1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 - Comfort in His Return

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

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

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

We have comfort in knowing that Christ is coming back to judge the world (Psalm 9:8, Acts 17:31) and setup His eternal kingdom on earth with us before His face at last (Job 19:26-27)!  Yes, we understand that all who die in Christ have the same hope as we do, having the assurance of Jesus brining all with Him including those already dead and we who are not yet in the grave.  What a blessed hope of this assurance to meet the Lord in the air at His coming when He arrives to bring us all home at last!  He will descend from heaven as promised (John 3:13, Ephesians 4:10) when He ascended back into heaven where He came down to us as a man after first rising in His resurrection from the grave.  The trumpet of victory in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:52, 57) will blow so loud that everyone will hear His announced return as shouts of joy (Psalm 47:1) resound across the universe as the Lord gathers His chosen elect to Himself (Matthew 24:30-31) in His power and great glory.  We will meet Him from out of de and life to always be in His presence at last.  This is the everlasting comfort of this certain hope (Romans 8:24, Hebrews 6:19) we have whether we die now or later, knowing we live forever in and with Him.   Yes, we have the assurance of comfort in His return because we no longer face the penalty of judgment for our sin since we now are covered in the blood of His sacrifice that has paid the price to buy us back from destruction due to nothing we ourselves have done to escape the presence of sin in the life to come.  This is the grace in which we stand (Romans 5:2, 1 Peter 5:12) and the hope that cannot ever disappoint (Romans 5:5) as we find comfort in these words of promise.  Amen.