"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." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
When He comes our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring,
Then anew this song we'll sing;
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
The sacrificed, risen, and exalted Christ will one day return in glorious victory to the earth. The King of creation will restore His creation to its original created intent, and reign over it in majesty: "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Revelation 11:15).
Furthermore, as we see in the text above, we shall be with Him, whether alive or dead, when He returns and reigns--a cause of much rejoicing and singing throughout eternity. "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy . . . for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:9-10).
Through His mighty work of redemption, we have been ransomed out of slavery to sin. Our sins have been washed away, we have been clothed in His righteousness, and made fit to live forever with Him as His bride. "Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready" (Revelation 19:6-7). Hallelujah, what a Savior! JDM
