During Sunday Evening Story-Time with the ‘teaching elder’ .... he told the tale of 2 trump blasts. For the past several years, the ‘teaching elder’ preached that ‘the last trump’ was the 3rd trump. He taught that God established ‘patterns of 3’ such as, ‘body, soul, and spirit’, ‘solid, liquid, and gas’, ‘space, time, and matter’, ‘past, present, and future’, etc. He said we even play a game with 3 strikes, then you’re out! Thus, the 3 (invented) trumps! According to the ‘teaching elder’
.... the 1st trump would sound when the Lord descended,
.... the 2nd trump would sound when the dead are raised,
and the 3rd - the last - trump would sound when the alive are changed.
He preached this and went, "Toot, toot, toot .... peanut butter!"
Well, that was then .... this is now! Here lately, at least as of July 26, 2010, and again August 8, 2010, when I heard his message, he’s changed to only 2 trumps! What happened to 3 trumps? What about the groups of 3? Where’s the LOST trump? Maybe his ‘invented’ 3 trumps became so embarrassing (since they are not in scripture), that he’s dropped off one of them. Now he’s preaching only 2 trumps .... 2 separate blasts!
He said "the term ‘last’ is determined as ‘2nd’ .... and there are 2 sounds of the trump .... the trump will sound twice .... 1 trump has 2 blasts that ROAR." Here’s how he lost the 3rd trump and derived his recent ‘2 blasts’ doctrine, claiming the ‘last’ means the ‘2nd’. He manufactured it from another use of ‘last’ in the same chapter:
1 Cor 15:45-47 And so it is written,
The first man Adam was made a living soul;
the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy:
the second man is the Lord from heaven.
Here is the problem with his rationale. If we stay in the context, and stay in the same chapter, a few verses earlier .... will he apply his ‘last means 2nd’ theory here?
1 Cor 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Is death just the 2nd enemy? Oh, no!
We could still keep in the context, and remain in the same chapter, but back up several more verses .... will the ‘teaching elder’ apply his ‘last means 2nd’ scheme here?
1 Cor 15:3-4 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, (Peter is named 1st)
then of the twelve: (1 + 12 = 13)
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. (13 + over 500 = 513+ so far)
7 After that, he was seen of James; (513+? + 1 more = 514+)
then of all the apostles. (514 plus ? + at least 12 apostles = 526+)
8 And last of all he was seen of me (Paul) also, as of one born out of due time.
Was Paul only the 2nd person to see the Lord? No, being the last in the verses .... Paul was more than 527 in the list. So ‘last’ here means ‘above 527’.
The word ‘last’ was used 4 times in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. Because ‘last’ was ‘2nd’ 1 of those 4 times .... does not warrant assuming that ‘last’ is ‘2nd’ EVERY time.
The Cunning Royal Jester should just admit, "Got me!" and let it go.
The last trump is the 7th trump, when the mystery of God (also see Col 2:2, 1 Cor 4:1, and Luke 8:10 with Acts 28:25-28, Rom 11:5-11) will be finished, and He will resurrect ALL His saints, and bring His kingdom to earth:
Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. (Saul/Paul was a prophet - Acts 13:1, "saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come" - Acts 26:22, and "he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets" - Acts 28:23.)
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; 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.
More to come about Sunday Story-Time on the next Thought of the Day.
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
