1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
The Coming of the Lord
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
We may like change and excitement, but most have a fondness for both stability and predictability. Not knowing or perceiving what is next is anxiety producing. A little knowledge of the future has a tendency to calm the nerves and promote tranquility.
I have previously related my abrupt call to active duty with the Army in November 1961. I was in my 2nd year of post graduate training at U.T. Hospital and we had just moved into a small rental home in South Knoxville. The evening mail informed me of my immediate call to active duty and after three weeks of basic training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. I was slated to serve 13 months in Korea. The group with which I was called consisted of 90-100 physicians also in the midst of training. In the midpoint of this period of training, an officer appeared in one of our classes to read a list of names of individuals with a change in orders from overseas assignments to stateside. The names were read in alphabetical order. Being a denizen of the end of the alphabet, I waited less than patiently to see if I was in the number with changed orders. Would the list be completed before reaching the “W’s” or would I be called at all? “Wender, Charles M., changed to Fort Eustis, Virginia.” It was a moment of grace. I would not be separated from my family for 13 months.
If it was really true that a monkey seated at a typewriter in Washington, D.C., made all the military decisions and typed out the documents, I was and still am grateful for his or her help.
The Thessalonian letters were written by Paul to a house church or churches who were suffering persecution for being Christian. His purpose was both to instruct and to strengthen. Persecution could easily be avoided if they were willing to denounce Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The stakes were obviously high and the dangers significant. To alleviate their anxiety, Paul reinstructs them concerning special issues. A universally special issue for each and every generation is, ‘What is my fate when I die?’
Inherent in all of our make-ups is the still soft voice that whispers that we are eternal. (Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.) Our souls last forever. Fortunately, most do not linger on the subject of their own bodily demise. This is handled best by planning and not denial or diffuse anxiety. Paul wants the Thessalonians to know what to expect and anticipate so they may keep their goal before them. We immediately sense that if this is an advisement for them as believers, it pertains to us as well. So, we need to review what we have stressed the last few weeks.
The confessing thief on the cross was promised that he immediately upon death would be taken to the presence of Jesus. “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” An amazing transition was to occur in a period of minutes and he would go from lost to saved to perfect based upon his faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. He was justified (cleansed) based on faith alone and had no good works counted to his credit.
In contrast, we reviewed the fate of the nonbeliever who makes no faithful response to Jesus as Savior. He was not ushered by angels to the presence of Jesus but instead was relegated to Sheol as a temporary resting place for the soul of the lost. Ultimately, he or she will be called before the Throne of God for a judgment of sin which still rests on their souls. This is the Great White Throne Judgment for those who have declined Jesus as Sinbearer. Since their sin has not been paid for they will be judged guilty and are sentenced to eternal separation from God. They are destined to be separated from God for eternity.
Today’s scripture deals with the rapture of the saved, the truth believing church who are resurrected bodily to be with their Savior. Their eternal souls are given spiritual bodies fit for the presence of God for eternity. The promise for the true follower of Christ is the resurrection of body, soul and spirit to be with the Trinity of God for eternity. This resurrection precedes the outpouring of God’s wrath against sin and the world.
Our acknowledged identification with the dying Christ has resulted in a miraculous transfer of our sin to Jesus and His righteousness to us. We encounter no further jeopardy for our sin in judgment (Christ is sufficient) and we are the adopted sons and daughters of God.
Paul goes further and reveals what was taught him by the Holy Spirit years ago in a wilderness setting. Following the rapture of the saved, the believing church to the presence of the Savior, a separate judgment occurs. This is not a judgment for sin since it was punished on Jesus 2000 years ago. The issue is different and serves as our next issue to review.
The whole purpose of Paul’s relating this to the Thessalonians and us is that it overcomes the anxiety of this world and the next. You must however desire and seek Jesus as Savior and Lord in this life.
