To the ancient nation of Israel, God commanded the celebration of an annual festival called Trumpets. “In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:24).

Few people outside the Jews still celebrate this day, but the truth is, anyone who believes the Bible should be keeping it. It falls each year in the autumn in the Northern Hemisphere—this year it is on Thursday, October 3. Its significance has never been more relevant than it is today.

The “blowing of trumpets” on this day points toward the most important “trumpet-blowing” event in all history—the prophecy of when Jesus Christ will return to Earth, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17). The Second Coming will occur “at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52).

This will be the greatest and most important event ever to occur in the entire universe! That makes this sacred festival the focal point, the central, pivotal annual holy day in God’s plan.

To grasp the magnitude of the importance of Christ’s return, we need go back to the beginning.

When God created Earth, He placed one third of the angels on it, with the archangel Lucifer over them to administer His government. God tasked them with beautifying and perfecting Earth, as a training ground for such creative work elsewhere in the vast universe. But Lucifer sinned and rejected the government of God, leading the angels under him into rebellion. Lucifer became Satan; the rebellious angels became demons—and their exalted potential was lost. God then saw that only He could be certainly relied on never to sin.

So God purposed to reproduce Himself through man. He created Adam and Eve, and gave them the opportunity to choose His way and take over the throne of the Earth from Satan. But Adam, too, rejected God’s government and instead chose the way of Satan the devil. God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and humanity has lived under the sway of Satan—cut off, in general, from God—for 6,000 years.

God’s plan had not failed, however. God decreed when Adam sinned that Jesus Christ would come to die for the sins of mankind, which He did 4,000 years later. At His first coming, Christ qualified to replace Satan on the throne of this Earth, and His death paid the penalty for the sins of mankind. Now, when men repent, they can be saved by the resurrected Christ’s life. He is now in heaven, awaiting the time in the near future when He will return!

The magnificence of this unprecedented event also springs from what Jesus Christ will accomplish when He returns. It will be a period of “refreshing … the times of restitution of all things”—including the restoration of God’s government (Acts 3:19-21). You must admit there is something dangerous and fundamentally wrong with human civilization today. Ever since Lucifer’s sin, God’s government has not been administered over the Earth as a whole. That will change when Christ returns, and it will bring peace, joy and prosperity to the nations like they have never enjoyed through human history. It is only the “restitution of all things”—a fundamental change in government—that will solve all of mankind’s problems.

This is why the Feast of Trumpets is so significant and wonderful!

The events pictured by the Feast of Trumpets include the return of Christ and the announcement of the restoration of God’s government. When Christ arrives, He will subdue the governments of this world (Revelation 11:15). He will establish God’s government and His Kingdom, and shall rule forever and ever.

Those who submit to God today, and who overcome sin, will be resurrected as immortal sons of God, and they will rule with Christ (Revelation 3:21). Therefore, the Feast of Trumpets is eagerly anticipated by God and by those who are called and subject themselves to God’s rule in their lives today. Additionally, the whole creation—including the universe—has been waiting for this event (Romans 8:19).

The government of God, led by Christ, will begin to bring about utopia on Earth—the headquarters of the universe—and then, it will expand out into the universe, spreading God’s government and peace without end (Isaiah 9:6-7). The government of God will change everything!

But do you realize that the government of God can change everything—solve all your problems—in your life right now? Consider that while you are waiting on Christ to return, He may be waiting on you! Don’t wait until His return tomorrow—turn to Him today.

To learn more about the true meaning of the Feast of Trumpets and the other biblically mandated sacred festivals, read Herbert W. Armstrong’s booklet Pagan Holidays, or God’s Holy Days—Which?