For the Lord himself will come down from Heaven – 1 Thessalonians 4 v 13 – 18

This morning we are going to consider teaching from Paul which centres upon a future supernatural global event that will take place just BEFORE another supernatural global event called the Tribulation, and that future pre-Tribulation event is known theologically as the Rapture.

Now the word ‘Rapture’ does not appear in the Bible, but rather it’s a Latin word that is based upon verse 17 of our reading in which Paul describes how God’s people will be ‘caught up together’ – other translations say ‘will be snatched away’

Rapture translates as ‘to carry off; to seize; to transport; to snatch away’. So the Rapture or the Rapture of the Church as its also known, will involve Jesus returning to Earth just prior to the Tribulation to supernaturally ‘snatch away’ ALL true believers who are physically alive on Earth at that time.

Jesus will supernaturally rescue His church from the Tribulation which, according to Revelation Chapters 6 – 18, will involve God pouring out for a period of 7 years, his righteous judgment upon the ungodly inhabitants of the Earth and upon the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet who will be revealed at the beginning of the Tribulation.

The earthly church of Jesus Christ will be supernaturally ‘snatched away’ by Jesus from the chaos, horror, and destruction of God’s judgment, but as we will see, the Rapture will also be the moment God’s people – both living and dead – will receive their new imperishable resurrection bodies like Jesus’ resurrection body.

Our focus then is upon the events of the rapture which is also the central theme of Paul’s letter, and I want to begin where Paul begins, which is how God’s people are NOT to be ignorant, and how they are NOT to grieve. In verse 13 he wrote, ‘Brothers, 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’.

By urging the Thessalonian church not to be ignorant, Paul’s aim is to grab their attention for what he is about to teach them about the Rapture and, in particular, about those who have ‘fallen asleep’, which was a term the Old and New Testament writers used to describe those among God’s people who had died.

Paul doesn’t want the Thessalonian church to be ‘ignorant’ about their fellow believers who had died either naturally, or at the hands of the enemies of Jesus.

Now the thing we need to remember about the Thessalonian believers is that not only were they spiritually young and new in the faith, but they were also experiencing persecution which may have involved some of their number being martyred for their faith.

When the church was formed and before Paul and Silas were forced out of Thessalonica, Paul would have most certainly spoken to them about Jesus’ return, so it maybe that the believer’s thought Jesus was going to return at any moment and rescue them from their trials, but because he hadn’t returned, and because some of their Christian brothers and sisters had died before His return, they became concerned about the fate of those that had died.

Did their deaths somehow disqualify them from meeting the Lord when He returned? Had they somehow missed out on what theologians call the ‘end times’ or ‘end of days’ event of the Rapture?

We don’t actually know what the Thessalonian believers were thinking, but whatever was going through their minds, it appears there was a degree of concern and confusion over those who had died, which Paul wanted to clear up.

Now it’s important to understand that when Paul talks about us ‘falling asleep’, he is actually referring to the death of our physical bodies. At the moment of our death, it is our body that dies, and our soul or spirit which is alive and which is contained within our physical bodies, leaves our body and goes immediately into the presence of the Lord.

As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5 verses 6 – 8, ‘Therefore, we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord’.

This sleep of our physical bodies and our spirit’s entering God’s presence, is further illustrated in Acts Chapter 7 which records the martyrdom of Stephen. In verse 59 we read that at the point of death he cried out, “Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit”, and in verse60 we are told that Stephen ‘fell asleep’.

At the moment of our physical death, our spirits are released from our dead or ‘asleep’ physical bodies and immediately enter God’s presence and God’s Kingdom which we also call Heaven.

Friends, the reason Paul didn’t want the Thessalonian believers to be ignorant about Jesus’ return and the fate of those who died before Jesus’ return, and the reason they were not to grieve like those who had no hope, is because those who have died, were already with the Lord in His Kingdom.

You know folks, there are two groups of people in the world -­ those who have hope and those who don’t. Believers in Jesus have hope because we have the assurance – the guarantee – of a glorious future with the Lord, while unbelievers have no hope at all. We have hope because of where we will be, and who we will be with, when our time on Earth is over.

Now whilst my future and your future with Jesus in His Kingdom is assured, I need to add that Paul is NOT saying believers should never, ever grieve or mourn over the death of a brother and sister in Christ, or over the death of a loved one.

After all, in the story of Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus, we are also told by John that before His miracle, Jesus wept over Lazarus’ death. Grieving or mourning is a natural human emotion. Although we are believers, we are still human beings, which means it’s perfectly natural to grieve over the death of a fellow believer and those we love. It’s perfectly natural to mourn their loss.

What I think Paul is saying here, is that whilst it is ok for Christians to grieve, our grieving, especially if the person who has died knew Jesus, should be different to those who don’t know Jesus.

We can grieve, but we can grieve with HOPE because as Christians, we know that one day, we will all see each other again, and we will all be reunited.

As God’s people, you and I can grieve in hope because when a fellow believer dies, be they our church brother and sister, our wife, our husband, or another family member, we know where they are going, we know what awaits them, and we know we will be reunited with them for eternity.

Paul is spelling out the certainty of the hope believers have both BEFORE Jesus returns and WHEN He returns. So, with that thought in mind, I want to now examine more closely what Paul has to say about the Rapture, and the first thing to note is how the Rapture is certain.

In verse 14 Paul wrote: ‘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’. Jesus died as full payment for our sins, and by rising from the dead, He conquered death.

The Resurrection of Jesus PROVED that God the Father accepted the sacrifice of His Son for the sins of the world, and it also GUARANTEED that as believers we, like Jesus, will be physically raised or resurrected to new life, which will be at the Rapture.

As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians Chapter 6 verse 14, ‘By his power, God raised the Lord from the dead, AND HE WILL RAISE US ALSO’. At the rapture, not only can we be certain that Jesus will supernaturally ‘snatch away’ His people who will be alive at the time, but we can also be certain that they, along with the sleeping ‘bodies’ of all those who died before the rapture, will be given perfect resurrection bodies by God.

The rapture and the resurrection are certain. And in verse 15, Paul gives us another reason to be confident of Jesus’ coming. He wrote, ‘According to the Lord’s own word’. Now Commentators have suggested this may refer to something Jesus said when He was alive that was NOT recorded in the Gospels, OR it may be something Jesus revealed directly to Paul.

Whatever ‘the Lord’s own Word’ may have been, what is important to understand is that the future event of the Rapture is rooted in ‘the Lord’s own word’ that is the Bible. God’s Word, which is infallible, declares the truth and reality of Jesus coming back to rapture His church. And as such, it carries with it tremendous authority.

Friends, the Rapture is NOT a ‘man made’ doctrine. It’s not theological speculation, but rather it’s certain – its assured. And the reason its assured, is because it’s contained within God’s Word, and it’s also built on three foundational pillars – ­ the redemption provided by Christ; the resurrection of Christ; and the revelation of Christ.

Now as well as the Rapture event being certain, in the remainder of verse 15 we also see that the participants are also certain. Paul wrote ‘We tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly NOT precede those who have fallen asleep’.

As I have already touched upon, there will be two groups of people who will participate in the Rapture -· believers who are alive at the time, AND believers who have died.

In this verse, Paul uses the pronoun ‘we’. And by using ‘we’, indicates Paul firmly believed he would be alive when Jesus returned. Like all early Christians, Paul also expected Jesus to return during his life time to rapture His people.

But as he also indicates, not only will it involve Christians who are physically alive, but it will also involve Christians who have died beforehand. Both the living AND the dead will be included in the Rapture, which tells us that NO believer will be left out.

Friends, we can be certain that should you and I die before the Rapture, we will still be included in the Rapture. We will be among the multitudes who will be with Jesus when he returns to Earth.

Having solved the problem of sorrow and grieving, and having put their minds at rest about the fate of all those who have died, Paul now turns his attention to the plan of the Rapture. In verses 16 & 17 he writes:

‘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. 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’.

Paul lists eight key elements to this plan, and the first is how there will be a sudden descent. Notice that the Lord Himself will come down from heaven. This is not an angel or a messenger. This is not a substitute or a stand-in. It is not symbolic or some kind of literary device.

This is our Lord, literally and physically, coming down to Earth from heaven just like the Angel prophesied to the Disciples he would in Acts Chapter 1 verse 11 when they watched Him leave the Earth and ascend back into Heaven to be reunited with God the Father.

The Angel said to them, ‘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’. 

The second is how there will be a loud command. When it was time for soldiers who were relaxing or who were ‘at ease’ to gather together or to ‘fall in line’, the Officer in charge would shout a loud command for them to ‘fall in line’.

Just before He descends to Earth, Jesus our Commander in Chief, will shout a loud command which will be heard by everyone, for His people to ‘fall in line’. As Jesus said in John Chapter 5 verse 25, “I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”

At the Rapture, both the living and the dead, will hear the thunderous command of Jesus Christ, the Commander in Chief of heaven’s army of believers.

The third is the voice of the archangel. In Daniel Chapter 12 and Jude verse 9, the Archangel is identified as Michael who is a high-ranking warrior Angel who leads God’s heavenly army of Angels, and who protects God’s people. As Jesus comes down with his booming command, the mighty voice of the mighty Archangel Michael will echo behind Him.

The fourth is the trumpet call of God. The Bible is filled with references to trumpets and they have a number of different meanings. For example, in Exodus Chapter 19 a loud trumpet was used to call the people out to meet with God, and in Zechariah Chapter 9 verse 14, a trumpet was used as a signal that the Lord was about to rescue His people. The trumpet call of God will sound forth at the Rapture to call God’s people out to meet Jesus and be rescued by Jesus.

The fifth is the great resurrection. As we heard earlier, the dead in Christ will rise first. This is a statement of priority that would have calmed the concerns of the Thessalonians. Now the important thing to notice here, is how it is THE DEAD IN CHRIST who are raised.

The resurrection at the Rapture is the RESURRECTION OF BELIEVERS – no one else. The unsaved dead are left in their graves to be raised at the Great White Throne judgment 1,000 years later. As John wrote in Revelation Chapter 20 verse 5, ‘The rest of the dead did NOT come to life UNTIL the thousand years were ended’.

ALL true believers in Christ will be raised at the Rapture. That will include Christians who have died over the last 2000 years, who have died this week, and who will die until the Rapture takes place.

They will be raised indestructible with brand-new, sin free, perfect bodies; they will be clothed with immortality; they will be healed, restored, and in their right minds; and they will live forever with the Lord in His Kingdom.

The sixth is the rapture will be glorious. Rapture is a word that always implies a change of location. In this case, it means that living believers will supernaturally be literally lifted off the earth and transported into God’s Heavenly Kingdom.

How will it happen? Well in 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 verses 51 & 52 Paul tells us. He wrote: ‘Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet’.

By telling us how we will all ‘be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye’ Paul is telling us how the Rapture will be instantaneous and glorious. It will be faster than it takes to blink your eyes, and faster than it takes for us to see a flash of light.

The Greek word Paul used for ‘flash’ was used to describe the smallest interval of time imaginable. We will be walking along the street, and in a nano-second, we will be with the Lord in the clouds and gloriously transformed. We’ll be here one moment, and then gone from the Earth the next.

The seventh is there will be a grand reunion. In verse 17 Paul tells how ‘we will be caught up together with THEM’, and ‘we will be with the Lord forever’. Again, as I mentioned earlier, the Rapture, brothers and sisters, will be the ultimate family reunion.

All Christians, from all centuries, and from every land and nation, will be together at last with Jesus. Friends, should the Rapture take place during our life time, our loved ones who loved Jesus and who are now with Jesus, will join us for an unending, joyful, glorious, family reunion.

And the eighth is there will be a joyful meeting. Notice three key words. We will meet the Lord, we will be with the Lord, and we will be with the Lord forever. Do you remember what Jesus said to the dying thief crucified next to Him?

When the thief asked Jesus to ‘remember Him when Jesus enters His Father’s Kingdom”, Jesus replied “Today you will be with me in paradise?” Where is paradise? It’s wherever Jesus is.

The Greek word Paul used for ‘meet’ was often used to describe people joyfully rushing to meet a dignitary or a king so they could be close to them. The Rapture will be joyful because, not only will we meet Jesus, but we will be close to Him, we will be with Him always, and it will be pure Paradise.

Having solved the problem of grieving, having demonstrated how the rapture and its participants are certain, and having revealed how the plan is set, Paul also reveals the primary purpose of his teaching on the Rapture, which is to strengthen and comfort God’s people.

In verse 18 Paul wrote: ‘Therefore encourage each other with these word’s’. Friends, very simply, Jesus is coming back for His own. He is coming back for His church. Although we may not know WHEN it will happen, we do know it WILL happen, and we know HOW it will happen.

The Rapture will be an incredible and glorious reunion event. So with that in mind and as I finish, in the same way Paul wanted the Thessalonian church to be comforted and encouraged by the certainty of the rapture, what the rapture will involve, and what the outcome of the rapture will be, may you be strengthened and comforted also.

Despite what you may be going through, and despite the chaos and uncertainty caused by national and global events, may you take great strength and comfort from the certainty that a day is coming when ‘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’.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus is coming again. The Lord of Heaven and Earth is coming back for His church, of that you can be certain. So be encouraged; be hopeful; and be assured of the incredible and glorious future that awaits you. AMEN.