Troublesome Topic: The Voice of Jesus

1 Thessalonians 4:16

Translation

because the LORD Himself, with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of GOD,

will descend from heaven, and the dead in CHRIST will rise

first.

Paraphrase

Because THE SUPREME RULER himself, in a powerful voice, will give a forceful command indicating that the time has come to set His will in motion, then, in a loud voice, the archangel will give the command to stand ready, then the trumpets that call the agents of THE CREATOR AND OWNER OF ALL THINGS into action will give the signal to “Go”! at which time the Lord will descend from heaven toward the earth, and those who have died in good standing with THE SPIRIT-ANOINTED MESSIAH will be the first to rise to Him.

It is my assumption that those who have died “in Christ” will only hear the voice of their Savior indicating that it is time. They will not hear the voice of the archangel or the trumpet. His voice is the one they are listening for and the only one they will respond to. His voice (and that of His Father) are the only ones that can be effective in getting them to come from their graves or from paradise and rise into the clouds.

The next lesson is: When We Meet Jesus in the Air, Are We Going to Heaven or Is He Coming to Earth?

Footnotes

1

I see in these three calls to action something similar to a commander on the battlefield shouting, “ready, aim, fire!” or a race that is started with the words “on your mark, get set, go!” The important thing is that it all starts with the command of God who alone has the authority to say that the right time has arrived.

2

This Greek word means “to rise, to stand up.” It is also used of resurrection, as in verse 14 above.