St. Paul says:
"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are
alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them
which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in
the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord."--1 Thessalonians 4:15-17.
[462]Some have misconstrued this Scripture to mean that the Lord would
appear the second time and give a great shout and wake up the dead. The
word here translated shout means a message of encouragement. It implies
a public message designed for the ears not of a few, but for a great
number. The "shout", the "voice of the archangel" and the "trump of God"
are all symbols. Literally, it means that the appearing of the Lord will
be at the time of or during the shout of encouragement; and this is in
full harmony with the evidences heretofore examined that the presence of
the Lord has been at a time when the people have been encouraged
concerning their own rights. Christians have encouraged each other by
passing the message of the Lord's presence on to each other. The peoples
have encouraged one another with reference to their liberties, rights,
and privileges.
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