1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18 THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE

13 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.14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.15 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.16 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.17 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.18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

 

1. THE EVIDENCE THAT AFFIRMS HIS SECOND COMING

First of all, I want us to see the evidence—the evidence that affirms His coming. The evidence that affirms His coming is two-fold. First of all, there is the incomparable work of our Lord. Secondly, there is the infallible word of our Lord.

A. THE INCOMPARABLE WORK OF OUR LORD

Now, what is the incomparable work of our Lord? Look, if you will, in verse 14. Paul says, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." (1 Thessalonians 4:14) If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Paul is saying we'll have no difficulty believing in the Second Coming and the resurrection of the saints. Do you believe that Jesus died and rose again? If you believe that Jesus died and rose again, you will have no difficulty whatever believing in the supernatural nature of the Second Coming.

 Augustine pointed out that the incarnation of God's Son and his atoning death on the cross were nonrepeatable events showing that history moved forward according to God's redemptive plan. Today, the secular humanist believes in "progress," trusting man's ingenuity to solve problems and open up new horizons of opportunity.

If that is all I had, I would live in fear and despair every hour of our lives.  Will there be a nuclear war when Russian and North Korea reign down fire on Ukraine? Will China invade Taiwan with its increasing military build up?  Will China use its strategic military bases in Pacific countries to invade Australia for our resources and block the USA?Britain preparing for war with Russia… Tuesday's news. 

John Anderson.. I told him I was preaching on the second because, bottom line, this is our only hope!

Instead, the Bible-believer holds that history is racing toward the second coming of Jesus Christ, after which the Lord will judge the world and God's eternal purposes of salvation will be fulfilled.  And we know that the world won't end by accident! It will end at the day and moment that the Lord has decreed when the Lord Jesus returns for His own.

Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me; Buried He carried my sins far away;

Rising, He justified freely forever; One day He's coming—O glorious day! —J. WILBUR CHAPMAN

B. THE INFALLIBLE WORD OF OUR LORD

And the first evidence that affirms His coming is the incomparable work of our Lord. He defeated death. He took captivity captive. He was raised from the dead and has become the firstfruits of them that sleep. But not only the incomparable work of our Lord, as we see it there in verse 14, but the infallible Word of our Lord, as we see it in verse 15: "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of our Lord shall not [precede] them which are asleep." (1 Thessalonians 4:15)

Mat 24:30  Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31  And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 

Did you know that one-third of the Bible affirms the Second Coming of Jesus Christ—one-third of the Bible? Perhaps one out of every three sermons, therefore, ought to be on the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The first and last promise in the New Testament deal with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The first and last promise in the Old Testament deal with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. And so, Paul, when he wants to affirm the Second Coming of Jesus, he gives us two great evidences: the incomparable work of our Lord; the infallible word of our Lord.

The Greek word eschatos means "last," so eschatology is simply the study of the last things. According to the Bible, believers need to know where history is going, in terms of both our personal histories beyond the grave and God's plan for the future of the world. Geerhardus Vos asserted: "Ours is a religion whose centre of gravity lies beyond the grave in the world to come."  Christians are pulled forward, Paul said, by "our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).

The importance of understanding Christ's return is seen in the example of the apostle Paul. It is evident that Paul highlighted teaching about Christ's return during his short stay in Thessalonica. When news later reached the apostle that the new believers were confused on this subject, he provided extensive information in both of his letters to them. "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers" (1 Thess. 4:13), Paul wrote. Likewise, there is no reason for believers today to be uninformed about Christ's second coming.

The apparent difficulty in understanding the Bible's eschatology, however, deters many Christians from even trying. In previous centuries, many commentators declined to write about the book of Revelation and similar portions of the Bible, considering them hopelessly obscure (Martin Luther and John Calvin are notable examples). Fifty years ago, Leon Morris expressed concern over "the comparative neglect of the doctrine" of Christ's return.

The Bible's teaching is not as obscure on this subject as many would have it. Among our most important resources on Christ's return are Paul's letters to the Thessalonians. His remarkably clear teaching touches on Christ's return to earth, the rapture of the church, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment and eternal punishment in hell, the coming Antichrist, the millennial question, and the eternal age of glory. As we study the final section of 1 Thessalonians and then the first two chapters of 2 Thessalonians, we will consider each of these matters, as well as Paul's applications on how our knowledge of future history should shape our present lives.

2. THE EVENTS THAT WILL ACCOMPANY HIS COMING

The Greek word that Paul used for Christ's coming is parousia, which describes the arrival of a person. The word is used about the coming of Paul's helpers in 1 Corinthians 16:17 and even about the coming "lawless one" in 2 Thessalonians 2:9, but is most frequently employed for the return of Christ (sixteen times in the New Testament). When used with the definite article, the parousia is practically a technical term for "the great event anticipated by believers, when Christ the King returns to judge the living and the dead and complete his work of bringing all things into subjection to the Father."

Paul's second emphasis regarding Christ's return is the visible manifestation of his glory. He writes: "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" (1 Thess. 4:16).

REVELATION

"The Lord himself"—"the Lord himself." The central figure in all of this is Jesus Christ Himself. One day, the Savior who was raised from the dead that Easter morning, who is now ascended, who is seated at the right hand of the majesty on high, is going to rise up from His throne and step down from the lofty heights of heaven's splendor. He is going to descend to this earth, and we shall see our Lord as He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels: "the Lord himself."

At the heart of Paul's eschatology are his statements regarding the "coming of the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:15).

The Bible teaches a literal, bodily return of the same Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins, rose from the grave, and then ascended into heaven. Acts 1:9 relates that two angels appeared to the disciples who had watched Jesus ascend. "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven," they said, "will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). Paul tells us that this promise will be fulfilled when Jesus physically returns on the clouds to the very world he departed.

Christ's second coming is, as Cornelis P. Venema puts it, "the great centerpiece of biblical hope and expectation for the future."

Hebrews 9:28 tells us: "Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him." Jesus put it in comforting terms when addressing his disciples' sadness over his looming departure: "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also" (John 14:3).

RESURRECTION OF BELIEVERS WHO HAVE ALREADY DIED

and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 16)—not all of the dead, just the dead in Christ. There's a resurrection of the saved and a resurrection of the lost. There's a first resurrection and a second resurrection. Revelation chapter 20, verse 6, says, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection." (Revelation 20:6) The first resurrection is for those who are blessed, for those who are holy, for those who are saved. And so, when the Lord Jesus Christ descends, the Bible says He's coming with a shout. Look, if you will, in verse 16: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout." A shout will come from His lips. And the Lord of the dead and the Lord of the living will shout into the tombs of the multiplied who have known Him as Saviour. And what will He shout? I don't know what He shouts, but I think I know what He will shout. I think He will say the same thing that He said in John 11 as He stood there before the grave of Lazarus. I believe our Lord shall step down from the clouds of glory and from the throne of His majesty, and His voice will roll through the corridors of the dead, and Jesus will say, "Come forth!" And, dear friend, we are going to come forth. And up from the sea and from the land bodies resurrected and changed like unto His glorious body will come. They will spring up.

RAPTURE

then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)

First of all, there will be majesty of His revelation: "The Lord himself shall descend."

Then, there will be the miracle of our resurrection. And then, there will be the mystery of the Rapture.  Look again, if you will, in verse 17: "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds" (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

Now look at the word caught up. That's the word we get our word rapture from. Now the word rapture in English is not found in the Bible, but the Latin word rapto means, "caught up." And so that's why we call it the Rapture. It's just simply a Latin designation of what the Apostle Paul here calls a catching up.

It's interesting, Dr. Wuest, who is a Greek scholar, tells us this word caught up is used in different places in the Bible, and gives us some idea of what's going to happen when the saints are raptured. For example, it's used to mean someone who's caught away speedily. For example, in Acts chapter 8 and verse 39, remember the story of the Ethiopian eunuch, and Philip out there in the desert, and the Bible says, "and the Spirit of the Lord caught him away?" (Acts 8:39). He just disappeared. That's what's going to happen to us—"in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (1 Corinthians 15:52). We're caught up speedily.

It also means, "to seize by force." You can read there, in John chapter 6 and verse 15, where the Lord Jesus was there, and He had performed a miracle, and the people wanted to seize Him by force, and make Him a king (John 6:15). We're going to be seized by force, when our Lord comes. That means neither the grave nor gravity can hold us down.

Dear friend, it also means, "to move to a new place." In 2 Corinthians chapter 12, when the Apostle Paul was caught up into the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2), it's the same word that is used. We're going to be transported to Heaven. "This world is not my home; I'm just passing through."

And then also, it means, "to rescue from danger." When the Apostle Paul, in Acts chapter 23, was about to be pulled apart by warring factions and by mobs, the Bible says they came, and they caught Paul and drew him to safety (Acts 23:24). And we're going to be caught up and drawn away to safety from the Great Tribulation that is coming on this earth.

In 1 Thessalonians 1, the apostle Paul talked of how vital this understanding is for new Christians. He speaks of these new Christians in this way "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come"—"Jesus [has] delivered us from the wrath to come" (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10). There is wrath coming, but He has delivered us.  "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5:9). The Church is not appointed to wrath; and so, when God declares war on this world, He's going to call His nationals home before He declares war.

 "Behold, the bridegroom comes; go out to meet him." (Matthew 25:6) And in a flash, swiftly and irresistibly, all of those who are still living will be caught up to meet Him.

Suppose He were to come tonight, and Jesus would come, and He would shout, "Come forth!" and the dead would rise, and the archangel would shout, "Behold, the bridegroom comes; go out to meet him," and we'd be changed instantaneously, in a moment. And the word for moment there is in an atom. That is, the smallest particle of time, in the twinkling of an eye. That's the fastest movement of the human body. Just like that, we're going to be changed.

REUNION

What's the next event that will accompany His coming? Not only will there be the majesty of His revelation; not only will there be the miracle of our resurrection; not only will there be the mystery of the Rapture; but there will be the marvel of our reunion. Look, if you will, in verse 17: "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds"—"together with them"—with all of our loved ones, with all of the saints that have gone before. (1 Thessalonians 4:17) What a reunion there's going to be! How we're going to be gathered back together with our  loved ones, our dead who die in the Lord! That's the reason Paul says in verse 13, "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope." (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

Then, notice verse 17: "We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." (1 Thessalonians 4:17) When we go to meet Jesus, we're going to meet Him with all of our loved ones.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

the trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, even so, it is well with my soul.

HORATIO G. SPAFFORD

3. THE EXPECTANCY THAT AWAITS HIS COMING

But now, the third and final thing I want you to notice: I want you to notice not only the evidence that affirms His coming—that is, the incomparable work of our Lord, the infallible word of our Lord; I want you to notice not only the events that accompany His coming; but I want you to notice the expectancy that awaits His coming—the expectancy that awaits His coming. Read again verses 17 and 18. It says, "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (1 Thessalonians 4:17–18)

  (Matthew 24:36,42 ) But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone 42 "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.

And, if any body gives you a date as to when Jesus Christ is coming again, he's a liar; he doesn't know. You can't set a date.

Why? A message of Comfort Christ's return should not be taught to frighten Christians but to comfort us regarding the glorious salvation that will soon arrive in the coming of the One who loves us.  In the trials and struggles of this present life of faith, we are "waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13).

44 For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

 

I love a song I heard as a young man and it thrills my heart whenever I hear it:    It may be at morn, when the day is awaking, When sunlight through darkness and shadow is breaking.… It may be at midday, it may be at twilight, It may be, perchance, that the blackness of midnight Will burst into light in the blaze of His glory, When Jesus receives "His own." —H. L. TURNER

The great Bible expositor, G. Campbell Morgan said, "I never lay my head on the pillow without thinking that perhaps before I awake, the final morning may have dawned. I never begin work without thinking that He may interrupt it to begin His own." And Massillon, the great historian, said this: "In the days of primitive Christianity, it would have been apostasy not to sigh for the return of the Lord." I mean, if you are not waiting, longing, yearning, praying for our Lord to come.

Face to face with Christ my Savior, Face to face—what will it be…

Face to face in all His glory, I shall see Him by and by! —CARRIE E. BRECK