Tag: rapture

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1 Thessalonians

The hope that we have

Gravestone of hope

“Hopes are for the living; the dead have no hope.”

Those were the words of an ancient Greek poet, and it epitomizes how many people in Paul’s time saw death.

For that matter, I talk to many Japanese today that have that same outlook. They have no hope beyond the grave. For them, this life is all there is. For some reason, many of the Thessalonians had a similar outlook.

Perhaps in seeing their own people die for their faith, they wondered, “What will happen to them when Jesus comes? Will they miss out on the hope and joy of his coming?”

To this, Paul gives a clear no.

He told them,

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.

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.

According to the Lord’s own word, 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. 

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.

Therefore encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Why do we have hope beyond the grave? Because Jesus himself experienced death and was raised again. And Jesus told us, “Because I live, you also will live.” (John 14:19)

Paul tells us more, that when Jesus comes back, those who have already died will be raised to meet him.

Paul teaches in Philippians that when we die, we immediately go to be with the Lord (Philippians 1:23), and Jesus’ own words to the thief on the cross were that the thief would join him in paradise that very day. (Luke 23:43)

So the picture seems to be that whatever remains of all those who have died in Christ, bones, dust, or whatever, will be raised and joined to their spirits which are in heaven now.

And after that, we Christians who are still alive will also be caught up to meet Jesus and we ourselves will be changed, given new bodies that are imperishable and incorruptible. (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

I do believe, by the way, Christians will be around for the tribulation period when Antichrist shows up. I really hope I’m wrong, but that’s how scripture looks to me.

It also shows in the word that Paul uses for “meeting” the Lord in the air. The word is has the idea of meeting a VIP outside a town and escorting him back to their town.

So the picture seems to be that we Christians will meet the Lord in the air and escort him back to earth where he will begin his thousand year reign.

And Paul says from that point on, even though there is much to happen after that, including a final rebellion by Satan, we will always be with the Lord, never to face death ourselves again.

That’s the hope we have. It’s the hope we are to share with those around us who have no hope. And it’s the hope we are to encourage our brothers and sisters with when life becomes a struggle and they feel they can’t go on.

Our troubles will not last forever. Jesus will come back, and all will be made right.

So though all that we go through in life, let us rest in this hope that we have.

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Luke Luke 21 Mark Mark 13 Matthew Matthew 24

Until our Lord returns

The gospels

The Lord talks a lot about the events that will occur before he returns. And the thing that you get from all he says is that things will get worse before he returns. A lot worse.

There will be wars, earthquakes, and famines. And because of all these troubles, false prophets will arise, trying to bring hope, but instead deceiving many. And if that weren’t bad enough, Antichrist will appear.

The result? Persecution.

There will be a persecution of the Jews in particular, but also of any who follow Christ, leading to a great falling away from the faith.

You won’t see what you see today with many people claiming to be Christians, all the while living as they please.

And because of all the wickedness surrounding them, the love of most will grow cold.

Trust, I believe will be in short supply as well, as people will be turning on each other, especially on those who are following God.

And then celestial phenomena will start to occur that will further shake people’s hearts.

But just when things reach their worst, Jesus will appear and bring an end to these things, and his kingdom will finally come.

Having said all this, Jesus gives us warning and encouragement.

The first warning he gives is to be careful of false Christs.

When Christ comes, he’ll come from the sky and the whole world will see his coming. So don’t waste your time running after rumors.

And though people may come with great signs and wonders, if they claim to be Christ, don’t believe them. For that is exactly how the Antichrist will come, performing signs and wonders, deceiving many. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9)

He then warns us and encourages not to lose hope through this time of trouble, but to be ever watchful doing what he has called us to do. He says first,

When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (Luke 21:28)

In other words, don’t fret when these things happen. Don’t get discouraged. Don’t lose hope. Because all these things mean that Jesus is truly coming soon.

But then he says,

Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. (Luke 21:34)

It will be so easy in those days to fall into discouragement and depression from all the evil you see around you. And so Jesus says to be careful not to let that happen to you.

He also warns us not to become jaded and cynical, and to start thinking that Jesus will never return because of all the evil we see.

Instead, we are to continue waiting in hope. Waiting in terms of watching for his return. But also waiting in terms of serving him and doing the things he has asked of us.

If we do, we’ll be rewarded. If we don’t, we will be punished. (Matthew 24:46-51)

I know that there are a lot of people thinking, “Well, this isn’t really for me. I’ll be raptured by then.”

I certainly hope you’re right. But if the day comes that you see the Antichrist, then know that these words are not only for the Jews. They are not only for those who become Christians at that time. They are for you.

And no matter what happens, no matter what trials we may go through, let us keep watching for our Lord, serving him faithfully until he returns.

Categories
Luke Luke 21 Mark Mark 13 Matthew Matthew 24

A sign of things to come

The gospels

I mentioned in my last blog that this is one of the more difficult passages in scripture, and part of the difficulty comes in the harmonizing of it.

Jesus had just told the disciples that the temple was going to be destroyed, and troubled by this revelation, the disciples asked when this would happen and what would be the sign of his coming and the end of the age.

I’m trying to think of this from their perspective.

At this point, it still had not sunk in that Jesus had to die and be raised to life. It had never even crossed their minds that Jesus would ascend to heaven and depart from them.

So when they asked about his coming, they weren’t asking when he would come back from heaven. They were probably asking when he would set up his kingdom.

They had heard all the prophesies of the “Day of the Lord” from the Old Testament. A day of judgment for the nations, and a time when Israel would be restored.

But now Jesus was saying that this temple would be destroyed. The Day of the Lord could not certainly happen before that.

And yet, that very week, they had heard the people in Jerusalem shouting “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!”

As a result, they were understandably confused.

The truth is, I’m still working through all Jesus said in his answer. And as time has gone on, my perspective has changed on what it means from when I first wrote this particular article, and thus a slight revision has been made.

At any rate, in Luke’s account, Jesus talks about how in the future, there would be false Christs, wars, and disasters. But he warned the disciples that before these things happened, they would be persecuted and even be put to death.

All this happened in the book of Acts. We also see when they were put on trial, the Holy Spirit gave them the words to speak in such a way that their opponents couldn’t answer them, just as Jesus promised.

He then warned that when they saw armies surrounding Jerusalem, to get out of there because Jerusalem would be destroyed and the people taken captive. And he talked about how terrible it would be for those women who would be pregnant or nursing at that time.

All this happened in AD 70, and most if not all the Christians at that time took Jesus’ warning and were not there when Jerusalem was destroyed, while many other Jews stayed in Jerusalem thinking it was their only hope for safety.

In Matthew and Mark, we also see Jesus referring to an abomination that causes desolation standing in the temple.

The book of Daniel refers to this event, and it was originally fulfilled when Antiochus Epiphanes set up an idol of Zeus in the temple and then sacrificed a pig on the altar of God.

There was no such desecration of the altar when the temple fell in AD 70, but there are Bible scholars that feel (and I agree) that during the destruction of the temple, the Romans nevertheless defiled it, albeit in a different way from Antiochus, and that fulfilled Jesus’ prophesy.

And Jesus said of that time,

Those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again. (Mark 13:19)

I originally felt that at this point, Jesus couldn’t be talking about Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70, as I felt that the future tribulation to come would be much worse.

But when you look at history and all that actually happened in Jerusalem at that time, I’m not so sure anymore.

All that said, I still think the things that happened in Jerusalem in AD 70 were a sign for what will happen in the future. After all, we see some of those things happening now.

Even now, we see wars and rumors of wars. We see famines, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. We see false Christs popping up all over the place. We see persecution.

And all this will not end until Jesus comes again. And when he comes, all will know it because he will appear in the sky for all to see, and at that time he will call his elect to him.

I know that many people think that Jesus will rapture all Christians before Antichrist even comes. I certainly hope so. I’m willing to be convinced. But I wouldn’t count on it.

Whatever you believe, here’s the point I want you to remember: Jesus’ words concerning Jerusalem came true, exactly as he had said. We see his words coming true even today.

And so when he says he will come again, we can know it’s true. Because he said so. Jesus said,

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Luke 21:33)

So no matter what trouble we may suffer through, let us wait in hope, and be ready whenever he does come.