Is the Church is going through the tribulation...
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Those Who Died in Christ
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NASB95)
13 But awe do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who bare asleep, so that you will not grieve as do cthe rest who have dno hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, aeven so God will bring with Him bthose who have fallen asleep 1in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you aby the word of the Lord, that bwe who are alive 1and remain until cthe coming of the Lord, will not precede dthose who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord aHimself bwill descend from heaven with a 1cshout, with the voice of dthe archangel and with the etrumpet of God, and fthe dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then awe who are alive 1and remain will be bcaught up together with them cin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always dbe with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 Those who have fallen asleep are Thessalonians who have died, whether or not since Paul left them. Puzzlement arose over how the dead could benefit from Christ’s return. Paul’s reply is to the point: they shall rise first and the living will follow them (vv. 16, 17).
1 Thessalonians 4:14 God will bring with Him, that is, with Jesus. God will resurrect deceased believers as He has already brought Jesus from the dead.
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KINGDOM DYNAMICS |
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1 Thessalonians 4:15 The Threefold Announcement of the Lord’s Coming, MESSIAH’S COMING. This is one of the most beloved passages about the Second Coming, and it is also one of the most detailed. We are told that there will be a threefold announcement of the Lord’s coming: a shout, the voice of an archangel, and the trumpet of God (v. 16). In addition, there is a threefold promise to believers: 1) the dead in Christ shall rise; 2) we who are alive will be caught away with them; and 3) we shall always be with the Lord (vv. 16, 17). It is important to note as well that this is the key text where the idea of a Rapture is taught. The word “Rapture” is not used in the Bible, but the idea of the saints’ being “caught up” and gathered together at the Second Coming of the Lord is clearly spoken of here and in Matt. 24:30, 31. The hope of His coming is to be a source of comfort for us who await Him (v. 18). |
1 Thessalonians 4:16 Shouts and trumpets heralded the arrival of visiting monarchs in NT times. Heavenly equivalents proclaim the return of Jesus.
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WORD WEALTH |
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1 Thessalonians 4:17 caught up, harpadzo (har-pad-zoe); Strong’s #726: To seize, snatch away, catch up, take by force. The word describes the Holy Spirit’s action in transferring Philip from one location to another (Acts 8:39) and Paul’s being caught up to Paradise (2 Cor. 12:2, 4). It suggests the exercise of a sudden force. |
Please also see Revelation 12:5
5 And ashe gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to 1brule all the 2nations with a rod of iron; and her child was ccaught up to God and to His throne.
Jesus Christ went through the Passion, The Crucifixion, then the Resurrection
(Pastor James C Exner)
a Is 66:7
1 Or shepherd
b Ps 2:9; Rev 2:27
2 Or Gentiles
c 2 Cor 12:2ff
"Scripture quotations taken
from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright ©
1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)
1 Thessalonians 4:17 Caught up together with them: The chief biblical source of the doctrine of the Rapture—the catching away to heaven of those, dead or living, who have trusted in Christ and await His return. The exact word “rapture” does not occur in Scripture: it was formed from a word in the Latin translation of the Bible, which, for this phrase, reads simul rapiemur cum illis. 2 Thess. 2:3-12 gives the additional information that a great apostasy and the emergence of the Man of Sin will precede the return of the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:18 The Greek words here translated comfort one another are precisely repeated at 5:11, “Comfort each other.” Biblical teaching about the return of Christ is intended to yield present comfort to the bereaved, not future speculation for the curious. What is important is, as the Thessalonians knew, that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. Sudden unexpectedness is the point of the imagery, and obviously is not a commendation of thievery.
Spirit filled life study Bible. 1997, c1991 (electronic ed.) (1 Th 4:13). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
2 Corinthians 12:1-5 (NASB95)
Paul’s Vision1 aBoasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and brevelations 1of the Lord.
2 I know a man ain Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, bGod knows—such a man was ccaught up to the dthird heaven.
3 And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, aGod knows—
4 was acaught up into bParadise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.
5 aOn behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my bweaknesses.
a 2 Cor 11:16, 18, 30; 12:5, 9b 1 Cor 14:6; 2 Cor 12:7; Gal 1:12; 2:2; Eph 3:3a Rom 16:7b 2 Cor 11:11c Ezek 8:3; Acts 8:39; 2 Cor 12:4; 1 Thess 4:17; Rev 12:5d Deut 10:14; Ps 148:4; Eph 4:10; Heb 4:14a 2 Cor 11:11a Ezek 8:3; Acts 8:39; 2 Cor 12:2; 1 Thess 4:17; Rev 12:5b Luke 23:43a 2 Cor 12:1b 1 Cor 2:3; 2 Cor 12:9fNew American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (2 Co 12:1). LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation."Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)2 Corinthians 12:2 I know a man in Christ: Obviously Paul himself, but he speaks with reserve to avoid boasting about himself rather than the Lord who granted such a privilege. Fourteen years ago: About a.d. 42, in the period of his Christian life not described in Acts. Third heaven: The highest heaven, the presence of God, in contrast to the sky and the starry heavens visible from earth.
Spirit filled life study Bible. 1997, c1991 (electronic ed.) (2 Co 12:2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.