"And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:31).

The trumpet (Hebrew, shophar) of the ancient Israelites, originally made out of a ram's horn, was used mostly as a means either of calling the people to assemble or calling them to battle. The so-called "feast of trumpets" (or Rosh Hoshana) was the first of the fall festivals and was held on the first day of the Jewish civil calendar. It was inaugurated by "a memorial of blowing of trumpets" (Leviticus 23:24). It is still observed as New Year's Day for the Jewish civil year. Rosh Hashanah (meaning "Head of the Year") was believed by the ancient rabbis to be the day when God created the world. This year it occurs on this date.

Trumpets were used, with telling effect, when Israel defeated Jericho as they entered the Promised Land (Joshua 6:20). They were also used when the ark of the Lord returned to Jerusalem (II Samuel 6:15), and on other important occasions, especially at the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai when the divine trumpet was "exceeding loud" (Exodus 19:16).

And the divine trumpet shall be used again when the Lord Jesus returns! "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God" (I Thessalonians 4:16). ". . . the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (I Corinthians 15:52). There is, indeed, going to be a great day someday!

In the meantime, the symbol of the battle trumpet is used to encourage Christians to be sure their witness is understandable and uncompromising. "For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" (14:8). HMM