Now get this: We can also conclude that the concept of a ‘last’ trumpet logically implies that there must at least be a ‘next-to-last’ trumpet or the very concept of ‘last’ loses its meaning. This, then taken logically, implies a series. Do you see this?
What Paul was referring to here was the last trump in a series of trumpets. There cannot be a ‘last’ trump without ‘prior’ trumps. So then, we need to determine what series of trumpets is being referenced here.
The choice of the word ‘last’ signifies that this particular trumpet is the wrap-up trump in a series of trumpets. It is the final trump. Since it is “last”, there will be no more trumpets being sounded after it. (At least in an eschatological sense.)
So then, what series of trumpets was Paul referring to? Surely he was not describing all trumpets in general. That would mean that, after the rapture, there would never again be the sound of a trumpet for all eternity. That idea is too ridiculous to entertain even for a moment. It is safe to conclude that what Paul is referring to here is a particular series of trumpets that has specific eschatological significance within the unfolding of God’s end-time scenario.
So what series of trumpets was he talking about? At this point, it would be wise for us to remember that the true author of this scriptural passage was the Holy Spirit, who was also the true author of the book of Revelation and of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as well as all scripture.
So, in I Cor. 15:52, the Holy Spirit was referring to the ‘last’ trump in a series of trumpets. This series of trumpets is not delineated for us in its entirety in 1 Corinthians; it is just referenced here.
So, we see a series of trumpets implied in 1 Corinthians but only the ‘last’ trump in the series is mentioned. Does the absence of a mention in 1 Corinthians of the prior trumps in the series indicate that there is a series of trumpets missing from scripture? Are we seeing here a ‘mystery’ series of trumpets not revealed in scripture except for the mysterious reference to this ‘last’ trump? If we embrace that idea, then we are left scratching our heads regarding the others in the series of trumpets of which our ‘last’ trump is the finale. What and when are they?
All things considered, it is safe to say that the idea that Paul was referring to some extra-Biblical series of trumpets is just too alien to contemplate. So if we conclude that Paul was not referring to some unmentioned, extra-biblical series of trumps, then what series of trumps was he referring to? Reason only allows us to conclude that the trump mention in the 1 Cor. passage is a member of the same series of trumpets as described in the book of Revelation. It is the only place in the New Testament where a series of trumpets is described in an eschatological context.
So we can safely conclude that the series of trumpets referenced in 1 Corinthians is the same series of trumpets found in Revelation. If we deny this, then we are left with the huge problem of a missing series of trumpets, and we cannot do this without doing serious harm to the whole concept of the congruity of scripture.