17: 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.
17: Wherefore, comfort ye
one another with these words.
Then we which are alive and remain...
Gill writes, "not that the apostle thought that he and the saints then in the flesh should live and continue till the second coming of Christ; for he did not imagine that the coming of Christ was so near, as is manifest from 2 Thes 2:1-3 though the Thessalonians might take him in this sense, which he there corrects; but he speaks of himself and others in the first person plural, by way of instance and example, for illustration sake; that supposing he and others should be then in being, the following would be the case: and moreover, he might use such a way of speaking with great propriety of other saints, and even of those unborn, and that will be on the spot when Christ shall come a second time; since all the saints make up one body, one family, one church and general assembly; so that the apostle might truly and justly say, "we which are alive"; that is, as many of our body, of our family, of our church or society, that shall be living at the coming of Christ; and he might choose the rather to speak in this form, person, and tense, to awaken the care, circumspection, diligence, and watchfulness of the saints, since it could not be known how soon the Lord would come: however, from hence it appears, that there will be saints alive at Christ's second coming; he will have a seed to serve him till he comes again; he always had in the worst of times, and will have, and that even in the last days, in the days of the son of man, which are said to be like those of Noah and of Lot: and these are said to "remain", or to be "left", these will be a remnant, the residue and remainder of the election of grace, and will be such as have escaped the fury of antichrist and his followers, or of the persecutors of the saints:"
Barnes writes, "Those who shall then be alive. See 1Thess 4:16. The word here
rendered then, (epeita) does not necessarily mean that
this would occur immediately. It properly marks succession in
time, and means afterwards, next, next in the order
of events, Lk 16:7 Gal 1:21 Jam 4:14.
There may be a considerable interval between the resurrection of the pious and the time when the living shall be caught up to meet the Lord, for the change is to take place in them which will fit them to ascend with those who have been raised. The meaning is, that after the dead are raised, or the next thing in order, they and the living will ascend to meet the Lord. The proper meaning of the word, however, denotes a succession so close as to exclude the idea of a long interval in which other important transactions would occur, such an interval, for example, as would be involved in a long personal reign of the Redeemer on earth. The word demands this interpretation -- that the next thing in order, after the resurrection of the righteous, will be their being caught up with the living, with an appropriate change, into the air -- though, as has been remarked, it will admit of the supposition of such a brief, momentary interval (en atomw, en riph ofyalmou, 1Cor 15:51, 1Cor 15:52) as shall be necessary to prepare for it."
...shall be caught up together with them...
Gill writes, "suddenly, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye 1Cor 15:52, and with force and power; by the power of Christ, and by the ministry and means of the holy angels; and to which rapture will contribute, the agility which the bodies both of the raised and changed saints will have: and this rapture of the living saints will be with the dead in Christ, that will then be raised; so that the one will not come before the other, or the one be sooner with Christ than the other; but the one being raised and the other changed, they will be joined in one company and general assembly, and be caught up together:"
Barnes writes, "The word here used implies that there will be the
application of external force or power by which this will be done.
It will not be by any power of ascending which they will themselves
have; or by any tendency of their raised or changed bodies to
ascend of their own accord, or even by any effort of their own
will, but by a power applied to them which will cause them
to rise. Compare the use of the word arpazw in Mt 11:12, "the violent
take it by force;" Mt 13:19, "then cometh the
wicked one, and catcheth away;" Jn 6:15, "that they would come and
take him by force;" Jn 10:12, "the wolf catcheth
them;" Acts 8:39, "the Spirit of the Lord
caught away Philip;" 2Cor 12:2, "such an one
caught up to the third heaven." Also, Jn 10:28, Jn 10:29; Acts 23:10 Jude 1:23 Rev 12:5.
The verb does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. In all these instances there is the idea of either foreign force or violence, effecting that which is done. What force or power is to be applied in causing the living and the dead to ascend, is not expressed. Whether it is to be by the ministry of angels, or by the direct power of the Son of God, is not intimated, though the latter seems to be most probable. The word should not be construed, however, as implying that there will be any reluctance on the part of the saints to appear before the Saviour, but merely with reference to the physical fact that power will be necessary to elevate them to meet him in the air. Will their bodies then be such that they will have the power of locomotion at will from place to place?"
...In the clouds...
Gill writes, "the same clouds perhaps in which Christ will come, will be let down to take them up; these will be the chariots, in which they will be carried up to him; and thus, as at our Lord's ascension a cloud received him, and in it he was carried up out of the sight of men, so at this time will all the saints ride up in the clouds of heaven:"
Barnes writes, "This may mean "in clouds ;" that is, in such
numbers, and in such grouping as to resemble clouds. So it
is rendered by Macknight, Koppe, Rosenmuller, Bush (Anastasis,
266,) and others. The absence of the article here would rather seem
to demand this interpretation. Still, however, the other
interpretation may be true, that it means that they will be caught
up into the region of the clouds, or to the clouds which shall
accompany the Lord Jesus on his return to our world, Mt 24:30, Mt 26:64; Mk 13:26, Mk 14:62 Rev 1:7.
Comp. Dan 7:13. In whichever sense it is understood, the expression is one of great sublimity, and the scene will be immensely grand. Some doctrine of this kind was held by the ancient Jews. Thus Rabbi Nathan (Midras Tillin, xlviii. 13) says, "What has been done before will be done again, As he led the Israelites from Egypt in the clouds of heaven, so will he do to them in the future time."
...To meet the Lord in the air...
Gill writes, "...and will be visible to all, and as easily discerned by all, good and bad, as the body of the sun at noonday; as yet he will not descend on earth, because it is not fit to receive him; but when that and its works are burnt up, and it is purged and purified by fire, and become a new earth, he will descend upon it, and dwell with his saints in it: and this suggests another reason why he will stay in the air, and his saints shall meet him there, and whom he will take up with him into the third heaven, till the general conflagration and burning of the world is over, and to preserve them from it; and then shall all the elect of God descend from heaven as a bride adorned for her husband, and he with them, and the tabernacle of God shall be with men;"
Barnes writes, "In the regions of the atmosphere -above the earth.
It would seem from this, that the Lord Jesus, in his coming, would
not descend to the earth, but would remain at a distance
from it in the air, where the great transactions of the judgment
will occur. It is, indeed, nowhere said that the trans- actions of
the judgment will occur upon the earth. The world would
not be spacious enough to contain all the assembled living and
dead, and hence the throne of judgment will be fixed in the ample
space above it."
...And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Barnes writes, "This does not mean that they will always remain with him in the air -- for their final home will be heaven -- and after the trial they will accompany him to the realms of glory. Mt 25:34, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom," etc. The time during which they will remain with him "in the air," is nowhere mentioned in the Bible. It will be as long as will be necessary for the purposes of judging a world, and deciding the eternal doom of every individual "according to the deeds done in the body." There is no reason to suppose that this will be accomplished in a single day of twenty-four hours; but it is impossible to form any conjecture of the period which will be occupied."
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