Rapture of The Church Part 3

Not only 1 Corinthians 15:51,52 discuss the rapture of the church but so does 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. We read the following from Thessalonians:

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, (so he is talking to saved -brethren) concerning them which are asleep (dead), that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep (are dead) in Jesus (they’re saved) will God bring with him. 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 (will not go before those that are already dead). 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: 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

Notice the Lord meets his saints in the air, in the clouds not here on earth. Notice those that go up to meet Jesus in the air are believers only not the entire world. The Lord himself is going to give a shout and that shout is going to call all those who are “in Christ” they are believers who are dead from the time of the apostles until the rapture and the graves will open, the people will be resurrected in a new body and then we which are alive and remain on this earth will be caught up into the air and our body will be changed and we all meet the Lord in the air. This group of people caught up from the time of the apostles until the rapture are the Church, the Bride of Christ. The Church will be in heaven with Jesus Christ having the Marriage Feast of the Lamb and then stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ.

Those people left on earth will go through The Great Tribulation and those who get saved during the Tribulation will go to heaven but they are not the Bride of Christ. Just like the Old Testament saints like Daniel, King David, Joshua, Moses they all went to heaven but they were not the Bride of Christ. The Bride of Christ is a study we will do soon.