07 1 thessalonians 4v13 18 comfort at christs coming

The Rapture and the Return of Jesus The Rapture and the Return of Jesus ChristChrist

1 Thessalonians 4:13-181 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Comfort At Christ’s ComingComfort At Christ’s Coming




Paul gives five basic arguments in the passage before us designed to instruct, encourage and comfort the believers concerning death, the resurrection, and the rapture;

I. REVELATION: WE HAVE GOD'S TRUTH.Vs 13, 15





A. The trouble that man has always had to deal with when contemplating the afterlife is that no one has been ever able to penetrate beyond the grave to prove their speculations.

•Philosophers have wrestled with the subject of immortality.•Spiritists have tried to make contact with the dead;•Scientists have studied the stories of those who claim to have died and returned again, and occult phenomena hoping to discover something about life after death.





B. Paul solved the problem in verse 15 by saying, "For this we say by the Word of the Lord.“

What we find in the Bible is not mere speculation, but the teachings of God. We can rest assured that the information we have in the Bible about the afterlife is 100% accurate.

And that is why we "sorrow not even as others which have no hope."





C. Revelation in the Bible about the afterlife is gradual and progressive.It is possible to take some of the verses; especially those found in the Old Testament, and twist them to teach false things about the afterlife.

When we study all of the Scriptures that deal with the future and life after death, we arrive at some very sound and comforting truths which give the Christian hope.




II. RETURN: CHRIST IS COMING AGAIN!Vs 14-15

When Jesus does return He will bring with Him those that are asleep in Him.

There are cults that teach the doctrine of soul sleep; that when a person dies, their soul goes to sleep awaiting the resurrection of the body.

That is not what happens.

The soul is immediately carried to heaven upon death, the Christian’s body sleeps, awaiting the resurrection.

When Jesus returns He will bring their souls with Him and reunite them with their resurrected bodies.




III. RESURRECTION: THE CHRISTIAN DEAD WILL RISE AGAINVs 15-16

Three sounds are to be heard by the saints

•The Lord's shout•The sound of a trumpet and •The voice of the archangel




III. RESURRECTION: THE CHRISTIAN DEAD WILL RISE AGAINVs 15-16

Will only Christians hear these sounds? I don't know.

I am sure that if the unsaved do hear them they will be meaningless sounds to them.




IV. RAPTURE: LIVING BELIEVERS WILL BE CAUGHT UP.Vs 17

There are five different meanings for that Greek term, each of them hold significance for the rapture.

A. To catch away speedily.

The rapture will happen the Bible says "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye"

The rapture will happen faster than the human eye can see.






B. To seize by force.

I do not have any trouble believing that their will be some Christians who have to be dragged out of this earth at the rapture, kicking and screaming because they are so attached to worldly things.






C. To claim for one's self.

At the rapture, Christ will be claiming us for Himself; taking to heaven those who are His.






D. To move to a new place.

We are pilgrims on this earth, traveling to another place. At the rapture, the move will become complete.






E. To rescue from danger. One of the reasons I believe that the rapture happens before the Tribulation period is because of this very thing.

The rapture, among other things, is God's way of rescuing the Christians from the dangers that men will face in the Tribulation.




V. REUNION: CHRISTIANS FOREVER WITH THE LORDVs 17-18

The word “meet” means "a friendly encounter" and can be used to describe the meeting of royalty.





It is true that the meeting the unsaved have with the Lord will not be a pleasant experience. And it is also true that we Christians will be called upon to give an account when we meet the Lord.

But we Christians will all be very glad for the meeting.

It is not something for us to dread, but to anticipate.





I would suggest that if we do dread meeting the Lord, maybe there are things we ought to get right before He comes.





And since, there is nothing we know of to stop Him from coming today, the time to get right would be today.

07 1 thessalonians 4v13 18 comfort at christs coming

Spiritual

return of jesus christ

christs comingiv

christs comingiii

different meanings

greek term

gods truth

christian dead

christian hope