I Thessalonians 4:15 – For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
As we noted in our last post, there were two main false beliefs circulating among the Thessalonian church regarding death and resurrection.
The first was that there was no resurrection at all; only people who were alive at the return of Christ would be admitted to heaven.
The second belief was that the saints who were alive when the Lord returned would be immediately ushered into heaven while those who had already died would remain in a state of waiting for an undisclosed amount of time. The end result was that some saints would have more benefits/blessings than others in the eternal realm.
Paul puts these false ideas to rest by giving the Thessalonians the truth regarding physical death and the resurrection. In our last post, Paul confirmed that every person will be resurrected. Some will rise to experience everlasting life while others will receive everlasting death, but the fact is EVERYONE will be resurrected:
Matthew 25:32, 46 – Before him [Jesus] will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. …and these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
(See Matthew 25:31-46 for full details). In today’s passage, Paul makes it very clear that the living will not prevent the dead from rising, the living will not be changed (receive new bodies) before the dead, nor will the living be admitted to heaven any sooner than the dead or receive any special blessings/advantages.
But before we get into all that, let me ask you this: Did you notice that the apostle says the message he is delivering is ‘a word from the Lord’? What does he mean by that?
Some scholars believe Paul discerned these truths through knowledge/study of Jesus’ discourses on earth. Those who hold this view believe that Paul is simply speaking in the manner of the Old Testament prophets who often began their messages with ‘thus says the Lord’.
Others believe that Holy Spirit gave Paul a divine, direct revelation of this truth, so there would be no confusion within the church. In other words, it was a message straight from God! Those who hold this point of view say that there is no way Paul could have discerned the specific details he shares here from the public discourses Christ gave.
The good news is that in either case, we can be sure that the words of Paul are not a tradition of some kind, an idea he made up on his own or a theory purported by others. The source of this teaching is divine, and by faith it should be received as such.
I Thessalonians 4:16 – For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Paul now gives us some more specific information about what will happen on that remarkable day.
The Lord himself will descend from heaven: When the time comes for us to depart for heaven, Jesus does not simply yell or whistle for us to come to him, nor does he send a messenger to get us.
On the appointed day he himself, our Redeemer and Savior, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords will rise from his throne on the right hand of the Father, and personally come down to earth to claim his bride! He will come visibly, in his human form. We know this because scripture tells us that he will return in the same manner in which he left:
Acts 1:9-11 – And when he [Jesus] had said these things, as they [the disciples] were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Furthermore, Jesus will not come silently or in secret. He will not come humbly or in obscurity as he did during the incarnation. This time, Jesus will come in all the dignity and splendor of his eternal majesty, accompanied by an innumerable host who will shout has he descends.
With a cry of command: Your translation may say ‘with a shout’. The Greek word for command/shout means a clamor, a shout or a cry of excitement. It refers to the collective shouts of an army going into battle. The shouting does not communicate any particular orders or information; it simply represents a loud, stirring sound which draws attention to the events which are unfolding.
A careful reading of the text reveals that the Lord himself will not be shouting; it says the great multitude that attends him will be shouting, clamoring or crying out as he returns.
With the voice of an archangel: Scripture indicates that the angels are divided up into ranks and orders, much as an earthly army. It is commonly believed that archangels are the highest rank of the angel army.
So we know that there will be one or more of the highest ranking angels present on the momentous occasion of the resurrection. We should not be surprised at this. In fact, it would be ridiculous if the highest ranking officers in God’s angelic army were not present with their King to witness this important event and take some part in the proceedings. Indeed, innumerable angels of all ranks will be present.
Think of it this way – this is a one-time event that all of heaven has been waiting for. The Lamb sacrificed himself in order to redeem his bride (the church) and now the Father has given him the command to go and bring her home!
This is an event that has been planned since the foundation of the world. It has never occurred in the past and will never be repeated. It is a day when the Judge of all things will return to the earth and display his power over death by resurrecting all those who placed their faith in him. It is a day like no other!
One thing needs to be made clear: The voice of the archangel does NOT summon the dead back to life. That is done by Jesus himself:
John 5:25, 28-29 – Truly, truly, I [Jesus] say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live…. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
So what role does the voice of this angel play? His voice will certainly be part of the multitude crying out as Christ descends from heaven. In addition, many scholars believe that once Christ gives the command for the living and the dead to appear before him, that command will be heralded or announced throughout the earth by this angel.
The command to rise from the dead and appear before Christ will be confirmed/accompanied by the sounding of a trumpet.
With the sound of the trumpet of God: First, we need to clarify that God is not sounding the trumpet himself. Rather, he has appointed that a trumpet shall be sounded on this great and solemn occasion. That is why it is called the trumpet of God.
Under the law, Israel sounded the trumpet for a number of different reasons such as going to battle or moving their camp. The sounding of the trumpet was also used to call God’s people to their solemn assemblies (Numbers 10:2, Leviticus 23:24, Joel 2:15, etc).
One such example was when the law was given to Israel (Exodus 19:1-25). On that solemn occasion, the entire nation was called to Mount Sinai with numerous blasts of trumpets. Scripture says these blasts became louder and louder until the Lord came down to the top of the mountain.
Many bible commentators see a parallel with the resurrection – once again, a trumpet blast will be used to summon God’s people into his presence during the solemn and majestic resurrection event.
But God’s people don’t come to the assembly/celebration randomly. God has a set order – the dead first, followed by those who are alive at his return.
The dead in Christ will rise first: As Paul said earlier, the dead in Christ will actually rise before those who are alive at the return of our Lord and Savior.
They will rise with the same bodies they possessed on earth, and then instantaneously, their bodies will be changed/glorified and reunited with their spirits.
I Corinthians 15:51-52 – Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
This makes perfect sense. The bodies we have now have been corrupted with sin. Consequently, they are subject to sickness, decay, etc. They cannot serve us in the heavenly realm, so God gives us new bodies that are appropriate for our roles in eternity.
I Thessalonians 4:17 – Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Next (after the dead are raised and changed), the living saints be called into the air where they will undergo the same metamorphosis.
Caught up in the air: When Christ returns to resurrect the dead and take his bride to heaven, he will not step foot on the earth. He will remain/hover in the air (somewhere within earth’s atmosphere) and from there he will give the command for the dead to rise and meet him.
[Just to clarify, Jesus will indeed step foot on earth again (Zechariah 14:4), where he will rule for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4-7), but that will be a later time.]
Paul tells us that the living will be ‘caught up’ in the clouds. The word ‘caught’ denotes suddenness – one moment believers will be going about their mundane daily activities and the next they will find themselves in the physical presence of Jesus! Wow! That’s a moment to look forward to!
The phrase ‘caught up’ also indicates that the saints will not rise by their own power; it will be an external force which accomplishes this. It may be done through the ministry of angels or by the direct power of Jesus.
In the clouds: When the saints are ‘caught up’ into the sky, they are described as being ‘in the clouds’. Not surprisingly, there are differing viewpoints on the exact meaning of this phrase.
The first says that the clouds are actual clouds. In this case, it means the redeemed will be caught up to meet Jesus in the region of the clouds, or that the clouds will serve as chariots which transport the redeemed to Christ (Psalms 104:3).
Those who hold this view point out that clouds carried Jesus up to heaven (or rather Jesus, who is the master of all things, rode the clouds under his own power) and clouds will also be present upon his return:
Mark 13:26 – And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
(See also Matthew 24:30, Daniel 7:13, Revelation 1:7, etc).
Another scenario says that ‘clouds’ refers to the innumerable number of people who have been resurrected and are in the sky with Christ. They believe that, rather than being in one enormous bunch, the saints will be gathered into multiple groups which resemble ‘clouds’ of people especially to those on the ground.
Those who hold this view point out that the literal translation from the Greek is ‘in clouds’ not ‘in THE clouds’.
Again, we see that the saints are meeting the Lord in the air which indicates he will not physically touch the ground, but will remain in the air at a distance from the planet as he gathers us together and takes us home.
Some scholars believe that the judgment of mankind will also occur in the air, because the earth will not be large enough to contain all of the people who have ever existed.
We will always be with the Lord: Once the saints rise up and are changed, we will never again be separated from the Lord! Our old sinful flesh will be gone; we will be clothed with new, glorious bodies which cannot be touched by sin, disease or death. Our new bodies will be fit for eternity in the presence of God!
In conclusion, we can say that Paul has confirmed that there will, in fact, be a resurrection. He also confirms that there will be absolutely no disparity between the dead and the living when the resurrection occurs.
It should also be noted that Paul does not discuss details of the resurrection of the wicked, the judgment, the millennial reign of Christ, or any other end-time events because they were not pertinent to the topic at hand – the resurrection.
I Thessalonians 4:18 – Therefore encourage one another with these words.
In this case, encourage is synonymous with comfort.
At some point, everyone will lose a friend or loved one to death. Unlike sinners, the grief of the Christian is mitigated by the knowledge that death is not the end; it is merely a period of separation.
At some point, we will also die and be reunited with our loved one, or Christ will return and we will be reunited on that occasion. In either case, our relationships will resume in heaven where they will never be broken again.
Let me offer you some encouragement and some relief:
If we aren’t careful, the daily grind of life can take a toll on our joy, our patience and on our overall outlook on life. Sometimes our circumstances can be overwhelming and we feel discouraged or hopeless.
But God has given us a remedy for these afflictions of the mind and heart – we are to focus our thoughts on his goodness and blessings:
Philippians 4:8 – Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
The truth of the resurrection is one of the topics we can turn to for encouragement.
Whatever challenges we face in this life, they will end. We are not bound by them forever. At some point, we will finish our race on earth and God will call us home.
So don’t let the enemy overwhelm you or discourage you. Leave your past mistakes behind. Face today with the knowledge that God is with you, that he has equipped you to be victorious, and that one day he will personally come to get you (John 14:1-4)!
In other words, give yourself encouragement and relief by meditating on the doctrine of the resurrection:
- Imagine the cry of the hosts of heaven and the sounding of the trumpet as Christ descends in glory.
- Picture seeing him for the first time, as he descends in the clouds.
- Imagine being miraculously ‘caught up’ into the air with other believers.
- Try to wrap your mind around the fact that heaven is real, and you are on your way there!
Let me offer you some strength:
A wise person I know says that sorrow/grief is the price you pay for loving someone, and they are correct – the more you love someone, the greater the sorrow you will experience when they die.
It hurts to be separated from someone you love. There is no way around that; there is no magic cure to make your pain disappear.
For this reason, we view death as a bad thing. But did you know that God sees death differently?
Psalms 116:15 – Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
Wow! Meditate on that mind-blowing statement for a while, and then cast your mind back to the Garden of Eden.
When God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the garden, he was in a face-to-face relationship with them. He visited them in the evenings (Genesis 3:8-9). But after the fall, we were cut off from this relationship. Sin separated us from God.
Therefore, in his great mercy, God locked us out of the garden so that we couldn’t eat from the Tree of Life and be forever separated from him in our sinful state (Genesis 3:22-24).
As astonishing as it may sound, death is actually a gift from the Father, because it allows our spirits and souls to be freed from our flesh, which has been corrupted with sin. Without death, we could not receive a glorified body and be reunited with God in face-to-face fellowship.
Now we can understand why God considers the death of a Christian to be something of great value – death is the conduit or path which takes us back to him!
The next time you are mourning a loved one who has gone on to heaven, take comfort and strength in knowing that his or her death was a gift from God.
Here is something else to consider: When you give someone a gift, it is common for you to be present when they open it, so you can see their reaction. I believe the same thing is true of God.
In other words, I don’t think anyone dies alone. Regardless of the circumstances, God was present when the gift of death was received and opened by your loved one. He, or one of his angelic messengers, was right there to guide your loved one into his presence, where they are currently rejoicing – without pain, without sickness, without depression, without any of the cares or burdens of this life.
I strongly suspect that when you see them again, they will tell you death was one of the best gifts they ever received!
I hope you can strengthen yourself with the knowledge that, for the Christian, the pain of separation we experience by death is only temporary. You WILL be reunited with your loved one when Christ returns!