Bible Study Seattle

“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will 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 will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-53

When is this Last Trumpet? Is the last trump the same as ‘the trumpet will sound’? Which trumpet are we talking about? From a Jewish perspective the last trumpet was sounded at the feast of trumpets, Tishri 1-2. The first trumpet was sounded at Pentecost, and Tishri 10 was known as the great trumpet. What does this tell us prophetically about the timing of the resurrection?

We know that Jesus ascended to the Father 40 days after his resurrection, ten days before Pentecost. He was the Firstfruits,

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:20

After Jesus, “But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.” 1 Corinthians 15:23

So the resurrection of the church begins when he returns. The Feast of Trumpets being the Last Trumpet, shows that all will have been resurrected by that time. The Feast of Trumpets is just before the start of the Jubilee on Yom Kippur. Exactly half way through the year. When we see that the Millennium is the seventh 1000 year period since the fall of Adam, we can see that beginning the 501st year of the Millennium marks the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets. Therefore the resurrection (of all) spans over 2300 years! It is easy to read many websites saying the last trumpet is soon and we will all be raptured happily ever after. Not so! Earl Palmer’s imperative “lean not luxurious” is very apropos here! Remember that Jesus warned of ‘wars and rumors of wars’. Notice the plural! Let us not fall into traps like, “88 reasons the rapture will occur in 1988”.