My apprehension about what I will say as it relates to 2^nd coming…

·         For some, you will agree…no problem…

·         But for others…

o       for some, raised with certain ideas of the 2^nd coming, you will question my biblical orthodoxy because what I will say will challenge long held beliefs about the 2^nd coming.

o       for some, my fear is that you will be so challenged that you will wonder if this church is for you.

 

So let me ask for 2 things:

1. Let a fair reading of the Scriptures determine what you believe – I think what I have to say is a fairer read of the Scriptures than what I hear in popular renderings of the 2^nd coming I hear out there.

2. If you disagree enough that you begin to doubt the biblical rootedness of this church or me as one of the pastors, please talk to me before making any major decisions about what you think of this church.

 

And if you want to know when Jesus is coming back…ask Shannon.

 

Have I gotten you nervous and intrigued enough???

 

A word to the non-Christian: we’ve all seen the craziness of how believing in the 2^nd Coming of Jesus is played out by some – i.e. Harold Camping… Well, welcome to the confusing mess as we try to sort it out. If some of this is confusing, I’m sorry. Some of it comes out of the American Christian context where there’s been a whole lot of confusion about the 2^nd coming of Jesus. So I beg your indulgence as I wade into confusing territory for the Christian faith.

 

PRAY

 

Context

Thessalonians

 

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For 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. ¹⁵According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ 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. 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. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

 

I. It’s about resurrection not rapture

·         Some look at this passage – vs. 17 – and see the “rapture” – where believers are “caught up in the air” and taken up to heaven at some point before the final day of Christ’s return.

 

a. Let the Scriptures take precedence over tradition

Matt 24:36ff – cover up vs 40 and after…

   ³⁶ “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; ³⁹ and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 

Notice pattern – unbelievers taken away, believers left behind.

⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

   ⁴² “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

 

Is this the rapture????

Rapture is an idea developed in 1800s – John Nelson Darby…

 

b. 15-16 – The issue is that the dead in Christ will not be left behind or overlooked on that final day. They will, in fact, “rise first.” It’s about their resurrection.

 

i. So the dead in Christ are resurrected on that last day.

¹⁵According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ 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.

 

Paul explains this more in 1 Cor 15:

⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

 

And so what is being talked about is not simply a coming back to life but a transformative resurrection; it’s about being raised to new life and transformed from the perishable to the imperishable.

 

It’s supposed to looks like Jesus’ resurrection.

o       1 Cor 15:20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

§         The idea of being firstfruits – the first one to blossom – indication that the rest would follow.

§         Jesus, then becomes the first one to be resurrected. The rest of the resurrection comes at this time that is being talked about here in 1 Thess.

§         And so what we see in Christ’s resurrection is a picture of our own.

 

So like Jesus’ resurrection, our resurrection will not simply be coming back to life but coming back to a new life – a new transformed existence where death and decay have no claim on us.

 

“…the point is that their bodies will also be transformed into bodily new creations fit to inhabit the new creation. The old, fallen body is like a cocoon that will wither away, and God will cause a newly created body to emerge from it that is suited to live in a new dimension.” G.K. Beale

 

ii. The dead in Christ will “rise” first – then those who are living will then be raised/transformed…

 

So the living will then follow.

 

So then in vs 17 when it says that “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.” …It seems like Paul is now talking about the resurrection transformation of those still living on this great day.

·         The word being used for “caught up” can be translated as “snatched up” and it seen by many to be the rapture.

·         But that doesn’t fit here, does it?

o       This is happening after the dead in Christ are resurrected? That is NOT what those who hold to the rapture believe. The timing is off.

·         And in the flow of this passage, it seems like it’s talking about the resurrection of the living after the dead have been resurrected.

o       The dead in Christ are raised first…then the living are caught up in the air to meet Jesus…

o       ⁵¹Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 

 

·         Furthermore, in this “rapture” – the meeting with Jesus doesn’t fit the idea of the rapture.

o       The rapture – we fly up in the air, caught up to heaven with Jesus…

o       Here – people are “caught up” or “snatched up” to meet the Lord in the air.

§         The word for meeting the Lord: When a royal dignitary – like a King – would come to one of his towns or villages…people from that town or village would come out of their town/village to meet this king to escort him back to their town. It’s about meeting a king to return to their town! It’s not about going out to meet a king and then leaving to go somewhere else!

o       This just does not fit the idea of a “rapture” as commonly presented in certain interpretations of the End Times…

 

What Paul is talking about in this passage is the transformative resurrection of believers – first those who had died in Christ and then those still alive. It is not talking about the rapture.

 

c. The significance:

The idea of the rapture can (not always but it can) lead to an escapism mentality…that this world will get so bad that we who follow Jesus will get to escape, we’ll be snatched out of this world.

·         It can create this great separation between our spiritual existence – which will be snatched up into heaven – and our physical existence, our bodies, and this world, etc. – will all just be damned and go up on flames.

·         It can create a resignation that this world is going to hell anyways so let’s just grin and bear it until we get airlifted out of it…

 

But I think that the resurrection is one sign that our hope is not in a separation but a transformation. Our spirits are not snatched up into heaven on that Final Day. No. On that day we – all of us, body, mind, and spirit - will be transformed – the dead in Christ first, and then all those who are still living on that day.

·         It’s not the picture of our spirits being taken out of our physical bodies and airlifted out of here. It’s about being transformed into a new, imperishable existence that is fit for the new life of the kingdom of God.

 

Our hope is in resurrection and not escape!

It’s about Resurrection not Rapture!

 

II. It’s about restoration not departure

¹⁶ 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. 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.

So when Jesus returns –

·         There will be a loud command, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet call of God…

·         The dead in Christ will rise up to resurrection life.

·         Then the living will be caught up to resurrection life to join Jesus and the resurrected dead…

·         And we will all escort Jesus, our King, back to this world.

But notice – Jesus it not taking us out of this place…He is coming back to this place and we are escorting him.

 

And, as I talked about, the meaning of the word “to meet” the Lord is about meeting a king who is coming to our town or village. And it’s about a King coming to sit in authority…coming to reign.

·         Like King Richard the Lionheart returning to England to sit on his throne. When King Richard returns to England, he returns to take back his throne – and from there to fully establish his reign over a land that had been subjected to the evil rule of Prince John.

 

So implicit in this picture is the idea that Jesus is coming as King to reign – HERE!

Consider the picture in Rev. 21 where the City of God comes down out of heaven…comes down. The picture is God’s Reign – the City of God – descends to the earth.

 

And in Rev 22, what you find in the City of God is the Tree of Life – from the Garden of Eden. It is creation restored!

 

So when Paul talks about those living at the time of Jesus’ return being caught up in the clouds to meet Jesus in the air – it’s about meeting Jesus to escort Him back to this world – where He will come to sit on his rightful throne over this world…establishing fully the Kingdom of God – His loving and gracious reign over all creation. It will be a restoration of God’s purposes for creation at the Garden of Eden now in the City of God. It is creation restored, renewed, and remade the way God meant for it to be.

 

And so once again, it’s not about escaping this place but seeing it transformed into what it was meant to be. It’s not about departing this place but about seeing it transformed by the King at His coming.

 

Can you imagine?

·         All the breathtaking beauty we see right now in this world are only faint glimpses into the true and lasting beauty that is to come on that day.

·         All the decay and destruction will be consumed by the Kingdom of God as Jesus comes to sit on His throne as our King.

 

It’s about Restoration not Departure…

 

So it’s about Resurrection not Rapture…

It’s about Restoration not Departure…

 

III. It’s about a Revealing more than just a Return

When we talk about where Jesus is – sometimes we talk about Him being everywhere and so we can say that He is right here with us.

Yet when we talk about the 2^nd coming, we push Jesus way back up there – in heaven. And we think in spatial terms – down here on earth…up there in heaven.

But you and I know that heaven isn’t an actual geographic location somewhere way way up there…as if someone could fly there if he/she had a strong enough space ship. It’s more of a whole other dimension – where God is fully present.

We use up and down as more descriptors of value – up being better. So Heaven being up there – being way better than earth down here…and then worse than earth is hell which is way down below…

 

And so when Paul speaks of Jesus’ coming – some think he’s talking less about some sort of literal motion from way up there coming way down here. Instead, they frame it in a different way…

 

Consider Col 3:1-4

 ¹ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 

And think about spiritual reality. The Scriptures talk about some incredible realities that are true for us:

·         Eph. 2:6 - And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.

And as Col 3 talks about in 3:3 – your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

 

 

Could it be that when the Scriptures talk about Jesus coming back and resurrecting all of us who believe – it’s all more of an unveiling of what has been there all the time?

 

G.K. Beale – talks about how it might more like the analogy of a stage curtain with pictures on it, which is then drawn from both sides to reveal the actors behind it. The present physical reality will in some way disappear and the formerly hidden heavenly dimension, where Christ and God dwell, will be revealed.

 

The word being used for the “coming” of the Lord in vs. 15 is parousia – a word that can mean either “coming” or “presence.” So it’s either the “coming of the Lord” or the “presence of the Lord.” It doesn’t quite make sense in English when you read it with “presence” rather than “coming” – but if you read it that way, the idea is this is talking about the time when Jesus’ presence is fully revealed.

¹⁵According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 

 

This does align up with Col 3 where we saw Paul talk about Christ’s “appearing.”

 

And the idea of revealing or unveiling spiritual reality could then explain a bit of what it means to be transformed at the resurrection – where the spiritual reality that God had been working in us is then uncovered and the old stuff is shed so that the spiritual glory of who we are in Christ can blossom in all its fullness.

 

So what Paul could be talking about is that our hope in the 2^nd coming of Jesus is less about his “coming” as if moving from up there to here…and more about a revealing of His presence that had once been hidden but is revealed for all of creation to see and glory in. No more hiddenness, no more questions if he’s really there. Jesus is king and lord and it will undeniable.

 

And with His appearing/revealing will be our appearing/revealing – our resurrection – where who God has been shaping us in Christ to be will be set loose and unveiled.

 

 

So our hope is more about a Revealing and not just a Return.

 

I think it’s an incredible thought – right now God is building His kingdom in and through us – but it’s hard, it’s fraught with apparent set backs…and it’s hidden –

·         it’s hidden within the container of suffering and hardship.

·         It’s often hidden to the eyes of those who don’t believe.

·         It’s not always clear where God is at work advancing His kingdom.

 

we try see it through the eyes of faith but it’s not always so clear that everyone can see God’s kingdom being sown and growing and advanced.

 

And in all of this, Jesus, Himself is present – building His kingdom.

 

And He is working in us to forge us into glory – taking us through the ups and downs of life, refining us through trial and discipline, chipping away at sin, smoothing out the rough edges of our character – all to shape us into the image of Jesus, Himself.

 

But one day, Jesus, His kingdom and our glory will all be revealed –

 

¹⁶ 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. 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 then the best words ever: And so we will be with the Lord forever.

 

 

And so Paul says at the end of this passage: ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

 

 

This is our hope.

Think about it…right now…

Jesus is here…

He’s building His Kingdom in and through us here at TCBC…

And He is shaping you for glory…

We look around… and while we believe this is true…it’s hard to see…

But one day…we will hear the trumpets blow, we will hear Jesus’ shout of command, and all will be transformed. We will see Jesus and all that He has been doing in us, through us, around us…

And we will be with Jesus, in His New Creation, forever.

 

What does that hope mean for you right now?

What have you been going through? Why did God have you hear about this hope at this time in your life?