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1 Thessalonians 4:17
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17 Then [epeita] we [hemeis] which [ho] are alive [zao] and remain [perileipo] shall be caught up [harpazo] together [hama] with [sun] them [autos] in [en] the clouds, [nephele] to [eis] meet [apantesis] the Lord [kurios] in [eis] the air: [aer] and [kai] so [houto] shall we [esomai] ever [pantote] be [esomai] with [sun] the Lord. [kurios] KJV-Interlinear
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. NASB
In an instant of time, God the Father who alone knows the day and hour of the Rapture, will in some fashion give the go-ahead to Christ. Christ will then shout out the order, and descend out of heaven down to the earth, but stopping in the upper atmosphere.
The ruling angel will shout the assembly of the angels, who will accompany the Lord in His descent.
God will issue the trumpet blast, calling the assembly of the dead in Christ, who are presently in heaven, and will also accompany Christ in His descent.
And then, when all have arrived at their destination, which is somewhere in the upper atmosphere, or above, Christ will gather up all those believers, who remain alive on earth.
The word for caught up, ‘harpazo,’ means to be gathered, captured, collected, by some overwhelming and irresistible power (resistance is futile).
And so, all believers will be caught up, without warning, in a blink, and taken from the face of this earth, into the upper atmosphere, and there the living will be transformed while in transit, and will meet everyone who is already there.
The skies will be crowded for sure then. But no one on this earth will see any of it. Only the participants will see the drama of the events unfold.
The transformation, which is called the resurrection, will all be completed in an instant of time.
The very next act, and the very first act of all believers, from within their resurrection bodies, will be what has been called the ‘great genuflex,’ Phil. 2:9-11, every knee shall bend, every head shall bow, in recognition of Christ as Lord.
Christ will collect that which belongs to Him, because Christ fulfilled the prophecies of Isa 53.
Phil 2:9-11
9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. NASB
Isa 53:4
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. NASB
Isa. 53:12
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors. NASB
