Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 19th Edition.
Dear Strangers and Aliens in this World,
Yesterday, we turned the corner on the “man of sin”, with the suggestion that he would be revealed if and when, the church was removed from the earth. We look today at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, the “Exit Plan for Believers.”The church at Thessaloniki was a fairly young one. This letter to them is the earliest of Paul’s letters, save for Galatians. The understanding of a lot of things about end times was limited, and even the apostles seemed to think that Christ would return in their lifetime.
Then, as they normally do, people began to die among the believers in Thessaloniki. This presented no small a problem. The assumption, though wrong, seems to have been that those who died had missed out on the Second Coming and the subsequent Kingdom. As a result, Christians grieved their dead with much sorrow, pain and regret. Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians, and these particular verses, to allay these misconceptions and set the record straight. That is why he begins the section “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (verse 13). Grief must be tampered with hope.
He then proceeds to explain what will happen. Verses 16-18 are of particular significance. Verse 16 echoes the Jewish wedding, where the bridegroom would come often unannounced, to fetch his bride. He would have a band or at least one trumpet, and a “crier” or herald, to announce his coming. He would immediately take his bride to his home town or village, where a banquet would have been prepared. Here, the Lord comes from his “home” in heaven to the place where his bride is, earth. His coming is announced by the shout, the voice of the archangel and the blast of the trumpet, and then the special news that will temper the grief of the Thessalonians; “The dead in Christ will rise first,” followed by news that should worry everyone who is not in Christ, “Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” The believers will be taken out of this world and for those left behind, it will not be a picnic.
This will be the perfect time, when the world is “robbed” of its conscience, for a godless ruler to come, fix the mess of the aftermath of the rapture, deceive a world that is “begging to be lied to” and take charge. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 seems to suggest that God will send a delusion (this probably will take the form of God withdrawing the testimony of his Spirit), so that the world will be easily deceived. More tomorrow as we conclude this parenthetical series and get back to Philippians.
Your loving Pastor Chris.