What will happen when Jesus returns / comes back?

Two effects follow, and follow instantaneously; for the apostle says in another epistle, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump." (1 Cor. 15:51-52.) "The dead in Christ shall rise first." What a stupendous scene! All that are Christ's, including, therefore, saints of the past, as well as of the present dispensation, shall rise at His coming. (1 Cor. 15:23.) Tracing down, the line of the ages from Adam till the last saint to be gathered in, all this countless multitude will, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," spring up from their graves-raised incorruptible. And not only so, but all the saints then living will be changed, so that all alike will be clothed upon with their resurrection bodies, in fashion like unto Christ's body of glory. (Phil. 3:21.) It is, then, when, this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, that the saying that is written will be brought to pass, "Death is swallowed up in victory." (1 Cor. 15:54; see also 2 Cor. 5:1-4.) But no sooner has this marvellous change been wrought, than all its subjects will be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and, so shall we ever be with the Lord." Then the Lord Himself enters for the first time, as far as His people are concerned, upon the full fruit of His redemption-work, of the travail of His soul. And what tongue could tell, or pen describe, His joy when He thus redeems from the grave the very bodies of His people, and when He brings by the word of His power all His chosen ones into His presence, and all conformed to His own image! Nor is it possible to express even our own joy, the joy on which we then shall enter, when the longing desires of our hearts are all realized, and, like Him, we shall behold His face, see Him as He is, and be with Him for ever.

Two effects follow, and follow instantaneously; for the apostle says in another epistle, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump." (1 Cor. 15:51-52.) "The dead in Christ shall rise first." What a stupendous scene! All that are Christ's, including, therefore, saints of the past, as well as of the present dispensation, shall rise at His coming. (1 Cor. 15:23.) Tracing down, the line of the ages from Adam till the last saint to be gathered in, all this countless multitude will, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," spring up from their graves—raised incorruptible. And not only so, but all the saints then living will be changed, so that all alike will be clothed upon with their resurrection bodies, in fashion like unto Christ's body of glory. (Phil. 3:21.) It is, then, when, this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, that the saying that is written will be brought to pass, "Death is swallowed up in victory." (1 Cor. 15:54; see also 2 Cor. 5:1‑4.) But no sooner has this marvellous change been wrought, than all its subjects will be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and, so shall we ever be with the Lord." Then the Lord Himself enters for the first time, as far as His people are concerned, upon the full fruit of His redemption‑work, of the travail of His soul. And what tongue could tell, or pen describe, His joy when He thus redeems from the grave the very bodies of His people, and when He brings by the word of His power all His chosen ones into His presence, and all conformed to His own image! Nor is it possible to express even our own joy, the joy on which we then shall enter, when the longing desires of our hearts are all realized, and, like Him, we shall behold His face, see Him as He is, and be with Him for ever.

In verse 7, the Lord's coming is presented to us according to the subject of the book in relation to the earth. His saints (of course) are with Him, having been previously caught up to meet Him in the air. The scene is Christ manifested in glory as the only Potentate. The last time the world saw Christ was on the Cross; the next time they see Him will be coming in the clouds of heaven. Then, in His own glory, the glory of the Father and of the holy angels, with all His saints changed and fashioned into His glorious likeness, with a dazzling brightness that is inconceivable, "every eye shall see Him." The Jews, too, shall "look upon Him whom they pierced, and mourn;" while all the tribes of the earth in bitterest anguish wail, because Jesus is come to take vengeance, and put all enemies under His feet. "Bright with all His crowns of glory, See the royal Victor's brow; Once for sinners marred and gory — See the Lamb exalted now; While before Him Every knee on earth must bow. King of kings! let earth adore Him High on His exalted throne; Fall, ye nations, fall before Him, And His righteous sceptre own; All the glory Be to Him and Him alone!"

John tells those to whom he writes his first epistle that we shall see Jesus as He is (1 John 3). This is not said of the world. That the world will see Him at His appearing is testified throughout all Scripture. He will come in His glory, accompanied with all His holy angels (Matt. 15), in flaming fire taking vengeance (2 Thess. 1), judging and making war in righteousness, His eyes like a flame of fire, and upon His head many diadems, clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and with a sharp sword proceeding out of His mouth (Rev. 19). In this way He will appear to the world. Every eye shall see Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him (Rev. 1). It will be the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

The dead in Christ will hear the shout first and experience His quickening power; they shall be raised incorruptible. What power will then be manifested! "Then we, the living, who remain, shall be caught up together with them in clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." All believers who live on earth when the Lord comes will hear that commanding, gathering shout. It does not include those who only profess to be Christians and are nominal church-members, nor are any excluded who really are the Lord's. (The so-called first-fruit rapture, which teaches that only the most spiritual of all true believers, who have made a deeper experience, etc., will be caught up, and the other believers, though they are true believers of God, will be left behind to pass "through the great tribulation," has no spiritual foundation and is wrong.) The question, "Who will be caught up into glory?" is answered in 1 Cor. 15:23 -- "All who are Christ's." The change will be "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Cor. 15:52). Then this mortal will put on immortality. It will be the blessed "clothed upon" of which the apostle wrote to the Corinthians: "For in this tabernacle we groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed (death) but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life" (2 Cor. 5:4). Then our body of humiliation will be fashioned like unto His own glorious body. it is the blessed, glorious hope, not death and the grave, but the coming of the Lord, when we shall be changed. And it is our imminent hope; believers must wait daily for it and some blessed day the shout will surely come.

The sleeping saints will hear His call and come forth in incorruption and glory. All other dead persons will be left in their graves, as will be shown, if God permit, on another occasion. The living, wherever found, whether in England or China, Greenland or Cape Horn, will respond also, and will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and go up to meet the Lord. Mighty display of Divine power! It is the fruit of Divine love, the crown of His grace, the necessary result of Divine righteousness. Supreme moment! How one's heart longs for it as the words flow from the pen!

When the Lord Jesus comes for His own every sleeping believer will be raised up in glory. We read, "Christ the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ's at His coming" (1 Cor. 15:23). At the same moment that the living are changed the sleepers will be raised. They will hear the shout of their Lord and the trumpet call, and will come forth to be re-united with all their brethren in His presence. The bodies of the saints sown in corruption will be raised in incorruption; sown in dishonour, will be raised in glory; sown in weakness, will be raised in power; sown as natural bodies, will be raised as spiritual bodies, conformed to Christ Himself (1 Cor. 15:42-44). No others will be raised at that time. "The Lord knows them that are His." All who have despised Him, what ever their morality and religiousness in life, will be left in their graves for the judgment at the great day.

The truth concerning the resurrection of believers is closely linked with the Lord's resurrection. Just as Christ was raised bodily from the grave and taken up to heaven in that same body (Lk. 24:36‑40, 50‑51; Jn.20:19‑20) so it will happen to those who trust Him as Saviour. When He comes, those who have died in Christ will rise first, then all living believers will be caught up together with them to meet Him in the air (1 Thess. 4:14‑17). At that time "He will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body" (Phil.3:20‑21). Our bodies will be altered to be like His own body of glory. These verses are clear and decisive. Therefore to deny the literal resurrection of believers is false teaching. Such teaching may take different forms, as in 2 Timothy 2:17‑18, but it is to be refused as false and dangerous.

Let any one consider, with the fifteenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, and the fourth of the first of Thessalonians, before his eyes, the order and connection of what is detailed there, and he will see how clearly and satisfactorily Scripture deals with this question. When "the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout," not yet visible to men, as we shall see directly, "first the dead in Christ shall rise." They rise "in power," "in incorruption," "in glory," "in the image of the Heavenly" — of Christ Himself. Could there be a question of trying for their life these perfected and glorious saints? They have been already, for a longer or shorter time, every one of them absent from the body, and present with the Lord. Can it be now a question of whether they had title to the blessed place they have been in? Assuredly it can never be: the case has been abundantly settled before this. And can it be other for those who, remaining alive, without dying change their mortality for immortality, and are caught up with the risen saints in one glorious company, "to meet the Lord in the air," and "be forever with the Lord"?

Now there is another thing not given in this scripture. In 1 Corinthians 15 we read (I refer to it that you may have the whole truth), "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed … for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." What a moment that will be! We which are alive and remain shall be changed, a wave of resurrection life and power will pass over us, all that is mortal will pass out of us, with all the corruption, and every one of us will be like the Lord. That may take place at any moment. If the Lord were to return while I am speaking of Him here tonight, that wave of resurrection life would pass over every saint, and leave us with bodies like the Lord. It is thus a wonderful statement we get here. Then mark one word, it shows the force of the passage, "shall be caught up together with them" (v. 16). The dead are raised and the living changed, and they are caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. What a marvellous thing it is! But here it is as plainly as possible, and then will take place what we spoke of at the commencement. The apostle says, "If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." The saints have been caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; they are with Him, and at the due time He will return with all who have been caught up to be with Him.