"The Trumpet of God"

The Trumpet of God

“With the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first”

I Thessalonians 4:16

Most of you know what a trumpet is; they play one in the band and for a funeral of a vet when they play ‘taps’.  Musicians love to play them in a band like they did in the days of the ‘Big Bands’. Now when we talk about the trumpet of God, that’s an entirely different thing.  If you’ve ever been in a place where the sound was so loud, you had to cover your ears.  When the trumpet of God sounds it is going to be so loud, covering your ears won’t even help.  You may find yourself on your knees begging for it to stop.

The trumpet of God is heard throughout the Bible and from what I’ve read, it appears to be a terrifying sound and is sometimes accompanied by thunder and lightning. I can’t even imagine the fear that would pierce their hearts.  Looked what happened to the Israelites while wanderings in the wilderness.  “Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.” Exodus 19:16

Imagine, for moment, that you were out in your yard listening to the birds singing and admiring the flowers, when suddenly a noise like a trumpet blasted out of the sky.  Perhaps you would scream and fall to the ground thinking you were being attacked or bombed. You couldn’t run or hide. Then this began: “Now all the people witnessed the thundering, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.”  Exodus 20:18-19

In the book of Isaiah, it tells of a time this would happen, “So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; they will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, And shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.” [Isaiah 27:13]  This is just a warning of what will happen in that unimaginable day.  “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.”              1Corinthians 15:52

I love what Joel 2:1 says about the Trumpet, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the LORD is coming, for it is at hand.”  This is part of a prophecy God gave to Joel for a time way in the future. It appears that whenever this trumpet sounds, it heralds in the coming of the Lord.  We know the time is not far off when, “He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”  [Matthew 24:31]

When Jesus returns to take us home with him, he lays out his entire plan of how it will happen in        1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For 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. Then we who are alive and 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. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

If you have received Jesus as your Savior, you will be excited about His coming.  If it frightens you, pray about it and he will give you peace and when that trumpet sounds, you’ll know what it is and greet Him with joy.