The Stages of Christ's Ascension and Return (Part 11)

We have come a long way in this study, documenting the ascension of Christ and then His descent, illustrating how it is in symmetry. We have already covered how Jesus leaves the highest heavens and enters into that place of light, and calls home the Body of Christ in a silent rapture. Then, about three and a half years later, at the mid-point of the tribulation we have Jesus appearing in the clouds and the occurrence of the next rapture/resurrection of the kingdom saints and the tribulation saints. It is also at this point where war in the heavens occurs, where Satan is cast down to earth, and the throne of the Lord appears down into the clouds. It is from this position that the rest of Christ's judgements (the seven trumpets) and conquering will happen throughout the Great Tribulation (the second three and a half years).

The final stage of Christ's descent occurs near the end of the Great Tribulation. Jesus will ride out on a white horse with the angelic armies behind Him to conquer the earth, then set His feet down on the Mt. of Olives where He will judge the Gentile nations and then inauguration of the Millennial Kingdom. It is also about this time that Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem descends down from heaven and appears in proximity to earth. Let's have a look at some details of this final position in Christ's descent to earth.

What is the Trumpet?

Let's place some focus now on the trumpet, which is mentioned in both of our two key verses,

1 Thess.4:16-17 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:  17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1 Cor.15:51-52 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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.

There has been a lot of confusion and disagreement about what this trumpet is! Instead of looking at what everyone else is saying, and analyzing what, and why there is so much disagreement, I'm simply going to focus on what I am convicted of, based on weighing up various theories and scriptural proof and coming to my own conclusion of it. I'm not saying I'm right or wrong, but this is my personal conviction in this regard.

The trumpet in our key verses correspond to the last of the trumpet judgements in Revelation. This trumpet announces the beginning of the victory and the coming kingdom of God on earth. It not only fits with other scripture confirmations, but it also simply makes sense, without trying to force scripture. 

Let's have a look at how this all comes together. 

Rev.11:15 And the seventh angel sounded [the last trumpet]; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. 16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, 17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. (Also Rev.19)

Rev. 11:15-17 records a scene in heaven in which the 7th trumpet is sounded which heralds in the coming of God’s kingdom on earth. However, the verse continues with judgement and war on earth. We must understand therefore that Revelation is describing events from two different perspectives; that which is happening in heaven, and that which is happening on earth. We cannot be absolutely sure of exact chronological order, but we can deduce what is happening via using keywords in the scripture and by knowing a general outline of how events fit together.

18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. 19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

The proof that this scripture above is in reference to Armageddon is due to the language (keywords) used in the verses. Have a look at the last bolded statement above. It speaks of lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. Now have a look at Revelation 16 and compare the language,

Rev.16:16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. 17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. 18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent [±120 pounds]: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

Can you see the language? Can you see the events that occur? They are similar, except that in this 16th chapter, it directly refers to Armageddon in verse 16. So, chapter 11 is speaking of the seventh angel sounding his trumpet, and we see how the heavenly hosts rejoice by saying, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." Then we read of Armageddon, confirmed by chapter 16.

Armageddon however, is the end point of a battle campaign that the Lord of Hosts will lead. There are other battles and victories to be had BEFORE we get to the climactic Armageddon. This campaign is mentioned in Revelation 14 and is pictured by reapers going out and thrusting their sickles into two harvests; first, a ripe grain harvest, then a ripe grape harvest.

A picture of the rapture (reaping) of the nations

Rev.14:14-16 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

The ripe grain harvest represents the beginning of this war campaign through the middle east, reaping the enemies of Israel in the course He has plotted. In regards to grain, the word "ripe" is translated as the words "dry, withered, overripe, and rotten". The sickle would be taken out and thrust into the dry stocks of wheat and they would be cut. Notice that it does not speak of winnowing to separate chaff from the wheat. There is no separating good from bad here. All of this harvest is to be burned. The only response God has for this harvest is to put a sickle of judgment to it because it is dry and withered.

The Revelation passage continues with a picture of the battle of Armageddon

Between verse 16 and 17 we have approximately 30 days. During these days, God's wrath, in the form of the vials [bowls] are poured out upon the earth. These vials end with Armageddon being cast into the winepress of God's wrath.

Rev.14:17-20 Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe." 19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

The word ripe here is different from the word that was used in verse 15 that referred to that which is dried up or withered, but rather here it refers to that which is in its prime.  It means to be ripe at its peak. 

The vine of the earth and the ripe grapes are symbolic for Armageddon. These are the clusters of grapes that have been gathered into the great winepress of the wrath of God. The above verses speak of the graphic visuals that will occur at the end of Christs war campaign where He will trample the grapes in that great winepress. From scripture we can gather that great hailstones in excess of 100 pounds will fall upon the armies gathered in Megiddo. We read details of this in both Rev.16, ...

Rev.16:16 -21 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. 17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. 18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent [±120 pounds]: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

... and Rev.19,

Rev.19:11-15 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. (Rev.16:16-21 -- Hailstones [120lbs] and river of blood.)

I've gone on a bit of a sideroad with the Armageddon details, but let me wrap up with the purpose of this post. We set out to prove that the current stage of Christ's return is identified with the trumpet of imminent victory from heaven, but a trumpet of war on the earth and the proclamation that the earth is ready to be harvested. It is a declaration of the beginning of the reign of Christ, the beginning of the kingdoms of the world under His rule. The seventh trumpet is the arrival of Jesus Christ as a conqueror, taking vengeance on His enemies in a sweeping campaign of the vials of God's wrath, and ends in the winepress of the battle of Armageddon.

I have a few more things to say regarding this time and this topic. This I will do in the next post which should be the last in this series. I continue to hope and trust that what I have shared in this series will have inspired you to dig into the scriptures for yourself, and to study these things to confirm their validity and gain hope and confidence in the details of Christ's return.

God bless.