Excellent Christ will return for His church The Rapture Explained by Deniz22

The Rapture will always be sudden, since no signs precede it. The Second Coming has many signs, given for the encouragement of troubled saints during the awful Tribulation period following the Rapture and preceding the Millennium. At the Rapture; all believers in the Biblical Christ will be swept up to Him as He appears in the clouds, as He will not set foot on earth until the Second Coming. As we living saints are caught up, we shall be completely transformed into His image, the culmination of a process (sanctification) which began when we were first saved. This final phase of sanctification is known as glorification. The Apostle John speaks of the power of seeing the living Christ, in all His beauty, activating that final and full transformation into our eternal state. We shall be entirely sinless and innately good, even as our bodies assume a resurrection body like Christ's. "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." Bible Gateway passage: 1 John 3:2 NKJV The Apostle Paul teaches this transformation of living believers as part of the larger mystery of the Church, which was previously a "secret hidden in God, not revealed to the OT Prophets". (Ephesians 3:1--5) 51 "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 NKJV What about the church saints who have died before the Rapture? They are already with the Lord as Paul teaches here: " We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord." Bible Gateway passage: 2 Corinthians 5:8 NKJV How will the church saints who died previous to the Rapture receive their new resurrection bodies like Christ's? (NOTE: OT saints are another category. Here we here are looking only at the Rapture of the saints making up the body of Christ, His beloved Bride.) Here's the Apostle Paul's description of the church saints who died previous to the Rapture: "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. (NOTE: Deceased Christians are with the Lord while their bodies sleep in the grave.) 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 by no means precede those who are asleep. (NOTE: In other words, the living saints with the Lord will first receive their transformed resurrection bodies before the physically living saints are transformed into their new bodies.) 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. (NOTE: It's the Lord Himself alone, not accompanied by angels, who personally comes for His Bride. This is in accordance with what the angels told the Apostles watching Christ's ascension, "Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." Acts 1NKJV (NOTE: notice the angels "in like manner" or IOWs, just as He went alone, so shall He come alone) Resuming the passage from 1 Thessalonians 4:16 above: "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. 1 Thessalonians 4 NKJV SUMMATION; The church is the "pearl of great price". Christ shed His blood for us, paying our huge debt of sin and when the pearl is completely formed, we shall be taken to our home in the skies where we will shine to His glory forever and ever. Author Notes RAPTURE is the Latin term for the process of moving a large body of people swiftly to another place.

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