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“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” (1 Thessalonians 2:19).
Yesterday’s verse spoke about our Lord’s coming for us, to call us home to be with Him. Today’s verse refers to a different coming of the Lord, when He will come back with us, to display Himself, and us too, to the world. When the Lord Jesus comes back to call us home to be with Him, the world will not see Him. The event will happen very quickly, in “the twinkling of an eye,” according to 1 Corinthians 15:52. The dead in Christ will be raised, and those who are alive at the time will be changed—all in less than one second!
However, after a period of at least seven years, sometimes called the tribulation period, the Lord Jesus will come back to this earth, to act in judgment and to set up His kingdom. When that happens, we will be with Him, and He will display us to this world as His bride.
More than that, the Lord Jesus will give out rewards, and Paul will have the joy of seeing those Thessalonian believers as his joy and “crown of rejoicing.” It will be Paul’s delight to see those dear ones displayed then, as those to whom he preached the gospel.
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