1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 KJV (WS)

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Introduction - SLIDE #1

Prophecy is quite the intriguing subject.

It can be kind of like a rabbit hole that just gets deeper and deeper the longer you dig.

Some can even spend so much time talking about prophecy that they forget how it has any bearing on our present lives.

Paul presents a matter of prophecy in our passage tonight.

The matter of the second coming has been hovering over this letter from the very beginning.

Now, it comes right out in the open, as Paul answers some questions the Thessalonians must have had regarding some of the saints that had already died.

Many believe that there was a fear among the Thessalonians that their dead friends and family would somehow miss out on heaven if they died before Jesus came back.

Paul knows that this is not true and he uses this part of the letter to describe how the resurrection will happen.

A reminder of our hope. vss 13-15 - SLIDE #2

Death is an unnatural experience. - POINT #1

It was never God’s intention that we would have to go through that.

Sin brought death into the world.

Because of sin, every man would have to die.

You know how death works, once your dead, that’s it.

Then there was this one man who died, and 3 days later, he came back to life.

He defeated death, and part of his message is his willingness to share this power with his followers. - POINT #2

Don’t look at me weird, how else are we to take John 3:16 “16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

When a Christian dies, it is not supposed to be the same as when a lost person dies. - POINT #3

Not for the believer who dies, nor for their loved ones.

Paul says in a different letter that, for the Christian, the grave is defeated and death has lost its sting.

The saved loved ones of the deceased have no legitimate reason to experience the same sorrow as those that have no hope.

We should not grieve the same as the rest of the world.

When they say goodbye, it’s forever.

They have no confidence in seeing that person again.

Paul details for us, in this passage, that death is not the end of the story for our relationship with those we love.

The body of our loved one will descend into the earth.

We can cry and we can have sorrow.

But, we must not sorrow as though we will never see this person again.

Yes, their body is placed in the ground.

Their spirit will have already departed into heaven.

Our departed loved ones, who knew the Lord, are alive in heaven.

What is it like for them in heaven.

Well it’s not what it will always be like.

Their existence, currently, is an unnatural one.

God created man to be a unity between material and immaterial.

It is possible for us to exist as immaterial only.

Paul mentions this in another letter when he says “absent from the body; present with the Lord.”

What does this look like exactly?

I don’t know.

It’s a really great mystery to try and think about the ramifications of a personal, yet disembodied existence.

2/3 of the trinity exists without a body too.

God has no intention of leaving them in this condition.

He has a plan for all of his children to spend eternity as he always intended for them to exist.

A whole person made of material and immaterial substances.

This will be accomplished by the resurrection.

There is a logical truth built in to Christianity.

If Jesus rose from the dead, those that are asleep in Jesus will also rise.

Paul foresees this happening when Jesus returns and brings those that have died with Him.

Paul is filling in some gaps for us.

He is letting us know how and when this will happen.

It all centers around an event where Jesus descends from heaven to receive His followers into heaven.

It is at this point that the dead in Christ will receive the new bodies they have been waiting for.

It is also at this point that the living will be transformed into a body fit for heaven.

This moment is what believers have been waiting on for thousands of years.

More than logical, this is the word of the Lord.

God i guaranteeing this will happen.

Furthermore, God promises that the living will not prevent the dead in their resurrection.

Prevent means to precede.

If there was a line for the resurrection, the living would not be in the front of that line.

Totally fine with me.

I will gladly trade a spot at the front of the line in exchange for not having to die.

One thing I know is that I will be a part of this event.

At 4 years old, I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins.

I will either be coming with Jesus to collect my resurrected body.

Or, I will be here on the earth shocked by the instantaneous change that will occur.

Jesus will be coming back. vss 16-18 - SLIDE #3

He will personally descend from heaven. - POINT #1

He will be shouting.

The voice of the Archangel will be heard.

The trump of God will blow.

When that happens, the dead in Christ will rise first. - POINT #2

The reunion of the body and the soul will take place at that time.

This is the eternal condition of all believers.

A unified soul.

If we have a body that means we are meant to interact with matter.

This gives us a clue as to what heaven will be like.

It will be a physical existence.

The dead aren’t the only ones involved in this.

Then, we which are alive and remain will be caught up - POINT #3

arpazo - snatched, plucked

We will meet the Lord in the air.

Our faith will be made sight. - POINT #4

We will see Jesus for the first time.

What an incredible moment.

You know how incredible this moment will be?

There seems to be something missing from this passage.

Our loved ones that have died are going to come down from heaven with Jesus to collect the believers that are alive.

Those that are alive will be plucked from the earth and snatched up into the sky.

We will meet the Lord in the air.

So shall we ever be with the Lord.

What do you notice that is missing from this scene?

There is no mention of us reuniting with our loved ones.

They are there.

But, who is the focus on???

The focus in this moment will not be on any human relationship.

All the focus will be on Jesus.

Your loved ones with their newly risen bodies will be focused on worshipping Jesus.

You and I (hopefully) with our newly transformed bodies will be solely focused on Jesus.

I’m sure there will be times of reunion and catching up of some kind, but when the rapture happens and Jesus’ bride is called home, all attention will be on Jesus.

Comfort one another with these words? - SLIDE #4

How? Hope! - POINT #1

In grief, you may not be able to stop thinking about your loss.

In the rapture, your biggest priority will not be reunion with a human, it will be the fact that you are finally present with Jesus. - POINT #2

Right now, we may be consumed with the thought of reunion.

Once the resurrection questions have been answered, the worship of Jesus will be free to fill our attention. - POINT #3

Application - SLIDE #5

Jesus will come back. - POINT #1

Our friends and family that have gone on before us will come with him. - POINT #2

They will receive new, resurrected bodies.

We will have our still living bodies transformed in an instant.

As wonderful as it will be to see our loved ones that have passed on already, the real majesty of the rapture will be to see Jesus. - POINT #3

That is the greatest thing that we can look forward to.

Think about it from the perspective of your loved ones that are in heaven.

They’ve already seen Jesus.

They’ve already worshipped him without the limitations of sin.

They know the fullness of what Jesus offers.

Do they miss us?

Is there something missing from their lives?

Are they just excited for us that we will get to see and serve Jesus the way that they have been since they graduated to heaven?

Conclusion - SLIDE #5

God doesn’t want us to be ignorant of the state of His children when it comes to death. - POINT #1

All believers will expereince the resurrection.

If anything, the dead believers get the privilege of having a jump on the living believers.

They are already in heaven with Jesus.

They will get there new bodies first.

Either way, though, God takes care of his kids.