“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For we say this to you by a word from the Lord: We who are still alive at the Lord’s coming will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout [or command], with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still 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. Therefore encourage [or comfort] one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, CSB).
In chapter four of this letter, Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers of the instructions they were given on how they should live so that they can please God, and these instructions were given by the authority the apostles (Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy) had in the Lord Jesus Christ—the Thessalonian believers were already doing as instructed but Paul insists, they do it even more; be more intense at pleasing God (4:1-2). Paul was not afraid to be candid, for he wanted his hearers to make sure they lived for God and not for themselves or for the world. For he warned the Galatians believers that if they sowed to please the sinful nature they would reap corruption or decay (Gal. 6:8a). This is not referring to a believer’s health breaking down – although that is also certainly possible when sowing to the flesh – but rather in this instance it refers to the believer’s eternal destination. The Greek word used is φθορά (the transliteration is phthora, and it is pronounced fthor-ah'), and in English it is translated as corruption, or destruction, or decay. Since the believer is warned not to sow to please the flesh and instead do the opposite, sow to please the Holy Spirit so that he can reap eternal life (Gal. 6:8b), phthora in this context is referring here to eternal destruction, eternal torment, and misery. This warning means that if the Christian sows to please his sinful nature he will therefore reap eternal torment, he forfeits the gift of salvation he once received—the punishment of voluntarily, and intentionally, and persistently sowing to please the sinful nature without sincere repentance is determined by God (I urge you to see: Rom. 8:3-14; Eph. 5:3-5; Heb. 6:4-12; 10:26-31). Likewise, the Thessalonian’s were instructed to shun sexual immorality, control their bodies in holiness and honor and not in impure passion, because it is God’s will they walk in holiness (4:3-6).
God did not call the church to continue to be impure but to learn how-to live-in holiness (4:7). Like I said, Paul was very straightforward, he advised the Thessalonian’s that any believer that rejects this instruction does not reject him but God the Father, the one who gave them his Holy Spirit (4:8). They had come out of a life where sexual immorality was common, like it is in this generation. But the person that gives his life to Jesus in any generation must give the old way of life up, change the way he thinks, and put on the Spirit’s new way of life which is to live in righteousness and true holiness, just like God (Eph. 4:22-24). Paul said the Thessalonians had been taught by God to love one another, something they were practicing, but he beseeched them to love the body of Christ even more; to increase their love to each other and not decrease it (4:9-10).
The apostle had written all that which I have just shown you so far in this commentary to get to the passage above (4:13-18). You can say he was laying down for them the foundation of what it takes to be caught up to meet the Lord Jesus into the eternal realm. Some disagree, for they believe that all it takes to be caught up out of this world once the rapture of the church occurs is to simply believe and receive Jesus into their heart. But that is uniquely the initiate of grace (Eph. 2:8-9). That initial act of faith in Jesus sets in motion the grace of God to start the process of salvation. Once that happens the believer must now continue in the grace of God moving forward, proceeding on to eternity means the Christian must continue in the faith steadfastly and not abandoned it (1 Tim. 4:1), so that he can stand before God one day in true holiness, being faultless and blameless (Col. 1:21-23).
Look at the following Scripture verses, open your Bible and study them because I have just presented you with only a brief summary of each one. See how obeying them is essential to having the work of salvation continue in the Christians life.
Matthew 13:20-23 – You will see that the person who believes and receives Christ must let God’s word go deep within them so that it can produce fruit, yielding much more than what was planted, and by persevering a life of holiness and righteousness will be produced. The person that receives Christ must not continue in the old way of life.
John 8:31 – The one who receives Christ must hold fast to the Scriptures to prove they really belong to him; that they are truly his followers.
John 15:6, 9-10 – The one that receives Christ must remain in him, because if they do not, they are like a branch that is discarded and dies. They must remain in Christ’s love, proving they do by obeying his commands just like Jesus obeyed his Father’s commands.
Acts 11:23 – The one that receives Christ, by faith because of the grace of God, must remain true, be faithful, and continue in the Lord Jesus with their whole heart. Some Christians just live for Christ on a part-time basis, if that. They live for themselves and the world most of the time.
Acts 13:43 – When a person is saved by the grace of God, the Scriptures urge that person to continue in God’s grace. The inference is to not abandon the faith.
Acts 14:22 – The one that receives Christ must remain true to him and continue in the faith.
Romans 2:7 – The believer must be persistent in walking in righteousness, they must seek glory, honor, and immortality (meaning eternal life), if they do these things God will at the end of the church-age give them eternal life.
Hebrews 3:6, 12-14; 4:14 – The Christian is part of God’s house if they hold onto God’s grace and the confidence that comes from belonging to him unto the end of the salvation process. The Christian is to make sure they do not have an evil and unbelieving heart that causes them to fall away from God; abandon the faith. They cannot be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. The Christian will share in Christ’s inheritance (Rom. 8:17) if he holds on to his faith in Christ until the end of the church-age; the day and hour of the rapture of the house-of-God. The Christian must hold firmly on to his faith in Christ as if it is the most important thing in life.
2 Peter 2:20-22 – The person that receives Christ must not become entangled with the world again and be overcome by it; for that is turning his back on the sacred commands. It will have been better for that man if he had never received salvation than to have received it and then abandoned it.
You can see when you study New Testament Scriptures why the apostle urged the Thessalonian believers to live their life so they would please God, and even though this church was, he asked them to be make their effort even more passionate. He warned them that they should not be involved in sexual immorality, to control their bodies (living to please the sinful nature will lead to eternal misery). God has called the church to walk in holiness, not in impurity (it is the Christians responsibility). If the Christian rejects Paul’s instructions he is not rejecting the apostle, rather he is rejecting God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul tells the Thessalonians how important it is to love the brothers, even though they already were, but even so, he presses them to love each other even more than what they already were. These things help keep the Christian from abandoning Christ, to remain in his love. Following Paul’s instructions helps keep the believer from getting involved in a relationship with the world again—involvement with the world is spiritual adultery (Jer. 3:20; Jms. 4:4-5). A person not only has to believe and receive Christ they then must work at being true to him, being faithful to him.
It is very important for the believer to not walk in the darkness (deception, wickedness, evil) because God is light (purity, holiness, truth)—there is no darkness in God (1 Jn. 1:5). If the believer claims to be a friend of God but lives in darkness – especially hates his brother – then he is a liar and does not live in truth; he deceives himself (1 Jn.1:6). Walking in the light allows the believer to have true fellowship with the Father, and Christ’s sacrifice can purify him from all sin (1 Jn. 1:7). The believer that asserts he has no sin deceives himself and the truth of God is not in him, likewise he makes God out to be a liar and his word is not in him (1 Jn. 1:8, 10). But if the believer is not deceived and confesses his sin, God the Father will forgive him and purify him from all unrighteousness, or wickedness (1 Jn. 1:9).
The rapture of the body of Christ is the reason why the apostle Paul gave strict instructions to the church on how it was their responsibility to live the way God wants. Some in the church think that God will control the Christian like a cult leader. But he is not like that. He does not take away a man’s freewill once he gets saved, he does not control the one that receives Christ like an avatar in a video game, but rather the believer must work at his salvation by following the kingdom’s character manual (the Scriptures) so his salvation can be completed. Whether the believer passes away before the rapture happens or he is still alive when it happens, it is important that the character of the believer lines up with how the new creation is supposed to live, and that is according to the word of God.
After having commended the believers in Thessalonica for their work of faith, their labor of love, and their constant hope in Christ (1:3), acknowledging that they were chosen by God even becoming imitators of him though they were suffering (1:4-6; 2:14), instructing them to please God even more, urging them to love each other even more (4:1, 9-10), he then goes on to write about the reward the body of Christ will receive—being caught up into eternity. But first he chose to clear up some confusion they had about their brothers that had died before the rapture occurs. They were excited about seeing Jesus face-to-face once the rapture occurs, that is why they were waiting for him to come to lift them out of the world—they knew Jesus would come before the time of wrath; the seventieth-week of Israel (1:10). They knew that once the rapture occurs that Paul would receive a crown of glory, not just because of them but also because of the other churches he ministered to (2:19). But while they were waiting for the Lord to come some of their brothers-in-Christ were passing away and they wondered what will happen to them—the early church was anticipating the Lord to come and get them while they were still living, they were hoping he would, unlike most of today’s church who do not think this way, instead the disinclined Christian shrinks back at the mention of the rapture happening while they are still living because they prefer to live in this world to enjoy all it has to offer, they are okay with dying after they have had a long, prosperous, and happy life in this world first (if the unenthusiastic were to have the knowledge the rapture will happen tomorrow they would likely cry).
We do not know if the Thessalonian believers had any information from Paul leading up to the time of his written correspondence to them about the believers glorified body at the time of the rapture (1 Cor. 15:50-54). We know he had written to them about the rapture itself but he did not write to them about the transformation the Christian will go through once the rapture happens; like he did the Corinthian believers. Paul wrote his first letter to them at least three-to-four years before he wrote about the believers glorified body to the Corinthian believers. He wrote both letters to the Thessalonians about 51-52 AD, and he wrote both letters to the Corinthians about 55 AD. Paul may have got his revelation about the rapture of the church and the glorified bodies we will receive when he was caught up to heaven in a vision, about 41 AD (2 Cor. 12:2-4), so he may have mentioned the transformation of the believers body that will take place while he was in Thessalonica teaching them from the Scriptures a few months before writing his first letter to them, about 51 AD ( Acts 17:1-9). But being that they were concerned about the brothers that had already passed on he may have not told them about the transformation the believer’s body will go through at the time the rapture occurs. So, they may have thought that their dead brothers would not partake in the rapture like the living brothers will. They may have wondered if the dead brothers would be in a state of sleep forever, therefore what was their hope if any. So, he writes, that he does not want them to be ignorant of the facts about the believers that pass-away before the rapture of the living-believers occurs (4:13a).
When the rapture of the body of Christ happens, the believers already dead will be reunited with their earthly bodies before the believers that are still living will be caught up out of the world (4:14-16). It does not matter how long their earthly bodies have experienced corruption and decay. The apostles Paul, Peter, and John, will have their long dead bodies recreated into a heavenly body like Jesus has (1 Cor. 15:49; Phil. 3:21; 1 Jn. 3:2), a glorified body that will never die again, that will house their spirit and soul in the eternal realm forever (1 Cor. 15:52-53). And so will everyone else that have passed away and were-in-Christ at death receive heavenly bodies. Jesus Christ was the first-fruits of all those that have passed away-in-him (1 Cor. 15:20-23). When he comes to rapture his church that are still living, he will bring with him those that have already passed away.
When the Lord raptures his church he does not come to the earth – he does not make an appearance on Earth – but rather he comes to the clouds (4:17a). He will come to the earth at his second appearance to defeat the Antichrist, the kings of the world, and to redeem the remnant Jews (Rev. 19:11-21; Matt. 24:29-31; Dan. 9:24; Zech. 12:10). Coming to the clouds is not literal, but rather a symbolic reference to the space between the physical realm and the heavenly realms. The clouds are emblematic of the place the living-being, or believer, is taken out of sight. Once the living-believers-in-Christ are out of sight they will be in the eternal realm forever with the Lord Jesus Christ (4:17b). The people that are left on the earth to witness the sudden disappearance of the body of Christ will likely see them be caught up into the first layer of the earth’s atmosphere, the troposphere, something like how Jesus was lifted off the ground into the troposphere above the onlooking apostles that he had chosen (Acts 1:2, 9). It could also be like how Elijah was raptured into heaven (2 Kgs. 2:11-12). He was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind, like a tornado. But since Paul did not describe the rapture of the church being a spectacular display as that of Elijah in the above passage of this exegesis it may be more like the rapture of Jesus.
The rapture of the church is something to talk about, it must be persistently taught to the body of Christ. It is a notable event to keep watching and be ready for, because the church does not know the exact day it will happen; Jesus will come for the church at an hour they do not expect him to come (many will be sorry that they were not ready). Too many leaders in the church neglect this very important event, they are unenthusiastic about this glorious day (they will one day regret their indifference). I encourage everyone that reads this teaching, that the body of Christ will be caught up very soon to be with the believers that have already passed away, like the apostles Paul, Peter, and John, and most importantly, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Encourage one another.
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