NOTE:
This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.
› Engagement
There is a really interesting phenomenon that is happening in our culture today. Even though church attendance in this country has been steadily decreasing, and fewer Americans say they believe in God or pray regularly, the belief in some kind of life after death has actually increased slightly. One poll even showed that 32% of those who identified as atheists or agnostics believed in some kind of life after death and 6% believed in a bodily resurrection of the dead.
Unfortunately, however, there is a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to what that afterlife is going to look like. That is because so many people get their ideas about the afterlife from the wrong sources:
• A lot of people base their ideas on their own wishes and desires. So they tend to believe that everyone is going to “heaven” and that, with maybe a few exceptions for “really bad people”, God would never sentence anyone to eternal punishment in hell.
• Some people base their ideas of the accounts of those who have had “near death” experiences, which may or may not match up with what the Bible teaches.
• Some views are influenced by popular television shows and movies. That seems to be where we get the idea that people become angels after they die, which as we’ll see this morning is completely contrary to Scripture.
› Tension
As we’re going to learn this morning, a proper Biblical view of what happens after we die here on earth is actually a source of tremendous hope for those who have put their faith in Jesus. That hope is something that none of the various incorrect views of life after death can ever produce. But at the same time, for those who have not placed their faith in Jesus, that proper understanding should be terrifying.
The purpose of my message this morning is much the same as Paul’s was when he wrote the passage we will be studying. I’m not going to attempt to create some nice clean timeline that attempts to lay out the events of the end times in chronological order. As I’ve shared before, I think there is enough ambiguity and mystery in the Bible passages that describe the return of Jesus, that makes that an impossible task anyway. And although I have my own personal views about the overall timing of the events we’ll be discussing this morning, I’m not even going to share those views, alone try to convince you that they are right or argue with you about them.
My concern, like Paul’s is completely pastoral. My goal today is to provide you with hope and comfort, both for you and for your loved ones who are no longer with us.
› Truth
So with that in mind, turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 and follow along as I begin reading in verse 13:
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 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. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, 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. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
It’s pretty easy to read between the lines here and figure out why Paul wrote these words. When he was in Thessalonica, he would have undoubtedly taught about the second coming of Jesus. Paul expected that was going to happen soon - during his lifetime. Notice what he writes in verse 17:
…we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up...
By using the plural pronoun “we” Paul clearly implies that he thought he would still be alive when Jesus returned. So it’s likely he left the people there in Thessalonica with the impression that Jesus’ return would happen soon. But in the time between planting the church there and writing this letter from Corinth, some of the disciples there in Thessalonica had apparently died. And the people there were worried about what was going to happen to them.
So Paul begins and ends this section of the letter with words of encouragement. He wanted the disciples there to have hope and to encourage each other. And here is the main idea he is communicating to them - and to us:
Looking for, longing for and living for the promised return of Jesus gives real hope.
Paul begins this section by writing that the key to finding hope in the second coming of Jesus is to have a proper understanding of that event. The reason that the Thessalonians had lost hope was that they were “uninformed” about some important aspects of Jesus’ return.
There was just as much confusion in the culture of that day as there is today about life after death. As Paul points out in verse 13, the pagan world had no hope of life after death. Archaeologists have discovered an inscription in Thessalonica which confirms that:
After death, no reviving, after the grave, no meeting again.
When Paul preached the doctrine of the resurrection, he was often mocked by the Gentile Greeks, because for them being rid of the body was their greatest hope. And even many of the Jews didn’t believe in a resurrection, even though it is clearly taught in the Old Testament Scriptures.
However, I think it’s important to note that doesn’t mean that hope requires us to figure out all the details of Jesus’ second coming. Personally I think most people will be just as surprised about how His second coming plays out as the religious leaders and other people were at how His first coming occurred. Hope comes from focusing on the person of Jesus and on the fact that His second coming is a sure thing and then living in great anticipation of that event. And we don’t have to have all the details to do that.
I am really excited about studying this passage together this morning, because I am confident that once we all understand the glorious future that awaits those of us who are disciples of Jesus, we can’t help but be filled with hope.
In order for us to grasp all that Paul is writing here, we need to understand some truths about the way God made man.
God created man with three distinct parts - a body, a soul, and a spirit. We have one material/physical part - our bodies - and two immaterial parts - our soul and our spirit. We don’t have time to go into this in great detail this morning, but the soul is the seat of our intellect, our emotions and our will. The human spirit is that part of us that communes with God.
Another way to think of this is that our bodies are the seat of world-consciousness, our souls are the seat of self-consciousness, and our spirits are the seat of God-consciousness.
Since man was created in the image of God, it is not surprising that this design is consistent with the triune God. The trinity is the idea that God is one God who consists of three persons that have distinct personalities and roles. The Godhead also consists of one material person - Jesus - and two immaterial or spirit persons - God the Father and the Holy Spirit. And just as all three persons of the Godhead are all 100% God, all three parts of man are 100% man.
This is such an important idea that God reinforced it when he gave instructions for the building of the tabernacle, which also consisted of three main parts - the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. The writer of Hebrews confirms that this design was to serve as a picture of heavenly things and point ahead to Jesus.
Hebrews 8:5–6 ESV
They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
Understanding this about the design of man is key to accurately comprehending the process that Paul describes here in 1 Thessalonians:
THE PROCESS
• Man “sleeps”
When we die, we are only “asleep” in the sense that we will wake up again. This is the same word that Jesus had used to describe Lazarus after he had been in the tomb for 4 days. That means that there is a sense in which our death is only temporary.
In fact, the Greek word Paul uses here is where we get our word “cemetery”. Early Christians used that word to describe a graveyard because it was merely a sleeping place, or dormitory, for people who would one day be resurrected.
• Only the body “sleeps”
There are some groups that teach the idea of “soul sleep” which holds that our soul and spirit also sleep until the return of Jesus, But as we will see clearly in a moment, it is only our bodies that sleep. That is because.
• At death, the soul and spirit are immediately in the presence of Jesus
The words of Jesus on the cross confirm this idea:
Luke 23:43 ESV
And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Obviously, Jesus was referring here to the soul and spirit of the thief and not his body. And as soon as that thief died, that immaterial part of who he was would immediately be in the presence of Jesus while his body would go into the ground and sleep.
We also see this idea confirmed by Paul:
2 Corinthians 5:8 ESV
Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Paul makes it clear here that the moment we die, the soul and spirit are separated from the body and are immediately in the presence of Jesus. In fact both the Hebrew and Greek concept of death is a separation, rather than an extinction or ceasing to exist. So it’s not surprising that we see this principle in the Old Testament as well:
Ecclesiastes 12:7 ESV
and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Let’s look at one more verse from Paul that confirms that when we die, our soul and spirit are separated from the body and are immediately in the presence of Jesus:
Philippians 1:23 ESV
I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
I think this is probably what most people think of when they talk about “going to heaven”, a phrase that interestingly enough isn’t found in the Bible. In fact, the Bible doesn’t give us much information at all about what this “intermediate” state of existence looks like.
I can’t prove it from the Bible, but I’m wondering if that is not because it will seem like we are only there for a moment in time. Since we will not have a physical body that is subject to space and time, it’s certainly possible that from our perspective, we’ll immediately proceed to the next step in the process. But even if that’s not true, the one thing we can be sure of is that we’ll be in the presence of Jesus. And that’s enough!
• Jesus descends from heaven
The important thing to note here is that Jesus is coming Himself. He’s not going to send a representative or an angel. He will physically, personally and visibly return to the earth.
• He brings with Him the souls/spirits of His disciples who have died
Notice verse 14:
…God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep (v. 14)
Since the bodies of these disciples are still in the ground up to this point, Paul has to be referring here to their souls and spirits.
• The bodies of the deceased disciples rise up to meet Jesus
...And the dead in Christ will rise first. (v. 16)
This is a good time to point out that the entire process we are talking about this morning only applies to those who have put their faith in Jesus - those who are “in Christ”. We don’t have time to talk about what happens to those who are not disciples of Jesus when they die, but I can assure you it is not something that any of us want to experience.
Since Jesus is bringing with Him the souls and spirits of these disciples, then it must be their bodies that rise up to meet Jesus. Obviously, by the time Jesus returns some of those bodies will have been in the ground for thousands of years. Some may have been eaten by wild animals or burned up in a fire or cremated. But the same God who created them from nothing in the first place won’t have any problem at all reassembling all those molecules regardless of what condition they are in.
• The disciples who are still alive rise up to meet Jesus (body, soul, and spirit)
…Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them… (v. 17)
Those who are still alive at that point will have their bodies, souls and spirits all intact. And they will rise up to meet Jesus and to have a reunion with all their other fellow disciples who have died previously. This is going to be one amazing family reunion!
Many of you are familiar with the term “rapture”. Although that word is never used in the Bible, this is where it comes from.
“caught up” = Greek harpazo =
“to be seized or snatched away” =
Latin raptus
This Greek word always indicates a change in location. When Jesus returns, those who are still alive will experience a change in location from this earth to where Jesus is in the sky. And when that occurs each person’s body will be reunited with his or her soul and spirit.
There is one last part of this process that Paul doesn’t detail here. For that, we must go to another of his letters and read what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15. Unfortunately we don’t have time to read that entire chapter, so we’ll just have to hit some highlights.
• Jesus transforms the bodies of His disciples into resurrection bodies (1 Corinthians 15:35-49)
For both the deceased disciples that come with Jesus and those living disciples who are caught up to be with Him, Jesus is going to instantaneously transform our earthly bodies into new resurrection bodies. If you really want to have even more hope, take some time this week to read about those bodies in 1 Corinthians 15.
After Paul writes about the nature of those bodies, he describes the process of how those bodies are changed. I want you to note the parallels between that passage and some of the details here in 1 Thessalonians.
1 Corinthians 15:50–53 ESV
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
In particular, note the reference to sleep, the sounding of the trumpet and the idea of the dead being raised - all of which make it clear that this is part of the same event Paul writes about in 1 Thessalonians.
• Jesus’ disciples will be with Him forever
…so we will always be with the Lord. (v. 17)
That is probably not a new idea for any of us. But what might be new for some is the idea that in this eternal existence we will have physical bodies and live a physical existence in the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21 and 22. We will not merely be disembodied spirits floating around in a spirit world. We will get to enjoy the most magnificent meals imaginable. We will marvel at the glorious beauty of our surroundings. We will live in a world where there is no sin. And, best of all, we will learn personally from Jesus and serve Him.
I hope it is obvious to you why we said earlier that...
Looking for, longing for and living for the promised return of Jesus gives real hope.
› Application/Action
Depending on what you have done with Jesus, what we have learned today is either the most joyful, hope-producing information ever, or it is your worst nightmare. As we pointed out earlier, this kind of physical eternal existence in the presence of Jesus is only for those who have put their faith in Jesus. Sadly, if you’ve never done that, not only will you miss out on this glorious eternity, but you will also physically spend your eternity in a place where you will continually experience the wrath of God. And I can promise you don’t want to do that.
So, if you’ve never put your faith in Jesus, you need to do that today. None of us is ever guaranteed even one more moment of life here on earth where we’ll have the opportunity to do that. So don’t put off that decision, because tomorrow might be too late.
For those of you who have already made that decision, what you have learned today is intended to help you not only survive, but to thrive, right in the midst of whatever difficulties you might be facing in your life right now. No matter how bad things might get here on earth, God has a glorious future in store for you that will far outweigh whatever problems you might face here on this earth.
So when you face difficulties in your life, remember what Jesus has in store for you. Remember that He has promised to come back for you and take you to be with Him and with everyone else who is part of His family. One practical way to do that is to bookmark passages like the ones we’ve read today along with Revelation chapters 21 and 22. Then when tough times come, you can go back to those passages to be reminded of what Jesus has in store for you.
› Inspiration
For a disciple of Jesus, death is not the end. Rather it is the gateway into the presence of Jesus.
One day in the future, maybe even today, the Father will turn to Jesus and say, “Go retrieve your bride, the church. Bring your people home.” The archangel will shout, the trumpet will sound and Jesus will descend from the clouds in the same way that He ascended to heaven after His resurrection as the disciples looked on. And He will gather all His saints, dead and alive, and take them to be with Him and with each other forever.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor and theologian was martyred for his faith by the Nazis days before the end of the Second World War in 1945. As he was led off to the gallows to be executed, these were his final words:
This is the end, but for me the beginning of life.
My prayer for all of us is that whenever our life ends here on this earth, we will be able to say the same thing.
