Paul wants believers to think like Christians, not pagans, about the death of those who are in the Lord.
He writes as a Pastor not an end times theologian.
Three key Biblical backgrounds:
1. Jesus will come at the end of history (Matt 24:29-31; Acts 1:9-11).
2. Jesus' coming is simultaneous with the general resurrection from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20-23; John 5:26-29).
3. Believers at their deaths go immediately to be with the Lord, but they do not attain the final state of glorification until the coming of the Lord Jesus and the resurrection from the dead (2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23; Luke 23:43).
Paul tells believers that the dead in Christ will come with him at his return. The living will be caught up in the air to meet the Lord and his entourage. The focus here, however, is not on the 'rapture' but on the 'resurrection.'
This teaching should give comfort to believers who have lost loved ones in the Lord.
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Jeff Riddle is the founding Minister of Christ Reformed Baptist Church. Pastor Jeff has over 30 years of practical ministry experience and has previously served as a missionary in Budapest, Hungary and as Pastor of two Baptist churches in Virginia. Pastor Riddle is a graduate...
