What a beautiful day in which to live. YES, what a wonderful time to be alive in Christ!

In the same way they’ve unfolded through human history, God’s promises continue to be realized today. What joy for those of us who are His. God is indeed trustworthy.

Let’s review what He has said concerning His Son’s glorious return for His people in Jesus Christ. We hope you will find REST and JOY as you contemplate these precious Truths.


“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor
does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will
be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

(Note the unusual connection I Corinthians 15’s mystery has in relationship to
“mystery” in Revelation 10:4-7 … Awesome!)

(I Corinthians 15:50-52; ESV)


“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so
that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in
Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and re-
main until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For
the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch-
angel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 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. Therefore comfort one
another with these words.”

(I Thessalonians 4:13-18; NASB)


These passages are often called Rapture texts. We find in these portions of Scripture God’s promises that those who are on the earth (who are born-again followers of Jesus Christ) will one day be gathered up to meet Him in the air.

Another passage addressing this awesome event is found in Matthew 24:

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the
moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and
then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming
on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And 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 24:29-31; NKJV)

Did you notice a common denominator through the passages? Each passage includes a trumpet blast. Is it possible the last of the Revelation trumpets—trumpet number seven as addressed in Revelation 11—is the last or final trumpet of I Corinthians 15?

In light of these things, we ask: Can the rapture gathering take place at any moment?

Considering three historical events pertinent to our address will help us stay on track … on what the Word actually says concerning this topic of the gathering of the Saints.


The Man of God – I Kings 13

Designated only as the “man of God” in the passage, this spokesman delivered a strong message to King Jeroboam. Having delivered the message with miraculous affirmation, the prophet returned home another way.

An old prophet in the region heard about the encounter this prophet had had with King Jeroboam and immediately pursued him. Once he caught up to this man of God, this other prophet told him the Lord had declared he was to return home with him. The text says he was lying in this matter. (vs. 18)

Instead of obeying the command of the Lord to go straight home, the man of God listened to the old prophet and followed him home. He followed wrong counsel that day and before the day had concluded, he was dead—judged by the Lord for heeding counsel contrary to what he had been given by Almighty God.


The Prophet – Jeremiah 20 – 29

These chapters bear a striking parallel to our spiritual day. Many who publicly claimed to hear from God were actually bringing false messages. Jeremiah was different. While he also claimed to be bringing the Word of the Lord, Jeremiah’s appeals actually were indeed words God had truly spoken. The false prophets brought deceitful messages and, as a result, also brought persecution against Jeremiah.

One day those who had listened to the false prophets discovered Jeremiah was correct.

Those who the people had heeded were wrong—false prophets giving empty promises of peace and safety. These chapters are amazing in that they speak to our contemporary setting. Some, in the name of the Lord, are bringing false messages of peace and safety today. “If we would only align with the other spiritualities, we would secure a world without war,” they say. But this counsel—called syncretism—is diametrically opposed to both common sense and to clear revelation in the Word of God. And again, they say: “It’s all about grace so don’t worry, be happy, for it’s all going to pan out in the end!” But this counsel also represents dangerous deceptive half-truths.


The Lord Jesus Christ – Matthew 15

Our Lord Jesus confronted those who pretended to bring God’s messages and standards. In this fascinating passage, Jesus actually tells the religious leaders (of all people!) they were worshiping God in vain because they had 1) put their traditions above God’s clearly revealed absolutes and, 2) went so far with this that they even encouraged their ritual practices to the extent of disobeying God’s standard. They elevated their own ideas above God’s and did so to the extreme of actually rejecting the clearly established regulations of the very God they sought to honor. As a result, they were in grave sin and the Lord addressed their error. We do not want to make similar mistakes, yet it’s so easy to gravitate in that direction.


Is it possible you’ve read the end-time passages quoted above and have interpreted them to teach the idea that God’s people in Christ Jesus will be taken before the time the antichrist will seek to rule the earth? If so, what biblical basis do you cite for such an idea? Recall the important question: What biblical support explicitly evidences that idea? That’s what matters. If our tradition is not supported biblically, is it possible we’ve been misinformed, as were those in the examples highlighted in the preceding paragraphs?

Here are a few related questions to consider: What is the biblical justification for claiming the Rapture event is the next event on the prophetic calendar? Some claim the gathering of God’s elect could happen at any time, or imminently. Where in Scripture does it ever speak to the “imminent” rapture event? These are both fair and important questions! (We encourage you to conduct a word study on imminency, including a general dictionary definition of the very word – “imminent” – AND a study of this word if and/or when it’s used in the biblical texts. An objective study may surprise you!)

Applications of This Final Trumpet Rapture Gathering Position

These concerns have tremendous ramifications! If the timing of the gathering of the elect takes place after the time of tribulation as defined by Matthew 24, some end-time positions actually discourage God’s people from preparing as our Lord Jesus has so mandated.

At the time Jesus Christ was asked by His disciples when His return would take place, He said to be ready. But be ready for what? In Matthew 24, 25 Jesus answers the question, “What will be the sign of Your coming?” Note His very first response includes the counsel to watch. He says “Take heed.” He then goes on to forewarn them much tribulation (from the world; not from God) will come to those who are in Christ in those closing days of human history. But this is not all.

The signs continue. After the tribulation of those days there will be heavenly signs. Thereafter, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. All the inhabitants of the earth will see Him coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Wow! Luke 21:28 is especially interesting in light of these signs. It says God’s people are to look up, for our redemption draws near! In short, our Lord Jesus states certain signs will take place before His return. Today is a good day to be taking God’s counsel (on this matter) seriously.

So what are the practical ramifications of the Final Trumpet Rapture Gathering position? We need to live differently than we are living today. In ready expectancy of His soon return, we need to be discerning the times in order to avoid the deceptions of today and tomorrow. (For more information, go to www.endmin.com; jonswanson@msn.com)

In Acts 17 the people of Berea checked the teachings of Paul with the Word of God in order to see if what was being preached was correct. Now you, too, have a crucial Berean opportunity—a challenge, if you would … a challenge toward fostering biblical discernment.