The Last Trumpet
by: Dr. 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 Christians Will
Go Through The Tribulation. [1] Judging from the title, I thought it would be a
biblical treatise providing through 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 he 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 posttribulationists 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
midtribulationists 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!
References
[1]
Jim McKeever 1978 Christians Will Go Through The Tribulation: And how to
prepare for it; Medford, (Medford, OR: Omega Publications, 1978).
[2]
McKeever, op cit pp. 45-46.
[3]
McKeever, op cit 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: Loizeau
Brothers, 1941), p. 56.
[6]
J. Dwight Pentecost, Things To Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1958), pp. 189-91.