Caught Up to the Lord in Heaven

Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians. For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Scripture out of Context

baptism now saves you (1 Peter 3:21)

Is baptism necessary for salvation? The Church of Christ will use this verse to say 'Yes.'

Let's look at the same passage in context starting with verse 18:

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience — through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.

Note that this passage is about spiritual baptism experienced by each true believer at the point of salvation. The analogy is to Noah and his family. Who in the analogy were immersed? Noah and his family were in the Ark which was sealed with pitch inside and out. The passage clarifies that it is not the flesh which is being cleaned.

Another passage frequently quoted out of context is 2 Chronicles 7. This is a conditional covenant between God and Israel. The 3 "ifs" are drought or, pestilence or, locusts. Verse 14 is quoted "if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land." This covenant should never be claimed for the Church or the United States.