1 Thessalonians 4:17
17 Then [epeita] we [hemeis] which [ho] are alive [zao] and remain [perileipo] shall be caught up [harpazo] together [hama] with [sun] them [autos] in [en] the clouds, [nephele] to [eis] meet [apantesis] the Lord [kurios] in [eis] the air: [aer] and [kai] so [houto] shall we [esomai] ever [pantote] be [esomai] with [sun] the Lord. [kurios] KJV-Interlinear
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. NASB
In an instant of time, God
the Father who alone knows the day and hour of the Rapture, will in some
fashion give the go-ahead to Christ.Christ
will then shout out the order, and descend out of heaven down to the earth, but
stopping in the upper atmosphere.
The ruling angel will shout
the assembly of the angels, who will accompany the Lord in His descent.
God will issue the
trumpet blast, calling the assembly of the dead in Christ, who are presently in
heaven, and will also accompany Christ in His descent.
And then, when all have
arrived at their destination, which is somewhere in the upper atmosphere, or
above, Christ will gather up all those believers, who remain alive on earth.
The word for caught up,
harpazo, means to be gathered, captured, collected,
by some overwhelming and irresistible power (resistance is futile).
And so, all believers will
be caught up, without warning, in a blink, and taken from the face of this
earth, into the upper atmosphere, and there the living will be transformed while
in transit, and will meet everyone who is already there.
The skies will be
crowded for sure then.But no one on
this earth will see any of it.Only the
participants will see the drama of the events unfold.
The transformation,
which is called the resurrection, will all be completed in an instant of time.
The very next act, and
the very first act of all believers, from within their resurrection bodies, will
be what has been called the great genuflex, Phil. 2:9-11, every knee shall
bend, every head shall bow, in recognition of Christ as Lord.
Christ will collect
that which belongs to Him, because Christ fulfilled the prophecies of Isa 53.
Phil 2:9-11
9 Therefore also God
highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and
under the earth,
11 and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father. NASB
Isa 53:4
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our
sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and
afflicted. NASB
Isa. 53:12
12 Therefore, I will
allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide
the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was
numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And
interceded for the transgressors. NASB
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