notes

Main point summary

Brothers do not forget the order of things to come, for our Lord will return and collect his elect. First, the dead in Him will rise and join Him in the clouds, then the believers who are alive will follow. We can be assured this will happen because our Savior is alive; he is our living hope. Therefore, forever take encouragement in these words.

Discourse

editing

NT

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

esv

mine

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep,

However , brothers in Christ, we do not want you to be in the dark about those who have passed away,

g that you may not grieve as others do h who have no hope.

because we do not want you to mourn like the non-believers who have no hope after death.

For i since we believe that Jesus died and rose again,

Since , we believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ,

even so , through Jesus, God will bring with him j those who have fallen asleep.

thus , we can be certain that God will bring those who are justified by Christ with him at the second advent.

For this we declare to you k by a word from the Lord, 1

We proclaim this to you by a word revealed from the Lord,

that l we who are alive, who are left until m the coming of the Lord,

upon his return, those of us who remain, meaning that those of us who are still alive here on earth,

will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

will not be called into the clouds with Christ before the dead.

For n the Lord himself will descend o from heaven p with a cry of command, with the voice of q an archangel,

This is the order of things to come, the Lord will descend from heaven, and with the command of an archangel,

and r with the sound of the trumpet of God.

along with the blast of the trumpet of God,

And s the dead in Christ will rise first.

He will command those who passed as true believers in Him to rise first and ascend to meet Him.

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be t caught up together with them u in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,

After which , those of us who are still alive will be raptured up to clouds to join those who preceded us and to meet our glorious Savior.

and so v we will always be with the Lord.

From this point on we will eternally remain with our sovereign King.

Therefore encourage one another with these words.

So , go, and comfort and embolden each other with these words of hope that we have through the never-failing Lord Jesus Christ.

discourse

Notes

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 Observations Themes: Hope Encouragement Tone: Instructional General: We must encourage one another with this hope. V.18 The authors command them not to grieve about death like those who have no hope. V.13b Comparative analysis to other texts: - sequence of events concerning the "Rapture." Matthew 24:29-32 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun and moon will darken and the powers of heaven will be shaken. The sign of the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. He will send his angels out with a loud trumpet call. They will gather His elect, from the four winds, and from one end of heaven to another. Mark 13:22 After that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give light and the powers of heaven will be shaken. They will see the Son of Man coming. He will send out his angels. They will gather His elect from the four winds, and the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. Luke 21:24 There will be signs in the sun, moon, stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring sea and waves. Also, people will be fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming in the world. For the powers of heaven will be shaken. They will see the Son of Man coming. When these things happen straighten up because your redemption is near. John 5:28 All who are in tombs will hear his voice and come out. The justified will be resurrected to life. The wicked will be resurrected for judgment. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. The Lord will descend from heaven. He will command an archangel to sound the trumpet. Those dead in Christ will rise first. Those alive will then be called up into the clouds with them to meet the Lord. We will eternally be with the Lord. Takeaways Command- we must continuously encourage each other and personally find comfort in these words about the second advent of our Savior. Also, we must not grieve over death because we have this hope. Motivation- Our motivation is founded in verse 17, which describes the glorious return of Jesus, the resurrection of all believers, and the earthly reign and eternal communion with our sovereign King. Jonathan Edwards once said " God is the highest good of the reasonable creature. The enjoyment of him is our proper; and is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here. Better than fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of any, or all earthly friends. These are but shadows; but the enjoyment of God is the substance. These are but scattered beams; but God is the sun. These are but streams; but God is the fountain. These are but drops, but God is the ocean." In short, there is nothing better than being in the presence of God. Means- The means by which we stay motivated and encouraged by this truth is by the reciprocal of verse 13. We must be informed about these truths about Christ's return. We must meditate on them, memorize them, and thank God for his victory and work of salvation.