1 Cor 15:52 says, “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.” I have read that in Jewish Traditions there are two trumps. And I wondered, will we hear JESUS blow a first trumpet and in the twinkling the dead are taken up, and possibly like a second later, He blows the last trump and the alive are taken? If there is a “last” trump, is there also a “first” trump?
There are several opinions about the last trump in 1 Cor. 15:52, but in my view the most logical one is that it will be the trumpet that ends the Church Age on Earth. It’s a little like the final bell in the school I attended. As long as we were in our seat when the final bell rang we were not tardy and were allowed into class. But if we got there after the final bell we would find the door closed and the class would begin without us. In the same way, there will be believers after the last trump but they won’t be part of the Church. They will have come to faith too late. Scholars call them Tribulation believers for that reason.