Since the time of Adam and Eve, death has been a mystery to man. We don’t know when or how it will come, but we all know that one day it will come for each one of us. The Bible tells us that death is the result of sin (Genesis 2:17; 3:19). But God, in his mercy, has given us the hope of eternal life (John 3:16).
The Bible also tells us that the dead in Christ will rise first (1 Thessalonians 4:16). This means that believers who have died, before Christ returns, will be raised from the dead and reunited with Christ in the air. Then, those of us who are alive and those who have been resurrected together will be transformed and brought into the presence of God forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
This is a wonderful event that we are looking forward to. But what happens in the meantime? How can we be sure that our loved ones who have died are in heaven? The Bible tells us that they are in “paradise” (Luke 23:43). This is a place of rest and peace, where they are safe from all evil. We who are still alive cannot imagine how beautiful that day will be.
When the trumpet sounds the dead in Christ
According to the Bible, when the final trumpet sounds, the dead in Christ will rise first. This is what is called the first resurrection. Those who are resurrected will receive glorious, immortal bodies and will live with Christ forever. Those who have not been resurrected, or those who have been resurrected but have not accepted Christ, will have mortal bodies and will spend eternity separated from God.
What does 1 Thessalonians 4 mean to us?
«For the rest, brothers, we beg and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that in the way that you learned from us in what way you should walk and please God, so you abound more and more. You know what were the instructions we gave you from the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you depart from fornication; that each of you know how to have his own vessel in holiness and honor, not in passion of concupiscence, like the Gentiles who do not know God; Let no one oppress or deceive his brother in anything, for the Lord is an avenger for all this, as we have already told you and testified. Because God has not called us to uncleanness, but to sanctification. So, whoever rejects this, he does not reject man, but God, who has given us the Holy Spirit from him.
“So, brothers, I beg and exhort you in the Lord Jesus that as you received from us how you ought to walk and please God, so abound more and more in it. For you know what our instructions were, for the Lord Jesus Himself gave them to us. Because this is the will of God: your sanctification, that you distance yourself from sexual filth, that each of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with egomania or insatiable passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God . May none of you oppress or deceive his brother by using words, for the Lord is an avenger for all this, as we have already told you and testified. Because God has not called us to sexual impurity, but to holiness. So, whoever rejects this mandate, he does not reject a man, but God, who has given us the Holy Spirit from him. »
What does Thessalonians mean?
The first letter to the Thessalonians was written by the Apostle Paul, probably in Corinth, Greece, around AD 51. The letter is the earliest surviving writing of Paul. In it, Paul expresses his gratitude to the Thessalonian Christians for their faith and love, and encourages them to persevere in the midst of persecution. Paul also addresses in this letter some doubts and problems that the Christians in Thessalonica had.
In general, the letter to the Thessalonians is an exhortation to Christians to remain faithful to the faith in the midst of difficulties. Paul teaches believers that perseverance and faith are necessary to face difficult times. This letter also shows the hope that Paul had that the Thessalonians would remain firm in their faith and that, despite the difficulties, they would continue to be an example to other believers.
May the word run and be glorified?
I no longer live, but Christ lives in me; and what I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 2:20
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever is not born of water and the Spirit cannot enter the kingdom of God.
John 3:5
But if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;
Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not yours, it is a gift of God;
Ephesians 2:8
Not because of works of justice that we had done, we would have given ourselves understood to obtain his acceptance, but because of his mercy, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:24
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 says: “But now Christ has risen from the dead, and has become the first figure of those who are to rise again. For since death entered the world through a man, so also through a man the resurrection of the dead. For just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ, the first figure; then, when Christ comes, those who belong to him. »
Christ rose from the dead and is the first figure of those who are to rise. All who belong to Christ will be quickened in their own order.