Lecture 2 — Resurrection of the dead

^4:12^ And that you walk honestly towards those who are without: and that you want nothing of any man’s.

^4:13^ And we will not have you ignorant brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope. [n. 92]

^4:14^ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again: even so will God bring with him those who have slept through Jesus. [n. 94]

^4:15^ For this we say unto you in the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent those who have slept. [n. 96]

^4:16^ For the Lord himself shall come down from heaven with commandment and with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God: and the dead who are in Christ shall rise first. [n. 97]

^4:17^ Then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ, into the air: and so shall we be always with the Lord. [n. 102]

^4:18^ Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

92. In what went before Paul aimed at bringing them to the practice of continence in place of their concupiscence, and at curtailing their idleness (C. 4, L. 1). Now he urges them to lessen their inordinate sorrow.

First, he provides a warning;

second, he assigns a reason for the warning, at for if we believe.

93. Therefore, he forbids them to indulge in inordinate sorrow when he tells them, even as others. It seems, though, that the Apostle views sorrow for the dead benignly. Nevertheless, he cautions them not to grieve overmuch, even as others.

Someone who grieves for the dead does possess compassion. A person grieves first because of the dissolution of the frail body; for we ought to take care of the body for the sake of the soul. O death, how bitter is the reminder of you to one who lives at peace among his possessions (Sir 41:1). Second, a person grieves because of the separation and departure which is so painful to friends. Surely the bitterness of death is past (1 Sam 15:32). Third, we mourn because death reminds us of our own sin. For the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). Fourth, because death reminds us of our own death. For this is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to heart (Eccl 7:2).

So moderate sorrow is permitted. Weep less bitterly for the dead, for he has attained rest (Sir 22:11). Therefore, he says, even as others who have no hope, that is, because these people believe that these negative aspects of death are eternal; but we do not believe so. Our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body (Phil 3:20-21). So he says clearly, concerning those who are asleep. Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep (John 11:11).

A person who decides to go to sleep does three things. First, he lies down with the hope of eventually getting up: shall he that sleeps not rise again from where he lies (Ps 40:9). A person who passes away abiding in the faith feels the same way. Second, the soul in a sleeping person remains vigilant. I slept, but my heart was awake (Song 5:2). Third, after sleep a man gets up much more refreshed and restored. In this same manner the saints will rise incorruptibly (1 Cor 15:52).

94. Then when Paul says, for if we believe, he provides a reason for the warning he had given.

First, he establishes the resurrection;

second, he rules out the faint suspicion of a delay, at for this we say;

third, be outlines the order of resurrection, at for the Lord himself.

95. It should be realized that the Apostle constructs the case for our resurrection on the basis of the resurrection of Christ (1 Cor 15:12), for Christ’s resurrection is the cause of our resurrection. So Paul makes his point here by a causal analysis. Christ’s resurrection is not only the cause but also the pattern of our resurrection. The Word made flesh revives our bodies, while the Word as such revives our souls. Christ is the pattern of our resurrection in that Christ assumed flesh, and also rose embodied in flesh. Nor is Christ only the pattern; he is also the efficient cause of our resurrection, for the things done by Christ’s humanity were done not only by the power of his human nature, but also by virtue of his divinity united in him. just as his touch cured the leper as an instrument of his divinity, so also Christ’s resurrection is the cause of our resurrection, not merely because it was a body that arose, but a body united to the Word of life.

So the Apostle, firmly presupposing this, declares, **for if we believe **firmly that Jesus died and rose again: even so will God bring with him those who have slept through Jesus. Those have **slept through Jesus **who were conformed to his death through baptism; or he says through Jesus, because God will bring them with him, that is, with Christ himself. The Lord your God will come, and all the holy ones with him (Zech 14:5). The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people (Isa 3:14).

96. Then when he says, for this we say, he rules out a delay in regard to the resurrection, as if saying: we know that they shall rise and shall come with Christ; therefore, we ought not to grieve so much.

For those who shall be found alive will not achieve the glory of resurrection before those who are dead. And for this reason he says: for this we say unto you, not as the conjecture of a man, but in the word of the Lord, whose words do not fail. That we who are alive, that is, those who are living, shall not receive the consolation accompanying the coming of Christ before the dead. As a result Paul says, we who are alive, who remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent those who have slept.

It would seem to those who do not fully understand what the Apostle is saying here that all this shall come about while the Apostle is still alive; it seemed this way to the Thessalonians. Because of this misunderstanding he wrote them a second letter in which he says: now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . we beg you, brethren, not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come (2 Thess 2:2).

But he is not talking at present about himself and his contemporaries, but about those who shall be found alive at the time of Christ’s coming. We who remain, that is, those who shall be left after the persecution of the Antichrist, shall not prevent those, that is, those who are living shall not receive their consolation first. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet (1 Cor 15:52).

97. Then when he says, for the Lord himself shall come down from heaven, he shows the order and manner of the resurrection.

First, he discusses the cause of the resurrection;

second, he presents its order and manner, at and the dead;

third, he ends with a consideration of their mutual consolation, at therefore, comfort one another.

98. He proves his first point by saying, the Lord himself. It should be noted here, as was already mentioned before, that the cause of the general resurrection is Christ’s resurrection. But if you should say: since it has already occurred (that is the resurrection of Christ), why does not its effect follow?

I would reply to this by saying that it is the cause of our resurrection according to the activity of the divine power. God, however, acts according to the order of his wisdom. Therefore, our resurrection will occur when the order of divine wisdom shall determine it.

In order to prove that Christ is the cause of the resurrection, he shows that all the dead shall rise in the presence of Christ. Three causes cooperate in the accomplishment of the general resurrection: the principal cause is the divine power; the second cause is instrumental, that is, the power of the humanity of Christ. The third cause might be termed a ministering cause in that the power of the angels will have some effect in the resurrection.

For Augustine shows that the things that occur now by virtue of corporeal creatures actually occur through God, by their mediation. (The Trinity 3.1.1.) In the resurrection, some things shall be done through the angels, such as the collection of the dust. But the restoration of the bodies and the soul’s reunion with the body will be accomplished immediately through Christ.

99. Paul then presents these three causes. First, he sets forth the glorious humanity of Christ when he says, the Lord himself. Jesus . . . will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven (Acts 1:11). With commandment. In the first coming, he came as obedient. He became obedient unto death (Phil 2:8). And that happened because it was the coming of humility; but this one will be the coming of glory. Coming with power and great glory (Luke 21:27).

Second, he presents the power of the angels when he says, with the voice of an archangel, not that anything is done by his voice, but rather by his ministry. He says, **of an archangel **for all angels minister to the Church under one archangel. This is Michael, the prince of the Church (Rev 12:7). Or perhaps, with the voice of an archangel, that is, Christ’s, who is prince of the angels. Wonderful counselor (Isa 9:6). And the resurrection shall be through Christ’s voice, corporeal or spiritual. They shall hear the voice of the Son of God (John 5:28); in other words, the dead shall rise and come to judgment, and they shall obey the bodily voice.

Third, he considers the divine power when he says, with the trumpet of God. This is the divine power which is referred to as the voice of the Archangel insofar as it will act through the ministry of the Archangel. It is called the trumpet of God since the resurrection does come about by divine power. It is called a trumpet because of its resonance, which is derived from God who raises the dead. In addition, the trumpet, which had many uses in the Old Testament, brings people together for war: and creation will fight alongside him (Wis 5:20). The trumpet was also used for celebrations, as it will be employed in the heavenly Jerusalem. In addition, the trumpet was used for deploying the armies; in this way holy men assisted in the movement of troops. And so if it is a sound that you can hear, it is called a trumpet; but if it is not a sound, then it is the divine power of Christ present and manifest to the whole world.

100. Then when Paul says, and the dead, he mentions the order that the resurrection will follow.

In doing so he makes three points.

First, he treats the resurrection of the dead;

second, he considers the meeting of the living with Christ, at then we who are alive;

finally, he refers to the happiness of the saints with Christ, at and so shall we be always.

101. Because of these words some people believed that the last people alive would never die, as Jerome mentions in his letter. (Epistle 119.7.) For Paul has said, then we who are alive, who are left, shall be taken up together with them. It might seem that there would be no other reason for distinguishing the living from the dead.

But on the contrary: we shall all indeed rise (1 Cor 15:51). For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Cor 15:22). So death spread to all men (Rom 5:12).

And so I say that some shall be alive at the time when Christ shall come for judgment, but in that moment they shall die and immediately afterwards they will rise. Because of the minimal time involved they are regarded as living.

102. But then another problem presents itself because it is said: **and the dead in Christ shall rise first **and then we who are alive. So it seems that the dead will rise before the living will meet Christ, and that the living will die when they meet him. So it appears that some will rise ahead of these others, and that there will not be a resurrection of everyone at the same time. This is contrary, however, to what is found in 1 Corinthians: in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet (1 Cor 15:22).

I wish to point out that there are two opinions on this matter. For some say that the resurrection will not take place at the same time for everybody, but that first the dead will come with Christ, and during the time that Christ is coming the living will be taken up into the clouds and they will die and rise while they are being taken up. So that what is said to happen in a moment may be understood as occurring in a brief amount of time. And if you insist that it will happen in an instant, then it should not be applied to the total resurrection of all, but rather to the resurrection of individuals, for every individual will rise in an instant.

But there are others, who maintain that everyone will rise at the same time and in an instant.

They feel that where Paul says shall rise first, he denotes the order of dignity, not the order of time.

103. This does seem difficult to maintain, for many still alive will suffer in the persecution of the antichrist and be more distinguished than those who had died before.

And so it seems necessary to answer the question in a different way, saying that all will die and all will rise at the same time. For the Apostle does not say that the dead will rise first and then the living, but that the dead will rise before the living will meet Christ. Therefore he is not speaking about the resurrection in terms of the order in which they shall rise, but of the order in which they will be taken up to meet Christ. For when the Lord does come, first those who are found alive will die and then, immediately together with those who had died before, they will rise up and be taken up into the clouds to meet Christ, as Paul clearly says.

But there is a difference between the good and the evil people, because the evil people will remain on the earth that they loved, while the good people will be taken up to the Christ whom they had sought. Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together (Matt 24:28). In the time of the resurrection the saints will be conformed to Christ, not only with regard to the glory of the body (Phil 3), but also with respect to place, for Christ will be in a cloud. A cloud took him out of their sight (Acts 1:9), and Jesus will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven (Acts 1:11). And so the saints too will be taken up into the clouds.

The reason for this is to show their likeness to God. For in the Old Testament the glory of the Lord appeared in the form of a cloud. The Lord said that he would dwell in a cloud (1 Kgs 8:12). These clouds will be prepared by divine power in order to show the glory of the saints. Or, the resplendent bodies of the glorified will appear as clouds to the evil people who will remain on earth. Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him (Matt 25:6).

104. Then when Paul says, and so we shall be always with the Lord, he shows the beatitude of the saints, for they shall always be with the Lord and derive constant enjoyment from him. I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also (John 14:3). The saints desire this: my desire is to depart and be with Christ (Phil 1:23).

105. Then when he says, therefore comfort one another with these words, Paul concludes that they should comfort one another about the dead. He feels that since the saints will rise without suffering any loss, the Thessalonians should comfort one another about the dead. Comfort, comfort my people, says your God (Isa 40:1).