33 – Are you in the clouds?

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (KJV)

“[16] 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: [17] 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.”

Most of us may be familiar with this scripture. It is a passage often quoted relative to the coming of the Lord Jesus, and it contains a key piece of counsel that every believer should be mindful to take heed to as the coming of the Lord draws nearer. 

What is the counsel?

Verse 17 says: “Then we … 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.”. This verse is saying that the “caught up” experience takes place “in the clouds” and the destination of the caught up experience is to “meet the Lord in the air”. In other words, for a person to experience the “caught up”, the person must be “in the clouds”; and after experiencing the “caught up”, we shall be with the Lord “in the air” forever. 

Thinking about this, it becomes apparent that Paul is not referring to physical cloud or physical air; especially since the same Paul used air in a symbolic way in Ephesians 2:2 where he referred to satan as the “prince of the power of the air”.

In both 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and Ephesians 2:2, the air represents the spiritual realm of this world, though that’s not our focus for now. Our interest is particularly in the clouds, because the counsel is related to being in the clouds. Since the cloud is not physical cloud, and a person must be in the clouds in order to be “caught up”:

What does it mean to be in the clouds?

We have a clue in Exodus 24:12-18. It reads:

“[12] And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. [13] And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. [14] And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. [15] And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. [16] And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. [17] And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. [18] And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.”

In this passage, God asked Moses to come up the mountain and remain there in order to receive the laws of God written on tablets of stone. And because the top of the mountain was covered by the cloud of God’s glory, as Moses went up the mountain, he entered into the clouds.

Hebrews 12:18-24 gives us a comparison between this physical experience that Moses had at Mount Sinai and the spiritual experience that we (Christians) have at Mount Zion. Meaning, just as Moses entered into the clouds by going up mount Sinai to receive the laws of God on tablets of stone, so also we enter into the clouds by going up mount Zion to receive the laws of God in our hearts and minds. Hebrews 10:16 shows God’s covenant to put His laws in our hearts and mind, not on tablets of stone as in the Old Testament. As such, being “in the clouds” simply means allowing the Lord to write His laws in your heart and mind, because it is in the clouds that God gave Moses the laws.

How does one know if he is in the clouds?

It is by checking the degree to which the laws of God are written in your heart and mind. Psalm 19:7 says: 

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”

This passage shows that you can tell the degree to which the law of God is written in your heart and mind by checking how converted your soul is. Your soul comprises your mind, emotions, desires and will. The degree to which these aspects of you are converted to be more like Christ is an indicator of the degree to which the law of God is written in your heart and mind.

Meaning, in simple terms, the counsel in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is that in order to be among those who will experience the “caught up” (which is the change from mortality to immortality described in 1 Corinthians 15:50-55) your soul must be converted. It is those who yield daily to the Holy Spirit (to write the laws of God into them) that are in the clouds. They are the ones who are truly preparing for the coming of the Lord.

Prayer for today:

Lord Jesus, help me to prepare for Your coming by entering into Your cloud and remaining there. O Lord, write Your law into my heart and mind; let my soul (my emotions, my mind, my desires, my will) be converted to be like Yours. Lord Jesus, please help me to be among those who will be caught up (who will be changed into immortality) when you come. Amen.