Ever with Jesus

“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 so we shall ever be with the Lord.” (1Thessalonians 4:17)

This is the rapture. Jesus comes for believers who like the five virgins who were prepared and waiting for the bridegroom, are prepared and waiting for Him to come for us. This is not the Second Coming of Christ. At the Second Coming, Jesus will set His feet on earth. “And His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall divide from its middle, from the east and to the west, a very great valley. And half of the mountain shall move toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” (Zechariah 14:4) In the rapture, we go to Him in the clouds if we are alive when He comes for us. If not, we will resurrect from the grave, have our heavenly bodies and meet Jesus in the clouds with those who are alive or as our Scripture says, “who are alive and remain.” This is the first resurrection of the saints. “For we, having the same spirit of faith (according as it is written, "I believed, and therefore I have spoken"); we also believed and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus shall also raise us up by Jesus, and shall present us with you.” (2Corinthians 4:13-14) The dead and those alive will meet in the air together to meet with Jesus in the clouds. “For we say this to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not go before those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. 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 so we shall ever be with the Lord.” (1Thessalonians 4:15-17)

When Jesus comes for us, it will happen so quickly, we won’t have time to think about it, about the people we are leaving behind, our responsibilities and things we had planned to do nor about what will happen to our possessions. “...in a moment, in a glance of an eye, at the last trumpet. For a trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed.” (1Corinthians 15:52) The bodies of those who are alive at the time, must change. They will be living in this earth suit. They will need their heavenly body. The earth body is from the earth and must remain on earth. When Jesus calls us, there will be these dead carcasses all over the world of believers who are gone. There have been teachings of people disappearing, but that’s not Scriptural. Our earthly bodies will remain here.

There is a Scripture in Matthew that speaks of two in the field, and one is taken and two at the mill and one taken. “For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark. And they did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Therefore watch; for you do not know what hour your Lord comes.” (Matthew 24:38-42) This makes it seem that one will disappear, but that is not what will happen. The earthly body cannot leave earth. Our body will be changed to a heavenly body. (1 Corinthians 15:52) When Jesus spoke of being taken, He was saying literally, they will not be on earth. He was not talking about their earthly bodies.

The last phrase of our Scripture tells us that from the rapture on, we will be with Jesus. Paul specifically wrote, “... we shall ever be with the Lord.” The word ever means always. When Jesus comes to earth, we will be with Him in His glory. Jude wrote Enoch’s prophecy about the return of Jesus. “And Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied to these, saying, Behold, the Lord came with myriads of His saints, to do judgment against all, and to rebuke all the ungodly of them concerning all their ungodly works which they ungodly did, and concerning all the hard things ungodly sinners spoke against Him.” (Jude 1:14-15)

Many get confused when we speak of the return of Christ. The return of Christ is the Second Coming when Jesus sets feet on earth. He returns to earth. The rapture is not the return of Christ, but the capturing of saints out of the judgement to come on the earth, both those who have died and those who are alive. Jesus will come in the clouds in both the rapture and the Second Coming. At the rapture, our bodies are changed, we meet Jesus in the clouds and the people on earth will not see Him. But in the Second Coming, everyone will be able to see Him. “Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, and those who pierced Him will see Him, and all the kindreds of the earth will wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.” (Revelation 1:7)