Stop The Ignorance And Live Faithfully

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

It had been around 50 years since Jesus had ascended into Heaven with a promise to prepare a place for believers and return to bring them to Himself. Fifty years of church growth, teaching, learning, discipleship, disciplines, joy, persecution, new life, and martyrdom. In short, the church had been preparing for a unified moment for 50 years.

We have been a church for ten years, this year. A major part of our aim has been to proclaim, teach and disciple the church in this unified anticipation and goal: that is the anticipation of Christ emanate return for His bride, and the goal of running the race unto glory well.

Having been a church for ten years, we have broken our study down into a year long goal of reading through the Bible to help prepare us. Our gathering together is a weekly goal, and our meeting with the Lord is a daily ambition and so strong of a ambition and dependence do we hope it to be that it is a constant.

Now in our ten years together, anticipating Christ return we have witnessed much life happen. So much so that you can really begin to wonder or lose sight of that initial goal: That is, you can personally lose sight and we as a church can lose sight.

You get married, you have children, your children grow, a rollercoaster of job situations have come and gone, a rollercoaster of marriage growth and struggles and parenting trials and errors. We have seen friends and family move away. We have seen friends and family fall asleep in the LORD.

And yet here we are after all of this time, and after all of this change, gathering together again on Sunday morning with the Spirit and the Bride saying, “Come quickly LORD Jesus, Come quickly.”

It is indeed a baffling thought. In our quick moving society and our pleasure/fulfillment on-demand ways to think that we have met together for ten years and yet that prize that we run towards, that ambition that we share has not yet been fully realized.

Now, picture 50 some years going by. Those who witnessed the life of Jesus are getting fewer as one generation passes things off to another. The ambition is passed on while the completion has yet to come.

Have we missed something? (they thought)

If we haven’t missed it, then what about among us who have died and therefore are not here any longer to wait for Christ return? Did they miss it?

Just as the women thought Jesus was too late to heal Lazerous because he died, so did the church thing that Christ had delayed to long to save them all.

This is what the letters to Thessolonica are to address for the church:

Listen to how this all comes about:

LETTER 1

In the first letter we begin by hearing of Pauls desperate attempt to get to them to encourage and care for them, but we read that he was prevented by Satan:

1 Thessalonians 2:18 ESV

because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.

Paul cares for the church even in his absence. He is encouraged to hear of how they are and he prays for them:

1 Thessalonians 3:11–13 ESV

Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Now in chapter 4 comes the instruction.

First on how to live a holy life in Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 4:1–12 ESV

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.

CONCERNING YOUR HOLINESS:

Strive to walk in God and in the instruction of God more

Abstain from sexual immorality - Control your body in holiness and honor (not in passion of lust)

Don’t disregard God - He has called you to holiness

Control your body in holiness and honor (not in passion of lust)

CONCERNING BROTHERLY LOVE:

Love one another even more

Aspire to live quietly (mind your own affairs & work with your hands)

*stay at home and mind your own business rather than running here and their and minding everyone else's business.

make it your aim to be content and not be bound in the race to obtain and display. - this builds into the next portion of whom you are dependent upon.

Be dependent on no (earthly) man (outsiders) but on the Lord

In summary: strive to be more holy, strive to be more brotherly

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV

1 Thessalonians

Now in the first two areas of teaching in 4:1-12 Paul spoke to the church of what they were already well aware of. He opened both teaching points by saying things like, “as you have recieved from us…as you are doing...” .. “you have no need for anyone to write to you....you have been taught by God.”

In other words Paul begin by encouraging them in that which they were already aware of:

You know you are to live Holy so live Holy.

You know you are to love your brother, so love your brother.

Now, there is something that you don’t know, something that you appear to be ignorant of, that you should not be ignorant of.

Paul says, I don’t want you to be uniformed.

Here is what we have church. There is something amongst us that is not as well known as “Live Holy” or “Love your brother”, but it ought to be. The church everywhere, for her health and her good ought to know this truth about those who are asleep. That is, those who were in the church, those who were worshiping amoungst us. Those who were trusting in Jesus along side us, but have since passed away. Concerning this, there is what appears to be a natural occuring ignorance within the church that needs to be addressed.

Why?

Because if this is not properly addressed then our grief will turn to despair, being absent of hope.

Here is the question:

Living amoungst the seen while living for the unseen, how do we know that we haven’t missed what we are living for?

When living for the resurrection but surrounded by death, how do we know that the resurrection hasn’t passed us by?

While waiting for the return of Christ, yet watching all of us die in waiting, how do we know we haven’t missed it?

Well, You know because of what you know:

Jesus died and rose again

Just as Jesus arose (conquered death) so will He bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

This is the declared word of the Lord (meaning it is certain, it has been declared to happen)

We who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

The Lord will himself descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.

Notice what we are given in terms of specific description (though not the time, the description makes this an unmissable event for the faithful)

Who: The Lord Himself

How: Descend From Heaven

What: A cry of command, voice of an archangel, sound of the trumpet of God

Then the action happens as the church arises to meet God in the air in two stages:

The dead (asleep) in Christ arise first

We who are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to forever be with the Lord.

I call this the lights, camera, action description. We are the lights of the world awaiting the call of action. The return, the call is the camera. It is pointed, rolling, and capturing. And the action is that which takes place in the capturing eye of the camera. For now, we are here ready, waiting, preparing, anticipating that “lights, camera, action.”

These words are our encouragement so speak them often to each other that in the midst of this world you won’t lose the hope of Christ soon return and our reunion together forever.

Now having spoken this, let me say this. There is perhaps nothing that brings people greater alarm or can cause more of a shake up in the church than speaking of the return of Christ. The when, who, and how seems to cause more debate than encouragement. Well, this was introduced by Paul in and by the time Paul is penning his second letter, he had to readdress it to Thessolanica church.

First Paul moves from addressing the resurrection of the dead and calling of the living to addressing times and seasons and in specific “the day of the Lord.” The day of the Lord is that final day of great destruction and other things which are to come about at the end of history.

2 Thessalonians 2:1–12 ESV

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Now notice, we go from an topic where the church appeared to be ignorant to one which they knew of greatly:

1 Thessalonians 5:1–2 ESV

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

1 Thessalonians 5:

This begins to tie things together for us. The church was unaware of the calling of Christ to those who were asleep and then to those who are living but yet fully aware of the coming day of the Lord and that it would come like a thief in the night. Thus, they thought they missed it and begin to loose hope in the midst of persecution. Here is further description:

1 Thessalonians 5:3 ESV

While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

1 Thessalonians 5:3

Seeing the person that you worship with martyred brutally has a way of shaking ones peace and security and cause labours anxiety. Now imagine being the early church, experiencing these things and then read Pauls last description… “they will not escape.” If you know this about the Day of the Lord and believe that you have missed the call of Christ, then what would you do…throw in the towel. Yet Paul continues:

1 Thessalonians 5:4–5 ESV

But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

1 Thessalonians 5:4

That thief in the night people....thats not you - your children of light, children of the day. Your eyes have been opened, you don’t live in darkness. The thief will not sneak up upon you, but rather the great cry of God himself, the alarm of the trumpet will make the season known and be your escape as described in chapter 4.

Therefore....

1 Thessalonians 5:6–24 ESV

So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:

Now that was the first address, but again, by the time the second letter is written the church is still struggling in the area. People were trying to decieve the church about the timing of the Day of the Lord. So Paul readdresses it in chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians 2:

People were trying to decieve the church about the timing of the Day of the Lord.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-

2 Thessalonians 2:1–2 ESV

Now concerning the day of the Lord

Paul is readdressing (in a way) what he had addressed in his previous letter and what had since taken place.

The church will not hear about the day of the Lord from a spoken (human) word or a different spirit. Meaning when it feels as though the world is too evil, or that the church has been abandoned or that hope is lost…that feeling, does not mean that we have missed the coming of our Lord and are now in the day of the Lord.

2 Thessalonians 2:3–5 ESV

Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

2 Thessalonians 2:3-

Friends listen, our insecurity, our immaginations, our curiosity can cause us to run down so many trails concerning the end times and thats not even mentioning the power of deception. Take the begining and end of verse three through five for a monment and say it to yourself, “Let no one deceive you, I told you these things”. If you want to be dicerning and not be decieved then focuss not on what you havent been told, but what you have been told, don’t be drawn off by the what if’s but rather be grounded by the Thus says the Lord, then you will be armed against all forms of deception.

The Day of the Lord ( will not happen until:

The rebellion comes first

The man of lawlessness is reveald - the son of destruction

The

he opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God and proclaims himself to be God.

(This is another hard to miss event)

Remember this has been told to you.

2 Thessalonians 2:6–12 ESV

And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-12

The Lawless One

Presently being restrained

Who is the restrainer?

The Holy Spirit (more specifically the Holy Spirit working in and through the church)

The Restrainer (v. 6, neuter gender, verse 7 masculine gender)

The identity of the restrainer is already known and therefore not specifically identified here.

The concern was that they missed the coming or calling of Jesus.

Paul had already told them that they would not. That first the dead would be raised and then those who remained would be called up.

Then if we follow, we also know that a rebellion comes before the day of the Lord and that the man of lawlessness will be revealed which can only happen when he who restrains is taken out of the way, though even now the mystery of lawlessness is at work, and even now there are many antichrist amongst us.

The man of lawlessness will be killed by Jesus with the breath of his mouth and he will be brought to nothing at the appearance of Christ coming.

The Activity of Satan

Satan is behind the coming of the lawless one.

Satan is using all power, false signs and wonders.

By wicked deception for those who are perishing (perishing because they refuse to love the truth and be saved)

The Activity of God

Those who have refused to believe truth and be saved will be allowed by God to be under a strong delusion and believe what is false

They will be condemned who refused the truth and took pleasure in unrighteousness

A church, 50 years removed from the asscention of Christ. Persecution and evil all around. Founders within the church asleep in the Lord. Once unified with the mission of running to win the prize anticipating the call of God to that eternal home that He had promised to be preparing for them. They were being persecuted badly and they thought they missed it. They began to slow down, to stop in there Christian labor. In two letters Paul addresses two things:

Those who have fallen asleep in the Lord, have fallen asleep. That was not the call of the Lord. They will preceed you, but you will follow after and will be called up by Jesus himself into the clouds.

Though you are persecuted, and there are antichrist and lawlessness all around you, you are not in the Day of the Lord. The restrainer has not been removed. The lawless one has not been revealed.

Therefore: live more holy, love your brother more fully

2 Thessalonians 2:13–16 ESV

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,

2 Thessalonians 2:13

And a final word of command:

2 Thessalonians 3:6–16 ESV

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.