I Thessalonians 4:13-14
Have you heard of William Miller? It’s such a common name you might know
several men with that name. A few years
ago there was a vice-presidential candidate with that name, but since he lost,
he probably isn’t remembered by many.
Had you lived in 1840s the name William Miller might have inspired
either devotion or disdain.
Born in Massachusetts, Miller was a Deist until his
conversion. Deism is that view which
says God remains uninvolved in the world—there are no miracles and certainly
God does not act in history. This fact
makes it all the more interesting that after his conversion Miller became a
passionate student of prophecy. After
several years of study he was ordained as a Baptist preacher and began to
publish and preach his conclusions.
Miller was convinced Christ would return by March 1843. He attracted thousands of followers who
fully expected Christ’s return.
When that didn’t happen, Miller recalculated and
announced just as confidently that Christ would return 22 October 1844. Once again, his followers were convinced he
was right. Some of the stories told
about these “Millerites” are part of the folklore of American church
history.
While some of his followers may have sold their
businesses or failed to plant crops that year, there is no evidence they gathered
on hillsides the night of the 22nd wearing homemade “Ascension
Robes.” What is known is that his
followers suffered what they came to call “the great disappointment.”
Surprisingly, some of his followers stood by him
and joined him as he founded the Adventist Church. Many others abandoned Christianity.
Miller’s escapades brought great ridicule and scorn
on Biblical Christianity in America. In
fact, Dr. J. Edwin Orr says that the Miller episode was one of three reasons
for the general spiritual malaise that marked American Christianity in the early1850s.
Don’t assume Christians learned from Miller’s
failure. In my files I have a copy of a
book that had many American Christians talking a couple decades ago. It’s called “88 reasons Christ will Return in
‘88.”,
A certain logic has come to be applied to the
discussion of the Second Coming of Christ.
It’s a faulty logic but it is very pervasive. It says something like this: Because so many radical, unbalanced people
have talked about the Second Coming, anyone who talks about the Second Coming
is radical or unbalanced.
It’s hardly fair but that’s the way it goes.
The folly of those who’ve circled some date on
their calendar adding the notation, “Christ Coming Today,” has made it hard to
speak about the Second Coming.
Some won’t accept the idea of Christ’s Return even
though they are sincere Christians.
Christ’s first coming took place in an atmosphere
of the miraculous
--The event was the fulfillment of prophecies made
centuries before.
--Mary conceived the holy Child without a man.
--During his ministry Jesus performed miracles,
signs which pointed to his identity.
--Christ died, was buried, and after three days
walked out of the tomb.
If you believe these things, believing in his
Second Coming should be much easier; if
you deny these things, believing in his Second Coming will be very unlikely.
The
Thessalonian Christians believed in the Second Coming but they were puzzled by
something. Of course, they knew that
death is a universal human experience.
The Christians at Thessalonica experienced the loss of loved ones, just
as those who were unbelievers. With
centuries of Christian teaching and preaching to draw upon, we aren’t surprised
by death’s intrusion into our lives.
Some of the Thessalonian believers appear to have been. Was death truly unexpected? Did they think that in becoming Christians
they were done with death? Did they
believe Christ would return before their friends and loved ones died? Did they fear their loved ones who had preceded
them in death had somehow missed out on the blessings promised by Christ?
The best clue to what was troubling them appears in
verse 15. It seems as if the
Thessalonians worried that those who had died would have a second-class status
at the return of Christ.
Paul wrote to correct that thinking. In so doing, he left behind his lengthiest
discussion of the Second Coming of Chirst.
We’re going to take three Sundays to look at this
passage. We’ll begin by looking at the
larger implications of the passage and, then, in the second sermon we’ll take a
deeper look at the Second Coming itself.
Paul begins his response to their concerns with a
simple affirmation of faith: "We
believe that Jesus died and rose again...."
--Christ’s death and resurrection-heart of the
Christian creed.
--Christ’s Return is as much a part of that creed.
Our hope is rooted in what Jesus did for us; our future is foreshadowed in what happened to
Jesus: "then through Jesus, God
will bring back with Him those who have fallen asleep."
What God
did for Jesus becomes a pattern for what he will do for believers. Paul assumes the historical character of the
resurrection.
There are
several important implications in Paul's statement.
1. Death is not the end.
Did you know that “cemetery” comes from the Greek
word for “dormitory?” It refers to a
place for sleeping.
Following Jesus’ example (John 11:11), Paul
referred to those who had died as having "fallen asleep." The imagery suggests the possibility of a
reawakening.
2. Those who have died are presently with
Jesus.
This is a clear inference from the verse. Some Christian groups--like 7th Day
Adventists--have questioned this possibility but any alternative is an anomaly
in Christian theology. Paul's discussion
of death in Philippians 1:23 is even more explicit that the believer's spirit
goes to be with the Lord at death.
Many saw the dead as dwelling in what was imagined
as a dark, shadowy world. The Christian
view was very different.
3. Jesus is returning.
The Return of Christ is mentioned in all but four
books in the New Testament. Every New
Testament writer mentions it.
There have already been several references to the
Lord's Return in this letter.
Several words are used to describe the event.
Parousia—most common term, refers to “an appearing.” Used to describe the moment when a dignitary,
such as the emperor, would arrive.
Listen to Bruce Milne: “It conveys the idea that the Lord’s return
will be a definite and decisive action on his part. He will come himself, as surely as he came in
the incarnation. It will be the return
of the King.”
Apokalypsis—the simple meaning of the word is
“revelation.” The events surrounding
the Second Coming will reveal who the Lord is.
People still debate his identity. Was he just a good teacher? A skilled magician? A con artist?
A Gnostic guru? At his coming,
any puzzlement will be resolved. His
coming will be that moment when “… at the name of Jesus every knee [shall] bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)
Epiphaneia—we get the word “epiphany” from it. It means “appearance” or
“manifestation”. It pictures a veil
being drawn back so all could see what has been there all along. On that Day we will see how the hand of God
has been at work in history at those times when we’ve imagined all was chaos.
The Biblical materials provided the foundation for
the key doctrine of Christ’s Return.
The second coming is mentioned in all the Creeds of
the church. These creeds summarize
Christian doctrines in a way that most Christians—Catholic, Orthodox, and
Protestant—can agree with. Here’s a
portion of what is usually called the Apostles’ Creed:
On
the third day He rose again from the dead.
He
ascended into heaven
and
sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From
thence He will come
to judge the living and the dead.
Christians of every age and from everywhere have held onto that hope
in one form or another.
Although Christians have agreed about the fact of
the Second Coming, they have not been agreed on the details regarding the
timing and sequence of events.
Most Christians have embraced a variation on one of
four schemes:
§ Historic Pre-millennialism. States that
in God’s time Jesus will return and Christ’s thousand year reign on earth will
begin, followed by the judgment and the beginning of eternity.
§ Post-millennialism. Christ will
return after the faithful preaching of the gospel has brought a new age of righteousness
and peace. Remember singing “We’ve a
Story to Tell to the Nations?” What
happens when the church has been faithful in telling that story? Why…
… the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noonday bright;
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth,
The
kingdom of love and light.
§ Dispensational Pre-millennialism. The Second
Coming takes place in two phases: Christ
secretly comes for the church (The
Rapture), then, following a seven year period of persecution of those left behind,
known as “The Great Tribulation,” Christ comes with the church for the millennium and the final judgment. This is the view behind the fictional “Left
Behind Series.” It is also the scheme
popularized by the Scofield Reference Bible and the books of Clarence Larkin
and Hal Lindsey. Because of the
widespread popularity of the Scofield Bible and writers like Lindsey and LaHaye
many non-evangelicals assume this is the evangelical understanding of
the Second Coming.
§ A-millennialism. Anticipates Christ’s return but argues that
the Biblical references to the millennium are symbolic, not to be taken
literally.
There are
those Christians who dismiss the doctrine of the Second Coming but they can
only do so by denying one of the most persistent themes of the New Testament and
the united voices of Christians from every age and tradition.
4. Hope in the face of death rests on being
"in Jesus."
The promises of this passage are for believers,
those who have a vital relationship with Jesus Christ. As some translations make clear, to be
"in Jesus" or "in Christ" is to be a Christian.
The Thessalonian Christians were facing trial and
difficulty. They were misunderstood and
hated because of their relationship with Christ. Yet that relationship gave them confidence as
they faced the great enemy—death.
No wonder
the prospect of Christ’s Return became a key element of their message. Upon his Return, the victory of the Risen
Christ will be complete. As Paul would
write to the Corinthians,
Conclusion
Paul missed the opportunity to be with the
Thessalonians so he could counsel and comfort them as they wrestled with
questions and faced persecution. So, if
he couldn’t be there, he wrote to them. What
did he write about when he dealt with their grief and their concerns about the
friends they had lost?
He wrote about the Second Coming.
He understood the difference the knowledge that
Jesus would return would make to believers.
The blessings of knowing Christ sustained them; the
promise of the deeper knowledge of Christ that would come with his Return
enabled them to face the future.
David Peterson, former pastor at the First
Presbyterian Church in Spokane, Washington, told about a time when he was
preparing his sermon. His little daughter came in and said, "Daddy, can we
play?"
He answered, "I'm awfully sorry, sweetheart,
but I'm right in the middle of preparing this sermon. In about an hour I can
play."
She said, "Okay, when you're finished, Daddy,
I am going to give you a great big hug."
He said, "Thank you very much." She went
to the door and (these are his words) "then she did a U-turn and came back
and gave me a chiropractic, bone-breaking hug." David said to her,
"Darling, you said you were going to give me a hug after I
finished."
She answered, "Daddy, I just wanted you to
know what you have to look forward to!"
When the New Testament speaks of Christ’s Return,
it is reminding us of what we have to look forward to.
