When the Lord spoke to the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai it was as the sound (“voice” in Greek) of a trumpet. The Hebrew for trumpet in this verse is shofar, which is a trumpet made from the horn of a ram. The voice of the Lord, sounding as a shofar, is found three times from Exodus 19:16 to 20:18. In Exodus 20:19 the people told Moses “let not God speak, or we will die.” The voice of the Lord, sounding like a trumpet or shofar, scared the Children of Israel to death.

In Deuteronomy 5:4 Moses reminded the people that the Lord talked to them face to face. In verses 22 through 26 of the same chapter, the phrase “heard the voice of the Lord” is found five times. It is clear that the Children of Israel heard the voice of God and not that of a trumpet.

When the Apostle John received The Revelation on the Isle of Patmos, he heard a loud voice, as of a trumpet. But the voice was the voice of Jesus, not a trumpet. The Lord Jesus spoke to John, but his voice was like that of a trumpet. Apparently, the voice of the Lord sounds like a trumpet and the trumpet is a ram’s horn or shofar.

The only scripture where we find the phrase “last trumpet” is when the Apostle Paul was describing the Resurrection in First Corinthians 15:52; “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” Some believe that this last trumpet is the Seventh Trumpet found in The Revelation 11:15. The Seventh Trumpet of The Revelation is announcing the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus. The preceding trumpets were trumpets of judgment. The Seventh Trumpet is not the “last trumpet” spoken of by Paul in First Corinthians, above.

In John 5:28 the Lord Jesus said, “the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice.” This sounds like the Resurrection described by Paul in First Thessalonians 4:16; “For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” The Children of Israel heard the voice of the Lord and it sounded like a trumpet. The Church will hear the voice of the Lord, and apparently it will sound as a trumpet, just as John heard on Patmos.

John again heard the voice of Jesus “which was like a trumpet speaking with me” in The Revelation 4:1. Just as there is a shout, or “command” in Greek, in First Thessalonians 4:16, John heard a command to “come up here.” Glory to God, that sounds like the command the Church will hear at the Resurrection!

The First Trumpet was when the Lord spoke to the Children of Israel at Mount Sinai. This was the beginning of a relationship with a group of people, the Children of Israel. The Lord called them to be His elect, or chosen, people in this world. The Last Trumpet will signal the beginning of a new, spiritual relationship with a group of people, the Church. He will call His bride, the Church, out of this world. When the Lord calls the Church home, we will hear His voice. It will sound like a trumpet. It will be the Last Trumpet.