We have at least two clear passages of scripture which give us clear indicators as to the timing of the rapture of the church:

“⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

“¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” (1Thessalonians 4:16-17)

       Now for the unindoctrinated truth seeker who is just studying the Bible to get answers to these questions, letting scripture interpret scripture, they will quickly find a passage in Revelation, where they should expect it to be, which clearly pinpoints when this “last trumpet” will occur:

“¹⁵Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.’ ¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying, ‘We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. ¹⁸ And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.’ ¹⁹ And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.” (Revelation 11:15-19)

       Here we see very clearly the “last trumpet” which is the last of 7 trumpets, which is the second coming day of the Lord event, when Christ returns to judge those on the earth, and to begin His millennial reign on this earth. Here we also see when “all those who fear [His] name“, “the prophets and the saints” will be rewarded – which obviously requires that resurrection and rapture to happen, for there to be this “judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10) event.

       However, the Pretribulation Rapture (PTR) adherents tell us we shouldn’t let the Revelation passages about the Trumpets, and in particular the last or 7^th trumpet in Revelation 11:15-19, interpret the 1 Corinthians 15:52 passage referring to “the last trumpet”. Perhaps at this point one should ask “why”? Exactly what is wrong with letting Revelation 11:15-19 interpret 1 Corinthians 15:52. LaHaye attempts to answer that for us in his commentary :

“Paul’s ‘last trumpet’ reference is the last trumpet for the Church to be raptured from the earth. The seventh trumpet is one of an entirely different set of trumpets for Israel during the Tribulation.  And again, there is no evidence that the Church is on earth during the first half of the Tribulation.” (LaHaye, Revelation Unveiled)

       Taking his second point first, there actually is abundant evidence in scripture that the church is present in the Tribulation and even the Great Tribulation period, up to that 7th trumpet event of the passage cited above. This is actually just a restatement of his presuppositions – a classic case of circular reasoning (as in our theory is proof of our theory). There are a number of references to the Saints and the Bride of Christ on earth during that Tribulation Period, even in Revelation 4-18 (as in 7:9-17, 12:17; 13:7; 14:12, ,– see article on “The church in Matthew 24 and Revelation”).  And finally, we see them resurrected and reigning with Christ during the Millennium, after being martyred for refusing to worship the beast (Rev. 20:4), with no scriptural reason to disqualify them from being “the church”, apart from the PTR presuppositions.

       However, his first reason given is developed further in what follows:

Instead of going to another passage dealing with the same subject, the future resurrection of the saved in the end times, some tell us we should go to an unrelated passage, or passages, about the use of the trumpets in the Old Testament, or in Jewish tradition (the four shofars of the feast of trumpets), or even the use of trumpets in today’s military. Even then they engage in cherry picking, such as the appeal to the two trumpets of Numbers 10, as opposed to the 7 trumpets of Joshua 6:1-5 (the fall of Jericho), which might actually be taken as a type or foreshadowing of the “day of the Lord” last trumpet, the 7^th trumpet of Revelation. This again is a very common logic fallacy and violation of rules of interpretation (called “Hermeneutics”).

According to LaHaye and others:

“The problem is that many trumpets are used in Scripture. Every day had a first and last trumpet just as armies do today. Paul’s ‘last trumpet’ reference is the last trumpet for the Church to be raptured from the earth. The seventh trumpet is one of an entirely different set of trumpets for Israel during the Tribulation.  And again, there is no evidence that the Church is on earth during the first half of the Tribulation.” (LaHaye, Revelation Unveiled)

       Did we miss something here? What about the part where some passage of scripture is telling us this? Or how about what we saw in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, telling us as clearly as it can be stated in human language that the rapture LaHaye is taking about, can’t happen until the “abomination of desolation” event after the midpoint of the Tribulation Period? Or what about what we just saw in Revelation 11:15-19 featuring the resurrection and rewarding of all the saints at that same last trump? Would LaHaye actually want us to believe that there is a different set of trumpets related to a Pre-tribulation Rapture, which obviously scripture is silent about (unless he goes back to the Old Testament rituals, which of course has not been in effect for the over 2000 years of the church age)? The rather obvious truth is that the only arguments the PTR advocates have to substantiate this rather forced distinction or interpretation about the “last trumpet” are their doctrinal presuppositions, their Dispensational Distinctives and PTR theories, for which there is no actual literal scripture when accurately interpreted.

       LaHaye himself tells us that “The problem is that many trumpets are used in Scripture”. That being the case, which it is, how does he select one over another as the one that explains our text about “the last trumpet” in 1 Corinthians 15:52? First, why would he go to the Old Testament instead of an obviously related passage dealing with the same subject, in Revelation?

       Again, according to Tim LaHaye 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 is only about the first of their hypothetical two second comings of Christ to rapture the church. But we are told there that this resurrection will happen “at the last trumpet”. Now an honest truth seeker, who wants to follow the cardinal rule of interpretation, to let scripture interpret scripture, might just look up this word trumpet in a concordance, or do a word search in a digital Bible for “last trumpet”. Doing so they would discover that there are 7 trumpets in Revelation 8-11, and one is called the 7^th trumpet, which is the last trumpet. That trumpet is the one addressed above in Revelation 11:15-19, which is clearly describing the “day of the Lord”, the so-called “second coming” of Christ, at the end of the whole 7-year Tribulation Period. However, in order to make this verse fit with the PTR presuppositions and theory, they have to come up with a different interpretation of this trumpet – just as they do with “the day of the Lord”. To do so they have to get a little creative.

       However, if we don’t like LaHaye’s alternate explanation, we have several other options to choose from, such as a more PTR expert on the subject contemporary (as of 2024):

“Paul says that this will happen, ‘at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.’ What does that ‘last trumpet’ refer to? Some people see ‘last trumpet’ and think that this has to be part of the seven trumpet judgments found in the book of Revelation. From there they assume the Rapture has to be at the end of the Tribulation period. But this trumpet has nothing to do with that. The whole context of this trumpet is referring to the gathering together of God’s people. In chapter 10 of the book of Numbers, God told Moses to make two trumpets out of silver that were to be used for the calling together of the congregation. When one trumpet was blown, the leaders of Israel would be summoned. But when both trumpets were blown—the first trumpet and the last trumpet—God was calling together the entire assembly of the people. One trumpet = an incomplete gathering. Two trumpets = everyone assembles. At the Rapture, the entire assembly of Church-age believers are being summoned—both the dead in Christ and we who are alive and remain.” (Jack Hibbs, Countdown – All Eyes on God’s Ultimate Endgame)

            Ok, sounds good, perhaps better than LaHaye’s lame explanation, more like letting scripture interpret scripture, but just a few questions. First, why go to a passage in Numbers, which has nothing to do with end times prophecy, and by-pass those in Revelation which are all about that same subject of the end time when that resurrection will occur? Second, if the 2^nd  trumpet in Numbers 10 is symbolic of the rapture/resurrection of the church, what does the first trumpet represent? Will there be a partial rapture (as some propose) of just the leaders of the church?

       This is actually just a perfect example of what is known as “cherry picking” – finding and using a passage which seems to fit one’s conclusions, disregarding the others that don’t. For example, we see the 7 trumpets in Joshua 6 associated with the fall of Jericho, the last blast of trumpets hailing the judgment on and destruction of Jericho – wouldn’t that be much more likely symbolically related to the last trumpet when Christ returns? However, such a connection only substantiates the Post-tribulational Pre-wrath interpretation of the “last trumpet”, the resurrection happening at the second coming of Christ (that would be the second second-coming per their 2 raptures view). Furthermore, there is nothing about the 2nd trumpet of Numbers 10 that would be inconsistent with that same interpretation, though such a connection is not at all clear.

            Maybe we should go with another PTR explanation, which carries more authority because it is even more Jewish – like coming from Torah scholars (most of whom don’t accept Christ at all):

“There has been much debate over the ‘Last Trumpet.’ One common mistake is to assume it is speaking of the seventh angel who blows his trumpet, signaling the final group of judgment in the Tribulation, called the bowls. … But there is a better explanation. On the Jewish feast of trumpets there are four significant shofar blasts: the final one is called the Tekiah ha-Gedolah, the longest and loudest which lasts about ten seconds. Perry Stone states ‘It is the last trumpet’ sound’. As well, those in the early church would have understood the meaning of Paul’s words “at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:52).  We know this because Paul didn’t feel the need to explain the connection in 2 Corinthians, or any of his other writings, about what the last trump was.” (Danny Formhals, 21 Proofs of the Pre-tribulation Rapture, Kindle, p. 13)

            Again, a few questions. First, do we interpret scripture today in terms of what the early church may or may not have known or believed (the old “Historical Context” hermeneutic)? In reality it is very debatable and much debated about what that early church believed – especially about this subject. It is my understanding and belief that God inspired the writers of scripture to reveal truths that are timeless, as much for us today as for the earliest church, again especially with respect to end times prophecy. There were then, as now, many divisions between members of those early churches, some of which John addresses in the 2^nd and 3^rd chapters of Revelation. But men often glibly refer to how the early church would have understood a passage of scripture to make their interpretation sound more authoritative – as is the case here. However, when we examine what we know from scripture about this Corinthian church, or for that matter the Thessalonian church, the true believers were not all Jewish, such that they would have known all about the trumpets in the Torah. In fact, it was the religious Jews who persecuted the true believers. Many, if not most in that early church in Corinth as elsewhere, were Gentiles, to whom Paul mostly ministered after being rejected by the Jews. So no, it is not very likely that the early church, or churches, would have understood Paul’s reference to the “last trump” as being about the Jewish shofar blasts. And no, the fact that Paul did not go on to give that unique explanation is not because they all would have understood it as such, but more likely because that it is not the correct explanation or meaning, which just might also explain it.

            So, according to these very knowledgeable and no doubt sincere Bible scholars, instead of letting another scripture passage which is actually addressing the same subject – Christ’s return to gather His elect to Himself, as in Revelation 11, we need to look for some other trumpet somewhere else. We should go back to the Old Testament passages about the use of the trumpet on a daily basis, which had nothing to do with any end times prophecies. Or we could go to how trumpets are used in in armies today, like reveille and taps, as LaHaye says we could. Or we could go to Numbers 10 where they were used to assemble the people, which was no longer the case at the time Paul was writing to the Thessalonians, nor for many centuries before that. Or maybe we should go to the Torah and interpret it in light of the ceremonial “Tekiah ha-Gedolah”, the last of four blasts of the shofar, as we are enlightened by Perry Stone and Rev. Formhals. Heaven forbid that we should do what they all bemoan is the fact so many people seem to tend to do – see the clear connection with a related passage in Revelation, and let that help interpret what is meant here. According to these men, they know better.

       Even though they may appear to be letting scripture interpret scripture they have to resort to what is known as “cherry picking”, such as the appeal to the two trumpets of Numbers 10, as opposed to the 7 trumpets of Joshua 6:1-5. Again, the latter is about the fall of Jericho when the 7 trumpets were blown on the last day of their 7 days of marching around the city. This last blowing of the trumpets might actually be taken as a type or foreshadowing of the “day of the Lord” last trumpet, the 7^th trumpet of Revelation. But since it doesn’t fit with their presuppositions and theoretical scenarios it is not considered. This again is a very common logic fallacy and violation of rules of interpretation (called “Hermeneutics”).

       However, having said all of that, it should probably be noted that according to some scholars who are also familiar with the Jewish feast and rituals, there is pretty convincing evidence to believe that this seventh trumpet of Revelation 11:15-19 will actually concur with one of those trumpets of the Jewish feasts. One of the two Jewish feast most widely observed by Jews even today is known as Rosh Hashanah or “the Feast of Trumpets”, which involves the blowing of four shofars, as mentioned by Danny Formhals in the quotation cited above. There he explains that the last shofar “is called the Tekiah ha-Gedolah, the longest and loudest which lasts about ten seconds.” (Formhals, op. cit.). He refers to this as a counter to the seventh trumpet in Revelation 11 as being the last trumpet of 2 Corinthians 15:51-52. However, another Bible scholar, Christian Widener, suggests that since the other feast most widely observed is the Passover, which is “the somber feast [which] foreshadowed Christ’s death, then could the festive one [Rosh Hashana] represent his future return to gather us?” He makes the following point with regard to the four spring feasts, versus the three fall feasts:

“The spring feasts were associated with Christ’s first visitation. It is also possible that they will again have a role in foreshadowing events that will occur during Christ’s second visitation (to rule and reign). And it could be a reference to the rapture of the church.

 However, since the fall feasts did not play an obvious role in the first coming of Christ, the main pattern strongly suggests that the fall feasts will mark the primary fulfillment of his second visitation. …

There were also two trumpets blown on Rosh Hashanah, in addition to animal horn shofars. Another intriguing fact is that the traditional greeting of the feast is: May your name be inscribed in the Book of Life. Such a reference may indicate that this feast will be associated with the salvation or rescue of God’s people. Lastly, the feast ends with a tekiah gedolah, a final extended blast of the shofar that lasts as long as possible. Could the last trumpet before the gathering of the saints (1 Corinthians 15:52) be hinting at the tekiah gedolah of Rosh Hashanah? The sounding of a horn at the festivals is also recorded in the Psalms, so looking to one of the feasts for the ‘last trumpet’ makes sense. (Christian Widener, WITNESSING THE END: Daniel’s Seventy Sevens and the Final Decree Everyone Missed)

            Widener does not actually make the connection between this last trumpet and the 7^th trumpet of Revelation 11 in this context, except to frame it as a question:

“How do we know that the seventh trumpet isn’t the last trump that Paul was talking about in his letter to the Corinthians? I mean, can we say for sure that it won’t be? Some may already feel sure that they do know, but the more prudent position, at this point, is to at least leave open the possibility that it is.” (ibid.)

            However, in the preceding text he has made the case that the rapture of the church will occur at the second coming of Christ, in the latter part of the Tribulation Period. Furthermore, he does make the association between the next spring feast, Yom Kippur or “the Day of Atonement”, and the seventh trumpet (or the seventh bowl):

“Next, there is Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement—a day of fasting and repentance on the tenth of Tishri. This feast day may foreshadow the promised Day of the Lord and Christ returning with his heavenly armies at the seventh bowl (Revelation 19:11-21 and Jude 1:14-15). Conversely, it may mark the beginning of God’s wrath at the sixth seal, when all the tribes of the earth see the Son of Man coming on the clouds, with power and great glory, and they call out to the hills and the mountains to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of Lamb. A third option is that it will coincide with the sounding of the seventh trumpet. What the feast of Yom Kippur truly signifies, though, we must wait and see—all these options are possible. We also need to remember that in the Year of Jubilee, Rosh Hashanah falls on the same day as Yom Kippur, the tenth of Tishri” (ibid).

            Thus, there is actually no scriptural reason, nor logical reason, to contend that the “last trumpet” is not the seventh trumpet of Revelation 11, of which the last shofar blast of Rosh Hashana is a type or foreshadowing. The only reason such an argument is made is that it conflicts with the presupposition of a Pretribulation rapture, which is nowhere articulated in scripture. Rather, every relevant passage that actually addresses the timing of the rapture, when kept in their contexts, without manipulation of the wording of the text, in fact only indicate at least a Prewrath, and actually a Posttribulation rapture – such as:

• Matthew 24:29-31 – the “elect” being raptured is the church, and the timing is the second coming;
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:10 – the resurrection followed by the rapture of the church is at “the day of the Lord”, like the “thief in the night”, when Christ returns in judgment on the unsaved; (4:16-17 and 5:9 are taken out of context to be said to support the Pretribulation Rapture);
• 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 – incredibly misinterpreted to avoid the clear explicit prerequisites of the great apostasy and the Antichrist desecration of the temple (the “abomination of desolation”) before the “day of the Lord” rapture of the church – taking 2:7 completely out of context and reading into the text “the church” (for “He” as the “restrainer”) and the rapture (for “taken out of the way”), a clear case of eisegesis;
• Interpreting the same “trumpet” in the rapture of Matthew 24:29-31 and resurrection/rapture of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and Revelation 11:15-18 as being different events seven years apart, with no textual indication that such is intended (just doctrinal presuppositions) – all of which are referring to the “day of the Lord” second coming of Christ.
• Ignoring, or misinterpreting the clear mention of the resurrection of the saints in Revelation 11:15-19 (“time to reward your bondservants, the prophets and the saints and all who fear your name, the small and the great”) at the seventh trumpet, the second coming of Christ in judgment (“your wrath came … the time came for the dead to be judged and the time to destroy those who destroy the earth”).

In short, the “last trumpet” is just that – the last or seventh trumpet, not one of many.