Word of Salvation – Vol.49 No.14 – April 2004

 

The Dead Will Rise First

Sermon by Rev J Haverland

on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

 

Scripture Readings: 1 Cor 15:20-28, 50-58; 1 Thess 4:13-5:11

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In this sermon we see that when Christ returns, God will raise the dead in Christ and rapture the living believers. And the purpose of this sermon is to encourage believers with the hope of Christ’s return and the resurrection.

Most of us here have attended a funeral and stood by the grave of someone who has died. We have wept with those who wept, mourned with those who mourned, hugged those who are sad, tried to comfort those who are sorrowing.

Death always brings sadness. That sadness is not so much for the person who has died; sometimes we are relieved for them because it has brought an end to their suffering; we are glad that they have gone to the place that is far better. Rather, the sadness is for us; we miss their company, their smile, their laugh, their presence and their conversation. And so we grieve, we weep, we cry. This is natural, normal and right. We should grieve because we have lost someone we have loved.

But we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Our grief as believers will be different from the grief of an unbeliever. The non-Christian grieves without hope. Some of you have attended funeral services for unbelievers – you know how empty they are; they are full of despair, of unmitigated sadness, of unrelieved hopelessness. There is no comfort, no hope, no looking forward, no expectation for the future.

The Apostle Paul also knew this from the pagan Greek and Roman culture around him. They had some idea of a life after death, but it was an unhappy existence, a shadowy life in a dark land. They couldn’t offer any real hope for those who had gone nor for those left behind. One pagan writer expressed this by saying: ‘When once our brief light sets, there is one perpetual night through which we must sleep.’ That same sense of emptiness appears in an epitaph written on an ancient pagan tombstone: ‘I was not; I became; I am not; I care not.’

Unbelievers today face the same hopelessness. Death for the non-Christian is final, total, complete. They anticipate extinction or an agonising uncertainty. This is why so many are reluctant to talk about death. It is too forbidding, too uncomfortable. When someone close to them dies they grieve as those without hope.

But a Christian has hope. A hope that is grounded in what we know about the death and resurrection of Jesus. The basis for hope and comfort is found in a knowledge of Jesus.

The Apostle Paul offered this comfort to the believers living in Thessalonica. Many of them had come out of a pagan background and they needed further instruction about the biblical view of the future.

It also seems as though some expected Jesus to return soon. Some of them had even given up their jobs and were just waiting for Him to come. But while they were waiting, believers had died. This prompted many questions in their minds; they were puzzled and anxious. What was going on? What had happened to those who died? What would happen to them when Jesus returned?

To give them hope and comfort Paul described the sequence of events that will take place at the end:

1. The Return of Christ;

2. The Resurrection of the Dead;

3. The Rapture of Believers;

4. The Reunion with Christ.

As we prepare to consider these we should note that these will happen one after the other in quick succession. One event is not separated from the next by long periods of time – no, they are all associated together as aspects of what happens when Jesus returns.

So we begin with…

1. THE RETURN OF CHRIST

Everything we believe as Christians is grounded in what we believe about the Lord Jesus. That is summarised in verse 14, where Paul says, ‘we believe that Jesus died and rose again.’ The death and resurrection of Jesus are fundamental biblical truths. They are the foundation of what we believe. If it wasn’t for the cross and the empty tomb, we would not have eternal life and certainly no faith or hope in Jesus. We read about that in 1 Corinthians 15.

But we also believe that Jesus will return: ‘For the Lord himself will come down from heaven’ (vs 16). The word ‘himself’ has emphasis in the Greek. Jesus himself will come. He won’t send a prophet or mediator or representative – no, He will come in person, Himself. This is what we are waiting for. The Bible closes with this prayer: ‘Maranatha – Come Lord!’

This is what we confess together in the Apostles creed: ‘From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.’ We live in the confidence that the Jesus who died, who rose, who ascended into heaven and who is there today will one day come again. Christians live in hope that a better world is coming – a new heaven and a new earth. We believe that one day, when Jesus returns, all things will be made new and there will be no more tears, or mourning, or sorrow or pain. Jesus will come!

He will come from heaven with a loud command. This phrase refers to a cry that a general might shout to his soldiers in the middle of battle, or a charioteer to his horses in the frenzy of a race. It refers to a loud, authoritative command often given in a situation of great excitement. It sounds a note of urgency!

Jesus will come with a loud command, a cry to awaken those who are asleep. Jesus told his disciples about this when He said, ‘A time is coming when those who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out’ (John 5:28).

At the same time there will be the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God. Jude refers to Michael as the archangel, although it is possible that there were other archangels. (Daniel refers to Michael as ‘one of the chief princes.’) An archangel is an angel of the highest rank. When Jesus returns this angel will call out to raise the dead.

At the same time the trumpet call of God will sound. In the Old Testament trumpets were associated with the appearance of God. When the glory of God came down on Mt Sinai there was the sound of a loud trumpet, the same sound that will be heard when Jesus returns.

In the midst of all this Jesus will descend. When He ascended He was seen only by His disciples. When He descends ‘every eye will see him’. One day God will bring history to a close. Jesus will come. Not quietly and humbly to a stable, but publicly and gloriously to the whole earth! ‘With power and great glory He is coming again!

Secondly, when Jesus comes there will be…

2. A RESURRECTION

In verse 13 Paul has explained that he doesn’t want them ‘to be ignorant about those who fall asleep.’

Some believe that when a Christian dies their soul goes into a state of sleep; they become unconscious, as it were, and then wake up at the resurrection. They describe this as ‘soul sleep.’

But Paul is not describing the soul of the believer, but rather his body. When you die your soul goes immediately to be with Christ in heaven. Think of what Jesus said to the criminal on the cross, ‘Today you will be with me in paradise.’ Jesus was going to go to heaven the moment he died and so too would the soul of this man on the other cross. But while your soul goes immediately to be with the Lord, your body goes to sleep. Your body ‘sleeps’, as it were, until the day of the resurrection; it ‘sleeps’ until you wake on that bright and glorious day of Christ’s return!

In verse 14 we are told that ‘God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him’; and in verse 16 we are told that ‘the dead in Christ will rise first.’

Putting these together it is clear that Jesus will return, accompanied by the souls of believers who have died. As this happens their bodies are raised from their sleep and are reunited with their spirits.

Exactly how this will take place we do not know. But the important point for the Thessalonians was that the dead in Christ would rise first. Some in the church were concerned that those who had died would miss out on something. Paul assured them that far from missing out on anything, they would be in the forefront of things. They would be at the head of the queue. They would be active in all that happened.

In verse 15 he writes, ‘We who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.’ They will be raised first and then immediately following them it will be our turn.

This brings us to consider, thirdly…

3. THE RAPTURE of Believers.

Paul describes this in verse 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.’

Some Christians believe in what they call a ‘secret’ rapture. They believe that Christians will be taken out of this world suddenly and silently before a great tribulation. A Christian will be driving a taxi and suddenly he will be gone. Two men will be working in an office; suddenly the Christian is taken and the unbeliever left. This secret rapture, they believe, is the first event in a complicated sequence of events that relate to the end of time. This view has been popularised in movies and in a series of novels called ‘Left Behind’.

But this view is a misinterpretation of the Bible. It separates out events that the Bible places together. What the Bible teaches about the future is essentially very simple and straightforward but many people make it unnecessarily complicated. All the main events associated with the return of Christ will all happen together – the resurrection, the rapture, the final judgment and the new heaven and earth.

Moreover, this rapture will not be secret – it will be public; everyone will see it. Nor will it be silent – it will be audible; there will be shouts and trumpets, everyone will hear it.

So Jesus will come, the dead in Christ will be raised, then those who are still living will be ‘caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.’ At that moment we will all be changed – Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye. The perishable will be clothed with the imperishable, the mortal with immortality. These transformed believers will join the resurrected believers in the air and so we shall be with the Lord forever.

Again, we are not told exactly how all this will take place; we are not told the detail or the means by which this will happen. But it will happen; and when it does we will have a great reunion!

This is the fourth and final point to note in this sequence…

4. OUR REUNION

Believers who are still living will be caught up with believers who have been raised -” we will be ‘together’.

Many Christians often ask whether we will recognise each other in heaven? Will we know our wife, husband, children, close friends? These words suggest that we will. This is why he wrote these words – he wanted to give comfort to these people with the knowledge that they would see their loved ones again. He doesn’t merely say, ‘Don’t be sad because they have gone to heaven and are free from pain and sorrow.’ He goes a step further: ‘God will bring them with Jesus and you will meet again!’

Paul had made the same point earlier in his letter. 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 says: ‘For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of the Lord Jesus when he comes? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.’

These words imply that Paul expected to meet these believers in heaven and that he expected to recognise those converted through his ministry. This should be of comfort to us – we will see each other again!

But more importantly, the coming of the Lord Jesus will mean a union with Him! This is not so much a re-union, because all believers are always united with Christ. This is what Paul has been emphasising right through this passage: You are united with Jesus – you died with Him, you sleep in Him, you rise with Him, you will return with Him and you will be with Him forever. When He comes you will see Him face to face. You will be with Him, spiritually and physically. You will be ‘with the Lord forever!’

To be with the Lord is the highest happiness of the believer. It is the central reality in the life of the Christian. It is our greatest hope and encouragement.

This is why Paul concludes by urging them to encourage each other with these words. These words of truth are words of comfort. We have comfort in Christ because we have faith in Christ – faith in His death, resurrection, ascension and coming again. This is what makes life worth living and the future worth waiting for.

Of course, they are only a comfort for those who have put their faith in the Lord Jesus. Have you done that? Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you united with Him in His death and His resurrection? Are you looking forward to His return? Will you be glad when He comes again? Are you looking forward to the return of Jesus with hope?

The pagan Greeks and Romans had no hope for the future. But the early Christians of that time had a firm hope which was expressed in their epitaphs on graves. One Christian inscription in the catacombs read, ‘Alexander is not dead, but he lives above the stars and his body rests in this tomb.’

We began this passage stooping with sadness over the grave of a loved one. We end by looking up with joy, with an eager expectation, straining our eyes to see the first glimpse of the Lord in His return, listening out for that loud command, for the voice of the archangel and for the trumpet call of God. Then we will be with the Lord – forever!

Amen.