SCRIPTURE IS THE BEST INTERPRETER OF SCRIPTURE

The Word of God, according to John's Gospel, tells us that Jesus prayed and said:  "Sanctify them through Thy truth, Thy Word is truth" (Jn. 17:17).  God's Word is declared to be truth many times throughout Scripture (2 Sam. 7:28; Ps. 119:142, 151; 2 Cor. 6:7; Eph. 1:13; 2 Tim. 2:15; Jam. 1:18; etc.).  Not only is the Word of God true, but it is, in reality, the work of the Holy Spirit through human writers.  Paul wrote:  "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16)!  Proverbs 30:5 says "Every word of God is pure:  He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him." 

I stress this because what I am about to say was challenged in Sunday school, during a discussion about the Rapture of the Church.  I said that at the time of the Rapture, the dead in Christ will rise first, and then those believers who had yet to die, would themselves die!  The passage under discussion was 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which says:  "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."

I said, based upon Hebrews 9:27, that believers who will be living at that time will die, and instantly, they will be raised from the dead.   The verse says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."  In other words, all must die once.  I explained that according to 1 Corinthians 15:22, "For as in Adam all die."  In verses 42-50, Paul explains why we must be given new, glorified bodies, in order to accompany Jesus back to heaven.  Then, in verses 51-53, he writes:  "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."

I also believe these passages support the view that the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3-12 will be Enoch and Elijah, due to the fact that neither died (Gen. 5:24 and 2 Kg. 2:11).

IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT I AM WRONG!