The Apostle Paul said, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—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. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52); “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
The Doctrine of The Last Days
The term “eschatology” comes from the Greek eschatos, meaning “last,” and logos, meaning “subject matter.”[i] Therefore, eschatology is the doctrinal study of prophetic events in this present age that will be fulfilled in the last days leading up to the return of Christ. It also includes events that will occur in the age to come after Christ’s return, including the Millennium, the final “great white throne of judgment,” the New Jerusalem, and the new heaven and earth. Prophecy in this study deals with predicted future events given to Israel, many of which were fulfilled at Christ’s First Advent, and all remaining predictions that will be fulfilled at His Second Advent. We read in Daniel, “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city… To seal up vision and prophecy…” (Daniel 9:24). When the One who was predicted to come, Jesus, has returned to dwell with His people, there is no longer a need for predictions. All predictions will have been fulfilled, and all visions and prophecies will be sealed forever.