4:17a

we who are alive and remain: See the note on 4:15b.

will be caught up together with them: All the believers, both those who are still alive and those who have just become alive again, will suddenly be lifted up and taken upward from the earth into the sky to meet Jesus as he descends from heaven. If you need to say who lifts the believers, you should say it is God.

them: This refers back to “the dead in Christ” (4:16e).

in the clouds: In the Scriptures, the Messiah’s (Christ’s) coming is sometimes mentioned together with the phrase “with clouds” (Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:30, 26:64; Mark 13:26, 14:62; Revelation 1:7).

4:17b

in the air: The phrase in the air probably refers to the same place as “in the clouds.” Here is another way to translate this phrase:

in the sky (Contemporary English Version)

4:17c

And so we will always be with the Lord: From the time that Jesus returns, believers will never again be physically separated from him.

© 2002 by SIL International®

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.