August 6: AT THE LAST TRUMPET
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 1 Thessalonians 4:16
The Lord Himself… It’s of vital importance to personally know Jesus. He reveals Himself in His word, and has given us a guarantee that He will return personally to gather His people and take them to heaven. This event is the apex of world history. The stunning glory and staggering brightness of His appearing will stretch from one horizon to the other, the brilliance of the firmament being brighter than lightning. It will be the answer to the most fervent prayer of every Christ follower: “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him…” (Isaiah 25:9) But it will be the worst nightmare for the unrepentant and the deceived (Isaiah 11:4; Jeremiah 25:33; 2 Thessalonians 2:8,10; Revelation 6:15-16).
He will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel. The shout of Jesus is filled with joy! His voice has commanded the angel armies on behalf of His people (archangel means commander-in-chief of the angels), but in this prophetic verse He uses His voice to raise His faithful ones who have died. And the dead in Christ will rise first. This is an explicit reference to the first resurrection: Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection (Revelation 20:6a).
The phrase with the trumpet of God is expanded upon in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: Behold, I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The last trumpet is the seventh trumpet of Revelation: The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly. Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” (Revelation 11:14-15)
Indeed, the final events of our fallen world will be rapid ones! Beloved, our preparation for the return of our Lord and Savior is to set our minds…on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5)… that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (v.4).
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. Philippians 3:20-21