Caught Up Together

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming
of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come
down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of
God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the
Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Genesis 5:23-25
23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years. 24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no
more, because God took him away.

Hebrews 11:5-6
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found,
because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased
God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must
believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Genesis 6:9
Noah and the Flood
This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of
his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

2 Kings 2:1,11
Elijah Taken Up to Heaven
2 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their
way from Gilgal.
11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire
appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.

Exodus 32:1-5,7,31-34
The Golden Calf
1When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered
around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods[a] who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who
brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are
wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to
Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning
it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods,[b] Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a
festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and
presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in
revelry.
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of
Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and
have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to
it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They
have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out
of the book you have written.”33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will
blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before
you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

Joel 1:14-15
14 Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly.Summon the elders and all who live in the landto the
house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.15 Alas for that day!
For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[c]
Joel 2:15-16
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.16 Gather the
people, consecrate the assembly;bring together the elders, gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.

Psalm 119:100
I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts

Ezekiel 8:6-17
6 And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the
Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that
are even more detestable.”7 Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole
in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a
doorway there.9 And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing
here.” 10 So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things
and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel. 11 In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and
Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant
cloud of incense was rising.12 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are
doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The Lord does not see us;
the Lord has forsaken the land.’” 13 Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more
detestable.”14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord, and I saw
women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz. 15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You
will see things that are even more detestable than this.”16 He then brought me into the inner court of
the house of the Lord, and there at the entrance to the temple, between the portico and the altar, were
about twenty-five men. With their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east,
they were bowing down to the sun in the east.
17 He said to me, “Have you seen this, son of man? Is it a trivial matter for the people of Judah to do
the detestable things they are doing here? Must they also fill the land with violence and continually
arouse my anger? Look at them putting the branch to their nose! 18 Therefore I will deal with them in
anger; I will not look on them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears, I will not
listen to them.”
1 Timothy 5:17
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose
work is preaching and teaching.

Titus 1:6
An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the
charge of being wild and disobedient.

Genesis 7:1
The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you
righteous in this generation.

Acts 2:39-41
39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our
God will call.”40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves
from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three
thousand were added to their number that day.

Hebrews 3:10
That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they
have not known my ways.’

Matthew 10:21
“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against
parents and cause them to be put to death.

Deuteronomy 4:9
Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen,
and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your
grandchildren,