The Day of Trumpets and mankind’s only path to peace
Almost a century ago, a brilliant scientist crossed a London street while thinking about a problem. Leo Szilard had been considering the possibility of releasing the enormous energy within the atom. British physicist Ernest Rutherford had dismissed the practical production of atomic energy as unrealistic. But as Szilard stepped into the street in September 1933, an answer came to him.
What if one neutron could strike an atom and release two more neutrons? Those neutrons could strike other atoms, which would release still more. The process could continue as a chain reaction.
Twelve years later, on July 16, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb was detonated in the New Mexico desert. Weeks afterward, atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The world had entered the nuclear age.
Consider that progression: from scientific curiosity to a weapon capable of destroying a city. Human beings had solved an extraordinarily difficult problem. But another and far greater problem remained: What would mankind do with that knowledge?
That question leads directly to the meaning of the Day of Trumpets and to one of the most important truths in all Bible prophecy: Jesus Christ must return. His return is not only the great hope of mankind. It is an absolute necessity for human survival.
Knowledge Without the Way to Peace
Thousands of years before Szilard crossed that London street, God revealed to Daniel conditions that would prevail at the end of this age.
Daniel 12:1 “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time.”
A few verses later, Daniel was told to seal the book until the time of the end, when “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (verse 4).
Knowledge certainly has increased. Automobiles and airplanes transformed transportation. Radio, television and the internet transformed communication. Medical science conquered diseases that had killed millions. Human beings harnessed nuclear energy, walked on the moon and developed computers of astonishing power. Today we work with artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, satellites, drones and precision weapons.
But Daniel did not say increasing knowledge would produce increasing wisdom, improving character or lasting peace. In fact, the surrounding prophecy tells us the opposite. The explosion of knowledge occurs during the same general period in which humanity experiences unparalleled trouble.
Matthew 24:21-22 “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved.”
For most of history, mankind did not possess the power to make those words a reality. Great empires could conquer nations and destroy cities, but none could threaten all human life. Then knowledge increased. Our ability to do things advanced much faster than our understanding of what we ought to do.
Isaiah 59:8 “The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their ways.”
We can communicate instantly across the world, yet we cannot make peace. We can calculate with extraordinary speed, yet we cannot govern human desires. We can split the atom, yet we cannot remove hatred, pride, fear, ambition and the desire for power from the human heart.
Jeremiah explains why: “O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). Mankind does not lack intelligence. What we lack, apart from God, is the spiritual knowledge and character necessary to direct that intelligence toward lasting peace.
The Problem Is Within Man
James takes the enormous subject of war and traces it to its source. James 4:1 “Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?”
The problem is not the weapon; it is the human being who controls it. Nuclear weapons do not hate anyone. Missiles have no ambition. Drones do not covet territory. Technology magnifies the power of the person directing it, but it does not transform that person’s heart.
Elections, treaties and alliances may restrain conflict for a time, and responsible government is far better than tyranny. Yet no human government can remove selfishness from the heart or teach every nation the way of peace.
The Conflict Is Greater Than What We See
The Bible adds another dimension that political and military analysis cannot see.
Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Behind human leaders, armies and conflicts is a spirit world. Satan is not a passive observer. Scripture calls him the “prince of the power of the air” who works in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2), and the one who “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).
Daniel 10 pulls back the curtain. The angel described conflict with the “prince of Persia” and the coming “prince of Greece,” while Michael stood watch over Daniel’s people. Human kingdoms were visible, but spiritual forces were operating behind them.
This keeps us from identifying any nation or people as the ultimate enemy. The struggle is greater than flesh and blood. As mankind acquires more destructive power, Satan has greater opportunity to influence deceived human beings toward the destruction Christ foretold.
Trumpets Pictures Christ Taking Control
The Day of Trumpets pictures the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings, the resurrection of the saints and the establishment of God’s government over the nations.
Revelation 11:15 “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’”
Jesus Christ does not return because mankind has finally learned how to govern itself. He returns because mankind has reached the point where it can no longer safely govern itself. He will intervene before humanity erases itself from the earth.
Trumpets is followed ten days later by the Day of Atonement, which pictures Satan’s removal. Those events belong together. Christ takes control of the nations, and the deceiver who has influenced this world is restrained. Then mankind can finally be taught what it has never discovered on its own.
Isaiah 2:3-4 “He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths…. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Daniel described a world in which knowledge would increase while humanity approached destruction. Isaiah describes the world Christ will establish: “For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). That is the knowledge mankind has been missing.
The Day of Trumpets should affect where we place our confidence. Christians pray for those in authority, obey the law, do good and seek peace. But we must never confuse political improvement with the Kingdom of God. No leader can change human nature, break Satan’s influence or teach the world the way to peace.
Our hope is in Christ’s return. We prepare for His Kingdom by learning God’s way now—in our homes, in the Church, in the way we settle differences and treat one another.
Mankind has accomplished astonishing things. We split the atom, crossed oceans and reached beyond the earth. But we never learned the way to peace. Christ must return to save mankind from itself and teach all nations the way to peace.
Editor’s Note: The Day of Trumpets is a Christian Holy Day observed September 12, 2026
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