"The Comfort of Jesus' Coming"

1Thess.4:13-5:5 Feb.20/05

Alarmed or Alert?

Life is fragile, and full of uncertainties. There is much we don't know about the future. It's easy for people to become alarmed as we become more aware of life's precariousness.

Despite her best sales pitch, a life-insurance saleswoman was unable to persuade a couple to sign up for a policy. "I certainly don't want to frighten you into a decision," she announced, standing up to leave. "Please sleep on it tonight, and if you wake up in the morning, let me know what you think." (!)

There are at least a couple of areas in which modern culture tempts us to become alarmed or despairing. One area we have become more sensitive in has to do with environmental concerns. Waste management, water quality, the Kyoto accord, global warming are all hot topics. The Western world is coming to realize it's consuming resources at a rate that may actually impact our planet's environment. A recent movie, The Day After Tomorrow, imagines the shutting down of the gulf stream and a resultant sudden ice age over the northern hemisphere. The sight of the storm swell wave flooding into New York City was eerily similar to some photos of the recent destructive tsunami in Asia.

There can also be such a thing develop as moral despair. Our culture has developed a "do as you like" philosophy, evidenced by the push now for recognition of same-sex unions. We accept consumerism as its own law in every channel of obtaining human pleasure. This acceptance of what was formerly considered sinful has led to a loss of virtue and meaning, as if life is apparently just about entertaining yourself the most you can. But those who've "done it all" find themselves sated and spent; what's there to live for if you've tried everything and find yourself bored? Living for the moment, just to please yourself, can leave you cynical. Fred Smith has observed, "Cynicism is cancer of the spirit. The bad cells of sarcasm attack the good cells of hope and, if undiagnosed, will eventually destroy them."

In a culture that may tend to alarm, despair, and cynicism, the news about Jesus is still GOOD News ('gospel'). It counter-acts negativity by offering ultimate purpose, destiny, and hope. As we continue our study of 1Thessalonians, we come to a section that shines positively about the promise of the resurrection and Jesus' return.

Three R's of Eschatology

1) Resurrection

Let's face it, the prospects of existence apart from a Biblical worldview are pretty bleak. Paul tells the church in 1Thess.4(13) he's writing so they won't "grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." The NIV Study Bible notes, "Inscriptions on tombs and references in literature show that first-century pagans viewed death with horror, as the end of everything." Socrates, the renowned Greek philosopher who lived 400 years BC, drank the poison hemlock and lay down to die. His friends asked, "Shall we live again?" The dying philosopher could only reply, "I hope so, but no man can know."

The Christian outlook is in strong contrast to such disturbing uncertainty. Jesus' resurrection - and consequently the resurrection of those who believe in Him - is foundational to the New Testament message. It's prominent in all four gospels, the book of Acts, and the writings of apostles Peter and Paul. Writing to the church at Corinth, Paul described the account of the death, resurrection, and appearances of our risen Lord to various people as "of first importance". He added, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep...For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.” (1Co 15:3ff;20;22-23) Peter exclaimed, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...” (1Pe 1:3) He protested they did not follow "cleverly invented stories" but were eyewitnesses of the events of Jesus' life and rising (2Pet.1:16). Like the other apostles, he maintained even to the point of being martyred that Jesus really had risen from the dead. Not a one of them said it was "made up": they died defending the truth they'd seen with their own eyes.

Christ's resurrection becomes the pattern for our own resurrection. Paul used the word "firstfruits" - Jesus was only the beginning, first of many. 1Thess.4(14,16) says, “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...the dead in Christ will rise...” The Biblical teaching about resurrection of the faithful goes back to Dan.12(2), “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” Jesus taught, “...a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear [the voice of the Son of Man] and come out- those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” (Joh 5:28-29)

Those who witnessed Jesus raise long-dead Lazarus back to life wouldn't doubt His power to work an even greater miracle for others who knew Jesus personally. Paul wrote, “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” And that “by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, [He] will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Rom 8:11; Php 3:21) Systematics professor Millard Erickson notes that in 1Cor.15(38-50), "Paul draws a comparison between the body which we are to have and our present body: 1) The present body is perishable, subject to disease and death; the resurrection body is incorruptible, immune to disease and decay. 2) The present body is sown in dishonour; the resurrection body will be glorious. 3) The present body is weak; the resurrection body is powerful. 4) The present body is physical; the resurrection body will be spiritual."

Our EMC statement of faith summarizes it this way: "Christ was bodily resurrected and, because He lives, we too shall live...We will all be changed to as to have literal, spiritual and immortal bodies like unto Christ's own glorious body." Now, isn't that something exciting and wonderful to look forward to? I'm so glad God gave us living proof of the kind of existence we believers will have the other side of death!

2) Return

Besides Resurrection, Eschatology (the doctrine of Last Things) talks about the Return of Christ. 4:15f states that "according to the Lord's own word" the Jesus is coming: “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.” Not silently or inconspicuously, but very noticeably. 5:2 adds that "the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." People's degree of surprise will be inversely proportional to their degree of watchfulness and alertness.

Jesus Himself spoke frankly about His return in Mt 24(30): "the Sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn.They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory." Rev.16(15) adds, “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.” (turn of phrase kind of catches your attention, doesn't it?)

Rev.Earl Kelly, pastor of First Baptist in Holly Springs, Mississippi, was preaching on the second coming of Christ. He'd just quoted Mt 24:27, "“For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” At that moment, a large light bulb fell from its socket in the ceiling and shattered on the floor in front of the pulpit. Quick on the uptake, Kelly told the startled worshippers, "His coming will be just as sudden, and unexpected, and devastating to the dreams that are not Christ-centred."

With regard to timing, we can be sure Jesus' return will be like a thief, surprising; but as to just WHEN it will happen, there is much debate. He Himself said, "No one knows about that day or hour...only the Father." (Mt 24:36) The schools of interpretation fall into categories of pre-, post-, or a-millennial; and pre-, post-, or mid-tribulation. (Don't worry, we're not going to try to sort that all out today!) EMC adopts the pre-millennial view. It's defined this way in our faith statement: "The millennium or thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth will be ushered in by His return with the saints.During this period Satan will be bound, the curse will be lifted, evils such as war, poverty, and injustice shall vanish from the earth, and Christ will reign in righteousness." The pre-millennial interpretation seems to fit the Biblical data the best of any of the views, particularly Rev 20:4-6: “I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God...They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.)...Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.”

Whether Jesus comes back for the church before, after, or in the midst of the Great Tribulation is less clear-cut. It partly depends whether you consider the church is already experiencing tribulation. Erickson favours the post-trib view despite this view's own difficulties. In its defence he notes passages that better fit it: "indications that elect individuals will be present during the tribulation [Mt.24:19-22] but will be protected from its severity (Rev 3:10), descriptions of the phenomena which will accompany the appearing of Christ, and the reference to the meeting in the air (1Thess.4:17)...the Bible is replete with warnings about trials and testings which believers will undergo. It does not promise removal from these adversities, but ability to endure and overcome them."

You may have a different view; EMC doesn't specify pre- post- or mid-trib. Whatever you think, it's not worth separating a church over; let's watch and see instead! The sure thing is, He's coming back for us!

3) Rapture

Our last "R" for today's primer in eschatology is Rapture. Paul writes in 1Thess 4:17, “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.” The term "rapture" comes from the Latin word used in the Vulgate translation meaning "seize" or "caught up". This sounds a little sci-fi at first - weightlessness, flying through the air without benefit of a rocket pack - but considering the radical transformation of Jesus' own body at the resurrection (a la walking through barred doors and vanishing), it's more understandable. Enoch was taken home alive to be with the Lord way back in Genesis 5(24). Elijah was whisked off to heaven in a whirlwind (2Kings 2:11). Jesus ascended "before [the] very eyes" of a crowd of followers in Acts 1(9); two strangers in white chided them for standing looking, and added, "This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11)

If it's the Father's pleasure that Jesus be able to move through mid-air, He's just as pleased to grant us that same ability after our resurrection - remember, Jesus' risen body is a pattern or model for ours, He's simply the firstfruits. That type of body belongs to another dimension, not this gravity-bound order of creation. An earthly body is not the same as a spiritual body. Paul told the Corinthians, "God gives it a body just as He has determined...Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man [Adam], so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven [Jesus]." (1Cor 15:38,49)

Nothing is beyond the power of God. If He can take a chunk of ice one day at ground level, and the next day those same molecules are floating as water vapour high in the atmosphere, is it really so difficult for Him to arrange a change of state for our human bodies so they're suddenly gravity-independent? He is the Creator!

Our EMC faith statement describes the rapture this way: "At the return of the Lord, the bodies of the righteous dead will be raised and, together with the living believers, shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air...Our glorification is God's final act in our salvation and will be realized when we see Him as He is." The best part, as far as the apostle Paul is concerned, is not that we'll be able to go zipping off to the farthest galaxy in the twinkling of an eye, but that we'll get to "be with the Lord forever" (4:17). The angels will chuckle to see us getting excited over the same mobility they've had all along! ("So ya finally got the lead out!")

So What?

So what's the good of this doctrine? Is it all just "pie in the sky by and by" or does it have a bearing on our life today?

As we said at the start, life today can be pretty depressing or alarming without a resurrection-centred view. Knowing the truth about Last Things keeps us from despairing, it adds real meaning and hope to life. The context in which Paul brought up the subject was this: "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...Encourage each other with these words." (4:13,18) Death is a sad fact of earthly life; but knowing our loved one was a Christian makes a tremendous difference to how we feel about them "moving on" to the next world. Because Jesus lives again, and makes that possible for us, we have true comfort and hope.

There are other implications for daily life. Knowing our Lord is coming back heightens accountability: our actions matter in the final analysis, so we need to exercise our own judgment. Jesus said, “"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come...you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” (Mt 24:42,44) He went on to stress the need to be like faithful, wise servants who don't take liberties with what's entrusted to them, or become skeptical. Instead, trustworthy servants put their talents to work, hopeful of hearing their master's praise (Mt 25:21).

It's important that we guard our attitude. Peter challenged his readers not to become scoffers, who in the last days are bent on following their evil desires, and make fun of the idea of Christ's coming (2Pet 3:3f). The coming planetary cataclysm gives ethical oomph: in Peter's words, "You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming...Since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him." (2Pet 3:11f,14)

Thanks to the grace of God, we're not destined for wrath, but to be saved. By faith in Jesus we're now "sons of the light, sons of the day," as Paul describes it; the Holy Spirit partners with us to show self-control, faith, hope, love, to be encouraging one another and building each other up (5:8,11). Knowing what's coming inspires us to be qualitatively different from those who lack this hope.

Again, from our EMC statement of faith: The Return of Christ "Is a source of encouragement and consolation, a motive for purification and holiness, and an inspiration for activity and service."

The Final Frontier

Sooner or later, unless we're raptured, we will all have to confront the prospect of dying. Knowing Jesus has gone before us and waits to bless us by perfecting our spirit, soul, and body makes such a difference. It's especially comforting to those facing terminal illness.

        Dr WB Hisons said this from the pulpit a year after the beginning of the illness from which he ultimately died. "I remember a year ago when a man in this city said, 'You have got to go to your death.' I walked out to where I live, five miles out of this city, and I looked across at that mountain that I love, and I looked out at the river in which I rejoice, and I looked at the stately trees that are always God's own poetry to my soul. Then in the evening I looked up into the great sky where God was lighting His lamps, and I said: 'I may not see you many more times, but, Mountain, I shall be alive when you are gone; and, river, I shall be alive when you cease running toward the sea; and, Stars, I shall be alive when you have fallen from your sockets in the great down-pulling of the material universe!'" This is the confidence of one who knew the Saviour. Is it yours? Let's pray.