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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: Searching for the truth |
Bible Note: Greetings, Fellow Heirs. I'm new to this forum and am eager to join this discussion. Of all biblical issues, none have generated more discussion, debate, passion, speculation, and confusion among people supposedly of "like mind" than that of the rapture and the various fates of mankind at the end of the age. Yet I am fully persuaded that we -- the body of Christ -- can and WILL come to agreement on this. Four reasons I know we can do this: (1) God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor.14:33); (2) we [if we are true believers] have God's Spirit (Acts 5:32); (3) God is not divided (1 Cor. 1:13); and (4) I've been through this before, in discussions involving Christians from all kinds of denominations and, in each case, where love and humility -- and Christ -- ruled, understanding was achieved. Once we see, from God's Word, that denominational pride is sin; that God is against false teaching; and that God requires us to come to unity in the faith (1 Cor. 1:10-13), we can discover the plain, simple truth about these things. Having done this many times before, I am familiar with the various lines of reasoning and points of contention -- as well as the false assumptions -- that have unnecessarily prolonged the debate for centuries. The problem lies in our tendency to jump from FALSE PREMISES TO PREMATURE CONCLUSIONS. Forgetting the biblical injunction against PRIVATE INTERPRETATION of the Scriptures (2 Pet. 1:20), we rely on human reasoning and end up presenting opinion as doctrine. While we all speculate on matters not definitively set forth by the Scriptures, when it comes to DOCTRINE, we had better verify what we teach. Doctrine is that which we hold one another accountable to believe. Upon DOCTRINE we make RULES. And because of RULES, I have seen people put out of churches, leave churches, and refuse to become part of churches. Because of RULES, people have even committed suicide. Every church I have ever attended has preached at least one sermon against the practice of the Pharisees and Saducees of going beyond God's requirements and laying burdens on others. Yet every one of them had their own set of requirements. A quick example: many churches condemn ALL consumption of alcoholic beverages -- going far beyond the biblical condemnation of DRUNKENESS. When I address this forum again -- if it's God's will -- I will examine the first premise most churches teach that the Scriptures plainly contradict, but by its application casts many a stumbling block before the would-be believer. I think we will begin to see that the "good news" REALLY IS GOOD. In Christ, Jay |