The resurrection of the dead is one of the central truths of Scripture, woven throughout both the Old and New Testaments. God gave Israel feasts and holy days not only as acts of worship, but also as prophetic signs pointing to Christ and His saving work. Among these, the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement foreshadowed the resurrection of the dead and judgment of Christ. From Moses at Mount Sinai to Christ’s own resurrection, and from the prophets to the apostles, the Bible consistently teaches that death is not the end. The last trumpet will sound, and all will be raised, some to eternal life, and others to eternal damnation.
The resurrection of the dead is the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets.
The Feast of Trumpets was established by Moses in Leviticus 23.
“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month, you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.” (Lev 23:24 NAS)
This feast commemorated the time when Moses interceded before God on behalf of the Israelites at Mount Sinai during their wilderness journey.
“So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.” (Exo 19:16-17 NAS)
Moses’ intercession for Israel foreshadowed the work of Jesus Christ, who intercedes for all God’s people at the resurrection of the dead. The apostles taught that Jesus is the very prophet to whom Moses spoke of.
“This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God shall raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren.’ “This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles to pass on to you.” (Acts 7:37-38 NAS)
Jesus affirmed that He is the very one Moses had written about during Israel’s wilderness journey.
“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me.” (John 5:46 NAS)
The Feast of Trumpets serves as a foreshadowing of the resurrection of the dead.
The apostle compares Moses’ intercession for Israel at Mount Sinai to Mount Zion, where Christ now sits at the right hand of God.
“For you have not come to a mountain that may be touched and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words which sound was such that those who heard begged that no further word should be spoken to them. For they could not bear the command, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned.” And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, “I am full of fear and trembling.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect.” (Heb 12:18-23 NAS)
The New Testament reveals that a trumpet will sound before the resurrection of the dead, after which Jesus Christ will appear in the clouds to gather His elect from the earth.
“And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” (Matt 24:31 NAS)
“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 shall rise first.” (1Th 4:16 NAS)
Just as the trumpet sounded at Mount Sinai when Moses brought the people before God, so too will the trumpet sound at the resurrection of the dead.
Resurrection of the dead happens at the time of death.
Only someone who has died can be raised from the dead.
“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Heb 9:27-28 NAS)
Death must precede resurrection, for one must first die in order to be raised from the dead. Only the dead can be resurrected, since resurrection by definition means “to come to life again.” Paul wrote,
“But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies…”
(1Co 15:35-37 NAS)
In several places, the Bible uses the word “sleep” as a metaphor for death, not merely the act of dying, but the ongoing state of being dead.
“Consider and answer me, O LORD, my God; Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death.”
(Psa 13:3 NAS)
When Jesus spoke about the death of Lazarus, He described it using the word “sleep.”
“This He said, and after that He said to them, ‘Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep.’ The disciples therefore said to Him, ‘Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.’ Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. Then Jesus therefore said to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead.’”
(John 11:11-14 NAS)
Paul makes it clear that, at death, people do not sleep; but, are raised from death.
“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (1Co 15:51-52 NAS)
Simply put, though our body dies, we will not remain in death. The body undergoes decay, but the spirit is raised to life. At death, the body returns to the natural process of decay.
“All flesh would perish together, And man would return to dust.” (Job 34:15 NAS)
“Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.”
(Ecc 12:7 NAS)
This does not imply that, when we are raised, we will be without a physical body.
When we are raised, it will be with a physical heavenly body.
Though our earthly body dies and returns to the dust, after death we are raised with a heavenly body. Paul explains this in 1st Corinthians.
“But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So also, is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.” (1Co 15:38-43 NAS)
The resurrected body will have imperishable and immortal qualities.
“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”
(1Co 15:51-56 NAS)
This transformation takes place at the moment of death. There is no waiting place where the souls of the dead linger for their resurrected bodies. At death, a person is immediately raised and brought before Christ for judgment.
The resurrection of the dead occurred throughout the Bible.
Jesus taught that the Old Testament saints were raised from the dead at the time of their death.
“But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
(Matt 22:31-32 NAS)
Jesus taught that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were raised from the dead. Paul taught that at death we leave the body and are at home with the Lord. He said to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
“For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens… Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord… I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord… For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
(2Co 5:1-10 NAS)
The thief on the cross was taken to heaven at death. As Jesus was crucified, He assured the thief on the cross that he would be with Jesus in paradise.
“And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
(Luke 23:41-43 NAS)
After death, the thief on the cross entered Paradise, which is in heaven. Another passage showing that resurrection occurs at death is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.
“Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. “And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. “And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.’
(Luke 16:22-24 NAS)
Christ taught that at death there is no turning back and no second chance, one is raised to paradise, the other to the fire of Hades. Matthew also records an event where saints were raised from the dead at the time of Christ’s resurrection.
“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.” (Matt 27:50-53 NAS)
The Day of Atonement is fulfilled after the dead are resurrected.
The Day of Atonement was when the high priest entered the Holy of Holy’s to make atonement for the sins of the people. In Leviticus 23, the Day of Atonement followed the Feast of Trumpets.
“On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD.” (Lev 23:27 NAS)
Christ fulfilled the Day of Atonement by sitting at the right hand of God and judging the living and the dead. When a person dies, they are raised from the dead and must stand before Christ in judgment.
At the resurrection, Christ will atone for the righteous and condemn the wicked. The Old and New Testaments of the Bible taught the righteous and the unrighteous would be raised from the dead and judged.
“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” (Dan 12:2 NAS)
“…There shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.”
(Acts 24:14-15 NAS)
Those who believe in Christ will be raised on the last day, which is at death, and given eternal life. Christ promised His people that at death they would be raised from the dead and be with Him forever.
“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.” (Matt 16:27 NAS)
“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29 NAS)
Not only are believers raised at death; but those who are unbelievers will be raised to everlasting damnation. After the resurrection comes the final judgment of all people. The resurrection is not a distant event, but a present reality, it has happened, is happening now, and will continue until the end of the world.
“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.” (Rev 20:12 NAS)
The resurrection of the body is at the heart of the Christian hope. From the feasts of Israel to the teaching of Christ and His apostles, Scripture proclaims that death is not the end. At death, every person is raised, some to eternal life in Christ, and others to eternal damnation. The last trumpet shows the finality of His promises, His justice, and His judgment wrought in Jesus Christ, our risen Lord.