"And the seventh trumpet sounded: and there were great voices in heaven,saying, The kingdoms of this world ARE BECOME the kingdoms of ourLord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. . . ."And the nations were angry, and THY WRATH is come, and the TIME OF THE DEAD, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give REWARD unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth" (Rev.11:15-18).
In plain English, when the seven trumpet sounds, that is when Christ returns, and takes over the kingdoms of this world, and JUDGES mankind! The seventh trumpet inaugurates the coming of Christ and heralds the Messianic kingdom -- The apostle Paul explains, "Behold, I shew you a mystery: We shall not all sleep,{Or remain dead,] but we shall all be changed, 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 [who are still alive} shall be CHANGED" (I Cor.15:51-52).This is called the first resurrection. Rev 20:4, I saw thrones and those who had been given authority to judge and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and the word of God,They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark,They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years,The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished!
Notice! Christ comes WHEN the trumpet sounds -- the seventh or LAST trumpet -- NOT 3 and 1/2 years earlier! "For the Lord himself shall DESCEND FROM HEAVEN, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the TRUMP [TRUMPET] OF GOD: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 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" (I Thess.4:16-17), 1 Cor.15;22-23, As in Adam all die,even so,in Christ all will be made alive,But everyone in his own order ,Christ The Firstfruits,Afterword those who are Christ at His coming!
The great seventh trumpet blows WHEN the Messiah returns -- not 3 1/2 years earlier! As some rapture believers think! "And he shall send his angels WITH the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from one corner of the earth to the next." (Matthew 24:30-31)
We read in I Thessalonians, �For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will be no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel�s call and with the sound of God�s trumpet, will descend FROM heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the AIR; and so we will be with the Lord forever� (I Thess.4:15-17).
Notice! Christ will return FROM heaven, and arrive in the AIR � the atmosphere surrounding planet Earth. THEN the saints will be caught up to MEET HIM, as He is returning to the earth!
The prophet Zechariah goes on to explain, �Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on the day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley; so that one half the Mount shall withdraw northward, and the other half southward� (Zech.14:3-4).
When the Messiah returns, His feet shall stand in that very day upon the Mount of Olives! How plain it is! He will not immediately turn around, with His saints in tow, and return to heaven to �marry His bride� � rather, He will come with the saints, His bride, TO THIS EARTH, setting foot on the Mount of Olives! He will then first of all take care of �business,� and fight against the rebellious nations, and conquer them!
Only then will there be time enough for the great wedding feast of the Lord!
The wedding will take place on the earth, in the presence of all the nations, at Jerusalem, the coming capital of the world!
You are SOOO right. lol You know the issue concerning the Rapture is really very straight forward .. "IF" one simply reads the scriptures for what they say.
I believe that the rapture occurs between the opening of the 6th and 7th seals. Early in Chapter 7 of Revelation John makes mention of there being a large multitude of people from different tribes, languages, and people that are too many to count. When asking whose these people are, the reply comes that these are the ones that have come out of the great tribulation. So who do you say this multitude is if you believe the rapture happens afters the 7th trumpet?
The multitude is exactly what they were described as. Those who came out of the Great Tribulation. Who do you think they are?
Here is a passage to ponder which is related to these same group of people.
The FIRST Resurrection. A Rapture study.
Posted : 6 Dec, 2009 10:56 PM
When is the First Resurrection of the Saints?
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
When John spoke of the "first resurrection" he was obviously speaking of FUTURE events from his point in time (first century). Remember, after Rev. 4:1, John was recording the FUTURE! So, when he referred to the "first resurrection," he was obviously speaking of a FUTURE resurrection. Of course he would not take into account past events, like Jesus' resurrection! If I said to you, "Go stand on the curb, and the FIRST car that comes by will be me," do you understand that I mean no other car has ever driven by on that road? Of course not! You understand that "first" applies only to the time following your arrival at the curb! One must view my words from the perspective that I intended them. In the same way, John was speaking of the first future resurrection from his point in time, some six decades after Jesus was raised! And his intended audience knew full well that he was seeing and recording FUTURE events! Therefore, in their thinking his words would necessarily exclude the resurrection of Jesus, which Paul said was the "firstfruits" of our resurrection to come. However, if John wrote that this future resurrection after the tribulation is the "first resurrection," and yet there would be another future resurrection for the Church 7 years before this one, that makes John a liar! There can be only one "first resurrection" after John wrote Revelation! And it is AFTER the tribulation.
John 6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again..... AT THE LAST DAY. [ not seven years earlier]
John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up..... AT THE LAST DAY. [ not seven years before]
Above we see the the Apostles are promised to be raised at THE LAST DAY.
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up... at the last day.
[ here we see that Christians are promised to be resurrected AT THE LAST DAY.]
Johh 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up.... at the last day.
[AT THE LAST DAY]
John 11:24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again IN THE RESURRECTION AT THE LAST DAY.
[my Friends it does not get any clearer than this]
In each case above, Jesus stated clearly that the Apostles and the rest of the Christians would be resurrected "AT THE LAST DAY". This prohibits any possibility of there being a future resurrection prior to THE LAST DAY, if so then it could not be last.
In 1 Thess. 4: 16 Paul clearly stated that the "Dead in Christ" will be resurrected PRIOR to the Rapture.
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:
And since Christians are resurrected on the LAST DAY which includes Tribulation Saints in the FIRST Resurrection.... necessarily requires the Resurrection to be Post Tribulational since John stated with absolute clarity that the FIRST Resurrection includes those Christians who suffered and died during the Tribulation.
I believe that the multitude mentioned in Chapter 7 is referring to those from the rapture. I don't believe that it happens during the 7th trumpet. Like I stated, I believe it occurs between the 6th and 7th seals. I am one to believe that Revelations happens in a chronological order, therefore, the 6th and 7th seals happen prior to the trumpets.
