1 Thessalonians 5:11

This sure hope is a sound basis for mutual encouragement and edification among believers. Not only can we comfort one another when believers die (1 Thessalonians 4:18), but we can also strengthen one another while we live.

"For the truth that the church is destined for rescue from the woes of the Tribulation, no passage has more to offer to exegetical scrutiny than does 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11." [Note: Zane C. Hodges, "The Rapture in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11," in Walvoord: A Tribute, pp. 67-68. For a good exegetical defense of the pretribulation rapture, see Showers, Maranatha . . ., and for refutation of the posttribulation view of this passage, see Stanton, Kept from . . ., pp. 88-91, ]