Understanding The Rapture
The Rapture of the Church (The Blessed Hope of the Church) is probably the most thought about, debated about, and wondered about topic as events of this day and age play out with an increasing speed that can only be described as staggering. Many Christians find themselves full of questions; wondering if they can know for sure (without a doubt):
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•Will the Rapture happen or is this a false teaching stemming from confusion about the second coming of Christ?
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•Can I know for sure if the Rapture will happen before, during, or at the end of tribulation?
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•Does Tribulation start when the rapture occurs; what happens after the Rapture?
Yes! You can know for certain the answers. Before we look at these answers, let’s clarify just exactly what the Rapture is.
The Rapture is an event when the Lord Jesus himself will come from heaven and with a command, believers who have died and have gone on to heaven will rise first (in their new glorified body) to meet Jesus in the air. Those who are alive at that time and have accepted Jesus as their savior will instantly be transformed into their new glorified body and at the same time rise up to meet Jesus in the air (1 Corinthians 15:50, 52). This event will happen in an instance, a nanosecond, or as the Apostle Paul puts it “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
This will not be an event that living people (at that time) who have not accepted Jesus will see. They will certainly see the effects of it though; mass amounts of people from around the world will instantly vanish. Will they hear the command of Jesus? No, it could be possible that they might hear something along the lines of an enormous clap of thunder but that is only speculation. It is more likely they will hear nothing and for certain they will see nothing but the aftermath.
The Apostle Peter foretold that at the end of the age of grace (Church Age): “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:3-4).
Some Christians say they do not believe in the term rapture. They argue that one cannot find the word rapture in the Bible. Their logic fails because there are a huge number of words that don't appear in the Bible, including the word "Bible". Because God's Word was originally written in Hebrew and Greek, one could truthfully say that no English words are in the Bible.
In 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Paul unveiled what he called a “mystery” – That Christians shall be changed (transformed) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. The word rapture comes from a fourth century Latin vulgate translation of the Greek word harpadzo and has been pickup by many as the single best word to express the event that is described here in the Bible. Some translations render the word as “caught up” which is a good term, but you can see how rapture is more descriptive of what is actually going to happen.
The rapture of the church is clearly taught in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, where the apostle Paul writes:
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
There is no question that the Bible tells us in this passage that the rapture
will consist of the following five events:
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•The Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God.
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•The dead in Christ will rise first.
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•Those who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds.
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•We will meet the Lord in the air.
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•We shall always be with the Lord from that point on.
Enoch in the Old Testament provides an illustration of this transforming experience. The Bible says “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” (Genesis 5:24). A day is coming when all believers will be transformed like Enoch, whose body was suddenly made fit to be in heaven with God. In Paul’s terms, this happens when “this corruptible (our bodies) has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:54)
The term Paul uses in Titus 2:13 “while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ”. That is exactly what the Rapture is, a blessed hope. When the Bible uses the term “hope” here, it does not mean a nice thing that we earnestly suspect might happen, but rather a certified fact of the future, promised by God’s unfailing Word.
When the more than three hundred Bible references to the Second Coming are carefully examined, it becomes clear that there are two phases to the Lord’s return. There are far too many conflicting activities connected with His return to be merged into a single coming. Since we know there are no contradictions in the Word of God, our Lord must be telling us something here. Scholars who take the Bible literally know He is talking about one “coming” in two stages.
First, He is coming suddenly in the air to rapture His Church and take believers to His Father’s house, in fulfillment of His promise in John 14:1-3. There they will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ and participate in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. (Revelation 19:1-10) Second, He will finish his Second Coming by returning to earth gloriously and publicly in great power to set up his Kingdom.
No scriptural proof-text in God’s Word more clearly points to the first of the two phases of Jesus Christ’s Second Coming than does the following:
2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
While many passages describe both the Rapture and the Glorious Appearing, five primary passages illustrate how very different those events are. The passages that describe the Rapture are John 14:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, and 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. The passages that best details the Lord’s Glorious Appearing is Jesus’ own description of His coming in Matthew 24:27-31 and the description given in Revelation 19:11, 14, and 20:6. Note the details carefully!
Rapture of the Church
1 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
3 "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Notice in the above two passages that it is Jesus alone who comes. He comes to raise the dead in Christ and “catch up” those of us who are alive and remain.
50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.
55 "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
Glorious Appearing, 2nd Advent
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
The “armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean” that are “following Him on white horses” are the previously rapture believers who have appeared at the Judgment Seat of Christ. (Revelation 19:6-8)
27 "For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. The Glorious Return
29 "But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.
31 "And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Notice the difference here. In the Rapture, it is Jesus who comes alone and calls us. We then meet him in the air. Here, at His Second Coming, the Angels will be gathering the Tribulation Saints. Here too, Jesus returns publically in “power and great glory” and “all the tribes of the earth will mourn”. This is a completely different set of events with a completely different tone from John 14, 1 Thessalonians 4, and 1 Corinthians 15.
6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
How we know the Rapture is Pre-Tribulation
Probably the most thought about aspect of the Rapture is when the Lord will come back for his Church, will it take place before the seven year Tribulation period [Pre-Tribulation Rapture], in the middle of the seven year Tribulation period [Mid-Tribulation Rapture], or right after Armageddon [Post-Tribulation Rapture]?
Many who dislike the factual Biblical teaching of the Pre-Tribulation rapture claim it is a “Johnny come lately” theory invented in the 1830’s by John Darby. Some claim that this lack of teaching by the early forefathers of the Church indicates that it is not a valid teaching because it would have been carried down in the Church writings.
Recent translations of the writings of Ephraem the Syrian, circa 373 AD, have proved this is not true. Ephraem the Syrian was a great Christian saint. He was a Deacon and a Bishop. He wrote extensively in the early Church. He wrote a book on the “Antichrist and the End of the World” in 373 AD; in which he clearly states that the Lord will descend from Heaven and will take us to be with Himself so that we might escape the confusion that overtakes the whole world. This is a clear Pre-Tribulation Rapture statement made fifteen centuries before most people thought it was ever discussed.
Ephraem the Syrian (On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the World, 373 A.D.)
For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.
If you wish to learn more about Ephraem the Syrian and read what he has to say about the Rapture, Antichrist, and Tribulation period please get a copy of Dr. Grant Jeffrey's book, “Final Warning”, published by Frontier Research Publications, Inc. You may also read more at http://www.arewelivinginthelastdays.com/com/ephraem.htm
Those who hold to a The Post-Tribulation Rapture teaching do so out of a number or erroneous beliefs that vary widely. Many of them content that the church must go through Tribulation in order to be cleansed and purified. This teaching is born of man’s thought and is not found anywhere in the Bible. The scripture that is pointed to most as proof of this believe is Matthew 13:24-30 (The Parable of the Tares [weeds]).
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 "But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.
26 "But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
27 "The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
28 "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?'
29 "But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
30 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
Jesus is clearly talking about the His Kingdom which will be established at His 2nd Advent; at which time the Tribulation Saints, those who come to a saving knowledge of Jesus during the Tribulation (and scripturally we know there will be many, more on that in a later chapter), will be separated from those who have not repented and bear the mark of the Antichrist. Those who are the Tribulation Saints will make up the human population during the Millennial Reign. The others will be cast into Hell to await the Great White Throne Judgment.
Just a few verses down, Jesus explains to his Disciples what The Parable of the Weeds means. In that description, Jesus tells us:
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels
We know this cannot be the Rapture because humanity is not sorted into two groups at the Rapture. At the Rapture, believers are “caught up” to be with the Lord forever and it is not Angles who “catches” us up, it is the Jesus Himself!
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
As noted earlier, we know following the Rapture believers will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ and will then be the Bride at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb where we believers will be clothed in “fine linen, bright and clean”.
6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready."
8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Following this is the 2nd Advent of Christ. In Revelation 19:11-19, we are told clearly what will take place at His 2nd Advent. In those verses we read about His physical return to earth to destroy the world’s armies assembled at Armageddon. We also see in those same verses:
14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
When He comes at His 2nd Advent to destroy the armies of the world and set up His Kingdom, we will be with Him and if we are with Him ridding white horses then we must have been taken up to Him and have received our Resurrection body prior to this event.
The Post-Tribulation Rapture view also tries to apply the same logic to Matthew 24:31 where Jesus told of the events of His 2nd Advent. In order for the events of a Post-Tribulation Rapture to be true, the order of events would be as follows:
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11. The 7 year Tribulation in which God pours out is judgment and wrath on the Earth (which in this view would include Jesus’ Bride, the Church).
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22. Jesus Returns to earth destroys the armies of the world at Armageddon and then leaves.
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33. Jesus then turns around and comes back but doesn’t come to the surface us the earth. He stays in the air and calls us up to Him.
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44. We either don’t hear Him or decide not to go up so He has to send his Angles to go get us.
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55. We then instantly go to Heaven and appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ and then receive our “fine linen” at the marriage and then return with Christ again.
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66. Jesus will need to then resurrect the armies he previously destroyed at Armageddon and then destroy them all over again at a second battle of Armageddon.
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Among those who have been mislead into believing there cannot be a rapture before Tribulation starts, many see how ludicrous and unbiblical the teaching of a Post-Tribulation Rapture is. They have therefore developed a Mid-Tribulation Rapture theory. In this theory, they equate the “last trumpet” announcing the Rapture of the Church in 1 Corinthians 15:52 with the seventh trumpet of Revelation 11:15. However, a close examination revels that these two trumpets refer to separate events.
The seventh trumpet of Revelation 11:15 will announce the final phase of the wrath of God, the beginning of Christ’s reign, and the praises of the heavenly chorus in response to the beginning of the Millennial Reign. In contrast, Paul’s trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52 refers to the bodily resurrection and the “catching up” of the believing saints.
We must also remember that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians around AD 55, and therefore he would not have known about the seven trumpets John describe in Revelation, because it was written around AD 90. If John’s seventh trumpet was meant to refer us back to Paul’s last trumpet, John probably would have used the term last trumpet to make this connection clear and he would have likely mentioned the Resurrection or Rapture. These are two distinct symbols used to refer to separate events in God’s future plan.
There are many other Biblical errors held as truth by this view; however there is a very big and very serious error that both views have in common. When teachers of either the Mid or Post-Tribulation views teach, there is a very large “elephant in the room” that those who hold these views are reluctant to talk about. The Bible is crystal clear on the teaching of the eminency of Christ. No matter what view of the rapture scholars hold to, they are all in agreement that the Bible teaches in numerous places the eminency of Christ which means we are to be living in a right relationship with Jesus and looking for his return because it could happen at any moment.
Both the Post and Mid-Tribulation views stand in direct contradiction to the eminency of Christ. According to these views, the Antichrist must first be unveiled, the seven year treaty (or covenant) between the Antichrist and Israel must first be signed, the two Witnesses must first appear and later be murdered by the Antichrist, the Third Temple must first be built, etc, etc, before Christ can return in any form. Therefore, since these events have not happened yet there is no possibility that Christ can return now or anytime before these events happen. You wouldn’t need to start looking for His Return until after the events of Tribulation unfolded. This is nothing less than a form of heresy and is in direct contradiction to the Bible!
The rest of this book could be spent showing the Biblical inaccuracies held by the Post & Mid-Tribulation views, but rather than doing that let’s look at that Biblical facts of the Rapture. Why we know that it is a Biblical certainty that we are to be looking for His Return at any moment and living in a manner that is true to that fact.
When properly understood, the Scriptures are quite clear on the subject. There is no doubt or ambiguity that the Rapture of the Church will happen before Tribulation begins. Consider these four things:
1: The Lord Himself promises to deliver us before Tribulation begins.
One of the best promises guaranteeing the Church’s Rapture before the Tribulation is found in Revelation 3:10:
10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.
This verse is Christ’s own promise to his church, the church of Philadelphia. The seven churches of Asia Minor were selected out of the hundreds of young churches at the time because they were types of the seven church ages that would exist from the first century on to the present. The message of Revelation 2 and 3 is to the churches (plural), not just the seven churches of Asia Minor. Otherwise, the majority of Churches through the years would have been excluded. The message to the church at Philadelphia was not only for that little church but also to the “open door” church – that is, the evangelistic, missionary-minded church, which started about 1750 and will exist right up to the time Christ comes to rapture His church.
The argument that the letters were just to the churches of Asia Minor simply cannot be the case. Jesus’ message couldn’t have been to just the little church at Philadelphia because it was completely destroyed by the Turkish invasion in 1382, long before the “hour of trial that will come upon the whole world” (Which is the period the Lord calls the “great tribulation, such has not been since the beginning of time, no, nor ever shall be”). Obviously the church of Philadelphia has end-time significance because it is referred to as “alive” during the last days.
This verse teaches that the faithful church of the open door which will not deny His name but will practice good works, evangelism, and missions, will be kept “out of” the hour of trial (the Great Tribulation) that shall try the whole earth. The guarantee of the Rapture before Tribulation could hardly be more powerful! No wonder one it is referred to as a “cardinal Scripture”. Failure to recognize this truth has Christians believing they are going into Tribulation which is completely contrary to our Lord’s promise.
2: The church is to be delivered from the wrath to come.
The promise of 1 Thessalonians 1:10 (“Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come”) was given by the Holy Spirit through the Apostil Paul to a young church on a missionary journey. The context of this passage is the Rapture because Christians are not waiting for the Glorious Appearing. Paul tells them in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 that the Glorious Appearing will not occur until Antichrist (or “lawless one”) is revealed. The Christians in Thessalonica were awaiting the coming of Christ for His church; that is the Rapture. They already knew the Tribulation (or “wrath to come”) would follow the Rapture, and that is what God has promised to keep Christians out of.
3: Christians are not appointed to wrath.
According to 1 Thessalonians 5:9, “God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This passage, which follows the strongest passage about the Rapture in the Bible, must be considered in light of its context. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 makes it clear that God did not “appoint us to wrath” (the Tribulation) but to “obtain salvation”. Since so many saints will be martyred during the Tribulation, this promise cannot then mean He will deliver believers during the time of Tribulation because the saints mentioned there are the Tribulation saints and they will not be delivered; in fact most will be martyred (Revelation 6: 9-11). Probably the most clear proof:
7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever.
We clearly see that the bowls that are about to be poured out on the earth are filled with the wrath of God. If we (believers in Jesus) have been promised to be delivered from the wrath of God, then how can we be here when God’s wrath is poured out on the earth?
Peter explains that the present world is “reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3:7). The church is pictured in the Scriptures as the wife of the Lamb (Revelation 19:7-9). He may discipline her in love, but His ultimate purpose is to present her to the Father as His perfect bride not as an object of wrath.
4: The church is absent in Revelation chapter 4 through chapter 18.
The church is mentioned in the first three chapters of Revelation, but after John (a member of the church) is called up to heaven in chapter 4, he looks down on the events of Tribulation which begin in chapter 4 and the church is not mentioned or seen again until chapter 19 when she returns to earth with her bridegroom at His glorious appearing. Why? The answer is obvious: She isn’t in the Tribulation. She is has been “caught up” to be with the Lord before it begins.
After the Rapture
The Rapture will be mystifying, and to some an inexplicable phenomenon. Its impact on those who are left will be enormous. We are not told how long the time gap between when the Rapture happens and the start of Tribulation is. The trigger that starts Tribulation is the signing of the treaty between Israel and the Antichrist (Daniel 9:27).
We do know that very shortly after the Rapture, the Antichrist will be unveiled. Not that he isn’t somewhere on the scene right now, he surely is; however after the rapture occurs he will then assume his final role as world dictator and those who become believers after the Rapture and are Biblically aware will be able to recognize him for who he is (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8).
After the Rapture the world’s economy will crash. The Antichrist, along with the False Prophet, will stabilize it and during the course of Tribulation will create strict controls over who can buy and sell. Every man, woman, and child will receive a mark, without which one cannot participate in the economy leading to great suffering for those who refuse it. The mark will either be the name of the beast or the number of his name…666 (Revelation 13:17-18).
For those who have accepted the gift of Salvation purchased through the Blood of Jesus, what will happen at and after the rapture cannot be put into human words.
9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"
The first thing that will happen, which will happen instantly at the rapture, we will receive our “Glorified Body”. A body fit for Heaven and eternity.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
In 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 and 52-54, Paul tells us that the glorified body will be “imperishable” and “immortal”. It will be raised in “glory and power”. There will be no human limitations to what it can do. It will not be bound by the laws of physics. You will be able to move throughout the universe and Heaven at the speed of thought. This new perfect and powerful body will be spirit controlled, rather than controlled by the flesh. In Philippians 3:21 Paul further states that the glorified bodies which will be given to believers will be like the body that Jesus had after His resurrection. What a promise!
David Reagan
Jesus appeared in the flesh after His resurrection. In Luke 24:39, He told His disciples when He appeared to them after His resurrection, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." He specifically states that He was made of flesh and bones and not just a spirit. In another post-resurrection appearance, Jesus ate bread and fish with the disciples (John 21:12-13). These were not the actions of a spirit.
However, we need to remember that this body was a resurrected body--like the body we will have when we are resurrected. This body is also called a glorified body. The glorified body does not have the limitations of our present body. Jesus appeared in rooms where the doors had been shut and certainly locked:
"Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you" (John 20:19). Christ never passed through closed doors during His earthly ministry; only after His resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:44 speaks of our death and resurrection: "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." The spiritual body is what I earlier called the glorified body. It is the body of the saints when it has been resurrected. It is an incorrupt body, but it is a body.
Following our instant transformation at the Rapture is the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, speaking specifically about the Rapture of the Church, lays out the order of events and then tells us to comfort one another with the Biblical facts of the Rapture of the Church. These words certainly wouldn’t be a comfort if we had the Antichrist and the wrath of God to look forward to.
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
11 For the grace of God (His unmerited favor and blessing) has come forward (appeared) for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind.
12 It has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness (irreligion) and worldly (passionate) desires, to live discreet (temperate, self-controlled), upright, devout (spiritually whole) lives in this present world,
13 Awaiting and looking for the [fulfillment, the realization of our] blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One),
14 Who gave Himself on our behalf that He might redeem us (purchase our freedom) from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people [to be peculiarly His own, people who are] eager and enthusiastic about [living a life that is good and filled with] beneficial deeds.(A)
15 Tell [them all] these things. Urge (advise, encourage, warn) and rebuke with full authority. Let no one despise or disregard or think little of you [conduct yourself and your teaching so as to command respect].
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