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Moses' Two Trumpets in Prophecy: Part 2

When God told Moses to build TWO trumpets in Numbers 10:2, He distinguished between the rulers and the congregation (Church). When Jesus, Paul, and John spoke of two resurrections in the New Testament, they added to the prophecy, showing that the rulers will be raised in the first resurrection, and the Church will be raised later in the second.

There is an Old Testament pattern that sheds much light on this. It is in the story of Jacob in his journey to Padan-aram and back. His major stops along the way run directly parallel to the major stops made by his descendants of the house of Israel in their journey from Egypt to Canaan. Jacob started out in Beer-sheba (Gen. 28:10), "the well of the oath," representing Passover. See Abraham's covenant and sacrifice of 7 ewe lambs in Gen. 21:27-33, by which the well was named.

Jacob then went to Bethel (Gen. 28:10-22), where he had his Pentecostal experience. From there he spent 20 years working for his uncle Laban, and this foreshadowed Israel's 40 years in the wilderness. This time of labor also served to separate the spring feasts from the fall feasts and to distinguish the first coming of Christ from His second coming.

Jacob's return to Canaan fulfilled the fall feasts and set the foundational pattern for Christ's second coming. His first stop was at Mahanaim (Gen. 32:2), which means "two camps." Jacob divided his herds, flocks, and family into two camps (Gen. 32:7).

He next went to Peniel or Penuel (Gen. 32:30, 31), "God's face," where he wrestled with the angel. This represents the Day of Atonement and the Jubilee. From there he went to Succoth (Gen. 33:17), which means "booths" and is the name of the feast of Tabernacles.

A more complete account of this is in chapter 4 of my book, "The Laws of the Second Coming." My purpose in this short article is to focus upon Manahaim, which represents the day of Trumpets--that is, the resurrection of the dead.

How does Mahanaim give us revelation about the resurrection? Simply in the fact that it means "two camps." This in itself indicates that God has divided His people into two camps: rulers and congregation. In Gen. 33:1, we read,

"Then Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids."

Leah and Rachel were the two wives of Jacob. They were twins, according to the book of Jasher. But as the story went, Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah, when he thought he was marrying Rachel. Thus, Rachel was loved, but Leah was not. Yet Leah had the most children, while Rachel was barren until later.

Leah was also cross-eyed (Gen. 29:17). She had a problem that the Church has had for a long time--partial blindness, or blindness in part. But the most important fact was that she would not bring forth the birthright holder. The birthright went to Rachel's son, Joseph (1 Chron. 5:1, 2). Here is where the type and shadow is most important.

Leah was a lawful wife, but Rachel was the loved wife who would bring forth the birthright son. This prophesies the difference between the rulers ("sons of God") and the Church in general. Leah's sons were by far the more numerous, showing that there are more citizens than rulers in the Kingdom of God.

Thus, when Jacob divided Leah and Rachel with their children into distinct camps, he set the pattern for the difference between the two resurrections.

The Apostle Paul continues this distinction in Philippians 3:10, 11, saying,

"That I may know Him [Christ], and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead [Greek: exanastasis ek nekron]."

Dr. Bullinger comments on this passage in his marginal notes in The Companion Bible. He tells us that the Greek word "exanastasis ek nekron" means OUT-RESURRECTION FROM AMONG THE DEAD. He says that the normal term used is simply "anastasis nekron," which is the resurrection of the dead--meaning all of the dead. But "EXanastasis EK nekron," he says, "implies the resurrection of some, the former of these two classes, the others behind left behind."

In other words, Paul was telling the Philippian Church that his desire was to attain the FIRST resurrection--the limited resurrection out from among the rest of the dead. Paul had no doubt that he would be resurrected. But he knew of a "better resurrection" (Heb. 11:35) that would occur 1000 years before the general resurrection (Rev. 20:5). Paul did not doubt his salvation, but he did express concern that he might not attain this resurrection out from among the dead. Thus he continues in Phil. 3:12, saying,

"NOT THAT I HAVE ALREADY OBTAINED IT, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus."

What is "it" that he had not yet obtained? He had certainly already qualified for the general resurrection as a citizen of the Kingdom. But he knew that "enduring to the end" was required to inherit the first resurrection and to rule with Christ during the thousand years of the Tabernacles Age.

So we see that understanding Moses' two trumpets opens up a whole new realm of prophetic understanding. It makes us more aware of the difference between a Passover Christian and a Tabernacles ruler ("the sons of God").