Rosh Ha-Shanah — The Feast of Trumpets
The forty (40) days leading into Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur—beginning with the month of Elul—form a historic and spiritual pattern of reflection, renewal, and the sobering reality of judgment. In this framework, the trumpet blast is both invitation and warning: time is short, the Court is convening, and the Days of Awe are near.
Elul and the Forty (40) Days
The forty (40) days that lead up to Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur form a period of solemn reflection beginning with the month of Elul, which arrives on the Gregorian calendar around August/September. For many generations, Elul has been a time for personal change and renewal.
The Elul-to-Yom Kippur arc is not merely a calendar rhythm—it is a renewal rhythm: return, repair, and readiness for judgment.
The First Elul
To put Elul into historical perspective, we reflect upon Israel at Mount Sinai. After the failure of the Golden Calf, reconciliation began on the first day of Elul. Moses ascended Mount Sinai (for the third time) and spent 40 days in prayer on behalf of the nation, while the Israelites searched their hearts and renewed their conviction to accept the challenge they had received at Sinai.
Forty days later, the former slaves had raised themselves to a spiritual condition fit for relationship with Yahweh. Moses descended with a second set of the Ten Commandments, symbolizing forgiveness and reinstatement. That day of reunification was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Pattern of the Forty (40) Days
The theme of forty appears repeatedly in Scripture. Moses’ first ascent on Sinai was 40 days. Noah’s rain fell for 40 days. Israel wandered 40 years. Forty represents renewal—a new beginning—where something may look familiar on the surface, yet its essence becomes new.
Sinai’s forty formed a nation. Flood’s forty reset a judged world. Wilderness forty transformed slave-mentality into a people learning freedom. The 30 days of Elul plus the first 10 days of Tishrei leading to Yom Kippur became a crucial period for renewing relationship with the Creator. When God seems distant, the teaching is that He did not move—people did.
Elul remains an ideal time for personal and spiritual renewal because it memorializes a proven pattern: return precedes restoration.
Rosh Ha-Shanah: Day of Judgment
Rosh Ha-Shanah—known in Scripture as the Feast of Trumpets—arrives around September/October and is considered in Judaism the Day of Judgment. Unlike other holidays where Scripture explains background and purpose at length, Rosh Ha-Shanah is given with brief instruction and “hints” as to its fuller intent.
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire.’”
— Leviticus 23:23–25
The concept is summons to judgment. Commandments are laws of God: obedience is rewarded, disobedience deterred and punished, and periodic evaluations are required. The thirty days of Elul leading to Rosh Ha-Shanah, followed by the ten Days of Awe to Yom Kippur, are presented as profoundly connected to the judgment of souls.
Prayers of the Day
Jewish prayers describe judgment that concerns the events of this world:
“Regarding countries, it is said on this day which is destined for the sword and which for peace, which for hunger and which for abundance; and creatures are recalled on it to remember them for life and death.”
— Musaf prayer
“On Rosh Ha-Shanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed… who will live and who will die…”
— Nesane Tokef prayer
Three Books Opened
In Judaism, three books are opened on Rosh Ha-Shanah: the book of the totally wicked, the book of the totally righteous, and the book of the intermediate. The righteous are written and sealed immediately for life; the wicked are written and sealed immediately for death; the intermediate are held suspended from Rosh Ha-Shanah until Yom Kippur—written for life if they merit it, for death if not.
In this presentation’s framing, Heaven’s decision hinges on one’s status with Yeshua the Messiah—only the righteous are written into the Book of Life.
The “Book of Life” in Scripture
- Psalm 69:28 — “May they be blotted out of the Book of life and not be listed with the righteous.”
- Philippians 4:3 — “…whose names are in the Book of life.”
- Revelation 3:5 — “I will never blot out his name from the Book of life…”
- Revelation 13:8 — “…whose names have not been written in the Book of life belonging to the Lamb…”
- Revelation 17:8 — “…names have not been written in the Book of life from the creation of the world…”
- Revelation 20:12 — “Books were opened… Another Book was opened, which is the Book of life…”
- Revelation 20:15 — “If anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of life…”
- Revelation 21:27 — “…only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of life.”
The Prophetic Rosh Ha-Shanah at the Appointed Time of the End
As shown in The Kingdom Calendar Pt. 15, Rosh Ha-Shanah brings mankind near to the final acceleration of Satan’s wrath against the righteous and God’s wrath against the wicked during the Great Tribulation—which begins on Yom Kippur ten days later. Those ten days between the High Holy Days are called yamin noraim—the Days of Awe—expressing the heart-searching mood of penitence.
“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.”
— Joel 3:14
The trumpet warnings bring mankind to the realization that time is running out: the Day of Atonement is near, the unrepentant will be cut off, and the righteous sealed for life eternal.
Three Principles of the Days of Awe
Judaism maintains three cardinal principles associated with the Ten Days of Awe:
- The acknowledgment that God is King of the universe
- The acknowledgment that God will intervene to punish the wicked and reward the good
- The recognition that God revealed Himself at Mount Sinai—and will reveal Himself again to bring about the end of days
Sealing of the Servants of God
“Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God… 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.”
— Revelation 7:1–4
Ten Days — Testing and Faithfulness
In this presentation, the final Ten Days of Awe include severe testing and increased martyrdom for Jesus Christ:
“You will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life…”
— Revelation 2:10; 3:5
Trumpet Warnings: The Day of the Lord Approaches
“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the Day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand.”
— Joel 2:1
The trumpet blast is presented as warning because covenant has been broken and moral law rejected. The teaching warns that God’s people will allow Antichrist to enter the Temple Mount to set up the abomination that causes desolation—bringing devastation on Israel and the world.
“So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation… then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…”
— Matthew 24:15–21
“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near… For this is the time of punishment…”
— Luke 21:21–22
In this framework, the Feast of Trumpets is mercy and alarm in one sound: “Wake up. Return. Prepare. The Court is convening.”
Kingdom Calendar Pt. 15
See The Kingdom Calendar Pt. 15 for the Rosh Ha-Shanah connection to the end-times.