1 Thessalonians 4:17-18

"So shall we ever be with the LORD." 1 Thessalonians 4:17

While we are here the LORD is with us, and when we are called away we are with Him. There is no dividing the saint from His Savior. They are one, and they always must be one: Jesus cannot be without His own people, for He would be a Head without a body. Whether caught up into the air, or resting in paradise, or sojourning here, we are with Jesus; and who shall separate us...

Even the sweetest visits from Christ, how short they are-and how transitory! One moment our eyes see him, and we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, but again a little time and we do not see him, for our beloved withdraws himself from us; like a roe or a young hart he leaps over the mountains of division; he is gone to the land of spices, and feeds no more among the lilies.

"If to-day he deigns to bless us With a sense of pardoned sin, He to-morrow may distress...

How are we to react when one of our loved ones dies in the Lord? Some Christians fall apart emotionally. Others, while sorrowful, are able to bear up heroically. It depends on how deep our roots are in God and how fully we appropriate the great truths of our faith.

First of all, we should view the death from the Savior's standpoint. It is an answer to His prayer in John 17:24, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be...

One of the last desires to which Christ gave utterance before leaving this world, was expressed in these words: " Father, I will that they whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am." And these words " I am," have a meaning that is very vast, referring perhaps to his place in the affections of the Father, to his moral purity, and specially to the manifestation of his divine glory. " I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." When Peter saw his...

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 together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. § He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!Therefore, beloved,...

I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word … I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them …Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of...

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. § An inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. § Here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. § Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer...

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. § God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. § 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 together with them in the clouds to meet...

It is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. § The Spirit of truth … will tell you things to come. § Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who...

Consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an...