Are Paul (1 Cor 15:52) and Jesus (Matt 24:29-31) describing the same event, and if so, when will/did this happen?

Question

In Matthew 24:29-31, Jesus describes what is commonly known as the "The Coming of the Son of Man":

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. [ESV]

As you probably noticed, I boldened the phrase "with a loud trumpet call" (v31), which I find strikingly similar to what Paul describes as a mystery in 1 Corinthians 15 (ESV):

50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell 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 trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Were Jesus and Paul describing the same event? If so, when will (or did) this event happen?

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Related, and probably relevant: Is there any interpretative room for considering the prophetic predictions of Matthew 24:29-31 as already fulfilled?

Answer 1

If we examine the occurrence of the verb σαλπίζω (I trumpet) and the noun σάλπιγξ (trumpet) in an eschatological context (apart from Revelation), we have the following results:

• Matt 24:31 - And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
• 1 Cor 15:52 - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
• 1 Thess 4:16 - For 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, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

I note that Jesus is said to have a voice like a trumpet in Rev 1:10. Now, note the context of each of these references to discover the following about the "last trumpet of God" -

1. It signals the resurrection of the dead
2. It is the time when Jesus gathers all the elect from the entire earth
3. The resurrection will mean that the righteous will get imperishable bodies
4. The righteous are resurrected and meet the Lord in the air along with the living righteous
5. This occurs when the Son of Man appears "on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory" (Matt 24:30)
6. This follows some other dramatic events such as the darkening of the sun and moon and falling stars (Matt 24:29). Compare Rev 6:12-14.
7. According to Rev 1:7, when the Son of Man comes in the clouds, "every eye will see him" - made possible by the resurrection.

Answer 2

John 6:40

For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."

1 Corinthians 15:52

in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Matthew 24:31

And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

All these will happen on the last day. After that, physical time will be changed to eternal time.

Revelation 22:5

"And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them; and they will reign forever and ever."

Were Jesus and Paul describing the same event?

Yes.

If so, when will (or did) this event happen?

It will happen on the last day.

Answer 3

Two Separate Events There are insurmountable difficulties with lumping together these two different verses in two different books written by two different authors.

First The passage in Matthew 24 is hemmed in by Jesus's Declaration that all the things mentioned in the previous verses were to happen within the Generation in which the Disciples were then living!

I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened (24:34).

A thorough exposition of each of the preceding verses shows that they were indeed fulfilled according to Jesus's words. The generation of 30-70 A.D. saw the amazing fulfillments---but the patois and verbage of the Jewish people (disciples) must be kept in mind in order to understand what is being said by Jesus. This is a basic Rule of Hermeneutics, along with the Rule of Contextual consideration.

Second The sounding of Trumpets as used by the Israelites, is an interesting study, and necessary in order to come to a proper understanding of the use of this metaphor in the New Testament. {The insertion of the concept of the word, last as in "last trumpet" is misleading in Matthew. It is best to leave that word out of our thinking.}

The use of Trumpets in the Bible was manifold. {Good as a topic for another question.} True, they were a sign of judgment, used as a call to arms by the military...but they were also used to start journeys, warn of predators, celebrate, worship in the Temple, etc.

So, for angels (messengers) to gather elect with a loud trumpet call does not automatically refer to the End of the World Judgment Day. (24:31) Notice that "the elect" in verse 24:24 are people (disciples) living in that generation during the distress in Judea. Also, "they are gathered" not "resurrected."

There is no "herculean effort to manipulate the words of Matthew 24. Simply a sweatless rest and faith in the plain words of Jesus, who also had to correct the misunderstandings of the Disciples about the "End of the Temple Era" (telos) versus the "End of the World" (syntelias).

1 Corinthians 15 The other passage of scripture does indeed speak of the time to come when Death will be no more (15:54-55) There the Last Trumpet sounds! The Resurrection of dead physical bodies will take place, never to die any more. Here, and in other writing, Paul made it clear that this is a future event.

Notice that the use of the word, "Last," implies that there were many trumpets sounds before that Last One! From Sinai to Jerusalem to the Ends of the Earth, trumpets have been blowing (Both silver ones and shophars.) The Last Trumpet is the climax of human history. And the beginning of Eternal bliss.

Resources
Consult Times, They Are A'changing, Raymond Grant, Ad Fontes Press.
Matthew Twenty-four, Marcellus Kik, Presbyterian & Reformed Publ.