With The Sound of the Trumpet
Revelation Bible Study Session 10
Dr Chuck Crisco
Introduction: What they are NOT:
A. Donald Trump.
B. Trumpets are NOT about a happy worship song…
C. Trumpets are NOT about YouTube videos that say how the news has reported strange sounds
D. These Trumpets are NOT about some charismatic blowing a shofar
E. Lastly, these trumpets are NOT future (Matthew 5:17-18)
I. What Were The Trumpets For?
A. To gather the armies for battle, or to warn about an army that was about to invade a city. (Midianites, Jericho) Joshua 5: “4And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.5It shall come to pass, when they make a longblastwith the ram’s horn,andwhen you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat.”
B. The Feast of Trumpets.
C. The Trumpets were also blown when the nation proclaimed a new king. (1 Kings 1:34, 39; Ps 47:5).
II. What Happened at the Last Trumpet?
1 Thes. 4:13-18, 13But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive andremain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.17Then we who are aliveand remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.18Therefore comfort one another with these words.
A. Why did they need comfort? Because they were promised relief from their suffering at the hands of the Jews, and because of some of the events that happened. Eye-witness historian Josephus tells us that between 39-41 AD Caligula demanded that his statue be placed in the temple...an act that nearly started a war. This sounded like the man of sin. Then somewhere between 48-52AD there was such a riot in the temple that nearly 30,000 people perished, which could appear as a temple judgement.
B. The resurrection was near in his lifetime? In Acts 24:15 he said,"And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust."Translators, for theological reasons instead of translation reasons, avoid translating this accurately. The words "shall be" come from the Greek Strongs #3195 méllō – properly, at the very point of acting; ready, "about to happen." (Helps Word Studies; Analytical Greek Lexicon, p. 262; Arndt, p. 500; Thayer, p. 396). Paul uses this same word tense méllō, in 2 Timothy 4:1,"I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who (is about to) judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom." Acts 2:29,34,“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day...For David is not ascended into the heavens..."(KJV)
C. As “the word of the Lord.”
D. He will gather to himself, those who are sleeping in Hades or in the grave. Why?
E. The dead in Christ will rise first. First in priority. He is comforting them with these words.
F. But THEN he uses the word “then”. Then we who are alive and remain, will be caught up together with him in the clouds and meet him in the air.
There are two Greek words for "then":Strongs 1534, εἶτα, eita.; Strongs #1899, ἔπειτα, epeita
Eita, "then" means immediately following a sequence of events. It means right after.
Epeita is eita with a prefix giving it the idea of "then afterwords". It means some period of time later. For example: Galatians 1:18, "THEN (epeita) after 3 years..."; Galatians 2:1, "THEN (epeita)14 years later..."
G. Then We...Will be CAUGHT UP together with them...
The Greek word that some call rapture, is Strongs #726 harpázō – properly, seize by force; snatch up, suddenly and decisively – like someone seizing bounty (spoil, a prize).
2 Corinthians 12:2-4, "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one CAUGHT UP to the third heaven."
H. Clouds and Air
Conclusion
Do you see it? If Christ hasn’t come, then that means that when you die you go to Hades to wait until you can get to heaven.
Revelation 14:13, “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me,“Write: ‘Blessed arethe dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”