This article may intrigue you. I'm going to show you something that you may have already noticed, and perhaps took an interest in, or perhaps... this is something you never noticed before.
I often write about distinctions in the Bible. What I'm going to show you is a distinction, but don't worry, it's not as subtle as the "a" distinction in 1 Corinthians 11:15. This one is a bit more obvious, but still read over and not noticed by many.
This is about the rapture. I think most of us agree that the rapture happens at the sound of a trumpet, at the voice of the arch angel:
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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: 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. -1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
Now, let us turn to one of the most famous scriptures revered by pre-trib rapturists:
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. -Revelation 4:1
Hmmm, the words "voice" and "trumpet" are in the above, so is the rapture proven pre-trib? Is this it? On the surface it can appear so, and some people seem to glom onto that with every bit of strength they have.
Now, turn to Revelation 4:1 in your King James Bible. Does the passage look like the below?
If your King James Bible is a red letter edition, and Revelation 4:1 looks like the above, then your Bible is corrupted.
Or, does Revelation 4:1 look like the below in your red letter edition King James Bible?
If it looks like the above, then rejoice, the publishers of your Bible were being honest in their red lettering.
I'll show you in a minute why this minute distinction is so important, and then all of this will pull together.
This is important, because by having or not having part of Revelation 4:1 in red lettering, it can alter doctrine. The portion of Revelation 4:1 that says "Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter" should be in red, because that was Jesus speaking to John. We know this is Jesus speaking, because it says "the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet." Let's turn to the "first voice" which John heard, which was like "a trumpet:"
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last -Revelation 1:10-11a
The voice speaking is Jesus, as can be derived from His being the Alpha and Omega. Further reading in chapter one confirms this.
Therefore, the voice speaking in Revelation 4:1 should be in red letter, because that is Jesus speaking.
Why is this so important to doctrine? Because when red letter editions red letter everything else in Revelation spoken by Jesus, except for the portion in Rev. 4:1, then it makes one think that it's someone other than Jesus speaking in Rev. 4:1. Many pre-trib rapturists then assume the voice speaking is an angel, and then they think they see the voice of the angel and the sound of the trumpet, and then they assume Revelation 4:1 must be the pre-trib rapture.
Wrong.
Let's review our opening Scripture one more time, to refresh our memories:
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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: 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. -1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
In Revelation 4:1, the voice is not an angel, it is Jesus, and the trumpet is not the trump of God, but just a description of how Jesus' voice sounded. Further, Jesus was speaking to John, and not to the church. Some would argue that the church doesn't appear in Revelation after 4:1, and they try to argue pre-trib rapture. Friends, that argument is completely invalid, and I can prove it.
I think I have clearly established that the voice of the angel and the trump of God is not in Revelation 4:1. I can show you where it does occur, though. Here it is, plain as day:
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. -Revelation 10:7
This occurs in the below:
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. -Revelation 11:15
The voice of the angel is clear in Revelation 10:7 - "the VOICE of the seventh angel." The trump of God (see Rev. 8:2) is blown by the angel, as we see in Revelation 11:15 "the seventh angel sounded." There is the voice of the angel, and the trump of God. Reveltion 4:1 has neither, but the seventh trumpet has both.
If you follow the timeline, then we see there isn't a pre-trib rapture. It's mid-trib, and happens at the last trumpet, which is the seventh one.
For more information and Scriptures on this and other Eschatological studies, please see my Eschatology section in the left sidebar.
