1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Comfort for the Bereaved concerning the Prospects of the Departed.

Paul had preached to the Thessalonians the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ, and they had apparently taken up the impression that the Lord was very soon to return. When, therefore, one and another of the Christians who were looking for Christ's coming, died, their friends became perplexed and anxious about their condition and prospects. They seem to have been afraid that the dead would not witness nor partake in the glory of Christ's appearing. It is to remove these misapprehensions that Paul writes this paragraph of instruction and comfort.