Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 130

May 10;   I Thessalonians 4:17;   186/260(I);   ‘The Rapture’

1 Thessalonians 4:17 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.  

End Time events are fast approaching.  Much has been said that is either confusing, frightening or both.  As Christians we do not have to be afraid, nor do we have to be confused.  The first event, as end times begin to take place, is the rapture of the church.  The word rapture is not mentioned in scripture.  In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 the Bible talks about a ‘falling away.’  Many have thought it means the church will begin to fall away from the things of God and begin to live as the unsaved do.  That is not biblical.  The words ‘falling away’ means departure.  When you replace falling away with departure it makes perfect sense.  Before the tribulation, which will be a difficult time and a time of persecution and trouble, the Lord will appear in the sky and call the Christians who are alive on the earth to be with Him in heaven.  The bodies of Christians who died will be resurrected and changed into glorified bodies that can be in heaven.  These bodies will be reunited with the spirits of those deceased Christians.  Their spirits are with Jesus in heaven.  Then the Christians who are alive during the rapture will rise to meet Jesus in the air and our bodies will be changed to glorified bodies as well.  The tribulation is a time of God dealing with the unbelieving Jews and unsaved people.  The antichrist will persecute Christians, and it will be a challenge. Jesus will His people then and now.  Christians have already accepted Jesus and do not need to be here.  The Lord always gets His people out before judgment falls.  i.e. Noah before the flood and Lot before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.  Eternity awaits.