Paul's Exhortations to the Thessalonian Church Volume 27

Paul Encourages & Comforts them with the Certainty of Christ 2nd Coming Part 3

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. KJV

Paul finishes his reassuring these saints in Thessalonica of the certain, confident, and concrete evidence that our Lord Jesus Christ Himself will come back for them and for us who trust Him today and for every true believer 'in Christ' of every generation and era by first declaring that those believers alive still on the earth (of whatever generation it might be) will hear and see Christ Jesus our Lord personally as he says here, "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:17) (KJV). Notice how Paul uses emphatically the plural pronoun 'we' as if he expected to be alive at and during the 2nd coming of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. This was not written from snobbery or entitlement or embelishment of his own virtue or status before Jesus Christ, but it was written (as we declared in the last study/commentary) from a heart or inner man of one who fully expected to see Christ come on the Clouds of Glory with the Holy Angels (Matthew 25:31).

We must say here that the message is also giving these believers assurance that our Lord Jesus received or picked up each one of their/our loved ones who died 'in Christ' just as we found brother Stephen (the first martyr) received by our Lord Jesus Christ personally as recorded for us by Dr. Luke with these words, "Now upon hearing these things, they [the Jews] were cut to the heart {and} infuriated, and they ground their teeth against [Stephen]. But he, full of the Holy Spirit {and} controlled by Him, gazed into heaven and saw the glory (the splendor and majesty) of God, and Jesus standing at God's right hand; And he said, Look! I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at God's right hand! But they raised a great shout and put their hands over their ears and rushed together upon him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him, and the witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And while they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, Lord Jesus, receive {and} accept {and} welcome my spirit! And falling on his knees, he cried out loudly, Lord, fix not this sin upon them [lay it not to their charge]! And when he had said this, he fell asleep [in death]." (Acts 7:54-60) (Amplified Bible).

Note: "I believe that every true believer in Christ Jesus sees Him personally at the moment of their death welcoming them, that is, their unique soul/spirit into Heaven with Him. Such as Solomon says with these words of wisdom, 'Then shall the dust [out of which God made man's body] return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God Who gave it.' (Ecclesiastes 12:7) (Amplified Bible)" The little English phrase 'shall be caught up' is translated by one Greek word harpazo meaning to seize (in various applications): - catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force). This definition is where we get the Doctrine ' The Rapture' from, even though the English word 'Rapture' is found no where in the Bible. The Doctrine of the Rapture means the future event when Christian believers are suddenly removed from the Earth before the second coming of Christ and this Doctrine is disputed by many, even among many believers.

However, I cannot see how anyone can deny this at all for throughout the Gospels our Lord Jesus Christ assures those of us who belong to Him that we will not go through the 'Great Tribulation' that will occur on the earth after His 2nd coming to the earth as He says here, "But in those days, after [the affliction and oppression and distress of] that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; And the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great (kingly) power and glory (majesty and splendor). And then He will send out the angels and will gather together His elect (those He has picked out for Himself) from the four winds, from the farthest bounds of the earth to the farthest bounds of heaven." (Mark 13:24-27) (Amplified Bible).

The little English phrase 'to meet' is translated by one Greek word apantesis meaning a (friendly) encounter: In other words, this catching away or being caught in the clouds to meet our Lord Jesus Christ will be a wonderful experience for each one of we true believers who are alive on the earth during this time, not a time of mourning or sorrowing as our Lord Jesus Himself says will be the case for all the tribes of the earth that mocked at His 2nd coming, "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn {and} beat their breasts {and} lament in anguish, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliancy and splendor]." (Matthew 24:30) (Amplified Bible), even as these words of our Lord Jesus Christ were affirmed by the Apostle Peter read (2 Peter 3:1-10).

Paul wants them to be at ease concerning their loved ones who have already died and he wanted to reassure them that they had not missed the 2nd coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and so he concludes with this exhortation after his above explanation, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:18) (KJV). That is, with these rock solid assurances in mind comfort one another concerning your dead loved ones keeping yourselves free from worry, grief, or sorrow, just as the Psalmist says with these words, "But God will redeem me from the power of Sheol (the place of the dead); for He will receive me. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!" (Psalm 49:15) (Amplified Bible).

"We should endeavour to support one another in times of sorrow, not deaden one another's spirits, nor weaken one another's hands, but should comfort one another; and this may be done by serious consideration and discourse on the many good lessons to be learned from the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, the second coming of Christ, and the glory of the saints in that day." Matthew Henry

"The verb does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. In all these instances there is the idea of either foreign force or violence effecting that which is done. What force or power is to be applied in causing the living and the dead to ascend, is not expressed. Whether it is to be by the ministry of angels, or by the direct power of the Son of God, is not intimated, though the latter seems to be most probable. The word should not be construed, however as implying that there will be any reluctance on the part of the saints to appear before the Saviour, but merely with reference to the physical fact that power will be necessary to elevate them to meet him in the air. Will their, bodies then be such that they will have the power of locomotion at will from place to place?" Albert Barnes

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…