What is the Great Trumpet?

The Great Trumpet is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in Isaiah 27 where it’s called Shofar Gadol (שופר גדול). It speaks of the end times regathering of the people of Israel. We read there that –

13 … it shall come to pass in that day, that a great trumpet shall be blown; and they shall come that were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and they that were outcasts in the land of Egypt; and they shall worship Jehovah in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

It’s obvious from the context that it’s the people of Israel who are being regathered:

12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will beat off his fruit from the flood of the River unto the brook of Egypt; and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.

So the Great Trumpet is clearly for the regathering of the people of Israel back to their land in the end times to worship their Messiah and King.

This gathering of Israel is said to occur after their repentance:

1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither Jehovah thy God hath driven thee, 2 and [thou] shalt return unto Jehovah thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; 3 that then Jehovah thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples, whither Jehovah thy God hath scattered thee. 4 If any of thine outcasts be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will Jehovah thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee.

It’s clear from this passage that Israel is not being gathered from, or to, heaven. The phrase “uttermost parts of heaven” means distant countries.

This phrase has the same meaning in Isaiah 13:

“Jehovah of hosts is mustering the host for the battle. 5 They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven.”

Isaiah 13 clearly provides the definition of “uttermost part of heaven” by equating it to “a far country”.

Hence, the phrase “uttermost parts of heaven” is only ever used to denote distant lands. This is important so we can understand its use in the New Testament.

In the New Testament, the Great Trumpet is only mentioned once. It’s mentioned in the only reference to the physical regathering of Israel in the New Testament – Matthew 24:

29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send forth 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.

The greek for “Great Trumpet” in this verse says “salpingos megalēs” (σάλπιγγος μεγάλης). And in the Septuagint Greek translation for Isaiah 27, the phrase is “sálpingi tí megáli” (σάλπιγγι τῇ μεγάλῃ). These are the only two places in the whole of Scripture where the combination phrase of “Great” and “Trumpet” appear together. That’s why, when Jesus mentions the “great sound of a trumpet”, He is clearly referring to the Great Trumpet blast of Isaiah 27, speaking of the regathering of the people of Israel. This type of reference is called an “intertextual allusion”.

Secondly, the gathering mentioned here occurs after the “mourning of the tribes of the earth”. The “mourning of the tribes” forms another intertextual allusion. It’s referring to Israel’s national repentance in Zechariah 12. The Septuagint for Zechariah 12:12 talks about “kopsētai” – mourning, of each “phylas” – tribe; while Matthew mentions the “kopsontai” – mourning, of the “phylai” – tribes. Zechariah 12:12 is the only place in the Old Testament with the combination phrase of “mourning” and “tribes”, showing, again, that there’s a tight intertextual link.

The tribes of Israel are mourning over the only Son, whom they have pierced. This mourning and repentance occurs at the end of the Great Tribulation.

This is strong evidence that the “Great sound of a Trumpet” in Matthew 24 is actually referring to the final regathering of the nation of Israel back to their land after their national repentance at the end of the Great Tribulation. We understand from this passage that God will employ angels to regather His people back to the land (“And he shall send forth 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”).

The elect in Matthew 24 is referring to God’s elect nation, Israel, and not to the church. It should also be taken into account that, at the end of the tribulation, all Israel will be saved and will all be God’s elect.

Therefore, the Great Trumpet, in both the Old and New Testaments, speaks of the regathering of the elect people of Israel at the end of the Great Tribulation, after their mourning and repentance, to enjoy the Millennial blessings under their King Messiah, Jesus Christ.