1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
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. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Although the Bible does not exhaustively tell us about the second coming of Christ, it tells us enough. We, therefore, have what we need to know for our preparation and encouragement. When it comes to how He will come, the Scriptures give us sufficient details so that we are not deceived. We are told, for example, that His coming will be unexpected like the thief in the night. This should cause us to always be ready to receive our Lord. We should beware of being unaware.
Our text today shows us another aspect of His coming – it will be obvious. Jesus will not come discreetly and appear only to a few, but all of mankind will see Him. His coming will be signified with deafening sound – the cry of command, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet sound. Then, it will be obvious that He is Lord and every knee will have to bow. He will descend from the skies the same way He ascended, and then those who believed in Him will join Him in the air – beginning with the dead in Christ. On that day, there will be both shouts of joy and shouts of sorrow. The believers will shout for joy at the return of their Lord while the unbelievers will mourn their inevitable judgement. The second coming of Christ will induce both joy and terror.
How then shall we respond in view of all these? Romans 13:11-14 has something to say:
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Reflections
1. Would you consider yourself awake, ready for the Lord’s return?
2. What does it mean for you to put on the Lord Jesus?
