One central feature of Jesus’ return that theologians of all persuasions can agree upon is that it will be marked by the sounding of a loud trumpet. Bearing this in mind, let us turn to Leviticus 25, a chapter dedicated to the topic of the Jubilee year cycles:

“Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month.” (Lev 25:9)

In other words, the Jubilee, like Jesus’ return, is announced with the trumpet. What did this look like and is there a link between the two trumpet soundings?

Life in the ancient world was tough, and many lived as farmers who were completely dependent on the produce of their fields. Those finding themselves in severe financial hardship could temporarily sell their land and even themselves into slavery.

The laws of the Jubilee then stipulated that a friend or relative could ‘redeem’ or buy back the land and set those who had become slaves free. If no redeemer was found, God himself decreed that the debts of the poor were to be cancelled, the slaves set free and his people restored to their ancestral inheritance in the 50th year – the Year of Jubilee.

Can you imagine the joy that the sounding of this Jubilee trumpet would have caused in ancient Israel? At this once-in-a-generation trumpet blast, slaves were set free across the nation and the poor were released from their long-held debts. In the streets of Israel, long-lost loved ones would be tearfully embracing and rejoicing together at the redemption of God.

Could this ancient joy at the sound of the Jubilee trumpet be a foretaste of the much greater joy to come at Jesus’ return?

When the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder … then the Lord came down.

The glory and the trumpet

The 12 tribes of Israel had gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai only three months after being set free from Egypt. In Egypt and at the Red Sea they had dramatically witnessed the power of God through mighty miracles and signs that exceed anything most of us have ever experienced.

Yet even the crossing of the Red Sea paled into insignificance compared to the encounter with the glory of God that they were about to experience in its full manifestation on Mount Sinai.

Moses describes a thick cloud enveloping the mountain, with thunder, lightning and smoke, and the entire mountain shaking as the Lord himself physically descended upon the mountain. Many scholars describe this dramatic appearance of God as being a powerful prophetic preview of the day when Jesus himself will physically descend from the heavens.

It is crucial then to note that God’s awesome descent on the mountain was marked with an exceedingly long and loud trumpet blast:

“When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain … And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder … then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai.”
(Ex 19:13, 16-20, emphasis added)

The word used here for trumpet is the word yobel or Jubilee. In other words, the long blast on the mountain signifying God’s descent was also a Jubilee trumpet. Israel itself was truly in the midst of an amazing Jubilee experience, being set free from slavery and being on their way to inherit the promised land.

Could this Exodus 19 descent of God’s awesome manifest presence, marked by the sounding of the Jubilee trumpet, be a foreshadowing of Jesus’ return?

That day will be the Jubilee, the restoration of all things as the prophets had foretold.

The restoration of all things

In Jesus’ day, there was a great expectation that he would bring the Jubilee. After his death, the brokenhearted disciples spoke openly of their disappointment, as they thought it “was he who was going to redeem Israel” (Luke 24:21).

To their surprise and amazement, Jesus was raised from the dead and spent the next 40 days speaking with his disciples about the coming kingdom. It is in this context that the disciples eagerly asked, “Lord will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6).

So, when will the Jubilee come?

A few chapters later in Acts, Peter picks up on the topic of the Jubilee, explaining that Jesus “has to remain in heaven until the time comes for restoring everything, as God said long ago … through the holy prophets” (Acts 3:21, CJB).

In other words, Peter has come to understand that, while the full Jubilee restoration did not take place in Jesus’ ministry here on earth, there is coming a day when he will return. That day will be the Jubilee, the restoration of all things as the prophets had foretold.

In that great day, not only will one person rise from the dead, but all the dead in him will rise, their bodies made new and healed of all sicknesses and infirmities. In that day of restoration, the Messiah will rule as King upon the throne of his father David and the whole earth “will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Hab. 2:14)

What a day it will be!

Enoch Lavender is the director of Olive Tree Ministries and the author of The Jubilee: Discover the End Time Mystery