Quote:
Originally Posted by Timotheist
I am curious to hear what you have to say... after all, it is now "another day".
A lot rides on this phrase "alive AND remain" if it is being used to support a rapture before the second coming.
Young's translation reads this way:
17 then we who are living, who are remaining over, together with them shall be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in air, and so always with the Lord we shall be; (1Th*4:17*YLT) Note the missing word "and", which the more honest translations will put in italics, indicating that it is not in the Greek.
Young's uses a comma, not a conjunction. This changes the meaning of the verse significantly, and Young's translation is more consistent with the context. As I stated before, Paul is trying to assure the Thessalonians that those who died will see Christ first, at the resurrection. Period. If he believed in a pre-resurrection rapture, this passage would have read differently. |
Thank you for your question. To be clear I truly believe there will be a catching up, a harpazo, or rapture before the second coming of Christ in which every eye will see Him. In fact I think there is going to be more than one rapture but that’s a topic for another time. You may not think so, but that is ok by me. After all we are still here!! And this is just food for thought.
So in Matthew 27:52, of it reads “
Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the [a]saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many.”
In 1 Corinthians 15:52-53 we read that
in the twinkling or blink of an eye, the dead (in Christ) shall be raised …and we shall be changed. we will put on our Glorified, incorruptible, immortal bodies.
Our bodies will now be Glorified.
Philippians 3:21 says
(Our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ); will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His Glorious Body,
It seems POSSIBLE, repeat POSSIBLE (no actual proof) that when we are changed into our Glorified bodies in the twinkling of an eye, we might remain here for a short time just as many of the the resurrected saints of the OT did when Jesus resurrected as we read in Matthew 27:52.
Why cannot that happen? After all 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says we who are alive AND REMAIN! Or as Young’s literal translation reads
And the dead in Christ shall rise first,
17 then we who are living, who are remaining over, together with them shall be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in air, and so always with the Lord we shall be;
Regardless of the translation, the dead in Christ rise first correct? Then we who are living, who are remaining over… WOW, That really brings Mathew 27 to light if you ask me! Those resurrected saints from the OT remained over in Jerusalem!
I think just as the resurrected remained on earth for some time, we could very well remain ourselves.
We have biblical proof that many bodies of the OT saints when they resurrected remained in Jerusalem and appeared to many.
Imagine if our loved ones, friends, neighbors, coworkers saw us in our Glorified, incorruptible, immortal bodies before we are caught up in the clouds to meet Jesus in the air???
What a Glorious testimony! How many people might get saved then. They might not get caught up like we did, but they will be saved and be with the Lord at some point. Again FOOD FOR THOUGHT!
I do want to get back to the Russia/Gog discussion… hopefully sometime today.
Blessings from our Beloved LORD AND KING