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Does the text, 1 Thessalonians 3:13 teach us that all the righteous dead will return with Christ at the end of the world?
1 Thessalonians 3:13 “so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.†Does this text teach that all the righteous dead will return with Christ at the end of the world? Who are these “saints†who will attend our Lord at His coming? By allowing the Bible to explain itself, every question is answered. Jesus described those who would come with Him in these words: Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.†Please notice that Jesus said “all the holy angels with him†instead of “with all his saints,†as Paul described it in this verse. Is there a contradiction? No. There is perfect harmony when we put all the texts together. Angels are actually called “saints†in the Bible. Moses described the giving of God’s law on Mt. Sinai in Deuteronomy as follows: Deut 33:2: “And he said: “The LORD came from Sinai, And dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came with ten thousands of saints; From His right hand Came a fiery law for them. Now compare these verses with Psalm 68:17: “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of thousands; The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.†Here the thousands who attended God at Sinai are identified as angels, although they are called “saints†in Deuteronomy. In the same way, the saints who come with Jesus in 1 Thessalonians 3:13 are identified as angels by the Master Himself in Matthew 25:31.