SEV Biblia, Chapter 4:15
Por lo cual, os decimos esto en Palabra del Seor: que nosotros que vivimos, que quedamos hasta la venida del Seor, no seremos delanteros a los que durmieron.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 Thessalonians 4:15
Verse 15. This we say unto you by the word of the Lord] This I have, by express revelation, from the Lord: what he now delivers, he gives as coming immediately from the Spirit of God. Indeed, human reason could not have found out the points which he immediately subjoins; no conjectures could lead to them. Allowing even the general doctrine of the resurrection to be believed, yet what follows does not flow from the premises; they are doctrines of pure revelation, and such as never could have been found out by human ingenuity. In no place does the apostle speak more confidently and positively of his inspiration than here; and we should prepare ourselves to receive some momentous and interesting truth. We which are alive, and remain] By the pronoun we the apostle does not intend himself, and the Thessalonians to whom he was then writing; he is speaking of the genuine Christians which shall be found on earth when Christ comes to judgment. From not considering the manner in which the apostle uses this word, some have been led to suppose that he imagined that the day of judgment would take place in that generation, and while he and the then believers at Thessalonica were in life. But it is impossible that a man, under so direct an influence of the Holy Spirit, should be permitted to make such a mistake: nay, no man in the exercise of his sober reason could have formed such an opinion; there was nothing to warrant the supposition; no premises from which it could be fairly deduced; nor indeed any thing in the circumstances of the Church, nor in the constitution of the world, that could have suggested a hint of the kind. The apostle is speaking of the thing indefinitely as to the time when it shall happen, but positively as to the ORDER that shall be then observed.
Shall not prevent them which are asleep.] Those who shall be found living in that day, though they shall not pass through death, but be suddenly changed, shall not go to glory before them that are dead, for the dead in Christ shall rise first - they shall be raised, their bodies made glorious, and be caught up to meet the Lord, before the others shall be changed. And this appears to be the meaning of the apostle's words, mh fqaswmen, which we translate shall not prevent; for, although this word prevent, from prae and venio, literally signifies to go before, yet we use it now in the sense of to hinder or obstruct. fqanein tina signifies the same, according to Hesychius, as prohkein, to go before, prolambanein, to anticipate, be before. Those who shall be found alive on that day shall not anticipate glory before the dead in Christ; for they shall rise first, and begin the enjoyment of it before the others shall be changed. This appears to be the apostle's meaning.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord , etc.] The apostle having something new and extraordinary to deliver, concerning the coming of Christ, the first resurrection, or the resurrection of the saints, the change of the living saints, and the rapture both of the raised and living in the clouds to meet Christ in the air, expresses himself in this manner; either in allusion to the prophets of old, to whom the word of the Lord is said to come, and who usually introduced their prophecies with a Thus saith the Lord; or in distinction from his own private sense, sentiment, and opinion of things; signifying, that what he was about to say, was not a fancy and conjecture of his own, the fruit and produce of his own brain, but what he could assert upon a sure foundation, upon the best and greatest authority, even the word of the Lord; and has respect either to some particular word of Christ, as some think, such as ( Matthew 24:30,31 John 5:28,29) or rather to a particular and peculiar revelation, and special instruction in these things, he had immediately from Christ; and it may be when he was caught up into the third heaven himself, and had an experience in himself of somewhat of that which both the living and raised saints shall feel, when they are caught up together in the clouds; since the change of the living saints, at the time of the resurrection of the dead, is a mystery which seems to have been first made known unto, and discovered by the Apostle Paul; (see 1 Corinthians 15:51,52). That we which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord : not that the apostle thought that he and the saints then in the flesh should live and continue till the second coming of Christ; for he did not imagine that the coming of Christ was so near, as is manifest from ( 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3) though the Thessalonians might take him in this sense, which he there corrects; but he speaks of himself and others in the first person plural, by way of instance and example, for illustration sake; that supposing he and others should be then in being, the following would be the case: and moreover, he might use such a way of speaking with great propriety of other saints, and even of those unborn, and that will be on the spot when Christ shall come a second time; since all the saints make up one body, one family, one church and general assembly; so that the apostle might truly and justly say, we which are alive; that is, as many of our body, of our family, of our church or society, that shall be living at the coming of Christ; and he might choose the rather to speak in this form, person, and tense, to awaken the care, circumspection, diligence, and watchfulness of the saints, since it could not be known how soon the Lord would come: however, from hence it appears, that there will be saints alive at Christ's second coming; he will have a seed to serve him till he comes again; he always had in the worst of times, and will have, and that even in the last days, in the days of the son of man, which are said to be like those of Noah and of Lot: and these are said to remain, or to be left, these will be a remnant, the residue and remainder of the election of grace, and will be such as have escaped the fury of antichrist and his followers, or of the persecutors of the saints: now these shall not prevent them that are asleep ; that is, that are dead, so the Ethiopic version; the reason why the dead are so called, see in the note on the preceding verses: the sense is, either they shall not come up to them that are asleep, or dead, as the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions render the words; they shall not come into the state of the dead, they shall undergo a change equivalent to death, but not death itself; (see Corinthians 15:51,52) or rather they shall not go before them; they shall not get the start of them, and be in the arms of Jesus, and enjoy his presence when he comes, before the dead in Christ, which might be thought, but this will not be the case; for the dead saints will rise before the living ones are changed, and both will be caught up together to meet the Lord, as is said in the following verses; so that the one shall not come or go before the other, or come at, or into the enjoyment of Christ first, but both together.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 13-18 - Here is comfort for the relations and friends of those who die in the Lord. Grief for the death of friends is lawful; we may weep for our ow loss, though it may be their gain. Christianity does not forbid, an grace does not do away, our natural affections. Yet we must not be excessive in our sorrows; this is too much like those who have no hop of a better life. Death is an unknown thing, and we know little abou the state after death; yet the doctrines of the resurrection and the second coming of Christ, are a remedy against the fear of death, an undue sorrow for the death of our Christian friends; and of thes doctrines we have full assurance. It will be some happiness that all the saints shall meet, and remain together for ever; but the principa happiness of heaven is to be with the Lord, to see him, live with him and enjoy him for ever. We should support one another in times sorrow not deaden one another's spirits, or weaken one another's hands. An this may be done by the many lessons to be learned from the resurrection of the dead, and the second coming of Christ. What comfort a man by telling him he is going to appear before the judgment-seat of God! Who can feel comfort from those words? That ma alone with whose spirit the Spirit of God bears witness that his sin are blotted out, and the thoughts of whose heart are purified by the Holy Spirit, so that he can love God, and worthily magnify his name. We are not in a safe state unless it is thus with us, or we are desirin to be so __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
οτι 3754 CONJ αυτος 846 P-NSM ο 3588 T-NSM κυριος 2962 N-NSM εν 1722 PREP κελευσματι 2752 N-DSN εν 1722 PREP φωνη 5456 N-DSF αρχαγγελου 743 N-GSM και 2532 CONJ εν 1722 PREP σαλπιγγι 4536 N-DSF θεου 2316 N-GSM καταβησεται 2597 5695 V-FDI-3S απ 575 PREP ουρανου 3772 N-GSM και 2532 CONJ οι 3588 T-NPM νεκροι 3498 A-NPM εν 1722 PREP χριστω 5547 N-DSM αναστησονται 450 5698 V-FMI-3P πρωτον 4412 ADV
Vincent's NT Word Studies
15. By the word of the Lord (en logw kuriou). Or in the word. Logov of a concrete saying, Rom. ix. 9; xiii. 9. We do not say this on our own authority. Comp. 1 Cor. vii. 10, 12, 25. No recorded saying of the Lord answers to this reference. It may refer to a saying transmitted orally, or to a direct revelation to Paul. Comp. Gal. i. 12; ii. 2; Eph. iii. 3; 2 Cor. xii. 1, 9.Remain (perileipomenoi). P o . and only in this Epistle. The plural we indicates that Paul himself expected to be alive at the parousia. 26 Shall not prevent (ou mh fqaswmen). The A.V. misses the force of the double negative - shall in no wise prevent. Prevent in the older sense of anticipate, be beforehand with. See on Matt. xvii. 25, and 1 Thessalonians ii. 16. The living shall not share the blessings of the advent sooner than the dead in Christ.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
4:15 {By the word of the Lord} (en logwi kuriou). We do not know to what word of the Lord Jesus Paul refers, probably Paul meaning only the point in the teaching of Christ rather than a quotation. He may be claiming a direct revelation on this important matter as about the Lord's Supper in #1Co 11:23. Jesus may have spoken on this subject though it has not been preserved to us (cf. #Mr 9:1). {Ye that are alive} (hemeis hoi zwntes). Paul here includes himself, but this by no means shows that Paul knew that he would be alive at the parousia of Christ. He was alive, not dead, when he wrote. {Shall in no wise precede} (ou me fqaswmen). Second aorist active subjunctive of fqanw, to come before, to anticipate. this strong negative with ou me (double negative) and the subjunctive is the regular idiom (Robertson, _Grammar_, p. 929). Hence there was no ground for uneasiness about the dead in Christ.
