The Lord speaks to the church in the following verses .... first His evaluation of the present [the things that "are"] condition of the church on the earth in
Revelation 1, 2 and 3 .... and then His call to immortalize the true believers just before He brings His hour of trial upon an unbelieving world [the things that shall be "hereafter" .... at the time of the end].
First Trumpet Sounding For The Church
Revelation
1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet
1:11 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; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea
1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter [at the end of this present age]
4:1 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.
3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Last Trumpet Sounding For The Church
Revelation
18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
1Thessalonians
4:16 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
4:17 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.
4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
1Corinthians
15:52 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.
Revelation confirms that the gathering noted in
2Thessalonians 2:1 is the Lord's call to immortalize the believer just before His coming hour of trial. Today's church is seen with Him dwelling heaven, in His temple, and around the throne just before, during, and at the closing of the tribulation period. [
Revelation 3:10; 4:4; 5:5-10; 7:9-17; 11:1; 12:12; 13:6; 17:14; 19:1-14; 20;4 (those on thrones)]
There are ten significant trumpet voices mentioned in the New Testament regarding the Lord's second coming. The trumpet voice sound that the Lord uses is described as the voice of the archangel and trumpet of God. This is a unique voice that sounds like a trumpet and at the same time contains audible speech that can be understood.
Two of these involve the Lord's communication to the church:
The first one [the first trumpet for the church] is heard by John in
Revelation 1:10 [encounter with the Lord giving the first formal message to the church and His evaluation of the same] and involves his recording of the things he has "seen" and that "are" related to the church [
Revelation 2 and 3]. These conditions still exist today.
The second one [the last for the church] is mentioned three times and this one marks the end of the church age [the things "that are"] and the beginning of the things that "shall be" at the time of the end.
This last trumpet voice for the church of the Lord speaking is related to John's spirit's departure in the first century. He is transported to heaven in advance and into the future to view the things that "shall be hereafter" during the time of the end.
Paul reveals this same trumpet in
1Corinthians 15:51-52 indicating the immortalization of both sleeping and living believers, and for the same event in
1Thessalonians 4:16-18.
The next seven trumpet voices are those that precede judgments as part of the Lord's hour [time] of trial against an unbelieving world and all are recorded in Revelation:
Six of these involve major destruction on the earth in conjunction with the arrival of satan, his angelic agents, myriads of other fallen angels, and those humans who will worship him as a god.
The seventh trumpet voice of the set of seven will sound just before the end of the second half of the 2,520 day tribulation period [the 70th week decreed for Israel] and the next 30 days will incorporate the Lord's wrath against satan, his angelic agents, and his human followers [
Revelation 10:7; 11:15; 16:1-16]. The Lord will destroy his kingdom terminating at Armageddon.
The next and last trumpet voice of the set of ten [the great trumpet] will occur just after the tribulation of those days:
This is a gathering by the Lord's angelics of the mortal survivors of the tribulation period .... there is no resurrection related to this trumpet and it will sound for the Lord's gathering of His "elect" [first those of national Israel ... His "brethren"]. [
Isaiah 11:11-12; 27:12-13; 43:5-6;
Ezekiel 20:33-42;
Matthew 24:29-31]
He will then gather all survivors of the other "nations" and will separate them for entrance into His coming millennial kingdom on the earth. [
Matthew 25:31-46;
Micah 4;
Zechariah 14:16-21;
Revelation 20:1-3]
Those found believing [the sheep] will enter and populate His millennial kingdom on the earth as mortals .... those found in unbelief [the goats] will not. [
Matthew 24:29-31; 25:31-46]
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