Are You Ready for your Trip in the Clouds?

According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the shofar call of God, and the dead in Messiah will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
(1 Thess 4:15-17)

The Lord?s own Word

Paul starts by telling us that what he is sharing, is from God. It is God?s teaching, not his own.

The coming of the Lord

In this section Paul is teaching us a few things about the coming of Messiah. In Jewish teaching we find Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith. They were controversial when first proposed, evoking criticism, but eventually, they became the mostly widely accepted statement of belief in Judaism. The last two of the 13 Principles of Faith are:

12) I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah; and even though he may tarry, nonetheless, I wait every day for his coming..

In 1 Thessalonians Paul says that the Messiah will come.

13) I believe with perfect faith that there will be a revival of the dead at the time when it shall please the Creator, Blessed be His name, and His mention shall be exalted for ever and ever.

Paul also said that those who are still alive when Messiah comes will not precede those who have fallen asleep (or died). Messiah will come and call us with the shofar, but the dead in Messiah will rise first. He will then bring us to Himself in the clouds.

The Lord will come down from heaven

Here is one teaching regarding the Messiah that Jewish people have forgotten about (or purposely tossed aside). Some of the roles of the Messiah in Modern Jewish teaching states that he will be a great political leader, a great military leader, and a great judge. But it is also taught that in every generation, a person is born with the potential to be the messiah. If a person is born every generation with the potential to be the Messiah, the messiah in Jewish teaching is simply a human being.

If the Messiah is only a human being, then he must come from earth. But Paul teaches the Messiah comes down from heaven. If the Messiah is only a human being, how does he come from heaven? Is Paul making this up, or does the Bible really teach that the Messiah comes from heaven?

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed." (Dan 7: 13-14)

like a son of man (He is similar to a man, but he is not a man.)

coming with the clouds of heaven (This is what Paul taught.)

walked into the very presence of the Ancient of Days (Father God) (Does this also mean He is in heaven?)

He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

This means we are talking about the messiah here. The Bible teaches that the Messiah is similar to, or like a man, but is not actually one. It also teaches that He comes from heaven. The Bible teaches that people can go to heaven AFTER they die. But I don?t believe we exist BEFORE we are born. If this is true, how does the Messiah come from heaven? He must be God. We will all live forever in the FUTURE. But none of us were alive BEFORE we were born. The only one who has been around forever going backwards in the past is GOD! Teaching that Messiah comes from heaven, means that He is God coming to earth like a man. Isn?t this what Yeshua Himself, and the writers of the New Covenant taught? This belief is not a "new" teaching made up by Christians. It comes from the Jewish Bible. The Jewish Bible teaches that God took on flesh, and lived among us as the Messiah.

loud command, w/the voice of the archangel and w/the shofar call of God

The messiah is not coming back in secret. Throughout history, people have declared that other men were the messiah. In the 2nd Century Rabbi Akivah declared that Simon bar Kochba was the Messiah. When I was in Rochester in the early 1990's I received a phone call from a man who also lived in Rochester. He was calling Houses of Worship to announce that another man in Rochester was the messiah. When the Messiah comes to set up the Kingdom of God, God won?t have another man making phone calls to let a few people know. He will come with a loud command, given by an archangel, and there will be a shofar call to gather us together.

On the Feasts of the Lord we are called to have sacred assemblies to worship God. But the Hebrew word for assembly (mikrah) can also be translated "rehearsal." The feasts are times to meet with God regarding things that are happening now. But, they are also rehearsals to prepare us for future events. The future event the Feast of Trumpets is preparing us for is the return of Messiah, which includes the revival of the dead, and is announced with shofar blasts.

What will you do when the shofar is blown to announce the coming of Messiah?

Are you "in Messiah" so that you will go up to the clouds and be with Him forever?

Have you been rehearsing, so that you?re now ready for Messiah's return?y equipped for every good work.

Paul tells Timothy that all scripture, including prophecy, will equip us for every good work God has for us.