1 Thessalonians 3:13 (ESV) — … so that he may establish your hearts blameless in
holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all
his saints.
NOTE: I won't
pretend to have a definitive answer for this verse, but in light of other
verses the following view makes the most sense. The word for saints is hagios,
meaning holy ones. It is used of mighty angels and it can be used for the
saints. In this case, since the event refers to the rapture, it is better
argued as angels, since the saints
(living and dead) have not been resurrected. Additionally, OT saints,
tribulation saints, and the unbelievers are all resurrected at different times
in the period between the tribulation and the millennial kingdom. Jesus' coming
at the rapture is a partial coming since he does not return to the earth, but
rather meets us in the air. Believers alive in the Lord Jesus and those dead,
both receive their new resurrected bodies and return with Jesus to the place
prepared for them to wait the seven years, the bride preparation week (so to
speak). When Jesus returns to earth, at the end of tribulation, we (the
resurrected saints) will accompany him back, culminating in the final battle of
Armageddon (although Jesus will do all
the work). So there are two points. One, we want our hearts blameless for the
rapture. Two, the angels will accompany Jesus during the rapture.
PRAYER: Father, I
realized I don't understand your word and I make mistakes. But the more I do
understand it, the more it perfectly fits together. Thank you for the
incredible accuracy and life-giving truth of the word of God.
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