1st Corinthians 15:51-52, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, 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 shall be changed.”
The Bible tells us that the Rapture is a mystery, amongst many mysteries in
the Bible. Old Testament saints weren't even familiar with the teaching of
the Rapture. It was Jesus Himself Who first taught the Rapture in Matthew
1. The Rapture is a mystery that was not revealed in the Old Testament
prophecies (1 Corinthians 15:51). The Old Testament prophets taught about the
bodily resurrection, but they did not teach that some would be glorified
without dying. They prophesied about the resurrection of Jews at the end of
the Tribulation (Daniel 12:1-2), but they did not see the Rapture of New
Testament believers before the Tribulation.
2. The dead in Christ will be raised to incorruption and the believers who
are living at that time will be changed from mortal to immortal (1
Corinthians
15:52-53). “Incorruptible” means the resurrection body will be incapable of
such things as pain and sickness. “Immortal” means incapable of dying.
3. The Rapture of church-age believers is a source of great encouragement
and motivation to godly Christian service (1 Corinthians 15:58). The Rapture is a
very important doctrine. It helps to motivate the Lord’s people to stay
awake spiritually and it helps to motivate the churches to stay busy in the
work of preaching the gospel to lost souls before it is too late.
4. What about “the last trump”?
The trumpet that will sound at the Rapture of the church-age saints has
nothing to do with the trumpets that will sound in Revelation as judgments
on this world or the trumpets that sound in reference to Israel. The church
is not a part of these other programs. Her “trump” is a different one. The
church’s last trump is when she shall finally be congregated together to the
Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Compare Numbers 10:7.
