Tag Archive | second coming
July 19, 2026  

Differences Between Mt.24:29-31 and 1 Thess.4:13-17

First of all the verses in Matthew address “time or when,” something happens while the verses in Thessalonians address “who” things happens to.

Mt.24:29 tells us what is going to take place immediately after the tribulation of the Day of the LORD, the day for the vengeance of our God:

  1. The sun shall be darkened
  2. The moon shall not give her light
  3. The stars fall from heaven
  4. The powers of the heavens shall be shaken (all 3 I suppose)

On the other hand 1 Thess. 4:13-15 tell a different set of events.

  • Vs. 13 is speaking about dead Christians who are asleep
  • Vs. 14 tells us that those who are asleep “in Jesus” will God bring with him (bring where, when)
  • Vs. 15 tells us that we who are alive and remain shall not precede those who are dead.

In Mt. 24:30 3 things happen:

  • Then (after there is no light on the earth because the sun and moon aren’t shining and stars have all disappeared), a sign of the son of man appears in heaven.
  • Then shall all the nations of earth mourn, (beat and strike their breasts in grief or lament)
  • And they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory

Now in 1 Thess.4:16 we see 2 things:

  • Jesus himself descends from heaven with a stimulating cry of incitement, with the voice or tone of the archangel Michael, that reverberates like God!
  • Next we see the dead in Christ rising up from the dead, first.

Back in Mt. 24:31 we see 1 maybe 2 things happen;

  • He, Jesus, shall send his angels with great reverberation and
  • They shall gather together his elect from the 4 quarters of heaven, not earth, from one extremity to the other. Who are these elect? I don’t know specifically, but I do know they weren’t Christians, because Jesus nor any other Hebrew Prophets knew there would be a group called such. These elect, because they are gathered from the 4 quarters of heaven, could be angels, since they are the only other ones in heaven, besides God and Jesus. 1 Tim. 5:21 calls the angels elect. Maybe they are Israelites. One thing we do know, they aren’t Christians.

For our final verse of 1 Thess. 4:17 we have 3 things happen:

  • Then we who are alive and remain (on the earth) shall be caught up, snatched, together with them (the dead in Jesus) in the clouds.
  • To meet the Lord in the air
  • So shall we ever be with the Lord (we go wherever he goes).

SUMMARY

  • WE CAN CLEARLY SEE THAT THE 2ND COMING JESUS SPOKE ABOUT WILL BE AFTER THE TRIBULATION, THE DAYS OF GOD’S WRATH.
  • WE KNOW THAT CHRISTIANS ARE LITERALLY RESCUED FROM GOD’S WRATH ACCORDING TO 1 THESS. 1:10, 5:9; THEREFORE THE RAPTURE IS BEFORE THE TRIBULATION.
  • NOTHING HAPPENS TO THE SUN, MOON AND STARS AT THE RAPTURE
  • NO SIGN OF THE SON OF MAN APPEARS BEFORE JESUS DESCENDS FROM THE CLOUDS TO MEET US IN THE AIR.
  • JESUS DOESN’T SEND HIS ANGELS TO GATHER US TOGETHER FROM HEAVEN, THE LORD HIMSELF MEETS US.
  • THERE IS NO ONE BEATING THEIR BREASTS IN GRIEF OR DREAD AT HIS APPEARANCE
  • NO ONE ON THE EARTH SEES HIM DESCENDING AT THE RAPTURE
  • THERE IS NO MENTION OF ANY DEAD BEING GATHERED TOGETHER AT THE 2ND COMING
  • THE ONLY ONES I CAN SEE BEING GATHERED TOGETHER AT THE 2ND COMING ARE ANGELS PREPARING FOR THE BATTLE OF HAR-MO’ED, TO QUASH THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET AND THEIR ENTOURAGE.
  • NO ONE, LIVING OR DEAD, IS BEING RAISED FROM THE EARTH MEETING JESUS IN THE AIR AT THE 21ND COMING.
  • THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT THAT THESE ARE 2 SEPARATE EVENTS WITH HARDLY ANYTHING IN COMMON

Post Script

Concerning the supposed trumpet(s), Mt. 24:31 says And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect KJV

“Sound” is not in the texts; neither is “a.” Trumpet is translated from NT:4536 salpigx (sal’-pinx); perhaps from NT:4535 (through the idea of quavering or reverberation): 4535 is salos, a vibration, a billow.

(Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

Think of Jimi Hendrix playing the guitar to picture a great reverberation! IMO, trumpet is a supplied analogy. Could just as easily been a bugle, but I don’t think it was either.

The etymology of the ancient Greek word salpinx (σάλπιγξ) is somewhat obscure but is widely believed to be onomatopoeic or descriptive of its sound. onomatopoeic: ɒnəmatəˈpiːɪk/adjective

  1. (of words) formed in imitation of a natural sound “it was independently developed in more than one place as an onomatopoetic term”
  2. of or relating to or characterized by onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests a sound that it refers to.

Primary Theories of Origin

  • “Thunderer”: Many scholars and historical sources suggest the word implies “thunderer” or is linked to the sound of thunder.  This connects the instrument’s piercing, loud blast to the roar of Zeus or natural storms, reflecting its use to instill awe or terror in battle.

In 1 Thess. 4:16 it was Jesus himself, not his angels, with a very descriptive battle or victory cry that raised the dead in Christ:1 Thess 4:16

16 for the Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel’s voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
Darby

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February 25, 2014  

REVIVAL: ARE YOU REALLY READY FOR IT?

A lot of people have been talking about how much a Revival in the church is needed. I couldn’t agree more but think it is next to impossible, if not impossible.There are many reasons I think it is impossible since the church is so far removed from the precepts of the 1st Century Church. For example :

  • The True Church is the Body of Christ, not the bride of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:27
  • It was to be built upon the foundation of Paul, not the 4 Gospels, 1 Cor. 3:10-12
  • Jesus was born, came into existence, as a descendant of David, Mt. 1:1
  • He did not preexist his birth or live before he was born, not reincarnated Mt. 1:18
  • God is not in control of the world, Satan is, 2 Cor. 4:4, Lk. 4:6
  • the Holy Spirit is not something separate from God, but is God; Ps. 99:9, Jn. 4:24,
  • God is the Holy Spirit while the devil is the unholy spirit
  • the dead in Christ are dead, along with every other person who has lived and died, 1 Thess. 4:16, Job 14:12, Ps. 13:3, Acts 13:36, 1 Cor. 11:30
  • water baptism serves no purpose other than an “emotional” high and was replaced by “spirit” baptism, Acts 1:8, 11:16
  • The Secret, as revealed to Paul by the ascended Christ, is all but unknown to the church, let alone understood, Eph. 3:1-9, Ro. 16:25,26, Col. 1:25-29
  • Jesus, before his ascension, was limited in knowledge, Mt. 16:28, 24:36, Mk. 9:1, 13:32, Lk. 9:27
  • there is nothing written in the 4 Gospels about the Rapture, it is part of the Secret, first revealed to Paul, 2 Thess. 2:1-3
  • what is written in the gospels that the church thinks is about the Rapture, is in reality the 2nd coming of Christ, when the Church comes with him to the earth, 2 Thess. 1:7b-10
  • this is when Jesus returns as King of kings and Lord of lords, Rev 17:14, 19:16
  • the Kingdom of God, when His Son Jesus will be King, will be set up after the battle of Armagedon, in Israel, for 1,000 years,
  • the Kingdom of God and of His Son is still in the future, not on the earth today
  • the 9 manifestations of the Spirit (miscalled gifts) are to be in operation in every church, all the time, that the Church may be edified, 1 Cor. 14:5,12,26
  • the “equipping” ministries are to be in operation in the church for its edifying also, Eph. 4:12,16,29
  • the Temple is the entire Body of Christ, not the individual, the individual is the tabernacle, 2 Cor. 5:1-4

These are but a few of the the things that today’s church have been mislead to believe or not to believe. How can there possibly any profitable revival when so much error is being practiced in the church? The word revival begins with “re” meaning to do again, do over. Here are a few definitions of revival:

  1. The act of reviving, or the state of being revived.
  2. Renewed attention to something, as to letters or literature.
  3. Renewed performance of, or interest in, something, as the drama and literature.
  4. Renewed interest in religion, after indifference and decline; a period of religious awakening; special religious interest.

The Church of the Body of Christ definitely needs a “do-over,” I will agree. But how many are willing to throw away 1700 years of error, steeped in tradition to do so? Our only hope is the gathering together of the saints, when Christ will settle it all at the Bema, where those who built upon the foundation Paul laid will be rewarded and those who did not will suffer loss. 1 Cor. 3

(see more on this subject at https://fredSwolfe.com)

February 6, 2013  

REVIVAL? WHO ARE WE KIDDING?

A lot of people have been talking about how much a Revival in the church is needed. I couldn’t agree more but think it is next to impossible, if not impossible.There are many reasons I think it is impossible since the church is so far removed from the precepts of the 1st Century Church. For example :

  • The True Church is the Body of Christ, not the bride of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:27
  • It was to be built upon the foundation of Paul, not the 4 Gospels, 1 Cor. 3:10-12
  • Jesus was born, came into existence, as a descendant of David, Mt. 1:1
  • He did not preexist his birth or live before he was born, not reincarnated Mt. 1:18
  • God is not in control of the world, Satan is, 2 Cor. 4:4, Lk. 4:6
  • the Holy Spirit is not something separate from God, but is God; Ps. 99:9, Jn. 4:24,
  • God is the Holy Spirit while the devil is the unholy spirit
  • the dead in Christ are dead, along with every other person who has lived and died, 1 Thess. 4:16, Job 14:12, Ps. 13:3, Acts 13:36, 1 Cor. 11:30
  • water baptism serves no purpose other than an “emotional” high and was replaced by “spirit” baptism, Acts 1:8, 11:16
  • The Secret, as revealed to Paul by the ascended Christ, is all but unknown to the church, let alone understood, Eph. 3:1-9, Ro. 16:25,26, Col. 1:25-29
  • Jesus, before his ascension, was limited in knowledge, Mt. 16:28, 24:36, Mk. 9:1, 13:32, Lk. 9:27
  • there is nothing written in the 4 Gospels about the Rapture, it is part of the Secret, first revealed to Paul, 2 Thess. 2:1-3
  • what is written in the gospels that the church thinks is about the Rapture, is in reality the 2nd coming of Christ, when the Church comes with him to the earth, 2 Thess. 1:7b-10
  • this is when Jesus returns as King of kings and Lord of lords, Rev 17:14, 19:16
  • the Kingdom of God, when His Son Jesus will be King, will be set up after the battle of Armagedon, in Israel, for 1,000 years,
  • the Kingdom of God and of His Son is still in the future, not on the earth today
  • the 9 manifestations of the Spirit (miscalled gifts) are to be in operation in every church, all the time, that the Church may be edified, 1 Cor. 14:5,12,26
  • the “equipping” ministries are to be in operation in the church for its edifying also, Eph. 4:12,16,29
  • the Temple is the entire Body of Christ, not the individual, the individual is the tabernacle, 2 Cor. 5:1-4

These are but a few of the the things that today’s church have been mislead to believe or not to believe. How can there possibly any profitable revival when so much error is being practiced in the church? The word revival begins with “re” meaning to do again, do over. Here are a few definitions of revival:

  1. The act of reviving, or the state of being revived.
  2. Renewed attention to something, as to letters or literature.
  3. Renewed performance of, or interest in, something, as the drama and literature.
  4. Renewed interest in religion, after indifference and decline; a period of religious awakening; special religious interest.

The Church of the Body of Christ definitely needs a “do-over,” I will agree. But how many are willing to throw away 1700 years of error, steeped in tradition to do so? Our only hope is the gathering together of the saints, when Christ will settle it all at the Bema, where those who built upon the foundation Paul laid will be rewarded and those who did not will suffer loss. 1 Cor. 3

(see more on this subject at https://fredSwolfe.com)

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