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 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on September 4, 2013 of Proverbs 2:6-11; 1 Thessalonians 4; Job 30-31:23.
One of the issues Paul wanted to clarify in his first letter to the church in Thessalonica concerned what happens to those believers who die before Jesus returns. In doing so, he also provides an answer to a question that is near and dear to many today. But first things first. What about Christians that pass on before Christ's return?
Paul begins his answer by looking ahead to what will happen on the day Jesus comes back. In the first of today's focus verses Paul says that the Lord will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with a blast from the trumpet of God. This is very similar to the description he gave the church in Corinth regarding this glorious event, when he wrote in his first letter to them, "at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised" (1 Corinthians 15:52). The Apostle John, in his Revelation from Jesus, describes in a like manner how God's two witnesses are revived and taken back to heaven: "And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up here.' And they ascended into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them." (Revelation 11:12.) Paul continues that the dead in Christ, those who have already died after having been faithful believers in Christ, would be called up to heaven first, to be followed by those believers still alive on earth at that time.
Now comes the part of great interest to many of us today. Paul states that the dead believers who are called first and the living believers that follow are all "caught up together". The Latin for "caught up" gives us the word "rapture", and that is exactly what Paul describes, the rapture of Christ's church. Pay attention to where this occurs - "in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air". Christ has not yet returned to the earth, but has stopped in midair to call His church home. So the final day of judgment and His triumphant victory over evil are not yet on us when the rapture takes place! Now look back to how Paul praises the church in Thessalonica earlier in this letter for patiently waiting for "Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come" (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Jesus descends from heaven, stops in the air above the earth, and calls His church home, both the living and the dead, to save us from the wrath of God to come. This is scriptural evidence for those of us who believe the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation, evidence from a man who had a very special connection to Jesus. But the most important point Paul makes here, the one with no ambiguity, is also the most reassuring. "And thus we shall always be with the Lord." The resurrected dead, the raptured living, all of us will be reunited with each other and reconciled with God, and will live with Jesus our Redeemer forever. Amen.
Lord Jesus, we owe it all to You! When You return to take Your church home, all those who believe in You, the quick and the dead, will be raised together. Through Your blood sacrifice we are redeemed and reconciled with God our Father. By His grace we will live forever with You in His many roomed mansion. Thank You, Lord Jesus! Thank You, Father God! And thank You, Holy Spirit, for getting us through each day! In the most precious of all names, the dearest name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Paul begins his answer by looking ahead to what will happen on the day Jesus comes back. In the first of today's focus verses Paul says that the Lord will come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with a blast from the trumpet of God. This is very similar to the description he gave the church in Corinth regarding this glorious event, when he wrote in his first letter to them, "at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised" (1 Corinthians 15:52). The Apostle John, in his Revelation from Jesus, describes in a like manner how God's two witnesses are revived and taken back to heaven: "And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, 'Come up here.' And they ascended into heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them." (Revelation 11:12.) Paul continues that the dead in Christ, those who have already died after having been faithful believers in Christ, would be called up to heaven first, to be followed by those believers still alive on earth at that time.
Now comes the part of great interest to many of us today. Paul states that the dead believers who are called first and the living believers that follow are all "caught up together". The Latin for "caught up" gives us the word "rapture", and that is exactly what Paul describes, the rapture of Christ's church. Pay attention to where this occurs - "in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air". Christ has not yet returned to the earth, but has stopped in midair to call His church home. So the final day of judgment and His triumphant victory over evil are not yet on us when the rapture takes place! Now look back to how Paul praises the church in Thessalonica earlier in this letter for patiently waiting for "Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come" (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Jesus descends from heaven, stops in the air above the earth, and calls His church home, both the living and the dead, to save us from the wrath of God to come. This is scriptural evidence for those of us who believe the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation, evidence from a man who had a very special connection to Jesus. But the most important point Paul makes here, the one with no ambiguity, is also the most reassuring. "And thus we shall always be with the Lord." The resurrected dead, the raptured living, all of us will be reunited with each other and reconciled with God, and will live with Jesus our Redeemer forever. Amen.
Lord Jesus, we owe it all to You! When You return to take Your church home, all those who believe in You, the quick and the dead, will be raised together. Through Your blood sacrifice we are redeemed and reconciled with God our Father. By His grace we will live forever with You in His many roomed mansion. Thank You, Lord Jesus! Thank You, Father God! And thank You, Holy Spirit, for getting us through each day! In the most precious of all names, the dearest name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
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