"Trooping the Colour"
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"Prince Harry! William! Kate and Meghan!" — Every tabloid, or so it seems
People can't get enough of the Brittish royal family. Surrounded by pomp and paparazzi, every appearance is a spectacle. The Queen recently celebrated her 93rd birthday with a parade called Trooping the Colour. With over 1,400 soldiers, 200 horses, 400 musicians, and streets lined with flag-waving crowds, the royal family travels through London by carriage. Returning to Buckingham Palace, the Queen receives a 41-gun salute and Air Force flyover. It's a cavalcade fit for a queen, but what kind of welcome befits the King of Kings when he comes in glory?
The Bible vividly describes Christ's return, allowing us to envision the sights and sounds of that day.
"For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
What a Sight
Some people are desperate to see "the Queen herself!" But imagine seeing Jesus, live and in-person! Jesus will not send a representative on his behalf. And he will not come figuratively in judgment (as in Matt. 24:15-28). No, "the Lord himself will descend" (1 Thes. 4:16). Once, long ago, disciples watched Jesus ascend, disappearing behind a cloud. While they gazed skyward, angels said, "This Jesus … will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1:9-11). The heavenly realm where Christ sits today (Eph. 1:20; cf. 3:10; 6:12) exists beyond this universe, but his ascension helped the disciples understand his departure and return. Christ will "appear" from that hidden plane above (Col. 3:1-4) when he "is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire" (2 Thess. 1:7-8). As men watched him go, men will see him come — in might and majesty.
What a Sound
Trumpets celebrate the Queen of England, and the Major General's voice announces her presence. But when Christ comes, "the trumpet of God" will announce him, along with an archangel's voice and a shouted command (1 Thess. 4:16) heard by "all who are in the tombs" (John 5:28–29).
What a Day
We will abruptly find ourselves "caught up" in the clouds with the risen "dead in Christ" (1 Thess. 4:16-17). Paul's word "meet" (1 Thess. 4:17) is "a technical term to describe how the citizens of a city go out to meet and welcome a visiting dignitary and escort him back to the city"1. Like a royal greeting party joining the King's procession outside of town, "when Christians leave the gates of the world, they will welcome Christ."2
The Trooping of the Colour is an annual event, and soldiers spend months preparing to perform their duties correctly. We don't know when our King will arrive, but in excited anticipation, we spend our lives preparing to greet him.
Blight, R. C. (2008). An Exegetical Summary of 1 & 2 Thessalonians (2nd ed., p. 136). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ↩
Peterson, E. (1964–). ἀπάντησις. G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, & G. Friedrich (Eds.), Theological dictionary of the New Testament (electronic ed., Vol. 1, pp. 380–381). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. ↩
