The Coming of the Lord
1Th 4:13-18. Now also we would not have you ignorant, brethren, about those who fall asleep [in death], that you may not grieve [for them] as the rest do who have no hope [beyond the grave].
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will also bring with Him through Jesus those who have fallen asleep [in death].
For this we declare to you by the Lord's [own] word, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall in no way precede [into His presence] or have any advantage at all over those who have previously fallen asleep [in Him in death].
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first.
Then we, the living ones who remain [on the earth], shall simultaneously be caught up along with [the resurrected dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so always (through the eternity of the eternities) we shall be with the Lord!
Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The Hope that Comforts Believers (4:13-18)
Old Testament believers had an imperfect and incomplete knowledge of what happened to a person at the time of death. To them sheol was an all-purpose word used to describe the disembodied state, both of believers and unbelievers.
They believed that everyone would die eventually, that apparently there would be one general resurrection at the end of the world, and then a final judgment. Martha reflected these sketchy views when she said, “I know that he (Lazarus) will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (Joh 11:24).
The Lord Jesus brought “life and immortality to light by the gospel” (2Ti 1:10). Today we know that the believer departs to be with Christ at the time of death (2Co 5:8; Php 1:21, Php 1:23). The unbeliever is said to be in Hades (Luk 16:22-23). We know that not all believers will die, but that all will be changed (1Co 15:51). We know that there will be more than one resurrection. At the Rapture, only believers will be raised (1Co 15:23; 1Th 4:16); the wicked dead will be raised at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ (Rev 20:5).
When Paul first went to Thessalonica, he taught the Christians about Christ's coming to reign and the events that would follow. But in the meantime, problems had arisen regarding those saints who had died. Would their bodies remain in the graves until the last day? Would they be excluded from participation in Christ's coming and in His glorious kingdom? To answer their questions and to allay their fears, Paul now describes the order of events at the time of Christ's coming for his people.
The formula, I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, is used to alert readers to an important announcement. Here the announcement concerns those who have fallen asleep, that is, those believers who have died. Sleep is used to describe the bodies of departed Christians, never their spirits or souls. Sleep is an appropriate simile of death, because in death a person seems to be sleeping. Even our word cemetery comes from a Greek word meaning “sleeping place” (koimeterion). And sleep is a familiar simile, because every night we act out this symbol of death, and every morning is like a resurrection.
The Bible does not teach that the soul sleeps at the time of death. The rich man and Lazarus were both conscious in death (Luk 16:19-31). When the believer dies, he is “present with the Lord” (2Co 5:8). To die is to “be with Christ,” a position which Paul speaks of as “gain” and as being “far better” (Php 1:21, Php 1:23). This would scarcely be true if the soul were sleeping!
Neither does the Bible teach annihilation. There is no cessation of being in death. The believer enjoys eternal life (Mar 10:30). The unbeliever suffers eternal punishment (Mar 9:48; Rev 14:11).
With regard to those saints who have died, the apostle says that there is no need for hopeless sorrow. He does not rule out sorrow; Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus, though He knew He would raise him in a few minutes (Joh 11:35-44). But he rules out the despairing grief of those who have no hope of heaven, of reunion, of anything but judgment.
The expression others who have no hope invariably reminds me of a funeral I attended where the stricken relatives clustered around the casket of an unsaved relative and wailed inconsolably, “Oh, Marie, my God, my God, Marie!” It was an unforgettable scene of unrelieved hopelessness.
The basis of the believer's hope is the resurrection of Christ. Just as surely as we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so we believe that those who have fallen asleep in Jesus will be raised and will participate in His coming. “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1Co 15:22). His resurrection is the pledge and proof of ours.
Notice the expression sleep in Jesus or “those who through Jesus sleep.” Knowing that it is merely the Lover of our souls giving sleep to the bodies of His beloved ones robs death of its terror.
Our positive assurance concerning those who have died in Christ is that God will bring them with Him. This may be understood in two ways:
1. It may mean that at the time of the Rapture, God will raise the bodies of believers and bring them back to heaven with the Lord Jesus.
2. Or it may mean that when Christ comes back to the earth to reign, God will bring back with Christ those who have died in faith. In other words, the apostle is saying, “Don't worry that those who have died will miss out in the glory of the coming kingdom. God will bring them back with Jesus when the latter returns in power and great glory.” (This is the generally preferred meaning.)
But how can this be? Their bodies are now lying in the grave. How can they come back with Jesus? The answer is given in verses 15-17. Before Christ comes to set up His kingdom, He will return to take His own people home to be with Him in heaven. Then at a later date, He will come back with them.
How did Paul know this? His answer is, this we say to you by the word of the Lord. He received this as a direct revelation from the Lord. We are not told how he received it—whether by a vision, by an audible voice, or by the inward impression of the Holy Spirit. But it is definitely a truth unknown to men up to that time.
Then he goes on to explain that when Christ returns, the living saints will not have any precedence or advantage over sleeping saints.
In this verse Paul speaks of himself as one who would be alive at Christ's coming (see also 1Co 15:51-52). However, in 2Co 4:14 and 2Co 5:1, he speaks of the possibility of his being among those who will be raised. The obvious conclusion is that we should look for the Lord to come at any moment, yet realize that we may be called to reach heaven by way of death.
The exact order of events at Christ's coming for His saints is now given. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven. He will not send an angel, but will come Himself!
It will be with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. Several explanations have been offered as to the significance of these commanding sounds, but frankly it is almost impossible to speak with finality about them:
1. Some feel that the shout is the voice of the Lord Jesus Himself which raises the dead (Joh 5:25; Joh 11:43-44) and changes the living. Others, like Hogg and Vine, say that the shout is the archangel's voice.
2. The voice of Michael, the archangel, is commonly understood as an assembling command for the OT saints, since he is so closely associated with Israel (Dan 12:1; Jud 1:9; Rev 12:4-7). Others think its purpose is to revive Israel nationally. And still others suggest the voice of an archangel summons the angels as a military escort to accompany the Lord and His saints through enemy territory back to heaven (cf. Luk 16:22).
3. The trumpet of God is the some as the last trumpet of 1Co 15:52, which has to do with the resurrection of believers at the time of the Rapture. It calls the saints to eternal blessing. It is not to be confused with the seventh trumpet of Rev 11:15-18, which signals the final outpouring of judgment on the world during the Tribulation. The last trumpet here is the last for the church. The seventh trumpet of Revelation is the last for the unbelieving world (though it is never specifically called the “last trumpet”).
The bodies of the dead in Christ will rise first. Whether this includes the OT saints is debatable. Those who think it does point out that the archangel's voice is heard at this time, and that he is closely linked with the destinies of Israel (Dan 12:1). Those who think that the OT saints will not be raised at the Rapture remind us that the phrase in Christ (the dead in Christ) is never applied to believers who lived before the Church Age; these believers will probably be raised at the end of the Tribulation (Dan 12:2). In any case it is clear that this is definitely not a general resurrection. Not all the dead are raised at this time, but only the dead in Christ.
Then the living shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The word Rapture, which we use to describe this first phase of the Lord's return, is derived from the verb used here in the Latin Bible meaning caught up. A “rapture” is a snatching away or a catching up. It is used of Philip in Act 8:39, of Paul in 2Co 12:2, 2Co 12:4, and of the male Child in Rev 12:5.
The air is Satan's sphere (Eph 2:2), so this is a triumphal gathering in open defiance of the devil right in his own stronghold.
Think of all that is included in these verses! The earth and the sea yielding up the dust of all the dead in Christ. Then the transforming miracle by which this dust is formed into glorified bodies, free forever from sickness, pain, and death. Then the space-flight to heaven. And all of this taking place in the twinkling of an eye (1Co 15:52).
Men of the world have difficulty believing the account of the creation of man in Genesis 1 and 2. If they have difficulty with creation, what will they do with the Rapture—when God will recreate millions of people from the dust that has been buried, scattered, strewn, or swept up on the beaches of the world?
Men of the world are enthusiastic about space travel. But can their greatest exploits compare with the wonder of traveling to heaven in a split second without taking our own atmosphere with us, as the space men have to do when they go on short hops to outer space?
In connection with Christ's coming there is a sound to hear, a sight to see, a miracle to feel, a meeting to enjoy, and a comfort to experience.
It is also good to notice the recurrence of the word Lord in these verses: the word of the Lord (v. 15), the coming of the Lord (v. 15), the Lord Himself (v. 16), to meet the Lord (v. 17), to always be with the Lord (v. 17).
Forever with the Lord! Who can tell all the joy and blessedness that is included in these words?
Therefore comfort one another with these words. Thoughts of the Lord's coming do not produce terror for the believer. It is a hope that thrills and cheers and comforts.
EXCURSUS ON INDICATIONS OF THE LAST TIMES
There are many indications that the Rapture may be near. We consider the following as straws in the wind:
1. The formation of the State of Israel in 1948 (Luk 21:29). The fig tree (Israel) is shooting forth, that is, putting forth its leaves (Luk 21:29-31). For the first time in centuries, the Jews have a national existence in their own homeland. This means that the kingdom of God is near.
2. The rise of many other nations (Luk 21:29). Jesus predicted that not only the fig tree would shoot forth but all the trees as well. We have recently witnessed the demise of colonial governments and the proliferation of new nations. It is an era of new nationalism.
3. The return of Israel to the land in unbelief (Eze 36:24-25). Ezekiel prophesied that it would only be after their return that they would be cleansed from their sins. Israel today is largely an agnostic nation; only a small (but very vocal) segment of the people are orthodox Jews.
4. The ecumenical movement (Rev. 17, 18). We understand Babylon the Great to be a vast religious, political, and commercial system made up of apostate religious bodies that profess to be Christian, perhaps a merger of apostate Catholicism and apostate Protestantism. Christendom is becoming increasingly apostate (1Ti 4:1; 2Th 2:3) and is moving toward a world super-church.
5. The worldwide increase in Spiritism (1Ti 4:1-3). It is sweeping over vast areas of the earth at this moment.
6. The drastic decline of moral standards (2Ti 3:1-5). The daily newspapers offer plenty of evidence of this.
7. Violence and civil disobedience (2Th 2:7-8). A spirit of lawlessness is abounding in the home, in national life, and even in the church.
8. People with a form of godliness but denying its power (2Ti 3:5).
9. The rise of the anti-Christian spirit (1Jn 2:18), manifested in the multiplication of false cults which profess to be Christian but deny every fundamental doctrine of the faith. They deceive by imitation (2Ti 3:8).
10. The tendency for nations to confederate along lines that approximate the line-up of the latter day. The European Common Market, based on what is known as the Treaty of Rome, may lead to the revival of the Roman Empire—the ten toes of iron and clay (Dan 2:32-35).
11. Denial of the impending intervention of God in the affairs of the world by way of judgment (2Pe 3:3-4).
To these could be added indications such as earthquakes in many countries, the threat of worldwide famine, and the increasing hostility among nations (Mat 24:6-7). The failure of governments to maintain law and order and to suppress terrorism creates the climate for a world dictator. The building of nuclear arsenals gives added meaning to such questions as, “Who is able to make war with him?” i.e., the beast (Rev 13:4). Worldwide television facilities may be the means for fulfilling Scriptures describing events that will be seen simultaneously all over the planet (Rev 1:7).
Most of these events are foreseen as occurring before Christ returns to the earth to reign. The Bible does not say they will take place before the Rapture but before His appearing in glory. If that is so, and if we see these trends developing already, then the obvious conclusion is that the Rapture must be near at hand.
