So I found one from the internet. It is Eternal Truth. And yeah, I hope the lyrics are a blessing. So... The ominous and melancholy sound of many of the Jewish songs is a reflection of their hardship and the suffering that they have endured over time. And that's interesting having that sound in our minds as you listen to the, I'm gonna go through just three of the four shofar sounds here. uh Those are the sounds that come from the Talmud, not from the Bible. It's not recorded in the scriptures. But that carries with it some of the sounds or potentially the sounds by tradition for the shofar, which is blown this time of year. Well, what makes this time of year so special? We're coming into the seventh month of the calendar of the lunar year for the Jews. God's calendar, as I like to refer to it, the Bible calendar. There is the calendar and the dates that have been set up that have been secularized. throughout the history of Israel, particularly coming out of the Babylonian captivity. So you're going to hear about Rosh Hashanah, which is the new year, Jewish new year. That's how it's celebrated. But that's the secular Jewish new year, the civil new year. The biblical new year that God gave to Israel is in the springtime, in the month of Nisan, when you'll see all the new life sprouting up during the springtime. Let's have our first slide up here. And let me begin, first of all, just saying shalom, which means peace. Yeah. This week on Wednesday evening, which will be at 6 p.m., is the beginning of Yom Teruah. Teruah meaning blasting. And that will be the beginning, Tuesday evening, and then it'll end Wednesday evening. And that phrase, Yom Teruah, means the blasting of horns. The blasting of horns. Yom Teruah is the first day of the seventh month of the biblical calendar and heralds the upcoming and soon to come Day of Atonement and following after that the final gathering of the harvest, the final ingathering. The first day of Tishri eventually became known as Rosh Hashanah, which means first of the year and that's rather It's interesting, but it doesn't make any sense when you think about making the end of the year, or really, it's the halfway point in the Jewish year to be the first of the year. I always like spring better anyway. It always seems to make more sense to begin the year in the springtime. But it was changed because Yom Teruah, the blasting of the trumpets, became associated with the new year. And so that's oftentimes one and the same. But they are two different meanings and two different expressions. According to Leviticus chapter 23, and if you want to read about the feasts and the trumpets there, you can go to the whole book of Leviticus 23. But in Leviticus chapter 23 verse 2, God intended Yom Teruah to be observed as a sacred day for the seventh month of the year, a holy convocation as it's said, a sacred day. But as with everything else in this world, things get secularized. That's the design and the strategy Satan has in the world. So things get changed. And when I show you the message tonight, you'll see why he wants to change the message. Because the message is all about the gospel of Jesus Christ. And when you scramble it up and you start the seventh month to be the first month, it makes absolutely no sense as far as the message of God. But that's what Satan's all about, right? So what is Yom Teruah? And why is it important to know about Yom Teruah? What does God want Jews and everyone else to reflect on during this annual memorial? Next slide, please. Well, Psalm 81, verse 3 declares, blow up the trumpet and the new moon in the time appointed on our solemn feast day. The sound of the shofar is a wake-up call to repent. Hey, today is the day of salvation. You need to get ready to meet your God and be included in the final harvest, in the final in-gathering of the year, because this is the final season. Now, there's three seasons of harvest. And this is the final season. And those trumpets send out an alarm. Hey, wake up! It's time to repent. If you haven't gotten right with God now, now's the time. Don't delay. This means it's time to stop thinking about your will and your way being better than God's will and God's way. It's not okay to postpone your commitment to God. It's sin to think that mediocre Christianity is okay and worldly pursuits are acceptable. That's not okay. It's wrong to think that there's a time to serve God later rather than now. It's time to surrender to God right now, believe in him, trust in him, accept his will for your life. You can't go wrong doing God's will. You can go wrong not doing as well because you're missing out on the best plan that could possibly take place in your life. Change your thinking to align with God's. That's repentance. Slide three, please. Seven holy days were appointed by God for Israel for seven months, as recorded in Leviticus chapter 23. They began with the Passover in the first month of the year, Nisan, in the springtime, and ended with the Feast of Ingathering in the seventh month, Tishri. Next slide, please. These feasts, and this is what's really interesting, these feasts are all about harvest. Harvest one for the springtime harvest, then the summer crops, and then the final harvest in the fall for the gourds, the squashes, and that sort of thing. So they had three major harvestings going on. Now this is rather interesting because in Revelation chapter 14, isn't that exactly how God describes the end For example, in verse 15, Revelation 14, verse 15, it says, And another angel came out of the temple crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time has come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. What is ripe? What vine is on earth that's ripe? And what vine on earth is being harvested? the human vine. It started out with two, Adam and Eve. And from them came a whole population that has spread out around the world like a vine, like a squash plant in your garden. It just, it starts out and before you know it, it can take over the entire garden. It just keeps going and going and going. That's the human vine on earth. And there is a time for harvest. And that's what he's talking about in Revelation 14, 18, it says, and continues, and another angel came out from the altar, which had the power over fire, and cried out with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, thrust in thy sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. Here's the message. The message in these harvests and feasts, these feasts of harvest, is all about gathering the fruit of saved souls for Christ. That's the gospel message written in the Old Testament in the feasts that happen year after year after year to preach the gospel again and again and again as a reminder that Christ is coming back to harvest your soul. The annual cycles of harvest begin with Christ, of course, the Passover lamb. And the celebration of Passover, that's how it all begins. He, Jesus Christ, The Son of God, the Sacrificed Lamb, makes the harvesting of souls possible. That's why it has to start with Him. It can't start at the end. You're not harvesting souls before Christ. You harvest because of Christ. So He makes it possible. And then wherever there's a beginning, there has to be an end, right? The final harvest in the seventh month of the biblical calendar is Yom Teruah. And this is the current season right now that's being observed. The sounding of the trumpets is the last call to repent before it's too late for your soul to be included in the final harvest. Next slide, please. Revelation chapter 3 says, Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. The Lord is returning, and the day of atonement is near. On the first day of Tishri of the seventh month, the month of completion, the number seven, it's over guys. On the first day, the trumpets blow, on the 10th day of Tishri, the day of atonement, the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar to observe. Getting right with God. Many, for many. Their day of atonement will be the day of terrible judgment as they pass from this earthly life into the next. And one thing is for sure, you need to ensure that you are ready to meet your maker. I would like to take this moment right here. God does not determine when he's coming back based on patterns and calendar dates. I know the hysterics. I like to poke fun at them because they're 100% wrong as of today. I don't know why anyone wants to follow guys who are 100% wrong. I would never do it. I don't. God is interested in saving the maximum number of souls regardless of the dates, regardless of the patterns. So you say, well, what's the value of the patterns? The patterns is so that there's a message that can be communicated clearly. That's what we need to be thinking about. Of course, with the final end gathering, you're gonna hear the, well, I'll tell you what, the trumpets and the drums are beating right now all over the internet. Jesus Christ is coming back, because this is the time of the harvest. Okay. They've been 100% wrong up to this point. And that doesn't mean he can't come back. I'm just saying they've been 100% wrong up to this point. Why should anyone believe what they have to say? It's really a shame and a black eye to Christianity. But they're well-meaning, they're just sincerely wrong. Next slide, please. Yom Teruah begins this Wednesday, 6 p.m. As I mentioned earlier, it's going to end 6 p.m. That's because the Jewish day starts at 6 p.m. rather than 12 a.m. that we're accustomed to. When the moon, the sliver of light that's shining off the moon is first seen, that announces the first day. So it's not what time of day, it's that it happens on that particular day. And so that day, in fact, I looked it up, they're expecting to see it around 6 p.m. That doesn't sound right. Oh, the Jewish day, they're expecting to see it at 9.51 p.m. their time in Jerusalem, local time, which is about one o'clock or, yeah, 1.51 p.m. in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I just had to look that up. So that's our day. Next slide, please. God's calendar for Israel begins 14 days before the Passover, because that's the month Nisan. When, what day does the Passover take place? On the 14th of Nisan. So, oh and I see, I see that the, Yeah, there's some things up above. That's all right. Up here at Nisan, at the very top, you got some little dots. Those are the three special days. You got the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which testify of the perfection, the sinlessness of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ is acceptable to God. And then you have what we call Resurrection Sunday. That's the first Sunday, regardless of what day the Passover took place, the first Sunday following the Passover, there's going to be the offering of the first fruits for the harvest, for the first harvest of the year. And so that's going to be offered up. and Jesus is that offering and that's why we have resurrection Sunday. Now if you also notice on the calendar there we see that we have Christ's resurrection, we have first fruit harvest of believers and those That is only possible because of what Christ has done, because He did that work. Now we come into the next harvest, and that is in around, you see, Tammuz or around June, somewhere in there. It's not dependent on what month it is. It's 50 days after Resurrection Sunday is how it's determined. So in the summer, this is gonna be summer harvest. This is the second harvest. So we have the first harvest, we have the second harvest, Pentecost. And of course, with a Pentecost, we always think about the church being mobilized to go out and reach the world. That's exactly what we're supposed to be doing right now. But it's a reminder in the message that this is what the purpose of Christ's sacrifice was, was to save souls. And we're harvesting the souls of people. Well, you come down to the seventh month, hey, it's over, it's complete. We're wrapping things up, guys. And in the seventh month, you have another three. Oh, you can see. Oh, I can't see the three dots. There's another three dots because on the first day of Tishri here, you have the blowing of the trumpets. And the second event taking place on the 10th is the Day of Atonement. And then the third event is the Feast of Ingathering, which is on the 15th of Tishri. Doesn't that make more sense? That's how you end up the year. You're not starting the year, you're ending up the year with the final ingathering of the harvest of souls. And so that gives us the meaning and the significance of the trumpets. It's an announcement, hey the end is here guys, you need to get right with God now. Day of Atonement, let's get right with God, and followed by the final in-gathering for the year. And then I always like, I like to think about the next The next cycle, the next half of the year there, bringing us up to Nisan, I think of that as one of two places. Daniel chapter 12 verse 2 talks about how many sleep in the dust of the earth. Some will awaken everlasting life and others to shame and everlasting contempt. So what's going on? That represents eternity. And then we start all over again with preaching the gospel with the death of the firstborn. Because after all, what is the Passover memorializing? The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. And what made that possible? Well, God brought 10 judgments on Egypt. And each one of those judgments is very significant because each judgment, type of judgment, whether it be in the waters or the frogs or the lice or whatever, he's showing that the gods of those particular things cannot deliver you. Only the true God, the true and living God in heaven can deliver you and control those judgments. And then even after the fourth judgment, Boy, those judgments were getting unbearable, and Pharaoh said, let those people go, get them out of here. God had a heart in his heart, why? Because only through the death of the firstborn could there be deliverance. He would have preached a false gospel if he let them go any sooner than that, because those gods can't deliver, only the God of heaven who gives his firstborn as a sacrifice for sins. And so he brought Israel and Egypt all the way to the end of those 10 judgments, and not until the death of the firstborn could they be delivered, because that's the gospel message. And that is memorialized every year in the month of Nisan. That's what kicks off the year in God's calendar. In Leviticus chapter 23, verse 24, it says of the first day of Tishri, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing, torora is the word there, of trumpets, a holy convocation. A holy convocation is a sacred gathering or assembling of the people. According to God, the Jewish calendar year begins in the spring season in the same month as the Passover. Then, seven months later, Yom Teruah is observed, and that brings everything to an end. So we're on the very eve right now, with Wednesday coming up, on the eve of the seventh month of God's calendar. And really it's important to have the proper context and understanding of God's calendar so that we can actually see God's message in how he's designed the feasts. And you can see the message, it's pretty obvious once you see it. It's all about harvesting the fruit of souls to God. Harvesting the souls of humanity from the human vine into the kingdom of God. The harvest begins with, and is made possible because Jesus, being perfect and sinless sacrifice, Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread remind us of that, He came to pay for our sins, which He did, paid in full, as evidenced by His resurrection. the Sunday of first fruits following Passover. Since then, the souls of humanity have been harvested and continue to be harvested and will continue to be harvested until the fullness of the fruit comes to an end and there is a final gathering of fruit. Next slide, please. According to the traditions of men, as written in the Talmud, the first day of Tishri is Rosh Hashanah, which means head of the year, and I've already explained that. And it was invented as a holiday by the ancient rabbis in the second century, almost 200 years after Christ. It marks the beginning of the civil year. So this is something that was invented after the fact. So if you hear Happy New Year, that's what's going on. And we have some Jewish friends, and we like to say, Happy New Year, Rosh Hashanah, just to respect that time, but recognizing it's civil. It's a civil New Year, and it's not God's New Year. Next slide, please. Yom Teruah is known as the memorial day of blasting the trumpets, and sometimes it's referred to as the day of shouting. But the Bible speaks of blasting trumpets on this day, so it's more memorial to the blasting rather than shouting. There's two passages in the Bible that explain the day of blasting of the trumpets. Leviticus chapter 23, verses 23 and 25 introduces the memorial with a general description of what should be done on that day. And Numbers chapter 29, verses one through six, describe in more detail what sacrifices should be offered on that day. So let's look at a couple of verses here. Slide number 10, please. It says, and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, speak unto the children of Israel, saying, in the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing, teruah, of the trumpets and holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein, but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. I like that passage because it just confirms this is the end of this first half of the year. It's not the beginning. Next slide, please. Numbers chapter 29, verses 1 through 6, describes in more detail the sacrifices for the day. It says, and in the seventh month of the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no servile work. It is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you. And he shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savor unto the Lord. One young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish, and their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil. Three-tenths deals. for a bullock, and two tenths deals for a ram, and one tenth deal for one lamb throughout the seven lambs, throughout the seven lambs. And one kid of the goats for a sin offering to make an atonement for you. beside the burnt offering of the month, and his meat offering, and the daily burnt offering, and his meat offering, and their drink offerings according unto their manner, for a sweet savor, a sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord." This is a really interesting study, would take a number of lessons to go through. It's very interesting, strong, powerful message of the gospel. But Leviticus chapter 23, 23 and 25 and numbers 29, one through six record God's instructions for the day of the blowing of the trumpets. And I'm making this point. In order to understand this day, it's important to understand that it came from God and not from the traditions of men. I don't know about you, but that makes a big deal to me. I feel good about that. Obviously, the traditions of men can be wrong, and in this case, they are wrong. And it's obvious that God calls the month of Tishri the seventh month, not the first month of the year, and for very good reason. Because you don't have the message of the gospel in the right order making sense if you reverse it, starting with the end instead of the beginning. Next slide, please. That means there's two takeaway lessons out of this. Number one, always look to God's Word for truth. Number two, always test men's words with God's words, just to make sure you're right. Next slide, please. The memorial of blowing the trumpets is the beginning of three memorials in the seventh month of God's biblical year. Yom Teruah is the first memorial on the first day of Tishri. On the 10th day of the seventh month is the day of atonement, which is Yom Kippur. On the 15th day, the Feast of the Tabernacles is observed as Yom Sukkot, which lasts for seven days. And together, the three memorials deliver a message. The blowing of the trumpets is a wake-up call and a final call for repentance and preparation to meet God face-to-face. And the Day of Atonement comes and memorializes the need to reconcile with God, to have fellowship with Him. to have eternal life, to enjoy the heavenly blessings. It's a time to be reminded of the importance of being in unity and harmony with our Creator. And I like the positive thought here. It reflects God's desire that all people be atoned for and reconciled with Him. And then on the 15th, the last holy day of the month, the Feast of Ingathering, that is a week, not a day, that's a week-long memorial that is set up of God's deliverance of Israel out of bondage, and they're wandering in the wilderness in the tents. So sometimes that's called the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Tents. which memorializes the wandering in the wilderness and how Israel was left out there in the wilderness having to find shelter in their tents. But I really like the phrase, the feast of ingathering that we see in Leviticus 23, because it shows you what the real message is. There is a final harvest and God's going to gather to himself. every soul he can at the end. And he's made it abundantly clear, hey, wake up, it's time. The end is here. So then the seventh month of God's calendar for Israel, days 1, 10, and 15 should be observed together as days of holy convocation. Next slide, please. Oh, I see. Next slide. Oh, let's see, we're on the... Okay, we skipped. That was probably my fault. The shofar horns, let's... Okay, that's fine. What kind of trumpets were used by the Jews? Well, I was showing you, this is from an antelope the Yemenite Jews were using in Yemen And then you typically have the curling ram's horn there. So those are the two types of horns. Any kind of horn could be used except for a cow. You couldn't use the horn of a cow, but you could use any of the others. Next slide, please. Because the Bible doesn't describe the sound or the rhythm of the trumpet blast, It may not have been very important, but according to tradition, and recorded in the Talmud, there's three types of blasts, which I demonstrate already, and that was blasted out by the master blasters, those who play the shofar. The three types of blasts are called tekiah, shevareem, and tarurah. Those are the three names for those. And then you have tequila godola, which is a tequila, a long blast, but you blast, you just keep blasting and blowing until you run out of air. In other words, what a testimony and a wonderful picture. And maybe I can experience that more than most. But when you're doing that, it reminds me God is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. And you're gonna hang on and blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, blow, because when it ends, the end has come. And we want to make sure that every soul is saved. Next slide, please. I like to think of the order of the blasts and the sounds as conveying a message here. When blowing the shofar in the order suggested by the Talmud, the Takiyah announces a warning of impending judgment of God. God's judgment is coming. And then, were reminded, hey, I need to get right with God. Then there's the shavarim, the sound of three consecutive blasts at a lower pitch, which suggests moaning. And so I'll do these two. You can imagine the horns all over Israel blasting. And then they have the next three. and that's the shavarim, that's the moaning. So you start seeing the message. God is coming, it's time to repent. Oh no! And the moaning starts. And then you've got the torora. The... Urgency. Let's get it done now. Urgency. The Lord's coming back. You can see that message just in the sound. And then you have to take a deep breath and we'll see how long you can last. God doesn't want to stop. You see the message in that? Long-suffering, not willing any should perish. I can feel that when I play that. Don't want to stop. Don't want to stop. Don't want to stop. But I'm running out of air. I don't want to stop. No souls to be lost. But it's going to happen. And you can see, you can feel the long-suffering of God in that. Next slide, please. So the blowing of the trumpet is a wake-up call to get out of slumber of sin and indifference, to awaken from the darkness of weakness. It's a time to get serious about making things right with God. And what a wonderful testimony this time of year with these holidays coming up. It's a reminder every year Israel was to be reminded of this. It's time to get right with God. Hey, last call. Wake up. Next slide, please. When the trumpets blow on the first day of the seventh month, it's an announcement that Christ is coming and that the day of atonement is here. The first appearance of the moonlight is like the first appearance of Christ. Coming and every new appearance of the moon, every month serves as a reminder that Christ will return. What a powerful testimony. When you get that in your mind and you see that message, every time you see a new moon, Christ is coming. Fifteen days later, in the month of Tishri, when the Feast of Ingathering begins, the moon will be full and bright. Isn't that interesting? The Lord chose the halfway point, when the moon will be its fullest and brightest. the glory of God for the final in-gathering and harvesting of souls. Wow, isn't that exciting? Isaiah 58, verse one says, cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgression in the house of Jacob, their sins. Shout it like a trumpet. Let it be known. Repent. Next slide, please. And we'll wrap it up with just a couple more slides. Repentance is the message for the day of the trumpets. Turn from sin and your wicked ways. Prepare ye the way, as John the Baptist cried out. This means stop doing things your own way and start listening to God. It means humbling yourselves and surrendering to God. It means quit sinning and turn your life over to God. Start living for Him. It means stop the excuses for sins and confess them to God for being evil. It means asking God for His forgiveness and His help. It means seeking God for grace and mercy. It means turning from sin and condemnation to Christ and eternal life. Jesus said in Luke 13, 3, I tell you nay, but except ye repent, ye shall likewise perish. And in Mark 1, verse 15, Jesus says, The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye and believe the gospel. One last slide here. Are you ready for the Lord's return? Are you ready to enter through the golden gates of heaven? Are you ready to see the smiling face of Jesus Christ? Or will you see the wrath of God at his judgment and die in your sins? The angels of God are preparing to blow the trumpets. They are ready. Are you? Revelation chapter eight, verse six. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. Amen.