Last time we explored the reasons why Paul took great time to explain to those in

Last time we explored the reasons why Paul took great time to explain to those in Thessalonica why the dead in Christ would not receive their immortal bodies before the harvest or what we refer to as the rapture of believers.

It is a natural desire for any believer to not only be comforted with these words, but also to be excited about it. While Paul had revealed the order of events to those in Thessalonica, he also had provided certain details of this event to those in Corinth. He reveals the message as mystery which by implication is somewhat of a secret. When the Bible uses the term mystery, it always refers to something extremely important and one which the unregenerate heart cannot understand.

He had explained to them that the flesh, the physical body of man, can never inherit the kingdom of God, as the body by nature is steeped in sins against God, 1 Cor. 1550. He explained that we will not all fall asleep, but we shall be changed - in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, 1 Cor. 1551-52. While in his letter to the Corinthians he refers to this process where believers receive their immortal eternal bodies, with the sounding of a trumpet, his account in his letter to Thessalonica reveals this is no ordinary trumpet, but rather , 1 Thes. 416. He resolves the dispute amongst believers in those times, clarifying those who died in Christ will be the first to receive their immortal bodies, but will be quickly followed by all those who are alive, in the twinkling of an eye.

Believers who are alive will simply be transformed with their old bodies being discarded and new sinless eternal bodies given to them in an instant. The speed at which this occurs, is described by Paul as in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. Naturally the twinkling of an eye differs depending on what a person is doing. In a recent study of bus drivers, it was found to be 8.23 milliseconds in the case of tired bus drivers and 5.19 milliseconds in those who were wide awake. If you are blessed to be part of this event, you certainly wont even have time for your brain to register as to what just happened.

There are some scholars and teachers who believe that this event occurs at the Second Coming of Christ. It is what is called a Post Tribulation Rapture viewpoint. To understand why this is impossible, it is necessary for us to delve into material events that occurs according to the scriptures at the Second Coming of Christ. Concerning this, some have actually estimated over 300 scriptures in the New Testament alone, the Second coming stands out as one of the most significant events recorded in all the scriptures. There are only 4 out of the 27 books in the New Testament where it does not receive a mention.

Of course, it is a critical event as without the return of Jesus, sin and lawlessness will continue to flourish. It is often referred to as the glorious appearing, since the entire earth witnesses Jesus return with power and great glory. The picture in Revelation describes Jesus returning on a white horse, symbolic of warfare and victory, along with the armies of heaven, described as wearing white robes, Rv. 1911-14. White robes are a picture of the Saints of all the ages, people who have trusted in God for salvation. In the message to the churches, they are referred to as the overcomer. In general, these are referred to in the Bible as the redeemed. The fact that the redeemed return with Jesus at His Second Coming, is not limited to the book of Revelation but also mentioned by many other Biblical writings, including the Old Testament authors.

Zechariah prophesied that when the Lord my God comes, , Zec. 145. Jude mentions in the New Testament, that when the Lord comes, ten thousands of His Saints are with Him, Jd. 114-15. In Judes instance, while this Greek word myriad can be translated as thousands, it better describes an innumerable number of saints, since this was the largest number they had available in their language at that time.

Jesus own words prophesying His return, echoes that He sends His angels to gather the elect, , Mt 2431, emphasis of the saints living in heaven, before He returns to earth. The rapture is the only event in the Bible that explains why the Saints are already present with Jesus as He descends to earth from heaven at His Second Coming.

The Second Coming has many signs preceding it, including that He comes immediately after the Great Tribulation as spoken of by the prophet Daniel, Mt. 2415 29. It is an event that effects the entire human race, where , , Rv. 17. Those who dont believe in the rapture or believe that much of Revelation occurred in 70AD have countless problems with this one statement, as clearly this has not happened.

His return also occurs when the world has transcended into total darkness and He emerges with a sword out of His mouth, which He smites the nations of the world remaining, into submission. It is a scene of absolute chaos, as all the wild animals and birds are gathered to partake in the Great Supper of God, Mt. 2428 Rv. 1921.

There is a great harvest of destruction of the ungodly outside the city of Jerusalem, where hordes are cast into the winepress of Gods wrath, resulting in a bloodbath of unprecedented proportions, Rv. 1419-20. The scenes across multiple prophecies, whether attributed to the Messiah in the Old Testament or to Jesus in the New Testament all provide absolute clarity that upon the return of Christ, every knee shall bow.

The rapture itself has certain parallels to other times where God brought about judgements in the Bible. Jesus says that the very last days will be like the days of Noah. Just as Noah was removed from the judgement in the great flood and kept safe during it, so is the picture of the rapture. Noah, and his family was raised above the waters of judgement. So the rapture, or our ascension, our blessed hope, occurs by believers meeting the Lord in the air where we are transformed into eternal beings.

Do not forget, Jesus also likened the season of the end to the Days of Lot. God considered Lot righteous and as a result did not pass judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah, before Lot and his daughters were safe.

The precedence of the righteous being removed from the judgements of God proves to us that God does not change His mind. That is why whenever He spoke of His return, He always encouraged us to be watchful and ready.

Naturally, there will be many who reject the rapture of the faithful church and the many promises given to them. Others will mock even the notion of the Second Coming. Join us in part three where we explore the contrast of events and explain why the two events are not only mutually exclusive, but a blessed hope for all believers who trust in God for their salvation and the washing of their sins.

, Matthew 2442

Until next time ... Maranatha!

Some descriptions are auto translated, meaning might have changed a little or a lot.

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