Meeting Christ in the Air

(1 Thessalonians 4:14-18)

Much has been spoken and written about the events contained in this section of scripture when we shall be meeting Christ in the air.

Commonly referred to as “The Rapture” it refers to when Christ returns and calls all of His people to Himself, meeting Christ in the air, as He descends upon the earth at His second coming.

Meeting Christ in the air will be a time of great joy as all of His promises are fulfilled and His people come together at the commencement of the next age. So let’s look for a moment at what will happen when we are meeting Christ in the air.

Who will be meeting Christ in the air?

This scripture today is quite clear about who will be meeting Christ in the air. This is what it has to say.

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; 17 then we who are alive, who are left, shall 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. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18)

There are two groups of people who will meet with Christ in the air.

The first group are all of those who have died and were His people. All of those Christians that died with Christ will be raised from the dead and caught up into the air to meet our Lord and Saviour upon His return.

The second group are all of those who are still alive here on the earth at His second coming. They too will be caught up into the air to meet Christ as He returns to the earth.

This is referred to as the First Resurrection in Revelation.

4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6)

Note that for those who enter into this first resurrection, that is, those who will be meeting Jesus in the air, they are not going to be affected by the second death, which comes at the Final Judgement. All Christians should be aiming to be part of the first resurrection.

It is also important to note that it is ONLY those who are in Christ, whether dead or alive, who will be meeting Christ in the air. Any person, whether dead or alive, who has NOT chosen to follow the Lord, will not be meeting Christ in the air.

How are we meeting Christ in the air?

This question is relatively simple. The scripture says that we will be lifted up from this earth and literally fly to the Lord to meet Him and those who will be with Him as He returns.

From the information above we see that those who have died in Christ will be resurrected to life. That means their spirits that are with Christ now in Paradise will be returned to a physical body that He will recreate and they will once again become flesh and blood.

Likewise, those who are still alive and are believers on this earth will be lifted up to be with Christ.

But there is one other thing we need to understand. When all of this happens, our bodies will be transformed so that the “death factor” that causes us to die will be taken away. We will be freed from the bondage to death.

We see this indicated in the Revelation 20:6 scripture above where it says that those who are part of the first resurrection will reign with Christ for a thousand years. The words of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 above also says that after meeting Christ in the air, “…we shall always be with the Lord.”

But this is made even clearer in the following verses.

51 Lo! 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 imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

So we see in all of this that how we will be meeting Christ in the air will be in human flesh and blood, but immortal and no longer subjected to ageing and death.

When will we be meeting Christ in the air?

Probably one of the most argued and contentious points in Christian discussions about the rapture, is when will we be meeting Christ in the air.

The short answer is that nobody knows when Christ will return because the Lord tells us as much in the scriptures in Matthew 25:13. So there really should be no contention on that point.

But there is a great contention about the timing of events to take place and whether the people of God will be taken before or after the great tribulations of the end days. There are many discussions about whether the Lord will take His people out pre-tribulation or post-tribulation.

The tribulations of the end times all coincide with the blasts of the seven trumpets. These then also include the seven bowls of God’s wrath that will be poured upon the earth at the very end of the tribulations.

Now we have seen from several of the scriptures quoted above that the people of God who will be meeting Christ in the air, do not meet Him until the last trumpet is sounded. That is when they will be caught up into the air to meet Christ.

All of the tribulations written about in the book of Revelation occur with the blasts of the earlier trumpets and the emptying of the bowls of wrath. So the tribulation will occur before Christ returns to rule and reign since He will not come back until the final trumpet is blown.

We also note these words at the end of the pouring out of the seven bowls of wrath that suggest there will still be people of God on the earth during the tribulations.

15 (“Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments that he may not go naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place which is called in Hebrew Armageddon. (Revelation 16:15-16)

If the people of God had been taken out of the world prior to the tribulations, to whom would verse 15 be addressed? The only people who were ever instructed to watch and be awake for the second coming of Jesus were the people of God. So if this warning is being given to God’s people, then there must still be some of Hid people on the earth.

And besides this point, the pouring of the bowls of wrath and the sounding of the first six trumpets all take place before the last trumpet, which scripture tells us is when Christ shall return. And He does not take His people out to be meeting Christ in the air until that last trumpet blast.

So be prepared because the tribulations have already begun. What we are seeing with this global pestilence and the increases in natural disasters all over the world is just the beginning. It WILL get worse and we need to take comfort knowing that the Lord will protect His people throughout this time. He may even take some people through death during this time so they do not have to suffer, but that will be entirely up to the Lord.

So watch and be prepared. Study God’s word and grow in the Spirit for the time is short. Before too long you can be certain we WILL be meeting Christ in the air.

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