13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 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. 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. 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. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
The Thessalonians seem to have been concerned that if Christ returned, those believers who had died before that might miss out on what God had planned, like the Millennium Kingdom. Paul doesn’t want them to grieve about those who have died like unbelievers who have no hope. He then points to Jesus’ resurrection as the hope for all of us to be resurrected. Those who are alive when Jesus returns will not go ahead of those who have died. When Jesus returns there will be a great command from heaven and the sound of a trumpet and with that, all believers will rise from the grave and then those of us who are still alive will be caught up (raptured) to meet Him in the clouds. And from that point, we will always be with Jesus. We can encourage each other with the reminder that as believers we will all rise again after death and no one will miss out on any part of God’s future plan, even if we die before Jesus comes again.