For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up to

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worship

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worship

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is no

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, (1 Timothy 4:1)   Spiritual weakness among believers constitutes the second condition  that has already been fulfilled. In the passage quoted above, Paul reveals that the fundamental cause of saints departing from the faith stems directly from the church’s exposure to doctrines of demons.   For the time will come when they will not endu

But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. (Luke 8:13)   The first sign that Paul lists is an event he calls “the falling away.”  What does Paul mean by this? He is referring to a time when a significant number of believers will choose to abandon their faith in Christ—when they will fall away  from following Him. The fact that Paul identifies this event

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up to

But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:5-6)   The doctrine under discussion in this series is the resurrection of the dead, and it is important to note that Scripture speaks of more than one r

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)   There are six recorded instances in Scripture of people being raised from the dead prior to the Lord’s

Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. For David says concerning Him: 'I foresaw the Lord always before My face, for He is at My right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore My heart rejoiced, and My tongue was glad; moreover My flesh also will rest in hope. For Y

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:38-40)   In the previous section, we saw that altho

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)   Before Christ could become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep, He first had to become the spotless Lamb of God. Under the Old Covenant, a lamb without blemish had to be sacrificed during the Feast of Passover (Exodus 12:1–14). The Feast of Passover symbolized God’s sacrifice of His Son for the sin of the world, which is why John ref

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. (1 Corinthians 15:19-23)   In the passage above,

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, (Hebrews 12:22-23)   In the passage above, the apostle Paul identifies three categories of God’s creation that currently reside in heaven: the angels, the saints (the church), and the spirits of just men

His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; (Luke 2:41-43)   We have noted that there is an age at which children reach a point where God deems them to have knowledge of good and evil and therefore holds them account

I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it killed me. (Romans 7:9-11)   In this section, we will discuss what happens to children when they die. In the previous section, we established that New Testament saints—being born again during their lifetime—go straight to heaven when they die. To answe

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwellings; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:1-3)   We have already seen that the saints in heaven are asleep. It is therefore self-evident that when new saints arrive there, the family members who pr

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)   Another important truth to consider is the perfect knowledge that the saints possess in heaven. To understand this concept, we mus

Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”   Once we are born-again we are no longer under the sway of the wicked one, and once again we can exercise our free will as God intended. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul teaches us that we have been delivered from Satan’s kingdom, and that he no longer has any power over us. In fact the exact opposite occur

1 John 5:19 “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”       When Adam rebelled against God by listening to the devil, he in effect changed allegiance and submitted himself to Satan as his new god, and so at that time Satan became the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). When Satan tempted our Lord in the wilderness he stated that he had authority over all the kingdoms of the world. He then tempted our Lord by offering Him all

Luke 11:2 “So He said to them, "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”   We have already looked at the above quoted passage of scripture when we discussed the difference between God’s perfect and His permissible will, and we saw that the Lord Jesus was teaching us in this passage that we were to pray that God’s perfect will would be done on the earth. And so this passage reveals to u

Ephesians 1:11 “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”      We have seen thus far the clear biblical truth that God predestines our lives, and we have also seen the clear biblical truth that God has given mankind a free will. So how do we reconcile these two biblical truths that seemingly contradict each other, i.e. the will of God prevailing in the affairs of

Ephesians 1:11 “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”     In a previous section we have seen the very clear biblical truth that God predestines the lives of His creations based on His foreknowledge of them. So does this mean that God predestines every aspect of our lives? The answer to that question is no, for in the above quoted passage of scripture the apostl

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”     There is one more aspect regarding the will of God that I must mention, which is God’s will regarding His saints. We have already seen that God has His perfect will and that He has His permissible will. We have also already established that based on God’s foreknowledge of His saints that He predestines them for salvation. But it d