I
Thessalonians 4:13-18
Because we are having company tomorrow, I’m posting
a day early. (For more information and background on excesses related to the Second Coming, see "A Sermon I Might Have Never Preached" 5/11.) Again, I am treating this
passage, as I did in 2006, in three messages.
This is the second. Materials in [brackets] were added for this
posting and amplify what I said in the original sermon; the material may have
made the sermon seem too much like a lecture had it been presented from the
pulpit. As we saw last week, these are
key verses in the end-times discussion. Verse
16, for example, is a premier verse in the discussion of "the
rapture" of the church. What does
it really say?
Introduction: We seem to
like those stories in which we see what might be called a “reversal of fortune”
That’s a part of what Paul talks about here. He knew his readers were dealing with loss,
grief, fear, opposition, confusion, and uncertainty.
He wanted them to know that things would not always
remain as they were.
That reversal of fortune would take place during a
glorious meet and greet.
When God begins to change things for the better, he
can accomplish that change quicker that we can imagine.
1. The
Lord Himself--speaking of a personal return--will come from heaven--his present
abode.
The emphasis on the personal return of Jesus is
part of the New Testament’s portrait. At
the time of the Ascension, the angels assured the waiting disciples, “This very
Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in just the way
you have seen Him go up into heaven."
The Jesus they had heard teach and seen heal, the
Jesus who had been crucified and who lived again, would one day return. He would not return “in spirit” as some said
he did on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the infant church.
2. His
return will be initiated by a shout, like that of an archangel.
Translations differ on whether the “shout” will be
made by an archangel or be like that of an archangel. I think Vine is probably correct when he says
Paul “…refers to the Lord's voice as being of an archangelic character.”
More important is the nature of the shout. In the Greek, it is keleusma and refers to a shout of command. The New Testament uses the verb several
times, always referring to an order given by someone possessing authority and
power, someone whose word must be obeyed.
With the shout will be the sound of a trumpet--a
sound signaling God's victory. This
suggests the character of the coming;
it will be the coming of a Triumphant Victor. At the same time, as one writer says, “the
trumpet ensures that these events are extremely and unambiguously public.” [1]
Are these references to a shout and a trumpet blast
to be taken literally? Who knows?
Many years ago, Jack Benny played a trumpet playing
angel sent to earth to decide if it was time to play that note which would
bring history to an end.
I don’t remember how the movie ends, but I do know
Jack Benny won’t be making the decision.
The angelic shout and the trumpet blast are
reminders that these decisions belong to heaven; God initiates the sequence of events which
will wrap things up for this world.
3. The
dead in Christ will rise.
This is a reference to the resurrection which Jews
and Christians believed would accompany the end of the age. In light of the previous verse, this will be
the time when the saints who had already died would be reunited with their
bodies--bodies transformed by the power of the Risen Christ (cf. I Cor.
15).
Paul stresses the sequence here because he wants
his readers to understand that those who remain alive will not have an advantage
over those who have already died.
This is what the old spiritual refers to as “that
great gettin’ up mornin’.”
In2 Corinthians 5:3 Paul helps us understand the
logic of our resurrection. He hints that
our bodies contribute to our identity, without a body, we are incomplete. To spend eternity as spirits without bodies
would be a miserable experience. In
stark language, Paul compares it to being found “stripped bare,” to being
naked.
Already, in I Corinthians 15 Paul had discussed the
issue of resurrection at length. He
grounds our hope of resurrection upon the Resurrection of Christ. It’s a lengthier presentation of the argument
he offered the Thessalonians in this passage.
What God did for Jesus is a pattern for what he will do for
believers. He raised Jesus from the
dead, he will raise us from the dead.
Paul spends several verses talking about the
character of the body those resurrected will have. Listen to Eugene Peterson’s treatment of what
Paul says:
35Some skeptic is sure to ask, “Show me how resurrection
works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this ‘resurrection body’
look like?” 36If you look at this question closely, you realize
how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. 37We
do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a “dead” seed; soon there
is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and
plant. 38You could never guess what a tomato would look like by
looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it
don’t look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the
resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different.
42This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live
plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the
mystery of the resurrection body—but only if you keep in mind that when we’re
raised, we’re raised for good, alive forever! 43The
corpse that’s planted is no beauty, but when it’s raised, it’s glorious. Put in
the ground weak, it comes up powerful. 44The seed sown is
natural; the seed grown is supernatural—same seed, same body, but what a
difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up
in spiritual immortality!
This takes place, Paul tells us, it “…the twinkling
of an eye.”
4. The
living saints will be "caught up" to "meet" the Lord in the
air.
The Latin
translation of this verse gives us the word “rapture.” The Greek word, translated "caught up,"
is "autoisharpagesometha" and sees the action as coming from an
outside force. Although Paul doesn't
name the agent, I think he has in mind the Lord taking up those living saints
by his power.
Don’t miss the fact that whether Paul is talking
about those coming with the Lord or those going to meet him, he is talking
about individuals.
How different this is from most other world
religions. In the Eastern religions, whatever makes you an individual, when the
seemingly ceaseless reincarnations end, will be extinguished as the flame is
extinguished when you blow out a candle.
Those friends they had lost to death would be among
those greeting the saints who were to be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the
air. In ways beyond easy explanation,
they would be different, yet the same;
there would be wondrous change, yet there would be continuity.
While the Thessalonians may have had in mind their
loved ones who had died, the New Testament allows us to picture Jesus being
accompanied by a great throng of saints from every nature and culture. Whenever this Return occurs (and Paul, as
we’ll see doesn’t provide a date), all the saints of all ages past and all the
saints living anywhere at the time of Christ’s Return will participate. It will be the greatest “Meet and Greet” in
history.
In the Book of Revelation, John overhears the
heavenly assembly praising Christ with a hymn which celebrates the breadth of
God’s grace.
… the four living creatures
prostrated themselves before the Lamb and with them the twenty-four elders;
each one of them was holding a harp and had a golden bowl full of incense which
are the prayers of the saints.
9. They sang a new hymn:
You are worthy to take the scroll
and to break its seals,
because you were sacrificed, and
with your blood
you bought people for God
of every race, language, people and
nation
10. and made them a line of kings and priests
for God,
to rule the world.
The numbers involved in the reunion of which Paul
wrote was probably beyond even the Apostle’s imagination. The little band of persecuted believers in
Thessalonica would one day be part of a multitude of saints honored by God
himself.
Some believe this spectacular event will take place
in relative secrecy, with few noticing.
The world will move on—on to a time of great trial and trouble.
Not everyone agrees.
[The notion of a “secret
rapture” some three and a half to seven years before the beginning of the
Millennium (mid-Tribulation or pre-Tribulation) is less than two-centuries old
and is usually associated with the rise of dispensationalism. In turn, dispensationalism is often linked to
the teachings of J. N. Darby (1800-1882), an English preacher and writer who
helped found the Plymouth Brethren.
Darby traveled in the United States where his teachings found great
acceptance and were further popularized by the Scofield Reference Bible. While some have attempted to find seeds of
dispensationalism in Augustine, many modern dispensationalists are unconcerned
about the scheme’s seeming absence from Christian thought prior to the
nineteenth century; they insist God does not reveal everything he wishes to
reveal at one time.
In any case, the
idea of a “secret rapture” has inspired the imaginations of evangelists,
pastors, writers, and even filmmakers.
The image of millions of people suddenly disappearing, leaving behind a
world of puzzled unbeliever and nominal Christians, has been used to inspire
terror, particularly with the view of encouraging people to come to Jesus now
for no one knows if there will be another opportunity to respond to an
evangelist’s appeal. Indeed, the Lord
could return for his own before the service concluded. (That preaching on this theme has also been
used to sell books and other stuff is an issue I won’t pursue.)
As the Left Behind
series suggests, there may be among the stranded unbelievers those with enough knowledge
to recognize what has happened. Or they
might finally get around to reading that Scofield Bible grandma gave them for
high school graduation.
I do not mean to
mock those who hold this position. They
may be right. And, truth be told, it
lends itself to drama more than the post-millennial position does. Charles Sheldon’s In His Steps
(on which the WWJD craze was based) was a good story, likely to have been
rooted in post-millennialism, but it just isn’t as exciting as the idea of a “tribulation
force” made up of those who have finally seen the light and who are now
committed to fighting against the forces of Evil. Okay, I will pursue one
example of theologically perverse marketing:
During the height of the Left Behind series’s popularity one big box
store sold “tribulation force” toys for children; consisting, as I recall, of a
New Testament, a children’s version of the series, a compass, a map, and a
notebook; the toy was apparently designed for children who anticipated being
left behind or for some reason wanted to pretend they had been. Perhaps LaHaye and Jenkins had no control
over such marketing or, perhaps, they would argue the set was an evangelistic
tool. “Christian” toys had come a long
way from the uncomplicated Wee Win action figures briefly popular in the
1980s.
The relative
newness of dispensationalism and the idea of a secret rapture are far from the
only problems with what amounts to an interpretive scheme by which we are to
assess and apportion all Scripture. But
to deal with these matters you should consult other, far more informed scholars,
than I. But allow me to confess: I was
raised in a church where the pastor was committed to dispensationalism. A dispensation chart was permanently on display
in the sanctuary. Only when I began the
serious study of the Bible and the guidelines of interpretation (hermeneutics)
did I realize dispensationalism seemed suspiciously like a system brought to
the Scripture rather than a system derived from the Scripture. I mean no offense to any dispensationalist
reading this but that’s how I see the task of “rightly dividing the word of
truth.”]
The word translated as "meet" is
"eis apantesin" and is used to refer to coming into the presence of
or to meet someone. In particular, it
refers to leaving a place and meeting someone coming toward you. As Paul uses the term, it does not
necessarily require the Lord to turn around and return to heaven--the position
taken by those who insist this refers to a "secret rapture."
According to
Vine the term is used in the papyri of a newly arriving magistrate. "It
seems that the special idea of the word was the official welcome of a newly
arrived dignitary" (Moulton, Greek Test. Gram. Vol. I, p. 14). Others feel Paul is speaking of the practice
of citizens coming out of a city to greet a victorious warrior.[2]
To me, it seems most likely this is a moment in
which the Risen Lord is clearly triumphant, a moment when no one doubts Who’s
in charge.
5. As
a consequence, the saints of all ages will be with the Lord forever.
This is the great promise to the believer facing
death, eternity with Christ. Though the
Scripture paints a beautiful picture of heaven, ultimately, heaven is heaven
because the Lord is there. Even in the
vivid portrait of eternity found in Revelation 21-22, the key element is the
presence of God: "Behold the
tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall
be His people, and God Himself shall be among them."
Some discussions of heaven, even among Christians,
seem to focus too much on streets of gold and mansions. Being with the Lord is the keynote. (John 14:3)
For the past few years we’ve learned more about
Islam than most of us ever imagined we’d know.
One thing we’ve heard repeatedly is the Muslim belief that those (males,
at least) who go to Paradise will spend an eternity of joy with seventy-two
virgins. It seems strangely sensual to
us and, in fairness, I should point out that some Muslims believe that
description of Paradise is not to be taken literally.
More important, is the fact that Islam—with the
possible exception of the Sufi groups—believe Allah is too transcendent to
allow even the most righteous among us into his presence. Yet, Jesus said to a dying, repentant
thief: “Today you will be with me in
Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
In time, Paul’s words would be known by those who
would be imprisoned, waiting to face the wild beasts for the “entertainment” of
the pagan mob. As they waited,
Christians may have been sustained by two thoughts.
First, even while the ravenous beast was in mid
leap, the archangelic shout might be heard, the trumpet might sound, and Christ
might appear to close the beast’s jaws just as surely as the lion’s jaws were
closed when Daniel was unjustly thrown into their den. (Or, at least, the lion’s snack might be
snatched away before the first bite.)
Second, that saint would know that should the beast
do its worst, a new martyr would immediately stand in the presence of the Risen
Lord.
Conclusion
In the first sermon I preached on this passage, I
outlined the popular interpretations of events surrounding the Second
Coming. After that sermon, someone
pointed out that I hadn’t said which one I agreed with. I pointed out that that was true.
Although I discussed my perspective with that
person, I didn’t stress it in the sermon for several reasons.
§ Some of you—not many—but some of you might embrace
that view just because I held it.
§ Some of you would disagree because I disagreed with
a beloved teacher you had in the past.
§ Selecting one position might seem to imply that I
believed those who disagree with me are somehow less committed to the
Bible. (Some who regularly teach about
the Second Coming make just that argument against those who disagree with
them.)
§ Selecting one position out of those available might
suggest I know more than I do. This
would be a mistake.
[I don’t recall
all I may have said in answer to the question about my position but I’ll try to
summarize it here. Simply put, I’m not
satisfied with any of the positions I outlined.
They are the most popular positions but aren’t the only way to look at
the Biblical material. At present, you
might describe me as a past-tribulationist with a-millennial leanings. Please note, that’s past-tribulationist,
not post-tribulationist (the term past-tribulationist is not original;
it comes from J. Barton Payne). Very
simply I believe Jesus’ Return will be the end of the church’s long history of
trial and trouble. American Christians,
like me, (I try to remember not everyone reading this blog is American) are
sometimes prone to believe Christians everywhere enjoy the freedoms we
have. Fortunately, we are becoming more
aware of the suffering our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world regularly
face. In truth, throughout most of the
history of the church Christians somewhere were undergoing persecution in some
form. When Jesus comes again that will
forever end. The tribulation will be
past. At the same time, I am persuaded
the references to a 1000-year kingdom of peace are not intended to be taken
literally. This view doesn’t account for
all the hints about the future we find in the Bible but neither do any of the
other schemes.]
We don’t know everything we’d like to know about
the future. There are issues I haven’t
even brought up.
We do know that that great “meet and greet” is
beyond our imagination.
I don’t want to miss it. You don’t want to miss it either.
I don’t want to miss it. You don’t want to miss it either.
