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The Hope of the Resurrection

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died[a] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.[b] 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died[c] will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:13 Greek those who have fallen asleep; also in 4:14.
  2. 4:15 Greek those who have fallen asleep.
  3. 4:16 Greek the dead in Christ.

The Comfort of Christ’s Coming

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen [a]asleep, lest you sorrow (A)as others (B)who have no hope. 14 For (C)if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him (D)those who [b]sleep in Jesus.

15 For this we say to you (E)by the word of the Lord, that (F)we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are [c]asleep. 16 For (G)the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with (H)the trumpet of God. (I)And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 (J)Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them (K)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus (L)we shall always be with the Lord. 18 (M)Therefore comfort one another with these words.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 Died
  2. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 Or through Jesus sleep
  3. 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Dead

The Comfort of Christ’s Coming

13 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.(A) 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose(B) again,(C) in the same way, through Jesus,(D) God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For we say this to you by a word from the Lord:(E) We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming(F) will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.(G) 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout,[a](H) with the archangel’s(I) voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ(J) will rise first. 17 Then(K) we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds(L) to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage[b] one another with these words.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:16 Or command
  2. 4:18 Or comfort

Believers Who Have Died

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed(A) about those who sleep in death,(B) so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.(C) 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again,(D) and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.(E) 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,(F) will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.(G) 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,(H) with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel(I) and with the trumpet call of God,(J) and the dead in Christ will rise first.(K) 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left(L) will be caught up together with them in the clouds(M) to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord(N) forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another(O) with these words.

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What a beautiful, dramatic transformation! This is Paul’s progression from spoon-feeding people better moral choices to trusting them to live by love according to the conviction of the Spirit, their guide to becoming active participants in the kingdom of God. Paul is acknowledging that there is a power at work that is much greater than his pen. In fact, the same Spirit that inspires Paul’s words in these letters is teaching the believers in Thessalonica to live as true believers and teaches us still today.

13 Brothers and sisters, we want you to be fully informed about those who have fallen asleep in death so that you will not be overwhelmed with grief like those who live outside of the true hope. 14 Here’s what we believe: since Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, God will bring with Jesus all who have died through Him. 15 For we can say all this to you confidently because it is the word of the Lord: we who are still alive and left behind when the Lord comes will not precede those who have fallen asleep in death. 16 On that day, with a command that thunders into the world, with a voice of a chief heavenly messenger, and with a blast of God’s trumpet, the Lord Himself will descend from heaven; and all those who died in the Anointed One, our Liberating King, will rise from the dead first. 17 Then we who are alive and left behind will be snatched up together with them into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. This is how we, the resurrected and the living, will be with Him forever. 18 So comfort one another with this hope, and encourage one another with these words.

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