The Wow Of Assurance

We are musing from home today. We leave on an 18 day road trip Saturday. Let us look again at I Thessalonians, where our theme has been “While waiting for the King”. Today let us ponder 4:14-18. It is here we find some of the greatest truths on our King’s coming. Paul tells us in verse 18 these are words of comfort. The word comfort means to come along side for support. They are more than that, why I call them wow statements, because they will knock your hat in the creek. There is a wow about those dead in Christ. In verse 16 we are told they are coming up first. You might ask, Why do they get to come first? One old preacher said, because they have six foot further to come. In verse 17 we have a wow about those alive in Christ. We will be caught up in the clouds. The words caught up has the idea of  your here and then your there. Both of these wows will come verse 16 says with the shout of our King and the trumpet sound of His archangel. In verse 17 there is a wow about us in Christ. I am told we are caught up together. The term is used of fellowship, reunion, as in “where two or three are gather in my name, their am I in the midst”. The last is a wow about us forever with Christ in verse 17, my what a thought. All of this will be done in the air. Hold on, wait a second, is that not where Satan is the god of this world? Yes our King will do all under the devil’s nose and in his front yard. GLORY TO HIS NAME!