1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

All Saints Sunday

The Coming of the Lord

Verse 16-18: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” 

This is a portion of one of the many letters written by Paul. "The Journey" bible states that this one was written to believers who were "faithfully living Christ-centered lives in the midst of incredible cultural pressure to do otherwise." Does that sound familiar or what?!

This bible also states the central ideas in 1st and 2nd Thessalonians:

-Christ's spirit helps believers to remain strong in the midst of cultural opposition.

-Paul gives his readers guidelines for living Christ-centered lives.

-Christ will one day return to earth.

-If we trust in Christ, we will live with Him forever. 

This reading reminds us once again, of the promise of our God. A promise that is unimaginably large, and too spectacular to forego, yet is missed out on every day because the guaranteed pleasure of today is more satisfying than what tomorrow might bring. 

As we imagine that glorious day when our God returns, we envision where our place will be in the grand scheme of things and hope to be near our loved ones. We must also remember those who have gone before us and what this day will mean for them.

All Saints Day is a universal Christian Feast that honors and remembers all Christian Saints, known and unknown. I love that statement, because who is it that truly proclaims one a saint? There have to be multitudes of God’s warriors here on this earth over time, who humbly earned the status of saint, yet went completely unnoticed by man. To all of you we sincerely say; Thank You. Rise triumphant, in bright array! 

Read/Listen to 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18