16 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Prayer Focus: Sometimes this image of the Lord’s descending from heaven is seen as a short pit stop in the final revelation of God’s kingdom as the ultimate goal is to be gathered up in the clouds with the Lord. Many scholars today recognize that Paul’s image is not that of believers who are still alive being whisked off to some other place to be with the Lord. Instead, Paul suggests that believers who are still alive will be caught up in the clouds as a welcoming party for the Lord’s return to earth. It is the same image as the crowds lining the road to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Pray that when the Lord comes in fullness and glory, that you will join those who line the route to welcome him Home.
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