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THE MYSTERY OF THE RAPTURE
The REDEMPTION of the physical
BODY is promised. Our physical BODY will be redeemed in the 2nd REDEMPTION, whether at death or in the RAPTURE when we are
given a NEW BODY that will have no corruption at all and will never die.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18, 'But I would
not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no
hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him. 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.’
‘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: Then we which are alive and remain 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. Wherefore
comfort one another with these words.'
The New Living Translation says of these verses, ‘And now, brothers
and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people
who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again; we also believe that when Jesus comes,
God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died.’
‘I can tell you this directly from
the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet
call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will RISE from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still
alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with him forever. So
comfort and encourage each other with these words.’
THE
BODY OF THE LIVING SAINT At the time of the Rapture, there
will be saints living on the Earth that will be changed in a moment and will receive a NEW BODY. At that time, the “dead
in Christ” whose spirits have already gone to Heaven, will come in a NEW BODY with Jesus in the clouds to meet the living
saints in the air. These “dead” saints will have already received their NEW BODY when they join Jesus for the
meeting.
The apostle Paul speaks of a mystery in I Corinthians 15:51 concerning these bodies, ‘Behold I
show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, 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.’
It
is uncertain if the mystery concerns the BODY of the living or the BODY of the dead saint at the time of the Rapture:
1. There is a “mystery” of HOW the living saint is changed in a moment at the time of the Rapture.
2. There
is a “mystery” concerning what kind of body the “dead” saint will receive and WHEN they will receive
it.
THE BODY OF THE DEAD IN CHRIST The mystery of the body of the "dead in Christ" is discussed in I Corinthians
15:35. The New Living Translation says, 'But someone may ask, "How will the dead be raised; what kind of bodies will
they have?" Many believe the “dead” are spirits without bodies until the Rapture, but Jesus told the thief
on the cross that he would be with him THAT VERY DAY in Paradise because he believed in Him. It is certain the spirit of the
“dead in Christ” is RAISED to where Christ is at the moment of death, even though their earthly body goes to the
dust.
The New Living Translation, I Corinthians 15:36-40 speaks of a SPIRITUAL BODY in the answer to the above
question, 'What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn't grow into a plant unless it dies first.
And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a dry little seed of wheat or whatever it is you
are planting. Then God gives it a NEW BODY--just the kind He wants it to have. A different kind of plant grows from each kind
of seed. And just as there are different kinds of seeds and plants, so also there different kinds of flesh--whether of humans,
animals, birds, or fish. There are bodies in the heavens and there are bodies on the Earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies
is different from the beauty of the earthly bodies.'
Verses 42-44, 'It is the same way for the resurrection of
the dead; our earthly bodies, which die and decay, will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die. Our
bodies now disappoint us, but when they are raised, they will be full of glory. They are weak now, but when they are raised,
they will be full of power. They are natural human bodies now, but when they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For
just as there are natural bodies, so also there are SPIRTUAL BODIES.' NLT
These scriptures can be read to mean the dead
in Christ receive a new "spiritual body" in Heaven WHEN it is "raised".
The great mystery of
WHEN the body of the "dead in Christ" is RAISED is also mentioned in I Thessalonians 4:13, 14. It says, 'But I would
not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no
hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus, will God BRING with Him.
Verse 15 states clearly that the living saints will not be first in the Rapture, but it will be the dead that are "raised"
first with a NEW BODY.
CHAPTER 5-3 2nd Redemption Scriptures
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