Yom Teruah and the Resurrection: What the Bible Says About Life After Death

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:06 — 7.6MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Called Rosh haShanah on the Jewish calendar, Yom Teruah contains many teachings that point forward to the return of Messiah Yeshua, echoed in the writings of the prophets of Israel hundreds of years before He arrived and in the decades after His return to Heaven.

Economic Upheaval and Prophetic Patterns

The discussion begins by linking recent financial turmoil to biblical prophecy. Major collapses in institutions such as Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch illustrate systemic greed and deception. Executive bonuses in the hundreds of millions stand in stark contrast to ordinary investors’ losses. This pattern resembles what Revelation calls a Babylonian commercial system, driven by luxury and exploitation. Revelation 18 describes “Babylon the great” as a system that enriches merchants and then collapses suddenly (Revelation 18:3, 11–19, NASB1995).

Babylon in Scripture does not always point to a single nation. Some interpreters see a focus on the ancient Mesopotamian region, including parts of modern Iraq and areas tied to Saudi Arabia, while others emphasize a global economic order. Tarek Fatah, a Pakistani-Canadian journalist and author, argues in his book that Iraq and Saudi Arabia together fulfill much of the prophetic imagery of Babylon. In this view, oil becomes central. Global dependence on oil intensifies the impact of any crisis in that region, reinforcing the connection between economic upheaval and end-time shaking.

The modern financial crisis also exposes the fragility of retirement systems, 401(k) accounts, Social Security, and Medicare. These systems appear unsustainable when measured against mounting debt and demographic pressures. A Federal Reserve official, cited from a public talk, warned that current policies will make these large social programs financially untenable. Similar pressures appear in European welfare states. The result is a climate of fear and uncertainty for seniors and future retirees.

Against that backdrop, the teaching calls for a “prayerful lifestyle.” Long-term security cannot rest on markets, governments, or entitlement programs. The prophetic Scriptures present a different foundation: the coming kingdom of God and the resurrection of the dead.

Yom Teruah: Names, Themes, and Biblical Framing

The focus then shifts to Yom Teruah יוֹם תְּרוּעָה (Yom T’ruah, “day of the trumpet/shofar blast”). Many in the wider Jewish world call this day Rosh Hashanah רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה (Rosh HaShanah, “head of the year”). The teaching prefers the biblical term Yom Teruah because Leviticus 23:24–25 and Numbers 29:1 describe it as a day of blowing, not primarily as a civil new year.

The term “Feast of Trumpets” can mislead. The Hebrew text emphasizes the sound or blast rather than the instrument itself. The shofar שׁוֹפָר (shofar, “ram’s horn trumpet”) provides a warning and an announcement. It signals God’s intervention and the arrival of the King.

Messianic teacher Eddie Chumney is explicitly cited for listing twelve themes associated with Yom Teruah. These include:

• תְּשׁוּבָה (teshuvah, “repentance”)
• The concept of Rosh Hashanah (civil head of the year)
• Yom Teruah as the “day of the awakening blast”
• יוֹם הַדִּין (Yom HaDin, “Day of Judgment”)
• Coronation of Messiah
• יוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן (Yom HaZikaron, “day of remembrance”)
• “Time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7)
• “Opening of the gates”
• קִידּוּשִׁין נְשׂוּאִין (Kiddushin Nesu’in, “wedding ceremony”)
• Resurrection of the dead
• The “last trumpet”
• יוֹם הַכֵּסֶה (Yom HaKeseh, “the hidden/covered day”), associated with the uncertainty of the new moon’s appearance

Among these themes, the teaching concentrates on the resurrection of the dead and its connection to Yom Teruah as a “day of awakening.”

Resurrection as the Central Hope

Resurrection stands at the center of biblical hope. Human life appears brief and often unjust. Ecclesiastes wrestles openly with this reality. The righteous may suffer and the wicked may prosper (Ecclesiastes 3:16–17; 8:10–14). Without resurrection, the world would remain permanently tilted toward injustice.

First Corinthians 15 treats resurrection as the linchpin of the faith. Paul states that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then “not even Christ has been raised,” and if Christ has not been raised, “your faith also is vain” and “you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:13–17, NASB1995). The stakes are absolute. Without resurrection, death has the final word, and those who died in Messiah have “perished” (1 Corinthians 15:18).

Messianic understanding sees Yeshua (Jesus) as both the firstfruits and the pattern. Paul describes Messiah as “the first fruits of those who are asleep” and then outlines an order: “Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming” (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23, NASB1995). This sequence closely matches the imagery of the firstfruits offering (בִּכּוּרִים Bikkurim) and then the later harvest. Some teachers connect Bikkurim with Yeshua’s resurrection and Yom Teruah with the later resurrection of those who belong to Him.

This framework addresses deeper theological questions. If God is just, then people who never heard the name of Yeshua must still face a fair and informed opportunity to respond. That issue arises in a cited exchange where Rick Warren tells a Jewish questioner that her lack of faith in Jesus seals her fate. The teaching criticizes that position as morally and theologically untenable, arguing that it misrepresents God’s justice and fails to engage the full biblical witness on resurrection and judgment.

The Nature of the Soul and the Question of Immortality

A crucial doctrinal point concerns the “immortal soul.” The Hebrew Bible uses נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh, “soul,” “life,” or “living being”) to describe human beings and animals. Genesis 2:7 states that man became a living nephesh; it does not say he received an inherently immortal entity. Ezekiel 18:4 declares, “The soul who sins will die” (NASB1995). This statement undermines the idea that the human soul cannot die.

In this perspective, the doctrine of an inherently immortal soul comes from Greek and Egyptian philosophy, not from Torah or the Prophets. The New Testament emphasizes ἀνάστασις (anastasis, “resurrection”), not disembodied survival in heaven as the ultimate hope. Resurrection brings transformation from mortality to immortality. Paul writes, “this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:53, NASB1995). Immortality is a gift bestowed in resurrection, not a native human property.

Consequently, teachings that place the righteous in heaven immediately at death and consign the wicked to eternal conscious torment in unending fire depart from the biblical pattern. The focus of Scripture is bodily resurrection, judgment, and the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.

Called, Chosen, and Judged: Two Groups of Humanity

The teaching distinguishes between two broad categories of people:

1. Those called and responding now
2. Those not yet called or not yet confronted with full understanding

Yeshua’s statement, “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14, NASB1995), frames this distinction. The “chosen” are those who respond to the call and live as overcomers. Others may receive some measure of calling but allow materialism, pleasure, or worldly concerns to choke spiritual growth, echoing the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:18–23).

First Peter 4:17 states that “it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God” (NASB1995). This implies that believers experience judgment now. Their lives undergo continual evaluation as they follow Torah and Messiah. In this view, those who participate in the first resurrection will not face a later condemnatory judgment, because their period of testing occurs during this life. What awaits them at Yeshua’s return is not a trial but reward.

Yeshua’s words in John 5:28–29 support a dual-resurrection framework. He declares that “all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment” (NASB1995). Overcomers share in the resurrection of life; those who remain outside that category face a resurrection in which judgment and sorting take place.

Yom Teruah and the Last Trumpet

The connection between Yom Teruah and resurrection comes into focus through passages that mention a trumpet. Paul writes that believers “will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52, NASB1995). The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and the living faithful will experience transformation.

First Thessalonians 4:13–17 adds further detail. Believers are told not to grieve “as do the rest who have no hope” (v. 13). Yeshua died and rose again, and “God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus” (v. 14, NASB1995). The Lord will descend from heaven “with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God,” the dead in Messiah will rise first, and then the living faithful will be “caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (vv. 16–17, NASB1995).

Some traditions use this passage to support a heavenly millennium, where believers remain in heaven for a thousand years while the earth lies desolate. The report contrasts that reading with multiple prophetic texts, such as Zechariah 14, which depict the Messiah’s reign on earth, centered in Jerusalem. Meeting the Lord “in the air” functions as a reception of a returning King, similar to ancient customs in which citizens went out to greet a conquering ruler and accompany him back to the city.

Revelation 20 and the Two Resurrections

Revelation 20 provides crucial structure to the resurrection timeline. John sees thrones and souls of those “who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God.” These have not worshiped the beast or received its mark. “They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4, NASB1995). This scene describes the first resurrection and the millennial reign.

The text then states, “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed” (Revelation 20:5, NASB1995). Verse 6 declares, “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power” (NASB1995). These reign with Messiah for the thousand years as priests and kings.

After the thousand years, Satan is released “for a short time” (Revelation 20:3, 7, NASB1995). A final rebellion occurs, then God judges and destroys the opposition. Following that, a great white throne appears, and “the dead, the great and the small” stand before God (Revelation 20:11–12, NASB1995). Books open, including “the book of life,” and the dead are judged “from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds” (v. 12, NASB1995).

This sequence makes room for a second resurrection in which those who never understood Yeshua’s work, or had no meaningful chance to respond, can finally encounter God’s plan. The justice of God thus encompasses all humanity, not only those who lived within reach of biblical teaching or gospel preaching.

Justice, Inclusion, and God’s Character

This multi-stage resurrection framework addresses the moral problem raised by strict exclusivist soteriology. Millions lived and died without hearing the name of Yeshua. Others saw distorted versions of the faith. If their eternal fate hinged on information they never received, God’s justice would seem compromised.

A staged resurrection pattern preserves two truths. First, salvation comes only through the work of Messiah and the grace of God. Second, God applies that grace in a way consistent with His justice and compassion. Those who knowingly reject light face judgment. Those who never received genuine light receive their opportunity in the second resurrection.

At the same time, Scripture maintains a special blessing for those who respond now. Sharing in the first resurrection includes unique privilege: reigning with Messiah during the millennium and being exempt from the second death (Revelation 20:6). This role carries responsibility as well as honor.

The Kingdom, the Millennium, and the Eighth Day

The kingdom under Messiah does not remain a purely heavenly reality. Daniel 7:27 declares, “Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One” (NASB1995). Their kingdom is everlasting, and “all the dominions will serve and obey them.” Believers participate with Messiah in governing the nations, implementing justice, and teaching Torah from Zion (see also Isaiah 2:2–4; Micah 4:1–3).

During the thousand years, the world experiences restored order, peace, and righteousness. Yet human freedom remains real, as evidenced by the later deception when Satan is briefly released. After that final crisis, God brings history into its consummation. Many teachers connect this final stage with the eighth day festival (Shemini Atzeret), symbolizing new creation beyond the millennium.

Yom Teruah as a Call to Wakefulness

In this framework, Yom Teruah functions not only as a marker of future prophetic events but also as a present call. The shofar blast awakens the conscience. It announces that the age is unstable, that systems based on greed will fall, and that human promises of “change” cannot repair what is fundamentally broken.

Resurrection, therefore, becomes more than a doctrine about the future. It becomes a lens for daily life. If death is not the end, and if believers face present judgment leading to future reward, then priorities must shift. Material security loses its absolute hold. Spiritual faithfulness, Torah obedience, and alignment with Messiah’s character move to the foreground.

Life without resurrection leaves humanity “like the beasts that perish,” to borrow the language of Psalm 49:12, 20. Life with resurrection—anchored in Yeshua’s own rising and in the promised trumpet blast—frames suffering, injustice, and economic collapse within a larger story. Yom Teruah, with its urgent shofar call, invites that perspective and urges readiness for the day when “death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54, NASB1995).

Speaker: John Walsh.