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. 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. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 NIV
There was sadness and grief in the church of Thessalonica. Some of their members had died before the Lord had returned. Were they lost? Had they missed out on an eternity with the Lord?
Two thousand years later, those concerns seem strange. But it was a real issue for these early believers who were expecting the imminent return of Jesus. And who had grown up in a culture that scoffed at the idea of resurrection. Once you’re dead, you stay dead.
So Paul wrote to assure them that physical death was not a problem. Those who died as believers would rise again. Death is not a permanent state of affairs. And then he connected their resurrection with the Lord’s return.
Paul’s discussion of the Lord’s return in this passage has a narrow focus. He is writing to comfort believers concerning those who have died. He is not giving a comprehensive description of what will happen when Jesus returns. But he does assure them that Jesus will return from heaven for his people. And whether we are alive or dead does not matter. He is returning for all of us. There is life beyond the grave for those who belong to Jesus. A life with the Lord that endures forever.
A Public Return
The one detail Paul gives beyond the assurance of his return for both living and dead believers is that it will be a very public event. There will be a loud command, maybe like Jesus’ command to Lazarus to come out of the grave, accompanied by the shout of the archangel and the trumpet call of God. Jesus’ return for us will be with great fanfare. Then the graves of dead believers will open, and they will rise, followed by those of us who are alive at the time of his return. All in all, a pretty dramatic moment in history.
Paul closed by telling them to encourage each other with those words. Be of good cheer. The grave is not the end. Jesus is returning for his people.
