1 Thessalonians 4 (Part 2)

1 Thessalonians chapter 4, we get into some kind of…some neat stuff. You guys know Jesus is coming back? Did you know that? Yeah! That's kind of exciting. He's coming back. He came a first time… here's what's interesting, you know, the Bible predicted, of course, Jesus’ first coming, said that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, talked a lot about His first coming. Do you know the Bible talks more about His second coming? Yeah, there's more in the Bible about His return than His first advent. So, that's kind of exciting in and of itself. Hey, and all those prophecies were fulfilled in His first coming, and you know for sure that they're going to be fulfilled in His second too. But there are some interesting dynamics related to His second coming, and we're going to be dealing with those in our text today because His second coming actually has two parts, and one of them isn't even really called the second coming. But we'll talk about that as we get into it. Look with me, though, in the first or actually the last six verses of 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, we are picking it up in verse 13 and it says this,

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, open our hearts to the ministry of Your Word today. Let it speak to our hearts. Let it fill us, Lord God, with insight and understanding. Help us, Lord, to apply the things that we see today in Your Word and let them minister to our hearts. Comfort and encouragement, for we ask it in Jesus’ name, amen. Now, as we get into these last six verses of chapter 4 it's probably necessary that we do a little defining. We need to do a little word definition here to make sure we're on the same page. Have you ever talked to somebody about the Bible? Or something about God, and you realized after discussing things for a while that you had different meanings for the very same words? It happens sometimes. And you start talking and you're like, okay, we're saying the same words, but there's a disconnect of understanding here. And that could happen with this passage, particularly with a couple of terms that the Apostle Paul uses. Let me put them on the screen for you, so you can see them here together. “ASLEEP” or “FALLEN ASLEEP” It is the word “asleep” which is in verse 13. And then in verse 14, he talks about those who have “fallen asleep.” Now, if we're not on the same page about what that means we're going to struggle understanding this particular passage. And the term, “asleep” or “fallen asleep” was actually a fairly popular term that was used in Paul's day to describe death. But it was used by different groups with different kind of meanings. For example, the pagans believed that when someone died, they “fell asleep” but they remained in kind of an eternal slumber for like ever, which isn't super hopeful. And I think other people might think of it in different ways. But it has always meant something related to rest. In fact, you might remember, in the Old Testament, we often read that phrase concerning people like David. “And David rested with his fathers,” right? Or “And Solomon rested with his fathers.” And that was used to describe the dying process. I don't know if you knew this, but the word “cemetery” actually means “resting place” or “sleeping place” interestingly enough. Well, in the writings of the Apostle Paul, this is a favorite term for him to use, whether it's “asleep” or “fallen asleep,” but he only uses it for believers. He only uses it… the Bible does not refer to unbelievers as having fallen asleep. And I want you to understand, in order that we not be confused as we look at this passage, that “falling asleep” or dying, if you will, only happens to the human body, okay? It only happens to your body. Your body is the only thing that can die. Your spirit and soul cannot die, okay? Therefore, since the body is the only thing that can die, it is the only thing that can be resurrected.

So, when we talk about a resurrection, we're talking about your body being raised, okay? I make that point for a few different reasons, not the least of which is there are a lot of people who believe, even Christians, who have been taught that upon death, we enter into a kind of an unconscious state only to be awakened when Jesus returns. And you'd perhaps even be surprised to learn how many Christians have embraced that idea. And whether they've totally embraced it or not, I hear it coming out in their questions concerning the resurrection. But it's not…that's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible does not teach that when you and I…when our bodies die, we fall into some kind of a slumber state only to be awakened at the trumpet call of God. You'll remember that Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “...today, you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43). Paul also made it very clear to us in his writings that “to be absent from the body,” in other words, the body dies, is “to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). So, if you're absent from your body, your spirit and soul are with the Lord. So, when a believer dies, they immediately go into the presence of the Lord. It's like walking through a door. And it's, that's one of the things that makes, frankly, a Christian funeral a thing of celebration because they've graduated out of a pretty painful, stinky, rotten circumstance of life because life is hard, right? I mean, life is hard, it's painful, and it's difficult. And they've made their way, they've made that step into the never-removed presence of the Lord, where they are enjoying that presence and a reality that is pretty incredible compared to the life that you and I are living right now. So, understanding now as we do that “sleep” is a euphemism or an idiom that refers to the body. And the body doesn't literally sleep, but they use that idiom because it essentially describes the posture of someone who has passed away. They appear very much to be sleeping and that only refers to the body. Now we're in a better place to understand what Paul is saying here about believers. And here's what he says. Verse 13, look with me again in your Bible. And this is a great verse, so we're going to look at it very carefully. He says, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, (that means ignorant, we don’t want you to be ignorant of the reality) about those who are asleep, (in other words, those who have passed away physically) that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” This is a great verse, and it's a wonderful one that we often read at funerals of a believer because it tells you and I that there is hope beyond this life. And that doesn't mean that we don't grieve, we grieve. When we lose a loved one, we grieve, and that's a very normal and very natural sort of a thing. What Paul is saying is we don't grieve like the world. We don't grieve like the world that has no hope because that's all they've got. The world that you and I live in, and I'm talking about unbelievers now, this life is it, this life is it. And you know what? When this life is it, you tend to kind of grip it like there's no tomorrow, and hang on to it because when it's over, it’s over. I mean, if you're Joe-somebody out there in the world and you've made the determination somewhere along the line, that there is no God and you call yourself an atheist, hey, for you, this is all you got. This is it. When it's over, it’s over. And so, how are you going to respond when things like viruses come up? Yeah, you're going to get weird, aren't you? You're going to do everything you possibly can to protect this life because this is all there is. I'm not saying the virus isn't real, and I'm not saying you shouldn't protect yourself, I'm not saying that at all. But as Christians, we don't look at things the way the world does. We don't grieve when we lose people like the world does, and we don't look at things, like the things that might threaten our life on earth, like the world does because we know that this is just a dress rehearsal for what comes later. So, we have to ask ourselves the question here, what is going on? Why is Paul writing this to the believers in Thessalonica about this? Well, obviously, he had told them while he was there, in the very short time he was there in Thessalonica before he got ran out of town, he told them that Jesus would be returning. And he told them that that return would be imminent. But some of the believers there, in Thessalonica, began to wonder, well, how's this going to affect believers who have already died? What about people who have died? Are they going to miss out on this coming of the Lord? Because Paul wasn't there long enough to give them a probably a full and rounded sort of an understanding of all of these things. So, he does it now in this letter. And so they're asking, what becomes of people who've already died? Well, he answers it beginning in verse 14. Look with me in your Bible. He says, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, (and here’s where he answers it) God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep (in other words, those who have previously passed away).” And this is the first part of the answer concerning those who have died with faith (emphasis on “with faith”) in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross, he says, they will return with the Lord. All right? That's the first thing you need to understand. Those who have gone on before us, they will come back with the Lord if they died in faith. In other words, putting their trust in what Jesus did on the cross. But somebody might have an additional question; they might say, well, now, wait a minute. How are they going to come back? I mean, they died, some were buried, but you know, this Christian burial and stuff has been going on for a long time. Some of these people, there's no, how are they going to return? Are they going to come back as disembodied spirits? Or exactly how is that going to work? Well, Paul answers that in the next verses. Verse 15, "For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, (meaning remaining alive when the coming of the Lord happens, and) who are left (he says) until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep." Now, this is the first thing he tells us about those who died. Whatever is going to happen when Jesus comes back for His church, it's going to happen with them first, okay? Those who have died previously in Christ, whatever happens, is going to start with them, right? That's an important thing to remember. Then he kind of fills in the details in the following verses. Verse 16,

And so, remember, whenever we're talking about dead, or death, or sleep, or slumber, as it relates to…we're talking about their bodies. Their bodies will rise first. Now, their spirit and soul, when they died, goes immediately into the presence of the Lord. But when He returns, they will be reunited or united with this new body that is raised incorruptible at that time. But let's take a look at the details of what he's talking about here. First of all, Paul tells us that when the Lord returns for His church, that there's going to be an audible signal, and I really like that. He tells us here that there's going to be a cry of command with the voice of an archangel. The Bible only gives us the name of one archangel throughout the entire Scripture and that's Michael’s. It's the only one we know of, I'm sure there's a bunch of them. But the cry of the archangel and then the trumpet of God is going to sound. I can't wait to hear that. Do you know that the trumpet has already sounded in the past when the Lord met Israel on Mount Sinai? The Bible says that the mountain shook, and it appeared to be all ablaze at the top with these huge billows of smoke, and then they began to hear a trumpet. And it wasn't just a single note that was out there for a second, it was a note that kept going, it kept going like nobody had to take a breath. It just kept going. Can you imagine a single trumpet note that just sounds strong, and loud, and just continues on? And how incredible that probably… I know it freaked the people out back then because right about that time, God spoke the Ten Commandments right from Mount Sinai, in the hearing of all the people God spoke. And they were so freaked out by it, they begged Moses to go up and meet with God. And they said, just let Him talk to you and not to us, or we're going to die. It was a pretty incredible thing. Well, that trumpet is going to sound again when the Lord returns. And then Paul says that those who had previously passed away with their faith in Christ are going to rise first. And so, that's his answer to their earlier concerns about those who had died in Christ. And he's telling them they're not going to be left out, in fact, they're going to be first in line. They'll experience a bodily resurrection, and they will return with Jesus, and so, that's what we learn in this passage. They're going to lead the way. Some people really get messed up about the whole idea of a bodily resurrection because the Bible talks about resurrection as a seed that is planted in the ground. You remember that? And how, unless a seed dies and falls into the ground… and, I think some people are really bothered by the idea of, I mean, they wonder how that's going to work, and I get questions a lot about cremation and stuff like that. And you got to understand, people, that people or folks who died in Christ 2000 years ago, their body turned to dust long ago. And there were a lot of Christians who were burned to death just for being Christians, set on fire and burned to death. In some cases, there may be nothing left of those bodies. Do you think that's a problem for God? It's like, well, we don't have anything left here, I don't know what we're going to make a new body out of. Come on, let's not limit God in any way, shape, or form. He is the Lord God. And so, those who died before will be given a new body, and it'll be incredible, and then Paul writes the next step in verse 17, when he says, “Then we who are alive, who are left, (and that means, still living on the earth when Jesus returns for His church) 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.” And as you can probably tell, verse 17 is incredibly important to our understanding of this whole dynamic. In fact, it's so important that I'm going to put it up on the screen for you, so we can look at it together, just because it's just a key verse, right? And there are some things in this verse that I want to highlight for you and offer some comment about. 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (ESV)

And the first thing that we'll highlight with, by putting it kind of in yellow there, is those words on the second line, “caught up.” I want you to take note of those words because they're very important ones, and they're where we get our word

“rapture.” Those two words are the translation of a single Greek verb, which means, “to seize,” or “to carry off by force,” okay? That's literally what the Greek word means. And it is the basis for the New Testament idea of the rapture of the church. Now, some people object and they say, well, I don't think the rapture is a biblical event because the word “rapture” isn't in the Bible. They'll say there's nowhere you're going to find the word rapture in the Bible. Well, that's frankly, just not true. If you happen to have a Latin version of the Bible, it's called the Vulgate. The Latin Vulgate, which was translated around 400 A. D. or…yeah, 400 AD, something like that, by a man named Jerome. He translated this verse in the Latin and those words “caught up” in Latin are “rapturus.” And that's where we get our word “rapture.” And the word has always meant to be caught up into something. You can be caught up in the beauty of nature, you can go out into the mountains and say I was just enraptured by the beauty of the mountains, or I was enraptured by the beauty of those flowers. They were just stunning, or something like that, right? So, to be enraptured or raptured is to be caught up in something. It's the same meaning. And that is what Paul is talking about here. But he makes then a second emphasis here in this verse, which is, “we will be caught up together with them (and “them” is the Lord and the saints who come back with him) with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17 (ESV)

When my oldest son, who's now 34, when we were talking about this, when he was a little boy, he was probably about five, four or five, he asked if we could hold hands on the way up. And I mean, that was so cute. He'd say, dad, can I hold your hand when we're going up in the rapture? I was like, you bet, buddy! Well, now he's got a little boy to hold his hand, right? But think about what it means to be caught up, to meet the Lord in the air, in the clouds. Have you ever been up in the clouds? I've been up in jets many times when I've flown. I've even actually been up in a hot air balloon, although we didn't get up into the clouds, but we got way up in the air, let me tell you. I was terrified the whole time. There's no sound in a hot air balloon. I mean, after they do the (sound of letting air out), they put the heat up in there, and then it's just nothing. And you're floating way above the ground, and there's no sound. I want to hear a motor going, right?

I want to hear what's keeping me up from going splat. Anyway. But it's pretty amazing being up in the air, and I can just imagine what it's going to be like for us to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, in the clouds. I mean, and this is not symbolic language, you guys. Somebody might look at this and go, oh, no, wait a minute. No, no, no, no. Paul is using language that is straightforward and clear. There are no figures of speech being used here. There's no symbolic language. He's laying out the simple fact of the matter. When Jesus returns, he will bring back the people who have died previously. They will be given a new body first, and then we will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye. “We” meaning we who are still alive on the earth at the time, and we will be caught up to meet them, to join them, in the air, and it's going to be absolutely incredible. And it's clear that Paul intends this message to be one of comfort and encouragement to believers, because that's what he says in verse 18. Look with me there. He says, “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” And I hope you're encouraged, because that's what they're meant to do. I hope you're encouraged. This life isn't all there is, Jesus is coming back, it's going to be great. Can you imagine what it's going to be like? Some of us here in this room might still be alive when the Lord returns. I mean, He could come at any time. I believe the Lord could come at any time. It could be all of us who are still alive when the Lord comes. It could be just the younger ones here in the room. I don't know. But how amazing that is going to be transformed. Now, when we talk about the Lord's coming, there's often some confusion about the different aspects of the Lord's return, and I'll put a question up on the screen that I get a lot. And that is: What is the difference between the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Jesus? What is the difference between the Rapture of the Church (or if you're not comfortable with the word “rapture,” then “the catching away of the church,” all right?) and the Second Coming of Jesus? What is the difference? To hear some people talk, there is no difference. But the fact is, there is a difference. Let me put the explanations up here for you. The Rapture is Jesus coming in the air for the Body of Christ. The Second Coming is Jesus coming to earth to fight for Israel.

So, first He comes for His bride and then He comes to rescue Israel from their very sure demise which will, of course, bring in the Battle of Armageddon. But there's been a long debate going on within the body of Christ as to when the Rapture is going to occur in relationship to the Great Tribulation, because we know there's a time period coming called the Great Tribulation, and it's a seven- year period of time, and it's going to be terrible, and the wrath of God is going to be poured out upon the earth at that time. It is also referred to, in the Old Testament, as the day of Jacob's trouble, all right? Now, there are, as I said, several different ideas of when the Rapture, the catching away of the church, takes place in relationship to the Tribulation, and I'm going to put these on the screen for you. We'll start with number one, behind door number one: ● The pre-tribulation rapture position holds that believers will be caught up BEFORE the Great Tribulation. Alright? Then behind door number two, we have the mid-tribulation rapture position which holds that believers, I mean just consistent with its name, will be caught up at the midpoint of the Great Tribulation, or in other words, after three and a half years. ● The pre-tribulation rapture position holds that believers will be caught up BEFORE the Great Tribulation. ● The mid-tribulation rapture position holds that believers will be caught up at the midpoint of the Great Tribulation And then behind door number three, we have the pre-wrath rapture position, which is actually just kind of popularized in the last 30, 35 years, I would say, and it holds that believers will be caught up at some time in the second half, or sometime in the last three and a half years, maybe in the middle of those three and a half years, the last three and a half years. That's why it's called pre-wrath. ● The pre-tribulation rapture position holds that believers will be caught up BEFORE the Great Tribulation. ● The mid-tribulation rapture position holds that believers will be caught up at the midpoint of the Great Tribulation

--- ● The pre-wrath rapture position holds that believers will be caught up at some time in the second half of the Great Tribulation. And then, behind door number four, you have: ● The pre-tribulation rapture position holds that believers will be caught up BEFORE the Great Tribulation. ● The mid-tribulation rapture position holds that believers will be caught up at the midpoint of the Great Tribulation ● The pre-wrath rapture position holds that believers will be caught up at some time in the second half of the Great Tribulation. ● The post-tribulation rapture position holds that the Church will be caught up at the end of the Great Tribulation. And so, a post-tribulation believer would say that Jesus comes for His church, right? They are raised, changed, and then He immediately makes His way down to the earth for His “second coming.” In other words, they…a post-tribulation believer would say that the rapture and the Second Coming of Christ are maybe minutes apart, okay? Something like that. Well, for those of you who have been around Life Bible Ministry, for any length of time, and you've heard me teach on this, you know that I happen to believe that the Church will be caught away and then the world will be plunged into the Great Tribulation. And I don't have all the time in the world to explain maybe all the reasons why I believe that to be the case, but I'm going to share some, if you don't mind, because I do believe it. And I believe it because I believe it's consistent with what I've seen in the Word of God, as I've taught through the whole Bible multiple times. One of the main reasons, I would have to call this, yeah, one of the main reasons, that I believe that the rapture will occur prior to the Great Tribulation is because the Apostle Paul taught that the coming of the Lord for the church was imminent. And the word “imminent” means it could happen at any moment, anytime, could happen in the next five minutes. It could happen in the next five days, five months, five years. We don't know. No man knows the day or the hour, but it could be any time. Now, if the catching away of the Church comes at the end of the Great Tribulation, then it's not imminent. The Great Tribulation would be the next big thing happening on God's prophetic calendar, and we would know exactly, we could practically count the days, you know, seven years for the catching away of the Church. So, if you're a post-tribber or something like that. But anyway, that's one of the big reasons. He, Paul, and the other biblical writers always speak of the coming of the Lord as the possibility of it happening at any time. Now, another reason I believe the rapture comes before the Great Tribulation is, frankly, because the last thing Paul says in this chapter, in verse 18. Look with me in verse 18. He says, “Therefore encourage one another with these words.” Encourage one another, that means comfort one another with these…with this good news. Now, I got to tell you something, that final statement really only makes sense if the catching away of the Church comes before the Great Tribulation because, you know, there really isn't any comfort in telling people that, “Well, Jesus is coming for us, but here, let me tell you, it's going to be after a seven-year period during which the wrath of God is going to devastate the whole planet. And there are going to be millions who are going to die in cataclysmic upheavals and catastrophic fatalities, but be encouraged.” I don't find that encouraging, personally. What I find encouraging is that Jesus is going to rescue His bride, just as you would expect a bridegroom to do. Another reason is that the Great Tribulation is a time of wrath. It's a time of wrath, you guys. What does the Bible say about believers? We are not appointed unto wrath, but unto salvation.

I think there's a lot of Christians in the body of Christ who don't get that. I really do. And the reason I do is because I get a lot of questions pertaining to wrath. People who are born again, I often hear them saying or asking me about some… whether or not some form of punishment for sin is going to take place in their life when they stand before God one day. And they get it…I get it a lot. And I've gotten to the point now where I send them, if they send me an email or something with that sort of a question, I write them back my own question. They say, “So, is God going to, when I stand before God, am I going to get punished for da,da,da,da,da?” And I write them back and I say, “Did Jesus die on the cross for your sins?” “Yeah, yes he did.” ---

“Did he pay the whole price or just some of it? I mean, did He say it is finished?” “Yeah.” “What does that mean?” “Paid in full.” “So, you tell me, are you going to get punished for things? You tell me. Was Jesus lying when He said, paid in full?” That was a declaration of victory, by the way. Jesus victoriously declared, “It's done. It's paid. It's finished.” So, this whole idea of wrath, I understand why some Christians might think that the Church needs to go through the Tribulation period. They just don't get it. It's kind of like our Protestant form of purgatory, you know, “Well, you know, we're not perfect.” Did you think we were going to be, I mean, are you serious? But do you understand that He sees you that way? Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus, do you understand that you are robed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ even now and that when the Father looks on you, the Bride of Christ, it is perfect because Jesus is perfect, and you have been given wedding clothes that have been washed in the blood of the Lamb? I know we're not perfect. Good grief, I've been a pastor for about the better part of 40 years. I understand that we're not perfect, but I also understand what Jesus did on the cross for us. I understand that too, and I understand the cleansing that has come as a result, and how He views us. But I'll give you one final reason why I believe that the Church is going to be caught away prior to the Great Tribulation and it's because of what I learned about the ancient Jewish marriage ceremony. And it's really interesting because Jesus related a lot about His ministry, His coming. He related a lot to Jewish marriage ceremonies. He said things that were just right in line with the way they did wedding ceremonies back then. Let me show you one from John chapter 14. I think I've got a slide of this. Yeah. He says,

In the Jewish marriage ceremony, the bridegroom would do just that; He would go away and he would build a place where he and his bride would live. And his father would inspect it and tell him when it was completed sufficiently, that he could go and get his bride. That's why Jesus said, “No man knows the day or the hour, only the Father.” (Matthew 24:36) He was simply reciting the Jewish marriage ceremony of the day. No man knows, only the Father knows. So, the father is going to say, “Son, it's ready. Go get her.” And in a Jewish marriage ceremony, the second half of the Jewish marriage ceremony, there was this element called the home taking. And in it, the bridegroom returns for his bride and he comes at a time when no one is expecting him. Well, they're expecting him in the sense that they know he could come at any time, but he didn't send a postcard ahead of time and say, I'll be here at this time. And so, he might come and often they would come at midnight and people would get up and throw their clothes on and begin to just celebrate because he had come for his bride. And what would happen in the home taking is that the Jewish bridegroom would take his bride and he would escort her to the bridal chamber where they would spend seven days alone. And I believe that's a picture. Not of days, but of years where we, the body of Christ, will spend that time with our bridegroom. It fits. There's so many things that just fit. So, I believe the bride of Christ is going to be hidden away with her bridegroom, and that's us, in that place that He has prepared for us when He comes to get us and I believe it is imminent. I believe it could happen at any time. And God has always wanted us to believe that it was imminent because, when you believe that Jesus could come back at any time, it changes the way you live. We're going to get more into the day of the Lord as we get into chapter five, but not today. We'll do that next week, Lord willing. So, let's stand together and we'll talk more about this next week. Aren't you glad that God kind of laid it all out for us in the Bible? We're not sitting around going, I wonder how this is all going to work out. It's like He laid it out for us in the Word and said, “Here's the deal.” Even got into some specifics, those who died in Christ, they're going to come back first. They're going to come back with the Lord, receive their new bodies. Then we who remain on the earth at the time will be changed, transformed in the twinkling of an eye. We will meet the Lord in the air, and there we will remain with the Lord. Ah, great! It's good stuff. In the end, we win. And what a delightful time it will be, restored with loved ones. Seeing those who've gone before, seeing our Lord face to face, face to face. As much as I'm attached to this human body, I mean, literally, it's not made to see Him face to face. It can't do that, couldn't survive, but that new body we're going to get, that one will be able to do it, to behold Him face to face.