The Final Trumpet

"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." (Matthew 24: 30, 31 KJV)

The sounding of not only one trumpet, but of several, are connected with the glorious second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. To fully understand the significance of these heavenly trumpets and their trumpeters, and their connection with Lord God's ongoing governing providence, and with the coming again of Jesus, one must understand their significance in the Old Testament.

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward. When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before the LORD your God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your God: I am the LORD your God." (Numbers 10: 1-10 KJV)

The trumpeters were the priests, and they were trained in how to blow them, able to convey the correct messages to the people by the blowing of different "sounds" or "blasts" or "tunes." Both the people and the priests required knowledge of the various messages connected with each kind (or number) of blasts.

"And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?" (I Corinthians 14: 7, 8 KJV)

These "silver trumpets" were used in "holy convocations," to summons all to assemble, and to announce important events, as the dawning of an holy day, or the arrival of a visiting dignitary, or to sound an alarm of war.

"And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled." (Exodus 19: 16 KJV)

"And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off." (Exodus 20: 18 KJV)

Such was the scene when Lord God "descended" upon Mt. Sinai to give unto Moses and his covenant people the "oracles" and the "ten commandments." It is also a picture of those things written in the Apocalypse, when Lord God descends once again, in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him." (Joshua 6: 1-5 KJV)

"And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers...So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. And they stood every man in his place round about the camp; and all the host ran, and cried, and fled. And the three hundred blew the trumpets, and the LORD set every man's sword against his fellow..." (Judges 7: 16, 19-22 KJV)

Thus we see even greater significance with the blowing of the trumpets, both the silver and the ram's horn types. Both these historic battles, under Joshua and Gideon, typify future coming battles, on a cosmic scale, and all detailed in the prophetic portions of the New Testament, particularly in the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse).

"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede or go before) them which are asleep (dead physically). For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (I Thessalonians 4: 15-17 KJV)

These words, written by Paul many years after the ascension of Christ, perfectly harmonizes with the words of Christ as cited at the start of this study. When the Lord Jesus returns, he will arrive with the sound of attending trumpets, sounded by angels, and being the catalyst for putting into motion the most stupendous events in the history of the world. When the trumpet sounds, at that time, a great assembly will be suddenly assembled together. The "elect" will then be "gathered together," in resurrected bodies, and will be equipped for battle.

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia,,." (Revelation 1: 10, 11 KJV)

The Book of Revelation is unique. It is the only book of the Bible that deals exclusively with one topic - the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is revealed in its divinely given title. It is the only book of the Bible with a divinely given title. It is "The Revelation (Apocalypse) of the Jesus Christ." It is not the revelation of John, for John is not the one revealed. The title tells us what it is that is "revealed," not who is doing the revealing. Also, everywhere, in the New Testament, that the phrase, in Greek, "revelation of Jesus Christ" is used, it always refers to the second coming of Jesus, to his physical presence and bodily appearing upon the earth.

John says, when he is first called to witness and record the coming Apocalypse (by getting a preview), that he heard a "trumpet" and was thereby "in the Spirit," and in a time period called "The Day of the Lord." This "Lord's Day," or "Day of the Lord" (no difference in meaning in either expression) is not Sunday, but that "day of the Lord" often talked about by the prophets, by Jesus, and by his apostles. The "day of the Lord" is the time when he comes again. Presently we are all in "man's day" (I Corinthians 4: 3 AV).

"After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter." (Revelation 4: 1 KJV)

John, in his viewing of the second coming (in a greater way than he did when on the Mt. of Transfiguration - See II Peter 1: 15-19 KJV), heard many trumpets, all of great significance.

"And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets...And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound." (Revelation 8: 1, 2, 6 KJV)

"And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O LORD God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." (Revelation 11: 15-18 KJV)

"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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." (I Corinthians 15: 51-53 KJV)

When will the dead in Christ be resurrected? At the first trumpet sounding? Is it not until the seventh, and the "last" or "final" trumpet sounds? Why then do many today teach contrary to this, saying that the dead in Christ will be resurrected even before the first of the seven angels blow their trumpets?

"God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet." (Psalm 47: 5 KJV)

Friend, when the Lord arises to judgment, when Jesus returns, "with the great sound of the trumpet," and when he gathers together both the wheat and tares, which assembly will you occupy?