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 In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells them that "we shall all be changed, in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trump." As every evangelical knows this is a reference to what Christians call the rapture (from the Latin word meaning "to snatch away" and, yes, the word "rapture" is found in the Bible; just look in the Latin Vulgate version). Christian eschatologists have posited many theories about what could be the "last trump" Paul spoke of which would summon the Believers to the Lord before the terrible Days of Awe. This has given rise to the various schools of thought (Pre-Tribulation, Mid-Tribulation and Post Tribulation). For the benefit of any reader who may not be familiar with these terms here is a brief explanation. God says that He will deal with sinful mankind in the last days. These days, which Christians call the Tribulation, will last seven years and one-half of the people on earth will die. It will not be a pretty sight. Some Christians believe we will go through these terrible times, others that we will only go through half of them, but God says we will go through none of it.
If your neighbor tells you she had company on Thanksgiving, you would know immediately what day she meant without her having to explain that she meant the fourth Thursday in November. It was the same with the early Christians. They had not yet begun to wander from their Judaic roots so when Paul spoke of the Last Trump, they knew exactly what trumpet he meant.
When Abraham took Isaac to Mt. Sinai to sacrifice him to the Lord, this was a picture of what God would do later when He sacrificed His son to pay for our sins. Jesus was crucified at the same place Abraham took Isaac. Isaac, by the way, was not a child as he has been depicted in Christian literature. He was actually in his early thirties (the same age Jesus was when He was crucified). Abraham was willing to sacrifice his beloved son because he firmly believed God would resurrect Isaac. God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of a nation through Isaac and Abraham knew God would keep His promise. Of course, instead of letting Abraham kill Isaac and then resurrect him (as He later did with His Son), God instead stopped Abraham and provided a ram for the sacrifice instead. In commemoration of this, the Jews continued to sacrifice rams to the Lord to remind Him of His promise of a Messiah.
According to Jewish tradition, the ram which was an olah, or burnt offering, was resurrected by God (as would be the Messiah later). The two horns of the ram were made into horns called the First Trump and the Last Trump. Jewish belief holds that God blew the First Trump at Mt. Sinai - the trumpet that grew louder instead of fainter (Exodus 19:16-19). The Last Trump will be blown at the Rosh HaShanah that begins the 7th day (Millennium) when the Believers will be removed (Isaiah 57:1) from the calamity to come. Among other things, the Last Trump is the "Trumpet of the Resurrection of the Dead"; part of the Rosh haShanah marriage celebration. This is what Paul was speaking of when he said, "The dead in Christ shall rise first." (First Thessalonians 4:16). A study of the celebration of Rosh haShanah provides much insight into this coming event.
God has made it clear in His word that Believers in Jesus will not face His wrath during the Tribulation. They will be removed from the earth at that last appointed Rosh HaShanah.
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