Pre-Tribulation Rapture Refuted with Scripture

[Choose Wisely]

24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.

Exactly.

 

[dad]

Verse 24 compares the coming of Christ to lightning. Lightning can be seen everywhere, you can't hide it. Today we know that it can be seen hundreds of miles away. The coming of Christ is like lightning because it is public, known to all. It cannot be private, it cannot be a secret. There is no private coming where Christ flies over and snatches Christians while nonchristians don't know what is happening. Lightning means the coming of Christ is visible to all, and is seen all over the world, by everyone, at once.

That leaves no room for a "Left Behind" style Rapture.

Oh?

I see that He will be revealed when He comes when He takes vengeance. That means when He returns to the earth.

2 Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Was there some verses that say all will see Him when His angels gather His children?

 

[Choose Wisely]

Verse 24 compares the coming of Christ to lightning. Lightning can be seen everywhere, you can't hide it. Today we know that it can be seen hundreds of miles away. The coming of Christ is like lightning because it is public, known to all. It cannot be private, it cannot be a secret. There is no private coming where Christ flies over and snatches Christians while nonchristians don't know what is happening. Lightning means the coming of Christ is visible to all, and is seen all over the world, by everyone, at once.

That leaves no room for a "Left Behind" style Rapture.

They will see lightning, no doubt. But they won't see the son of man. Must be aliens in that lightning storm.

It will be a secret rapture, and yes there will be lightning, just like the word says.
Song of Solomon 2
8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
2 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
13 The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

 

[dad]

Verse 24 compares the coming of Christ to lightning. Lightning can be seen everywhere, you can't hide it. Today we know that it can be seen hundreds of miles away. The coming of Christ is like lightning because it is public, known to all. It cannot be private, it cannot be a secret. There is no private coming where Christ flies over and snatches Christians while nonchristians don't know what is happening. Lightning means the coming of Christ is visible to all, and is seen all over the world, by everyone, at once.

That leaves no room for a "Left Behind" style Rapture.

False. Just because one verse refers to the coming to earth, rather than just in the air to have His angels gather the elect, does not mean He has to be seen before that particular event where He comes to land on earth, take vengeance etc.

 

[ItIsFinished!]

I don't see how you get around Jesus' statement "the hour is coming when all who are in the graves will hear the voice of God..." When he says "all", doesn't that mean "all"? And "we who remain will be caught up..." so doesn't "we who" include all? I just don't see how you get stages over time out of "first resurrection." It doesn't say "first class" or "first stages" or "foremost" or anything like that. I just don't see how you get such a thing out of the context of Rev. 20. When it says "they were raised to life," and "this is the first resurrection," it looks to me like a chronological first, as opposed to the 2nd after the 1000 years. It looks to me like "this" is referring to what it just said about "that" resurrection. I just don't see how you get "this stage of the first resurrection" out of it.
TD

Regarding the first part of your post which can be found in the book of John 5:28, Jesus is talking about the resurrections after the 1,000 literal year reign.
Therefore the "all " that He speaks of is just that.
He is speaking of all who will be resurrected to life who were born during the 1,000 literal year reign and have accepted Him as Saviour during that time.
Now , the other part of "all" that He is referring to is regarding the resurrection of those unto damnation.
That will be a one time event after the end of the 1,000 literal year reign and during The Great White Throne Judgment.

Now I will provide you information/Scripture regarding the stages of the first resurrection.
One resurrection to life for the just , but at different stages.

1.] Obviously Jesus Christ Himself ( the first fruits)
1 Corinthians 15:20

2.] There were the resurrection of the Jerusalem Saints.
Matthew 27:52-53 (KJV)
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city , and appeared to many.

3.] The resurrection of the dead in Christ.
1 Thessalonians 4:16
Those who are dead in Christ are those who have passed away since the day of Pentacost.
They will resurrect and they and all present believers in Christ will meet the Lord in the air/clouds.
They (the Church /Bride of Christ) will be with the Lord forever.
Amen!!!
The Groom (Jesus Christ) removes the Bride (the Church before His divine judgment falls upon a rebellious and rejecting world .
Also, to prepare the Bride for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which I believe occurs before the end of the 7 year tribulation and before the 1,000 literal year reign of Christ.

4.] The resurrection of the martyrs at the end of the tribulation.
Revelation 20:4

Also note that what the Apostle Paul speaks of in 1 Thessalonians especially 4:16 was written 29 years before the Book of Revelation and therefore a separate timing of the resurrection of the just .

Guess what else?

5.] The resurrection of the Millenial Saints.
Those who have received Christ as Saviour during the 1,000 literal year reign of Christ.

So there are the stages of the first resurrection of the just to life.
Only one resurrection for them , but at different times and stages.

The two biggest stumbling blocks for those who reject the removal of the Church before the 7 year tribulation is that they don't understand the timing/stages of the resurrection of the just and the other is they confuse the removal of the Church where the dead in Christ and all present alive believers meet the Lord in the air/clouds where He doesn't come to the earth whereas during The Second Coming of Christ He comes back with the Church and literally sets foot upon the Mount of Olives before Jerusalem.

Two seperate and distinct events my friend.

I hope this helps clear up any confusion and brings some light and clarity to your questions.

All glory be to God now and forever !
Amen!
⚘

 

[BABerean2]

It will be a secret rapture,

A secret that includes the trumpet of God, and the shout of an angel of God ???

It is going to be a very loud secret...

 

[BABerean2]

Regarding the first part of your post which can be found in the book of John 5:28, Jesus is talking about the resurrections after the 1,000 literal year reign.
Therefore the "all " that He speaks of is just that.
He is speaking of all who will be resurrected to life who were born during the 1,000 literal year reign and have accepted Him as Saviour during that time.
Now , the other part of "all" that He is referring to is regarding the resurrection of those unto damnation.
That will be a one time event after the end of the 1,000 literal year reign and during The Great White Throne Judgment.

Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Rev 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

.

 

[Choose Wisely]

A secret that includes the trumpet of God, and the shout of an angel of God ???

It is going to be a very loud secret...

Still haven't learned. All that happens in heaven. We can see what happens on earth, the thunderous roar of a turtle. Secret rapture.....................

Song of Solomon
8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

 

[Dale]

False. Just because one verse refers to the coming to earth, rather than just in the air to have His angels gather the elect, does not mean He has to be seen before that particular event where He comes to land on earth, take vengeance etc.

Dad, I'm trying to make sense out of this.

Where did you get the idea that there is an event where the angels "gather the elect" and do not also gather the nonelect, the condemned? Where did you get the idea that this gathering of the elect is separate from the Final Judgment?

Just look at what John the Baptist says:

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
--Matthew 3:11-12 NIV

John the Baptist speaks of Jesus, or His angels, gathering the wheat but in the same sentence he tells us that the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire.

Then there is the Parable of the Weeds.

The Parable of the Weeds
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
--Matthew 13:24-30 NIV

In the Parable of the Weeds, Jesus, the Judge, is portrayed as the owner of a field, and the angels are called harvesters. Once more, the wheat is gathered safely into the barn and the harvesters also gather the weeds to be burned. In fact, in this Parable the weeds are specifically said to be collected first. If order is important, this is backwards from what the Dispensationalists are telling us.

Matthew 24 is downright apocalyptic, as you are no doubt aware.

30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
--Matthew 24:30-31 NIV

In Matthew 24, the angels gather the elect. There is no direct mention of the unsaved, or the condemned, being gathered, but the Son of Man does not come in secret. The secular world is fully aware of His coming: " ... then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming ..." The peoples of the earth, or the worldly among them, know that judgment is coming.

In the next chapter, we have the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.

The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Matthew 25: 31-32 NIV

The sheep and the goats, the prepared and the unprepared, the saved and the condemned all come before the Judgment Throne of Jesus at the same time in this parable. The sheep and the goats are separated just like the wheat and the chaff or the wheat and the weeds. There is no gathering of sheep while the goats are blissfully unaware that they will also be gathered to face judgment.

Mark also tells us of angels gathering those who are saved.

26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
Mark 13:26-27 NIV

The angels gather the saved but just as in Matthew, this is no secret from the worldly. We are told that "people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds ..." No secret flyover, no secret snatching of God's people, but a public coming visible to everyone.

The Gospel of Luke repeats the same message from John the Baptist that we have already seen in Matthew.

16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
--Luke 3:16-17 NIV

Just as in Matthew, in Luke, John the Baptist tells us that the wheat will be gathered under the authority of the Messiah. In the same sentence he tells us that the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire.

There is no passage that tells us anything about angels gathering up the saved to safety while the worldly remain clueless, their judgment being deferred to some later date.

It is always possible to grab bits and snatches of the Gospel to produce a pseudo-gospel that says just about anything that you want it to say. In the Gospel God gave us, the gathering of the saved and the judgment of the unsaved cannot be separated. In particular, the unsaved won't be oblivious to the gathering in of God's people, it will be visible to all.

 

[ItIsFinished!]

So I take it you still aren't convinced that 70ad Jerusalem being in Revelation............

Perhaps if we can figure out how a rapture happened in the 1st century leading up to 70ad, then we can figure out how a future rapture will occur in the next destruction of Jerusalem/Temple.
Sounds like a plan...............

Jeremiah 7:34
And I have caused to cease from cities of Judah, And from streets of Jerusalem, The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, Voice of bridegroom, and voice of bride, For the land doth become a desolation!
Jeremiah 25:10
I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness,
the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp.

Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke's Temple/Jerusalem Discourses harmonized
POST #54

Matthew 24:41
“Two women will be grinding at the mill:
one will be taken and the other left.
Luke 17:35
“Two women will be grinding together,
the one will be taken and the other left.

Revelation 18
22 “And the sound of harpists and musicians and flute-players and trumpeters will not be heard in you any longer;
and no craftsman of any craft will be found in you any longer;
and the sound of a millstone will not be heard in you any longer;
23 The light of a lamp will never shine in you again.
The voice of bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again.
Your merchants were the world's important people. By your magic spell all the nations were led astray.

Matthew 23:37
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!
Luke 13:34
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!




.

Obviously there wasn't a rapture in the first century.

 

[Biblewriter]

And there is not even one scripture which says He will return more than one time...

.

This is true. But there are numerous scriptures that cannot all be true if He is only coming back one time, which is exactly what God did n the Old Testament.

 

[Biblewriter]

So lots of resurrections then. I think some people just get hung up on the word Rapture. They seem to despise the word.

They incorrectly think this usage of this word was invented by Darby, and ignore the fact that it is but an Anglicaziation of the Latin translation of the Greek word that was actually used in scripture to describe this event.

 

[Marilyn C]

Topic: The Dangers of the Pre-Tribulational Rapture View.

For the Pre-tribbers: Please do not take this the wrong way. I am here to warn of the dangers and fallacy of this Eschatological view.

Hi Light,

You seem to have a mix of scriptures there, some for Israel and some for the Body of Christ. God has purposes for both. Also -

`You brethren, ARE NOT IN DARKNESS that this day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the say. We are not of the night nor of darkness.` (1 Thess. 5: 4 & 5)

Seems to me you may be in darkness. Marilyn.

 

[dad]

Dad, I'm trying to make sense out of this.

Where did you get the idea that there is an event where the angels "gather the elect" and do not also gather the nonelect, the condemned? Where did you get the idea that this gathering of the elect is separate from the Final Judgment?

We shall be changed...the dead in Christ shall rise first....we shall meet Him..Did you think that the 'we' shall be changed meant unbelievers and that they would be raised incorruptible in the twinkling of an eye?? Paul was talking about US.

Just look at what John the Baptist says:

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
--Matthew 3:11-12 NIV

John the Baptist speaks of Jesus, or His angels, gathering the wheat but in the same sentence he tells us that the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire.

Yes Jesus will judge. That would not be at the marriage supper nor at the Rapture of course. Nor was it at the first Christmas! Indeed He shall judge and separate the wicked from the saved...no one says that is at the Rapture.

Then there is the Parable of the Weeds.

The Parable of the Weeds
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
--Matthew 13:24-30 NIV

In the Parable of the Weeds, Jesus, the Judge, is portrayed as the owner of a field, and the angels are called harvesters. Once more, the wheat is gathered safely into the barn and the harvesters also gather the weeds to be burned. In fact, in this Parable the weeds are specifically said to be collected first.

Again, not all events are supposed to happen that time when we are garthered together with Him in the air!

30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
--Matthew 24:30-31 NIV

What is this, toss out random verses hour?? Yes, after the marriage supper, and after the Rapture there will be a time when we head on back to earth, and Jesus takes over! That doesn't take away from any previous event in history before this such as the rapture.

In Matthew 24, the angels gather the elect. There is no direct mention of the unsaved, or the condemned, being gathered, but the Son of Man does not come in secret. The secular world is fully aware of His coming: " ... then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming ..." The peoples of the earth, or the worldly among them, know that judgment is coming.

Great, your problem seems to be thinking that because there are similar happenings in the Rapture and the second coming to earth with the saints, that there can only be one event. No. We need to look at what is being talked about.

In the next chapter, we have the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.

The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Matthew 25: 31-32 NIV

The sheep and the goats, the prepared and the unprepared, the saved and the condemned all come before the Judgment Throne of Jesus at the same time in this parable. The sheep and the goats are separated just like the wheat and the chaff or the wheat and the weeds. There is no gathering of sheep while the goats are blissfully unaware that they will also be gathered to face judgment.

Great, that ain't the Rapture though!

There is no passage that tells us anything about angels gathering up the saved to safety while the worldly remain clueless, their judgment being deferred to some later date.

Not in your mind. However since we know that we are not appointed to wrath, and we know that there is a gathering together one day of the living and dead up into the air to be with Him where He is....there actually are passages that talk about this. Yes there are also passages that talk about when we return to earth (Jesus WITH us) and you chose to conflate the two, or have somehow not comprehended the fullness of the wonderful mystery and future we have.
He is actually coming to take us out of this mess before all hell breaks loose and all heaven too..in wrath on the earth!

It is always possible to grab bits and snatches of the Gospel to produce a pseudo-gospel that says just about anything that you want it to say. In the Gospel God gave us, the gathering of the saved and the judgment of the unsaved cannot be separated. In particular, the unsaved won't be oblivious to the gathering in of God's people, it will be visible to all.

Despite your haughty totty little snide accusations here, God made clear He loved us and was comin for us one day before the last horrible act in human history. This is the hope of ages. Tread lightly here, or you could find yourself on thin ice and hot water.

 

[dad]

They incorrectly think this usage of this word was invented by Darby, and ignore the fact that it is but an Anglicaziation of the Latin translation of the Greek word that was actually used in scripture to describe this event.

Bingo, maybe if they called it the gathering together they may feel better about it all

 

[jgr]

Still haven't learned. All that happens in heaven. We can see what happens on earth, the thunderous roar of a turtle. Secret rapture.....................

Song of Solomon
8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
11 For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;
12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

1 Thessalonians 4:16 Greek

2752 [e]
keleusmati
κελεύσματι ,
a loud command
N-DNS
ἐν κελεύσματι, with a loud summons, a trumpet-call, 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
Who'll be loudly summoned?
The saints.
No secret there.

5456 [e]
phōnē
φωνῇ
the voice
N-DFS
ἀρχαγγέλου, the awakening shout of the archangel, the leader of the angelic host, 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Who'll be awakened by a shout?
The saints.
No secret there.

4536 [e]
salpingi
σάλπιγγι
[the] trumpet
N-DFS
ἐν σάλπιγγι Θεοῦ, a trumpet which sounds at God's command (Winer's Grammar, § 36, 3 b.), 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Who'll hear the trumpet sound?
The saints.
No secret there.

 

[BABerean2]

This is true. But there are numerous scriptures that cannot all be true if He is only coming back one time, which is exactly what God did n the Old Testament.

Once a person comes to understand the New Covenant promised to Israel and Judah in Jeremiah 31:31-34, which is found fulfilled by Christ during the first century in Hebrews 8:6-13, and Hebrews 10:16-18, and specifically applied to the Church in 2 Corinthians 3:6-8, and Hebrews 12:22-24, the Two Peoples of God doctrine falls apart, and its pretrib removal of the Church falls with it.

.

 

[Choose Wisely]

1 Thessalonians 4:16 Greek

2752 [e]
keleusmati
κελεύσματι ,
a loud command
N-DNS
ἐν κελεύσματι, with a loud summons, a trumpet-call, 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
Who'll be loudly summoned?
The saints.
No secret there.

5456 [e]
phōnē
φωνῇ
the voice
N-DFS
ἀρχαγγέλου, the awakening shout of the archangel, the leader of the angelic host, 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Who'll be awakened by a shout?
The saints.
No secret there.

4536 [e]
salpingi
σάλπιγγι
[the] trumpet
N-DFS
ἐν σάλπιγγι Θεοῦ, a trumpet which sounds at God's command (Winer's Grammar, § 36, 3 b.), 1 Thessalonians 4:16
Who'll hear the trumpet sound?
The saints.
No secret there.

Yeah, all that happens in heaven. What is heard on earth? The voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

 

[BABerean2]

Yeah, all that happens in heaven. What is heard on earth? The voice of the turtle is heard in our land;

Get out a dictionary and look up the meaning of the word "descend".

1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 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 them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 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:
1Th 4:17 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.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. (The word "But" connects chapter 5 to chapter 4.)
1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. (This provides the timing of the event.)
1Th 5:3 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.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8 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.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
(This verse proves that chapter 5 is connected to chapter 4.)

.

 

[Choose Wisely]

Get out a dictionary and look up the meaning of the word "descend".

1Th 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15 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 them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16 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:
1Th 4:17 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.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. (The word "But" connects chapter 5 to chapter 4.)
1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. (This provides the timing of the event.)
1Th 5:3 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.
1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8 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.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
(This verse proves that chapter 5 is connected to chapter 4.)

1 Thes 5
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.