1 Thess 4:16 the Lord Himself will descend. This fulfills the pledge of John
14:1–3 (cf. Acts 1:11). Until then, He remains in heaven (cf. 1:10; Heb. 1:1–3).
archangel. Very little is known about the organization or rank of angels (cf.
Col. 1:17). While only Michael is named as an archangel (Jude 9), there seems to
be more than one in the angelic ranks (Dan. 10:13). Perhaps it is Michael, the
archangel, whose voice is heard as he is identified with Israel’s resurrection
in Dan. 12:1–3. At that moment (cf. 1 Cor. 15:52, “twinkling of an eye”), the
dead rise first. They will not miss the Rapture, but be the first participants.
trumpet of God. Cf. 1 Cor. 15:52. This trumpet is not the judgment trumpets of
Rev. 8–11, but is illustrated by the trumpet of Ex. 19:16–19, which called the
people out of the camp to meet God. It will be a trumpet of deliverance (cf.
Zeph. 1:16; Zech. 9:14).
4:17 caught up. After the dead come forth, their spirits, already with the Lord
(2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23), now being joined to resurrected new bodies (see notes
on 1 Cor. 15:35–50), the living Christians will be raptured, lit. snatched away
(cf. John 10:28; Acts 8:39). This passage, along with John 14:1–3 and 1 Cor.
15:51, 52, form the biblical basis for “the Rapture” of the church. The time of
the Rapture cannot be conclusively determined from this passage alone. However,
when other texts such as Rev. 3:10 and John 14:3 are consulted and compared to
the texts about Christ’s coming in judgment (Matt. 13:34–50; 24:29–44; Rev.
19:11–21) at the end of a 7 year tribulation, it has to be noted that there is a
clear difference between the character of the “Rapture” in that there is no
mention of any judgment, while the other texts feature judgment. So then, it is
best to understand that the Rapture occurs at a time different from the coming
of Christ in judgment. Thus, the Rapture has been described as pretribulational
(before the wrath of God unfolded in the judgments of Rev. 6–19). This event
includes complete transformation (cf. 1 Cor. 15:51, 52; Phil 3:20, 21) and union
with the Lord Jesus Christ that never ends.
4:18 comfort one another. The primary purpose of this passage is not to teach a
scheme of prophecy, but rather to provide encouragement to those Christians
whose loved ones have died. The comfort here is based on the following: 1) the
dead will be resurrected and will participate in the Lord’s coming for His own;
2) when Christ comes the living will be reunited forever with their loved ones;
and 3) they all will be with the Lord eternally (v. 17).
MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p.
1848). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.