1 Thessalonians 4:14-16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep.(A) 15 Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,[a] will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.(B) 16 For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.(C)
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- 4:15 Coming of the Lord: Paul here assumes that the second coming, or parousia, will occur within his own lifetime but insists that the time or season is unknown (1 Thes 5:1–2). Nevertheless, the most important aspect of the parousia for him was the fulfillment of union with Christ. His pastoral exhortation focuses first on hope for the departed faithful, then (1 Thes 5:1–3) on the need of preparedness for those who have to achieve their goal.
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