For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God's trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first,
      1. They sleep in Jesus. They are asleep, 1 Thessalonians 4:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13. They have fallen asleep in Christ,1 Corinthians 15:18. Death does not annihilate them. It is but a sleep to them. It is their rest, and undisturbed rest. They have retired out of this troublesome world, to rest from all their labours and sorrows, and they sleep in Jesus, 1 Thessalonians 4:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:14. Being still in union with him, they sleep in his arms and are under his special care and protection. Their souls are in his presence, and their dust is under his care and power; so that they are not lost, nor are they losers, but great gainers by death, and their removal out of this world is into a better.