1 Thessalonians 4:15-5:11
The Rapture and the Day of the Lord
“And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds,
from the farthest end of the earth, to the farthest end of heaven. NASB
1 Thessalonians 4:15 – 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. NASU
A. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord – Now Paul is about to make a statement of incredible magnitude, “for this we say to you,” and he wants to assure his readers that this pronouncement is not his own, but in fact the Lord is the author of it. Calvin points out that what is about to be said is “incredible to the human mind and also promises what is above the power and choice of men, he premises that he does not bring forward anything that is his own, or that proceeds from men, but that the Lord is the author of it. It is probable, however, that the ‘word of the Lord’ means what was taken from His discourses.” Consider the supernatural nature of such an event as the Second Coming of Christ coming to resurrect those who are “asleep” in Him and to gather them with His living saints in the sky by an amazing appearance in the clouds. This is in fact an incredible statement. Here Paul makes specific reference to “the word of the Lord.” Some argue that Paul is giving an authoritative prophetic utterance of knowledge here while others maintain he is simply quoting a saying of Jesus, either from one of Jesus sermons or from an actual Gospel account such as Mark or Matthew’s record of the Olivet Discourse. Regardless of which of these may be true, the Lord Himself did give extensive teaching about His coming ‘parousia’ in the Olivet Discourse and in many other places as well which are recorded for us in the Gospels. In fact several commentators believe this is a direct reference to the Olivet Discourse, specifically the passage in Mark 13:24-27 and Matthew 24:30-31. I certainly do believe this myself. An analysis of this passage alongside of the Olivet Discourse reveals remarkable similarities (see attached chart on Text Comparison 1 Thess 4 and Matt 24).
Mark 13:24-27 – 24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. 26 “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 “And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth, to the farthest end of heaven. NASB
Matthew 24:29-31 – 29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, 30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. NASB
Not only this but it is very apparent that resurrection of dead saints along with translation of living saints is a key feature in the Second Coming, one must acknowledge that this feature exists as a key component of the Second Coming in every passage that speaks of it, whether or not it gives further details about this feature or not. In one context the writer my have in view a specific feature of the Second Coming such as the destruction of the wicked and unbelieving (2 Thes 1:7-10), or of the establishment of the Kingdom on earth (Rev 20:1-10), but that does mean then that the Second Coming does not include key features which are spoken of in other passages where the writer has that feature in view. Rather, we get a much clearer picture in our minds of all of the events which culminate at the Second Coming, and the order in which they do, as we piece together all the different passages which refer to it. And even though there are many passages which give many features and chronological order of events, the Second Coming is an event of such magnanimous proportions and supernatural intervention into the natural order of events that it we cannot get a perfect picture nor can we comprehend the whole nature and sense of what will happen, but will instead “marvel at” His glorious appearing with much wonder and awe (2 Thes 1:10). In summary, Paul’s specific reference to “the word of the Lord” in my view is a reference to the Olivet Discourse, either a direct quotation from Paul’s memory or his paraphrase of an Olivet passage. Regardless of the validity of my position on this, we understand that Paul is making the point that what he is about to say, he says as a direct quotation of God’s Word and by God’s authority, whether that be a previously recorded quote or not.
John 11:25-26 – 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? ” NASB
1 Corinthians 6:14 – 14 Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. NASB
Romans 8:11 – 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you. NASB
1 Corinthians 15:50-54 – 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. NASB
2 Corinthians 4:14 – 14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. NASB
Mark 13:26-27 – 26 “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 “And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth, to the farthest end of heaven. NASB
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 – 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. NASU
A. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God – Now Paul begins to describe the parousia or coming of the Lord he mentioned in verse 1:10, 2:19, 3:13 and the preceding verse 4:15, as the term “For” connotes. As he has expectantly told them, “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven.” His meaning here is plain, this will not be some spiritual appearance or some esoteric revealing in the minds of enlightened people but rather a powerful inbreaking of the King of Heaven into the physical realm of time and space. “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven,” and He will do so “with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God.” Here notice He comes “with a shout,” or in the Greek a command. One cannot dismiss the account of Lazarus being raised from the dead, or the Lord’s words speaking of the resurrection of the dead in John 5:25-29, in regard to this resurrection as His powerful voice does in fact raise those who are “in Him” from the dead.
John 5:25-29 – 25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live. 26 “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, 29 and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. NASB
The loud command of the Lord will be accompanied by “the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God.” The scene here is one of a general commanding his troops into the heat of battle. The Second Coming of Christ is often seen in Scripture as the triumphant conquering King coming to take what is rightfully His and to destroy those who oppose Him. Further, the Second Coming is in many places accompanied with angels and trumpets, the trumpets being a common feature in ancient middle eastern battle scenes. Note here then that the Lord is coming with His powerful angels, including “the archangel” himself. The word archangel is the Greek archaggelos, meaning a chief angel. Note the angel’s role in many end times passages.
Mark 13:26-27 – 26 “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 “And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth, to the farthest end of heaven. NASB
Matthew 16:27 – 27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds. NASB
2 Thessalonians 1:7 – 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, NASB
This trumpet however is “the trumpet of God” and this term gives it the utmost significance, relating it to the most significant trumpets in Scripture. The trumpet in the Bible is usually used for the gathering of God’s people for a significant event, feast, battle or otherwise. Here Christ’s first order of business at His coming is the gathering of His people, together with His powerful angels and a loud trumpet call.
1 Corinthians 15:50-52 – 50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
Matthew 24:30-31 – 30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 “And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. NASB
Notice in the above two passages, key passages on the Second Coming and resurrection, the accompaniment of both angels and trumpets.
Moreover, it should be noted that as many orthodox doctrinal statements testify, the Second Coming of Christ will be personal, bodily and visible. These facts are important because up until the Second Coming Christ’s presence is only spiritual, and non-visible. Therefore in many places the Bible speaks of the revealing or appearing of Christ as He shall appear personally and in the body. This is most clearly indicated by our text, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven.”
Hebrews 9:27-28 – 27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. NASB
1 Timothy 6:14-15 – 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will bring about at the proper time — He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; NASB
2 Timothy 4:1-2 – 4 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: NASB
1 Peter 1:7 – 7 that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; NASB
Not only will He come personally and bodily, but He will come visibly so that His coming is witnessed by the entire world. This coming is said to be with power and great glory as He will be feared and marveled at by both the unbelieving world and those who have eagerly awaited His coming.
Revelation 1:7 – 7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen. NASB
Mark 14:62 – 62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” NASB
Matthew 24:30 – 30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. NASB
Matthew 16:27 – 27 “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds. NASB
Mark 13:26 – 26 “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. NASB
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