The "last trump" is but a military allusion, neither more nor less. There were three trumpets for breaking up the camp among the Romans. At the first, they folded the baggage; at the second, they fell into rank; at the third, they started all together. The trumpet of 1 Cor. 15:52 is simply that of the resurrection of the dead, not that of the change of the living. 1 Thess. 4 confirms the above explanation: κέλευσμα, a word of command, is the military word for recalling the scattered ones (it applied, in its primary sense, to those who rowed in the galleys); the archangel gives the word, then the trumpet sounds, and each takes his place.
The nearness of the Lord's coming is of all importance, and the enemy naturally seeks to turn souls aside from it; but that will only draw the attention of those who are taught of God to it. The present expectation of the Lord is connected with all the feelings, all the duties, and all the relationships of the Christian.
London,
November 2nd.