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The Daily Word of Righteousness
First Thessalonians 4:13-18, continued
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 [be resurrected before] them which are asleep. (I Thessalonians 4:15)
Paul is speaking here by the direct command of Christ, "by the word of the Lord." Christ always is especially diligent concerning the passages of Scripture that tell of His second coming because there will be much deception relating to this glorious event. The Scriptures are clear and we must be careful to follow the Lord's Word exactly as it is written.
Notice the expression, "the coming of the Lord." Five verses later (5:2), Paul speaks of "the day of the Lord," obviously referring to the preceding passage. First Thessalonians 4:13-18 is the coming of the Lord, the Day of the Lord, the Day of Christ. It is the first resurrection from the dead.
The coming of the Lord and the hour of the resurrection from the dead are discussed also in the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians and the nineteenth and twentieth chapters of the Book of Revelation.
We are speaking also of "that day" to which the Prophet Isaiah refers so often—the Day of the Lord, the Day of Christ, the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.
The "blessed hope" of the Christian Church is the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, and the resurrection and catching up of the dead and the living saints. Apart from this hope we are of all people on the earth the most to be pitied.
Our Lord is coming, "after the tribulation of those days" (Matthew 24:29), and then we shall be reunited with our loved ones who have died in the faith. Then we shall be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord Jesus in the air.
We understand from the Scriptures that great tribulation is coming to the earth and a Satan-possessed man will rule the nations of the world. The saints are called on to stand firm throughout all that comes to pass on the earth. God will protect us from Satan if we will remain stedfast before Him. The believer who patiently endures to the end of his or her life on earth shall be saved.
There will be some Christians whom God will keep alive throughout this entire period. They will be living on the earth at the time Christ returns.
The saints whom God has ordained to be living and serving Christ at the hour of the Lord's return are a privileged group indeed. They will never experience physical death. They will walk into glory standing upright. They will be a company of Enochs who will be resurrected and will ascend to meet Christ in the air without having to lay down their mortal bodies for a season.
But in spite of this special opportunity they will not be resurrected before those who are sleeping. The deceased saints of all of history will be raised first. Then those of us who are yet alive on the earth will be transformed instantly, passing from flesh-and-blood life into Holy-Spirit life.
To be continued.