Food for thought; the bible says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16:
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Who then is the Lord in this passage? Well Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:6 that there is:
yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
This tells us that there is only one Lord Jesus Christ. Thus when Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 that the Lord will descend from heaven Paul is talking about Jesus. But why does Paul say that the Lord (Jesus Christ) will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel? Is Paul saying that the Lord is an archangel? Well first of all the only person in the bible called an archangel is Michael. The bible says in Jude 9:
Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
This means that when the Lord (Jesus) descends from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel He is descending with the voice of Michael the archangel. Once again only Michael is called an archangel. What then is an archangel? The word archangel comes from the Greek word ἀρχάγγελος which literally is arch + angel and means chief angel. Thus the archangel is the chief angel. This means that Michael who is the only person in the bible called archangel is the chief angel.
But now let’s get back to 1 Thessalonians 4:16. We already have seen from the bible that “the Lord” is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 8:6). We have also seen that the Lord Jesus Christ comes with the voice of of an archangel which can only be Michael because Michael is the only one called archangel in the bible (Jude 9). We have also seen that archangel simply means chief angel. So one final question; does all this mean that Jesus is Michael the archangel? To answer this let’s look at a passage in John 5:25. In this passage Jesus explains how the dead will rise at the resurrection. He says:
Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
In John 5:25 it is the Son of God’s (Jesus’) voice that raises the dead. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 it is the voice of an archangel (Michael) that raises the dead in Christ. These two verses are describing the same event and the actions of the same person. The Lord is Jesus Christ the Son of God and Michael the archangel and when He descends from Heaven with a shout and the dead hear His voice they will live and rise first.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Who then is the Lord in this passage? Well Paul says in 1 Corinthians 8:6 that there is:
yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
This tells us that there is only one Lord Jesus Christ. Thus when Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 that the Lord will descend from heaven Paul is talking about Jesus. But why does Paul say that the Lord (Jesus Christ) will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel? Is Paul saying that the Lord is an archangel? Well first of all the only person in the bible called an archangel is Michael. The bible says in Jude 9:
Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
This means that when the Lord (Jesus) descends from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel He is descending with the voice of Michael the archangel. Once again only Michael is called an archangel. What then is an archangel? The word archangel comes from the Greek word ἀρχάγγελος which literally is arch + angel and means chief angel. Thus the archangel is the chief angel. This means that Michael who is the only person in the bible called archangel is the chief angel.
But now let’s get back to 1 Thessalonians 4:16. We already have seen from the bible that “the Lord” is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 8:6). We have also seen that the Lord Jesus Christ comes with the voice of of an archangel which can only be Michael because Michael is the only one called archangel in the bible (Jude 9). We have also seen that archangel simply means chief angel. So one final question; does all this mean that Jesus is Michael the archangel? To answer this let’s look at a passage in John 5:25. In this passage Jesus explains how the dead will rise at the resurrection. He says:
Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
In John 5:25 it is the Son of God’s (Jesus’) voice that raises the dead. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 it is the voice of an archangel (Michael) that raises the dead in Christ. These two verses are describing the same event and the actions of the same person. The Lord is Jesus Christ the Son of God and Michael the archangel and when He descends from Heaven with a shout and the dead hear His voice they will live and rise first.
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