Clarity about the Future (Part 2)
1 Thessalonians • Sermon • Submitted
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· 2 viewsIn this message, we will learn of the order of "being seized" by the Lord, and we will remember where we are going and why.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Last Sunday evening, we saw Paul begin to give the Thessalonians information they may not have known.
He informed them about the dead in Christ.
. He did not want them to grieve like those who do not have hope.
He wants to encourage one another with these words.
These statements have equal relevance for us because misunderstandings about death can lead to people losing heart.
We want to have solid, biblical foundations to understand the future.
The worry of the Thessalonians is a legitimate concern.
We need to make sure our familiarity with the passage does not prevent us from thinking deeply about its importance.
The Bible teaches us to remember that death is a reality.
We should contemplate death, therefore, because it confronts us with reality.
Believers remain in a world corrupted by human evil and in which that evil can get directed at God’s children.
An Orderly Assurance
An Orderly Assurance
Paul explains to the Thessalonians that those who have died will not be left out of the resurrection.
“Prevent” here means to precede, but Paul does not seem to use it in a way that refers to time.
Instead, he seems to mean something like “take priority over.”
He will, in fact, reverse this concern.
He then sets out the order of events:
The Lord will descend from heaven.
The dead in Christ will be raised first.
There is every reason to think of this as a public event (Mt. 26; Rev. 1).
Jesus return will not take place in secret as mediated through the Hollywood imagination.
Then those who are living will be snatched/grabbed together with them for a meeting of the Lord in the air.
We will be with the Lord.
This is the foundation/basis for being encouraged instead of discouraged.
Reflecting on Assurance
Reflecting on Assurance
We have every reason to think about Paul’s teaching from the following perspective:
Assurance of what happens to the dead.
Assurance of Jesus’ return.
When we consider what the Thessalonians lived through, it makes sense for them to need these reassurances.
Jesus will come again.
We will spend eternity with Jehovah (the Lord).
Remember what was lost in Genesis because this remains theologically important here.
We will be the Lord forever.
He is the focal point, not us.