What Comes Before the Catching Up to the Lord in the Clouds in the Air (1th 4:16-17) and What Comes After This Event?
1) Direct answer
Before the catching up, the Lord descends with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God—this call gathers and readies the Bride, the dead in Christ are raised, and the living saints are changed. After the catching up, the Bride meets the Lord in the air and goes to the Marriage Supper, while the earth enters the great tribulation and God turns to Israel; then the Lord returns with His saints to reign in the Millennium, followed by the White Throne judgment and the New Heavens and New Earth.
2) Scriptural explanation
- The order itself: “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God… the dead in Christ shall rise first… then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up… to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). “We shall not all sleep… at the last trump… the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52).
- The Bride made ready before the meeting in the air: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). “His wife hath made herself ready… blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:7–9).
- Kept from the hour that is to try the world: “I… will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world” (Revelation 3:10). “Watch… that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things… and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21:36).
- After the catching up: earth’s tribulation and Israel’s sealing and witness (Matthew 24:21; Revelation 7:1–8; Revelation 11). Then Christ returns with His saints (Revelation 19:11–16; note the armies clothed in fine linen, the same linen of the Bride in Revelation 19:8). Then the Millennium (Revelation 20:1–6), the White Throne (Revelation 20:11–15), and the New Heavens and New Earth (Revelation 21–22).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- Now notice the steps in 1 Thessalonians 4: the shout is the call by the Word that awakens and gathers a ready people; the voice raises the sleeping saints; the trumpet changes the living; then comes the catching up to meet the Lord in the air. You see, the meeting is in the air, not on the earth—that’s the catching away of the Bride.
- While the Bride is with the Lord at the Marriage Supper, the earth faces the tribulation. God then deals with Israel, sealing the 144,000 and sending His two witnesses. After that season, the Lord returns with all His saints to reign, and the rest of the prophecy flows into the Millennium, the final judgment, and the eternal order.
4) Reinforcing statement
It’s the same Lord doing it all—He calls, He raises, He changes, He catches away, and He returns with His redeemed. The Bible lays the line, and we simply walk in it.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Revelation, Chapter 4a
60-1231 §85
Now notice. Oh! He's finished His work on earth and He's took His church, and now He sends the judgment. The world rejected Him, and He sends His judgment. He and His church has gone to glory. John, there on the Isle of Patmos, a revelator to the church, has been the type of the church which is lifted up into glory. "Come up hither!", showing... You say, "He represented the church?" To every one that hears this Word, John represented him. Amen! John was the representative of the blood of Jesus Christ, testimony of...
Who is this?
59-1004M §19
But there were some who believed on Him. They were expecting Him to come, and knowing that something special would be there. Something was going to take place, for Jesus cannot come at any time unless something special does take place. There's always something new when He appears. And they were charged with expectations, but the bad thing about all this: There was many who didn't see Him, never did get to see Him when He come. That's one of the sad things about today. There'll be many who won't see Him when He come...
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever
61-0205E §33
But there is a shelter. Oh, it's not made out of steel, but it's made out of feathers---under his wings. Oh, I like that shelter. Sweetly, peacefully abide, knowing this: that as soon as ... before that bomb even gets a whistle to start, on his wings He'll bear us up. Oh, that's what I'm looking for, that great rapturing approach of our Lord Jesus. And to see it coming so close, our hearts just jump for joy. To know that, it's a joy. Someone said, "Brother Branham," said, "You scare the people by telling them the L...
Church Ages, part 2: The Patmos Vision
60-1204E §125
Now, notice. Before Jesus returns to the earth... Now this is a little ahead of time, but the spirit of Elijah will return back to the earth, and turn the hearts of the children back to the fathers. The Bible said so. Jesus saw him here. The apostles saw him here---the order of the coming of the Son of man glorified. He's to be glorified, and coming back. The first thing before they saw Him was what? Elijah. Then what? Moses. Israel returning yonder, the law-keepers, and then the glorified Son of man. Hallelujah! D...
The Angel of the Covenant
54-0301 §6
But we'll be gone at that time. Yes, sir. There's a part of us that's immortal. No atom, no hydrogen or nothing is needed for that. It's spirit. We'll be caught up in a moment, in a twinkling of the eye, to meet the Lord in the air. There's three comings of the Lord; you know that. There's three of everything in the Scripture. Three is God's perfect number. Threes, sevens, twelves, twenty-fours, forties, fifties. But three times... He came, once to redeem His bride. He comes the next time, we meet Him in the air, t...