The Next Chapter of History

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Brothers, 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. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According 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. For 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. After 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. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

T

he knowledgeable Christian reading the daily newspaper or watching the daily newscast may well be seized with a sense of deja vu. The drama unfolding before our watching eyes appears startlingly familiar as we literally watch Bible prophecy fulfilled before our eyes. As event follows event there is a feeling of unease, however, since we are uncertain as to the timing of prophetic fulfilment. There is a sense of imminence about prophetic fulfilment; the proximity creates a growing sense of dread. Though we cannot know the timing of events we do know the sequence of events at His return. We may encourage our hearts through instruction in this glorious truth concerning Jesus' Second Coming, for He has promised and He shall come again. Let's learn together so that we may encourage each other with these words [verse 18].

For Some, The Next Event Is Sleep [verse 13]. Brothers, 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. What a quaint term Paul uses as he writes of those who fall asleep. With this term the Apostle refers to death. On the strength of this passage some well-meaning teachers have concluded that the soul of the believer sleeps in the grave. That some may be confused is understandable, for the Bible does compare death to falling asleep in several places.

Job, voicing his complaint after the trip hammer blows of satanic adversity had hammered him mercilessly cried out that he wished he had never been born.

Why did I not perish at birth,

and die as I came from the womb?

Why were there knees to receive me

and breasts that I might be nursed?

For now I would be lying down in peace;

I would be asleep and at rest

with kings and counsellors of the earth,

who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,

with rulers who had gold,

who filled their houses with silver.

[Job 3:11-15]

You will recall that Jesus on at least two separate occasions spoke of the dead as sleeping, first in reference to the daughter of Jairus [Matthew 9:24] and again instructing His disciples as they journeyed to the home of Lazarus [John 11:11-13]. Dr. Luke, writing of the martyrdom of Stephen, stated that as he was being stoned he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep [Acts 7:60]. Luke probably learned this view from Paul who clearly favoured the euphemism, as is evident in Acts 13:36: For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. It is equally possible that the euphemism was commonly employed among the populace of that time and that Dr. Luke simply reflects the common usage. What is clear is that the euphemistic reference to death as sleep was well established by the time Paul wrote.

Both through the instructions he provided concerning observance of the Lord’s Supper and with the teaching related to the resurrection given the Corinthians, Paul spoke of the Christian dead as those who had fallen asleep [1 Corinthians 11:30; 15:6,18,20]. He knew they were dead, but he spoke euphemistically as a means of encouragement to those who grieved. In addition to the multiple references found in our text, Paul also equated sleep and death in 1 Thessalonians 5:10: [Christ] died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.”

We should not be surprised that the Apostle spoke euphemistically of death. We enlightened souls in this age also try to obscure the mystery of death, as have all peoples throughout the history of the race. In this day we speak of those who have passed away or of those who have crossed over. Other argots employ euphemistic terms to mask the unpleasantness of death. Pilots speak of those who crash as having bought the farm. Our mortality leaves us ill at ease and we seek to divert attention from our frailty in the face of the last enemy by refusing to even use of the word death.

There is in the Apostle’s language, however, that which rises above the mere desire to hide from the unpleasantness of death. Paul is intent on teaching believers about life and the consequences of the Fall and the intervention of Christ to rescue us from death. That is why he begins by saying: Brothers, 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. The Apostle sought to dispel ignorance and to deliver saints from hopeless grief concerning those who fall asleep. As we look upon our dead they have a look of peace as their body lies in quiet repose, their bodies awaiting the resurrection. They appear to us as though they were sleeping! How apt the choice of words! As sleep is followed by an awakening so death will be followed by resurrection, just as Daniel states in Daniel 12:2: Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Bear in mind that it is the body which sleeps; the soul is ever conscious.

Two passages in particular among the many which Paul wrote address the issue of what lies beyond for those among us who shall be called to pass through the chilly waters of death. In Philippians 1:21-24 we witness the incarcerated old man of God musing for the benefit of his readers. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

How powerful the affirmation: to live is Christ and to die is gain! I desire to depart and be with Christ betrays no hesitation, but rather confidence. On the one hand is the desire to loose anchor [literal meaning of the verb]. When this is accomplished Paul will be with Christ. As one action is completed the other is accomplished; as one event concludes the other begins. By use of the infinitive ei\nai [kai; su;n Cristw'/ ei\nai (verse 23)] the Apostle makes the strongest possible case for a momentary transition between one state and the other … between the mortal condition and immortality.

The second passage to which I invite attention is that found in 2 Corinthians 5:6-9. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. Again we witness two distinct situations: at home in the body and away from the Lord, or away from the body and at home with the Lord. There is no room for an interval between the two conditions. Should the former be accomplished, then the latter must immediately prevail. The two are by their very nature mutually exclusive.

Is death so awful? If all we anticipate is extinction and if all we have lived for is found in this life, then death is awful, a terrible tragedy. If, however, exodus from this veil of tears means arrival on a fairer shore, then death is but another minor event leading to eternity. If I have lived for another world, if I have store[d] up treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal, then I will find my departure from the realm of the mortal is no hardship, but that it is rather a source of joy.

Throughout the years of my ministry I have enjoyed the sermons of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Tucked away in one sermon is a remarkable statement. Spurgeon trusted that he would die and not be raptured, for then he would be permitted to know the fellowship of sharing in [Christ’s] death. He wanted to know the same experience as his Lord. There is a courageous truth in that aspiration. Instead of making every attempt to avoid pain and unpleasantness, ought we not anticipate that we also may go the way of all the earth in tasting death? Anticipating this momentary burden, ought we not to redirect our focus to that which is eternal and to that which cannot be shaken?

Any reference to death makes some people uneasy. I preached of death on one occasion, commenting that some needed to die in order to live, making it plain that I spoke of death to self that Christ might live through us. One woman was quite upset and demanded that I resign because I said some people needed to die. When she confronted me she blustered that we preachers were always talking about death. “Ma’am,” I replied, “if you people would quit dying we preachers would quit speaking about death.”

Before another year is out it is a virtual certainty that some listening to this sermon today will have left this transient life for that eternal home. That someone may be you. Are you prepared? Have you readied yourself? Dying, will you mourn at the thought of leaving the baubles of this life, though it means that in Christ you shall seize riches eternal? I am prepared to think better things of you, the people of God to whom I am appointed as a shepherd. I am prepared to believe that you, although struggling against the pressure to conform to the world about you are stor[ing] up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. I am prepared to believe that you are living for Christ, and that therefore you will in no way be surprised at the intrusion of death should that be the will of God. I am prepared to believe that you are living for eternity and not for time.

For Some, The Next Event Is Transformation [verses 14-17]. Though some shall experience death, I am persuaded that for some there is another event in store. There is a day yet future when Jesus shall bring with Him those who have died in the Faith. At that time the exciting promises of this passage will be fulfilled. Listen again to the stirring words of the great Apostle. According 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. For 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. After 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.” Did you catch the note the Apostle sounded? He speaks of an event so stunning the mind cannot fully grasp it because of its enormity. The Apostle is speaking of a momentary transition as we are fitted for heaven itself.

Before ever he wrote this letter, Paul knew Jesus’ promise recorded in John 14:1-3. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. The promise, stated simply, is that Jesus is preparing a place and that He will take His disciples to be with Him. The promise of these verses which has comforted so many is but an iteration of earlier pledge found in John 12:26: Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. This, in turn is but the presaging of that glorious request included in Christ’s high priestly prayer: Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory [John 17:24].

I have no doubt that Paul heard these precious promises from the other Apostles. His words here, however, According to the Lord's own word, are a revelation of God’s intent for His own. They alert us to the fact that the matters of which he is about to write are highly significant. The revelation we are about to receive is that those who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. Christians are now separated in death, but we shall be separated no longer when Christ returns. Our separation is momentary; we shall soon be together …with the Lord forever. My loved ones who have preceded me in departing for home – my father, my granddad and grandma, my aunt and uncle, each of whom I loved deeply – shall be separated from me no longer. We shall be reunited in Christ one day soon. Then, when death is destroyed and when I have been transformed, we shall never be separated again.

Focus for a brief moment on that one little word together. It is perhaps more significant that we could imagine. We shall all be caught up together when Christ comes. We have enjoyed fellowship together down here and we shall enjoy fellowship together in glory. Someone may ask, “Will we know one another in heaven.” I respond, “We have never really known one another!” Only in heaven shall we see face to face. Only in glory shall [I] know fully or be fully known. What do we really know of fellowship now? I know perhaps a little of your burdens or a little of your struggles to honour Christ the Lord. You know perhaps a little of my deep longing to be holy and righteous. Together we struggle to know something of one another’s deepest desires. Yet we never truly know one another except as we are enabled by God’s grace to reveal ourselves to one another. I tell you there is a day of fellowship which shall cause such rejoicing that we cannot even begin to imagine now; and that day shall come when Christ receives us to Himself.

This one great, comforting truth would I press to your heart and mind. Some shall be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye [1 Corinthians 15:51,52]. This truth has been a source of joy for saints throughout the long ages. We cannot read Paul’s letters without realising that he lived in anticipation of that event which he calls the blessed hope. Nor are we left to speculate what that metamorphosis entails. It is sufficient to know that we shall be like Him [1 John 3:2]. It is enough to know that the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. It is sufficient that we can assert that when the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

I’m always reminded of my mortality, as is also true for you. I fish a stream I have long enjoyed with a dear friend and at the conclusion of the day we laugh at our new-found caution and at the multiple aches and pains we are experiencing. “Remember,” he asks, “when we used to run from one hole to the next? Remember when we used to run along the log rafts, leap from rock to rock and swim against the strong currents of the chilly river just for the fun of life?” We now walk from one run to the next. We avoid the log rafts if possible and wade around the rocks. Only if we should fall in the water would we think of wetting ourselves in the chilly waters. Even then such activities leave me aching and weary. Despite my still considerable strength I find that this body betrays me. All that shall change and death shall not even be a memory.

For All, The Next Event Will Encourage [verse 18]. How sweet is that final verse: Therefore encourage each other with these words. Christians can know the mind of God concerning last things. Christians can know the events which shall shortly unfold. Christians should speak of these events, encouraging one another with these words. Christians are to know these words and are to speak these words to one another. To be ignorant of what God has planned is to include ourselves among those who are ignorant and to subject ourselves to grieving like the rest of men, who have no hope. To fail to discuss these matters with one another is to forsake encouragement which is our heritage.

Do you imagine there can be encouragement in death? Do you suppose that we can draw consolation from the departure of dear loved ones? I recommend that there is comfort to be found in the death of a Christian. Some truths in Ecclesiastes are difficult to understand, but one verse affirms that the day of death [is] better than the day of birth [Ecclesiastes 7:1]. That thought is expanded in the following verses:

It is better to go to a house of mourning

than to go to a house of feasting,

for death is the destiny of every man;

the living should take this to heart.

Sorrow is better than laughter,

because a sad face is good for the heart.

The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

[Ecclesiastes 7:2-4]

The author is forcing the reader to confront reality … to take a reality check.

In North America we celebrate births and mourn deaths, but wisdom invites us to reconsider our arrangement! The day of death has more to teach than the day of birth; the lessons are more factual and more vital. On festive occasions the general mood is excited and expansive; these are not times for dwelling on life’s brevity or on human limitations. At such times we permit our fancies and hopes to run high. At the house of mourning, on the other hand, the mood is thoughtful and the facts are plain. If we shrug off the lessons, it is our fault and we have no further opportunity to face the facts of life … and death.

Chuck Swindoll in his excellent devotional commentary on Ecclesiastes, provides sage commentary on this verse:

Our thought process is seldom more shallow than when we have some clown dump a joke into our ears. After a quick laugh it’s amazing how quickly the joke is forgotten. But we seldom forget a stroll through a graveyard and what we learn there about the great men and women who have shaped lives. As a pastor, I’ve seldom had a wiser audience than in a funeral service. They really listen.[1]

One Sunday Spurgeon invited his congregation to follow him as he led them out the doors of the church. Walking down the street he entered a cemetery where he walked between the rows of headstones adorning that scarred ground. At each stone he paused and read the name and the notation: born ____, died ____. Having walked through the entirety of the cemetery he returned to the church and dismissed the congregation. The message was most sobering, most thought provoking, most powerful. We who are born are destined to die and these frail tents we call our bodies shall be buried. Were that all, were that to describe the whole of our existence, we would despair.

Because as mere mortals we are forced to focus on the impermanence of this life, if we will please God, we who are Christians must refocus on the permanence of the life to come. Gazing intently on the fact of our mortality we are brought to consideration of the superiority of the life to come. The challenge is always to resist living for the moment, or worse yet permitting ourselves to live in the past as is encouraged by the cult of nostalgia so prevalent in this day. The challenge is for us to live for the future.

Do you believe Christ’s promise to return? Do you believe the powerful affirmation that to depart and be with Christ … is better by far [Philippians 1:23]? Does the knowledge that you shall be changed into Christ’s likeness transform your living now? Can it be that because we are uninformed on the subject of God’s plan that we forfeit comfort and encouragement which is rightfully ours? Can it be that because we do not speak with one another of the world to come we are at the mercy of the vicissitudes of this life and are thus tossed about by winds of doubt?

My prayer is that as result of this brief message today that we shall begin to live in view of eternity, that we shall begin to encourage each other with these words. Then, and only then, shall we see powerful, urgent witness to His resurrection and life. Then, and only then, shall we see souls turned from death to life as they are converted to Him. Then, and only then, shall we begin to live without undue attachment to this present life. Then, and only then, shall we have hope of turning our world upside down.

Perhaps you have drawn encouragement from the message today. Fulfil the command to encourage another through speaking to some fellow Christian of God’s plan and purpose for His people. In doing so you will lift his spirit and build him in the Faith. Perhaps you have found no consolation in the message today. Is it because you have no such hope as that which rightfully belongs to the child of God? My prayer for you is that this will be a day of new beginnings as you turn to the Risen Son of God in faith. Believing that He died because of your sin and believing that He has raised for your justification submit to His reign today. Trusting Him for your future you will be able to look forward with confidence and with great joy to His return. Amen.

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