1 Thessalonians 4:17 — Not All Will Be Put to Repose

17 … Thereupon we, the living who are surviving, shall at the same time be snatched away together with them …

“The dead in Christ shall be rising first,” Paul declared in the preceding verse. But what happens to those who are still alive at the parousia? Must they, too, die first to share in the resurrection? No! In 1 Corinthians 15:51, Paul reveals a secret: “We all, indeed, shall not be put to repose, yet we all shall be changed.” Thus, not all believers will experience death, but all will undergo a change.

That change takes place “in an instant, in the twinkle of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). It is not a gradual process, but an immediate transformation. The dead are roused incorruptible, while the believers who are then alive are changed without dying. Their mortal body puts on immortality (1 Cor. 15:53). Thus death is overcome, both for those who have already been put to repose and for those who are still alive.

And then follows what Paul describes in our text: the living are at the same time snatched away together with the roused believers. Two groups with different histories, yet from that moment on they share the same future. No one is missing and no one is left behind. All have been changed and made ready to meet the Lord. What a prospect: a generation of believers who will not taste death, but will share directly in the victory over it!

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