ONE HOPE - CHRIST'S RETURN


All shall be made alive in order

  1. Christ - the firstfruits - 1 Corinthians 15:20
  2. They that are Christ's at his coming - 1 Corinthians 15:23
  3. The ressurection of the just -Luke 14:14, Hebrews 11:35
  4. The ressurection of the unjust -Revelations 20:1-15

Our Gathering Together unto him

The return of Christ for his church, The Body of Christ, is called in 2 Thessalonians 2:1 our gathering together unto him. First of all, one must note that the gathering together affects only those who are born again of God's Spirit during the age of the Church of the Body, which age is a period between the day of Pentecost and the first return of Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:51-54

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [not all will be dead at Christ's return], but we [the members of the Church] 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 [which are alive at his return] shall be changed. For this corruptible [the dead of the Church of the Body] must put on incorruption, and this mortal [the living of the Church of the Body] must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede] them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

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As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Proverbs 25:25

Published to the Web June 1996
URL http://www.cortright.org/onehope.htm
Michael Cortright