for the Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel's voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
Believers in Thessalonica had died, and their friends feared they had missed the Lord's return. Paul answers with three sounds — a shout, a voice, a trumpet — and with an order: the dead rise first.
The Lord Himself
The first phrase carries the weight of the whole verse. Angels, voices and trumpets all take second place to it.
That statement is emphatic: "The Lord Himself will descend." In that supreme hour He will not act through a deputy. He will come Himself! He will descend with an assembling shout. Countless angels will serve, for the archangel's voice will ring out. The hosts of God will be on the move, for the trumpets of God will sound. Yet all these are secondary to the mighty action of the Lord Himself. Verse 16 gives us His sudden descent from heaven into the air, and the exertion of His power — the voice that wakes the dead.
The Shout
The ESV translates this shout as "a cry of command." Its background shows who the call is for.
The word used here is the technical word for an admiral's call to his seamen, or a general's to his soldiers. More widely, it is any special call of command to those in a special relationship with the one commanding them. It is not a call to the world — it is not a call to everybody. The gospel is that, and thank God for it; but this shout is only for those who know His voice, who have heard Him already... The word "shout" has nothing to do with loudness, and just as little to do with being for everyone — the very reverse.
The Archangel's Voice
The archangel has a name, and his links point beyond the church.
The archangel is Michael (Jude 9). He is Israel's prince (Daniel 10:21), the great spiritual power that stands for Israel. Every time Scripture names him, it is about events in the history of that nation... If this is the interpretation, we have here three widening circles. (1) The Church, (2) Israel, (3) All men... As I have said, the church will respond at once. The work will be slower for Israel, but from that moment the nation will begin to move...
Commentators differ on how far to press this.
Some have suggested that the archangel's voice may have some connection with the raising of Old Testament saints at the coming of the Lord. Without more solid grounds it would be unwise to decide whether this is so. But at least we can see that the occasion will be one of great angelic rejoicing.
The Trumpet of God
Trumpets sound elsewhere in Scripture as warnings of judgment. This one is different.
We also hear "the trumpet of God," and this is a divine, declared testimony. For the church on earth it will be "the last trumpet" (1 Cor. 15:52). The seven trumpets of Revelation are of a different order. They are trumpets of judgment, sounding a clear testimony to a world in rebellion against God. Saints, however, will hear this "trumpet of God," and it gathers them together to the Lord. As others have pointed out, this seems to connect with Numbers 10:4. There the blowing of one trumpet was the signal for the princes of Israel to gather to Moses.
The Dead in Christ Rise First
The word "first" was the point the grieving Thessalonians needed.
He assures their hearts about the order of events connected with His coming. The first thing that happens is the resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. They lose nothing by having departed. They will be the first ready to go up and meet the Lord... This is grace, the grace of the Lord Jesus. At the same time we know that God will accomplish every event connected with His coming in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. No one can measure the interval.
The phrase "dead in Christ" marks out one particular group.
Old Testament saints will certainly share in the first resurrection. But Paul is writing here only about Christians, so Old Testament saints are not in his mind. Those who "sleep in Jesus" in verse 14 are the same group as "the dead in Christ" in verse 16. At His coming the Lord will wake them and call them out of their graves, and that is why Scripture describes them as sleeping. He has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Tim. 1). So death for the believer is only a passing sleep... As far as this world is concerned, saints are dead just like sinners. But the added words — "in Christ" — mark them out as the Christian dead.
Summary
- Himself. No messenger, no deputy: every other sound in the verse serves the Lord's own descent.
- Shout. The word is a commander's call to his own troops — not loudness, not the world, but those who already know His voice.
- Voice. The archangel's voice widens the circle toward Israel. Writers caution against pressing the link too far.
- Trumpet. This trumpet gathers; it does not judge. It stands apart from the trumpets of judgment in Revelation.
- First. The order settles the grief. The Christian dead rise before the living move, so no one who has fallen asleep loses anything.