1 Thessalonians 4:17

The Comfort Of The Lord's Return

¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain [on the earth] will simultaneously be caught up (raptured) together with them [the resurrected ones] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord! ¹⁸ Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died].

Meet the Lord in the Air

On Earth

To the Lord

Christ

1 Corinthians 15:52

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed].

Revelation 11:12

And the two witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they ascended into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.

John 12:26

If anyone serves Me, he must [continue to faithfully] follow Me [without hesitation, holding steadfastly to Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]; and wherever I am [in heaven’s glory], there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Acts 1:9

And after He said these things, He was caught up as they looked on, and a cloud took Him up out of their sight.

1 Kings 18:12

And as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I come to tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. Yet your servant has [reverently] feared the Lord from my youth.

2 Kings 2:11

As they continued along and talked, behold, a chariot of fire with horses of fire [appeared suddenly and] separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

2 Kings 2:16

Then they said to Elisha, “Behold now, there are among your servants fifty strong men; please let them go and search for your master. It may be that the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast him on some mountain or into some valley.” And he said, “You shall not send anyone.”

Psalm 16:11

You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 17:15

As for me, I shall see Your face in righteousness;
I will be [fully] satisfied when I awake [to find myself] seeing Your likeness.

Psalm 49:15

But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol,
For He will receive me. Selah.

Psalm 73:24

You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to honor and glory.

Isaiah 35:10

And the ransomed of the Lord will return
And come to Zion with shouts of jubilation,
And everlasting joy will be upon their heads;
They will find joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Isaiah 60:19-20

“The sun will no longer be your light by day,
Nor shall the bright glow of the moon give light to you,
But the Lord will be an everlasting light for you;
And your God will be your glory and splendor.

Daniel 7:13

“I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, on the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.

Matthew 26:64

Jesus said to him, “You have [in fact] said it; but more than that I tell you [regardless of what you do with Me now], in the future you will see [Me revealed as] the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Mark 14:62

Jesus said, “I am; and you will [all] see the Son of Man seated [with authority] at the right hand of Power (the Father), and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

John 14:3

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also.

John 17:24

Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given to Me [as Your gift to Me], may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Acts 8:39

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord [suddenly] took Philip [and carried him] away [to a different place]; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but he went on his way rejoicing.

2 Corinthians 5:8

we are [as I was saying] of good courage and confident hope, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 12:2-4

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, [only] God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven.

Philippians 1:23

But I am hard-pressed between the two. I have the desire to leave [this world] and be with Christ, for that is far, far better;

1 Thessalonians 4:15

For we say this to you by the Lord’s [own] word, that we who are still alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede [into His presence] those [believers] who have fallen asleep [in death].

2 Peter 3:13

But in accordance with His promise we expectantly await new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

Revelation 1:7

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes (nations) of the earth will mourn over Him [realizing their sin and guilt, and anticipating the coming wrath]. So it is to be. Amen.

Revelation 7:14-17

I said to him, “My lord, you know [the answer].” And he said to me, “These are the people who come out of the great tribulation (persecution), and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb [because of His atoning sacrifice].

Revelation 12:5

And she gave birth to a Son, a male Child, who is destined to rule (shepherd) all the nations with a rod of iron; and her Child was caught up to God and to His throne.

Revelation 21:3-7

and then I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “See! The tabernacle of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them [as their God,]

Revelation 21:22-23

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all] and the Lamb are its temple.

Revelation 22:3-5

There will no longer exist anything that is cursed [because sin and illness and death are gone]; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve and worship Him [with great awe and joy and loving devotion];