A Hope Like No Other ~ 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18

Today, we look at "A HOPE LIKE NO OTHER" - for the new folks joining us, we are toward the end of Paul's first letter to the young believers in Thessalonica. . . in which he addresses the subject of Jesus' return.

Good Morning.

I went to high school in the 70s, which was the decade in between . . . in between the radical movement of the 60s and the upwardly mobility of the 80s. It was then that I also developed a view of the second coming of Jesus that was also ‘in between’. Seeing a movie put out by Billy Graham called “A Thief in the Night,” I was really scared about the teaching of the rapture of the church. On the other hand, I was in a choir that joined with 700 high school students to compete in a huge choral festival in Pasadena, and our big musical number was called “The Blessed Hope,” a song taken from today’s passage. We sang about how the Lord would call His beloved to Him to live forever with Him. Frankly, ever since then I have had an ‘in between’ feeling about the whole matter, feeling somewhere in between the fear of those who would be left behind and the chaos that would ensue, and the sure hope of being taken up to be with Jesus forever. In between. . . let’s explore the ‘blessed hope’ today:

13Brothers, 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. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According 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. 16For 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. 17After 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 forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4.13-18


When Luke wrote his gospel, he said plainly in his greeting that it was ‘so that you may know’. . . Similarly, Paul wrote about the Lord’s return so that the Thessalonians and the believers down through the ages would know. Apparently, there was worry in town about the believers who died before that great day, that they would be left out. Paul clarified that first the believers who had died would meet the Lord in the air, and then those Christ-followers who are alive would join them in the air. . . so that all of them would be with him forever. That will be glory.

In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul expanded on what would take place in that split second—“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 incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15.51-52 So not only will we go up to meet Jesus, (note: we will meet Jesus in the air; at this time, He will not come to earth), our bodies will be changed into heavenly bodies; we will shed these tents we were given to inhabit for a little while.

Some theologians call this event, this catching up into the air of believers past and present with Jesus, the “Rapture,” which comes from the Greek word, ‘harpazo’-to be snatched away with force. The word drawn from the Latin Vulgate is ‘rapare’ or ‘raptus’ from which we get our word ‘rapture.’ The term ‘rapture’ is not in our Bibles. Simply, let me say that there are divergent views on eschatology, (the study of end of times). It is not my purpose to describe each viewpoint, but simply to countenance the fact that there are varying viewpoints. Most agree that:
At the sound of the trumpet, Jesus will collect His own in the air, which will kick off the start of the tribulation (7 years), at which time the Antichrist will come to power. Jesus Christ will come a second time to earth, and He will reign one thousand years. Then, Satan will be bound and thrown into the lake of fire forever, at which time there will be a New Heaven and New Earth.

Matthew recorded Jesus’ teaching about His return. “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” v. 36 “Therefore keep watch. . . two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.” v. 40-41 The guiding principle is to ‘watch and be ready’ because no one, not even Jesus, knows when it will be. Now, if Jesus came back next week, would that be okay with you? Are you ready?

Getting back to me, and being ‘in between’ in the 70s…what scared me about that movie, and its content? Honestly, it was because I was so worried about my dad, because he did not know Jesus. I did not want Jesus to come before my dad came to trust in Him—simply, I did not want to be in Heaven without him. I was ‘in between’ knowing I would ‘go’ and all that meant, and he would be ‘left behind’ and all of the chaos that meant; my heart was sorely conflicted.

And now three decades later, people are talking about the end of times . . . a lot! How should you and I feel about that? Well, it depends I guess—will Jesus recognize you as His own when He comes to call? He will, if you have said ‘yes’ to Him. . .
And, if you are like I was, worried about someone who doesn’t know Him, what are you doing about it? Start by praying that she will believe the truth of the Savior, the Creator, our Lord. Then, tell her about what He means to you, the difference He has made in your life. Jesus is the blessed hope, and our hope comes in knowing Him and knowing we shall be with Him forever. Amen.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. . .
Christine
podcast: www.pastorwoman.com