We’ve been looking at the verses about the Second Coming in First Thessalonians. This devotional reading looks at what happens to the saints.
Nuggets
- The dead rise first to be reunited with their souls.
- The dead and the living are caught up together.
- All saints will gain their eternal bodies – in whatever form that takes.
Paul wanted to make sure the Thessalonians knew the order of resurrection. This was, in part, to calm their fears that the dead would take no part in it.
They had no worries there whatsoever.
Jesus just gave the command. The archangel took up the call. The trumpet has just sounded.
Let's Put It into Context #1
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Devotions in the The Second Coming of Christ series
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Phil Weber
Let's Put It into Context #2
We might be like the heathens in Paul’s day who questioned the very idea of resurrection. Once we die, don’t we stay dead?
- “Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, ‘What does this babbler wish to say?’ Others said, ‘He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities’ — because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection” (Ac. 17: 18 ESV).
- “Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, ‘We will hear you again about this’” (Ac. 17: 32 ESV).
- “Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?” (Ac. 26: 8 ESV).
- “But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some” (II Tim. 2: 16-18 ESV).
Simeon explained the doctrine of the resurrection. He wrote, “The resurrection of Jesus Christ was both an evidence that God can raise the dead, and a pledge that He will. The same omnipotence that raised Him can raise us.”
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If we don’t believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus, our faith is misplaced. If we don’t believe that Jesus will raise the dead in the end times, we are not true disciples.
Let's Put It into Context #3
Beveridge explained that there are three lives. There is the natural life, spiritual life, and eternal life. Here is what Beveridge wrote.
“(1) Natural, when the soul and body are divorced from one another.
“(2) Spiritual, which is the separation of the soul from Christ. …
“(3) Eternal, the separation of the soul from God; and you that lie under the spiritual death of sin must either get yourselves quickened by the life of faith in Christ, or else except by eternal death to be separated from the Lord of Life.”
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Disciples need all three to gain eternal life.
The Dead
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (I Thess. 4: 16 ESV)
The dead rise first to be reunited with their souls.
When we get right down to it, does the order of resurrection really matter? Probably not.
In the end, it will probably look like it occurs simultaneously.
But the Thessalonians had raised the issue. We might question it, also.
The dead are going to raise first. This is Adam all the way down to the person who had just died right before Jesus splits the eastern skies.
What’s this going to look like? UNR — understanding not relevant.
Look at it this way. We are called to walk by faith, not sight. Horton says there is a barrier between the seen and the unseen.
Our acceptance of death is important to our walk as a disciple. It helps us learn discipline and control.
Jesus was obedient even unto death. Should less be expected of us?
Besides, how we handle our own death or the death of a loved one can be a huge witness to someone who does not have the hope of eternal life that we have.
We have to show our total belief in Jesus’ victory over death and, therefore, sin.
Death was one of the major results of sin. Horton wrote, “Saints die to express God’s irreconcilable hatred to sin.”
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To show that disciples live after death is a very graphic way of showing God’s superiority over sin. Plus, resurrection does not occur if we are not dead.
Simeon thinks the dead are going to be brought back to life. Does that mean the graves are going to open?
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Probably.
- “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead” (Isa. 26: 19 ESV)
- “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (Jn. 5: 28-29 ESV).
- “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12: 2 ESV).
- “And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living” (Mt. 22: 31-32 ESV).
Beveridge made an interesting observation. He thought the soul would be reunited with the body as both are collaborators in sin. The soul has to be involved for it to be considered a sin, but the body, though tempted, cannot commit the sin without the soul’s consent.
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Barlow thought it will be more than just a reunion of body and soul. He believed they will be changed to their immortal bodies before the living are.
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I don’t see that. In the last devotion, we said that the souls of the dead were going to return with Jesus. I would think they would have to be reunited with their physical bodies first.
If their soul would remain as it has been, would there be any change required of them? They wouldn’t have a slot in the order.
The emphasis is on first. We may equate that to a special position.
Remember, Paul was addressing the concern that the dead would be left out when Jesus returns. They wouldn’t be left out, but I don’t think they will especially get special treatment.
Gritton saw this as being the Day of the Lord, not the Second Coming.
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There is going to be an order. However, I don’t think order is going to matter in a second.
It probably isn’t going to take long.
The Living
“Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4: 17 ESV)
The dead and the living are caught up together.
After the dead are resurrected, then it will be the turn for the living. Who are they?
- “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours” (I Cor. 1: 2 ESV).
- “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (II Cor. 5: 17 ESV).
- “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1: 1 ESV).
- “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (II Tim. 2: 22 ESV).
- “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (I Pet. 2: 9 ESV).
What I get is the dead and the living will be caught up and greet Him together. There are no levels in Heaven. “So the last will be first, and the first last” (Mt. 20: 16 ESV).
We get back on equal footing, then go the rest of the way together.
Paul’s use of the words caught up make it see that it is sudden – and easy. We won’t be resisting because we are scared of what is happening.
The “… in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air …” (I Thess. 4: 17 ESV) is interesting.
The clouds may mean our visible sky. Part of me thinks that would be the location if non-believers would be seeing it.
Remember, that is how Jesus is coming. “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Rev. 1: 7 ESV).
But then again, clouds may mean something else than the fluffy whites. It is interesting when we hook this concept to Hebrews 12: 1. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12: 1 ESV).
Think about it. Jesus is bringing the souls of the dead back with Him. This is the cloud of witnesses in which He is coming back.
Hutchison equated this ascension of the Church to that of Elijah. “And as they [Elijah and Elisha] still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven” (II Kgs. 2: 11 ESV).
Okay, maybe not the chariots and horses of fire. (But they may separate us from non-believers.)
The dead and the living could meet Jesus in the air, meaning space. Simeon agreed with Hutchison in this and told us why that has to be the place. He wrote,
“Then will they be caught up to meet the Lord. Yes, into the presence of their Judge they must go; and as the earth would not be a theatre sufficient for such an occasion, they must meet the Lord in the air.”
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This part isn’t the most important part. It has its place in the UNR book – understanding not relevant.
The last part of verse 17 is.
Changed Forever
“... and so we will always be with the Lord” (I Thess. 4: 17 ESV)
All saints will gain their eternal bodies – in whatever form that takes.
When we have ABCDed, we will spend eternity with Jesus.
Our goal is to be holy and blameless before God. “so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints” (I Thess. 3: 13 ESV).
Yes, that is our goal here on earth. Hutchison addressed this. He wrote, “Less than this can never satisfy Christ’s saints; more than this they cannot desire or conceive — perfect security, sinlessness, happiness, glory.”
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That is part of becoming a new creation. We go from a sinful nature to a pure and holy nature.
True, we will only find perfect freedom from sin when we are perfected in Heaven. Still, eternal life starts now when we focus on the quality of our life with God. Eternal life is really addressing the wellbeing of our soul.
God’s children will live with Him for eternity.
- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3: 16 ESV).
- “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6: 23 ESV).
- “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn 17: 3 ESV).
- “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (Jn. 5: 24 ESV).
- “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Mt. 25: 46 ESV).
- “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Rom. 10: 13 ESV).
- “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (Jn. 3: 36 ESV).
- “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Mt. 7: 21-23 ESV).
Our relationship with God will be much different for eternity than it is now. Barlow listed the three ways it will be different. He said it would have aspects of perfection, perpetuity, and immutability.
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Jesus prayed for us to be with Him. “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (Jn. 17: 24 ESV).
We will be with God for eternity as He reveals Himself to us and as we worship him continually. We have to open the eyes of our hearts in faith until we can see Him face to face.
Making the Connections
On the Day of the Lord, all God’s promises will be fulfilled. Just think of that day.
Right now, we are promised “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Mt. 18: 20 ESV). Martin told us how He is with us now.
- God’s Word.
- Work of the Holy Spirit.
- His sanctifying us.
- His provision for us.
- His governance of us.
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Think about it.
- “So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2: 10-11 ESV).
- “For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God’” (Rom. 14: 11 ESV).
- “By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance’” (Isa. 45: 23 ESV).
Every disciple will be praising God 24/7/365/eternity.
How Do We Apply This?
- Eternity begins now.
- Accept Jesus so we don’t find out what it is to be like without Him.
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Father God. It will probably be disconcerting to see graves opening up. But Lord, all Your children will rise as one to meet You in the skies. We will finally be totally unified in You. Amen.
What do you think?
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