Doesn’t the apostle Paul teach that the righteous will come down with Christ at the second coming? Part 1

It might first appear that this verse teaches that when Jesus comes again, the righteous dead will come with Him—instead of waiting for Him to call them from their graves. We first need to ask: Who are the “saints” mentioned in this text? When we let the Bible explain itself, all of our questions are answered.

Jesus clearly described those who would come with Him the second time. He said, “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” (Matthew 25:31). Earlier in Matthew, Jesus says, “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matthew 16:27).

If Jesus said He would come with “all the holy angels” and Paul said “with all the saints,” is there a contradiction? Not when you study the whole of Scripture. Angels are indeed sometimes called “saints” in the Bible. Note how Moses described the giving of God’s law on Mt. Sinai: “The Lord came from Sinai; … He shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; from His right hand came a fiery law for them” (Deuteronomy 33:2).

When we compare this passage with a parallel description in King David’s writings, we find the following: “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place” (Psalm 68:17 KJV).

Though the term “saints” certainly can refer to the redeemed children of God, we can know that in 1 Thessalonians 3:13, it must be speaking of angels, because of Christ’s definitive statements combined with what we know about the state of the righteous dead at Christ’s coming (see part 2 of this question).

Key Bible Texts

To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. (1 Thessalonians 3:13 KJV)