Letter 119: Minervius and Alexander, two monks of Toulouse, had written to Jerome asking him to explain for them a large number of passages in scripture. Jerome in his reply postpones most of these to a future time but deals with two in detail viz. (1) we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed, 1 Cor.

Jerome to the monks Minervius and Alexander of Toulouse — greetings. I am glad to hear that even in Gaul there are men who read Scripture with sufficient care to notice its difficulties and sufficient humility to ask for help with them. You have submitted a long list of questions; most I will save for a future letter or a longer treatise. For now, two points. First: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51). The best Greek manuscripts read instead: "We shall all sleep, but we shall not all be changed." Paul's point, on this reading, is that death is the universal condition, while the transformation of resurrection is reserved for those who belong to Christ. Do not be misled by inferior copies of the text. Second: "We shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thessalonians 4:17). This language is not meant literally. The clouds are a figure for the glory of God; the "catching up" signifies the believer's assumption into the company of the apostles and prophets and all the saints who have preceded us. Paul is describing an inclusion, not a levitation. Write again when you have more questions. I answer what I can, when I can, from a monastery that grows busier every year rather than quieter.

To Minervius and Alexander Minervius and Alexander, two monks of Toulouse, had written to Jerome asking him to explain for them a large number of passages in scripture. Jerome in his reply postpones most of these to a future time but deals with two in detail viz. (1) we shall not all sleep but we shall all be changed, 1 Cor. xv. 51; and (2) we shall be caught up in the clouds, 1 Thes. iv. 17. With regard to (1) Jerome prefers the reading we shall all sleep but we shall not all be changed, and with regard to (2) he looks upon the language as metaphorical and interprets it to mean that believers will be 'assumed' into the company of the apostles and prophets. The date of the letter is 406 A.D. About this page Source. Translated by W.H. Fremantle, G. Lewis and W.G. Martley. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 6. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1893.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001119.htm>. Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to ever y letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.