Last year I wrote a 4-part blog on
the harvest feast of Pentecost, which in 2014 is June 3rd on the Jewish
Calendar, and Sunday June 8th on the Christian calendar. I will not post
all four blogs again, but instead will put links to all four below. It is quite
an in-depth study, enough so that I re-read the entire four posts myself. But
first ....
The Trump
of God at the Rapture is Not the 7th Angel's Trumpet
This is a good time
to clear up the confusion of the last trumpet. By the way, I have found more
than one site of the "dark side" which look like they were set up for the purpose of
defending the 7th angel's trumpet and other prophecy errors (IMO). This is exactly how they twist the Bible to confuse
Christians. While the demonic side studies the scriptures more than most
Christians, in order to thwart God's plans, what they can never get through
their heads is that God's Word reveals itself only to His people.
This is a general principle of the Bible. Many mysteries were kept hidden from
Satan the first time around, and the same is true for these end times. There
are certain things they will never understand. In fact, I highly suspect
them of going to Christian sites for more enlightenment (good luck with that)!
6 “Howbeit we
speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world,
nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God
in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto
our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of
this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord
of glory.”
I Cor 2:6-8
There are many articles on this subject. I decided to
use this one:
The Last
Trumpet
by Thomas
Ice
Behold, I tell 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 trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we shall be changed.
- 1 Corinthians 15:51- 52
It is not unusual for some posttribulationists to
think that they have fired a silver bullet which they believe destroys the
possibility of the pretribulational rapture teaching. That shot is usually
thought to be in the form of the argument relating to " the last
trumpet" as found in 1 Corinthians 15:52. Even though some think they have
found a slick and simple solution to the timing of the rapture, they fail to
realize that the New Testament teaching concerning this issue is more
sophisticated than that.
Scripture Or A Survival Guide?
I recall years ago meeting and talking with the late
Jim McKeever at a Christian Book Sellers convention in the early 90s. He made
the " last trumpet" argument to me at that time. Later I read his
book entitled Christian Will Go Through The Tribulation.[1] Judging from the
title, I thought it would be a biblical treatise providing thorough reasoning to
support the book' s title. It was any thing but that! He basically presented a
single argument, (the last trumpet argument), in just a few pages and drew the following
conclusion:
If a Christian will put out of his mind all of his
preconceived ideas about a Rapture occurring at the beginning of the
Tribulation, and will look objectively at what the Scriptures have to say, I
believe he will conclude that the Rapture will occur at the end of the
Tribulation. 1 Corinthians 15 tells us that we will be changed in the twinkling
of an eye, and that the dead will be raised at the " last trumpet."
In Revelation, at the LAST trumpet we see the beginning of Christ' s reign and
the FIRST resurrection. Nothing could be simpler. There are no complications,
if you accept the fact that the Rapture occurs at the end of the
Tribulation.[2]
First of all, I arrived at my pretribulational beliefs
through the study of the Bible, thus, I am not going just put them out of my
mind when I am challenged to examine the beliefs of others. I doubt the Bereans
put their understanding of the Bible out of their minds when " they
received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see
whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). So we are to do just the
opposite of what McKeever and others like him when they suggest that we
approach any issue with an open mind. I do not want to be open-minded when
examining issues, I want to be biblically-minded.
Second, we should not use a reductionist approach to
Scripture, as McKeever suggests, when an issue involves a degree of
sophistication. Such an approach is often used by opponents of the Trinity and
the hypostatic union of Christ. If one applies a reductionist approach to
Scripture in relation to the Trinity and the hypostatic union, it would only
lead to heretical conclusions.
Third, McKeever frontloads his own approach to the
matter by taking the phrase " last trumpet" and equating it with the
seventh trumpet in Revelation (11:15- 19). (This is an erroneous assumption
that I will deal with later.) McKeever says, " A significant thing is that
verse 52 tells us WHEN all of this will occur, and this " at the LAST
trumpet. . . . It would then seem reasonable to turn to the book of Revelation
to find out something about this ' last' trumpet." [3]
Other than a fraction of this single chapter, which
very weakly argues for his " last trumpet" view, the rest of the book
(17 chapters and about 350 pages) is a survival guide on how to make it alive
through the tribulation. It just so happens that McKeever was a key player in
the survivalist movement and he provides great detail, something lacking concerning
His biblical arguments for posttribulationism, for how to prepare to survive
the tribulation. I have often thought that if one really believes in
posttribulationism, then, logically it should lead to survival preparation that
would aid the church in going through the tribulation. I am sure that there are
a few posttribulationists who have made some preparation, but such preparation
appears to be generally lacking with those who hold this view.
Biblical Trumpets
Paul does teach in 1 Corinthians 15:52 that the
rapture will take place at the last trumpet. Do posttribulationist like
McKeever have a point or is there a better explanation that takes into account
the whole counsel of God on this matter? How does Paul' s last trumpet
statement harmonize with pretribulationism?
Throughout the Bible there are a number of trumpets
being blown. For example in Numbers 10 there are trumpets being used in order
to give commands to the people of Israel. For example, a trumpet is used to
assemble the people for their journey and another trumpet that signals the
start of their journey. There were trumpet sounds that would tell the people to
stop and another sound telling them to assemble. Depending upon whether the
people were moving are getting ready to move, the last trumpet would signal
them to move or if moving, a second last trumpet sound would tell them when to
stop. So even in this context, for example, there are multiple " last
trumpets."
Trumpets in Revelation
Some midtribulationist and posttribulationists attempt
to equate the " last trumpet" in 1 Corinthians 15:52 with the seventh
trumpet in Revelation 11:15- 18. Revelation 11:15, does not say specifically
" last trumpet." Instead, the Revelation passage says " the seventh
angel sounded." The seventh trumpet is the seventh in a series of
judgments. The seventh trumpet is the last in a series of trumpet judgments but
it is not the last judgment in the series, seven more judgments (bowls) follow.
The " last trumpet" of 1 Corinthians 15:52
is singular, referring to one judgment, not a sequence of seven. Ellicott
notes, " There are no sufficient grounds for supposing that there is here
any reference to the seventh Apocalyptic trumpet (Rev. xi. 15), or to the
seventh and last trumpet." [4]
Henry Thiessen agrees:
If he had thought of this trumpet as one of seven, he
would undoubtedly have said something like the following: " For when the
trumpets will be sounded and the time comes for the last one to sound, the dead
in Christ shall be raised." At any rate, there is no ground for
identifying the " trump" in 1 Cor. 15:52 with the seventh trumpet in
Rev. 11:15. Those in the Revelation introduce fearful judgments upon the world
and mankind; this one calls the dead in Christ out of their graves and summons
both the ones raised and the believers still living into the Lord' s
presence.[5]
If the seventh trumpet in Revelation and the last
trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:52 are supposed to be a reference to the same
thing, then why are there many more months of judgment that follow the supposed
last trumpet in Revelation 11. The view that equates the last trumpet in 1
Corinthians 15:52 with the seventh trumpet of Revelation does not harmonize in
any way.
1 Corinthians 15:52
The context of 1 Corinthians 15:52 is very different
than the context of Revelation 11:15. 1 Corinthians 15:52 better harmonizes
with 1 Thessalonians 4:16, which says, " For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet
of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first." Both passages speak of
the rapture, and judgment is absent from both. The trumpet in both are the last
or final command that the Lord gives to the church, resulting in the translation
of all Believers. Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost cites the following reasons as to why
the " last trumpet" in 1 Corinthians 15:52 is different from any of
the trumpet judgments in Revelation.
There seem to be a number of observations which make
it impossible for one to identify these two trumps. (1) The trumpet of 1
Corinthians 15:52, . . . sounds before the wrath of God descends, while, . . .
the chronology or Revelation indicates that the trumpet in Revelation 11:15
sounds at the end of the time of wrath. . . . (2) The trumpet that summons the
church is called the trump of God, while the seventh trump is an angel' s
trumpet. . . . (3) The trumpet for the church is singular. No trumpets have
preceded it so that it can not be said to be the last of a series. The trumpet
that closes the tribulation period is clearly the last of a series of seven.
(4) In 1 Thessalonians 4 the voice associated with the sounding of the trumpet
summons the dead and the living and consequently is heard before the
resurrection. In the Revelation, while a resurrection is mentioned (11:12), the
trumpet does not sound until after the resurrection, showing us that two
different events must be in view. (5) The trumpet in 1 Thessalonians issues in
blessing, in life, in glory, while the trumpet in Revelation issues in judgment
upon the enemies of God. (6) In the Thessalonian passage the trumpet sounds
" in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." In Revelation 10:7 the
indication is that the seventh trumpet shall sound over a continued period of
time, probably for the duration of the judgments that fall under it, for John
speaks of the angel that shall " begin to sound." . . . (7) The
trumpet in 1 Thessalonians is distinctly for the church. Since God is dealing
with Israel in particular, and Gentiles in general, in the tribulation, this
seventh trumpet, which falls in the period of the tribulation, could not have
reference to the church without losing the distinctions between the church and
Israel. (8) The passage in Revelation depicts a great earthquake in which
thousands are slain, and the believing remnant that worships God is stricken
with fear. In the Thessalonian passage there is no earth quake mentioned. . . .
(9) While the church will be rewarded at the time of the rapture, yet the
reward given to " thy servants the prophets, and to the saints" can
not be that event. The rewarding mentioned in Revelation 11:18 is seen to take
place on the earth after the second advent of Christ, following the judgment on
His enemies. Since the church is rewarded in the air, following the rapture,
these must be two distinct events.[6]
Conclusion
The last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:52 is the final
command that Christ provides for His church when He sends the signal to gather us
together for the meeting in the sky that we know as the rapture. The contexts
of 1 Corinthians 15:52 and that of Revelation 11 are totally different from one
another. About the only similarity between the two is that the word "trumpet" is used in both. (Actually the word " trumpet" is not
even used in Revelation 11:15- 19. The text actually says, " the seventh
angel sounded" (11:15), clearly implying that a trumpet is sounded as
noted in Revelation 8:2). The respective contexts are totally different. In 1
Corinthians 15:52, there is the context of things related to the church age,
while Revelation 11 speaks of judgment during the tribulation. No such silver
bullet argument exists for posttribulationism since I believe that it is clear
that the New Testament does not teach such a view. Maranatha!
[2] McKeever, Christian Will Go, pp. 45- 46.
[3] McKeever, Christian Will Go, p. 36.
[4] Charles J. Ellicott, St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians: With a Critical and Grammatical Commentary (Minneapolis: The James Family Christian Publishers, [1887]), p. 325.
[5] Henry C. Thiessen, Will the Church Pass Through the Tribulation? (New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1941), p. 56.
[6] J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958), pp. 189- 91.
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