The
Thessalonian church members were concerned about people who had died
within the church. Since the Lord Jesus had not returned as they were
promised, they thought those who passed away had missed Him. Paul did
not want the Thessalonians to be ignorant nor sorrow as others about
this, so he assured them that Jesus would bring those who had gone
before with Him upon His return, and those who are alive and remain
would not prevent them. In chapter four and verse sixteen of his
letter, Paul shared how the Lord “shall descend with a shout”,
a “voice” and “with the trump of God” where we
read:
For the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first:
The
verse begins, “For the Lord himself shall descend from
heaven with a shout,...” Paul
began with the word, “For”
which means “because, that and since” “the Lord
himself” which refers to “he
to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of
deciding who is master and the title given to God, the Messiah and
the same” “shall descend”
which means “come down” “from heaven”
or “the vaulted expanse of the sky with all things visible in it
and the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of
things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other
heavenly beings” “with a shout”
which means “an order, command and stimulating cry which is meant
to rouse”. When the Lord Jesus returns, it will be with a
resounding cry, announcement and command.
The
verse goes on to say, “...with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first:”
Paul went on to add, “with the voice”
which is the Greek word “phōnē”
and
means
“sound and tone” “of the
archangel”
which refers to “the chief of the angels” “and
with the trump”
or “the quavering or reverberation of a trumpet”
“of God”
which refers to the Godhead bodily and trinity comprised of God the
Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit who is the One and true
God” “and the dead”
or “deceased, departed and those destitute of life” “in
Christ”
which means “anointed who is the Messiah and Son of God” “shall
rise” or
“cause to rise up, appear and bring forward from the dead”
“first”
which means “principally, chiefly, before and at the beginning”.
First there will be a “shout”,
then “the voice”
of the chief of angels, and then the reverberating “trumpet”, and
the response and effect will be the rising of the dead in Christ.
When we use our
imaginations to think through these words of Paul, we can almost see
and hear this wonderful event take place. One day soon the Lord shall
return in the same manner He ascended into Heaven, and those who have
relied upon, trusted in and clung to Jesus will rise from the dead.
This great promise from Paul should have everyone who reads these
words rejoicing within their souls for those who have gone before us.
As Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he
that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” (John
11:25). We can be assured that one day Jesus will return, and anyone
who believes in Jesus and has made Him their Lord and Savior, even if
they die before He comes, will God bring with Him when He comes. May
the Lord allow this teaching to sink deep within our souls so we will
not fret and sorrow with no hope when those who have placed their
trust in Jesus die before us and are forever with the Lord.
Next
time Paul shares about those who are “alive and remain”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment