“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.” I Thessalonians 4:16
October 16, 2026
A Christian standing by the grave sight of a fellow believer should be a great encouragement. At first this may sound like an emotional contradiction. The church at Thessalonica was disturbed by the question of whether deceased believers would enjoy the return of Christ in the same way that living believers would. A key word in this paragraph (4:13-18) is “caught up” in verse 17. It is the word from which we get our term “rapture.” There is some theological arm wrestling over this. Many believers understand this as the promise of the rapture of the church before the Tribulation. Others are convinced this is another description of the Second Coming of Christ. Either way the hope that is given is to comfort grieving Christians. The rapture (if you will) of the church will be a time of resurrection (4:14). The rapture of the Church will involve the return of Jesus Christ (4:15-16). The assembling of the Church (the trumpet call) announces the great victory at the coming of Christ, culminating thousands of years of spiritual conflict with Satan. The Lord Himself, not as a baby this time, will bring about a time of reunion for believers. Will you be in that number?
H
Reflection:
How has the hope of Christ’s return shaped your view of death and dying?
Who was the first family you recall dying? What effect did their death have on you?