1 Thessalonians 4:16

1Th_4:16-18

For the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout

The second coming of Christ

I.

The Lords descent. He and no other, in His august personal presence, in that same human body, too, with which He ascended into heaven (Act_1:11). And yet, while Himself unchanged, how changed the surroundings! He will descend, not in humiliation to tabernacle with men, but to take His people to Himself, in heaven; not emptied of His glory, but with the symbols of majesty and Divine power.

1. With a shout, one which indicates command. The word is used of a charioteers call to his steed, a huntsmans call to his dogs, the call, by voice or sign, of the boatswain giving time to the rowers, the music played to set an army or fleet in motion. The angelic host and company of the spirits of the just are compared to a vast army, and Christ, the Captain of salvation, by His word of command, sets it in motion, and it, in the alacrity of joyful obedience, accompanies Him to judgment (Jud_1:14). The shout will possibly be, Behold the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him.

2. The voice of the archangel. The Lord Himself and the archangel cannot be identified. Here and in Jud_1:9, the word designates the leader of the angelic hosts. Angels have been, and will yet be, Christs ministering spirits. They served Him when on earth; they ascend and descend upon Him in the advancement of His cause; they will be His ministers of judgment hereafter. The shout may be that of command caught up by the archangel from the lips of the Lord, and repeated to the gathering hosts.

3. The trump of God, belonging to God, used in His service; that probably of Rev_11:15. Under the old dispensation there is special prominence assigned to the trumpet. By it assemblies were summoned, journeys started, feasts proclaimed. It is employed by our Lord, as in the text. Paul calls this the last (1Co_15:52); and as such it will gather up all previous meanings. It will call together the rejoicing saints to the heavenly Zion; like Joshuas trumpet, it will be to some the signal of dismay; it will mean weal or woe according to the character of those who hear.

II. The resurrection and change of Christs people at His coming.

1. The dead in Christ shall rise first. The emphasis rests on first, and is designed to bring comfort to the Thessalonian mourners. Their departed friends, so far from being placed at a disadvantage, were to occupy a position of privilege. Those who are living will be caught up. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, not unclothed of their bodies, but clothed upon with immortality, a kind of death and resurrection in one. Thus changed, these shall be caught up together with the others in one united and rejoicing company; caught up with a quick and resistless rapture, as the word implies, rising from the troubled and imperfect earth--changed and sublimated, as the blossom of the fabled Indian tree, transformed into a bird, flies upward into heaven. In the clouds; not into, nor in multitudes (Heb_12:1), but as if in a triumphal chariot. Nor do clouds represent a veiling of the awful transaction, but simply supply an imagery which lends grandeur and awe to that event which is awful beyond all human language and thought.

2. The meeting place: In the air. We naturally place alongside this the ascension of Elijah, or that of our Lord. In this, as in all else, He has gone before His people and pointed out for them the way. The air is not the atmosphere, but infinite space as opposed to earth. The ancients fancied that the milky way is the path trod by the immortals to the palace of the King. The fable is but a distorted reflection of the truth. What it fancied the apostle declared--a pathway in the skies on which the saints are yet to pass to meet their Lord, that He may conduct them home.

3. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Less than this can never satisfy Christs saints; more than this they cannot desire or conceive--perfect security, sinlessness, happiness, glory. (J. Hutchison, D. D.)

Of all the solemn associations connected with this verse few can surpass the following: At the earthquake of Manila (1863), the cathedral fell on the clergy and congregation. The mass of ruin overhead and around the doomed assemblage was kept for a time from crushing down upon them by some peculiarity of construction. Those outside were able to hear what was going on in the church, without the slightest possibility of clearing away the ruins, or of aiding those within upon whom the building must evidently fall before long. A low, deep, bass voice, doubtless that of the priest officiating, was heard uttering the words, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. As this sentence came forth, the multitude burst in a passion of tears, which was soon choked. For some deep groans issued from within, apparently wrung from the speaker by intense pain, and then the same voice spoke in a calm and even tone, as if addressing a congregation, and all heard the words: The Lord Himself shall descend, etc. (Bp. Alexander.)

Christs coming

One coming--once, for one act--the simultaneous gathering of all before the judgment seat. All this is a far-off view--the regarding the Second Advent in a kind of prophetical foreshortening. Seen near, this one event is manifold, having chronological order, and falling into many acts.

I. The actual coming of Jesus Christ and its glory.

1. In the glory of His Father (Mat_16:27).

2. In His own glory (Luk_9:26).

3. With His angels (Mat_16:27; Mar_8:33; 2Th_1:7).

4. Coming in the clouds of heaven (Mat_26:64; Act_1:11).

5. Bringing His saints with Him (1Th_3:13; Col_3:4; 1Th_4:14).

II. The events which will follow the coming of Christ in the air.

1. The resurrection of the bodies of the sleeping saints. The dead in Christ Shall rise first.

2. The change into a glorified condition of all the living saints (1Co_15:51). All shall meet the Lord in the air. All this august series of events precedes judgment. This is the very dawn of the day of the Lord. Later on will be the judgment on the nations, judgment on Israel, judgment on apostate Christendom, judgment on Satan; but from all that the saints are safe; they are already and forever with the Lord.

III. This coming of the Lord is for saints--raised saints, living saints, both quick or dead, quickened or changed saints, and saints only.

1. Will His coming be for me? Shall I certainly have part in that glorious first resurrection? If I remain till He come, shall I certainly be changed in that moment of wondrous rapture?

2. Consider who are saints (1Co_1:2; 2Co_5:17; Eph_1:1; 2Ti_2:22; 1Pe_2:9). Such only are looking for that blessed hope; and such only will see Christ with joy. (J. Gritton, D. D.)

The doctrine of the resurrection

I. The certainty of the resurrection. The heathen quite derided the idea of the resurrection (Act_17:18; Act_17:32), deeming it incredible (Act_26:8); and some who professed Christianity explained away the doctrine relating to it, and represented the resurrection as a merely spiritual change which had passed already (2Ti_2:18). Even some of the Thessalonian Church did not appear to be well grounded in it; and hence St. Paul affirmed that it was a doctrine on which they might fully rely.

1. They did believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. On these two facts all Christianity was founded. If Jesus had not risen, all their faith in Him, and all their hope from Him, was altogether in vain (1Co_15:13-18). These two facts admitted, the resurrection of man would follow, of course. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was both an evidence that God can raise the dead, and a pledge that He will. The same omnipotence that raised Him can raise us. He is the first fruits of them that sleep.

II. The order in which the resurrection will be effected. This, perhaps, is a matter of curiosity, rather than of any great practical importance; but Paul would not that the Thessalonian Christians should be ignorant of it, and therefore it is worthy of our attention.

1. The dead will be raised from their graves. All that have ever departed out of the world will be restored to life, each clothed in his own proper body.

2. Those who remain alive upon the earth will be charged. They will remain unchanged until all the dead are raised. Their change will be instantaneous. Without dissolution as preparatory to it, the mortal will put on immortality, the material will assume the spiritual. All will then be in that form which they will bear through the ever lasting ages. What an amazing difference will then appear in them! The godly--how beautiful! the ungodly--how deformed! and both having either heaven or hell depicted in their very countenance!

3. Then will they be caught up to meet the Lord. Yes, into the presence of their Judge they must go; and as the earth would not be a theatre sufficient for such an occasion, they must meet the Lord in the air. Blessed summons to the godly! awful indeed to the ungodly!

III. The issue of the resurrection to the saints.

1. They will receive a sentence of acquittal, or, rather, of unqualified approbation--Well done, good and faithful servants.

2. They will ascend with Christ and His bright attendants to the heaven of heavens.

3. They will then behold His glory which He had with His Father before the world was. Oh, how bright their vision of His glory! how unbounded their fruition of His love! Nothing now could add to their felicity; nor could anything detract from it. That, too, which constitutes its chief ingredient is--that it will be forever. Were this supreme happiness to be only of limited duration, it would be incomplete; the idea of its ultimate termination would rob it of half its value. But it will be pure and endless as the Deity Himself. (C. Simeon, M. A.)

The dead in Christ

I. Those who are in Christ die. They are not exempted from the common fate.

1. To walk by faith, not sight, is their rule of life; hence there is this barrier between themselves and the unseen universe.

2. Subjection to death is an essential part of moral discipline to the righteous. Christ Himself became obedient unto death, and was made perfect through suffering.

3. The dying scene affords occasion for the greatest triumphs of grace and displays of Gods mercy and love. How many, by such a spectacle, are moved to repentance and faith in Christ!

4. The death of Christians is needful to render the resurrection of them at all possible. A true and complete conquest over death demands that his victims should be recovered from his dominion.

5. Saints die to express Gods irreconcilable hatred to sin. They just taste one drop of the bitter cup which Christ has drunk for them, and feel one lash of the chastisement which He has endured. This gives them a keener sense of the value of salvation.

II. Believers after death are still in Christ. They retain their innocence before God, their purity, their enjoyment of the Divine favour, their hope of final and perfect happiness. Nay, in all these respects their position is incomparably superior to what it was on earth. They are with Christ in paradise. Hence death is no real evil to them. It is an immense boon to them. It cuts them off from some enjoyments, but it enriches them with enjoyments of a far surpassing order, while also it snatches them away from all care, pain and fear, for evermore. Applications:

1. To believers in anticipating death. Look forward to it calmly, acquiesce in its infliction resignedly, and triumph over its terrors in the full assurance of faith.

2. Here is comfort for the bereaved. If your deceased friends are among the dead in Christ, you may be assured of their perfect happiness, and may hope soon to be reunited with them.

3. Address the unconverted. You are not in Christ--yet you will die! And think of the dead out of Christ--how horrible their eternal doom! Oh! then, now seek an interest in Him, that for you to live may be Christ, and to die, gain. (T. G. Horton.)

The resurrection of the dead

Just as the ripe ears of corn which grew on the plains and the mountain sides of Palestine wore immediately brought into the Temple, and waved before the Lord, as a pledge that every ear of corn standing on and growing in Palestine should be safely reaped and gathered in, so the resurrection of Christ is a demonstration that we, His people, shall be raised again. If we sleep in Jesus, God will raise us with Him; because He lives, we shall live also. Dry up your tears, then. Sometimes you go to the churchyard; sometimes you attend the remains of your relatives to their long homes, you go to The house appointed for all living; and sometimes you see the bones lying round the grave, and you are tempted to take them up, and ask, Can these bones live? Can these dishonoured, dishevelled, and denuded bones live? Can the dead live again? Come, see the place where the Lord lay. As surely as the sepulchre of Christ became an empty sepulchre, so surely the sepulchres of His people shall become empty sepulchres; as surely as He got up, and sang a jubilee of life and immortality, so surely shall His people come out of the grave. How beautifully has the Prophet Isaiah expressed it: Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. (Dr. Beaumont.)

And so shall we ever be with the Lord--

Ever with the Lord

The phrase implies--

I. New, living, direct social relationships with the Redeemer. There is more intended than being associated together in one glorious scene. It is not only to see Him and live in His house, one of His family, always in His presence; it is the getting rid forever of what is unChristlike in character, the gaining of the real perfect sympathy with the Christ life. We are with our Friend, not only when we are in His society, but when we blend our thought, our love, our life with His; when we become His other self. There is here the intimacy and closeness of spiritual fellowship and spiritual resemblance: We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. We shall be like Him in faith, in spiritual emotions, in purpose, in tendency, in character. We shall then reach our lost ideals of manhood. The spotless radiance of the perfect Christ shall then be associated with a perfect Church, which He has loved and redeemed, every member of which shall be without spot, and blameless. Perfect in Jesus Christ. We shall be with the Lord in perfect holiness, unblamed and unblamable, and unreprovable; in untemptable purity, in power not to sin. The spirit shall with Him be possessed of indestructible good.

II. We shall be with the Lord also in the unfolding light of His new revelations. We shall see light in His light. Truth shall no longer be seen in broken parts and through media which distort and mislead. Now the glass is flawed, and much we see is out of harmony and proportion. There are faults in ourselves which hinder the perception of Truths harmony and beauty. There are also Divine withholdings of Truth which now we cannot bear or receive. But when we live our life with the Lord, all will be changed. We shall know Him, who is the Infinite Truth, and that which is in part shall be done away.

III. We shall be with Him in the blessedness of His own perfect life, and reign and joy, Fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore are with Him. Holy desires shall only be cherished, to be satisfied out of the Infinite fulness. The life will surpass all we have known or can imagine. We call it, therefore, from its plentitude, and perfection, and blessedness, Eternal. It is the adjective of quality, not of duration. It exceeds exceedingly; is a joy unspeakable and full of glory, an eternal weight of glory. The joy is the joy of marriage. We sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb. The life is ever new, the joy is ever fresh, the fulness exhaustless. Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasure.

IV. And the crown of all is security, changelessness, continuance. Ever with the Lord. They go no more out forever. No possibility of fall is here. There is no change here. Change and decay in all around we see. The familiar faces are missed. Every Sabbath is an anniversary of our losses. Every act of our life has in it the memory of a past joy, which was and is not. The social life of heaven will complete its blessedness. The thought throws a halo of tenderness and affection over that world. The relational emotions are not cut off and sundered by death. The new life will be ordered by them. What the most hallowed sacramental experience foreshadows and typifies will be then enjoyed in full sweetness and elevating power. The sacred signs will not be needed, because we shall have the reality in its unspeakable grace. (W. H. Davison.)

Forever with the Lord

I. The loftiest idea of the glorified life. To be with the Lord. Our conceptions of the future are coloured by our human tastes and prejudices.

1. To some it is a state. It is all within. Perfect freedom from sin, and the joy of spiritual fellowship with Christ.

2. To others it is a place. There must be trees, rivers, golden pavements, etc.

3. Probably a combination of both will give us the true idea. State and place combine to make complete happiness.

4. But more is required--social enjoyments. The idea of those who have been bereaved is reunion. But the saint exclaims, Whom have I in heaven but thee! The altogether lovely. The Saviour reciprocates this desire. I go to prepare a place for you. Father, I will that they whom Thou hast given Me be with Me, etc.

5. The duration augments the joy of this fellowship. Here it is intermittent; there it will be forever.

II. What this idea of a glorified life ensures.

1. Continual contemplation of Christ. Here that meditation, which is the sweetest of our spiritual enjoyments, is broken; yonder it shall be uninterrupted.

2. Continual assimilation to Christ. Here it is a slow progress, and incomplete at best; but in heaven there will be no obstacles, but every help, in growing into the likeness of our Lord.

3. Unceasing reflection of Christ. As long as the sun shines upon it, the water pours forth its gladness; but often a cloud intervenes, and night shuts out the glory. But when we stand before the throne, we shall eternally catch the light of Christs countenance on the polished surface of our holiness, and He shall be admired of all them that believe.

III. From this idea of heaven let us learn--

1. That heaven is the one meeting place of the redeemed. Here they are, and must be, separated.

2. That our sorrow for the departed should be restrained. (G. D. Evans.)

Forever with the Lord

We have here--

I. A continuance. Nothing shall prevent our continuing to be forever with Him. Death shall not separate us, nor the terrors of judgment. As we have received Him, so shall we walk in Him, whether in life or death.

1. We are with Christ in this life. Your life is hid with Christ in God. If we are not with Him, we are not Christians. Separated from Him, we are dead. We are constantly with Him--

(1) In the sense of abiding union; for we are joined unto the Lord, and are one Spirit. In consequence we feel an intense joy, even Christs own joy fulfilled in us. For the same reason we are bowed in sorrow, having fellowship in Christs sufferings. This companionship should be manifest to others by its fruits. Men should take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus.

(2) In the sense that His unchanging love is always set upon us, and our love never dies out, Who shall separate us, etc.

(3) By the continual indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

(4) Whenever we are engaged in His work. Lo! I am with you alway.

2. We shall be with Christ in death. Yea, though I walk, etc.

3. After death, in the disembodied state, we shall be absent from the body, but present with the Lord, as was the dying thief. And the body shall sleep in Jesus, and awake and say, When I awake, I am still with Thee.

4. In due time the last trump shall sound, and Christ shall come; but the saints shall be with Him (1Th_4:14). Whatever the glory of the Second Advent, we shall be with Jesus in it.

5. There is to be a reign of Christ, and whatever that reign is to be, we shall reign also.

6. And when cometh the end and the mediatorial kingdom shall cease, we shall ever be with the Lord.

II. An advancement.

1. It is an advancement on this present state for--

(1) However spiritually minded, and there fore near Christ, we may be, being present in the belly we are absent from the Lord. To be with Christ, we must depart.

(2) Though our souls are with the Lord, yet our bodies are subject to corruption, and after death the separation will continue; but the time will come when this corruptible will put on incorruption, and the whole manhood be perfectly with the Lord.

2. What this glorious state is to which we shall be advanced. We shall be with the Lord in the strongest sense of the term; so with Him, that there will be no business to take us away from Him, no sin to becloud our view of Him; we shall see Him as a familiar Friend, know His love and return it, and this forever.

3. We shall be with the Redeemer, not as Jesus only, but as the Lord. Here we have seen Him on the Cross, and lived thereby; but we shall there see Him on the throne, and obey Him as our King.

III. A coherence. With signifies not merely being in the same place, but a union and identity. Even here our lives run parallel in a sense. We live to Him, die with Him, so shall we rise and ascend, and then we are to be forever with the Lord.

1. By sharing His beauty.

2. By being made partakers of all the blessedness and glory He now enjoys.

Conclusion:

1. This forever must begin now.

2. What must it be to be without the Lord? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Ever with the Lord

This will be the fruition of the brightest hopes, the fulfilment of the precious promises, the accomplishment of the purpose of Christs Advent, departure, and coming again.

I. In what sense with the Lord?

1. Referring to the present state of things, Jesus said, Where two or three are met together. And we may not overlook that presence now. He is now with us--

(1) By Gods testimony in the Scripture.

(2) By personal ministrations of His Spirit.

(3) By His work within us.

(4) By His providence over us.

(5) By His government of us.

And we with Him.

(a) By our faith in His testimony and use of it.

(b) By frequent thoughts of Him, and much love for Him, and close intercourse with Him.

(c) By our work for Him.

2. But the text points to being with Him personally, so as to see His glorified, but now hidden, humanity, hear His voice, and speak to Him as a man speaketh to His friend.

II. Where? In the place prepared by Himself, designed by the genius of His love; built up by the energy of His power, enriched by the resources of His wealth, adapted to us by the depth of His knowledge and wisdom. You have looked into the home prepared for the bride; you have looked into the cot prepared for the first born. Why so beautiful? To receive an object of love.

III. How long? Only a little time were His first disciples with Him; not long enough to know Him. None of us are long enough with each other to know each other perfectly. It is only when some loved one is taken away, and you put the different passages of His life together, and read them as one continuous story, that you can know what that life has been. While living in the bustle of life we cannot know each other. But hereafter we shall be with Christ uninterruptedly forever.

IV. With what result? Occasional absence is desirable between man and man. The wife prefers that the husband should be away for a few hours a day at least following his occupation, while she follows hers. Children are all the better for leaving home. But this has no application here. To be always with the Lord is to be always blessed by the Lord. We shall see Him as He is, be like Him, have the advantage of His ceaseless ministrations. Then all that is involved in being with Him will be forever.

1. Life forever.

2. Light forever.

3. Love forever.

4. Rest forever.

5. Joy forever. (S. Martin.)

Being ever with the Lord

These words imply--

I. Personal nearness to Christ. At present the saints may be said to be at a distance from Him. While we are at home in the body, etc. Spiritually, of course, Christ is with two or three who meet together in His name. But after the resurrection we shall be brought near Him, body and soul, and in His presence find fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore.

II. Immediate vision of Christ. He prayed for His disciples to be with Him, that they might behold His glory. This was seen once at the Transfiguration; but Christians are not now fitted to enjoy such glory; it would over power our sight as it did Sauls, and prostrate us as it did John. We can only see it by the eye of faith, and this partial sight is sufficient to make Christ the object of our supreme affection and esteem. But the time will come when we shall see Him with the eye of our glorified body, and be able to bear the stupendous sight. There we shall see that face, which on earth was marred more than any mans, smiling with more than the brightness of a thousand suns; that head, which was pierced with thorns, crowned with glory and honour; that body, which was arrayed in mock majesty, shining with a beauty of which we can form no conception.

III. Perfect resemblance to Christ. We are predestinated to be conformed to the image of Gods Son. This resemblance commences at regeneration; but the features are faint at first; but by constant contemplation of the glory of Christ, they become more marked. This now is the case with the spirit; at the resurrection our bodies will be fashioned like unto Christs glorious body. And then the progress of both in likeness to Christ shall be eternal.

IV. A constant sense of the presence, love and friendship of Christ, We have these here, but not constantly. Clouds of doubt and sinfulness on our side, and of displeasure on His, intervene. But in the heavenly world there shall be nothing to bar intercourse and manifestation for a single moment.

V. Social enjoyment. Where Christ is all His people are, and none but His people. Here society is mixed, the bad blended with the good. The good are removed, and leave us to mourn their departure. But in heaven no one departs, and all are good. It is an inspiring thought that we shall forever be with all the good.

VI. Felicity satisfactory in its nature and eternal in its duration. Our best earthly enjoyments are unsatisfactory--they do not fill the soul; transient--they do not last. Even our highest enjoyments of Christ are not all that we should like them to be. But we shall be satisfied when we awake in His likeness. (J. McKinlay, D. D.)

Forever with the Lord! forever! forever! were the last words of Robert Haldane.

Ever

Oh, how sweet is that word--ever! Ever to be happy, and ever happy; to enjoy Christ fully, immediately, and everlastingly! Certainly, as the word ever is the hell of hell, so it is the heaven of heaven. Frailty is a flaw in the best diamond of nature, and abateth its price; but eternity is one of the most precious jewels in the crown of glory, which increaseth its value exceedingly. (G. Swinnock, M. A.)

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

There is comfort

I. For the bereaved. Our friends are only asleep. They are with Christ, and we shall one day join them.

II. In the suggestion that perhaps we shall not have to die after all. Who knows when Christ shall come?

III. In knowing that when Christ comes it will not be as the crucified Nazarene, but as the Son of God. Our daily prayer will then be answered, and His will done.

IV. In holding communion even here with a Redeemer out of sight; for our highest joys are only a foretaste of the fulness of joy to be revealed when we shall see Him as He is.

V. In the recollection that time hurries on to the great consummation. Every hour brings the time of the Churchs marriage and glorification nearer.

VI. In the thought that every grace we attain will give our Lord pleasure when He comes. Wealth and social pleasure will then go for nothing. In relation to the future these can give us no comfort.

VII. In knowing that fidelity is all that Christ requires till He comes. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)

Christian comfort

I. Christians are often in circumstances to need comfort.

1. In time of persecution (2Ti_3:12).

2. In the season of affliction (Job_5:7).

3. In the prospect of death.

II. The words of Scripture are peculiarly calculated to give comfort (1Th_4:13-17). Here is promised--

1. A resurrection.

2. A triumph with Christ.

3. Rest in eternity.

III. This comfort should be mutually administered. (T. Massey, B. A.)

Words of comfort

Comfort means help as well as consolation. When the Saviour was anointed to comfort all that mourn, it was not to speak words of kindness only, but to reach forth the hand of beneficence so that sorrow might not only be soothed but turned into joy. This also is the office of the Paraclete; and Christianity calls us to be fulfillers of the law of Christ by bearing one anothers burdens. Whilst we mourn the departure of Christian friends, let us remember--

I. That death is no strange thing. It is appointed unto men once to die. Were death of rare occurrence, if some only were singled out by the arrows of the last enemy, then our sorrow might admit of no mitigation, but it is not so; Flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God.

II. That death is the Lords messenger summoning the saints to His presence. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. It may be difficult to see the hand of God in the departure of those we love. Our selfish hearts would have prolonged their stay, forgetting that death is gain to them.

III. That death terminates the toil and warfare of this life. Whilst they were in this tabernacle they groaned, being burdened; now the burden is lifted and they have entered into rest. Here they fought the good fight of faith; there they are crowned as conquerors. Here they suffered; there they enter into the joy of their Lord.

IV. That death is the beginning of perfection. The best and happiest of saints were here imperfect; now they are the spirits of just men made perfect in holiness and happiness; for they are like Christ, because they see Him as He is.

V. That death is a revival of sacred friendships, and an introduction to the general assembly and Church of the first born. Most of us as we look into the heavenly world can recognize a sacred kindred there. When you pass away it will be to meet with old associates, and the whole company of the redeemed. Compared with such fellowship as this, what can earth offer?

VI. That death will be a season of reunion for us. They have only gone before, a little in advance. The great gulf will be crossed at the Masters call, and our communion recommence, never to be disturbed again.

VII. That every death is part of that process which will issue in the dispensation of the fulness of times. Heaven is enriched by the departure of every saint. (R. W. Betts.)

The duty of comforting one another

I. The persons--One another.

1. One man is the image of another, because the image of God is upon all. One man interprets another. We are as glasses, and one sees in another what he is and what he himself may also be. He may see himself in anothers fear, grief, complaints. In anothers sickness, he may see the disease which may sieze on himself; in anothers poverty, his own riches with wings; in anothers death, his own mortality. They are also a silent but powerful appeals to his compassion to do as he would be done by in like ease.

2. One another takes in the whole world. One is diverse from another, yet we can hardly distinguish them, they are so like.

(1) From the same rock are hewn out the feeble and the strong. Of the same extraction are the poor and rich. He that made the idiot made the scribe. Who then shall separate?

(2) Besides this, the God of nature has also imprinted our natural inclination which carries us to love and comfort one another. One man is as another, by himself weak and indigent, needing the help and supply of others (1Co_12:4-5), and so provided. One man excels in wisdom, another in wealth, another in strength, that they may serve one another in love (Gal_5:13).

3. A nearer relation binds men together--their relation in Christ. In Him they are called to the same faith, filled with the same grace, ransomed with the same price, and shall be crowned with the same glory. And being one in these, they must join hand in hand to uphold one another, and so advance one another to the common glory (Mat_22:38-39; 1Co_12:12). As each man, so each Christian is as a glass to another. I see my sorrow in my brothers eyes; I cast a beam of comfort upon him, and he reflects a blessing upon me. And in our daily prayer, Our Father takes in one another, even the whole Church.

II. The act.

1. Comfort is of large signification. It may be to be eyes to the blind and feet to the lame, to clothe the naked and feed the hungry. Speak and do something that may heal a wounded heart, and rouse a drooping spirit.

2. To comfort is a work of charity which is inward and outward. What a poor thing is a thought or word without a hand; and what an uncharitable thing is comfort without compassion. Then I truly comfort my brother when my actions correspond with my heart. And if they be true they will never be severed; for if the bowels yearn, the hand will stretch itself forth.

3. We must look to the motive. Our comfort may proceed from a hollow heart; then it is Pharisaical; it may be ministered through a trumpet, and then it is lost in the noise; it may be the product of fear. All these are false principles, and charity issues through them as water through mud--defiled. Christ is our motive and pattern (Mar_9:41).

4. Let us be ambitious to comfort, for we have great occasions. Every day presents some object. Here is an empty mouth; why do we not fill it? Here is a naked body; why do we not part with our superfluities to cover it? Here God speaks, man speaks, misery speaks; and are our hearts so hard that they will not open, and so open mouth and hands.

III. The manner or methods--with these words.

1. In every action we must have a right method. He that begins amiss is yet to begin, as the further he goes the further he is from the end. As James speaks of prayer (Jam_4:3), so we seek comfort and find not because we seek amiss. Our fancy is our physician. We ask ourselves counsel, and are fools that give it; we ask of others and they are miserable comforters. In poverty we seek for wealth; and that makes us poorer than we were. Wealth is no cure for poverty, nor enlargement for restraint, nor honour for discontent. Thus it is also in spiritual evils. When conscience holds up the whip we fly from it; when it is angry we flatter it. We are as willing to forget sin as to commit it. We comfort ourselves by ourselves and by others, by our own weakness and others weakness, and by sin itself. But the antidote is poison, or, at best, a broken cistern.

2. The apostles method is--

(1) In general, the Word of God. For the Scripture is a common shop of comfort, where you may buy it without money and without price. The comforts of Scripture are--

(a) Abiding (1Pe_1:23)--its hope (1Pe_1:3); its joy (Joh_16:22); its peace (Psa_72:7); so all its comforts (2Co_1:20). All else is perishing.

(b) Universal. Nothing, no one is hid from the light of them. But we must be careful how we apply them and prepare ourselves to receive them. Gods mercy is over all His works, but it will not cover the impenitent. Nevertheless, the covetous comforts himself by the ant in Proverbs (Pro_6:6); the ambitious by that good ointment in Ecclesiastes (Ecc_7:1); the contentious man by the quarrel of Paul and Barnabas; the lethargic in Gods forbearance; and thus turn wholesome medicine into poison by misapplication.

(2) In particular, the doctrine of the resurrection and the coming of Christ. These are the sum of all comforts, the destruction of all ills. (A. Farindon, B. D.)

A childs faith

A gentleman walking in one of the metropolitan cemeteries observed kneeling beside a tombstone a little girl about ten years of age. In her hand she held a wreath, which she placed upon the grave. Going up to her, he asked if any one very dear to her lay there. Yes, she replied, my mother is buried here. Have you a father, or sisters, or brothers, little one? inquired the stranger. No, they are all dead, and I am the only one left. Every Saturday afternoon I come here, and bring flowers to lay on mothers grave. Then I talk to her, and she talks to me. But, dear child, if she be in heaven, how can she talk to you? I dont know, was the artless reply, but she does, and tells me to be truthful, and do what is right, so that one day Jesus will take me to live with her in heaven.

The gospel telescope

What the telescope does for science, the gospel does for those who believe it. It converts hazy conjecture into immovable certainty, and interprets the feeble hopes and dreams which glimmer in the eye of reason into demonstrated and well-defined truths. Oh, that all my brethren, said Rutherford, when dying, may know what a Master I have served, and what peace I have this day. This night shall close the door and put my anchor within the veil.

An exulting prospect

Rowland Hill, when very aged, preached for the Rev. George Clayton, of Walworth. The services exhausted him, and while going feebly down the aisle, after all the congregation had gone, Mr. Clayton heard him repeating softly to himself the hymn he most delighted in during his last years:--

And when Im to die, receive me Ill cry,

For Jesus has loved me, I cannot tell why;

But this I can find, we two are so joined,

That Hell not be in glory and leave me behind.

To my heart, said Mr. Clayton, this was a scene of unequalled solemnity; nor can I ever recur to it without a revival of that tender and hallowed sympathy which it originally awakened.

Preparing for heaven

Some years ago a traveller, who had recently returned from Jerusalem, discovered, in conversation with Humboldt, that he was as thoroughly conversant with the streets and houses of Jerusalem as he himself was; whereupon, he asked the aged philosopher how long it was since he visited Jerusalem. He replied, I have never been there, but I expected to go sixty years since, and I prepared myself. Should not the heavenly home be as familiar to those who expect to dwell there eternally?

Heavenly comfort

It is rarely we read anything more touchingly beautiful than the way in which Catherine Tait, wife of the late Archbishop of Canterbury, tried to comfort her own heart and the heart of her husband after they were suddenly deprived by death of five blessed little daughters. Other parents, who mourn because of empty cradles and desolate places by the fireside, may be strengthened by their example. Mrs. Tait writes:--Now, constantly, with our daily prayers, we say the thanksgiving and commemoration for them: Lord, Thou hast let Thy little ones depart in peace. Lord Jesus, Thou hast received their spirits, and hast opened unto them the gate of everlasting glory. Thy loving Spirit leads them forth in the land of righteousness, into Thy holy hill, into Thy heavenly kingdom. Thou didst send Thy angels to meet them and to carry them into Abrahams bosom. Thou hast placed them in the habitation of light and peace--of joy and gladness. Thou hast received them into the arms of Thy mercy, and given them an inheritance with the saints in light. There they reign with Thy elect angels and Thy blessed saints departed, Thy holy prophets and glorious apostles, in all joy, glory, felicity, and blessedness, forever and ever. Amen..

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Th 4:16-18. The Lord himself — The Lord Christ, arrayed in all his own glory, and in that of his Father; shall descend from heaven — “This expression does not imply that the Lord Jesus will fix his tribunal on the earth; but that he will descend so as to fix his seat in the air, at such distance from the earth that every eye shall see him, and every ear shall hear his voice, when he passes the awful sentence by which their state shall be unchangeably fixed. This conjecture is confirmed by 1Th 4:17, where we are told that, after the judgment, the righteous shall be caught up in clouds to join the Lord in the air.” — Macknight. With a shout — Raised by millions of happy attendant spirits. The word κελευσματι, so rendered, denotes the shout which the soldiers of an army used to make at their first onset to encourage one another in the attack; it is therefore used with great propriety to express the loud acclamation which the whole angelical hosts will utter to express their joy at the coming of Christ to raise the dead and judge the world. The voice of the, or rather, (as the article is wanting in the original,) an archangel — He, probably, who will preside over that innumerable company of angels who are to attend Christ when he comes to judge the world. And the trump of God — Sounding, doubtless, with more loud and terrible blasts than those uttered on mount Sinai when the law was given. Perhaps the voice of God himself is meant, or a great and terrible sound made by attendant angels, analogous to that of a trumpet. This circumstance is mentioned likewise 1Co 15:52, where see the note. And as Theodoret remarks, If the loud sound of the trumpet, when the law was given from mount Sinia, especially when it sounded long, and waxed continually louder and louder, was so dreadful to the Israelites, that they said to Moses, Let not the Lord speak to us lest we die; how terrible must the sound of this trumpet be, which calls all men to that final judgment that will determine their lot for ever! And the dead in Christ — Those that had departed this life in a state of union with, and conformity to him; who had received his Spirit in its various graces, and imitated his example; shall rise first — Shall spring forth out of their graves in forms of glory, to the infinite astonishment of the surviving world, before the rest of the dead are raised, or the living saints are changed. Then we who are alive — Those in Christ who are found living at his coming; shall be caught up — That is, after their bodies are changed and rendered glorious and immortal; together with them — Namely, with the saints now raised, while the wicked remain beneath. What is intended by the expression caught up, Dr. Scott (Christ. Life, vol. 3. pp. 1, 204) thinks shall be effected by the activity of the glorified bodies of the righteous. But this opinion does not seem consistent with the original word, αρπαγησομεθα, here used, which implies the application of an external force. Doubtless they shall be caught up by a mighty and instantaneous operation of the divine power; to meet the Lord in the region of the air — Where his throne shall then be erected; and there, having been openly acknowledged and acquitted by him, they shall be assessors with him in that judgment to which wicked men and angels are there to be brought forth; and when the final sentence is passed upon them, shall accompany their re-ascending Saviour. And so shall we ever be with the Lord — Where we shall spend a blissful eternity ill the sight and participation of his glory. Wherefore — Make these grand events the subject of your frequent meditation; and when your hearts are distressed with grief for the loss of your pious friends, or on any other occasion which can arise in this mortal life; comfort one another with these words — The tenor of which is so important, and the truth contained in them so certain, as being taught by the infallible dictates of the Spirit of God, and revealed to us by him, from whose fidelity, power, and grace, we expect this complete salvation.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4:16 with the trumpet call of God: God’s trumpet will herald the resurrection, just as it previously announced the rescue of Israel (Zeph 1:16; Zech 9:14). In the future it will announce the gathering of God’s chosen people from the “farthest ends of the earth and heaven” (Matt 24:31; cp. 1 Cor 15:52).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

1Th 4:16. Αὐτὸς, Himself) A word of high import.—ἐν κελεύσματι, ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου, καὶ ἐν σάλπιγγι Θεοῦ, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God) A gradation (ascending climax), comprehending three things.—κέλευσμα is applied, when a multitude is ordered to do something, for example, by a herald. It is not used by the LXX.—ἀρχαγγέλου, the archangel) Michael, or some other. The article is not inserted.—ἐν σάλπιγγι Θεοῦ, with the trumpet of God) and therefore great.—πρῶτον) previously.[23]

[23] Previously to the act of the living along with the dead saints being caught up. Not, “the dead in Christ shall rise before the other dead,” as it is often explained.—ED.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Th_4:16. Comp. Flatt, Opusc. acad. p. 411 ff.

ὅτι] not that, as Koch and Hofmann think, so that 1Th_4:16-17 (according to Hofmann, only 1Th_4:16!) still depend on λέγομεν ἐν λόγῳ κυρίου, 1Th_4:15; but for.

αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος] the Lord Himself. αὐτός is neither a mere introductory subject (He, the Lord, de Wette, Hofmann); nor added with the design to refer the coming of Christ expressly to His holy personality and corporality, accordingly designed to exclude every manifestation of Him by mere instruments, or by angels (so Olshausen and Bisping, and already Musculus, Estius, and Fromond.[58]); also is not inserted here for solemnitys sake, and to show that it will not be a mere gathering to Him, but He Himself will descend, and we shall be summoned before Him (Alford);but it represents Christ as the chief Person and actor at the advent, emphatically opposed to His faithful onesboth those already asleep (οἱ νεκροὶ ἐν Χριστῷ) and those still livingas they who are acted upon.

κέλευσμα] in the N. T. an ἅπαξ λεγόμενον, denotes an imperative call, e.g. of a commander to his host to exhort them to the conflict or to warn them to decamp, of a driver to excite his horses to greater speed, of a huntsman to encourage his hounds to the pursuit of the prey, of sailors to excite themselves to vigorous rowing, etc. Comp. Thucyd. ii. 92; Xen. de venat. vi. 20; Lucian, Catapl. 19. Here the κέλευσμα might be referred to God. Only then we must not, as Hunnius does, identify it with the σάλπιγξ Θεοῦ, and find represented in the two expressions the horribilis fragor inclarescentium tonitruum; but, in conjunction with the statement that God only knows beforehand the time and hour of the advent (Mat_24:3), it must refer to the imperative call to bring about the advent. So recently Bisping. This interpretation is, however, to be rejected, because the three sentences introduced with ἐν are evidently similar, i.e. all three are a statement of the mode of καταβαίνειν, accordingly contain the description of the circumstances with which the descent during the course of its completion will be accompanied. But, understood in the above manner, ἐν κελεύσματι would denote an act preceding the καταβαίνειν, and thus another preposition instead of ἐν would necessarily be chosen. Others, as Theodoret, Oecumenius, Grotius, and Olshausen, refer ἐν κελεύσματι to Christ. But in this case we would be puzzled so to define the contents of the κέλευσμα, as to prevent them coming into collision with the φωνεῖν of the ἀρχάγγελος. For that we are not justified, with Theodoret, in distinguishing the κέλευσμα and the φωνή by a prius and post (ὁ κύριος … κελεύσει μὲν ἀρχάγγελον βοῆσαι) is evident, as both are simultaneousboth in a similar manner are represented as accompanying the καταβαίνειν. It is accordingly most probable that Paul places ἐν κελεύσματι first as a primary, and on that account absolute expression, and then, in an epexegetical manner, more fully developes it by ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου καὶ ἐν σάλπιγγι Θεοῦ. If this is the correct interpretation, the apostle considers the κέλευσμα as given by the archangel,[59] directly afterwards mentioned, who for the publication of it uses partly his voice and partly a trumpet; and, as the contents of the κέλευσμα, the imperative call which reaches the sleeping Christians to summon them from their graves (comp. also the following καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ κ.τ.λ.), consequently the resurrection-call (Theodoret, John Damascenus, Calixt, and others).

ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου καὶ ἐν σάλπιγγι Θεοῦ] with the call, namely, of an archangel, and with (the sound) of the trumpet of God. Christ will return surrounded by hosts of angels; comp. 1Th_3:13; 2Th_1:7; Mat_16:27; Mat_24:30 f., Mat_25:31; Mar_8:38; Mar_13:26 f.; Luk_9:26. According to the post-exile Jewish notion, the angels were distinguished into different orders and classes, over each of which presided an ἀρχάγγελος. (See Winers bibl. Realwörterb. 2d ed. vol. I. p. 386 f.) One of these ἀρχάγγελοι (שָׂרִים)whom Nicolas de Lyra, Hunnius, Estius (appealing to Jud_1:9 and Revelation 12), Bern, a Picon., Bisping suppose to be the archangel Michael; and Cornelius a Lapide, Michael or Gabriel; whilst Ambrosiaster and Olshausen, as well as Alphen and Honert (in Wolf), understand no angel at all, but the two first understand Christ (!), and the two last the Holy Ghost (!)is considered as the herald at the commencement of the advent, who with a loud voice calls upon the dead, and arouses them by the sound of a trumpet. The Jews used trumpets for summoning the people together; comp. Num_10:2; Num_31:6, Joe_2:1. Also the manifestations of God were considered as accompanied by the sound of a trumpet; comp. Exo_19:16; Psa_47:6; Zec_9:14; Isa_27:13;and as it was the opinion of the later Jews that God will use a powerful and far-sounding trumpet to raise the dead (comp. Eisenmengers entdecktes Judenthum, II. p. 929 f.), so in the N. T. mention is made of a σάλπιγξ in reference to Christs advent; comp. 1Co_15:52; Mat_24:31. The trumpet is called σάλπιγξ Θεοῦ, either because it excels all human or earthly trumpets in the power of its sound (so Cornelius a Lapide, Calov, Wolf, Benson, Bengel, Baumgarten, Bolten, and several); or because it will be blown at the command of God (so Balduin, Jac. Laurentius, Pelt, Schott, Olshausen, and others); or, lastly, because it belongs to God and is used in His service (so de Wette, who refers to the expression harps of God, 1Ch_16:42; Rev_15:2 [see also Winer, p. 221, E. T. 310], Koch, and Alford).

ἀπʼ οὐρανοῦ] down from heaven. For the crucified and risen Christ is enthroned in heaven at the right hand of God; comp. Rom_8:34; Eph_1:20; Col_3:1; Php_3:20.

ΚΑῚ ΟἹ ΝΕΚΡΟῚ Κ.Τ.Λ.] a consequence of ἐν κελεύσματι κ.τ.λ. καταβήσεται.

ἐν Χριστῷ] is not to be connected with ἀναστήσονται (Pelt, Schott), but with οἱ νεκροί; comp. 1Co_15:18; Winer, p. 123 [E. T. 169]. For if connected with ἀναστήσονται, then ἐν Χριστῷ would receive an emphasis which, according to the context, it cannot have; as the apostle does not intend to bring forward the person by whom the resurrection is effected, which is evident of itself, but designs to show what relation it will have to those who sleep on the one hand, and to those who are alive on the other. Theodoret has arbitrarily inserted into the text: ΝΕΚΡΟῪς ΤΟῪς ΠΙΣΤΟῪς ΛΈΓΕΙ, Οὐ ΜΌΝΟΝ ΤΟῪς Τῷ ΕὐΑΓΓΕΛΊῼ ΠΕΠΙΣΤΕΥΚΌΤΑς, ἈΛΛᾺ ΚΑῚ ΤΟῪς ἘΝ ΝΌΜῼ ΚΑῚ ΤΟῪς ΠΡῸ ΝΌΜΟΝ ΔΙΑΛΆΜΨΑΝΤΑς; and Musculus, that there are also to be reckoned among the ΝΕΚΡΟῚ ἘΝ ΧΡΙΣΤῷ the dead children of Christians before they believed on Christ, and the patres priorum saeculorum qui ante tempora Christi vixerunt. Nam et illi cum semine ipsorum propter fidem venturi servatoris in Christo fuerunt.

ΠΡῶΤΟΝ] does not denote, as Oecumenius (ΟἹ ἘΝ ΧΡΙΣΤῷ, ΤΟΥΤΈΣΤΙΝ ΟἹ ΠΙΣΤΟΊ, ΠΡῶΤΟΝ ἈΝΑΣΤΉΣΟΝΤΑΙ, ΟἹ ΔῈ ΛΟΙΠΟῚ ἜΣΧΑΤΟΙ, Ὡς ΜῊ ἉΡΠΆΖΕΣΘΑΙ ΜΉΤΕ ἈΠΑΝΤᾶΝ ΜΈΛΛΟΝΤΕς) and others maintain, the first resurrection,the so-called resurrection of the just,in contrast to the resurrection of all men following at a much later period; a distinction which is left entirely unnoticed in our passage, and in the form stated would be un-Pauline. Rather ΠΡῶΤΟΝ is in contrast to ἜΠΕΙΤΑ, 1Th_4:17, and denotes that the first act of Christ at His reappearance will be the resurrection of the Christian dead, and then the ἁρπάζεσθαι of the living, 1Th_4:17, will follow as the second act.

[58] Koch accepts both de Wettes interpretation and the meaning of Olshausen, and thus falls into the contradiction of making αὐτός at the same time unaccented and emphatic.

[59] Macknight incorrectly refers the κέλευσμα to the whole of the attendant angelic host, and finds therein the loud acclamation which the whole angelic hosts will utter to express their joy at the advent of Christ to judge the world,an interpretation which finds no support in the context, and militates against the meaning of κέλευσμα.

1Th_4:16-17. Proof of the truth of οὐ μὴ φθάσωμεν τοὺς κοιμηθέντας by a description of the particulars in which the advent will be realized.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Th 4:16 . κελεύσματι = the loud summons which was to muster the saints (so in Philo, De praem. et poen. , 19: καθάπερ οὖν ἀνθρώπους ἐν ἐσχατιαῖς ἀπῳκισμένους ῥᾳδίως ἑνὶ κελεύσματι συναγάγοι ὁ θεὸς ἀπὸ περάτων εἰς ὅ τι ἂν θελήσῃ χωρίον ), forms, as its lack of any genitive shows, one conception with the φ . α . and the σ . θ . ( cf. DC [33] , ii. 766). The archangel is Michael, who in Jewish tradition not only summoned the angels but sounded a trumpet to herald God’s approach for judgment ( e.g. , in Apoc. Mosis , xxii.). With such scenic and realistic details, drawn from the heterogeneous eschatology of the later Judaism, Paul seeks to make intelligible to his own mind and to that of his readers, in quite an original fashion ( cf. Stähelin, Jahrb. f. deut. Theol. , 1874, pp. 199 218), the profound truth that neither death nor any cosmic, crisis in the future will make any essential difference to the close relation between the Christian and his Lord. Οὕτω πάντοτε σὺν κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα ( cf. 1Th 5:11 ; 2Co 5:8 ; Phi 1:20 ): this is all that remains to us, in our truer view of the universe, from the naïve λόγος κυρίου of the apostle, but it is everything. Note that Paul says nothing here about any change of the body (Teichmann, 35 f.), or about the embodiment of the risen life in its celestial δόξα . See Asc. Isa. , iv. 14 15: “And the Lord will come with His holy angels and with the armies of the holy ones from the seventh heaven … and He will give rest to the godly whom He shall find in the body in this world.”

[33] CG Hastings’ Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels (1907 1908)

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The word which the Apostle useth here, signifieth properly that encouragement which mariners use one to another, when they altogether with one shout put forth their oars and row together.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

himself--in all the Majesty of His presence in person, not by deputy.

descend--even as He ascended (Act 1:11).

with--Greek, "in," implying one concomitant circumstance attending His appearing.

shout--Greek, "signal shout," "war shout." Jesus is represented as a victorious King, giving the word of command to the hosts of heaven in His train for the last onslaught, at His final triumph over sin, death, and Satan (Rev 19:11-21).

the voice of . . . archangel--distinct from the "signal shout." Michael is perhaps meant (Jde 1:9; Rev 12:7), to whom especially is committed the guardianship of the people of God (Dan 10:13).

trump of God--the trumpet blast which usually accompanies God's manifestation in glory (Exo 19:16; Psa 47:5); here the last of the three accompaniments of His appearing: as the trumpet was used to convene God's people to their solemn convocations (Num 10:2, Num 10:10; Num 31:6), so here to summon God's elect together, preparatory to their glorification with Christ (Psa 50:1-5; Mat 24:31; Co1 15:52).

shall rise first--previously to the living being "caught up." The "first" here has no reference to the first resurrection, as contrasted with that of "the rest of the dead." That reference occurs elsewhere (Mat 13:41-42, Mat 13:50; Joh 5:29; Co1 15:23-24; Rev 20:5-6); it simply stands in opposition to "then," Th1 4:17. FIRST, "the dead in Christ" shall rise, THEN the living shall be caught up. The Lord's people alone are spoken of here.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 16. The Lord himself] That is: Jesus Christ shall descend from heaven; shall descend in like manner as he was seen by his disciples to ascend, i.e. in his human form, but now infinitely more glorious; for thousands of thousands shall minister unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand shall stand before him; for the Son of man shall come on the throne of his glory: but who may abide the day of his coming, or stand when he appeareth?

With a shout] Or order, ενκελευσματι. and probably in these words. Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment; which order shall be repeated by the archangel, who shall accompany it with the sound of the trump of God, whose great and terrible blasts, like those on mount Sinai, sounding louder and louder, shall shake both the heavens and the earth!

Observe the order of this terribly glorious day:

1. Jesus, in all the dignity and splendour of his eternal majesty, shall descend from heaven to the mid region, what the apostle calls the air, somewhere within the earth's atmosphere.

2. Then the κελευσμα, shout or order, shall be given for the dead to arise.

3. Next the archangel, as the herald of Christ, shall repeat the order, Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment!

4. When all the dead in Christ are raised, then the trumpet shall sound, as the signal for them all to flock together to the throne of Christ. It was by the sound of the trumpet that the solemn assemblies, under the law, were convoked; and to such convocations there appears to be here an allusion.

5. When the dead in Christ are raised, their vile bodies being made like unto his glorious body, then,

6. Those who are alive shall be changed, and made immortal.

7. These shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.

8. We may suppose that the judgment will now be set, and the books opened, and the dead judged out of the things written in those books.

9. The eternal states of quick and dead being thus determined, then all who shall be found to have made a covenant with him by sacrifice, and to have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, shall be taken to his eternal glory, and be for ever with the Lord. What an inexpressibly terrific glory will then be exhibited! I forbear to call in here the descriptions which men of a poetic turn have made of this terrible scene, because I cannot trust to their correctness; and it is a subject which we should speak of and contemplate as nearly as possible in the words of Scripture.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16 For the Lord himself. He employs the term κελεύσματος, (shout,) and afterwards adds, the voice of the archangel, by way of exposition, intimating what is to be the nature of that arousing shout — that the archangel will discharge the office of a herald to summon the living and the dead to the tribunal of Christ. For though this will be common to all the angels, yet, as is customary among different ranks, he appoints one in the foremost place to take the lead of the others. As to the trumpet, however, I leave to others to dispute with greater subtlety, for I have nothing to say in addition to what I briefly noticed in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. The Apostle unquestionably had nothing farther in view here than to give some taste of the magnificence and venerable appearance of the Judge, until we shall behold it fully. With this taste it becomes us in the mean time to rest satisfied.

The dead who are in Christ. He again says that the dead who are in Christ, that is, who are included in Christ’s body, will rise first, that we may know that the hope of life is laid up in heaven for them no less than for the living. He says nothing as to the reprobate, because this did not tend to the consolation of the pious, of which he is now treating.

He says that those that survive will be carried up together with them. As to these, he makes no mention of death: hence it appears as if he meant to say that they would be exempted from death. Here Augustine gives himself much distress, both in the twentieth book on the City of God and in his Answer to Dulcitius, because Paul seems to contradict himself, inasmuch as he says elsewhere, that seed cannot spring up again unless it die. (1 Corinthians 15:36) The solution, however, is easy, inasmuch as a sudden change will be like death. Ordinary death, it is true, is the separation of the soul from the body; but this does not hinder that the Lord may in a moment destroy this corruptible nature, so as to create it anew by his power, for thus is accomplished what Paul himself teaches must take place — that mortality shall be swallowed up of life. (2 Corinthians 5:4) What is stated in our Confession, that “Christ will be the Judge of the dead and of the living,” Augustine acknowledges to be true without a figure. He is only at a loss as to this — how those that have not died will rise again. But, as I have said, that is a kind of death, when this flesh is reduced to nothing, as it is now liable to corruption. The only difference is this — that those who sleep put off the substance of the body for some space of time, but those that will be suddenly changed will put off nothing but the quality

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(16) For.—A justification of the statement that we shall certainly not prevent the dead; therefore, the words as far as “trump of God” are logically parenthetical; and the proof only begins at “They shall rise first: then we shall be caught up.”

With a shout.—The Greek word means a shout of command or encouragement, such as a captain gives to his soldiers, or a boatswain to his crew. It is not necessary to inquire what the command may be, or to whom issued, inasmuch as the word does not always imply any particular orders; nor who is represented as uttering it: the intention is only to convey the notion of the stirring noise, in the midst of which (for the original has “in,” not “with”) the Lord will descend. It is, however, somewhat particularised by what follows: two notes amid those sounds of mystery strike the ear—the archangel’s voice, and the trump of God. Probably, therefore, the “shout of command” is uttered by the “leader of the angels;” and the trump (called “the trump of God” because used for God’s purposes) is blown to summon the mustering hosts. In favour of supposing the Lord Himself to utter the cry, may be adduced Joh_5:25; but, on the other hand, it suits the dignity of the scene better to imagine the loud sound to come rather from one of the heralds of the great army. The preposition “in” is more effective than “with:” it calls attention to the long blast. (Comp. Exo_19:19.)

Shall rise first.—Not as meaning “shall be the first to rise,” as contrasted with non-members of the Church who are to rise later; though that is a scriptural thought (Rev_20:5-6), the Greek here refuses to be so explained. Rather, “the first thing will be the rising of the dead in Christ,” contrasted with what follows—“then, and not till then, shall we be caught up.” The same order is carefully observed in 1Co_15:52.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. For the Lord Himself] “In His personal august presence” (Ellicott). Comp. 2Th_2:16; 2Th_3:16, for this kind of emphasis; also Ch. 1Th_3:11, 1Th_5:23, “God Himself:” in each case we feel the majesty with which God (or “the Lord”) rises above all human doings and desires.

with a shout] Strictly, word of command, or signal,—the shout with which the general gives the order to his troops, or the captain to his crew. Such “command” might be given either by voice,—his own or another’s; or through a trumpet: both are added here, to complete the Impressive picture,—With the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.

We must not look for literal exactness where things are depicted beyond the reach of sense. These three may form but one idea, that of “the voice of the Son of God,” by which the dead will be called forth (Joh_5:28), Christ’s “command” being expressed by an “archangel’s voice,” and that again constituting the “trumpet of God.” Christ predicted His return attended by angels (Mat_24:31; Mat_25:31; comp. 2Th_1:7); and the Divine voice of the Book of Revelation is constantly uttered by an “angel,” or “mighty angel” (Rev_5:2; Rev_7:2; &c.). In the same Book voice and trumpet are identified, where St John describing the glorified Son of Man says, “I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet talking with me” (Rev_1:10; Rev_1:12; Rev_4:1). This verse, like the above passages of the Apocalypse, echoes the words of Christ in Mat_24:31 : “He shall send forth His angels with a trumpet of great voice.” In 1Co_15:52 the whole is described in one word: “The-trumpet-shall-sound, and the dead shall be raised.”

This is the military trumpet, like “word of command” above, by which the Lord of Hosts musters and marshals His array. Comp. ch. 1Th_5:8, with its “breastplate” and “helmet;” see note. “As a Commander rouses his sleeping soldiers, so the Lord calls up His dead, and bids them shake off the fetters of the grave and rise anew to waking life” (Hofmann).

St Paul does not write “the Archangel,” as though pointing to some known Angelic Chief who is to blow this trumpet; his words are, with an archangel’s voice, indicating the majesty and power of the heavenly summons. This is the earliest example of the title archangel. In Judges 9 we read of “Michael the archangel”—an expression probably based on Dan_12:1, “Michael the great prince” (LXX: “the great angel;” comp. Rev_12:7, where “Michael and his angels” are arrayed against “the Dragon and his angels”). Of equal rank with Michael is Gabriel, the angel of comfort and good tidings in Dan_8:16; Dan_9:21, and Luk_1:19; Luk_1:26. The military style of this passage suits rather the character of Michael. Amongst the seven chief angels recognised at this time in Jewish teaching, Raphael stood nearest to the two that appear in the New Testament (Tob_12:15). St Paul probably ranged the Archangels amongst the Principalities (Greek Archai) to which he refers in Rom_8:38 (angels and principalities), Eph_1:21; Eph_3:10, Col_1:6; Col_2:10; Col_2:15. See the Article on Angels in Smith’s Dictionary of Christian Antiquities.

the Lord Himself, &c.… will descend from heaven. See note on ch. 1Th_1:10. These words close the sentence, the accompaniments of the descent being first described, and then the descent itself, with solemn brevity and an effect of peculiar grandeur.

and the dead in Christ] This gives us the key to the Apostle’s meaning throughout. Being “in Christ,” having died as they lived in Him, nothing can part them from Him, “neither death nor life” (Rom_8:38). And when He returns in bodily presence, their bodies must rise to meet Him and do Him homage.

shall rise first] Not before the other dead, as though theirs were a select and separate resurrection (comp. Joh_5:28-29); the antithesis is plainly given in the next verse,—“first,” i.e. before the living saints: “we shall not take precedence of them, but rather they of us.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven,.... Not by proxy, or by representatives; not by the ministry of angels, as on Mount Sinai; nor by the ministers of the word, as under the Gospel dispensation; nor by his spirit, and the discovery of his love and grace, in which sense he descends in a spiritual manner, and visits his people; but in person, in his human nature, in soul and body; in like manner as he went up to heaven will he descend from thence, so as to be visible, to be seen and heard of all: he will come down from the third heaven, whither he was carried up, into which he was received, and where he is retained until the time of the restitution of all things, and from whence the saints expect him: and this descent will be

with a shout; the word here used is observed by many to signify such a noise or shout as is made either by mariners, when they pull and row together; and shout to direct and encourage one another; or to an army with the general at the head of it, when about to undertake some considerable action, to enter on a battle, and make the onset; Christ will now appear as the King of kings, and Lord of lords, as the Judge of the whole earth, attended with the host, or armies of heaven, and the shout of a king will be among them: perhaps the same is intended, as by the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, and of mighty thunderings upon the coming of Christ, the destruction of antichrist, and the marriage of the Lamb, in Rev 19:1. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions render it, "in", or "with command"; and the Arabic version, "with his own government", or "authority"; that is, he shall descend, either by the command of his Father, as man and Mediator, having authority from him, as the son of man, to execute judgment; or with his commanding power and authority over the mighty angels, that shall descend with him: it follows,

with the voice of the archangel; so Michael is called, in Jde 1:9 with which compare Rev 12:7 and who perhaps is no other than Christ himself, who is the head of all principality and power; and the sense be, that Christ shall descend from heaven with a voice, or shall then utter such a voice, as will show him to be the archangel; or as the Syriac version renders it, "the head", or "prince of angels"; and which whether, it will be an articulate voice, such as was expressed at the grave of Lazarus; or a violent clap of thunder, which is the voice of God; or the exertion of the power of Christ, is not certain: it is added,

and with the trump of God; called "the last trump", Co1 15:52 because none will be blown after it, and may be the same with the seventh trumpet, Rev 11:15 and here the trump of God, because blown by his order; or by Christ himself, who is God, and so be the same with the voice of the archangel; and these figurative expressions are used, to set forth the grandeur and magnificence in which Christ will come; not in that low, mean, and humble form in which he first came, but with great glory, and marks of honour and respect; with angels shouting, trumpets blowing, and saints rejoicing. This is said in allusion to the trumpet which was heard on Mount Sinai at the giving of the law, and of which the Jews say (d), that it "quickened the dead"; for they have a notion, that, when the Israelites first heard the voice of the Lord, they died; but upon hearing it the second time, they returned to life (e): and they suppose also in the time, to come, at the resurrection of the dead, a trumpet will be blown, which will quicken the dead (f), and the day of judgment (g); and this is reckoned by them as one of the signs of the Messiah's coming (h):

"Michael shall shout with a great shout, and the graves of the dead shall be opened at Jerusalem, and the holy blessed God will restore the dead to life, and Messiah the son of David shall come,'' &c.

And the dead in Christ shall rise first; the same with those that are asleep in Jesus, Th1 4:14 not only the martyrs that died for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel; nor merely those who die in the lively exercise of faith in Christ; but all that die interested in him, and in union with him: and these shall "rise", in consequence of their being his; being given to him, made his care and charge, and engaged for by him, and in virtue of their union to him; and shall rise to an entire conformity to his glorious body, and in order to enjoy eternal life and glory with him: and these will rise "first", before the wicked, which is the first resurrection, Rev 20:5 even a thousand years before them; the righteous will rise in the morning of the resurrection, and so will have the dominion in the morning, Psa 49:14 even at the beginning of the thousand years, as soon as Christ will come; but the wicked will not rise till the evening of that day, or till the close of the thousand years: and this agrees with the notions of the Jews, who thought that some will rise before others;

"Wheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury them, and I will give thee the first place in my resurrection.'' (2 Esdras 2:23)

Having mentioned those words in Psa 116:9 "I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living", it is asked (i),

"is there no land of the living but Tyre and its neighbours, and Caesarea, and its neighbours, where is cheapness and fulness? says R. Simeon ben Lekish, in the name of Bar Kaphra, the land in which the dead live, "first", in the days of the Messiah:''

and on the same place elsewhere (k) they observe, that

"our Rabbins say two things, or give two reasons, why the fathers loved to be buried in the land of Israel, because the dead in the land of Israel , "live", or "rise first", in the days of the Messiah, and shall enjoy the years of the Messiah:''

and in another place (l) they take notice of what is written in Isa 26:19 "and the earth shall cast out the dead": says R. Jochanan,

"the dead which are in the land (i.e. of Israel), they shall "live first"; as it is said, "thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise": these are they that are without the land; "awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust", these are they that die in the wilderness:''

and again (m),

"as it is said,

Isa 40:26 "that bringeth out their host by numbers", come see, it is said, all that die in the land of Israel , "shall rise first", because the holy blessed God shall awake them, and raise them, according to Isa 26:19.''

Once more they say (n),

"they that study in the law as they ought, these are they that shall "rise first" to everlasting life, as it is said Dan 12:2, "and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life", &c. and these are for everlasting life, because they study in everlasting life, which is the law:''

to which may be added the following passage (o),

"they that are worthy to be buried in the land of Israel, shall "be raised first"--and they shall be raised and quickened before the rest of the children of the world, who draw the waters of the law; and they draw, because they study to draw out of the waters of the law; and they are strengthened by the tree of life, and they shall go out "first", because the tree of life is the cause why they shall "rise first":''

they sometimes endeavour to fix the time, how long they will rise before the rest (p);

""many of those that sleep", &c. these are the righteous that shall "go before" others in life, and how many years shall they go before them? R. Judah says, two hundred and ten years; R. Isaac says, two hundred and fourteen; according to others, the righteous shall go (or be raised) a year before the rest of men; says R. Nachman, it will be according to the computation (of time) that the carcass has been in the dust; R. Jose replies, if so, there will be many resurrections.''

These instances may suffice to show, that the Jews had a notion of some persons rising before others, to which the apostle may have some reference; though his sense is not only this, but also that the dead in Christ shall rise before the living saints are changed, and taken up to be with Christ, and so shall not go before to him; which illustrates and proves what he had before asserted.

(d) Targum Jon. in Exod. xx. 18. (e) Kettoreth Hassamamim in ib. (f) Mechilta in ib. & Abarbinel, Mashmia Jeshua, fol. 11. 4. (g) Zohar in Lev. fol. 42. 2. 4. (h) Abkath Rocel, p. 138. Ed. Huls. (i) T. Hieros. Kilaim, fol. 32. 3. & Cetubot, fol. 35. 2. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 74. fol. 65. 1. (k) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 96. fol. 83. 4. & 84. 1. & Shemot Rabba, sect. 32. fol. 135. 2. (l) Zohar in Gen. fol. 68. 4. (m) Zohar in Gen. fol. 79. 3. (n) lb. fol. 100. 3. (o) Ib. fol. 103. 1. (p) Ib. fol. 83. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

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:

Ver. 16. With a shout] Ingenti angelorum iubilo, et acdamatione, saith Aretius. With a huge applause and acclamation of angels, ες κελευσματι, such as is that of mariners, when near the haven- Italiam Italiam laeto clamore salutant With a happy shout, they greet, Italy, Italy, (Virg. Aeneid), or that of soldiers, when to join battle with the enemy.

And with the trump of God] To require the law, in manner as it was given. Mount Sinai only was then on a flame, but now the whole world, &c. Then God came with ten thousand of his saints; but now thousand thousands shall minister to him, and ten thousand thousands shall stand before him.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven - notes, Act 1:11.

With a shout - The word here used (κέλευσμα keleusma), does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It properly means a “cry’ of excitement, or of arging on; an outcry, clamor, or shout, as of sailors at the oar, Luc. Catapl. 19; of soldiers rushing to battle, Thuc. 3:14; of a multitude of people, Diod. Sic. 3:15; of a huntsman to his dogs, Xen. Ven. 6:20. It does not mean here, that the Lord would himself make such a shout, but that he would be attended with it; that is, with a multitude who would lift up the voice like that of an army rushing to the conflict.

With the voice of the archangel - The word archangel occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in Jud 1:9, where it is applied to Michael. It properly means a chief angel; one who is first, or who is over others - ἄρχων archōn. The word is not found in the Septuagint, and the only archangel, therefore, which is named in the Scriptures, is Michael; Jud 1:9; compare Rev 12:7. Seven angels, however, are referred to in the Scriptures as having an eminence above others, and these are commonly regarded as archangels. Rev 8:2, “and I saw the seven angels which stood before God.” One of these is supposed to be referred to in the Book of Tobit, 12:15, “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.” The names of three only of the seven are mentioned in the Jewish writings: Michael, the patron of the Jewish nation, Dan 10:13, Dan 10:21; Dan 12:1.

Gabriel, Dan 8:16; Dan 9:21; compare Luk 1:19, Luk 1:26. Raphael, Tobit 3:17; 5:4; 8:2; 9:1, 5; 12:15. The Book of Enoch adds that of Uriel, pp. 187, 190, 191, 193. Michael is mentioned as one “of the chief princes,” Dan 10:13; and as “the great prince,” Dan 12:1; compare notes on Eph 1:21, and see an article by Prof. Stuart in the Bibliotheca Sacra. No. 1, on Angelology. It seems evident from the Scriptures, that there is one or more among the angels to whom the name archangel properly belongs. This view is in accordance with the doctrine in the Scriptures that the heavenly beings are divided into ranks and orders, for if so, it is not unreasonable to suppose that there should be one or more to whom the most exalted rank pertains; compare Rev 12:7. Whether there is more than one to whom this name appropriately belongs, it is impossible now to determine, and is not material. The word here (in Greek) is without the article, and the phrase might be rendered, “with the voice of an archangel.”

The Syriac renders it, “with the voice of the prince of the angels.” On an occasion so august and momentous as that of the coming of the final Judge of all mankind; the resurrection of the dead, and the solemn transactions before the tribunal of the Son of God deciding the destiny of countless million for ever, it will not be inappropriate that the highest among the heavenly hosts should be present and take an important part in the solemnities of the day. It is not quite certain what is meant here by “the voice of the archangel,” or for what purpose that voice will be heard. It cannot be that it will be to raise the dead - for that will be by the “voice of the Son of God” Joh 5:28-29, and it seems most probable that the meaning is, that this will be a part of the loud shout or cry which will be made by the descending hosts of heaven; or perhaps it may be for the purpose of summoning the world to the bar of judgment; compare Mat 24:31.

And with the trump of God - The trump which God appoints to be sounded on that solemn occasion. It does not mean that it will be sounded by God himself; see the notes on Mat 24:31.

And the dead in Christ - Christians.

Shall rise first - That is, before the living shall be changed. A doctrine similar to this was held by the Jews. “Resch Lachisch said, Those who die in the land of Israel shall rise first in the days of the Messiah.” See Wetstein, in loc. It is implied in all this description, that the interval between their resurrection and the change which will occur to the living, will be brief, or that the one will rapidly succeed the other compare notes, 1Co 15:23, 1Co 15:51-52.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout; the means which effect this. The word shout in the Greek signifies a command, or word of command; alluding to mariners or soldiers summoned to be ready with their assistance when called upon; and may refer to the angels whom Christ now summons to attend and assist in that day. And the evangelist speaks of the voice of Christ, Joh 5:28, which is there said to raise the dead. Whether this is an oral shout and voice from the mouth of Christ, or only an expression of his Divine power, whereby he shall awaken them that sleep out of their graves, is a question I shall not be curious about.

With the voice of the archangel: Christ is said to come with all the holy angels, Mat 25:31; and to send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, Mat 24:31. But here is mentioned only the archangel and his voice, instead of all the rest, they all coming under his conduct. Though there be not such distinct orders of angels as the schoolmen affirm, yet there is order among them, as archangel implies. And whether he will put forth an audible voice or not at that day, or whether this archangel be not the same with Christ himself, who is the Head of all principality and power, Col 2:10, I leave it as doubtful; but, however, it is certain the angels shall be ministering to Christ at that day, especially in the resurrection of the elect, Mat 24:31, and severing the righteous from the wicked, Mat 13:41.

And with the trump of God; as 1Co 15:52. And whether this is to be taken literally, and distinct from the shout and voice before mentioned, or used only to show forth the Divine power of God that shall gather all the elect together out of their graves, as the trumpet in war gathers the scattered army, or as the silver trumpets under the law assembled the congregation of Israel, I shall not be positive. And this is the account of the saints that are raised.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. Lord himself—Not by messenger or representative, but his own personal self. Then shall our eyes behold Him. The Himself is emphatic with divine dignity.

From heaven—From God’s right hand in the highest heavens. See note on 2Co_12:1-4.

With—No commotions of nature are here described, though other passages assure us of their existence. 2Pe_3:10; Rev_20:11. Only the three vocalities of the descending powers are given, the shout of the mighty host; the voice of the archangel, their leader and the Lord’s herald; and the trump of God, a strain of celestial music. These announce the Incarnate Person in the rear; to whom the whole host is as an advance procession.

Shout— Generally signifies the cry of an onward movement. An archangel rather than the. To inquire which archangel, Michael or Gabriel, is useless, though popular fancy generally designates the latter. The word signifies chief-angel, and is used here to designate him as present captain of the lord’s host.

Trump of God—Vocal symbol of the divine Presence and Person; as the glory is the visible symbol. Its tones are heard, but no instrument is seen. It was, probably, never heard but once by human ears, and that was at Sinai. Exo_19:16-19. Then, as here, it was the announcing strain of the celestial hosts forming the advance procession of the approaching divine One. Then there were “thunders and lightning’s, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled… to meet with God… And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, [as if the Jehovah were slowly coming,] and waxed louder and louder, [as he drew nearer and nearer,] Moses spake, [as if He had now arrived,] and God answered him with a voice” [as being now present.] And so these present peals, sounding to human souls like the piercing and ever-increasing tones of a trumpet, are the signal of the approaching CHRIST.

Rise first—This does not mean the first of two resurrections; but first and before we which are alive are changed. First and then in the next verse are correlatives.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For; assigning a reason for the above assertion, "because." The Lord himself; not merely the Lord as the chief Person and Actor on that day, in contrast to his saints, but emphatic, the Lord himself," the Lord in his own proper Person. Shall descend from heaven; where the crucified and risen Jesus is now enthroned, seated at the right hand of God. With a shout; a word denoting a commanding shout as that of a leader to his host when he leads them into the battle, or of the army when it rushes to the fight. Some refer this shout to what follows the voice of the archangel and the trump of God; but there are three particulars here mentioned. Others attribute it to Christ himself. With the voice of the archangel; or rather, of an archangel. There is only one archangel mentioned in Scripture; (Jud_1:9) the word denotes, not "chief angel," but "chief or ruler of the angels." Accordingly, same suppose that Christ himself is here meant, as to him alone, it is asserted, does this title belong; but the Lord and the archangel are here evidently distinguished. Others strangely imagine that the Holy Ghost is here meant. Others fix on the archangel Michael. (Jud_1:9) Christ is represented as accompanied by angels to the judgment; and it is futile to inquire who this leader of the angels is. And the trump of God; even as the trumpet sounded at the giving of the Law from Sinai. Also the advent of Christ to judgment is represented as heralded by the sound of a trumpet (Mat_24:31; 1Co_15:51, 1Co_15:52) "We are to recognize three particulars, following each other in rapid succession the commanding shout of the King himself, the voice of the archangel summoning the other angels, and the trump of God which awakens the dead and collects believers" (Riggen-bach). And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Some suppose that the reference here is to the first resurrection; that the righteous, "the dead in Christ," shall rise before the wicked, "the dead not in Christ;" and that a thousand years, or the millennium, will intervene between the first and second resurrections. (Rev_20:4, Rev_20:5) But this is an entirely erroneous supposition. All that is here asserted is that the dead in Christ shall rise before the living in Christ shall be changed; there is no contrast between the dead in Christ and the dead not in Christ, nor any allusion to the resurrection of the wicked.

Vers. 16-18.

The order of events at the second advent.

The apostle justifies his statement by a fuller revelation of the truth. He sets forth the order of events.

I THE DESCENT OF THE LORD FROM HEAVEN. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God.

1. It will be a descent of our personal Lord. "No phantom, no providential substitute, no vicarious spirit;" the same Person that ascended is he that will descend

2. It will be a descent with awe-inspiring accompaniments.

(1) With a signal shout" by the Lord himself, which will be taken up and prolonged by

(2) "the voice of the archangel;" for he is to come, "bringing with him all the holy angels"; (Mat_25:31) and

(3) "the trump of God," for "the trumpet shall sound", (1Co_15:52) and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet". (Mat_24:31) It is God"s trumpet because employed in his heavenly service. It will be the sound of a literal trumpet, like that which was heard upon Sinai. (Exo_19:16, Exo_19:19) These various sounds are to herald the descent of the Lord, and to gather the elect together from the four winds of heaven.

II THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD SAINTS. "And the dead in Christ shall rise first." There is no allusion to the resurrection of the wicked. The apostle is concerned at present with the destinies and glories of a single class. So far from the sainted dead being overlooked, the priority of resurrection is to belong to them.

III THE CHANGE OF THE LIVING SAINTS. This wonderful transformation is here rather implied than asserted. "For we shall not all die, but we shall be changed". (1Co_15:51)

IV THE SIMULTANEOUS ASSUMPTION OF BOTH CLASSES OF SAINTS. "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.

1. As one united band, the saints, in spiritualized bodies, will be caught up in clouds those "clouds which are his chariot just as he himself ascended "in a cloud," and "a cloud received him out of their sight". (Act_1:9) The new bodies of believers will be able to pass with ease through the air.

2. The saints will then meet the Lord in the air not in heaven as he leaves it, nor in earth as he approaches it, but between heaven and earth. The apostle does not say whether they will at once descend to earth and return with him to heaven. He is silent upon the question of the judgment or the entry into final glory.

V THE PERPETUAL RESIDENCE OF THE SAINTS WITH THE LORD. "And so shall we ever be with the Lord.

1. It will be a meeting without a parting. The intercourse begun will have an endless duration. Believers shall "go no more out.

2. It implies an intimate fellowship with the Lord.

3. It will be the fulfillment of our Lords prayer: "That they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory". (Joh_17:24)

VI THE CONSOLATORY INFLUENCE OF ALL THESE TRUTHS. "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Chase away your sorrow; the dead are not lost or forgotten; they shall share in the glories of the advent. There was surely deep and lasting consolation in such truths. T.C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

With a shout - Properly, a proclamation made to a great multitude. Above this is, the voice of the archangel; above both, the trumpet of God; the voice of God, somewhat analogous to the sound of a trumpet.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

These words give us the assurance of the certaninty of Christ’s second coming, and of the solemn manner of it, and of the consequence of it.

Observe, 1. The certainty of our Lord’s coming; the Lord himself shall descend from heaven; that is, the Lord Jesus, the Mediator; he will not depute an angel, but descend himself to finish that last part of his mediatorial office. Christ will come personally, for the judgment will be managed visibly; and for the recompense of his abasement, it is requisite that he that was judged by the world, should come and judge the world. Reason says, he may come and judge the world, for he made it; faith says, he must and shall come to judge the world, for he has promised it, Joh 14:2. Let us then keep up our faith, and our faith will keep up our hearts.

Observe, 2. The awful and solemn manner of our Lord’s coming, and that is threefold:

1. He shall descend with a shout; the original word signifies such a shout as is heard among seamen when they descry the haven, and with united voices cry out, "A shore, a shore."

2. With the voice of an archangel; probable it is, that Christ himself shall give the word of command, both to the quick and dead, to appear before him, and that this command shall be proclaimed by an archangel.

3. With the trump of God: the angel’s proclamation shall be confirmed by sound of a trumpet, which will be heard far and near, even by those who are in the graves, and in the depth of the sea.

Learn hence, that our Lord’s second coming at the great day, to judge the quick and the dead, shall be attended with such solemnity, that all the terror, majesty, and dreadful reverence, which has been ever seen upon the earth, shall fall infinitely short of it. Great was the terror on Mount Sinai, at the giving of the law, but far greater will the terror be at the day of judgment; when Christ comes to punish the transgressors of that law, and the disobeyers of his gospel.

Observe, 3. The blessed consequence of his coming, namely, the resurrection of his saints: the dead in Christ shall rise first; the saints shall rise with the very same bodies which they laid down in the grave; and they shall rise first, that is, before those who are alive shall be changed: though it is very probable that there will be no considerable difference of time between the glorification of the raised saints, and those that are alive at Christ’s coming, yet it seems evident that the dead saints shall be raised, and in their bodies be glorified, before them that are alive shall be changed.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God ["Himself" shows that the Lord will not come by messenger, or by representative, but in person. Paul does not describe any of the convulsions of nature which accompany the advent ( 2Pe_3:10 ; Rev_20:11 ); but he mentions three sounds which will accompany it, for these have to do with the resurrection which he now has under discussion. The shout of Christ the King is the signal that the awful moment has arrived. Immediately after it the voice of the archangel is heard summoning the other angels to the performance of their duty; viz.: the gathering of the saints ( Mat_24:31 ; Mar_13:27 ), which are just being roused from the slumber of death by the trumpet of God. The word "archangel" is also used at Jud_1:9 ; where we are told that the archangel's name is Michael. It is used nowhere else in Scripture, and there is no hint that there is an order or class of archangels. Michael is the chief or ruler of all the angels ( Rev_12:7 ). The trumpet is called "trump of God," because it heralds the approach of God, and summons the people to meet him ( Exo_19:16-19 ). There is no hint as to who blows this trumpet, though it is mentioned several times-- 1Co_15:52 ]: and the dead in Christ shall rise first ;

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

16. For the Lord himself. They seemed to have thought that the living saints would hurry to meet the Lord, and that the dead would be powerless to follow. On the contrary, Christ comes to them. He will descend. With a shout. The voice of an archangel. The voice of command. With the trump of God. The trumpet blast as a signal and a summons. The dead in Christ shall rise first. Before the living are gathered, all the saints who slept in Christ shall be gathered around him. In the final day, the first act is the gathering of the departed saints; the next, the gathering of the living saints.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

the Lord himself will descend

"the Lord himself will come down"

the archangel

"the chief angel"

the dead in Christ will rise first

The "dead in Christ" are those believers who have passed away. AT: "those who believe in Jesus Christ, but who have already died, will rise first" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

we who are alive

Here "we" refers to all believers who have not died. (See: Inclusive "We")

with them

The word "them" refers to the dead believers who were made alive again.

caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air

"meet the Lord Jesus in the sky"

translationWords

lord

heaven

angel

God

die

Christ

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

16. πρωτον: D*G and many Fathers, πρωτοι; latt. vg, primi.

16. ὅτι αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ἐν κελεύσματι, ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου καὶ ἐν σάλπιγγι θεοῦ, καταβήσεται ἀπʼ οὐρανοῦ. For the Lord Himself with a shout-of-command, with the archangel’s voice and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven; cf. 1Th 1:10 (and note); Act 1:11. Αὐτὸς ὸ κύριος: “in His personal august presence” (Ellicott); cf. 1Th 3:11, 1Th 5:23; 2Th 2:16; 2Th 3:16, for this kind of emphasis,—particularly frequent in these Epistles. In each context the “grandis sermo” (Bengel) indicates the majesty with which “the Lord,” or “God,” rises above human doings and desires.

The three prepositional adjuncts prefixed to καταβήσεται depict the Lord’s descent from heaven under the sense of its Divine grandeur. In this κατάβασις the κοιμώμενοι are to participate: how glorious, then, how far from sorrowful their lot! Ἐν is the preposition of “attendant circumstance” (Lightf.); cf. 2Th 1:8; 2Th 2:9 f. (see notes): its repetition adds vividness and rhetorical force; the second and third particulars, apparently, explicate the first. We must not look for literal exactness where realities are described beyond the reach of sense. The three phrases may express a single idea, that of “the voice of the Son of God” by which the dead will be called forth (see Joh 5:25-29), His “command” being expressed by an “archangel’s voice,” and that again constituting the “trumpet of God.” Christ predicted His return attended by “angels” (Mat 25:31; cf. 2Th 1:7); and the Divine “voices” of the Apocalypse are constantly uttered by “an angel,” or “mighty angel” (Rev 5:2; Rev 7:2, &c.). In the same Book, voice and trumpet are identified in the description of the glorified Son of Man: “I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet talking with me” (Rev 1:10; Rev 1:12; Rev 4:1); cf. Mat 24:31, “He shall send forth His angels with a trumpet of great voice.” In 1Co 15:52 the whole accompaniment is gathered into one word, σαλπίσει (impersonal). This vein of description, in its vocabulary and colouring, is derived from the Theophanies and Apocalyptic of the Old Testament: see Exo 19:11; Exo 19:13; Exo 19:16 ff.; Deu 33:2; Joe 2:1; Mic 1:3; Zec 9:14; Isa 27:13; Psa 18:9-11; Psa 47:5.

Κέλευσμα (hap. leg. in N.T.; Pro 24:6 [Pro 30:27], LXX; see Lightfoot’s illustrations from classical Greek) is the “word of command” or “signal”—the shout with which an officer gives the order to his troops or a captain to his crew. Such “command” he might utter either by “voice”—his own or another’s—or through a “trumpet”; the “archangel” in this imagery stands by the Lord’s side as the σαλπιγκτής beside his general, to transmit His κέλευσμα. The σάλπιγξ is the military trumpet of the Lord of Hosts, mustering His array; cf. 1Th 5:8, with its “breastplate” and “helmet” (see note). “As a commander rouses his sleeping soldiers, so the Lord calls up His dead, and bids them shake off the fetters of the grave and rise anew to waking life” (Hofmann); cf. with this, in view of the words ἄξει σὺν αὐτῷ of 1Th 4:14, the scene imagined in Rev 19:14 and its context.

Φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου (not τῇ φωνῇ τοῦ ἀρχαγγ., as though some known angelic chief were intended) is added in explanation of ἐν κελεύσματι, and to indicate the majesty and power of the summons. This is the earliest example of the title ἀρχάγγελος. In Jud 1:9 we read of “Michael the archangel”—an expression probably based on the Greek of Dan 12:1, Μιχαὴλ ὁ ἄγγελος (ἄρχων) ὁ μέγας; cf. Rev 12:7. Ranked with Michael was Gabriel, the angel of comfort and good tidings in Dan 8:16; Dan 9:21, and Luk 1:19; Luk 1:26. The military tenor of this context suggests Michael. Next to these two, amongst the seven chief angels recognized in Jewish teaching, stood Raphael, “the affable archangel” (Milton); cf. Tob 12:15. St Paul doubtless ranked the ἀρχάγγελοι amongst his heavenly ἀρχαί: cf. Rom 8:38; Eph 1:21; Eph 3:10; Col 1:16; Col 2:10; Col 2:15. See the articles on Angel in Hastings’ Dict. of the Bible and Smith’s Dict. of Christian Antiquities.

καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ ἐν Χριστῷ ἀναστήσονται πρῶτον, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Οἱ νεκροὶ ἐν Χριστῷ are οἱ κοιμηθέντες διὰ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ of 1Th 4:14 (see note)—this phrase defining their present situation as “the dead,” that their past experience in dying. Being “in Christ” (cf. notes on the ἐν of 1Th 1:1 and 1Th 4:1; and see Winer-Moulton, p. 486, note 3), nothing can part them from Him,—death no more than life (Rom 8:38 f.). Οἱ νεκροὶ ἐν Χριστῷ forms a single idea in this context; hence οἱ is not repeated: see Winer-Moulton, p. 169. “Will rise first”—not before the other dead rise, as though theirs were a select and separate resurrection of the élite (cf. Joh 5:28 f.), but before “the living” saints are “caught up to meet the Lord” (1Th 4:17): πρῶτον is antithetical to ἔπειτα ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες.

1Th 4:17 resumes in its subject, under the aforesaid antithesis, the ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες οἱ περιλειπόμενοι of 1Th 4:15 (see notes above). For πρῶτον—ἔπειτα, apposing things consecutive either in time or in importance, cf. 1Co 12:28; 1Co 15:46; 1Ti 3:10; Mar 4:28; Jas 3:17.

ἅμα σὺν αὐτοῖς ἁρπαγησόμεθα ἐν νεφέλαις, together with them will be caught up in (the) clouds. Ἅμα σὺν αὐτοῖς bears the stress of the sentence, explaining definitely the οὐ μὴ φθάσωμεν of 1Th 4:15, which formed the central word of the λόγος κυρίου; cf. ἐπισυναγωγή, 2Th 2:1 (see note). The combination ἅμα σύν, denoting full association (una cum; rather than simul cum, Vulg.), recurs in 1Th 5:10, where, as here, the temporal sense of ἅμα is inappropriate; cf. Rom 3:12, 1Ti 5:13, Act 24:26, in which passages ἅμα signifies not simultaneity but conjunction: “we the living shall join their company, who are already with the Lord.”

Ἁρπάζω implies a sudden, irresistible force: “we shall be seized, snatched up … into the air”; cf. 2Co 12:2; 2Co 12:4 (of St Paul’s rapture into the third heaven); Mat 11:12; Mat 13:19; Act 8:39; Rev 12:5. Ἐν νεφέλαις, not “into” but “amid clouds,”—surrounding and upbearing the rapt “like a triumphal chariot” (Grotius). Christ Himself, and the angels at His ascension, spoke of His coming thus attended (Mat 24:30; Mat 26:64; Act 1:9 ff.; cf. Rev 1:7; Rev 10:1; Rev 11:12; Rev 14:14 ff.). The Transfiguration gave an earnest of Christ’s heavenly glory, when “a bright cloud overshadowed” those who were with Him, and “a voice” spake “out of the cloud” (Mat 17:5). There is something wonderful and mystical about the clouds,—half of heaven and half of earth; their ethereal drapery supplies the curtain and canopy of this glorious meeting.

The raising of the living bodies of the saints along with the risen dead implies a physical transformation of the former; this the Apostle sets forth later in 1Co 15:50 ff.: “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,” &c. (cf. 2Co 5:1-4; Php 3:21). Some mysterious change came upon the sacred body of Jesus at His resurrection, for it was emancipated from the ordinary laws of matter. Such a metamorphosis St Paul seems to have conceived as possible without dissolution.

Ἁρπαγησόμεθα is qualified further by two εἰς-clauses of direction: εἰς ἀπάντησιν τοῦ κυρίου, εἰς ἀέρα, to meet the Lord, into (the) air. “The air,” like the “clouds,” belongs to the interspace between the heaven from which Christ comes and the earth which He visits. He is represented as met by His Church, which does not wait till He sets foot on earth, but ascends to greet Him. The somewhat rare (Hebraistic?) idiom εἰς ἀπάντησιν (cf. לקְרַאת הָאֱלֹהִים, Exo 19:17) is found in Mat 25:1 (ὑπάντησιν), 6, with reference to the Virgins of Christ’s parable, “going forth to meet the Bridegroom”; our Lord’s words are running in the writer’s mind. This prepositional phrase occurs with the dative in Act 28:15. Chrysostom finely says: καὶ γὰρ βασίλεως εἰς πόλιν εἰσελαύνοντος, οἱ μὲν ἔντιμοι πρὸς ἀπάντησιν ἐξίασιν· καὶ πατρὸς φιλοστόργου παραγινομένου, οἱ μὲν παῖδες καὶ ἄξιοι παῖδες εἶναι ἐπʼ ὀχήματος ἐξάγονται, ὥστε ἰδεῖν καὶ καταφιλῆσαι … ἐπὶ τοῦ ὀχήματος τοῦ πατρὸς φερόμεθα … ἐν νεφέλαις ἁρπαγησόμεθα· ὁρᾷς τὴν τιμὴν ὅσην καὶ τὴν ἀπάντησιν καταβαίνοντι ποιούμεθα· καὶ τὸ πάντων μακαριώτερον, οὔτω σὺν αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα. Whether St Paul imagined that after this meeting Christ and His people would return to earth, or move upwards to heaven, he does not indicate.

καὶ οὕτως πάντοτε σὺν κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα, and so we shall be always with the Lord. This last word of consolation addressed to the sorrowing bereaved of Thessalonica, includes their sleeping beloved with themselves. Toward this conception of future happiness St Paul’s mind gravitates, rising clear of all images of place and circumstance in its view of the state of the departed and the glory of the redeemed: cf., to the like effect, 1Th 5:10; 2Th 2:1; Rom 8:17; Rom 8:39; 2Co 5:8; Eph 2:6; Col 3:1-4; Php 1:23; 2Ti 4:18; also Joh 12:26; Joh 14:3; Joh 17:24; Act 7:59; 1Jn 3:2; Rev 22:4. “The entire content and worth of heaven, the entire blessedness of life eternal, is for Paul embraced in the one thought of being united with Jesus, his Saviour and Lord” (Bornemann).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16.] A reason of the foregoing assertion, by detailing the method of the resurrection. Because—(not ‘that,’so as to be parallel with ὅτι before, as Koch) the Lord Himself (not, as De W., ‘He, the Lord’—which would be to the last degree flat and meaningless;—nor as Olsh., ‘the Lord Himself,’ in contrast to any other kind of revelation:—nor as Lünem., as the chief Person and actor in that day, emphatically opposed to His faithful ones as acted on,—but said for solemnity’s sake, and to shew that it will not be a mere gathering to Him, but He Himself will descend, and we all shall be summoned before Him) with (‘in,’ as the element,—the accompanying circumstance) a signal-shout (κέλευσμα is not only ‘the shout of battle,’ as Conyb.; but is used of any signal given by the voice, whether of a captain to his rowers, Thuc. ii. 92: of a man shouting to another at a distance, Herod. iv. 141: of a huntsman to his dogs, Xen. Cyneg. vi. 20. Here it seems to include in it the two which follow and explain it), viz. with the voice of an archangel (Christ shall be surrounded with His angels, Mat 25:31 al. To enquire, which archangel, is futile: to understand the word of Christ Himself (Ambrst., Olsh.) or the Holy Spirit (al.), impossible), and with the trumpet of God (θεοῦ as in reff., the trumpet especially belonging to and used in the heavenly state of God; not commanded by God (Pelt, Olsh., al.),—nor does θεοῦ import size or loudness (Bengel, al.), although these qualities of course are understood. On the trumpet as summoning assemblies, cf. Num 10:2; Num 31:6; Joe 2:1:—as accompanying the divine appearances, Exo 19:16; Psa 47:5; lsa. 27:13; Zec 9:14; Mat 24:31; 1Co 15:52) shall descend from heaven (cf. Act 1:11): and the dead in Christ (ἐν χρ. must not, as Pelt, Schott, be joined with ἀναστήσονται: for apart from the question whether this would give any admissible meaning, it would bring ἐν χριστῷ into an emphatic position of prominence, which would confuse the whole sentence) shall first rise (πρῶτον has no reference whatever to the first resurrection (Rev 20:5, Rev 20:6), here, for only the Lord’s people are here in question: but answers to ἔπειτα below: first, the dead in Christ shall rise: then, we, &c.): then we who are living, who remain (as above) shall be caught up (reff.: the great change spoken of 1Co 15:52, having first suddenly taken place) all together (see Rom 3:12, ch. 5:10 note: ἅμα does not belong to σὺν αὐτοῖς) with them (the raised of ver. 16) in (the) clouds (ἔδειξε τὸ μέγεθος τῆς τιμῆς· ὥσπερ γὰρ αὐτὸς ὁ δεσπότης ἐπὶ νεφελῆς φωτεινῆς ἀνελήφθη, οὕτω καὶ οἱ εἰς αὐτὸν πεπιστευκότες … ἐπὶ νεφελῶν ὀχούμενοι ὑπαντήσους. τῷ τῶν ὅλων κριτῇ … Thdrt.) to meet the Lord (as He descends: so Aug. de civit. Dei xx. 20. 2, vol. vii. p. 688: ‘non sic accipiendum est tanquam in aëre nos dixerit semper cum Domino mansuros, quia nec ipse utique ibi manebit, quia veniens transiturus est, venienti quippe itur obviam, non manenti.’ Christ is on His way to this earth: and when De W. says that there is no plain trace in St. Paul of Christ’s kingdom on earth,—and Lün., that the words shew that the Apostle did not think of Christ as descending down to the earth, surely they cannot suppose him to have been so ignorant of O. T. prophecy, as to have allowed this, its plain testimony, to escape him. εἰς ἀπάντησιν occurs (reff.) twice more in the N. T., and each time implies meeting one who was approaching—not merely ‘meeting with’ a person) into the air (belongs to ἁρπαγησόμεθα, not to εἰς ἀπ. τοῦ κυρ. as in E. V.), and thus we (i.e. we and they united, ἡμεῖς ἅμα, σὺν αὐτοῖς, who were the subject of the last sentence) shall be always with the Lord. That he advances no further in the prophetic description, but breaks off at our union in Christ’s presence, is accounted for, by his purpose being accomplished, in having shewn that they who have died in Christ, shall not be thereby deprived of any advantage at His coming. The rest of the great events of that time—His advent on this earth, His judgment of it, assisted by His saints (1Co 6:2, 1Co 6:3),—His reign upon earth,—His final glorification with His redeemed in heaven,—are not treated here, but not therefore to be conceived of as alien from the Apostle’s teaching.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16. ὅτι αὐτὸς ὁ κύριο. With ὅτ “because,” parallel to γά (v. 15; cf. 2:14), the word of the Lord summarised in v. 15 is explained and elaborated. The point of the Pauline phrase αὐτὸς ὁ κύριο (cf. 3:11) is apparently that the very Jesus under whose control the believers stand in life, at death (τοὺς κοιμηθέντας δια, v. 14), and from death to resurrection (οἱ νεκποὶ ἐν Χριστῷ), and whose indwelling spiritually guarantees their resurrection, is the Lord who at the resurrection functions as the apocalyptic Messiah.

ἐν κελεύσματι κτλ. The descent of the Lord from heaven is characterised by three clauses with ἐ Unlike the three disconnected clauses with ἐ in 1Co 15:52, the second and third are here joined by και, a fact suggesting that these two clauses are in some sense an epexegesis of the first. “At a command, namely, at an archangel’s voice and at a trumpet of God.” Precisely what Paul has in mind is uncertain. It is conceivable that God who raises the dead (v. 14), or Christ the agent in resurrection, commands the archangel Michael to arouse the dead; and that this command is executed at once by the voice of the archangel who speaks to the dead (cf. 1Co 15:52) through a divine trumpet. But whatever the procedure in detail may be, the point is clear that at the descent of the Lord from heaven, the dead are raised first of all, and then the survivors and the risen dead are together and simultaneously (ἅμα σύ) snatched up and carried by means of clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

Kabisch (Die Eschatologie des Paulus, 1893, 231) thinks that God gives a command to Christ and that the archangel is only the messenger, the voice which God makes use of (cf. Kennedy, Last Things, 190). Teichmann (Die paulinischen Vorstellungen von Auferstehung und Gericht, 1896, 23) imagines that Christ on his way to earth commands the dead (who through the cry of the archangel and the blowing of the trumpet of God are awakened from their slumber) really to arise. Paul’s statement, however, is general; how far he would subscribe to the precise procedure read into his account from extant Jewish or Christian sources, no one knows.

Most commentators agree with Stähelin (J. d. Th. 1874, 189) in taking the ἐ of attendant circumstance as in 1Co 4:21; but it may mean “at the time of” as in 1Co 15:52 ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ σάλπιγγι, κέλευσμ, found in Gk. Bib. here and Pr. 24:62, is used classically (cf. Wetstein, ad loc.) in various applications, the command of a χελευστή to his rowers, of an officer to his men, of a hunter to his dogs, etc. Ell. quotes Philo (de praem et poen. 19) as using it of God’s assembling the saints. The σάλπιγ, like other touches in the description, appears in the account of the theophany on Mt. Horeb (Exo 19:16-19; cf. Briggs, Messiah of the Apostles, 88); here the trumpet, as in 1Co 15:52, is used not to marshal the hosts of heaven, or to assemble the saints (Mat 24:31, which adds to Mark μετὰ σάλπιγγος μεγάλη; Bengel says: tuba Dei adeoque magna), but to raise the dead.—The ἀρχάγγελο (in Gk. Bib. only here and Jud 1:9) may be Michael as in Jude; cf. Eth. En. 9:1, 20:6. On Michael, see Lueken, Der Erzengel Michael; Bousset, Relig 2 374 ff.; Everling (op. cit. 79 ff.) and Dibelius, Die Geisterwelt, etc. 32 ff.

καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ ἐν Χριστῷ κτλ. With και of simple narration, the results of the descent of the Lord are stated; first (πρῶτο) the resurrection of the dead saints, which removes their disadvantage by putting them on a level with the living; and then (ἔπειτ, v. 17), the rapture of both the risen dead and the survivors, presumably in changed, transformed, redeemed bodies (1Co 15:51, Php 3:21, Rom 8:23), to meet the Lord in the air. Striking here is it that Paul says not simply ἀναστήσονται οἱ νεκροι (Isa 26:19) but οἱ νεκροὶ ἐν Χριστῷ This phrase designates not “those who died in Christ” (1Co 15:18) but “the dead who are in Christ”; and intimates, without defining precisely the condition of the believers in the intermediate state, that as in life and at death so from death to the Parousia, the believer is under the control of the indwelling Christ or Spirit. This indwelling spiritual Christ, whose presence in the believer guarantees his resurrection, is also the very enthroned (Rom 8:34) Lord himself (ὅτι αὐτὸς ὁ κύριο) who comes down from heaven to raise the dead.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The word of the Lord, ver. 15, is apparently not intended to include the specific details which follow. In that word the revelation was to the effect that all believers simultaneously should share the blessings of the advent. The following description of the Lord 's descent from heaven is intended to emphasise the fact that the reunion of dead and living believers will be accomplished by the Lord in person [αυτος] . %Oti does not indicate the contents of the word of the Lord (that, as A. V.), but means for or because; and the details are meant to strengthen the more general declaration of ver. 15. In the details themselves there are traces of certain O. T. theophanies, as Exo 19:11 - 18; Mic 1:3. 2 7 Shall descend from heaven. Used nowhere else of Christ 's second coming. Frequently in the Fourth Gospel, of Christ 's descent to earth as man. See 1Th 3:13; 1Th 6:33, 38, 41, etc. In Eph 4:9, of his descent by the Spirit in order to endow the church.

With a shout [εν κελευσματι] . N. T. o. Once in LXX, Pro 24:6 2 (English Bib 30:27). From keleuein to summon. Often in Class. Lit. a shout of command, as of a general to his army, an admiral to his oarsmen, or a charioteer to his horses.

Archangel [αρχαγγελου] . Only here and Jude 1:9. Not in O. T. The Pauline angelology shows traces of Rabbinical teachings in the idea of orders of angels. See Eph 1:21; Col 1:16; Rom 8:38. The archangels appear in the apocryphal literature. In the Book of Enoch (see on Jude 1:14) four are named, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel. Michael is set over the tree which, at the time of the great judgment, will be given over to the righteous and humble, and from the fruit of which life will be given to the elect. In Tob. 12 15, Raphael appears as one of the seven holy angels. Comp. Rev 8:2. See also on Jude 1:9, and comp. Dan 12:1. 28

With the trump of God [εν σαλπιγγι θεου] . For the trumpet heralding great manifestations of God, see Exo 19:13, 16; Psa 47:5; Isa 27:13; Zec 9:14; ZEph 1:16; Joe 2:1; Mt 24:31; 1Co 14:52; Rev 1:10; Rev 4:1. Of God does not indicate the size or loudness of the trumpet, but merely that it is used in God 's service. Comp. harps of God, Rev 14:2; musical instruments of God, 1Ch 16:42. The later Jews believed that God would use a trumpet to raise the dead.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.