1 Thessalonians 4:13-18(NKJV)
COMFORT FOR THE CHURCH
June 29, 2024
In this letter, Paul confronts the doubts of the young Thessalonian congregation; challenges them to a closer and cleaner walk with the Lord and He answers the questions they have about several areas of the faith. Among the topics Paul discusses the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus. Paul lets them know that the coming of Jesus is not an event that should bring fear to the hearts of believers, but an event that should comfort them. Let me show you why believers should have hope in the face of our Lord’s return and why Paul said comfort one another with these words.
I. v. 13-15 RESURRECTION - Among the fears of the Thessalonians was that their departed loved ones had missed the second coming. They were afraid that their dead had missed the rapture and would not be raised again until after the Tribulation, or that their dead loved ones might be second-class citizens in Heaven. Paul gives them some much needed information about this matter. He said that he did not want them “Ignorant” or “uninformed”. Because Jesus conquered Death and the Grave we know that absent from this body is present with the Lord. Paul calls it “sleep”. Just as Jesus called Lazarus asleep before his resurrection. Those who die in Jesus lose their conscious presence in this world, but they do not cease to exist. The phrase in verse 14, “even so will God bring with Him” makes it clear that they continue to exist with God in Heaven, 2 Corinthians 5 “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” The phrase “them also which sleep in Jesus”, teaches us that He comes for His Own, just as He told us in John 14 “I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself.” Death is merely the “departure” of the soul from this life into Heaven above. When Jesus died on Calvary's Cross, He endured the full wrath of God for our sins and He, by His death, took away forever the sting of death for His saints, 1 Corinthians 15 “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” Not only does His death give us hope, much more does His resurrection. Because Jesus rose from the dead, all those who have their faith in Him will rise again also. God has accepted Jesus as our ransom and in Him we are delivered from sin, wrath, death and judgment. When our love ones pass away, we are not saying goodbye! We are merely saying, “I’ll see you when we are caught up together!” That is a comforting word! There is going to be “a great getting up morning” like the song, “Some glad morning when this life is over, I'll fly away. To a home on God's celestial shore, I'll fly away. I'll fly away, oh, Glory I'll fly away. When I die, Hallelujah, by and by I'll fly away.” In verse 15, Paul tells us that those who are still alive when Jesus comes will not “prevent them which are asleep”. The word “prevent” means “to precede”. In other words, when the Lord comes for His people, the living saints will not receive preferential treatment. Those who are alive will not stand in the way of the Lord’s ministry to the dead! Those who have died in faith will not miss out on the Rapture of the church. To die in Jesus is not to miss out on anything. It means that you will wait with Him until He returns for the rest of His people. That is a comforting word! In a world that is full of confusion and doubt, Jesus tells us, “Let not your heart be troubled: You believe in God, believe also in me!”
II. v. 16-17a RAPTURE - These verses talk about the Rapture of the church. Paul was looking for the imminent return of the Lord Jesus in His day. And there is no single event that must occur before the rapture, so It could happen today! The word “rapture” means “to seize for oneself.” The word “rapture” is the Latin translation of the Greek word in “caught up”. Paul tells us that those who are alive when the rapture comes will be “caught up”. It literally means, “To seize by force, to carry off by force, to claim for oneself eagerly.” In the rapture, the Lord Jesus will claim His bride and He cannot be hindered! When He comes, there will be no staying! He will catch away that which He has redeemed by His blood and He will take us home to glory! No force will be able to hold us here when He does come. The bottom line is this: when He comes we must go! We are told that Jesus Himself will come in the clouds above this earth. He will shout, the archangel will lift his voice and there will be a blast from a trumpet. Jesus will stop in the “air”. According to Ephesians 2:2 the air is the domain of the devil. Jesus will invade the devil’s very territory and catch His Bride and take us to glory. Jesus promised that there would come a day when the dead would hear His voice - John 5:25. It was this shout that was heard by Lazarus, even in death that brought him back to life, John 11:43. There will be a Trumpet - Throughout biblical history, the trumpet was used to assemble the people of God. To signal their deliverance. To call them to move out! The Lord is calling His people to fall in and to move out! When Paul talks about the Rapture of the church, he mentions only those who are saved by the grace of God. The Rapture is not for everybody. The Rapture is only for those who have put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. We will not be left behind and that is a comforting word!
III. v. 17b-18 REUNION - Paul not only tells us that we will be “caught up” but also that we will be “caught up together with them in the clouds,” to meet the Lord in the air! This verse reminds us that the day of our Rapture will also be the day of our reunion. I don’t know how we will be, but we will be changed! I don’t how we will look but we will be like Him. We will meet all those who have gone to glory before us – Spouses, children, parents and loved ones. Our partings here are often marked by sadness and fear of an unknown future. These verses remove the fear out of the future. The Lord tells us that we can be confident that we will meet our loved ones again. Paul says, “Behold, I shew 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 shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”(No more sickness, no more pain, No more sorrow) One day, you and I will either be raised or raptured. Either way, we will be changed on that glorious day, and will see Our King Face to Face! The One Who loved us so much that He left Heaven above and endured countless sufferings to redeem us. We will meet the One Who conquered death, Hell and the grave. Paul says, “and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” I don’t know where Heaven is, but wherever Jesus is that is Heaven already. Paul tells us to “comfort one another with these words.” The thought of the Lord’s coming should comfort our hearts today! Paul is telling us to remind one another that this life with all its pains, sorrows and problems is merely a temporary existence. He is telling us to find our hope, our comfort and our encouragement in the coming of Jesus. “When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, We’ll sing and shout the victory!”
