Every year as summer gives way to fall, Jewish communities around the world enter one of the most sacred seasons of the biblical calendar. The sound of the shofar announces the Feast of Trumpets (also called Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year). Ten days later comes Yom Kippur, the solemn Day of Atonement. Then, just five days afterward, families celebrate Sukkot, the joyful Feast of Tabernacles. These biblical feasts will find their ultimate fulfillment at the return of Jesus.
While the spring feasts corresponded with Jesus’ first coming, the fall feasts point to Jesus’ Second Coming. For example, Passover points to Jesus’s sacrificial death (1 Corinthians 5:7). The Feast of First Fruits finds fulfillment in His resurrection, with Paul explicitly calling Jesus “the first fruits of those who are asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). And during Shavuot, or Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon Jesus’s followers in Jerusalem (Acts 2).
After the spring feasts comes a long interval before Israel’s fall festivals begin. For this reason, many Bible scholars see the fall feasts as prophetic pictures of events still awaiting fulfillment—Messiah’s return, Israel’s national repentance and reconciliation with God, and the establishment of His kingdom.
The Feast of Trumpets: The King Returns
The fall season begins with Yom Teruah, the Feast of Trumpets. God commanded Israel: “In the seventh month on the first of the month, you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:24). Today, this day is commonly celebrated as Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. One of its most recognizable features is the blowing of the shofar.
The New Testament frequently associates a trumpet with Messiah’s return. Jesus Himself taught that at His coming, God “will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds” (Matthew 24:31).
Paul uses similar imagery when describing Jesus’s return: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Paul again connects the resurrection of believers with the sound of a trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:51–52: “We will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.”
Scripture never explicitly states that Jesus must return on the Feast of Trumpets, and believers should be cautious about turning biblical typology into a prediction of the timing of His return. Jesus said we will recognize the signs leading up to His return, but that no one but the Father knows the exact day and hour (Matthew 24:32–36).
Nevertheless, the imagery is striking. The biblical festival that begins Israel’s fall feast cycle is characterized by the sound of trumpets, while the New Testament repeatedly describes Messiah’s return and the resurrection of His people with the same imagery.
Yom Kippur: Israel Mourns for the Pierced One
Ten days after the Feast of Trumpets comes Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement. Under the Mosaic covenant, Yom Kippur was the most solemn day of Israel’s year. Leviticus 16 describes the elaborate sacrifices through which atonement was made for the nation. It was a day associated with repentance, cleansing, and reconciliation with God.
The prophetic books describe something remarkably similar occurring in Israel’s future. Zechariah foretells a day when Jerusalem will face tremendous distress. In the midst of these events, God declares: “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son” (Zechariah 12:9–10).
The New Testament identifies Jesus with Zechariah’s pierced one. John quotes this passage after describing Jesus’ crucifixion: “They shall look on Him whom they pierced” (John 19:37).
Zechariah’s prophecy does not end with mourning. Immediately afterward we read: “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity” (Zechariah 13:1). The sequence is significant: Israel looks upon the pierced one, mourns, and then experiences cleansing from sin.
Paul may describe this same great work of God in Romans 11. After warning Gentile believers not to become arrogant toward Israel, Paul explains that “a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:25–26). He then connects Israel’s salvation with the coming of the Deliverer and God’s removal of their sins.
Yom Kippur therefore provides a beautiful prophetic picture of a future national turning of Israel to her Messiah—a day of mourning that ultimately becomes a day of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Sukkot: The King Dwells with His People
Only five days after Yom Kippur, one of Israel’s most joyful celebrations, Sukkot—the Feast of Tabernacles—begins.
During Sukkot, the Jewish people construct temporary shelters, or sukkot, remembering how God sustained Israel during the wilderness journey. The feast also celebrates the harvest and God’s faithful provision.
Yet Sukkot has future prophetic significance as well. Zechariah 14 describes a dramatic day when the Lord intervenes on Israel’s behalf. His feet stand upon the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4), and eventually “the Lord will be king over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9). The surviving nations will travel to Jerusalem “to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths” (Zechariah 14:16).
In other words, Zechariah places Sukkot within an explicitly eschatological setting in which the Lord reigns as king and the nations come to Jerusalem to worship Him. Sukkot serves as a remarkable picture of the age to come: Messiah reigning during His millennial kingdom, Israel restored, and people from the nations worshiping the King together.
This theme also points beyond Messiah’s millennial kingdom to God’s coming eternal kingdom: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them” (Revelation 21:3). The story that began with God dwelling among Israel ultimately concludes with God dwelling forever among His redeemed people from Israel and all the nations of the world.
The Fall Feasts: Reason for Hope
Taken together, Israel’s fall feasts present a remarkable sequence.
Trumpets: The King returns.
Yom Kippur: Israel looks upon the pierced Messiah, mourns, and experiences cleansing.
Sukkot: The King reigns, and Israel and the nations rejoice in His presence.
These festivals remind us that God’s purposes for Israel did not end in the first century. Paul explicitly warns Gentile Christians against arrogance concerning Israel, reminding them that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). Zechariah envisions a future centered upon Jerusalem in which Israel encounters the pierced one and the nations come to worship the King.
The biblical feasts therefore remind us that the story of Israel is inseparably connected to the story of redemption. The spring feasts direct our attention backward at what Messiah accomplished at His first coming. The fall feasts invite us to look forward with anticipation for what He will accomplish when He comes again.
One day the trumpet will sound. The Messiah will return. Israel will behold the One who was pierced, and Israel and the nations will together worship King Jesus! We look forward to this future day. Until then, may we continue to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).
