Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

I’m sure many of us have heard of the Left Behind series in which the end times is depicted in a fictional series of books - three of which became movies.

There is something about eschatology - or the study of end times - that seems so fascinating to us.

There are countless other books written on the subject as well.

For the next two weeks we are going to see Paul discuss a brief overview of a couple of aspects of the end times.

Today’s message introduces the kickoff to end times understanding.

Today, we are going to discuss the Rapture.

Here is an eschatological outline that I got from Pastor Kenny Stidham - the former pastor at Good Shepherd in Scott Depot.

Note that the very first thing seen here (noted by the green arrow) is the Rapture of the church.

Unfortunately, time will not allow us to go through all of the events throughout the seven year Tribulation and final return of Christ followed by the Millennial reign of Christ today.

These will be things that we will gradually cover as we go through Scripture verse by verse and book by book.

But as we begin studying this first event that is the start of the end, I want us to really spend some time learning what Paul is truly teaching in this passage.

Yes, there are great truths that we can glean from this regarding end times theology.

We learn a lot about the Rapture in these vivid and powerful verses.

However, the real heart of this section of Scripture is to instill hope in the life of grieving believers.

Paul’s main concern was to comfort this church in Thessalonica that was undergoing persecution.

Join me as we see what the Word of God has for us today:

Let us pray.

Prayer.

Today we are going to discuss three ways that we show that our hope in Christ.

The first is...

I.

We Who Have Hope in Christ Should… Mourn Differently (13)

I’m sure context clues have shown most here that when Paul mentions those that are asleep - he means those who have died.

This Greek word, koimaō (q-mah-o), is commonly understood to refer to those who had passed away throughout the New Testament in verses such as Matthew 27:52, John 11:11, among many others.

But notice that this does not refer to soul sleep.

Those who have died do not experience a time of soul sleep or a time in purgatory as some false teaching asserts.

We see Paul teach in 2 Corinthians 5:8 the following:

Those who have died and are absent from the body - are at home with the Lord.

They are in the Lord’s presence.

He says a similar statement in a book we went through last year - Philippians 1:23:

As he struggles in prison with thoughts of whether he is called to continue on earth working for Christ or be with Christ through martyrdom- he states that to depart and be with Christ is far better.

It wouldn’t be far better for him to die and be asleep for many years.

Finally, we find another clear verse in Luke 23:43:

As Jesus hangs on the cross, he looks over at the penitent thief beside Him and guarantees salvation to Him that very day.

He doesn’t say tomorrow you will be with me - or in a thousand years you will be with me - He says today!

Getting back to our verse we come to the second half of it:

That you may not grieve as others do who have no hope...

Morning and grieving is entirely Biblical.

Jesus even showed us an example of mourning when Lazarus died.

It is during this account that we come to the shortest and most simple passage in the Bible - Jesus wept (John 11:35).

I’m afraid that our contemporary church has developed an aversion to brokenness and mourning.

It seems that the false teachings of wealth and prosperity have crept into the church and twisted Biblical mourning.

The Joel Osteens of the world, with their painted smiles, have made it unacceptable to be real and share the hurt and struggles that are in our lives.

My friends, there is nothing holy about not mourning when you lose a loved one.

There is nothing holy about not mourning when you receive a terminal cancer diagnosis for yourself or a loved one.

There is nothing holy about suppressing your emotions and shutting down your feelings and faking that everything is ok.

In our Scripture today, Paul is certainly not teaching against mourning here.

Mourning is Biblical.

In fact, he commands elsewhere that we are to mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15).

Yet our mourning looks different than those who are unbelievers.

We mourn as those with hope.

Atheists have no hope.

Once they lose a loved one, there is no promise of seeing them again.

Death brings finality and leaves only room for gloom.

Life for the unbeliever seems but a meaningless vapor on earth.

Not so for the believer.

Death is entrance into eternal life!

Death on earth is freedom from the burden of sin - freedom from temptation - freedom from aches and pains - freedom from cancer and other ailments - and freedom from depression, pain, and anxiety.

When Jesus decides to take us home - we are going to a wonderful homecoming that we can be excited about!

Because of this wonderful promise of God, we should mourn differently than the world.

Next we see that...

Scripture References: Matthew 27:52, John 11:11, 2 Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23, Luke 23:43, John 11:35, Romans 12:15

II.

We Who Have Hope in Christ Should… Be Motivated Differently (14-17)

Before diving into this wonderful eschatological teaching, I think it is important to remember last week’s sermon as a preface to this.

Paul has just warned against being idle busybodies and encouraged the church to work diligently for the Lord.

So as we study this passage, let’s remember that although we need to look forward to the coming of Christ, we also need to be working for Him through His power in the meantime.

The hope and expectation of His coming back should motivate us to work even harder because it is a sure thing that He is coming back.

We know not the day or the hour - but we have the promise from a God who never lies (Hebrews 6:18) .

Paul gives a pre-understanding in verse 14 that is the basis for everything else he is going to say.

He starts with pointing to the power of the resurrection.

Since Christ died and rose again - He has the power to raise us!

Such a wonderful thought as we move forward.

He points to the fact that those who had fallen asleep - the dead in Christ - are not forgotten.

They are risen as well.

Most scholars think Paul presses in on these deceased believers because the church in Thessalonica was really concerned that their loved ones would be left when Jesus came.

There was a strong sentiment, as we saw in last week’s sermon, that Christ was coming back very soon.

And because of that sentiment, some didn’t work as they should and others spent time worrying about those who had died - thinking that Christ would forget about them and that they would miss out on eternity in heaven with Christ.

Paul comforts the church by letting them know that Christ will bring these believers who had passed on through persecution and natural death along with Him when He comes.

Just in case the church missed his words in verse 14, Paul reiterates that they need not fear that their dead had missed out on their chance to be in heaven with Christ.

He has let them know that they are already with Christ in verse 14 and now lets them know that they even get to have their glorified bodies before those who are alive and left on earth at the coming of the Lord!

Those who are alive will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

Theologian Gene Green highlights that those who had passed first will take the place of honor in this heavenly procession.

Now we come to verse 16 which is when the fireworks come, Biblically speaking:

This verse gives us some of the most vivid details of the Rapture.

Paul refers to the Rapture as the coming of Christ as we saw in the last verse.

This word coming in Greek is, parousia (par-oo-see-a).

Scholars oftentimes refer to the Rapture as the parousia because of this reference.

So let’s break down what Paul says in this verse:

1.

The Lord descends from heaven with a cry of command

The Lord Jesus is going to descend from heaven because the last time He was on earth He ascended into heaven.

See this in Luke 24:50-53.

In a similar way, Christ will descend back to rapture his church.

And this descent will come with a cry of command which refers to the power of His coming.

It is with all power and authority.

2. With the voice of an archangel

The only place that we see an archangel by name in the Scriptures is when we see Michael in Jude 9.

However, this does not mean there are not other archangels.

This archangel will serve as a herald of sorts - announcing the coming of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who comes to gather His people.