October 1: TO MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

The promise of the resurrection is the great hope of every Christian. God’s redeemed are promised a resurrection body that is conformed to the risen [Christ’s] glorious body (Philippians 3:21) following the essential transformation of our characters; a transformation that requires our cooperation.

After Paul’s conversion to Christ, he suffered terribly on numerous occasions (Acts 13:50; 2 Corinthians 6:4-5; 11:23-27; 12:7-10; Galatians 6:17; 2 Timothy 3:10-11). The promise of the resurrection – and a glorious, healthy resurrection body – was a marvelous source of encouragement for him to persevere in the faith through the perils of this fallen world. Paul wrote of the resurrection in connection with Christ’s coming for the encouragement of all believers: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam, all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming (1 Corinthians 15:19-23).

Jesus made an interesting statement, comparing Himself to Satan: The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10). One thing that Satan wants to steal from Christ’s followers is the truth about life and death. For Satan has insinuated himself and his lie about death (Genesis 3:4) into the church. Many of today’s pastors insist that those who have died are not dead at all, but are alive and fully conscious in another realm from the moment of death. This lie of Satan is the foundation for a multiplicity of false teachings upon which pagan religions are built. Incredibly, most modern Protestants have also become his tool for spreading the lie that death is not real. This false teaching is one of many passed on to Protestantism from Catholicism. It renders the Biblical teachings about the glorious resurrection at the Lord’s second coming of little to no effect. Jesus warns that it is preparing the world for a whopping set of end-time delusions that will deceive, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:24). Beloved, it is incumbent upon us to value the truth. The Bible says that dead people are dead. Those who have died in Christ are blissfully unaware of the passage of time. They will be raised on the Day of His return. Because of the sleep of death, the arrival of Christ will seem instantaneous to them! Christ’s faithful who are alive when He arrives will be changed; that is, given new bodies also (see 1 Corinthians 15:52). Glory to God!!

So man lies down and does not rise, Till the heavens are no more,* They will not awake nor be roused from their sleep. If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer You. Job 14:12,14,15a *2 Peter 3:10