Prophesy – the rapture phase
John 14:1-3
The saints will be resurrected and taken up to meet Christ in the air.
I Corinthians 15 deals with the bodily resurrection. In verses 13-19 we see the results if there was not a physical resurrection (Christ would still be in the grave, our preaching and faith are in vain and we are to be pitied. “But”, verses 20-23 reveals that there is a resurrection, Christ was the first and we the believers in Christ as savior will follow.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18, gives us further details of the resurrection that will occur at the rapture. Christ will return in the clouds with the saints who have died and they will be re-united with their resurrected bodies from the grave. Immediaetly those saints still living at that time will be then translated with their new bodies and together we will all be with the Lord. The key to all this is the bodily resurrrction of Christ two thousand years ago.
This is the sure hope of all Christians through out the church age. That Christ would return in their life time and if he doesn’t we can still be confident that when he does return we will be re-united with our new resurrected bodies and be with the Lord for all eternity. Therfore when a loved one in Christ has died we will not grieve as the world would grieve because we know that some day we will see that loved one again.
Next week we will look at the judgment seat of Chris that will occur after the rapture.