Thursday, Sept 3 –
As we continue our reading
thru the New Testament reading 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11. It’s one of the more intriguing passages as
we get a picture of the return of Christ.
Please read the passage first and then return that we might look at it
again.
“One glad day, when this life is over, I’ll fly away,” so says the southern
gospel song. The mystery of life after
death is fascinating, and sometimes just thinking about heaven is at the same
time comforting and curious. Somewhere
in the communication with the Thessalonians, there had been a question of what
happens to their loved ones who had died.
After encouraging them to walk out their faith in their day to day
living (4:1-8), Paul begins to address what will occur at the end of time –
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are
asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since
we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring
with him those who have fallen asleep” (4:13-14).
One cannot help but think that this insight doesn’t
appear out of thin air – as if Paul just decided to talk about Christ’s
coming. At the end of the previous
section, he had told them to live quietly, mind their own business, and work
with their hands – i.e., there may have been people in the church that were
overly excited about the return of Christ and, therefore, neglected to follow
through on responsibilities of everyday life.
We know that Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians emphasizes daily
responsibilities because some had stopped working, thinking Jesus’ return was
imminent. Paul writes to help them think
through what he says they are “uninformed” about. It wasn’t that they hadn’t heard about life
after death, but that they didn’t understand the details. “Those who have fallen asleep” are
their loved ones who have died. This is
not “soul sleep,” as some have tried to teach.
The likeness of Jesus’ resurrection is the pattern of the death of a
Saint –
“For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus,
God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (4:14).
As Jesus was raised bodily and ascended into heaven, so will those who die
in the Lord. All people grieve the death
of a loved one, but a Christian has the confidence of the hope of life after
death. I honestly don’t know what people
do without faith in Christ when they consider death. Yet, as believers in Christ, we do not have
that hopelessness. We “who walk
through the valley of the shadow of death” (Ps. 23:4) know that the future
is secure well beyond the grave. Our
security does not lie in wishful thinking, or platitudes of pious “some glad
morning,” “in the sweet by and by,” but in the rock of our salvation – “Jesus
Christ died and rose again…will bring with him those who have fallen asleep”
(4:14).
Now, Paul answers
their question – “but what will happen to those who are alive when
Jesus comes back”? While
speculations abound in what it will look like, Paul is confident of revelation
he has received –
“For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive,
who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have
fallen asleep. 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” (4:15-17).
The “coming of the Lord” is one word in Greek – “Parousia” – and Paul's
understanding is not speculation, but revelation, “by a word from the Lord.” A “Parousia” was used in the language of Rome
as a term for a visit from a King or Emperor.
Dr. John Stott sees a “creedal” statement in Paul’s language, signifying
that this is a confession Paul, and perhaps others that had been taught in the
early church – “He expresses his assurance in the form of a creed: We
believe that ... and so we believe that ... we tell you that ...
(14-15). Thus, the creed has three clauses. The first relates to Jesus (he died
and rose again, 14a), the second to the Christian dead (God will bring them
with Jesus, 14b), and the third to the Christian living (they will certainly
not precede the Christian dead, 15)”.[1]
While
speculations of what this will look like are numerous, what is obvious from
Paul is that no Christian – no one “in Christ” – will be left behind, or
excluded – “…we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will not precede those who have fallen asleep” (4:15). The dead, from our standpoint, are immovable
while we are always moving, but in the meeting in the sky, all will move
according to the Sovereign will of God.
What is also true from the text is that a transformation is going to occur as
life from earth meets life in the Heavenlies –
“ 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” (4:16).
It is Jesus himself who will initiate this – “the Lord himself will descend
from heaven – and with his Hosts of Angels, and a trumpet “wake up” call to
summon the dead and the living. He will bring
about this meeting in the air, and not just the dead will arise, but the ones
living in Christ will also rise –
“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” (4:17).
The language in 4:17 of “being caught up” comes from a singular verb, “harpazo”
(har päd zō), and the Latin word from that word is “raptüro.” The teaching of the Rapture of the church
developed from these verses that describe Christ’s initiating and gathering the
alive and dead to Him. If we look at the
text carefully, we see that this was a revelation from the Lord to Paul – “this
we declare to you by a word from the Lord” (4:15a). This was a revelation from the Lord to the early
church, and much of it was hinted at in other passages of Scripture – e.g., Jesus
on the Mount of Olivet in the Gospels of Matthew 25 and Luke 17. As well, in Old Testament Scripture in Joel
2, and Zephaniah 1, the prophets see the “Day of the Lord” as the Lord’s
coming. Does it seem strange? Phenomenal
or Unbelievable? Remember Paul’s teaching
to the Corinthian church about the nature of the Resurrection –
“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be
changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be
changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must
put on immortality" (1 Cor. 15:51-53).
Our curiosity is
similar to the church in Thessalonica, and at some point, the question inevitably
asked is, “when will this Day of the Lord occur”? The answer – in my opinion – is that all of the
revelation Paul gives us is hidden in God’s timing, and as for us, it is
foolish to try to predict that which is in God’s will –
“Now, concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to
have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the
day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are
saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon
them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (5:1-3).
We must notice that the “Parousia,” the coming of the Lord, is a double-edged
sword. On the one hand, the saints are
taken to the Lord, but on the other hand, judgment is going to fall upon the
earth. Trying to determine the date is
irrelevant to the real issue – on which side of this will I fall? Jesus had told his disciples when they asked
if the Kingdom was soon in coming – “‘It is not for you to know the times or
dates the Father has set by his authority’” (Acts 1:7). Paul reminds us that “the day of the Lord
comes like a thief in the night” – i.e., not when you expect it (5:2), and
as a woman’s labor pains come suddenly, so will the Lord’s coming (5:3). The desire to determine the “when” of
Christ’s coming is not nearly important as being prepared for Christ’s return –
whenever it occurs – “ So then
let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober” (5:6).
If you notice, we
have come full circle. The practical
concerns of faith in Christ that began in 4:1 with “the will of God in
sanctification” have come back to remind them/us that our life on earth is
a preparation for eternal life. Thus, in
a series of metaphors, Paul reminds us there is a difference in living as “children
of light…not in darkness…not of night…not asleep…but awake, sober…not drunk…but
equipped with faith, love, and hope” (5:4-8).
With faith-filled alertness, we are always living with the hope of the
coming and the reality of Christ’s judgment when he returns –
“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the
breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through
our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or
asleep we might live with him” (5:8-10).
Let our faith in Christ be reassurance – we are not destined for wrath, but
salvation because of Jesus Christ, and furthermore, we are destined to live
with him. Our solid ground is Christ
Jesus, who knows those who are his. Paul
ends this with the words we need to receive -
“ Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you
are doing” (5:11).
Looking back, we find encouragement. The
same Christ who came to die for us is the same Christ ascended into Heaven, and
will someday come back for us. Our
cloud-breaking Savior is coming for His church – His body – His bride. Therefore, we who believe in Christ should
live wide awake to the world around us.
We should not be asleep to the “way, truth, life” that is Jesus. Secondly, we should not be fooled into a lull
of suspended faith. Finally, we should
realize that there is no other way than Jesus.
Let’s not be theologically lazy in saying, “well, it all comes to
whether you’re good or not.” Faith in
Christ alone is the only guarantee to escape the wrath of God’s judgment that
one day will also come upon the earth.
Peace
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