Tag: trumpet call
Resurrection world view
Scripture reading for September 17: 1 Thessalonians 4
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a Word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
Most of the world looks at death as a finality. Jews and Christians believe in a resurrection, final judgment, and afterlife. Hinduism teaches reincarnation based on how we live now. Muslims believe that if they please their god, he will give them seventy virgins to spend eternity with. Those serving various gods and idols devise theories about what life after death might be like if they meet the religious criteria. Atheists feel that death is final and everyone should live as they will.
Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, sought to give them a clear understanding of what happens to believers who have died. In another place, Paul stated that believers soul and spirit go immediately into the Lord’s presence awaiting the resurrection of their bodies at Christ’s return. (Philippians 1:21-23) He likened the current state of their body to sleep. Jesus died and His body was buried in a tomb. God raised Him from death on the third day. Jesus gave Paul this Word to share concerning those believers who died and His return again to receive believers. There would be a loud shout from Heaven and the sound of a trumpet awakening those asleep and those waiting alike to Jesus’ glorious return. Those whose bodies were ‘asleep’ in death would rise first. Then those waiting in faith would also be ‘caught up’ to meet the Lord in the air together with those asleep. All believers would always be with the Lord! This Word of Truth was to be encouraging to all believers for all time!
Have you ever wondered about what happens to believers at death? Have you used this passage to develop your own world view of death and resurrection? Will you use this passage of God’s Word to encourage others?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for expanding my world view into eternal life with Jesus Christ. I await with great hope the loud shout of an archangel and the trumpet call from heaven calling me to meet Jesus in the air, whether awake or asleep! Amen!
Thankful for Prophetic Warning!
Scripture reading for October 19th: Matthew 21-25
Key Scriptures: Matthew 24:15-16 “”So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken through the prophet Daniel–letter the reader understand–then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” Matthew 24:30-31 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
Jesus responded to His disciples question concerning the when and what signs would mark the end of the age. He quoted from Daniel, Psalms, and His own knowledge of the Father’s plan. God always fulfills His holy word. Heaven and earth would pass away, but what God had spoken would be brought to pass. God would soon go public and the whole earth would see Him return–some mourning and others gathered in victory!
Thankful for Daniel’s writing: “He (the Antichrist) will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” (Daniel 9:27) “In My vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven.” (Daniel 7:13)