The Last Trumpet
by Jamma Mokhriby
There are 4 basic views of the timing of the removal of the Church
from the earth. We also shared why this event described in I Thessalonians
4:14-18 and I Corinthians 15:48-55 is commonly referred to by believers as the
"Rapture."
Some believe the Rapture will take place at the end of the age before the start
of the final 7 year Tribulation Period prophesied of in Daniel 9:27.
Believers who hold to this view are known as Pre-Tribulationists.
There are others who believe the Rapture will happen at some time during the
Tribulation Period. These believers hold to positions called Mid-Trib or else
Pre-Wrath.
Then lastly is the view that the catching up of believers will not take place
until the close of the Tribulation as Christ is descending to the earth to
destroy the wicked. This is known as Post-Trib.
Until proven otherwise by the Church entering the final 7 year Tribulation
Period, we believe it is scriptural to devote our faith to the biblical
instruction of expectancy inherent in the Pre-Trib position. To ignore the
significant corroboration the Scriptures present for this teaching on the
immanency of this Blessed Hope is unwise in our opinion. Placing the timing of
the Rapture later casts an unwarranted shadow of fear regarding the Lord's plan
for His Church during the approaching time of terrible tribulation and Wrath.
One commonly used argument raised against the Pre-Trib position originates from
the Rapture Scripture found in I Cor. 15:52. The Scripture reads, "In a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet shall sound and
the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
Opponents to the Pre-Trib teaching maintain that this "last trump" must be the
same one that the 7th Angel blows during the latter part of the Tribulation
Period which is recorded in Revelation 10:7 since this is the last trumpet
mentioned being blown in the Book of Revelation.
Pre-Trib opponents find themselves at odds with Scripture on this point when
faced with the fact that the "angelic" 7th trumpet of Rev. 10:7 is not the last
biblically recorded supernatural trumpet to ever be blown.
Isaiah 27:13 describes what will take place after Jesus Christ has returned to
the earth. The time frame presented is after the Tribulation has concluded and
Christ has begun His Millennial Reign. It is during this time that a
supernatural trumpet will be heard throughout the lands.
Quoting we read, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet
shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of
Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in
the Holy Mount at Jerusalem."
This Scripture, along with Zechariah 9:14, which tells of the Lord blowing
another trumpet at His return, provide substantial clarification regarding the
timing of the Rapture.
First it verifies that the Last Trumpet spoken of at the
Rapture in I Thess. 4:16 is a uniquely appointed trumpet designated for the end
of the Church age and thoroughly refutes the Mid-Trib assertions that there are
no other trumpets blown after the angelic tribulation trumpet of Rev. 10:7.
This is conclusive by the trumpets of Zechariah 9 and Isaiah 27 being blown at
the very close and then again after the Tribulation - thus after the angelic 7th
trumpet of Rev. 10:7
The angelic trump of Rev. 10:7 only presents the last in a series of seven blown
trumpets. Revelation 11:15 reveals that this trumpet announces the day when
Jesus will begin His reign and will lay His claim to the earth.
Without animosity for fellow believers in Christ who adhere to Post-Trib Rapture
teachings, Isa. 27:13 and Zech. 9:14 also greatly narrows the field of debate as
to the timing of the Rapture by eliminating the Post-Trib position entirely.
This is shown by the Isa. 27:13 statement about the people who "were ready to
perish." The mention of the fact that these people were about to perish verifies
that they will be mortals.
The central question of importance is, "Who are these surviving mortals?"
According to Post-Trib adherents, when Jesus Christ returns with His saints (see
Rev. 19:4 & Jude verses 14-15) the Church will have been caught up only moments
earlier to join the Lord for warfare as He is descending from Heaven to do
battle at Armageddon.
Their belief is that there is no time allowance for any communion or celebration
between the Church and the Lord, but instead are abruptly changed into glorious,
celestial beings in order to partake in the bloodiest war in history. For a
brief moment the Lord's trumpet blast prophesied of in Zech. 9:14 might appear
to support this scenario.
Here the problem arises with the unknown mortals of Isa. 27:12-13. We know
already by Isaiah that these mortals who were ready to perish are believers in
the Lord because they are going up to Jerusalem during the millennium to worship
Him.
So our first significant revelation from Scripture is that these people shown
living during the earthly rule of Christ are mortal believers, who for some
reason were not caught up to meet Christ and glorified with immortal bodies at
His coming as Post-Trib theology requires.
Secondly, if these people had been unbelievers at Christ's coming with His
Saints, according to Rev. 13:7-8 they would have had to be destroyed as
followers of the Anti-Christ.
Speaking of this man of sin and his followers we read, "And it was given unto
him to make war with the [tribulation] saints, and to overcome them: and power
was given him over all kindred's, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell
upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of the
lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
Revelation 19:20-21 states without reservation that the Anti-Christ and all his
followers are destroyed at Christ's coming. John 3:18 makes this deadly fate of
unbelievers at Christ's coming quite plain.
The conclusion is logical and inescapable. Since there are
mortal believers left alive during Christ's reign who were not glorified at
Christ's coming they cannot be members of the entity known as the Church. Thus
no Rapture of the Church will be taking place at the close of the Tribulation
Period.
The saint-filled Church which is seen returning with Christ at His coming at
Armageddon in Rev. 19 could only have been raptured some time earlier then the
Post-Trib teaching proposes.
As to who the mortal Millennium believers are who were about to perish, they can
only be those who became believers after the Rapture took place.
These are the Tribulation saints who had to survive the murderous pursuit of the
Anti-Christ described in Rev. 13:7. They will be permitted to live on in
Christ's kingdom alongside the resurrected Old Testament saints who were
promised an earthly inheritance.
The simple reason why they were not raptured and glorified at Christ's coming is
because the Rapture had to have already taken place prior to that time. These
are the surviving and resurrected believers who will repopulate the planet under
Christ's ruler ship as is revealed to us in such passages as Zechariah 8:3-5 and
Daniel 12:9 & 13.
Additional scriptural proof for this prophetic picture is conclusive. The
initial gathering together of all the wicked for destruction at Christ's coming
with His Saints can be verified by the scriptural passages found in Matthew
13:30,38-42 & 49-50 & 24:38-41.
Then the subsequent preserving and gathering together of the remaining mortal
believers with a trumpet after His return is shown in Matt. 24:22 & 29-30.
It is a worthwhile endeavour for prophecy students to more thoroughly explore
Zechariah 9:14 where we are told of the one other time than I Corinthians 15:22
when God will blow His trumpet.
As we have shared, the time of this trumpet blast is at the close of the Great
Tribulation. Chapters 9 & 10 of Zech., when read in full context, abundantly
refutes any notion that this is the trumpet blast heralding the Rapture since
believers are not changed into glorified beings, but are instead anointed upon
the earth as great warriors. They do not return with the Lord from Heaven, but
are aided from Heaven.
We are shown that these are mortal believers who, after the Lord returns, will
thrive as mortals in the land of Israel. Zechariah 10:8-10 further reveals that
these are the same mortals who in Isa. 27:13 were about to perish in the lands
of Assyria and Egypt.
The passage in Zech. 9:14 prophesies that the day of this trumpet blast is the
same day of the Lord's return. If at any point in history there could possibly
be a Post-Trib Rapture of the living this surely should have been it, but there
is none!
The unbelievers are gathered and destroyed at this time while the believers
remain mortals on the earth to fight, conquer, regather, thrive and reproduce.
The glorious last trumpet of I Cor. 15:52, when the Church is Raptured, had to
have taken place at some point earlier. If not, then it would be impossible to
find any mortals left to repopulate the millennial earth; everyone would have
been immortalized or destroyed when Christ returned at Armageddon.
Revelation 11:15 & 12:10 reveal that the trumpet blast of Rev. 10:;7 declares
the end of Satan's position of authority over the earth from his previous
position in the heavens, not the Rapture of the Church.
In conclusion, the Scriptures offer no support in any
manner to the teaching that the trumpets of the 7th "Angel" in Rev. 10:7 is the
same as the trumpet of "God" blown at the Rapture in I Thess. 4 & I Cor. 15.
It is straight forwardly presented as the last of 7 angelic trumpets blown in a
sequence as God releases His wrath upon a Christ-rejecting world. Scripture
reveals there have been and will be other heavenly trumpet blasts to signal the
end (or beginning) of other eventful occasions. The term "last trumpet" in no
way means the sound of a trumpet will never be heard again.
The only question which remains critical at this point is, are you ready for the
Last Trump which will signal the close of the Church Age and the glorification
and gathering together of the body of Christ?
Be sure right now by putting your faith in the Living Lord Jesus Christ who paid
the full penalty for the sins of the world by shedding His own precious blood on
the cross.
Trust in Him alone for your salvation can assure your receipt of His blessed
atonement, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will
rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with
the Lord" (I Thess. 4:16-17).
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The Last Trumpet
(...take 2)
by Ken Onweller
" Why the 'last' trumpet CANNOT be the 'seventh' "
Sometimes you make a little discovery that is so exciting you are just dying to
share it with everyone else. This little article is the presentation of such a
discovery. But before I can relay that, I need to set a little background.
THE CHURCH
"Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to
me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have
already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand
my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other
generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and
prophets". (Eph3:2-5)
Here Paul makes it clear that he and the other apostles
were treated to a special insight by revelation from God which simply is not
contained in the Old Testament.
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with
Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in
Christ Jesus. (Eph3:6)
Ok, so now this special revelation is clarified as the Church. In other words,
the Church (separate from Israel) is a new concept--not revealed in the Old
Testament--but made known to the Apostles.
THE RAPTURE
"Listen, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be
changed--in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed". (1Cor15:51-52)
Here Paul reveals the Rapture. And the word translated "mystery" is "musterion" in
the Greek and means something revealed that was not previously known. In other
words, the Rapture of the Church is another one of those things that was first
made known exclusively to Paul. For this reason, you won't find the Rapture of
the Church in the Old Testament either.
THE SEVENTH TRUMPET
But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the
mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the
prophets. (Rev10:7)
Ok, so the Rapture of the Church is at the last trumpet which coincides with the
Seventh Trumpet of Revelation. We now have the timing of the Rapture, then, to
be at the end of the Tribulation right as Christ is coming as King of kings and
Lord of lords. So sit tight and wait: you are going through the Tribulation
unless you die first. At least this is what Post-Trib proponents teach assuming
1Cor15:51 and Rev10:7 mean the same thing.
But notice the exact wording of Rev10:7, "...just as he announced to his
servants the prophets" This means Old Testament prophets! What have we learned
earlier? The Rapture of the Church is not in the Old Testament. Can Rev10:7 then
be talking about the Rapture of the Church? No Way! The mystery of Rev10:7 is
something yet to be revealed but it cannot be the Rapture of the Church.
HIS SERVANTS THE PROPHETS
But what about the "prophets" mentioned in Rev10:7? Couldn't they refer to Old
Testament prophets as well and therefore debunk this claim? Well, you must
remember that the identity and Rapture of the Christian Church were revealed to
Paul first.
Notice the words of Peter in his first sermon given within minutes of receiving
the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost:
Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which
God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
(Acts3:21)
Paul wasn't even converted yet so there is no way that Peter could be referring
to the Rapture of the Christian Church. Instead, Peter is saying that at the
Return of Christ everything predicted concerning Him in the Old Testament would
be fulfilled.
Rev10:7 is saying the exact same thing: at the Seventh Trumpet everything
predicted in the Old Testament concerning the Return of Jesus Christ would be
fulfilled. This has nothing to do with the Rapture of the Christian Church.
CONCLUSION
This information is very exciting and at least confirms something I have
personally believed for a very long time: the Church is not going to go through
the Tribulation. The Apostate church will definitely not be in the Rapture and
therefore be forced to endure the Tribulation, but the TRUE Church of
Jesus-loving, Jesus-obeying, and Bible- believing Christians will be yanked out
of here in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
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