Introduction: Is the last trump the last trump? When the apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, wrote to the Corinthian believers concerning the resurrection of the saints and the rapture of the Church, did he literally mean the last trump? Do you know why that is important? Here is why.
1. There are those today who deny that the rapture can happen before the tribulation because of that statement—“the last trump”! (1 Corinthians 15:51,52) – “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
Are they correct? Does the Bible teach that the rapture and the second coming of Jesus are two different events? You decide! Study the texts.
2. That begs the question, did God mean the very last trumpet at the end of time which is mentioned in Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 24:30,31) – “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Did you notice the words “angels with a great sound of a trumpet”? Why is this significant? Because there are those who claim that this passage, along with 1 Corinthians 15:51,52, are the same event—namely the rapture. Why is this Matthew 24:30,31 not the rapture even though it mentions the “trumpet sounding”?
The answer is because a careful study of both passages indicates several truths: The passage in 1 Corinthians 15 is a message to the Church; whereas, the message in Matthew 24 is to Israel, before the Church was established, which is found in Acts 2. Therefore, one would conclude that the rapture passage—“the trumpet sounding” in 1 Corinthians 15:51,52—can be compared with 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17, which clearly states the dead in Christ are going to be resurrected at the sound of the trump.
There is no mention of judgment in either one of those passages just mentioned. However, the passage in Matthew’s gospel describes judgment (Matthew 24:29–44). The obvious is that these are different events even though the trumpet will be blown at both.
3. Will there be other trumpets sounding after the rapture and tribulation? (Zechariah 14:16) – “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.”
Apparently, Zechariah’s prophecy is describing the events after the second coming of Jesus when the battle of Armageddon takes place. At the millennium, during the reign of Christ, trumpets will be sounding at the feast of Tabernacles. That means Paul’s writing to the Church of Corinth—“the last trumpet”—was not literally intended to mean the very last trumpet.
Instead, just as a soldier on guard duty hears the trumpet sounding, it means his watch is over! He gets to go home!! Do you get it?
Conclusion: When the trumpet sounds in the rapture, we as soldiers of the cross get to go home! Our watch and work on earth will be done!! Are you listening for the trumpet to sound?
Love y’all,
Dr. Randy Reese
