Hearing the Word

Sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war…Jeremiah 4:19

Prior to Jeremiah, the sound of the trumpet was mostly for gathering together for worship. In Exodus 19:13, the sound of the trumpet signaled the ‘all clear’ for the people to come near Mt. Sinai. In Leviticus 25:9, it signaled the beginning of the year of jubilee. In Judges, the blowing of the trumpet confused the enemy, ensuring victory. The transition had begun. From a call to worship to a call for war.

In Matthew 24, the sound of the trumpet signals the gathering the elect from around the world, verse 31. In Revelation, the trumpet is the sound of judgment. Seven angels are given seven trumpets. At the sound of each trumpet, the judgment of God upon unbelievers falls upon earth. The trumpet returns to the sound of war.

The Bible also uses the word ‘trump’ the sound of a trumpet, 1 Corinthians 15:52: 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. Not the last trumpet, but the last trump. The last sound from the trumpet. There is a difference in Scripture. This warning is repeated in 1 Thessalonians 4:16: 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. Trump, not trumpet. There is a difference.

As we study God’s word, on any subject, but especially regarding last days events, we need to get the wording right. Prior to the end there will be the blowing of many trumpets, at least seven by seven different angels. Each of these announce pending judgments. We are listening for the trump of God, the call to gather with Him in the air. Not a call to war. But a call to worship.