If you have attended a charismatic church service, an intercessory prayer gathering, or a Christian Zionist event in recent years, you may have heard a sound that stops you in your tracks — a raw, ancient, haunting blast unlike any modern instrument.
That sound is the shofar. Once the exclusive domain of Jewish worship and tradition, the shofar is now being blown in churches, prayer houses and worship centres across the United Kingdom and Europe.
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But why? What is it about this ancient ram’s horn that is drawing so many Christians to pick it up?
In this guide, we explore the biblical roots of the shofar in Christianity, why Christians are using it today, and how you can incorporate it into your own worship life.
What Is the Shofar? A Quick Overview
The shofar is one of the world’s oldest musical instruments. Made from the hollowed-out horn of a kosher animal — most commonly a ram or a kudu antelope — it has been sounded for thousands of years across the ancient Near East and in Jewish tradition.
The Bible mentions the shofar more than 70 times, making it the most referenced instrument in all of Scripture.
In Jewish practice, the shofar is blown throughout the month of Elul (August–September), on Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), and at the close of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).
But long before it became associated primarily with the High Holidays, the shofar served many purposes — as a call to war, a signal of peace, a summons to worship, and a proclamation of God’s presence.
Today, that same ancient instrument is finding a powerful new expression in Christian worship across the UK and beyond.
The Biblical Roots: The Shofar in the Old Testament
To understand why Christians are drawn to the shofar, you must first understand its deep biblical significance. Far from being a peripheral instrument, the shofar sits at the very centre of some of the most dramatic and spiritually significant moments in the entire Bible.
The Shofar as a Weapon of War: The Walls of Jericho
Perhaps the most famous account of the shofar in Scripture is found in Joshua 6, where the Israelites march around the city of Jericho for seven days.
On the seventh day, seven priests blow their shofars — and at the climax of that final blast, the walls of the city crumble to the ground.
The victory belongs not to swords or armies, but to the sound of the horn and the obedience of God’s people.
This passage has become one of the most powerful biblical anchors for Christians who use the shofar in spiritual warfare and intercessory prayer.
The idea that a sound — breathed through an animal horn in faith — can bring down spiritual strongholds resonates deeply with many believers in the UK and across the world.
The Shofar as a Call to Repentance
The prophet Isaiah issues a striking command in Isaiah 58:1 (NIV): “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet.” The Hebrew word behind “trumpet” here is shofar. Similarly, in Hosea 8:1, God instructs the prophet to put the shofar to his lips and declare the people’s rebellion.
For many Christians, blowing the shofar in prayer is an act of prophetic declaration — a call for hearts to turn back to God. Its piercing, unpolished sound is said to bypass the rational mind and strike directly at the spirit.
The Shofar as a Call to Gather
Numbers 10:3 instructs that when the shofar is blown, the whole assembly is to gather before the entrance of the tent of meeting. Joel 2:15 echoes this:
“Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.” The shofar, in this context, is not just a religious instrument — it is a summons. It calls people together in the presence of God.
Does the New Testament Mention the Shofar?
This is one of the most common questions Christians ask — and it deserves a direct answer.
The New Testament was written in Greek, and the Greek word used for a trumpet or horn is salpigx. While the word “shofar” itself does not appear in the New Testament, there are several powerful references to the sound of a trumpet that many Christians and theologians connect directly to the shofar of the Hebrew tradition:
- 1 Thessalonians 4:16 — “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God.”
- Matthew 24:31 — “And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:52 — “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable.”
- Revelation 8–11 — Seven angels blow seven trumpets, each unleashing a dramatic event in the end times.
The shofar is not commanded in the New Testament for Christian practice — but it is not forbidden either. What is clear is that the imagery of the trumpet blast runs like a golden thread from Genesis to Revelation, connecting the people of God across every age.
Why Are Christians Using the Shofar Today?
The use of the shofar among Christians has grown significantly over the past three to four decades — particularly in charismatic, evangelical, and Messianic circles.
Here are the five primary reasons Christians across the UK and Europe are drawn to this ancient instrument.
1. Spiritual Warfare and Intercession
For many charismatic and Pentecostal Christians, the shofar is first and foremost a weapon of spiritual warfare. Drawing on the account of Jericho and Gideon’s army (Judges 7), believers use the shofar blast to declare God’s authority over a situation, a city, or a nation.
It is not the instrument itself that carries power — rather, it is the faith and intentionality of the one blowing it that matters. Many intercessors in the UK pray with a shofar as a prophetic act, believing that just as the walls of Jericho fell at its sound, spiritual barriers can be broken in the same way.
2. Connecting with the Hebrew Roots of Faith
Since the rise of the Messianic movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s, many Christians have grown deeply interested in recovering the Jewish roots of their faith. Jesus (Yeshua) was Jewish.
His disciples were Jewish. The early church worshipped in a thoroughly Hebraic context. For believers who want to reconnect with that heritage, the shofar is a powerful symbol — an instrument that Jesus himself would have heard blown in the Temple courts and synagogues of first-century Israel.
3. Worship and Spiritual Awakening
The shofar’s raw, unfiltered sound is unlike any modern instrument. It cannot be auto-tuned, over-produced, or made comfortable. For many Christians, that rawness is exactly the point.
Just as the shofar is hollow and only makes sound when breath is blown through it, the believer is seen as an empty vessel — only truly alive and purposeful when filled with the breath (or Spirit) of God.
Many UK churches use the shofar at the opening of a worship service to signal a shift in the spiritual atmosphere and call the congregation’s hearts to attention.
4. End Times and Prophetic Significance
The shofar holds powerful eschatological significance for many Christians — particularly those with an interest in biblical prophecy and the end times.
The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) is widely seen in prophetic Christian circles as a foreshadowing of the Second Coming of Jesus, when — as 1 Thessalonians 4:16 declares — the Lord will descend with the trumpet call of God. Blowing the shofar is, for these believers, a prophetic act of anticipation: a declaration that the King is coming.
5. Solidarity with Israel and the Jewish People
Many Christians — particularly those involved in Christian Zionist movements or pro-Israel organisations — use the shofar as a visible and audible expression of their love for Israel and the Jewish people.
By incorporating the shofar into worship, they are honouring the Jewish roots of their faith and standing in solidarity with the nation from which the Messiah came.
This has become increasingly common in the UK through organisations that seek to build bridges between the church and the Jewish community.
Is It Appropriate for Christians to Blow the Shofar?
This is a fair and important question — and one that deserves an honest answer. Theological opinion is genuinely divided. How to blow a shofar.
Those who encourage Christians to use the shofar argue that the instrument is not a distinctly Jewish religious object in the way that a Menorah or Torah scroll would be, but rather a biblical instrument that belongs to the whole heritage of Scripture.
They point to the fact that the New Testament does not forbid its use, and that its symbolism — repentance, spiritual warfare, the Second Coming — is entirely consistent with Christian theology.
On the other hand, some theologians — including writers at Christianity Today — caution that Gentile Christians adopting Jewish ritual practices can stray into a kind of cultural appropriation, particularly if it is done without a genuine understanding of the shofar’s meaning in its original Jewish context.
They argue that the New Testament is clear that Gentile believers are not required to observe the Torah’s ritual laws, and that care should be taken not to treat such practices as spiritually superior to other forms of worship.
This is a conversation worth having with thoughtfulness and humility. What most agree on is this: if the shofar is used with genuine understanding, sincere faith, and a spirit of reverence — not as a novelty or a trend — it can be a meaningful addition to Christian worship.
How to Use a Shofar in Christian Worship
If you are considering introducing a shofar into your church, prayer group or personal devotional life, here are some practical ways Christians use it:
Opening worship — A single tekiah (long blast) at the start of a service signals the beginning of a sacred gathering and calls hearts to attention.
Intercessory prayer — Shofar blasts are used to punctuate declarations of faith during intercession, particularly when praying for a city, nation or specific spiritual breakthrough.
Spiritual warfare — Some churches use the shofar during moments of corporate declaration, praying in the pattern of Jericho — marching, declaring, and sounding the horn.
Prophetic acts — The shofar is used in some charismatic contexts as a prophetic instrument, blown at moments of specific spiritual significance during a service.
Personal devotion — Many individual believers blow the shofar in their private prayer time as a way of beginning their devotional session and declaring God’s lordship over their day.
Before using the shofar in a public worship setting, it is worth learning the basic sounds — the tekiah (long blast), shevarim (three broken blasts) and teruah (nine staccato blasts) — so that its use is purposeful and informed.
What Type of Shofar Should Christians Buy?
If you are ready to purchase a shofar for Christian worship, here is a brief guide to help you choose the right one.
Ram’s Horn Shofar — The most traditional and widely used shofar. Smaller in size, it produces a warm, baritone sound and is the type most commonly associated with biblical imagery. Ideal for personal devotion and smaller prayer groups.
Kudu Shofar (Yemenite) — The large, dramatically curved kudu shofar produces a deep, resonant, far-carrying sound. It is visually striking and acoustically powerful — ideal for use in larger church settings, worship events and conferences.
Polished vs Natural — A polished shofar has a smooth, clean finish and is slightly easier to maintain. A natural shofar retains the original texture of the horn, giving it an authentic, rugged appearance that many believers prefer. Half-and-half finishes are also available.
Size — Shofars are measured along the outer curve. For personal use, a small to medium shofar (30–45cm) is perfectly suitable. For a large church sanctuary or outdoor event, a large kudu shofar (60cm+) will project far more effectively.
At Shofar Kings, we stock a carefully selected range of authentic, kosher-certified ram’s horn and kudu shofars, all delivered across the UK and Europe.
Each shofar is chosen for quality of sound, craftsmanship and authenticity — so you can be confident that what you are blowing carries the weight of a genuine tradition.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Christians blow the shofar?
Yes — while the shofar is not commanded in the New Testament, it is not forbidden either. Many Christians across the UK and worldwide use it in worship, intercession and spiritual warfare, drawing on its rich Old Testament symbolism and prophetic significance.
What does the shofar mean in Christianity?
For Christians, the shofar represents a call to repentance, a weapon of spiritual warfare, a connection to the Hebrew roots of faith, and a prophetic symbol of the Second Coming of Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Its hollow nature is also seen as a symbol of the believer being filled with the Spirit of God.
Is the shofar mentioned in the New Testament?
The New Testament references a trumpet (Greek: salpigx) multiple times — in Matthew 24:31, 1 Corinthians 15:52, and throughout Revelation. Many Christians believe this refers to the shofar of the Hebrew tradition, particularly in the context of the Second Coming and the end times.
Why do charismatic Christians use the shofar?
Charismatic and Pentecostal Christians often use the shofar as an instrument of spiritual warfare and prophetic worship, drawing on the biblical account of the Battle of Jericho (Joshua 6), where the shofar’s blast brought down the walls of the city, and Gideon’s victory (Judges 7).
Where can I buy a shofar for Christian worship in the UK?
Shofar Kings is the UK’s specialist shofar retailer, offering a range of authentic ram’s horn and kudu shofars with fast UK delivery — perfect for churches, prayer groups, intercessors and personal worship. We also ship across Europe.
Ready to Add the Shofar to Your Worship?
The shofar is more than an instrument. It is a declaration. Whether you are an intercessor looking for a new dimension in prayer, a worship leader wanting to call your congregation into the presence of God, or a believer drawn to the ancient sounds of Scripture — the shofar can be a transformative addition to your spiritual life.
At Shofar Kings, we are passionate about connecting believers across the UK and Europe with authentic, high-quality shofars.
Every shofar we stock is carefully selected for sound quality, craftsmanship and authenticity — because when you blow the shofar, it matters that you are blowing the real thing.
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