1 Thessalonians 4:15 15For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive who remain until the appearing of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
Paul, Silas, and Timothy now speak by the word of the Lord. How they received this revelation is not stated here. Jesus taught his disciples about his second coming (Matthew 24). It is obvious that this topic was important in the early church. The inclusion of this statement adds authority to what follows. The early apostles were given special revelation into the end times. This revelation could have been passed down from Jesus through the apostles or possibly through special revelation. Paul claimed to have received both types of revelation (1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Galatians 1:12).
Paul uses the word the appearing (parousia) in an eschatological sense for Jesus’ second coming only in the Thessalonian correspondence in 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 8-9, and 1 Corinthians 15:23. Theologians have adopted the transliterated Greek word into English as a technical word for the second coming of Jesus. The return of Jesus has been a hope of believers ever since Acts 1:11 when the angels promised the disciples, “This same Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
The specific details of how Jesus will return are scattered throughout the New Testament. This passage provides some insights not given in other texts but is consistent with them. Verse 15 suggests an order to the events. Those who have fallen asleep, again, referring to deceased believers throughout the ages called the dead in Christ in verse 16, will rise from the dead first. Second, we who are alive will join them. Those who rise first are in Christ, a reference to them being Christians. There is no time frame between these events. By adding this idea here, Paul provides comfort to the Thessalonians that they need not fear about the outcome of those who have died.
Resurrection was a central topic to Paul’s preaching, as indicated in 1 Corinthians 15. But it was also a teaching that could be easily misunderstood, especially in the pluralistic cultures of the Roman Empire that had many beliefs about life after death. We will have some type of bodily existence upon resurrection. The new body will be recognizable but not bound by sin, death, or decay. In that sense, it is not fleshly, like our current bodies. We can only imagine what this new existence will be like. Paul’s words here echo one of the great hopes of Christians throughout the ages.
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