blessings in the name of Jesus Christ,
I realize this is a hot issue, and I am saddened it got more or less mean. But please bear with me, you will probably not agree with a lot of what I will write but it might be useful.
Here is what I read, and I hope this helps the original poster and move the discussion in a more or less new direction
1Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
Paul is announcing/about to announce, our being raptured. He says it's "a mystery". That tells me that in Matthew 24:40-41 Jesus is not talking about the rapture of the church since Paul is just now revealing this. This tells me there might be another rapture of tribulation saints which are not church.
I believe this solves many of the arguments concerning pre/post tribulation rapture.
I must reiterate that I believe in 2 different raptures, one pre-triblutaion of the church and one post-tribulation of saints, the latter being present in the Old Testmament in such passages as Job, Psalms and Isaiah, and that some application to the church can be made since the process of translating us seems to be the same
(I am aware of the various renderings of Matthew 24 even outside any rapture)
1Corinthians 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.
I didn't read about a last TRUMPET here. I read about a last TRUMP. Things different are not equal unless the Bible equates them .
"trump"
2 : a sound of or as if of trumpeting <the trump of doom>
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/trump
Ok, so the Scripture is telling me at the last sound, if you will, of a certain trumpet, the rapture will take place.
If I open Revelation 11, I don't read of any rapture. All that secures we are not dealing with the last of 7 trumpets in Revelation. Moreover,in an other passage on the church's rapture found in 1Thessalonians 4, we read that this trump is "trump of God"; not the trumpet of an angel. Things different are not equal unless the Bible equates them.
Now let's bring the trumpet into focus. It is in 1 Corinthians 15, associated with a sound.
Interestingly, we have a similar association 1 Thessalonians 4, this time between a trump and a voice
1Thessalonians 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:
look where the Bible directs our study
Job 37:2 Hear attentively the noise of his
voice , and the
sound that goeth out of his mouth.
Do you know the reason to keep our ears out for his voice?
Job 37:4 After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency;
and he will not stay them when his voice is heard.
Stay them where? On earth perhaps?
Now, where again do we read of someone being raptured when a voice is heard?
Revelation 4:1 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.
"AS IT WERE OF A TRUMPET". John gives it to you clear. No "spiritualizing" involved my brethren.
So what we have is Jesus coming down from heaven with a shout like the trump of a trumpet which speaks saying "
come up hither ".
I suspect that during the trumps before the last trump the dead in Christ are being raised, while at the last trump we which are alive and remain will be caught up. It is interesting that there is a certain sequence in Job 37 also. You might find it interesting that Jews believe in a resurrection phased into 7 trumps (soundings) of a trumpet.
Dare I add that all the born again will probably hear their names being called
One last time I'll show you a voice and rapture being connected
John 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep
hear his voice : and he calleth his own sheep
by name , and
leadeth them out.
Leadeth them out of where? Perhaps the Earth? like in Job 37?
To answer another question, those unsaved will simply hear thunder
Job 37:4 After it a voice roareth: he thundereth with the voice of his excellency;
John 12:29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
I understand there may be many questions but I didn't want to post too long a message sine they can get tedious to read.
God bless you all