OUR HOPE - OUR COMFORT - PART 2 (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we began to look at one of my favorite passages in the Bible, the passage I want preached at my funeral should I die before the Lord Jesus returns to take us home to be with Him. Last Sunday we got through the first two points of the five points of this passage. We began by looking at the background to this passage, the purpose behind Paul choosing to add this passage to this letter. We found it was a two-fold reason due to a lack of knowledge on the part of the Thessalonian believers. First, because of persecution they thought that they had missed the rapture and were currently in the Day of the Lord, or the Tribulation. This was due in first part because of the persecution they were suffering and secondly because of some false teachers that were telling them the Day of the Lord had already come. Second, they were concerned that those who had died before the rapture would miss out of the Lord’s coming for the church. For this reason, Paul pens this response to their fears, and he does not just give them the doctrinal facts of the rapture, but like a good pastor he uses the facts to encourage the believers and to give them comfort and hope for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His church.
The second point that we looked at last Sunday was the three building blocks that make up the firm foundation of the hope that we have for the Lord’s return for the church. Those three building blocks are the death of the Lord Jesus, the basis for His return, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the guarantee of His return, and the revelation of the Lord Jesus, that this is not something man made up, but it is the direct revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. This morning we will examine the last three points of this passage: the beneficiaries of the rapture, the blueprint of the rapture, and the benefit of the rapture for us today. Let’s pray and then read our passage again.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, I will read the whole passage again. Please stand, if you are able, in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
1st Thessalonians 4:13-18,
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18, NASB95)[1]
THE BENEFICIARIES OF THE RAPTURE (1st Thessalonians 4:15b)
As Paul launches into the beneficiaries of the rapture, we must remember that these are not his words but what the Lord has revealed to him. The first thing that we learn from the Lord Jesus is that there are two groups that will benefit from the rapture. The two groups are, “we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord…[and] those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15b, NASB95)[2] Paul is telling us that some in the church will not taste death, there will be some believers still living when the Lord Jesus returns to take the church to heaven. The fact that Paul uses the plural “we” to refer to those who were still alive shows us that he believed the rapture could happen in his lifetime. Even though Paul believed and hoped that Christ’s return would happen while he was still alive, his anticipation and his expectation were in the proper amount, not like many down through the history of the church. What I mean is Paul never predicted a specific time for the Lord’s return, Paul accepted the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 24:36 where He said, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” (Matthew 24:36, NASB95)[3] Again in response to the apostles asking Jesus if He would restore the kingdom after His resurrection, we have His response recorded for us in Acts 1:7, “He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;” (Acts 1:7, NASB95)[4] If you remember the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in which the Lord illustrated the foolishness of not being constantly prepared for the Lord’s return (Matthew 25:1-13). The Lord declared the point of this parable when He said, “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.” (Matthew 25:13, NASB95)[5] Paul had the right thinking about the Lord’s return, he avoided the two most common errors concerning the Lord’s return; he never set dates, nor did he push the return of Christ into the distant, indefinite future.
This is not the only place in Scripture where Paul expresses his eager hope and expectation that he himself might be among those still alive at the Lord’s coming. In Romans 13:11-12 Paul wrote, “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Romans 13:11–12, NASB95)[6] The salvation of which Paul speaks of here is the redemption of the body that he had spoken of in Romans 8. He is saying that the night of man’s sin and Satan’s rule is almost gone, and the day of Christ’s return is near. In 1st Corinthians 10:11 Paul wrote, “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11, NASB95)[7] Paul understood that He was in the messianic age, the period between the first coming of Christ and the second coming, the last days of human history. He most likely never imagined that they would last as long as they have. Later in 1st Corinthians, just like in 1st Thessalonians, he includes himself among those who might still be alive at the Rapture. From our Scripture reading this morning Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 15:51-52, “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.” (1 Corinthians 15:51–52, NASB95)[8] Twice already in 1st Thessalonians Paul has mentioned the Rapture. In chapter 1, verse 10 he commended the Thessalonian believers for waiting for God’s Son from heaven. Praying for them in chapter 3:13 he prayed, “… that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:13, NASB95)[9] In his benediction at the end of the book he prays something similar for the Thessalonians.
Paul also understood that he might be with those who have fallen asleep before the Rapture. In 1st Corinthians 6:14 Paul acknowledges that he might be among those resurrected at the Rapture, he writes, “Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.” (1 Corinthians 6:14, NASB95)[10] In in letter to the Philippians Paul expressed his desire that “…Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” (Philippians 1:20b, NASB95)[11] In 2 Timothy 4:6-7 Paul knew that his death was near, and he penned these words to his son in the faith, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;” (2 Timothy 4:6–7, NASB95)[12] Throughout Paul’s writings he expresses both possibilities, Paul used “we” in our passage in 1 Thessalonians 4 because when he wrote it, it was still possible for the Lord to return in his lifetime. By writing this way, he expressed to the Thessalonian believers his own longing for Christ’s imminent return.
Paul lived in constant expectation of Christ’s return. But he reassured the Thessalonians that those of their loved ones who had died in Jesus would not miss the rapture. He even told them that we who are living will not precede those who have died. They will precede us and receive their resurrection bodies as the living will then be changed and receive our glorified bodies. All Christians will participate in the Rapture.
THE BLUEPRINT OF THE RAPTURE (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Paul, beginning in verse 16 gives us the blueprint of the Rapture and just as a blueprint of a house shows the contractor what the finished product will look like, this blueprint shows us what the Rapture will look like. Paul uses simple, straight-forward facts to describe the Rapture to us, but they must be emphasized because there are those who would like to pervert and twist them to be something that they are not.
First, Paul writes that the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven. I do not think Paul could state this any more plainly. Yet there are those who say that this has already happened when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. I believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible, plenary means all of it, every word, and this means these words are of utmost significance, for they plainly say that the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven. If God did not mean that the Lord Jesus Christ was coming again personally and in bodily form, then there would be no point in emphasizing that the Lord HIMSELF shall descend from heaven. Hebrews 9:28 states, “…so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” (Hebrews 9:28, NASB95)[13] This is just one passage of many that confirm that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again. This is truly a blessed and encouraging truth. Think about it, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Creator of the universe, the One who loves us and gave Himself for us, the One who left the glory of heaven to bear the shame of the cross to die and shed His blood to pay the penalty required for our sin, is truly, literally, and personally coming again to receive us unto Himself He is not sending someone else to get us, He is not sending angels to meet us and lead us to heaven, He Himself is coming personally to take us to Himself. Jesus made the promise to come back for us in John 14:3. He said, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3, NASB95)[14]
Not only will the Lord Himself descend from heaven, but that descent will be accompanied by a shout, by the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God. The word translated “shout” is a Greek word that means a “commanding shout.” Possibly like the command of Jesus when He resurrected Lazarus from the grave. John 11:43 says, “He cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come forth.’ ” (John 11:43, NASB95)[15] Maybe it will be a commanding shout for the dead in Christ to come forth.
Next, we are told that we will hear the voice of the archangel. The only archangel who is named in the Bible is Michael, who seems to have a special ministry to Israel. Daniel 10:13 seems to indicate that there is more than one archangel or chief angel; so, we cannot be certain that it will be Michael’s voice. Possibly this angel is announcing the end of the age of grace. Perhaps he is acting as a groomsman and shouting, “the bridegroom is coming!” like in the parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.
Thirdly, we are told that there will be the trumpet of God. 1st Corinthians 15 also relates Christ’s return for the church with the sound of a trumpet. This trumpet is not to be confused with the seven trumpets of judgment in Revelation chapters 8-11. This trumpet will be the last trumpet call for the church to come out and meet their God. The Jewish people were familiar with trumpets which were used to declare war, announce special days and feasts, to gather the people together like at Mount Sinai when God gave the Law to the people, there was a long trumpet blast from the mountain to gather the Israelites at the foot of the mountain to hear from God. Those in the Roman Empire were also familiar with trumpets, trumpets were used by the military, trumpets were used to announce the arrival of a great person. This trumpet will herald the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest person in all history.
I believe the church will hear the commanding shout of the Lord Jesus, we will hear the voice of the archangel and we will hear the trumpet of God. To the rest of the world it will make no sense, but to us who have trusted Christ for salvation it will make all the sense in the world, it will mean Jesus Christ has come back for us.
The result of the Lord Jesus descending with a shout, and the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God will be that the dead in Christ will rise first. Before anything happens to those believers who are still alive at the coming of the Lord, the dead in Christ will be resurrected. Their resurrected, glorified bodies will be joined again with their glorified spirits which descended with the Lord Jesus. This resurrection body will be different than our earthly body, it will be like Adam’s body in the beginning before he sinned. Understand that God is not going to put the elements of our dead bodies together again, resurrection is not reconstruction. Paul in 1st Corinthians 15:35-38 says that the resurrection of the human body is like the growing of a plant from a seed. The flower is not identical to the seed that was planted, but there is continuity from seed to plant. Christians will receive glorified bodies, like the glorified body of Jesus Christ. The dead physical body is the “seed” that is planted in the ground; the resurrection body is the “flower” that comes from the seed. Paul’s answer to those who were concerned about those who had died in Christ before the Lord’s return, they will not miss the Rapture instead they will precede those who are alive and remain.
Verse 17 tell us what happens to those who are still living when the Lord Jesus returns for the church. Paul uses the term “we” in this verse to show that he believed that the Lord Jesus Christ could return while he was still living. Paul writes that the living will be caught up together in the clouds with the resurrected saints to meet the Lord in the air. Three truths are taught in this statement: First, there is going to be a group of believers at the return of Christ that will never taste death. Second, these believers are going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and third, they are going to be caught up with the resurrected “dead in Christ.” Our Scripture reading this morning from 1st Corinthians 15:50-58 tells us that our bodies will be changed instantly into glorified, immortal bodies. It has been said that the surest things in life are death and taxes, but according to this verse the only sure thing is the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is surer than death itself. The death of man has reigned over the history of man since Adam, but God’s Word promises that some will not have to face death. I will confess that I do not want to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I would much rather be still living when Christ descends with a commanding shout, and hear the voice of the archangel, and hear the blast of the trumpet of God, and be instantly changed and raptured into the air, all in the twinkling of an eye, transported instantaneously into the presence of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is surely the blessed hope we are called to look for and be ready for. Even though the dead in Christ rise first, this verse assures us that we will be caught up together with them and together we will go to meet the Lord.
This phrase “caught up” is a single word in Greek that has several meanings that all pertain to the Rapture of the living believers. I want to share those meanings with you. First, it means to “catch away speedily,” we are told in 1st Corinthians 15 that this will all happen in the twinkling of an eye. The change of our sinful, mortal bodies into gloried, immortal bodies will be instantaneous and we will be whisked away. Second, this word means “to be seized by force” which may suggest that Satan and his forces may try to keep us from leaving the earth, I hope that it does not suggest that some saints will be so attached to the earth that they will have to be literally dragged away like Lot and his family before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Third, this word means “to claim for one’s own self.” This meaning is from the Lord’s point of view as He comes to claim His bride for Himself. Fourth, it means “to move to a new place.” Jesus in John 14 promised that He was preparing a place for us and when He comes, He will take us to that new place. Fifth, the word means “to rescue from danger.” This meaning is to let us know that the church will be removed from the earth before the Tribulation begins. Paul stated in 1st Thessalonians 1:9-10, “For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10, NASB95)[16] This wrath is the wrath that God has stored up for those who refuse the offer of salvation and remain in their sin, all of God’s wrath from the Tribulation to the Great White Throne judgment. Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit used this term translated “caught up” to mean all these things when we who are alive and remain are caught up together with the resurrected saints to meet the Lord in the air.
“…and so shall we always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17b, NASB95)[17] When we meet the Lord in the air this will be a great reunion, but the consummation of this, the pinnacle of this, the climax of it all is that never again will we be separated from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Together with our loved ones in Jesus, together with those whose earthly bodies turned to dust, but now in resurrected, glorified bodies we will meet the Lord in the air and be with Him for the rest of eternity. What a day that will be when we finally see Him, meet the One who loved us and gave His life for us. The One we have never seen with our eyes, we will see. We will see the One who is the mighty, sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the One who over 2000 years ago came to earth as a baby, born in poverty and laid in a manger in Bethlehem. We will see the One who has men and angels at His command, who spoke, and the demons fled. The One who brought the dead back to life, who healed the sick, who restored sight to the blind, opened the ears of the deaf, and loosed the tongue of the mute. The One who hung on the cross of Calvary and suffered for you and for me, paying the penalty of death for my sin and your sin. We will behold the God-Man in all His glory, and so shall we ever be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The apostle John said it this way in 1st John 3:2-3, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2–3, NASB95)[18]
THE BENEFIT OF THE RAPTURE (1st Thessalonians 4:18)
The benefit of understanding the doctrine of the Rapture is not to fill in the gaps in your eschatological timeline. Remember that Paul’s goal in teaching the Thessalonians about the Rapture was not simply doctrinal, but also pastoral, his ultimate goal was to comfort them. The “God of all comfort” (2nd Corinthians 1:3) grants all believers encouraging comfort in knowing that The Lord Jesus Christ will one day return for us. At this monumental event, the dead in Christ will be raised, join with the living saints in experiencing a complete transformation of our earthly bodies into our heavenly bodies and we will be with God forever. Because of this truth there was no need for the Thessalonians to grieve or sorrow over their fellow believers who had died in Christ. No wonder Paul calls the return of Christ “the blessed hope” (Titus 2:13).
CONCLUSION:
The apostle John said, “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” (1 John 3:2b, NASB95)[19] This agrees with what Paul said in our Scripture reading this morning from 1st Corinthians 15 that we will all be changed, we will receive our new resurrection bodies that are both imperishable and immortal, and in this way, we will be like the Lord Jesus Christ. We will again be like Adam before he sinned, in that, we will again fully display the image of God as we were originally created to do.
John says in verse 3 of 1 John 3, “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:3, NASB95)[20] If we have our hope fixed on Jesus Christ returning to take us to be with Him and for us to be like Him, then we are called to live pure lives so that we are always ready for His return. We are to seek to obey God’s Word and to live in honesty, integrity, and righteousness before God and man, and this can only be accomplished as we rely on the Holy Spirit who indwells us. Paul ended our Scripture reading in 1st Corinthians 15:58 by saying that we need to be “always abounding in the work of the Lord…” (1 Corinthians 15:58b, NASB95)[21] In other words, we are to be ready for the Lord’s return at any time, but we are to be doing the work of the Lord at the same time. We are to be making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that Jesus Christ has commanded us. We have our orders until Christ returns.
Maybe you are here this morning and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ; you have never experienced His forgiveness and salvation. Then this message should be a warning to you that the time is running out and the return of the Lord could be at any time. If you are not sure that you will be ready when the Lord returns, then now is the time to make sure you are ready. You can make sure in the quietness of your own heart by agreeing with God that you are a sinner and you are helpless to change that fact on your own. Then believe that Jesus Christ died for you, paying the penalty for sin in His death on your behalf, believe that He was buried and on the third day rose from the dead triumphing over sin and death forever. When you believe this then you are ready for the surest thing in this world, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His bride, the church to which you now belong.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[17]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[18]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[19]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[20]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[21]New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.