Starting with 1 Corinthians 15:52, “’in a moment,’ in the ‘twinkling of an eye,’ at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead shall be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (emphasis mine)
Before continuing, I have heard people say they believe this trumpet is from the Revelation 8 & 9 Trumpet Judgments. This is not so. The trumpet in this passage is an “alert” notice for all true believers that we are about to head for Home. This earthly body will be converted to an eternal, imperishable and immortal body that will be pain-free, sin-free and death-free for all eternity.
Next, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the Trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then, we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
At almost every important Jewish event, there would be shofars or trumpets used to announce that something important was about to take place. The “calling up,” “Harpazo” or “Rapture” will be the most important event to take place for all believers going back to the moment of the crucifixion at Calvary, and right up to the moment of the Savior’s call.
Paul used “twinkling of an eye” to indicate just how fast this event will occur, and I believe only those being taken up will hear the trumpet and cry. For the nonbelievers, it will occur so fast (less than one second) that they will only know people are suddenly gone.
Paul does not tell us what the “cry of command” is, but I believe it will be three words that were used in the past. In Revelation 4:1, “After these things, I looked and there was a door standing open in Heaven. And the first voice I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, Come up here, so that I can show you what must happen after these things.” Next is from the future as given in Revelation 11:12 when the two witnesses that were slain by the antichrist are raised from the dead. “Then they (all around them) heard a loud voice from Heaven saying to them, Come Up Here! So the two prophets went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies stared up at them.” This will not be as rapid as the Rapture, but God will use it to show He is in full control.
We are rapidly nearing the end of this age, and the commencement of the wrath of God, also known as the tribulation, will take place. People can deny the word of God all they want, but He has proven to be 100% accurate in all the completed prophecies so far. There aren’t all that many events left before the actual “touch-earth” return of Jesus. After that, we will have His millennial reign on earth, followed by everyone’s eternity.
There will be those who refused to accept the will of God from creation up to Calvary, and refused to accept Jesus as their Savior from the Cross all the way to the end of the Millennium. Their fate is given in Revelation 20:11-15. All in attendance at that Great White Throne will spend all eternity in a place that was made for the devil and his angels [demons]” (Matthew 25:41).
All who followed God’s will up to the Cross, and all true believers of the Savior from the Cross to the end of the Millennium, will spend eternity with Jesus in a new Heaven and new Earth as given in Revelation 21-22.
The amazing part is we have a Creator – our Heavenly Father – who could demand our worship and praise, or cause us to suffer terrible consequences. That would not be a God of love, but a tyrannical ruler. Our God loves us more than we can begin to comprehend (John 3:16; Romans 5:8), and He gives us free will to choose which path to eternity we decide to take.
He really wants every soul on earth to accept His Son, and to spend eternity with Him, and He gives us every opportunity to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:9).
Some may ask, how can a God of love “send” anyone to an eternal hell. As stated, all who end up there will have chosen it for themselves. Our Heavenly Father is faithful and just and allows this free will.
Satan and the fallen angels have no pathway to forgiveness as they had been in the presence of our Most Holy Almighty Heavenly Father. Humans have the ability to be forgiven of all sins except one. That would be to take their last breath on this earth without Jesus in their hearts. That is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in denying Jesus as the one and only true Savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
As each day goes by, my constant plea is “Father, today would not be too early.” I believe we will hear the trumpet soon, and then the most beautiful words ever, “Come Up Here!”
For anyone who has not received and accepted the gift our Savior provided at Calvary, now would be a good time to consider doing so. See Romans 10:9-13; Acts 4:12; John 14:6; John 3:16-18 and 1 John 5:12 for starters. There is no guarantee of tomorrow, but we do have the promise from the Heavenly Father of a wonderful eternal life if we are part of the Savior’s flock (John 10).
As with my plea to the Father, today would not be too early for you to guarantee your eternal soul will be with Jesus by calling on Him to forgive you and rescue you from the Lake of Fire.
Come, Lord Jesus!