Caught Up in the Cloud...of Witnesses?

Believers in Jesus will experience several things at the time of the rapture, one of which is being caught up (snatched away suddenly) into the clouds:

16) For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17) Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18)Therefore encourage one another with these words. ~1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

When I read this verse in the past, I assumed that those clouds will be thick, billowing, water-based clouds. Don't get me wrong, those will probably be present as well.

But then I realized that the word for cloud (nephos in the Greek) can equally refer to both literal clouds OR to a dense crowd, a multitude, and a great company.

We see this usage in play in the book of Hebrews, where the author has just finished talking about people who pleased God and who obeyed Him in faith:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a **cloud of witnesses,** let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely... ~Hebrews 12:1

So, this rapture "cloud" may be formed due to the massive gathering of faithful servants of the Lord, who lived throughout human history!

Jesus also revealed that angels will separate the servants of God from the unsaved, escorting the former into the kingdom of God and the latter to eternal punishment. This is seen in a parable Jesus told, popularly known as "the wheat and the tares." In it, He talks about a man who sowed good seed in his field, but later has his enemy sow weeds in that same field. When the crop came up the wheat and weeds were seen growing together. "What should we do?" The man's servants ask. "Should we gather the wheat now?"

The man responds:

30) "Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, 'Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn...'"

Later Jesus explains the parable.

37) “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38) The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39) and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ~Matthew 13:30, 37-39

Angels "reap," or escort, the sons of the kingdom and bring them into the Master's barn. It doesn't have to be that way at the rapture, but the possibility is there all the same. If this is true, then the cloud scripture speaks of would likely double in size (that's assuming that every person has one angel assigned to them, which is a topic for another day).

Actually, it's today! Are guardian angels in the Bible?

Jesus, in teaching his disciples one day, called a child over and said:

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that **their angels** in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."

~Matthew 18:10

According to Jesus, angels are not only around children but are assigned to watch over them specifically. He also uses the plural form "their angels," which means that each child gets at least two.

This assignment isn't limited to children, however. In the book of Acts, servant girl Rhoda sees Peter outside the house during a prayer meeting for the Lord to free Peter from prison. She runs to tell the others:

"You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be **his angel.**"

~Acts 12:15

Apparently, it was common knowledge in the time of Jesus that each person was assigned at least one angel. Notice the certainty in the phrasing "it must be his angel." In the minds of the gathered prayer warriors, he likelihood of Peter's angel being outside the door was greater than Peter actually being there.

The function of these angels is briefly given in the book of Hebrews:

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

~Hebrews 1:14

These are only a few verses, but there's enough evidence to safely conclude that angels are active in the life of the adopted children of God. Their ultimate goal (as relates to the believer) is to safely deliver us into the presence of God and His kingdom, completing our salvation.

We see a similar picture at the second coming of Christ to the earth, which will take place seven years after the rapture, at the very end of the Tribulation period. Jesus said:

"Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." ~Matthew 24:30

Clouds are present again! In another place we read this about the second coming:

“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment... ~Jude 14-15

Jesus will come with a huge cloud of His servants!

I want us to try to grasp the imagery presented here, because, as 1st Thessalonians 4:18 says, I want to "comfort one another with these words."

Can you imagine this? The rapture will be the largest single gathering of people in human history up to that time. There's going to be a lot of joyful shouting and celebrating that no stadium on earth could ever hope to accommodate! Can you imagine the rumble of the voices of believers, how awesome that moment will be? Can you imagine seeing loved ones who had previously died in faith hovering near you, praising the God who made them at the top of their lungs? And Jesus in the middle of it all, the Word of God incarnate, full of grace and love and terrible power. The champion of our souls and hero of our stories waiting to accept us with open arms!

Can you feel the raw emotion, see the awestruck expression on every face? Can you imagine the tears of joy? Can you imagine the relief, the immense weight of stresses and cares and worries of life just melting away? Can you imagine not being tempted by sin again, or actively dealing with its consequences? Can you imagine the level of excitement crackling through the air like electricity, knowing that the next thing we'll see is heaven - and the rooms that Jesus has prepared for us personally? Can you imagine the wonder of seeing angels, those powerful masters of song and warfare, celebrating with us?

Can you see it in your mind's eye? Can you feel the awesome power of God's redemptive plan unfolding?

Can you see why the rapture is called the blessed hope of the believer?

11) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12) training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13) **waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,** 14) who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. ~Titus 2:11-14

You see, it's through anticipating that day that we are encouraged to live for that day. We are trained to renounce sinful living, because we know that this world is not all there is!

I deeply long for this day to come, not because I don't like my life now, but because life from then on is going to be SO much better.

Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

...I'll see you all in the clouds.

:)