The Faith's Foundations - Part 11: The Second Coming

Introduction

On Tues, April 15th, 2014 a rare yet spectacular phenomenon was to occur: a full lunar eclipse. These do not occur very frequently, so many were taking notice and preparing to see this rare event.

A total lunar eclipse occurs when the earth moves directly in between the sun and moon. When this happens, the moon takes on a reddish hue. So some have nicknamed it a blood moon.

More spectacularly, the blood moon that was to occur April 15th was just the first of four that would occur over a two-year period. This was even more rare.

The televangelist, John Hagee, who spends an inordinate amount of time on apocalyptic themes and the Second Coming, grabbed onto this concept.

Illustration: apocalypse and blood moons

Referring to the biblical imagery found in Joel and Revelation about the moon turning to blood, he began preaching that this blood moon eclipse event portended the last days that would ring in Jesus’ second coming. He even wrote a book about it: Blood Moons: Something is about to Change.

In his typical cryptic ambiguous language, Hagee proclaimed the End Times were upon us and predicted that a world-changing event was going to occur between April 2014 and October 2015.

Others followed suit and fueled the hype: so-called pastor Mark Blitz wrote a book entitled Blood Moons: Decoding the Imminent Heavenly Signs.

Of course, the 4 blood moons came and went, and nothing happened . . . except Hagee and other apocalyptic writers and televangelists went to the bank.

Christians (and many people in general) have always been enamored with the end of the world and Jesus’ second coming. The apocalyptic sells. Fear sells. Anticipation and anxiety sell. Hype sells. Doom and gloom sell. Just take a look at most of the news.

What should we think about the second coming? How should we prepare? Is there a way to prepare?

1. We Know That Jesus is Returning (4:13-17).

Matthew 16:27 ““For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.”

Matthew 25:31 ““But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.”

It is testified everywhere in the NT that Jesus will return.

What will this return look like? We get a glimpse in 1 Thess.

We do not Grieve; We have Hope (v.13).

1 Thessalonians 4:13(NASB95)

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.

“Uninformed” = “without knowledge, ignorant”

John Stott, The Message of Thessalonians (a. A Negative Introduction (4:13))

“He traces many problems of Christian faith and life to ignorance, and regards knowledge as the key to many blessings.”

What he wants them to know:

Something about “those who are asleep” = euphemism for “those who are dead”

Paul wants to inform them what happens to those Christians who die.

And he wants them to know “so that they will not grieve” like others “who have no hope.”

Note: Paul does not say he does not want them to grieve at all. He wants them not to grieve like unbelievers who have no hope.

We Christians have hope beyond the grave.

“Hope” = “(elpis), which means ‘a joyful and confident expectation of eternal life through Jesus Christ.’”

[John R. W. Stott, The Message of Thessalonians: The Gospel & the End of Time, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 94–95.]

Eternal life = heaven.

What this all entails will be discussed in Part 12. But this text goes on to relay to us some of the events that precede heaven, those that occur when Jesus returns.

The Dead in Christ will rise First, and then Those Who are Still Alive (v.14-17).

1 Thessalonians 4:14–17 (NASB95)

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

Just as it is a fact that Jesus died and rose again, so it is a fact that Jesus will bring with him those Christians who have already died and raise them from the dead.

The idea: when Jesus comes, he will be bringing with him the souls of Christians who have already died and will raise them bodily from the dead, i.e., give them new bodies. As 1 Thess 4:16 says, “The dead in Christ will rise first.”

Jesus taught it:

John 5:28–29 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

Paul described it:

Romans 8:23 “And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.”

After the dead in Christ are raised from the dead, then the bodies of the Christians who are still alive will be changed into a redeemed body: “Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up to gether with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”

1 Corinthians 15:51–52 “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will 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 will be changed.”

The emphasis of the teaching here is this: we Christians will all be given new redeemed physical bodies and be gathered to Christ at his second coming.

This is what our focus ought to be upon when considering the return of Christ.

Unfortunately, we often get caught up into so much speculation and end up missing the forest for the trees: that Jesus is returning and we are going to be gathered to him as fully redeemed—physically and spiritually—people.

Speaking of speculation: many claim to know when Christ will return.

In 1835, Joseph Smith predicted that Jesus would return within 56 years. [History of the Church, Vol. 2 p. 182].

Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, predicted Christ would return in 1914.

Perhaps one of the most disappointing: William Miller, founder of Seventh Day Adventists, predicted Jesus would return Oct 22, 1844. All of his followers, known as “Millerites” at the time, sold everything they had and gathered together to wait Jesus’ return. For days, they waited. . . . It was termed the “Great Disappointment.”

Jerry Falwell: in 1999, he predicted that Christ would return within 10 years.

Of course, many predicted the year 2000.

Jack Van Impe predicted 2012.

2. We Do not Know When Jesus is Returning (5:1-7).

Jesus himself taught this:

Mark 13:32 “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

His Return will come as a Surprise to the Wicked (v.1-3).

1 Thessalonians 5:1–3 (NASB95)

Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

Paul says that the Lord’s return will be “like a thief in the night.”

Interesting that Paul tells the Thessalonian church that there is no need to write anything concerning this idea. They know full well that no one knows when Jesus will return.

We do know this, however: Jesus’ return will come as a surprise to the wicked:

While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.

In contrast:

His Return will be welcomed by the Saints (v.4-7).

1 Thessalonians 5:4–7 (NASB95)

But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.

Paul begins his contrast by reminding us that Christians are not in darkness; we are all “sons of light and sons of day.”

Colossians 1:13–14 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Because we are already citizens of Christ’s kingdom, Jesus’ return will not come like a thief in the night to us, i.e., we will not be shocked, destruction will not overtake us. We will not be caught with our hand in the cookie jar. Rather, we will welcome the Lord’s return.

The Apostle Paul states in Titus 2:13 that we are “. . . looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” That’s what Christians do.

Cyprian, 3rd century (persecuted and then martyred under Roman Emperor Valerian:

“How great will your glory and happiness be, to be allowed to see God, to be honored with sharing the joy of salvation and eternal light with Christ your Lord and God... to delight in the joy of immortality in the Kingdom of Heaven with the righteous and God's friends!”

If we are going to be joyous at the coming of Jesus, then how should we live now?

3. We Need to Be Ready for Jesus’ Return (5:8-11).

How:

By being Sober (v.8)

1 Thessalonians 5:8 (NASB95)

But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation.

“be sober” = “to get self-control ⇔ sober up — to curb the controlling influence of inordinate emotions or desires (and therefore become reasonable); conceived of as sobering up from the influence of alcohol.”

This is in contrast to what Paul says in v.7 about those who are of darkness, who are unbelievers. Those who are of darkness get drunk at night. But, as Christians, we are of the light and so we are to be the opposite of drunk, namely, sober.

We should note that Paul does not mean literally sober as it relates to drunkenness (although this is true). The point is that we are to live a self-controlled life, i.e., be sober-minded, don’t be given to extremes— live a godly life.

We get a clearer picture of what sober means by Paul’s imagery of putting on a breastplate and helmet. It indicates that we are to be sober like a soldier:

“A good soldier should be one who is disciplined and whose head is clear, or one who is ‘sober.’” [Gene L. Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos, 2002), 240.]

A Christian soldier who is sober has the correct spiritual armor: breastplate of faith and love, and a helmet of salvation hope. In short: faith, hope, and love (cf. 1 Cor 13).

Application:

It is easy as a Christian to get distracted and be “drunk” in a metaphorical sense. We get undisciplined and focused upon things other than faith, hope, and love.

One way in which this occurs is to get consumed by second coming details, trying to figure out all the jots and tittles of Jesus’ second coming. Many Christians, esp in the last 100 years or so in America, have spent an inordinate amount of time on questions like the rapture, antichrist, the judgment, the tribulation, signs in the sky (eclipses), the state of Israel, etc., etc. They have had the newspaper and current events in one hand and the book of Revelation in the other. They attempt to correlate present-day events, esp events that occur in Israel, with all the symbolic and apocalyptic visions/prophecies in the Bible. Rather than reading Scripture and focusing upon faith, hope, and love and other more important teachings, they are consumed by these things.

If we are more concerned about a so-called secret rapture event or the state of Israel than the Gospel of Jesus and other essential doctrines of the faith, then our priorities are not in order.

We know that Jesus will return, but we do not know when or very many of the details that surround it. We know: (1) there will be a resurrection of the dead and we who are still alive, our bodies will be changed, (2) we know that judgment will occur, and (3) we know that his coming will be known by all as every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord. And that’s just about it of what we know for certain.

We do not know for certain, and thus it is not essential to believe, whether there will be rapture, a one man antichrist, a literal 1000 year reign of Christ, and so on and so forth. There are so many different interpretations and understanding of these elements to be certain about them. Prophecies and visions have always been this way.

The essential element concerning the doctrine of the Second Coming is that Jesus will return and there will be a resurrection of the dead. This has always been the core of the faith.

The Nicene Creed:

“I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.”

Apostles’ Creed:

“I believe in Jesus Christ [who] . . . is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. . . . I believe in . . . the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.”

And so we need to be sober, continuing on in faith, hope, and love and doing the work Christ has set before us: spreading the Gospel of Christ and growing in our knowledge and faith of God. This is how we are instructed to be ready for Jesus’ return.

Recall Jesus’ words in Luke 12:35-43:

New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition: Paragraph Version (Chapter 12)

35 “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit. 36 Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them. 38 Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

New American Standard Bible, 1995 Edition: Paragraph Version (Chapter 12)

Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.

Another way to be ready:

By encouraging One Another (v.9-11)

1 Thessalonians 5:9–11 (NASB95)

For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

While we wait and ready ourselves for the Lord’s return, we are to encourage and build up one another.

“encourage” = παρακαλεῖτε, same word used by Jesus to refer to the H.S. in John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”

The word also means “Helper, Comforter, Counselor, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby.” This gives us an indication of how we are to ready ourselves for the Lord’s return. We are to do these things for one another.

But we also “build up” = οἰκοδομεῖτε = “build a house” “embolden”

How do we enourage and build up one another? By reminding each other of what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

John Stott: “The world can be a tough and unfriendly place, as we all know to our cost. It is easy to get hurt by it. In addition, bereavement can be a very painful experience. We are also prone to fear when we think of Christ’s coming to judge. These emotions can tear us apart. We can become dispirited and depressed. But God means his church to be a community of mutual support. ‘Comfort one another’, Paul writes (4:18, RSV); encourage one another, and build each other up (5:11). All three are, of course, expressions of that yet more basic command to love each other (4:9). Moreover, the word ‘one another’ or ‘each other’ (allēloi) emphasizes the reciprocity of Christian care. We are not to leave it to an élite of professional comforters or counsellors. These have an important role to fulfil, of course, but supporting, caring, encouraging and comforting are ministries which belong to all members of the Body of Christ.” [John R. W. Stott, The Message of Thessalonians: The Gospel & the End of Time, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 114–115.]