220327 The Coming of the bridegroom
1 Thessalonians • Sermon • Submitted
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1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (NASB95) — 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope.
Point of Doctrine: There is no Hope in ignorance.
Faith comes through hearing and hearing the message from Christ. It is our hearts that are Sanctified through the message, bible doctrine and as are being sanctify the word of God in our hearts, though we do grieve there is a confident expectation that remains visible about our countenance that allows us to grieve with dignity which provokes others to ask us for the hope that is found in us.
And what is that confident expectation?
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
The exit resurrection ἐξανάστασις [exanastasis /ex·an·as·tas·is/]
For if we believe
Present Active Indicative of πιστεύω [pisteuo /pist·yoo·o/] v. If we are believing Trusting, to credit, have confidence. If we are faithing, placing confidence in the reliability of Known truth with the object of the faith bearing all the credit.
Remember that Faith, believing Trusting which are three words which is translated from Pisteuo never depends of upon our ability to believe but the reliability of that which we are trusting in.
1 Corinthians 15:14–19 (NASB95) — 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord,
So to speak, it is, “we have it on good authority that Jesus died, rose again on the third day and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father and will one day return.
God chooses how he decides that he wants to communicate to man. God spoke one on one with Adam, and others throughout the Tanakh.
in person
God spoke one on one with Adam, and others throughout the Tanakh.
Theophany
God chose to speak through a theophany in such ways as through the burning bush, or the angel of the Lord. A theophany is a manifestation of the preincarnate Christ. God spoke verbally from the mountain and out of heaven
God spoke through dreams and visions.
God spoke to the prophets
And God spoke through inspiration through the prophet
2 Peter 1:20–21 (NASB95) — 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NASB95) — 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Those who continue to stumble in the faith in the authenticity of Scripture are those who have failed to learn and put the word of God to the test. It is the word of the Lord that validates itself as we explore, probe, test, and come to live by the word of God. there are internal and external evidences that prove the bible to be what it is and that is the very infallible word of God. and if indeed we can make that claim, our willful ignorance of it is even that much more grievous.
The first hurdle of our believing mechanism is whether we can trust in scripture as communication from God and not of man.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord,
1 Kings 13:17 (NASB95) — 17 “For a command came to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall eat no bread, nor drink water there; do not return by going the way which you came.’ ”
1 Kings 20:35 (NASB95) — 35 Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to another by the word of the Lord, “Please strike me.” But the man refused to strike him.
Galatians 1:12 (NASB95) — 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Should we give less credence to God’s word if it is written rather than verbally spoken?
Does it really matter how God communicates?
When orders came down from Head Quarters Marine Corps to move a Marine from Camp Lejeune North Carolina to Okinawa Japan, does the Marine Say, “well, these are only written orders. They are not the spoken desire of the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Unless the Commandant tells me personally I’m not going to Japan.
No, I’m afraid that those written orders is as if the General himself had stood right in front of the marine and said, “Go to Japan!”
1 Thessalonians 4:15 (NASB95) — 15 that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
That we,
Who are the we?
the Brethren, those who are in Christ. those who are believing in the resurrection. The chosen. Yes, those who have been scorned and persecuted hated by the world. those who have been mocked for their faith. Those who are Children of God. These are the Sons of the resurrection.
Galatians 3:26–29 (NASB95) — 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
Romans 8:14–17 (NASB95) — 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Luke 20:34–38 (NASB95) — 34 Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 “But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 “Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.”
15b and remain until the coming of the Lord
Those who survive, those who are still in the battle, the persevering Saints
1 Thessalonians 2:19 (NASB95) — 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
Will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
Now Paul lays out the order of the resurrection, each according to their assembly.
The first is the resurrection from the Dead. The Saints who have died prior to the exit resurrection.
Are they not now face to face with the Lord?
Yes, they are according to scripture. In what kind of capacity, I don’t know. Do they have a temporary body? Quite possibly. these are temporary bodies that we have right now. whose to say there is not another kind of body that is temporary until the great resurrection?
Wayne, Donald, Brian, grandfathers, grandmothers, mothers and Fathers children and friends who are children of the resurrection are standing by to depart their current bodies yet again to be joined with a new body that will house their Souls and spirits forever.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NASB95) — 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
The Lord Himself
this is not the 2nd advent. this is not the great and terrible day in the Lord. the Lord does not come back to earth but we go to Him.
The Lord does not send angels to bring us home, He himself is coming the one whom we have been waiting for. the Bridegroom coming for His bride as per Jewish wedding custom.
The Exit Resurrect is part of the larger picture narrative of the Jewish wedding,
The formalities of the wedding which there are a number of times in the gospels which speaks of the wedding and points to this period of time here.
1. Jesus is the bridegroom.
Matthew 9:15 (NASB95) — 15 And Jesus said to them, “The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
John 3:29 (NASB95) — 29 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full.
2. The Marriage is arranged.
John 6:44 (NASB95) — 44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 10:28–30 (NASB95) — 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 “I and the Father are one.”
It is the Father in an arranged marriage that chooses a bride for His son.
Ephesians 1:1–4 (NASB95) — 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
Whose the subject? The one doing the calling? God the father or God the Son?
certainly the Father who chose us in eternity past and gave us to his Son.
3. Bride price and dowry to be paid.
a. The pride price can be from the Father’s wealth.
In Genesis we see that Abraham sends his servant out of the land to Haran to seek out a bride for His son
Genesis 24:10 (NASB95) — 10 Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of good things of his master’s in his hand; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.
As an added note: Abraham sent his (unnamed) servant out of the land to seek a bride for His son. Oh, did I say that this one is the promised son to Abraham? Just as the Holy Spirit is currently calling out the bride of Christ.
Jesus paid the brideprice with His own blood.
1 Peter 1:18–19 (NASB95) — 18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 5:25 (NASB95) — 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
b. The bride price can be in the form of labor,
Jacob worked 7 years for His beloved Rachel.
Genesis 29:18–20 (NASB95) — 18 Now Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” 19 Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.
Jacob had nothing when he came into the land just as Christ had nothing when he came into the world. Jacob’s only form of payment was him being and indentured servant and a suffering one at that. Jesus labors himself for His bride, enduring the trials and the testing.
4. Betrothal (engagement)
Once the contract was sealed the betroth or engagement begins.
The bride and the bridegroom are considered legally married but the marriage is not consummated. The bride continues to live with her parents for the time of the engagement which was about a year. The bridegroom goes to build a room on the family house to bring his bride.
Sound familiar?
John 14:2–4 (NASB95) — 2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. 4 “And you know the way where I am going.”
During this time They could not break the engagement except through a Divorce they were considered legally married. We are considered the bride of Christ though we have not even seen Him face to face.
The man was exempted from Military Duty
Deuteronomy 20:7 (NASB95) — 7 ‘And who is the man that is engaged to a woman and has not married her? Let him depart and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would marry her.’
Note: This world has not seen the militaristic side of the Son who comes on the battle horse yet.
John 3:17 (NASB95) — 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
It is asked why does the Lord come and deal with this current evil.
why?
because this is the time of His betrothal.
5. Wedding
The formal wedding had no formalities such as a Priest or a rabbi pronouncing them man and wife in the day. For Joseph and Mary it was enough to come and receive the bride, though Joseph had no sexual relation with Mary it was enough for Joseph to perhaps give a gift and say to Mary...
“By this you are now set apart for me according to the Laws of Moses and of Israel”
There would be the coming for the bridegroom
both would be dressed for the occasion in their finest apparel. there was always the one time and the only time to get right and to make the first great first impression. The Bride would be washed and made ready and remain ready for she did not know the day or hour that her bridegroom would come for her.
Matthew 25:1–13 (NASB95) — 1 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
Should we, His church, He our bridegroom be disappointed with our appearance when he arrives?
Jeremiah 2:32 (NASB95) — 32 “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me Days without number.
Now where all this leads to the exit resurrection is here.
6. The Procession
It occurred at the end of the day. this is why the virgins had to have oil for their lamps. though the bide did not know the day or hour, she would know that with a passing of a year that the time was soon. we may not know when the exit resurrection is going to take place the day or hour we can know that it is soon.
Revelation 1:1 (NASB95) — 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,
The bridegroom would leave his Father’s house dressed in His best clothes and decorated in jewels walked with his friends from his home to his brides Home to fetch his bride from her parents home. there would be a loud commotion a celebration.
coming near the bride house There would a shout a blowing of the shofar it is the bridegroom coming for his bride.
Matthew 25:5–6 (NASB95) — 5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
a horn is sounded and there is a shout to awaken the bride for her to come. this would be so sudden the bride would have to be up within the moments noticed dressed, lamp lit, her best clothing and her head dress on.
So it is with our Lord.
the Exist resurrection is not just bunch of christian disappearing and the events on earth that happens afterwards. the emphasis should be on the celebration that the Bridegroom and the bride are now joined.
What is your view of the rapture of the Church and what is your hope?
Is it simply to leave this broken world. Are you just fed up with it all and seeking for the return of the Lord just to alleviate your discomfort in it?
“Lord, Come quickly and take me away from this mess.”
or is it
Celebration. not what you are leaving but where you are going. Your bridegroom in whom you love and who loves you have come to receive you to himself.
The Hope of the exit resurrection is not the hope to get us out of our current world circumstances. Ours is to live, and even persevere through the trials if called to do so. Ours is not to simply wait dormant around waiting for the event to happen.
the bride did not know the day or hour but she had to carry on with whatever her circumstances and responsibilities knowing that there would come that day when she would see her bridegroom.
What Paul tells the Thessalonian believers is that your loved ones did not get left out. If they lost hope in the resurrection of Christ, there whole spirit life would go down the drain.
1 Corinthians 15:17–19 (NASB95) — 17 and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.