Reading: 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13-18.
Ill:
Years ago an S-4 submarine was rammed by a ship off the coast of Massachusetts.
• It sank immediately.
• The entire crew was trapped in a prison house of death.
• Every effort was made to rescue the crew;
• But all ultimately failed.
• Near the end of the ordeal, a deep sea diver, who was part of the rescue crew;
• Thought he heard tapping on the steel wall of the sunken sub.
• He placed his helmet up against the side of the vessel;
• And he realised it was Morse code.
• In his mind he spelled out the message that was being tapped from within.
• It was repeating the same question; “Is there any hope?”
Quote:
• “We can live forty days without food,
• Eight days without water,
• Four minutes without air,
• But only a few seconds without hope!”
These verses in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 are often called;
• The great hope of the Christian.
• They are a great encouragement especially when we are facing difficult times.
These verses were originally written as a response to a misunderstanding:
Ill:
A simple misunderstanding can cause great anxiety.
• Communication nowadays is so easy with e-mail and telephone,
• But until the 20th century it was very slow.
• Two hundred years ago messages were passed over long distances;
• By signal stations on hills.
• When the Battle of Waterloo was being fought;
• England awaited news regarding the outcome with baited breath.
• At last the signals began to whirl, the message being spelt out letter by letter:
• "Wellington defeated …"
• These two words came through clearly;
• But then fog covered the hillside.
• Quite understandably the people thought they’d lost!
• What a catastrophe for the nation!
• The people were plunged in gloom as they thought that was the end of the message;
• But it wasn’t because eventually the fog lifted;
• And another two words were added which made all the difference:
• "Wellington defeated … the enemy."
If we’re not careful misunderstandings can often cause confusion and trouble:
• A theological misunderstanding had caused;
• Confusion and grief to the new Christians at Thessalonica.
• Paul the apostle had personally taught this Church;
• That the Jesus Christ was coming again (returning to planet earth a second time).
• But a few months later Paul had to leave the city of Thessalonica,
• And return to Athens and then go on to Corinth in the south of Greece.
• It was after Paul’s departure;
• That a misunderstanding of the doctrine of the Second Coming arose among the Church.
The cause of the sadness was that a number of Christians in the Church had died;
• And this caused a problem for them.
• They did not know if this meant that those who had died;
• Would miss out on the celebrations when Christ returned.
Ill:
• Remember before they came to faith in Christ;
• These believers at Thessalonica had been pagans.
• And for pagans death comes with a fearful finality.
• A common inscription on the gravestone in the pagan world was:
‘I was not
I became
I am not
I care not’
So the Christians at Thessalonica had a problem:
• They did not know if those who had died;
• Would miss out on the celebrations when Christ returned.
Ill:
Imagine you have just received an invitation to a reception at Buckingham Palace.
• Eagerly you plan what you will wear;
• And then off you go on a spending spree to buy your new outfit.
• You arrange for transport and check and double check all the details.
• In a thrill of anticipation you let your mind turn over all that could happen.
• Then tragedy strikes. The day before you are due to go;
• You slip over and somehow manage to break your hip.
• The news from the hospital is not good;
• They want you to stay in overnight, this means that you are confined to a hospital bed.
• The red-letter day arrives,
• When you should have been at the palace;
• All the celebrations go ahead,
• But unfortunately for you, you miss out because you are not there.
In a far greater and more important way these Christians:
• Did not know if those who had died;
• Would miss out on the celebrations when Christ returned.
• The subject is too important to leave to chance.
• So just in case any of the Thessalonians are still uncertain or muddled in their thinking,
• So Paul puts on record some clear teaching about the believers who have died.
• He writes to reassure them. - those who have died before Christ's return will not miss out.
• No calamity will rob the Thessalonians of their seats at the Lord's victory celebrations.
• There will be no broken hips there.
• So in these verses Paul the apostle will answer their questions;
• And in doing so he gives us some important insights regarding the 2nd coming of Christ.
He writes to three groups of people:
(1). THE SLEEPERS (verse 13-15).
“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.
14 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.
15 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”.
Quote:
• President Eisenhower the 34th President of the United States;
• And the commander of Allied forces in Europe during World War II.
• He was asked the question: “How do you like growing old?”
• He replied: “I prefer it to the alternative”.
Quote:
“In life only two things are certain – death & taxes”
Ill:
The story is told of the family cat dying;
• The mother quickly disposed of the remains before her four-year-old son;
• Came home from school and found out about it.
• After a few days, the little boy obviously missed seeing the cat;
• So he asked his mum about the cat.
• “Sit down” she said; then she tenderly explained that the cat had died,”
• His mother then said; “But it’s all right. He’s up in heaven with God.”
• The little boy thought for a moment and then said;
• “Mum....what would God want with a dead cat?”
Everyone (human beings, animals and plants) will all at sometime experience death:
• But the Christian has hope in death!
• I love the way the New Testament talks about those who have died in Christ:
Ill:
• In Luke chapter 8 verse 52, Jesus got himself laughed at;
• When he went into the bedroom of Jairus’ 12 year old daughter;
• And in the face of expert opinion, and the evidence lying there before him;
• Pronounced the girl as ‘not dead but asleep’.
• Question: Who was right Jesus or the houseful of mourners;
• Answer is both were right.
• To the mourners he girl was medically dead, past the point of no return;
• There was nothing more humanly speaking that could be done for her!
• “But what is impossible for man is not impossible for God!”
• To Jesus the Son of God she was not dead but sleeping, he had the power to awaken her!
Ill:
“Sleep” – Sleep of course is a pleasant experience:
• Ill: How many here enjoy morning lye in,
• Or afternoon nap or an early night.
• Sleep brings refreshment & restoration to our bodies and minds,
• It’s a positive experience!
• Sleep is natural function of the body and holds no terror.
• When the body is tired and worn, rest is a welcome friend!
Note:
• Along with sleep comes an awakening.
• For the ‘dead in Christ’ they will all experience a glorious awakening!
The apostle Paul is able to remind the Christians at Thessalonica:
• This hope is not just hopeful wishing;
• It is based on the very words of Jesus:
• Verse 15: “According to the Lord's own word,”
• Is the author and the promise giver of this hope;
• Therefore as Christians we do not need to listen to human speculation regarding death;
• Every Christian has a divine revelation!
• The words of Jesus and the teaching of the New Testament;
• Replaces superstition and hearsay with facts and surety regarding death.
The sleepers – those who have died. The sorrowful – those who remain!
(2). THE SORROWFUL (verse 13 and 14):
“My friends, we want you to understand how it will be for those followers who have already died. Then you won't grieve over them and be like people who don't have any hope”.
Grief is a very powerful human experience and emotion:
• However firm our Christian faith may be,
• The loss of a relative or friend, causes a profound emotional shock.
• Notice: that Paul isn’t saying in verse 13 that you shouldn’t grieve at all.
• He’s saying that you shouldn’t grieve the way non-Christians grieve!
• They get all upset because they think that once a person’s dead, they are gone forever.
• But the Christian has a different understanding and a different mindset.
So to those Christians who are alive and mourning, Paul offers comfort:
• Death for the Christian is entirely different from that of the unbeliever:
• Because we share in Christ’s victory over death.
Ill:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian;
• Who days before the end of the Second World War in 1945,
• Was martyred for his faith by the Nazis
• Just before he was executed he wrote:
• "This is the end, but for me the beginning of life."
• He realised that death for the Christian;
• Is but the gateway into the very presence of God.
Christians are inspired and comforted by "hope in our Lord Jesus Christ":
• Yes, we may mourn for ourselves and our own sense of personal loss,
• But we don’t need to mourn over those who have died in Christ.
Ill:
• When Roy Castle, the entertainer, but also a devoted believer, died,
• His widow, Fiona was able to say to her friends,
• "No flowers, no fuss, no mourning, just lot’s of joy!"
• He Roy was safe in the arms of Jesus.
Ill:
• Motto for Spain: “Nee plus ultra” means “More beyond”.
• The Spaniards thought that Spain was the end of the world, nothing beyond.
• But of course Columbus proved that belief to be wrong;
• Monument; lion eating the words “Nee” so it reads “More beyond”.
• Death for the believer is not the end; not even to be feared;
• There is more beyond “Life everlasting and heaven assured!”
The apostle Paul encourages those Christians who have heavy hearts:
• Those who are mourning;
• That their loved ones who have died will not miss out at the second coming:
• Their bodies may be buried in the ground;
• And they may well be a grave that you can go and visit.
• But as for the spirit, the soul of that Christian, it is not there!
• They have gone into the presence of Jesus (verse 14).
14 “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.”
Ill:
• Elsewhere in the New Testament (2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 8).Paul put it this way;
• “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”.
Ill:
• Warren Wiersbe tells the story;
• He said to a friend; “I hear you recently lost your wife, I’m very sorry”
• The friend replied: “No, I didn’t lose her.
• You can’t lose something when you know where it is – and I know where she is!”
Paul reminds the Thessalonians:
• On the authority of God’s word;
• Jesus Christ will return and bring with him all Christians who have already died!
The sleepers – those who have died. The sorrowful – those who remain!
(3). THE SURVIVORS (verses 15-18):
“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.
16 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.
17 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 for ever”.
Paul now turns his attention on those who are alive at the time of Christ's coming.
• Paul says, 'we who are alive'.
• He longed for Jesus to come soon, even in his lifetime.
• He cannot give any date, because he just does not know.
• But every day he was ready and prepared.
So he tells the survivors (Christians who are still alive) that they will have to wait their turn:
• Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first.
• Christians who have died will be first in the queue!
• Those who have died believing in Christ are with him now,
• And are awake to the fact.
• But they too await the great day of Christ's return to earth,
• Because then they will receive their ‘resurrection’ bodies.
• There old bodies will be changed like Christ’s resurrection body;
• It was the same yet very different, it was very different yet the same.
Verse 17:
“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 for ever”.
Notice: the expression: “in the clouds”.
• Question: Why the clouds?
• Answer: God often works with "Clouds";
• e.g. At the Exodus and also Mount Sinai;
• God revealed Himself in clouds,
• e.g. And in the life of Jesus;
• At both His transfiguration and ascension – Clouds were prominent to the event,
Notice: the expression: “the air”.
• The reference to "the air" was thought of as the dwelling-place of the devil;
• He is called “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2)
• So the fact the Lord chooses to meet His saints there;
• Speaks of His complete mastery over the devil.
But whatever imagery or symbolism is used by Paul:
• The primary thing to note is;
• The personal, visible appearing of Jesus Christ & the gathering to Him of all His people,
• Whether those people be dead or alive.
Ill:
Billy Graham years ago was in Korea.
• He visited a naval hospital .
• He went from bed to bed talking and sharing with the various male patients.
• He came across one soldier who had been wounded in the back;
• Consequently he has forced to lie face down.
He said to Billy Graham;
“For years I have listened to your voice and been influenced by your teaching, but I would love to see your face”
• Quick as a flash Billy got down on the floor and slid under the man’s bed/contraption;
• In that position the two men viewed each other face to face!
• You and I have heard the voice of Jesus through his word;
• Through the Holy Spirit we have been influenced and changed by Jesus.
• But a day is coming;
• When we will see him face to face! (ill: Sidlow Baxter: “excuse me – hallelujah!”)
Note: The Greek word that the apostle Paul uses for "coming":
• Was a word used for a visit of a person of high rank,
• Such as the visit of a kings or emperor, visiting a province.
• The Second Coming will be of the Lord Himself,
• Not one of His deputies or representatives. Notice: they will “Meet the Lord”
• It will be a personal, dramatic, public and unmistakable coming,
• A visit in person, of "the Lord".
Ill:
His First Advent was in humility and weakness.
• Charles Wesley summarised it in memorable words:
• "Our God contracted to a span, incomprehensibly made man."
• Then His deity was concealed in His humanity
• Many failed to recognise who it was that walked among them.
• But in the Second Advent;
• It will be with the FULL glory of the Victor over death and evil.
Quote:
• J B Phillips’ translation captures the drama:
• There’s some inspired poetry here!
"One word of command, one shout from the archangel, one blast from the trumpet of God and the Lord himself will come down from Heaven."
The technical term for this event is the word ‘Rapture’:
• This word is not used in this section;
• Because the word ‘Rapture’ is an English word that comes from the Latin word ‘Rapto’
• ‘Rapto’ means ‘to seize, to carry off, caught up’.
• And that is the description Paul uses in verse 17: “Caught up”.
So in verse 18: “Therefore encourage each other with these words.”
• These Christians and all Christians can be comforted by:
• (1). The fact of these events.
• (2). The order of these events.
• (3). The expectation of these events.
