All right, you’ll remain standing. We’re going to read some Scripture. This is 1st Thessalonians 4, verses 13 through 18, and you can follow along on the screen as I read.
This is Paul’s encouragement to the church at Thessalonica. He writes, “‘Brethren, sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope. For 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.
According to the words of the Lord, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 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 ever be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.
We have been going through the book of 1st Thessalonians on Sunday morning, and the theme of the book that we’ve chosen is Be Ready.
That’s actually the title of Dr. Warren Wearsby’s commentary on 1st Thessalonians. The title of the book is Be Ready. Dr. Wiersbe, who went home to be with the Lord a number of years ago, wrote a commentary on every book of the Bible.
It’s called the Be Series, and every title is Be Something. The book of Joshua, it’s Be Courageous. 1st Thessalonians, it’s Be Ready.
And so, we’ve been looking at 1st Thessalonians, and so the question is, ready for what? I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be unprepared. I don’t like surprises in life. I like to know the plan.
I know what’s happening for the next day, what’s happening for the next week. I flat out told my wife, no surprise birthday parties, please. I don’t like surprises.
Well, when Paul says be ready, he’s telling us to be ready for the return of Christ. And when you look at the book of 1st Thessalonians, every chapter, those are obviously man-made divisions, but every chapter ends with a reference to the fact that Christ is coming again. So, I think Paul wanted to communicate that to the Thessalonian believers, and he wants to remind us of that this morning, that Jesus is coming again.
Let me just illustrate, at the end of chapter 1, Paul says that we’re to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who rescues us from His coming wrath. The end of chapter 2, Paul writes in verse 19, for what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we glory in the presence of the Lord Jesus when He comes. The end of chapter 3, may He strengthen your heart so you will be blameless and holy in the presence of God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones.
The end of chapter 4, we just read that passage that talks about the second coming of Christ. And then the last part of chapter 5, verse 23, may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, the message is that we need to be ready, and the readiness is for the fact that Jesus is coming again.
And Paul established this church on one of his missionary journeys, but if you remember and you’ve been with us, he had to leave very suddenly. There was like a flash mob that broke out, and they were going after Paul and Silas, so they made a nighttime escape. In fact, when he writes earlier in chapter 2, he says, I left you as orphans.
I had to leave suddenly. And no doubt when Paul was there, he talked about and taught the second coming of Christ. But now they’re separated, and, excuse me, some of these folks in the church at Thessalonica, their loved ones have died.
And they’re wondering, what’s going to happen to them? Are they going to miss the second coming of Christ because they’ve died? Now, you need to remember that they just had the Old Testament. We have the complete of God’s revelation in the New Testament. They didn’t have that.
And so, one of the reasons that Paul writes this is, as we read, he wants to explain to them they’re not going to miss the second coming of Christ. There’s going to be a return, and there’s going to be a resurrection, and there’s going to be a rapture, and there’s going to be a reunion someday. And so, Paul writes this letter to inform them about the second coming of Christ and to give them encouragement.
4 introductory truths…..
i. Differing views of eschatology should not be divisive in the body of Christ
So, this morning, we’re not going to get much into the text, but I thought I would just give four introductory truths about 1st Thessalonians chapter 4, verses 13 through 18, and then we’ll jump deeper into the text in the coming weeks. So, here’s four introductory truths as we think about 1st Thessalonians 4, 13 through 18. Number one, differing views of eschatology.
That’s the study of the doctrine of the last things. That’s the study of the future. Differing views of eschatology should not be divisive in the body of Christ.
Different views of eschatology should not be divisive in the body of Christ. It was Saint Augustine that said, in essentials, unity, in non-essentials, liberty. So, there are five fundamentals of the faith historically.
Doctrinal truths that without them that we would die for because they’re the fundamental truths of Christianity. Number one, the inerrancy of Scripture. This is the Word of God.
It is without error. Number two, the virgin birth. Number three, the substitutionary atonement that Jesus paid our sin debt, took our place when he gave His life on Calvary.
Number four, bodily resurrection. Number five, the second coming of Christ. Now, to believe the Bible is to believe that Jesus is coming again.
It is all through Scripture. Let me just share a few of the passages all through Scripture that talk about the Jesus is coming again. This is Zechariah 14:4. On that day, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.
Now, where did Jesus ascend from in Acts chapter 1? The Mount of Olives. What did those angels say? This same Jesus that you see going up to heaven is coming back again someday. And so, the prophet Zechariah says, His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west forming a great valley and half of the mountain moving north, half of the mountain moving south.
Our passage in 1st Thessalonians 4 talks about the second coming. Titus chapter 2 verse 13 talks about the blessed hope. Revelation, the apostle John in the first chapter of Revelation verse 7, look, he’s coming with the clouds and every eye will see him.
Revelation 22, the last chapter in the Bible, three times. Verse 7, look, I’m coming soon. Verse 12, look, I’m coming soon.
Verse 20, look, I’m coming soon. It means quickly. And so, to believe the Bible is to believe that, what, Jesus is coming again.
The difference is there are different eschological views of when he’s coming. And so, sometimes within churches and believers, there’s a disagreement about the timing of His coming, not whether or not he’s coming. And so, the truth is that those types of disagreements should not be divisive within the body of Christ.
So, here’s our doctrinal statement from our Constitution about the second coming of Christ. It’s just a simple statement. We believe in the blessed hope, the personal, imminent, that means it could happen at any time, pre-tribulational, it means we believe that the rapture is going to take place before that seven-year period of tribulation when God pours His wrath out on the world, and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones.
We also believe in a subsequent return to earth with His saints to establish His millennial kingdom. So, we believe in a two-fold return. The rapture, he comes with His saints to meet the saints in the air, those who have died in Christ, those who are living at that time, they’ll be snatched up.
The word rapture isn’t in the Bible, but it’s the Latin term for caught up. But then there’s a second coming when Christ literally comes, His feet stand on the Mount of Olives, and he comes as the great warrior on the white horse in Revelation chapter 20, and he establishes His millennial kingdom. So, there’s all sorts of different views on when the rapture is going to take place.
Some believe it’s before the tribulation. There’s a position of the mid-tribulation rapture that Christ raptures the believers out halfway through the tribulation. There’s a new view put out by a fellow by the name of Marvin Rosenthal about 40 years ago.
He called it the pre-wrath rapture. Some people believe that the rapture is at the end of the tribulation. And so, having said that, what we agree on is that Jesus is coming again, and we need to be ready.
ii. No one knows the day or hour of Jesus return
So, these differing views should not be divisive. Here’s the second introductory truth this morning. No one knows the day or hour of Jesus’ return.
No one knows the day or the hour of Jesus’ return, and that’s Matthew chapter 24. Let me read beginning in verse 36. But about that day or hour, these are the words of Jesus, and He was asked a question about the end times.
But about that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. You might read that, you mean Jesus doesn’t even know when He’s coming back? Well, I think in Jesus becoming human flesh, He limited His ability in some areas, and His knowledge in some areas. So, I think now that Jesus has ascended to the right hand of God, and He’s omniscient, I think He knows when He’s coming back.
But perhaps Jesus is saying, at this point in time, nobody knows, only the Father in heaven. And then He describes this, as it was in the days of Noah. We kind of have an ark theme going here this morning.
As it was in the days of Noah, so will be at the coming of the Son of Man. From the days of Noah, before the flood, people were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage, up until the day Noah entered the ark. Life was going on as normal, until Noah went into the ark.
And they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all the way. This is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field, one will be taken, the other left.
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill, one will be taken, the other left. And so, here’s Jesus’ words of application. He tells us in verse 42, therefore keep watch.
Verse 44, so you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come in an hour when you do not expect it. So, the any moment return of Christ. Jesus says, we need to be watchful, and we need to be ready, because nobody knows when he’s coming, and it could be today.
So, date setting is useless. And down through history, many people have tried to predict when Jesus is coming again. There was a group in the 19th century, the end of the 19th century, called the Millerites, and they knew that Jesus was coming again.
So, they sold all their possessions, and they went up onto a mountaintop, and they were waiting for Jesus to come. No, we don’t know when he’s coming, but he calls us to be ready, and to be watchful, and to be faithful. Well, the third truth is this.
iii. The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to encourage new believers to be ready for Christ’s return
The Apostle Paul writes this letter to encourage these new believers to be ready for Christ’s return. So, as I mentioned, part of the reason that he wrote this letter is to explain to these new believers in the Church of Thessalonica about the doctrine of the second coming, to encourage them to be hopeful, and to be ready. Now, when we read verse 15, notice it suggests that the Apostle Paul was looking for Christ’s return, and if you read the text carefully, he’s expecting Jesus to return in His lifetime.
Look at verse 15 from 1st Thessalonians 4, according to the Lord’s Word, we tell you that we who are still alive, Paul writes. Did you catch that? We who are still alive will not precede those who have died in Christ. Paul writes this, and he’s thinking that Jesus is coming back in His lifetime, and so he shares this with the Thessalonian believers, and he wants them to be ready.
How can we be ready for Christ’s return? Well, the first step is to know Jesus as Savior. The Apostle Peter writes in 1st Peter chapter 3, actually it’s 2nd Peter chapter 3, he’s writing about the day of the Lord, and he says in the last days people are going to say, well, where is this Christ’s return? Since the beginning of time, things have just happened day after day, the doctrine of uniformitarianism, nothing’s changed, and Peter writes and says, well, you’re unaware of history, that in the past Jesus broke into history and he brought judgment through, again, the flood, Noah’s ark, and then he writes about being patient for the return of Christ. Do not forget this one thing, dear friends.
With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. God is eternal. He’s not bound by time.
One of the things I’m looking forward to in heaven is not being bound by time, not having to look at my watch saying, now I’ve got to be here, now I’ve got to be here. One day is like a thousand years, a thousand years is like one day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.
Instead, he is patient. The word is makrothumia. He’s long-suffering.
What is he waiting for? He’s patient. Here it is. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but for everyone to come to repentance.
So why hasn’t Jesus returned yet? Because he’s waiting for people to receive Jesus as their Savior. He’s waiting for the message to go out and being patient, long-suffering until that day of judgment comes. And so, the Apostle Paul is writing to these believers to say, you need to be ready for the return of Christ.
Maybe my favorite verse in the Bible, certainly one of the top three is 2nd Corinthians 5:21. It’s the gospel in a nutshell. He who know no sin, Jesus, became sin for us so that in him we might become what? The righteousness of God. That’s what salvation is.
We put our faith in Jesus and repent from our sins and put our trust in him, and we exchange our sinfulness for the righteousness of Christ. And in our standing before God, when we come to faith in Christ, we are justified just as if we’ve never sinned, because he sees us through the righteousness of Christ, wrapped in the robes of Christ’s righteousness.
iv. Prophecy gives us a glimpse into the future so we will know how to live in the present.
Well, number four, fourthly here, we think about 1st Thessalonians chapter four, and we get into the text in the coming days. Prophecy gives us a glimpse into the future so we will know how to live in the present. Prophecy gives us a glimpse into the future so we’ll know how to live in the present. Did you know over one-fourth of the Bible is prophetic? You put the Old Testament and New Testament together.
Did you know there are eight times as many verses in the Bible about the second coming of Christ as there are about His first coming, all those verses that we read about on Christmas time? And so, God gives us a glimpse into the future. That’s the outline of the book of Revelation. John was told, he’s on the Isle of Patmos, write the things which have been what you have seen, the things which are, and the things that will be hereafter.
So, the book of Revelation pulls the curtain away. Chapter one is the vision of Christ. That’s what John records.
He saw a vision of Christ. Chapters two and three are seven letters to seven historical churches that are given to these churches, words from Jesus himself. Chapters four through 22 are all prophetic.
This is what the future is going to look like. This is what’s coming. It’s the only book in the Bible where there’s a blessing promise for reading the words that are written in the book of Revelation.
Applications that should move our hearts
1. you and I as believers in Jesus have hope
And so, prophecy gives us a glimpse into the future, so we will know how to live in the present. And so, as we study this passage in 1st Thessalonians chapter four, there’s a couple of applications that should move our hearts as we look at what God has told us about the future. And the first one is that you and I as believers in Jesus have hope, have hope.
Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 13, now abideth these three, here’s the three great Christian virtues, faith, hope, and love. And then he says the greatest of these is love. One of those great virtues that we have is hope and Titus 2:13 calls the return of Christ the blessed hope.
So, how does Paul begin here in encouraging these believers from Thessalonica, brothers and sisters, by the way, that phrase is in there 15 times in this letter. We’re all part of the body of Christ, aren’t we? We’re brothers and sisters in the Lord. We do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, those who have died, so that you will not grieve like the rest of mankind who have no hope.
So, if someone’s here without Jesus, you don’t have any hope, but there’s hope in Jesus. There’s hope. And I don’t want you to grieve like those who have no hope.
One of the religious sects in the New Testament, there was a Pharisees and the Sadducees. One of the things that distinguished the difference between the two was that the Sadducees, those Jewish people in the first century, did not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection. They thought the grave was the end.
There’s many people today that believe that. They simply believe in nihilism and that this is the only world there is. And so, you might as well like, what? Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.
Grab all the gusto you can and enjoy life because after the grave, there’s nothing. The Bible tells us differently. The Bible says, when a person in Christ dies, we grieve and we sorrow, but not like those who have no hope.
This was the pagan world in Paul’s day in the first century. They had no hope. They had no hope, many of them, of life after death.
Diane and I, at this point in our lives, have stood by the graveside of five parents. My mom died at 50, died of cancer. My dad remarried about three years later, and in case you’re wondering why there’s five, and my stepmom passed away about four years ago.
We’ve stood at the graveside of five parents. We stood at that cemetery and watched as they’ve lowered their bodies into the grave. And yes, there was sorrow, but there was also hope.
That this plot of ground, where their physical bodies are, are simply a temporary holding place. Not their final resting place. It’s a temporary holding place until the trumpet sounds and the Bible says, the dead in Christ will be raised incorruptible with a new glorified body, just like Jesus’ body.
And so, at this point, I’ve stood by hundreds of graveside services. As that body’s lowered into the ground and we leave that graveside, my closing words at the committal service is a paragraph that many pastors read, and this is what I read. For as much as it has pleased Almighty God in His providence to take out of this world the soul of, and then we name the person, we commit their body to the ground, looking and waiting for the resurrection of the last day, at which time those who have died in Christ will be raised and will be given a body like His glorious body, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
What’s Paul saying? There’s hope. This is not a final goodbye. This is a temporary goodbye until we see Him again someday.
Now, that’s one of the benefits of understanding biblical prophecy, and it’s specifically this passage in 1st Thessalonians 4, 13 through 18. But there’s one more that I want to share with you, and it’s not only that studying prophecy should give us hope, the blessed hope, and His name is Jesus. And by the way, here’s a statement that I heard this week at Maranatha from one of our speakers.
His name is Cisco Cotto. He’s a professor at Moody Bible Institute, and he did a whole series on Jonah. But one of his messages, he said this, and it stuck with me, and I wrote it down.
For a believer, every day above ground is a good day. You know, sometimes when we get older, like, how you doing today? Well, yeah, I’m vertical. It’s a good day.
Every day above ground is a good day. But then he said, for a believer, every day below ground is a great day. Why? Because you’re not there.
2. studying biblical prophecy should give us an urgency in sharing the good news of the gospel.
You’re in the presence of God. And so, we have hope, and the study of prophecy should give us hope. But also, the second application of this is that studying biblical prophecy should give us an urgency in sharing the good news of the gospel.
Because we don’t want to keep this hope for ourselves. We want to share it with other people. And so, the apostle Paul says, the love of Christ compels me, what, to share the good news.
The fear of the Lord, the terror of the Lord, that He’s going to judge this world someday compels me to share the good news of the gospel. So, if you have some people in your family, you have some neighbors on your street, some co-workers, some extended family somewhere that don’t know Jesus, because Jesus could return at any moment, we need to have a sense of urgency sharing the good news, sharing the gospel. And He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that in Him we could become the righteousness of God.
Back when I was a teenager, there was a very popular Christian movie. And some of you that are closer to my age might remember this. It’s called A Thief in the Night.
It’s all about the rapture. And they did this dramatic movie. It became very, very popular in Christian circles.
And there was a song that someone wrote that went along with it, talking about the rapture of the church. And the song says, I wish we’d all been ready. And so, prophecy gives us hope but also should give us urgency in sharing Jesus’ love with our neighbors, our family, and across the ocean to those in Uganda.