For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 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” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).
At the close of this significant section of scripture, the Apostle Paul exhorts the brethren to comfort (stimulate, encourage) one another with these words! These words, preached to the Church in Thessalonica and to all mankind, are emphatic words of the return of Jesus Christ and the resurrection into the kingdom of God. Paul’s central message, throughout his ministry, was the kingdom of God (Acts 19:8; 28:23,31). He continued the Master’s message that began in Galilee.
Notice, Jesus came preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God, “…saying, the time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).
Jesus launched this vision and the apostles preached, lived, and sacrificed everything to spread this hope for mankind. When the disciples were sent out, their instructions were few but succinct. The central message was to preach the Kingdom of God. Further, the apostle Paul was adamant that any altering or diminishing of this message, this vision, was blasphemous, writing, “…but there be some that trouble you, and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:7-9).
Let us take a long and appreciative look at this fundamental teaching that will explode into fruition on the Feast of Trumpets, the time of Christ’s return to gather the firstfruits into the family of God.
Paul took the time to more fully explain this visionary event, with very basic but colorful descriptive analogies. This scripture is intended to encourage, stimulate and drive the Christian to fuller efforts to be ready for this time. He wrote, “All flesh is not the same flesh; but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fishes and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one start differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:39-42).
Paul continues with more comparisons and remarkable analogies. Then he launches into eloquent concluding statements in verse 49 saying, “And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.” He goes on to write, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (verses 51-52). The apostle John, quoting the vision given him by Jesus Christ writes, “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever’” (Revelation 11:15)! This is the same trumpet that Paul described in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4.
The soon-coming day of the Lord will be a shocking wake-up call for all nations. For those who are resurrected, it will be a special and spectacular time when their dreams and hopes the return of Jesus Christ will be materialized.
Does this vision motivate, inspire, encourage, and drive us deeper into the truth and service of God? If it does, then our celebration of these Fall Festivals will be one of the fullest and most meaningful ever.
