1 Thessalonians 4:15, commentary and pictures

Those who are still living when the Lord comes will not go before believers who have died, for the dead in Christ rise first and then the living are caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air and ever be with Him. To be alive and remain means some faithful ones will still be on earth at His coming to be translated without seeing death, while those asleep are those who believed in and loved Jesus and now rest in death until He awakens them. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God. Because Jesus died and rose again and broke the power of the tomb, all who sleep in Jesus share His victory and God will bring them with Him from the dead to glorious immortality. The teaching was given to comfort the bereaved so they do not sorrow as those who have no hope, centering Christian hope not on reward at death but on the second coming and the morning of the resurrection when loved ones are reunited with recognition and part no more.

Words and Phrases

Some faithful people will still be alive on earth when Jesus comes, while others will have died before that time. Those who remain alive to the coming will be translated to heaven without first dying, and their presence is evidence that human beings can be translated without experiencing death. At the time this was applied, some would die, some would face the seven last plagues, and some would remain alive to be translated at Jesus' coming.

To prevent means to go before or take precedence over, so believers alive at the coming will not go ahead of believers who have died but the dead rise first and then the living are gathered with them. The living and the dead share together in the hope of Christ's return, for those who have fallen asleep in Jesus will be raised when God's trumpet sounds to share in glorious immortality and endless joy. The dead are asleep in an unconscious state and remain asleep until the last trumpet, when the Lord's descent with the archangel's voice and God's trumpet awakens them first and then the living and the resurrected dead are caught up together to meet the Lord, so grief over them is not hopeless.

Those who are asleep and asleep in Jesus are those who believed in and loved Jesus and have died, now silent in death, and death for them is described as sleep in the Lord Jesus until He awakens them. They sleep in Jesus and rest undisturbed until the coming of the Lord and the morning of the resurrection, when the Lifegiver will awaken them to glorious immortality and to reunion with loved ones, so death does not end relationship. Faithful laborers such as ministers of the gospel who have worn out their lives in earnest labor to save souls from sin and have closed their eyes in death remain in that sleep until awakened on the resurrection morning. Falling asleep in Jesus shows death as sleep, and a written testimony can continue to bear witness after the speaker's death.

Thessalonian Setting

The instruction about those who have fallen asleep was given by the word of the Lord so that believers need not be ignorant concerning them and need not grieve like those who have no hope. If Jesus died and rose again, God will bring those who sleep in Jesus with Him, bringing them with Him from the dead. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then those who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so all will ever be with the Lord, words given for comforting one another. The grave is a place of unconsciousness but it is not the final abode of the saints, who will be redeemed from it with a great and glorious redemption.

The promise corrects the fear that Christians who died would miss the blessing of Christ's return and be left behind. Believers alive at Christ's coming will not go before or take precedence over those who have died in Christ, for the dead are asleep in an unconscious state and at the Lord's descent the archangel's voice and God's trumpet will raise them first. Then the living and the resurrected dead will be caught up together to meet the Lord, giving comfort and hope of reunion. Those who sleep in Jesus will rise at the resurrection morning to glorious immortality, rescued from the grave and restored to life. Christ's resurrection, including His raising of righteous people from their tombs, is evidence of what He will do for those held in death.

The teaching belongs to Paul's instruction about Christ's second coming. Some Thessalonian believers wrongly took his words to mean that he expected to remain alive himself until the Saviour's advent. That misunderstanding increased their excitement and led them to neglect their cares and duties.

Events at the Coming

The Lord in person comes down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the archangel's voice and with God's trumpet blast. That descent awakens the sleeping saints, for the grave holds them in unconsciousness but is not their final home, and they are brought forth from death to a great and glorious redemption. Because Jesus died and rose again and broke the tomb, all who sleep in the tomb share His victory and come out as He did, brought with Him from the dead into the honor of the resurrection morning.

The dead in Christ rise first, and only then are those alive and remaining caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, so that all remain with Him forever. Those still living do not go before or take precedence over those asleep in Jesus, which removes the fear that believers who died would miss the blessing of the return. This order is given as comfort, so that the bereaved do not sorrow as those without hope but comfort one another while looking to Jesus as hope and consolation.

The living wait and watch for the coming of the Lord itself, while the dead wait for the trumpet for their judgment and blessedness rather than having already passed into glory at death. Centering hope on the second coming and the resurrection keeps blessed immortality at death from taking the place of the advent and obscuring the resurrection hope. At that trumpet the righteous dead come forth to eternal life and glorious immortality, and the living and the resurrected dead are reunited in joyful fellowship. Death does not end relationship with Christ or with those who live on, for they will know one another and see one another again, recognized and belonging together with loved ones in God's royal family with no more parting and no more aging.

Christ Pattern and Bodies

Because Jesus died and rose again, His triumph over death and breaking of the tomb becomes the victory of all who sleep in the tomb, who come out of their graves as He did, and God will bring those who sleep in Jesus with Him from the dead. Death is no longer a horrible impassable barrier because Christ passed through the tomb and brightened it by rising, so though man fell and was condemned to death he can live again through Christ's victory. Those who sleep in Jesus will be called out to a glorious victory and come forth to glorious immortality.

Christ's own resurrection assures the final resurrection of those who sleep in Jesus, so that believers who have died will not be left behind or left in death but will be rescued from the grave and restored to life at the resurrection morning when God's trumpet sounds. This assurance includes His raising a multitude of righteous people from their tombs as evidence of what He will do for those held in death. They will share in glorious immortality.

Jesus' resurrection is the pattern and foreshadowing of theirs, so the risen retain their individual identity with identity preserved. As His followers knew Him by familiar appearance and speech, the risen will be recognized by those who love them, just as the disciples recognized the risen Jesus. Even those whose mortal bodies were deformed, diseased or disfigured will rise in glorified bodies, rising in perfect health and symmetry.

Death as Unconscious Sleep

The dead are asleep in the grave in an unconscious state, and the grave itself is described as a prison house, yet it is not their final abode but the place from which they will be redeemed with a great and glorious redemption. Believers who are alive at the coming will not go before or take precedence over those who have died, for the dead remain unconscious until the resurrection and then rise first before the living are gathered with them to meet the Lord. This corrects the fear that Christians who died would miss the blessing of the return and be left behind, giving instead comfort and hope of reunion.

Those who die in faith enter a restful sleep from toil and pain and rest undisturbed until the morning of the resurrection and the last trumpet, when the Lifegiver will awaken them to glorious immortality and immortal life. Their death is not the end of life, because Jesus will raise them to share eternal glory, and it does not end the prospect of reunion with loved ones. Many who received the first angel's message have fallen asleep in Jesus, and faithful standard-bearers who wore out their lives and laid off their armor in death have been laid away to rest until the coming while fresh workers are brought in and the work advances.

The comfort belongs to a hope centered on the second coming and the resurrection, not on blessed immortality or full reward already received at death. The living wait and watch for the coming itself, while the dead wait for the trumpet for their judgment and blessedness instead of having already passed into glory. Making the Lord come for each person at death, and making immortality at death take the place of the coming, obscures and loses the resurrection hope.

By passing through the tomb and rising from the dead, Christ brightened it and made death a place of hope rather than a horrible impassable barrier, so those laid to rest in Jesus are not lost forever. Though humanity fell and was condemned to death, the fallen can live again through His victory, called out as from a prison house to glorious victory and glorious immortality. Death therefore does not end relationship with Christ or with those who live on, for those who sleep will know one another and see one another again.

Comfort and Faithful Living

These words were given by the word of the Lord so that believers need not be ignorant about those who are asleep, and they are given to comfort one another and to comfort the bereaved and afflicted in the face of death. They point the mourner to Jesus as the only hope and consolation, because He died and rose again and triumphed over death and broke the tomb, and God will bring those who sleep in Jesus with Him from the dead. Those asleep are those who believed in and loved Jesus and now sleep in Him silent in death, and those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord will not go before them or take precedence over them. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first, then those alive and remaining will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so all will ever be with the Lord. Therefore believers do not sorrow as others who have no hope, but while weeping with those who weep they have joy at heart, and grief over the dead in Jesus who sleep until the trumpet awakens them to endless joy is not hopeless. The grave is a place of unconsciousness but it is not the final abode of the saints, who will be redeemed from it with a great and glorious redemption, for Jesus entered the grave and came forth again and gives hope to those who have died in faith.

Grief is restrained by the hope of meeting departed loved ones again on the resurrection morning, when the dead and their loved ones meet and are reunited in joyful fellowship with recognition. Then there will be no more parting and no more aging, and they will belong with them to God's royal family. Jesus passed through the tomb and brightened it and made death a place of hope rather than loss forever, so those laid to rest in Jesus are not lost forever. The Lifegiver will awaken those asleep in Jesus to eternal life and glorious immortality, so death does not end the prospect of reunion, in contrast to being forever separated from family as in the fear that disobedient boys might drown.

Sorrow over death should cause sanctifying the Lord God in the heart and being sanctified by virtue of Christ's blood in order to share in that meeting by virtue of Christ's resurrection when the Life-giver comes again to reward the righteous. Death does not end trust in the living Saviour, for a believer who dies can sleep in the Lord and may face death with peace and hope. Those facing death are not alone, for it is the pledge of Christ who is the resurrection and the life that those who sleep in Jesus will be brought with Him from the grave. Ministering angels surround them and refresh their souls with the water of life in the closing scenes of life, and at His coming the trumpet will sound and the dead will awaken to life to die no more, and the eternal morning has come for them because there will be no night in the city of God.

The living should leave the dead in restful sleep from toil and pain rather than calling them back to present life, for those who die in faith will rest undisturbed until the morning of the resurrection. There is no need to ask God to raise them from the dead now, since those who have died in faith will not be raised before the living meet the Lord. The bereaved are to bear the loss while remaining willing either to live or to die just as best glorifies God. They are left to carry forward their work of duty without complaint, for the gate of heaven is ajar and light shines on the pathway ahead. They need not spend time at the grave in gloom, but lean on the Saviour who is a Father to the widow, while still having duties to fulfill and restraining grief for the dead.

Jesus went into the prison house of death and came forth again, so His death and passage through the tomb give believers joy and hope in death, and the living and the resurrected dead will be reunited with Him. The work advances as fresh workers are brought in and take the place of those who have fallen asleep, for many who received the first angel's message have fallen asleep in Jesus and faithful standard-bearers have laid off their armor in death to rest until the coming of the Lord. Those faithful believers died in the period before the Lord's coming and rest until that event while the work of proclaiming the message continues through new workers. A written testimony can continue to bear witness after the speaker's death, since death is described as sleep. The hope applies personally to a faithful believer who is dying, whose life gives evidence that he is prepared to die and awake on resurrection morning among those who sleep in Jesus, whom those still alive will not go ahead of.

Some faithful people will still be alive on earth when Jesus comes and will be translated without first dying, while others will have died before that time. Applied to those then living, some would die, some would face the seven last plagues, and some would remain alive to be translated at Jesus' coming.