Fathers

1 Thessalonians 4

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Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

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What the Fathers say

1 Thessalonians 4:17

Eastern Fathers

Gregory of Nyssa

For that which has taken place in Christ's Humanity is a common boon bestowed on mankind generally. For as when we see in Him the weight of the body, which naturally gravitates to earth, ascending through the air into the heavens, we believe according to the words of the Apostle, that we also "shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air," even so, when we hear that the true God and Father has become the God and Father of our First-fruits, we no longer doubt that the same God has become our God and Father too, …

Against Eunomius 12.1 ↗

Cyril of Jerusalem

Now the life that is really and truly life is God the Father, the fount of life, who pours out his heavenly gifts upon all his creatures through the Son and in the Holy Spirit, and the blessings of eternal life are faithfully promised even to us men, through his love for us. There must be no incredulity about the possibility of that. For we ought to believe, because our minds should be set on his power, not on our feebleness. …

Catechetical Lecture 18:29 ↗

Theophylact of Ohrid

Although the dead shall rise first, we also who are living, that is, the worthy ones, shall likewise be caught up on clouds, just as a cloud took up the Lord. If the Lord is to descend, then why will the faithful be caught up? For the sake of honor. For just as when a king enters a city, the distinguished citizens go out to meet him, while the criminals inside await the judge, so also will it be then. …

Commentary on 1 Thessalonians ↗

Western Saints

Bede

And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Moses and Elijah, one of whom we read was dead and the other taken up into the heavens, were seen in majesty with the Lord (as Luke writes), signifying the future glory of all the saints in Him. Evidently at the time of judgment, some will be found alive in the flesh, or also, having previously tasted death, will be resurrected and will reign together with Him. …

On the Gospel of Mark ↗

Thomas Aquinas

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. …

Commentary on 1 Thessalonians ↗

Tyrannius Rufinus

That the righteous shall ever abide with Christ our Lord we have proved above, where we have shewn that the Apostle says, "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet Christ in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord." And do not marvel that the flesh of the saints is to be changed into such a glorious condition at the resurrection as to be caught up to meet God, suspended in the clouds and borne in the air, since the same Apostle, setting forth the great things which God …

A Commentary On The Apostles' Creed 46 ↗