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At the Voice of the Arch Angel and the Sound of the Trumpet |
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.
"It’s like a person building a house by digging deep and laying the foundation on bedrock. When the flood came, the rising water smashed against that house, but the water couldn’t shake the house because it was well built. 49 But those who don’t put into practice what they hear are like a person who built a house without a foundation. The floodwater smashed against it and it collapsed instantly. It was completely destroyed." -Luke 6:48-49 CEB
"The Lord lives! Bless God, my rock! Let my God, the rock of my salvation, be lifted high!" -2 Samuel 22:47 CEB
"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." -John 8:32 CEB
"Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." -John 14:6 CEB |
The terms "Christian" and "personal relationship with Jesus Christ" have been thrown around so much, that for many people, they have lost their original savor. What is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Is it going to church? Is it being a "good person?" Is it via doing certain rituals, or following certain traditions? No, it is so much simpler than that.
Jesus says:
"Look! I’m standing at the door and knocking. If any hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to be with them, and will have dinner with them, and they will have dinner with me." -Revelation 3:20 CEB
Let Jesus into your heart and life. Put your faith and trust in Him, and in Him alone.
Why did Jesus Christ come to this earth? He came to pay for our sins. Have you ever broken any of the Ten Commandments? Did you know that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that just looking at someone with lust in your heart is the same thing as committing adultery in your heart?
Many people will say I'm a good person. Sure, I've stolen a few paper clips in my time, and I've told some lies, but I've never killed anyone, so I'm good enough for heaven. Don't be so sure. Have you ever felt hatred toward someone? If so, then you are guilty of committing murder in your heart:
"Everyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that murderers don’t have eternal life residing in them." -1 John 3:15 CEB
If you have stolen, lied, lusted after someone, hated someone, loved someone or something more than God, etc., then you have broken at least 5 of the Ten Commandments. Do you really think you'd make it to heaven? Not according to God's Word:
"Don’t you know that people who are unjust won’t inherit God’s kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Those who are sexually immoral, those who worship false gods, adulterers, both participants in same-sex intercourse, thieves, the greedy, drunks, abusive people, and swindlers won’t inherit God’s kingdom." -1 Corinthians 6:9-10 CEB
But there is good news:
"That is what some of you used to be! But you were washed clean, you were made holy to God, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." -1 Corinthians 6:11 CEB
We are all sinners:
"All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory" -Romans 3:23 CEB
Even Mary, the woman chosen by God to be a vessel that would carry Jesus in her womb, was a sinner, and in need of a Savior:
"In the depths of who I am I rejoice in God my savior." - Mary said this in Luke 1:47 (CEB). Only sinners need a Savior, and Mary also accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior.
We are all imperfect, fallible sinners:
"This is the message that we have heard from him and announce to you: “God is light and there is no darkness in him at all.” If we claim, “We have fellowship with him,” and live in the darkness, we are lying and do not act truthfully. But if we live in the light in the same way as he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we claim, “We don’t have any sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." -1 John 1:5-8 CEB
The blood of Jesus Christ is what cleanses us from all sins. Jesus came to this earth to die to pay for our sins. You see, Leviticus tells us that 'the life is in the blood,' and that it takes spilt blood to atone for sin.
When we choose to truly believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and to live our lives for Christ, then Christ's spilt blood cleanses us from our sins:
"Come now, and let’s settle this, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow. If they are red as crimson, they will become like wool." -Isaiah 1:18 CEB
Jesus tells us this:
"God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him won’t perish but will have eternal life. God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him isn’t judged; whoever doesn’t believe in him is already judged, because they don’t believe in the name of God’s only Son." - Jesus said this, in John 3:16-18 (CEB)
Paul gives us a simple "step by step process" on how to be saved:
"Because if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord” and in your heart you have faith that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Trusting with the heart leads to righteousness, and confessing with the mouth leads to salvation. The scripture says, All who have faith in him won’t be put to shame." -Romans 10:9-11 CEB
Jesus is our one and only mediator:
"There is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the human Christ Jesus" -1 Timothy 2:5 CEB
Jesus is our High Priest:
"Also, let’s hold on to the confession since we have a great high priest who passed through the heavens, who is Jesus, God’s Son; because we don’t have a high priest who can’t sympathize with our weaknesses but instead one who was tempted in every way that we are, except without sin." -Hebrews 4:14-15 CEB
We are to follow the Lord and the Bible, not traditions of people:
"Jesus replied, “Why do you break the command of God by keeping the rules handed down to you?" -Matthew 15:3 CEB
Jesus is God:
"Without question, the mystery of godliness is great: he was revealed as a human, declared righteous by the Spirit, seen by angels, preached throughout the nations, believed in around the world, and taken up in glory." -1 Timothy 3:16 CEB
If Jesus isn't the Lord of your life, then I hope that you will let Him into your heart and life this very moment.
"But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8 CEB
Have you built your foundation on the Rock of Salvation?
Jesus is the way. If you would like to receive Jesus into your heart and life, then let Him know. Pray to the Lord, telling Him that you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and that you believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the death penalty for your sins. Tell this to God in your own words, from your heart.
"The wages that sin pays are death, but God’s gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23 CEB
Believe, and Receive:
"You too heard the word of truth in Christ, which is the good news of your salvation. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit because you believed in Christ." -Ephesians 1:13 CEB
When you believe on Jesus Christ, you receive the Holy Spirit. You are sealed as a child of God.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior, and you believe that Jesus died on the cross in your place, to pay the death penalty for your sins, and that Christ rose from the dead three days later, and you are ready to let Him lead your life, and you will live for Him, then you are saved, and born again.
