1 THESSALONIANS 4

Survey of the chapter
Verses 1-11 have to do with conduct while we wait for the Lord to come, summed up in the expression “walk and please God”. In times of persecution the people of God would have tended to be together more, and this presented difficulties. They would need to be watchful with regard to the sin of fornication, for thrown together in times of persecution, there might be more opportunities to be tempted in this matter. They would need to express their love more fervently, because in times of stress nerves are on edge, and saints can become irritated with one another. Then there was the need to continue to earn their own living, and not make the Lord’s coming an excuse for idleness. Verses 12-17 give instruction regarding the rapture of the saints, and the fears the Thessalonians had about it.

Structure of the chapter

(a	Verses 1,2	Obedience to commandments
(b)	Verses 3-8	Avoidance of fornication
(c)	Verses 9,10	Continuance in brotherly love
(d)	Verses 11,12	Diligence in daily work
(e)	Verses 13-18	Intelligence as to the Lord’s coming

(a) Verses 1,2
Obedience to commandments

4:1
Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus- the beseeching is on the level of equals, (hence “brethren”), whereas the exhortation is as an apostle on the authority of Jesus as Lord.

That as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God- they received an example, and they received oral instruction, the one agreeing with the other. It is said of Enoch that he “walked with God: and he was not; for God took him”, Genesis 5:24. In the New Testament it is said, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God”, Hebrews 11:5. So Enoch both walked, and pleased God, and then was translated. Here, the apostle exhorts us to do both, with the promise at the end of the chapter that we shall be translated, too.

So ye would abound more and more- the apostle does not want the Thessalonians to make the fact that they were persecuted, an excuse. They are to abound, despite the opposition. After all, Enoch faced terrible conditions in his day, as a reading of Genesis 6 will show.

4:2
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus- these are not legal decrees, but the commands of His love, which we are willing to obey out of responsive love to Him, and by the power of the Spirit. This may well be a reference to the Lord’s teachings in Matthew 5-7, where He set out the code of the conduct expected of those who professed to be in His kingdom, during such times as the subjects of that kingdom were being persecuted. The final beautitude mentions persecution twice over, Matthew 5:11,12. This persecution the Thessalonians knew, but were still required to live lives worthy of the King.

(b) Verses 3-8

Avoidance of fornication

4:3
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication- the apostle now proceeds to address three matters that will hinder a walk with God, being disobedience to His commands. They are immorality, verses 3-8; lack of brotherly love, verses 9-10, and lack of industry, verses 11-12.

There is invariably a close connection between idolatry and immorality. We see this reflected in the fact that the Old Testament, as well as the New, used adultery as a metaphor for idolatry. See, for example, Hosea 1:2, and Revelation 17:4,5. We should remember that many of the Thessalonian believers were former idolaters, and they would have to work hard to sever their old associations. The apostle is encouraging in this here. Idolatry is in reality the worship of evil spirits, 1 Corinthians 10:20, and these evil beings are very reluctant to give up their prey. The apostle does not accuse them of fornication, but simply beseeches and exhorts them to abstain from being tempted to do it, for it is the revealed will of God that they should be practically holy.

It is often the case that in times of persecution, when believers are forced to be together more for protection, that the temptation to indulge in this sin is more strong, and therefore a special effort should be made to guard against it. There are other circumstances, (such as natural disasters), or higher education, when strangers are thrown together, so believers should beware. The reminder about commandments in verse 2 should alert us to the fact that we are held accountable to God for our actions. The apostle is not making suggestions, but setting out abiding and binding principles.

4:4
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour- there is always a debate about these words. Does the apostle mean a man’s own body when he writes about “his vessel”, or does he mean a man’s own wife, the weaker vessel that Peter referred to, 1 Peter 3:7? Could it not be said that the command covers both? So both personally and matrimonially, a man is to be sanctified in practical terms, and also give due honour to his wife’s body and his own. Marriage is a holy ordinance, being the means God has ordained for life to be maintained on the earth in a seemly way, and also in an ordered way. The writer to the Hebrews is clear, that “marriage is honourable in all”, Hebrews 13:4. The apostle Peter wrote of husbands and wives being “heirs together of the grace of life”, meaning life as our beneficent God intended it to be upon the earth, 1 Peter 3:7. Transgression of His laws in this regard only bring misery and chaos.

4:5
Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God- those who know not God do not have eternal life, and therefore have no relationship with the living God. As such they are not able to reproduce the character of God, who is holy. Concupicence is passion that leads to lust. The word for lust means strong desire, which can be either for good things, or evil things, the context must decide. Here it clearly means evil things.

4:6
That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter- God has set the boundaries for human behaviour, and whilst sinners cross those boundaries and transgress, this should not be true of believers. One aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is temperance, or self-control. We are greatly helped in this matter, for one of the functions of the Holy Spirit within us is to prevent us from doing the things that we would otherwise do, Galatians 5:17. It is as we respond to the Spirit that we are enabled to live according to God’s mind.

The reference to defrauding one’s brother strongly suggests that the man’s vessel in verse 4 is his wife. The apostle gives a stern warning against depriving a man of his rights by consorting either temporarily or permanently with his wife. By so doing, the man’s brother is deprived of his conjugal rights, apart from the fact that it is sin before God.

4:7
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness- holiness is not an optional extra in the Christian life, but a basic necessity. The gospel is a call to holiness, so this characteristic is to be manifest from the very start of the Christian pathway. As the apostle wrote elsewhere, “being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life”, Romans 6:21. The Corinthians were “called to be saints”, and so are all believers, 1 Corinthians 1:2.

4:8
He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God- to despise is to reject with contempt the commands of Christ. Let those who do this remember that it is not the word of a man, or even of the apostle himself, but the word of God.

Who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit- not only has God given the command to be holy, for He is holy, 1 Peter 1:16, but has left us without excuse, having given to us the power to carry out His commands. The expression “His Holy Spirit” is a very emphatic one, literally meaning “His Spirit, the Holy One”. The believer is granted the Holy Spirit the moment he believes, so from the outset of the Christian life there is power to walk and please God.

(c) Verses 9,10
Continuance in brotherly love

4:9
But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you- when thrown together in persecution conditions, nerves might be on edge, and tempers frayed, even. The believers must not lose sight of the fact that they share in common the life of their Father, and that they are brothers in the Lord. As Abraham said to Lot, “Let there be no strife I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren”, Genesis 13:8. the reason why the apostle did not need to elaborate on loving one another is told us in the rest of the verse.

For ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another- they were God-taught persons. In other words, they had learnt to love, not, in the first instance, through the example of the apostle and his companions, (although they clearly had an affection for the Thessalonian believers), but by the example of God Himself. The love of God had been shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit that had been given them at their conversion, Romans 5:5, and it was this that taught them true love. As the apostle John would later write, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another”, 1 John 4:9-11. So the intensity of the love of God, which was enough to send His Son into this hostile world, and, more than that, to send Him to Calvary to suffer the consequences of our sins, is the supreme and unsurpassable example of love. This highest expression of love is known only by those who are of God by new birth, and therefore know the God who is love. The unsaved may be told of the love of God expressed at the cross, but they know nothing of the experience of it. Those who do know this love, however, and who have eternal life, the life of God, may imitate God by loving their brethren. This gives great meaning to Christian love, for it is nothing less than the expression of the love of God.

4:10
And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia- having faithfully evangelised the district around them, the resulting converts had been nurtured in an atmosphere of love. The Good Samaritan instructed the inn-keeper to take care of the man he had rescued, and believers have a like duty still.

But we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more- there are always circumstances arising which test the strength of our love for fellow-believers. We should strive to not let those situations diminish our love, but rather, see them as a challenge to overcome, so that we are motivated to love, not less and less, but more and more.

(d) Verses 11,12
Diligence in daily work

4:11
And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

And that ye study to be quiet- the apostle appreciated that they were in alarming circumstances, and they would be fearful at times. He encourages them to study, (the word means “ambitiously endeavour”), to not let outward circumstances disturb their inner calm. The Lord Jesus had encouraged along this line in the upper room. He knew the disciples would be concerned by the events about to take place, and subsequently, so He encouraged them by His ministry, and then said, in His final word to them before the cross,”These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”, John 16:33.

And to do your own business- it seems, from a reading of the two epistles Paul wrote to these Thessalonians, that they had a tendency to slacken off in their daily labours, perhaps in view of the imminent return of Christ. They were doing the reverse of what men will do in relation to the coming of Christ to reign. Because they do not believe it will happen, they will eat and drink, marry and give in marriage, buy and sell, plant and build, as if nothing is ever going to disturb their lives, Matthew 24:38; Luke 17:26-28. On the other hand, it is because the Thessalonians do believe that Christ is coming that they should be diligent in their daily labours, to His glory.

And to work with your own hands, as we commanded you- honest toil is an honourable thing, not a thing to be ashamed of. After all, Christians are the followers of the One who toiled in a carpentry workshop for many years, Mark 6:3. Mary had at least two daughters and four sons after Christ was born, Matthew 13:55,56, and if, as seems likely, Joseph died in the meantime, there were at least eight in the family to be supported until the sons were able to work for themselves.

4:12
That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without- there are two reasons the apostle gives at this point as to why they should labour with their own hands. “Honestly” means in a becoming way. The world disdains a lazy Christian, and failure to work when fully able to do so is a blot on the testimony, and is not fair on those believers who do work hard. By “them that are without” the apostle means unbelievers, who by definition are outside of the assembly, 1 Corinthians 5:12. So lazy Christians affect the assembly’s testimony also.

And that ye may have lack of nothing- we might have thought that this is the first reason, but the apostle sees the honour of Christ and the assembly as being of first importance. Of course, there are believers who have need through no fault of their own, and it is the bounden duty of those who have enough and to spare to relieve their hardship if at all possible. The apostle Paul was very zealous about arranging a collection for the poor saints in Judea, and the Macedonian believers were exemplary in their response to the need, and this would include the Thessalonians. See 2 Corinthians 8:1-5. We are to understand that “lack of nothing” does not mean “lack of no luxury we crave after”. Having food and raiment let us be therewith content, 1 Timothy 6:8.

(e) Verses 13-18
Intelligence as to the Lord’s coming

Setting of the section
These verses deal with the coming of the Lord Jesus into the air to take the believers of this present church age to the Father’s house. We should be careful to distinguish this coming from His coming to earth to reign. This will not take place until at least seven years after the events described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. There are two passages of Scripture which will help us greatly to see the distinction. The first is Daniel 9:24-27, where the prophet Daniel learns that after the nation of Israel have been allowed to return to Canaan after the captivity in Babylon, there will elapse a period of 70 weeks or “sevens”. These weeks are weeks of years, and therefore amount to 490 years. They had to do with matters concerning Daniel’s city and his people; in other words, Jerusalem and the nation of Israel.

The second passage is Ephesians 3:1-13. There, the apostle Paul explains that to him had been committed the task of unfolding truth that had not been known in Old Testament times. It was a mystery that he was enabled to reveal. So the ages before are distinct from the present age. Daniel knew nothing of the present church age, and it is not included in the 490 years he was told about. Now the coming of Christ to the earth is at the end of those 490 years, and there are still 7 years of that total yet to run.

The 490 years Daniel was told about were divided into three very unequal parts. The first part, of 49 years, finished at the time the canon of the Old Testament closes with the book of Malachi. The second part, of 434 years, culminated in the death of Christ, Israel’s Messiah. This leaves the remaining 7 years. So in between the 49 plus 434 years, making 483 years, and the 7 years, there is this current age, which will climax with the coming of Christ as spoken of in the passage before us.

Subject of the section
The passage gives details of the procedure when Christ comes into the air to receive His saints to Himself. He had promised in the Upper Room that He would do this, John 14:3, and He will be true to His promise. The passage concerns two groups of people, namely believers of this age who have died, and those who will still be alive when the Lord comes. We are told what will happen in relation to both classes.

4:13
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren- the apostle Peter urges us to “add to your faith…knowledge”, 2 Peter 1:5. Ignorance of the truths set out in these verses had caused the Thessalonian believers much anxiety. This the apostle Paul seeks to relieve. Anxieties can only be allayed by knowledge. When he is going to refer to the coming of the Lord to the earth to reign, he writes, “but of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly,” 5:1,2. They could derive their knowledge of the coming of the Messiah to reign from the Old Testament scriptures, but those scriptures said nothing about the church, or Christ’s coming for it.

Concerning them which are asleep- the figures that are used for the death of believers are peaceful ones, even though the manner of their death may be violent. For example, Stephen “fell asleep” with stones raining down upon him, Acts 7:60.

The believer’s death is likened to the sowing of a seed, 1 Corinthians 15:42. To the taking down of a tent, as if it were but a shelter for the soul, 2 Peter 1:14. The setting off on a journey, for Peter uses the word “decease” for his death, and this is the Greek equivalent of the word for exodus- he was setting off for the heavenly Canaan, 2 Peter 2:15. The pouring out of wine over a sacrifice, 2 Timothy 4:6, (“ready to be offered”). A departure, where the idea is of a ship being loosed from its moorings, and setting sail, 2 Timothy 4:6 again.

Sleep implies that work is finished. When a godly Israelite laid down to sleep after a hard day’s work well done, he prayed the words of Psalm 31:5, “into thine hand I commit my spirit”. Now the Lord Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”, John 9:4. Such was the diligence of God’s Perfect Workman that He could say, anticipating the results of His work at Calvary, “I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do”, John 17:3. It is no surprise, then, to hear Him take up the words of Psalm 31, and say, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit”, Luke 23:46. So it was that the Lord Jesus confidently commended His spirit to His Father, sure that there was everything that the Father found commendable about Him. He was also confident about His soul and His body, for He said, “My flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption”, Psalm 16:9,10.

But sleep also implies that there is a new day ahead, and new work. And so it is for Christ, for He has taken servant-hood for ever, and works in new ways to the glory of His Father and the blessing of His people.

It is good for us as the Lord’s people to work while it is day, so that there is something about our spirit which is commendable in the day of death or when the Lord comes. We should be “not slothful in business”, Romans 12:10. Always remembering that “his servants shall serve him”, Revelation 22:3, and fresh avenues of service will open up for us in eternity.

That ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope- when unsaved persons die, their friends do not have the hope that when the Lord comes they will be caught up to be with Him. They will certainly be raised from the grave at the end of time, but not to glory, only to judgement. An inscription has been uncovered from a sepulchre in Thessalonica which reads, “After death there is no revival; after the grave no meeting of those who have loved one another upon the earth”. With believers it is different, for they do not sorrow like “the others”, that is, the unsaved. The believer’s sorrow should be spiritual and informed. The apostle is not here warning against sorrowing, for that would go contrary to the example of Christ, who wept at the grave of His friend Lazarus, John 11:35. What he is saying is that our sorrow should be intelligent. This is why he has said “I would not have you to be ignorant”, verse 13.

So why were the Thessalonian believers sorrowing for their departed Christian loved ones as if there was no hope? Could it be that they had misunderstood the words of the Lord Jesus when He said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death”, John 8:51. Or again, “and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die”, John 11:26.

It may be objected that perhaps John’s gospel was not written when Paul wrote the epistle to this Thessalonians. This is precisely why the gift of prophecy was given in the early church. “That which is perfect”, the completed body of Scripture, had not come, 1 Corinthians 13:10, so men were enabled to teach what would later be written down. So were the Thessalonians wondering if their loved ones really had been believers, since they had not survived until the Lord’s coming?

Or did they misunderstand the Lord’s words when He said, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”, Matthew 24:13, even though that statement refers to those in the tribulation period after the Lord has come for the church? The true believers in that day will be marked by endurance, either until the end of that age when Lord comes to reign, or until the end of their lives when they are martryed for their faith.

Or could it be that the believers at Thessalonica were so taken up with the idea of Christ coming to earth to reign, that they thought that that was the only coming there was, and that their loved ones had missed out on the kingdom by not being alive when it happened? The Jews had summed up what Paul’s converts at Thessalonica believed, with the words, “there is another king, one Jesus”, Acts 18:7. Even allowing for the exaggeration and misrepresentation that the enemies of the gospel often show, there does seem an emphasis there on the kingship of Christ.

4:14
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again- these are two historical and verified things. This is why the apostle uses the name Jesus, for that is the name He is known as by men, and the name that tells that He is an historical person, being given to Him when He was born. In 1 Corinthians 15: the apostle sets out the seven-fold witness to the resurrection of Christ, the first being the testimony of the scriptures, whether the Old Testament prophecies that He would rise, (for example, Psalm 16:10, “For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell”; Psalm 22:22, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren”; Psalm 21:4, “He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever”; Isaiah 53:10, “He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days”), or the New Testament records of Him in resurrection in the gospels.

Even so- if we believe the truths of the gospel in relation to the past, then, in the same way, (“so”), and on just the same level of certainty, (“even”), we believe what will happen in the future.

Them also which sleep in Jesus- those saints who have died during this age fell asleep in the good of what Jesus did, when He died and rose again. They rest in Him. Unlike those they had left behind, they were not agitated but in calm repose, conscious that what Jesus had done for them secured their safety. The name Jesus is used to link with the historical facts of the death and resurrection of Jesus spoken of in the first part of the verse. The word “also” relates to the fact that those who have died will be brought with Christ when He comes to earth to reign as well as those who have will not have died at the time of Christ’s coming to the air at the rapture.

Will God bring with Him- it is God’s intention to introduce His Son into the world again. When He ascended, Luke tells us He was “taken up”, Acts 1:9. But then the angels said that He would “so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven”. It is God’s intention to bring His Son into the world again, so that He may take up His rightful place in the world that rejected Him the first time He came. So it is that the writer to the Hebrews speaks of “when he bringeth the first begotten into the world”, Hebrews 1:6. It is God’s intention that His people come with Christ on that occasion, for the apostle Paul writes, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory”, Colossians 3:4.

So those Thessalonian believers who had died would not miss out on the kingdom, for God will see to it that since they believe in Jesus, when He comes again they shall come with Him.

4:15
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord- this is the equivalent to the expression “Thus saith the Lord” of the Old Testament prophets. The word of the Lord had come to the apostle, and he now passed on without alteration what was told him. So the verses which follow are as much the words of the Lord Jesus as His words in the upper room when He said, “I will come again”. The only difference is that whereas that was a general statement, we now have more details. The disciples were not in a fit state to receive these details at that time, distressed as they were because they had just learnt that the Lord was about to leave them.

That we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord- “alive” is in contrast to those who have died, (and therefore whose spirits had returned to God), and “remain” in contrast to those who have passed out of the world by death and are no longer in the body. This two-fold description emphasises the fact that the bodies and spirits of the dead saints are separate, whereas this is not the cse for living saints. Note that the apostle speaks as if he expects to remain on earth until the coming of the Lord. He had not banished the prospect into the distant future. He was living, as we should be, in eager anticipation of the Lord’s coming at any moment. “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure”, 1 John 3:3. Note that the dead saints sleep in Jesus, the historical man who died and rose again. The apostle waited for the coming of the Lord, for He now has all authority, and will demonstrate it by raising His people and taking them to heaven. Then in the next verse the dead are in Christ, the characteristic expression to denote security.

Shall not prevent them which are asleep- the word prevent has changed in meaning over the years. We think of it as meaning to stop something, but previously the word meant to go before. Some of the Thessalonian believers were thinking that they would arrive in the kingdom before the saints who had died. The apostle shows that this is not the case, for in verse 17 we learn that we and they shall be caught up together. In fact, the dead in Christ shall rise first.

4:16
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:

For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven- He is coming to personally escort His people to heaven in accordance with His promise “I will come again”. The apostle will later write that “The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven”, 1 Corinthians 15:47. Adam came from the dust beneath his feet, but Christ shall come from the sky above our head. The apostle emphasises that He is coming from heaven, with the implication that He is going to fit the bodies of His people for that place, ready to be introduced to the Father’s house. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, so our bodes will need to be changed; and changed they will be, like unto His glorious body, Philippians 3:21.

With a shout- He had said when here, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live”, John 5:25. So only those who are about to receive resurrection life will hear this voice. Note the expression “and now is”, for He would soon raise Lazarus from the dead with a loud voice, John 11:43, thus demonstrating that He has in fact the authority He claimed. The word the apostle uses for “shout” means a shout of command, so He is exerting His authority over the dead ones; it is a voice to rouse. But it is also a voice to alert the living saints that something is about to happen, for their Lord is on His way.

With the voice of the archangel- when Moses died there was a dispute between Michael the archangel and the Devil about the body of Moses. (We are only told of one archangel in the scriptures- there cannot be two first and chief angels). Perhaps he wanted control of the body so that it could be buried in a known place that might become a shrine, and distract attention away from God’s centre, Jerusalem. Jude tells us that Michael was unable to overthrow this attempt of the Devil, and had to resort to saying “The Lord rebuke thee”, Jude 9. This incident does show, however, that Michael has some special stewardship over the bodies of the saints. Daniel was told that before the resurrection of the Old Testament saints Michael will stand up, Daniel 12:1, 2.

Since the Lord Himself is working at the rapture, it is clear that He who created the archangel, and gave him his voice and authority, is temporarily taking it back, and is personally superintending the raising of the bodies of dead saints, and the changing of the bodies of the living saints. So it is that He will speak personally with the voice of the archangel, and any attempt by the Devil to frustrate the resurrection process will be firmly rebuked. After all, it is the Lord who is coming from heaven, the same Lord that Michael called upon to rebuke the Devil.

And with the trump of God- when he is writing about teaching in the church, the apostle insists that it should be intelligible. He asks the question, “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare Himself for the battle?” 1 Corinthians 14:8. He goes on to speak of the many kinds of voices in the world, but they are the trumpet calls of men. Believers are to heed the trumpet calls of God giving direction and certainty. The apostle may have had in mind the use of the two silver trumpets to give directions when Israel were in the wilderness. There were various combinations according to what was to be done, as detailed in Numbers 10:1-10. The rest of that chapter is given over to the movement of the camp of Israel.

Returning to our chapter, we read of the trump of God, and in 1 Corinthians 15:52, when the apostle is again writing about the coming of the Lord, he calls it the last trump. So it is not the trump of men, and is the last direction for the people of God, summoning them to travel from earth to heaven. When the apostle John was given visions of the future, having recorded the letters to the seven churches he was summoned to heaven, and the voice that he heard was as of a trumpet, no doubt an allusion to what we are learning from 1 Thessalonians 4. So the voice of the Lord first summons the dead, then rebukes the Devil, and then rallies the saints to rise to heaven.

And the dead in Christ shall rise first- there are five locations in the passage, namely the grave, the earth, the clouds, the air, and heaven. This is a selective resurrection, leaving others behind in the grave. The disciples were familiar with the words of Daniel 12:2 where we read, “Any many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt”. The rabbis taught correctly that the structure of the passage does not speak of all rising at the same time. It is some at one time and the rest at another time. The reference is to the resurrection of the Old Testament saints at the time of the Lord’s coming to earth, as Revelation 11:18 indicates, and then the resurrection of the unsaved dead to stand before the Great White Throne. The point is that the preposition used in Daniel 12:2 translated “of” is the one which means “from among”. So the disciples were familiar with the idea of a resurrection from among the dead. So why were they puzzled when the Lord spoke of a resurrection from among the dead in Mark 9:10? The reason is that He was speaking of Himself alone, verse 9. The idea of a single man arising from among the dead was new to them.

So it is that those who rise at the Lord’s coming into the air are limited to those of this church age, and they are described as being “in Christ”, the distinctive designation of believers in this age. Old Testament saints belong to Christ, but are not in Christ.

The word resurrection means “a standing again”, and has to do with the body. The person falls in death, and the body is laid prostrate in the grave, but at the resurrection they shall stand again upon the earth. This is the first stage. So far from being at a disadvantage, and missing out in some way as the Thessalonians were thinking, they rise first.

4:17
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Then we which are alive and remain- the emphasis in this passage is the dead saints, because that was the focus of concern of the believers. In 1 Corinthians 15 it is the resurrection body that is highlighted, and also the mystery of how those who have not died can partake in the resurrection. So the apostle admits that we shall not all sleep, (so there is a question about living saints partaking of the resurrection), but he insists “we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump”, verses 51 and 52. The guarantee that this will happen is the fact that believers have the Spirit of God within, and He is “the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead”, Romans 8:11. It is because He is within that our mortal bodies shall be quickened, or made alive, with the life of the risen Christ. In this way believers will have a body “like unto his glorious body”, Philippians 3:21.

The following things are true of the resurrection bodies of the saints:

1. They are incorrupt and incorruptible, 1 Corinthians 15:42,52, so they shall never deteriorate or decay.

2. They are in a state of glory, verse 43, the sort of glory being that of Christ, Philippians 3:21.

3. They are bodies of power, verse 43.

4. They are spiritual, verse 44, meaning they are governed by the spirit, the highest part of man, and not as at present governed by the soul, and therefore natural, or soulish,

5. They bear the image of the heavenly Christ, verse 48, instead of the image of the earthly Adam as now.

6. They are immortal, meaning they are not able to die, verse 53.

7. They are bodies at liberty, freed from the bondage of corruption that currently holds them back, Romans 8:21.

Notice the three expressions the apostle uses when he speaks of this change:

First, “in a moment”. The Greeks believed that they had discovered the smallest particle, so small that it could not be further divided; they called it “a-tomos”, meaning “not divisible”, and this is the word the apostle employs here. If we could imagine a period of time that could not be divided up, then we would have an idea of the rapidity with which the change will take place. It is not, therefore, a process, but speaks of indivisible time, preparing us for eternity. This has solemn moral implications for us, for there will be no time to make amends with others, nor to repent of sins before God. As the apostle John wrote, “He that hath this hope on Him, purifieth himself”, 1 John 3:3.

Second, “in the twinkling of an eye”. This is not the same as a blink, but the momentary change of the light in the eye. This tells of change that is so sudden that the eye cannot capture it. There will be an imperceptible change, preparing us for the changeless state.

Third, “at the last trump”. Now we learn of an irresistible call. Many have been the soundings of the trumpet down through the centuries, as Christ has led His people on, but now there has come the last trump, for the last journey, this time from earth to heaven, is to be made.

No doubt there is also an allusion to the Roman Army, with its first trumpet call to wake the troops, the second to pack up the tents, and the third or last trump, to move off. Those asleep in death will be awakened, those still alive will put off their present tabernacle, 2 Peter 1:14, and all shall move off at the last trumpet call.

Shall be caught up together with them in the clouds- so the dead saints shall rise with changed bodies, and shall momentarily stand upon the earth, for that is the basic meaning of resurrection. It is not the same as translation such as Enoch and Elijah knew. At the same time the bodies of the living saints shall be changed, and all shall stand upon the earth together for a fleeting moment. First the first time, all the saints of this age will stand upon the earth together.

Then comes the moment of the catching up. The verb used means to snatch away, and conveys the idea of the exercise of force, like a bird of prey suddenly swooping and picking up its prey. Such birds are called raptors. The word rapture, as used of the Lord’s coming, conveys this idea admirably. The expression “caught up” also gives the idea of “take to one’s-self”, which reminds us of the Lord’s word when He announced He was coming back, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself”, John 14:3. The raptor has no personal interest in its victim, but the Lord has deep interest in His people.

How comforting for the Thessalonians to know that the loved ones they were concerned about would rise with them when the Lord comes. But it is in clouds that this happens. Some see this as clouds of saints, groups from here and there rising up. But in that day all local distinctions will have gone, not being relevant in heaven. Since the grave is physical, the earth on which they shall stand in resurrection is literal, the air through which they shall rise is literal, so the clouds must, to be consistent, be literal too, the clouds of the sky. So this may mean that the first person we shall see on that happy day is the Lord Himself, and the clouds obscure the saints from one another until that has happened. It also means that the triumph of Christ over the forces of evil is total, for He escorts His saints through the very sphere of the prince of the power of the air. He is powerless to hinder their rise, just as he was powerless to hinder the ascension of Christ to heaven.

To meet the Lord in the air- if the foregoing is correct, that the clouds are the clouds in the sky, this would suggest that we shall rise above the cloud-layer, and meet the Lord in the upper atmosphere. Of course this will be no problem, for our bodies will be spiritual, not affected by physical restrictions and limitations as they are now.

And so shall we ever be with the Lord- this is the manner in which it will come about that we shall ever be with the Lord. We shall have been fitted to be wherever He is, whether in the Father’s house, or on the earth. This is what He desired from His Father when He prayed, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me”, John 17:24. And what is the ground of this appeal? We learn this in the remainder of the sentence, “for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world”. The basis on which His people shall be with Him is the solid basis of the Father’s love for Him, which knows no limit, for it has been shown for all eternity. Such is the secure position afforded the saints when the Lord comes. He has ever been with the Father, and we shall ever be with Him. He is coming to put that into effect, for he said to His own in the upper room, “that where I am, there ye may be also”, John 14:3.

4:18
Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words- on the basis of the foregoing the agitated Thessalonian believers should worry no longer, for the Lord will act in the best interests of His people and to His own glory. They now have it in writing to this effect, and may refer back to the words to be reassured if needs be. The Lord knew they would soon receive a forged letter which would cause them anxiety, 2 Thessalonians 2:2, but they need not worry, for they have been confirmed in the truth beforehand.