1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
New International Version
Believers Who Have Died 13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For 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 dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Friday - July 2
In this passage, the Apostle Paul is reminding the Christians of Thessalonica of the promise that the resurrection of Jesus means that we, too, will be resurrected and “raised up” to be with Him in glory. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:20, Jesus Christ is the “firstfruits” of the resurrection from the dead. In other words, we cannot “get up” to heaven through our own efforts, like the Tower of Babel. Instead, Jesus “came down” to make a way for us to enter into the kingdom of heaven (John 14:1-7). You are free to live right now knowing your future is secure. Don’t worry about making a name for yourself, being “dispersed” or even dying. I know that is a hard thing to believe! Trust me. Dying is not at the top of my list, either. But we know that Jesus has “come down” to raise us up and give us eternal life with God.