In 1 Thessalonians 4:13, Paul writes to his readers “concerning those who have fallen asleep.” What would happen to those who do not remain alive until the coming of the Lord? What does he say regarding these “dead in Christ” (4:16)?
What does not follow is what is usually said about this in Christianity. There you hear things like: he or she is now in a better place, he is now rejoicing before God’s throne, etc. The dead are actually dead and have no consciousness (Ps. 115:17; Isa. 38:18; Eccl. 9:5; Job 7:21).
resurrection
What Paul brings forward in 1 Thessalonians 4 is that the hope (:13) for the deceased consists of the fact that God is going to raise them. The dead in Christ will subsequently rise. Paul therefore urges his readers to encourage one another with these words (:18).
comparisons
This chapter does not discuss what the resurrection body looks like. In fact, we find hardly anything about it. There is no way to describe it, for the resurrection body is spiritual, glorified, and imperishable, with a capacity such as we do not know (1 Cor. 15:42-44). In 1 Corinthians 15, however, we do find examples from creation that give us some idea of what it will be like. For there are many things in nature that illustrate resurrection.
from caterpillar to butterfly
But our frame of reference is our weak, limited, and perishable body. Just try explaining to a caterpillar what it is like to become a butterfly. Humanly speaking, that is impossible, and yet it happens. For God promises it to us in His word. Paul describes the same moment in Philippians 3 as in 1 Thessalonians 4:
Philippians 3
20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also await the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will give the body of our humiliation a different appearance, conforming to the body of His glory (…)
metamorphosis
We now have a perishable body, which in verse 21 is called: the body of our humiliation. The Lord Himself will descend from heaven (compare: 1 Thess. 4:16) and change our humbled body. What is translated here as giving a different appearance is one word in Greek: metaschematisei. It has to do with changing form, or in other words: transformation. Our body will be conforming to His glorified body, it says here.
He is the Firstfruits (1 Cor. 15:20), who has received this resurrection body, and we who belong to Christ (1 Cor. 15:23) will soon follow. At that moment, He descends from heaven and not only takes us up, but causes our bodies, both the dead and the living remaining (1 Thess. 4:16-17), to undergo a complete metamorphosis. Raised in incorruptibility, glory, and power! Indeed: like a caterpillar that is transformed into a butterfly.