Now we will examine 12 similarities between Jesus’s word in Matt. 24 and Paul’s in I Cor. 15 and I Thess. 4. Be ready to think as you consider these details of Scripture comparison.

#1 - Let’s begin by comparing what Jesus said with what Paul said to see how much they agree concerning Israel’s Hope. Recall Jesus’ words concerning His 2^nd coming;

Matt. 24:30b, “… they shall see the Son of man COMING”

Matt 24:29, “For as the lightening cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the COMING of the Son of man be”

The Hope Of Paul’s I Cor. 15 And I Thes. 4 Actually Concerns Christ” 2^nd Coming

• In 1 Cor. 15:22-23 Paul wrote, “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s AT HIS COMING”.
• In 1 Cor. 1:7 Paul wrote, “So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST”.
• In I Thess. 4:15 Paul wrote “For this we say unto you by The Word Of The Lord [the OT Scripture], that we which are alive and remain unto THE COMING OF THE LORD shall not prevent them which are asleep [dead in the grave]”

The hope of the Acts period believers (Jews and Gentiles) was “the coming of the Lord.” Paul mentions it 10 times in his Acts epistles when he was going to “the Jew first.” You can check them out and see for yourself, I Cor. 1:7, 4:5, 11:26, 15:23, 2 Thess. 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23, 2 Thess. 1:10, 2:1.

Now, if the Lord has already come once to die for sinners, then the coming we have been reading about in Matt. 24 and Paul’s 1Thes 4:15-18 and 1Cor 15:511-55 must be His Second Coming, right?

Why is it so hard for Bible believers to admit this? Bible believers often say that their hope is not the second coming of Christ, but the “rapture,” quoting I Thess. 4:15 (below). If our eyes are not deceiving us, doesn’t Paul say “by the (OT) word of the Lord” they (the dead and the living) would be caught up at “the COMING of the Lord”?

“For this we say unto you by the (OT) word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.” 1 Thessalonians 4:15 (KJV)

Since Christ had already come one time, wouldn’t this be his 2^nd coming?

As you will see, what Paul teaches during the time of Acts was the believer’s resurrection at His 2^nd coming, at the close of the Tribulation period… to enter the Millennial Kingdom on earth.

#2 - In Matt. 24 When Jesus Comes, He Comes ‘In The Clouds’

• Matthew 24:30 Jesus says, “They shall see the Son of man coming in the CLOUDS OF HEAVEN”
• 1 Thes. 4 and 1 Cor. 15 – Paul says when Jesus comes, JESUS COMES IN CLOUDS.
• 1 Thes. 4:17 says, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them IN THE CLOUDS, to meet the Lord in the air.” 

If you want to know where the clouds are, look up into the air, and you will see them. It’s the clouds in the lower atmosphere that is being referenced in these Scriptures, not the heaven that is “far above all heaven” (Eph. 4:10).

#3 - In Matt. 24 When Jesus Comes In The Clouds He Will Come With Angels

• Matthew 24:31, “And He shall send forth his ANGELS”
• 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor. 15 when Jesus comes in the clouds He will COME WITH ANGELS.
• 1 Thess. 4:16 it says, “HE will descend from heaven with... the voice of the ARCHANGEL.” Michael is the Archangel and the prince of Israel (Dan. 12:1-2) and where Michael goes so does HIS ANGELS, read Rev. 12:7.

#4 - In Matt. 24 When Jesus Comes In The Clouds With Angels A Trumpet Is Blown.

• Matt. 23:31, “And he shall send his angels with a great SOUND OF A TRUMPET”

• In 1 Thess. and 1 Cor. 15 when Jesus comes IN THE CLOUDS WITH ANGELS A TRUMPET IS BLOWN.
• I Cor. 15:52 says, “FOR THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND and the dead shall be raised”
• I Thes. 4:16 says “The Lord himself shall descend from heaven ...WITH THE TRUMP OF GOD”.

#5 - The Trumpet Blown In Matt. 24 Is The Last Trumpet, Blown After The Great Tribulation

• Verse 29 says “Immediately after the tribulation of those days... vs. 31 “he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet”.
• The Trumpet in 1 Thess. 4 and I Cor.15 is specifically called THE LAST TRUMPET.
• In I Cor. 15:52 Paul wrote, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMP: for the Trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised [resurrect]”.

If Paul said they would be raised at the last trumpet that means there are other trumpets blown before it. There is no denying the fact that before the second coming of Christ trumpets are going to be blown. In Rev. 8-9-10-11 there will be at least 7 trumpets blown before Jesus comes. In I Cor. 15 Paul said the dead would be raised at the LAST TRUMPET. If there are 7 Trumpets blown before He comes which Trumpet is Paul referring to? That’s easy, it’s number 7 in Rev.11:15, and it so happens that when the seventh trumpet is blown in Rev. 11 a resurrection of the Saints takes place, they are judged and rewards are given out to them, read Rev.11:15-18. Also read 2 Cor. 5:8-11.

Every trumpet that is going to be blown before Jesus comes is found in the book of Revelation, so don’t waste your time running all over the Bible, trying to find another trumpet to get around the last trumpet in I Corinthians 15. If a trumpet is going to be blown, if a seal is going to be opened, if a vial is going to be poured out in the tribulation, YOU WILL FIND IT IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION OR DANIEL. If it’s not in those books don’t waste your time running through the Bible to come up with another trumpet, vial, or, seal. (It’s amazing what people and preachers will do, to get around that last trumpet!! Just believe The Book and relax; for if you are saved and have believed what is Truth for today written in the Prison Epistles you won’t be here when the last trumpet blows anyway, for I Cor.15 and I Thess.4 is not your hope.

God gave us a New and better Hope and it’s found in the Prison Epistles of Paul and IT TAKES PLACE BEFORE EVEN THE FIRST (1^st) TRUMPET BLOWS. We will lay out the details of this hope later. During the Acts period writings of Paul, a Pre-Tribulation hope was unheard of.

#6 - In 1 Thess. 4 And I Cor. 15 The Lord Descends From Heaven Into The Clouds With Angels with The Sound Of A Trumpet, and A Voice Will Be Heard

Also in When This ‘Resurrection’ Takes Place, Not Only Will The Lord Descend From Heaven In The Clouds With Angels And A Trumpet, A Voice Will Be Heard.

• The Voice is not mentioned in Matt. 24 but it is in JOHN 5:25, 28. It says “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead [believers] shall hear THE VOICE of the Son of God: and they that hear Shall Live”
• In I Thess. 4:16 Paul said “the Lord shall descend from heaven WITH A SHOUT”

Note that the “shout” is for the ‘dead’; the “trumpet” for those ‘alive’ at HIS COMING.

#7 - In Matt. 24 we see how When Jesus Comes With His Angels, A Shout, A The Sound Of A Trumpet, and His Elect Will Be Gathered Together

• Matt. 24:31 Jesus says “They shall GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT from the four winds [atmospheric], from one end of heaven to the other” (Also read Mk.13:27)
• Also in 1 Thess. 4 and 1 Cor. 15 when Jesus comes WITH A SHOUT, A TRUMPET, AND ANGELS, HIS ELECT WILL BE GATHERED TOGETHER.
• In 2 Thess. 2:1 Paul wrote “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by OUR GATHERING TOGETHER UNTO HIM [The Lord Jesus].”

#8 - In Matt. 24 When Jesus Comes In The Clouds, It Will Be Sudden And Unexpected

• In Matt. 24:42 Jesus said “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

In these verses Jesus compares His coming with a thief breaking into a house. A thief comes suddenly and unexpected. He comes in and then gets out as fast as he can WITH THE VALUABLES AND JEWELS HE CAME AFTER.

In these verses, Jesus Christ is as a thief breaking into a house. The house is this world wherein the devil is the god (Matt.12:29). As a thief breaks into a house, to take something of value out; His coming is to take his elect out of this world, so that he can lock up and ultimately destroy it along with the devil’s troops (II Pet.3:10).

Likewise, the Resurrection In Paul’s I Thes. 4 And I Cor. 15 Will Be Sudden And Unexpected Also.

• In I Cor. 15:52 Paul said: “IN A MOMENT, IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE, at the last trump: For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised...”

When Paul says: “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” he is showing you HOW FAST that resurrection will take place. But when he says “AT the last trump,” he is showing you WHEN it will take place. It will be sudden and unexpected, just like the hope of Matt. 24.

#9 - When The Resurrection of Matt. 24 Takes Place, Believers Who Are Alive Will Be Caught Up Without Dying.

This fact is brought out by the Lord in John. 11. In John 11, Lazarus who was Martha’s brother died and she wants Christ to raise him from the dead. And Jesus said unto her in John 11:23 “Thy brother shall rise again”. Martha saith unto him, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said unto her:

• Jesus said, “I am the resurrection; and the life: he that believeth in me; though he were dead, yet shall he live. AND WHOSOEVER LIVETH AND BELIEVETH IN ME SHALL NEVER DIE ... BELIEVEST THOU THIS?”

When Jesus said, “he that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live” He is referring to those who are dead when the resurrection of the last day takes place. And when He said “whosoever liveth and believeth in me” He is referring to those who are alive when the resurrection of the last day takes place and he says: “THEY SHALL NEVER DIE”. When the resurrection of Matt. 24 takes place, those believers who are dead will be raised and those believers, who are alive, will be gathered together without dying.

When The Resurrection of Paul’s 1 Thess. 4 And I Cor. 15 Takes Place At Christ’s 2^nd Coming, The Believers Who Are Alive Will Be Caught Up Without Dying.

• In I Cor. 15:51 Paul said: “I shew you a mystery [secret]; WE SHALL NOT ALL SLEEP [die], but we shall be changed...”

The “mystery [Greek. musterion, secret]” of I Cor. 15:51 isn’t the resurrection of the dead, but rather the fact that there will be Some Caught Up Without Dying. But this is a mystery [secret] hidden in the Scriptures. Note that in 1 Cor 15:55 Paul quotes Isa. 25:8 which says “O Death where is thy sting?” In other words, in the Old Testament Scriptures, it was written, vaguely implying that some were going to get out of this life without experiencing ‘the sting of death.’

This is what Jesus is referring to in John 11 when he said “He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” That was the only time that Christ mentioned that fact to anyone. Prior to Paul it was the general consensus that by the time that resurrection took place all believers would be dead.

Later God opened the Scriptures to Paul and he was the first man to fully understand that fact and write about it. Nevertheless, it was in the Old Testament Scriptures, even though concealed.

It is wonderful how the Bible opens to us when we just believe what the words say and ignore what the preachers say?

#10 - The Resurrection And Hope In Matt. 24, Was Of Course Prophesied By The Prophets.

In I Cor. 15:54 Paul said when it takes place “THEN SHALL BE BROUGHT TO PASS THE SAYING THAT IS WRITTEN, Death is swallowed up in victory, O Death where is thy sting?” O Grave where is thy victory?”

When the resurrection of I Cor. 15 takes place, Old Testament prophecies concerning resurrection will be brought to pass, namely Hosea 13:14 and Isa. 25:8.

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” Hosea 13:14 (KJV)
“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.” Isaiah 25:8

#11 - The Hope Of Matt. 24 Was Israel’s Hope.

The Resurrection Jesus describes in Matt.24 is the hope of Israel’s New Covenant that God made with Israel. The Hope of Paul’s Acts Epistles Was The Hope Of Israel.

• In Acts 28:20 Paul told the Jews in Rome “For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for THE HOPE OF ISRAEL, I [Paul] AM BOUND WITH THIS CHAIN.”

Paul refers to the Hope of Israel 4 times in Acts.

• In Acts 23:6 he mentions the hope as being resurrection
• In Acts 24:15 he mentions the hope as being resurrection
• In Acts 26:6-8 He mentions the hope as being resurrection
• In Acts 28:20-23 he mentions the Hope in connection with the Kingdom of God.

The Hope of Israel was to be resurrected into “the Kingdom” on earth, as a matter of fact; the only way they could get into the Kingdom of God was by resurrection, whether from the dead or alive ALL the resurrected “shall be changed” (1Cor 15:52).

That’s exactly what Paul is showing the Corinthians in I Cor. 15. In that chapter he is showing them how to get into the Kingdom of God, and guess what he told them had to happen for them to get in? They had to be resurrected and changed. WHY? Because in 1Cor. 15:50 he said: “Now this I say; brethren, that flesh and blood CANNOT inherit the Kingdom-of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”

And in 1Cor. 15:51 he told them they would all be changed, and the change would take place in their resurrection. So, the I Cor. 15 and I Thess. 4 resurrection is ‘the hope of Israel.’ The hope of Israel was resurrection into the Kingdom of God, which is exactly what Paul is writing about in 1Corinthians.

Now you might ask: “How did Gentiles in that Acts period church end up with Israel’s Hope?”

ANSWER: Because in the Acts period, They Were Grafted Into Israel As The Good Olive Tree, according to Rom.11:17. And being grafted into the tree, they partook of the fatness (riches) of the olive tree. The fatness of the olive tree were the blessings and promises made to the fathers of Israel, they were the root of the tree.

Romans 15:27 (KJV) “For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their [Israel’s] spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.”

And one of those blessings and promises WAS THEIR HOPE OF RESURRECTION.

#12 - Before The Hope Of Matt. 24 for Israel Takes Place There Will Be; 1) A *Falling Away, Which Is Apostasy, And 2) The Revelation Of The Anti-Christ.

In Matt. 24:11 Jesus said “Many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (A reference to ‘apostasy’) And in vs. 15 He said, ‘Men ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the Holy place...” (A reference to the Anti-Christ Dan. 11:31)

In Matt. 24:24 Jesus said “there would be false Christ’s; and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” (A reference to the Devil working miracles)

*NOTE: The pre-KJV Geneva Bible and other early English Bibles translate ‘falling away’ of the KJV’s 1 Thes. 2:3 as “a departing first” … referring to ‘the Resurrection’ as coming before the Antichrist is revealed.

Note below how that Paul said virtually the Same 2 Things Would Take Place Before The Resurrection of 1 Thes. 4 And 1 Cor. 15 … as Jesus Said In Matt. 24

“Now we beseech you brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him; ² that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by [a Satanic] spirit, nor by word [false teaching], nor as by letter as [as if] from us that ‘the day of Christ’ [2^nd coming] is at hand.” 2 Thes. 2:1-2

The “day of Christ” in vs. 2, was prophetic of Christ’s ‘Coming and their Gathering together unto him’ as seen in verse 1. The Thessalonians were shaken because somebody wrote them a false letter and told them ‘the day of Christ’ was “at hand,” that is that the “day of Christ” had already taken place. Which, IF it were true, they were left behind to face the wrath of 2Thess. 1:8-9. So Paul to assured them that Christ had not come, telling them in vs. 3;

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [of Christ] shall NOT come, except [until] there came a Falling Away FIRST and That Man of Sin [Anti-Christ] Be Revealed, The Son of Perdition; ⁴who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he [Anti-Christ] As God Sitteth In The Temple Of God, Shewing Himself That He Is God.”

For years Bible believers have wrestled with these scriptures because they have been taught that the so-called Rapture in I Thess. 4 was a pre-tribulation rapture. Speak from personal experience, I once believed that also. I did what so many continue do today, I did everything but believe them.

But, when I finally made up my minds to just believe what they words say, the verses opened up to me like a flower! What is Paul saying?

Paul was saying that “the day of Christ” in 2 Thes. 2:2 is the hope of Israel at Christ’s 2^nd Coming and the believer’s “gathering together unto Him” seen in verse 1, which is the same ‘Hope’ found in I Thess. 2:19 and 4:13.

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, ² That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by [lying] word, nor by [a false] letter as [as if] from us, as that the day of Christ [His 2^nd Coming] is at hand.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 (KJV)

Somebody wrote a letter to the Thessalonians, forging Paul’s name to it, and telling the Thessalonians the day of Christ’s 2^nd coming was at hand, that it had taken place. They obviously were shaken at that, for if that were true, then they had missed the resurrection, which would mean the Thessalonians would be destroyed by “the wrath of God” as seen in 2Thess. 1:8-9. Paul writes 2 Thessalonians to address this LIE and assure them that they had not missed “the Day of Christ,” which will be His 2^nd Coming, as their Hope. Paul goes onto say that “the day of Christ” would not take place until AFTER 1) a period of apostasy, and 2) the revelation of the ANTI-CHRIST, which they knew, had not taken place.

The point that I’m making is the Hope of I Thes. 4 and 1Cor. 15, which is “the Day of Christ,” would not take place until AFTER a period of apostasy and the revelation of the Anti-Christ, just Jesus also spoke of in Matt. 24:11-13.

So, as a “faithful” grace-age believer, don’t get upset thinking you’re going to be here when the Anti-Christ is revealed, for if you have believed “The Mystery” you are a “faithful” member of “the Body of Christ,” then 1Thess. 4 is NOT your hope.

We have the NEW AND BETTER HOPE that is found only in Paul’s Post-Acts Prison Epistles, where we find our Hope, Promise, Calling and eternal destiny. And that Hope, which is of Our Appearing With Him (Col. 3:4), which takes place before the Tribulation ever begins, maybe years before.

We believe these 12 similarities between Matt. 24 and I Cor. 15 and I Thess. 4 are enough to convince any fair-minded believer that we have been looking at the very same resurrection for Israel. If not the very same then there will be two resurrections that will take place in the future at the same time because they are identical. Well, the reason they are identical is because they are the same.

IN CONCLUSION:

I would like to point out that the Thessalonians, as well as ALL the believers saved under Paul’s Acts ministry, were given the Revelation Of A New And Better Hope of Resurrection that God Revealed to Paul AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE ACTS PERIOD and it is found in his Prison Epistles. The fact is that we of “The Body of Christ” have Our “citizenship in Heaven” (Philippians 3:20-21), having ONE HOPE, but it is not the one found in 1Thes. 4 and 1Cor. 15. Rather, it is found in Paul’s post-Acts Prison Epistles.

The family of God consisting of Israel, the Bride, the Wife, and the Guests, all have ONE HOPE in Resurrection, which will occur when He Who is ‘The Resurrection and The Life’ appears for them at His 2^nd coming.