The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Vision of the Day of the Lord, #11

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:31)

The same coming is described in I Thessalonians 4:16. 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:

To hold that Matthew 24:31 and I Thessalonians 4:16 are two different comings of the Lord, two different blowings of the trumpet of God, is not reasonable. Are there two days of the Lord? Do the Scriptures teach that there are two days of the Lord? Will there be two different blowings of the trumpet to summon the saints, the army of God?

Matthew 24:31, I Thessalonians 4:16, and Joel 2:11 are all speaking of the same event: the coming of Christ and the gathering to Him of His army of resurrected saints. It is the day of the first resurrection from the dead, the resurrection of God's kings and priests.

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:31)

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: (I Thessalonians 4:16)

And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? (Joel 2:11)

How could I Thessalonians 4:16 be a special secret disappearing of Gentile believers? Does the verse sound like a secret coming in which the believers become invisible?

"With a shout."

"With the voice of the archangel."

"With the trumpet of God."

Does this sound to you like a description of a special secret coming before the Day of Christ?

What of the context of I Thessalonians 4:16, does it fit the context of Joel 2:11?

The context of Joel 2:11 is that of an army of immortal saints who suddenly will attack the sinners in the earth and destroy all the works of lawlessness.

What is the context of I Thessalonians 4:16? Is it referring to the events described in Joel?

Obviously speaking of the event he had just described, Paul says:

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. (I Thessalonians 5:2)

Notice that Paul refers to I Thessalonians 4:16 as "the coming of the Lord" (4:15) and "the day of the Lord" (5:2). The expression "the coming of the Lord" ties 4:16 to Matthew, Chapter 24. Both passages use the same Greek term for the "coming" (parousia ) of the Lord. The expression "the day of the Lord" ties I Thessalonians 5:2 to Joel, Chapter Two.

To be continued.