This agrees with what the Lord has said. When the Lord comes, many of us will still be alive. We tell you that we will certainly not go up before those who have died. The Lord himself will come down from heaven. We will hear a loud command. We will hear the voice of the leader of the angels. We will hear a blast from God’s trumpet. Many who believe in Christ will have died already. They will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them. We will be taken up in the clouds. We will meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with him forever. So, encourage one another with these words of comfort (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).

As we learned yesterday, Paul does not chastise the Christians for their grief. Rather, he offers a way to live with grief. His goal is that we help one another through the struggle of bringing our emotions and our faith together, living with hope even as we grieve. His core message is that Christ will return.

Make no mistake about it, this is a political statement. The Roman Emperor reigned supreme. Rome laughed at that the notion that Jesus Christ, whom it had killed on a cross in Judea, was Lord. But Christians believe that Jesus was granted Lordship specifically because he had offered himself up to death on that cross. And then he rose from the dead. At his ascension he was crowned Lord of lords and King of kings.

And he “must rule until he has put all his enemies under his control” (1 Corinthians 15:25). Then, at the sign of the Father, Jesus Christ will rise from his sapphire throne, pass through the arches of glory-past the altar of sacrifice stained by his own blood, past the altar of incense, fragrant with the prayers of the saints, past the awesome living creatures who worship him night and day-and summon one great archangel to accompany him.

He will cross the great gulf fixed between heaven and earth and step through the curtain of the sky. No need for a star to point him out this time. No need for shepherds or wise men to spread the word. No disguises of baby flesh or swaddling clothes. As C. S. Lewis said, "When the author walks on the stage, the play is over." This time there will be no mistaking his coming.

The image is of a Roman dignitary on tour; the leading officials of the community would go out to meet him and accompany him into the city. At the sound of the arch angel’s trumpet, Christians who have died will experience resurrection. Then Jesus’ disciples still on earth will join them to meet our Saviour and Lord in the sky. It will be a grand family reunion, the best, without family squabbles, without end.

His brothers and sisters will usher Jesus into his kingdom, which is the earth. This passage gave birth to the notion of the rapture. But that has the imagery wrong. Jesus is not coming to take us away from this world. Rather, he is returning to this world to ‘make all things new’ and to reign here forever. And all people will see it, every knee will bow before him, and every tongue confess him, Lord.

We should encourage each other to live in the hope of His return to finish redemption. There is no need to live in fear his coming but recognize that this is God’s plan. For us, a second Christmas is on the horizon, then “we shall always be with the Lord” (17).

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it! The amazing grace of Jesus Christ be with you! (1 Thessalonians 5:23,24,28 The Message).