Two Scriptural passages used by rapturists to “prove” their theory are 1 Thessalonians 3:13 and 4:13,14: “… the coming of our Lord with all His saints.” Notice that He said He would return with ALL OF HIS SAINTS. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep (who died) in Jesus will God bring with Him.” Here we are told that both the living and the dead will return to earth with Jesus Christ at His second advent. For rapturists the words “with Him” answers the question concerning from whence the Lord’s saints will come?  For rapturists and those whose who believe church members go immediately to heaven at death–usually the same people–the fact that Jesus has been in heaven for thousands of years and that His saints will come “with Him” makes it seemingly clear that both He and they will come from HEAVEN.  But let us obey God’s command to 1) prove all things concerning a subject by the Scriptures and 2) consult all relevant Scriptures on the subject. By so doing we find that many of the foundational “truths” embraced by the Institutional Church are not truths at all, but are Satanic lies designed to lead God-seekers through the wrong gate and along the wrong path which leads to death (Mat. 7:13,14). See Bait and Switch and The Rapture.

By following God’s commands relative to Truth-seeking we find that the rapturists and the go-to-heaven-at-death people are wrong. To prove that all of God’s saints will rise from the EARTH to meet Him upon His return one needs to examine 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17: “For this we say to you by the WORD OF THE LORD, that we which are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (precede) them that are asleep (dead). For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first (at His coming-3:13). Then we who are alive (at His coming) shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Let us summarize: Jesus is coming back to earth ONE more time. His arrival will feature a shout, the voice of the archangel, a trumpet blast and lightning from east to west (Mat: 24:27). At that time all who have ever lived “in Him”–true saints– will rise to meet Him in the air, the dead rising first. The dead and living will include Old Testament saints such as Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David and the prophets, along with the apostles and those who believed and obeyed their words during the period leading up to the Lord’s return. Note that both the dead “in Christ” and the living “in Christ” will be either in or on the earth when He returns. Note that 1 Thessalonians 4:17 says that following the saints rise to meet Jesus in the air they will always be with Him where He is.

Zechariah 4:4 notes that Jesus and all His saints will go immediately to the Mount of Olives just outside of Jerusalem, just as the angels told the apostles as they watched Jesus rise into the clouds–He would return exactly as He left (Acts 1:9-11)–from the Mount of Olives. Revelation 5:10 and 20:4 tell us that the saints will be with Jesus on earth where they will reign with Him. See The Kingdom of God. Satan has lied to the religious masses through his false prophets who tell us even today that heaven is the next home of the church. Believe God, not his ministers. Search the Scriptures for God’s Truth, not your denominational study booklets and Sunday School lessons. We will all be judged by THE WORDS SPOKEN BY GOD.

The Scriptures noted above do say that Jesus will be alone when He descends from heaven to meet His saints in the clouds. Mark 8:38 and Revelation 19 tell us that a mighty army of angels clothed with fine linen and riding on white horses. And His arrival will be spectacular. Unlike His first arrival on earth, this time He will come as Lord of Lords and King of Kings to establish the Kingdom of His Father. This time He will come with great power and glory (Mat. 24:30). To be continued. L.J.