Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, October 5th, 2024
the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
Attention!
StudyLight.org has pledged to help build churches in Uganda. Help us with that pledge and support pastors in the heart of Africa.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

King James Version

1 Thessalonians 4:16

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Angel (a Spirit);   Archangel;   Bereavement;   Immortality;   Jesus Continued;   Resurrection;   Righteous;   Trumpet;   Scofield Reference Index - Church;   Resurrection;   Thompson Chain Reference - Archangel;   Coming, Second Coming of Christ;   Dead, the;   Future, the;   Mortality-Immortality;   Resurrection;   Rewards at Advent;   Second Coming of Christ;   The Topic Concordance - Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ;   Resurrection;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Angels;   Death of Saints, the;   Resurrection, the;   Second Coming of Christ, the;   Trumpet;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Archangel;   Heaven;   Mourning;   Resurrection of the Dead;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Angels;   Day of the lord;   Funeral;   Heaven;   Jesus christ;   Millennium;   Paul;   Resurrection;   Sorrow;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Ascension of Jesus Christ;   Body;   Confidence;   Feasts and Festivals of Israel;   Heal, Health;   Heaven, Heavens, Heavenlies;   Hope;   Paradise;   Second Coming of Christ;   Thessalonians, First and Second, Theology of;   Union with Christ;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Angel;   Archangel;   Judgment, Last;   Resurrection;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Angel;   Archangel;   Immortality;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jubilee;   Redeemer;   Resurrection;   Thessalonians, the Epistles to the;   Trumpets, Feast of;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Angel;   Archangel;   Death;   Eschatology;   Hope;   Second Coming, the;   1 Thessalonians;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ascension;   Hope;   Kingdom of God;   Messiah;   Paul the Apostle;   Resurrection;   Thessalonians, First Epistle to the;   Thessalonians, Second Epistle to the;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Angels;   Ascension;   Ascension (2);   Brotherly Love;   Comfort;   Eschatology;   Gospels (2);   Judgment Damnation;   Kingdom Kingdom of God;   Mediation Mediator;   Michael ;   Name ;   Parousia;   Presence;   Restoration;   Spiritualizing of the Parables;   Thessalonians Epistles to the;   Trump Trumpet ;   Trumpet;   Voice (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Advent, Second;   Angels;   Church;   Day of the Lord;   Dispensation,;   Hope;   Prophets, the;   Rapture of the Saints;   Resurrection;   Thessalonians, Epistles to the;   Trumpets;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Archangel;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Angel;   Archangel;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Thessalo'nians, First Epistle to the,;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Archangel;   Judgment;   Millenarians;   Resurrection;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Angel;   Ascension;   Descend;   Hades;   Immortal;   Michael;   Peter, Simon;   Prison, Spirits in;   Resurrection;   Ships and Boats;   Thessalonians, the First Epistle of Paul to the;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Angels;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Christianity in Its Relation to Judaism;  

Devotionals:

- Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life - Devotion for July 5;   Daily Light on the Daily Path - Devotion for December 22;  

Parallel Translations

New American Standard Bible (1995)
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Legacy Standard Bible
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Simplified Cowboy Version
Jesus himself will come riding back from heaven, he will then give the loud command for the archangel to blow the trumpet of God so all those cowboys who have died will lead the charge back over the hill.
Bible in Basic English
Because the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a word of authority, with the voice of the chief angel, with the sound of a horn: and the dead in Christ will come to life first;
Darby Translation
for the Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel's voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
Christian Standard Bible®
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel's voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
World English Bible
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God's trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first,
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Weymouth's New Testament
For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a loud word of command, and with an archangel's voice and the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
King James Version (1611)
For the Lord himselfe shall descend from heauen with a shout, with the voyce of the Archangel, and with the trumpe of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Literal Translation
Because the Lord Himself shall come down from Heaven with a commanding shout of an archangel's voice, and with God's trumpet. And the dead in Christ will rise again first.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For the LORDE himselfe shal come downe fro heauen with a shoute and voyce of ye Archangell and with the trompe of God, and the deed in Christ shal aryse first:
Mace New Testament (1729)
for the Lord himself will descend from heaven, and by the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet of God, resound the summons: they who died christians shall rise first:
Amplified Bible
For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the [blast of the] trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
American Standard Version
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
Revised Standard Version
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first;
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
For the Lorde him selfe shall descende fro heve with a showte and the voyce of the archangell and trompe of God. And the deed in Christe shall aryse fyrst:
Update Bible Version
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
Webster's Bible Translation
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 shall rise first:
Young's Literal Translation
because the Lord himself, in a shout, in the voice of a chief-messenger, and in the trump of God, shall come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ shall rise first,
New Century Version
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 those who have died believing in Christ will rise first.
New English Translation
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Berean Standard Bible
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.
Contemporary English Version
With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God's trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life.
Complete Jewish Bible
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a rousing cry, with a call from one of the ruling angels, and with God's shofar; those who died united with the Messiah will be the first to rise;
English Standard Version
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Geneva Bible (1587)
For the Lorde himselfe shall descende from heauen with a shoute, and with the voyce of the Archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
George Lamsa Translation
For our LORD himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and those who died in Christ will rise first.
Hebrew Names Version
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the chief angel, and with God's shofar. The dead in Messiah will rise first,
International Standard Version
With a shout of command, with the archangel's call, and with the sound of God's trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.Matthew 24:30-31; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:23,52; 2 Thessalonians 1:7;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
For our Lord himself with the mandate, and with the voice of the chief of angels, and with the trumpet of Aloha, will come down from heaven, and the dead who are in the Meshiha will arise first;
Murdock Translation
Because our Lord will himself descend from heaven, with the mandate, and with the voice of the chief angel, and with the trump of God; and the dead who are in the Messiah, will first arise;
New King James Version
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.
New Living Translation
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.
New Life Bible
For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud call. The head angel will speak with a loud voice. God's horn will give its sounds. First, those who belong to Christ will come out of their graves to meet the Lord.
English Revised Version
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
New Revised Standard
For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Because, the Lord himself, with a word of command, with a chief-messenger's voice, and with a trumpet of God, shall descend from heaven, - and, the dead in Christ, shall rise, first,
Douay-Rheims Bible
(4-15) For the Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment and with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God: and the dead who are in Christ shall rise first.
Lexham English Bible
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
For the Lorde hym selfe shal descende from heauen in a shoute, [and] in the voyce of the Archangell, and in the trumpe of God: And the dead in Christ shall aryse first.
Easy-to-Read Version
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 people who have died and were in Christ will rise first.
New American Standard Bible
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Good News Translation
There will be the shout of command, the archangel's voice, the sound of God's trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first;
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For the Lord hym silf schal come doun fro heuene, in the comaundement, and in the vois of an archaungel, and in the trumpe of God; and the deed men that ben in Crist, schulen rise ayen first.

Contextual Overview

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 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. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the Lord: Isaiah 25:8, Isaiah 25:9, Matthew 16:27, Matthew 24:30, Matthew 24:31, Matthew 25:31, Matthew 26:64, Acts 1:11, 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 2 Peter 3:10, Revelation 1:7

with a: Numbers 23:21, Psalms 47:1, Psalms 47:5, Zechariah 4:7, Zechariah 9:9

the archangel: Jude 1:9

with the trump: Exodus 19:16, Exodus 20:18, Isaiah 27:13, Zechariah 9:14, 1 Corinthians 15:52, Revelation 1:10, Revelation 8:13

and the: 1 Corinthians 15:23, 1 Corinthians 15:51, 1 Corinthians 15:52, Revelation 20:5, Revelation 20:6

Reciprocal: Genesis 18:21 - I will go down Exodus 19:13 - when the trumpet Leviticus 23:24 - In the seventh Numbers 10:10 - in the day Judges 7:20 - blew Psalms 50:5 - Gather Psalms 96:13 - he cometh Ezekiel 37:12 - I will open Zephaniah 1:14 - even Matthew 25:6 - a cry Mark 13:26 - General Luke 17:34 - two John 14:3 - I will Romans 8:10 - the body 1 Corinthians 11:26 - till Philippians 3:20 - from 1 Thessalonians 1:10 - wait 2 Timothy 4:1 - at Hebrews 12:19 - the sound Revelation 14:13 - die

Cross-References

Genesis 3:8
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
Genesis 4:14
Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
Exodus 20:18
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
2 Kings 13:23
And the Lord was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet.
2 Kings 24:20
For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
Job 1:12
And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord .
Job 2:7
So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord , and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
Job 20:17
He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.
Psalms 5:11
But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
Psalms 68:2
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven,.... Not by proxy, or by representatives; not by the ministry of angels, as on Mount Sinai; nor by the ministers of the word, as under the Gospel dispensation; nor by his spirit, and the discovery of his love and grace, in which sense he descends in a spiritual manner, and visits his people; but in person, in his human nature, in soul and body; in like manner as he went up to heaven will he descend from thence, so as to be visible, to be seen and heard of all: he will come down from the third heaven, whither he was carried up, into which he was received, and where he is retained until the time of the restitution of all things, and from whence the saints expect him: and this descent will be

with a shout; the word here used is observed by many to signify such a noise or shout as is made either by mariners, when they pull and row together; and shout to direct and encourage one another; or to an army with the general at the head of it, when about to undertake some considerable action, to enter on a battle, and make the onset; Christ will now appear as the King of kings, and Lord of lords, as the Judge of the whole earth, attended with the host, or armies of heaven, and the shout of a king will be among them: perhaps the same is intended, as by the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, and of mighty thunderings upon the coming of Christ, the destruction of antichrist, and the marriage of the Lamb, in

Revelation 19:1. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions render it, "in", or "with command"; and the Arabic version, "with his own government", or "authority"; that is, he shall descend, either by the command of his Father, as man and Mediator, having authority from him, as the son of man, to execute judgment; or with his commanding power and authority over the mighty angels, that shall descend with him: it follows,

with the voice of the archangel; so Michael is called, in Judges 1:9 with which compare Revelation 12:7 and who perhaps is no other than Christ himself, who is the head of all principality and power; and the sense be, that Christ shall descend from heaven with a voice, or shall then utter such a voice, as will show him to be the archangel; or as the Syriac version renders it, "the head", or "prince of angels"; and which whether, it will be an articulate voice, such as was expressed at the grave of Lazarus; or a violent clap of thunder, which is the voice of God; or the exertion of the power of Christ, is not certain: it is added,

and with the trump of God; called "the last trump", 1 Corinthians 15:52 because none will be blown after it, and may be the same with the seventh trumpet, Revelation 11:15 and here the trump of God, because blown by his order; or by Christ himself, who is God, and so be the same with the voice of the archangel; and these figurative expressions are used, to set forth the grandeur and magnificence in which Christ will come; not in that low, mean, and humble form in which he first came, but with great glory, and marks of honour and respect; with angels shouting, trumpets blowing, and saints rejoicing. This is said in allusion to the trumpet which was heard on Mount Sinai at the giving of the law, and of which the Jews say d, that it מיתיא

מאחא, "quickened the dead"; for they have a notion, that, when the Israelites first heard the voice of the Lord, they died; but upon hearing it the second time, they returned to life e: and they suppose also in the time, to come, at the resurrection of the dead, a trumpet will be blown, which will quicken the dead f, and the day of judgment g; and this is reckoned by them as one of the signs of the Messiah's coming h:

"Michael shall shout with a great shout, and the graves of the dead shall be opened at Jerusalem, and the holy blessed God will restore the dead to life, and Messiah the son of David shall come,'' c.

And the dead in Christ shall rise first the same with those that are asleep in Jesus, 1 Thessalonians 4:14 not only the martyrs that died for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel; nor merely those who die in the lively exercise of faith in Christ; but all that die interested in him, and in union with him: and these shall "rise", in consequence of their being his; being given to him, made his care and charge, and engaged for by him, and in virtue of their union to him; and shall rise to an entire conformity to his glorious body, and in order to enjoy eternal life and glory with him: and these will rise "first", before the wicked, which is the first resurrection, Revelation 20:5 even a thousand years before them; the righteous will rise in the morning of the resurrection, and so will have the dominion in the morning, Psalms 49:14 even at the beginning of the thousand years, as soon as Christ will come; but the wicked will not rise till the evening of that day, or till the close of the thousand years: and this agrees with the notions of the Jews, who thought that some will rise before others;

"Wheresoever thou findest the dead, take them and bury them, and I will give thee the first place in my resurrection.'' (2 Esdras 2:23)

Having mentioned those words in Psalms 116:9 "I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living", it is asked i,

"is there no land of the living but Tyre and its neighbours, and Caesarea, and its neighbours, where is cheapness and fulness? says R. Simeon ben Lekish, in the name of Bar Kaphra, the land in which the dead live, תחילה, "first", in the days of the Messiah:''

and on the same place elsewhere k they observe, that

"our Rabbins say two things, or give two reasons, why the fathers loved to be buried in the land of Israel, because the dead in the land of Israel חיים תחילה, "live", or "rise first", in the days of the Messiah, and shall enjoy the years of the Messiah:''

and in another place l they take notice of what is written in

Isaiah 26:19 "and the earth shall cast out the dead": says R. Jochanan,

"the dead which are in the land (i.e. of Israel), they shall "live first"; as it is said, "thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise": these are they that are without the land; "awake and sing ye that dwell in the dust", these are they that die in the wilderness:''

and again m,

"as it is said, Isa 40:26 "that bringeth out their host by numbers", come see, it is said, all that die in the land of Israel יקומון בקדמיתא, "shall rise first", because the holy blessed God shall awake them, and raise them, according to Isaiah 26:19.''

Once more they say n,

"they that study in the law as they ought, these are they that shall "rise first" to everlasting life, as it is said

Daniel 12:2, "and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life", c. and these are for everlasting life, because they study in everlasting life, which is the law:''

to which may be added the following passage o,

"they that are worthy to be buried in the land of Israel, shall "be raised first"--and they shall be raised and quickened before the rest of the children of the world, who draw the waters of the law and they draw, because they study to draw out of the waters of the law; and they are strengthened by the tree of life, and they shall go out "first", because the tree of life is the cause why they shall "rise first":''

they sometimes endeavour to fix the time, how long they will rise before the rest p;

""many of those that sleep", c. these are the righteous that shall "go before" others in life, and how many years shall they go before them? R. Judah says, two hundred and ten years R. Isaac says, two hundred and fourteen; according to others, the righteous shall go (or be raised) a year before the rest of men; says R. Nachman, it will be according to the computation (of time) that the carcass has been in the dust; R. Jose replies, if so, there will be many resurrections.''

These instances may suffice to show, that the Jews had a notion of some persons rising before others, to which the apostle may have some reference; though his sense is not only this, but also that the dead in Christ shall rise before the living saints are changed, and taken up to be with Christ, and so shall not go before to him; which illustrates and proves what he had before asserted.

d Targum Jon. in Exod. xx. 18. e Kettoreth Hassamamim in ib. f Mechilta in ib. & Abarbinel, Mashmia Jeshua, fol. 11. 4. g Zohar in Lev. fol. 42. 2. 4. h Abkath Rocel, p. 138. Ed. Huls. i T. Hieros. Kilaim, fol. 32. 3. & Cetubot, fol. 35. 2. Bereshit Rabba, sect. 74. fol. 65. 1. k Bereshit Rabba, sect. 96. fol. 83. 4. & 84. 1. & Shemot Rabba, sect. 32. fol. 135. 2. l Zohar in Gen. fol. 68. 4. m Zohar in Gen. fol. 79. 3. n lb. fol. 100. 3. o Ib. fol. 103. 1. p Ib. fol. 83. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven - notes, Acts 1:11.

With a shout - The word here used (κέλευσμα keleusma), does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It properly means a “cry’ of excitement, or of arging on; an outcry, clamor, or shout, as of sailors at the oar, Luc. Catapl. 19; of soldiers rushing to battle, Thuc. 3:14; of a multitude of people, Diod. Sic. 3:15; of a huntsman to his dogs, Xen. Ven. 6:20. It does not mean here, that the Lord would himself make such a shout, but that he would be attended with it; that is, with a multitude who would lift up the voice like that of an army rushing to the conflict.

With the voice of the archangel - The word archangel occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in Jude 1:9, where it is applied to Michael. It properly means a chief angel; one who is first, or who is over others - ἄρχων archōn. The word is not found in the Septuagint, and the only archangel, therefore, which is named in the Scriptures, is Michael; Jude 1:9; compare Revelation 12:7. Seven angels, however, are referred to in the Scriptures as having an eminence above others, and these are commonly regarded as archangels. Revelation 8:2, “and I saw the seven angels which stood before God.” One of these is supposed to be referred to in the Book of Tobit, 12:15, “I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.” The names of three only of the seven are mentioned in the Jewish writings: Michael, the patron of the Jewish nation, Daniel 10:13, Daniel 10:21; Daniel 12:1.

Gabriel, Daniel 8:16; Daniel 9:21; compare Luke 1:19, Luke 1:26. Raphael, Tobit 3:17; 5:4; 8:2; 9:1, 5; 12:15. The Book of Enoch adds that of Uriel, pp. 187, 190, 191, 193. Michael is mentioned as one “of the chief princes,” Daniel 10:13; and as “the great prince,” Daniel 12:1; compare notes on Ephesians 1:21, and see an article by Prof. Stuart in the Bibliotheca Sacra. No. 1, on Angelology. It seems evident from the Scriptures, that there is one or more among the angels to whom the name archangel properly belongs. This view is in accordance with the doctrine in the Scriptures that the heavenly beings are divided into ranks and orders, for if so, it is not unreasonable to suppose that there should be one or more to whom the most exalted rank pertains; compare Revelation 12:7. Whether there is more than one to whom this name appropriately belongs, it is impossible now to determine, and is not material. The word here (in Greek) is without the article, and the phrase might be rendered, “with the voice of an archangel.”

The Syriac renders it, “with the voice of the prince of the angels.” On an occasion so august and momentous as that of the coming of the final Judge of all mankind; the resurrection of the dead, and the solemn transactions before the tribunal of the Son of God deciding the destiny of countless million for ever, it will not be inappropriate that the highest among the heavenly hosts should be present and take an important part in the solemnities of the day. It is not quite certain what is meant here by “the voice of the archangel,” or for what purpose that voice will be heard. It cannot be that it will be to raise the dead - for that will be by the “voice of the Son of God” John 5:28-29, and it seems most probable that the meaning is, that this will be a part of the loud shout or cry which will be made by the descending hosts of heaven; or perhaps it may be for the purpose of summoning the world to the bar of judgment; compare Matthew 24:31.

And with the trump of God - The trump which God appoints to be sounded on that solemn occasion. It does not mean that it will be sounded by God himself; see the notes on Matthew 24:31.

And the dead in Christ - Christians.

Shall rise first - That is, before the living shall be changed. A doctrine similar to this was held by the Jews. “Resch Lachisch said, Those who die in the land of Israel shall rise first in the days of the Messiah.” See Wetstein, in loc. It is implied in all this description, that the interval between their resurrection and the change which will occur to the living, will be brief, or that the one will rapidly succeed the other compare notes, 1 Corinthians 15:23, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 16. The Lord himself — That is: Jesus Christ shall descend from heaven; shall descend in like manner as he was seen by his disciples to ascend, i.e. in his human form, but now infinitely more glorious; for thousands of thousands shall minister unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand shall stand before him; for the Son of man shall come on the throne of his glory: but who may abide the day of his coming, or stand when he appeareth?

With a shout — Or order, ενκελευσματι. and probably in these words. Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment; which order shall be repeated by the archangel, who shall accompany it with the sound of the trump of God, whose great and terrible blasts, like those on mount Sinai, sounding louder and louder, shall shake both the heavens and the earth!

Observe the order of this terribly glorious day:

1. Jesus, in all the dignity and splendour of his eternal majesty, shall descend from heaven to the mid region, what the apostle calls the air, somewhere within the earth's atmosphere.

2. Then the κελευσμα, shout or order, shall be given for the dead to arise.

3. Next the archangel, as the herald of Christ, shall repeat the order, Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment!

4. When all the dead in Christ are raised, then the trumpet shall sound, as the signal for them all to flock together to the throne of Christ. It was by the sound of the trumpet that the solemn assemblies, under the law, were convoked; and to such convocations there appears to be here an allusion.

5. When the dead in Christ are raised, their vile bodies being made like unto his glorious body, then,

6. Those who are alive shall be changed, and made immortal.

7. These shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.

8. We may suppose that the judgment will now be set, and the books opened, and the dead judged out of the things written in those books.

9. The eternal states of quick and dead being thus determined, then all who shall be found to have made a covenant with him by sacrifice, and to have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, shall be taken to his eternal glory, and be for ever with the Lord. What an inexpressibly terrific glory will then be exhibited! I forbear to call in here the descriptions which men of a poetic turn have made of this terrible scene, because I cannot trust to their correctness; and it is a subject which we should speak of and contemplate as nearly as possible in the words of Scripture.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile