WILL THE BODY OF CHRIST COME BACK WITH CHRIST AT HIS COMING?

[Doug]

There are two comings. One for the body of Christ before the tribulation and one for Israel at the end of the tribulation.

Christ will come, I believe, before the tribulation for the body, the dead in Christ will rise first then we which are alive.

After the tribulation Christ will come to take the believing remnant of Israel into the kingdom on earth (Luke 12:32).

1 Thessalonians 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.

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:

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.

The saints, the body of Christ, will be with Christ forever in the heavenly places. The body of Christ must appear before the judgment seat of Christ for rewards. Here is a verse about the judgment seat, in which the saints (believers) will be with Christ:

1 Thessalonians 3:13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

Now, the body of Christ, I believe, will NOT come back with Jesus at his coming for Israel and the establishment of his kingdom.

Look at Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Now look at Deuteronomy 33:2 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.

Now look at Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

7:53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

Deuteronomy is speaking of the saints as being the angels who were mediators of the law.....saints are angels as well as believers. Also the body of Christ had not yet been formed when Deuteronomy was written; the body was not revealed before Paul (Ephesians 3:5).

Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Matthew clearly states the angels will come with Christ to establish the earthly kingdom for believing Israel.

One last point, Jude could not have prophesised anything about the body of Christ because it was hid in God and only revealed first to Paul (Ephesians 3:9).

 

[NewCreation435]

I see only one second coming. I believe the rapture is a relatively new idea that has not been a part of church teaching for most of its history

 

[Doug]

I see only one second coming. I believe the rapture is a relatively new idea that has not been a part of church teaching for most of its history

1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 is his coming for the body of Christ and is in the air. The catching up (V17) is here in the Bible not just a church teaching.

The second coming Jesus stands on the mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4)
Jesus will come back to the earth the same way he ascended (Acts 1:11)

 

[Josiah]

JESUS is both the Son of the Trinity AND a flesh-and-blood human. BOTH. Fully, completely. All the time (and even before time).

JESUS (see above) was at Creation.
JESUS (see above) is - including in Holy Communion.
JESUS (see above) is "with us to the end of the age" "where two or three are gathered together."
JESUS (see above) will be at His Return.

That we do not "experience" His humanity with our physical senses is MYSTERY but it doesn't make the Truth wrong, just a point we seem unable to wrap our puny, fallen, severely limited brains around (but God's Truth is not dependent upon that). I do think some Scriptures seems to suggest all will see Him at His return (literally, with our EYES) but there is mystery there, too! (for example, how do those on a round planet "see" Him in the sky in Australia and in England at the same time?). IMO, mystery is best left as such. Sometimes, the more we "think"and "theorize" the sillier we get, the more we undermine faith and the authority of God, and the more we come to mistrust the Word of God. "I believe" is often a better response then, "I myself will tell you what the Holy Spirit should have put into Scripture if God only understood things as well as I myself do." Theology often requires the gift of faith and the fine art of shutting up.