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. 1 Thessalonians 4:15
Moss is beginning to grow on a tombstone in an old cemetery at The Falls in northern Nova Scotia. Not as much moss as some of the much older tombstones there, of course, because this particular piece of granite has not been there for two or three hundred years like others in that gloomy plot. The date on this stone is December 31, 1957, the day my grandfather died. I can recall that date well, and the overwhelming sense of loss at the realization that a man who was such a huge part of my life was gone. I also remember a few days later, standing in the bitter winter wind at that open grave, as the mortal remains of that dear man were lowered into the ground while a bugle played the Last Post. The playing of the Last Post was the only indication at that funeral that my grandfather had served in both the First and Second World Wars. Shortly before that committal in the cemetery, during the funeral service in the large old church building adjacent to the cemetery, I had looked my last on my grandfather’s face before the funeral directors closed the lid on the casket. I had watched, astonished, as my grandfather’s friend Perry Rockwood smiled and declared that we would see that face one day soon. I was not saved at the time, and could not understand then what he was smiling about. Now I understand. According to our text, should the Rapture occur today, that old grave at The Falls will be ripped open and robbed of its victims (my dear grandmother and my aunt Maisie lie buried there too) before those of us still alive will be caught away to be with the Lord.
We don’t know if we will be alive and remaining unto the coming of the Lord, although for many of us it appears very likely. But while we are still alive, this assurance of the resurrection of our loved ones gives us great comfort and hope, even as it has given great comfort and hope for the saints down through the ages since Paul wrote our text. The previous verse tells us that those who are asleep in Jesus will come from Heaven with Him when He comes to take us Home. So, the rapture marks our Lord’s delivery on His great promise to redeem our bodies, as we read in 1 Corinthians 15:54: ‘So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory’. But how do we know that this is not just an attempt by Paul to sooth some of the concerns among the Thessalonian saints about their loved ones who had died?
There is nothing uncertain about our text today, nor its message about those who are asleep in Jesus. Paul is not talking about conjecture here, or about generally accepted ideas, or about traditions. No, this is a word that he has received directly from the Lord. He discussed this same topic in 1 Corinthians 15:51, when he declared it the showing, or unveiling, of a mystery. That verse also reminds us that we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.
Our Lord has not just given us hope concerning our departed loved ones, He has given us an exciting hope, and a glorious expectation of a reunion with Him and them. How thrilling! – Jim MacIntosh