356 those who are sent forth, and who shouts thus: “Make all men ready, for the Judge is at hand.” And what is “at the last trumpet”?1016 Here he implies that there are many trumpets, and that at the last the Judge descends. “And the dead,” he says, “in Christ shall rise first. Then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Ver. 18. “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” If He is about to descend, on what account shall we be caught up? For the sake of honor. For when a king drives into a city, those who are in honor go out to meet him; but the con- demned await the judge within. And upon the coming of an affectionate father, his children indeed, and those who are worthy to be his children, are taken out in a chariot, that they may see and kiss him; but those of the domestics who have offended remain within. We are carried upon the chariot of our Father. For He received Him up in the clouds, and “we shall be caught up in the clouds.” (Acts i. 9.) Seest thou how great is the honor? and as He descends, we go forth to meet Him, and, what is more blessed than all, so we shall be with Him. “Who shall speak of the mightinesses of the Lord, and make all His praises to be heard?” (Ps. cvi. 2, Sept.) How many blessings has He vouchsafed to the human race! Those who are dead are raised first, and thus the meeting takes place together. Abel who died before all shall then meet Him together with those who are alive. So that they in this respect will have no advantage, but he who is corrupted, and has been so many years in the earth, shall meet Him with them, and so all the others. For if they awaited us, that we might be crowned, as elsewhere he says in an Epistle, “God having provided some better thing concerning us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (Heb. xi. 40.), much more shall we also await them; or rather, they indeed awaited, but we not at all. For the Resurrection takes place “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” But as to the saying, that they are gathered together; they arise indeed everywhere, but are gathered together by the Angels. The former therefore is the work of the power of God commanding the earth to give up its deposit, and there is no one who ministers in it, as He then called Lazarus, “Lazarus, come forth” (John xi. 43.); but the gathering is the work of ministers. But if Angels gather them together, and run to and fro, how are they1017 caught up here? They are caught up after the descent,1018 after that they are gathered together. 1016 [The N.T. text is, without variation, “with the trump of God.” Chrys. mingles in his recollection this and the kindred passage in 1 Cor. xv. 53. The quotation at the head of the Homily is correct.—J.A.B.] 1017 i.e. How are those, whom the Angels have already taken and gathered, still “here,” that they should be caught up? L. places ἐνταῦθα before αὐτοὶ, which gives that sense more decidedly. Or “here” may only mean “in this passage.” 1018 Musculus takes it of our Lord’s descent, Hervetus otherwise. 628 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17