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A Little Bible Q & A For Your Day
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Date: Jul 21 2017 4:05 PM
Hey Everybody,
I hope your week has been positive. I am sure you are looking forward to a productive weekend. We would love to have you with us Sunday morning. Our class is at 9 and worship service is at 10.
For today, here is a little Q & A.
The Question:
Dear Brother: I heard a preacher say that when Christ returns, everyone will see Him. But I have been taught that the rapture is only for the saints, and no one will know it. Please help.
The Answer:
The preacher you heard probably was reading from Rev. 1:7, "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him." In fact, there is no indication - any place in the Scriptures - that the return of the Lord will be in secret. Just the opposite is true. All the passages that deal with this subject show that all the peoples of the world - both those alive and those who have died - will know it when Jesus comes back.
Some, because they do not carefully read the Scriptures, suppose that 1 Thes. 4:13-16 teaches that the saints will be the first to be raised from the dead. But the passage does not teach that. The apostle Paul, inspired of God, wrote of those who had died "in Christ," and stated that those who are alive when Christ comes "will by no means precede those who are asleep ... And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive…" (v.15-17). The text compares only the "dead in Christ" and those in Christ who are still alive. It does not address the order of the resurrection of non-Christians. But other passages do.
Jesus said, "The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28-29). This conforms to the order Jesus lists in Matt. 25. He said, "When the Son of Man comes in His glory ... All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another" (Matt. 25:31-32).
When Jesus returns, all the graves will be opened, all the dead will be raised, all will stand before Him to be judged (Rom. 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27). There will be no "secret" coming, nor "a rapture" - in which the saints will be raised to meet the Lord and the rest of the world won't even know it. That is simply a product of some men's imagination.
I hope this helps.
Have a great weekend!
Mitch Robison
Enon Church of Christ
1366 Enon Rd.
Webb, AL 36376
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