The Rapture of the Living and the Dead
He set down a word that is not able to serve as an indictment of weakness, having said that no one is surprised (1 Thess 4:15-17). 'Not we ourselves are about to be left behind,' he says, 'but we, instead of so many, a few and well-numbered, will be left over, and will not miss the holy ones who have slept for the meeting of Christ; for even if all are raised, not all will meet Christ, but the righteous.' It is therefore evident that at the presence of Christ, some living ones are also caught up.
Or it is something like what he says: if it happened now for Christ to come, we who are left behind today would not miss those who have slept at the presence of Christ. But one must be careful that we, the ones left over, do not miss the sleepers on the day of the Lord. At the voice of an archangel. The same the Lord also says: 'and in the middle of the night a voice came: behold, the bridegroom comes' (Matt 25:6). And 'the dead in Christ shall rise first' (1 Thess 4:16).
This again the Lord himself says in the Gospels, whence both the Lord and the apostle commend that the presence of the Lord shall be at night. Furthermore, we the living, the ones left behind, instead of those about us being righteous. He wills some living ones, the ones left behind, to be caught up at the presence of Christ, and this is made evident from 'we the ones left behind at the presence of the Lord.' And
Greek
ἔθηκε λέξιν τὴν μὴ δυναμένην ἐλεγκτικὴν εἶναι τῆς ἐνδόσεως σαίνεσθαι εἰπὼν τὸ μηδένα ξενίζεσθαι. 1 Thess 4,15®17 Οὐκ αὐτὸς ἔμελλε περιλιμπάνεσθαι, φησίν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἡμεῖς ἢ ἀντὶ τοῦ τοσοῦτον ὀλίγοι καὶ 330 εὐαρίθμητοι περιλειφθήσονται, οὐ φθάσουσι τοὺς κεκοιμημένους ἁγίους εἰς τὴν ἀπάντησιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ· εἰ γὰρ καὶ πάντες ἐγείρονται, ἀλλ' οὐ πάντες ἀπαντήσουσι τῷ Χριστῷ ἀλλ' οἱ δίκαιοι. δῆλον οὖν ὅτι ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ζῶντές τινες καταλαμβάνονται. ἢ καὶ τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν ὅ φησιν· εἰ συνέβαινε νῦν τὸν Χριστὸν ἐλθεῖν, ἡμεῖς οἱ περιλιμπανόμενοι σήμερον οὐ μὴ φθάσωμεν ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τοὺς κοιμηθέντας. στικτέον δὲ μετὰ τὸ οἱ περιλειπόμενοι εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν τοῦ κυρίου οὐ μὴ φθάσωμεν τοὺς κοιμηθέντας. Ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου. τὸ αὐτὸ λέγει καὶ ὁ κύριος· μέσης δὲ νυκτὸς φωνὴ ἐγένετο· ἰδοὺ ὁ νυμφίος ἔρχεται. Καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ ἐν Χριστῷ ἀναστήσονται πρῶτον. τοῦτο πάλιν αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος λέγει ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις, ὅθεν καὶ ὁ κύριος καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος αἰνίττονται ὅτι νυκτὸς ἔσται ἡ παρουσία τοῦ κυρίου. Ἔπειτα ἡμεῖς οἱ ζῶντες οἱ περιλειπόμενοι, ἀντὶ τοῦ οἱ 329, col 2 περὶ ἡμᾶς δίκαιοι. Ζῶντας ἔτι τινὰς βούλεται καταλαμβάνεσθαι ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τοῦτο δηλοῦσθαι 330,ξολ2 ἐκ τοῦ ἡμεῖς οἱ περιλειπόμενοι ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ κυρίου. καὶ
About this text
A comforting commentary on faith, love, and hope for early Christians facing persecution and loss.
Original English Translation of Severianus of Gabala’s Fragmenta in epistulam i ad Thessalonicenses — new OET from PG 65 Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 65 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.