1st Thessalonians 4:16 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.
Death is a phenomenon we never get accustomed to, and yet it is something we would all have to be reconciled to, because it is an unavoidable fact of life. Humanity naturally recoils from death, because God made us to live, not to die. And even as sad as it is when we lose loved ones, it will give us pause for concern if we observe what is currently taking place across the globe. Death has been significantly ramped up in every corner of the earth.
And it runs particularly rampant in countries that are at war, and in places that are subjected to terrible natural disasters. For instance, one of the last survivors of one family lost 173 relatives in a matter of days in Gaza. That number then rose to 270 family members killed in a matter of months. In the 2010 earthquake that had shaken Haiti, some persons lost 20 family members in one day.
And in Venezuela, where folks are still reeling from the recent twin earthquakes, thousands of persons are unaccounted for, with entire families, and their relatives wiped out without a trace. These facts do not minimize the sadness of the losses we do suffer, but it gives us a glimpse of the scale of death which the earth is now inundated with. Coping with the loss of family and friends could be difficult.
1st Thessalonians 4:17 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. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!