QUESTION

ANSWER

By: Peter Rasor

What do you think about 1 Thess. 4:16-17? Does this refer to the second coming of Christ?

I believe that 1 Thess. 4:16-17 certainly speaks of the second coming. We should note, however, what the text says about it.

First, everyone will be aware of it: "the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a SHOUT," "the VOICE of an archangel," and "with the TRUMPET of God" (v.16). A shout, voice, and trumpet are things that clearly indicate perceptual phenomena. In other words, everyone will know when Christ returns. This is contrary to the popular "secret rapture" theory as put forth by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins in their popular ficitonal literary series "Left Behind." This view says that Christians will be secretly taken away before the seven years of Great Tribulation. But the idea of Christ returning secretly for believers is entirely undercut by what is taught here in v.16. It is difficult to imagine how anyone is going to miss the Lord's shout, the voice of an archangel, and the trumpet of God. These do not have any resemblance to something kept hidden, or secret.

Second, when Christ returns he will resurrect first those Christians who have already died. As the last part of v.16 states, "The dead in Christ will rise first." The word "first" is in reference to the idea that these deceased Christians will be resurrected before those Christians who are still alive when Christ returns. This is substantiated by v.17 (see the following paragraph). There is no reason to assume that the word "first" infers an entirely different resurrection--one of unbelievers to occur at a later time--as many "Left Behind" teachers espouse. The term "first" is in reference to the sequence of resurrection of ALL Christians at the second coming--those who are dead and those who are alive at Christ's return.

Of course, the point of the passage is v.17, which indicates what will happen to those Christians who are still present on earth (i.e., have not died) at the time of Christ's return. "We who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." Christians who are upon the earth at Christ's return will simply be changed "in the twinkling of an eye," as Paul teaches in 1 Cor. 15:52, and be caught up in the air with Christ. The "change" that will take place is the transformation of the Christian's physical body--it will be glorified and made into one that will no longer be inhabited, or affected, by sin (see Paul's thorough teaching on this in 1 Cor. 15). The body will no longer be susceptible to death, disease, or decay.

1 Thess. 4:16-17, then, teaches that everyone will know when Christ returns and that those Christians who have already died will be resurrected first, followed by those Christians who are still alive. The resurrection of Christians who have already died and the resurrection of those who remain alive both occur at Christ's second coming. There is no "secret rapture," and there is no resurrection for belivers that is followed later by another resurrection of unbelievers, as taught by "Left Behind" theorists. There is only ONE resurrection event. 1 Thess. 4:16-17 is simply discussing the resurrection of Christians.