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NASB | 1 Thessalonians 4:17 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain [on the earth] will simultaneously be caught up (raptured) together with them [the resurrected ones] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord! [John 14:3; 1 Cor 15:52; 2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23; Col 3:4] |
Subject: Order of events at the 2nd Coming? |
Bible Note: Well, looks like most of my forum pals are having a Saturday evening jamboree, and I can't just sit here and let you have all the fun. Besides, the Razorbacks aren't playing tonight and this is more exciting than the Grand Old Opry, so open the gate, I'm coming in to sit with you for a spell.... There's a couple of guys on TV down here in my part of the world who talk about nothing but eschatology, only they quit calling it that after somebody reminded them that we don't need to be much concerned about eschatology here in Arkansas since we don't have any escalators anyhow. So they started calling it prophecy and that seemed to catch people's attention a little better. They make a pretty good living, I guess, peddling books, tapes and study courses on the end times and between commercials manage to throw in enough foreboding passages from Daniel and Revelation to scare the dickens out of their viewers. The first few times I watched the show, I was slightly intrigued by some of the things they said, but soon enough a touch of boredom set in and I kicked the habit of watching them anymore. In the first place most of the stuff they talked about that was going to happen was way off into the future, and I'm 66 years old now and don't expect to live to be 1066, so I decided it might be a trifle more important to me to do what I can to influence somebody to come to Jesus in the few years that I may have remaining to me on this earth..... Now this isn't to say that Jesus may not come tonight or tomorrow -- not at all. And I believe Him when he said he would come again. But Tim, you have it right, I believe. You used the word balance -- keep a balanced view about end times and present times, between the here and now and the there and then........ I don't think that when Jesus said to watch for His coming He ever meant for His disciples to be professional star-gazers day and night. We can watch out of the corner of one eye while we buckle down to try to do some serious work in his vineyard while the sun is still shining and we have the breath of life and the strength to perform...... It's fascinating business to think about what the future may hold, that's for sure. But our future is molded to some extent by how we conduct ourselves in the Lord's business day by day, here and now....... Thanks for letting me drop by on your Saturday evening tete-a-tete and, in spirit at least, I'll be with you in church tomorrow. --Hank |