FOMO & The Trumpet Call of the Lamb — Nicole O'Meara

Not all of us were asleep, as it turned out.

My brother had recently begun learning to play the trumpet, a fact that became relevant on a Saturday morning at 5:00am. Toby, having learned the basics, decided to impress the rest of us on said morning by standing and pointing the business end of his horn into the three-foot space between the room I shared with my sister and my parents’ room. Dad’s snores rattled the thin walls. We were, all four of us, deep in sleep.

Until I was jerked from sleep to utter darkness and a racket outside my door. What was that ear-splitting noise? An earthquake? (We were familiar with those—they are not silent.) A thief in the night? The apocalypse?

My sister and I flew to the hall and found our parents, Dad in his undershorts and Mom in her flannel nightgown, looking just as alarmed. Four pairs of eyes turned toward the noise to find my brother, trumpet in hand. Wide awake and pleased with himself, he said, “It’s ‘Taps.’ Good morning.”

I used to worry wonder if I’d miss the action when Jesus comes back. Revelation 14:1 (NIV) says, “Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion.” The land of Israel is on the other side of the planet from where I sit. How could I “look” and see the Lamb coming? This concerned me. But that was before the internet and social media. I’m not so worried now.

Still, my FOMO makes me itch.

But a funny thing happened when I studied Revelation in BSF this year. I came across repeated instances of trumpets.

First, John heard the voice of God “like a trumpet blast” in Rev 1. It got John’s attention and began the entire vision which we know as Revelation. The same voice “like a trumpet blast” drew him up to the Throne Room in Revelation 4. Then, there were seven angels with seven trumpets (Rev 8-11).

It got me thinking about trumpets, where they appear in scripture, and why.

In Exodus, a trumpet blast accompanied the thunder and lighting and cloud on the mountain where God met Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments.

In Leviticus 3, the Festival of Trumpets is instituted as a day of rest.

In Numbers 10, two silver trumpets are used. They could be used to call the community of Israel to assemble at the tent of meeting. Or the they could be used to set the camp moving. The priests could sound the trumpets to call Israel to battle. Finally, trumpets could be used over the sacrifices during the annual festivals.

Joshua and Gideon used trumpets in battle.

Trumpets were sounded to celebrate the anointing of a new king.

Trumpets were often used with cymbals, harps, and lyres to praise and worship God.

So many uses!

Why trumpets? I think it is because they are loud. They can be heard from very far away. Something about their timbre catches in our ears above the noise of everyday life.

We may be going about the business of our day (or the vital business of sleeping at night), and at the sound of a trumpet blast, our ears perk, our heads lift, and our attention is drawn. Trumpets aren’t easily missed.

Even without smartphones, the internet, and viral videos, I don’t need to worry I’ll miss the moment Jesus returns to earth. The Conquering King will be ushered in with the sound of trumpets—somehow, heard round the world.

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