Jesus told His disciples, "I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:3) Later, the apostle Paul explained how this will take place and that it will occur before the day of the Lord's wrath known as "The Tribulation."
Writing to the church in Corinth Paul explained the mystery that not all Christians will die but their bodies will be instantly changed when the Lord comes. (1 Corinthians 15:51) The bodies of those who die before He comes will be raised at His coming. (15:52)
In his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, he wrote, "The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so we shall always be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:16b-17)
When Paul preached the gospel in Thessalonica, those who believed "turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven ...."
"Who rescues us from the wrath to come." (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10) They had this "hope of salvation" (5:8) because God has not destined us for wrath. (5:9) The wrath that begins "The day of the Lord" will bring destruction upon the world (5:2-3) but it will not overtake the church. (5:4) And Christians who have this hope are to encourage one another and build up one another just as the Thessalonians were doing. (5:11)
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
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