Are ya’ ready? 3 -2 – 1…..
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 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. 17 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. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
This being the last day with earth as we know it, well as the Mayans knew it; naturally there should be the question of the afterlife rumbling inside of you. God can even use this almost comical prophecy to draw you to Him. I mean if we all really put any weight in any of this, today would be a day of anarchy. Evil would prevail by trying to grab all it could before there was nothing left to grab. But that question that is stirring inside of you; the what if; the what is next; that could be Christ knocking at the door of your soul. Those questions and your responses to them have eternal consequence. They come with great reward, or they come with great damnation in the pride of denial.
Paul is seeking to answer many of the questions the young church in Thessolinica was asking. Timothy had been sent by Paul and reported back that they were struggling. This is believed to be one of Paul’s earliest epistles, and has some great detail of Christ’s return. The scripture above is speaking of what we understand as the Rapture; or the gathering of His believers from the earth upon His return. There will be those of us that believe that do not experience death, but are swept away with Him. This will be to remove us from the pain of His coming judgement of sin upon the earth. There is security, comfort, and hope in this understanding. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
Paul continues in chapter five encouraging the Thessalonians in their security of their faith. He encourages them to live like Christians, to be prepared for Christ’s return at any time. Only God the Father knows when Christ will return. Christ was speaking to His disciples about His return in Mark 13:32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. There is one thing you must do to prepare; accept Christ as your Savior. After this you must begin to seek Him, to watch and pray as He told His disciples. You must seek God and the things of God; your heart is forever changed when you do these things. You will not be afraid of these end of times prophecies, for you understand the paradise that awaits you in heaven with your King.
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