of His elect.
- 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 — The resurrection transformation is associated with the last trumpet.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 — The coming of the Lord is described with the trumpet of God and the resurrection.
Related Teachings
The Feast of Trumpets the sound of the Second Coming
This Teaching examines the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) by beginning with the written commands and then tracing the biblical use of trumpets, shouts, remembrance, gathering, and the return of Yeshua. It opens with Ezra’s example of seeking, doing, and teaching the Law of Yehovah and Matthew 5’s emphasis on doing and teaching the commandments. The Teaching distinguishes the biblical Feast of Trumpets from later traditions associated with Rosh Hashanah and emphasizes Leviticus 23’s wording that the appointed times are the feasts of Yehovah. Leviticus 23 and Numbers 29 identify the day as the first day of the seventh month, a Sabbath rest, a holy convocation, and a day or memorial of teruah. The Teaching explains that teruah can describe a trumpet blast, alarm, loud shout, joyful cry, or triumphant proclamation. It then follows trumpet imagery through Leviticus 25, Joshua 6, Numbers 10, Nehemiah 8, Nehemiah 4, and Exodus 19, highlighting uses connected with remembrance, salvation, gathering, movement, and response. The Teaching next compares these patterns with New Testament passages concerning Yeshua’s return and the sound of a trumpet. It explicitly notes that the Bible connects Yeshua’s return with trumpet imagery but does not explicitly state that His return will occur on the Feast of Trumpets. A later section considers the call-and-response pattern in which a trumpet sounds and the people gather, move, shout, or respond. The discussion also addresses uncertainty surrounding calendar calculations and includes comments from participants about obedience, continued study, and keeping the focus on Yehovah and Yeshua.