Thank you for the question on the trumpet and the Kingdom of God, “How can flesh be in The Kingdom after the last trumpet? (1 Cor 15:50 “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”) (Rev 11:15 “seventh angel sounded his trumpet”, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ”).
The subject of eschatology has various viewpoints depending on one’s theological interpretation of biblical passages. I share one perspective which reflects my understanding of the cited text.
Here are some thoughts on I Corinthians 15:50 and Revelation11:15.
A. It is acknowledged that there are citations of trumpet and trumpets.
Reading the context of the passages may or will help a reader to develop a timeline of future events. How one understands the trumpet or trumpets will be affected by one’s theological or biblical understanding of the text.
B. Examining the broader context of I Corinthians 15:50.
I cite the broader text which may enable us to interpret the text properly. The text states: 42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body…
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 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. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[h]
As one reads the broader context, the Apostle Paul already states that the resurrected body is a spiritual body, not just a physical body. For those who are alive in Christ Jesus upon his return, they will be transformed from their physical body to an imperishable or spiritual body. Thus there is no contradiction when Paul says that flesh and blood can’t inherit the Kingdom of God. The believes in Christ Jesus has new bodies that is not subject to death.
Theologians debate the meaning of the “last trumpet.” There is the view that the “last trumpet” refers to the “Seventh Trumpet” in Revelation 11:15. If this interpretation is correct, then the followers of Jesus will be going through the Great Tribulation for that is the Seventh Trumpet.
The theological question is when Paul cites the “last trumpet” is he referring to Matthew 24 which says this, “30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.[d] 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” (NIV).
The Apostle Paul is unlikely referring to the Book of Revelation, depending on one’s dating of it, since it was not written when Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians. In other words, Revelation wasn’t written it so he may not have known about the Seven Trumpets.
There are other theologians who view I Corinthians’ last trumpet is referring to the resurrection of believers in Christ while the trumpet in Matthew 24 refers to resurrection of deceased Old Testament saints. As one reads I Thessalonians 4, one has to interpret the trumpet that Paul cites, “According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 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. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (NIV).
Are there different trumpets for differing events or are the trumpets are all the same for the same event? It is not my purpose to resolve the difference but to let the reader be aware of varying viewpoints.
C. Examining the broader context of Revelation 11:15.
As one reads Revelations 10–11 in particular, there is the citation of the Seventh Trumpet. The context of the trumpets has to do with judgments upon the earth, not the resurrection of believers. The Seventh Trumpet continues to lead to further judgments on earth as the Seven Plagues (Rev. 15) and the Seven Bowl Judgments (Rev. 16).
The seventh angels declares in Revelation 16, the preparation of the end of times, “5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! 7 But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets” (NIV).
The implication with this angelic declaration has to do with the announcements to the prophets, not to the Apostles. Is there a distinction between the prophets in the Old Testament and the Apostles of the Jesus? That’s another factor in the interpretation of future events.
In my opinion, the angel is declaring that the promises of God given to the Jewish people are about to be fulfilled. There will be no more delay. The kingdom of this world has become the Kingdom of the Lord and His Messiah and he will reign forever and forever. This is an allusion to God’s promise to David of a descendant of his will sit on the throne of David and rule over Israel and beyond (II Sam. 7:16).
It is important also to note that the Seventh Trumpet is heard in heaven, not on earth while the other trumpet in I Cor. 15 and I Thess. 4 is heard on earth where the dead are resurrected.
I leave the reader to consider the passages and to read varying theological books on eschatology.
SUMMARY: All believers are given a new spiritual body that enables them to enter the Kingdom of God. There is the New Heaven and the New Earth with New Bodies for the believers to live with God forever.