Written on 4/18/2020.
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. (1 Thessalonians 4:14, RVR 1960) This verse should not lead us to believe that souls sleep remaining in a kind of unconscious state after death, because Christ's whisper to every saint on the brink of death is: Today you will be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43). Yes, they slept in him, but his soul is before the throne of God, and day and night they serve him in his temple (Revelation 7:15) and sing hallelujah to Him who washed them of their sins with his precious blood. The body rests on its solitary earth bed under a grassy covering, but in this verse, what does the word slept mean? In this context the Spirit of God gives us the idea of rest. This makes falling asleep every night a special day of rest for us, to be well on the following day. And that rest of the soul prevents intruders from approaching so that the life it has enters the summer garden of rest. The believer weighed down by his work rests like a baby in his mother's lap. How happy and blessed are those who die in the Lord! They rest from their work and their good works follow them, however, their rest will not be interrupted until God raises them up and gives them their full reward. Cared for by angels and surrounded by eternal mysteries, they (the heroes of glory) slow down until the fulfillment of time finally brings them the fullness of redemption. And how glorious his awakening will be! Their bodies went to rest worn and dejected, but that is not how they are resurrected beautiful and glorified. The withered seed, formless and unattractive, will rise from the dust of the ground like a beautiful flower. The cold winter grave will give birth to the spring of redemption and the summer of glory.