(2) In Hebrews 13:20 we have: "But the God of peace, who brought again from among [the] dead our Lord Jesus". Here we have the idea of bringing again from the dead applied to the Lord himself.

(3) Further, it is to be noted that in the verse in Thessalonians we are considering it is not the Lord bringing his saints with him, but God bringing the saints - surely, as in the passage in Hebrews we have just considered - from the dead.

(4) Lastly we have parallel passages in the epistles to the Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 6:14 we have: "And God has both raised up the Lord, and will raise us up from among [the dead]". Note that it is what God will do. Again in 2 Corinthians 4:14 we have: "Knowing that he (that is God) who has raised the Lord Jesus shall raise us also with Jesus, and shall present [us] with you." Note here again, as in 1 Thessalonians 4:14 the word "also". Similarly in the passage in 1 Corinthians just quoted, although there is no "also", there is the word "both" which serves a similar purpose.

The basic scenario for the second coming of Christ is as follows:-

(1) When Christ left this earth as recounted in Acts 1:1-12 He "was taken up, they (his disciples) beholding [him], and a cloud received him out of their sight" (verse 9). From verse 12 we gather that He went up from the mount of Olives. This agrees with what we get at the end of Luke's Gospel (Luke 24:50-53) where we learn that the venue was Bethany, which was on the mount of Olives (Luke 19:29). It is to be noted that it was a cloud (singular) that received him out of the disciples sight.

(2) When Christ comes again his feet will stand on the mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4). Further, He will come again "with the clouds of heaven" (Daniel 7:13). Notice here that it is clouds (plural). When he comes it will be "with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30), whereas when He left the earth it was a quiet, private matter. The venue will be the same when He comes again, that is, the mount of Olives. The clouds are mentioned in a number of passages in the New Testament relating to his coming as a concordance will show.

(3) The teaching of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is that the Lord's heavenly people will meet him in the clouds, that is, before he arrives on earth. Christ's first thought when he comes will be, so to speak, for his own. They are not going to be left on the earth which is coming under judgement. They will be translated like Enoch. Notice that neither in Genesis 5:24 nor Hebrews 11:5 does it say that Enoch was taken up to heaven (Elijah was - 2 Kings 2:11). However, God's earthly people the Jews will still be here on earth and Christ will succour them (Zechariah 14).

The question may arise as to whether when Scripture speaks of the holy ones that will come with him it is the redeemed from the earth that are spoken of or angels or both. The fact that Scripture says the Lord's people will always be with him suggests that they must be included, though references to the holy ones in the Old Testament appear to refer to angelic beings (Job 5:1; 15:15). Scriptures such as Matthew 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26 and 2 Thessalonians 1:7 confirm this. Jude speaks of "his holy myriads". The context would suggest that angelic beings are being spoken of as also in Revelation 19:14. The saints will judge angels in a coming day (1 Corinthians 6:3), but there is nothing said about them making war, so it is difficult to positively say that the Lord's people are included where the idea of militant hosts are concerned. However, when Christ comes "He shall... be glorified in his saints, and wondered at in all that have believed" (2 Thessalonians 1:10) and "When the Christ is manifested who [is] our life, then shall ye also be manifested with him in glory" (Colossians 3:4). These passages show that the saints (believers) will be present when Christ comes. Again, we have the thought in 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 where it is said that whether we may be watching (alive) or sleep (dead) we may live together with him. This follows on the statement that God has not set us for wrath, that is, we are going to be taken away before judgement comes. The point is that we are going to live with him. It is worth noticing that verse 16 of 1 Thessalonians 4 does not simply say that the Lord will come, but the Lord himself. This is a reminder of what it says in Isaiah 35:4 "Say to them that are of a timid heart, Be strong, fear not; behold your God: vengeance cometh, the recompense of God ! He will come himself, and save you."

The point in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is that we are going to meet the Lord. The idea of meeting the Lord also occurs in Matthew 25:6. Going out to meet someone implies the person is in movement towards us and that we are keen to see him as soon as possible. Love often stimulates a child to go out to meet its father when he is coming home from work. Love stimulated the father in Luke 15 to go out and meet the prodigal. Further, no doubt, love stimulated the brethren to go to meet Paul when he was on his way to Rome as recounted in Acts 28:15/16. These passages and maybe others give an idea of what Scripture wants to convey when it speaks of the Lord's people as going to meet him. It may perhaps be illustrated by the analogy of iron filings which leap off the ground when attracted by a magnet.

A further matter one would wish to consider is where the events preceding the Lord's coming fit in. Clearly the judgement of the world cannot take place until the saints have left it, just as the judgement could not fall on Sodom until Lot had left it (Genesis 19:21-23). However, there are many predictions as to what will happen on the earth before the Lord comes - see for