Resurrection of the Saints at the Lord’s Coming
2 In my Father's
house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to
prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also.
(John 14:2-3
KJV)
10 And while they
looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in
white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of
(Acts 1:10-11
KJV)
30 And then shall
appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of
the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming
in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall
send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they
shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from
one end of heaven to the other.
(Matthew
24:30-31 KJV)
1 Now we beseech
you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
by our gathering together unto him,
(II
Thessalonians 2:1 KJV)
The above texts deal with the gathering together of the saints at the coming of the Lord. Jesus is coming again, and when He comes again, He will receive us (the Church, His saints) to Himself. We, as the elect of God, will be gathered together with a great sound of a trumpet at His coming.
This gathering together speaks of us being resurrected from the dead, being translated, and being with the Lord for all eternity. Those who are alive and remain when this coming of the Lord Jesus takes place will not go ahead of those who were dead in Christ. The dead in Christ will rise first.
These saints who are living when the Lord comes again will be caught up together with the resurrected dead in Christ to meet the Lord in the air, as it is written in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. We are told to comfort one another with these words. This is our promise of resurrection and eternal life fulfilled!
DOES IT REALLY MATTER ‘WHEN?’
There are many Christians who believe that it does not matter ‘when’ the Lord comes again. Those who think this way have for the most part become discouraged because of the many different contradictory teachings on the subject. They don’t know what to trust or believe. These think that it’s not really a big deal, just as long as you are ready.
There are many different doctrines taught in the Church world today concerning the future coming of the Lord Jesus and our gathering together to Him. Some believe that Jesus is coming for the saints before the great tribulation. These are called ‘Pre-Tribulationalists’ or ‘Pre-Tribs.’ Some believe that Jesus is coming for the saints during the middle of the great tribulation. These are called ‘Mid-Tribulationalists’ or ‘Mid-Tribs.’ Some believe that Jesus is coming after the great tribulation for the saints. These are called ‘Post-Tribulationalists,’ or ‘Post-Tribs.’
Then there is another creature altogether, which teaches
that the whole thing has already happened.
These are called ‘Preterists,’ or ‘Past-Tribs.’ These believe that the great tribulation, the
coming of the Lord, and the resurrection of the saints, all took place at the
70 AD destruction of
Does it really matter ‘when?’ You may be surprised at the answer of Jesus and Paul to this question when you read these Scriptures about the coming of the Lord and our gathering together to Him. You’ll see that it does matter!
4 And Jesus answered and said unto
them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
(Matthew 24:4 KJV)
3 Let no man deceive you by any
means:
(II Thessalonians 2:3 KJV Abridged)
Go and read the context of these two texts. You will see that Jesus was speaking concerning His coming, and Paul was speaking to the Church concerning His coming. If timing didn’t matter, then these warnings would not be in Scripture! Jesus speaking to the Church warns us, and Paul speaking to the Church warns us.
Have we gotten the message?
Many in the Church apparently have not. This ‘deception’ was going to be about the Lord’s coming, and our gathering together to Him. This ‘deception’ would be anything which teaches contrary to what Jesus and Paul went on to teach as the Truth. Concerning the ‘timing’ of the Lord’s coming and our gathering, we have the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul bringing forth Truths in these Scriptures. Read on, and if you believe anything different from this, then you have been ‘deceived.’
Jesus taught that He would come ‘immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days.’ Read it for yourself in Matthew 24:29! Read on through verse 31 to see that Jesus is speaking of His coming, and our gathering together to Him, because we are ‘His elect,’ gathered at the sound of a trumpet.
Paul taught that Jesus would not come, and we would not be gathered together to Him, EXCEPT a falling away first occur and the man of sin, the son of perdition, be revealed. Read it for yourself in II Thessalonians 2:1-3!
This coming of the Lord and our gathering together to Him is referred to as the ‘Day of Christ’ by the Apostle Paul in II Thessalonians 2:2. Paul goes on to teach that ‘that day’ shall not come, EXCEPT there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.
Matthew 24:29-31 and II Thessalonians 2:1-3 are key texts about the ‘timing’ of the coming of the Lord. Both Jesus and Paul warn us not to be deceived about this ‘timing.’ False teachers were going about the Church, teaching that ‘that day’ was ‘at hand.’ Paul considered that false doctrine.
Things had to happen in this world before ‘that day’ would occur. Paul named two of these things, a falling away and the revealing of the man of sin. Jesus named a whole list of things in Matthew 24. It is clear, however, that ‘that day’ would happen AFTER these things listed had taken place.
It was these ‘signs’ that would tell the Church that the coming of the Lord was near. We cannot know the day and the hour, but we know the season.
THE SAINTS ARE RESURRECTED AT THE LORD’S COMING
We have seen that the ‘timing’ of the Lord’s coming does matter. It is a very serious issue. We have warnings from Jesus and Paul saying that we should not let anyone deceive us about this ‘timing.’ Both Jesus and Paul taught that certain events had to happen before ‘that day’ took place.
What I now want you to notice is that it is not written in any Bible text that Jesus is coming for His saints to gather them together ‘before’ these events. There is also no Bible text that says Jesus is coming for the saints ‘during’ these events. If you believe that there does exist such texts, then please point this preacher to Book, Chapter, and Verse!
I have looked for years and have not found it, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t in there. Maybe you have seen something that I have not. That is always a possibility. If you cannot find it either, however, then maybe you should reconsider your position. You may want to reconsider believing and teaching any doctrine that you cannot find in the Bible!
There is only Bible for Jesus coming for His saints to gather them together ‘after’ these events, as is seen in Matthew 24:29-31 and II Thessalonians 2:1-3. So if you believe ‘before’ or ‘during,’ and not ‘after,’ then you have been deceived away from the Truth as taught by Jesus and Paul. You have been warned and have not taken heed. However, it is not too late for you! Just keep reading with an open mind and you will see even more light!
Those who believe the ‘Pre-Trib’ (saints resurrected before the tribulation) or ‘Mid-Trib’ (saints resurrected in the middle of the tribulation) rapture doctrines also teach and believe that the resurrection of the saints and the Lord’s coming are two separate and distinct events.
There is not one Scripture in the Bible that makes this difference, but these believe it anyway. There is not one Scripture in the Bible that teaches the ‘resurrection of the saints’ and ‘the Lord’s coming’ as two separate and distinct events. That is another Scripture that this preacher wants you to try and find if you believe that is truth! I have looked for years and not found it!
I will give you Scripture that says the resurrection of the saints happens at the Lord’s coming. So, according to the Scriptures, these are not two separate and distinct events, but one in the same event! Read on and see!
1 Corinthians 15
22 For as in
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in
his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his
coming.
If you look at the entire context of 1 Corinthians 15, you will see that this 'made alive' is referring to the resurrection of the dead. Christ the first fruits, and AFTERWARD, they that are Christ's at His COMING.
So thus, at His COMING, those who are His will be 'made alive.' As you read further in this chapter, you will see that this 'made alive' will take place in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMP.
Notice that all this is happening AT HIS COMING,
and not sometime that is mentioned as separate and distinct from HIS COMING. This is clearly evidenced by reading 1
Corinthians 15:23. We will be ‘made
alive’ at the coming of Jesus, in a moment and in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump. For the trumpet shall
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed (1
Corinthians
1 Thessalonians
4
15 For this we
say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto
the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
This text is definitely used the most to teach the ‘Rapture,’ the resurrection of the dead in Christ. Notice that the Apostle Paul teaches this, 'we which are ALIVE and REMAIN unto the COMING of the Lord...'
So there will be saints, in Christ, who are alive and will remain unto the Lord's COMING. This text also places the resurrection of the Dead in Christ, aka the Rapture of the Church, AT THE LORD'S COMING.
As you can see, just from these two texts, the Rapture takes place AT THE LORD'S COMING. The Lord’s coming is said to occur ‘immediately after the tribulation of those days,’ as it is written in Matthew 24:29-31. A careful reading of the Scripture will make it hard for us to be deceived. When the Lord comes after the great tribulation, His elect are gathered.
WHO ARE ‘HIS ELECT’ IN MATTHEW 24:31?
Now after reading this far, the question of ‘His elect’
arises. Why does this question
arise? It is because of Dispensational
teaching. These Dispensationalist
preachers have taught for years that natural
So according to these Dispensational preachers, ‘liars’ and ‘antichrists’ are ‘God’s Elect’ and ‘God’s Chosen People!’ They expect you and I to believe that such a crazy doctrine is the Truth! God allegedly has ‘two elects,’ one belonging to Christ (the Church) and the other one is a lying antichrist (Natural Israel in unbelief). The Bible nowhere teaches ‘two elects.’
I will at this time ask you, dear reader, how many ‘elect(s)’ does God have? The New Testament answer should not surprise you if you are a Christian.
The word ‘elect’ appears twenty-three times in twenty-three verses in the New Testament Sacred Writings (KJV). On every occasion, it is referring to believers in Christ (Christians) as the Elect of God. The word is never used to refer to an unbeliever, liar, or an antichrist. The use of ‘His elect’ in Matthew 24:31 is our focus. The first question is, who is the ‘His?’
Any honest person evaluating this Scripture will admit that ‘His’ is referring to Jesus Christ, because the coming of the Son of Man is being taught. Who are Jesus’ elect? The Scriptures will testify to the Truth, that the Church (The Body of Christ) is ‘His elect.’ I will present a few texts on ‘His elect.’
Colossians 3:12 - Put on therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind,
meekness, longsuffering;
1 Thessalonians 1:4 - Knowing, brethren beloved,
your election of God.
Titus 1:1 - Paul, a servant of God, and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the
acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
1 Peter 1:2 - Elect according to the
foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto
obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and
peace, be multiplied.
Dear
readers, only Christians are ‘His Elect.’
How can Jesus Christ have any other Elect, that is not His Bride? Jesus Christ does not have any other ‘elect,’
because whoever has not the Spirit of Christ is none of His.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but
in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
(Romans 8:9 KJV)
How
can people be the elect of Christ, yet being in unbelief of Him and denying
that He is the Christ? How can natural
The
Scripture Romans 8:9 is clear, showing that the Apostle Paul taught whoever did
not have the Spirit of Christ was none of His.
Therefore, only those who have the Spirit of Christ are His, His
elect. This means that only Christians
could possibly be ‘His elect’ of Matthew 24:31.
Follow the sequence of Matthew 24:29-31, and you will see that the Christians are gathered ‘after’ the tribulation of those days. We are not gathered ‘before’ the tribulation of those days. The ‘Pre-Trib’ sequence is nowhere in the Bible, thus it is a deception. We are not gathered ‘in the middle of’ the tribulation of those days. The ‘Mid-Trib’ sequence is nowhere in the Bible, thus it is a deception.
The ‘Past-Trib’ sequence is nowhere in the Bible. Preterists believe that the resurrection is
already past, occurring in the 70 AD destruction of
17 And their word will eat as doth
a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who concerning
the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and
overthrow the faith of some.
(II Timothy 2:17-18 KJV)
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the Scriptures teach that the resurrection
of the Saints happens at the Lord’s coming (1 Corinthians
There are not two or three second comings of the Lord Jesus. There are not two separate and distinct phases of one second coming of the Lord Jesus. Such notions are well meaning philosophical fluff at best, and false doctrine from the devil at worst. Every time the word ‘coming’ appears in reference to the Lord’s second coming, it is in the SINGULAR and never PLURAL.
There will only be one second coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and when the Lord Jesus comes again, His elect will be gathered
together unto Him. He will receive us
unto Himself. He will come in like
manner as He was seen going up (Acts
Just as there was one first coming, so shall there be one second coming. Jesus and Paul taught in Matthew 24 (Jesus) and II Thessalonians 2:1-3 (Paul) that several events must precede the Lord’s coming and our gathering together unto Him. This is our blessed hope, His glorious appearing.
Titus