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Christian Standard Bible ®
1 Thessalonians 4:15
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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 not precede those who have fallen asleep.
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 not precede those who have fallen asleep.
According to the word of God, any of us who are alive when Jesus rides back will not get to ride in front of those who have made their final ride. We will follow them into eternity, not the other way around.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are still living at the coming of the Lord, will not go before those who are sleeping.
(For this we say to you in [the] word of [the] Lord, that *we*, the living, who remain to the coming of the Lord, are in no way to anticipate those who have fallen asleep;
For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them that are asleep.
For this we declare to you on the Lord's own authority--that we who are alive and continue on earth until the Coming of the Lord, shall certainly not forestall those who shall have previously passed away.
For this we say vnto you by the word of the Lord, That we which are aliue and remaine vnto the comming of the Lord, shall not preuent them which are asleepe.
For we say this to you in the Word of the Lord, that we the living who remain to the coming of the Lord will not at all go before those who have fallen asleep.
For this we saye vnto you in the worde of the LORDE, that we which lyue and are remaynynge in the comynge of the LORDE, shal not come yer they which slepe.
for one thing I have in charge to tell you from the Lord, that we, who shall be found still alive at the coming of the Lord, shall not get the advance of those that are dead:
And then this: We can tell you with complete confidence—we have the Master's word on it—that when the Master comes again to get us, those of us who are still alive will not get a jump on the dead and leave them behind. In actual fact, they'll be ahead of us. The Master himself will give the command. Archangel thunder! God's trumpet blast! He'll come down from heaven and the dead in Christ will rise—they'll go first. Then the rest of us who are still alive at the time will be caught up with them into the clouds to meet the Master. Oh, we'll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words.
For we say this to you by the Lord's [own] word, that we who are still alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede [into His presence] those [believers] who have fallen asleep [in death].
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep.
For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.
And this saye we vnto you in the worde of the Lorde that we which live and are remayninge in the comminge of the Lorde shall not come yerre they which slepe.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left to the coming of the Lord, shall in no way precede those that have fallen asleep.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive [and] remain to the coming of the Lord shall not precede them who are asleep.
for this to you we say in the word of the Lord, that we who are living -- who do remain over to the presence of the Lord -- may not precede those asleep,
What we tell you now is the Lord's own message. We who are living when the Lord comes again will not go before those who have already died.
For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep.
By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.
Our Lord Jesus told us that when he comes, we won't go up to meet him ahead of his followers who have already died.
When we say this, we base it on the Lord's own word: we who remain alive when the Lord comes will certainly not take precedence over those who have died.
For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For this say we vnto you by the worde of the Lorde, that we which liue, and are remayning in the comming of the Lorde, shall not preuent them which sleepe.
For this we say to you by the very word of our LORD, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of our LORD shall not overtake those who are dead.
For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep.
For this we declare 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 have died.1 Kings 13:17-18; 20:35; 1 Corinthians 15:51;">[xr]
15 But this we say to you by the word of our Lord, that we who [fn] remaining at the coming of our Lord, [fn] who [fn] live, will not precede those who have slept.
And this we say to you, by the word of our Lord, that we who may survive and be alive, at the coming of our Lord, shall not precede them who have slept.
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.
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.
We tell you this as it came from the Lord. Those of us who are alive when the Lord comes again will not go ahead of those who have died.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep.
For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died.
For, this, unto you, do we say, by a word of the Lord, - that, we, the living who are left unto the Presence of the Lord, shall in nowise get before them who have fallen asleep;
(4-14) For this we say unto you in the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them who have slept.
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain until the Lord's coming, will not possibly precede those who have fallen asleep.
For this say we vnto you in the worde of the Lorde, that we whiche lyue, remayning vnto the comyng of the Lord, shall not preuent them which sleepe.
What we tell you now is the Lord's own message. Those of us who are still living when the Lord comes again will join him, but not before those who have already died.
For we say this to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
What we are teaching you now is the Lord's teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died.
And we seien this thing to you in the word of the Lord, that we that lyuen, that ben left in the comyng of the Lord, schulen not come bifor hem that ben deed.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
by the: 1 Kings 13:1, 1 Kings 13:9, 1 Kings 13:17, 1 Kings 13:18, 1 Kings 13:22, 1 Kings 20:35, 1 Kings 22:14
which are: 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, 2 Corinthians 4:14
prevent: Job 41:11, Psalms 88:13, Psalms 119:147, Psalms 119:148, Matthew 17:25
asleep: 1 Thessalonians 4:13
Reciprocal: Genesis 24:67 - comforted Job 14:12 - awake Psalms 59:10 - prevent Isaiah 26:19 - dead men John 11:11 - sleepeth 1 Corinthians 15:6 - are 1 Corinthians 15:23 - every Philippians 3:10 - and the power 1 Thessalonians 3:13 - at the 1 Thessalonians 4:17 - we which 2 Thessalonians 2:2 - nor by letter 2 Timothy 4:1 - at Revelation 20:12 - I saw
Cross-References
If Cain is to be avenged seven times over, then for Lamech it will be seventy-seven times!
"But if after these things you will not obey Me, I will proceed to discipline you seven times for your sins.
"If you act with hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times for your sins.
then I will act with hostility toward you; I also will strike you seven times for your sins.
I will act with furious hostility toward you; I will also discipline you seven times for your sins.
Through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani the word of the Lord also came against Baasha and against his house because of all the evil he had done in the Lord 's sight, provoking Him with the work of his hands and being like the house of Jeroboam, and because Baasha had struck down the house of Jeroboam.
Do not kill them; otherwise, my people will forget. By Your power, make them homeless wanderers and bring them down, Lord, our shield.
Pay back sevenfold to our neighbors the reproach they have hurled at You, Lord.
Still, if caught, he must pay seven times as much; he must give up all the wealth in his house.
"Pass throughout the city of Jerusalem," the Lord said to him, "and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the detestable practices committed in it."
Gill's Notes on the Bible
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord,.... The apostle having something new and extraordinary to deliver, concerning the coming of Christ, the first resurrection, or the resurrection of the saints, the change of the living saints, and the rapture both of the raised and living in the clouds to meet Christ in the air, expresses himself in this manner; either in allusion to the prophets of old, to whom the word of the Lord is said to come, and who usually introduced their prophecies with a "Thus saith the Lord"; or in distinction from his own private sense, sentiment, and opinion of things; signifying, that what he was about to say, was not a fancy and conjecture of his own, the fruit and produce of his own brain, but what he could assert upon a sure foundation, upon the best and greatest authority, even the word of the Lord; and has respect either to some particular word of Christ, as some think, such as Matthew 24:30 or rather to a particular and peculiar revelation, and special instruction in these things, he had immediately from Christ; and it may be when he was caught up into the third heaven himself, and had an experience in himself of somewhat of that which both the living and raised saints shall feel, when they are caught up together in the clouds; since the change of the living saints, at the time of the resurrection of the dead, is a mystery which seems to have been first made known unto, and discovered by the Apostle Paul; see 1 Corinthians 15:51.
That we which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord: not that the apostle thought that he and the saints then in the flesh should live and continue till the second coming of Christ; for he did not imagine that the coming of Christ was so near, as is manifest from 2 Thessalonians 2:1 though the Thessalonians might take him in this sense, which he there corrects; but he speaks of himself and others in the first person plural, by way of instance and example, for illustration sake; that supposing he and others should be then in being, the following would be the case: and moreover, he might use such a way of speaking with great propriety of other saints, and even of those unborn, and that will be on the spot when Christ shall come a second time; since all the saints make up one body, one family, one church and general assembly; so that the apostle might truly and justly say, "we which are alive"; that is, as many of our body, of our family, of our church or society, that shall be living at the coming of Christ; and he might choose the rather to speak in this form, person, and tense, to awaken the care, circumspection, diligence, and watchfulness of the saints, since it could not be known how soon the Lord would come: however, from hence it appears, that there will be saints alive at Christ's second coming; he will have a seed to serve him till he comes again; he always had in the worst of times, and will have, and that even in the last days, in the days of the son of man, which are said to be like those of Noah and of Lot: and these are said to "remain", or to be "left", these will be a remnant, the residue and remainder of the election of grace, and will be such as have escaped the fury of antichrist and his followers, or of the persecutors of the saints: now these
shall not prevent them that are asleep; that is, that are dead, so the Ethiopic version; the reason why the dead are so called, see in the note on the preceding verses: the sense is, either they "shall not come up to them that are asleep, or dead", as the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions render the words; they shall not come into the state of the dead, they shall undergo a change equivalent to death, but not death itself; see 1 Corinthians 15:51 or rather they "shall not go before" them; they shall not get the start of them, and be in the arms of Jesus, and enjoy his presence when he comes, before the dead in Christ, which might be thought, but this will not be the case; for the dead saints will rise before the living ones are changed, and both will be caught up together to meet the Lord, as is said in the following verses; so that the one shall not come or go before the other, or come at, or into the enjoyment of Christ first, but both together.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord - By the command or inspired teaching of the Lord. Prof. Bush (Anastasis, p. 265) supposes that the apostle here alludes to what the Saviour says in Matthew 24:30-31, “And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven,” etc. It is possible that Paul may have designed a general allusion to all that the Lord had said about his coming, but there cannot have been an exclusive reference to that passage, for in what he says here there are several circumstances mentioned to which the Saviour in Matthew does not allude. The probability, therefore, is, that Paul means that the Lord Jesus had made a special communication to him on the subject.
That we which are alive - See this fully explained in the notes on 1 Corinthians 15:51. From this expression, it would seem, that some of the Thessalonians supposed that Paul meant to teach that he himself, and many of the living, would survive until the coming of the Lord Jesus, and, of course, that that event was near at hand. That this was not his meaning, however, he is at special pains to show in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10.
And remain unto the coming of the Lord - Those Christians who shall then be alive.
Shall not prevent them which are asleep - Shall not precede; anticipate; go before. The word prevent with us is now commonly used in the sense of hinder, but this is never its meaning in the Scriptures. The word, in the time of the translators of the Bible, was used in its primitive and proper sense (praevenio), meaning to precede, or anticipate. Job 3:12,” why did the knees prevent me?” That is, why did they anticipate me, so that I did not perish, Psalms 79:8, “Let thy tender mercies speedily prevent us;” that is, go before us in danger. Psalms 119:147, “I prevented the dawning of the morning and cried;” that is, I anticipated it, or I prayed before the morning dawned. Matthew 17:25,” Jesus prevented him, saying;” that is, Jesus anticipated him; he commenced speaking before Peter had told him what he had said; compare Psalms 17:13; Psalms 59:10; Psalms 88:13; Psalms 95:2; 2 Samuel 22:6, 2 Samuel 22:19; Job 30:27; Job 41:11 The meaning here is, that they who would be alive at the coming of the Lord Jesus, would not be “changed” and received up into glory before those who were in their graves were raised up. The object seems to be to correct an opinion which prevailed among the Thessalonians that they who should survive to the coming of the Lord Jesus would have great advantages over those who had died. What they supposed those advantages would be - whether the privilege of seeing him come, or that they would be raised to higher honors in heaven, or that they who had died would not rise at all, does not appear, nor is the origin of this sentiment known. It is clear, however, that it was producing an increase of their sorrow on the death of their pious friends, and hence it was very important to correct the error. The apostle, therefore, states that no such disadvantage could follow, for the matter of fact was, that the dead would rise first.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 15. This we say unto you by the word of the Lord — This I have, by express revelation, from the Lord: what he now delivers, he gives as coming immediately from the Spirit of God. Indeed, human reason could not have found out the points which he immediately subjoins; no conjectures could lead to them. Allowing even the general doctrine of the resurrection to be believed, yet what follows does not flow from the premises; they are doctrines of pure revelation, and such as never could have been found out by human ingenuity. In no place does the apostle speak more confidently and positively of his inspiration than here; and we should prepare ourselves to receive some momentous and interesting truth.
We which are alive, and remain — By the pronoun we the apostle does not intend himself, and the Thessalonians to whom he was then writing; he is speaking of the genuine Christians which shall be found on earth when Christ comes to judgment. From not considering the manner in which the apostle uses this word, some have been led to suppose that he imagined that the day of judgment would take place in that generation, and while he and the then believers at Thessalonica were in life. But it is impossible that a man, under so direct an influence of the Holy Spirit, should be permitted to make such a mistake: nay, no man in the exercise of his sober reason could have formed such an opinion; there was nothing to warrant the supposition; no premises from which it could be fairly deduced; nor indeed any thing in the circumstances of the Church, nor in the constitution of the world, that could have suggested a hint of the kind. The apostle is speaking of the thing indefinitely as to the time when it shall happen, but positively as to the ORDER that shall be then observed.
Shall not prevent them which are asleep. — Those who shall be found living in that day, though they shall not pass through death, but be suddenly changed, shall not go to glory before them that are dead, for the dead in Christ shall rise first-they shall be raised, their bodies made glorious, and be caught up to meet the Lord, before the others shall be changed. And this appears to be the meaning of the apostle's words, μη φθασωμεν, which we translate shall not prevent; for, although this word prevent, from prae and venio, literally signifies to go before, yet we use it now in the sense of to hinder or obstruct. φθανειντινα signifies the same, according to Hesychius, as προηκειν, to go before, προλαμβανειν, to anticipate, be before. Those who shall be found alive on that day shall not anticipate glory before the dead in Christ; for they shall rise first, and begin the enjoyment of it before the others shall be changed. This appears to be the apostle's meaning.
