We're Going Home
1st Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11 is one of the greatest promises of God ever written and it's about to be fulfilled at any moment. There is nothing in this world that I'm looking forward to more than this. It's just 17 verses. I've studied this passage from just about every English translation that exists and the only modern English Bible translations that have made it easier to read WITHOUT changing what was written are the NKJV, the NASB and the NIV. I've never been a big fan of the NIV, but they got it right this time. Those links will take you to 1st Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11 in their own Bible translations.
All of the controversy and debate that surrounds this topic would end if people would just read these 17 verses, understand them and then BELIEVE what is being said. It's all there. The call to comfort one another with these words is given two times in this passage. So that's what we're gonna do with this post. We're gonna open this up and take it apart, read it, understand it, believe it and be comforted by it. Nothing else in all the world should comfort us more than what we find in these 17 verses. So please join me as we explore the promises of this passage because I truly believe with all of my heart that they're about to be fulfilled at any moment.
Before this passage was written, the Thessalonian Christians already knew that Jesus had died paying the debt for all of their sins and was resurrected on the third day, so they had no fears of death. They knew as we do that once our body dies, our soul and spirit are immediately carried into the presence of God according to John 3:16, 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 and 2nd Corinthians 5:8. But the Thessalonian Christians were also looking forward to something else that Jesus had promised in John 14:1-3. It's a very famous passage that gets quoted today at almost every funeral.
Jesus personally promised that when He returned to Heaven, He would prepare a dwelling place in Heaven for each of us. It only took him 6 days to create the entire universe, He's had almost 2000 years to create our homes in Heaven. But in that same promise, He said something else that many of us overlook. It's the very thing the Thessalonian Christians were looking forward to. He said, "If I go to prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN AND RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF so that where I am, you will be also." He wasn't talking about what happens to us when we die. He was speaking specifically about what He planned to do when our homes in Heaven were completed. He promised to personally and physically come back to the planet earth and PHYSICALLY pick us up to take us home. This is what the Thessalonians were looking forward to.
I find it interesting that neither Paul nor the Thessalonian Christians believed that there was anything in Bible Prophecy that had to be fulfilled before this event took place. Paul knew the Scripture probably better than any other from his time, both the Old and New Testaments. He wrote much of the New Testament. He never believed or taught that a latter day revival had to happen first. He never believed or taught that a latter day outpouring of the Holy Spirit had to happen first. On the contrary, Paul taught that as the days became later and later, the more ignorant and self absorbed the world would become, including those within Christianity. So the Thessalonians weren't looking for anything else in Bible Prophecy to happen next, other than the return of the Lord to pick them up and take them home. They were never corrected for thinking this way because it was never incorrect for them to do so. It was Biblically sound then and it's Biblically sound today.
After Paul established this Thessalonian assembly and as time began to pass by, older members of their fellowship began to die off. The Thessalonians weren't worried about their loved ones souls, they already knew they were with the Lord. But they were disappointed that they wouldn't be present with them in their physical bodies to enjoy that amazing day when the Lord would come back to pick them all up and take them home. This was something they were all looking forward to together and now they've been separated. So Paul wrote them the following:
The fact that Jesus would bring with Him those who had already died was new information to the Thessalonians. They weren't expecting this and they didn't know it was possible. A spiritual body can have substance in Heaven but not on the earth, just as a physical body has substance on the earth but not in Heaven. Jesus was the first and only person to wear an immortal physical body with the ability to transverse between Heaven and Earth. Everyone else in Heaven was spirit. So to explain, Paul continues:
This incredible event begins with the sound of the voice of Jesus shouting. Paul doesn't tell us what Jesus will be shouting, but Jesus told us in John 10 that His sheep know His voice and He calls them by name and I remember when I first read that thinking, "When have I ever heard Jesus call me by my name?" and a lot of people think that's talking about a call to salvation and it may be, but I wouldn't be surprised if each of us heard the sound of Jesus calling our name like a loving parent sticking their head out the door calling us home. That's the example we're given in John 11 when He resurrected Lazarus, it's says that Jesus cried out, "Lazarus come out!" or "Lazarus, come forth!" I believe that's what starts this event. We will hear the voice of Jesus cry out our name, calling us home.
While Jesus shouts, the voice of the archangel is shouting as well to the innumerable ranks of angels on the earth. All of us have had angels following us around all of our lives. It's not for us to communicate with them or for them to communicate with us, but they've always been there taking direct orders from the Lord on our behalf. We may or may not hear the voice of the archangel when he shouts, but we will definitely hear the voice of the Lord.
The next thing we'll hear while Jesus shouts is the sound of what the Bible calls The Trump Of God and it's not to be confused with the Trumpet Judgments in Revelation. The trumpets in Revelation are blown by angels. This is The Trump Of God and the only other time we see this in Scripture is in the Old Testament at Mount Sinai. When the Hebrews heard the Trump of God, it says they trembled. So this is a loud and audible trumpet.
At that moment, the dead remains of Christian bodies under the earth will be immediately rejuvenated, reanimated and resurrected into perfect, flawless, immortal, physical bodies. This is 3rd generation hardware. We're born with 1st generation hardware that wears out and dies. After we die, we're given 2nd generation hardware in Heaven. But what Paul is describing to the Thessalonians is 3rd generation hardware. It's both physical and spiritual, perfectly flawless and eternal. Jesus brings with Him every soul and spirit from out of Heaven to reunite them with their physical bodies, not in decay, but completely restored and upgraded unto perfection.
I don't know what this massive resurrection of the dead will do to the earth when it happens. When Jesus had his resurrection body, He could travel at the speed of thought and transverse through solid walls. The dead in Christ may rise without even disturbing their coffins. Then again, there might be a worldwide earthquake and EMP flash when it happens. I guess we'll find out and see.
Then as our departed loved ones are rising in their new bodies, our bodies are being upgraded and caught up together with them. So we don't have to worry about enjoying this event without our loved ones who have passed away, we're all gonna go up together. According to Paul, we keep going up until we're into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Will we be walking on air or will we be riding in Heavenly vessels of some kind? I guess we'll find out and see.
Paul elaborates on this in 1st Corinthians 15:51-52 when he told the Corinthian Christians that not everyone in Christian history would have to die before being resurrected. But whether dead or alive, everyone in Christ would "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 shall all be changed." The twinkling of an eye is the speed of light passing through the iris. It's the smallest measurable unit of time that exists. This is when Jesus finally fulfills His promise from John 14:1-3. He comes back just as He promised to receive us unto Himself so that where He is, we will be also. Forever.
This is the first of two times in this letter that Paul tells them (and us) to comfort each other with these words. We're supposed to know about this. We're supposed to talk about it and look forward to it. The knowledge of this coming event should fire the imagination, it should bring us peace and excitement about the days ahead.
We aren't destined to just be disembodied spirits in a Heavenly retirement center for all eternity. We're destined to have strong, gorgeous, youthful, perfect, ageless bodies that look and feel just as good if not better than we've ever looked or felt before. Our senses and physical abilities will enable us to do anything and go anywhere in the known and unknown universe at the speed of thought. This isn't a fantasy. This isn't a fairy tale. This is actually going to happen! Friends and loved ones long gone will be with us again as if the years between us never happened. No more death, no more pain, no more separation, no more doing without, no more holding back because of our sin nature, no more misunderstandings, no more broken relationships, no more injustice, no more wrinkles, no more ageing, no more ignorance, no more confusion! Just think of our mental capacity after the upgrade!
And what of the dwelling places that Jesus said He was preparing for each of us? If we're going to be wearing brand new physical bodies, then our homes in Heaven will be physical as well except it will never blemish, age or wear out. Imagine a fresh cut yard that never needs weeding or fertilizing, a house that never needs new shingles or painting, an old 1991 Ford Ranger in the garage that always looks like it just came off the assembly line no matter how much I drive it. I'm sure I won't need a truck in Heaven, but if we're gonna be riding horses just for fun, why not a pickup truck? What is it that you can imagine that the Creator of the universe cannot create? How far can you take your imagination? Will your home in Heaven be like a priceless estate that's grander and more majestic than anything you've ever seen? Or will it be something more precious like a cherished home from your youth that was destroyed by the passage of time. Didn't Jesus say He would make all things new? Is any imagined desire for Heaven beyond our reach when it's the Creator Himself who conquered death that's creating our future home? The possibilities are endless. WHY NOT COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS?
But now Paul shifts his focus on the timing and conditions of the world when we can expect this event to happen:
Paul didn't tell them that they didn't need to know, he told them that they didn't need him to write them about it because they already knew. What did they already know?
They had already been taught about a future time in history known as The Day Of The Lord. This was not a minor topic. It was mentioned and discussed under many titles all throughout the Old Testament and even in portions of the Gospels. The Day Of The Lord is also known as the Time Of Jacob's Trouble, the 70th Week Of Daniel, the Day Of God's Wrath, the Time Of Indignation and the title we're probably most familiar with today, the Great Tribulation. It's like no other time period in history. No matter what we've read in the Old Testament about God's judgment against places like Sodom & Gomorrah or even the Great Flood of Noah's time, this world has never seen God's wrath like it will be seen during the Great Tribulation.
The Thessalonians also knew, as Paul did, that the Day Of The Lord would begin with Sudden Destruction. Paul compares it to when a woman goes into labor. Women estimate the timing of their child's birth, but they don't know the day or the hour. Even when it's the very day and hour they go into labor, they still don't know the day or the hour until they are actually going into labor. But they shouldn't be surprised if they've been monitoring their pregnancy. There are many signs to watch and follow so they aren't caught off guard.
Jesus said in Matthew 24:36-44 that no one knows the day or the hour and it's because we don't know the day or the hour that Jesus also said we should always keep watch and pay attention. Pay attention to what? Chuck Missler used to say, "We are being plunged into a period of time about which the Bible has more to say than it does any other period of time in history including the time when Jesus walked the shores of Galilee and climbed the hills of Judea." That's absolutely true. We may not know the day or the hour, but the Bible has given us more than enough information so that we would know what the day and the hour would look like and if we're paying attention, we would know when it's getting close. And folks, it's close! It is so close!!
Notice how Paul used the words "they" and "them" in the above passage? The day of the Lord's return and the Great Tribulation will not come as a thief in the night to those who are awake and paying attention. It only comes as a thief in the night to those who dwell in darkness and THEY shall not escape. We, on the other hand, will escape as Paul makes clear in the rest of the passage:
We have not been appointed to endure the Great Tribulation because God has not appointed us to His wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. We're saved SPIRITUALLY from God's wrath when we trust in His blood to pay for our sins. We're saved PHYSICALLY from God's wrath when we hear the Trump of God and the sound of Jesus shouting out our name. This doesn't have to be confusing, it's all right here nice and neat.
For the 2nd time, Paul tells them (and us) to comfort each other with these words, to build each other up as we watch and wait for this wonderful event. I don't know how we're supposed to be comforted by any of it if we have to endure the Great Tribulation first. That's rather ridiculous isn't it? Always pay close attention to what God says in His Word and not what pastors, preachers and even internet Bible nerds like me are saying online. Ask God yourself for the truth. If your heart really wants the truth, He will make sure that you get it and it will never contradict His Written Word.
Folks, this is the 1st in a series of posts that I'll be writing to monitor where we are in history and how close we are to getting out of here. We don't have long. We are so close folks that I don't even know if I'll be able to write another post before we hear the trumpet sound. If I am able, I'll keep posting no matter how long we have to wait. I'll continue to occupy until He comes as we're commanded to do. But we're on borrowed time.
Don't pay any attention to Christians who don't see it coming. It's impossible to see anything when the eyes are shut. A lot of them don't want to see it coming. Truth be told, they want Jesus to stay right where He is. If they're saved, they'll still get taken home with the rest of us. But it'll probably scare the crap out of them when it happens because they aren't ready for it. I honestly don't know why because there isn't any good thing going on down here that can't continue in Heaven when we get there.
All of the controversy and debate that surrounds this topic would end if people would just read these 17 verses, understand them and then BELIEVE what is being said. It's all there. The call to comfort one another with these words is given two times in this passage. So that's what we're gonna do with this post. We're gonna open this up and take it apart, read it, understand it, believe it and be comforted by it. Nothing else in all the world should comfort us more than what we find in these 17 verses. So please join me as we explore the promises of this passage because I truly believe with all of my heart that they're about to be fulfilled at any moment.
Before this passage was written, the Thessalonian Christians already knew that Jesus had died paying the debt for all of their sins and was resurrected on the third day, so they had no fears of death. They knew as we do that once our body dies, our soul and spirit are immediately carried into the presence of God according to John 3:16, 1st Corinthians 15:1-4 and 2nd Corinthians 5:8. But the Thessalonian Christians were also looking forward to something else that Jesus had promised in John 14:1-3. It's a very famous passage that gets quoted today at almost every funeral.
Jesus personally promised that when He returned to Heaven, He would prepare a dwelling place in Heaven for each of us. It only took him 6 days to create the entire universe, He's had almost 2000 years to create our homes in Heaven. But in that same promise, He said something else that many of us overlook. It's the very thing the Thessalonian Christians were looking forward to. He said, "If I go to prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN AND RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF so that where I am, you will be also." He wasn't talking about what happens to us when we die. He was speaking specifically about what He planned to do when our homes in Heaven were completed. He promised to personally and physically come back to the planet earth and PHYSICALLY pick us up to take us home. This is what the Thessalonians were looking forward to.
I find it interesting that neither Paul nor the Thessalonian Christians believed that there was anything in Bible Prophecy that had to be fulfilled before this event took place. Paul knew the Scripture probably better than any other from his time, both the Old and New Testaments. He wrote much of the New Testament. He never believed or taught that a latter day revival had to happen first. He never believed or taught that a latter day outpouring of the Holy Spirit had to happen first. On the contrary, Paul taught that as the days became later and later, the more ignorant and self absorbed the world would become, including those within Christianity. So the Thessalonians weren't looking for anything else in Bible Prophecy to happen next, other than the return of the Lord to pick them up and take them home. They were never corrected for thinking this way because it was never incorrect for them to do so. It was Biblically sound then and it's Biblically sound today.
After Paul established this Thessalonian assembly and as time began to pass by, older members of their fellowship began to die off. The Thessalonians weren't worried about their loved ones souls, they already knew they were with the Lord. But they were disappointed that they wouldn't be present with them in their physical bodies to enjoy that amazing day when the Lord would come back to pick them all up and take them home. This was something they were all looking forward to together and now they've been separated. So Paul wrote them the following:
I Thes 4:13-14 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. KJV |
The fact that Jesus would bring with Him those who had already died was new information to the Thessalonians. They weren't expecting this and they didn't know it was possible. A spiritual body can have substance in Heaven but not on the earth, just as a physical body has substance on the earth but not in Heaven. Jesus was the first and only person to wear an immortal physical body with the ability to transverse between Heaven and Earth. Everyone else in Heaven was spirit. So to explain, Paul continues:
I Thes 4:15-17 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 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. KJV |
This incredible event begins with the sound of the voice of Jesus shouting. Paul doesn't tell us what Jesus will be shouting, but Jesus told us in John 10 that His sheep know His voice and He calls them by name and I remember when I first read that thinking, "When have I ever heard Jesus call me by my name?" and a lot of people think that's talking about a call to salvation and it may be, but I wouldn't be surprised if each of us heard the sound of Jesus calling our name like a loving parent sticking their head out the door calling us home. That's the example we're given in John 11 when He resurrected Lazarus, it's says that Jesus cried out, "Lazarus come out!" or "Lazarus, come forth!" I believe that's what starts this event. We will hear the voice of Jesus cry out our name, calling us home.
While Jesus shouts, the voice of the archangel is shouting as well to the innumerable ranks of angels on the earth. All of us have had angels following us around all of our lives. It's not for us to communicate with them or for them to communicate with us, but they've always been there taking direct orders from the Lord on our behalf. We may or may not hear the voice of the archangel when he shouts, but we will definitely hear the voice of the Lord.
The next thing we'll hear while Jesus shouts is the sound of what the Bible calls The Trump Of God and it's not to be confused with the Trumpet Judgments in Revelation. The trumpets in Revelation are blown by angels. This is The Trump Of God and the only other time we see this in Scripture is in the Old Testament at Mount Sinai. When the Hebrews heard the Trump of God, it says they trembled. So this is a loud and audible trumpet.
At that moment, the dead remains of Christian bodies under the earth will be immediately rejuvenated, reanimated and resurrected into perfect, flawless, immortal, physical bodies. This is 3rd generation hardware. We're born with 1st generation hardware that wears out and dies. After we die, we're given 2nd generation hardware in Heaven. But what Paul is describing to the Thessalonians is 3rd generation hardware. It's both physical and spiritual, perfectly flawless and eternal. Jesus brings with Him every soul and spirit from out of Heaven to reunite them with their physical bodies, not in decay, but completely restored and upgraded unto perfection.
I don't know what this massive resurrection of the dead will do to the earth when it happens. When Jesus had his resurrection body, He could travel at the speed of thought and transverse through solid walls. The dead in Christ may rise without even disturbing their coffins. Then again, there might be a worldwide earthquake and EMP flash when it happens. I guess we'll find out and see.
Then as our departed loved ones are rising in their new bodies, our bodies are being upgraded and caught up together with them. So we don't have to worry about enjoying this event without our loved ones who have passed away, we're all gonna go up together. According to Paul, we keep going up until we're into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Will we be walking on air or will we be riding in Heavenly vessels of some kind? I guess we'll find out and see.
Paul elaborates on this in 1st Corinthians 15:51-52 when he told the Corinthian Christians that not everyone in Christian history would have to die before being resurrected. But whether dead or alive, everyone in Christ would "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 shall all be changed." The twinkling of an eye is the speed of light passing through the iris. It's the smallest measurable unit of time that exists. This is when Jesus finally fulfills His promise from John 14:1-3. He comes back just as He promised to receive us unto Himself so that where He is, we will be also. Forever.
I Thes 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. KJV |
This is the first of two times in this letter that Paul tells them (and us) to comfort each other with these words. We're supposed to know about this. We're supposed to talk about it and look forward to it. The knowledge of this coming event should fire the imagination, it should bring us peace and excitement about the days ahead.
We aren't destined to just be disembodied spirits in a Heavenly retirement center for all eternity. We're destined to have strong, gorgeous, youthful, perfect, ageless bodies that look and feel just as good if not better than we've ever looked or felt before. Our senses and physical abilities will enable us to do anything and go anywhere in the known and unknown universe at the speed of thought. This isn't a fantasy. This isn't a fairy tale. This is actually going to happen! Friends and loved ones long gone will be with us again as if the years between us never happened. No more death, no more pain, no more separation, no more doing without, no more holding back because of our sin nature, no more misunderstandings, no more broken relationships, no more injustice, no more wrinkles, no more ageing, no more ignorance, no more confusion! Just think of our mental capacity after the upgrade!
And what of the dwelling places that Jesus said He was preparing for each of us? If we're going to be wearing brand new physical bodies, then our homes in Heaven will be physical as well except it will never blemish, age or wear out. Imagine a fresh cut yard that never needs weeding or fertilizing, a house that never needs new shingles or painting, an old 1991 Ford Ranger in the garage that always looks like it just came off the assembly line no matter how much I drive it. I'm sure I won't need a truck in Heaven, but if we're gonna be riding horses just for fun, why not a pickup truck? What is it that you can imagine that the Creator of the universe cannot create? How far can you take your imagination? Will your home in Heaven be like a priceless estate that's grander and more majestic than anything you've ever seen? Or will it be something more precious like a cherished home from your youth that was destroyed by the passage of time. Didn't Jesus say He would make all things new? Is any imagined desire for Heaven beyond our reach when it's the Creator Himself who conquered death that's creating our future home? The possibilities are endless. WHY NOT COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS?
But now Paul shifts his focus on the timing and conditions of the world when we can expect this event to happen:
I Thes 5:1-4 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. KJV |
Paul didn't tell them that they didn't need to know, he told them that they didn't need him to write them about it because they already knew. What did they already know?
They had already been taught about a future time in history known as The Day Of The Lord. This was not a minor topic. It was mentioned and discussed under many titles all throughout the Old Testament and even in portions of the Gospels. The Day Of The Lord is also known as the Time Of Jacob's Trouble, the 70th Week Of Daniel, the Day Of God's Wrath, the Time Of Indignation and the title we're probably most familiar with today, the Great Tribulation. It's like no other time period in history. No matter what we've read in the Old Testament about God's judgment against places like Sodom & Gomorrah or even the Great Flood of Noah's time, this world has never seen God's wrath like it will be seen during the Great Tribulation.
The Thessalonians also knew, as Paul did, that the Day Of The Lord would begin with Sudden Destruction. Paul compares it to when a woman goes into labor. Women estimate the timing of their child's birth, but they don't know the day or the hour. Even when it's the very day and hour they go into labor, they still don't know the day or the hour until they are actually going into labor. But they shouldn't be surprised if they've been monitoring their pregnancy. There are many signs to watch and follow so they aren't caught off guard.
Jesus said in Matthew 24:36-44 that no one knows the day or the hour and it's because we don't know the day or the hour that Jesus also said we should always keep watch and pay attention. Pay attention to what? Chuck Missler used to say, "We are being plunged into a period of time about which the Bible has more to say than it does any other period of time in history including the time when Jesus walked the shores of Galilee and climbed the hills of Judea." That's absolutely true. We may not know the day or the hour, but the Bible has given us more than enough information so that we would know what the day and the hour would look like and if we're paying attention, we would know when it's getting close. And folks, it's close! It is so close!!
Notice how Paul used the words "they" and "them" in the above passage? The day of the Lord's return and the Great Tribulation will not come as a thief in the night to those who are awake and paying attention. It only comes as a thief in the night to those who dwell in darkness and THEY shall not escape. We, on the other hand, will escape as Paul makes clear in the rest of the passage:
I Thes 5:5-10 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. KJV |
We have not been appointed to endure the Great Tribulation because God has not appointed us to His wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. We're saved SPIRITUALLY from God's wrath when we trust in His blood to pay for our sins. We're saved PHYSICALLY from God's wrath when we hear the Trump of God and the sound of Jesus shouting out our name. This doesn't have to be confusing, it's all right here nice and neat.
I Thes 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. KJV |
For the 2nd time, Paul tells them (and us) to comfort each other with these words, to build each other up as we watch and wait for this wonderful event. I don't know how we're supposed to be comforted by any of it if we have to endure the Great Tribulation first. That's rather ridiculous isn't it? Always pay close attention to what God says in His Word and not what pastors, preachers and even internet Bible nerds like me are saying online. Ask God yourself for the truth. If your heart really wants the truth, He will make sure that you get it and it will never contradict His Written Word.
Folks, this is the 1st in a series of posts that I'll be writing to monitor where we are in history and how close we are to getting out of here. We don't have long. We are so close folks that I don't even know if I'll be able to write another post before we hear the trumpet sound. If I am able, I'll keep posting no matter how long we have to wait. I'll continue to occupy until He comes as we're commanded to do. But we're on borrowed time.
Don't pay any attention to Christians who don't see it coming. It's impossible to see anything when the eyes are shut. A lot of them don't want to see it coming. Truth be told, they want Jesus to stay right where He is. If they're saved, they'll still get taken home with the rest of us. But it'll probably scare the crap out of them when it happens because they aren't ready for it. I honestly don't know why because there isn't any good thing going on down here that can't continue in Heaven when we get there.
