How solemn, yet how blessed, the day when we shall be delivered from the coming wrath. We who know the Lord are waiting for the Son of God, Jesus, from heaven. 1 Thess. 1:1010And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
"When left this scene of faith and strife,
The flesh and sense deceive no more,
When we shall see the Prince of life,
And all His works of grace explore:
What heights and depths of love divine
Will there through endless ages shine!
"And God has fixed the happy day
When the last tear shall dim our eyes;
When He will wipe these tears away,
And fill our hearts with glad surprise;
To hear His voice, and see His face,
And know the fullness of His grace."
#202 L.F.
"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." 1 Thess. 4:1414For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. (1 Thessalonians 4:14). "Even so" tells us that what took place in His resurrection will in the same way take place in the resurrection of the sleeping saints. In all things we are to be like Him.
"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." Phil. 3:1010That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Philippians 3:10). To be like Him, beloved, should be our daily desire. It is just like our Savior to have the dead in Christ rise before the living are changed, then all will rise together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and to forever be with the Lord. 1 Thess. 4:1717Then 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. (1 Thessalonians 4:17). II Cor. 15. "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thess. 4:1818Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:18).
Then the deep desires of every newborn soul shall begin to be satisfied forever, and even now our hearts are filled with anticipation because we have a sure hope which should always be before us. Once we are saved we should never doubt, because God has said, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life." 1 John 5:1313These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:13).
The Lord's coming for His saints, the rapture, will be about seven years before the millennium, and it must be very near at hand. What rapture, what joy, when the saints will all be gathered together, never to part again. There has never been a time of gladness like this, as we shall see our brethren from every distant shore, then eternity-with Jesus-in the skies!
"So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruptibility." 1 Cor. 15:4242So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: (1 Corinthians 15:42), N.T. "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." 1 Cor. 15:4444It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:44). 2 Cor. 5:1-41For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. (2 Corinthians 5:1‑4). "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." 1 Cor. 15:4949And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (1 Corinthians 15:49). "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 15:5050Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. (1 Corinthians 15:50)), but flesh and bone shall. Luke 24:3939Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. (Luke 24:39).
"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." 1 Cor. 15:51,5251Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In 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. (1 Corinthians 15:51‑52).