Behold! The Trumpet
Behold! The Trumpet.
There are some individual words and short phrases in Scripture that need to be highlighted as they are read, words or phrases that are significant or point to something meaningful. Some phrases might be: Fear not. Here I am. Woe to you. One another. And maybe some words are: Amen. Hallelujah. Blessed. Abba. Come. The word Behold! is one of those significant words, an exclamation that is intended to get our attention. Listen, people, this is something you need to hear! Behold says to the audience, Look at this and take note! You would be wise to remember these words and think about them! Careful now, don’t be deaf to what I am about to say! Stop what you’re doing and listen up! As the Eastern Orthodox Christians say before they read the Gospel in the Liturgy… Attend! The following verse begins with Behold! So the words that follow must be important.
“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all die, but we shall be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet call. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be transformed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
MYSTERY: a sacred secret hidden in the heart of God until the appointed time of revelation; a truth that can only be known by divine disclosure; spiritual insights into God’s ways of thinking and planning; hidden truths revealed by God that are beyond human intellect and reason; divine knowledge that can only be understood through the Holy Spirit; God’s thoughts and plans revealed to believers and hidden from unbelievers.
As it turns out, Jesus’ magnificent resurrection was just a monumental prelude to an event that will happen later sometime… the resurrection of us! When Jesus comes to claim His believers, He will come in a cloud with the angels, with the shout of an archangel, and our bodies will instantly be transformed… from earthly bodies to spiritual bodies; from temporary bodies that decay, to eternal bodies that will never show signs of decaying; from moral beings to immortal; from bodies that merely return to dust, to bodies that will never degrade or be destroyed. In other words, the Jesus you read about in His post-resurrection appearances is exactly the kind of body we will enjoy when Jesus comes to take us to our new eternal home. This transformation will happen instantly, there will be no warning or preparation. To top it all off, the Lord will return when He personally blows His shofar, the ceremonial ram’s horn, so loudly the whole world will hear it.
In ancient Israel, there were four Scriptural reasons to blow the ram’s horn, the shofar: to summon faithful believers to God’s presence; to sound a battle alarm at God’s command; to anoint a new king; and when the shofar is featured in a special event or ceremony. And there two instances in the Bible when God Himself blows the shofar trumpet: On Mt. Sinai… In the midst of the thunder and lightning, the fire and smoke, the thick cloud of God, and the trembling of the mountain, Yahweh produces a “a very loud trumpet blast.” As the smoke billowed in God’s presence, “the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder.” (Exodus 19:16-20). Can you imagine being present at the holy mountain to witness that heavenly trumpet call, on top of everything else? Naturally, “everyone in the camp trembled.” The second time the shofar trumpet is mentioned hasn’t happened yet. It will be at the return of the Messiah. “The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet.” (Zech. 9:14-15); “The trumpet will sound…” (1 Cor. 15:51-52); “The Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.” (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
At that last trumpet call, the Lord God will personally blow the shofar, raising the final battle call against Satan and his demons, announcing the coronation of the King of Glory, summoning all believers to His presence, resurrecting the dead in Christ, the most special of all great events!