Greetings! Well, here we are. The time has finally come to talk about “the last trump!” According to 1^st Corinthians 15, it’s in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, we shall all be changed. It’s when the rapture takes place, right? But the big question is, when does the last trump happen? The Bible says no man can know the day or the hour when it takes place. There’s a lot to talk about this momentous event. Stay tuned!

THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

First in a Two-Part Series
By Karen Thompson

THE LAST TRUMP

The time of the resurrection of the dead (the rapture) is considered to be an unknown element. Eschatologists insist the Bible doesn’t tell us when the resurrection takes place. As soon as you even suggest that it does, they quote Matthew 24:36 to you: “No man will know the day or the hour.” It’s true the Bible doesn’t tell us the exact day or hour when the resurrection takes place, but it most certainly does point to a specific point in the timeline of events in Revelation.

In fact, First Corinthians chapter 15 provides us with a very big clue that tells us exactly when it takes place.

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 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 (1 Cor. 15:51–52 KJV).

It couldn’t be more clear, folks, the resurrection of the dead takes place at the sound of “the last trump.” Let’s investigate that clue and see where it takes us. The word trump, or trumpet, appears seven times in the book of Revelation. Since the resurrection takes place at the last trump, we should examine each of the verses where the word “trump” appears.

The first trumpet the apostle John heard was when he was on the isle called Patmos. He said he was “in the spirit” and heard a loud voice that sounded like a trumpet; it was the voice of the Lord telling him, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia” (Rev. 1:10–11 NKJV). It wasn’t an actual trumpet John heard, just the Lord’s voice sounding like a trumpet.

The second trumpet John heard was in Revelation chapter four; he saw an open door to heaven and then he heard a voice that sounded like a trumpet say to him, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this” (Rev. 4:1 NKJV). Another voice that sounded like a trumpet, but not an actual trumpet.

The Seven Trumpet Judgments

The only time John actually heard trumpets was the sounding of the seven trumpet judgments. Before we look at the seven trumpet judgments, I want to point out that in a series of seven trumpets, the seventh trumpet is the last trump. Not only that, the seventh trumpet is the last trumpet to be sounded in Revelation. After the seventh trumpet sounds, there are no more trumpets being sounded in Revelation. It is, without a doubt, the last trump. And as we continue our study, you’ll see that the seventh trumpet is, indeed, the “last trump” that 1^st Corinthians 15:52 talks about: “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” (KJV).

Before we study the trumpet judgments, we need to take a slight detour and look at the very last time the word “trumpet” appears in the book of Revelation: “And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee [a city]…” (Rev. 18:22 KJV). No doubt, there are people who might feel the need to point out that this verse is actually the last trumpet in Revelation. Getting out ahead of them, I want to point out that this trump is never actually sounded. This verse is merely stating that the trumpet and the other instruments will no longer be heard in the great city after it is destroyed. Instead of being sounded, this verse is saying the opposite. This trump is silenced. So this could not be the last trump. Having pointed that out, we can continue our study of the seven trumpet judgments.  

The First, Second, Third, and Fourth Trumpets

We’ll begin our study of the seven trumpets in Revelation chapter eight. John saw seven angels stand before God, and a trumpet was given to each of them. The first angel sounded his trumpet; hail and fire mingled with blood were thrown to the earth (v. 7). The second angel sounded his trumpet; John saw something like a great burning mountain being thrown into the sea (v. 8). The third angel sounded his trumpet; a great star, also on fire, fell from heaven and poisoned a third of the rivers and springs of water (vv. 10–11). The fourth trumpet was sounded; the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars was diminished by one-third (v. 12).

The next three trumpet judgments are far more devastating to the inhabitants of earth. Before John heard the sounding of the last three trumpets, he saw an angel flying in the midst of heaven proclaiming with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!” (Rev. 8:13 NKJV). The last three trumpet judgments are called the three “woes.”

The Fifth Trumpet and the First “Woe”

When the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, John saw a bottomless pit open up and out of it came billows of smoke and an army of strange-looking locusts. This is an army from the unseen realm. John described them as looking like horses prepared for battle with some kind of gold crown on their heads, wearing breastplates of iron and having wings. They had faces that looked like a man, hair like a woman, teeth like a lion, and tails like a scorpion. With their tails, they were able to sting men. And for a period of five months, they will sting men with their tails. They are forbidden, however, to sting any man that has the seal of God on his forehead. After the locust army ascended out of the bottomless pit, another being came out. It was the king of the locust army. He was a fallen angel named Apollyon, which means destruction. (Rev. 9:1–11) 

The Sixth Trumpet and the Second “Woe”

When the sixth angel sounded his trumpet, John heard a voice from the golden altar saying, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” The four angels being “released” indicates they had been bound. So that means like the angel Apollyon that came out of the bottomless pit, these four angels are also fallen angels that had been imprisoned. And like Apollyon, these four angels have an army as well, a massive army numbering 200 million. That means this army is not a natural army as some suggest, as there is no nation on the earth that has a 200-million man army. And like the army of locusts, this army is strange looking as well. The horses had heads that looked like a lion and tails that looked like serpents. Fire, smoke, and brimstone came out of their mouths, and their tails were able to bring harm, as well. (Rev. 9:13–19)

The Heralding Angel

Before the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, another angel, glorious in appearance manifested before John. He would quickly learn this angel was a heralding angel, sent by God to make a momentous proclamation about the seventh trumpet. Just to put this in perspective as to how special this is, I want to point out that none of the seven seals were heralded by an angel… none of the other trumpet judgments were heralded by an angel… and none of the seven bowl judgments are heralded by an angel. Only the seventh trumpet is heralded by an angel. This fact amplifies the importance of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the last trump.

John described the angel: “I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven.” His appearance alone tells us he has an important mission. The angel wasn’t wearing usual clothing, like a robe. He was clothed with a cloud. And on his head sat a rainbow. And like so many angels described in the Bible, the angel’s face was shining as bright as the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire. John even described the angel’s physical stance. The angel’s right foot stood on the sea, and his left foot stood on the earth. Then he lifted up his hand toward heaven. John would learn the angel’s physical stance was not happenstance; rather, it was a reflection of the statement he was about to swear in the name of God in heaven.

John described it saying, “Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it” (Rev. 10:5–6 NIV). While standing on both the sea and the land with his hand raised toward heaven, the angel was about to swear a truth in the name of the God who created the sea, the earth, and the heavens. The purpose of the angel having sworn in the name of God was to assure the hearer that what he was about to say was the God’s honest truth. No doubt, this scene is the direct inspiration of where we get our custom of placing our left hand on the Bible and raising our right hand in a court of law and then making a similar statement as the angel saying, “I swear that what I’m about to say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God.”

The Mystery of God Is Accomplished

After swearing to tell the truth in the name of God, the heralding angel gave his message saying, “There will be no more delay! 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” (Rev. 10:6–7 NIV).

The first thing the angel said was, “There will be no more delay.” That means the waiting had come to an end. The thing long hoped for had now arrived. The angel then tells us what is no longer being delayed: “But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet…” First, I want to point out the specifics of what the angel said. He didn’t say “when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet.” He said specifically “when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet.” Right before the seventh angel sounds his trumpet is the exact timing of when this thing is to be no longer delayed. Let’s look at the entire statement: “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.”

The announcement says the “mystery of God will be accomplished.” The King James translation uses the word “finished”: “the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” The Greek word translated as finished is teleo and it means: “1. to bring to a close, to finish, to end, 2. to perform, execute, complete, fulfil.”⁹

The phrase “the mystery of God” represents all the messages the Lord spoke through His prophets. Through the prophets, the Lord spoke forth His mysteries. We call His mysteries “prophesies” or “prophetic words.” Right before the sounding of the seventh trump, all these prophetic words will have been finished, meaning they will all have been fulfilled. Every word the Lord ever spoke through His prophets about His will and plans for Israel will be fulfilled.

Most definitely, one of the prophets he was referring to was Daniel. After all, the events taking place in the book of Revelation is the last week of Daniel’s 70-weeks prophecy. Daniel chapter nine tells us how the angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel to pronounce 70 weeks on the Jewish people and Jerusalem: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city….” The 70 weeks, of course, are actually 70 weeks of years (490); all the weeks have been fulfilled except the 70^th week. The 70-weeks prophetic word said that after all 70 weeks were fulfilled, God’s will for the Jewish people and Jerusalem would be accomplished: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy” (Dan. 9:24).

Not only was the angel talking about the prophet Daniel’s prophetic words being fulfilled, he was also talking about all the words of the prophets being fulfilled. All of the prophet Isaiah’s prophetic words will have come to pass. All of Jeremiah’s prophetic words will have come to pass. The prophetic words of Ezekiel, Zechariah, Joel, and all the rest will have come to pass right before the sounding of the seventh trumpet. You can see why the heralding angel said, “The mystery of God would be finished.” I mean, he was talking about everything! Everything that God had prophesied about the Jewish people and Jerusalem would come to pass. The sin and rebellion of the Jewish people against God comes to an end. They will be reconciled to Him. All the lost tribes would be gathered back. A new era of everlasting righteousness will begin. We’re talking about the end of an age, or as some would say, “The end of a dispensation.” And the beginning of a new age!

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