Who can sound the trumpets? That’s a question that I hear a lot. To answer that question succinctly, we must review what we learned in the article “It’s All About the Air Flow” briefly.
Remember that the sound of the trumpet (shofar) is that which is like the Voice of God. God’s voice is powerful and creative. God’s breath is intimate and life giving. God’s breath is in us and sustains life. When the breath of God in a person’s lungs is blown through the shofar according to the anointing, the instructions, in God’s Holy Word, or the prompting of Holy Spirit, THEN the sound of the shofar is that which is like the Voice of God. Remember that? Good!
The next question is, “Is the breath that we breathe and the air that we breathe the same?
Well, no. The distinction must be made between the air that we breathe and the breath of air that is in our lungs. The air that we breathe and the breath in our lungs are not the same. The breath in our lungs is God’s breath because it is life giving and intimate. Without that, we would have no life. So, it seems that a distinction must be made in relevance as to who owns the air that we breathe and the breath in our lungs. We have already established that God owns the breath in our lungs or we would not enjoy the breath of life that we have every day.
So, who owns the atmospheric air that we breath into our lungs?
-
And you were dead in. your trespasses and sins,
-
in which you formerly walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
Ephesians 2:1-2 NASB 95 (emphasis is my own)
So, who is the prince? Who is this spirit? His name is Satan. Who is he? The prince of the power of the air! He is the spirit who works in the sons of disobedience. He is the course of this world. In short, he owns the atmosphere and that is where his “camp” is located. You must understand that when the sound of the trumpet, that which is like the Voice of God, goes into the air, great holes are blown open in the enemy’s camp. It is like a barrage of mortar fire into the enemy’s camp! All that has been set in motion in the spiritual realm to cause suffering is set off course in confusion and chaos. I’ll get to that in a little while. But remember Gideon and his 300 who set the sword of Midian against its own camp?
The panic and confusion of that battle demonstrates the power of following God’s battle plan. It demonstrates the power of the sound of God’s Voice manifested through the ram’s horn and a shout, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” It demonstrates the power of obedience.
Another thing to consider is that the devil is not omniscient. He does not know who is sounding the trumpets. That’s important. I’ll get back to that later.
So, who can sound the trumpets? Well, let’s explore that.
God sounds the trumpet. That is clear in the scriptures.
-
Then the LORD will appear over them,
And His arrow will go forth like lightning;
And the LORD God will blow the trumpet,
And will march in the storm winds of the south.
The LORD of hosts will defend them,
And they will devour and trample of the sling stones;
and they will drink and be boisterous as with wine;
and they will be filled like a sacrificial basin
drenched like the corners of the altar,
And the LORD their God will save them in that day
As the flock of His people; For they
Are as the stones of a crown,
Sparkling in His land.
Zechariah 9:14-16 NASB 95
This text clearly states that God will sound the trumpet. Whereas, in Exodus 19, it is unclear whether God is speaking in the voice of a trumpet of sounding the trumpet. I opt for the speaking due to my textual analysis. So, God sounds the trumpet. Need another verse? Here you go.
God has ascended with a shout,
The LORD with a sound of a trumpet.
Psalm 47:5 NASB 95
This verse is not as clear as the text in Zechariah but my question is, “What man could sound such a trumpet that God would ascend anywhere?” That was a divinely sounded trumpet.
Jesus sounds the trumpet.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout
With the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God,
And the dead in Christ will rise first.
1st Thessalonians 4:6 NASB 95
That seems pretty self-explanatory to me.
Angels sound the trumpets. In the Book of Revelations, beginning in Chapter 8, the seventh seal is broken which unleashes seven Angels who will sound seven trumpets which announces a great ENDING and ushers in a new BEGINNING. Those passages can be found in Revelations Chapters 8 through 11. I need not write all that down in this article. It is easy enough to look up and read. Our purpose in this article is to identify who can sound the trumpets.
Thus far, God, Jesus, and angels sound trumpets. Who else?
Watchmen sound trumpets. There are, perhaps, three types of watchman and I’ll get into that but let’s look at the basics of what being a watchman encompasses. The watchman has duties that are outlined in the Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 33.
1And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman, 3 and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people, 4 then he who hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, and a sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood will be on himself. But had he taken warning, he would have delivered his life. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away [a]in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’ (Ezekiel 33:1-6 NASB (emphasis is mine)
Let’s stop right there are ponder this text outlining the watchman’s duties. First, this watchman is chosen by the people. Imagine, if you can, the amount of trust placed upon this man. However, notice the plight of the watchman if he is derelict in his duties. The blood of the watchman is required! This scared me to no end the first time I read it and realized what I’d signed up for as The Old Watchman! Now you know why I take what I do so seriously. However, I am not a watchman chosen by the people. Had I waited to be chosen by the people, I fear that I’d still be waiting.
No, I am a watchman chosen by God. He pierced my soul and heart with the ram’s horn shofar September 9, 2018 during a live feed streaming into my office during Yom Teruah or Rosh Hoshanna. That sound embedded in my spirit and stirred something within me that I cannot explain. When the mighty Yemenite sounded, I rose from my chair and pointed at the computer monitor and said, “That’s mine.” I didn’t know why I said it nor did I know what that meant at the time. It was my calling. Over the next five months prophetic words spoken over me identified and confirmed that calling. I had no choice but to surrender to it and embrace it.
Prophets, chosen by God, were called as watchmen. Ezekiel falls into this class very clearly.
“Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you
A watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear
A message from MY mouth and give them warning from Me.”
Ezekiel 33:7 NASB 95
Habakkuk was a prophet called to be a watchman.
I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart;
And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply when I am reproved,
Habakkuk 2:1 NASB 95
These Prophets were called by God to be watchmen. Am I claiming Prophet status? Well…..no. I can say that I have seen what I’d call visions, I’ve dreamed dreams, and I have heard things that come out of the spiritual realm. I do not claim prophet status. Perhaps my vision and hearing are being developed. We shall see.
Jeremiah 6:17 is directly attached to the first word of prophecy spoken over me to use scripture, which was Jeremiah 6:16. I had to come to grips with Jeremiah 6:16 before I could understand Jeremiah 6:17.
“And I have set watchmen over you, saying
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’”
Jeremiah 6:17 NASB 95
In this verse, God does not specify if the watchmen are Prophets or not. It is clear that these watchmen were not chosen by the people. Many who are more knowledgeable than I am, seem to think that these watchmen were prophets. It is not clear. What is clear is that God has chosen watchmen to watch over others. If that means that those watchmen are Prophets then God has a lot of work yet to do to get me to that status. I won’t object to it. However, this is the only other possibility that I have found in the Scriptures where I might fit in. Let’s not get bogged down on where I fit in. God will sort that out in due time. Let’s continue.
Priests sounded the shofar.
“The priestly sons of Aaron moreover, shall blow the trumpets;
And this shall be for you a perpetual statute throughout your generations.
Numbers 10:8 NASB 95
Guess what? You are ALL priests!
-
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation
A people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim
The excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness
Into His marvelous light;
- for you once were not a people, but now you are the people
Of God; you had not received mercy, but now
You have received mercy.
1 Peter 2:9-10 NASB (emphasis is my own)
Every believer is a priest! Every one of you who is a believer has the right to sound the trumpet. We need a knowledge and understanding of God’s order and process where trumpets are concerned and we need a sensitivity to promptings of Holy Spirit.
If that doesn’t warm you up on a frosty morn I don’t know what will! We’re all priests! Every single child of God can sound the trumpet. All it takes is faith, belief, a little study concerning God’s order and process, and (of course) a shofar!
Now I want to get back to that part about Satan not being all knowing or omniscient. He does not know who is sounding the trumpet! Is it God? Is it Jesus? Is it the angels? Is it the priests? Is it the watchmen? Is it Lonnie? Is it you? He doesn’t know! Imagine the angst he must feel when the shofar is sounded and that which is like the Voice of God pierces the air! That is what set the army of Midian to turn upon itself with their own sword during Gideon’s battle!
Now you know.
I am The Old Watchman. God Bless!