Since the fourth chapter of I Thessalonians states we shall meet the Lord in the air, the implication being we are meeting Him as He returns and will descend with Him (there is no indication whatever that Christ will make a U-turn and reenter the spirit realm), we must look carefully at the statement in Revelation 11:12 that they "ascended up to heaven."

The Greek language makes no distinction between the spirit Heaven where God and Christ are and the physical heavenùthe firmament above us. The actual expression in the Greek is they ascended "into the heaven." It often is true in the New Testament that the expression in the Greek the heaven is translated "heaven" in English leaving the reader to believe that the spirit Heaven is meant. Sometimes, also, the Greek says the heavens. The Lord's prayer actually is "Our Father who are in the heavens."

In our writings we distinguish the spirit Heaven of God and Christ from the physical heaven and the physical heavens by capitalizing Heaven. I suppose the only way one can distinguish the spirit Heaven from the physical heaven or heavens is by the sense of the passage.

Since there is not one passage of the Bible that has the Church returning to the spirit Heaven with Christ, but several that have us being revealed together with Him at His appearing, we prefer to go with the texts of the Scriptures and present Revelation 11:12 ("they ascended up to heaven in a cloud") as probably meaning a vast multitude of the saints of all ages will ascend as a cloud to meet the Lord in the air (following I Thessalonians, Chapter Four).

Doesn't Hebrews 12:1 say we are surrounded with a great cloud of witnesses?

The reason we meet Christ in the air is that Satan is the "prince of the power of the air." The spiritual thrones that govern life on the earth are located in the air above us. One of the primary purposes of the first resurrection from the dead, the resurrection that will take place when the Lord appears, is to change the occupants of the thrones in the air from wicked angels to righteous saints. Until the righteous take control of these thrones there cannot occur the changes on the earth that we desire.

This is why the Spirit of God is dealing with you endlessly. He is preparing you to govern the world in righteousness.

Every witness of God is eternal. Noah, Job, and Abraham are still bearing witness. He who does the will of God abides forever.

Of whom are you bearing witness today? Are you bearing witness of God or of Satan, of truth or of a lie, of good or of evil? Since you basically are dust, a witness of just yourself is weak indeed.

The Bible is a record of the war between God and Satan, between good and evil. If you do not choose one side or the other your life will prove to be meaningless and you will be trampled underfoot in the last days.

If you love God with all your heart, get ready for the greatest outpouring of God's Spirit in the history of the world.