What’s the prettiest picture you can imagine?
A seashore, with white-capped waves stretching to the horizon?
Or how about a snow-covered mountain, with a few clouds racing by?
In the summer of 2020, a social media aficionado uploaded a beautiful clip of a rainbow. The sun was just about to set, and the rainbow formed a near-circle, with the colors radiating out from the sun and culminating in that beautiful and ephemeral slash of color we know so well.
“That’s so beautiful,” the blogger breathed in awe.
Yet, for the Christian, there’s something more beautiful on the way.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 describes the scene.
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.”
Rainbow? What rainbow? This is better than a rainbow, even a double rainbow!
The Lord himself will descend from heaven. Woo-hoo! He might give a cry of command, but there will arise a mighty shout of exultation from the blood-washed believers.
This verse says there will be the sound of the trumpet of God, and that’s something to anticipate. You can be sure the voices of the redeemed with ring out also.
Then, here’s the best part: The dead in Christ will rise to meet the King.
That’s as beautiful a picture as anyone can imagine.
When Jesus returns for his own, the blood-washed redeemed will sit beside him on his throne.
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